https://simplecast.com unSILOed with Greg LaBlanc unSILOed is a series of interdisciplinary conversations that inspire new ways of thinking about our world. Our goal is to build a community of lifelong learners addicted to curiosity and the pursuit of insight about themselves and the world around them.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* All rights reserved. en-us Tue, 7 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Tue, 7 Apr 2026 13:00:12 +0000 https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast unSILOed with Greg LaBlanc https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/a4944b9b-c666-4ab0-84ad-9c969c991bdc/f4c2b790-9b3f-4e65-904b-3f1e5c634c3f/3000x3000/partner-artworks-unsiloed.jpg?aid=rss_feed https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast episodic unSILOed is a series of interdisciplinary conversations that inspire new ways of thinking about our world. Our goal is to build a community of lifelong learners addicted to curiosity and the pursuit of insight about themselves and the world around them.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Greg La Blanc false https://feeds.simplecast.com/xV48YwCk Greg La Blanc f2b8722e-0c1e-4d16-9c7a-f0ad1f7e1977 638. Why Nothing Works: How Progressivism’s Split Led to Today's Governance Gridlock with Marc J. Dunkelman How is governance dysfunction linked to declining ‘middle-ring’ community ties? 

Marc J. Dunkelman is a fellow at Brown University and a fellow at the Searchlight Institute in Washington, D.C. Marc is also the author of two books, Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back and The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community.

Greg and Marc discuss how U.S. progressivism has long been split between a Jeffersonian impulse to decentralize power and curb “bigness” and a Hamiltonian impulse to centralize authority in expert institutions. Marc explains how figures like Robert Moses could push projects through, while today expanded rights, litigation, and procedural checks—driven by 1960s–70s distrust of authority (Vietnam, civil rights failures, environmental and consumer scandals, Watergate-era culture)—have reduced discretion so much that even widely supported projects stall. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is it so hard to build things?

44:34: You're awarding rights to classes of individuals who have long been stepped on by powerful people. And, like, award these new standing. Exactly. To your point, in order to reduce the discretion of the would-be Robert Moses, who would make that choice on their own without ever really thinking through, alright, now that all these people have, like, a voice, how are we going to resolve that?

And to this day, I don't think the progressives have actually answered that question. I don't think that we have in our minds even a system by which you would make trade-offs between those groups. And it's one of the reasons, to your point, it's so hard to build things, like, if everyone wants that new road to be built, but each individual constituency has enough power to say, not through this particular route, you're fundamentally stuck.

What motivated Marc to write “Why Nothing Works.”

05:07: The motivation here was to understand what had changed between the fifties and the 2010s, to make it so that it used to be that bad projects couldn't be stopped, and now good projects couldn't go. That prompted a whole series of questions that eventually would lead to this book, Why Nothing Works.

On tension within progressivism

36:28: There is sort of a notion that centralized power itself is up to no good, and that, in order for America to restore its promise and luster, we need to restore the power, the individual agency that people once had. And, I want to make this clear: that shift is remarkably profound within progressivism, but it is not that the old effort to centralize power wasn't progressive. And it's not that this new impulse to restore power to the woman who wants to control her own body, to the black family that wants to be able to rent a room in any hotel of their choosing, to the ordinary person who doesn't want to be the victim of discrimination, to the neighborhood that doesn't wanna be clobbered by, like—these are both ultimately progressive impulses.

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]]> Tue, 7 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How is governance dysfunction linked to declining ‘middle-ring’ community ties? 

Marc J. Dunkelman is a fellow at Brown University and a fellow at the Searchlight Institute in Washington, D.C. Marc is also the author of two books, Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back and The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community.

Greg and Marc discuss how U.S. progressivism has long been split between a Jeffersonian impulse to decentralize power and curb “bigness” and a Hamiltonian impulse to centralize authority in expert institutions. Marc explains how figures like Robert Moses could push projects through, while today expanded rights, litigation, and procedural checks—driven by 1960s–70s distrust of authority (Vietnam, civil rights failures, environmental and consumer scandals, Watergate-era culture)—have reduced discretion so much that even widely supported projects stall. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is it so hard to build things?

44:34: You're awarding rights to classes of individuals who have long been stepped on by powerful people. And, like, award these new standing. Exactly. To your point, in order to reduce the discretion of the would-be Robert Moses, who would make that choice on their own without ever really thinking through, alright, now that all these people have, like, a voice, how are we going to resolve that?

And to this day, I don't think the progressives have actually answered that question. I don't think that we have in our minds even a system by which you would make trade-offs between those groups. And it's one of the reasons, to your point, it's so hard to build things, like, if everyone wants that new road to be built, but each individual constituency has enough power to say, not through this particular route, you're fundamentally stuck.

What motivated Marc to write “Why Nothing Works.”

05:07: The motivation here was to understand what had changed between the fifties and the 2010s, to make it so that it used to be that bad projects couldn't be stopped, and now good projects couldn't go. That prompted a whole series of questions that eventually would lead to this book, Why Nothing Works.

On tension within progressivism

36:28: There is sort of a notion that centralized power itself is up to no good, and that, in order for America to restore its promise and luster, we need to restore the power, the individual agency that people once had. And, I want to make this clear: that shift is remarkably profound within progressivism, but it is not that the old effort to centralize power wasn't progressive. And it's not that this new impulse to restore power to the woman who wants to control her own body, to the black family that wants to be able to rent a room in any hotel of their choosing, to the ordinary person who doesn't want to be the victim of discrimination, to the neighborhood that doesn't wanna be clobbered by, like—these are both ultimately progressive impulses.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 638. Why Nothing Works: How Progressivism’s Split Led to Today's Governance Gridlock with Marc J. Dunkelman Greg La Blanc 01:09:19 How is governance dysfunction linked to declining ‘middle-ring’ community ties? Marc J. Dunkelman is a fellow at Brown University and a fellow at the Searchlight Institute in Washington, D.C. Marc is also the author of two books, Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back and The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community. Greg and Marc discuss how U.S. progressivism has long been split between a Jeffersonian impulse to decentralize power and curb “bigness” and a Hamiltonian impulse to centralize authority in expert institutions. Marc explains how figures like Robert Moses could push projects through, while today expanded rights, litigation, and procedural checks—driven by 1960s–70s distrust of authority (Vietnam, civil rights failures, environmental and consumer scandals, Watergate-era culture)—have reduced discretion so much that even widely supported projects stall. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How is governance dysfunction linked to declining ‘middle-ring’ community ties? Marc J. Dunkelman is a fellow at Brown University and a fellow at the Searchlight Institute in Washington, D.C. Marc is also the author of two books, Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back and The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community. Greg and Marc discuss how U.S. progressivism has long been split between a Jeffersonian impulse to decentralize power and curb “bigness” and a Hamiltonian impulse to centralize authority in expert institutions. Marc explains how figures like Robert Moses could push projects through, while today expanded rights, litigation, and procedural checks—driven by 1960s–70s distrust of authority (Vietnam, civil rights failures, environmental and consumer scandals, Watergate-era culture)—have reduced discretion so much that even widely supported projects stall. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 638 201f6e39-5d3f-4f2a-b22c-199449ad47f4 637. AI and the Human Mind: Exploring Surprising Parallels with Christopher Summerfield When AI tells us what we want to hear, is it acting in a rogue way, or is it emulating behavior that society clearly values? How does our ability to sleep enable us to update faster than neural networks currently can, and what will be different when they can update themselves more frequently?

Christopher Summerfield is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Oxford University, the Research Director at the UK’s AI Safety Institute, and the author of the book These Strange New Minds: How AI Learned to Talk and What It Means.

Christopher and Greg discuss the historical split between symbolic, rule-based “rationalist” AI and data-driven “empiricist” learning, arguing that the recent success of large models vindicates the latter despite earlier skepticism. They discuss how structured behavior can emerge from messy networks, how modern models are trained with reinforcement learning to produce step-by-step reasoning, and why systems often “make” solutions by writing code rather than routing to specialized tools. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

From messy brains to intelligent machines

04:40: If you look inside the brain, your brain and mine and the brains of other biological species, they're really messy. They're like really, really messy and unstructured. So nature managed to solve the problem. And so maybe that gave impetus for this movement to kind of, you know, continue to sort of plug away. And when we finally got computers big enough to process lots and lots of data, it started to take off. And the rest is history.

Hallucinations aren’t just an AI problem

34:36: How does the model know what is the kind of socially or culturally appropriate response?  We're often very worried about the models,  like, the models don't tell the truth and  they make stuff up.  But people forget that most of language is literally making stuff up. That is what you do when you open your mouth.

Is language more powerful than we thought?

32:05: The surprising thing is that language, it turns out, is sufficiently rich and expressive that if you have it in huge volumes and you process it effectively, then you can actually make a whole bunch of inferences about the world, which are surprisingly accurate. So you would think that you would need to actually experience them firsthand rather than just through hearsay, because we work like that, right? Like we rely on our senses. Of course, we rely on hearsay a little bit, and we think about what other people say, and it allows us to infer new things. But like the models just have language, well, I mean now they have multimodal data, but let's take a conversational agents lms, and what I think has been so surprising is that language contains enough structure that you can really uncover patterns of information that you would think that you would need to see.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Fri, 3 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When AI tells us what we want to hear, is it acting in a rogue way, or is it emulating behavior that society clearly values? How does our ability to sleep enable us to update faster than neural networks currently can, and what will be different when they can update themselves more frequently?

Christopher Summerfield is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Oxford University, the Research Director at the UK’s AI Safety Institute, and the author of the book These Strange New Minds: How AI Learned to Talk and What It Means.

Christopher and Greg discuss the historical split between symbolic, rule-based “rationalist” AI and data-driven “empiricist” learning, arguing that the recent success of large models vindicates the latter despite earlier skepticism. They discuss how structured behavior can emerge from messy networks, how modern models are trained with reinforcement learning to produce step-by-step reasoning, and why systems often “make” solutions by writing code rather than routing to specialized tools. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

From messy brains to intelligent machines

04:40: If you look inside the brain, your brain and mine and the brains of other biological species, they're really messy. They're like really, really messy and unstructured. So nature managed to solve the problem. And so maybe that gave impetus for this movement to kind of, you know, continue to sort of plug away. And when we finally got computers big enough to process lots and lots of data, it started to take off. And the rest is history.

Hallucinations aren’t just an AI problem

34:36: How does the model know what is the kind of socially or culturally appropriate response?  We're often very worried about the models,  like, the models don't tell the truth and  they make stuff up.  But people forget that most of language is literally making stuff up. That is what you do when you open your mouth.

Is language more powerful than we thought?

32:05: The surprising thing is that language, it turns out, is sufficiently rich and expressive that if you have it in huge volumes and you process it effectively, then you can actually make a whole bunch of inferences about the world, which are surprisingly accurate. So you would think that you would need to actually experience them firsthand rather than just through hearsay, because we work like that, right? Like we rely on our senses. Of course, we rely on hearsay a little bit, and we think about what other people say, and it allows us to infer new things. But like the models just have language, well, I mean now they have multimodal data, but let's take a conversational agents lms, and what I think has been so surprising is that language contains enough structure that you can really uncover patterns of information that you would think that you would need to see.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 637. AI and the Human Mind: Exploring Surprising Parallels with Christopher Summerfield Greg La Blanc 00:59:12 When AI tells us what we want to hear, is it acting in a rogue way, or is it emulating behavior that society clearly values? How does our ability to sleep enable us to update faster than neural networks currently can, and what will be different when they can update themselves more frequently? Christopher Summerfield is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Oxford University, the Research Director at the UK’s AI Safety Institute, and the author of the book These Strange New Minds: How AI Learned to Talk and What It Means. Christopher and Greg discuss the historical split between symbolic, rule-based “rationalist” AI and data-driven “empiricist” learning, arguing that the recent success of large models vindicates the latter despite earlier skepticism. They discuss how structured behavior can emerge from messy networks, how modern models are trained with reinforcement learning to produce step-by-step reasoning, and why systems often “make” solutions by writing code rather than routing to specialized tools. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When AI tells us what we want to hear, is it acting in a rogue way, or is it emulating behavior that society clearly values? How does our ability to sleep enable us to update faster than neural networks currently can, and what will be different when they can update themselves more frequently? Christopher Summerfield is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Oxford University, the Research Director at the UK’s AI Safety Institute, and the author of the book These Strange New Minds: How AI Learned to Talk and What It Means. Christopher and Greg discuss the historical split between symbolic, rule-based “rationalist” AI and data-driven “empiricist” learning, arguing that the recent success of large models vindicates the latter despite earlier skepticism. They discuss how structured behavior can emerge from messy networks, how modern models are trained with reinforcement learning to produce step-by-step reasoning, and why systems often “make” solutions by writing code rather than routing to specialized tools. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 637 0cfd57ae-eaeb-4d4e-a0bb-0d1982cbc20c 636. Rediscovering Virtue the Renaissance Way with James Hankins It’s one of the oldest debates in political philosophy: Do good laws make good men, or do good men make good laws? Minds have been wrestling with this question since the days of Petrarch and Machiavelli, but both sides may have insights that can inform modern political philosophy.

James Hankins is a professor of history at Harvard University, a visiting professor of humanities at the University of Florida’s Hamilton School, and author of numerous books including Virtue Politics: Soulcraft and Statecraft in Renaissance Italy and Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy: The Virtuous Republic of Francesco Patrizi of Siena. He’s also the co-author of the textbook, The Golden Thread, which focuses on the history of Western civilization. 

Greg and James discuss Renaissance humanism, sparked by Petrarch’s response to 14th‑century crises, and explore the humanist education focused on virtue, rhetoric, and moral philosophy. They also delve into Machiavelli’s critiques and pushback against humanism, how Chinese Confucianism compares with the West’s legal system, and why James believes virtue should be brought back into modern education.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why we need both systems and good character

11:47: I think I agree with the people who think there should be a balance between good character and the formation of good character and expertise and wisdom and competence and the people who say that systems can solve all your problems and you just get the right systems and thinkful function. I think that is a very, kind of left, left hemispheric way of understanding human nature.

Good law is nothing without good people

07:59: If you have great laws, but corrupt judges, you are going to have bad laws. If you have laws being written by corrupt people, that is even worse. So the humanist is saying the whole problem is, the human heart, right? This is where the problem is. And what we have to do is to bring back antiquity.

Is democracy only the legitimate form of government?

47:14: Today, we might say that a democracy is the only legitimate form of government where a republic reflects the will of the people. But they would not say that in the Renaissance. They talk about better and worse, that monarchs are better when you have got a good monarch. But when you have a bad monarch, the monarch of the republic is better. It is that kind of calculation. It is not the way we think about political regimes today as being, legitimate or illegitimate.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Wed, 1 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It’s one of the oldest debates in political philosophy: Do good laws make good men, or do good men make good laws? Minds have been wrestling with this question since the days of Petrarch and Machiavelli, but both sides may have insights that can inform modern political philosophy.

James Hankins is a professor of history at Harvard University, a visiting professor of humanities at the University of Florida’s Hamilton School, and author of numerous books including Virtue Politics: Soulcraft and Statecraft in Renaissance Italy and Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy: The Virtuous Republic of Francesco Patrizi of Siena. He’s also the co-author of the textbook, The Golden Thread, which focuses on the history of Western civilization. 

Greg and James discuss Renaissance humanism, sparked by Petrarch’s response to 14th‑century crises, and explore the humanist education focused on virtue, rhetoric, and moral philosophy. They also delve into Machiavelli’s critiques and pushback against humanism, how Chinese Confucianism compares with the West’s legal system, and why James believes virtue should be brought back into modern education.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why we need both systems and good character

11:47: I think I agree with the people who think there should be a balance between good character and the formation of good character and expertise and wisdom and competence and the people who say that systems can solve all your problems and you just get the right systems and thinkful function. I think that is a very, kind of left, left hemispheric way of understanding human nature.

Good law is nothing without good people

07:59: If you have great laws, but corrupt judges, you are going to have bad laws. If you have laws being written by corrupt people, that is even worse. So the humanist is saying the whole problem is, the human heart, right? This is where the problem is. And what we have to do is to bring back antiquity.

Is democracy only the legitimate form of government?

47:14: Today, we might say that a democracy is the only legitimate form of government where a republic reflects the will of the people. But they would not say that in the Renaissance. They talk about better and worse, that monarchs are better when you have got a good monarch. But when you have a bad monarch, the monarch of the republic is better. It is that kind of calculation. It is not the way we think about political regimes today as being, legitimate or illegitimate.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 636. Rediscovering Virtue the Renaissance Way with James Hankins Greg La Blanc 01:08:55 It’s one of the oldest debates in political philosophy: Do good laws make good men, or do good men make good laws? Minds have been wrestling with this question since the days of Petrarch and Machiavelli, but both sides may have insights that can inform modern political philosophy. James Hankins is a professor of history at Harvard University, a visiting professor of humanities at the University of Florida’s Hamilton School, and author of numerous books including Virtue Politics: Soulcraft and Statecraft in Renaissance Italy and Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy: The Virtuous Republic of Francesco Patrizi of Siena. He’s also the co-author of the textbook, The Golden Thread, which focuses on the history of Western civilization. Greg and James discuss Renaissance humanism, sparked by Petrarch’s response to 14th‑century crises, and explore the humanist education focused on virtue, rhetoric, and moral philosophy. They also delve into Machiavelli’s critiques and pushback against humanism, how Chinese Confucianism compares with the West’s legal system, and why James believes virtue should be brought back into modern education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* It’s one of the oldest debates in political philosophy: Do good laws make good men, or do good men make good laws? Minds have been wrestling with this question since the days of Petrarch and Machiavelli, but both sides may have insights that can inform modern political philosophy. James Hankins is a professor of history at Harvard University, a visiting professor of humanities at the University of Florida’s Hamilton School, and author of numerous books including Virtue Politics: Soulcraft and Statecraft in Renaissance Italy and Political Meritocracy in Renaissance Italy: The Virtuous Republic of Francesco Patrizi of Siena. He’s also the co-author of the textbook, The Golden Thread, which focuses on the history of Western civilization. Greg and James discuss Renaissance humanism, sparked by Petrarch’s response to 14th‑century crises, and explore the humanist education focused on virtue, rhetoric, and moral philosophy. They also delve into Machiavelli’s critiques and pushback against humanism, how Chinese Confucianism compares with the West’s legal system, and why James believes virtue should be brought back into modern education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 636 329533d8-5a15-4a68-b4df-713cce088446 635. The Psychology of Computers with Tom Griffiths Today's AI has been designed using insights from how humans learn and think about the world. Are there certain psychological lessons we can glean from these artificial minds to further our understanding of human ones? 

Tom Griffiths is a professor of information technology, consciousness, and culture at Princeton University. His books, The Laws of Thought: The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind and Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions, explore how algorithms and mathematics can be used to understand the human mind, and how it differs from AI. 

Tom and Greg discuss the origins of the surprising convergence of psychology and computer science over the last 50 years and delve into the work done by the interdisciplinary minds who made it happen. They also cover how psychology and linguistics impact the current world of machine learning and AI. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How do we build good inductive bias into AI systems?

26:07: How do we build good inductive bias into these systems? And at the moment that is being engineered to some extent by doing things like synthetic pre-training, where you might pre-train on data which is not the human language data but data that you think is quite good data for shaping the kinds of things that your neural network is going to be biased towards. And then there are some other more sophisticated methods for doing that. In my lab, we use a method called metalearning, where you're explicitly creating a neural network that has initial weights, that has some sort of initial associations that it's already formed, that are going to make it easy for that model to be able to learn from small amounts of data.

Neural networks vs. human learners

23:00: One of the big differences between even the fancy neural networks that we have today and human learners is that human learners learn language from far less data than our neural network models do.

What is a neural network?

18:30: The way I think about neural networks is that they're a tool for thinking about computation in spaces, a way of mapping one space to another based on the information that you've received that allows you to then build up to more and more complex computations.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Today's AI has been designed using insights from how humans learn and think about the world. Are there certain psychological lessons we can glean from these artificial minds to further our understanding of human ones? 

Tom Griffiths is a professor of information technology, consciousness, and culture at Princeton University. His books, The Laws of Thought: The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind and Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions, explore how algorithms and mathematics can be used to understand the human mind, and how it differs from AI. 

Tom and Greg discuss the origins of the surprising convergence of psychology and computer science over the last 50 years and delve into the work done by the interdisciplinary minds who made it happen. They also cover how psychology and linguistics impact the current world of machine learning and AI. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How do we build good inductive bias into AI systems?

26:07: How do we build good inductive bias into these systems? And at the moment that is being engineered to some extent by doing things like synthetic pre-training, where you might pre-train on data which is not the human language data but data that you think is quite good data for shaping the kinds of things that your neural network is going to be biased towards. And then there are some other more sophisticated methods for doing that. In my lab, we use a method called metalearning, where you're explicitly creating a neural network that has initial weights, that has some sort of initial associations that it's already formed, that are going to make it easy for that model to be able to learn from small amounts of data.

Neural networks vs. human learners

23:00: One of the big differences between even the fancy neural networks that we have today and human learners is that human learners learn language from far less data than our neural network models do.

What is a neural network?

18:30: The way I think about neural networks is that they're a tool for thinking about computation in spaces, a way of mapping one space to another based on the information that you've received that allows you to then build up to more and more complex computations.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 635. The Psychology of Computers with Tom Griffiths Greg La Blanc 00:51:59 Today's AI has been designed using insights from how humans learn and think about the world. Are there certain psychological lessons we can glean from these artificial minds to further our understanding of human ones? Tom Griffiths is a professor of information technology, consciousness, and culture at Princeton University. His books, The Laws of Thought: The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind and Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions, explore how algorithms and mathematics can be used to understand the human mind, and how it differs from AI. Tom and Greg discuss the origins of the surprising convergence of psychology and computer science over the last 50 years and delve into the work done by the interdisciplinary minds who made it happen. They also cover how psychology and linguistics impact the current world of machine learning and AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Today's AI has been designed using insights from how humans learn and think about the world. Are there certain psychological lessons we can glean from these artificial minds to further our understanding of human ones? Tom Griffiths is a professor of information technology, consciousness, and culture at Princeton University. His books, The Laws of Thought: The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind and Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions, explore how algorithms and mathematics can be used to understand the human mind, and how it differs from AI. Tom and Greg discuss the origins of the surprising convergence of psychology and computer science over the last 50 years and delve into the work done by the interdisciplinary minds who made it happen. They also cover how psychology and linguistics impact the current world of machine learning and AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 635 2378b0b7-1fe9-4828-a6e4-a5e2b61cf8c4 634. Gaming Life: The Philosophy of Play and Metrics with C. Thi Nguyen When the concept of ‘gamifying life’ comes up, scoring is transparent and portable but strips nuance, creating a gap between what’s measurable and what matters. When codifying everything through metrics, massive amounts of nuance is lost, so how can we utilize game theory without reducing everything to a high score?

C. Thi Nguyen is a professor of philosophy at the University of Utah. He is also the author of the books The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game, The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Games, and Games: Agency As Art.

Greg and Thi discuss the differences between genuine gameplay and institutional metrics and gamification. Thi explains Huizinga’s “magic circle” concept, where games create a temporary space with altered meanings and low real-world stakes, enabling intense striving without value capture. Drawing also on Bernard Suits, Thi frames games as voluntarily taking on unnecessary obstacles and distinguishes achievement play (valuing winning) from striving play (valuing the struggle), separating these from intrinsic vs extrinsic motivations. 

They discuss how clear scoring is transparent and portable but strips nuance, creating a gap between what’s measurable and what matters; transparency can reduce bias yet undermine expertise. Examples include social media likes, quotas, education metrics, sports rule changes, cooking “recipe vs dish,” and academia’s citation and ranking pressures.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The paradox on inefficiency

08:31: To play a game is to voluntarily take on unnecessary obstacles,  to create the possibility of struggling to overcome them, which I find, it’s got to be to be inefficient, but interestingly not fully inefficient. So we're not trying to be as inefficient as possible. One of the ways to put the paradox of games is we take on an inefficiency and then we try to be as efficient as possible inside that inefficiency.

The trap of simple scoring

04:00: One of the biggest differences between real games and the kinds of gamifications of work and education that we find is that gamifications are attempts to modify things into line with simple scoring systems that occur continuously with the rest of life that have direct connections to valuable resources.

Collapsing the magic circle

05:08: Twitter likes and citation rates and gamified work are modifications of something that has preexisting value, preexisting activity. So I think the important thing about Twitter, X, Facebook is those scoring systems don't occur in a magic circle. They don't occur in a space with separated meaning. They modify our activities in the real world and change our attitudes and interactions over real world resources. So I think exactly like this easy glide from games or grudge to like we should gamify everything ignores one of the most crucial elements, which is some version of this magic circle is basically active in a lot of genuine gameplay, but is completely inactive, is completely canceled. We have the superficiality of scoring systems and game-ishness, but deep down we don't have the core guts of transferring into a temporary alternate meaning space whose meanings kind of can be held relatively isolated.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

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

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When the concept of ‘gamifying life’ comes up, scoring is transparent and portable but strips nuance, creating a gap between what’s measurable and what matters. When codifying everything through metrics, massive amounts of nuance is lost, so how can we utilize game theory without reducing everything to a high score?

C. Thi Nguyen is a professor of philosophy at the University of Utah. He is also the author of the books The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game, The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Games, and Games: Agency As Art.

Greg and Thi discuss the differences between genuine gameplay and institutional metrics and gamification. Thi explains Huizinga’s “magic circle” concept, where games create a temporary space with altered meanings and low real-world stakes, enabling intense striving without value capture. Drawing also on Bernard Suits, Thi frames games as voluntarily taking on unnecessary obstacles and distinguishes achievement play (valuing winning) from striving play (valuing the struggle), separating these from intrinsic vs extrinsic motivations. 

They discuss how clear scoring is transparent and portable but strips nuance, creating a gap between what’s measurable and what matters; transparency can reduce bias yet undermine expertise. Examples include social media likes, quotas, education metrics, sports rule changes, cooking “recipe vs dish,” and academia’s citation and ranking pressures.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The paradox on inefficiency

08:31: To play a game is to voluntarily take on unnecessary obstacles,  to create the possibility of struggling to overcome them, which I find, it’s got to be to be inefficient, but interestingly not fully inefficient. So we're not trying to be as inefficient as possible. One of the ways to put the paradox of games is we take on an inefficiency and then we try to be as efficient as possible inside that inefficiency.

The trap of simple scoring

04:00: One of the biggest differences between real games and the kinds of gamifications of work and education that we find is that gamifications are attempts to modify things into line with simple scoring systems that occur continuously with the rest of life that have direct connections to valuable resources.

Collapsing the magic circle

05:08: Twitter likes and citation rates and gamified work are modifications of something that has preexisting value, preexisting activity. So I think the important thing about Twitter, X, Facebook is those scoring systems don't occur in a magic circle. They don't occur in a space with separated meaning. They modify our activities in the real world and change our attitudes and interactions over real world resources. So I think exactly like this easy glide from games or grudge to like we should gamify everything ignores one of the most crucial elements, which is some version of this magic circle is basically active in a lot of genuine gameplay, but is completely inactive, is completely canceled. We have the superficiality of scoring systems and game-ishness, but deep down we don't have the core guts of transferring into a temporary alternate meaning space whose meanings kind of can be held relatively isolated.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 634. Gaming Life: The Philosophy of Play and Metrics with C. Thi Nguyen Greg La Blanc 00:59:33 When the concept of ‘gamifying life’ comes up, scoring is transparent and portable but strips nuance, creating a gap between what’s measurable and what matters. When codifying everything through metrics, massive amounts of nuance is lost, so how can we utilize game theory without reducing everything to a high score? C. Thi Nguyen is a professor of philosophy at the University of Utah. He is also the author of the books The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game, The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Games, and Games: Agency As Art. Greg and Thi discuss the differences between genuine gameplay and institutional metrics and gamification. Thi explains Huizinga’s “magic circle” concept, where games create a temporary space with altered meanings and low real-world stakes, enabling intense striving without value capture. Drawing also on Bernard Suits, Thi frames games as voluntarily taking on unnecessary obstacles and distinguishes achievement play (valuing winning) from striving play (valuing the struggle), separating these from intrinsic vs extrinsic motivations. They discuss how clear scoring is transparent and portable but strips nuance, creating a gap between what’s measurable and what matters; transparency can reduce bias yet undermine expertise. Examples include social media likes, quotas, education metrics, sports rule changes, cooking “recipe vs dish,” and academia’s citation and ranking pressures. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When the concept of ‘gamifying life’ comes up, scoring is transparent and portable but strips nuance, creating a gap between what’s measurable and what matters. When codifying everything through metrics, massive amounts of nuance is lost, so how can we utilize game theory without reducing everything to a high score? C. Thi Nguyen is a professor of philosophy at the University of Utah. He is also the author of the books The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game, The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Games, and Games: Agency As Art. Greg and Thi discuss the differences between genuine gameplay and institutional metrics and gamification. Thi explains Huizinga’s “magic circle” concept, where games create a temporary space with altered meanings and low real-world stakes, enabling intense striving without value capture. Drawing also on Bernard Suits, Thi frames games as voluntarily taking on unnecessary obstacles and distinguishes achievement play (valuing winning) from striving play (valuing the struggle), separating these from intrinsic vs extrinsic motivations. They discuss how clear scoring is transparent and portable but strips nuance, creating a gap between what’s measurable and what matters; transparency can reduce bias yet undermine expertise. Examples include social media likes, quotas, education metrics, sports rule changes, cooking “recipe vs dish,” and academia’s citation and ranking pressures. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 634 1ce6c536-1211-4dfb-83fe-521afa37be5a 633. The Case for Being Human in a Digital World with Christine Rosen While philosophers have long wrestled with questions about technology’s impact on humanity, these questions have taken on a whole new level of urgency and significance with the rise of AI, smartphones, and the Internet. It’s more pressing than ever now to ask: What does it mean to be human? 

Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. Her latest book, The Extinction of Experience, delves into how modern technologies are reshaping what it means to be human by mediating experience, promising convenience and control while subtly narrowing choices and changing social norms. 

Christine and Greg discuss the trade-offs of this digital age: as friction, risk, boredom, and unstructured time disappear, so do the skills and forms of attention that develop through direct interaction with other people and the world. They argue that many of these technologies offer safe simulations of connection that can weaken real relationships, and explore what a renewed humanism would look like.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why technology removes the friction that makes us human

07:37: This is the really seductive thing about these technologies is that they do both at the same time, and they do that by promising us control. And they give us control. If I am having a FaceTime conversation with someone and it gets awkward, or I don't want to continue anymore, I can just press a button and that person disappears. If I'm standing with them face-to-face, I can't really do that. I have to adapt to the situation. I have to deal with it in a completely different way. I would argue a more human way with a lot of friction. So then I learn certain skills of how to be a better human being in those situations. The mediating technology flattens, makes easier, convenient, and more control is promised, and it gives us that.

The hidden value in boredom

28:48: Boredom opens up all kinds of meandering paths in the brain that take you to really interesting places if you let it.

Protecting human relationships in the age of AI

20:44: We are at a crucial moment right now, particularly with the huge push to integrate AI into so many aspects of life, education, work, home, your daily life. I just think that we have this opportunity now to really be clear about what it is we value in human relationships and what makes it unique and distinct and important to protect those relationships.

Why friction and failure are essential for human development

11:21: We learned by failing. We learned with a lot of friction. We learned by having arguments and fights and all that stuff. If kids today don't get that experience as kids in a safe environment with people who love and care for them, when they become adults it is scary because you have to practice. So I would say these are important human skills, and we can no longer take them for granted because there are alternative things to do, like never talk to another human being. But ultimately, I think rates of loneliness and isolation and anxiety suggest that that isn't really the way most people want to live their lives.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast While philosophers have long wrestled with questions about technology’s impact on humanity, these questions have taken on a whole new level of urgency and significance with the rise of AI, smartphones, and the Internet. It’s more pressing than ever now to ask: What does it mean to be human? 

Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. Her latest book, The Extinction of Experience, delves into how modern technologies are reshaping what it means to be human by mediating experience, promising convenience and control while subtly narrowing choices and changing social norms. 

Christine and Greg discuss the trade-offs of this digital age: as friction, risk, boredom, and unstructured time disappear, so do the skills and forms of attention that develop through direct interaction with other people and the world. They argue that many of these technologies offer safe simulations of connection that can weaken real relationships, and explore what a renewed humanism would look like.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why technology removes the friction that makes us human

07:37: This is the really seductive thing about these technologies is that they do both at the same time, and they do that by promising us control. And they give us control. If I am having a FaceTime conversation with someone and it gets awkward, or I don't want to continue anymore, I can just press a button and that person disappears. If I'm standing with them face-to-face, I can't really do that. I have to adapt to the situation. I have to deal with it in a completely different way. I would argue a more human way with a lot of friction. So then I learn certain skills of how to be a better human being in those situations. The mediating technology flattens, makes easier, convenient, and more control is promised, and it gives us that.

The hidden value in boredom

28:48: Boredom opens up all kinds of meandering paths in the brain that take you to really interesting places if you let it.

Protecting human relationships in the age of AI

20:44: We are at a crucial moment right now, particularly with the huge push to integrate AI into so many aspects of life, education, work, home, your daily life. I just think that we have this opportunity now to really be clear about what it is we value in human relationships and what makes it unique and distinct and important to protect those relationships.

Why friction and failure are essential for human development

11:21: We learned by failing. We learned with a lot of friction. We learned by having arguments and fights and all that stuff. If kids today don't get that experience as kids in a safe environment with people who love and care for them, when they become adults it is scary because you have to practice. So I would say these are important human skills, and we can no longer take them for granted because there are alternative things to do, like never talk to another human being. But ultimately, I think rates of loneliness and isolation and anxiety suggest that that isn't really the way most people want to live their lives.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 633. The Case for Being Human in a Digital World with Christine Rosen Greg La Blanc 00:52:50 While philosophers have long wrestled with questions about technology’s impact on humanity, these questions have taken on a whole new level of urgency and significance with the rise of AI, smartphones, and the Internet. It’s more pressing than ever now to ask: What does it mean to be human? Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. Her latest book, The Extinction of Experience, delves into how modern technologies are reshaping what it means to be human by mediating experience, promising convenience and control while subtly narrowing choices and changing social norms. Christine and Greg discuss the trade-offs of this digital age: as friction, risk, boredom, and unstructured time disappear, so do the skills and forms of attention that develop through direct interaction with other people and the world. They argue that many of these technologies offer safe simulations of connection that can weaken real relationships, and explore what a renewed humanism would look like. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* While philosophers have long wrestled with questions about technology’s impact on humanity, these questions have taken on a whole new level of urgency and significance with the rise of AI, smartphones, and the Internet. It’s more pressing than ever now to ask: What does it mean to be human? Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. Her latest book, The Extinction of Experience, delves into how modern technologies are reshaping what it means to be human by mediating experience, promising convenience and control while subtly narrowing choices and changing social norms. Christine and Greg discuss the trade-offs of this digital age: as friction, risk, boredom, and unstructured time disappear, so do the skills and forms of attention that develop through direct interaction with other people and the world. They argue that many of these technologies offer safe simulations of connection that can weaken real relationships, and explore what a renewed humanism would look like. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 633 cad362f5-fb21-4962-87ad-58e825876de3 632. Knowing Yourself, Intuition vs. Reason, and the Crisis of Modern Meaning with J. Eric Oliver How is modern self-knowledge acquired? In what ways can ‘yoga of the mind’ help you find and explore new thoughts and thought processes, giving you ongoing courage to confront discomfort and realign consciousness beyond ego narratives?

J. Eric Oliver is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and is also the author of several books. His latest titles are How To Know Your Self: The Art & Science of Discovering Who You Really Are, Democracy in Suburbia, and Enchanted America: How Intuition & Reason Divide Our Politics.

Greg and Eric discuss Eric’s popular Knowing Yourself course, combining neuroscience, Buddhism, philosophy, psychology, and reflective exercises. Eric explains the evolution of the class from abstract texts to practical self-inquiry aimed at expanding students’ vocabulary of lived experience, identifying unhelpful mental loops, and cultivating empathy by seeing the self as layered processes shared with other beings. He connects this work to his earlier research in Enchanted America on intuition, conspiracy beliefs, and the political rise of intuitionism, arguing that weakened institutional authority and information overload amplify anxiety. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The Gold Star illusion is not an end all be all

30:15: Most high achieving, intellectually engaged people, I think, are brought up with this Gold Star illusion, which is this thing that if I could just collect all of my gold stars, you know, go to the right schools, get the right job, find the right person, buy the right house, then this sort of happily ever after scenario awaits me. And then what most of us find is that even after we collect all these gold stars, the neurosis and anxieties and miseries don't go away. If anything, they become more profound. And so part of what I'm trying to do, at least with my undergraduates, is sort of say, okay, it's helpful if you can sort of, even if you're going to be on the Gold Star trajectory, because that's so powerfully inculcated into you to begin to realize that that's not going to be the end all be all. Because when you get to the end of that gold star rainbow and you realized, “oh, is this all there is?” You won't be at such a loss, and there won't be necessarily the same level of crisis that awaits you.

There is no self as a noun, we are verbs

36:56: There is no self as a noun. We are verbs, we're processes, so we're continually unfolding. And this is great news because we're not stuck in any way. You're not a bad person, you're not a fixed person.

Why the information age makes us anxious

20:06: With the explosion of our information technologies and the ability for someone who has a conspiracy theory to suddenly post things online and have just enormous reach that 20 years ago they wouldn't have, suddenly floods our discourse space with these alternative paradigms and these alternative ways of understanding the world, and the fact that we are so saturated now with information from around the globe. So how can we not be anxious? 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How is modern self-knowledge acquired? In what ways can ‘yoga of the mind’ help you find and explore new thoughts and thought processes, giving you ongoing courage to confront discomfort and realign consciousness beyond ego narratives?

J. Eric Oliver is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and is also the author of several books. His latest titles are How To Know Your Self: The Art & Science of Discovering Who You Really Are, Democracy in Suburbia, and Enchanted America: How Intuition & Reason Divide Our Politics.

Greg and Eric discuss Eric’s popular Knowing Yourself course, combining neuroscience, Buddhism, philosophy, psychology, and reflective exercises. Eric explains the evolution of the class from abstract texts to practical self-inquiry aimed at expanding students’ vocabulary of lived experience, identifying unhelpful mental loops, and cultivating empathy by seeing the self as layered processes shared with other beings. He connects this work to his earlier research in Enchanted America on intuition, conspiracy beliefs, and the political rise of intuitionism, arguing that weakened institutional authority and information overload amplify anxiety. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The Gold Star illusion is not an end all be all

30:15: Most high achieving, intellectually engaged people, I think, are brought up with this Gold Star illusion, which is this thing that if I could just collect all of my gold stars, you know, go to the right schools, get the right job, find the right person, buy the right house, then this sort of happily ever after scenario awaits me. And then what most of us find is that even after we collect all these gold stars, the neurosis and anxieties and miseries don't go away. If anything, they become more profound. And so part of what I'm trying to do, at least with my undergraduates, is sort of say, okay, it's helpful if you can sort of, even if you're going to be on the Gold Star trajectory, because that's so powerfully inculcated into you to begin to realize that that's not going to be the end all be all. Because when you get to the end of that gold star rainbow and you realized, “oh, is this all there is?” You won't be at such a loss, and there won't be necessarily the same level of crisis that awaits you.

There is no self as a noun, we are verbs

36:56: There is no self as a noun. We are verbs, we're processes, so we're continually unfolding. And this is great news because we're not stuck in any way. You're not a bad person, you're not a fixed person.

Why the information age makes us anxious

20:06: With the explosion of our information technologies and the ability for someone who has a conspiracy theory to suddenly post things online and have just enormous reach that 20 years ago they wouldn't have, suddenly floods our discourse space with these alternative paradigms and these alternative ways of understanding the world, and the fact that we are so saturated now with information from around the globe. So how can we not be anxious? 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 632. Knowing Yourself, Intuition vs. Reason, and the Crisis of Modern Meaning with J. Eric Oliver Greg La Blanc 00:58:44 How is modern self-knowledge acquired? In what ways can ‘yoga of the mind’ help you find and explore new thoughts and thought processes, giving you ongoing courage to confront discomfort and realign consciousness beyond ego narratives? J. Eric Oliver is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and is also the author of several books. His latest titles are How To Know Your Self: The Art & Science of Discovering Who You Really Are, Democracy in Suburbia, and Enchanted America: How Intuition & Reason Divide Our Politics. Greg and Eric discuss Eric’s popular Knowing Yourself course, combining neuroscience, Buddhism, philosophy, psychology, and reflective exercises. Eric explains the evolution of the class from abstract texts to practical self-inquiry aimed at expanding students’ vocabulary of lived experience, identifying unhelpful mental loops, and cultivating empathy by seeing the self as layered processes shared with other beings. He connects this work to his earlier research in Enchanted America on intuition, conspiracy beliefs, and the political rise of intuitionism, arguing that weakened institutional authority and information overload amplify anxiety. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How is modern self-knowledge acquired? In what ways can ‘yoga of the mind’ help you find and explore new thoughts and thought processes, giving you ongoing courage to confront discomfort and realign consciousness beyond ego narratives? J. Eric Oliver is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and is also the author of several books. His latest titles are How To Know Your Self: The Art & Science of Discovering Who You Really Are, Democracy in Suburbia, and Enchanted America: How Intuition & Reason Divide Our Politics. Greg and Eric discuss Eric’s popular Knowing Yourself course, combining neuroscience, Buddhism, philosophy, psychology, and reflective exercises. Eric explains the evolution of the class from abstract texts to practical self-inquiry aimed at expanding students’ vocabulary of lived experience, identifying unhelpful mental loops, and cultivating empathy by seeing the self as layered processes shared with other beings. He connects this work to his earlier research in Enchanted America on intuition, conspiracy beliefs, and the political rise of intuitionism, arguing that weakened institutional authority and information overload amplify anxiety. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 632 61d54c91-3e85-4016-b728-5ef959a9fe97 631. A Physicist’s View on the Inherent Risks of Financial Modeling with Emanuel Derman What do particle physicists and Wall Street traders have in common? How did finance become more like physics, and how is physics now becoming more like finance?

Emanuel Derman is an emeritus professor at Columbia in financial engineering and the author of several books, including My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance and Models. Behaving. Badly.: Why Confusing Illusion with Reality Can Lead to Disaster, on Wall Street and in Life. His work examines the entanglement of physics and finance, using memoir to reveal hidden truths about the theories and models practitioners rely on. 

Greg and Emanuel discuss his transition from physics to Wall Street, revealing that he found finance to be more social and creative. They also explore how early quant work required both theory and hands-on programming, what distinguishes models from theories, and why, despite some superficial similarities, the fields of finance and physics couldn’t be more different.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Financial models require confidence without hubris

29:29: In my life as a quant, I think I said you had to be cocky when you were using models and push them as far as you possibly could, but stop short of hubris, and I think that's important. You ought to understand that your model isn't going to be correct. In the end, the world is going to violate it.

When physics meets social sciences

09:35: I think to some extent they [psychists] confuse accuracy with point of view. Even progressive theories get more and more accurate. Newton's laws aren't as accurate as relativity, but they still, both theories, the one just does better than the other, but they still have this nature of saying, let me describe the way the world works rather than, let me make an analogy.

Why model builders must explain where models fail

30:46: There's a clear distinction between concentrators to tell the people that use it that this is where it's going to fail, as best I can see. And they'll use it in this regime. And these are the assumptions I'm making. Don't just let them run wild with the formula. I think traders are smarter now and more numerate and maybe understand this better, but I think that's important.

Why financial engineers need perspective beyond mathematics 

28:13: I don't think one should be teaching philosophy necessarily, but I think one should learn enough to know about the history of finance and to be able to back off a little and look at what you're doing. Not just, I don't know. I have a feeling more and more of the programs focus on mathematics and behavioral psychology.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What do particle physicists and Wall Street traders have in common? How did finance become more like physics, and how is physics now becoming more like finance?

Emanuel Derman is an emeritus professor at Columbia in financial engineering and the author of several books, including My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance and Models. Behaving. Badly.: Why Confusing Illusion with Reality Can Lead to Disaster, on Wall Street and in Life. His work examines the entanglement of physics and finance, using memoir to reveal hidden truths about the theories and models practitioners rely on. 

Greg and Emanuel discuss his transition from physics to Wall Street, revealing that he found finance to be more social and creative. They also explore how early quant work required both theory and hands-on programming, what distinguishes models from theories, and why, despite some superficial similarities, the fields of finance and physics couldn’t be more different.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Financial models require confidence without hubris

29:29: In my life as a quant, I think I said you had to be cocky when you were using models and push them as far as you possibly could, but stop short of hubris, and I think that's important. You ought to understand that your model isn't going to be correct. In the end, the world is going to violate it.

When physics meets social sciences

09:35: I think to some extent they [psychists] confuse accuracy with point of view. Even progressive theories get more and more accurate. Newton's laws aren't as accurate as relativity, but they still, both theories, the one just does better than the other, but they still have this nature of saying, let me describe the way the world works rather than, let me make an analogy.

Why model builders must explain where models fail

30:46: There's a clear distinction between concentrators to tell the people that use it that this is where it's going to fail, as best I can see. And they'll use it in this regime. And these are the assumptions I'm making. Don't just let them run wild with the formula. I think traders are smarter now and more numerate and maybe understand this better, but I think that's important.

Why financial engineers need perspective beyond mathematics 

28:13: I don't think one should be teaching philosophy necessarily, but I think one should learn enough to know about the history of finance and to be able to back off a little and look at what you're doing. Not just, I don't know. I have a feeling more and more of the programs focus on mathematics and behavioral psychology.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 631. A Physicist’s View on the Inherent Risks of Financial Modeling with Emanuel Derman Greg La Blanc 00:46:54 What do particle physicists and Wall Street traders have in common? How did finance become more like physics, and how is physics now becoming more like finance? Emanuel Derman is an emeritus professor at Columbia in financial engineering and the author of several books including, My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance and Models. Behaving. Badly.: Why Confusing Illusion with Reality Can Lead to Disaster, on Wall Street and in Life. His work examines the entanglement of physics and finance, using memoir to reveal hidden truths about the theories and models practitioners rely on. Greg and Emanuel discuss his transition from physics to Wall Street, revealing that he found finance to be more social and creative. They also explore how early quant work required both theory and hands-on programming, what distinguishes models from theories, and why, despite some superficial similarities, the fields of finance and physics couldn’t be more different. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What do particle physicists and Wall Street traders have in common? How did finance become more like physics, and how is physics now becoming more like finance? Emanuel Derman is an emeritus professor at Columbia in financial engineering and the author of several books including, My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance and Models. Behaving. Badly.: Why Confusing Illusion with Reality Can Lead to Disaster, on Wall Street and in Life. His work examines the entanglement of physics and finance, using memoir to reveal hidden truths about the theories and models practitioners rely on. Greg and Emanuel discuss his transition from physics to Wall Street, revealing that he found finance to be more social and creative. They also explore how early quant work required both theory and hands-on programming, what distinguishes models from theories, and why, despite some superficial similarities, the fields of finance and physics couldn’t be more different. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 631 a50fc234-95c8-45a7-91d7-f9701245a261 630. What Evolutionary Psychology Gets Wrong About Dating and Attraction with Paul Eastwick Romantic relationships are something uniquely human — we form attachments and perceive compatibility in ways no other species does. So what explains the idiosyncratic preferences people have for one potential partner over another? And why have popular conceptions based on evolutionary psychology been wrong about when it comes to how humans choose their mates? 

Psychology professor Paul Eastwick is the head of UC Davis’ Social-Personality Psychology program and the director of the Attraction and Relationships Research Lab. His book, Bonded by Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection, challenges society’s core assumptions about attraction and compatibility, and presents new findings on the key to long-lasting commitment. He also co-hosts the podcast, Love Factually, with his colleague Eli Finkel, which explores the science of relationships through film. 

Paul and Greg discuss how a distorted view of evolutionary psychology has perpetuated inaccurate ideas about dating and relationships, the effect online dating has had on intensifying competition and gender differences, and some key tips for building strong, long-lasting connections. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why dating apps can’t replace real romantic connections

39:57: The apps make you think like a romantic connection is right there. Like maybe it will be tonight. I would encourage people instead to think about what is it like just to hang out with other people and give the romantic possibilities some time to fall out of those networks a little bit more organically, a little bit more naturally. It takes a while. Like it can take quite a long time, especially like if we haven't been tending to our networks recently, but nevertheless, like this is at least an approach that people should be supplementing with their online dating if, if they're going to continue to use the apps.

​​Why are some couples happy and some are not?

22:46: Compatibility, how well two people fit together. That is probably explaining the lion’s share of why some couples are happy and some couples are not. Rather than this idea that like, oh, you got a good long-term partner, that's probably not the best way to think about it.

Compatibility is something couples build together

25:17: Compatibility can be many, many things. It can be like, we seem to get along and coordinate well. It could be about our easy flowing conversation, but it also could be about how we get through the day. And often that's what relationships are. It's an interdependent web of goals and preferences and values that two people negotiate together. And it's very hard for people to know how that negotiation is going to turn out until they really dig in and start to try to do it.

The evolutionary mismatch behind modern dating

45:44: What I think is deeply ironic is that some of the earliest evolutionary psychological findings happened to be the ones that reinforced the view that really fits this hierarchy idea, the mismatch component of it. So it's like, I love the idea of the evolutionary mismatch, thinking deeply about the environment in which we evolved. My problem is like a lot of the early ev psych ideas actually weren't doing that all that, all that well, that in reality, right? We evolved in small groups. You got to know a limited number of potential partners. There were going to be other people involved trying to shape, you know, who you spent time with and who you got to meet. It wasn't this dramatic marketplace of inequality.

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

]]> Mon, 16 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Romantic relationships are something uniquely human — we form attachments and perceive compatibility in ways no other species does. So what explains the idiosyncratic preferences people have for one potential partner over another? And why have popular conceptions based on evolutionary psychology been wrong about when it comes to how humans choose their mates? 

Psychology professor Paul Eastwick is the head of UC Davis’ Social-Personality Psychology program and the director of the Attraction and Relationships Research Lab. His book, Bonded by Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection, challenges society’s core assumptions about attraction and compatibility, and presents new findings on the key to long-lasting commitment. He also co-hosts the podcast, Love Factually, with his colleague Eli Finkel, which explores the science of relationships through film. 

Paul and Greg discuss how a distorted view of evolutionary psychology has perpetuated inaccurate ideas about dating and relationships, the effect online dating has had on intensifying competition and gender differences, and some key tips for building strong, long-lasting connections. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why dating apps can’t replace real romantic connections

39:57: The apps make you think like a romantic connection is right there. Like maybe it will be tonight. I would encourage people instead to think about what is it like just to hang out with other people and give the romantic possibilities some time to fall out of those networks a little bit more organically, a little bit more naturally. It takes a while. Like it can take quite a long time, especially like if we haven't been tending to our networks recently, but nevertheless, like this is at least an approach that people should be supplementing with their online dating if, if they're going to continue to use the apps.

​​Why are some couples happy and some are not?

22:46: Compatibility, how well two people fit together. That is probably explaining the lion’s share of why some couples are happy and some couples are not. Rather than this idea that like, oh, you got a good long-term partner, that's probably not the best way to think about it.

Compatibility is something couples build together

25:17: Compatibility can be many, many things. It can be like, we seem to get along and coordinate well. It could be about our easy flowing conversation, but it also could be about how we get through the day. And often that's what relationships are. It's an interdependent web of goals and preferences and values that two people negotiate together. And it's very hard for people to know how that negotiation is going to turn out until they really dig in and start to try to do it.

The evolutionary mismatch behind modern dating

45:44: What I think is deeply ironic is that some of the earliest evolutionary psychological findings happened to be the ones that reinforced the view that really fits this hierarchy idea, the mismatch component of it. So it's like, I love the idea of the evolutionary mismatch, thinking deeply about the environment in which we evolved. My problem is like a lot of the early ev psych ideas actually weren't doing that all that, all that well, that in reality, right? We evolved in small groups. You got to know a limited number of potential partners. There were going to be other people involved trying to shape, you know, who you spent time with and who you got to meet. It wasn't this dramatic marketplace of inequality.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 630. What Evolutionary Psychology Gets Wrong About Dating and Attraction with Paul Eastwick Greg La Blanc 00:57:35 Romantic relationships are something uniquely human — we form attachments and perceive compatibility in ways no other species does. So what explains the idiosyncratic preferences people have for one potential partner over another? And why have popular conceptions based on evolutionary psychology been wrong about when it comes to how humans choose their mates? Psychology professor Paul Eastwick is the head of UC Davis’ Social-Personality Psychology program and the director of the Attraction and Relationships Research Lab. His book, Bonded by Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection, challenges society’s core assumptions about attraction and compatibility, and presents new findings on the key to long-lasting commitment. He also co-hosts the podcast, Love Factually, with his colleague Eli Finkel, which explores the science of relationships through film. Paul and Greg discuss how a distorted view of evolutionary psychology has perpetuated inaccurate ideas about dating and relationships, the effect online dating has had on intensifying competition and gender differences, and some key tips for building strong, long-lasting connections. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Romantic relationships are something uniquely human — we form attachments and perceive compatibility in ways no other species does. So what explains the idiosyncratic preferences people have for one potential partner over another? And why have popular conceptions based on evolutionary psychology been wrong about when it comes to how humans choose their mates? Psychology professor Paul Eastwick is the head of UC Davis’ Social-Personality Psychology program and the director of the Attraction and Relationships Research Lab. His book, Bonded by Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection, challenges society’s core assumptions about attraction and compatibility, and presents new findings on the key to long-lasting commitment. He also co-hosts the podcast, Love Factually, with his colleague Eli Finkel, which explores the science of relationships through film. Paul and Greg discuss how a distorted view of evolutionary psychology has perpetuated inaccurate ideas about dating and relationships, the effect online dating has had on intensifying competition and gender differences, and some key tips for building strong, long-lasting connections. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 630 87c3916b-5ef3-4ecf-8e83-0c7f4a5f6b03 629. Beyond Happiness: The Deep Longing to Matter with Rebecca Goldstein What if the tale of Genesis were reframed as a story of humanity’s ascent into awareness of mortality and entropy? How are both connectedness and a “mattering project” key to flourishing as an individual?

Rebecca Goldstein is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away, and The Mind-Body Problem.

Greg and Rebecca discuss how the ideas in her new book, The Mattering Instinct, trace back to her novel, The Mind-Body Problem. Rebecca details a long-developed theory of human motivation: beyond survival and pleasure, humans are “creatures of matter who long to matter,” driven to justify themselves in their own eyes (homo justificans). To Rebecca, this is linked to self-reflection, theory of mind, and existential “absurdity.” This episode will outline some mattering strategies and also discuss personality links, ethics, and concerns about AI.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

We are creatures of matter who long to matter

08:21: What we are are creatures of matter who long to matter. I love that we can do that in English. You know, we can't do it; it can't be replicated in other languages. But thank goodness for English, two amazing words: the noun matter and the verb matter.

Why everyone needs to feel like they matter

04:23: Look, everybody needs to feel like they matter. Then there's a great diversity of ways in which we might try to prove to ourselves that we matter.

The human search for values

15:11: Entering into this world of entropy, where everything eventually runs out of energy and does die, the universe itself will run out of energy and thermal equilibrium that awaits the universe, with that stepping out of paradise. They took on the burden, but the dignity of being human, of trying to justify becoming Homo Justific, becoming creatures who are in search of values that will justify them in their own eyes. We come up with a whole bunch of values, and we disagree tremendously about these values, but there's something so grand about being creatures who need values in order to be able to  live with themselves, even if they're bad values, but that we bring values into the universe because we are creatures longing to matter.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if the tale of Genesis were reframed as a story of humanity’s ascent into awareness of mortality and entropy? How are both connectedness and a “mattering project” key to flourishing as an individual?

Rebecca Goldstein is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away, and The Mind-Body Problem.

Greg and Rebecca discuss how the ideas in her new book, The Mattering Instinct, trace back to her novel, The Mind-Body Problem. Rebecca details a long-developed theory of human motivation: beyond survival and pleasure, humans are “creatures of matter who long to matter,” driven to justify themselves in their own eyes (homo justificans). To Rebecca, this is linked to self-reflection, theory of mind, and existential “absurdity.” This episode will outline some mattering strategies and also discuss personality links, ethics, and concerns about AI.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

We are creatures of matter who long to matter

08:21: What we are are creatures of matter who long to matter. I love that we can do that in English. You know, we can't do it; it can't be replicated in other languages. But thank goodness for English, two amazing words: the noun matter and the verb matter.

Why everyone needs to feel like they matter

04:23: Look, everybody needs to feel like they matter. Then there's a great diversity of ways in which we might try to prove to ourselves that we matter.

The human search for values

15:11: Entering into this world of entropy, where everything eventually runs out of energy and does die, the universe itself will run out of energy and thermal equilibrium that awaits the universe, with that stepping out of paradise. They took on the burden, but the dignity of being human, of trying to justify becoming Homo Justific, becoming creatures who are in search of values that will justify them in their own eyes. We come up with a whole bunch of values, and we disagree tremendously about these values, but there's something so grand about being creatures who need values in order to be able to  live with themselves, even if they're bad values, but that we bring values into the universe because we are creatures longing to matter.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 629. Beyond Happiness: The Deep Longing to Matter with Rebecca Goldstein Greg La Blanc 00:52:50 What if the tale of Genesis were reframed as a story of humanity’s ascent into awareness of mortality and entropy? How are both connectedness and a “mattering project” key to flourishing as an individual? Rebecca Goldstein is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away, and The Mind-Body Problem. Greg and Rebecca discuss how the ideas in her new book, The Mattering Instinct, trace back to her novel, The Mind-Body Problem. Rebecca details a long-developed theory of human motivation: beyond survival and pleasure, humans are “creatures of matter who long to matter,” driven to justify themselves in their own eyes (homo justificans). To Rebecca, this is linked to self-reflection, theory of mind, and existential “absurdity.” This episode will outline some mattering strategies and also discuss personality links, ethics, and concerns about AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What if the tale of Genesis were reframed as a story of humanity’s ascent into awareness of mortality and entropy? How are both connectedness and a “mattering project” key to flourishing as an individual? Rebecca Goldstein is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away, and The Mind-Body Problem. Greg and Rebecca discuss how the ideas in her new book, The Mattering Instinct, trace back to her novel, The Mind-Body Problem. Rebecca details a long-developed theory of human motivation: beyond survival and pleasure, humans are “creatures of matter who long to matter,” driven to justify themselves in their own eyes (homo justificans). To Rebecca, this is linked to self-reflection, theory of mind, and existential “absurdity.” This episode will outline some mattering strategies and also discuss personality links, ethics, and concerns about AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 629 75b36727-f645-4d3a-99d7-3764e877e52e 628. The Civic Bargain: Democracy, Knowledge, and the Challenge of Scale with Josiah Ober A key precondition for democracy is civic trust and commitment to common goods; polarization and party identity undermine this, worsened by modern communication technologies that enable separate realities.

Josiah Ober is a professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University and also the author and co-author of several books about Athens, Civics, and Ancient Democracy. His latest title is The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives. 

Greg asks Josiah about his work linking ancient Athens to modern democracy and organizational design. Josiah argues that political science necessarily blends positive and normative theory, joining rational self-interest with ethical reasoning to secure both stability and the good. He also compares firms and states as purposeful organizations governed by rules, incentives, and norms, noting that democracies struggle to scale but can outperform hierarchies by aggregating dispersed knowledge if institutions align incentives and citizens share information. Josiah emphasizes civics as teachable skills—listening, bargaining, and positive-sum compromise. He makes an appeal for renewed civics education informed by history and classical thinkers, including a rehabilitated view of the sophists and strategic reasoning.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why democracies know more than hierarchies

14:58: The democratic system, intrinsically, knows more than a highly hierarchical boss centered system, simply because those who see themselves as citizens have reason to share what they know. Those who are subjects have reasons to not share what they know. Therefore, it is possible for a democracy for reasons that, you know, Friedrich Hayek talked about in terms of why markets work, because all of that information comes together in, you know, producing a price, it is possible for well-structured democracies to bring in a great deal of information. From a great deal of people who have very different experiences, know different things, to solve the problems that they need to solve.

Does democracy only work when the design is right?

15:45: You have to have the right kind of organization, not only of, sort of voting and so on, but of incentives for people to bring what they know to the right place at the right time, not to the wrong place at the wrong time. And that is hard to do. You get it right and you get this tremendous success. You get it wrong and it does not work very well. 

Politics should work like buying a car

32:22: When we go into the political regime space nowadays, it's that, well, compromise is bad now. We gave up, they won. The imagination now of politics is something like a football game in which there's a winner and a loser, and the winners cheer and the losers cry. But that's not what politics is. It is much more like buying a used car.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:28:06 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast A key precondition for democracy is civic trust and commitment to common goods; polarization and party identity undermine this, worsened by modern communication technologies that enable separate realities.

Josiah Ober is a professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University and also the author and co-author of several books about Athens, Civics, and Ancient Democracy. His latest title is The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives. 

Greg asks Josiah about his work linking ancient Athens to modern democracy and organizational design. Josiah argues that political science necessarily blends positive and normative theory, joining rational self-interest with ethical reasoning to secure both stability and the good. He also compares firms and states as purposeful organizations governed by rules, incentives, and norms, noting that democracies struggle to scale but can outperform hierarchies by aggregating dispersed knowledge if institutions align incentives and citizens share information. Josiah emphasizes civics as teachable skills—listening, bargaining, and positive-sum compromise. He makes an appeal for renewed civics education informed by history and classical thinkers, including a rehabilitated view of the sophists and strategic reasoning.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why democracies know more than hierarchies

14:58: The democratic system, intrinsically, knows more than a highly hierarchical boss centered system, simply because those who see themselves as citizens have reason to share what they know. Those who are subjects have reasons to not share what they know. Therefore, it is possible for a democracy for reasons that, you know, Friedrich Hayek talked about in terms of why markets work, because all of that information comes together in, you know, producing a price, it is possible for well-structured democracies to bring in a great deal of information. From a great deal of people who have very different experiences, know different things, to solve the problems that they need to solve.

Does democracy only work when the design is right?

15:45: You have to have the right kind of organization, not only of, sort of voting and so on, but of incentives for people to bring what they know to the right place at the right time, not to the wrong place at the wrong time. And that is hard to do. You get it right and you get this tremendous success. You get it wrong and it does not work very well. 

Politics should work like buying a car

32:22: When we go into the political regime space nowadays, it's that, well, compromise is bad now. We gave up, they won. The imagination now of politics is something like a football game in which there's a winner and a loser, and the winners cheer and the losers cry. But that's not what politics is. It is much more like buying a used car.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 628. The Civic Bargain: Democracy, Knowledge, and the Challenge of Scale with Josiah Ober Greg La Blanc 00:55:25 A key precondition for democracy is civic trust and commitment to common goods; polarization and party identity undermine this, worsened by modern communication technologies that enable separate realities. Josiah Ober is a professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University and also the author and co-author of several books about Athens, Civics, and Ancient Democracy. His latest title is The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives. Greg asks Josiah about his work linking ancient Athens to modern democracy and organizational design. Josiah argues that political science necessarily blends positive and normative theory, joining rational self-interest with ethical reasoning to secure both stability and the good. He also compares firms and states as purposeful organizations governed by rules, incentives, and norms, noting that democracies struggle to scale but can outperform hierarchies by aggregating dispersed knowledge if institutions align incentives and citizens share information. Josiah emphasizes civics as teachable skills—listening, bargaining, and positive-sum compromise. He makes an appeal for renewed civics education informed by history and classical thinkers, including a rehabilitated view of the sophists and strategic reasoning. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* A key precondition for democracy is civic trust and commitment to common goods; polarization and party identity undermine this, worsened by modern communication technologies that enable separate realities. Josiah Ober is a professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University and also the author and co-author of several books about Athens, Civics, and Ancient Democracy. His latest title is The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives. Greg asks Josiah about his work linking ancient Athens to modern democracy and organizational design. Josiah argues that political science necessarily blends positive and normative theory, joining rational self-interest with ethical reasoning to secure both stability and the good. He also compares firms and states as purposeful organizations governed by rules, incentives, and norms, noting that democracies struggle to scale but can outperform hierarchies by aggregating dispersed knowledge if institutions align incentives and citizens share information. Josiah emphasizes civics as teachable skills—listening, bargaining, and positive-sum compromise. He makes an appeal for renewed civics education informed by history and classical thinkers, including a rehabilitated view of the sophists and strategic reasoning. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 628 8fff9876-9bf1-44dc-8d4f-096735da8026 627. Unlocking the Secrets of Love and Happiness with Sonja Lyubomirsky How important are relationships and the feeling of being loved to human happiness? How have the fields of happiness studies and relationship studies converged? 

Sonja Lyubomirsky is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. She is also the author or co-author of the books How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most, The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want, and The Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, but Doesn't, What Shouldn't Make You Happy, but Does.

Greg and Sonja discuss her shift from happiness research to her co-authored book with Harry Reis, How to Feel Loved. Sonja explains that many happiness interventions (gratitude letters, kindness practices, and variations like texting gratitude vs. social media posting vs. private writing) work largely because they increase feelings of love and connection

They also discuss why listening is difficult, with Sonja sharing her experience in a Tel Aviv listening workshop, and the need for compassion and a growth mindset. Other themes include the Michelangelo effect (helping others become who they aspire to be), balancing sharing and listening (avoiding monologues or interrogations), appropriate vulnerability and gradual self-disclosure, and the “multiplicity” mindset of seeing people as complex quilts of good and bad traits to reduce harsh judgment. 

The episode also considers whether people can feel loved without being loved, including AI companions that can mimic excellent listening but lack a genuine open heart, and the risk that some people may substitute simulated relationships for real ones. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What’s the distinction between being loved and feeling loved?

07:42: A lot of us are loved, but we do not feel loved. So we might have, we might know that our partner loves us or child, or a family member or friend or colleague. But we do not really feel loved. And when you think about it, feeling loved is what really matters even more, right? Because if, you know, if you love me, but I do not feel loved by you, it is almost like you do not love me, right? Like, because I am not really sensing that, and so feeling loved is really important. That is what really matters to happiness.

The key to feeling loved is really to be known and to know the other

10:16: The key to feeling loved is really to be known and to know the other, and we get known by taking the wall down a little bit. And I get to know you if I help you take your wall down. How do I help you take your wall down? By showing curiosity. Then hopefully you will start to open up a little bit. I show even more curiosity. I ask you questions and I l truly listen, not really just try to fix it or help you or tell my own story. I just listen to learn.

The first step to feel more loved

09:11: If I want to feel more loved, the first step, which may sound counterintuitive, is to help the other person feel loved first. You go first. I go first. The first step is to show genuine curiosity in the other person, in their inner life and the details of their day, their dreams, goals, values, fears. We all want that. We want to be seen, we want to be heard, and we do not get genuine curiosity very often. When was the last time you remember telling a story about yourself and the other person was so curious they could not wait for you to finish the sentence? It is rare. When it happens, it is priceless. That is such a gift to someone, to show authentic curiosity in them. It has to be authentic because you cannot fake it. That is the first step. You help the person be seen by showing curiosity in them, and that helps them open up more.

Real connection requires both listening and sharing

18:48: If you only share, it is a monologue. You are spouting off. If you only listen, then it is an interview. It is an interrogation sometimes. You really need to do both. They go together. That is where the emotional intelligence comes in. Because when you are sharing, the entire time you are sharing, and we all know people who do not do this, they go off and they seem to not see any cues that the other person is not interested in continuing the story.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Fri, 6 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How important are relationships and the feeling of being loved to human happiness? How have the fields of happiness studies and relationship studies converged? 

Sonja Lyubomirsky is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. She is also the author or co-author of the books How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most, The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want, and The Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, but Doesn't, What Shouldn't Make You Happy, but Does.

Greg and Sonja discuss her shift from happiness research to her co-authored book with Harry Reis, How to Feel Loved. Sonja explains that many happiness interventions (gratitude letters, kindness practices, and variations like texting gratitude vs. social media posting vs. private writing) work largely because they increase feelings of love and connection

They also discuss why listening is difficult, with Sonja sharing her experience in a Tel Aviv listening workshop, and the need for compassion and a growth mindset. Other themes include the Michelangelo effect (helping others become who they aspire to be), balancing sharing and listening (avoiding monologues or interrogations), appropriate vulnerability and gradual self-disclosure, and the “multiplicity” mindset of seeing people as complex quilts of good and bad traits to reduce harsh judgment. 

The episode also considers whether people can feel loved without being loved, including AI companions that can mimic excellent listening but lack a genuine open heart, and the risk that some people may substitute simulated relationships for real ones. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What’s the distinction between being loved and feeling loved?

07:42: A lot of us are loved, but we do not feel loved. So we might have, we might know that our partner loves us or child, or a family member or friend or colleague. But we do not really feel loved. And when you think about it, feeling loved is what really matters even more, right? Because if, you know, if you love me, but I do not feel loved by you, it is almost like you do not love me, right? Like, because I am not really sensing that, and so feeling loved is really important. That is what really matters to happiness.

The key to feeling loved is really to be known and to know the other

10:16: The key to feeling loved is really to be known and to know the other, and we get known by taking the wall down a little bit. And I get to know you if I help you take your wall down. How do I help you take your wall down? By showing curiosity. Then hopefully you will start to open up a little bit. I show even more curiosity. I ask you questions and I l truly listen, not really just try to fix it or help you or tell my own story. I just listen to learn.

The first step to feel more loved

09:11: If I want to feel more loved, the first step, which may sound counterintuitive, is to help the other person feel loved first. You go first. I go first. The first step is to show genuine curiosity in the other person, in their inner life and the details of their day, their dreams, goals, values, fears. We all want that. We want to be seen, we want to be heard, and we do not get genuine curiosity very often. When was the last time you remember telling a story about yourself and the other person was so curious they could not wait for you to finish the sentence? It is rare. When it happens, it is priceless. That is such a gift to someone, to show authentic curiosity in them. It has to be authentic because you cannot fake it. That is the first step. You help the person be seen by showing curiosity in them, and that helps them open up more.

Real connection requires both listening and sharing

18:48: If you only share, it is a monologue. You are spouting off. If you only listen, then it is an interview. It is an interrogation sometimes. You really need to do both. They go together. That is where the emotional intelligence comes in. Because when you are sharing, the entire time you are sharing, and we all know people who do not do this, they go off and they seem to not see any cues that the other person is not interested in continuing the story.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> 627. Unlocking the Secrets of Love and Happiness with Sonja Lyubomirsky Greg La Blanc 00:44:06 How important are relationships and the feeling of being loved to human happiness? How have the fields of happiness studies and relationship studies converged? Sonja Lyubomirsky is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. She is also the author or co-author of the books How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most, The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want, and The Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, but Doesn't, What Shouldn't Make You Happy, but Does. Greg and Sonja discuss her shift from happiness research to her co-authored book with Harry Reis, How to Feel Loved. Sonja explains that many happiness interventions (gratitude letters, kindness practices, and variations like texting gratitude vs. social media posting vs. private writing) work largely because they increase feelings of love and connection They also discuss why listening is difficult, with Sonja sharing her experience in a Tel Aviv listening workshop, and the need for compassion and a growth mindset. Other themes include the Michelangelo effect (helping others become who they aspire to be), balancing sharing and listening (avoiding monologues or interrogations), appropriate vulnerability and gradual self-disclosure, and the “multiplicity” mindset of seeing people as complex quilts of good and bad traits to reduce harsh judgment. The episode also considers whether people can feel loved without being loved, including AI companions that can mimic excellent listening but lack a genuine open heart, and the risk that some people may substitute simulated relationships for real ones. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How important are relationships and the feeling of being loved to human happiness? How have the fields of happiness studies and relationship studies converged? Sonja Lyubomirsky is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. She is also the author or co-author of the books How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most, The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want, and The Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, but Doesn't, What Shouldn't Make You Happy, but Does. Greg and Sonja discuss her shift from happiness research to her co-authored book with Harry Reis, How to Feel Loved. Sonja explains that many happiness interventions (gratitude letters, kindness practices, and variations like texting gratitude vs. social media posting vs. private writing) work largely because they increase feelings of love and connection They also discuss why listening is difficult, with Sonja sharing her experience in a Tel Aviv listening workshop, and the need for compassion and a growth mindset. Other themes include the Michelangelo effect (helping others become who they aspire to be), balancing sharing and listening (avoiding monologues or interrogations), appropriate vulnerability and gradual self-disclosure, and the “multiplicity” mindset of seeing people as complex quilts of good and bad traits to reduce harsh judgment. The episode also considers whether people can feel loved without being loved, including AI companions that can mimic excellent listening but lack a genuine open heart, and the risk that some people may substitute simulated relationships for real ones. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 627 4d10d9be-0f02-4741-a1e7-9d232c8b6bf6 626. Connective Labor: The Art of Human Connection in a Disconnected World with Allison J. Pugh How could AI shift medical value toward primary care relationships if pattern-recognition specialties are more automatable? What would people prefer if given the choice between discussing their problems with a human or with non-judgmental empathic AI?

Allison J. Pugh is a Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University and the author of several books. Her most recent works are The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World and The Tumbleweed Society: Working and Caring in an Age of Insecurity.

Greg and Allison discuss Allison’s newest book and her concept of “connective labor,” defined as the relational practice of seeing another person and having them feel seen. They also contrast this idea with more individual-centered ideas like EQ. Allison argues that this type of work is reciprocal, widespread across roles (therapists, teachers, chaplains, primary care, managers, service work), and increasingly important as the economy shifts toward requiring more “feeling.” Allison also talks about how AI is being used in new ways to help automate different aspects of different jobs, and along with that come connected effects like the rise of automated medical scribes amongst the medical community, but also the drastic reduction of interns and the near elimination of that valuable aspect of education and job training for an intern’s future professional life. They also discuss how the different efficiency tools can backfire because of the increased need to oversee and validate automated output.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why friction is essential to human connection

17:26: Part of the relationship with another human being involves the friction of not being able to control what they say, of running up against their disagreement or conflict or even tension, or they have their own ideas, their own desires. And that is part of making our way through this world, and it is a really important part of being in community, in relationship with other human beings. And that is what chatbots do not give us. They give us no friction.

AI is mirror, not a relationship

17:08: So with chatbots, you are not really experimenting how to be with another human being. You are instead experimenting with a mirror, and that is just not going to have the same powerful impact.

Who gets humans, and who gets machines?

12:27: The idea that technology will be better than nothing, I am afraid, will not lead to greater opportunities to be seen, for less advantaged people. Instead, they will just have machines seeing them, and the rich people get humans seeing them, and that is an inequality that I find kind of tragic.

Seeing people is a leadership skill

49:52: When people have a chance to kind of express their values at work, figure out who they are and have their values kind of enacted in their work and kind of basically attach a purpose to what they are doing, a more transcendent purpose than just kind of earning the paycheck, it translates into a kind of deep meaningfulness, and that is part of the outcome of connective labor. And so it is really worth it for managers to get good at this because it enables people, the people they are seeing, to figure out what matters to them and to find that in relationships at work. That is a path to meaningfulness that can be very important.

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]]> Wed, 4 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How could AI shift medical value toward primary care relationships if pattern-recognition specialties are more automatable? What would people prefer if given the choice between discussing their problems with a human or with non-judgmental empathic AI?

Allison J. Pugh is a Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University and the author of several books. Her most recent works are The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World and The Tumbleweed Society: Working and Caring in an Age of Insecurity.

Greg and Allison discuss Allison’s newest book and her concept of “connective labor,” defined as the relational practice of seeing another person and having them feel seen. They also contrast this idea with more individual-centered ideas like EQ. Allison argues that this type of work is reciprocal, widespread across roles (therapists, teachers, chaplains, primary care, managers, service work), and increasingly important as the economy shifts toward requiring more “feeling.” Allison also talks about how AI is being used in new ways to help automate different aspects of different jobs, and along with that come connected effects like the rise of automated medical scribes amongst the medical community, but also the drastic reduction of interns and the near elimination of that valuable aspect of education and job training for an intern’s future professional life. They also discuss how the different efficiency tools can backfire because of the increased need to oversee and validate automated output.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why friction is essential to human connection

17:26: Part of the relationship with another human being involves the friction of not being able to control what they say, of running up against their disagreement or conflict or even tension, or they have their own ideas, their own desires. And that is part of making our way through this world, and it is a really important part of being in community, in relationship with other human beings. And that is what chatbots do not give us. They give us no friction.

AI is mirror, not a relationship

17:08: So with chatbots, you are not really experimenting how to be with another human being. You are instead experimenting with a mirror, and that is just not going to have the same powerful impact.

Who gets humans, and who gets machines?

12:27: The idea that technology will be better than nothing, I am afraid, will not lead to greater opportunities to be seen, for less advantaged people. Instead, they will just have machines seeing them, and the rich people get humans seeing them, and that is an inequality that I find kind of tragic.

Seeing people is a leadership skill

49:52: When people have a chance to kind of express their values at work, figure out who they are and have their values kind of enacted in their work and kind of basically attach a purpose to what they are doing, a more transcendent purpose than just kind of earning the paycheck, it translates into a kind of deep meaningfulness, and that is part of the outcome of connective labor. And so it is really worth it for managers to get good at this because it enables people, the people they are seeing, to figure out what matters to them and to find that in relationships at work. That is a path to meaningfulness that can be very important.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 626. Connective Labor: The Art of Human Connection in a Disconnected World with Allison J. Pugh Greg La Blanc 00:52:02 How could AI shift medical value toward primary care relationships if pattern-recognition specialties are more automatable? What would people prefer if given the choice between discussing their problems with a human or with non-judgmental empathic AI? Allison J. Pugh is a Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University and the author of several books. Her most recent works are The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World and The Tumbleweed Society: Working and Caring in an Age of Insecurity. Greg and Allison discuss Allison’s newest book and her concept of “connective labor,” defined as the relational practice of seeing another person and having them feel seen. They also contrast this idea with more individual-centered ideas like EQ. Allison argues that this type of work is reciprocal, widespread across roles (therapists, teachers, chaplains, primary care, managers, service work), and increasingly important as the economy shifts toward requiring more “feeling.” Allison also talks about how AI is being used in new ways to help automate different aspects of different jobs, and along with that come connected effects like the rise of automated medical scribes amongst the medical community, but also the drastic reduction of interns and the near elimination of that valuable aspect of education and job training for an intern’s future professional life. They also discuss how the different efficiency tools can backfire because of the increased need to oversee and validate automated output. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How could AI shift medical value toward primary care relationships if pattern-recognition specialties are more automatable? What would people prefer if given the choice between discussing their problems with a human or with non-judgmental empathic AI? Allison J. Pugh is a Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University and the author of several books. Her most recent works are The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World and The Tumbleweed Society: Working and Caring in an Age of Insecurity. Greg and Allison discuss Allison’s newest book and her concept of “connective labor,” defined as the relational practice of seeing another person and having them feel seen. They also contrast this idea with more individual-centered ideas like EQ. Allison argues that this type of work is reciprocal, widespread across roles (therapists, teachers, chaplains, primary care, managers, service work), and increasingly important as the economy shifts toward requiring more “feeling.” Allison also talks about how AI is being used in new ways to help automate different aspects of different jobs, and along with that come connected effects like the rise of automated medical scribes amongst the medical community, but also the drastic reduction of interns and the near elimination of that valuable aspect of education and job training for an intern’s future professional life. They also discuss how the different efficiency tools can backfire because of the increased need to oversee and validate automated output. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 626 0a440688-9ff0-49aa-a684-2b01f5e946b3 625. How to Not Just Face Uncertainty, But Thrive In It feat. Nathan and Susannah Furr We live in an age where uncertainty lurks around every corner, but what if uncertainty didn’t have to be an anxiety-inducing, uncomfortable part of life? 

The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown, by INSEAD professor Nathan Furr and entrepreneur Susannah Harmon Furr, presents strategies and tools to embrace uncertainty and turn it into opportunity. 

Nathan, Susannah, and Greg discuss why humans are naturally wired to avoid the unknown, and how our capacity to face it can be strengthened through learnable tools. The conversation covers some of the strategies described in the book like creating “islands of certainty” through rituals and support systems, maintaining a portfolio of personal options instead of going all-in too early, and focusing on what’s within one’s control while pursuing other meaningful goals, internally. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The golden space of uncertainty

26:59: [Nathan Furr] The American can-do attitude is it was this kind of illusion that we control the world. And most people who have been through something hard recognize it is not totally in our control. We sure we influence it, we nudge it, but a lot of things are outside our control. And so the people who are able to approach uncertainty with greater calm also kind of said, you know, what is in my control? I will focus on that, and what is outside of my control, or partially outside of my control, I am not going to obsess about that. And so there is this kind of golden space where you are focused on what are my internal goals, being the best, doing my best, making a contribution in the world. And I recognize that, there is some element of, in this complex, ambiguous world that I do not control, and so I am just going to focus on the things I can control and let the other pieces go. That leads to a much calmer view of the world. The video and audio are not synched

On being comfortable with uncertainty

11:42: [Susannah Furr]: All of us could have cooler and more brilliant lives if we just tried a little bit more, if we got a little bit more comfortable with uncertainty. It is good to know, like, Ooh, I do not like risks. And we have a tool for that. Like, know what risks you have affinities and aversions for, but definitely do not just decide, Nope, I do not do uncertainty, because you are, you are missing out.

The real danger isn’t risk

18:29: [Nathan Furr] The real danger is not that you are going to go all in on the uncertain thing, it is that you are probably going all in on the certain thing, and you are not bringing that thing you care about, that thing you dream about, into the portfolio of options in your life.

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]]> Mon, 2 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We live in an age where uncertainty lurks around every corner, but what if uncertainty didn’t have to be an anxiety-inducing, uncomfortable part of life? 

The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown, by INSEAD professor Nathan Furr and entrepreneur Susannah Harmon Furr, presents strategies and tools to embrace uncertainty and turn it into opportunity. 

Nathan, Susannah, and Greg discuss why humans are naturally wired to avoid the unknown, and how our capacity to face it can be strengthened through learnable tools. The conversation covers some of the strategies described in the book like creating “islands of certainty” through rituals and support systems, maintaining a portfolio of personal options instead of going all-in too early, and focusing on what’s within one’s control while pursuing other meaningful goals, internally. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The golden space of uncertainty

26:59: [Nathan Furr] The American can-do attitude is it was this kind of illusion that we control the world. And most people who have been through something hard recognize it is not totally in our control. We sure we influence it, we nudge it, but a lot of things are outside our control. And so the people who are able to approach uncertainty with greater calm also kind of said, you know, what is in my control? I will focus on that, and what is outside of my control, or partially outside of my control, I am not going to obsess about that. And so there is this kind of golden space where you are focused on what are my internal goals, being the best, doing my best, making a contribution in the world. And I recognize that, there is some element of, in this complex, ambiguous world that I do not control, and so I am just going to focus on the things I can control and let the other pieces go. That leads to a much calmer view of the world. The video and audio are not synched

On being comfortable with uncertainty

11:42: [Susannah Furr]: All of us could have cooler and more brilliant lives if we just tried a little bit more, if we got a little bit more comfortable with uncertainty. It is good to know, like, Ooh, I do not like risks. And we have a tool for that. Like, know what risks you have affinities and aversions for, but definitely do not just decide, Nope, I do not do uncertainty, because you are, you are missing out.

The real danger isn’t risk

18:29: [Nathan Furr] The real danger is not that you are going to go all in on the uncertain thing, it is that you are probably going all in on the certain thing, and you are not bringing that thing you care about, that thing you dream about, into the portfolio of options in your life.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guests’ Work:


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]]> 625. How to Not Just Face Uncertainty, But Thrive In It feat. Nathan and Susannah Furr Greg La Blanc 00:55:20 We live in an age where uncertainty lurks around every corner, but what if uncertainty didn’t have to be an anxiety-inducing, uncomfortable part of life? The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown, by INSEAD professor Nathan Furr and entrepreneur Susannah Harmon Furr, presents strategies and tools to embrace uncertainty and turn it into opportunity. Nathan, Susannah, and Greg discuss why humans are naturally wired to avoid the unknown, and how our capacity to face it can be strengthened through learnable tools. The conversation covers some of the strategies described in the book like creating “islands of certainty” through rituals and support systems, maintaining a portfolio of personal options instead of going all-in too early, and focusing on what’s within one’s control while pursuing other meaningful goals, internally. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* We live in an age where uncertainty lurks around every corner, but what if uncertainty didn’t have to be an anxiety-inducing, uncomfortable part of life? The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown, by INSEAD professor Nathan Furr and entrepreneur Susannah Harmon Furr, presents strategies and tools to embrace uncertainty and turn it into opportunity. Nathan, Susannah, and Greg discuss why humans are naturally wired to avoid the unknown, and how our capacity to face it can be strengthened through learnable tools. The conversation covers some of the strategies described in the book like creating “islands of certainty” through rituals and support systems, maintaining a portfolio of personal options instead of going all-in too early, and focusing on what’s within one’s control while pursuing other meaningful goals, internally. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 625 0f0a9210-6759-42db-aecd-a6b2a9429ebf 624. Time, Distraction, and Investing in What Matters with Cassie Holmes What happens when you start thinking of time as a scarce resource? What practical strategies can you use to protect it from being passively spent or hijacked so that you can spend the time you have in more fulfilling and meaningful ways?

Cassie Holmes is a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and also the author of the book Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most.
Greg and Cassie discuss how to use time more intentionally to increase both day-to-day joy and overall life satisfaction. Cassie explains how even though these happiness questions are timeless, they have become newly urgent due to modern distractions, cell phones, productivity culture, and the pandemic’s effects on time perception, anxiety, burnout, and workplace engagement. Cassie describes exercises such as tracking one’s time and rating activities to identify what is personally most joyful and meaningful, noting common low-happiness activities (commuting, work, housework) and how individuals can find variation within them. Cassie opens the window on some of the examples of this within her own life through her regular coffee dates with her daughter and a prearranged commitment device that allows her to count on date nights with her husband. They also cover bundling chores with enjoyable activities, selectively outsourcing tasks, and the tradeoffs of pricing time in money, emphasizing that better time management enables more meaningful and satisfying life activities, not simply doing less.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why being busy doesn't make you fulfilled

08:46: The unhappiness comes from when you have been busy and have spent your time and are looking back on it, feeling unfulfilled, like it got spent without you having invested in anything that ultimately matters to you. Whether it is things that give you that like true sense of joy and enjoyment, oftentimes through our interpersonal relationships, but also even that sense of satisfaction when you are making actual progress on whatever your project is, whatever that endeavor that you are sort of working towards is in line with your purpose, whether it is your personal purpose, which is really what my focus on is in the book, is the individual, and then ideally it is aligned. Your personal purpose is aligned with the sort of purpose of the work that you are doing.

What is time poverty?

40:31: What time poverty is, it is this feeling of having too much to do and not enough time to do it. It is a feeling of being limited by the resources, in this case, time that you have available to achieve what you set out to do.

Why isn't more enough, when it comes to happiness?

20:22: Not recognizing the role of hedonic adaptation is sure that first half hour, like, yes, that is the delight, right? You have your glass of wine, and you finally can kick back. But once you press, next episode, and you are three hours into your watching TV that night, you see on the happiness ratings that it, your enjoyment goes down over time. So that is also really helpful information, right? Because if we are trying to optimize using your optimization, sort of discipline and thinking, then we will, well, actually, we should spread out those positives, like my TV watching. This is also where intentionality comes into play. Like instead of zoning out for like many hours every night, just watch that first half hour.

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]]> Fri, 27 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What happens when you start thinking of time as a scarce resource? What practical strategies can you use to protect it from being passively spent or hijacked so that you can spend the time you have in more fulfilling and meaningful ways?

Cassie Holmes is a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and also the author of the book Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most.
Greg and Cassie discuss how to use time more intentionally to increase both day-to-day joy and overall life satisfaction. Cassie explains how even though these happiness questions are timeless, they have become newly urgent due to modern distractions, cell phones, productivity culture, and the pandemic’s effects on time perception, anxiety, burnout, and workplace engagement. Cassie describes exercises such as tracking one’s time and rating activities to identify what is personally most joyful and meaningful, noting common low-happiness activities (commuting, work, housework) and how individuals can find variation within them. Cassie opens the window on some of the examples of this within her own life through her regular coffee dates with her daughter and a prearranged commitment device that allows her to count on date nights with her husband. They also cover bundling chores with enjoyable activities, selectively outsourcing tasks, and the tradeoffs of pricing time in money, emphasizing that better time management enables more meaningful and satisfying life activities, not simply doing less.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why being busy doesn't make you fulfilled

08:46: The unhappiness comes from when you have been busy and have spent your time and are looking back on it, feeling unfulfilled, like it got spent without you having invested in anything that ultimately matters to you. Whether it is things that give you that like true sense of joy and enjoyment, oftentimes through our interpersonal relationships, but also even that sense of satisfaction when you are making actual progress on whatever your project is, whatever that endeavor that you are sort of working towards is in line with your purpose, whether it is your personal purpose, which is really what my focus on is in the book, is the individual, and then ideally it is aligned. Your personal purpose is aligned with the sort of purpose of the work that you are doing.

What is time poverty?

40:31: What time poverty is, it is this feeling of having too much to do and not enough time to do it. It is a feeling of being limited by the resources, in this case, time that you have available to achieve what you set out to do.

Why isn't more enough, when it comes to happiness?

20:22: Not recognizing the role of hedonic adaptation is sure that first half hour, like, yes, that is the delight, right? You have your glass of wine, and you finally can kick back. But once you press, next episode, and you are three hours into your watching TV that night, you see on the happiness ratings that it, your enjoyment goes down over time. So that is also really helpful information, right? Because if we are trying to optimize using your optimization, sort of discipline and thinking, then we will, well, actually, we should spread out those positives, like my TV watching. This is also where intentionality comes into play. Like instead of zoning out for like many hours every night, just watch that first half hour.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 624. Time, Distraction, and Investing in What Matters with Cassie Holmes Greg La Blanc 00:52:02 What happens when you start thinking of time as a scarce resource? What practical strategies can you use to protect it from being passively spent or hijacked so that you can spend the time you have in more fulfilling and meaningful ways? Cassie Holmes is a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and also the author of the book Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most.Greg and Cassie discuss how to use time more intentionally to increase both day-to-day joy and overall life satisfaction. Cassie explains how even though these happiness questions are timeless, they have become newly urgent due to modern distractions, cell phones, productivity culture, and the pandemic’s effects on time perception, anxiety, burnout, and workplace engagement. Cassie describes exercises such as tracking one’s time and rating activities to identify what is personally most joyful and meaningful, noting common low-happiness activities (commuting, work, housework) and how individuals can find variation within them. Cassie opens the window on some of the examples of this within her own life through her regular coffee dates with her daughter and a prearranged commitment device that allows her to count on date nights with her husband. They also cover bundling chores with enjoyable activities, selectively outsourcing tasks, and the tradeoffs of pricing time in money, emphasizing that better time management enables more meaningful and satisfying life activities, not simply doing less. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What happens when you start thinking of time as a scarce resource? What practical strategies can you use to protect it from being passively spent or hijacked so that you can spend the time you have in more fulfilling and meaningful ways? Cassie Holmes is a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and also the author of the book Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most.Greg and Cassie discuss how to use time more intentionally to increase both day-to-day joy and overall life satisfaction. Cassie explains how even though these happiness questions are timeless, they have become newly urgent due to modern distractions, cell phones, productivity culture, and the pandemic’s effects on time perception, anxiety, burnout, and workplace engagement. Cassie describes exercises such as tracking one’s time and rating activities to identify what is personally most joyful and meaningful, noting common low-happiness activities (commuting, work, housework) and how individuals can find variation within them. Cassie opens the window on some of the examples of this within her own life through her regular coffee dates with her daughter and a prearranged commitment device that allows her to count on date nights with her husband. They also cover bundling chores with enjoyable activities, selectively outsourcing tasks, and the tradeoffs of pricing time in money, emphasizing that better time management enables more meaningful and satisfying life activities, not simply doing less. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 624 1cb2be84-c152-4ef6-8054-31c6d4f41057 623. From Classroom to Boardroom: Unstoppable Entrepreneurs with Lori Rosenkopf What makes for a good entrepreneur in today’s start-up landscape? How do you work to scale and when is it right to go from bootstrapping to seeking funding? How are the roots of innovation now fundamentally different than the dot com era?

Lori Rosenkopf is a Professor of Management and also the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School, San Francisco campus. She is also the author of the book Unstoppable Entrepreneurs: 7 Paths for Unleashing Successful Startups and Creating Value through Innovation.

Greg and Lori discuss Lori’s focus on Wharton’s student and alumni entrepreneurial ecosystem, and she explains how entrepreneurship skills overlap with the innovation inside large organizations and universities. Lori describes seven entrepreneurial pathways and six “Rs” that reflect an entrepreneurial mindset, emphasizing that many successful entrepreneurs first build industry experience in standard careers rather than launching ventures immediately after school. 

Their conversation covers how Wharton’s curriculum has evolved over time, adding majors and coursework in entrepreneurship, innovation, analytics, and now AI; experiential learning; venture pitching for credit. Greg asks how the Venture Acceleration Lab helps expose students to scaling alumni ventures. Lori and Greg discuss different stereotypes of entrepreneurs, and Lori touches on why alumni and industry-affiliation networks remain powerful, how innovation increasingly happens through ecosystems, partnerships, and acquisitions rather than in-house R&D, and the continuing importance of universities in basic science commercialization, including Penn’s Pennovation initiative and strong biomedical startup activity.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The stereotype of a unicorn founder

17:18: I think that we have grown accustomed to a stereotype, which is, let us name them out, college dropout. Young. Venture capital backed tech, unicorn, great personal and commercial wealth. And now we are depending on them for philanthropy. We can have a whole discussion just about whether that is a good thing or not. But that is sort of the image.

Is there a way people can cultivate their resilience?

32:00: Resilience, it can come from being in love with your problem and wanting to solve that so deeply. Now it has to be a problem that enough of the marketplace shares that they are willing to think about your solution. But people who want to solve a problem are going to claim lots and lots of different ways to attack it. And this is what entrepreneurs are constantly dealing with, negative feedback and challenges. In many cases, it is very rare that companies of ventures first offering is something that everybody falls in love with.

What has Lori learned about information diffusion over 30 years of research?

11:17: I think that as we have gone to where more digital products and services, that it gives us the opportunity to build up these bigger ecosystems where different parties are collaborating in a variety. So it might be as extreme as acquisitions. And that is not just happening when Apple, that is CPG companies are buying little startups where people have developed new grants that are cool. They are partnering in many cases, so they may not be a full on acquisition, but there will be a contractual set of arrangements and maybe a conformance to a standard, as well. So that has become more and more common, and the idea that any one firm can invent everything in house, I think it does feel a little bit passé, you know, like rate of change is getting quicker and quicker.

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]]> Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:10:21 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What makes for a good entrepreneur in today’s start-up landscape? How do you work to scale and when is it right to go from bootstrapping to seeking funding? How are the roots of innovation now fundamentally different than the dot com era?

Lori Rosenkopf is a Professor of Management and also the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School, San Francisco campus. She is also the author of the book Unstoppable Entrepreneurs: 7 Paths for Unleashing Successful Startups and Creating Value through Innovation.

Greg and Lori discuss Lori’s focus on Wharton’s student and alumni entrepreneurial ecosystem, and she explains how entrepreneurship skills overlap with the innovation inside large organizations and universities. Lori describes seven entrepreneurial pathways and six “Rs” that reflect an entrepreneurial mindset, emphasizing that many successful entrepreneurs first build industry experience in standard careers rather than launching ventures immediately after school. 

Their conversation covers how Wharton’s curriculum has evolved over time, adding majors and coursework in entrepreneurship, innovation, analytics, and now AI; experiential learning; venture pitching for credit. Greg asks how the Venture Acceleration Lab helps expose students to scaling alumni ventures. Lori and Greg discuss different stereotypes of entrepreneurs, and Lori touches on why alumni and industry-affiliation networks remain powerful, how innovation increasingly happens through ecosystems, partnerships, and acquisitions rather than in-house R&D, and the continuing importance of universities in basic science commercialization, including Penn’s Pennovation initiative and strong biomedical startup activity.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The stereotype of a unicorn founder

17:18: I think that we have grown accustomed to a stereotype, which is, let us name them out, college dropout. Young. Venture capital backed tech, unicorn, great personal and commercial wealth. And now we are depending on them for philanthropy. We can have a whole discussion just about whether that is a good thing or not. But that is sort of the image.

Is there a way people can cultivate their resilience?

32:00: Resilience, it can come from being in love with your problem and wanting to solve that so deeply. Now it has to be a problem that enough of the marketplace shares that they are willing to think about your solution. But people who want to solve a problem are going to claim lots and lots of different ways to attack it. And this is what entrepreneurs are constantly dealing with, negative feedback and challenges. In many cases, it is very rare that companies of ventures first offering is something that everybody falls in love with.

What has Lori learned about information diffusion over 30 years of research?

11:17: I think that as we have gone to where more digital products and services, that it gives us the opportunity to build up these bigger ecosystems where different parties are collaborating in a variety. So it might be as extreme as acquisitions. And that is not just happening when Apple, that is CPG companies are buying little startups where people have developed new grants that are cool. They are partnering in many cases, so they may not be a full on acquisition, but there will be a contractual set of arrangements and maybe a conformance to a standard, as well. So that has become more and more common, and the idea that any one firm can invent everything in house, I think it does feel a little bit passé, you know, like rate of change is getting quicker and quicker.

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]]> 623. From Classroom to Boardroom: Unstoppable Entrepreneurs with Lori Rosenkopf Greg La Blanc 00:49:37 What makes for a good entrepreneur in today’s start-up landscape? How do you work to scale and when is it right to go from bootstrapping to seeking funding? How are the roots of innovation now fundamentally different than the dot com era? Lori Rosenkopf is a Professor of Management and also the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School, San Francisco campus. She is also the author of the book Unstoppable Entrepreneurs: 7 Paths for Unleashing Successful Startups and Creating Value through Innovation. Greg and Lori discuss Lori’s focus on Wharton’s student and alumni entrepreneurial ecosystem, and she explains how entrepreneurship skills overlap with the innovation inside large organizations and universities. Lori describes seven entrepreneurial pathways and six “Rs” that reflect an entrepreneurial mindset, emphasizing that many successful entrepreneurs first build industry experience in standard careers rather than launching ventures immediately after school. Their conversation covers how Wharton’s curriculum has evolved over time, adding majors and coursework in entrepreneurship, innovation, analytics, and now AI; experiential learning; venture pitching for credit. Greg asks how the Venture Acceleration Lab helps expose students to scaling alumni ventures. Lori and Greg discuss different stereotypes of entrepreneurs, and Lori touches on why alumni and industry-affiliation networks remain powerful, how innovation increasingly happens through ecosystems, partnerships, and acquisitions rather than in-house R&D, and the continuing importance of universities in basic science commercialization, including Penn’s Pennovation initiative and strong biomedical startup activity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What makes for a good entrepreneur in today’s start-up landscape? How do you work to scale and when is it right to go from bootstrapping to seeking funding? How are the roots of innovation now fundamentally different than the dot com era? Lori Rosenkopf is a Professor of Management and also the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School, San Francisco campus. She is also the author of the book Unstoppable Entrepreneurs: 7 Paths for Unleashing Successful Startups and Creating Value through Innovation. Greg and Lori discuss Lori’s focus on Wharton’s student and alumni entrepreneurial ecosystem, and she explains how entrepreneurship skills overlap with the innovation inside large organizations and universities. Lori describes seven entrepreneurial pathways and six “Rs” that reflect an entrepreneurial mindset, emphasizing that many successful entrepreneurs first build industry experience in standard careers rather than launching ventures immediately after school. Their conversation covers how Wharton’s curriculum has evolved over time, adding majors and coursework in entrepreneurship, innovation, analytics, and now AI; experiential learning; venture pitching for credit. Greg asks how the Venture Acceleration Lab helps expose students to scaling alumni ventures. Lori and Greg discuss different stereotypes of entrepreneurs, and Lori touches on why alumni and industry-affiliation networks remain powerful, how innovation increasingly happens through ecosystems, partnerships, and acquisitions rather than in-house R&D, and the continuing importance of universities in basic science commercialization, including Penn’s Pennovation initiative and strong biomedical startup activity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 623 bc33c669-3470-453b-a544-be7ef6bcba2e 622. The Critical Art of Manufacturing & Why We Can’t Lose It with Tim Minshall In today’s world where every imaginable product can appear at your doorstep with the click of a button, the art that goes into manufacturing those products is increasingly overlooked. 

Tim Minshall is a professor of innovation at the University of Cambridge and the author of How Things Are Made: A Journey Through the Hidden World of Manufacturing. As head of the Institute for Manufacturing, Tim is shaping the future leaders of manufacturing and reinforcing the critical role manufacturing plays in today’s world. 

In this conversation, Tim and Greg discuss the disconnect happening between modern-day consumers and the products they buy, plus the misconception that manufacturing has declined. They also delve into the complexity and fragility of manufacturing systems, the role of education in manufacturing, challenges in reviving manufacturing, and the future of manufacturing and software integration. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Bridging the gap between idea and implementation

08:09: The narrative has got a bit confused. This idea that there is a thing called innovation where you have got all the great science and technology and all this cool stuff happening, and that is brilliant. And then there is a bit, which is now implement, or we can call that manufacturing and, as you say, not without its challenges to scale and support software at scale. It is a non-trivial challenge. But if you are scaling up the production process for a new cell therapy to treat cancer or scaling up the production of, a novel semiconductor approach using, I do not know, compound semiconductors, there is, as you say, massive physical challenges involved there, so, but to me that is all part of the same innovation story. You go from the idea and the market opportunity all the way through is part of the innovation story. There is not this neat line in the middle which goes, yes, we have done with the innovation, now we manufacture.

Have we become disconnected from how manufacturing happens?

Every single thing we can see, unless it is a plant, a rock, an animal, or another human, has been manufactured...All of these things have been manufactured, and so there has been a slight worrying thing that has happened, certainly in the UK, and I suspect a little bit in the US as well, which is we have become disconnected from how that happens. And the more we become disconnected from it, the less we appreciate how incredibly clever it is.

What are one of the biggest challenges facing manufacturing?

16:39: One of the biggest challenges facing manufacturing is. Getting good people to want to work in factories. Surely step one is making it visible. If you do not know it and you have not seen it, you are unlikely to just go, oh, I want to get involved in manufacturing. You need to have seen it.

Repositioning manufacturing as the thing that drives solution

23:24: We have to reposition manufacturing as the thing that drives solutions. It is the thing that pushes us to deal with the energy transition. It allows us to deal with our multiple healthcare crises. It is what allows us to deal with sustainability challenges, all of these, it allows us to deal with the defense challenges. Geopolitics at the moment is pointing to extremely important role for manufacturing. We would rather not be in this situation, but it is an absolute truth.

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]]> Fri, 20 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In today’s world where every imaginable product can appear at your doorstep with the click of a button, the art that goes into manufacturing those products is increasingly overlooked. 

Tim Minshall is a professor of innovation at the University of Cambridge and the author of How Things Are Made: A Journey Through the Hidden World of Manufacturing. As head of the Institute for Manufacturing, Tim is shaping the future leaders of manufacturing and reinforcing the critical role manufacturing plays in today’s world. 

In this conversation, Tim and Greg discuss the disconnect happening between modern-day consumers and the products they buy, plus the misconception that manufacturing has declined. They also delve into the complexity and fragility of manufacturing systems, the role of education in manufacturing, challenges in reviving manufacturing, and the future of manufacturing and software integration. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Bridging the gap between idea and implementation

08:09: The narrative has got a bit confused. This idea that there is a thing called innovation where you have got all the great science and technology and all this cool stuff happening, and that is brilliant. And then there is a bit, which is now implement, or we can call that manufacturing and, as you say, not without its challenges to scale and support software at scale. It is a non-trivial challenge. But if you are scaling up the production process for a new cell therapy to treat cancer or scaling up the production of, a novel semiconductor approach using, I do not know, compound semiconductors, there is, as you say, massive physical challenges involved there, so, but to me that is all part of the same innovation story. You go from the idea and the market opportunity all the way through is part of the innovation story. There is not this neat line in the middle which goes, yes, we have done with the innovation, now we manufacture.

Have we become disconnected from how manufacturing happens?

Every single thing we can see, unless it is a plant, a rock, an animal, or another human, has been manufactured...All of these things have been manufactured, and so there has been a slight worrying thing that has happened, certainly in the UK, and I suspect a little bit in the US as well, which is we have become disconnected from how that happens. And the more we become disconnected from it, the less we appreciate how incredibly clever it is.

What are one of the biggest challenges facing manufacturing?

16:39: One of the biggest challenges facing manufacturing is. Getting good people to want to work in factories. Surely step one is making it visible. If you do not know it and you have not seen it, you are unlikely to just go, oh, I want to get involved in manufacturing. You need to have seen it.

Repositioning manufacturing as the thing that drives solution

23:24: We have to reposition manufacturing as the thing that drives solutions. It is the thing that pushes us to deal with the energy transition. It allows us to deal with our multiple healthcare crises. It is what allows us to deal with sustainability challenges, all of these, it allows us to deal with the defense challenges. Geopolitics at the moment is pointing to extremely important role for manufacturing. We would rather not be in this situation, but it is an absolute truth.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 622. The Critical Art of Manufacturing & Why We Can’t Lose It with Tim Minshall Greg La Blanc 00:54:48 In today’s world where every imaginable product can appear at your doorstep with the click of a button, the art that goes into manufacturing those products is increasingly overlooked. Tim Minshall is a professor of innovation at the University of Cambridge and the author of How Things Are Made: A Journey Through the Hidden World of Manufacturing. As head of the Institute for Manufacturing, Tim is shaping the future leaders of manufacturing and reinforcing the critical role manufacturing plays in today’s world. In this conversation, Tim and Greg discuss the disconnect happening between modern-day consumers and the products they buy, plus the misconception that manufacturing has declined. They also delve into the complexity and fragility of manufacturing systems, the role of education in manufacturing, challenges in reviving manufacturing, and the future of manufacturing and software integration. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In today’s world where every imaginable product can appear at your doorstep with the click of a button, the art that goes into manufacturing those products is increasingly overlooked. Tim Minshall is a professor of innovation at the University of Cambridge and the author of How Things Are Made: A Journey Through the Hidden World of Manufacturing. As head of the Institute for Manufacturing, Tim is shaping the future leaders of manufacturing and reinforcing the critical role manufacturing plays in today’s world. In this conversation, Tim and Greg discuss the disconnect happening between modern-day consumers and the products they buy, plus the misconception that manufacturing has declined. They also delve into the complexity and fragility of manufacturing systems, the role of education in manufacturing, challenges in reviving manufacturing, and the future of manufacturing and software integration. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 622 0c43ebfe-bfb9-45ce-8b9f-12bdcb305faa 621. Land, Loans, and Legacy: Real Estate's Global Influence with Mike Bird What is the impact of land reform on economic development? What are the implications of property law when a financial crisis hits? This episode offers a comprehensive look at how land has shaped socio-economic landscapes.

Mike Bird is the Wall Street editor at The Economist and the author of the new book, The Land Trap: A New History of the World's Oldest Asset.

Greg and Mike discuss the historical and contemporary importance of real estate as an asset class, its undervaluation in modern investment strategies, and its critical role in the financial systems. Their conversation explores the distinction between land and other assets, and how mortgage-backed securities have revolutionized real estate finance. Mike lays out the history of land financing from colonial North America to present-day reforms, touching on the influence of key historical figures and economic theories. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How land reform fueled economic growth

41:29: These sort of moments of expropriation are really focused on land quite tightly. They do not spread over into sort of general expropriation attitudes. They can have seemingly really positive impacts. So lots of people credit land reform in Japan in particular with sort of establishing the basis of a democratic society, of massively accelerating the education boost in Japan. If you are a tenant farmer and you are given land yourself, you are able to actually invest in it. And you want to make the most of it because it is no longer the landlord taking it from you. The surplus you create is your own. Most of those people used the extra money they made to massively accelerate the education of their children. This generation of people in Japan becomes a more educated one, which fuels the economic development that happens, you know, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s. So the spillover effect from land reform is really quite large.

ETF vs home ownership psychology

50:15: I would say, I think half the answer here is behavioral and slightly irrational and social, and half of the answer is deeply rational and makes sense to any student of finance. The side that is irrational is home and land ownership has a reputation and a status that other asset ownership does not have. You have people who say they do not want to form a family until they can own a home. That is a fairly common sentiment in large parts of the world. Nobody says, I have got to own $300,000 in my S and P 500 ETF, or I am not starting a family. It is not a common thing. There is a sense of status security, middle class belonging that comes through owning a home, which makes it very unusual. And I think this digs into a deep historical thing about freedom from feudalism, from living under a landlord, from living, in sort of someone else's pocket.

Why housing isn’t diversified

54:52: Obviously what you cannot buy unless you are buying an extremely well diversified REIT, for example, you cannot buy a US house, right? It has to be somewhere. You are plugging into the opportunities and rewards or punishment of a local economy, and so on, I am not enormously surprised at that. I think the thing that is unique in the US relative to the rest of the world is just how well you can do and have done historically investing in listed equities, investing in risk assets and getting the compounded returns relative to home ownership, which I think is massively to America's credit. This is not true in other large portions of the rest of the world.

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]]> Wed, 18 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is the impact of land reform on economic development? What are the implications of property law when a financial crisis hits? This episode offers a comprehensive look at how land has shaped socio-economic landscapes.

Mike Bird is the Wall Street editor at The Economist and the author of the new book, The Land Trap: A New History of the World's Oldest Asset.

Greg and Mike discuss the historical and contemporary importance of real estate as an asset class, its undervaluation in modern investment strategies, and its critical role in the financial systems. Their conversation explores the distinction between land and other assets, and how mortgage-backed securities have revolutionized real estate finance. Mike lays out the history of land financing from colonial North America to present-day reforms, touching on the influence of key historical figures and economic theories. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How land reform fueled economic growth

41:29: These sort of moments of expropriation are really focused on land quite tightly. They do not spread over into sort of general expropriation attitudes. They can have seemingly really positive impacts. So lots of people credit land reform in Japan in particular with sort of establishing the basis of a democratic society, of massively accelerating the education boost in Japan. If you are a tenant farmer and you are given land yourself, you are able to actually invest in it. And you want to make the most of it because it is no longer the landlord taking it from you. The surplus you create is your own. Most of those people used the extra money they made to massively accelerate the education of their children. This generation of people in Japan becomes a more educated one, which fuels the economic development that happens, you know, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s. So the spillover effect from land reform is really quite large.

ETF vs home ownership psychology

50:15: I would say, I think half the answer here is behavioral and slightly irrational and social, and half of the answer is deeply rational and makes sense to any student of finance. The side that is irrational is home and land ownership has a reputation and a status that other asset ownership does not have. You have people who say they do not want to form a family until they can own a home. That is a fairly common sentiment in large parts of the world. Nobody says, I have got to own $300,000 in my S and P 500 ETF, or I am not starting a family. It is not a common thing. There is a sense of status security, middle class belonging that comes through owning a home, which makes it very unusual. And I think this digs into a deep historical thing about freedom from feudalism, from living under a landlord, from living, in sort of someone else's pocket.

Why housing isn’t diversified

54:52: Obviously what you cannot buy unless you are buying an extremely well diversified REIT, for example, you cannot buy a US house, right? It has to be somewhere. You are plugging into the opportunities and rewards or punishment of a local economy, and so on, I am not enormously surprised at that. I think the thing that is unique in the US relative to the rest of the world is just how well you can do and have done historically investing in listed equities, investing in risk assets and getting the compounded returns relative to home ownership, which I think is massively to America's credit. This is not true in other large portions of the rest of the world.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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]]> 621. Land, Loans, and Legacy: Real Estate's Global Influence with Mike Bird Greg La Blanc 00:55:12 What is the impact of land reform on economic development? What are the implications of property law when a financial crisis hits? This episode offers a comprehensive look at how land has shaped socio-economic landscapes. Mike Bird is the Wall Street editor at The Economist and the author of the new book, The Land Trap: A New History of the World's Oldest Asset. Greg and Mike discuss the historical and contemporary importance of real estate as an asset class, its undervaluation in modern investment strategies, and its critical role in the financial systems. Their conversation explores the distinction between land and other assets, and how mortgage-backed securities have revolutionized real estate finance. Mike lays out the history of land financing from colonial North America to present-day reforms, touching on the influence of key historical figures and economic theories. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is the impact of land reform on economic development? What are the implications of property law when a financial crisis hits? This episode offers a comprehensive look at how land has shaped socio-economic landscapes. Mike Bird is the Wall Street editor at The Economist and the author of the new book, The Land Trap: A New History of the World's Oldest Asset. Greg and Mike discuss the historical and contemporary importance of real estate as an asset class, its undervaluation in modern investment strategies, and its critical role in the financial systems. Their conversation explores the distinction between land and other assets, and how mortgage-backed securities have revolutionized real estate finance. Mike lays out the history of land financing from colonial North America to present-day reforms, touching on the influence of key historical figures and economic theories. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 621 c61b956f-4f56-45c5-b883-00e1cb71b65c 620. The Secret to Creating ‘Good Jobs’ Where Everyone Wins with Zeynep Ton What if a company could deliver high quality products at low cost, improving the value for customers and giving it a competitive edge, all while offering higher pay and career growth opportunities for its employees and not hurting the bottom line?

Zeynep Ton is a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, president of the Good Jobs Institute, and author of The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, and Meaning to Everyone's Work. 

Zeynep joins Greg to explain the interconnected components of the “good job strategy,” such as standardization, empowerment, cross-training, simplification, and the incorporation of slack in schedules. She emphasizes that companies should view their workforce as value drivers rather than costs to be minimized, advocating for investment in employees for better productivity and sustainable company growth.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The ‘good job strategy’ requires systems thinking

43:47: A lot of organizations operate in silos, and ‘the good job strategy’ requires systems thinking, interconnected decisions, and all the decisions coming back to: how do we create value for the customer and how does this interact with other choices to deliver that type of value? And as long as we do the AB testing and requiring on, rigorous, and I do not think it is rigorous, it is, yeah, it is math, but it is not rigorous logic, it will be very difficult to adopt this.

Standardization is a gift

28:51: Standardization is a gift because there are so many things I do not even have to think about. So, think each of these choices is helpful to say what are the mindsets that are driving the choices, when used that way, and standardization is not just about work, [but also] standardization of management practices.

Why ‘the good job strategy’ creates competitive advantage

13:02: I can see a lot of companies in the same industry using ‘the good job strategy’ as long as they have a differentiation in the eyes of their customers and they’re improving their value, continuously using the strategy. It’s not good jobs that differentiates. It’s the customer value that is a source of competitive advantage.

Why unmet basic needs drive employee turnover

17:02: You ask our students what motivates people. Everybody is gonna talk about is a sense of belonging, achievement, meaning, recognition. Of course, those things are the motivators. But so many people do not have their basic needs met. And there is tremendous lack of awareness. And those are, oftentimes, the biggest reasons for employee turnover that I have seen in many organizations that I work with.

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]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if a company could deliver high quality products at low cost, improving the value for customers and giving it a competitive edge, all while offering higher pay and career growth opportunities for its employees and not hurting the bottom line?

Zeynep Ton is a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, president of the Good Jobs Institute, and author of The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, and Meaning to Everyone's Work. 

Zeynep joins Greg to explain the interconnected components of the “good job strategy,” such as standardization, empowerment, cross-training, simplification, and the incorporation of slack in schedules. She emphasizes that companies should view their workforce as value drivers rather than costs to be minimized, advocating for investment in employees for better productivity and sustainable company growth.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The ‘good job strategy’ requires systems thinking

43:47: A lot of organizations operate in silos, and ‘the good job strategy’ requires systems thinking, interconnected decisions, and all the decisions coming back to: how do we create value for the customer and how does this interact with other choices to deliver that type of value? And as long as we do the AB testing and requiring on, rigorous, and I do not think it is rigorous, it is, yeah, it is math, but it is not rigorous logic, it will be very difficult to adopt this.

Standardization is a gift

28:51: Standardization is a gift because there are so many things I do not even have to think about. So, think each of these choices is helpful to say what are the mindsets that are driving the choices, when used that way, and standardization is not just about work, [but also] standardization of management practices.

Why ‘the good job strategy’ creates competitive advantage

13:02: I can see a lot of companies in the same industry using ‘the good job strategy’ as long as they have a differentiation in the eyes of their customers and they’re improving their value, continuously using the strategy. It’s not good jobs that differentiates. It’s the customer value that is a source of competitive advantage.

Why unmet basic needs drive employee turnover

17:02: You ask our students what motivates people. Everybody is gonna talk about is a sense of belonging, achievement, meaning, recognition. Of course, those things are the motivators. But so many people do not have their basic needs met. And there is tremendous lack of awareness. And those are, oftentimes, the biggest reasons for employee turnover that I have seen in many organizations that I work with.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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]]> 620. The Secret to Creating ‘Good Jobs’ Where Everyone Wins with Zeynep Ton Greg La Blanc 00:54:00 What if a company could deliver high quality products at low cost, improving the value for customers and giving it a competitive edge, all while offering higher pay and career growth opportunities for its employees and not hurting the bottom line? Zeynep Ton is a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, president of the Good Jobs Institute, and author of The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, and Meaning to Everyone's Work. Zeynep joins Greg to explain the interconnected components of the “good job strategy,” such as standardization, empowerment, cross-training, simplification, and the incorporation of slack in schedules. She emphasizes that companies should view their workforce as value drivers rather than costs to be minimized, advocating for investment in employees for better productivity and sustainable company growth. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What if a company could deliver high quality products at low cost, improving the value for customers and giving it a competitive edge, all while offering higher pay and career growth opportunities for its employees and not hurting the bottom line? Zeynep Ton is a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, president of the Good Jobs Institute, and author of The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, and Meaning to Everyone's Work. Zeynep joins Greg to explain the interconnected components of the “good job strategy,” such as standardization, empowerment, cross-training, simplification, and the incorporation of slack in schedules. She emphasizes that companies should view their workforce as value drivers rather than costs to be minimized, advocating for investment in employees for better productivity and sustainable company growth. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 620 dc8c242d-ebe6-4d4d-a45b-f59e4010f1ff 619. Fatherhood, Power, and History: Unpacking the Male Role in Society with Augustine Sedgewick When did society change from matriarchal to patriarchal, and why? What was the advice on fatherhood from Plato and Aristotle, and how did other writers on the subject put one philosophy of fatherhood on the page but live a very different one in practice?

Augustine Sedgewick is the author of two books: Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power and Coffeeland: One Man's Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug.

Greg and Augustine start by discussing the lesser-explored history of fatherhood. Their conversation get into why the history of fatherhood may be understudied, the societal and cultural shifts impacting the role of fathers, and how historical figures like Saint Augustine, Rousseau, Jefferson, and even Thoreau have shaped modern perceptions of fatherhood. They also touch on Augustine’s first book, Coffeeland, for the economic and social structures underpinning the coffee industry, emphasizing the role of capitalism in shaping labor conditions, and Augustine reflects on his own personal journey through fatherhood and the influence of his historical research on his understanding of the subject.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Patriarchy is not a loss for men

05:48: Obviously there has been some really great work on patriarchy. A lot of that has come from feminist historians. As a result, I think a lot of the greatest work on the history of patriarchy has been the history of the consequences of patriarchy for women, much fewer, much less work on the history of patriarchy and its consequences for men. I have come to believe that that is, we are in a moment where we hear often about the crisis of men and boys. And I actually think it is the best thing that men could do for themselves, be to learn something about the history of patriarchy and masculinity. Like, that would not be a loss for men. That would be an incredible gain if we could begin to understand where those ideas originate, how they have changed over time, and what they have cost us. I will say.

Fatherhood as a system of power

05:24: I think you could argue that fatherhood is the most widespread and arguably enduring form of social inequality and metaphor for power that we have in human societies.

Why father knows best was never humanly possible

18:22 There is almost plasticity built into that God-like mandate of father knows best, I will protect and provide, if you do what I say. Because I think what is interesting about that set of edicts and mandates is that it is impossible for human beings to fulfill. No one always knows best. No one can always protect; no one can always provide God-like jobs because they cannot be fulfilled by actual human beings. And so the process of fatherhood, historically, has been exactly negotiating the distance between those promises and the reality. Plasticity has been the required element there.

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]]> Wed, 11 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When did society change from matriarchal to patriarchal, and why? What was the advice on fatherhood from Plato and Aristotle, and how did other writers on the subject put one philosophy of fatherhood on the page but live a very different one in practice?

Augustine Sedgewick is the author of two books: Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power and Coffeeland: One Man's Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug.

Greg and Augustine start by discussing the lesser-explored history of fatherhood. Their conversation get into why the history of fatherhood may be understudied, the societal and cultural shifts impacting the role of fathers, and how historical figures like Saint Augustine, Rousseau, Jefferson, and even Thoreau have shaped modern perceptions of fatherhood. They also touch on Augustine’s first book, Coffeeland, for the economic and social structures underpinning the coffee industry, emphasizing the role of capitalism in shaping labor conditions, and Augustine reflects on his own personal journey through fatherhood and the influence of his historical research on his understanding of the subject.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Patriarchy is not a loss for men

05:48: Obviously there has been some really great work on patriarchy. A lot of that has come from feminist historians. As a result, I think a lot of the greatest work on the history of patriarchy has been the history of the consequences of patriarchy for women, much fewer, much less work on the history of patriarchy and its consequences for men. I have come to believe that that is, we are in a moment where we hear often about the crisis of men and boys. And I actually think it is the best thing that men could do for themselves, be to learn something about the history of patriarchy and masculinity. Like, that would not be a loss for men. That would be an incredible gain if we could begin to understand where those ideas originate, how they have changed over time, and what they have cost us. I will say.

Fatherhood as a system of power

05:24: I think you could argue that fatherhood is the most widespread and arguably enduring form of social inequality and metaphor for power that we have in human societies.

Why father knows best was never humanly possible

18:22 There is almost plasticity built into that God-like mandate of father knows best, I will protect and provide, if you do what I say. Because I think what is interesting about that set of edicts and mandates is that it is impossible for human beings to fulfill. No one always knows best. No one can always protect; no one can always provide God-like jobs because they cannot be fulfilled by actual human beings. And so the process of fatherhood, historically, has been exactly negotiating the distance between those promises and the reality. Plasticity has been the required element there.

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]]> 619. Fatherhood, Power, and History: Unpacking the Male Role in Society with Augustine Sedgewick Greg La Blanc 00:53:03 When did society change from matriarchal to patriarchal, and why? What was the advice on fatherhood from Plato and Aristotle, and how did other writers on the subject put one philosophy of fatherhood on the page but live a very different one in practice? Augustine Sedgewick is the author of two books: Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power and Coffeeland: One Man's Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug. Greg and Augustine start by discussing the lesser-explored history of fatherhood. Their conversation get into why the history of fatherhood may be understudied, the societal and cultural shifts impacting the role of fathers, and how historical figures like Saint Augustine, Rousseau, Jefferson, and even Thoreau have shaped modern perceptions of fatherhood. They also touch on Augustine’s first book, Coffeeland, for the economic and social structures underpinning the coffee industry, emphasizing the role of capitalism in shaping labor conditions, and Augustine reflects on his own personal journey through fatherhood and the influence of his historical research on his understanding of the subject. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When did society change from matriarchal to patriarchal, and why? What was the advice on fatherhood from Plato and Aristotle, and how did other writers on the subject put one philosophy of fatherhood on the page but live a very different one in practice? Augustine Sedgewick is the author of two books: Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power and Coffeeland: One Man's Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug. Greg and Augustine start by discussing the lesser-explored history of fatherhood. Their conversation get into why the history of fatherhood may be understudied, the societal and cultural shifts impacting the role of fathers, and how historical figures like Saint Augustine, Rousseau, Jefferson, and even Thoreau have shaped modern perceptions of fatherhood. They also touch on Augustine’s first book, Coffeeland, for the economic and social structures underpinning the coffee industry, emphasizing the role of capitalism in shaping labor conditions, and Augustine reflects on his own personal journey through fatherhood and the influence of his historical research on his understanding of the subject. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 619 4b719a25-ee6e-4d82-8489-613833e0636c 618. Brand Global, Adapt Local: Insights with Katherine Melchior Ray What challenges come with taking a marketing strategy global, and what strategies can be created to account for and even take advantage of differences from one market to another? How are differences in Japanese culture reflected in the buying practices of the population?

Katherine Melchior Ray is a global marketing executive and consultant, who also teaches global marketing at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, and is the author of the book Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures.

Greg and Katherine discuss the importance of both maintaining global brand consistency and adapting to local cultures. Katherine explains the history and evolving definition of marketing, the balance between data-driven strategies and creative intuition, and the necessity of cultural intelligence in global business. 

Throughout the conversation, Katherine shares anecdotes from her diverse career, offering insights into the challenges and strategies for successful global marketing.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What does it mean to be a global brand?

13:51: Just because you can access it on a global level does not mean it is going to be relevant to you in your culture. And this is where it is tricky. So we have gone way beyond the Ted Levitt era, where you have global brands, but in order for them to connect, create meaning, which is where value lies, and ultimately loyalty with consumers in different cultures, they need to do both. And this is where the book title came, Brand Global. Be a global brand, hold certain things very consistent, but adapt local, and that is tricky. It is really tricky. Which aspects do you want to hold the same, and which aspects are you willing to flex?

What is cultural intelligence and why is important in leadership

39:21: We all know about emotional intelligence, and I think we have come to realize how important that is in leadership. Well, cultural intelligence takes us one step further. It relies on a lot of the aspects of emotional intelligence, but it adds culture on top of it. And basically, it is the ability to see and, and bridge cultural differences. So you do not have to be an expert in every culture. You do not have to know how to code, I guess, in technology. But you have to have a couple qualities that help you learn how to see what is often not actually being explicitly said with words.

The notion of balance in brands

18:52: When you think of a brand, the strongest brands actually do play simultaneously in opposite, seemingly opposite, directions, but really, those two seemingly opposed directions are complimentary, right? One might be the traditional side, and one is the innovative side. One might be the classical side, and the other is the trendy side. But actually, that duality gives the brand elasticity; it gives it range. So it can reach a lot more customers, and it gives it this inherent dynamism, tension, and excitement.

Story is important for expansion

20:20: The reason story is important is for expansion. You cannot control every aspect of a brand as you expand, right? Because the same people, like if you think of Steve Jobs, he could review every aspect of the computer as it was being designed. But as it was being marketed in different markets, in different countries, in different stores with different salespeople, you cannot control all of that. And so the way to create a form of consistency is by telling the same internal stories, and then those stories go externally so that everyone understands why certain things are in the way that the company operates and the brand shows up in products and services.

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]]> Fri, 6 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What challenges come with taking a marketing strategy global, and what strategies can be created to account for and even take advantage of differences from one market to another? How are differences in Japanese culture reflected in the buying practices of the population?

Katherine Melchior Ray is a global marketing executive and consultant, who also teaches global marketing at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, and is the author of the book Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures.

Greg and Katherine discuss the importance of both maintaining global brand consistency and adapting to local cultures. Katherine explains the history and evolving definition of marketing, the balance between data-driven strategies and creative intuition, and the necessity of cultural intelligence in global business. 

Throughout the conversation, Katherine shares anecdotes from her diverse career, offering insights into the challenges and strategies for successful global marketing.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What does it mean to be a global brand?

13:51: Just because you can access it on a global level does not mean it is going to be relevant to you in your culture. And this is where it is tricky. So we have gone way beyond the Ted Levitt era, where you have global brands, but in order for them to connect, create meaning, which is where value lies, and ultimately loyalty with consumers in different cultures, they need to do both. And this is where the book title came, Brand Global. Be a global brand, hold certain things very consistent, but adapt local, and that is tricky. It is really tricky. Which aspects do you want to hold the same, and which aspects are you willing to flex?

What is cultural intelligence and why is important in leadership

39:21: We all know about emotional intelligence, and I think we have come to realize how important that is in leadership. Well, cultural intelligence takes us one step further. It relies on a lot of the aspects of emotional intelligence, but it adds culture on top of it. And basically, it is the ability to see and, and bridge cultural differences. So you do not have to be an expert in every culture. You do not have to know how to code, I guess, in technology. But you have to have a couple qualities that help you learn how to see what is often not actually being explicitly said with words.

The notion of balance in brands

18:52: When you think of a brand, the strongest brands actually do play simultaneously in opposite, seemingly opposite, directions, but really, those two seemingly opposed directions are complimentary, right? One might be the traditional side, and one is the innovative side. One might be the classical side, and the other is the trendy side. But actually, that duality gives the brand elasticity; it gives it range. So it can reach a lot more customers, and it gives it this inherent dynamism, tension, and excitement.

Story is important for expansion

20:20: The reason story is important is for expansion. You cannot control every aspect of a brand as you expand, right? Because the same people, like if you think of Steve Jobs, he could review every aspect of the computer as it was being designed. But as it was being marketed in different markets, in different countries, in different stores with different salespeople, you cannot control all of that. And so the way to create a form of consistency is by telling the same internal stories, and then those stories go externally so that everyone understands why certain things are in the way that the company operates and the brand shows up in products and services.

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Guest Profile:

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

]]> 618. Brand Global, Adapt Local: Insights with Katherine Melchior Ray Greg La Blanc 00:55:37 What challenges come with taking a marketing strategy global, and what strategies can be created to account for and even take advantage of differences from one market to another? How are differences in Japanese culture reflected in the buying practices of the population? Katherine Melchior Ray is a global marketing executive and consultant, who also teaches global marketing at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, and is the author of the book Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures. Greg and Katherine discuss the importance of both maintaining global brand consistency and adapting to local cultures. Katherine explains the history and evolving definition of marketing, the balance between data-driven strategies and creative intuition, and the necessity of cultural intelligence in global business. Throughout the conversation, Katherine shares anecdotes from her diverse career, offering insights into the challenges and strategies for successful global marketing. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What challenges come with taking a marketing strategy global, and what strategies can be created to account for and even take advantage of differences from one market to another? How are differences in Japanese culture reflected in the buying practices of the population? Katherine Melchior Ray is a global marketing executive and consultant, who also teaches global marketing at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, and is the author of the book Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures. Greg and Katherine discuss the importance of both maintaining global brand consistency and adapting to local cultures. Katherine explains the history and evolving definition of marketing, the balance between data-driven strategies and creative intuition, and the necessity of cultural intelligence in global business. Throughout the conversation, Katherine shares anecdotes from her diverse career, offering insights into the challenges and strategies for successful global marketing. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 618 1a2781c7-050b-42c0-8b6f-20e6fe0a1d66 617. Navigating Leadership Challenges: Analyzing Systems with Barbara Kellerman How do bad leaders persist in current-day environments, and how do they use factors like fear, rewards, and the natural difficulty of uprooting entrenched authority to their advantage? Despite the challenges inherent to speaking out, what duty and role do followers play in identifying and addressing bad leadership?

Barbara Kellerman is the founder and a fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and the author of many books, addressing many different aspects of leadership. Her latest works are Leadership from Bad to Worse: What Happens When Bad Festers, LEADERSHIP: Essential Selections on Power, and The Enablers: How Team Trump Flunked the Pandemic and Failed America.

Greg and Barbara discuss Barbara’s critiques of the leadership industry, highlighting its focus on 'good' leadership while often neglecting the study of 'bad' leadership and the crucial role of followers. She argues for a more nuanced understanding of leadership that includes the contexts and followers that shape and are shaped by leaders. Their conversation dives into the complexities of trust in leaders, the need for rigorous education and credentialing in leadership akin to doctors or lawyers, and the significance of managing both leadership development and organizational design. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The three-part leadership system

06:25: The leadership system is slightly more complicated than just leadership, but only slightly. It’s got three parts, each of which is of equal importance. One is the leader. None of this is to say that leaders are unimportant, but equal importance. This is—think of it as an equilateral triangle—the leader is one point, if you will. One of the two other points are the followers, the constituents, the stakeholders, whatever language. If you do not like the word follower, we can do all the euphemisms. I tend to use follower because in English, it is the only natural antonym of leader. So let's say, for the purpose here now, one part of the triangle is the leader, the other part is the followers, and the third part, again of equal importance, is the context—or better put, are the contexts, ’cause it is always plural within which leaders and followers are situated.

There is no leader without followers

29:55: We tend to obey. We do not tend to disobey. So the idea that this broad thing called the field of leadership pays such inadequate attention to the obvious other side of the coin—leadership is, after all, a relationship. You cannot have a leader without at least a single follower. Why is that other, by definition, so much less consequential? The answer is they are not, but the field pays that other virtually no attention.

Does being a good leader automatically make you ethical?

15:45: The word bad is so complicated. And it is adverse good that I have found it practical in my work generally to divide bad and good into two categories. One is a continuum of ethics, so you’re a good leader if you’re ethical. You’re a bad leader if you’re unethical. And the other continuum is effectiveness. You’re a bad leader if you’re ineffective, and you’re a good leader if you’re effective.

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]]> Tue, 3 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do bad leaders persist in current-day environments, and how do they use factors like fear, rewards, and the natural difficulty of uprooting entrenched authority to their advantage? Despite the challenges inherent to speaking out, what duty and role do followers play in identifying and addressing bad leadership?

Barbara Kellerman is the founder and a fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and the author of many books, addressing many different aspects of leadership. Her latest works are Leadership from Bad to Worse: What Happens When Bad Festers, LEADERSHIP: Essential Selections on Power, and The Enablers: How Team Trump Flunked the Pandemic and Failed America.

Greg and Barbara discuss Barbara’s critiques of the leadership industry, highlighting its focus on 'good' leadership while often neglecting the study of 'bad' leadership and the crucial role of followers. She argues for a more nuanced understanding of leadership that includes the contexts and followers that shape and are shaped by leaders. Their conversation dives into the complexities of trust in leaders, the need for rigorous education and credentialing in leadership akin to doctors or lawyers, and the significance of managing both leadership development and organizational design. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The three-part leadership system

06:25: The leadership system is slightly more complicated than just leadership, but only slightly. It’s got three parts, each of which is of equal importance. One is the leader. None of this is to say that leaders are unimportant, but equal importance. This is—think of it as an equilateral triangle—the leader is one point, if you will. One of the two other points are the followers, the constituents, the stakeholders, whatever language. If you do not like the word follower, we can do all the euphemisms. I tend to use follower because in English, it is the only natural antonym of leader. So let's say, for the purpose here now, one part of the triangle is the leader, the other part is the followers, and the third part, again of equal importance, is the context—or better put, are the contexts, ’cause it is always plural within which leaders and followers are situated.

There is no leader without followers

29:55: We tend to obey. We do not tend to disobey. So the idea that this broad thing called the field of leadership pays such inadequate attention to the obvious other side of the coin—leadership is, after all, a relationship. You cannot have a leader without at least a single follower. Why is that other, by definition, so much less consequential? The answer is they are not, but the field pays that other virtually no attention.

Does being a good leader automatically make you ethical?

15:45: The word bad is so complicated. And it is adverse good that I have found it practical in my work generally to divide bad and good into two categories. One is a continuum of ethics, so you’re a good leader if you’re ethical. You’re a bad leader if you’re unethical. And the other continuum is effectiveness. You’re a bad leader if you’re ineffective, and you’re a good leader if you’re effective.

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]]> 617. Navigating Leadership Challenges: Analyzing Systems with Barbara Kellerman Greg La Blanc 00:55:10 How do bad leaders persist in current-day environments, and how do they use factors like fear, rewards, and the natural difficulty of uprooting entrenched authority to their advantage? Despite the challenges inherent to speaking out, what duty and role do followers play in identifying and addressing bad leadership? Barbara Kellerman is the founder and a fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and the author of many books, addressing many different aspects of leadership. Her latest works are Leadership from Bad to Worse: What Happens When Bad Festers, LEADERSHIP: Essential Selections on Power, and The Enablers: How Team Trump Flunked the Pandemic and Failed America. Greg and Barbara discuss Barbara’s critiques of the leadership industry, highlighting its focus on 'good' leadership while often neglecting the study of 'bad' leadership and the crucial role of followers. She argues for a more nuanced understanding of leadership that includes the contexts and followers that shape and are shaped by leaders. Their conversation dives into the complexities of trust in leaders, the need for rigorous education and credentialing in leadership akin to doctors or lawyers, and the significance of managing both leadership development and organizational design. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How do bad leaders persist in current-day environments, and how do they use factors like fear, rewards, and the natural difficulty of uprooting entrenched authority to their advantage? Despite the challenges inherent to speaking out, what duty and role do followers play in identifying and addressing bad leadership? Barbara Kellerman is the founder and a fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and the author of many books, addressing many different aspects of leadership. Her latest works are Leadership from Bad to Worse: What Happens When Bad Festers, LEADERSHIP: Essential Selections on Power, and The Enablers: How Team Trump Flunked the Pandemic and Failed America. Greg and Barbara discuss Barbara’s critiques of the leadership industry, highlighting its focus on 'good' leadership while often neglecting the study of 'bad' leadership and the crucial role of followers. She argues for a more nuanced understanding of leadership that includes the contexts and followers that shape and are shaped by leaders. Their conversation dives into the complexities of trust in leaders, the need for rigorous education and credentialing in leadership akin to doctors or lawyers, and the significance of managing both leadership development and organizational design. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 617 5492cbe9-fdaf-426a-9c21-45d99edaef92 616. Leading Through Learning: Lessons from Life as a CEO with Jeff Immelt There’s no instruction manual for how to be a CEO, and that role has undergone massive change in recent decades. So how do the leaders of great corporations today prepare themselves to make the hard decisions?

Jeff Immelt, former CEO of GE and now current instructor at Stanford University, shares some of his top lessons on leading a major corporation in his book, Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company.

Jeff joins Greg to reflect on his long career at GE, discussing his sense of belonging and the changing nature of career expectations, especially among today's youth. They delve into the intricacies of being a CEO, the differences between traditional and modern management practices, and the importance of both depth and breadth in business expertise. Jeff shares insights on organizational design, the importance of listening, and the critical role of teaching and continual learning in leadership.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What actually makes people stay, grow and perform in a company.

07:36: Every company I work with, you know, I said, why do people leave? Right? Because there is a finite number of options and all this other stuff we can give people. And basically money counts for sure. But the second reason why people leave is I have a bad manager. The third reason why people leave is I am not getting any better. I am not getting any training, I am not getting any coaching. I am just like a work unit, and so those are the things we have to solve for. I think if we really want to turn back on the productivity engine of the next era.

Every job looks easy till you're the one doing it

38:41: Every job looks easy till you are the one doing it, right? So when you step in, do not come in and say, “This person stunk. I am the new sheriff. Everything is going to be great.” Just keep your mouth shut and do your job.

Every good leader has three voices

39:42: One of the things, Greg, that I teach, particularly founders, on is I say, look, every good leader has to have three voices, right? You need to be able to have the all-employee meeting, right? You need to be able to stand up to 400 people and communicate to 4-0-0 people. You need to be able to run a meeting, and you need to be able to give one-on-one feedback. And you know, those voices, the vocabulary is very different, right? In terms of how you motivate people in those three settings. And I try to give them examples of, you know, what they can work on, and, and very few people are really good at all three. But a lot of people give up at one, and it is hard to be a good leader. It is hard to be a good leader if you cannot traverse those three settings.

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]]> Fri, 30 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There’s no instruction manual for how to be a CEO, and that role has undergone massive change in recent decades. So how do the leaders of great corporations today prepare themselves to make the hard decisions?

Jeff Immelt, former CEO of GE and now current instructor at Stanford University, shares some of his top lessons on leading a major corporation in his book, Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company.

Jeff joins Greg to reflect on his long career at GE, discussing his sense of belonging and the changing nature of career expectations, especially among today's youth. They delve into the intricacies of being a CEO, the differences between traditional and modern management practices, and the importance of both depth and breadth in business expertise. Jeff shares insights on organizational design, the importance of listening, and the critical role of teaching and continual learning in leadership.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What actually makes people stay, grow and perform in a company.

07:36: Every company I work with, you know, I said, why do people leave? Right? Because there is a finite number of options and all this other stuff we can give people. And basically money counts for sure. But the second reason why people leave is I have a bad manager. The third reason why people leave is I am not getting any better. I am not getting any training, I am not getting any coaching. I am just like a work unit, and so those are the things we have to solve for. I think if we really want to turn back on the productivity engine of the next era.

Every job looks easy till you're the one doing it

38:41: Every job looks easy till you are the one doing it, right? So when you step in, do not come in and say, “This person stunk. I am the new sheriff. Everything is going to be great.” Just keep your mouth shut and do your job.

Every good leader has three voices

39:42: One of the things, Greg, that I teach, particularly founders, on is I say, look, every good leader has to have three voices, right? You need to be able to have the all-employee meeting, right? You need to be able to stand up to 400 people and communicate to 4-0-0 people. You need to be able to run a meeting, and you need to be able to give one-on-one feedback. And you know, those voices, the vocabulary is very different, right? In terms of how you motivate people in those three settings. And I try to give them examples of, you know, what they can work on, and, and very few people are really good at all three. But a lot of people give up at one, and it is hard to be a good leader. It is hard to be a good leader if you cannot traverse those three settings.

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Guest Profile:

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]]> 616. Leading Through Learning: Lessons from Life as a CEO with Jeff Immelt Greg La Blanc 00:45:06 There’s no instruction manual for how to be a CEO, and that role has undergone massive change in recent decades. So how do the leaders of great corporations today prepare themselves to make the hard decisions? Jeff Immelt, former CEO of GE and now current instructor at Stanford University, shares some of his top lessons on leading a major corporation in his book, Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company. Jeff joins Greg to reflect on his long career at GE, discussing his sense of belonging and the changing nature of career expectations, especially among today's youth. They delve into the intricacies of being a CEO, the differences between traditional and modern management practices, and the importance of both depth and breadth in business expertise. Jeff shares insights on organizational design, the importance of listening, and the critical role of teaching and continual learning in leadership. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* There’s no instruction manual for how to be a CEO, and that role has undergone massive change in recent decades. So how do the leaders of great corporations today prepare themselves to make the hard decisions? Jeff Immelt, former CEO of GE and now current instructor at Stanford University, shares some of his top lessons on leading a major corporation in his book, Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company. Jeff joins Greg to reflect on his long career at GE, discussing his sense of belonging and the changing nature of career expectations, especially among today's youth. They delve into the intricacies of being a CEO, the differences between traditional and modern management practices, and the importance of both depth and breadth in business expertise. Jeff shares insights on organizational design, the importance of listening, and the critical role of teaching and continual learning in leadership. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 616 a9f02e30-9076-4a90-a0b2-a68b0704171c 615. Reclaim Your Life from Digital Overload with Paul Leonardi What are practical strategies to avoid overload and exhaustion in today’s digital world? What norms can organizations create for tool usage, and how can finding offline activities that provide a mental contrast to digital work?

Paul Leonardi is the Duca Family Professor of Technology Management at UC Santa Barbara, a consultant and speaker on digital transformation and the future of work, and an author of several works. His latest book is called Digital Exhaustion: Simple Rules for Reclaiming Your Life.

Greg and Paul discuss the complementary nature of his two most recent books: the first focuses on harnessing digital tools, and the second on mitigating the overwhelm they can cause. They also explore teaching technology management, including the importance of understanding technology’s impact on people and organizational processes. Paul explains the 30% rule, emphasizing the need to understand digital tools well enough to use them effectively. They also explore the concept of digital exhaustion, the subject of his most recent book, its symptoms, and how to manage it, both at work and in daily life. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How can we reduce exhaustion?

41:29: One easy way of reducing our exhaustion is to match the sort of complexity of the task that we are trying to do with the affordances or the capabilities of the technology. And I say match, not over exceed, because we also have the problem where, like me, I am sure you have been in many, many meetings that should have just been an email, that there is not the need. And so what we have done in that situation is we have overstimulated people, right, in a setting with, you know, 15 other folks, and we have taken an hour out of their day and maybe the travel time to get there. And that has created other avenues for exhaustion when, if we had just perceived this information via email, we could not have had the meeting. So you do not want to overmatch, you just want to like match to the complexity of the task. And that is the key to reducing our exhaustion.

It’s not just distraction that exhausts us

18:28: I think we have failed to look at how it is not just being distracted that is a problem, but it is the act of switching itself across all of these different inputs really is a significant source of our exhaustion.

Inference is a big driver of exhaustion

32:45: Inference is really a big driver of exhaustion. And I would say the place that it most shows up, although not exclusively, is in our social media lives. Because, of course, people are curating their lives in terms of what they post, whether that is LinkedIn or TikTok or Instagram, that does not really matter. And we are constantly not only making inferences of them, but what I find is that we are also very often making inferences about ourselves because we see a past record of all the things that we wrote and all of the things that we posted. And then we are also making inferences of what we think other people think about us based on all the things that we post.

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]]> Mon, 26 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are practical strategies to avoid overload and exhaustion in today’s digital world? What norms can organizations create for tool usage, and how can finding offline activities that provide a mental contrast to digital work?

Paul Leonardi is the Duca Family Professor of Technology Management at UC Santa Barbara, a consultant and speaker on digital transformation and the future of work, and an author of several works. His latest book is called Digital Exhaustion: Simple Rules for Reclaiming Your Life.

Greg and Paul discuss the complementary nature of his two most recent books: the first focuses on harnessing digital tools, and the second on mitigating the overwhelm they can cause. They also explore teaching technology management, including the importance of understanding technology’s impact on people and organizational processes. Paul explains the 30% rule, emphasizing the need to understand digital tools well enough to use them effectively. They also explore the concept of digital exhaustion, the subject of his most recent book, its symptoms, and how to manage it, both at work and in daily life. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How can we reduce exhaustion?

41:29: One easy way of reducing our exhaustion is to match the sort of complexity of the task that we are trying to do with the affordances or the capabilities of the technology. And I say match, not over exceed, because we also have the problem where, like me, I am sure you have been in many, many meetings that should have just been an email, that there is not the need. And so what we have done in that situation is we have overstimulated people, right, in a setting with, you know, 15 other folks, and we have taken an hour out of their day and maybe the travel time to get there. And that has created other avenues for exhaustion when, if we had just perceived this information via email, we could not have had the meeting. So you do not want to overmatch, you just want to like match to the complexity of the task. And that is the key to reducing our exhaustion.

It’s not just distraction that exhausts us

18:28: I think we have failed to look at how it is not just being distracted that is a problem, but it is the act of switching itself across all of these different inputs really is a significant source of our exhaustion.

Inference is a big driver of exhaustion

32:45: Inference is really a big driver of exhaustion. And I would say the place that it most shows up, although not exclusively, is in our social media lives. Because, of course, people are curating their lives in terms of what they post, whether that is LinkedIn or TikTok or Instagram, that does not really matter. And we are constantly not only making inferences of them, but what I find is that we are also very often making inferences about ourselves because we see a past record of all the things that we wrote and all of the things that we posted. And then we are also making inferences of what we think other people think about us based on all the things that we post.

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]]> 615. Reclaim Your Life from Digital Overload with Paul Leonardi Greg La Blanc 01:00:03 What are practical strategies to avoid overload and exhaustion in today’s digital world? What norms can organizations create for tool usage, and how can finding offline activities that provide a mental contrast to digital work? Paul Leonardi is the Duca Family Professor of Technology Management at UC Santa Barbara, a consultant and speaker on digital transformation and the future of work, and an author of several works. His latest book is called Digital Exhaustion: Simple Rules for Reclaiming Your Life. Greg and Paul discuss the complementary nature of his two most recent books: the first focuses on harnessing digital tools, and the second on mitigating the overwhelm they can cause. They also explore teaching technology management, including the importance of understanding technology’s impact on people and organizational processes. Paul explains the 30% rule, emphasizing the need to understand digital tools well enough to use them effectively. They also explore the concept of digital exhaustion, the subject of his most recent book, its symptoms, and how to manage it, both at work and in daily life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are practical strategies to avoid overload and exhaustion in today’s digital world? What norms can organizations create for tool usage, and how can finding offline activities that provide a mental contrast to digital work? Paul Leonardi is the Duca Family Professor of Technology Management at UC Santa Barbara, a consultant and speaker on digital transformation and the future of work, and an author of several works. His latest book is called Digital Exhaustion: Simple Rules for Reclaiming Your Life. Greg and Paul discuss the complementary nature of his two most recent books: the first focuses on harnessing digital tools, and the second on mitigating the overwhelm they can cause. They also explore teaching technology management, including the importance of understanding technology’s impact on people and organizational processes. Paul explains the 30% rule, emphasizing the need to understand digital tools well enough to use them effectively. They also explore the concept of digital exhaustion, the subject of his most recent book, its symptoms, and how to manage it, both at work and in daily life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 615 95382766-3a5e-46e7-943c-8e9c19c8fc45 614. Understanding the Great Divergence: Europe vs China from 1000 to 2000 feat. Guido Tabellini What changes happened in the histories of Europe and China to create two economies that developed so differently? How did different forms of local cooperation influence state development, rule of law, and economic progress?

Guido Tabellini is a professor of Political Economics at the University of Bocconi in Milan, Italy. He is also the author of several books, most recently co-authoring Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in Europe and China, 1000–2000.

Greg and Guido discuss the historical divergence in prosperity between Europe and China, exploring when and why it began, and whether it arose from cultural or institutional phenomena. Guido also emphasizes the contrasting roles of corporations and clans in both regions, the impact of state capacity, and the lasting effects of these differences on modern economic and political landscapes. Their conversation touches on the historical process of cooperation across regions and its implications for modern development economics.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What are the political origins of corporations?

31:55: So, we should not think of the corporation just as a firm, as a way to organize production that is important, but actually comes at the later stage. And the very important role of the corporation is also to have a political role, to govern a city, to represent a city in parliament, in China. The role of the corporations, when they emerge. Instead, it is purely economic. You do not have self-governing city, and even at the level of monasteries, you do have Buddhist monasteries, which are important, but each one of them is organized as an entity. You do not have a congregation of monasteries like the Cluny monastery or like, eventually, the church. 

Reframing the conversation on the Great Divergence

02:34: Rather than talking about great divergence, we actually like to talk about great reversal in the book because it has been a reversal. So even before starting to debate when the divergence begins, meaning that Europe gets ahead of China, we should acknowledge that the opposite was true, that China was ahead of Europe at the turn of the first millennium. 

The high stakes of clan adjudication

49:05: In China, the demand for external enforcement was probably less, evident because the clan needed less of an external enforcement. They were smaller communities, they had stronger reciprocal ties. The reputational mechanism within the clan was much more important because if I cheat on my clan member, I am kicked out of the clan. And if I am kicked out of the clan in a society which is organized around clans, I am on my own and I die. In Europe, of course, reputation is very important, but the penalty of cheating is not as harsh. So the altruistic value ties are weaker, and the penalty of cheating is also weaker. And so you have a stronger demand for external enforcement. 

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]]> Fri, 23 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What changes happened in the histories of Europe and China to create two economies that developed so differently? How did different forms of local cooperation influence state development, rule of law, and economic progress?

Guido Tabellini is a professor of Political Economics at the University of Bocconi in Milan, Italy. He is also the author of several books, most recently co-authoring Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in Europe and China, 1000–2000.

Greg and Guido discuss the historical divergence in prosperity between Europe and China, exploring when and why it began, and whether it arose from cultural or institutional phenomena. Guido also emphasizes the contrasting roles of corporations and clans in both regions, the impact of state capacity, and the lasting effects of these differences on modern economic and political landscapes. Their conversation touches on the historical process of cooperation across regions and its implications for modern development economics.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What are the political origins of corporations?

31:55: So, we should not think of the corporation just as a firm, as a way to organize production that is important, but actually comes at the later stage. And the very important role of the corporation is also to have a political role, to govern a city, to represent a city in parliament, in China. The role of the corporations, when they emerge. Instead, it is purely economic. You do not have self-governing city, and even at the level of monasteries, you do have Buddhist monasteries, which are important, but each one of them is organized as an entity. You do not have a congregation of monasteries like the Cluny monastery or like, eventually, the church. 

Reframing the conversation on the Great Divergence

02:34: Rather than talking about great divergence, we actually like to talk about great reversal in the book because it has been a reversal. So even before starting to debate when the divergence begins, meaning that Europe gets ahead of China, we should acknowledge that the opposite was true, that China was ahead of Europe at the turn of the first millennium. 

The high stakes of clan adjudication

49:05: In China, the demand for external enforcement was probably less, evident because the clan needed less of an external enforcement. They were smaller communities, they had stronger reciprocal ties. The reputational mechanism within the clan was much more important because if I cheat on my clan member, I am kicked out of the clan. And if I am kicked out of the clan in a society which is organized around clans, I am on my own and I die. In Europe, of course, reputation is very important, but the penalty of cheating is not as harsh. So the altruistic value ties are weaker, and the penalty of cheating is also weaker. And so you have a stronger demand for external enforcement. 

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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]]> 614. Understanding the Great Divergence: Europe vs China from 1000 to 2000 feat. Guido Tabellini Greg La Blanc 00:53:31 What changes happened in the histories of Europe and China to create two economies that developed so differently? How did different forms of local cooperation influence state development, rule of law, and economic progress? Guido Tabellini is a professor of Political Economics at the University of Bocconi in Milan, Italy. He is also the author of several books, most recently co-authoring Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in Europe and China, 1000–2000. Greg and Guido discuss the historical divergence in prosperity between Europe and China, exploring when and why it began, and whether it arose from cultural or institutional phenomena. Guido also emphasizes the contrasting roles of corporations and clans in both regions, the impact of state capacity, and the lasting effects of these differences on modern economic and political landscapes. Their conversation touches on the historical process of cooperation across regions and its implications for modern development economics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What changes happened in the histories of Europe and China to create two economies that developed so differently? How did different forms of local cooperation influence state development, rule of law, and economic progress? Guido Tabellini is a professor of Political Economics at the University of Bocconi in Milan, Italy. He is also the author of several books, most recently co-authoring Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in Europe and China, 1000–2000. Greg and Guido discuss the historical divergence in prosperity between Europe and China, exploring when and why it began, and whether it arose from cultural or institutional phenomena. Guido also emphasizes the contrasting roles of corporations and clans in both regions, the impact of state capacity, and the lasting effects of these differences on modern economic and political landscapes. Their conversation touches on the historical process of cooperation across regions and its implications for modern development economics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 614 e73c8cd3-19f6-4c72-92a5-6ca4ebcbf056 613. Challenging Bureaucracy: Management Insights with Gary Hamel Where did the concept of management as a profession come from, and how did it develop? Why do bureaucratic practices persist? How can companies break free from those constraints to unlock greater potential and adapt more effectively to the relentless change and competition in today’s business world?

Gary Hamel is the founder of the Management Lab, a professor at the London Business School, a visiting professor at the University of Oxford, and the author of several books. His recent titles include Humanocracy, Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them, What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation, and Competing for the Future.

Greg and Gary discuss the evolution of Gary’s thinking on management over the years and the detrimental effects of entrenched bureaucratic systems in organizations. He argues that bureaucracy stifles innovation, efficiency, and human engagement, leading him to suggest that organizations need to adopt more human-centric, dynamic, and decentralized models. He also points out the eventual trajectory of all companies that don’t follow this path.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why organizations stop being technical and start being bureaucratic

08:29: I don’t think administrative skills are any more a competitive advantage. You need them, but they are not much of a differentiator. So far as I can see, they are not really a source of competitive advantage. And yet, given that history of them being so rare, we basically turned our organizations into administrative aristocracies . And so what that meant practically was, once you reached a certain level in an organization, a fairly low level, the only way to advance your career was to become a manager. And that is still true in most organizations. People tend to compete for those jobs because, and I have young friends, and kids and so on who, very capable people worked in organizations, and however capable you are technically, you reach a point where they are coaxing you into an administrative or managerial role as the only way to grow. And the desire to keep great employees and to pay them well means that those positions proliferate. We create more managerial roles because that is the way of rewarding people and escalating their salaries.

The radical shift from static hierarchy to dynamic power

39:04: I am all for having a hierarchy, but I think it needs to be highly dynamic depending on the issue, and the hierarchy needs to be able to shift also. When people in power are no longer adding value or whatever they need to, you need to be able to fire those people from below.

Why traditional leadership programs create administrators, not leaders

47:18: In survey after survey, by Fortune, by McKinsey or others, the vast majority of executives do not think leadership development is producing positive returns or noticeably positive returns. And again, I think the reason for that is what we call leadership development is, first of all, almost done completely in the bureaucratic frame. We are not trying to find people with genuine leadership, natural leadership capacity. We are not trying to find people who understand how to mobilize and catalyze others to do things that people thought were impossible. Our leadership training is basically training people to take on bigger administrative jobs and stratified just like the pyramid: managing yourself, managing a team, managing a unit, managing a function, managing the organization. So number one, we have that problem. It is simply replicating, and it is creating better administrators. I do not think the data says that it is creating leaders.

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]]> Mon, 19 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Where did the concept of management as a profession come from, and how did it develop? Why do bureaucratic practices persist? How can companies break free from those constraints to unlock greater potential and adapt more effectively to the relentless change and competition in today’s business world?

Gary Hamel is the founder of the Management Lab, a professor at the London Business School, a visiting professor at the University of Oxford, and the author of several books. His recent titles include Humanocracy, Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them, What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation, and Competing for the Future.

Greg and Gary discuss the evolution of Gary’s thinking on management over the years and the detrimental effects of entrenched bureaucratic systems in organizations. He argues that bureaucracy stifles innovation, efficiency, and human engagement, leading him to suggest that organizations need to adopt more human-centric, dynamic, and decentralized models. He also points out the eventual trajectory of all companies that don’t follow this path.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why organizations stop being technical and start being bureaucratic

08:29: I don’t think administrative skills are any more a competitive advantage. You need them, but they are not much of a differentiator. So far as I can see, they are not really a source of competitive advantage. And yet, given that history of them being so rare, we basically turned our organizations into administrative aristocracies . And so what that meant practically was, once you reached a certain level in an organization, a fairly low level, the only way to advance your career was to become a manager. And that is still true in most organizations. People tend to compete for those jobs because, and I have young friends, and kids and so on who, very capable people worked in organizations, and however capable you are technically, you reach a point where they are coaxing you into an administrative or managerial role as the only way to grow. And the desire to keep great employees and to pay them well means that those positions proliferate. We create more managerial roles because that is the way of rewarding people and escalating their salaries.

The radical shift from static hierarchy to dynamic power

39:04: I am all for having a hierarchy, but I think it needs to be highly dynamic depending on the issue, and the hierarchy needs to be able to shift also. When people in power are no longer adding value or whatever they need to, you need to be able to fire those people from below.

Why traditional leadership programs create administrators, not leaders

47:18: In survey after survey, by Fortune, by McKinsey or others, the vast majority of executives do not think leadership development is producing positive returns or noticeably positive returns. And again, I think the reason for that is what we call leadership development is, first of all, almost done completely in the bureaucratic frame. We are not trying to find people with genuine leadership, natural leadership capacity. We are not trying to find people who understand how to mobilize and catalyze others to do things that people thought were impossible. Our leadership training is basically training people to take on bigger administrative jobs and stratified just like the pyramid: managing yourself, managing a team, managing a unit, managing a function, managing the organization. So number one, we have that problem. It is simply replicating, and it is creating better administrators. I do not think the data says that it is creating leaders.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 613. Challenging Bureaucracy: Management Insights with Gary Hamel Greg La Blanc 00:51:47 Where did the concept of management as a profession come from, and how did it develop? Why do bureaucratic practices persist? How can companies break free from those constraints to unlock greater potential and adapt more effectively to the relentless change and competition in today’s business world? Gary Hamel is the founder of the Management Lab, a professor at the London Business School, a visiting professor at the University of Oxford, and the author of several books. His recent titles include Humanocracy, Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them, What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation, and Competing for the Future. Greg and Gary discuss the evolution of Gary’s thinking on management over the years and the detrimental effects of entrenched bureaucratic systems in organizations. He argues that bureaucracy stifles innovation, efficiency, and human engagement, leading him to suggest that organizations need to adopt more human-centric, dynamic, and decentralized models. He also points out the eventual trajectory of all companies that don’t follow this path. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Where did the concept of management as a profession come from, and how did it develop? Why do bureaucratic practices persist? How can companies break free from those constraints to unlock greater potential and adapt more effectively to the relentless change and competition in today’s business world? Gary Hamel is the founder of the Management Lab, a professor at the London Business School, a visiting professor at the University of Oxford, and the author of several books. His recent titles include Humanocracy, Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them, What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation, and Competing for the Future. Greg and Gary discuss the evolution of Gary’s thinking on management over the years and the detrimental effects of entrenched bureaucratic systems in organizations. He argues that bureaucracy stifles innovation, efficiency, and human engagement, leading him to suggest that organizations need to adopt more human-centric, dynamic, and decentralized models. He also points out the eventual trajectory of all companies that don’t follow this path. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 613 4e5961e0-7955-43c2-a2b3-45d179765f62 612. Cracking the Code of Effective Meetings with Rebecca Hinds When are meetings the best way to coordinate and make decisions and when do they make things worse?? How do you use the two-pizza rule to hold effective meetings and what happens when you start including too many people in a process?

Rebecca Hinds is the head of the Work AI Institute at Glean and the author of Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done, a book outlining the way to address one of the ways productivity is lost in organizations.

Greg and Rebecca discuss the importance of intentionality in information flow within organizations, the common pitfalls of meeting culture, and practical strategies to improve meeting efficiency. Rebecca emphasizes the use of data and AI to measure meeting effectiveness and reduce 'meeting bloat', while sharing insights from her experiences at Asana and her studies on organizational collaboration. They also explore the evolving collaboration between HR and IT departments in the era of AI and the necessity for both tech and HR professionals to exchange and enhance their skills.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How ‘visibIlity bias’ fuels endless meetings

[07:28] We know that humans have a bias to associate presence with productivity. And so what I find to be often the case is people start to associate more meetings with more importance and status within the organization, and so when you're stuck and not sure how to make progress or you're worried about productivity, a meeting becomes a knee-jerk solution to solve that. You might not accomplish anything meaningful in the meeting, but at least you've sat together and shown that some progress or perceived progress was made. And so I think at the core of this, is this pervasive productivity theater that goes on in organizations, this visibility bias where we associate meetings with importance within the organization. There are a host of other problems, but at the core, I think that's the fundamental problem that we're dealing with.

The pressure ingrained in our calendars and meeting cultures

[09:37]  As soon as someone extends a meeting invite. They're establishing this social contract where you feel like you have to reciprocate. Even when we think about terminology around, it's a meeting invite. You either accept or you reject. You start to feel like you're not just rejecting the meeting, but rejecting the person. And it's taken very personally. 

AI tools can help reveal participation imbalances in meetings

[22:59] If you're seeing that leaders are consuming 70%, 80% of the airtime, that's an opportunity to course correct and improve your meeting effectiveness. And often when it comes from an AI tool or an objective analytic tool, it's much more effectively received than a less powerful person trying to voice that takeaway in the meeting and try to veer influence that way.

Are we socially conditioned to hate meetings?

[28:48] Humans have what I call a meeting suck reflex, right? For a multitude of different reasons.When we hear the word "meeting," we have this negative, visceral reaction. So much so that you know when you're asked to evaluate your meetings in public versus private, you tend to rate your meetings much more negatively when you're around people in public as compared to privately, because we think that we should hate meetings. We've been socially conditioned to feel such, and there's few things that bond coworkers more quickly than bonding over a bad meeting that could have been a five-line email, right? And so to avoid that, assessing whether a meeting was worth your time helps to level set. Everyone has an intuitive sense of whether a meeting was worth their time. Is there something more productive they could have done with that time or not? And so that tends to be a good gauge for you as an organizer.

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]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When are meetings the best way to coordinate and make decisions and when do they make things worse?? How do you use the two-pizza rule to hold effective meetings and what happens when you start including too many people in a process?

Rebecca Hinds is the head of the Work AI Institute at Glean and the author of Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done, a book outlining the way to address one of the ways productivity is lost in organizations.

Greg and Rebecca discuss the importance of intentionality in information flow within organizations, the common pitfalls of meeting culture, and practical strategies to improve meeting efficiency. Rebecca emphasizes the use of data and AI to measure meeting effectiveness and reduce 'meeting bloat', while sharing insights from her experiences at Asana and her studies on organizational collaboration. They also explore the evolving collaboration between HR and IT departments in the era of AI and the necessity for both tech and HR professionals to exchange and enhance their skills.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How ‘visibIlity bias’ fuels endless meetings

[07:28] We know that humans have a bias to associate presence with productivity. And so what I find to be often the case is people start to associate more meetings with more importance and status within the organization, and so when you're stuck and not sure how to make progress or you're worried about productivity, a meeting becomes a knee-jerk solution to solve that. You might not accomplish anything meaningful in the meeting, but at least you've sat together and shown that some progress or perceived progress was made. And so I think at the core of this, is this pervasive productivity theater that goes on in organizations, this visibility bias where we associate meetings with importance within the organization. There are a host of other problems, but at the core, I think that's the fundamental problem that we're dealing with.

The pressure ingrained in our calendars and meeting cultures

[09:37]  As soon as someone extends a meeting invite. They're establishing this social contract where you feel like you have to reciprocate. Even when we think about terminology around, it's a meeting invite. You either accept or you reject. You start to feel like you're not just rejecting the meeting, but rejecting the person. And it's taken very personally. 

AI tools can help reveal participation imbalances in meetings

[22:59] If you're seeing that leaders are consuming 70%, 80% of the airtime, that's an opportunity to course correct and improve your meeting effectiveness. And often when it comes from an AI tool or an objective analytic tool, it's much more effectively received than a less powerful person trying to voice that takeaway in the meeting and try to veer influence that way.

Are we socially conditioned to hate meetings?

[28:48] Humans have what I call a meeting suck reflex, right? For a multitude of different reasons.When we hear the word "meeting," we have this negative, visceral reaction. So much so that you know when you're asked to evaluate your meetings in public versus private, you tend to rate your meetings much more negatively when you're around people in public as compared to privately, because we think that we should hate meetings. We've been socially conditioned to feel such, and there's few things that bond coworkers more quickly than bonding over a bad meeting that could have been a five-line email, right? And so to avoid that, assessing whether a meeting was worth your time helps to level set. Everyone has an intuitive sense of whether a meeting was worth their time. Is there something more productive they could have done with that time or not? And so that tends to be a good gauge for you as an organizer.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 612. Cracking the Code of Effective Meetings with Rebecca Hinds Greg La Blanc 00:54:34 When are meetings the best way to coordinate and make decisions and when do they make things worse?? How do you use the two-pizza rule to hold effective meetings and what happens when you start including too many people in a process? Rebecca Hinds is the head of the Work AI Institute at Glean and the author of Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done, a book outlining the way to address one of the ways productivity is lost in organizations. Greg and Rebecca discuss the importance of intentionality in information flow within organizations, the common pitfalls of meeting culture, and practical strategies to improve meeting efficiency. Rebecca emphasizes the use of data and AI to measure meeting effectiveness and reduce 'meeting bloat', while sharing insights from her experiences at Asana and her studies on organizational collaboration. They also explore the evolving collaboration between HR and IT departments in the era of AI and the necessity for both tech and HR professionals to exchange and enhance their skills. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When are meetings the best way to coordinate and make decisions and when do they make things worse?? How do you use the two-pizza rule to hold effective meetings and what happens when you start including too many people in a process? Rebecca Hinds is the head of the Work AI Institute at Glean and the author of Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done, a book outlining the way to address one of the ways productivity is lost in organizations. Greg and Rebecca discuss the importance of intentionality in information flow within organizations, the common pitfalls of meeting culture, and practical strategies to improve meeting efficiency. Rebecca emphasizes the use of data and AI to measure meeting effectiveness and reduce 'meeting bloat', while sharing insights from her experiences at Asana and her studies on organizational collaboration. They also explore the evolving collaboration between HR and IT departments in the era of AI and the necessity for both tech and HR professionals to exchange and enhance their skills. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 612 dd939e21-386b-4384-92d9-f97869d9679d 611. Finding a Strategy for Life, Business, and Everything in Between feat. Geoffrey A. Moore Whether in markets, organizations, or the universe itself, today’s guest is a master at navigating complex systems where existing models have stopped working, and new ones must emerge.

Geoffrey Moore is a consultant in the high-tech sector and a prolific author, with titles including Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging, and Surviving Hypergrowth Markets, and, most recently, The Infinite Staircase: What the Universe Tells Us About Life, Ethics, and Mortality. 

Geoffrey and Greg discuss his transition from Renaissance English scholar to high-tech strategist, why narrative is critical in business, the challenges of disrupting industries, and what “The Infinite Staircase” reveals about life’s meaning and human purpose. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The importance of sales and the failure of business schools

09:32: It's absolutely a travesty that business schools don't teach sales. It's, it's crazy. And there are a bunch of people that have made that argument before. But the reason why academics didn't like sales is it felt too much like Glengarry Glen Ross: sleazy, you know, closers, "coffee is for closers," and all the kind of stuff the academics hate. But the point about it is that, particularly in contemporary B2B sales, that's not what a salesperson does anymore. You have to help the customer find the use cases and the ROI that validates why they're gonna buy this thing, which means you have to be intellectually curious about their business and not just yammer about your own business. And so it is, it's actually a really interesting profession if you approach it, you know, in a kind of more in-service-to-the-customer approach, as opposed to, "I'm going to make my commissions and go to the club," although that's also a big motive among salespeople.

Venture capital is literary criticism

06:10: Venture is a form of literary criticism prior to investment. And then, as you invest, you start to figure out, now how can I verify? How can I validate? And eventually, the analytics and the numbers become very important. But not at the beginning. At the beginning, it is really about the story.

Venture Capital vs. Corporate metrics

38:11: Venture capitalists do not fund performance. They fund power, but everything in a venture model is about becoming more powerful, not becoming more performant. When we exit, then they'll become performant, but not now, and that idea is still very hard to land in a large corporation.

The correct sequence for success

33:51: The correct sequence has to be customers first, employees second, investors third. Any other sequence doesn't work, not for sustainable success.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Whether in markets, organizations, or the universe itself, today’s guest is a master at navigating complex systems where existing models have stopped working, and new ones must emerge.

Geoffrey Moore is a consultant in the high-tech sector and a prolific author, with titles including Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging, and Surviving Hypergrowth Markets, and, most recently, The Infinite Staircase: What the Universe Tells Us About Life, Ethics, and Mortality. 

Geoffrey and Greg discuss his transition from Renaissance English scholar to high-tech strategist, why narrative is critical in business, the challenges of disrupting industries, and what “The Infinite Staircase” reveals about life’s meaning and human purpose. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The importance of sales and the failure of business schools

09:32: It's absolutely a travesty that business schools don't teach sales. It's, it's crazy. And there are a bunch of people that have made that argument before. But the reason why academics didn't like sales is it felt too much like Glengarry Glen Ross: sleazy, you know, closers, "coffee is for closers," and all the kind of stuff the academics hate. But the point about it is that, particularly in contemporary B2B sales, that's not what a salesperson does anymore. You have to help the customer find the use cases and the ROI that validates why they're gonna buy this thing, which means you have to be intellectually curious about their business and not just yammer about your own business. And so it is, it's actually a really interesting profession if you approach it, you know, in a kind of more in-service-to-the-customer approach, as opposed to, "I'm going to make my commissions and go to the club," although that's also a big motive among salespeople.

Venture capital is literary criticism

06:10: Venture is a form of literary criticism prior to investment. And then, as you invest, you start to figure out, now how can I verify? How can I validate? And eventually, the analytics and the numbers become very important. But not at the beginning. At the beginning, it is really about the story.

Venture Capital vs. Corporate metrics

38:11: Venture capitalists do not fund performance. They fund power, but everything in a venture model is about becoming more powerful, not becoming more performant. When we exit, then they'll become performant, but not now, and that idea is still very hard to land in a large corporation.

The correct sequence for success

33:51: The correct sequence has to be customers first, employees second, investors third. Any other sequence doesn't work, not for sustainable success.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 611. Finding a Strategy for Life, Business, and Everything in Between feat. Geoffrey A. Moore Greg La Blanc 00:55:19 Whether in markets, organizations, or the universe itself, today’s guest is a master at navigating complex systems where existing models have stopped working, and new ones must emerge. Geoffrey Moore is a consultant in the high-tech sector and a prolific author, with titles including Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging, and Surviving Hypergrowth Markets, and, most recently, The Infinite Staircase: What the Universe Tells Us About Life, Ethics, and Mortality. Geoffrey and Greg discuss his transition from Renaissance English scholar to high-tech strategist, why narrative is critical in business, the challenges of disrupting industries, and what “The Infinite Staircase” reveals about life’s meaning and human purpose. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Whether in markets, organizations, or the universe itself, today’s guest is a master at navigating complex systems where existing models have stopped working, and new ones must emerge. Geoffrey Moore is a consultant in the high-tech sector and a prolific author, with titles including Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging, and Surviving Hypergrowth Markets, and, most recently, The Infinite Staircase: What the Universe Tells Us About Life, Ethics, and Mortality. Geoffrey and Greg discuss his transition from Renaissance English scholar to high-tech strategist, why narrative is critical in business, the challenges of disrupting industries, and what “The Infinite Staircase” reveals about life’s meaning and human purpose. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 611 ef3244a4-a996-46a6-bced-4cf079aa01ca 610. Shaping Spaces: Architecture, Design, and Urban Planning with Witold Rybczynski What is the real importance of understanding architectural history, and how is its teaching different from the histories of other disciplines? How can good design influence business decisions?

Witold Rybczynski is an emeritus professor in the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the author of several books on architecture and its history. His most recent titles have been The Driving Machine: A Design History of the Car, Now I Sit Me Down: From Klismos to Plastic Chair: A Natural History, Mysteries of the Mall: And Other Essays, and The Story of Architecture.

Greg and Witold discuss Witold’s extensive work on various topics, including the present state and histories of architecture, urban planning, and design. Their conversation covers the cultural valuation of architecture versus fine arts, the historical impact of city planning and urban design in the United States, and the unique characteristics of American cities compared to how cities and urban planning happens in European countries. They also get into the interplay of style and function in car design based in the research from Witold’s new book.

*unSILOed Podcast 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.

]]> Thu, 8 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is the real importance of understanding architectural history, and how is its teaching different from the histories of other disciplines? How can good design influence business decisions?

Witold Rybczynski is an emeritus professor in the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the author of several books on architecture and its history. His most recent titles have been The Driving Machine: A Design History of the Car, Now I Sit Me Down: From Klismos to Plastic Chair: A Natural History, Mysteries of the Mall: And Other Essays, and The Story of Architecture.

Greg and Witold discuss Witold’s extensive work on various topics, including the present state and histories of architecture, urban planning, and design. Their conversation covers the cultural valuation of architecture versus fine arts, the historical impact of city planning and urban design in the United States, and the unique characteristics of American cities compared to how cities and urban planning happens in European countries. They also get into the interplay of style and function in car design based in the research from Witold’s new book.

*unSILOed Podcast 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.

]]> 610. Shaping Spaces: Architecture, Design, and Urban Planning with Witold Rybczynski Greg La Blanc 00:50:42 What is the real importance of understanding architectural history, and how is its teaching different from the histories of other disciplines? How can good design influence business decisions? Witold Rybczynski is an emeritus professor in the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the author of several books on architecture and its history. His most recent titles have been The Driving Machine: A Design History of the Car, Now I Sit Me Down: From Klismos to Plastic Chair: A Natural History, Mysteries of the Mall: And Other Essays, and The Story of Architecture. Greg and Witold discuss Witold’s extensive work on various topics, including the present state and histories of architecture, urban planning, and design. Their conversation covers the cultural valuation of architecture versus fine arts, the historical impact of city planning and urban design in the United States, and the unique characteristics of American cities compared to how cities and urban planning happens in European countries. They also get into the interplay of style and function in car design based in the research from Witold’s new book. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is the real importance of understanding architectural history, and how is its teaching different from the histories of other disciplines? How can good design influence business decisions? Witold Rybczynski is an emeritus professor in the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the author of several books on architecture and its history. His most recent titles have been The Driving Machine: A Design History of the Car, Now I Sit Me Down: From Klismos to Plastic Chair: A Natural History, Mysteries of the Mall: And Other Essays, and The Story of Architecture. Greg and Witold discuss Witold’s extensive work on various topics, including the present state and histories of architecture, urban planning, and design. Their conversation covers the cultural valuation of architecture versus fine arts, the historical impact of city planning and urban design in the United States, and the unique characteristics of American cities compared to how cities and urban planning happens in European countries. They also get into the interplay of style and function in car design based in the research from Witold’s new book. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 610 c603ec06-a2ef-4536-9da4-6534b09f194e 609. The Evolution of Science: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Understanding feat. Peter Dear What was the role of experimentation in early science? How did past scientific paradigms continue to influence current scientific discourse? What is the utility of understanding the history of science for modern scientists?

Peter Dear is a professor emeritus of history at Cornell University, and the author of several books, including The World as We Know It: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Science and Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution.

Greg and Peter discuss the evolution of science from natural philosophy, addressing how scientific progress is not simply a linear journey towards greater knowledge. Peter talks about the transformative periods like the Renaissance and the scientific revolution, and the debate over the definition and significance of terms like 'scientific revolution.' They also explore how today's scientific practices are deeply rooted in 19th-century developments. Their conversation also covers the historical context behind Newton's and Darwin's work among other famous scientists throughout history.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two “registers” of science

09:50: Science nowadays, and through the course of the last, well, developing over the last two centuries, really in the 19th and 20th centuries, science is still talked of as if it were a naturaln actual philosophy, even if that term is not used very much anymore. Science is sometimes regarded as something that is about understanding the universe, understanding the natural world as if it is an intellectual enterprise and just an intellectual enterprise. And at the same time, it is also regarded as something that is practically useful, practically valuable, and these two different registers for talking about science, I think, sort of ride alongside one another and switch back and forth depending on how it is that people want to represent any particular kind of knowledge.

The birth of experimentation

22:23: One of the things about experimentation, is that it was a matter of developing practices, procedures for generating knowledge claims about nature that were different from the ways in which experience had been used, particularly in Aristotelian or quasi-Aristotelian context, to talk about the behavior of nature. Experiments are a particular way of understanding what experience is useful for in making sense of the world.

The twin dimensions of science

40:30: I think all scientists have always relied on the twin dimensions of science, the fact that science can be regarded as an actual philosophy when it's talking about the way things are, and the fact that science can be regarded as, or talked about in terms of, instrumentality. When you are focusing on the capabilities, the practical capabilities, the particular ideas and procedures enable you to do, and at different times and places, scientists will sometimes play up the natural philosophy side of things and at other times play up the instrumentality side of things, depending on what it is interested in talking about at the time. But I think everyone, all scientists, regard those as both essential elements, so to speak, of what scientific inquiry is all about.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> Mon, 5 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What was the role of experimentation in early science? How did past scientific paradigms continue to influence current scientific discourse? What is the utility of understanding the history of science for modern scientists?

Peter Dear is a professor emeritus of history at Cornell University, and the author of several books, including The World as We Know It: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Science and Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution.

Greg and Peter discuss the evolution of science from natural philosophy, addressing how scientific progress is not simply a linear journey towards greater knowledge. Peter talks about the transformative periods like the Renaissance and the scientific revolution, and the debate over the definition and significance of terms like 'scientific revolution.' They also explore how today's scientific practices are deeply rooted in 19th-century developments. Their conversation also covers the historical context behind Newton's and Darwin's work among other famous scientists throughout history.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two “registers” of science

09:50: Science nowadays, and through the course of the last, well, developing over the last two centuries, really in the 19th and 20th centuries, science is still talked of as if it were a naturaln actual philosophy, even if that term is not used very much anymore. Science is sometimes regarded as something that is about understanding the universe, understanding the natural world as if it is an intellectual enterprise and just an intellectual enterprise. And at the same time, it is also regarded as something that is practically useful, practically valuable, and these two different registers for talking about science, I think, sort of ride alongside one another and switch back and forth depending on how it is that people want to represent any particular kind of knowledge.

The birth of experimentation

22:23: One of the things about experimentation, is that it was a matter of developing practices, procedures for generating knowledge claims about nature that were different from the ways in which experience had been used, particularly in Aristotelian or quasi-Aristotelian context, to talk about the behavior of nature. Experiments are a particular way of understanding what experience is useful for in making sense of the world.

The twin dimensions of science

40:30: I think all scientists have always relied on the twin dimensions of science, the fact that science can be regarded as an actual philosophy when it's talking about the way things are, and the fact that science can be regarded as, or talked about in terms of, instrumentality. When you are focusing on the capabilities, the practical capabilities, the particular ideas and procedures enable you to do, and at different times and places, scientists will sometimes play up the natural philosophy side of things and at other times play up the instrumentality side of things, depending on what it is interested in talking about at the time. But I think everyone, all scientists, regard those as both essential elements, so to speak, of what scientific inquiry is all about.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 609. The Evolution of Science: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Understanding feat. Peter Dear Greg La Blanc 00:45:09 What was the role of experimentation in early science? How did past scientific paradigms continue to influence current scientific discourse? What is the utility of understanding the history of science for modern scientists? Peter Dear is a professor emeritus of history at Cornell University, and the author of several books, including The World as We Know It: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Science and Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution. Greg and Peter discuss the evolution of science from natural philosophy, addressing how scientific progress is not simply a linear journey towards greater knowledge. Peter talks about the transformative periods like the Renaissance and the scientific revolution, and the debate over the definition and significance of terms like 'scientific revolution.' They also explore how today's scientific practices are deeply rooted in 19th-century developments. Their conversation also covers the historical context behind Newton's and Darwin's work among other famous scientists throughout history. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What was the role of experimentation in early science? How did past scientific paradigms continue to influence current scientific discourse? What is the utility of understanding the history of science for modern scientists? Peter Dear is a professor emeritus of history at Cornell University, and the author of several books, including The World as We Know It: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Science and Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution. Greg and Peter discuss the evolution of science from natural philosophy, addressing how scientific progress is not simply a linear journey towards greater knowledge. Peter talks about the transformative periods like the Renaissance and the scientific revolution, and the debate over the definition and significance of terms like 'scientific revolution.' They also explore how today's scientific practices are deeply rooted in 19th-century developments. Their conversation also covers the historical context behind Newton's and Darwin's work among other famous scientists throughout history. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 609 bd772313-1394-438d-9056-412f7da0cc4d 608. Why Imperfection Is Core to Being Human feat. Laurence D. Hurst While evolution is often thought to be conducive to perfect adaptation, there are plenty of reasons why we never get there. 

Laurence D. Hurst is a professor of evolutionary genetics in the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath. His book, The Evolution of Imperfection: The Science of Why We Aren’t and Can’t Be Perfect is an expansive look into the imperfections of the human genome and why humans seem to be predisposed to so much bad genetic luck. 

Laurence and Greg explore the evolutionary constraints that lead to imperfections, how population size affects mutation rates, the advancements in gene therapy, and why imperfection could be key to a deeper understanding of evolution. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why humans have such bad genetic luck

07:13: We have good reason to think that humans are far from being as fit as they might be. We have a very high mutation rate. We've got one of the highest mutation rates going, for example, and most mutations are deleterious. Most of the time, five to 10% of us will have a rare genetic disorder, for example. And we could be better. We could be a lot, lot, lot better.

Medicine is anti-evolution

47:17: Medicine is anti-evolution. Evolution is why we keep on having these genetic diseases, and medicine goes, well, you might have them, but we are going to stop them having their effects.

Childbirth is more dangerous than the most dangerous job in America

12:13: Childbirth is, for humans, a spectacularly dangerous pursuit. There was a lovely survey done by Forbes Magazine of America's most dangerous jobs, and it turns out nothing comes close to childbirth. Childbirth is an order of magnitude more dangerous than America's most dangerous job.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Mon, 22 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast While evolution is often thought to be conducive to perfect adaptation, there are plenty of reasons why we never get there. 

Laurence D. Hurst is a professor of evolutionary genetics in the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath. His book, The Evolution of Imperfection: The Science of Why We Aren’t and Can’t Be Perfect is an expansive look into the imperfections of the human genome and why humans seem to be predisposed to so much bad genetic luck. 

Laurence and Greg explore the evolutionary constraints that lead to imperfections, how population size affects mutation rates, the advancements in gene therapy, and why imperfection could be key to a deeper understanding of evolution. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why humans have such bad genetic luck

07:13: We have good reason to think that humans are far from being as fit as they might be. We have a very high mutation rate. We've got one of the highest mutation rates going, for example, and most mutations are deleterious. Most of the time, five to 10% of us will have a rare genetic disorder, for example. And we could be better. We could be a lot, lot, lot better.

Medicine is anti-evolution

47:17: Medicine is anti-evolution. Evolution is why we keep on having these genetic diseases, and medicine goes, well, you might have them, but we are going to stop them having their effects.

Childbirth is more dangerous than the most dangerous job in America

12:13: Childbirth is, for humans, a spectacularly dangerous pursuit. There was a lovely survey done by Forbes Magazine of America's most dangerous jobs, and it turns out nothing comes close to childbirth. Childbirth is an order of magnitude more dangerous than America's most dangerous job.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 608. Why Imperfection Is Core to Being Human feat. Laurence D. Hurst Greg La Blanc 00:56:22 While evolution is often thought to be conducive to perfect adaptation, there are plenty of reasons why we never get there. Laurence D. Hurst is a professor of evolutionary genetics in the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath. His book, The Evolution of Imperfection: The Science of Why We Aren’t and Can’t Be Perfect is an expansive look into the imperfections of the human genome and why humans seem to be predisposed to so much bad genetic luck. Laurence and Greg explore the evolutionary constraints that lead to imperfections, how population size affects mutation rates, the advancements in gene therapy, and why imperfection could be key to a deeper understanding of evolution. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* While evolution is often thought to be conducive to perfect adaptation, there are plenty of reasons why we never get there. Laurence D. Hurst is a professor of evolutionary genetics in the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath. His book, The Evolution of Imperfection: The Science of Why We Aren’t and Can’t Be Perfect is an expansive look into the imperfections of the human genome and why humans seem to be predisposed to so much bad genetic luck. Laurence and Greg explore the evolutionary constraints that lead to imperfections, how population size affects mutation rates, the advancements in gene therapy, and why imperfection could be key to a deeper understanding of evolution. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 608 70b568f4-8b3a-426f-9331-450729655e05 607. Navigating Gender Equality and Patriarchy in the Modern Workplace feat. Cordelia Fine How can organizations make more equitable changes to their internal norms and structures, to promote fairness over merely seeking profit? What are alternate ways to tackle the difference in agreeableness that underpins many professional gaps between men and women?

Cordelia Fine is a professor in the history and philosophy of science department at University of Melbourne, as well as the author of several books, including Patriarchy Inc.: What We Get Wrong About Gender Equality and Why Men Still Win at Work, Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference, and Testosterone Rex: Myths of Sex, Science, and Society.

Greg and Cordelia discuss the complexities surrounding gender equality, including the contested reasons for wage differences and occupational gaps between men and women. Cordelia critiques the traditional and evolving gender norms, explains her stance on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) strategies, and advocates for more nuanced, context-aware approaches to addressing gender disparities. She challenges oversimplified evolutionary psychology narratives and underscores the importance of understanding the cultural evolution of gender roles. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why valuing women isn’t enough

52:52: You can say pretty words about valuing the feminine. Oh, you know, women are great. They’re so wonderful. They’re so empathic and collaborative and participative, and they’re really good at building people. But you can’t just say that—you have to actually change your organizations so that you literally put your money where your mouth is, so that is what is actually being rewarded.

Redefining patriarchy

10:37: There’s a sort of assumption that when we talk about patriarchy, we’re just talking about the harm to girls and women. Its long been recognized, I think, in feminism that often men and certain groups of men do also face harms in that kind of system that’s keeping some men on top.

Why our ideas about sex differences often get it wrong

20:58: I do think we have to be careful about looking at our—first of all, making assumptions about what sex differences actually are—because they’re often, you know, a huge amount of overlap, contingent depending on the context and the cues. But also, to then project that back into our ancestral past without taking a kind of wider look at societies beyond the weird populations—Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:

Related Unsiloed Episode:


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]]> Thu, 18 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How can organizations make more equitable changes to their internal norms and structures, to promote fairness over merely seeking profit? What are alternate ways to tackle the difference in agreeableness that underpins many professional gaps between men and women?

Cordelia Fine is a professor in the history and philosophy of science department at University of Melbourne, as well as the author of several books, including Patriarchy Inc.: What We Get Wrong About Gender Equality and Why Men Still Win at Work, Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference, and Testosterone Rex: Myths of Sex, Science, and Society.

Greg and Cordelia discuss the complexities surrounding gender equality, including the contested reasons for wage differences and occupational gaps between men and women. Cordelia critiques the traditional and evolving gender norms, explains her stance on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) strategies, and advocates for more nuanced, context-aware approaches to addressing gender disparities. She challenges oversimplified evolutionary psychology narratives and underscores the importance of understanding the cultural evolution of gender roles. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why valuing women isn’t enough

52:52: You can say pretty words about valuing the feminine. Oh, you know, women are great. They’re so wonderful. They’re so empathic and collaborative and participative, and they’re really good at building people. But you can’t just say that—you have to actually change your organizations so that you literally put your money where your mouth is, so that is what is actually being rewarded.

Redefining patriarchy

10:37: There’s a sort of assumption that when we talk about patriarchy, we’re just talking about the harm to girls and women. Its long been recognized, I think, in feminism that often men and certain groups of men do also face harms in that kind of system that’s keeping some men on top.

Why our ideas about sex differences often get it wrong

20:58: I do think we have to be careful about looking at our—first of all, making assumptions about what sex differences actually are—because they’re often, you know, a huge amount of overlap, contingent depending on the context and the cues. But also, to then project that back into our ancestral past without taking a kind of wider look at societies beyond the weird populations—Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:

Related Unsiloed Episode:


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

]]> 607. Navigating Gender Equality and Patriarchy in the Modern Workplace feat. Cordelia Fine Greg La Blanc 00:54:53 How can organizations make more equitable changes to their internal norms and structures, to promote fairness over merely seeking profit? What are alternate ways to tackle the difference in agreeableness that underpins many professional gaps between men and women? Cordelia Fine is a professor in the history and philosophy of science department at University of Melbourne, as well as the author of several books, including Patriarchy Inc.: What We Get Wrong About Gender Equality and Why Men Still Win at Work, Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference, and Testosterone Rex: Myths of Sex, Science, and Society. Greg and Cordelia discuss the complexities surrounding gender equality, including the contested reasons for wage differences and occupational gaps between men and women. Cordelia critiques the traditional and evolving gender norms, explains her stance on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) strategies, and advocates for more nuanced, context-aware approaches to addressing gender disparities. She challenges oversimplified evolutionary psychology narratives and underscores the importance of understanding the cultural evolution of gender roles. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How can organizations make more equitable changes to their internal norms and structures, to promote fairness over merely seeking profit? What are alternate ways to tackle the difference in agreeableness that underpins many professional gaps between men and women? Cordelia Fine is a professor in the history and philosophy of science department at University of Melbourne, as well as the author of several books, including Patriarchy Inc.: What We Get Wrong About Gender Equality and Why Men Still Win at Work, Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference, and Testosterone Rex: Myths of Sex, Science, and Society. Greg and Cordelia discuss the complexities surrounding gender equality, including the contested reasons for wage differences and occupational gaps between men and women. Cordelia critiques the traditional and evolving gender norms, explains her stance on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) strategies, and advocates for more nuanced, context-aware approaches to addressing gender disparities. She challenges oversimplified evolutionary psychology narratives and underscores the importance of understanding the cultural evolution of gender roles. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 607 e05c4e50-bd61-4223-b59b-a61ee953297e 606. The Great Myth of The New Deal & Its Lingering Economic Impact feat. George Selgin Despite its long-held place in history as the lynchpin of America’s recovery from the Great Depression, what if the New Deal did more to hinder the country’s recovery than help it? 

George Selgin is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia and former director of the Center on Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. His books like, False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery and Floored!: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession, examine macroeconomic theories through the lens of key moments in monetary history. 

In this conversation, Greg and George dive deep into the inner workings of The Great Depression, covering the biggest misconceptions surrounding the New Deal's role in ending the crisis, why many of President Roosevelt’s policies were counterproductive, and how pre-existing, international factors impacted the U.S.’s recovery.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The myth of New Deal wisdom

47:17: The thing that people have to remember when they are inclined to think, oh, you know, we need to look back at the New Deal and all the wonderful things they did to end the Depression. They knew so much, you know, they had all these experiments. No. We know a lot more about how to fight recessions and depressions than they did because we know that fiscal and monetary stimulus are our best hopes. And those were two things that the Roosevelt administration did not put much, if any, emphasis upon. And that, of course, just hearing that should give a lot of people second thoughts about how helpful the New Deal was. They did a lot of stuff, but they did not do the main thing we rely on now. The main things, they did not promote monetary stimulus, and they did not promote fiscal stimulus except somewhat, reluctantly.

Keynes vs. the New Dealers

59:39: I certainly believe that if Keynes’s advice had been followed instead of what the New Dealers did, that the Depression would have ended much sooner than it did in the United States. 

The downside of "bold experimentation"

35:56: Roosevelt made two statements that were probably the least, the two main unambiguous things he said, one of which turned out to be a very accurate description of what his administration would end up doing. And the other one of which would be a very inaccurate statement. This is all in the course of the campaign. The accurate statement was when he said that his administration planned to go about addressing the Depression through bold experimentation. And that is absolutely true. There was a lot of trial and error. And the problem is, as I say in my book, you know, the problem with bold experiments is they often fail.

On war clouds and gold flows

45:41: What keeps gold flowing in for the rest of the decade, and more and more of it as time goes on, is Hitler's rise to power and the, the gatherings war clouds that eventually have many, many Europeans thinking, I do not think this is place, this place is safe for our gold. And as long as they could, taking it and shipping it to the United States, where now after the suspension of the gold standard and the devaluation, the treasury alone is buying all the gold.

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]]> Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Despite its long-held place in history as the lynchpin of America’s recovery from the Great Depression, what if the New Deal did more to hinder the country’s recovery than help it? 

George Selgin is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia and former director of the Center on Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. His books like, False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery and Floored!: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession, examine macroeconomic theories through the lens of key moments in monetary history. 

In this conversation, Greg and George dive deep into the inner workings of The Great Depression, covering the biggest misconceptions surrounding the New Deal's role in ending the crisis, why many of President Roosevelt’s policies were counterproductive, and how pre-existing, international factors impacted the U.S.’s recovery.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The myth of New Deal wisdom

47:17: The thing that people have to remember when they are inclined to think, oh, you know, we need to look back at the New Deal and all the wonderful things they did to end the Depression. They knew so much, you know, they had all these experiments. No. We know a lot more about how to fight recessions and depressions than they did because we know that fiscal and monetary stimulus are our best hopes. And those were two things that the Roosevelt administration did not put much, if any, emphasis upon. And that, of course, just hearing that should give a lot of people second thoughts about how helpful the New Deal was. They did a lot of stuff, but they did not do the main thing we rely on now. The main things, they did not promote monetary stimulus, and they did not promote fiscal stimulus except somewhat, reluctantly.

Keynes vs. the New Dealers

59:39: I certainly believe that if Keynes’s advice had been followed instead of what the New Dealers did, that the Depression would have ended much sooner than it did in the United States. 

The downside of "bold experimentation"

35:56: Roosevelt made two statements that were probably the least, the two main unambiguous things he said, one of which turned out to be a very accurate description of what his administration would end up doing. And the other one of which would be a very inaccurate statement. This is all in the course of the campaign. The accurate statement was when he said that his administration planned to go about addressing the Depression through bold experimentation. And that is absolutely true. There was a lot of trial and error. And the problem is, as I say in my book, you know, the problem with bold experiments is they often fail.

On war clouds and gold flows

45:41: What keeps gold flowing in for the rest of the decade, and more and more of it as time goes on, is Hitler's rise to power and the, the gatherings war clouds that eventually have many, many Europeans thinking, I do not think this is place, this place is safe for our gold. And as long as they could, taking it and shipping it to the United States, where now after the suspension of the gold standard and the devaluation, the treasury alone is buying all the gold.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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

]]> 606. The Great Myth of The New Deal & Its Lingering Economic Impact feat. George Selgin Greg La Blanc 00:55:13 Despite its long-held place in history as the lynchpin of America’s recovery from the Great Depression, what if the New Deal did more to hinder the country’s recovery than help it? George Selgin is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia and former director of the Center on Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. His books like, False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery and Floored!: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession, examine macroeconomic theories through the lens of key moments in monetary history. In this conversation, Greg and George dive deep into the inner workings of The Great Depression, covering the biggest misconceptions surrounding the New Deal's role in ending the crisis, why many of President Roosevelt’s policies were counterproductive, and how pre-existing, international factors impacted the U.S.’s recovery. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Despite its long-held place in history as the lynchpin of America’s recovery from the Great Depression, what if the New Deal did more to hinder the country’s recovery than help it? George Selgin is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia and former director of the Center on Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. His books like, False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery and Floored!: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession, examine macroeconomic theories through the lens of key moments in monetary history. In this conversation, Greg and George dive deep into the inner workings of The Great Depression, covering the biggest misconceptions surrounding the New Deal's role in ending the crisis, why many of President Roosevelt’s policies were counterproductive, and how pre-existing, international factors impacted the U.S.’s recovery. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 606 c2ff6ada-baf8-44c2-b81d-6fb6d3dbabe7 605. The Intersection of Children’s Rights and Our Legal System’s Flaws feat. Adam Benforado How does our legal system treat children today, and how do policies affecting their parents and communities cascade down to shape their lives? What forces create a pipeline to criminalization, and what would it take to break that cycle for the children who come next?

Adam Benforado is a professor of law at Drexel University and the author of two books titled A Minor Revolution: How Prioritizing Kids Benefits Us All and Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice.

Greg and Adam discuss the deep-seated flaws in the US legal system, including cognitive biases and heuristics affecting legal professionals, and how historical assumptions about human behavior shape legal decision-making. Their discussion explores why the legal system is resistant to integrating behavioral sciences, and the impact of punitive criminal justice policies on society, especially children. 

Adam highlights the juxtaposition between overparented, affluent children and under-resourced, marginalized youth, advocating for evidence-based, preventative approaches to social issues rather than reactionary legal interventions. There are broader societal implications of legal practices and Adam stresses the importance of prioritizing children's rights now for a more equitable future.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A different way to look at crime

16:49: I think there's a really different way to look at crime, which is that everything is situational. It's a result of genes and environment. And of course society can play around with those things and make crime go up or go down. And so, you know, I think in this book, one of my hopes with doing it was honestly to provoke people to try to think about things that they think they know so well. And crime is one thing we think we know so well in our lives, but I think here we have to understand different countries, different people over time have taken very different approaches. And it is not that somehow, you know, people living in these cultures are fundamentally different. I've been to these other countries, and I would say humans actually are surprisingly similar. And what's different though in our country is how we approach it.

Judges are human too

07:30: I think the social science that we've accumulated literally over decades now tells a very different story, which is that judges are human beings, like all the rest of us. And so we need to be just as aware of potential biases that are coming into their judgments and decision making as everyone else.

Where you’re born shapes who you become

43:12: We promise economic, socioeconomic mobility. But if you look at it, right, if you’re in that bottom quintile of family income versus that top quintile of family income, in many ways your trajectory, no matter how inherently smart you are at third grade, a lot of that’s already tracked out simply based on all of that investment that wealthy parents are gonna make over the course of that young person’s childhood. And that’s both positive enrichment, but it’s also when kids, a lot of kids get into trouble. Something doesn’t work, they’re struggling in math, or they hit a kid in school, or they get sick. What happens, right? If you have wealthy parents, those problems get addressed and you get many second chances. If you’re a poor kid, you don’t.

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Recommended Resources:

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]]> Thu, 11 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does our legal system treat children today, and how do policies affecting their parents and communities cascade down to shape their lives? What forces create a pipeline to criminalization, and what would it take to break that cycle for the children who come next?

Adam Benforado is a professor of law at Drexel University and the author of two books titled A Minor Revolution: How Prioritizing Kids Benefits Us All and Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice.

Greg and Adam discuss the deep-seated flaws in the US legal system, including cognitive biases and heuristics affecting legal professionals, and how historical assumptions about human behavior shape legal decision-making. Their discussion explores why the legal system is resistant to integrating behavioral sciences, and the impact of punitive criminal justice policies on society, especially children. 

Adam highlights the juxtaposition between overparented, affluent children and under-resourced, marginalized youth, advocating for evidence-based, preventative approaches to social issues rather than reactionary legal interventions. There are broader societal implications of legal practices and Adam stresses the importance of prioritizing children's rights now for a more equitable future.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A different way to look at crime

16:49: I think there's a really different way to look at crime, which is that everything is situational. It's a result of genes and environment. And of course society can play around with those things and make crime go up or go down. And so, you know, I think in this book, one of my hopes with doing it was honestly to provoke people to try to think about things that they think they know so well. And crime is one thing we think we know so well in our lives, but I think here we have to understand different countries, different people over time have taken very different approaches. And it is not that somehow, you know, people living in these cultures are fundamentally different. I've been to these other countries, and I would say humans actually are surprisingly similar. And what's different though in our country is how we approach it.

Judges are human too

07:30: I think the social science that we've accumulated literally over decades now tells a very different story, which is that judges are human beings, like all the rest of us. And so we need to be just as aware of potential biases that are coming into their judgments and decision making as everyone else.

Where you’re born shapes who you become

43:12: We promise economic, socioeconomic mobility. But if you look at it, right, if you’re in that bottom quintile of family income versus that top quintile of family income, in many ways your trajectory, no matter how inherently smart you are at third grade, a lot of that’s already tracked out simply based on all of that investment that wealthy parents are gonna make over the course of that young person’s childhood. And that’s both positive enrichment, but it’s also when kids, a lot of kids get into trouble. Something doesn’t work, they’re struggling in math, or they hit a kid in school, or they get sick. What happens, right? If you have wealthy parents, those problems get addressed and you get many second chances. If you’re a poor kid, you don’t.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 605. The Intersection of Children’s Rights and Our Legal System’s Flaws feat. Adam Benforado Greg La Blanc 00:52:58 How does our legal system treat children today, and how do policies affecting their parents and communities cascade down to shape their lives? What forces create a pipeline to criminalization, and what would it take to break that cycle for the children who come next? Adam Benforado is a professor of law at Drexel University and the author of two books titled A Minor Revolution: How Prioritizing Kids Benefits Us All and Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice. Greg and Adam discuss the deep-seated flaws in the US legal system, including cognitive biases and heuristics affecting legal professionals, and how historical assumptions about human behavior shape legal decision-making. Their discussion explores why the legal system is resistant to integrating behavioral sciences, and the impact of punitive criminal justice policies on society, especially children. Adam highlights the juxtaposition between overparented, affluent children and under-resourced, marginalized youth, advocating for evidence-based, preventative approaches to social issues rather than reactionary legal interventions. There are broader societal implications of legal practices and Adam stresses the importance of prioritizing children's rights now for a more equitable future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does our legal system treat children today, and how do policies affecting their parents and communities cascade down to shape their lives? What forces create a pipeline to criminalization, and what would it take to break that cycle for the children who come next? Adam Benforado is a professor of law at Drexel University and the author of two books titled A Minor Revolution: How Prioritizing Kids Benefits Us All and Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice. Greg and Adam discuss the deep-seated flaws in the US legal system, including cognitive biases and heuristics affecting legal professionals, and how historical assumptions about human behavior shape legal decision-making. Their discussion explores why the legal system is resistant to integrating behavioral sciences, and the impact of punitive criminal justice policies on society, especially children. Adam highlights the juxtaposition between overparented, affluent children and under-resourced, marginalized youth, advocating for evidence-based, preventative approaches to social issues rather than reactionary legal interventions. There are broader societal implications of legal practices and Adam stresses the importance of prioritizing children's rights now for a more equitable future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 605 77c1919e-c9b2-4f72-94b1-db6125ea0696 604. The Intersection of Philosophy and Suffering: From the Stoics to Modernity feat. Scott Samuelson Is the point of life to minimize suffering, or to understand and embrace it on some level? How do different belief structures view the ideal human response to negative situations? Is there a degree of suffering that would be bearable in order to enable something pleasurable that could offset it?

Scott Samuelson is a professor of philosophy at Iowa State University and also the author of several books, Rome as a Guide to the Good Life: A Philosophical Grand Tour, The Deepest Human Life: An Introduction to Philosophy for Everyone, and Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering: What Philosophy Can Tell Us About the Hardest Mystery of All.

Greg and Scott discuss the universal accessibility of philosophy, the role of suffering in human life, and the balance between fixing and facing suffering. Scott shares his experiences teaching philosophy in prisons and how men in prison viewed suffering from different perspectives. He also explores the philosophical implications of thinkers like Epictetus, Nietzsche, and John Stuart Mill. Their conversation touches on the themes of modernity, the significance of facing suffering, and finding meaning in both joy and pain. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Philosophy begins with wonder and deepens through suffering

04:26: I think there's a kind of built-in wonder in all of us. But I also think, and this goes to the suffering book, that another thing that tends to make philosophers out of everyone is suffering. There's something about suffering that kind of blows our minds. I mean, a certain amount of suffering seems to make some sense. I mean, it makes some sense that my hand, you know, feels pain when it gets near a fire so that I protect myself. But almost everyone has experiences where someone dies prematurely, or where perhaps they suffer pain that just doesn't add up, like a migraine headache. Or we look at the world and see great injustice, and it's hard not to be a human and start to ask philosophical questions in the face of that—to start to wonder what's going on here. You know, why is this happening? Sometimes, why me? And as I've had a chance to teach a really wide variety of people over the years, I've found that they all—it's without exception—people feel these questions quite deeply inside them.

How philosophy provides us space to face life’s hard questions

05:27: One of the beautiful things that philosophy can do is provide a space that kind of dignifies that part of us that is asking these questions and thinking about it. And so even when philosophy can't necessarily provide all the answers to the questions, there's something powerful just about being in that space where you're facing those questions.

Why suffering is part of being human

10:38: We, of course, are going to kind of combat suffering in some ways, shape, or form. But at the same time, it seems like we have to learn to face it and be open to it and to accept it and to see it as just a part of life rather than as a foreign invader of what it means to be human. And that when we do that, we open ourselves up to the adventure of being human. We had opened ourselves up to, you know, the possibilities of real growth and finding meaning. And a lot of people, when they come out the other side of difficult experiences, have a kind of weird sense that that was a very valuable and important thing, even something they're grateful for. Even though, at the same time, it's not that they wish that it happened, but they're grateful that it has become part of their story and their life. And so when we can do that, I think we're kind of living better lives overall.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> Mon, 8 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is the point of life to minimize suffering, or to understand and embrace it on some level? How do different belief structures view the ideal human response to negative situations? Is there a degree of suffering that would be bearable in order to enable something pleasurable that could offset it?

Scott Samuelson is a professor of philosophy at Iowa State University and also the author of several books, Rome as a Guide to the Good Life: A Philosophical Grand Tour, The Deepest Human Life: An Introduction to Philosophy for Everyone, and Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering: What Philosophy Can Tell Us About the Hardest Mystery of All.

Greg and Scott discuss the universal accessibility of philosophy, the role of suffering in human life, and the balance between fixing and facing suffering. Scott shares his experiences teaching philosophy in prisons and how men in prison viewed suffering from different perspectives. He also explores the philosophical implications of thinkers like Epictetus, Nietzsche, and John Stuart Mill. Their conversation touches on the themes of modernity, the significance of facing suffering, and finding meaning in both joy and pain. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Philosophy begins with wonder and deepens through suffering

04:26: I think there's a kind of built-in wonder in all of us. But I also think, and this goes to the suffering book, that another thing that tends to make philosophers out of everyone is suffering. There's something about suffering that kind of blows our minds. I mean, a certain amount of suffering seems to make some sense. I mean, it makes some sense that my hand, you know, feels pain when it gets near a fire so that I protect myself. But almost everyone has experiences where someone dies prematurely, or where perhaps they suffer pain that just doesn't add up, like a migraine headache. Or we look at the world and see great injustice, and it's hard not to be a human and start to ask philosophical questions in the face of that—to start to wonder what's going on here. You know, why is this happening? Sometimes, why me? And as I've had a chance to teach a really wide variety of people over the years, I've found that they all—it's without exception—people feel these questions quite deeply inside them.

How philosophy provides us space to face life’s hard questions

05:27: One of the beautiful things that philosophy can do is provide a space that kind of dignifies that part of us that is asking these questions and thinking about it. And so even when philosophy can't necessarily provide all the answers to the questions, there's something powerful just about being in that space where you're facing those questions.

Why suffering is part of being human

10:38: We, of course, are going to kind of combat suffering in some ways, shape, or form. But at the same time, it seems like we have to learn to face it and be open to it and to accept it and to see it as just a part of life rather than as a foreign invader of what it means to be human. And that when we do that, we open ourselves up to the adventure of being human. We had opened ourselves up to, you know, the possibilities of real growth and finding meaning. And a lot of people, when they come out the other side of difficult experiences, have a kind of weird sense that that was a very valuable and important thing, even something they're grateful for. Even though, at the same time, it's not that they wish that it happened, but they're grateful that it has become part of their story and their life. And so when we can do that, I think we're kind of living better lives overall.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 604. The Intersection of Philosophy and Suffering: From the Stoics to Modernity feat. Scott Samuelson Greg La Blanc 00:54:47 Is the point of life to minimize suffering, or to understand and embrace it on some level? How do different belief structures view the ideal human response to negative situations? Is there a degree of suffering that would be bearable in order to enable something pleasurable that could offset it? Scott Samuelson is a professor of philosophy at Iowa State University and also the author of several books, Rome as a Guide to the Good Life: A Philosophical Grand Tour, The Deepest Human Life: An Introduction to Philosophy for Everyone, and Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering: What Philosophy Can Tell Us About the Hardest Mystery of All. Greg and Scott discuss the universal accessibility of philosophy, the role of suffering in human life, and the balance between fixing and facing suffering. Scott shares his experiences teaching philosophy in prisons and how men in prison viewed suffering from different perspectives. He also explores the philosophical implications of thinkers like Epictetus, Nietzsche, and John Stuart Mill. Their conversation touches on the themes of modernity, the significance of facing suffering, and finding meaning in both joy and pain. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is the point of life to minimize suffering, or to understand and embrace it on some level? How do different belief structures view the ideal human response to negative situations? Is there a degree of suffering that would be bearable in order to enable something pleasurable that could offset it? Scott Samuelson is a professor of philosophy at Iowa State University and also the author of several books, Rome as a Guide to the Good Life: A Philosophical Grand Tour, The Deepest Human Life: An Introduction to Philosophy for Everyone, and Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering: What Philosophy Can Tell Us About the Hardest Mystery of All. Greg and Scott discuss the universal accessibility of philosophy, the role of suffering in human life, and the balance between fixing and facing suffering. Scott shares his experiences teaching philosophy in prisons and how men in prison viewed suffering from different perspectives. He also explores the philosophical implications of thinkers like Epictetus, Nietzsche, and John Stuart Mill. Their conversation touches on the themes of modernity, the significance of facing suffering, and finding meaning in both joy and pain. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 604 c88c9d96-b7cf-46de-adb3-27a71160a902 603.  How to Engineer Serendipity in Your Life, Your Organization and Your Community feat. David Cleevely What are the nuances of organizational design and risk-taking? What are the roles of both curiosity and trust in fostering an environment ripe for innovation? How can you create serendipity intentionally, and harness its power for your organization?

David Cleevely is a British entrepreneur and international telecoms expert who has built and advised many companies, principally in Cambridge, UK. He is also the author of the new book Serendipity: It Doesn't Happen By Accident. 

Greg and David discuss the concept of engineered serendipity, which involves designing environments and life trajectories that optimize the occurrence of fortunate coincidences. David explains how places like Cambridge, Silicon Valley, and 18th-century Birmingham fostered innovative ecosystems. They explore how engineered structures can increase the likelihood of beneficial outcomes, the role of key individuals in creating networks, and the importance of interdisciplinary interactions. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How can we engineer serendipity?

04:23: The thing that we need to do is look at how did those things actually happen? Why did they happen? And is it possible to get some general principles out of this, some insights, so that instead of just relying on chance to do it for us, we can change the odds. And really, serendipity does not act by accident. It is about changing the odds.

Randomness in strategy

29:09: You need an element of randomness in strategy. So you need to have things that are highly focused, and you need some things that are going to be cross-disciplinary and completely wacky. And you will need different proportions of those.

Creating environments for good things to happen

02:27: I think we need to do some research, and it's properly cross-disciplinary, 'cause it involves network science, it involves behavioral psychology stuff, all of these things that we need to understand how this stuff actually works. We've been taking this stuff for granted, and actually we need to not just go, oh, that's interesting, and then move on. No, actually we need to investigate this stuff and think, how can we actually create environments in which good things are more likely to happen?

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> Thu, 4 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the nuances of organizational design and risk-taking? What are the roles of both curiosity and trust in fostering an environment ripe for innovation? How can you create serendipity intentionally, and harness its power for your organization?

David Cleevely is a British entrepreneur and international telecoms expert who has built and advised many companies, principally in Cambridge, UK. He is also the author of the new book Serendipity: It Doesn't Happen By Accident. 

Greg and David discuss the concept of engineered serendipity, which involves designing environments and life trajectories that optimize the occurrence of fortunate coincidences. David explains how places like Cambridge, Silicon Valley, and 18th-century Birmingham fostered innovative ecosystems. They explore how engineered structures can increase the likelihood of beneficial outcomes, the role of key individuals in creating networks, and the importance of interdisciplinary interactions. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How can we engineer serendipity?

04:23: The thing that we need to do is look at how did those things actually happen? Why did they happen? And is it possible to get some general principles out of this, some insights, so that instead of just relying on chance to do it for us, we can change the odds. And really, serendipity does not act by accident. It is about changing the odds.

Randomness in strategy

29:09: You need an element of randomness in strategy. So you need to have things that are highly focused, and you need some things that are going to be cross-disciplinary and completely wacky. And you will need different proportions of those.

Creating environments for good things to happen

02:27: I think we need to do some research, and it's properly cross-disciplinary, 'cause it involves network science, it involves behavioral psychology stuff, all of these things that we need to understand how this stuff actually works. We've been taking this stuff for granted, and actually we need to not just go, oh, that's interesting, and then move on. No, actually we need to investigate this stuff and think, how can we actually create environments in which good things are more likely to happen?

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 603.  How to Engineer Serendipity in Your Life, Your Organization and Your Community feat. David Cleevely Greg La Blanc 00:53:42 What are the nuances of organizational design and risk-taking? What are the roles of both curiosity and trust in fostering an environment ripe for innovation? How can you create serendipity intentionally, and harness its power for your organization? David Cleevely is a British entrepreneur and international telecoms expert who has built and advised many companies, principally in Cambridge, UK. He is also the author of the new book Serendipity: It Doesn't Happen By Accident. Greg and David discuss the concept of engineered serendipity, which involves designing environments and life trajectories that optimize the occurrence of fortunate coincidences. David explains how places like Cambridge, Silicon Valley, and 18th-century Birmingham fostered innovative ecosystems. They explore how engineered structures can increase the likelihood of beneficial outcomes, the role of key individuals in creating networks, and the importance of interdisciplinary interactions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the nuances of organizational design and risk-taking? What are the roles of both curiosity and trust in fostering an environment ripe for innovation? How can you create serendipity intentionally, and harness its power for your organization? David Cleevely is a British entrepreneur and international telecoms expert who has built and advised many companies, principally in Cambridge, UK. He is also the author of the new book Serendipity: It Doesn't Happen By Accident. Greg and David discuss the concept of engineered serendipity, which involves designing environments and life trajectories that optimize the occurrence of fortunate coincidences. David explains how places like Cambridge, Silicon Valley, and 18th-century Birmingham fostered innovative ecosystems. They explore how engineered structures can increase the likelihood of beneficial outcomes, the role of key individuals in creating networks, and the importance of interdisciplinary interactions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 603 e5a82b1b-020b-4e31-975f-8978f46eee55 602. Books: The Original Hardware for Knowledge feat. Joel J. Miller If ideas and knowledge are the software, then books have always been the longest-running hardware.

Author and former publishing executive Joel J. Miller’s latest book, The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future, delves into the history and evolution of books as a physical technology for idea transmission.

Joel and Greg discuss the book’s origins from ancient times with Socrates and Plato, to the development of the codex, and the impact of modern digital reading. Joel also shares insights from his experiences in the publishing industry, the importance of physical books in shaping thought, the role of metadata in organizing knowledge, and predictions about the future of books in an increasingly digital world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Books are hardware for knowledge

09:09: I read someone say essentially this definition of a machine, that it is an assembly of parts that are, you know, designed to produce a particular end. And I do think that there is both institutional and cultural kind of degradation of that. And I thought that is what a book does. A book is a thing that is designed to help produce a particular outcome, which looks like a number of things, but one of them is to develop elaborate schemes of thought that would not be able to exist outside of that physical format. If you did not have the physical thing, the hardware, like you said, if you did not have that, the software would not matter because you do not actually have the ability to take all these elaborate thoughts that we have and hold them in our minds. Our working memory is too short, the ability to go back and revisit and revise is non-existent more or less. And so writing enabled us to develop ideas, and we access those through books.

Books as vessels of ideas

13:24: Ideas live in books. Whether they're arguments, like it's history, it's someone explicating a topic, or it is a novel where somebody is accessing, you know, a kind of a window on another self or things like that. The book is always there to do that for us.

On metadata, organization, and libraries as knowledge systems

25:16: Data is every bit as wild and unruly, and humans have been trying to figure out ways of getting it under control since the beginning, because we create more information than we can even use. We always have. And the ability to go use a library effectively requires some kind of scheme of organization in order to make it, to make things findable. And so we see that not only in the micro case of a single book, but we can see it blown out across an entire library where people have discovered ways of making ideas findable within them. And at every stage, as the technology has advanced, the job has gotten more complicated and also more interesting because the solutions emerge from that technology that enables us to get even better solutions to the problem.

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]]> Mon, 1 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast If ideas and knowledge are the software, then books have always been the longest-running hardware.

Author and former publishing executive Joel J. Miller’s latest book, The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future, delves into the history and evolution of books as a physical technology for idea transmission.

Joel and Greg discuss the book’s origins from ancient times with Socrates and Plato, to the development of the codex, and the impact of modern digital reading. Joel also shares insights from his experiences in the publishing industry, the importance of physical books in shaping thought, the role of metadata in organizing knowledge, and predictions about the future of books in an increasingly digital world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Books are hardware for knowledge

09:09: I read someone say essentially this definition of a machine, that it is an assembly of parts that are, you know, designed to produce a particular end. And I do think that there is both institutional and cultural kind of degradation of that. And I thought that is what a book does. A book is a thing that is designed to help produce a particular outcome, which looks like a number of things, but one of them is to develop elaborate schemes of thought that would not be able to exist outside of that physical format. If you did not have the physical thing, the hardware, like you said, if you did not have that, the software would not matter because you do not actually have the ability to take all these elaborate thoughts that we have and hold them in our minds. Our working memory is too short, the ability to go back and revisit and revise is non-existent more or less. And so writing enabled us to develop ideas, and we access those through books.

Books as vessels of ideas

13:24: Ideas live in books. Whether they're arguments, like it's history, it's someone explicating a topic, or it is a novel where somebody is accessing, you know, a kind of a window on another self or things like that. The book is always there to do that for us.

On metadata, organization, and libraries as knowledge systems

25:16: Data is every bit as wild and unruly, and humans have been trying to figure out ways of getting it under control since the beginning, because we create more information than we can even use. We always have. And the ability to go use a library effectively requires some kind of scheme of organization in order to make it, to make things findable. And so we see that not only in the micro case of a single book, but we can see it blown out across an entire library where people have discovered ways of making ideas findable within them. And at every stage, as the technology has advanced, the job has gotten more complicated and also more interesting because the solutions emerge from that technology that enables us to get even better solutions to the problem.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> 602. Books: The Original Hardware for Knowledge feat. Joel J. Miller Greg La Blanc 00:47:01 If ideas and knowledge are the software, then books have always been the longest-running hardware. Author and former publishing executive Joel J. Miller’s latest book, The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future, delves into the history and evolution of books as a physical technology for idea transmission. Joel and Greg discuss the book’s origins from ancient times with Socrates and Plato, to the development of the codex, and the impact of modern digital reading. Joel also shares insights from his experiences in the publishing industry, the importance of physical books in shaping thought, the role of metadata in organizing knowledge, and predictions about the future of books in an increasingly digital world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* If ideas and knowledge are the software, then books have always been the longest-running hardware. Author and former publishing executive Joel J. Miller’s latest book, The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future, delves into the history and evolution of books as a physical technology for idea transmission. Joel and Greg discuss the book’s origins from ancient times with Socrates and Plato, to the development of the codex, and the impact of modern digital reading. Joel also shares insights from his experiences in the publishing industry, the importance of physical books in shaping thought, the role of metadata in organizing knowledge, and predictions about the future of books in an increasingly digital world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 602 1d91d2f6-a284-4081-80f0-67f8e69ffa7f 601. King Dollar: The Enduring Dominance of the US Currency feat. Paul Blustein How did the US Dollar become the dominant currency internationally? What keeps other currencies, fiat or crypto, from displacing the dollar's role? Does the aggressive use of sanctions by the US Government put the dollar's role at risk?

Paul Blustein is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as well as an author and journalist. He has written several books including his latest work King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency and previous works, Off Balance: The Travails of Institutions That Govern the Global Financial System, And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina, and Laid Low: Inside the Crisis That Overwhelmed Europe and the IMF.

Greg and Paul discuss the reasons behind the US dollar's dominance in global finance, its historical roots stemming from the Bretton Woods Agreement, and the challenges posed by international crises and economic policies. Paul also discusses the role and limitations of the IMF, the geopolitical implications of using the dollar as a financial weapon, and the potential impact of emerging currencies and digital threats. The episode concludes with insights into the phenomena of dollarization and how various economic strategies, including those of China and Russia, intersect with the enduring power of the US dollar.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How the U.S. discovered the power of financial sanctions

21:00: No longer was it just going to be the drug lords and, you know, in Colombia and places like that, it was now the government was gonna crack down on terrorists. And so the Treasury, OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, began doing some of that. And they realized that by cutting off banks abroad from access to the dollar system, that correspondent banking system we were just talking about, that, you know, things could really go boom. They could pose a death sentence on banks. And as they began to realize the power of that, they then applied it in the case of North Korea in 2005. And they were absolutely astonished to discover that this really worked. You could really have a big effect on North Korea's financial system by cutting off banks. It was—they went after a bank in Macau that had been—and then they were off to the races. They could use this similar kind of weaponry on Iran and other adversaries

Responsible vs irresponsible use of dollar power

25:29: You have this power with a dollar; if we use it responsibly, it can be a very good power. And if we use it irresponsibly, it's a bad power. And that's the way I like to look at it.

How U.S.–China sanction scenarios are actually gamed out

51:59: Some of the hawks in, you know, you don't hear so much from these guys anymore, but the hawks in Congress have tried to game some of these out. You know, I go into this in one of the chapters of the book about how they, you know, they had a red team and a blue team, and they thought, well, we can, you know, we just have done this—imposed drastic sanctions on Russia. So if there's an invasion of Taiwan, here's what we do. And they, I think, have discovered that if you have a really knowledgeable red team playing the Chinese Communist Party, they can come up with a lot, a lot of things that, it preserves Taiwanese democracy but doesn't have us at each other's throats.

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]]> Thu, 27 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How did the US Dollar become the dominant currency internationally? What keeps other currencies, fiat or crypto, from displacing the dollar's role? Does the aggressive use of sanctions by the US Government put the dollar's role at risk?

Paul Blustein is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as well as an author and journalist. He has written several books including his latest work King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency and previous works, Off Balance: The Travails of Institutions That Govern the Global Financial System, And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina, and Laid Low: Inside the Crisis That Overwhelmed Europe and the IMF.

Greg and Paul discuss the reasons behind the US dollar's dominance in global finance, its historical roots stemming from the Bretton Woods Agreement, and the challenges posed by international crises and economic policies. Paul also discusses the role and limitations of the IMF, the geopolitical implications of using the dollar as a financial weapon, and the potential impact of emerging currencies and digital threats. The episode concludes with insights into the phenomena of dollarization and how various economic strategies, including those of China and Russia, intersect with the enduring power of the US dollar.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How the U.S. discovered the power of financial sanctions

21:00: No longer was it just going to be the drug lords and, you know, in Colombia and places like that, it was now the government was gonna crack down on terrorists. And so the Treasury, OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, began doing some of that. And they realized that by cutting off banks abroad from access to the dollar system, that correspondent banking system we were just talking about, that, you know, things could really go boom. They could pose a death sentence on banks. And as they began to realize the power of that, they then applied it in the case of North Korea in 2005. And they were absolutely astonished to discover that this really worked. You could really have a big effect on North Korea's financial system by cutting off banks. It was—they went after a bank in Macau that had been—and then they were off to the races. They could use this similar kind of weaponry on Iran and other adversaries

Responsible vs irresponsible use of dollar power

25:29: You have this power with a dollar; if we use it responsibly, it can be a very good power. And if we use it irresponsibly, it's a bad power. And that's the way I like to look at it.

How U.S.–China sanction scenarios are actually gamed out

51:59: Some of the hawks in, you know, you don't hear so much from these guys anymore, but the hawks in Congress have tried to game some of these out. You know, I go into this in one of the chapters of the book about how they, you know, they had a red team and a blue team, and they thought, well, we can, you know, we just have done this—imposed drastic sanctions on Russia. So if there's an invasion of Taiwan, here's what we do. And they, I think, have discovered that if you have a really knowledgeable red team playing the Chinese Communist Party, they can come up with a lot, a lot of things that, it preserves Taiwanese democracy but doesn't have us at each other's throats.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 601. King Dollar: The Enduring Dominance of the US Currency feat. Paul Blustein Greg La Blanc 00:52:17 How did the US Dollar become the dominant currency internationally? What keeps other currencies, fiat or crypto, from displacing the dollar's role? Does the aggressive use of sanctions by the US Government put the dollar's role at risk? Paul Blustein is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as well as an author and journalist. He has written several books including his latest work King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency and previous works, Off Balance: The Travails of Institutions That Govern the Global Financial System, And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina, and Laid Low: Inside the Crisis That Overwhelmed Europe and the IMF. Greg and Paul discuss the reasons behind the US dollar's dominance in global finance, its historical roots stemming from the Bretton Woods Agreement, and the challenges posed by international crises and economic policies. Paul also discusses the role and limitations of the IMF, the geopolitical implications of using the dollar as a financial weapon, and the potential impact of emerging currencies and digital threats. The episode concludes with insights into the phenomena of dollarization and how various economic strategies, including those of China and Russia, intersect with the enduring power of the US dollar. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How did the US Dollar become the dominant currency internationally? What keeps other currencies, fiat or crypto, from displacing the dollar's role? Does the aggressive use of sanctions by the US Government put the dollar's role at risk? Paul Blustein is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as well as an author and journalist. He has written several books including his latest work King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency and previous works, Off Balance: The Travails of Institutions That Govern the Global Financial System, And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina, and Laid Low: Inside the Crisis That Overwhelmed Europe and the IMF. Greg and Paul discuss the reasons behind the US dollar's dominance in global finance, its historical roots stemming from the Bretton Woods Agreement, and the challenges posed by international crises and economic policies. Paul also discusses the role and limitations of the IMF, the geopolitical implications of using the dollar as a financial weapon, and the potential impact of emerging currencies and digital threats. The episode concludes with insights into the phenomena of dollarization and how various economic strategies, including those of China and Russia, intersect with the enduring power of the US dollar. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 601 7f52d28e-c8f5-4544-ae75-3daf2c15ddbc 600. The Intersection of Business Theory and Practice feat. Jay Barney Unlike some other academic fields, the study of business has always had the challenging task of striking a balance between theory and practice. How can theoretical concepts aid business practitioners in real-world situations? And how can business academics expand their understanding of theory through that real-world application?  

Jay Barney is a professor of strategic management at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. His work, including numerous books, journal articles, and textbooks, has shaped the field of strategy and entrepreneurship for decades. His most recent book is The Secret of Culture Change: How to Build Authentic Stories That Transform Your Organization.

Jay and Greg discuss the evolving role of academia in the business world, the historical and current perceptions of business education, and the various theories that underpin strategic management. Barney delves into resource-based theory, the importance of organizational culture, and the intersection of strategy and practical business applications. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What really makes a strategy hard to imitate

44:56: You're going to have a strategy that's likely to be a source of sustained advantage; you have to figure out how that leverages resources, or capabilities that are socially complex. Why? Because that's harder to imitate, stuff that's developed over long periods of time. That's path dependent. Why? Because that's hard to imitate, or stuff that's costly and ambiguous. Well, you don't know how to develop those capabilities because that makes it hard to imitate. And I can make some empirical predictions that socially complex resources and capabilities should last longer. As long as their value is retained, they should last longer than non–socially complex.

Why entrepreneurship is so hard to theorize

39:22: Entrepreneurship, one reason that it's under-theorized as a field is because the theory is really hard, because many of the assumptions and attributes that make it possible to theorize in non-entrepreneurial settings do not apply in entrepreneurial settings. And so then we're stuck with this Knightian uncertainty and difficulties associated with that.

How strategy escapes the tautology problem

46:25: I think that we can avoid the tautology problem by identifying the characteristics that resources and capabilities need to have in order to be sources of sustained advantage. And then, then empirical predictions come out of that. But they do not come out of the tautology, but by definition.

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

]]> Mon, 24 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Unlike some other academic fields, the study of business has always had the challenging task of striking a balance between theory and practice. How can theoretical concepts aid business practitioners in real-world situations? And how can business academics expand their understanding of theory through that real-world application?  

Jay Barney is a professor of strategic management at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. His work, including numerous books, journal articles, and textbooks, has shaped the field of strategy and entrepreneurship for decades. His most recent book is The Secret of Culture Change: How to Build Authentic Stories That Transform Your Organization.

Jay and Greg discuss the evolving role of academia in the business world, the historical and current perceptions of business education, and the various theories that underpin strategic management. Barney delves into resource-based theory, the importance of organizational culture, and the intersection of strategy and practical business applications. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What really makes a strategy hard to imitate

44:56: You're going to have a strategy that's likely to be a source of sustained advantage; you have to figure out how that leverages resources, or capabilities that are socially complex. Why? Because that's harder to imitate, stuff that's developed over long periods of time. That's path dependent. Why? Because that's hard to imitate, or stuff that's costly and ambiguous. Well, you don't know how to develop those capabilities because that makes it hard to imitate. And I can make some empirical predictions that socially complex resources and capabilities should last longer. As long as their value is retained, they should last longer than non–socially complex.

Why entrepreneurship is so hard to theorize

39:22: Entrepreneurship, one reason that it's under-theorized as a field is because the theory is really hard, because many of the assumptions and attributes that make it possible to theorize in non-entrepreneurial settings do not apply in entrepreneurial settings. And so then we're stuck with this Knightian uncertainty and difficulties associated with that.

How strategy escapes the tautology problem

46:25: I think that we can avoid the tautology problem by identifying the characteristics that resources and capabilities need to have in order to be sources of sustained advantage. And then, then empirical predictions come out of that. But they do not come out of the tautology, but by definition.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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]]> 600. The Intersection of Business Theory and Practice feat. Jay Barney Greg La Blanc 01:03:52 Unlike some other academic fields, the study of business has always had the challenging task of striking a balance between theory and practice. How can theoretical concepts aid business practitioners in real-world situations? And how can business academics expand their understanding of theory through that real-world application?  Jay Barney is a professor of strategic management at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. His work, including numerous books, journal articles, and textbooks, has shaped the field of strategy and entrepreneurship for decades. His most recent book is The Secret of Culture Change: How to Build Authentic Stories That Transform Your Organization. Jay and Greg discuss the evolving role of academia in the business world, the historical and current perceptions of business education, and the various theories that underpin strategic management. Barney delves into resource-based theory, the importance of organizational culture, and the intersection of strategy and practical business applications. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Unlike some other academic fields, the study of business has always had the challenging task of striking a balance between theory and practice. How can theoretical concepts aid business practitioners in real-world situations? And how can business academics expand their understanding of theory through that real-world application?  Jay Barney is a professor of strategic management at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. His work, including numerous books, journal articles, and textbooks, has shaped the field of strategy and entrepreneurship for decades. His most recent book is The Secret of Culture Change: How to Build Authentic Stories That Transform Your Organization. Jay and Greg discuss the evolving role of academia in the business world, the historical and current perceptions of business education, and the various theories that underpin strategic management. Barney delves into resource-based theory, the importance of organizational culture, and the intersection of strategy and practical business applications. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 600 6cefc80f-b4c0-498c-bf17-57cf4aedd5cc 599. Why Authenticity Might Not Be the Answer feat. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic Why might ‘bring your whole self to work’ be terrible professional advice, and what should we be thinking about instead? Why does authenticity come into play more now than in previous generations? 

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia. He is also the author of several books, including Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead), Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It), and The Talent Delusion: Why Data, Not Intuition, Is the Key to Unlocking Human Potential, I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique.

Greg and Tomas discuss the overemphasis of authenticity in professional and personal settings, the nuanced insights from sociologist Erving Goffman on impression management, and how emotional intelligence often aligns with strategic impression management. Their conversation gets into the impact of AI on human potential and workplace dynamics, as well as the complex interplay between organizational culture and individual behavior, particularly among leaders. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why do people believe authenticity naturally leads to wellbeing and success?

03:08: In a world that is obviously not very authentic, pretending that we value authenticity or encouraging people to just be themselves might be quite fitting. I think it's not very authentic advice to tell people, "Oh, just be yourself. Oh, just bring your whole self to work. Oh, don't worry about what people think of you." But then, if somebody is silly or naive enough to follow that advice, the repercussions for them are not very positive.

Self-awareness requires paying attention to others

13:33: Professional success and personal development and self-awareness can only be achieved if you are receptive to what other people think of you. So, by the way, as I say in the book [DON’T BE YOURSELF], the notion that, I mean, you know, one of the mantras of authenticity or to authenticity advice, which is "ignore what people tell you," ironically,  the advice is trying to tell us how to behave, right? So you cannot ignore what people tell you. And the difference between somebody who has achieved basic emotional maturity and psychological maturity and somebody who still behaves like a child is that the psychologically mature person pays attention to what other people think of themselves, which doesn't mean being a sort of weak, feeble, conformist sheep. It means being a highly functioning member of society, of work, of community, not being trapped in your own narcissistic delusion.

How do you achieve self-awareness?

12:20: Self-awareness is actually achieved by internalizing the feedback from others from a very, very early age. We learn about ourselves from internalizing or incorporating the feedback we get from others. So your teachers, your aunt, your uncle, your parents, your older siblings, your friends will tell you, you are good at this, you are bad at that, you are funny. And then you understand that you are funny, right? It's obviously problematic if they're lying to you and then you realize, Ooh, outside my family, nobody laughs with my jokes, right? But there's no answer to who we really are. But the best way to understand who we are in the eyes of others is to not be self-centered and to actually be open to feedback. And that's something that people with high emotional intelligence do very well. 

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]]> Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why might ‘bring your whole self to work’ be terrible professional advice, and what should we be thinking about instead? Why does authenticity come into play more now than in previous generations? 

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia. He is also the author of several books, including Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead), Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It), and The Talent Delusion: Why Data, Not Intuition, Is the Key to Unlocking Human Potential, I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique.

Greg and Tomas discuss the overemphasis of authenticity in professional and personal settings, the nuanced insights from sociologist Erving Goffman on impression management, and how emotional intelligence often aligns with strategic impression management. Their conversation gets into the impact of AI on human potential and workplace dynamics, as well as the complex interplay between organizational culture and individual behavior, particularly among leaders. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why do people believe authenticity naturally leads to wellbeing and success?

03:08: In a world that is obviously not very authentic, pretending that we value authenticity or encouraging people to just be themselves might be quite fitting. I think it's not very authentic advice to tell people, "Oh, just be yourself. Oh, just bring your whole self to work. Oh, don't worry about what people think of you." But then, if somebody is silly or naive enough to follow that advice, the repercussions for them are not very positive.

Self-awareness requires paying attention to others

13:33: Professional success and personal development and self-awareness can only be achieved if you are receptive to what other people think of you. So, by the way, as I say in the book [DON’T BE YOURSELF], the notion that, I mean, you know, one of the mantras of authenticity or to authenticity advice, which is "ignore what people tell you," ironically,  the advice is trying to tell us how to behave, right? So you cannot ignore what people tell you. And the difference between somebody who has achieved basic emotional maturity and psychological maturity and somebody who still behaves like a child is that the psychologically mature person pays attention to what other people think of themselves, which doesn't mean being a sort of weak, feeble, conformist sheep. It means being a highly functioning member of society, of work, of community, not being trapped in your own narcissistic delusion.

How do you achieve self-awareness?

12:20: Self-awareness is actually achieved by internalizing the feedback from others from a very, very early age. We learn about ourselves from internalizing or incorporating the feedback we get from others. So your teachers, your aunt, your uncle, your parents, your older siblings, your friends will tell you, you are good at this, you are bad at that, you are funny. And then you understand that you are funny, right? It's obviously problematic if they're lying to you and then you realize, Ooh, outside my family, nobody laughs with my jokes, right? But there's no answer to who we really are. But the best way to understand who we are in the eyes of others is to not be self-centered and to actually be open to feedback. And that's something that people with high emotional intelligence do very well. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 599. Why Authenticity Might Not Be the Answer feat. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic Greg La Blanc 00:52:23 Why might ‘bring your whole self to work’ be terrible professional advice, and what should we be thinking about instead? Why does authenticity come into play more now than in previous generations? Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia. He is also the author of several books, including Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead), Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It), and The Talent Delusion: Why Data, Not Intuition, Is the Key to Unlocking Human Potential, I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique. Greg and Tomas discuss the overemphasis of authenticity in professional and personal settings, the nuanced insights from sociologist Erving Goffman on impression management, and how emotional intelligence often aligns with strategic impression management. Their conversation gets into the impact of AI on human potential and workplace dynamics, as well as the complex interplay between organizational culture and individual behavior, particularly among leaders. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why might ‘bring your whole self to work’ be terrible professional advice, and what should we be thinking about instead? Why does authenticity come into play more now than in previous generations? Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia. He is also the author of several books, including Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead), Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It), and The Talent Delusion: Why Data, Not Intuition, Is the Key to Unlocking Human Potential, I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique. Greg and Tomas discuss the overemphasis of authenticity in professional and personal settings, the nuanced insights from sociologist Erving Goffman on impression management, and how emotional intelligence often aligns with strategic impression management. Their conversation gets into the impact of AI on human potential and workplace dynamics, as well as the complex interplay between organizational culture and individual behavior, particularly among leaders. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 599 a1ec109a-dcad-49ac-a017-c53d7cd5e962 598. Becoming an Evangelist feat. Guy Kawasaki How do evangelism and business go hand in hand? Well, for today’s guest, evangelism is the purest form of sales. 

Guy Kawasaki is the Chief Evangelist at Canva and former Chief Evangelist for the Macintosh Division at Apple. He’s a prolific author, speaker, and podcaster, with hit books like Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference, Wiser Guy: Life-Changing Revelations and Revisions from Tech's Chief Evangelist, and Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions.

Guy and Greg discuss his evolving career path, why his work’s focus has shifted over time from how to succeed in business to how to succeed in life, the practicalities of sales, evangelism, and the overlooked necessity of these skills in business education. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is evangelism the purest form of sales?

42:25: I believe that sales is a very necessary and important skill. I would say that maybe evangelism is the purest form of sales. The difference between evangelism and most sales is that in evangelism, you have the other person's best interests at heart, not just yours.

Remarkable doesn't mean reach and famous

24:45: Remarkable does not mean rich or famous, although you can be rich or famous and remarkable. But it's really about the impact you've made on the world. And I don't mean you have to sell 300 million iPhones or 300 million computers; it's really what have you done?

Stop chasing passion, start pursuing interest

14:15: So the bar is so high for a passion. So a lot of people are saying, oh my God, I'm 22 years old, I haven't found my passion yet, what's wrong with me? I'm an underachiever. And what I think you should do instead is have your eyes open, you should have your brain open, i.e., a growth mindset. And whatever interests you, you should pursue it until you can discover if you really like it; maybe then it'll turn into a passion. But to look for Passion, capital P, out the gate is doing yourself a disservice.

The three general qualities of remarkable people

27:29: I've noticed that remarkable people have three general qualities. First of all, they have the growth mindset of Carol Dweck. If you have a growth mindset, you better back that up with a grit mindset of Angela Duckworth, because if you have a growth mindset, you're going to try things like surfing and hockey that you're not good at for years. So you need to persevere and have grit. And then the final thing you need is a grace mindset. So it's growth, grit, grace.

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

]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do evangelism and business go hand in hand? Well, for today’s guest, evangelism is the purest form of sales. 

Guy Kawasaki is the Chief Evangelist at Canva and former Chief Evangelist for the Macintosh Division at Apple. He’s a prolific author, speaker, and podcaster, with hit books like Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference, Wiser Guy: Life-Changing Revelations and Revisions from Tech's Chief Evangelist, and Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions.

Guy and Greg discuss his evolving career path, why his work’s focus has shifted over time from how to succeed in business to how to succeed in life, the practicalities of sales, evangelism, and the overlooked necessity of these skills in business education. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is evangelism the purest form of sales?

42:25: I believe that sales is a very necessary and important skill. I would say that maybe evangelism is the purest form of sales. The difference between evangelism and most sales is that in evangelism, you have the other person's best interests at heart, not just yours.

Remarkable doesn't mean reach and famous

24:45: Remarkable does not mean rich or famous, although you can be rich or famous and remarkable. But it's really about the impact you've made on the world. And I don't mean you have to sell 300 million iPhones or 300 million computers; it's really what have you done?

Stop chasing passion, start pursuing interest

14:15: So the bar is so high for a passion. So a lot of people are saying, oh my God, I'm 22 years old, I haven't found my passion yet, what's wrong with me? I'm an underachiever. And what I think you should do instead is have your eyes open, you should have your brain open, i.e., a growth mindset. And whatever interests you, you should pursue it until you can discover if you really like it; maybe then it'll turn into a passion. But to look for Passion, capital P, out the gate is doing yourself a disservice.

The three general qualities of remarkable people

27:29: I've noticed that remarkable people have three general qualities. First of all, they have the growth mindset of Carol Dweck. If you have a growth mindset, you better back that up with a grit mindset of Angela Duckworth, because if you have a growth mindset, you're going to try things like surfing and hockey that you're not good at for years. So you need to persevere and have grit. And then the final thing you need is a grace mindset. So it's growth, grit, grace.

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

]]> 598. Becoming an Evangelist feat. Guy Kawasaki Greg La Blanc 00:53:44 How do evangelism and business go hand in hand? Well, for today’s guest, evangelism is the purest form of sales. Guy Kawasaki is the Chief Evangelist at Canva and former Chief Evangelist for the Macintosh Division at Apple. He’s a prolific author, speaker, and podcaster, with hit books like Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference, Wiser Guy: Life-Changing Revelations and Revisions from Tech's Chief Evangelist, and Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. Guy and Greg discuss his evolving career path, why his work’s focus has shifted over time from how to succeed in business to how to succeed in life, the practicalities of sales, evangelism, and the overlooked necessity of these skills in business education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How do evangelism and business go hand in hand? Well, for today’s guest, evangelism is the purest form of sales. Guy Kawasaki is the Chief Evangelist at Canva and former Chief Evangelist for the Macintosh Division at Apple. He’s a prolific author, speaker, and podcaster, with hit books like Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference, Wiser Guy: Life-Changing Revelations and Revisions from Tech's Chief Evangelist, and Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. Guy and Greg discuss his evolving career path, why his work’s focus has shifted over time from how to succeed in business to how to succeed in life, the practicalities of sales, evangelism, and the overlooked necessity of these skills in business education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 598 9b3357d8-b9b9-4128-8d39-a77cd1c83875 597. Transforming Work Culture: From Firefighting to Strategic Flow feat. Donald C. Kieffer What practical advice could leaders and managers implement right now in their organizations to increase productivity and decrease friction between disparate elements of their companies? How can managers reexamine legacy processes that have remained in place simply because they were, and reimagine them for the specific challenges of today’s business environment?

Donald C. Kieffer is  a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the founder of consulting firm ShiftGear Work Design, and the author of the new book There's Got to Be a Better Way: How to Deliver Results and Get Rid of the Stuff That Gets in the Way of Real Work.

Greg and Donald discuss the concept of dynamic work design. Donald shares stories of challenges in work design across various industries, including healthcare, banking, and software. He also explains how dynamic work design focuses on understanding and improving human work by making the invisible elements of work visible, reducing inefficiencies, and promoting incremental improvements. With a bit of attention to detail and careful setup, systems and processes can be honed to better serve their businesses. 

Donald points to mistaken beliefs that senior managers often hold about work processes and emphasizes the importance of regulating work to maintain flow, avoiding the political dynamics that arise from inefficiencies, and managing by observing and understanding the real work, allowing organizations to work smarter and harder. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Injecting discovery into work

09:15: If you're firefighting to run the day-to-day business, you have no time to think about the future, to even think about the strategy or think about what's happening. So, we're much more about improvement, about incremental improvement. What we are about is discovery. So the idea is that every action that you take in business, be it at whatever level, at the strategic level or the frontline level, is based on the assumptions that activity will cause an improvement. And so we run it as an experiment and say, instead of measuring the plan, we measure: did the activity actually do what you thought? And if it did, great, let's do more. If it didn't, why not? And so we inject discovery into the whole idea of doing, of human work against the target at every level.

If you can't draw the work you can’t fix it

16:14: I have a saying I use all the time that I love, which is, if you can't draw the work, you don't understand it, and you certainly can't fix it. And it comes from... [16:46] And I think we ask leaders all the time, can you draw it? Can you show it? They can't do it. They think they do it in their head. And this is the thing—why these tools, like A3 and different problem-solving tools, work—is that when you have to write down the problem statement, or when you have to draw the work, it moves it from that pattern-matching part of your brain, where you think you know it, to the rational part of your brain, where it shows you, I'm not really sure.

Why we blame people instead of the work design the work

36:53: If you see a problem, you tend to blame the person who's nearest the problem, even though it could have been caused way far away, because most of the time there could have been something they did, they could have done to keep it from happening. But you know, if there are like 500 opportunities per problem to happen, one or two of them are gonna get through, even though they're not that person's fault. So I think it's just something very human in us, which is why we call this work design. This is not about people; this is about the design of the work that's usually been ad hoc.

On helping people do good work

57:23: People want to do good work, meaningful work. Go find the stuff that's getting in their way, even if it's stuff you've put in the way, and get out of the way. Help them. Help them with the design of work. I know it's good for business. There are stories galore in the book about how points on the board, but I'll tell you why I do it when I should be sitting on the back porch collecting Social Security and drinking beer. It's because of the look on people's faces. We can actually go to work and be productive no matter what their level is and feel like they're part of something good and doing.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Thu, 13 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What practical advice could leaders and managers implement right now in their organizations to increase productivity and decrease friction between disparate elements of their companies? How can managers reexamine legacy processes that have remained in place simply because they were, and reimagine them for the specific challenges of today’s business environment?

Donald C. Kieffer is  a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the founder of consulting firm ShiftGear Work Design, and the author of the new book There's Got to Be a Better Way: How to Deliver Results and Get Rid of the Stuff That Gets in the Way of Real Work.

Greg and Donald discuss the concept of dynamic work design. Donald shares stories of challenges in work design across various industries, including healthcare, banking, and software. He also explains how dynamic work design focuses on understanding and improving human work by making the invisible elements of work visible, reducing inefficiencies, and promoting incremental improvements. With a bit of attention to detail and careful setup, systems and processes can be honed to better serve their businesses. 

Donald points to mistaken beliefs that senior managers often hold about work processes and emphasizes the importance of regulating work to maintain flow, avoiding the political dynamics that arise from inefficiencies, and managing by observing and understanding the real work, allowing organizations to work smarter and harder. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Injecting discovery into work

09:15: If you're firefighting to run the day-to-day business, you have no time to think about the future, to even think about the strategy or think about what's happening. So, we're much more about improvement, about incremental improvement. What we are about is discovery. So the idea is that every action that you take in business, be it at whatever level, at the strategic level or the frontline level, is based on the assumptions that activity will cause an improvement. And so we run it as an experiment and say, instead of measuring the plan, we measure: did the activity actually do what you thought? And if it did, great, let's do more. If it didn't, why not? And so we inject discovery into the whole idea of doing, of human work against the target at every level.

If you can't draw the work you can’t fix it

16:14: I have a saying I use all the time that I love, which is, if you can't draw the work, you don't understand it, and you certainly can't fix it. And it comes from... [16:46] And I think we ask leaders all the time, can you draw it? Can you show it? They can't do it. They think they do it in their head. And this is the thing—why these tools, like A3 and different problem-solving tools, work—is that when you have to write down the problem statement, or when you have to draw the work, it moves it from that pattern-matching part of your brain, where you think you know it, to the rational part of your brain, where it shows you, I'm not really sure.

Why we blame people instead of the work design the work

36:53: If you see a problem, you tend to blame the person who's nearest the problem, even though it could have been caused way far away, because most of the time there could have been something they did, they could have done to keep it from happening. But you know, if there are like 500 opportunities per problem to happen, one or two of them are gonna get through, even though they're not that person's fault. So I think it's just something very human in us, which is why we call this work design. This is not about people; this is about the design of the work that's usually been ad hoc.

On helping people do good work

57:23: People want to do good work, meaningful work. Go find the stuff that's getting in their way, even if it's stuff you've put in the way, and get out of the way. Help them. Help them with the design of work. I know it's good for business. There are stories galore in the book about how points on the board, but I'll tell you why I do it when I should be sitting on the back porch collecting Social Security and drinking beer. It's because of the look on people's faces. We can actually go to work and be productive no matter what their level is and feel like they're part of something good and doing.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 597. Transforming Work Culture: From Firefighting to Strategic Flow feat. Donald C. Kieffer Greg La Blanc 00:53:50 What practical advice could leaders and managers implement right now in their organizations to increase productivity and decrease friction between disparate elements of their companies? How can managers reexamine legacy processes that have remained in place simply because they were, and reimagine them for the specific challenges of today’s business environment? Donald C. Kieffer is  a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the founder of consulting firm ShiftGear Work Design, and the author of the new book There's Got to Be a Better Way: How to Deliver Results and Get Rid of the Stuff That Gets in the Way of Real Work. Greg and Donald discuss the concept of dynamic work design. Donald shares stories of challenges in work design across various industries, including healthcare, banking, and software. He also explains how dynamic work design focuses on understanding and improving human work by making the invisible elements of work visible, reducing inefficiencies, and promoting incremental improvements. With a bit of attention to detail and careful setup, systems and processes can be honed to better serve their businesses. Donald points to mistaken beliefs that senior managers often hold about work processes and emphasizes the importance of regulating work to maintain flow, avoiding the political dynamics that arise from inefficiencies, and managing by observing and understanding the real work, allowing organizations to work smarter and harder. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What practical advice could leaders and managers implement right now in their organizations to increase productivity and decrease friction between disparate elements of their companies? How can managers reexamine legacy processes that have remained in place simply because they were, and reimagine them for the specific challenges of today’s business environment? Donald C. Kieffer is  a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the founder of consulting firm ShiftGear Work Design, and the author of the new book There's Got to Be a Better Way: How to Deliver Results and Get Rid of the Stuff That Gets in the Way of Real Work. Greg and Donald discuss the concept of dynamic work design. Donald shares stories of challenges in work design across various industries, including healthcare, banking, and software. He also explains how dynamic work design focuses on understanding and improving human work by making the invisible elements of work visible, reducing inefficiencies, and promoting incremental improvements. With a bit of attention to detail and careful setup, systems and processes can be honed to better serve their businesses. Donald points to mistaken beliefs that senior managers often hold about work processes and emphasizes the importance of regulating work to maintain flow, avoiding the political dynamics that arise from inefficiencies, and managing by observing and understanding the real work, allowing organizations to work smarter and harder. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 597 e35f4d52-9cb9-4561-852d-243a26f88b51 596. The Rules of Life’s Everyday Markets & How to Get Them to Work in Your Favor feat. Judd Kessler What if you could find a strategy for gaming the systems all around to work more in your favor? If you did, then things like coveted restaurant reservations, scarce concert tickets, landing the dream job, or even admission to top colleges could become much more in reach. 

Judd Kessler is a professor of business economics and public policy at the Wharton School and the author of Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want. The book acts as a guide for not only participants in the everyday markets that shape our lives, but also the designers of those markets. 

Judd and Greg discuss the hidden markets that dictate restaurant reservations, concert tickets, college admissions, and even dating. They explore different market design strategies like allocation mechanisms, centralized clearinghouses, and signaling.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why some markets don’t play by price rules

03:51: So many of the markets that we play in do not resolve themselves with the price rising. Either the price stays low because the seller wants it that way, and there's going to be excess demand—more people that want the thing than there are units available at that price—or we have decided as a society that we're not going to use prices to do the allocations, that it would be fundamentally unfair, or it would be fundamentally inefficient because we don't think your willingness to pay truly captures how much you value it.

How market participants get ahead by knowing the rules

01:33: When you are a market participant, you can do better by understanding the market rules and thinking about how to play in them.

The three E’s of a good market

13:59: A good market will achieve the three E's: efficiency, equity, and being easy for market participants. And so what you've just tapped into is efficiency. And that's what makes this subfield of economics interesting, that there is no mechanism that satisfies all three of those perfectly all the time.

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Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Tue, 11 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if you could find a strategy for gaming the systems all around to work more in your favor? If you did, then things like coveted restaurant reservations, scarce concert tickets, landing the dream job, or even admission to top colleges could become much more in reach. 

Judd Kessler is a professor of business economics and public policy at the Wharton School and the author of Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want. The book acts as a guide for not only participants in the everyday markets that shape our lives, but also the designers of those markets. 

Judd and Greg discuss the hidden markets that dictate restaurant reservations, concert tickets, college admissions, and even dating. They explore different market design strategies like allocation mechanisms, centralized clearinghouses, and signaling.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why some markets don’t play by price rules

03:51: So many of the markets that we play in do not resolve themselves with the price rising. Either the price stays low because the seller wants it that way, and there's going to be excess demand—more people that want the thing than there are units available at that price—or we have decided as a society that we're not going to use prices to do the allocations, that it would be fundamentally unfair, or it would be fundamentally inefficient because we don't think your willingness to pay truly captures how much you value it.

How market participants get ahead by knowing the rules

01:33: When you are a market participant, you can do better by understanding the market rules and thinking about how to play in them.

The three E’s of a good market

13:59: A good market will achieve the three E's: efficiency, equity, and being easy for market participants. And so what you've just tapped into is efficiency. And that's what makes this subfield of economics interesting, that there is no mechanism that satisfies all three of those perfectly all the time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 596. The Rules of Life’s Everyday Markets & How to Get Them to Work in Your Favor feat. Judd Kessler Greg La Blanc 00:58:19 What if you could find a strategy for gaming the systems all around to work more in your favor? If you did, then things like coveted restaurant reservations, scarce concert tickets, landing the dream job, or even admission to top colleges could become much more in reach. Judd Kessler is a professor of business economics and public policy at the Wharton School and the author of Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want. The book acts as a guide for not only participants in the everyday markets that shape our lives, but also the designers of those markets. Judd and Greg discuss the hidden markets that dictate restaurant reservations, concert tickets, college admissions, and even dating. They explore different market design strategies like allocation mechanisms, centralized clearinghouses, and signaling. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What if you could find a strategy for gaming the systems all around to work more in your favor? If you did, then things like coveted restaurant reservations, scarce concert tickets, landing the dream job, or even admission to top colleges could become much more in reach. Judd Kessler is a professor of business economics and public policy at the Wharton School and the author of Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want. The book acts as a guide for not only participants in the everyday markets that shape our lives, but also the designers of those markets. Judd and Greg discuss the hidden markets that dictate restaurant reservations, concert tickets, college admissions, and even dating. They explore different market design strategies like allocation mechanisms, centralized clearinghouses, and signaling. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 596 d0b2362a-152c-4cf2-bcc9-c9460c506466 595. Beyond Logic: Unlocking Human Potential Through Story Science feat. Angus Fletcher What strange thing happens when a neuron is left alone? Are there ways to moderate stress and anxiety, and even channel them into productive and helpful signals there to assist you in making good decisions? How can you develop initiative, and what has to change in today’s education landscape to accomplish this? 

Angus Fletcher is a Professor of Story Science at Project Narrative of Ohio State University. He also teaches screenwriting and is a screenwriter, as well as the author of several books including Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know, Storythinking: The New Science of Narrative Intelligence, and Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature.

Greg and Angus discuss the intersection of story science and philosophy, emphasizing the importance of mythos and narrative thinking as opposed to logos, the purely logical, data-driven approaches in areas like decision-making and leadership. Angus outlines how neurophysiology and the brain's natural restlessness contribute to human intelligence and explores the practical applications of narrative cognition in fields ranging from military operations to education and business. He highlights the role of literature in developing imagination, perspective, and emotional intelligence, arguing for its integration into educational systems and other training programs to cultivate better leaders, thinkers, and problem-solvers.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why fear and anger are the two most powerful emotions

41:50: I worked a long time with operators on this, and we particularly worked on fear and anger because those are our two most powerful emotions. Those are our fight-or-flight responses. Fear is flight, and anger is fight. And you know what is going on there? Well, what is going on there is your brain has a bias to action. Your brain always wants to be doing something. The moment that your brain is sitting still, it feels extremely vulnerable, so it always wants to have a plan. And when your brain experiences a severe threat and it realizes this threat is so new, so different, that it does not have a plan that it has confidence in, it does not know what to do here—that is when your brain starts to feel scared. That is when you feel fear. So the question is, why is fear the emotion that your brain evolved? Why did it not evolve some other emotion, like curiosity or whatever? And the answer is just because fear makes you incredibly susceptible to outside influence. The more scared you are, the smarter other people's suggestions sound.

Emotion is the smartest thing in your brain

41:06: Emotion is the smartest thing in your brain. If you're not using your emotions, you're severely limiting your intelligence. And the reason that we know emotion is the smartest thing in the brain is it's the oldest form of intelligence in the brain, so it's been keeping you alive for hundreds of millions of years.

Stories help us imagine alternatives

13:11: When you tell someone a story effectively, it allows them to imagine themselves in that position. And then what they do in that position is they imagine, what could I do? And when that's done effectively, what it allows them to do is imagine alternatives—not just alternatives from what they themselves are doing in their own lives, but alternatives to what the individuals did in that situation.

Why modern life produces so much anxiety

46:21: Why is it that so many people are experiencing over-anxiety in our modern world? Well, the first thing is that too many people spend their time inside these artificially stable environments where they're just not used to anything being unstable. If you spend all your time in the suburbs, and bananas are always there, even in the middle of the winter when you go to the supermarket and the whatnot, you know, then you're not ever coping or having to engage with even a mild amount of instability or volatility. So the moment you encounter any of it, you immediately freak out and think that something must be wrong.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Fri, 7 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What strange thing happens when a neuron is left alone? Are there ways to moderate stress and anxiety, and even channel them into productive and helpful signals there to assist you in making good decisions? How can you develop initiative, and what has to change in today’s education landscape to accomplish this? 

Angus Fletcher is a Professor of Story Science at Project Narrative of Ohio State University. He also teaches screenwriting and is a screenwriter, as well as the author of several books including Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know, Storythinking: The New Science of Narrative Intelligence, and Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature.

Greg and Angus discuss the intersection of story science and philosophy, emphasizing the importance of mythos and narrative thinking as opposed to logos, the purely logical, data-driven approaches in areas like decision-making and leadership. Angus outlines how neurophysiology and the brain's natural restlessness contribute to human intelligence and explores the practical applications of narrative cognition in fields ranging from military operations to education and business. He highlights the role of literature in developing imagination, perspective, and emotional intelligence, arguing for its integration into educational systems and other training programs to cultivate better leaders, thinkers, and problem-solvers.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why fear and anger are the two most powerful emotions

41:50: I worked a long time with operators on this, and we particularly worked on fear and anger because those are our two most powerful emotions. Those are our fight-or-flight responses. Fear is flight, and anger is fight. And you know what is going on there? Well, what is going on there is your brain has a bias to action. Your brain always wants to be doing something. The moment that your brain is sitting still, it feels extremely vulnerable, so it always wants to have a plan. And when your brain experiences a severe threat and it realizes this threat is so new, so different, that it does not have a plan that it has confidence in, it does not know what to do here—that is when your brain starts to feel scared. That is when you feel fear. So the question is, why is fear the emotion that your brain evolved? Why did it not evolve some other emotion, like curiosity or whatever? And the answer is just because fear makes you incredibly susceptible to outside influence. The more scared you are, the smarter other people's suggestions sound.

Emotion is the smartest thing in your brain

41:06: Emotion is the smartest thing in your brain. If you're not using your emotions, you're severely limiting your intelligence. And the reason that we know emotion is the smartest thing in the brain is it's the oldest form of intelligence in the brain, so it's been keeping you alive for hundreds of millions of years.

Stories help us imagine alternatives

13:11: When you tell someone a story effectively, it allows them to imagine themselves in that position. And then what they do in that position is they imagine, what could I do? And when that's done effectively, what it allows them to do is imagine alternatives—not just alternatives from what they themselves are doing in their own lives, but alternatives to what the individuals did in that situation.

Why modern life produces so much anxiety

46:21: Why is it that so many people are experiencing over-anxiety in our modern world? Well, the first thing is that too many people spend their time inside these artificially stable environments where they're just not used to anything being unstable. If you spend all your time in the suburbs, and bananas are always there, even in the middle of the winter when you go to the supermarket and the whatnot, you know, then you're not ever coping or having to engage with even a mild amount of instability or volatility. So the moment you encounter any of it, you immediately freak out and think that something must be wrong.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> 595. Beyond Logic: Unlocking Human Potential Through Story Science feat. Angus Fletcher Greg La Blanc 00:55:51 What strange thing happens when a neuron is left alone? Are there ways to moderate stress and anxiety, and even channel them into productive and helpful signals there to assist you in making good decisions? How can you develop initiative, and what has to change in today’s education landscape to accomplish this? Angus Fletcher is a Professor of Story Science at Project Narrative of Ohio State University. He also teaches screenwriting and is a screenwriter, as well as the author of several books including Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know, Storythinking: The New Science of Narrative Intelligence, and Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature. Greg and Angus discuss the intersection of story science and philosophy, emphasizing the importance of mythos and narrative thinking as opposed to logos, the purely logical, data-driven approaches in areas like decision-making and leadership. Angus outlines how neurophysiology and the brain's natural restlessness contribute to human intelligence and explores the practical applications of narrative cognition in fields ranging from military operations to education and business. He highlights the role of literature in developing imagination, perspective, and emotional intelligence, arguing for its integration into educational systems and other training programs to cultivate better leaders, thinkers, and problem-solvers. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What strange thing happens when a neuron is left alone? Are there ways to moderate stress and anxiety, and even channel them into productive and helpful signals there to assist you in making good decisions? How can you develop initiative, and what has to change in today’s education landscape to accomplish this? Angus Fletcher is a Professor of Story Science at Project Narrative of Ohio State University. He also teaches screenwriting and is a screenwriter, as well as the author of several books including Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know, Storythinking: The New Science of Narrative Intelligence, and Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature. Greg and Angus discuss the intersection of story science and philosophy, emphasizing the importance of mythos and narrative thinking as opposed to logos, the purely logical, data-driven approaches in areas like decision-making and leadership. Angus outlines how neurophysiology and the brain's natural restlessness contribute to human intelligence and explores the practical applications of narrative cognition in fields ranging from military operations to education and business. He highlights the role of literature in developing imagination, perspective, and emotional intelligence, arguing for its integration into educational systems and other training programs to cultivate better leaders, thinkers, and problem-solvers. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 595 46b656be-7a12-4f9c-9128-69c118d28625 594. Rational Choice Theory and Practical Wisdom: Analyzing Decision Making with Barry Schwartz How has rational choice theory come to dominate both our understanding of the world and our view of good judgment, and why is that a problem? What are the benefits of remembering to zoom in and out to get a better picture of problems and solutions? Why do we prefer reducing things to numbers even if that abstracts useful levels of data?

Barry Schwartz is a professor Emeritus at Swarthmore College and the prolific author of many books. His latest titles include Choose Wisely: Rationality, Ethics, and the Art of Decision-Making and Wisdom: How to Discover Your Path in Work and Life.

Greg and Barry discuss the limitations of rational choice theory, the importance of practical wisdom, and the role of judgment in making decisions. They also touch on the broader implications of rational choice theory across various fields, the history of economic and social science paradigms, and the necessity of incorporating ethical considerations into people’s decision-making. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The way we think about the world changes the world

10:47: The argument in the book [Choose Wisely] was, the way we think about the world changes the world. And it is true that the way we think about the world changes the world, but it changes the world materially. It does not just change the world because of the ideas we have running around in our heads; it changes the material world. Yeah. The factory did not exist, and then it did. And as a result, what it meant to work changed. That was not in our heads. That was, you know, a structure that was out in the world that made demands on the people who walked in the door every day. So it was not idealism. The argument was that ideas change not just how people think, but what kinds of things people are able to do. And I think the same thing is true with rational choice theory, though it is a bit more abstract. You know, you cannot do a rational choice analysis without being able to quantify.

Why we can’t game the way to design incentives

14:16: People somehow think that there is a bulletproof way to design incentives, so that they will not distort why they gave us the incentives they are designed to encourage. And, the bad news is there is no such thing, and there is no system that cannot be gamed.

How economics changes the way we think

07:22: There is a general, more general problem in social science, which is that, unlike planets, people are affected by claims that are made about what they are like. And so, the more we read social science, and the more economics, the king of the social sciences, dominates the news, the more inclined we are to think like and act like economists. So, does this tell us that the economists have discovered something? No. I mean, maybe. But it is just as likely that what economists have done is create something. They have created a way of approaching decisions and value assessment and so on that is consistent with their framework and changed people as a result.

What we miss when we measure everything

42:15: Rational choice theory is not neutral about what stays in the frame and what goes outside it. Things that go outside the frame are the ones that are most difficult to quantify using the same scale that you are using for everything else. And so, in the case of the price of a pound of beef, you could add the amount of money that our taxes contribute to subsidies. You could factor in the costs of the fertilizers that enable the corn to grow enough so that the cows can get fattened up. How do you quantify exactly the cost to human health? You can do it. How many more dollars do we pay per year because of antibiotic-resistant bacteria? But does that capture the cost in health? No. It only captures the dollar cost in health.

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Recommended Resources:

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]]> Mon, 3 Nov 2025 14:05:34 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How has rational choice theory come to dominate both our understanding of the world and our view of good judgment, and why is that a problem? What are the benefits of remembering to zoom in and out to get a better picture of problems and solutions? Why do we prefer reducing things to numbers even if that abstracts useful levels of data?

Barry Schwartz is a professor Emeritus at Swarthmore College and the prolific author of many books. His latest titles include Choose Wisely: Rationality, Ethics, and the Art of Decision-Making and Wisdom: How to Discover Your Path in Work and Life.

Greg and Barry discuss the limitations of rational choice theory, the importance of practical wisdom, and the role of judgment in making decisions. They also touch on the broader implications of rational choice theory across various fields, the history of economic and social science paradigms, and the necessity of incorporating ethical considerations into people’s decision-making. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The way we think about the world changes the world

10:47: The argument in the book [Choose Wisely] was, the way we think about the world changes the world. And it is true that the way we think about the world changes the world, but it changes the world materially. It does not just change the world because of the ideas we have running around in our heads; it changes the material world. Yeah. The factory did not exist, and then it did. And as a result, what it meant to work changed. That was not in our heads. That was, you know, a structure that was out in the world that made demands on the people who walked in the door every day. So it was not idealism. The argument was that ideas change not just how people think, but what kinds of things people are able to do. And I think the same thing is true with rational choice theory, though it is a bit more abstract. You know, you cannot do a rational choice analysis without being able to quantify.

Why we can’t game the way to design incentives

14:16: People somehow think that there is a bulletproof way to design incentives, so that they will not distort why they gave us the incentives they are designed to encourage. And, the bad news is there is no such thing, and there is no system that cannot be gamed.

How economics changes the way we think

07:22: There is a general, more general problem in social science, which is that, unlike planets, people are affected by claims that are made about what they are like. And so, the more we read social science, and the more economics, the king of the social sciences, dominates the news, the more inclined we are to think like and act like economists. So, does this tell us that the economists have discovered something? No. I mean, maybe. But it is just as likely that what economists have done is create something. They have created a way of approaching decisions and value assessment and so on that is consistent with their framework and changed people as a result.

What we miss when we measure everything

42:15: Rational choice theory is not neutral about what stays in the frame and what goes outside it. Things that go outside the frame are the ones that are most difficult to quantify using the same scale that you are using for everything else. And so, in the case of the price of a pound of beef, you could add the amount of money that our taxes contribute to subsidies. You could factor in the costs of the fertilizers that enable the corn to grow enough so that the cows can get fattened up. How do you quantify exactly the cost to human health? You can do it. How many more dollars do we pay per year because of antibiotic-resistant bacteria? But does that capture the cost in health? No. It only captures the dollar cost in health.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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]]> 594. Rational Choice Theory and Practical Wisdom: Analyzing Decision Making with Barry Schwartz Greg La Blanc 01:08:09 How has rational choice theory come to dominate both our understanding of the world and our view of good judgment, and why is that a problem? What are the benefits of remembering to zoom in and out to get a better picture of problems and solutions? Why do we prefer reducing things to numbers even if that abstracts useful levels of data? Barry Schwartz is a professor Emeritus at Swarthmore College and the prolific author of many books. His latest titles include Choose Wisely: Rationality, Ethics, and the Art of Decision-Making and Wisdom: How to Discover Your Path in Work and Life. Greg and Barry discuss the limitations of rational choice theory, the importance of practical wisdom, and the role of judgment in making decisions. They also touch on the broader implications of rational choice theory across various fields, the history of economic and social science paradigms, and the necessity of incorporating ethical considerations into people’s decision-making. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How has rational choice theory come to dominate both our understanding of the world and our view of good judgment, and why is that a problem? What are the benefits of remembering to zoom in and out to get a better picture of problems and solutions? Why do we prefer reducing things to numbers even if that abstracts useful levels of data? Barry Schwartz is a professor Emeritus at Swarthmore College and the prolific author of many books. His latest titles include Choose Wisely: Rationality, Ethics, and the Art of Decision-Making and Wisdom: How to Discover Your Path in Work and Life. Greg and Barry discuss the limitations of rational choice theory, the importance of practical wisdom, and the role of judgment in making decisions. They also touch on the broader implications of rational choice theory across various fields, the history of economic and social science paradigms, and the necessity of incorporating ethical considerations into people’s decision-making. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 594 4a1bb34a-b878-40c1-b955-0e392580e33f 593. The Myth of the Bossless Company feat. Nicolai J. Foss For organizations that are tempted to throw out the classic organizational management handbook in favor of a structure with no managers – think again. 

Nicolai J. Foss is a professor of strategy at Copenhagen Business School and the co-author of Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company. The book pushes back on the notion that the key to breakthrough success for organizations is through flat, leaderless structures akin to today’s trendy startups, and makes the case for why companies need hierarchies to function. 

Nicolai and Greg discuss the feasibility and realities of operating without traditional hierarchies, why these models often rely heavily on exceptional founders and are not suited for all business types, and the essential roles managers play in coordination, cooperation, and maintaining effective workflows, especially during times of crisis. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

We still need managers

41:33 [Managers] They're doing a lot of good stuff. They are coordinating, and they are cooperating at the most abstract level. I mean, activities need to be coordinated in the sense of, we have to figure out what those activities should be, how they should change in response to outside disturbances. Activities have to be linked. Activities have to be rethought. And once we have figured all that out, which is, of course, an ongoing struggle, then people have to be motivated to cooperate inside those, and actually carry out those activities in the best possible way and in a dynamic reality. This is a never-ending quest.

No human system run itself

11:44: No human system works itself or runs itself. It has to be supported, maintained. There has to be support, scaffolding, or whatever you want to call it. Same goes for firms—and perhaps all different ones.

Organization is about coordinated cooperation

02:40: At the end of the day, organization is about coordinated cooperation, and the right question to ask is, what exactly is the role of managers in bringing about coordinated cooperation?

Boselessness is not for every company

20:43: [Bosslessness] It works for some companies, typically those that have a more modular kind of underlying technology, where there is no high need for mutual adaptation between units or activities or processes. But it works much less well for a traditional industrial company.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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]]> Thu, 30 Oct 2025 13:09:13 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast For organizations that are tempted to throw out the classic organizational management handbook in favor of a structure with no managers – think again. 

Nicolai J. Foss is a professor of strategy at Copenhagen Business School and the co-author of Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company. The book pushes back on the notion that the key to breakthrough success for organizations is through flat, leaderless structures akin to today’s trendy startups, and makes the case for why companies need hierarchies to function. 

Nicolai and Greg discuss the feasibility and realities of operating without traditional hierarchies, why these models often rely heavily on exceptional founders and are not suited for all business types, and the essential roles managers play in coordination, cooperation, and maintaining effective workflows, especially during times of crisis. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

We still need managers

41:33 [Managers] They're doing a lot of good stuff. They are coordinating, and they are cooperating at the most abstract level. I mean, activities need to be coordinated in the sense of, we have to figure out what those activities should be, how they should change in response to outside disturbances. Activities have to be linked. Activities have to be rethought. And once we have figured all that out, which is, of course, an ongoing struggle, then people have to be motivated to cooperate inside those, and actually carry out those activities in the best possible way and in a dynamic reality. This is a never-ending quest.

No human system run itself

11:44: No human system works itself or runs itself. It has to be supported, maintained. There has to be support, scaffolding, or whatever you want to call it. Same goes for firms—and perhaps all different ones.

Organization is about coordinated cooperation

02:40: At the end of the day, organization is about coordinated cooperation, and the right question to ask is, what exactly is the role of managers in bringing about coordinated cooperation?

Boselessness is not for every company

20:43: [Bosslessness] It works for some companies, typically those that have a more modular kind of underlying technology, where there is no high need for mutual adaptation between units or activities or processes. But it works much less well for a traditional industrial company.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> 593. The Myth of the Bossless Company feat. Nicolai J. Foss Greg La Blanc 00:40:26 For organizations that are tempted to throw out the classic organizational management handbook in favor of a structure with no managers – think again. Nicolai J. Foss is a professor of strategy at Copenhagen Business School and the co-author of Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company. The book pushes back on the notion that the key to breakthrough success for organizations is through flat, leaderless structures akin to today’s trendy startups, and makes the case for why companies need hierarchies to function. Nicolai and Greg discuss the feasibility and realities of operating without traditional hierarchies, why these models often rely heavily on exceptional founders and are not suited for all business types, and the essential roles managers play in coordination, cooperation, and maintaining effective workflows, especially during times of crisis. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* For organizations that are tempted to throw out the classic organizational management handbook in favor of a structure with no managers – think again. Nicolai J. Foss is a professor of strategy at Copenhagen Business School and the co-author of Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company. The book pushes back on the notion that the key to breakthrough success for organizations is through flat, leaderless structures akin to today’s trendy startups, and makes the case for why companies need hierarchies to function. Nicolai and Greg discuss the feasibility and realities of operating without traditional hierarchies, why these models often rely heavily on exceptional founders and are not suited for all business types, and the essential roles managers play in coordination, cooperation, and maintaining effective workflows, especially during times of crisis. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 593 c40d7a7d-f548-4090-9578-5b4e196b698c 592. Deconstructing the Left: Social Justice and Political Realities feat. Fredrik deBoer How have politics changed from the  Bill Clinton era to that of  Donald Trump? How have identity politics diverted attention from economic issues, and how have the educated elites derailed activism?

Fredrik deBoer is the author of both fiction and nonfiction works, including The Mind Reels, The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice, and How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement.

Greg and Fredrik discuss the American political left and why the left-right dichotomy fails to tell the complete story.  Fredrik provides a critical examination of the internal divisions within the political left, identity politics, and the impact of social media on political engagement. He argues that the left's preoccupation with symbolic issues often undermines its ability to build broad-based coalitions, and suggests a return to class-first politics as a more effective strategy. They also touch on the role of nonprofits, the evolution of meritocracy in education, and the challenges of achieving genuine economic and social justice.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How social media turned politics into identity performance

45:28: What makes all of this particularly more pernicious in the 21st century is, it's not just now your immediate peer group of people you see face-to-face. You've got to answer to a couple thousand people on social media who know your name and who know where you work, and who will yell at you if you have the, quote-unquote, wrong position. Right? And this is a thing that has happened all over the world of the left, which is, cultural issues began to be foregrounded above economic issues to an extreme extent. There was a development of a very narrow sort of list of approved opinions that you could hold on cultural and social issues. They came to be seen as sort of outside of the realm of politics, and without anyone actually intending for it to happen, what the sort of default young Democrat in politics was shifted over time in an extreme identitarian direction.

When politics becomes a team sport, everyone loses nuance

29:18: I think we are just training generations of young people who do not understand politics as anything other than a sort of blood sport, organized around a very simplistic binary.

The heart of politics is empathy, not ideology

07:23: I have a very long list of disagreements with Bill Clinton, but he was a political genius, and everyone knows, his signature phrase is, I feel your pain. And to me, that's the heart of politics. It's saying, I understand that you need something, and I'm here for you. In that sense, the identity politics on the left in the last 15 years has been about telling large groups of people that they do not have real problems, right? So, if you go show up to a university campus and you start to talk about some of the problems that afflict, for example, the white working class, you'll be told quite directly, oh, to center the white working class, right, is to privilege racism and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, right? It's saying directly to these people, your problems are not real problems. And so, like, that's the perfect example of where you are sacrificing potential allies for a benefit that I just do not even understand.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:

Related UnSILOed episodes:


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

]]> Mon, 27 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How have politics changed from the  Bill Clinton era to that of  Donald Trump? How have identity politics diverted attention from economic issues, and how have the educated elites derailed activism?

Fredrik deBoer is the author of both fiction and nonfiction works, including The Mind Reels, The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice, and How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement.

Greg and Fredrik discuss the American political left and why the left-right dichotomy fails to tell the complete story.  Fredrik provides a critical examination of the internal divisions within the political left, identity politics, and the impact of social media on political engagement. He argues that the left's preoccupation with symbolic issues often undermines its ability to build broad-based coalitions, and suggests a return to class-first politics as a more effective strategy. They also touch on the role of nonprofits, the evolution of meritocracy in education, and the challenges of achieving genuine economic and social justice.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How social media turned politics into identity performance

45:28: What makes all of this particularly more pernicious in the 21st century is, it's not just now your immediate peer group of people you see face-to-face. You've got to answer to a couple thousand people on social media who know your name and who know where you work, and who will yell at you if you have the, quote-unquote, wrong position. Right? And this is a thing that has happened all over the world of the left, which is, cultural issues began to be foregrounded above economic issues to an extreme extent. There was a development of a very narrow sort of list of approved opinions that you could hold on cultural and social issues. They came to be seen as sort of outside of the realm of politics, and without anyone actually intending for it to happen, what the sort of default young Democrat in politics was shifted over time in an extreme identitarian direction.

When politics becomes a team sport, everyone loses nuance

29:18: I think we are just training generations of young people who do not understand politics as anything other than a sort of blood sport, organized around a very simplistic binary.

The heart of politics is empathy, not ideology

07:23: I have a very long list of disagreements with Bill Clinton, but he was a political genius, and everyone knows, his signature phrase is, I feel your pain. And to me, that's the heart of politics. It's saying, I understand that you need something, and I'm here for you. In that sense, the identity politics on the left in the last 15 years has been about telling large groups of people that they do not have real problems, right? So, if you go show up to a university campus and you start to talk about some of the problems that afflict, for example, the white working class, you'll be told quite directly, oh, to center the white working class, right, is to privilege racism and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, right? It's saying directly to these people, your problems are not real problems. And so, like, that's the perfect example of where you are sacrificing potential allies for a benefit that I just do not even understand.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:

Related UnSILOed episodes:


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

]]> 592. Deconstructing the Left: Social Justice and Political Realities feat. Fredrik deBoer Greg La Blanc 01:01:48 How have politics changed from the  Bill Clinton era to that of  Donald Trump? How have identity politics diverted attention from economic issues, and how have the educated elites derailed activism? Fredrik deBoer is the author of both fiction and nonfiction works, including The Mind Reels, The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice, and How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement. Greg and Fredrik discuss the American political left and why the left-right dichotomy fails to tell the complete story.  Fredrik provides a critical examination of the internal divisions within the political left, identity politics, and the impact of social media on political engagement. He argues that the left's preoccupation with symbolic issues often undermines its ability to build broad-based coalitions, and suggests a return to class-first politics as a more effective strategy. They also touch on the role of nonprofits, the evolution of meritocracy in education, and the challenges of achieving genuine economic and social justice. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How have politics changed from the  Bill Clinton era to that of  Donald Trump? How have identity politics diverted attention from economic issues, and how have the educated elites derailed activism? Fredrik deBoer is the author of both fiction and nonfiction works, including The Mind Reels, The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice, and How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement. Greg and Fredrik discuss the American political left and why the left-right dichotomy fails to tell the complete story.  Fredrik provides a critical examination of the internal divisions within the political left, identity politics, and the impact of social media on political engagement. He argues that the left's preoccupation with symbolic issues often undermines its ability to build broad-based coalitions, and suggests a return to class-first politics as a more effective strategy. They also touch on the role of nonprofits, the evolution of meritocracy in education, and the challenges of achieving genuine economic and social justice. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 592 acd7445e-e85a-4d85-88ea-7a057ff60f79 591. From Platforms to Engines: Harnessing AI's Transformational Power feat. Sangeet Paul Choudary How will AI change the size, shape, and structure of companies? Where will we see new leverage points in the AI economy? How does AI move beyond task automation and into the coordination of tasks? How does a manager keep from becoming just a cog in a system of automations?

Sangeet Paul Choudary is a senior fellow at UC Berkeley, a consultant, and the author and co-author of several books. His latest work is titled, Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks the Knowledge Economy.

Greg and Sangeet discuss Sangeet’s latest book, as well as the work he co-authored, Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You. Sangeet emphasizes how AI's transformative impacts extend beyond automating tasks to fundamentally altering industry structures, competitive advantages, and corporate strategies. The conversation also covers even broader implications of continued AI adoption like modularity in business, the shifting roles in professional services, and the creation of new economic control points. They provide a comprehensive look at how businesses can realign their strategies around AI as an engine driving innovation and competitive advantage for the future.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

AI as a tool vs. AI as an engine

22:28: The idea of using AI as a tool versus AI as an engine is that a tool is typically something that you bolt onto your existing workflows—pick a tool from the toolbox, and it helps you speed up a task, perform it faster, better, cheaper. But if you're really using an engine, you're constantly thinking about how to redesign your entire workflow and your entire organization, your business model, around the capabilities of the engine.

Bridging the gap in AI through storytelling and narrative

54:19: Storytelling and narrative, in general, are such important skills today because we are in an age where we are information-rich but attention-poor. And the way to harness that attention is to have compelling storytelling and narratives that bridge that gap.

How is the basis of competition shifting?

29:09: The impact of AI does not play out only at the level of tasks—tasks that are inside workflows. So workflows get transformed. Workflows are organized through organizational mechanisms, so new organizational systems will have to come into place. And organizations, essentially, compete in an ecosystem. They help firms compete in an ecosystem. And so the starting point would be to ask ourselves—with AI coming in and with other forces at play—how is the basis of competition shifting? What was the basis on which firms previously competed? What was our basis of differentiation and competition? And does that change? Do some of those assumptions no longer hold true? And on that basis, if we can lay out some clear hypotheses and heuristics on what’s changing in terms of the basis of competition, what does that mean in terms of the capabilities we need to have in place?...All of those need to come into question and need to be evaluated.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:

Related unSILOed Episodes:


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

]]> Thu, 23 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How will AI change the size, shape, and structure of companies? Where will we see new leverage points in the AI economy? How does AI move beyond task automation and into the coordination of tasks? How does a manager keep from becoming just a cog in a system of automations?

Sangeet Paul Choudary is a senior fellow at UC Berkeley, a consultant, and the author and co-author of several books. His latest work is titled, Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks the Knowledge Economy.

Greg and Sangeet discuss Sangeet’s latest book, as well as the work he co-authored, Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You. Sangeet emphasizes how AI's transformative impacts extend beyond automating tasks to fundamentally altering industry structures, competitive advantages, and corporate strategies. The conversation also covers even broader implications of continued AI adoption like modularity in business, the shifting roles in professional services, and the creation of new economic control points. They provide a comprehensive look at how businesses can realign their strategies around AI as an engine driving innovation and competitive advantage for the future.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

AI as a tool vs. AI as an engine

22:28: The idea of using AI as a tool versus AI as an engine is that a tool is typically something that you bolt onto your existing workflows—pick a tool from the toolbox, and it helps you speed up a task, perform it faster, better, cheaper. But if you're really using an engine, you're constantly thinking about how to redesign your entire workflow and your entire organization, your business model, around the capabilities of the engine.

Bridging the gap in AI through storytelling and narrative

54:19: Storytelling and narrative, in general, are such important skills today because we are in an age where we are information-rich but attention-poor. And the way to harness that attention is to have compelling storytelling and narratives that bridge that gap.

How is the basis of competition shifting?

29:09: The impact of AI does not play out only at the level of tasks—tasks that are inside workflows. So workflows get transformed. Workflows are organized through organizational mechanisms, so new organizational systems will have to come into place. And organizations, essentially, compete in an ecosystem. They help firms compete in an ecosystem. And so the starting point would be to ask ourselves—with AI coming in and with other forces at play—how is the basis of competition shifting? What was the basis on which firms previously competed? What was our basis of differentiation and competition? And does that change? Do some of those assumptions no longer hold true? And on that basis, if we can lay out some clear hypotheses and heuristics on what’s changing in terms of the basis of competition, what does that mean in terms of the capabilities we need to have in place?...All of those need to come into question and need to be evaluated.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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]]> 591. From Platforms to Engines: Harnessing AI's Transformational Power feat. Sangeet Paul Choudary Greg La Blanc 00:52:18 How will AI change the size, shape, and structure of companies? Where will we see new leverage points in the AI economy? How does AI move beyond task automation and into the coordination of tasks? How does a manager keep from becoming just a cog in a system of automations? Sangeet Paul Choudary is a senior fellow at UC Berkeley, a consultant, and the author and co-author of several books. His latest work is titled, Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks the Knowledge Economy. Greg and Sangeet discuss Sangeet’s latest book, as well as the work he co-authored, Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You. Sangeet emphasizes how AI's transformative impacts extend beyond automating tasks to fundamentally altering industry structures, competitive advantages, and corporate strategies. The conversation also covers even broader implications of continued AI adoption like modularity in business, the shifting roles in professional services, and the creation of new economic control points. They provide a comprehensive look at how businesses can realign their strategies around AI as an engine driving innovation and competitive advantage for the future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How will AI change the size, shape, and structure of companies? Where will we see new leverage points in the AI economy? How does AI move beyond task automation and into the coordination of tasks? How does a manager keep from becoming just a cog in a system of automations? Sangeet Paul Choudary is a senior fellow at UC Berkeley, a consultant, and the author and co-author of several books. His latest work is titled, Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks the Knowledge Economy. Greg and Sangeet discuss Sangeet’s latest book, as well as the work he co-authored, Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You. Sangeet emphasizes how AI's transformative impacts extend beyond automating tasks to fundamentally altering industry structures, competitive advantages, and corporate strategies. The conversation also covers even broader implications of continued AI adoption like modularity in business, the shifting roles in professional services, and the creation of new economic control points. They provide a comprehensive look at how businesses can realign their strategies around AI as an engine driving innovation and competitive advantage for the future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 591 59b8cf97-0680-434f-ae93-6c0399eafa4a 590. Bridging Humanities and Technology: The Evolution of Code and Knowledge feat. Samuel Arbesman How does code, like language, shape the way we see the world? How can we rediscover enchantment in our technology?? How can we determine the half-life of knowledge as we continue to learn and discover new things?

Samuel Arbesman is a scientist in residence at Lux Capital, a fellow at Case Western School of Management, and the author of three books, The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World—and Shapes Our Future, Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension, and The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date.

Greg and Samuel discuss Samuel’s newest book, The Magic of Code, and how programming languages have evolved and continue to evolve over time. Samuel explores society’s enchantment and disenchantment with technology, the evolution of programming languages, the intersection of computer science and humanities, and the ongoing shift towards more democratized software creation. They also go over Samuel’s  earlier works, highlighting the temporary nature of facts and the continual necessity for adaptive learning in a rapidly evolving world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Reenchanting technology through humanities 

03:24: I think the larger perspective of the book [The Magic of Code] is to also recognize that, in addition to this wonder and delight, also recognizing that when we think about computing competition, it doesn’t need to just be this branch of engineering or this thing of computer science. It really is this almost humanistic liberal art that, when you think about it properly, should connect to language and philosophy and biology and art and how we think and the nature of reality and all these different kinds of things. And for me, those are the windows and the lenses that allow us to actually kind of re-enchant, not even just computing, but in turn many aspects of our own lives, and hopefully can repair at least a little bit of that kind of broken relationship.

On the magic of code

06:31:  We actually have this weird information stuff that can actually work in the real world. That’s amazing. And we should pause at least and say, wow, that really is incredible.

Why democratizing software is powerful

26:56: This idea of being able to democratize software creation is incredibly powerful. And actually, in going back to the analogy with magic, I mean, yes, in many of the tales of magic, it did require a great deal of effort. You had to apprentice, or you had to, I don’t know, go to Hogwarts for seven years or whatever it is. But there also were stories of magic for everyone; there were spells that could be used by people if they, like in the Middle Ages, had lost their cattle and needed to recover it. And I think we need that same kind of thing in the software realm as well, which is, we need spells and code that can be used by everyone. And now, with this ability, it’s unbelievable to see.

Ideas are always in draft form

53:41: A professor of mine, when I was in graduate school, told me this story. This was already after I had left grad school. He was telling me this story that he was teaching some course, came in on Tuesday, and gave a lecture on some topic. Then, the next day, he read a paper that invalidated the lecture he had given the day before. So he went in on Thursday and said, “Remember what I taught you on Tuesday? It’s wrong. And if that bothers you, you need to get out of science.” And I think that kind of idea—that science, or what we know, is constantly in draft form—is a very powerful idea.

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]]> Mon, 20 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does code, like language, shape the way we see the world? How can we rediscover enchantment in our technology?? How can we determine the half-life of knowledge as we continue to learn and discover new things?

Samuel Arbesman is a scientist in residence at Lux Capital, a fellow at Case Western School of Management, and the author of three books, The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World—and Shapes Our Future, Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension, and The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date.

Greg and Samuel discuss Samuel’s newest book, The Magic of Code, and how programming languages have evolved and continue to evolve over time. Samuel explores society’s enchantment and disenchantment with technology, the evolution of programming languages, the intersection of computer science and humanities, and the ongoing shift towards more democratized software creation. They also go over Samuel’s  earlier works, highlighting the temporary nature of facts and the continual necessity for adaptive learning in a rapidly evolving world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Reenchanting technology through humanities 

03:24: I think the larger perspective of the book [The Magic of Code] is to also recognize that, in addition to this wonder and delight, also recognizing that when we think about computing competition, it doesn’t need to just be this branch of engineering or this thing of computer science. It really is this almost humanistic liberal art that, when you think about it properly, should connect to language and philosophy and biology and art and how we think and the nature of reality and all these different kinds of things. And for me, those are the windows and the lenses that allow us to actually kind of re-enchant, not even just computing, but in turn many aspects of our own lives, and hopefully can repair at least a little bit of that kind of broken relationship.

On the magic of code

06:31:  We actually have this weird information stuff that can actually work in the real world. That’s amazing. And we should pause at least and say, wow, that really is incredible.

Why democratizing software is powerful

26:56: This idea of being able to democratize software creation is incredibly powerful. And actually, in going back to the analogy with magic, I mean, yes, in many of the tales of magic, it did require a great deal of effort. You had to apprentice, or you had to, I don’t know, go to Hogwarts for seven years or whatever it is. But there also were stories of magic for everyone; there were spells that could be used by people if they, like in the Middle Ages, had lost their cattle and needed to recover it. And I think we need that same kind of thing in the software realm as well, which is, we need spells and code that can be used by everyone. And now, with this ability, it’s unbelievable to see.

Ideas are always in draft form

53:41: A professor of mine, when I was in graduate school, told me this story. This was already after I had left grad school. He was telling me this story that he was teaching some course, came in on Tuesday, and gave a lecture on some topic. Then, the next day, he read a paper that invalidated the lecture he had given the day before. So he went in on Thursday and said, “Remember what I taught you on Tuesday? It’s wrong. And if that bothers you, you need to get out of science.” And I think that kind of idea—that science, or what we know, is constantly in draft form—is a very powerful idea.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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]]> 590. Bridging Humanities and Technology: The Evolution of Code and Knowledge feat. Samuel Arbesman Greg La Blanc 00:56:08 How does code, like language, shape the way we see the world? How can we rediscover enchantment in our technology?? How can we determine the half-life of knowledge as we continue to learn and discover new things? Samuel Arbesman is a scientist in residence at Lux Capital, a fellow at Case Western School of Management, and the author of three books, The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World—and Shapes Our Future, Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension, and The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date. Greg and Samuel discuss Samuel’s newest book, The Magic of Code, and how programming languages have evolved and continue to evolve over time. Samuel explores society’s enchantment and disenchantment with technology, the evolution of programming languages, the intersection of computer science and humanities, and the ongoing shift towards more democratized software creation. They also go over Samuel’s  earlier works, highlighting the temporary nature of facts and the continual necessity for adaptive learning in a rapidly evolving world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does code, like language, shape the way we see the world? How can we rediscover enchantment in our technology?? How can we determine the half-life of knowledge as we continue to learn and discover new things? Samuel Arbesman is a scientist in residence at Lux Capital, a fellow at Case Western School of Management, and the author of three books, The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World—and Shapes Our Future, Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension, and The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date. Greg and Samuel discuss Samuel’s newest book, The Magic of Code, and how programming languages have evolved and continue to evolve over time. Samuel explores society’s enchantment and disenchantment with technology, the evolution of programming languages, the intersection of computer science and humanities, and the ongoing shift towards more democratized software creation. They also go over Samuel’s  earlier works, highlighting the temporary nature of facts and the continual necessity for adaptive learning in a rapidly evolving world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 590 ac2ce352-731b-459c-9ec6-621a5bc1a80e 589. Reenvisioning The Study of Ancient History feat. Walter Scheidel Is it time to overhaul the way we study and teach ancient history? Are we limiting our ability to understand fully how the past informs the present in ways like inequality if we keep these disciplines siloed?

Walter Scheidel is a professor of humanities, classics, and history at Stanford University. He’s the author of more than a dozen books, including What Is Ancient History? and The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century.

Walter and Greg discuss methodological divides between departments studying ancient history, the relevance of the Classics today, and the case for a new discipline on “foundational history.” They also explore the origins of inequality and how war, plagues, and technological advancements are the primary drivers for equality shifts. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How ancient innovations still shape the modern world

13:37: People face similar challenges, and they should be studied accordingly. And we should try to understand how people, at the time of many thousands of years ago, put all kinds of innovations in place and bundled them together in very specific ways that really create our world—in terms of material culture, in terms of social arrangements, institutions, cognitive frameworks, if you will. Writing and literature and world religions and other belief systems, and so on, are still very much with us. They really shape everything that we do today. So the world we inhabit today is like a supercharged version of what people set up in this formative period. But they did it all over the place.

Why ancient studies need a paradigm shift

10:08: Unless there is some major paradigm shift or some major other shock to the system, there's really no sufficient force to reconfigure the way we approach the study of the ancient world.

Redefining ancient history beyond Greece and Rome

03:03: If you're a historian, you may want to ask, well, why isn't ancient history, like Roman history, part of our history patterns more generally? And to go beyond that, what do we mean mostly by Greece and Rome when we say ancient history? I think we mean two things when we evoke ancient history. One is Greeks and Romans, maybe Egyptians and Nas if you're lucky, but not, you know, Maya or early China and that sort of thing. Or, more commonly, you refer to something you think is irrelevant and obsolete. You say that's ancient history whenever you want to dismiss something—it's like, that's ancient history. So my book is about both of these meanings and why neither one of them really does any justice to the subject matter and to what our understanding should be of this particular part of history. I want to redefine it as a truly transformative, foundational phase—not so much a period, but a phase of human development that unfolded on a planetary scale and needs to be studied accordingly.

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]]> Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is it time to overhaul the way we study and teach ancient history? Are we limiting our ability to understand fully how the past informs the present in ways like inequality if we keep these disciplines siloed?

Walter Scheidel is a professor of humanities, classics, and history at Stanford University. He’s the author of more than a dozen books, including What Is Ancient History? and The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century.

Walter and Greg discuss methodological divides between departments studying ancient history, the relevance of the Classics today, and the case for a new discipline on “foundational history.” They also explore the origins of inequality and how war, plagues, and technological advancements are the primary drivers for equality shifts. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How ancient innovations still shape the modern world

13:37: People face similar challenges, and they should be studied accordingly. And we should try to understand how people, at the time of many thousands of years ago, put all kinds of innovations in place and bundled them together in very specific ways that really create our world—in terms of material culture, in terms of social arrangements, institutions, cognitive frameworks, if you will. Writing and literature and world religions and other belief systems, and so on, are still very much with us. They really shape everything that we do today. So the world we inhabit today is like a supercharged version of what people set up in this formative period. But they did it all over the place.

Why ancient studies need a paradigm shift

10:08: Unless there is some major paradigm shift or some major other shock to the system, there's really no sufficient force to reconfigure the way we approach the study of the ancient world.

Redefining ancient history beyond Greece and Rome

03:03: If you're a historian, you may want to ask, well, why isn't ancient history, like Roman history, part of our history patterns more generally? And to go beyond that, what do we mean mostly by Greece and Rome when we say ancient history? I think we mean two things when we evoke ancient history. One is Greeks and Romans, maybe Egyptians and Nas if you're lucky, but not, you know, Maya or early China and that sort of thing. Or, more commonly, you refer to something you think is irrelevant and obsolete. You say that's ancient history whenever you want to dismiss something—it's like, that's ancient history. So my book is about both of these meanings and why neither one of them really does any justice to the subject matter and to what our understanding should be of this particular part of history. I want to redefine it as a truly transformative, foundational phase—not so much a period, but a phase of human development that unfolded on a planetary scale and needs to be studied accordingly.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> 589. Reenvisioning The Study of Ancient History feat. Walter Scheidel Greg La Blanc 00:55:36 Is it time to overhaul the way we study and teach ancient history? Are we limiting our ability to understand fully how the past informs the present in ways like inequality if we keep these disciplines siloed? Walter Scheidel is a professor of humanities, classics, and history at Stanford University. He’s the author of more than a dozen books, including What Is Ancient History? and The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century. Walter and Greg discuss methodological divides between departments studying ancient history, the relevance of the Classics today, and the case for a new discipline on “foundational history.” They also explore the origins of inequality and how war, plagues, and technological advancements are the primary drivers for equality shifts. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is it time to overhaul the way we study and teach ancient history? Are we limiting our ability to understand fully how the past informs the present in ways like inequality if we keep these disciplines siloed? Walter Scheidel is a professor of humanities, classics, and history at Stanford University. He’s the author of more than a dozen books, including What Is Ancient History? and The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century. Walter and Greg discuss methodological divides between departments studying ancient history, the relevance of the Classics today, and the case for a new discipline on “foundational history.” They also explore the origins of inequality and how war, plagues, and technological advancements are the primary drivers for equality shifts. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 589 a92fbf21-ce17-4257-a9f3-5edc0a762318 588. The Evolution of the West and Western Identity feat. Georgios Varouxakis When it comes to the concept of The West, its scope and principles have been criticized both contemporarily and historically. How did the West emerge as a coherent concept, and what has it meant over time?

Georgios Varouxakis is a Professor in the History of Political Thought at Queen Mary University of London, where he is also the Co-director of the Centre for the Study of the History of Political Thought. He is also the author of several books, and his newest book is titled The West: The History of an Idea.

Greg and Georgios discuss Giorgios’s new book, 'The West: The History of an Idea,' and explore the origins, evolution, and various interpretations of the concept of 'the West.' Their conversation covers some popular misconceptions about the West, reasons behind its historical development, and the roles nations like Greece, Russia, and Ukraine have played in shaping the West's identity. Giorgios emphasizes how the West has been a flexible and evolving idea, open to new members and continuously redefined through history. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two myths of the West’s origins

03:06: The popular conceptions are that the West must have always existed. People take for granted that at least since the ancient Greeks, there is a West that has resisted the invasion of Asia through the Persian Empire and that in the Battle of Marathon, the West defined itself and defeated. A projection of things that people later imagined. In this sense, ancient Greeks saw themselves as Greeks. They did not see themselves as West or Europe or anything else. The other end of the spectrum is that the West must have begun with a Cold War, that surely the West is a creation of the post–First World War situation where the United States leads a group of peoples versus the Soviet Union, and that is the West. These are the two popular extremes. Popular conceptions that I consider, the two ends of the spectrum.

The West as an open-ended idea

17:14: The West had inherent from its inception an open-endedness that was not based on just ethnic descent or just religion.

Richard Wright: The gadfly of the West

37:14: [Richard Wright] says, "I'm Western, but I now realize I'm more Western than the West. I'm more advanced than the West. I believe in the Western principles and values, and constitutional and political and other philosophical ideas. I was taught, I believe in freedom of speech, separation of, and the of. These are not necessarily practiced much of the time by Western governments and elites. So he becomes literally like Socrates was the gadfly of Athenian democracy. Richard Wright becomes the gadfly of the West, saying, 'I'm criticizing you because you're not doing the Western thing. You're not Western enough.' Literally, he says, 'The West is not Western enough.'"

Why the West should be improved, not abolished

47:48: My argument is peoples and their leaderships make decisions, and they may change allegiances. They may adopt institutions, alliances, and cultural references that their ancestors did not have a century or two ago, come from a country that. An experiment in that these experiments may change. You know, things may change, but I do not think anytime soon Greece will join some Eastern or whatever alliance. So to the extent that what anyone can predict, the attractiveness of the West is exactly this combination of, and an entity. As we keep saying, it should be criticized and improved. So it is not abolishing the West that I would recommend, it is improving the West and making the West live up to more of its aspirations and principles.

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]]> Tue, 7 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When it comes to the concept of The West, its scope and principles have been criticized both contemporarily and historically. How did the West emerge as a coherent concept, and what has it meant over time?

Georgios Varouxakis is a Professor in the History of Political Thought at Queen Mary University of London, where he is also the Co-director of the Centre for the Study of the History of Political Thought. He is also the author of several books, and his newest book is titled The West: The History of an Idea.

Greg and Georgios discuss Giorgios’s new book, 'The West: The History of an Idea,' and explore the origins, evolution, and various interpretations of the concept of 'the West.' Their conversation covers some popular misconceptions about the West, reasons behind its historical development, and the roles nations like Greece, Russia, and Ukraine have played in shaping the West's identity. Giorgios emphasizes how the West has been a flexible and evolving idea, open to new members and continuously redefined through history. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two myths of the West’s origins

03:06: The popular conceptions are that the West must have always existed. People take for granted that at least since the ancient Greeks, there is a West that has resisted the invasion of Asia through the Persian Empire and that in the Battle of Marathon, the West defined itself and defeated. A projection of things that people later imagined. In this sense, ancient Greeks saw themselves as Greeks. They did not see themselves as West or Europe or anything else. The other end of the spectrum is that the West must have begun with a Cold War, that surely the West is a creation of the post–First World War situation where the United States leads a group of peoples versus the Soviet Union, and that is the West. These are the two popular extremes. Popular conceptions that I consider, the two ends of the spectrum.

The West as an open-ended idea

17:14: The West had inherent from its inception an open-endedness that was not based on just ethnic descent or just religion.

Richard Wright: The gadfly of the West

37:14: [Richard Wright] says, "I'm Western, but I now realize I'm more Western than the West. I'm more advanced than the West. I believe in the Western principles and values, and constitutional and political and other philosophical ideas. I was taught, I believe in freedom of speech, separation of, and the of. These are not necessarily practiced much of the time by Western governments and elites. So he becomes literally like Socrates was the gadfly of Athenian democracy. Richard Wright becomes the gadfly of the West, saying, 'I'm criticizing you because you're not doing the Western thing. You're not Western enough.' Literally, he says, 'The West is not Western enough.'"

Why the West should be improved, not abolished

47:48: My argument is peoples and their leaderships make decisions, and they may change allegiances. They may adopt institutions, alliances, and cultural references that their ancestors did not have a century or two ago, come from a country that. An experiment in that these experiments may change. You know, things may change, but I do not think anytime soon Greece will join some Eastern or whatever alliance. So to the extent that what anyone can predict, the attractiveness of the West is exactly this combination of, and an entity. As we keep saying, it should be criticized and improved. So it is not abolishing the West that I would recommend, it is improving the West and making the West live up to more of its aspirations and principles.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 588. The Evolution of the West and Western Identity feat. Georgios Varouxakis Greg La Blanc 00:47:31 When it comes to the concept of The West, its scope and principles have been criticized both contemporarily and historically. How did the West emerge as a coherent concept, and what has it meant over time? Georgios Varouxakis is a Professor in the History of Political Thought at Queen Mary University of London, where he is also the Co-director of the Centre for the Study of the History of Political Thought. He is also the author of several books, and his newest book is titled The West: The History of an Idea. Greg and Georgios discuss Giorgios’s new book, 'The West: The History of an Idea,' and explore the origins, evolution, and various interpretations of the concept of 'the West.' Their conversation covers some popular misconceptions about the West, reasons behind its historical development, and the roles nations like Greece, Russia, and Ukraine have played in shaping the West's identity. Giorgios emphasizes how the West has been a flexible and evolving idea, open to new members and continuously redefined through history. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When it comes to the concept of The West, its scope and principles have been criticized both contemporarily and historically. How did the West emerge as a coherent concept, and what has it meant over time? Georgios Varouxakis is a Professor in the History of Political Thought at Queen Mary University of London, where he is also the Co-director of the Centre for the Study of the History of Political Thought. He is also the author of several books, and his newest book is titled The West: The History of an Idea. Greg and Georgios discuss Giorgios’s new book, 'The West: The History of an Idea,' and explore the origins, evolution, and various interpretations of the concept of 'the West.' Their conversation covers some popular misconceptions about the West, reasons behind its historical development, and the roles nations like Greece, Russia, and Ukraine have played in shaping the West's identity. Giorgios emphasizes how the West has been a flexible and evolving idea, open to new members and continuously redefined through history. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 588 c8b94138-5d2b-4911-9083-2f363a3b590a 587. History's Long Arc: Equality, Genius, and Happiness Explored feat. Darrin M. McMahon Why is historical context so important when looking at topics from the past? What role does a broader appreciation of the humanities play in understanding contemporary issues?

Darrin M. McMahon is a professor of history at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. Recent titles include Equality: The History of an Elusive Idea and the Divine Fury: A History of Genius book.

Greg and Darrin discuss Darrin’s intellectual journey and his approach to longue durée intellectual history. Darrin provides insights into his books on happiness, genius, and equality, exploring themes like the evolution of concepts over time, the intersection of words and ideas, and the roles of intellectual historians. Their conversation examines the connections between religious traditions and modern concepts, the interplay of born versus made attributes, and the historical perspectives on the concepts of happiness and genius. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are genius, happiness, and equality born or made?

41:06: Are geniuses born, or are they made? You know, can you play the guitar for 10,000 hours, à la Malcolm Gladwell, and become a Beatle? Or, you know, is there just something in you? And that turns out to be a kind of central conflict all the way back to the ancients. Same, as you say, with happiness, right? Is happiness just in our genes? We know some people are wired to just be cheery in the morning. Right? I'm not one of those people. Or does it happen to you? Right? Or can you make it? Right? Can you control your life in such a way so that you can bring about happiness? And the same with equality, right? Are we born equals? Are we made equals in political circumstance? Are we intended to be equal? This too gets tied up with debates around it, around the concept from very early on. And they never really entirely go away. So again, it's a nice way of kind of pointing out continuities, but then also marking points of departure and change.

Why equality creates inequality

29:37: Equality always serves, or always brings into being, new forms of inequality. That very assertion of equals then creates the space then for thinking or measuring others against that standard, and relegating to place.

Intellectual history teaches us how to love

49:28: Intellectual history teaches you to get inside the minds of others who see the world in radically different ways from how you do. And that is what love is all about: trying to get inside the mind of a person who sees the world differently from you, and to empathize even when you do not agree, to understand even when you do not condone. That is crucial. It is a crucial human endeavor, and I think intellectual history teaches that very well.

The arc of equality isn't as straight as we think

30:29: Equality leads to us, and then it's going to spread, and, you know, spill down to more and more people. It will expand and get wider. I grew up in California. I was born in 1965 with that kind of vague idea, and no one said it was going to be easy. Martin Luther King certainly knew it was not going to be easy, and yet, as you say, the arc of history bends towards justice, bends towards equality. We're gradually extending equality to wider and wider circles of people. And that's just how it will go. And I think we were deceived by our own rhetoric. And it was really a rude awakening in 2016 to wake up and realize, oh gosh, you know, it does not quite work that way. And as rude an awakening as that's been, I think it also provides an opportunity then to go back and examine a concept like equality that we thought we knew in some ways, but that really turns out to be much more complicated and fraught than I think we fully appreciated.

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]]> Thu, 2 Oct 2025 15:13:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why is historical context so important when looking at topics from the past? What role does a broader appreciation of the humanities play in understanding contemporary issues?

Darrin M. McMahon is a professor of history at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. Recent titles include Equality: The History of an Elusive Idea and the Divine Fury: A History of Genius book.

Greg and Darrin discuss Darrin’s intellectual journey and his approach to longue durée intellectual history. Darrin provides insights into his books on happiness, genius, and equality, exploring themes like the evolution of concepts over time, the intersection of words and ideas, and the roles of intellectual historians. Their conversation examines the connections between religious traditions and modern concepts, the interplay of born versus made attributes, and the historical perspectives on the concepts of happiness and genius. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are genius, happiness, and equality born or made?

41:06: Are geniuses born, or are they made? You know, can you play the guitar for 10,000 hours, à la Malcolm Gladwell, and become a Beatle? Or, you know, is there just something in you? And that turns out to be a kind of central conflict all the way back to the ancients. Same, as you say, with happiness, right? Is happiness just in our genes? We know some people are wired to just be cheery in the morning. Right? I'm not one of those people. Or does it happen to you? Right? Or can you make it? Right? Can you control your life in such a way so that you can bring about happiness? And the same with equality, right? Are we born equals? Are we made equals in political circumstance? Are we intended to be equal? This too gets tied up with debates around it, around the concept from very early on. And they never really entirely go away. So again, it's a nice way of kind of pointing out continuities, but then also marking points of departure and change.

Why equality creates inequality

29:37: Equality always serves, or always brings into being, new forms of inequality. That very assertion of equals then creates the space then for thinking or measuring others against that standard, and relegating to place.

Intellectual history teaches us how to love

49:28: Intellectual history teaches you to get inside the minds of others who see the world in radically different ways from how you do. And that is what love is all about: trying to get inside the mind of a person who sees the world differently from you, and to empathize even when you do not agree, to understand even when you do not condone. That is crucial. It is a crucial human endeavor, and I think intellectual history teaches that very well.

The arc of equality isn't as straight as we think

30:29: Equality leads to us, and then it's going to spread, and, you know, spill down to more and more people. It will expand and get wider. I grew up in California. I was born in 1965 with that kind of vague idea, and no one said it was going to be easy. Martin Luther King certainly knew it was not going to be easy, and yet, as you say, the arc of history bends towards justice, bends towards equality. We're gradually extending equality to wider and wider circles of people. And that's just how it will go. And I think we were deceived by our own rhetoric. And it was really a rude awakening in 2016 to wake up and realize, oh gosh, you know, it does not quite work that way. And as rude an awakening as that's been, I think it also provides an opportunity then to go back and examine a concept like equality that we thought we knew in some ways, but that really turns out to be much more complicated and fraught than I think we fully appreciated.

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]]> 587. History's Long Arc: Equality, Genius, and Happiness Explored feat. Darrin M. McMahon Greg La Blanc 00:48:05 Why is historical context so important when looking at topics from the past? What role does a broader appreciation of the humanities play in understanding contemporary issues? Darrin M. McMahon is a professor of history at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. Recent titles include Equality: The History of an Elusive Idea and the Divine Fury: A History of Genius book. Greg and Darrin discuss Darrin’s intellectual journey and his approach to longue durée intellectual history. Darrin provides insights into his books on happiness, genius, and equality, exploring themes like the evolution of concepts over time, the intersection of words and ideas, and the roles of intellectual historians. Their conversation examines the connections between religious traditions and modern concepts, the interplay of born versus made attributes, and the historical perspectives on the concepts of happiness and genius. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why is historical context so important when looking at topics from the past? What role does a broader appreciation of the humanities play in understanding contemporary issues? Darrin M. McMahon is a professor of history at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. Recent titles include Equality: The History of an Elusive Idea and the Divine Fury: A History of Genius book. Greg and Darrin discuss Darrin’s intellectual journey and his approach to longue durée intellectual history. Darrin provides insights into his books on happiness, genius, and equality, exploring themes like the evolution of concepts over time, the intersection of words and ideas, and the roles of intellectual historians. Their conversation examines the connections between religious traditions and modern concepts, the interplay of born versus made attributes, and the historical perspectives on the concepts of happiness and genius. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 587 6052f80a-d9eb-4c26-b3b0-e846b2040608 586. Living Liberalism: Ethics, Society, and Personal Virtue feat. Alexandre Lefebvre There is a misconception that liberalism lacks a vision of ‘the good life,’ but liberalism is more ingrained in society than often recognized. It affects media, education, and personal beliefs of those in society both directly and indirectly.

Alexandre Lefebvre is a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney in Australia, and the author and editor of several books.  His latest work is Liberalism as a Way of Life.

Greg and Alex discuss the historical and philosophical critiques of liberalism, discussing whether liberalism needs a theory of ‘the good life’ to remain relevant and compelling. Alexandre argues that liberalism has permeated various aspects of modern life, contradicting the common view that it is merely a procedural framework. They also explore John Rawls's philosophy, particularly his concepts of the original position and reflective equilibrium, and examine how these ideas can serve as spiritual exercises for cultivating a liberal ethos. Alexandre highlights the need for liberals to live up to their principles and examines the future challenges and opportunities for liberalism in a pluralistic society.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What are the goods of the liberal way of life?

36:14: What are the goods of the liberal way of life? I do think that they are real goods and, at the heart of it, I would say. I mean, I think any conception of the good life kind of parks two or three virtues, kind of limit at four, I know, at the heart of what it means to live well. And then they have kind of derivative qualities and virtues flowing out from that. So, I take liberals at their word that the two major commitments they have are, let's say, to liberty and liberality, or to freedom and fairness as a kind of interpretation of what it means to be generous. And out of that comes a whole personality structure. That's what I believe. A whole psychology emanates from that. And it behooves us as liberals to cultivate that, not just because it makes us not jerks and not hypocrites, but because living according to those values and those virtues is intrinsically rewarding and joyful. [37:09] So, that's the first thing I want to say: that the liberal personality isn't just a political thing. I want to say that it disseminates into all aspects of our life, from how we deal with our wife or our husband, our romantic partners, how we raise our kids, to the kind of jokes we laugh at, the kind of stuff that makes us upset, et cetera, et cetera.

Why liberalism needs more than rules

09:14: If liberalism can't compel ethical assent and robust commitment, then what are we talking about? We’re done for, we can't campaign forever on just a set of rules, however noble they are. There has to be a there, there.

Why do people reject liberalism?

34:27: I think that a lot of people saying no to liberalism, it's not because they can't live up to its demands, but because they look at the ideals and say, no, not for me, that this is not the kind of life I want. And that the vision of the good life and the good quality is in a different direction. And I think that those are principled rejections of liberalism that make, for me, a lot of sense. And that if we want to understand the attraction of illiberalism, postliberal, all that stuff, we can't just think that these people are either cowards or afraid, or that their leaders are just motivated by the goods of tyranny—kind of sex, power, money, all that stuff. That is part of the picture, no doubt, but they're motivated by genuine ideals that liberalism crowds out.

Liberalism as a way of life

27:16: Philosophy is a way of life. And what I try to do in my book [Liberalism as a Way of Life] is suggest that liberalism could be seen, sort of, in the same vein.

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]]> Tue, 23 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There is a misconception that liberalism lacks a vision of ‘the good life,’ but liberalism is more ingrained in society than often recognized. It affects media, education, and personal beliefs of those in society both directly and indirectly.

Alexandre Lefebvre is a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney in Australia, and the author and editor of several books.  His latest work is Liberalism as a Way of Life.

Greg and Alex discuss the historical and philosophical critiques of liberalism, discussing whether liberalism needs a theory of ‘the good life’ to remain relevant and compelling. Alexandre argues that liberalism has permeated various aspects of modern life, contradicting the common view that it is merely a procedural framework. They also explore John Rawls's philosophy, particularly his concepts of the original position and reflective equilibrium, and examine how these ideas can serve as spiritual exercises for cultivating a liberal ethos. Alexandre highlights the need for liberals to live up to their principles and examines the future challenges and opportunities for liberalism in a pluralistic society.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What are the goods of the liberal way of life?

36:14: What are the goods of the liberal way of life? I do think that they are real goods and, at the heart of it, I would say. I mean, I think any conception of the good life kind of parks two or three virtues, kind of limit at four, I know, at the heart of what it means to live well. And then they have kind of derivative qualities and virtues flowing out from that. So, I take liberals at their word that the two major commitments they have are, let's say, to liberty and liberality, or to freedom and fairness as a kind of interpretation of what it means to be generous. And out of that comes a whole personality structure. That's what I believe. A whole psychology emanates from that. And it behooves us as liberals to cultivate that, not just because it makes us not jerks and not hypocrites, but because living according to those values and those virtues is intrinsically rewarding and joyful. [37:09] So, that's the first thing I want to say: that the liberal personality isn't just a political thing. I want to say that it disseminates into all aspects of our life, from how we deal with our wife or our husband, our romantic partners, how we raise our kids, to the kind of jokes we laugh at, the kind of stuff that makes us upset, et cetera, et cetera.

Why liberalism needs more than rules

09:14: If liberalism can't compel ethical assent and robust commitment, then what are we talking about? We’re done for, we can't campaign forever on just a set of rules, however noble they are. There has to be a there, there.

Why do people reject liberalism?

34:27: I think that a lot of people saying no to liberalism, it's not because they can't live up to its demands, but because they look at the ideals and say, no, not for me, that this is not the kind of life I want. And that the vision of the good life and the good quality is in a different direction. And I think that those are principled rejections of liberalism that make, for me, a lot of sense. And that if we want to understand the attraction of illiberalism, postliberal, all that stuff, we can't just think that these people are either cowards or afraid, or that their leaders are just motivated by the goods of tyranny—kind of sex, power, money, all that stuff. That is part of the picture, no doubt, but they're motivated by genuine ideals that liberalism crowds out.

Liberalism as a way of life

27:16: Philosophy is a way of life. And what I try to do in my book [Liberalism as a Way of Life] is suggest that liberalism could be seen, sort of, in the same vein.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources: 

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Want more like this? Give these episodes a listen:


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]]> 586. Living Liberalism: Ethics, Society, and Personal Virtue feat. Alexandre Lefebvre Greg La Blanc 00:53:21 There is a misconception that liberalism lacks a vision of ‘the good life,’ but liberalism is more ingrained in society than often recognized. It affects media, education, and personal beliefs of those in society both directly and indirectly. Alexandre Lefebvre is a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney in Australia, and the author and editor of several books.  His latest work is Liberalism as a Way of Life. Greg and Alex discuss the historical and philosophical critiques of liberalism, discussing whether liberalism needs a theory of ‘the good life’ to remain relevant and compelling. Alexandre argues that liberalism has permeated various aspects of modern life, contradicting the common view that it is merely a procedural framework. They also explore John Rawls's philosophy, particularly his concepts of the original position and reflective equilibrium, and examine how these ideas can serve as spiritual exercises for cultivating a liberal ethos. Alexandre highlights the need for liberals to live up to their principles and examines the future challenges and opportunities for liberalism in a pluralistic society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* There is a misconception that liberalism lacks a vision of ‘the good life,’ but liberalism is more ingrained in society than often recognized. It affects media, education, and personal beliefs of those in society both directly and indirectly. Alexandre Lefebvre is a professor of politics and philosophy at the University of Sydney in Australia, and the author and editor of several books.  His latest work is Liberalism as a Way of Life. Greg and Alex discuss the historical and philosophical critiques of liberalism, discussing whether liberalism needs a theory of ‘the good life’ to remain relevant and compelling. Alexandre argues that liberalism has permeated various aspects of modern life, contradicting the common view that it is merely a procedural framework. They also explore John Rawls's philosophy, particularly his concepts of the original position and reflective equilibrium, and examine how these ideas can serve as spiritual exercises for cultivating a liberal ethos. Alexandre highlights the need for liberals to live up to their principles and examines the future challenges and opportunities for liberalism in a pluralistic society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 586 6b9cfb14-4754-4c2c-b788-19f151ad2f8b 585. Epic Disruptions and the Evolution of Business Strategies feat. Scott D. Anthony Business leaders need to be versatile, critical thinkers capable of questioning the status quo while integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation. How does this align with the principles today’s business school graduates are learning and will they be capable of integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation in the future?

Scott D. Anthony is a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Epic Disruptions: 11 Innovations That Shaped Our Modern World.

Greg and Scott discuss Scott's latest book, Epic Disruptions, as well as his previous works, including Dual Transformations and Eat, Sleep, Innovate. Their conversation examines the intricacies of disruption theory, its need for an update, and the complexity of business models in today's ecosystem-focused world. Scott shares insights from his extensive research and consulting experience, touching on historical examples like the iPhone, Tesla, and Julia Child, and emphasizing the importance of adapting mental models to navigate uncertainty. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Innovation is predictably unpredictable

39:59: Scott: Randomness is absolutely a feature of every innovation story that you'll study. And the conclusion I drew from the research is that innovation has become more predictable, but it's not perfectly predictable. So I called it predictably unpredictable in that—

Greg: Now, is it more predictable because we have better tools and better frameworks?

Scott: I think so. I think A, we have better tools and better frameworks, and B, we really have learned the discipline of scientific method applied to strategy through lean startup, emergent strategy, and so on. So that does not mean that we can predict exactly. It does not mean that we know what is going to happen beforehand, but it means that we can confront the uncertainty in a more practiced, more methodical sort of way, so we can manage it in a different sort of way. I think that is a huge change in the innovation world. So, a combination of two things: better understanding, better research, which gives us better tools and frameworks, and then an active way to go and chip away at the things that we still will not know. But still, there is lots of unpredictability in it.

Disruption changes the game

08:52: The important thing about disruption is it changes the game, and by changing the game, it drives explosive growth.

Why business schools must teach wisdom, not just tools

44:28: There is a fundamental question of how do we make sure that it is connected to the modern world and what it needs to do? And second, technical tools are pretty easy to learn, and tools like ChatGPT, et cetera, can take it really well. We need to make sure that our students are critical thinkers that are really able to be what we are aspiring our students to be—wise, decisive leaders that better the world through business. We need to teach wisdom. We need to teach curiosity. We need to make sure that people go out with the right mindset, and that is really hard. That is not an easy thing to do in traditional classroom settings with case-based methods. I think there is still a huge role for that, and a role for simulations, experiential things—things that really push people to uncomfortable places where they learn and give them the humility, the wisdom to be able to confront an incredibly challenging world.

On Florence Nightingale as a disruptor

36:17: She [Florence Nightingale] goes and opens up nursing hospitals, enabling a broader population to be nurses. And like nightingales, they fly through the world. So she comes up with a really clear vision that is communicated clearly. She gives people step-by-step instructions, and she creates a cadre of people that can go and follow those instructions. And by doing so, she drives massive system change. This is disruption in healthcare—enabling a lesser-trained, lesser-skilled group of people to provide high-quality care, moving from treating bad things to preventing them from ever happening. So I love the story, because you think of her as a nurse. You think of her as somebody who helped people in a dire situation. Yes, she did all of that, but she also used data, used words, used teaching and training to change the world. 

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]]> Thu, 18 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Business leaders need to be versatile, critical thinkers capable of questioning the status quo while integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation. How does this align with the principles today’s business school graduates are learning and will they be capable of integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation in the future?

Scott D. Anthony is a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Epic Disruptions: 11 Innovations That Shaped Our Modern World.

Greg and Scott discuss Scott's latest book, Epic Disruptions, as well as his previous works, including Dual Transformations and Eat, Sleep, Innovate. Their conversation examines the intricacies of disruption theory, its need for an update, and the complexity of business models in today's ecosystem-focused world. Scott shares insights from his extensive research and consulting experience, touching on historical examples like the iPhone, Tesla, and Julia Child, and emphasizing the importance of adapting mental models to navigate uncertainty. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Innovation is predictably unpredictable

39:59: Scott: Randomness is absolutely a feature of every innovation story that you'll study. And the conclusion I drew from the research is that innovation has become more predictable, but it's not perfectly predictable. So I called it predictably unpredictable in that—

Greg: Now, is it more predictable because we have better tools and better frameworks?

Scott: I think so. I think A, we have better tools and better frameworks, and B, we really have learned the discipline of scientific method applied to strategy through lean startup, emergent strategy, and so on. So that does not mean that we can predict exactly. It does not mean that we know what is going to happen beforehand, but it means that we can confront the uncertainty in a more practiced, more methodical sort of way, so we can manage it in a different sort of way. I think that is a huge change in the innovation world. So, a combination of two things: better understanding, better research, which gives us better tools and frameworks, and then an active way to go and chip away at the things that we still will not know. But still, there is lots of unpredictability in it.

Disruption changes the game

08:52: The important thing about disruption is it changes the game, and by changing the game, it drives explosive growth.

Why business schools must teach wisdom, not just tools

44:28: There is a fundamental question of how do we make sure that it is connected to the modern world and what it needs to do? And second, technical tools are pretty easy to learn, and tools like ChatGPT, et cetera, can take it really well. We need to make sure that our students are critical thinkers that are really able to be what we are aspiring our students to be—wise, decisive leaders that better the world through business. We need to teach wisdom. We need to teach curiosity. We need to make sure that people go out with the right mindset, and that is really hard. That is not an easy thing to do in traditional classroom settings with case-based methods. I think there is still a huge role for that, and a role for simulations, experiential things—things that really push people to uncomfortable places where they learn and give them the humility, the wisdom to be able to confront an incredibly challenging world.

On Florence Nightingale as a disruptor

36:17: She [Florence Nightingale] goes and opens up nursing hospitals, enabling a broader population to be nurses. And like nightingales, they fly through the world. So she comes up with a really clear vision that is communicated clearly. She gives people step-by-step instructions, and she creates a cadre of people that can go and follow those instructions. And by doing so, she drives massive system change. This is disruption in healthcare—enabling a lesser-trained, lesser-skilled group of people to provide high-quality care, moving from treating bad things to preventing them from ever happening. So I love the story, because you think of her as a nurse. You think of her as somebody who helped people in a dire situation. Yes, she did all of that, but she also used data, used words, used teaching and training to change the world. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> 585. Epic Disruptions and the Evolution of Business Strategies feat. Scott D. Anthony Greg La Blanc 00:44:41 Business leaders need to be versatile, critical thinkers capable of questioning the status quo while integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation. How does this align with the principles today’s business school graduates are learning and will they be capable of integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation in the future? Scott D. Anthony is a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Epic Disruptions: 11 Innovations That Shaped Our Modern World. Greg and Scott discuss Scott's latest book, Epic Disruptions, as well as his previous works, including Dual Transformations and Eat, Sleep, Innovate. Their conversation examines the intricacies of disruption theory, its need for an update, and the complexity of business models in today's ecosystem-focused world. Scott shares insights from his extensive research and consulting experience, touching on historical examples like the iPhone, Tesla, and Julia Child, and emphasizing the importance of adapting mental models to navigate uncertainty. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Business leaders need to be versatile, critical thinkers capable of questioning the status quo while integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation. How does this align with the principles today’s business school graduates are learning and will they be capable of integrating actionable frameworks to drive innovation in the future? Scott D. Anthony is a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Epic Disruptions: 11 Innovations That Shaped Our Modern World. Greg and Scott discuss Scott's latest book, Epic Disruptions, as well as his previous works, including Dual Transformations and Eat, Sleep, Innovate. Their conversation examines the intricacies of disruption theory, its need for an update, and the complexity of business models in today's ecosystem-focused world. Scott shares insights from his extensive research and consulting experience, touching on historical examples like the iPhone, Tesla, and Julia Child, and emphasizing the importance of adapting mental models to navigate uncertainty. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 585 843ce3b3-ba27-463d-a590-a74a22cebf71 584. Examining School Closure Policies During the Pandemic: Untested Models vs. Empirical Evidence feat. David Zweig How did political and social pressures affect public health decisions during the pandemic, and how did media reporting amplify those effects? What is the cost when experts detach from evidence-based medicine for policymaking and defer decisions to those without the proper expertise?

David Zweig is a journalist, novelist, and musician. He is also the author of An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions.

Greg and David discuss David’s journey from working on a different book during the pandemic to documenting the school closure policies and their implications. They cover various topics, including public health, expertise, the state of science, partisanship, tribalism in academia and the public sector, and how those factors influenced the policy and decisions during COVID. David talks about the decision-making processes behind prolonged school closures despite falling hospitalization rates, the role of media coverage, the politicization of public health recommendations, and the long-term impact on children’s education and mental health. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The failure of the expert class

30:39: One of the reasons that I felt motivated to spend years writing this book [An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions], and just painstakingly trying to create a document. So I am hoping that, if I am not too big for my britches here, I hope in a decade, or a couple of decades or more from now, people will look back at the book and use this as a tool to understand: How does something like this happen, where science and evidence are ignored? And not only is it ignored, but it is ignored by the people who ostensibly are the experts who should know better. I do not spend a lot of time criticizing Trump, or, you know, Alex Jones, or conspiracy theorist people, because that's boring. I already do not expect them to know what is going on, but I do expect people with advanced degrees. I do expect physicians, I do expect these public health experts. And my book, in many ways, is a study of how those people—it is the failure of the expert class.

Intuition over data

15:28: Real-world, like empirical evidence, was ignored almost entirely. And when it was acknowledged, even in a minimal way, it was dismissed with a bunch of really contrived reasons that were based again on the expert's intuition. None of this was based on any evidence or data.

When models reflect privilege

01:07:54: It's quite important to note that the people who made the models also tended to be the people who did the best in the pandemic. That's what this guy Eric Berg's philosopher, who I interviewed, pointed out to me many times. Like, boy, that's pretty ironic that the people who chose how to create these models, they were the ones who were in comfortable homes. They were the ones who had their kid. They probably had one or another parent at home with the kid to help them with their studying. Maybe they could pay for a tutor. Maybe they went to their vacation home somewhere. If the people designing the pandemic response were in a studio apartment in the Bronx with four children, with one absent parent, and with one of the kids sick and with a learning disability, I'm pretty darn sure that their recommendations would have been quite different if those were the circumstances they were living in.

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]]> Mon, 15 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How did political and social pressures affect public health decisions during the pandemic, and how did media reporting amplify those effects? What is the cost when experts detach from evidence-based medicine for policymaking and defer decisions to those without the proper expertise?

David Zweig is a journalist, novelist, and musician. He is also the author of An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions.

Greg and David discuss David’s journey from working on a different book during the pandemic to documenting the school closure policies and their implications. They cover various topics, including public health, expertise, the state of science, partisanship, tribalism in academia and the public sector, and how those factors influenced the policy and decisions during COVID. David talks about the decision-making processes behind prolonged school closures despite falling hospitalization rates, the role of media coverage, the politicization of public health recommendations, and the long-term impact on children’s education and mental health. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The failure of the expert class

30:39: One of the reasons that I felt motivated to spend years writing this book [An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions], and just painstakingly trying to create a document. So I am hoping that, if I am not too big for my britches here, I hope in a decade, or a couple of decades or more from now, people will look back at the book and use this as a tool to understand: How does something like this happen, where science and evidence are ignored? And not only is it ignored, but it is ignored by the people who ostensibly are the experts who should know better. I do not spend a lot of time criticizing Trump, or, you know, Alex Jones, or conspiracy theorist people, because that's boring. I already do not expect them to know what is going on, but I do expect people with advanced degrees. I do expect physicians, I do expect these public health experts. And my book, in many ways, is a study of how those people—it is the failure of the expert class.

Intuition over data

15:28: Real-world, like empirical evidence, was ignored almost entirely. And when it was acknowledged, even in a minimal way, it was dismissed with a bunch of really contrived reasons that were based again on the expert's intuition. None of this was based on any evidence or data.

When models reflect privilege

01:07:54: It's quite important to note that the people who made the models also tended to be the people who did the best in the pandemic. That's what this guy Eric Berg's philosopher, who I interviewed, pointed out to me many times. Like, boy, that's pretty ironic that the people who chose how to create these models, they were the ones who were in comfortable homes. They were the ones who had their kid. They probably had one or another parent at home with the kid to help them with their studying. Maybe they could pay for a tutor. Maybe they went to their vacation home somewhere. If the people designing the pandemic response were in a studio apartment in the Bronx with four children, with one absent parent, and with one of the kids sick and with a learning disability, I'm pretty darn sure that their recommendations would have been quite different if those were the circumstances they were living in.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> 584. Examining School Closure Policies During the Pandemic: Untested Models vs. Empirical Evidence feat. David Zweig Greg La Blanc 01:13:03 How did political and social pressures affect public health decisions during the pandemic, and how did media reporting amplify those effects? What is the cost when experts detach from evidence-based medicine for policymaking and defer decisions to those without the proper expertise? David Zweig is a journalist, novelist, and musician. He is also the author of An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions. Greg and David discuss David’s journey from working on a different book during the pandemic to documenting the school closure policies and their implications. They cover various topics, including public health, expertise, the state of science, partisanship, tribalism in academia and the public sector, and how those factors influenced the policy and decisions during COVID. David talks about the decision-making processes behind prolonged school closures despite falling hospitalization rates, the role of media coverage, the politicization of public health recommendations, and the long-term impact on children’s education and mental health. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How did political and social pressures affect public health decisions during the pandemic, and how did media reporting amplify those effects? What is the cost when experts detach from evidence-based medicine for policymaking and defer decisions to those without the proper expertise? David Zweig is a journalist, novelist, and musician. He is also the author of An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions. Greg and David discuss David’s journey from working on a different book during the pandemic to documenting the school closure policies and their implications. They cover various topics, including public health, expertise, the state of science, partisanship, tribalism in academia and the public sector, and how those factors influenced the policy and decisions during COVID. David talks about the decision-making processes behind prolonged school closures despite falling hospitalization rates, the role of media coverage, the politicization of public health recommendations, and the long-term impact on children’s education and mental health. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 584 83d68c35-f163-4d5f-b2ad-d5df798fede3 583. Reflections on Literature's Enduring Role in Human Experience feat. Arnold Weinstein How does literature enrich our understanding of ourselves and of others, in ways that STEM fields and other forms of knowledge cannot? What is contained within the language of reading that you don't encounter with other art forms like painting or film?

Arnold Weinstein is a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at Brown University and the author of several books. His latest two publications are The Lives of Literature: Reading, Teaching, Knowing and Morning, Noon, and Night: Finding the Meaning of Life's Stages Through Books.

Greg and Arnold discuss how literature offers unique and invaluable insights into the human experience, bridging historical and cultural divides. Their conversation examines the connections between literature and self-discovery, the challenges of teaching literature in a contemporary academic setting, and the enduring relevance of classic works from authors like William Faulkner, William Shakespeare, and Mark Twain. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Life doesn’t come in disciplines

01:02:54: Literature helps you see history. That philosophy, et cetera, needs a good dosage of literature, which is why we created that course and let the disciplines—not the people, the disciplines themselves—do battle with each other. And there's no obvious answer here. There's no winner or loser. But the students were confused. They wanted to get what's the right take on this. Well, has anybody ever offered the right take on reality? Universities come packaged in disciplines. Life doesn't. It doesn't. All of our major problems cannot be solved with any single discipline, including economics and, you know, and coding.

Literature makes us more human

09:25: It's a good workout to read literature. It makes us more generous, as being able to award the notion of humanity to other people. Because I do not think you can kill them. You cannot stamp them out if you do not think back.

Why great books leave you uneasy

30:13: We are supposed to exit literature course, not exactly being more confused, but more embattled in a sense to see that other ways of being, as well as other ways, other values that people might have, is a kind of absolutely basic "meat-and-potatoes" element of human life. You cannot just live in your own silo, in your own scheme, even though you are locked in it. That's the point. We cannot exit ourselves.

History isn’t a fairy tale

40:51: If we read the books, it only tells us what we want to know, which is what we are headed towards in this society today with the current political scene. Any text that is critical of American history is considered broke and therefore removed. And I'm worried that we are going to get a generation of people who think that American history is a fairy tale, which it is not, and no amount of rhetoric can change that. That we can police and prohibit these certain kinds of texts can take over the Kennedy Center, but we cannot, in fact, change what all of that is about, which is that we are still paying the bill for the history of racism and slavery in this country. It is not solved. We can just try to put it under the rug, but it is not solved by any means. So it is in that sense that the discomfort is required. If it simply massages us, say, "oh, this is terrific," then I think we are reading the wrong book.

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]]> Thu, 11 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does literature enrich our understanding of ourselves and of others, in ways that STEM fields and other forms of knowledge cannot? What is contained within the language of reading that you don't encounter with other art forms like painting or film?

Arnold Weinstein is a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at Brown University and the author of several books. His latest two publications are The Lives of Literature: Reading, Teaching, Knowing and Morning, Noon, and Night: Finding the Meaning of Life's Stages Through Books.

Greg and Arnold discuss how literature offers unique and invaluable insights into the human experience, bridging historical and cultural divides. Their conversation examines the connections between literature and self-discovery, the challenges of teaching literature in a contemporary academic setting, and the enduring relevance of classic works from authors like William Faulkner, William Shakespeare, and Mark Twain. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Life doesn’t come in disciplines

01:02:54: Literature helps you see history. That philosophy, et cetera, needs a good dosage of literature, which is why we created that course and let the disciplines—not the people, the disciplines themselves—do battle with each other. And there's no obvious answer here. There's no winner or loser. But the students were confused. They wanted to get what's the right take on this. Well, has anybody ever offered the right take on reality? Universities come packaged in disciplines. Life doesn't. It doesn't. All of our major problems cannot be solved with any single discipline, including economics and, you know, and coding.

Literature makes us more human

09:25: It's a good workout to read literature. It makes us more generous, as being able to award the notion of humanity to other people. Because I do not think you can kill them. You cannot stamp them out if you do not think back.

Why great books leave you uneasy

30:13: We are supposed to exit literature course, not exactly being more confused, but more embattled in a sense to see that other ways of being, as well as other ways, other values that people might have, is a kind of absolutely basic "meat-and-potatoes" element of human life. You cannot just live in your own silo, in your own scheme, even though you are locked in it. That's the point. We cannot exit ourselves.

History isn’t a fairy tale

40:51: If we read the books, it only tells us what we want to know, which is what we are headed towards in this society today with the current political scene. Any text that is critical of American history is considered broke and therefore removed. And I'm worried that we are going to get a generation of people who think that American history is a fairy tale, which it is not, and no amount of rhetoric can change that. That we can police and prohibit these certain kinds of texts can take over the Kennedy Center, but we cannot, in fact, change what all of that is about, which is that we are still paying the bill for the history of racism and slavery in this country. It is not solved. We can just try to put it under the rug, but it is not solved by any means. So it is in that sense that the discomfort is required. If it simply massages us, say, "oh, this is terrific," then I think we are reading the wrong book.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 583. Reflections on Literature's Enduring Role in Human Experience feat. Arnold Weinstein Greg La Blanc 01:00:55 How does literature enrich our understanding of ourselves and of others, in ways that STEM fields and other forms of knowledge cannot? What is contained within the language of reading that you don't encounter with other art forms like painting or film? Arnold Weinstein is a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at Brown University and the author of several books. His latest two publications are The Lives of Literature: Reading, Teaching, Knowing and Morning, Noon, and Night: Finding the Meaning of Life's Stages Through Books. Greg and Arnold discuss how literature offers unique and invaluable insights into the human experience, bridging historical and cultural divides. Their conversation examines the connections between literature and self-discovery, the challenges of teaching literature in a contemporary academic setting, and the enduring relevance of classic works from authors like William Faulkner, William Shakespeare, and Mark Twain. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does literature enrich our understanding of ourselves and of others, in ways that STEM fields and other forms of knowledge cannot? What is contained within the language of reading that you don't encounter with other art forms like painting or film? Arnold Weinstein is a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at Brown University and the author of several books. His latest two publications are The Lives of Literature: Reading, Teaching, Knowing and Morning, Noon, and Night: Finding the Meaning of Life's Stages Through Books. Greg and Arnold discuss how literature offers unique and invaluable insights into the human experience, bridging historical and cultural divides. Their conversation examines the connections between literature and self-discovery, the challenges of teaching literature in a contemporary academic setting, and the enduring relevance of classic works from authors like William Faulkner, William Shakespeare, and Mark Twain. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 583 6431f130-e3be-4270-bb89-07780d30cee9 582. Our Ancestral Eves: How the Female Body Shaped Human Evolution feat. Cat Bohannon What does the female body itself contribute to the story of human survival and development, and how does it differ from other animals and specifically, other mammals? These contributions include but are not limited unique attributes for gestation, childbirth, and lactation.

Cat Bohannon is a researcher, scholar, and the author of the book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution.

Greg and Cat discuss the significant role of the female body in human evolution. Cat shares the origins of her interdisciplinary approach to writing the book. Their conversation explores the evolutionary importance of maternal and infant health, the implications of sex differences in biology, the historical intersections of gynecology and sexism, and the deeply ingrained cultural norms around reproduction. Their discussion also touches on the origins of patriarchy and the impact of modern medical advancements on child-rearing and fertility trends.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The deep story of mammals is reproductive investment

06:13: “Eve,” [the book] in so many ways, was just—it's like a giant thought experiment, right? Like, okay, what if we do take this seriously? What if we say, what if sex differences do matter? What does the current science say about where they might and what that might implicate? And how does that change the story of ocean? You know, because like the big story, like you say, of mammalian evolution is reproduction. It's reproduction. I mean, it's cool that some little bit of a quasi-reptilian jaw broke off and now we have inner ear bones, but that's not a really interesting story in evolution. You know what I mean? 06:53: You know, that's not the deep story of mammals. The deep story of mammals is reproductive investment.

Why are female bodies always regulated across cultures?

59:52: We seem to, in every human culture, create rules that regulate access to female bodies. One way or another, we may have a subset of rules that are more liberal—that is distinct to our culture. We may have a set of rules that are more what we would call conservative or more controlling. That is distinct to our culture. It just depends on which culture you are in. What we all do have is these damn rules.

Lactation is a two-way communication system

55:40: We have to think of lactation then as this kind of two-way communication platform between the maternal body and the offspring's body, right? So whether that kid's getting stressed and there's more cortisol in its saliva, or whether the mothers experiencing a stressful environment, then they are effectively biochemically communicating that to one another through that bi-directional transfer point of the damn nipple, which is one incredibly cool. There's nothing like that in the animal world. Two. Oh, okay. So then we have to think of lactation as a thing that's more than simple caretaking. It's actually a major foundational thing that happens in mammals that have nipples.

Why women store special fats in their hips and butt

45:28: One of the things that is really interesting is that on the maternal body, different fat depots seem to have slightly different chops... [45:48] So this gluteal femoral fat, that is your upper thighs, your hips, and your butt — those fat deposits seem to specially store different kinds of stuff. There are these long-chain fatty acids, LCFAs — long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Our bodies are not good at making them from different parts. [46:26] For females, we mostly seem to store them in our butts. We start storing them in childhood, and then we keep going, and it turns out they do seem to be really important for building baby brains and baby retinas, which, by most accounts, are just an extension of your brain anyway.

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]]> Mon, 8 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does the female body itself contribute to the story of human survival and development, and how does it differ from other animals and specifically, other mammals? These contributions include but are not limited unique attributes for gestation, childbirth, and lactation.

Cat Bohannon is a researcher, scholar, and the author of the book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution.

Greg and Cat discuss the significant role of the female body in human evolution. Cat shares the origins of her interdisciplinary approach to writing the book. Their conversation explores the evolutionary importance of maternal and infant health, the implications of sex differences in biology, the historical intersections of gynecology and sexism, and the deeply ingrained cultural norms around reproduction. Their discussion also touches on the origins of patriarchy and the impact of modern medical advancements on child-rearing and fertility trends.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The deep story of mammals is reproductive investment

06:13: “Eve,” [the book] in so many ways, was just—it's like a giant thought experiment, right? Like, okay, what if we do take this seriously? What if we say, what if sex differences do matter? What does the current science say about where they might and what that might implicate? And how does that change the story of ocean? You know, because like the big story, like you say, of mammalian evolution is reproduction. It's reproduction. I mean, it's cool that some little bit of a quasi-reptilian jaw broke off and now we have inner ear bones, but that's not a really interesting story in evolution. You know what I mean? 06:53: You know, that's not the deep story of mammals. The deep story of mammals is reproductive investment.

Why are female bodies always regulated across cultures?

59:52: We seem to, in every human culture, create rules that regulate access to female bodies. One way or another, we may have a subset of rules that are more liberal—that is distinct to our culture. We may have a set of rules that are more what we would call conservative or more controlling. That is distinct to our culture. It just depends on which culture you are in. What we all do have is these damn rules.

Lactation is a two-way communication system

55:40: We have to think of lactation then as this kind of two-way communication platform between the maternal body and the offspring's body, right? So whether that kid's getting stressed and there's more cortisol in its saliva, or whether the mothers experiencing a stressful environment, then they are effectively biochemically communicating that to one another through that bi-directional transfer point of the damn nipple, which is one incredibly cool. There's nothing like that in the animal world. Two. Oh, okay. So then we have to think of lactation as a thing that's more than simple caretaking. It's actually a major foundational thing that happens in mammals that have nipples.

Why women store special fats in their hips and butt

45:28: One of the things that is really interesting is that on the maternal body, different fat depots seem to have slightly different chops... [45:48] So this gluteal femoral fat, that is your upper thighs, your hips, and your butt — those fat deposits seem to specially store different kinds of stuff. There are these long-chain fatty acids, LCFAs — long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Our bodies are not good at making them from different parts. [46:26] For females, we mostly seem to store them in our butts. We start storing them in childhood, and then we keep going, and it turns out they do seem to be really important for building baby brains and baby retinas, which, by most accounts, are just an extension of your brain anyway.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 582. Our Ancestral Eves: How the Female Body Shaped Human Evolution feat. Cat Bohannon Greg La Blanc 01:05:21 What does the female body itself contribute to the story of human survival and development, and how does it differ from other animals and specifically, other mammals? These contributions include but are not limited unique attributes for gestation, childbirth, and lactation. Cat Bohannon is a researcher, scholar, and the author of the book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. Greg and Cat discuss the significant role of the female body in human evolution. Cat shares the origins of her interdisciplinary approach to writing the book. Their conversation explores the evolutionary importance of maternal and infant health, the implications of sex differences in biology, the historical intersections of gynecology and sexism, and the deeply ingrained cultural norms around reproduction. Their discussion also touches on the origins of patriarchy and the impact of modern medical advancements on child-rearing and fertility trends. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What does the female body itself contribute to the story of human survival and development, and how does it differ from other animals and specifically, other mammals? These contributions include but are not limited unique attributes for gestation, childbirth, and lactation. Cat Bohannon is a researcher, scholar, and the author of the book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. Greg and Cat discuss the significant role of the female body in human evolution. Cat shares the origins of her interdisciplinary approach to writing the book. Their conversation explores the evolutionary importance of maternal and infant health, the implications of sex differences in biology, the historical intersections of gynecology and sexism, and the deeply ingrained cultural norms around reproduction. Their discussion also touches on the origins of patriarchy and the impact of modern medical advancements on child-rearing and fertility trends. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 582 4323a90f-1781-4521-ab02-1f7977c71cfb 581. The Power of Status: Examining the Matthew Effect feat. Toby E. Stuart How does status infiltrate all of our decisions, and how is status allocated in a networked society?

Toby E. Stuart is a professor at the Haas School at UC Berkeley and also the author of the new book called Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World.

Greg and Toby discuss the influence of social status on various aspects of life, including consumer behavior, resource allocation, and decision-making. They explore the concept of the Matthew Effect (how status leads to more status), the interplay between status and merit, and the implications of prestige in different fields such as academia, venture finance, and entertainment. The episode also examines the role of status in creating inequality and the potential benefits and challenges of implementing measures to reduce the impact of status in decision-making processes.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The big shift why we trust the painter over the painting

12:17: What do you do when you have to make a choice about something, but you have no real ability to evaluate its quality? Right? And, you know, that is true of so many things. Like, it is true of a hotel room you have never seen before, or a restaurant you have never been to before, or, like, you know, which of these things are going to be good? And in the book, I make the argument that what you do—I call it the Big Shift—is, if you walk into a museum, say, and you see a piece of art on the wall, I mean, you know it is in the museum, but you do not know whether it is high quality or not. But then you see the artist's name, and what you do know is, it is a Picasso, and I have heard of Picasso, and he is a very famous artist. And, in theory, he makes excellent art. And because of that, this is a very good picture. This is an amazing piece of art. But what you just did there is you took the identity of the artist and you assigned it to the art itself.

Status exists only in relationships

08:41: Status is a resource that is created in a social system. So individuals and groups give status to members, but it does not exist absent the social relationship. And right there, you can see the link to social networks, because flows of deferences are forms of relationships.

Born on third base privilege and status

56:16: So there is still today the prosperity gospel, and people who are successful often believed that it was a form of pre-ordination, like they were destined to get whatever they have, you know. But the other part of it is, you know, is best summed up by, you know, this quote I have always loved. I think, you know, the providence is occasionally debated, but it is often attributed to Barry Switzer. You know this one, and it goes: he refers to someone and he says, like, “You know, that guy was born on third base, and he has always thought he hit a triple.” Right? And that is what we call privilege these days—where you have all of these advantages. You were born with the advantages, you did not earn them, but you think you did, and therefore you attribute your status to your own merit. Versus what actually happened is you were born on third base; you did not ever hit the triple.

Status on steroids in the digital age

42:19: What happens when we have these digital platforms? When we have digital platforms, like anybody can get onto Spotify or Pandora or Apple Music or whatever, and they can find any piece of music literally created. Just like, you know, 99.9% of all recorded music exists on these platforms. And so you can find anybody's music. And so anywhere in the world, you can listen to the oboist—that one oboist who is the greatest in the world. So the globalization of the audience changes the nature of what happens in the marketplace, so to speak, and in a radical way. And then, if you have a cumulative advantage process which pushes people up to the top, that unfolds on steroids if you are looking at a global digital marketplace versus the way the world used to work.

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]]> Fri, 5 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does status infiltrate all of our decisions, and how is status allocated in a networked society?

Toby E. Stuart is a professor at the Haas School at UC Berkeley and also the author of the new book called Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World.

Greg and Toby discuss the influence of social status on various aspects of life, including consumer behavior, resource allocation, and decision-making. They explore the concept of the Matthew Effect (how status leads to more status), the interplay between status and merit, and the implications of prestige in different fields such as academia, venture finance, and entertainment. The episode also examines the role of status in creating inequality and the potential benefits and challenges of implementing measures to reduce the impact of status in decision-making processes.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The big shift why we trust the painter over the painting

12:17: What do you do when you have to make a choice about something, but you have no real ability to evaluate its quality? Right? And, you know, that is true of so many things. Like, it is true of a hotel room you have never seen before, or a restaurant you have never been to before, or, like, you know, which of these things are going to be good? And in the book, I make the argument that what you do—I call it the Big Shift—is, if you walk into a museum, say, and you see a piece of art on the wall, I mean, you know it is in the museum, but you do not know whether it is high quality or not. But then you see the artist's name, and what you do know is, it is a Picasso, and I have heard of Picasso, and he is a very famous artist. And, in theory, he makes excellent art. And because of that, this is a very good picture. This is an amazing piece of art. But what you just did there is you took the identity of the artist and you assigned it to the art itself.

Status exists only in relationships

08:41: Status is a resource that is created in a social system. So individuals and groups give status to members, but it does not exist absent the social relationship. And right there, you can see the link to social networks, because flows of deferences are forms of relationships.

Born on third base privilege and status

56:16: So there is still today the prosperity gospel, and people who are successful often believed that it was a form of pre-ordination, like they were destined to get whatever they have, you know. But the other part of it is, you know, is best summed up by, you know, this quote I have always loved. I think, you know, the providence is occasionally debated, but it is often attributed to Barry Switzer. You know this one, and it goes: he refers to someone and he says, like, “You know, that guy was born on third base, and he has always thought he hit a triple.” Right? And that is what we call privilege these days—where you have all of these advantages. You were born with the advantages, you did not earn them, but you think you did, and therefore you attribute your status to your own merit. Versus what actually happened is you were born on third base; you did not ever hit the triple.

Status on steroids in the digital age

42:19: What happens when we have these digital platforms? When we have digital platforms, like anybody can get onto Spotify or Pandora or Apple Music or whatever, and they can find any piece of music literally created. Just like, you know, 99.9% of all recorded music exists on these platforms. And so you can find anybody's music. And so anywhere in the world, you can listen to the oboist—that one oboist who is the greatest in the world. So the globalization of the audience changes the nature of what happens in the marketplace, so to speak, and in a radical way. And then, if you have a cumulative advantage process which pushes people up to the top, that unfolds on steroids if you are looking at a global digital marketplace versus the way the world used to work.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 581. The Power of Status: Examining the Matthew Effect feat. Toby E. Stuart Greg La Blanc 00:58:55 How does status infiltrate all of our decisions, and how is status allocated in a networked society? Toby E. Stuart is a professor at the Haas School at UC Berkeley and also the author of the new book called Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World. Greg and Toby discuss the influence of social status on various aspects of life, including consumer behavior, resource allocation, and decision-making. They explore the concept of the Matthew Effect (how status leads to more status), the interplay between status and merit, and the implications of prestige in different fields such as academia, venture finance, and entertainment. The episode also examines the role of status in creating inequality and the potential benefits and challenges of implementing measures to reduce the impact of status in decision-making processes. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does status infiltrate all of our decisions, and how is status allocated in a networked society? Toby E. Stuart is a professor at the Haas School at UC Berkeley and also the author of the new book called Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World. Greg and Toby discuss the influence of social status on various aspects of life, including consumer behavior, resource allocation, and decision-making. They explore the concept of the Matthew Effect (how status leads to more status), the interplay between status and merit, and the implications of prestige in different fields such as academia, venture finance, and entertainment. The episode also examines the role of status in creating inequality and the potential benefits and challenges of implementing measures to reduce the impact of status in decision-making processes. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 581 389eba3b-7857-420e-a8e0-639eaa2c739a 580. Creating Masterpieces: A New Vision of Leadership feat. Charles Spinosa Many business leaders craft successful companies but only a few elevate that to the level of a masterpiece. What is it about some companies and leaders that allows them to achieve this status? How does the vision of ‘the good life’ differ across corporations, large and small?

Charles Spinosa is a management consultant and the author of several books. His latest book is called Leadership as Masterpiece Creation: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the Humanities about Moral Risk-Taking.

Greg and Charles discuss Charles’s vision of business leaders as artists and creators who shape organizations into masterpieces, rooted deeply in humanities and philosophy. The conversation covers various business leaders, including Jeff Bezos, and how their leadership styles create distinctive moral orders within their companies. Charles connects principles from Shakespeare, Nietzsche, and Machiavelli to modern business practices and explains how leaders can cultivate courage and virtue within their organizations. They also explore the differences between founders and inheritors of businesses, the role of leaders in shaping corporate culture, and the implications for leadership education.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The three questions behind masterpiece leadership

18:05: My three questions are: What always goes wrong here? That tends to be an easy question for 80% of them to answer. What would you love to do instead? That is the hard question. That is the one you think is easy, but what would you love to do instead? That is hard because these men and women are geniuses at managing around what always goes wrong. They have been rewarded for managing around it, and they are good at it. And then, once we can get to “What would you love?”—what risks do you need to take to do what you would love? And that is where we begin to work out the kinds of risks, the hard risks they are going to take. Because when they make these changes, if they do not succeed, they are going to be seen as not just foolish, but actually evil. They have gone out and harmed people in careers and so forth. So we have to figure out those, and then we have to put them in a kind of strategic order. But that is, in short, my masterpiece-building strategy. 

Leadership as a moral masterpiece

03:10: Masterpieces are not just attractive and compelling aesthetically. Masterpieces give us a distinct new way to live that we consider a good life. They are moral masterpieces, and they are morally distinctive.

Cultivating courage in organizations

42:34: It is not that hard to build a company that cultivates courage. When you realize that part of courage is realizing that you figure what you think is right, and then you compose a way for people to hear it.

Why leadership calls for admiration

22:15: I can admire Google, and I can admire Amazon. A lot of people cannot. I have had people walk out on me when I say that about Amazon. But choose another company—choose The Body Shop, choose Zuckerberg's company, Meta—quite different from Amazon. Again, if we can admire different companies, we do not have to embrace everything we admire, and that gives us a sense of different good lives that we can admire. And I want that to be the virtue that we develop, which is a step above tolerance. I mean, really, with tolerance, which is the modern virtue for dealing with difference, we tolerate things that are different that we cannot eliminate. They are too powerful. We do not consider them quite as good. We tolerate them, but it is never a happy tolerance.

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]]> Wed, 3 Sep 2025 13:02:16 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Many business leaders craft successful companies but only a few elevate that to the level of a masterpiece. What is it about some companies and leaders that allows them to achieve this status? How does the vision of ‘the good life’ differ across corporations, large and small?

Charles Spinosa is a management consultant and the author of several books. His latest book is called Leadership as Masterpiece Creation: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the Humanities about Moral Risk-Taking.

Greg and Charles discuss Charles’s vision of business leaders as artists and creators who shape organizations into masterpieces, rooted deeply in humanities and philosophy. The conversation covers various business leaders, including Jeff Bezos, and how their leadership styles create distinctive moral orders within their companies. Charles connects principles from Shakespeare, Nietzsche, and Machiavelli to modern business practices and explains how leaders can cultivate courage and virtue within their organizations. They also explore the differences between founders and inheritors of businesses, the role of leaders in shaping corporate culture, and the implications for leadership education.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The three questions behind masterpiece leadership

18:05: My three questions are: What always goes wrong here? That tends to be an easy question for 80% of them to answer. What would you love to do instead? That is the hard question. That is the one you think is easy, but what would you love to do instead? That is hard because these men and women are geniuses at managing around what always goes wrong. They have been rewarded for managing around it, and they are good at it. And then, once we can get to “What would you love?”—what risks do you need to take to do what you would love? And that is where we begin to work out the kinds of risks, the hard risks they are going to take. Because when they make these changes, if they do not succeed, they are going to be seen as not just foolish, but actually evil. They have gone out and harmed people in careers and so forth. So we have to figure out those, and then we have to put them in a kind of strategic order. But that is, in short, my masterpiece-building strategy. 

Leadership as a moral masterpiece

03:10: Masterpieces are not just attractive and compelling aesthetically. Masterpieces give us a distinct new way to live that we consider a good life. They are moral masterpieces, and they are morally distinctive.

Cultivating courage in organizations

42:34: It is not that hard to build a company that cultivates courage. When you realize that part of courage is realizing that you figure what you think is right, and then you compose a way for people to hear it.

Why leadership calls for admiration

22:15: I can admire Google, and I can admire Amazon. A lot of people cannot. I have had people walk out on me when I say that about Amazon. But choose another company—choose The Body Shop, choose Zuckerberg's company, Meta—quite different from Amazon. Again, if we can admire different companies, we do not have to embrace everything we admire, and that gives us a sense of different good lives that we can admire. And I want that to be the virtue that we develop, which is a step above tolerance. I mean, really, with tolerance, which is the modern virtue for dealing with difference, we tolerate things that are different that we cannot eliminate. They are too powerful. We do not consider them quite as good. We tolerate them, but it is never a happy tolerance.

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]]> 580. Creating Masterpieces: A New Vision of Leadership feat. Charles Spinosa Greg La Blanc 00:52:50 Many business leaders craft successful companies but only a few elevate that to the level of a masterpiece. What is it about some companies and leaders that allows them to achieve this status? How does the vision of ‘the good life’ differ across corporations, large and small? Charles Spinosa is a management consultant and the author of several books. His latest book is called Leadership as Masterpiece Creation: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the Humanities about Moral Risk-Taking. Greg and Charles discuss Charles’s vision of business leaders as artists and creators who shape organizations into masterpieces, rooted deeply in humanities and philosophy. The conversation covers various business leaders, including Jeff Bezos, and how their leadership styles create distinctive moral orders within their companies. Charles connects principles from Shakespeare, Nietzsche, and Machiavelli to modern business practices and explains how leaders can cultivate courage and virtue within their organizations. They also explore the differences between founders and inheritors of businesses, the role of leaders in shaping corporate culture, and the implications for leadership education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Many business leaders craft successful companies but only a few elevate that to the level of a masterpiece. What is it about some companies and leaders that allows them to achieve this status? How does the vision of ‘the good life’ differ across corporations, large and small? Charles Spinosa is a management consultant and the author of several books. His latest book is called Leadership as Masterpiece Creation: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the Humanities about Moral Risk-Taking. Greg and Charles discuss Charles’s vision of business leaders as artists and creators who shape organizations into masterpieces, rooted deeply in humanities and philosophy. The conversation covers various business leaders, including Jeff Bezos, and how their leadership styles create distinctive moral orders within their companies. Charles connects principles from Shakespeare, Nietzsche, and Machiavelli to modern business practices and explains how leaders can cultivate courage and virtue within their organizations. They also explore the differences between founders and inheritors of businesses, the role of leaders in shaping corporate culture, and the implications for leadership education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 580 b80af586-03cc-48c9-8a3c-0652bf645141 579. Dissecting Capitalism's Critics From the Industrial Revolution to AI feat. John Cassidy It’s not hard to find critics of capitalism in the current moment but this has always been true: as long as we have had capitalism we have had critics of capitalism. What are the recurring themes of these critiques and how have they helped to shape the economics profession and capitalism itself?

John Cassidy is an author at the New Yorker magazine and also the author of several books. His most recent two are Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI and How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities.

Greg and John discuss the multifaceted and varied criticisms of capitalism throughout history. Over the course of the conversation, Greg recounts how John’s books have investigated economic crises, the behavioral finance revolution, and the diverse critiques of capitalism from both the left and right. John brings up several examples of historical economic figures, from Adam Smith to Marx, and examines how crises have shaped economic thought and policy. Greg and John also make a point to highlight lesser-known critics and movements, underscoring their unsung importance of economic history.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When both the left and the right turn against capitalism

04:05: In 2016, when Trump was running for the Republican nomination and Bernie Sanders was running for the Democratic nomination, I thought, if you go back into history, it's a long time since we've had sort of major candidates running for office as critics of capitalism from the right and the left. Bernie, of course, has always been a critic of capitalism. He's independent socialist—I'd call him a social democrat, but we can get into what those terms mean if you want. But what's really new was Trump, running from the right with a critique. I mean, people have sort of forgotten now, but when he started out, he was criticizing the banks. He was criticizing big businesses for offshoring. He was running with a critique of capitalism from the right. So that got me thinking about maybe there's a book in how we got here. How can America, sort of world capital of capitalism and always very supportive of the system, come to this state of affairs where the two major candidates are running against it basically?

A historical approach to capitalism

12:21: Capitalism means anything involving large-scale production on the basis of privately owned assets. Private means of production. And if you adopt that broad definition, then mercantile capitalism, slavery, the plantation economies is a form of capitalism.

Why economists often miss the real economy

09:51: I realized in sort of maybe the late nineties, early 2000s, that if you want to speak to an economist about what was going on in the economy and what's happening in Washington, there really wasn't much point in calling up Harvard or MIT or Chicago or whatever, because the economics department would say, "Well, we don't really have anybody who covers that. You need to go to the business school, or you need to go to the business economists." So I think maybe there's been a backlash against that since the Great Financial Crisis. I know there's been a lot of efforts inside various universities, especially in Europe, to make the syllabuses more relevant, more sort of real-world based. But I still think at the higher levels of the subject, it's still extremely abstract.

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]]> Thu, 28 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It’s not hard to find critics of capitalism in the current moment but this has always been true: as long as we have had capitalism we have had critics of capitalism. What are the recurring themes of these critiques and how have they helped to shape the economics profession and capitalism itself?

John Cassidy is an author at the New Yorker magazine and also the author of several books. His most recent two are Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI and How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities.

Greg and John discuss the multifaceted and varied criticisms of capitalism throughout history. Over the course of the conversation, Greg recounts how John’s books have investigated economic crises, the behavioral finance revolution, and the diverse critiques of capitalism from both the left and right. John brings up several examples of historical economic figures, from Adam Smith to Marx, and examines how crises have shaped economic thought and policy. Greg and John also make a point to highlight lesser-known critics and movements, underscoring their unsung importance of economic history.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When both the left and the right turn against capitalism

04:05: In 2016, when Trump was running for the Republican nomination and Bernie Sanders was running for the Democratic nomination, I thought, if you go back into history, it's a long time since we've had sort of major candidates running for office as critics of capitalism from the right and the left. Bernie, of course, has always been a critic of capitalism. He's independent socialist—I'd call him a social democrat, but we can get into what those terms mean if you want. But what's really new was Trump, running from the right with a critique. I mean, people have sort of forgotten now, but when he started out, he was criticizing the banks. He was criticizing big businesses for offshoring. He was running with a critique of capitalism from the right. So that got me thinking about maybe there's a book in how we got here. How can America, sort of world capital of capitalism and always very supportive of the system, come to this state of affairs where the two major candidates are running against it basically?

A historical approach to capitalism

12:21: Capitalism means anything involving large-scale production on the basis of privately owned assets. Private means of production. And if you adopt that broad definition, then mercantile capitalism, slavery, the plantation economies is a form of capitalism.

Why economists often miss the real economy

09:51: I realized in sort of maybe the late nineties, early 2000s, that if you want to speak to an economist about what was going on in the economy and what's happening in Washington, there really wasn't much point in calling up Harvard or MIT or Chicago or whatever, because the economics department would say, "Well, we don't really have anybody who covers that. You need to go to the business school, or you need to go to the business economists." So I think maybe there's been a backlash against that since the Great Financial Crisis. I know there's been a lot of efforts inside various universities, especially in Europe, to make the syllabuses more relevant, more sort of real-world based. But I still think at the higher levels of the subject, it's still extremely abstract.

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]]> 579. Dissecting Capitalism's Critics From the Industrial Revolution to AI feat. John Cassidy Greg La Blanc 00:55:30 It’s not hard to find critics of capitalism in the current moment but this has always been true: as long as we have had capitalism we have had critics of capitalism. What are the recurring themes of these critiques and how have they helped to shape the economics profession and capitalism itself? John Cassidy is an author at the New Yorker magazine and also the author of several books. His most recent two are Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI and How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities. Greg and John discuss the multifaceted and varied criticisms of capitalism throughout history. Over the course of the conversation, Greg recounts how John’s books have investigated economic crises, the behavioral finance revolution, and the diverse critiques of capitalism from both the left and right. John brings up several examples of historical economic figures, from Adam Smith to Marx, and examines how crises have shaped economic thought and policy. Greg and John also make a point to highlight lesser-known critics and movements, underscoring their unsung importance of economic history. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM It’s not hard to find critics of capitalism in the current moment but this has always been true: as long as we have had capitalism we have had critics of capitalism. What are the recurring themes of these critiques and how have they helped to shape the economics profession and capitalism itself? John Cassidy is an author at the New Yorker magazine and also the author of several books. His most recent two are Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI and How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities. Greg and John discuss the multifaceted and varied criticisms of capitalism throughout history. Over the course of the conversation, Greg recounts how John’s books have investigated economic crises, the behavioral finance revolution, and the diverse critiques of capitalism from both the left and right. John brings up several examples of historical economic figures, from Adam Smith to Marx, and examines how crises have shaped economic thought and policy. Greg and John also make a point to highlight lesser-known critics and movements, underscoring their unsung importance of economic history. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM false full 579 fdf25977-24ed-4f21-b39f-8310fa3eb7d5 578. Rethinking Government Digital Transformation feat. Jennifer Pahlka How can lawmakers and public servants design policies which benefit from continuous learning?? How will government offices that learn and adopt agile practices be able to achieve better outcomes for the public?

Jennifer Pahlka is a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, founder of Code For America, and the founder of the US Digital Services under the Obama administration. She is also the author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better.

Greg and Jennifer discuss why the government struggles with adopting modern digital practices such as agile and waterfall methods. She explains the disconnect between policy-making and implementation, emphasizing the need for a more integrated and feedback-driven approach. They explore other topics such as the over-reliance on contractors, burdensome procurement rules, and the essential role of user research in creating effective digital services. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How feedback loops can make government more agile

06:07: Turns out that when you implement this policy in the way that you are telling me, we get a really perverse outcome. If there is no feedback loop to send that information back up to the decision makers, you get a lot of wasted money, you get a lot of perverse outcomes, you get a lot of angry people. But, you know, when the architects can say, or the builders can say, actually no, you can go into a discussion about that, then you have not just an agile development process, but you have a more agile government process.

​​The system, not the people, is broken

30:37: It is not that public servants are lazy or stupid. It is that the system that they are working in is just ill-fit, it is just ill-suited to the job we need it to do.

Why government keeps building concrete boats

30:58: So you are referring to the story I have in the book of this guy at the Veterans Administration (VA), which, by the way, has gotten so much better. He is kind of a leader now. But I am questioning him about this project that we are working on at the USDS, sort of what was pro-USDS before. It was one of the first engagements that were sort of testing out the thesis of the USDS. And I kept asking. This guy was a senior leader in technology in the VA. Like, why is it built this way? Why did you make this decision? And over and over, he says, that is not my call. You have to ask the procurement people, or the program people, or the compliance people. He just did not have answers. And I asked him why he was so deferring on all these. And he said, if they ask us to build a concrete boat, we will build a concrete boat. And I said, why? And he said, well, because that way when it does not work, it is not our fault. And that speaks to the incentives. Your incentive is to make sure that when it does not work, it is someone else’s fault.

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]]> Mon, 25 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How can lawmakers and public servants design policies which benefit from continuous learning?? How will government offices that learn and adopt agile practices be able to achieve better outcomes for the public?

Jennifer Pahlka is a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, founder of Code For America, and the founder of the US Digital Services under the Obama administration. She is also the author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better.

Greg and Jennifer discuss why the government struggles with adopting modern digital practices such as agile and waterfall methods. She explains the disconnect between policy-making and implementation, emphasizing the need for a more integrated and feedback-driven approach. They explore other topics such as the over-reliance on contractors, burdensome procurement rules, and the essential role of user research in creating effective digital services. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How feedback loops can make government more agile

06:07: Turns out that when you implement this policy in the way that you are telling me, we get a really perverse outcome. If there is no feedback loop to send that information back up to the decision makers, you get a lot of wasted money, you get a lot of perverse outcomes, you get a lot of angry people. But, you know, when the architects can say, or the builders can say, actually no, you can go into a discussion about that, then you have not just an agile development process, but you have a more agile government process.

​​The system, not the people, is broken

30:37: It is not that public servants are lazy or stupid. It is that the system that they are working in is just ill-fit, it is just ill-suited to the job we need it to do.

Why government keeps building concrete boats

30:58: So you are referring to the story I have in the book of this guy at the Veterans Administration (VA), which, by the way, has gotten so much better. He is kind of a leader now. But I am questioning him about this project that we are working on at the USDS, sort of what was pro-USDS before. It was one of the first engagements that were sort of testing out the thesis of the USDS. And I kept asking. This guy was a senior leader in technology in the VA. Like, why is it built this way? Why did you make this decision? And over and over, he says, that is not my call. You have to ask the procurement people, or the program people, or the compliance people. He just did not have answers. And I asked him why he was so deferring on all these. And he said, if they ask us to build a concrete boat, we will build a concrete boat. And I said, why? And he said, well, because that way when it does not work, it is not our fault. And that speaks to the incentives. Your incentive is to make sure that when it does not work, it is someone else’s fault.

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]]> 578. Rethinking Government Digital Transformation feat. Jennifer Pahlka Greg La Blanc 00:59:33 How can lawmakers and public servants design policies which benefit from continuous learning?? How will government offices that learn and adopt agile practices be able to achieve better outcomes for the public? Jennifer Pahlka is a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, founder of Code For America, and the founder of the US Digital Services under the Obama administration. She is also the author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better. Greg and Jennifer discuss why the government struggles with adopting modern digital practices such as agile and waterfall methods. She explains the disconnect between policy-making and implementation, emphasizing the need for a more integrated and feedback-driven approach. They explore other topics such as the over-reliance on contractors, burdensome procurement rules, and the essential role of user research in creating effective digital services. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How can lawmakers and public servants design policies which benefit from continuous learning?? How will government offices that learn and adopt agile practices be able to achieve better outcomes for the public? Jennifer Pahlka is a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, founder of Code For America, and the founder of the US Digital Services under the Obama administration. She is also the author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better. Greg and Jennifer discuss why the government struggles with adopting modern digital practices such as agile and waterfall methods. She explains the disconnect between policy-making and implementation, emphasizing the need for a more integrated and feedback-driven approach. They explore other topics such as the over-reliance on contractors, burdensome procurement rules, and the essential role of user research in creating effective digital services. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 578 126c70c1-c31b-4fa6-82b5-de55e07ca7ff 577. Debunking the Myths: What Science Is and Isn't feat. James C. Zimring What does it mean to ‘know’ something, and what does it mean specifically when stated by a scientist? What is the role of debate in driving scientific progress, and how does progress get built on the bones of science that we later find to be incorrect?

James C. Zimring is a professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia and also an author. His latest books are What Science Is and How It Really Works and Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking.

Greg and James discuss the complex nature of scientific thinking and the philosophical underpinnings of scientific practices. James emphasizes the discrepancies between the idealized version of science and its messy reality. They explore the critical distinction between phenomena and theoretical claims, the social constructs within scientific methodology, and the importance of understanding what it means when scientists claim to 'know' something.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What science is and isn’t

03:18: My goal here was really to try and provide non-scientists with, as you pointed out, a more realistic assessment of what science is and what it means when a scientist says they know something. Because the hyperbole around scientific claims, although exciting, right, has also destroyed a lot of scientific credibility. The best way to lose credibility is to make a claim that you cannot possibly live up to. And at the same time, science is epistemically distinct. When a scientist says they know something, it means something different than other knowledge claims in other areas of thought. I am not a scientific imperialist. It does not mean something better, but it really means something different. And the failure, I think, to make that distinction is very damaging to how we navigate the world.

Science is not about being right

14:14: Science is not about being right. Science is about getting closer and closer to rightness. But scientists, we try to kill theories. That is what we do.

Science is messy and sloppy

1:00:45: Science is messy and sloppy, and this is what it means when a scientist says they know something, and it is very different from when anyone else says they know something. But it is quite different from what, historically, we say it means.

Why is common sense thinking toxic to scientific progress?

23:48: Common sense thinking is toxic to scientific progress because things that are common sense are often wrong. I mean, they are really helpful if you are wandering around the savanna trying to survive as a nomadic human. But when you are in the laboratory studying science, those things that work so well on the savanna are categorically incorrect. Unlearning millions of years of evolution of cognitive psychology is part of what it is to be a scientist, as you point, learning that we do not observe causality, learning that there are these confounders, learning that common sense things that are obvious may not be, is a large part of the scientific enterprise. And that is where it differs from what you are talking about—normal everyday thinking, especially statistics and other things.

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]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2025 14:17:54 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does it mean to ‘know’ something, and what does it mean specifically when stated by a scientist? What is the role of debate in driving scientific progress, and how does progress get built on the bones of science that we later find to be incorrect?

James C. Zimring is a professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia and also an author. His latest books are What Science Is and How It Really Works and Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking.

Greg and James discuss the complex nature of scientific thinking and the philosophical underpinnings of scientific practices. James emphasizes the discrepancies between the idealized version of science and its messy reality. They explore the critical distinction between phenomena and theoretical claims, the social constructs within scientific methodology, and the importance of understanding what it means when scientists claim to 'know' something.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What science is and isn’t

03:18: My goal here was really to try and provide non-scientists with, as you pointed out, a more realistic assessment of what science is and what it means when a scientist says they know something. Because the hyperbole around scientific claims, although exciting, right, has also destroyed a lot of scientific credibility. The best way to lose credibility is to make a claim that you cannot possibly live up to. And at the same time, science is epistemically distinct. When a scientist says they know something, it means something different than other knowledge claims in other areas of thought. I am not a scientific imperialist. It does not mean something better, but it really means something different. And the failure, I think, to make that distinction is very damaging to how we navigate the world.

Science is not about being right

14:14: Science is not about being right. Science is about getting closer and closer to rightness. But scientists, we try to kill theories. That is what we do.

Science is messy and sloppy

1:00:45: Science is messy and sloppy, and this is what it means when a scientist says they know something, and it is very different from when anyone else says they know something. But it is quite different from what, historically, we say it means.

Why is common sense thinking toxic to scientific progress?

23:48: Common sense thinking is toxic to scientific progress because things that are common sense are often wrong. I mean, they are really helpful if you are wandering around the savanna trying to survive as a nomadic human. But when you are in the laboratory studying science, those things that work so well on the savanna are categorically incorrect. Unlearning millions of years of evolution of cognitive psychology is part of what it is to be a scientist, as you point, learning that we do not observe causality, learning that there are these confounders, learning that common sense things that are obvious may not be, is a large part of the scientific enterprise. And that is where it differs from what you are talking about—normal everyday thinking, especially statistics and other things.

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]]> 577. Debunking the Myths: What Science Is and Isn't feat. James C. Zimring Greg La Blanc 01:00:24 What does it mean to ‘know’ something, and what does it mean specifically when stated by a scientist? What is the role of debate in driving scientific progress, and how does progress get built on the bones of science that we later find to be incorrect? James C. Zimring is a professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia and also an author. His latest books are What Science Is and How It Really Works and Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking. Greg and James discuss the complex nature of scientific thinking and the philosophical underpinnings of scientific practices. James emphasizes the discrepancies between the idealized version of science and its messy reality. They explore the critical distinction between phenomena and theoretical claims, the social constructs within scientific methodology, and the importance of understanding what it means when scientists claim to 'know' something. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What does it mean to ‘know’ something, and what does it mean specifically when stated by a scientist? What is the role of debate in driving scientific progress, and how does progress get built on the bones of science that we later find to be incorrect? James C. Zimring is a professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia and also an author. His latest books are What Science Is and How It Really Works and Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking. Greg and James discuss the complex nature of scientific thinking and the philosophical underpinnings of scientific practices. James emphasizes the discrepancies between the idealized version of science and its messy reality. They explore the critical distinction between phenomena and theoretical claims, the social constructs within scientific methodology, and the importance of understanding what it means when scientists claim to 'know' something. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 577 0b3cb4a3-7a16-4ee4-835e-e371e7e4079f 576. The Cost of Staying Put: America’s Mobility Crisis with Yoni Appelbaum For much of America’s history, the promise of greater economic opportunities in new places was an intrinsic idea to the country’s identity. But in recent decades, it’s become increasingly difficult to pack up and chase that American dream. Why? 

Yoni Appelbaum is a deputy executive editor at The Atlantic and the author of the book, Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity which explores the significant decline in geographic and economic mobility in the United States over the past 50 years.

Yoni and Greg analyze the historical context of mobility trends in America, the role of zoning laws, the influence of homeownership policies, and the changes brought about by millions of moves within American society. They also discuss possible reforms and a generational shift towards embracing growth and community development.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How America got stuck in a mobility decline

16:00: For almost all of American history, when a place was thriving economically, we threw up new housing to accommodate all the new arrivals who would flock toward that opportunity. And then, 50 years ago, we pretty much made it impossible to do that. And so, as a result, when people are in a place today with declining opportunity, they really are kind of stuck—the places that they could move just can't accommodate them.

The hidden costs of not building

30:09: If you do not build housing that is affordable, if you do not build new luxury housing that rich people move into, thereby letting the older housing stock become available to people on, on more limited incomes, if you are not building, then you are shutting out those people. And so, it is not just the crisis of homelessness, which is a real crisis, it is also that lack of mobility.

Why newcomers make communities thrive

06:45: Loneliness is good, aloneness is bad, but loneliness is like hunger. It is a spur to action… [07:09] It is that loneliness of the new arrivals in town that has traditionally spurred people to form social relationships. You are much likelier to join something if you are new in town. And then, there is the other part of it too, which is that a community that is full of new arrivals will have a much more vibrant civic life.

Geography as a tool for reinvention

08:26: Everything that mattered about you was defined at your birth. You inherited your spot in the social hierarchy, your religion, often your father's occupation, your prospects, your identity — all of that — and largely your geographic location, right? You lived on the land your family had lived on for generations and where you expected your grandkids and your great-grandkids to live. You were defined at birth. What America did by allowing people to choose their own communities, by giving a legal right — and this was a bit of a legal revolution — the chance for people to move where they wanted to, we gave people the chance to decide who they wanted to be through their physical geography, through those serial relocations. Because Americans did not just move once, maybe not 40 times, but by moving repeatedly through their lives, Americans were able to continually reinvent themselves and to fashion their own identities. All of these things became matters of choice.

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]]> Thu, 14 Aug 2025 15:33:42 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast For much of America’s history, the promise of greater economic opportunities in new places was an intrinsic idea to the country’s identity. But in recent decades, it’s become increasingly difficult to pack up and chase that American dream. Why? 

Yoni Appelbaum is a deputy executive editor at The Atlantic and the author of the book, Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity which explores the significant decline in geographic and economic mobility in the United States over the past 50 years.

Yoni and Greg analyze the historical context of mobility trends in America, the role of zoning laws, the influence of homeownership policies, and the changes brought about by millions of moves within American society. They also discuss possible reforms and a generational shift towards embracing growth and community development.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How America got stuck in a mobility decline

16:00: For almost all of American history, when a place was thriving economically, we threw up new housing to accommodate all the new arrivals who would flock toward that opportunity. And then, 50 years ago, we pretty much made it impossible to do that. And so, as a result, when people are in a place today with declining opportunity, they really are kind of stuck—the places that they could move just can't accommodate them.

The hidden costs of not building

30:09: If you do not build housing that is affordable, if you do not build new luxury housing that rich people move into, thereby letting the older housing stock become available to people on, on more limited incomes, if you are not building, then you are shutting out those people. And so, it is not just the crisis of homelessness, which is a real crisis, it is also that lack of mobility.

Why newcomers make communities thrive

06:45: Loneliness is good, aloneness is bad, but loneliness is like hunger. It is a spur to action… [07:09] It is that loneliness of the new arrivals in town that has traditionally spurred people to form social relationships. You are much likelier to join something if you are new in town. And then, there is the other part of it too, which is that a community that is full of new arrivals will have a much more vibrant civic life.

Geography as a tool for reinvention

08:26: Everything that mattered about you was defined at your birth. You inherited your spot in the social hierarchy, your religion, often your father's occupation, your prospects, your identity — all of that — and largely your geographic location, right? You lived on the land your family had lived on for generations and where you expected your grandkids and your great-grandkids to live. You were defined at birth. What America did by allowing people to choose their own communities, by giving a legal right — and this was a bit of a legal revolution — the chance for people to move where they wanted to, we gave people the chance to decide who they wanted to be through their physical geography, through those serial relocations. Because Americans did not just move once, maybe not 40 times, but by moving repeatedly through their lives, Americans were able to continually reinvent themselves and to fashion their own identities. All of these things became matters of choice.

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]]> 576. The Cost of Staying Put: America’s Mobility Crisis with Yoni Appelbaum Greg La Blanc 00:57:19 For much of America’s history, the promise of greater economic opportunities in new places was an intrinsic idea to the country’s identity. But in recent decades, it’s become increasingly difficult to pack up and chase that American dream. Why? Yoni Appelbaum is a deputy executive editor at The Atlantic and the author of the book, Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity which explores the significant decline in geographic and economic mobility in the United States over the past 50 years. Yoni and Greg analyze the historical context of mobility trends in America, the role of zoning laws, the influence of homeownership policies, and the changes brought about by millions of moves within American society. They also discuss possible reforms and a generational shift towards embracing growth and community development. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* For much of America’s history, the promise of greater economic opportunities in new places was an intrinsic idea to the country’s identity. But in recent decades, it’s become increasingly difficult to pack up and chase that American dream. Why? Yoni Appelbaum is a deputy executive editor at The Atlantic and the author of the book, Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity which explores the significant decline in geographic and economic mobility in the United States over the past 50 years. Yoni and Greg analyze the historical context of mobility trends in America, the role of zoning laws, the influence of homeownership policies, and the changes brought about by millions of moves within American society. They also discuss possible reforms and a generational shift towards embracing growth and community development. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 576 2cdea183-cb3e-433b-a446-dc4baa594b4a 575. The Rise and Repair of the Intangible Economy feat. Jonathan Haskel The evolving economic landscape makes institutional reforms in areas like finance, planning, and public infrastructure, a necessity. AI is capable of causing an economic shakeup similar to the transition from horses to steam, with far-reaching ramifications throughout the world’s economies.

Jonathan Haskel is a professor of economics at Imperial College Business School, in London, and also the author of a few books, including Capitalism without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy and Restarting the Future: How to Fix the Intangible Economy.

Greg and Jonathan discuss how traditional institutions, intellectual frameworks, and measurement disciplines are struggling to adapt to an economy increasingly dominated by intangible assets such as software, data, and branding. Jonathan explains the complexities of valuing and measuring intangibles, the role of venture capital, intellectual property laws, and the impact of AI and general-purpose technologies. 

The episode also covers the necessity for institutional reforms in areas like finance, planning, and public infrastructure to better support the evolving economic landscape.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two boosts of productivity

31:30: When you have a general-purpose technology, which is also an invention, method of invention, you get two boosts to productivity. The first boost to productivity is in the invention sector itself—what I would call the intangible sector itself, as in the R&D and the software and all that—you get a boost to productivity there. And then the second boost to productivity is when all of those new inventions—now think of steam—start spreading out to the economy as a whole, to be used in the transport sector, in companies, in firms, and all that kind of thing.

The intangible things the new economy makes

03:23: What does the new economy make? It's people writing software. It's people writing movie scripts. It's people trying to think of new ways to market their product or publicize their brand or rearrange their organization. Those are all very intangible things.

What makes the intangible economy unequal?

18:39: We first got into this. We were thinking that spillovers would be the predominant economic force, and therefore a more intangible economy would be, in some broad sense, a more equalized economy…[19:04] But that, of course, goes against people's intuition. We think the economy, in some sense, has become more unequal. And we changed our mind during the writing of the book, actually, and ended up thinking that the forces of synergies are a force, of course, for making it more unequal.

The human edge in a world of intangibles

55:01: Once you start thinking about the task of coordinating the synergies and getting all these people together—guess what—that needs people, people. And scientists might be really good at that, but artists and poets and historians and students of ancient Greek—they might be really good at that as well. So, I am optimistic, actually, that the future could admit people with all sorts of backgrounds and all sorts of skills into this new world.

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]]> Mon, 11 Aug 2025 16:44:35 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The evolving economic landscape makes institutional reforms in areas like finance, planning, and public infrastructure, a necessity. AI is capable of causing an economic shakeup similar to the transition from horses to steam, with far-reaching ramifications throughout the world’s economies.

Jonathan Haskel is a professor of economics at Imperial College Business School, in London, and also the author of a few books, including Capitalism without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy and Restarting the Future: How to Fix the Intangible Economy.

Greg and Jonathan discuss how traditional institutions, intellectual frameworks, and measurement disciplines are struggling to adapt to an economy increasingly dominated by intangible assets such as software, data, and branding. Jonathan explains the complexities of valuing and measuring intangibles, the role of venture capital, intellectual property laws, and the impact of AI and general-purpose technologies. 

The episode also covers the necessity for institutional reforms in areas like finance, planning, and public infrastructure to better support the evolving economic landscape.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two boosts of productivity

31:30: When you have a general-purpose technology, which is also an invention, method of invention, you get two boosts to productivity. The first boost to productivity is in the invention sector itself—what I would call the intangible sector itself, as in the R&D and the software and all that—you get a boost to productivity there. And then the second boost to productivity is when all of those new inventions—now think of steam—start spreading out to the economy as a whole, to be used in the transport sector, in companies, in firms, and all that kind of thing.

The intangible things the new economy makes

03:23: What does the new economy make? It's people writing software. It's people writing movie scripts. It's people trying to think of new ways to market their product or publicize their brand or rearrange their organization. Those are all very intangible things.

What makes the intangible economy unequal?

18:39: We first got into this. We were thinking that spillovers would be the predominant economic force, and therefore a more intangible economy would be, in some broad sense, a more equalized economy…[19:04] But that, of course, goes against people's intuition. We think the economy, in some sense, has become more unequal. And we changed our mind during the writing of the book, actually, and ended up thinking that the forces of synergies are a force, of course, for making it more unequal.

The human edge in a world of intangibles

55:01: Once you start thinking about the task of coordinating the synergies and getting all these people together—guess what—that needs people, people. And scientists might be really good at that, but artists and poets and historians and students of ancient Greek—they might be really good at that as well. So, I am optimistic, actually, that the future could admit people with all sorts of backgrounds and all sorts of skills into this new world.

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]]> 575. The Rise and Repair of the Intangible Economy feat. Jonathan Haskel Greg La Blanc 00:55:59 false full 575 dbdb35ad-425a-4d46-94eb-024574f3d195 574. In COVID's Wake: Analyzing the Efficacy and Consequences of Pandemic Policies feat. Stephen Macedo What can be gained from looking back now at the pandemic response during COVID? What would a “postmortem” tell us about how policies were designed and how scientific discussions played out? 

Stephen Macedo is a professor of politics at Princeton University, as well as at the University Center for Human Values, and the author of several books including 

Greg and Stephen discuss the decision-making flaws during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of robust debate, the role of public health experts, and the increasing influence of partisanship. Stephen explores the potential long-term implications for democracy and science, the concept of noble lies, and the necessity of balancing expert advice with broader public interests. Their conversation also touches on the importance of liberal virtues and the need for both improved decision-making structures and individual adherence to professional ethics.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When public health crowds out public values

09:52: The public health mindset is that you only pay attention to reducing disease, and so public health experts had too much power. Wider decision-making should have been made by people looking at the whole range of public values, not just disease reduction or attempts to reduce disease. So, the many things that came together—but we regard the book as a window onto the state of our democracy, and in a way, our—you know—the dangers of our epistemic tribalism, to put it that way. The degraded state of deliberation in our country.

How epistemic bubbles are making us dumber

50:57: We are making ourselves stupider by being ensconced in these epistemic bubbles. We are undermining our own capacity for critical thought by not being more open to disagreement.

Science can’t decide for a democracy alone

55:58: We need both more checking of a wide array of elites being involved in thinking, challenging, questioning decisions, but also some way of making sure—possibly through legislative oversight, House of Representatives being involved. The public voices need to be heard as well because they bear the cost of these—need to be heard as well because they bear the cost of these measures. And as we said before, science is not going to make these decisions for us. There are value judgments involved, and it is the people's value judgments that matter to some degree of risk tolerance…[56:35] We need more checking and balancing in these kinds of decisions that affect the public as a whole, and more open debate, discussion, more tolerance of disagreement—including, or maybe even especially, coming from the partisan other, as it were.

Science needs scrutiny, not censorship

14:17: We need empirical inquiry to test the assumptions behind these particular policies and assumptions—not censorship in advance of evidence that might be unwelcome with respect to, you know, certain kinds of policy claims. So, I think there's a wider politicization of science. I do think we need more viewpoint diversity in the academy, and people say, "Wasn't this the code word for having more conservatives?" And I'll say, yes. I think we're a bit too far out of balance. We should not reflect the American public—I mean, that's not the aim—but I think we do not take seriously enough, reasonable concerns coming from the other side of the political spectrum. So, it's a long-winded answer to your question, but I think the COVID experience is emblematic and indicative of a wider problem and deeper problem.

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]]> Fri, 8 Aug 2025 14:16:48 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What can be gained from looking back now at the pandemic response during COVID? What would a “postmortem” tell us about how policies were designed and how scientific discussions played out? 

Stephen Macedo is a professor of politics at Princeton University, as well as at the University Center for Human Values, and the author of several books including 

Greg and Stephen discuss the decision-making flaws during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of robust debate, the role of public health experts, and the increasing influence of partisanship. Stephen explores the potential long-term implications for democracy and science, the concept of noble lies, and the necessity of balancing expert advice with broader public interests. Their conversation also touches on the importance of liberal virtues and the need for both improved decision-making structures and individual adherence to professional ethics.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When public health crowds out public values

09:52: The public health mindset is that you only pay attention to reducing disease, and so public health experts had too much power. Wider decision-making should have been made by people looking at the whole range of public values, not just disease reduction or attempts to reduce disease. So, the many things that came together—but we regard the book as a window onto the state of our democracy, and in a way, our—you know—the dangers of our epistemic tribalism, to put it that way. The degraded state of deliberation in our country.

How epistemic bubbles are making us dumber

50:57: We are making ourselves stupider by being ensconced in these epistemic bubbles. We are undermining our own capacity for critical thought by not being more open to disagreement.

Science can’t decide for a democracy alone

55:58: We need both more checking of a wide array of elites being involved in thinking, challenging, questioning decisions, but also some way of making sure—possibly through legislative oversight, House of Representatives being involved. The public voices need to be heard as well because they bear the cost of these—need to be heard as well because they bear the cost of these measures. And as we said before, science is not going to make these decisions for us. There are value judgments involved, and it is the people's value judgments that matter to some degree of risk tolerance…[56:35] We need more checking and balancing in these kinds of decisions that affect the public as a whole, and more open debate, discussion, more tolerance of disagreement—including, or maybe even especially, coming from the partisan other, as it were.

Science needs scrutiny, not censorship

14:17: We need empirical inquiry to test the assumptions behind these particular policies and assumptions—not censorship in advance of evidence that might be unwelcome with respect to, you know, certain kinds of policy claims. So, I think there's a wider politicization of science. I do think we need more viewpoint diversity in the academy, and people say, "Wasn't this the code word for having more conservatives?" And I'll say, yes. I think we're a bit too far out of balance. We should not reflect the American public—I mean, that's not the aim—but I think we do not take seriously enough, reasonable concerns coming from the other side of the political spectrum. So, it's a long-winded answer to your question, but I think the COVID experience is emblematic and indicative of a wider problem and deeper problem.

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]]> 574. In COVID's Wake: Analyzing the Efficacy and Consequences of Pandemic Policies feat. Stephen Macedo Greg La Blanc 00:59:46 What can be gained from looking back now at the pandemic response during COVID? What would a “postmortem” tell us about how policies were designed and how scientific discussions played out? Stephen Macedo is a professor of politics at Princeton University, as well as at the University Center for Human Values, and the author of several books including Greg and Stephen discuss the decision-making flaws during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of robust debate, the role of public health experts, and the increasing influence of partisanship. Stephen explores the potential long-term implications for democracy and science, the concept of noble lies, and the necessity of balancing expert advice with broader public interests. Their conversation also touches on the importance of liberal virtues and the need for both improved decision-making structures and individual adherence to professional ethics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What can be gained from looking back now at the pandemic response during COVID? What would a “postmortem” tell us about how policies were designed and how scientific discussions played out? Stephen Macedo is a professor of politics at Princeton University, as well as at the University Center for Human Values, and the author of several books including Greg and Stephen discuss the decision-making flaws during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of robust debate, the role of public health experts, and the increasing influence of partisanship. Stephen explores the potential long-term implications for democracy and science, the concept of noble lies, and the necessity of balancing expert advice with broader public interests. Their conversation also touches on the importance of liberal virtues and the need for both improved decision-making structures and individual adherence to professional ethics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 574 e2d2a463-b56e-4b89-97cd-bd659dc4545e 573. Exploring Populism and Demagoguery in Politics feat. Eric A. Posner What historical forces have led to the rise of demagogues in the past and how to they compare to the increasing power of populism today? What are the benefits and drawbacks of empowering leaders from outside politics during these times?

Eric A. Posner is a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and also the author of several books, including The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump, Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society, and The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic.

Greg and Eric discuss the definition of demagoguery and its historical context in American politics, particularly comparing presidents Donald Trump and Andrew Jackson. They explore the rise of populism, its implications for democracy, and the role of elites and institutions. Additionally, Eric explains his views on labor market power and antitrust law reforms, reflecting on recent American political dynamics and potential future reforms.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How President Trump changed the presidential playbook

40:43: Trump is really not that popular, but he does—but he is very popular among his base. So I think he has decided, unlike—I think most presidents want to have, like, a large majority, super majority of support. And I think Trump, at some point, realized that he would never get that. And so he wanted to maintain his base plus a few swing voters. And if that is your goal, if that is your plan, it may be fine to do things that upset a lot of people. Whereas when these norms developed—if that is what we are going to call them—they developed in a context in which there was less partisan division, less ideological strife, and it made sense for politicians to be basically more cooperative, even though they represented people with very different interests.

Demagogues appeal to the emotion

08:12: Demagogues appeal to emotion, but it would be wrong to say that any politician who appeals to emotions is a demagogue. There are community and “let us work together” and “let us protect people, vulnerable people,” versus this kind of hatred, which is characteristic of the demagogue, who wants to find somebody to blame for people's problems.

What is the essence of populism?

06:37: The virtuous people, meaning something—well, not never really clear—definitely farmers and maybe working people, versus an establishment consisting of politicians and bankers and capitalists. I think that division is the essence of populism.

The threat of demagoguery

33:08: Usually people are worried about demagoguery because they are worried, basically, that ordinary people will be persuaded by somebody who is evil, basically, or does not have their interest at heart. It is still with us. Never went away.

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]]> Wed, 6 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What historical forces have led to the rise of demagogues in the past and how to they compare to the increasing power of populism today? What are the benefits and drawbacks of empowering leaders from outside politics during these times?

Eric A. Posner is a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and also the author of several books, including The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump, Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society, and The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic.

Greg and Eric discuss the definition of demagoguery and its historical context in American politics, particularly comparing presidents Donald Trump and Andrew Jackson. They explore the rise of populism, its implications for democracy, and the role of elites and institutions. Additionally, Eric explains his views on labor market power and antitrust law reforms, reflecting on recent American political dynamics and potential future reforms.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How President Trump changed the presidential playbook

40:43: Trump is really not that popular, but he does—but he is very popular among his base. So I think he has decided, unlike—I think most presidents want to have, like, a large majority, super majority of support. And I think Trump, at some point, realized that he would never get that. And so he wanted to maintain his base plus a few swing voters. And if that is your goal, if that is your plan, it may be fine to do things that upset a lot of people. Whereas when these norms developed—if that is what we are going to call them—they developed in a context in which there was less partisan division, less ideological strife, and it made sense for politicians to be basically more cooperative, even though they represented people with very different interests.

Demagogues appeal to the emotion

08:12: Demagogues appeal to emotion, but it would be wrong to say that any politician who appeals to emotions is a demagogue. There are community and “let us work together” and “let us protect people, vulnerable people,” versus this kind of hatred, which is characteristic of the demagogue, who wants to find somebody to blame for people's problems.

What is the essence of populism?

06:37: The virtuous people, meaning something—well, not never really clear—definitely farmers and maybe working people, versus an establishment consisting of politicians and bankers and capitalists. I think that division is the essence of populism.

The threat of demagoguery

33:08: Usually people are worried about demagoguery because they are worried, basically, that ordinary people will be persuaded by somebody who is evil, basically, or does not have their interest at heart. It is still with us. Never went away.

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]]> 573. Exploring Populism and Demagoguery in Politics feat. Eric A. Posner Greg La Blanc 01:00:54 What historical forces have led to the rise of demagogues in the past and how to they compare to the increasing power of populism today? What are the benefits and drawbacks of empowering leaders from outside politics during these times? Eric A. Posner is a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and also the author of several books, including The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump, Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society, and The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic. Greg and Eric discuss the definition of demagoguery and its historical context in American politics, particularly comparing presidents Donald Trump and Andrew Jackson. They explore the rise of populism, its implications for democracy, and the role of elites and institutions. Additionally, Eric explains his views on labor market power and antitrust law reforms, reflecting on recent American political dynamics and potential future reforms. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What historical forces have led to the rise of demagogues in the past and how to they compare to the increasing power of populism today? What are the benefits and drawbacks of empowering leaders from outside politics during these times? Eric A. Posner is a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and also the author of several books, including The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump, Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society, and The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic. Greg and Eric discuss the definition of demagoguery and its historical context in American politics, particularly comparing presidents Donald Trump and Andrew Jackson. They explore the rise of populism, its implications for democracy, and the role of elites and institutions. Additionally, Eric explains his views on labor market power and antitrust law reforms, reflecting on recent American political dynamics and potential future reforms. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 573 1eeaea7c-8c45-4106-b3a9-725cdd66f693 572. The Court of Public Opinion: Cancel Culture and Legal Education feat. Ilya L. Shapiro How has the landscape of legal education shifted, and what ramifications has that already started having? How do politics factor into judicial appointments more than ever before, and how did we get to this point?

Ilya L. Shapiro is a senior fellow and the director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute. He’s also the author of several books, including Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites and Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court Cato Supreme Court Review.

Greg and Ilya explore issues related to Supreme Court nominations, cancel culture, and the impact of bias in legal education. Their conversation also addresses the longstanding politicization of judicial appointments, challenges within legal academia such as DEI and student activism, and the broader implications for law and society. Ilya also shares potential reforms for improving the legal profession and education system.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When the law becomes just another form of activism

35:49: Another failure of our systems of legal education or of the culture of the legal profession. Young lawyers seeing themselves as the law or their legal tools as just another part of activism, rather than as a profession. Or law schools not teaching lawyers the same way. The way to be a good lawyer is to be able to understand and see all sides of a given argument or issue or dispute. That is how you can best advocate your own sides, your own client's position. Well, if half of that 360 degrees is illegitimate, or you cannot even discuss beyond the pale, outside the Overton window, as they say, then you are going to be a much less effective lawyer. And yes, I think the legal profession has suffered, in general, its credibility, its reputation.

What universities were meant to be

43:19: It is the purpose of universities to develop, to have free inquiry, to have civil debate, to confront new ideas. And if universities have not been doing that for a whole host of reasons, then I think that is a level of criticism—something that they should be held to account for.

On judges and legal objectivity

04:36: You would hope that law and policy are different things, because there is a reason why we separate out the judicial power, and that reason is for it to be a counter-majoritarian check. You do not need judges to buttress popular opinions. You need judges to protect against abuses of power by elected officials. You need judges to protect individual rights against mob rule. And so, it cannot be the case that what is right on the law is always going to be what the majority of policy views. 

When fear shapes the future of the legal profession

30:27: Most students just want to get their degree, get their credential, get a job, have some fun while they are at it, and that is about it. They are not politically motivated or philosophically motivated. They are just there because—especially when we are talking about law schools, rather, or some other professional school as opposed to college—they are there because this is the next step on their career trajectory, and they are just trying to keep their head down so as not to be caught in the cancellation crossfire. And it is fear, and this is how I counsel students, is that you do not have to be a martyr. You do not have to stand up and be an individual, objecting to every injustice you face.

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]]> Mon, 4 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How has the landscape of legal education shifted, and what ramifications has that already started having? How do politics factor into judicial appointments more than ever before, and how did we get to this point?

Ilya L. Shapiro is a senior fellow and the director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute. He’s also the author of several books, including Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites and Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court Cato Supreme Court Review.

Greg and Ilya explore issues related to Supreme Court nominations, cancel culture, and the impact of bias in legal education. Their conversation also addresses the longstanding politicization of judicial appointments, challenges within legal academia such as DEI and student activism, and the broader implications for law and society. Ilya also shares potential reforms for improving the legal profession and education system.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When the law becomes just another form of activism

35:49: Another failure of our systems of legal education or of the culture of the legal profession. Young lawyers seeing themselves as the law or their legal tools as just another part of activism, rather than as a profession. Or law schools not teaching lawyers the same way. The way to be a good lawyer is to be able to understand and see all sides of a given argument or issue or dispute. That is how you can best advocate your own sides, your own client's position. Well, if half of that 360 degrees is illegitimate, or you cannot even discuss beyond the pale, outside the Overton window, as they say, then you are going to be a much less effective lawyer. And yes, I think the legal profession has suffered, in general, its credibility, its reputation.

What universities were meant to be

43:19: It is the purpose of universities to develop, to have free inquiry, to have civil debate, to confront new ideas. And if universities have not been doing that for a whole host of reasons, then I think that is a level of criticism—something that they should be held to account for.

On judges and legal objectivity

04:36: You would hope that law and policy are different things, because there is a reason why we separate out the judicial power, and that reason is for it to be a counter-majoritarian check. You do not need judges to buttress popular opinions. You need judges to protect against abuses of power by elected officials. You need judges to protect individual rights against mob rule. And so, it cannot be the case that what is right on the law is always going to be what the majority of policy views. 

When fear shapes the future of the legal profession

30:27: Most students just want to get their degree, get their credential, get a job, have some fun while they are at it, and that is about it. They are not politically motivated or philosophically motivated. They are just there because—especially when we are talking about law schools, rather, or some other professional school as opposed to college—they are there because this is the next step on their career trajectory, and they are just trying to keep their head down so as not to be caught in the cancellation crossfire. And it is fear, and this is how I counsel students, is that you do not have to be a martyr. You do not have to stand up and be an individual, objecting to every injustice you face.

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]]> 572. The Court of Public Opinion: Cancel Culture and Legal Education feat. Ilya L. Shapiro Greg La Blanc 00:56:12 How has the landscape of legal education shifted, and what ramifications has that already started having? How do politics factor into judicial appointments more than ever before, and how did we get to this point? Ilya L. Shapiro is a senior fellow and the director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute. He’s also the author of several books, including Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites and Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court Cato Supreme Court Review. Greg and Ilya explore issues related to Supreme Court nominations, cancel culture, and the impact of bias in legal education. Their conversation also addresses the longstanding politicization of judicial appointments, challenges within legal academia such as DEI and student activism, and the broader implications for law and society. Ilya also shares potential reforms for improving the legal profession and education system. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How has the landscape of legal education shifted, and what ramifications has that already started having? How do politics factor into judicial appointments more than ever before, and how did we get to this point? Ilya L. Shapiro is a senior fellow and the director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute. He’s also the author of several books, including Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites and Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court Cato Supreme Court Review. Greg and Ilya explore issues related to Supreme Court nominations, cancel culture, and the impact of bias in legal education. Their conversation also addresses the longstanding politicization of judicial appointments, challenges within legal academia such as DEI and student activism, and the broader implications for law and society. Ilya also shares potential reforms for improving the legal profession and education system. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 572 fd6cf818-19ce-44bc-9fab-1adf7b31c73e 571. The Power of Diverse Models in Decision Making feat. Scott E. Page What if there was a system that could decide who to consult for a decision in real time? How would the diversity of the available sources affect the information gathered?

Scott E. Page is a professor of management, social science, and complexity at the University of Michigan. He’s also the author of several books including The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You, Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life, and The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies.

Greg and Scott discuss the importance of diverse models and perspectives in decision-making. Scott also shares insights on the evolving nature of information access and the role of AI in augmenting diversity in team decision-making processes. The conversation covers themes like cognitive diversity, the role of selection and treatment in maintaining diverse perspectives, and the challenge of fostering a healthy organizational culture where diverse ideas can thrive.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How do we design institutions for diversity and better decisions with AI

01:01:46: So how do we design, especially now with AI, institutions, organizations, whether they're for-profits, universities, governments, that creates, you know, better people in a way, right? We're so focused on the allocation or the decision that's being made. At the end of the day, the decisions and the allocations are going to be made by those people. So you're getting the outcome, but you're also getting the people. And how do we kind of—and to your point about the treatment—you also want those people to be diverse, right? And you want to allow them and encourage them to be learning new things. In fact, I think you do not want to solve it because you could not solve it, because it would be like social engineering. But I think you want to have some awareness that particular institutional structures and incentives of structures that you're putting in place are not necessarily creating the world you want—or are creating the world you want.

How AI’s power to curate makes culture more important than ever

28:58: We all know AI can know—these are really nice knowledge maps. But the question is: when you start linking people to the knowledge maps and start saying, ‘We can dynamically bring people into the meeting and get their feedback,’ now you’re suddenly curating. I think AI’s ability to curate, to your point, is amazing. But now, let’s pull the culture thing in. How do I not feel like a gadget? How do I not feel like some sort of widget that the AI is using? I think this is where creating the right organizational team culture is going to be really important.

Invisible forces behind organizational design

01:01:30: What comes for free, whether you like it or not, whenever I design an institutional structure and organizational structure, are the norms, the behaviors, the beliefs, the networks—all that other stuff. The kind of dark matter that really matters for society.

Why simple models fail on complex problems

07:59: If you take something like inequality, it is a complex problem, right? Or the environment. It is a complex problem. Models are simple. So there is no way you can explain something complex with something simple. You are kind of explaining a 16 with a three or something. You just cannot. If the problem is this big and your model is this big, you cannot get it all. But if you have a bunch of models in conversation with one another, then I think you can, potentially, reach a deep understanding. You could predict better, right? I think it is a better way to advance science.

How AI can bridge decision gaps across social inequality

58:12: People who come from families who are well socially connected, who have wealth, who are educated—they get good advice on big decisions that maybe other people do not get. And you can go to the internet to get advice, but you are going to get it pointing in a thousand directions. The question is: will there be ways to have—like, will banks, will others—will they develop AI that they say, “Look, okay, we are going to approve this, but why do you not, you know, use this software and go through this process? It may help you think about particular things.”

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]]> Thu, 31 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if there was a system that could decide who to consult for a decision in real time? How would the diversity of the available sources affect the information gathered?

Scott E. Page is a professor of management, social science, and complexity at the University of Michigan. He’s also the author of several books including The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You, Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life, and The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies.

Greg and Scott discuss the importance of diverse models and perspectives in decision-making. Scott also shares insights on the evolving nature of information access and the role of AI in augmenting diversity in team decision-making processes. The conversation covers themes like cognitive diversity, the role of selection and treatment in maintaining diverse perspectives, and the challenge of fostering a healthy organizational culture where diverse ideas can thrive.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How do we design institutions for diversity and better decisions with AI

01:01:46: So how do we design, especially now with AI, institutions, organizations, whether they're for-profits, universities, governments, that creates, you know, better people in a way, right? We're so focused on the allocation or the decision that's being made. At the end of the day, the decisions and the allocations are going to be made by those people. So you're getting the outcome, but you're also getting the people. And how do we kind of—and to your point about the treatment—you also want those people to be diverse, right? And you want to allow them and encourage them to be learning new things. In fact, I think you do not want to solve it because you could not solve it, because it would be like social engineering. But I think you want to have some awareness that particular institutional structures and incentives of structures that you're putting in place are not necessarily creating the world you want—or are creating the world you want.

How AI’s power to curate makes culture more important than ever

28:58: We all know AI can know—these are really nice knowledge maps. But the question is: when you start linking people to the knowledge maps and start saying, ‘We can dynamically bring people into the meeting and get their feedback,’ now you’re suddenly curating. I think AI’s ability to curate, to your point, is amazing. But now, let’s pull the culture thing in. How do I not feel like a gadget? How do I not feel like some sort of widget that the AI is using? I think this is where creating the right organizational team culture is going to be really important.

Invisible forces behind organizational design

01:01:30: What comes for free, whether you like it or not, whenever I design an institutional structure and organizational structure, are the norms, the behaviors, the beliefs, the networks—all that other stuff. The kind of dark matter that really matters for society.

Why simple models fail on complex problems

07:59: If you take something like inequality, it is a complex problem, right? Or the environment. It is a complex problem. Models are simple. So there is no way you can explain something complex with something simple. You are kind of explaining a 16 with a three or something. You just cannot. If the problem is this big and your model is this big, you cannot get it all. But if you have a bunch of models in conversation with one another, then I think you can, potentially, reach a deep understanding. You could predict better, right? I think it is a better way to advance science.

How AI can bridge decision gaps across social inequality

58:12: People who come from families who are well socially connected, who have wealth, who are educated—they get good advice on big decisions that maybe other people do not get. And you can go to the internet to get advice, but you are going to get it pointing in a thousand directions. The question is: will there be ways to have—like, will banks, will others—will they develop AI that they say, “Look, okay, we are going to approve this, but why do you not, you know, use this software and go through this process? It may help you think about particular things.”

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]]> 571. The Power of Diverse Models in Decision Making feat. Scott E. Page Greg La Blanc 01:00:34 What if there was a system that could decide who to consult for a decision in real time? How would the diversity of the available sources affect the information gathered? Scott E. Page is a professor of management, social science, and complexity at the University of Michigan. He’s also the author of several books including The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You, Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life, and The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies. Greg and Scott discuss the importance of diverse models and perspectives in decision-making. Scott also shares insights on the evolving nature of information access and the role of AI in augmenting diversity in team decision-making processes. The conversation covers themes like cognitive diversity, the role of selection and treatment in maintaining diverse perspectives, and the challenge of fostering a healthy organizational culture where diverse ideas can thrive. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What if there was a system that could decide who to consult for a decision in real time? How would the diversity of the available sources affect the information gathered? Scott E. Page is a professor of management, social science, and complexity at the University of Michigan. He’s also the author of several books including The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You, Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life, and The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies. Greg and Scott discuss the importance of diverse models and perspectives in decision-making. Scott also shares insights on the evolving nature of information access and the role of AI in augmenting diversity in team decision-making processes. The conversation covers themes like cognitive diversity, the role of selection and treatment in maintaining diverse perspectives, and the challenge of fostering a healthy organizational culture where diverse ideas can thrive. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 571 0bc2f061-b8a1-45fe-8d7d-3d02b2716baf 570. Exploring the History of Liberalism as a Word and Concept feat. Helena Rosenblatt Liberalism is a term that has been adopted and adapted in different ways over the centuries of its use. How do we need to rethink and communicate the core principles of liberalism in the face of modern challenges?

Helena Rosenblatt is a professor in the History, French, and Political Science departments at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). She is also the author of several books, including The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century and Liberal Values: Benjamin Constant and the Politics of Religion.

Greg and Helena discuss the shifting meanings and history of liberalism, focusing on key themes such as the Anglo-American appropriation of liberalism, the evolution of liberal values, and the struggle between individual rights and civic virtues. Helena also touches upon the impact of religious influence, the educational system, the rise of new liberalism, and the relevance of civic education in contemporary society. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Liberalism began with character, not politics

09:10: With the advent of Christianity, we started to talk about God's liberality towards, so there was no liberalism. The noun was liberality, as you mentioned. And then it became Christianized, and it meant then charitable. And then eventually, in the 18th century, with the Enlightenment, it started to mean tolerant and sociable. A gentleman was liberal in that he was open-minded. He was polite. He was educated, and we should not forget liberal arts education. Right? So very important to liberality. And it is good to think about today when the liberal arts, we think anyway in the humanities, are under siege, if you will, you know, and people lamenting the decline of civic engagement and of qualities of a citizen—that is what the liberal arts education was supposed to teach.

Why liberalism was never meant to be direct democracy

26:00 We are for the people, and we are accountable to the people. But it is for the people. It is not by the people. Government—we are supposed to be generous. We are supposed to be thinking about them. We are supposed to rule for them, but we cannot possibly allow them to rule.

What happens when liberal face strongmen

22:00: The notion that a strongman politics, which we are seeing again today, was something that liberals became very especially concerned with because they saw what could happen when people place their faith in a strongman who appealed directly to—you know, populism is not a recent thing. They did not call it populism then? I do not think so. But this idea that I am the people, I understand the people, your so-called representatives are just, you know, in deadlock. They cannot make—they are just talking. They are just a bunch of lawyers who, you know—this is an old, very old accusation that strongmen used in order to get, very often, elected democratically, but then unravel and destroy all the safeguards that were there or were meant to be there to safeguard individual rights, for example.

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]]> Fri, 25 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Liberalism is a term that has been adopted and adapted in different ways over the centuries of its use. How do we need to rethink and communicate the core principles of liberalism in the face of modern challenges?

Helena Rosenblatt is a professor in the History, French, and Political Science departments at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). She is also the author of several books, including The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century and Liberal Values: Benjamin Constant and the Politics of Religion.

Greg and Helena discuss the shifting meanings and history of liberalism, focusing on key themes such as the Anglo-American appropriation of liberalism, the evolution of liberal values, and the struggle between individual rights and civic virtues. Helena also touches upon the impact of religious influence, the educational system, the rise of new liberalism, and the relevance of civic education in contemporary society. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Liberalism began with character, not politics

09:10: With the advent of Christianity, we started to talk about God's liberality towards, so there was no liberalism. The noun was liberality, as you mentioned. And then it became Christianized, and it meant then charitable. And then eventually, in the 18th century, with the Enlightenment, it started to mean tolerant and sociable. A gentleman was liberal in that he was open-minded. He was polite. He was educated, and we should not forget liberal arts education. Right? So very important to liberality. And it is good to think about today when the liberal arts, we think anyway in the humanities, are under siege, if you will, you know, and people lamenting the decline of civic engagement and of qualities of a citizen—that is what the liberal arts education was supposed to teach.

Why liberalism was never meant to be direct democracy

26:00 We are for the people, and we are accountable to the people. But it is for the people. It is not by the people. Government—we are supposed to be generous. We are supposed to be thinking about them. We are supposed to rule for them, but we cannot possibly allow them to rule.

What happens when liberal face strongmen

22:00: The notion that a strongman politics, which we are seeing again today, was something that liberals became very especially concerned with because they saw what could happen when people place their faith in a strongman who appealed directly to—you know, populism is not a recent thing. They did not call it populism then? I do not think so. But this idea that I am the people, I understand the people, your so-called representatives are just, you know, in deadlock. They cannot make—they are just talking. They are just a bunch of lawyers who, you know—this is an old, very old accusation that strongmen used in order to get, very often, elected democratically, but then unravel and destroy all the safeguards that were there or were meant to be there to safeguard individual rights, for example.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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]]> 570. Exploring the History of Liberalism as a Word and Concept feat. Helena Rosenblatt Greg La Blanc 00:45:50 Liberalism is a term that has been adopted and adapted in different ways over the centuries of its use. How do we need to rethink and communicate the core principles of liberalism in the face of modern challenges? Helena Rosenblatt is a professor in the History, French, and Political Science departments at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). She is also the author of several books, including The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century and Liberal Values: Benjamin Constant and the Politics of Religion. Greg and Helena discuss the shifting meanings and history of liberalism, focusing on key themes such as the Anglo-American appropriation of liberalism, the evolution of liberal values, and the struggle between individual rights and civic virtues. Helena also touches upon the impact of religious influence, the educational system, the rise of new liberalism, and the relevance of civic education in contemporary society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Liberalism is a term that has been adopted and adapted in different ways over the centuries of its use. How do we need to rethink and communicate the core principles of liberalism in the face of modern challenges? Helena Rosenblatt is a professor in the History, French, and Political Science departments at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). She is also the author of several books, including The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century and Liberal Values: Benjamin Constant and the Politics of Religion. Greg and Helena discuss the shifting meanings and history of liberalism, focusing on key themes such as the Anglo-American appropriation of liberalism, the evolution of liberal values, and the struggle between individual rights and civic virtues. Helena also touches upon the impact of religious influence, the educational system, the rise of new liberalism, and the relevance of civic education in contemporary society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 570 e6fd9df6-f4d5-4a1f-8094-eb7ebac4ea1e 569. Exploring Tech as the Modern Religion feat. Greg M. Epstein Technology is now involved in all industries, and there is a need for a critical and ethical approach to technology's development and integration into daily life for the betterment of all.

Greg M. Epstein is the Humanist chaplain at both Harvard and MIT, and also the author of the books  Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World's Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation and Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe.

In this episode, Greg discusses the concept of humanistic chaplaincy, its historical roots, and the emergence and acceptance of humanism as an alternative to theistic religions.. Greg explains the idea that technology, specifically the tech industry, functions as a modern religion complete with its own beliefs, practices, and influence over human lives. He also discusses the potential wins and pitfalls of this new 'tech religion' and the need for a reformation akin to that of historical religious movements. They also focus on the ethical implications of tech's pervasive role in society and compare it to traditional religions. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The belief system behind Silicon Valley

19:15: This is the myth of the Silicon Valley unicorn. You’re disruption, right? You are going to disrupt taxi cabs and you are going to get Uber and Lyft. You are going to disrupt, you know, on and on and on, right? And so, what I would say is that the religion is a religion that we actually are teaching a lot of young people today. I mean, we may not frame it as a religion, but to say that it's simply, "We're just doing an MBA, man, it's fine." Like, "We're just teaching people how to run a company." Like no, you're teaching people a very particular ideology for how they should relate to who they are as humans, how they should relate to their fellow human beings, what it is to be a good person and live a good life, and how we should structure communities. Because our entire society is structured around the whims and ideals of this religion now.

Reclaiming humanity from tech worship

30:58: The technologies that were created should be about making human lives more human and humane, not getting people to devote themselves more and more fanatically to tech, as if it were the God that demanded jealously that we worship it.

When AI becomes a god  

46:40: The biggest problem in the world today, they have been saying for years now, is not climate change or nuclear war, or the lack of ethics, or authoritarianism, or what—it's unaligned AI. And that they have been advising through their 80,000 Hours website. Effective ultras have, for years now, said that any young person wanting to do the most good should put their efforts, their life, their 80,000 hours of work—which, by the way, is a lot of work... They should put their 80,000 hours of work into making sure that this tech God that we are building likes us and, you know, likes us back, worships us back, or at least takes good care of us, as we are now becoming its flock. And that, to me, is—as bizarre as any other theological tenet I have ever read about in 30 years of feeling.

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]]> Thu, 24 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Technology is now involved in all industries, and there is a need for a critical and ethical approach to technology's development and integration into daily life for the betterment of all.

Greg M. Epstein is the Humanist chaplain at both Harvard and MIT, and also the author of the books  Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World's Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation and Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe.

In this episode, Greg discusses the concept of humanistic chaplaincy, its historical roots, and the emergence and acceptance of humanism as an alternative to theistic religions.. Greg explains the idea that technology, specifically the tech industry, functions as a modern religion complete with its own beliefs, practices, and influence over human lives. He also discusses the potential wins and pitfalls of this new 'tech religion' and the need for a reformation akin to that of historical religious movements. They also focus on the ethical implications of tech's pervasive role in society and compare it to traditional religions. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The belief system behind Silicon Valley

19:15: This is the myth of the Silicon Valley unicorn. You’re disruption, right? You are going to disrupt taxi cabs and you are going to get Uber and Lyft. You are going to disrupt, you know, on and on and on, right? And so, what I would say is that the religion is a religion that we actually are teaching a lot of young people today. I mean, we may not frame it as a religion, but to say that it's simply, "We're just doing an MBA, man, it's fine." Like, "We're just teaching people how to run a company." Like no, you're teaching people a very particular ideology for how they should relate to who they are as humans, how they should relate to their fellow human beings, what it is to be a good person and live a good life, and how we should structure communities. Because our entire society is structured around the whims and ideals of this religion now.

Reclaiming humanity from tech worship

30:58: The technologies that were created should be about making human lives more human and humane, not getting people to devote themselves more and more fanatically to tech, as if it were the God that demanded jealously that we worship it.

When AI becomes a god  

46:40: The biggest problem in the world today, they have been saying for years now, is not climate change or nuclear war, or the lack of ethics, or authoritarianism, or what—it's unaligned AI. And that they have been advising through their 80,000 Hours website. Effective ultras have, for years now, said that any young person wanting to do the most good should put their efforts, their life, their 80,000 hours of work—which, by the way, is a lot of work... They should put their 80,000 hours of work into making sure that this tech God that we are building likes us and, you know, likes us back, worships us back, or at least takes good care of us, as we are now becoming its flock. And that, to me, is—as bizarre as any other theological tenet I have ever read about in 30 years of feeling.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 569. Exploring Tech as the Modern Religion feat. Greg M. Epstein Greg La Blanc 00:52:34 Technology is now involved in all industries, and there is a need for a critical and ethical approach to technology's development and integration into daily life for the betterment of all. Greg M. Epstein is the Humanist chaplain at both Harvard and MIT, and also the author of the books  Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World's Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation and Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe. In this episode, Greg discusses the concept of humanistic chaplaincy, its historical roots, and the emergence and acceptance of humanism as an alternative to theistic religions.. Greg explains the idea that technology, specifically the tech industry, functions as a modern religion complete with its own beliefs, practices, and influence over human lives. He also discusses the potential wins and pitfalls of this new 'tech religion' and the need for a reformation akin to that of historical religious movements. They also focus on the ethical implications of tech's pervasive role in society and compare it to traditional religions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Technology is now involved in all industries, and there is a need for a critical and ethical approach to technology's development and integration into daily life for the betterment of all. Greg M. Epstein is the Humanist chaplain at both Harvard and MIT, and also the author of the books  Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World's Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation and Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe. In this episode, Greg discusses the concept of humanistic chaplaincy, its historical roots, and the emergence and acceptance of humanism as an alternative to theistic religions.. Greg explains the idea that technology, specifically the tech industry, functions as a modern religion complete with its own beliefs, practices, and influence over human lives. He also discusses the potential wins and pitfalls of this new 'tech religion' and the need for a reformation akin to that of historical religious movements. They also focus on the ethical implications of tech's pervasive role in society and compare it to traditional religions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 569 5cd3fd9c-5518-4614-bff5-9b5a174e789b 568. Accessing Your Socrates Within feat. Ward Farnsworth What is the relationship between philosophy, rhetoric and law? What can we still learn from ancient Greek and Roman philosophers like Socrates and the Socratics? How is thinking like a martial art? 

Ward Farnsworth is a professor of law and former dean of the School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He’s also the author of numerous books that explore law, philosophy, and rhetoric including, The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law, The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook, and The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User's Manual.

Ward and Greg discuss the symbiotic relationship of law and philosophy, stoicism and its modern relevance, and the value of philosophical thinking particularly through the lens of the Socratic method in legal education and at universities as a whole.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The Socratic method isn’t just a teaching technique but a way of living and thinking

05:09: The Socratic method is a style of thinking first before it's a style of teaching or a way to talk to others. It's a style of thought. And the reason it's an effective teaching method, as far as I'm concerned, is that in the classroom, if it's used effectively, it can provide a model that you can internalize and use as a style of thought for yourself, which is important because most of us do not spend a lot of our lives engaged in real Socratic dialogue with others.  So we have the 99% of our time when we are not doing that. What's going on then? And hopefully the answer is still something Socratic. It's obviously a lot easier to do well when you've got another person doing it, because other people can see your own blind spots a lot more easily than you can uncover them. But still, in the end, I think it's trying to—the Socratic method I see as being a model for thought that, when thinking is going well, is internalized. And it's something you do yourself.

Why great lawyers need to think like philosophers

02:21: If you really want to be a great lawyer, you have got to understand something about psychology. I think you have got to be a little bit of a philosopher. You have got to understand some economics.

Legal education is about thinking like a judge

03:07: If you are doing legal education right, you are often trying to teach students how to think like a judge would, and a judge is trying to find the right answer—whatever that might mean—or the best answer. We can talk about the nature of the answers the judge searches for. But I think in a case like that, it is helpful to be thinking not as if you have a dog in the fight, but as if you are trying to discover what the best way is to resolve the case. And then if you are a lawyer, you are trying to anticipate the way the judge will think and beat that. It is also true that if you are a lawyer, you are trying to understand your case and also the other side's case. And that is a very important part of what I call Socratic thinking—being able to anticipate the response to whatever you are imagining saying or thinking, and to be good at going back and forth.

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]]> Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is the relationship between philosophy, rhetoric and law? What can we still learn from ancient Greek and Roman philosophers like Socrates and the Socratics? How is thinking like a martial art? 

Ward Farnsworth is a professor of law and former dean of the School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He’s also the author of numerous books that explore law, philosophy, and rhetoric including, The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law, The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook, and The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User's Manual.

Ward and Greg discuss the symbiotic relationship of law and philosophy, stoicism and its modern relevance, and the value of philosophical thinking particularly through the lens of the Socratic method in legal education and at universities as a whole.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The Socratic method isn’t just a teaching technique but a way of living and thinking

05:09: The Socratic method is a style of thinking first before it's a style of teaching or a way to talk to others. It's a style of thought. And the reason it's an effective teaching method, as far as I'm concerned, is that in the classroom, if it's used effectively, it can provide a model that you can internalize and use as a style of thought for yourself, which is important because most of us do not spend a lot of our lives engaged in real Socratic dialogue with others.  So we have the 99% of our time when we are not doing that. What's going on then? And hopefully the answer is still something Socratic. It's obviously a lot easier to do well when you've got another person doing it, because other people can see your own blind spots a lot more easily than you can uncover them. But still, in the end, I think it's trying to—the Socratic method I see as being a model for thought that, when thinking is going well, is internalized. And it's something you do yourself.

Why great lawyers need to think like philosophers

02:21: If you really want to be a great lawyer, you have got to understand something about psychology. I think you have got to be a little bit of a philosopher. You have got to understand some economics.

Legal education is about thinking like a judge

03:07: If you are doing legal education right, you are often trying to teach students how to think like a judge would, and a judge is trying to find the right answer—whatever that might mean—or the best answer. We can talk about the nature of the answers the judge searches for. But I think in a case like that, it is helpful to be thinking not as if you have a dog in the fight, but as if you are trying to discover what the best way is to resolve the case. And then if you are a lawyer, you are trying to anticipate the way the judge will think and beat that. It is also true that if you are a lawyer, you are trying to understand your case and also the other side's case. And that is a very important part of what I call Socratic thinking—being able to anticipate the response to whatever you are imagining saying or thinking, and to be good at going back and forth.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 568. Accessing Your Socrates Within feat. Ward Farnsworth Greg La Blanc 00:57:35 What is the relationship between philosophy, rhetoric and law? What can we still learn from ancient Greek and Roman philosophers like Socrates and the Socratics? How is thinking like a martial art? Ward Farnsworth is a professor of law and former dean of the School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He’s also the author of numerous books that explore law, philosophy, and rhetoric including, The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law, The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook, and The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User's Manual. Ward and Greg discuss the symbiotic relationship of law and philosophy, stoicism and its modern relevance, and the value of philosophical thinking particularly through the lens of the Socratic method in legal education and at universities as a whole. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is the relationship between philosophy, rhetoric and law? What can we still learn from ancient Greek and Roman philosophers like Socrates and the Socratics? How is thinking like a martial art? Ward Farnsworth is a professor of law and former dean of the School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He’s also the author of numerous books that explore law, philosophy, and rhetoric including, The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law, The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook, and The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User's Manual. Ward and Greg discuss the symbiotic relationship of law and philosophy, stoicism and its modern relevance, and the value of philosophical thinking particularly through the lens of the Socratic method in legal education and at universities as a whole. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 568 76f53859-b503-4d12-bc18-587b16293688 567. The Making of Timeless, Classic Art feat. Rochelle Gurstein Before the Mona Lisa became one of the most famous and beloved paintings in the world, it sat in obscurity for hundreds of years away from the public eye. During that time, no one would have considered it the timeless, classic masterpiece that it is today. How did that change? Who decides what is worthy of the title “classic” and is it possible to have classics in our modern age? 

Rochelle Gurstein is an intellectual historian, critic, and fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities. Her latest book, Written in Water: The Ephemeral Life of the Classic in Art explores what it means for something to be labeled “classic” and how the notion of the classics has evolved over centuries. 

Rochelle and Greg discuss the historical fluidity of aestheticism and taste, the shifting perception of iconic artworks, and unearth the forgotten contributions of critics and artists who shaped our understanding of what it means for art to transcend time. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is the world being threatened by new art?

42:07:   One of the things that I try to trace in the book is this idea that one's world is being threatened by new art, and the sense that it's not the importance—by the 19th century and the 20th century—of what is at stake. It's not just that there is another work of art in the world, or a style that has entered the world. Instead, it is that a whole sensibility, taste, worldview is under attack.

What is the strongest foundation for a classic?

52:39: The strongest foundation for a classic is when artists keep a work alive in their own practice. So that, as long as people could still see the Venus de’ Medici in the works of all the artists who took it as the exemplar, they would continue to love it because they were all part of a continuum—an aesthetic continuum, a moral continuum—that, in the 20th century and 21st century, became harder and harder to maintain, because contemporary art shifted so dramatically every 10, 20 years—every other year these days. The way that we could keep art alive from the past is: the more we know about what other people have said about it—the people who have loved it, or the people who have not loved it.

What really keeps art alive

57:00: The practice of art itself—what artists are doing, not what collectors or museums and all the rest are doing, which is, of course, important. But I do not think that that is the most important thing. I think the artist’s practice and what they are keeping alive. And then knowing enough, caring enough about the art of the past, to try to understand what their aims were, and knowing it changed over time, and that these works were loved or not loved at different moments of time—and why?

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Wed, 16 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Before the Mona Lisa became one of the most famous and beloved paintings in the world, it sat in obscurity for hundreds of years away from the public eye. During that time, no one would have considered it the timeless, classic masterpiece that it is today. How did that change? Who decides what is worthy of the title “classic” and is it possible to have classics in our modern age? 

Rochelle Gurstein is an intellectual historian, critic, and fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities. Her latest book, Written in Water: The Ephemeral Life of the Classic in Art explores what it means for something to be labeled “classic” and how the notion of the classics has evolved over centuries. 

Rochelle and Greg discuss the historical fluidity of aestheticism and taste, the shifting perception of iconic artworks, and unearth the forgotten contributions of critics and artists who shaped our understanding of what it means for art to transcend time. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is the world being threatened by new art?

42:07:   One of the things that I try to trace in the book is this idea that one's world is being threatened by new art, and the sense that it's not the importance—by the 19th century and the 20th century—of what is at stake. It's not just that there is another work of art in the world, or a style that has entered the world. Instead, it is that a whole sensibility, taste, worldview is under attack.

What is the strongest foundation for a classic?

52:39: The strongest foundation for a classic is when artists keep a work alive in their own practice. So that, as long as people could still see the Venus de’ Medici in the works of all the artists who took it as the exemplar, they would continue to love it because they were all part of a continuum—an aesthetic continuum, a moral continuum—that, in the 20th century and 21st century, became harder and harder to maintain, because contemporary art shifted so dramatically every 10, 20 years—every other year these days. The way that we could keep art alive from the past is: the more we know about what other people have said about it—the people who have loved it, or the people who have not loved it.

What really keeps art alive

57:00: The practice of art itself—what artists are doing, not what collectors or museums and all the rest are doing, which is, of course, important. But I do not think that that is the most important thing. I think the artist’s practice and what they are keeping alive. And then knowing enough, caring enough about the art of the past, to try to understand what their aims were, and knowing it changed over time, and that these works were loved or not loved at different moments of time—and why?

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 567. The Making of Timeless, Classic Art feat. Rochelle Gurstein Greg La Blanc 00:55:15 Before the Mona Lisa became one of the most famous and beloved paintings in the world, it sat in obscurity for hundreds of years away from the public eye. During that time, no one would have considered it the timeless, classic masterpiece that it is today. How did that change? Who decides what is worthy of the title “classic” and is it possible to have classics in our modern age? Rochelle Gurstein is an intellectual historian, critic, and fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities. Her latest book, Written in Water: The Ephemeral Life of the Classic in Art explores what it means for something to be labeled “classic” and how the notion of the classics has evolved over centuries. Rochelle and Greg discuss the historical fluidity of aestheticism and taste, the shifting perception of iconic artworks, and unearth the forgotten contributions of critics and artists who shaped our understanding of what it means for art to transcend time. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Before the Mona Lisa became one of the most famous and beloved paintings in the world, it sat in obscurity for hundreds of years away from the public eye. During that time, no one would have considered it the timeless, classic masterpiece that it is today. How did that change? Who decides what is worthy of the title “classic” and is it possible to have classics in our modern age? Rochelle Gurstein is an intellectual historian, critic, and fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities. Her latest book, Written in Water: The Ephemeral Life of the Classic in Art explores what it means for something to be labeled “classic” and how the notion of the classics has evolved over centuries. Rochelle and Greg discuss the historical fluidity of aestheticism and taste, the shifting perception of iconic artworks, and unearth the forgotten contributions of critics and artists who shaped our understanding of what it means for art to transcend time. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 567 b3e00b9c-eb53-474a-bf2c-aaaf177792d7 566. Why We Got Hooked On ‘Like’ feat. Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson It’s a button most people these days don’t think twice about before clicking online: the like button. But there's no argument that the button has turned into a powerhouse of an icon, with its purpose now reaching far beyond the creators’ original intent. So, how did we get here? Why was the button originally invented, and what can its ubiquitous role online teach us about our culture?

Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, and Bob Goodson, founder of Quid, are the authors of the new book, Like: The Button That Changed the World, which tells the fascinating story of how a tiny piece of code completely transformed the way we interact online. 

Martin and Bob join Greg to delve into the micro-history of the “like” button, including Bob’s original sketch for it when he was at Yelp, the role of serendipity in innovation, the booming business that sprang out of “likes,” and how the like button has shaped our understanding of not only online social interaction, but offline socializing as well. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How the like button transformed online behavior

23:50 [Bob Goodson]: So when Yelp was being created, it was not obvious at all that you could get large numbers of people to contribute content, because normal people who had the opinions needed to rate restaurants and bars and doctors and so on were not really adding content to the internet.

So it was part of that wave where everyone was trying to figure out, separately and for different business reasons, how do we get people to contribute content—which is why, in some ways, it was the movement of user-generated content. And nowadays we do not think twice about it. And the Like button—really, something Martin and I cover in the book—is that the Like button really greased the wheels for that process, because it is the simplest way to contribute content to the internet. And it still is. With one click, people do not think that they are contributing content; they just think of it as something else. Like it is a type of reading almost: “I am giving my reaction.” But it is contributing content. You are putting your name on something, and you are adding data to a complex system—which is why we call it the atomic unit of user-generated content.

A button that tells a thousand words

25:46: [Martin Reeves] There is something quite brilliant and impressive about the Like button, in a way.…[26:25] It's the simplest and most compact thing you can say that is actually meaningful to others. And so, there really is something quite brilliant about the simplicity of this thing.

When a small fix becomes a big thing

04:52: [Martin Reeves]  The strangest thing about all of the pioneers of the Like button—and we spoke to about 30 companies—was that none of them saw any special significance in the day that they made their contribution. They were just addressing that day's tactical challenge. It might be voting, or content stream prioritization, or something. And it was only later that the Like button turned out to be a thing. I call it the moment when a thing becomes a thing, and then—then it becomes a big thing. But it was absolutely not a grand design. So I thought, wow, this is the perfect story of what I had long suspected about innovation, which is: it is neither as planned as the hero stories we tell about it, nor as manageable as the managerial structures and metrics and plans and goals that we put in place to manage it.

The idealism involved before social media

19:52 [Bob Goodson]: We put so much emphasis on social media now that we easily forget. Before it was possible for citizens to share information, the only way to get information out there was through these usually individually owned, massive media companies. So there was a lot of dissatisfaction about censorship and about media being controlled by only the wealthy, and so on. So there was a lot of idealism involved.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Mon, 14 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It’s a button most people these days don’t think twice about before clicking online: the like button. But there's no argument that the button has turned into a powerhouse of an icon, with its purpose now reaching far beyond the creators’ original intent. So, how did we get here? Why was the button originally invented, and what can its ubiquitous role online teach us about our culture?

Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, and Bob Goodson, founder of Quid, are the authors of the new book, Like: The Button That Changed the World, which tells the fascinating story of how a tiny piece of code completely transformed the way we interact online. 

Martin and Bob join Greg to delve into the micro-history of the “like” button, including Bob’s original sketch for it when he was at Yelp, the role of serendipity in innovation, the booming business that sprang out of “likes,” and how the like button has shaped our understanding of not only online social interaction, but offline socializing as well. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How the like button transformed online behavior

23:50 [Bob Goodson]: So when Yelp was being created, it was not obvious at all that you could get large numbers of people to contribute content, because normal people who had the opinions needed to rate restaurants and bars and doctors and so on were not really adding content to the internet.

So it was part of that wave where everyone was trying to figure out, separately and for different business reasons, how do we get people to contribute content—which is why, in some ways, it was the movement of user-generated content. And nowadays we do not think twice about it. And the Like button—really, something Martin and I cover in the book—is that the Like button really greased the wheels for that process, because it is the simplest way to contribute content to the internet. And it still is. With one click, people do not think that they are contributing content; they just think of it as something else. Like it is a type of reading almost: “I am giving my reaction.” But it is contributing content. You are putting your name on something, and you are adding data to a complex system—which is why we call it the atomic unit of user-generated content.

A button that tells a thousand words

25:46: [Martin Reeves] There is something quite brilliant and impressive about the Like button, in a way.…[26:25] It's the simplest and most compact thing you can say that is actually meaningful to others. And so, there really is something quite brilliant about the simplicity of this thing.

When a small fix becomes a big thing

04:52: [Martin Reeves]  The strangest thing about all of the pioneers of the Like button—and we spoke to about 30 companies—was that none of them saw any special significance in the day that they made their contribution. They were just addressing that day's tactical challenge. It might be voting, or content stream prioritization, or something. And it was only later that the Like button turned out to be a thing. I call it the moment when a thing becomes a thing, and then—then it becomes a big thing. But it was absolutely not a grand design. So I thought, wow, this is the perfect story of what I had long suspected about innovation, which is: it is neither as planned as the hero stories we tell about it, nor as manageable as the managerial structures and metrics and plans and goals that we put in place to manage it.

The idealism involved before social media

19:52 [Bob Goodson]: We put so much emphasis on social media now that we easily forget. Before it was possible for citizens to share information, the only way to get information out there was through these usually individually owned, massive media companies. So there was a lot of dissatisfaction about censorship and about media being controlled by only the wealthy, and so on. So there was a lot of idealism involved.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 566. Why We Got Hooked On ‘Like’ feat. Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson Greg La Blanc 00:56:38 It’s a button most people these days don’t think twice about before clicking online: the like button. But there's no argument that the button has turned into a powerhouse of an icon, with its purpose now reaching far beyond the creators’ original intent. So, how did we get here? Why was the button originally invented, and what can its ubiquitous role online teach us about our culture? Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, and Bob Goodson, founder of Quid, are the authors of the new book, Like: The Button That Changed the World, which tells the fascinating story of how a tiny piece of code completely transformed the way we interact online. Martin and Bob join Greg to delve into the micro-history of the “like” button, including Bob’s original sketch for it when he was at Yelp, the role of serendipity in innovation, the booming business that sprang out of “likes,” and how the like button has shaped our understanding of not only online social interaction, but offline socializing as well. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* It’s a button most people these days don’t think twice about before clicking online: the like button. But there's no argument that the button has turned into a powerhouse of an icon, with its purpose now reaching far beyond the creators’ original intent. So, how did we get here? Why was the button originally invented, and what can its ubiquitous role online teach us about our culture? Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, and Bob Goodson, founder of Quid, are the authors of the new book, Like: The Button That Changed the World, which tells the fascinating story of how a tiny piece of code completely transformed the way we interact online. Martin and Bob join Greg to delve into the micro-history of the “like” button, including Bob’s original sketch for it when he was at Yelp, the role of serendipity in innovation, the booming business that sprang out of “likes,” and how the like button has shaped our understanding of not only online social interaction, but offline socializing as well. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 566 af01cdc0-0db9-4af7-98f6-9409b757f130 565. Hacking Life Through Economics feat. Daryl Fairweather It makes sense that economic principles could be a useful guide in deciding what career to pursue, but what if they’re also the key to deciding whether to ask for a promotion, who to marry, or what house to buy? 

Daryl Fairweather is the chief economist at Redfin and the author of the book, Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work. Through the lens of behavioral economics and game theory, the book provides readers with practical strategies for navigating some of life’s biggest decisions. 

Daryl and Greg discuss how economic principles can be applied to real-life decisions, from careers to family planning, and insights into the housing market’s complexities including bidding wars, changes to how buyers’ agents are paid, and where the market might be headed. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Can exposure to economics change the way people interact?

04:31 Economics provides a really useful framework for making decisions. We have utility theory, right? So you just go with the decision that has the higher expected utility. And I do not think many people think about decisions that way. They get caught up in things like sunk cost fallacies or status quo bias. So having that understanding of both economics and the behavioral part—incorporating the psychology into it—I think allows me, and I think a lot of other, hopefully more people who read the book, to feel more confident in the decisions. I think a lot of people know what the right decision is, but they do not really have the confidence to make it because they are not really thinking through it in terms of what will maximize my utility.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game

52:06 Just because the economy is unfair, and it is unfair for a whole host of reasons—it is not all, like, nefarious reasons. Sometimes games have these inherent flaws in them…[52:28] But if you see that you can navigate around it, you do not have to hate yourself for trying to make it in this economy. You can just see the economy for what it is, and its flaws, and still try to excel at it.

The housing market needs big interventions

29:17: I think we definitely need some, some big interventions in the housing market. We've seen a lot of policy changes in California, which if California alone fixed its housing problems, it would probably fix housing problems for the entire country…[29:40] But California's problems I think are deeper than just zoning. They have Prop 13, which gives a much lower property tax rate to existing homeowners…[29:59] So, I think there's a lot that we could do to make housing better than what it is right now because it is pretty dire.

How PhDs undervalue themselves

18:41 I think where a lot of PhDs make a mistake is they do not really understand how valuable they are, and they get stuck in the first job that they went to straight out of grad school, not realizing how many other opportunities there are where they could earn just as much money, or maybe even more money, and have even broader opportunities. But they just kind of, like, stay put because they do not see that broader world around them. They are very good at taking PhD students and turning them into professionals, but then they get the benefit that most of those people hang on for a very long time and do not really go and look at what their other opportunities are, because I think if they did, they would see that they would be very valued outside of just consulting.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Fri, 11 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It makes sense that economic principles could be a useful guide in deciding what career to pursue, but what if they’re also the key to deciding whether to ask for a promotion, who to marry, or what house to buy? 

Daryl Fairweather is the chief economist at Redfin and the author of the book, Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work. Through the lens of behavioral economics and game theory, the book provides readers with practical strategies for navigating some of life’s biggest decisions. 

Daryl and Greg discuss how economic principles can be applied to real-life decisions, from careers to family planning, and insights into the housing market’s complexities including bidding wars, changes to how buyers’ agents are paid, and where the market might be headed. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Can exposure to economics change the way people interact?

04:31 Economics provides a really useful framework for making decisions. We have utility theory, right? So you just go with the decision that has the higher expected utility. And I do not think many people think about decisions that way. They get caught up in things like sunk cost fallacies or status quo bias. So having that understanding of both economics and the behavioral part—incorporating the psychology into it—I think allows me, and I think a lot of other, hopefully more people who read the book, to feel more confident in the decisions. I think a lot of people know what the right decision is, but they do not really have the confidence to make it because they are not really thinking through it in terms of what will maximize my utility.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game

52:06 Just because the economy is unfair, and it is unfair for a whole host of reasons—it is not all, like, nefarious reasons. Sometimes games have these inherent flaws in them…[52:28] But if you see that you can navigate around it, you do not have to hate yourself for trying to make it in this economy. You can just see the economy for what it is, and its flaws, and still try to excel at it.

The housing market needs big interventions

29:17: I think we definitely need some, some big interventions in the housing market. We've seen a lot of policy changes in California, which if California alone fixed its housing problems, it would probably fix housing problems for the entire country…[29:40] But California's problems I think are deeper than just zoning. They have Prop 13, which gives a much lower property tax rate to existing homeowners…[29:59] So, I think there's a lot that we could do to make housing better than what it is right now because it is pretty dire.

How PhDs undervalue themselves

18:41 I think where a lot of PhDs make a mistake is they do not really understand how valuable they are, and they get stuck in the first job that they went to straight out of grad school, not realizing how many other opportunities there are where they could earn just as much money, or maybe even more money, and have even broader opportunities. But they just kind of, like, stay put because they do not see that broader world around them. They are very good at taking PhD students and turning them into professionals, but then they get the benefit that most of those people hang on for a very long time and do not really go and look at what their other opportunities are, because I think if they did, they would see that they would be very valued outside of just consulting.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 565. Hacking Life Through Economics feat. Daryl Fairweather Greg La Blanc 00:52:19 It makes sense that economic principles could be a useful guide in deciding what career to pursue, but what if they’re also the key to deciding whether to ask for a promotion, who to marry, or what house to buy? Daryl Fairweather is the chief economist at Redfin and the author of the book, Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work. Through the lens of behavioral economics and game theory, the book provides readers with practical strategies for navigating some of life’s biggest decisions. Daryl and Greg discuss how economic principles can be applied to real-life decisions, from careers to family planning, and insights into the housing market’s complexities including bidding wars, changes to how buyers’ agents are paid, and where the market might be headed. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* It makes sense that economic principles could be a useful guide in deciding what career to pursue, but what if they’re also the key to deciding whether to ask for a promotion, who to marry, or what house to buy? Daryl Fairweather is the chief economist at Redfin and the author of the book, Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work. Through the lens of behavioral economics and game theory, the book provides readers with practical strategies for navigating some of life’s biggest decisions. Daryl and Greg discuss how economic principles can be applied to real-life decisions, from careers to family planning, and insights into the housing market’s complexities including bidding wars, changes to how buyers’ agents are paid, and where the market might be headed. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 565 56c244be-d2b2-46bb-b2e1-fb35f7a8b57c 564. Philosophy Beyond Books: Food For Thought feat. Julian Baggini How can you make philosophy accessible to everyone without stripping it of essential depth and complexity? Where can philosophy take hold in diet and everyday activities?

Julian Baggini is a philosopher, journalist and the author of over 20 books about philosophy. His latest are How to Think Like a Philosopher: Twelve Key Principles for More Humane, Balanced, and Rational Thinking, How the World Eats: A Global Food Philosophy, and The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher.

Greg and Julian discuss making philosophy accessible to everyone, and Julian’s latest works. Julian discusses the importance of epistemic virtue, cognitive empathy, and the challenges of integrating philosophical thinking into everyday life. They examine the role of attention in good thinking, the merits and drawbacks of various food ethics movements, and the balance between technophilia and technophobia, even coining a new term for practical wisdom in technology use.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

System change beats consumer choice

40:38: We should be a little less neurotic about, Is this clean, dirty? Is this good, bad? Try and do the right thing. But actually, it is a system change that is most important. And so the most important thing you could do as an individual is influence organizations and things you are around with. What about your school? What is your school doing for food? I mean, crikey, I am in France at the moment, and I just got the local newsletter from the school. The local schools here—they have a local chef. They give a good chef. They favor local sourcing. They are 30% organic in their ingredients. They spend three euros a day on the food for the kids. And it is—wow, that is great. Right now, in a lot of English British schools, it is terrible, and that is partly because they do not have the resources for it. So, you know, you have got a school—get your school buying the right stuff and feeding the right stuff. That is going to affect like several hundred kids, which is much more than you can affect with your shopping basket.

Why attentiveness matters in philosophy

58:15: Attentiveness is important because I think in some debates, they become scholastic in the sense that a question arises in philosophy, it gets formulated, and people go after the answers, but people are not paying attention as to why we are asking the question in the first place.

Why thinking should be a team sport

43:17: So the so-called cognitive failures we have, it shows how stupid we are. Bad we are at abstract thought. Well, that's when we try and do things privately by ourselves, and I think in general, yeah, absolutely. Thinking with others—so this has become my mantra. I actually got a fridge magnet made with this on it: Think for yourself, not by yourself. Think for yourself is important. Do not just accept what you are told.

Rethinking what it means to think well

05:20: People often think that good thinking is a technical matter. You get your training in logic; you get to analyze whether a statement is fallacious, whether the conclusion follows from the premises, et cetera, et cetera—all of which are useful skills, to be sure. But there is a whole other side of good thinking, which is to do with what we call these epistemic virtues. It describes the whole attitude you bring to your thinking.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Wed, 9 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How can you make philosophy accessible to everyone without stripping it of essential depth and complexity? Where can philosophy take hold in diet and everyday activities?

Julian Baggini is a philosopher, journalist and the author of over 20 books about philosophy. His latest are How to Think Like a Philosopher: Twelve Key Principles for More Humane, Balanced, and Rational Thinking, How the World Eats: A Global Food Philosophy, and The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher.

Greg and Julian discuss making philosophy accessible to everyone, and Julian’s latest works. Julian discusses the importance of epistemic virtue, cognitive empathy, and the challenges of integrating philosophical thinking into everyday life. They examine the role of attention in good thinking, the merits and drawbacks of various food ethics movements, and the balance between technophilia and technophobia, even coining a new term for practical wisdom in technology use.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

System change beats consumer choice

40:38: We should be a little less neurotic about, Is this clean, dirty? Is this good, bad? Try and do the right thing. But actually, it is a system change that is most important. And so the most important thing you could do as an individual is influence organizations and things you are around with. What about your school? What is your school doing for food? I mean, crikey, I am in France at the moment, and I just got the local newsletter from the school. The local schools here—they have a local chef. They give a good chef. They favor local sourcing. They are 30% organic in their ingredients. They spend three euros a day on the food for the kids. And it is—wow, that is great. Right now, in a lot of English British schools, it is terrible, and that is partly because they do not have the resources for it. So, you know, you have got a school—get your school buying the right stuff and feeding the right stuff. That is going to affect like several hundred kids, which is much more than you can affect with your shopping basket.

Why attentiveness matters in philosophy

58:15: Attentiveness is important because I think in some debates, they become scholastic in the sense that a question arises in philosophy, it gets formulated, and people go after the answers, but people are not paying attention as to why we are asking the question in the first place.

Why thinking should be a team sport

43:17: So the so-called cognitive failures we have, it shows how stupid we are. Bad we are at abstract thought. Well, that's when we try and do things privately by ourselves, and I think in general, yeah, absolutely. Thinking with others—so this has become my mantra. I actually got a fridge magnet made with this on it: Think for yourself, not by yourself. Think for yourself is important. Do not just accept what you are told.

Rethinking what it means to think well

05:20: People often think that good thinking is a technical matter. You get your training in logic; you get to analyze whether a statement is fallacious, whether the conclusion follows from the premises, et cetera, et cetera—all of which are useful skills, to be sure. But there is a whole other side of good thinking, which is to do with what we call these epistemic virtues. It describes the whole attitude you bring to your thinking.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 564. Philosophy Beyond Books: Food For Thought feat. Julian Baggini Greg La Blanc 01:01:27 How can you make philosophy accessible to everyone without stripping it of essential depth and complexity? Where can philosophy take hold in diet and everyday activities? Julian Baggini is a philosopher, journalist and the author of over 20 books about philosophy. His latest are How to Think Like a Philosopher: Twelve Key Principles for More Humane, Balanced, and Rational Thinking, How the World Eats: A Global Food Philosophy, and The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher. Greg and Julian discuss making philosophy accessible to everyone, and Julian’s latest works. Julian discusses the importance of epistemic virtue, cognitive empathy, and the challenges of integrating philosophical thinking into everyday life. They examine the role of attention in good thinking, the merits and drawbacks of various food ethics movements, and the balance between technophilia and technophobia, even coining a new term for practical wisdom in technology use. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How can you make philosophy accessible to everyone without stripping it of essential depth and complexity? Where can philosophy take hold in diet and everyday activities? Julian Baggini is a philosopher, journalist and the author of over 20 books about philosophy. His latest are How to Think Like a Philosopher: Twelve Key Principles for More Humane, Balanced, and Rational Thinking, How the World Eats: A Global Food Philosophy, and The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher. Greg and Julian discuss making philosophy accessible to everyone, and Julian’s latest works. Julian discusses the importance of epistemic virtue, cognitive empathy, and the challenges of integrating philosophical thinking into everyday life. They examine the role of attention in good thinking, the merits and drawbacks of various food ethics movements, and the balance between technophilia and technophobia, even coining a new term for practical wisdom in technology use. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 564 9242d604-912e-4e97-a373-79590d7b3df2 563. How the Container Changed the World feat. Marc Levinson It may be not much to look at, but the unassuming shipping container has had a massive impact on the global economy since its invention in the 1950s. The story of its rise as the dominant form of shipping is filled with dramatic turns and insights into the explosion of globalization.  

Marc Levinson is a journalist, economist, and a former senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. His books like, The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger and Outside the Box: How Globalization Changed from Moving Stuff to Spreading Ideas explore the complex economic history and unexpected impact of how goods make their way around the world. 

Marc and Greg discuss the labor-intensive nature of shipping before containerization, the union battles, regulatory hurdles, and the economic implications of adopting a standardized container. They also examine the unforeseen consequences of global supply chains and the evolving power dynamics between shippers and transporters.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The hidden globalization behind modern trade

47:48: The value of international trade of exports and imports is really based on transactions. Okay? One party is selling something to another party, and there is a price for that transaction. But what happens when you're looking at something on the internet? You're not paying any money to do that. You're just sitting at your computer. You do not know that the server that's offering you that page on the internet is actually based in a different country. That's an international exchange. It's not—there's not a transaction. This is not recorded as international trade, but it is. It's quite common now within large companies to have research operations in several countries. The researchers talk to one another all the time. They send each other emails all the time. And those ideas have economic benefit, but they do not have value that can be captured by national statistics. So we're having a much harder time keeping track of what is going on.

The unsung heroes behind global trade

28:27: The real heroes in the container story, I think, are the engineers from the ship lines and the container manufacturers and other companies who spent 10 years literally sitting in smoke-filled rooms, negotiating over things like: How many supports should there be inside the container? How thick should the end walls be? What should the door hinges look like? All of this seems really trivial, but economically, it made a big difference to the different companies...It made a difference to the cost of the container.

How companies are rethinking trade risk

41:08: I think companies have really devoted a lot more effort in the past couple of years to understanding how their supply chains work and looking for vulnerabilities. There are a couple of basic choices that they have got. One is that they can just keep more inventory, keep more stuff in the warehouse here in the States. Well, that is costly. First, you have to pay for it, and then you have to pay to store it. And it may go out of date depending upon what business you are in. But that is one way of reducing this risk

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Mon, 7 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It may be not much to look at, but the unassuming shipping container has had a massive impact on the global economy since its invention in the 1950s. The story of its rise as the dominant form of shipping is filled with dramatic turns and insights into the explosion of globalization.  

Marc Levinson is a journalist, economist, and a former senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. His books like, The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger and Outside the Box: How Globalization Changed from Moving Stuff to Spreading Ideas explore the complex economic history and unexpected impact of how goods make their way around the world. 

Marc and Greg discuss the labor-intensive nature of shipping before containerization, the union battles, regulatory hurdles, and the economic implications of adopting a standardized container. They also examine the unforeseen consequences of global supply chains and the evolving power dynamics between shippers and transporters.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The hidden globalization behind modern trade

47:48: The value of international trade of exports and imports is really based on transactions. Okay? One party is selling something to another party, and there is a price for that transaction. But what happens when you're looking at something on the internet? You're not paying any money to do that. You're just sitting at your computer. You do not know that the server that's offering you that page on the internet is actually based in a different country. That's an international exchange. It's not—there's not a transaction. This is not recorded as international trade, but it is. It's quite common now within large companies to have research operations in several countries. The researchers talk to one another all the time. They send each other emails all the time. And those ideas have economic benefit, but they do not have value that can be captured by national statistics. So we're having a much harder time keeping track of what is going on.

The unsung heroes behind global trade

28:27: The real heroes in the container story, I think, are the engineers from the ship lines and the container manufacturers and other companies who spent 10 years literally sitting in smoke-filled rooms, negotiating over things like: How many supports should there be inside the container? How thick should the end walls be? What should the door hinges look like? All of this seems really trivial, but economically, it made a big difference to the different companies...It made a difference to the cost of the container.

How companies are rethinking trade risk

41:08: I think companies have really devoted a lot more effort in the past couple of years to understanding how their supply chains work and looking for vulnerabilities. There are a couple of basic choices that they have got. One is that they can just keep more inventory, keep more stuff in the warehouse here in the States. Well, that is costly. First, you have to pay for it, and then you have to pay to store it. And it may go out of date depending upon what business you are in. But that is one way of reducing this risk

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 563. How the Container Changed the World feat. Marc Levinson Greg La Blanc 00:47:40 It may be not much to look at, but the unassuming shipping container has had a massive impact on the global economy since its invention in the 1950s. The story of its rise as the dominant form of shipping is filled with dramatic turns and insights into the explosion of globalization.  Marc Levinson is a journalist, economist, and a former senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. His books like, The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger and Outside the Box: How Globalization Changed from Moving Stuff to Spreading Ideas explore the complex economic history and unexpected impact of how goods make their way around the world. Marc and Greg discuss the labor-intensive nature of shipping before containerization, the union battles, regulatory hurdles, and the economic implications of adopting a standardized container. They also examine the unforeseen consequences of global supply chains and the evolving power dynamics between shippers and transporters. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* It may be not much to look at, but the unassuming shipping container has had a massive impact on the global economy since its invention in the 1950s. The story of its rise as the dominant form of shipping is filled with dramatic turns and insights into the explosion of globalization.  Marc Levinson is a journalist, economist, and a former senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. His books like, The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger and Outside the Box: How Globalization Changed from Moving Stuff to Spreading Ideas explore the complex economic history and unexpected impact of how goods make their way around the world. Marc and Greg discuss the labor-intensive nature of shipping before containerization, the union battles, regulatory hurdles, and the economic implications of adopting a standardized container. They also examine the unforeseen consequences of global supply chains and the evolving power dynamics between shippers and transporters. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 563 42be7be2-8580-491a-bbf3-f52086e67431 562. Decoding Digital Transformation Then and Now feat. David Rogers It might sound counterintuitive but digital transformation is not about technology. So, what does it mean for companies to keep up in an ever-evolving digital age? Well, according to today’s guest, it’s about having a “strategic imagination.”

David Rogers, an instructor at Columbia Business School, is an OG thinker on digital transformation. His books, The Digital Transformation Playbook: Rethink Your Business for the Digital Age and The Digital Transformation Roadmap: Rebuild Your Organization for Continuous Change, laid the foundation for an entire strategic approach to taking companies into the digital age. 

David and Greg delve deep into the misconceptions about digital transformation, emphasizing that it's not merely about technology but about strategic imagination and continuous organizational change. They discuss the evolution of digital transformation over the past decade, the importance of a well-defined strategic vision, and the roles of agile methodologies, hypothesis-driven experimentation, and cohesive leadership.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Digital transformation is about contexts

56:33: The question of digital transformation. It is not about bolting technology onto an existing company. It is about—really, it is about—how do we adapt an organization so that it can thrive in a digital context, right? The digital is actually about the context, not about what you are doing, even necessarily per se, inside the business. And to me, the most defining characteristic of the digital era is this accelerating change and accelerating and growing uncertainty that organizations have to cope with.

What makes an effective leader?

25:16: Effective leaders do not orient their job around making decisions primarily. What they are primarily trying to do is to define what truly matters, to then communicate that to others, achieve that kind of alignment and clarity that we are pulling in the same direction, and then to empower others—to enable the rest of the organization to do it.

Digital transformation is not about technology

10:28: Digital is not about the technology inside your company. It is not about the behaviors of the market and the customers. But it is more the context we are in, which is one of—not a change that happened in 1994 to 1996, or some other change. Oh, the shift to mobile. Oh, the shift to this. Let’s shift to the cloud. It is just one after another, and each wave of technology change is catalyzing the next. It is not just, “Oh, why are they each coming?” Well, each one is building on the one right before it. And so we are dealing with this pace of change and level of uncertainty; therefore, in your context, for any organization, that is unprecedented and certainly not what big organizations were built for and organized for in the 20th century.

Strategy as thinking discipline

34:39: Strategy is something you need to embed in every level of organization as a thinking discipline, which is about defining: what are we trying to achieve? What do we believe is a way—or the best way—to achieve that at this point in time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Fri, 4 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It might sound counterintuitive but digital transformation is not about technology. So, what does it mean for companies to keep up in an ever-evolving digital age? Well, according to today’s guest, it’s about having a “strategic imagination.”

David Rogers, an instructor at Columbia Business School, is an OG thinker on digital transformation. His books, The Digital Transformation Playbook: Rethink Your Business for the Digital Age and The Digital Transformation Roadmap: Rebuild Your Organization for Continuous Change, laid the foundation for an entire strategic approach to taking companies into the digital age. 

David and Greg delve deep into the misconceptions about digital transformation, emphasizing that it's not merely about technology but about strategic imagination and continuous organizational change. They discuss the evolution of digital transformation over the past decade, the importance of a well-defined strategic vision, and the roles of agile methodologies, hypothesis-driven experimentation, and cohesive leadership.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Digital transformation is about contexts

56:33: The question of digital transformation. It is not about bolting technology onto an existing company. It is about—really, it is about—how do we adapt an organization so that it can thrive in a digital context, right? The digital is actually about the context, not about what you are doing, even necessarily per se, inside the business. And to me, the most defining characteristic of the digital era is this accelerating change and accelerating and growing uncertainty that organizations have to cope with.

What makes an effective leader?

25:16: Effective leaders do not orient their job around making decisions primarily. What they are primarily trying to do is to define what truly matters, to then communicate that to others, achieve that kind of alignment and clarity that we are pulling in the same direction, and then to empower others—to enable the rest of the organization to do it.

Digital transformation is not about technology

10:28: Digital is not about the technology inside your company. It is not about the behaviors of the market and the customers. But it is more the context we are in, which is one of—not a change that happened in 1994 to 1996, or some other change. Oh, the shift to mobile. Oh, the shift to this. Let’s shift to the cloud. It is just one after another, and each wave of technology change is catalyzing the next. It is not just, “Oh, why are they each coming?” Well, each one is building on the one right before it. And so we are dealing with this pace of change and level of uncertainty; therefore, in your context, for any organization, that is unprecedented and certainly not what big organizations were built for and organized for in the 20th century.

Strategy as thinking discipline

34:39: Strategy is something you need to embed in every level of organization as a thinking discipline, which is about defining: what are we trying to achieve? What do we believe is a way—or the best way—to achieve that at this point in time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 562. Decoding Digital Transformation Then and Now feat. David Rogers Greg La Blanc 01:00:58 It might sound counterintuitive but digital transformation is not about technology. So, what does it mean for companies to keep up in an ever-evolving digital age? Well, according to today’s guest, it’s about having a “strategic imagination.” David Rogers, an instructor at Columbia Business School, is an OG thinker on digital transformation. His books, The Digital Transformation Playbook: Rethink Your Business for the Digital Age and The Digital Transformation Roadmap: Rebuild Your Organization for Continuous Change, laid the foundation for an entire strategic approach to taking companies into the digital age. David and Greg delve deep into the misconceptions about digital transformation, emphasizing that it's not merely about technology but about strategic imagination and continuous organizational change. They discuss the evolution of digital transformation over the past decade, the importance of a well-defined strategic vision, and the roles of agile methodologies, hypothesis-driven experimentation, and cohesive leadership. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* It might sound counterintuitive but digital transformation is not about technology. So, what does it mean for companies to keep up in an ever-evolving digital age? Well, according to today’s guest, it’s about having a “strategic imagination.” David Rogers, an instructor at Columbia Business School, is an OG thinker on digital transformation. His books, The Digital Transformation Playbook: Rethink Your Business for the Digital Age and The Digital Transformation Roadmap: Rebuild Your Organization for Continuous Change, laid the foundation for an entire strategic approach to taking companies into the digital age. David and Greg delve deep into the misconceptions about digital transformation, emphasizing that it's not merely about technology but about strategic imagination and continuous organizational change. They discuss the evolution of digital transformation over the past decade, the importance of a well-defined strategic vision, and the roles of agile methodologies, hypothesis-driven experimentation, and cohesive leadership. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 562 01d20976-e7a6-4d14-b4d0-c6cb29d30bca 561. Exploring The Human Drive to Explore feat. Alex Hutchinson What drives humans to seek and discover the previously unknown? Does the wanderlust that so many of us share in common have a scientific explanation? 

Science journalist Alex Hutchinson is the author of The Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, as well as the book Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. His work focuses on expanding our understanding of human performance, particularly in relation to fitness, sports, and outdoor activities. 

Alex and Greg delve into what it means to have the “Explorer’s Gene,” the evolutionary benefits of seeking novelty, and the psychological aspects of exploring, including the balance between the impulse to explore and the necessity to exploit known resources.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is defining exploration so tricky?

33:56: What do you mean by exploring? Well, on one extreme, it can be like, well, if you are the first person to do this ever, then you are exploring. And that is a very narrow definition that not many of us will ever satisfy. The other definition is like, hey, I am changing the channel on TV and therefore I am exploring the airwaves. And that is also not very meaningful. Then, like, everything we do is exploring.

So, somewhere in the middle, there is a definition that I think is useful. And part of that definition, I think, is that it is—you know, a meaningful form of exploration inevitably involves some struggle. It involves the risk of failure. It does not have to be physical struggle, but it involves some risks, some challenge.

Is technology making us passive explorers?

33:02: Technologies make us more passive in our explorations. There is something lost in the quality of our experience, in how much we enjoy it, and then also in how much we learn about the world from those experiences.

Why are we drawn to solving uncertainty?

24:37: The subjective sense that life is good—like the feeling that you are happy and good and satisfied—is a manifestation of the fact that you are reducing uncertainty quickly. That this is like you are learning about the world, things are going well. And so, when we talk about exploring and curiosity, we are looking for opportunities to get this steepest slope that we can surf down, where we are reducing uncertainty quickly.

Why a changing world demands exploration

18:56: If the world was stationary—in the bandit literature, they talk about stationary bandits and restless bandits. So, stationary bandits are like, if the slot machine pays off 62% of the time, it is always going to pay off 62% of the time. If the world was like that, then there might be a case for locking yourself in a closet, or at least some equivalent of, like, you do not need to explore quite so much—let us just figure out a comfortable way of living and let us do that. The problem is, the world never stays stationary. So, what worked yesterday may not work as well today, and almost certainly, eventually there will come a time where it is not working. We have to keep adapting. And so, in these lab areas, you can show that the more restless the world—the greater the changes in the reward functions around you—the more valuable exploration is.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> Wed, 2 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What drives humans to seek and discover the previously unknown? Does the wanderlust that so many of us share in common have a scientific explanation? 

Science journalist Alex Hutchinson is the author of The Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, as well as the book Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. His work focuses on expanding our understanding of human performance, particularly in relation to fitness, sports, and outdoor activities. 

Alex and Greg delve into what it means to have the “Explorer’s Gene,” the evolutionary benefits of seeking novelty, and the psychological aspects of exploring, including the balance between the impulse to explore and the necessity to exploit known resources.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is defining exploration so tricky?

33:56: What do you mean by exploring? Well, on one extreme, it can be like, well, if you are the first person to do this ever, then you are exploring. And that is a very narrow definition that not many of us will ever satisfy. The other definition is like, hey, I am changing the channel on TV and therefore I am exploring the airwaves. And that is also not very meaningful. Then, like, everything we do is exploring.

So, somewhere in the middle, there is a definition that I think is useful. And part of that definition, I think, is that it is—you know, a meaningful form of exploration inevitably involves some struggle. It involves the risk of failure. It does not have to be physical struggle, but it involves some risks, some challenge.

Is technology making us passive explorers?

33:02: Technologies make us more passive in our explorations. There is something lost in the quality of our experience, in how much we enjoy it, and then also in how much we learn about the world from those experiences.

Why are we drawn to solving uncertainty?

24:37: The subjective sense that life is good—like the feeling that you are happy and good and satisfied—is a manifestation of the fact that you are reducing uncertainty quickly. That this is like you are learning about the world, things are going well. And so, when we talk about exploring and curiosity, we are looking for opportunities to get this steepest slope that we can surf down, where we are reducing uncertainty quickly.

Why a changing world demands exploration

18:56: If the world was stationary—in the bandit literature, they talk about stationary bandits and restless bandits. So, stationary bandits are like, if the slot machine pays off 62% of the time, it is always going to pay off 62% of the time. If the world was like that, then there might be a case for locking yourself in a closet, or at least some equivalent of, like, you do not need to explore quite so much—let us just figure out a comfortable way of living and let us do that. The problem is, the world never stays stationary. So, what worked yesterday may not work as well today, and almost certainly, eventually there will come a time where it is not working. We have to keep adapting. And so, in these lab areas, you can show that the more restless the world—the greater the changes in the reward functions around you—the more valuable exploration is.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 561. Exploring The Human Drive to Explore feat. Alex Hutchinson Greg La Blanc 00:51:40 What drives humans to seek and discover the previously unknown? Does the wanderlust that so many of us share in common have a scientific explanation? Science journalist Alex Hutchinson is the author of The Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, as well as the book Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. His work focuses on expanding our understanding of human performance, particularly in relation to fitness, sports, and outdoor activities. Alex and Greg delve into what it means to have the “Explorer’s Gene,” the evolutionary benefits of seeking novelty, and the psychological aspects of exploring, including the balance between the impulse to explore and the necessity to exploit known resources. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What drives humans to seek and discover the previously unknown? Does the wanderlust that so many of us share in common have a scientific explanation? Science journalist Alex Hutchinson is the author of The Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, as well as the book Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. His work focuses on expanding our understanding of human performance, particularly in relation to fitness, sports, and outdoor activities. Alex and Greg delve into what it means to have the “Explorer’s Gene,” the evolutionary benefits of seeking novelty, and the psychological aspects of exploring, including the balance between the impulse to explore and the necessity to exploit known resources. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 561 5d87e9c2-2104-40d0-bc1c-cdf338264ec3 560. Mastering Distraction at Work and in Life with Nir Eyal Being easily distracted by the latest technologies has been a consistent feature of the human race since the time of Plato. But is the technology to blame? Or is the key to being more productive and present in life have to do with forming healthy habits around the technology?

Nir Eyal, writer, consultant, and former lecturer in marketing at Stanford, is the author of Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life and Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. In his work, Nir explores the psychology behind habit-forming technology.

Nir and Greg discuss the positive applications of habit-forming technologies, the timeless nature of distraction, the importance of forethought in combating impulsiveness, and practical strategies for becoming “Indistractable.” 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The antidote to impulsiveness is forethought

15:32: Studies have found that 90% of your distractions are not external triggers. They do not come from the outside world. Ninety percent of the time you check your phone, you check your phone not because of a ping, ding, or ring, but because of an internal trigger. Because 90% of distractions begin from within. They start because of these internal triggers. What are internal triggers? Internal triggers are uncomfortable emotional states—boredom, loneliness, fatigue, uncertainty, anxiety. This is the source of 90% of our distractions. So what that means is, when you let those impulses take over, right? The antidote to impulsiveness is forethought. When you allow yourself to check social media or watch something on the news or whatever it is that is not what you want to do, because of an immediate sensation, that tends to be, 90% of the time, the source of the problem. That is when it becomes something of, “Oh my gosh, what was I doing? I wasted the whole day worrying about somebody else's problems online,” as opposed to what I really need to do. Whereas if you plan that time in advance, it is fine. There is nothing wrong with it.

How do you become indistractable?

50:42: The first step to becoming indistractable is mastering internal triggers, or they will master you. So you can have the best tools, the best life hacks, the best—all that stuff. But if fundamentally you do not know how to deal with that sensation, you do not know how to process boredom, loneliness, fatigue, uncertainty, anxiety—if you do not know what to do with that sensation—you are always going to find a way to escape.

Humans adapt and adopt with every new technology

07:29: The solution is not to abandon the technology. The solution is to make it better, to do what we as Homo sapiens have always done. We have always done two things in the face of dramatic technological innovation. What we have done is to adapt and to adopt, right? We adapt our behaviors. We adapt to new social norms. We adapt to the downsides of these behaviors by changing our manners, and then we adopt new technologies to fix the last generation of technologies.

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]]> Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Being easily distracted by the latest technologies has been a consistent feature of the human race since the time of Plato. But is the technology to blame? Or is the key to being more productive and present in life have to do with forming healthy habits around the technology?

Nir Eyal, writer, consultant, and former lecturer in marketing at Stanford, is the author of Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life and Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. In his work, Nir explores the psychology behind habit-forming technology.

Nir and Greg discuss the positive applications of habit-forming technologies, the timeless nature of distraction, the importance of forethought in combating impulsiveness, and practical strategies for becoming “Indistractable.” 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The antidote to impulsiveness is forethought

15:32: Studies have found that 90% of your distractions are not external triggers. They do not come from the outside world. Ninety percent of the time you check your phone, you check your phone not because of a ping, ding, or ring, but because of an internal trigger. Because 90% of distractions begin from within. They start because of these internal triggers. What are internal triggers? Internal triggers are uncomfortable emotional states—boredom, loneliness, fatigue, uncertainty, anxiety. This is the source of 90% of our distractions. So what that means is, when you let those impulses take over, right? The antidote to impulsiveness is forethought. When you allow yourself to check social media or watch something on the news or whatever it is that is not what you want to do, because of an immediate sensation, that tends to be, 90% of the time, the source of the problem. That is when it becomes something of, “Oh my gosh, what was I doing? I wasted the whole day worrying about somebody else's problems online,” as opposed to what I really need to do. Whereas if you plan that time in advance, it is fine. There is nothing wrong with it.

How do you become indistractable?

50:42: The first step to becoming indistractable is mastering internal triggers, or they will master you. So you can have the best tools, the best life hacks, the best—all that stuff. But if fundamentally you do not know how to deal with that sensation, you do not know how to process boredom, loneliness, fatigue, uncertainty, anxiety—if you do not know what to do with that sensation—you are always going to find a way to escape.

Humans adapt and adopt with every new technology

07:29: The solution is not to abandon the technology. The solution is to make it better, to do what we as Homo sapiens have always done. We have always done two things in the face of dramatic technological innovation. What we have done is to adapt and to adopt, right? We adapt our behaviors. We adapt to new social norms. We adapt to the downsides of these behaviors by changing our manners, and then we adopt new technologies to fix the last generation of technologies.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 560. Mastering Distraction at Work and in Life with Nir Eyal Greg La Blanc 00:51:28 Being easily distracted by the latest technologies has been a consistent feature of the human race since the time of Plato. But is the technology to blame? Or is the key to being more productive and present in life have to do with forming healthy habits around the technology? Nir Eyal, writer, consultant, and former lecturer in marketing at Stanford, is the author of Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life and Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. In his work, Nir explores the psychology behind habit-forming technology. Nir and Greg discuss the positive applications of habit-forming technologies, the timeless nature of distraction, the importance of forethought in combating impulsiveness, and practical strategies for becoming “Indistractable.” *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Being easily distracted by the latest technologies has been a consistent feature of the human race since the time of Plato. But is the technology to blame? Or is the key to being more productive and present in life have to do with forming healthy habits around the technology? Nir Eyal, writer, consultant, and former lecturer in marketing at Stanford, is the author of Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life and Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. In his work, Nir explores the psychology behind habit-forming technology. Nir and Greg discuss the positive applications of habit-forming technologies, the timeless nature of distraction, the importance of forethought in combating impulsiveness, and practical strategies for becoming “Indistractable.” *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 560 d49ed5d2-2e26-4ff2-99be-7ef9115b01fa 559. Modeling Persuasion and Connectivity: From Pandemics to Finance feat. Adam Kucharski There is a shift happening in the complex world of proof. Simulation and probabilistic approaches are increasingly accepted as ‘good enough’ in areas traditionally dominated by exact proofs. Persuasion depends on the degree of certainty needed.

Adam Kucharski is a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and also the author of three books, Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty, The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread--And Why They Stop, and The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling.

Greg and Adam discuss the versatile concept of 'proof', examining how it applies differently across mathematics, law, medicine, and practical decision-making. Adam discusses the challenges of proving concepts under uncertainty, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of intuition versus formal modeling in various fields. They also explore the crossover of epidemiological principles into finance, marketing, cybersecurity, and online content dynamics, illustrating the universal relevance of contagion theories. 

The episode highlights how simulation and probabilistic approaches are increasingly accepted in areas traditionally dominated by exact proofs.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The gap between science and policy

09:25: One of the challenges we had in COVID is this dimension of a problem where all directions had a lot of enormous downsides, and countries were having to make that under pressure. And even one of the things that I think I did not really appreciate at the time was, even later in the year, when a lot of these questions about the severity, a lot of these questions about transmission, had really been resolved because we had much better data. We still had a lot of this tension demanding, "Oh, we cannot be sure about something," or "You know, we need much, much higher evidence." And I think that is the gap between where kind of science lies and where policy lies.

It’s not the content, it’s the contagion

37:59: I think a lot of people think about the content, but obviously it is not just, "It is something goes viral." It is not just about the content. It is not about what you have written; it is about the network through which it is spreading. It is about the susceptibility of that network. It is about the medium you use. Do you have it that lingers somewhere? Is it just something you stick on the feed and it kind of vanishes? So, there is a direct analogy there with the different elements and how they trade off in ultimately what you see in terms of spread.

What human networks can’t teach us about machines

46:35: One thing that is really interesting about computer systems is the variation in contacts you see in the network is enormous. You basically get some hubs that are just connected to a huge number of computers, and some are connected to very few at all. So that makes the transmission much burster.

It is not like—so humans have some variation in their contacts—but most people have about 10 contacts a day, in terms of conversations or people they exchange words with. Some more, some less, but you do not have people generally have like 10,000 contacts in a day, whereas in computers you can have that. So it makes the potential for some things to actually persist at quite low levels for quite a long time because it will kind of hit this application and then simmer along, and then hit another one and simmer along.

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

]]> Fri, 27 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There is a shift happening in the complex world of proof. Simulation and probabilistic approaches are increasingly accepted as ‘good enough’ in areas traditionally dominated by exact proofs. Persuasion depends on the degree of certainty needed.

Adam Kucharski is a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and also the author of three books, Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty, The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread--And Why They Stop, and The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling.

Greg and Adam discuss the versatile concept of 'proof', examining how it applies differently across mathematics, law, medicine, and practical decision-making. Adam discusses the challenges of proving concepts under uncertainty, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of intuition versus formal modeling in various fields. They also explore the crossover of epidemiological principles into finance, marketing, cybersecurity, and online content dynamics, illustrating the universal relevance of contagion theories. 

The episode highlights how simulation and probabilistic approaches are increasingly accepted in areas traditionally dominated by exact proofs.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The gap between science and policy

09:25: One of the challenges we had in COVID is this dimension of a problem where all directions had a lot of enormous downsides, and countries were having to make that under pressure. And even one of the things that I think I did not really appreciate at the time was, even later in the year, when a lot of these questions about the severity, a lot of these questions about transmission, had really been resolved because we had much better data. We still had a lot of this tension demanding, "Oh, we cannot be sure about something," or "You know, we need much, much higher evidence." And I think that is the gap between where kind of science lies and where policy lies.

It’s not the content, it’s the contagion

37:59: I think a lot of people think about the content, but obviously it is not just, "It is something goes viral." It is not just about the content. It is not about what you have written; it is about the network through which it is spreading. It is about the susceptibility of that network. It is about the medium you use. Do you have it that lingers somewhere? Is it just something you stick on the feed and it kind of vanishes? So, there is a direct analogy there with the different elements and how they trade off in ultimately what you see in terms of spread.

What human networks can’t teach us about machines

46:35: One thing that is really interesting about computer systems is the variation in contacts you see in the network is enormous. You basically get some hubs that are just connected to a huge number of computers, and some are connected to very few at all. So that makes the transmission much burster.

It is not like—so humans have some variation in their contacts—but most people have about 10 contacts a day, in terms of conversations or people they exchange words with. Some more, some less, but you do not have people generally have like 10,000 contacts in a day, whereas in computers you can have that. So it makes the potential for some things to actually persist at quite low levels for quite a long time because it will kind of hit this application and then simmer along, and then hit another one and simmer along.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Guest Work:


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

]]> 559. Modeling Persuasion and Connectivity: From Pandemics to Finance feat. Adam Kucharski Greg La Blanc 00:54:40 There is a shift happening in the complex world of proof. Simulation and probabilistic approaches are increasingly accepted as ‘good enough’ in areas traditionally dominated by exact proofs. Persuasion depends on the degree of certainty needed. Adam Kucharski is a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and also the author of three books, Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty, The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread--And Why They Stop, and The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling. Greg and Adam discuss the versatile concept of 'proof', examining how it applies differently across mathematics, law, medicine, and practical decision-making. Adam discusses the challenges of proving concepts under uncertainty, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of intuition versus formal modeling in various fields. They also explore the crossover of epidemiological principles into finance, marketing, cybersecurity, and online content dynamics, illustrating the universal relevance of contagion theories. The episode highlights how simulation and probabilistic approaches are increasingly accepted in areas traditionally dominated by exact proofs. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* There is a shift happening in the complex world of proof. Simulation and probabilistic approaches are increasingly accepted as ‘good enough’ in areas traditionally dominated by exact proofs. Persuasion depends on the degree of certainty needed. Adam Kucharski is a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and also the author of three books, Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty, The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread--And Why They Stop, and The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling. Greg and Adam discuss the versatile concept of 'proof', examining how it applies differently across mathematics, law, medicine, and practical decision-making. Adam discusses the challenges of proving concepts under uncertainty, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of intuition versus formal modeling in various fields. They also explore the crossover of epidemiological principles into finance, marketing, cybersecurity, and online content dynamics, illustrating the universal relevance of contagion theories. The episode highlights how simulation and probabilistic approaches are increasingly accepted in areas traditionally dominated by exact proofs. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 559 cf1491e2-2310-41c8-957b-d9569345abce 558. The Psychology Behind Morality and Empathy feat. Kurt Gray How do individuals navigate moral typecasting? What is the dual nature of empathy in the context of human pain and suffering? When is there a disconnect between the perceptions of what is right and what is moral?

Kurt Gray is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. In the autumn of 2025, he will join the faculty of the Department of Psychology at Ohio State University. He’s also an author, and his books are titled Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground and The Mind Club: Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters.

Greg and Kurt discuss Kurt’s work at the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. Their conversation covers key topics such as how moral disagreements are rooted in differing perceptions of harm, the impact of evolutionary psychology, and the role of empathy in bridging divides. Kurt also shares insights from his classroom experiences on fostering understanding among students.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How can pain and suffering change your view about empathy?

43:00: There are two ways, right? That pain and suffering could change your views of empathy. And I should say there are some people who do experience a lot of pain and suffering and then do not feel sympathy...[43:16] Everyone suffers. Just like, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, dust yourself off and get hard, get tough. But for the most part, if you suffered a lot in life, you can kind of recognize that it's tough sometimes to be a human being and that you have more sympathy for others, at least more so than people who never suffered in their lives, right? But I think the way that pain causes you to have less empathy is if you're in pain right now. Right? So if you are standing in, you know, a pile of razor blades, it's hard to be really empathic for someone—you know, someone's situation, right?—because you're so focused. Like, pain just overwhelms your entire consciousness. So never try to get empathy from someone who is actively in pain, but I think instead, reach out to people who, you know, have gone through a similar thing.

Moral understanding begins with human contact

40:46: The more you have sustained contact with people who are different than you, you show more moral understanding.

When recognizing pain depends on perception

27:13: When it comes to the ability to suffer, pain like that is ultimately a matter of perception. Like, you can, you know, agency—someone is intending—you can see that more on the surface, right? Like, I am going to think and I will do something—that is agency. But if you start crying, like, are you a method actor? Are you actually in tears? Are those crocodile tears? So, questions of pain are easy to accept when it is your family or your friends. Perhaps when someone is very different than you, or maybe you are locked in a conflict with someone and they are crying, right? It is much harder to take their pain as authentic.

Understanding starts with stories not arguments

30:53: Stories are a way of sharing one true thing, shall we say, right? This thing happened to me, and it's not a talking point I heard on the radio. It actually happened to me, and let me tell you about it so that you can better understand me. I think it's powerful because it's not the thing that you're going to use to persuade in policy, let's say—although, often, stories are persuasive in policy—but instead it's a way of saying, here's where I'm coming from. Can you understand where I'm coming from? And that's a great place for a conversation to start. Right now, I understand you're a person, I'm a person, and let's explore our perspectives rather than argue about complex policy issues.

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

]]> Wed, 25 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do individuals navigate moral typecasting? What is the dual nature of empathy in the context of human pain and suffering? When is there a disconnect between the perceptions of what is right and what is moral?

Kurt Gray is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. In the autumn of 2025, he will join the faculty of the Department of Psychology at Ohio State University. He’s also an author, and his books are titled Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground and The Mind Club: Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters.

Greg and Kurt discuss Kurt’s work at the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. Their conversation covers key topics such as how moral disagreements are rooted in differing perceptions of harm, the impact of evolutionary psychology, and the role of empathy in bridging divides. Kurt also shares insights from his classroom experiences on fostering understanding among students.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How can pain and suffering change your view about empathy?

43:00: There are two ways, right? That pain and suffering could change your views of empathy. And I should say there are some people who do experience a lot of pain and suffering and then do not feel sympathy...[43:16] Everyone suffers. Just like, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, dust yourself off and get hard, get tough. But for the most part, if you suffered a lot in life, you can kind of recognize that it's tough sometimes to be a human being and that you have more sympathy for others, at least more so than people who never suffered in their lives, right? But I think the way that pain causes you to have less empathy is if you're in pain right now. Right? So if you are standing in, you know, a pile of razor blades, it's hard to be really empathic for someone—you know, someone's situation, right?—because you're so focused. Like, pain just overwhelms your entire consciousness. So never try to get empathy from someone who is actively in pain, but I think instead, reach out to people who, you know, have gone through a similar thing.

Moral understanding begins with human contact

40:46: The more you have sustained contact with people who are different than you, you show more moral understanding.

When recognizing pain depends on perception

27:13: When it comes to the ability to suffer, pain like that is ultimately a matter of perception. Like, you can, you know, agency—someone is intending—you can see that more on the surface, right? Like, I am going to think and I will do something—that is agency. But if you start crying, like, are you a method actor? Are you actually in tears? Are those crocodile tears? So, questions of pain are easy to accept when it is your family or your friends. Perhaps when someone is very different than you, or maybe you are locked in a conflict with someone and they are crying, right? It is much harder to take their pain as authentic.

Understanding starts with stories not arguments

30:53: Stories are a way of sharing one true thing, shall we say, right? This thing happened to me, and it's not a talking point I heard on the radio. It actually happened to me, and let me tell you about it so that you can better understand me. I think it's powerful because it's not the thing that you're going to use to persuade in policy, let's say—although, often, stories are persuasive in policy—but instead it's a way of saying, here's where I'm coming from. Can you understand where I'm coming from? And that's a great place for a conversation to start. Right now, I understand you're a person, I'm a person, and let's explore our perspectives rather than argue about complex policy issues.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 558. The Psychology Behind Morality and Empathy feat. Kurt Gray Greg La Blanc 00:47:47 How do individuals navigate moral typecasting? What is the dual nature of empathy in the context of human pain and suffering? When is there a disconnect between the perceptions of what is right and what is moral? Kurt Gray is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. In the autumn of 2025, he will join the faculty of the Department of Psychology at Ohio State University. He’s also an author, and his books are titled Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground and The Mind Club: Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters. Greg and Kurt discuss Kurt’s work at the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. Their conversation covers key topics such as how moral disagreements are rooted in differing perceptions of harm, the impact of evolutionary psychology, and the role of empathy in bridging divides. Kurt also shares insights from his classroom experiences on fostering understanding among students. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How do individuals navigate moral typecasting? What is the dual nature of empathy in the context of human pain and suffering? When is there a disconnect between the perceptions of what is right and what is moral? Kurt Gray is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. In the autumn of 2025, he will join the faculty of the Department of Psychology at Ohio State University. He’s also an author, and his books are titled Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground and The Mind Club: Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters. Greg and Kurt discuss Kurt’s work at the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. Their conversation covers key topics such as how moral disagreements are rooted in differing perceptions of harm, the impact of evolutionary psychology, and the role of empathy in bridging divides. Kurt also shares insights from his classroom experiences on fostering understanding among students. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 558 3f51f3f0-5e60-4977-b790-6380a4c22ada 557. Beyond The Myth of Silicon Valley’s Origins feat. Margaret O’Mara You know what they say — Silicon Valley wasn’t built in a day, nor was it built by just a small group of tech gurus. In fact, the origin story of the Valley is a complex story involving government, industry, and academia.

Margaret O’Mara is a history professor at the University of Washington. Her latest book, The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America gives an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the tech empire, and how it’s grown into an economic engine. 

Margaret and Greg discuss the significant role the government played in the early days of Silicon Valley, key historical figures in the region’s rise to prominence and factors that set it apart from other tech hubs like Boston, and how the ecosystem has evolved alongside politics, technology, and cultural shifts. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How storytelling built Silicon Valley’s legacy

31:59: I think there's the story of the products, and then there's the story of the place, the story of the guys in garages. The story of this entrepreneurial genius, and that's a great, great story. It's part of the story. It leaves out this bigger landscape of government and society and people who are non-technical people, the Regis McKenna’s of the world, who are so instrumental in making all this happen. But it's—I mean, I know as a historian—storytelling is powerful. That's how you help people understand and relate. And so Silicon Valley has been such a good storyteller.

Why everyone should understand tech history

04:27: It's really important for all of us as users of this technology to have a way to understand it and understand its history. Even if we don't know, even if we aren't programmers ourselves.

Meritocracy alone hasn’t changed the face of power

53:16: We're seeing the people at the very, very top of power and influence are more homogenous than ever, which is showing that this meritocracy, this idea, just doesn't—only goes so far. So understanding the history kind of helps, I think, is really important in kind of getting why. Okay, why has this not changed? Why is this so baked into the model? But it also doesn't mean that we should just throw up our hands and say, well, this is the way it is.

Federal research grants built founders not just labs

11:57: Research money for universities is not only seeding basic research in labs and then seeding spinoff companies and commercializing technologies from those labs, but it's also educating people. When you look, kind of dollar for dollar, about, you know—when you look at Stanford, for example, if you just look at the tech space—I think biotech is different. Medical sciences are different because you have more of that kind of pipeline from lab to startup in that space. But when you're looking at computer hardware and software, it's more about the people that went to Stanford that went on to found companies, right? Everyone from Hewlett and Packard to Brin and Page and everyone in between. That is, it's kind of a people factory, so that's part of it. And that federal money is paying for people for science and engineering programs. So that's a really important component.

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]]> Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast You know what they say — Silicon Valley wasn’t built in a day, nor was it built by just a small group of tech gurus. In fact, the origin story of the Valley is a complex story involving government, industry, and academia.

Margaret O’Mara is a history professor at the University of Washington. Her latest book, The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America gives an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the tech empire, and how it’s grown into an economic engine. 

Margaret and Greg discuss the significant role the government played in the early days of Silicon Valley, key historical figures in the region’s rise to prominence and factors that set it apart from other tech hubs like Boston, and how the ecosystem has evolved alongside politics, technology, and cultural shifts. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How storytelling built Silicon Valley’s legacy

31:59: I think there's the story of the products, and then there's the story of the place, the story of the guys in garages. The story of this entrepreneurial genius, and that's a great, great story. It's part of the story. It leaves out this bigger landscape of government and society and people who are non-technical people, the Regis McKenna’s of the world, who are so instrumental in making all this happen. But it's—I mean, I know as a historian—storytelling is powerful. That's how you help people understand and relate. And so Silicon Valley has been such a good storyteller.

Why everyone should understand tech history

04:27: It's really important for all of us as users of this technology to have a way to understand it and understand its history. Even if we don't know, even if we aren't programmers ourselves.

Meritocracy alone hasn’t changed the face of power

53:16: We're seeing the people at the very, very top of power and influence are more homogenous than ever, which is showing that this meritocracy, this idea, just doesn't—only goes so far. So understanding the history kind of helps, I think, is really important in kind of getting why. Okay, why has this not changed? Why is this so baked into the model? But it also doesn't mean that we should just throw up our hands and say, well, this is the way it is.

Federal research grants built founders not just labs

11:57: Research money for universities is not only seeding basic research in labs and then seeding spinoff companies and commercializing technologies from those labs, but it's also educating people. When you look, kind of dollar for dollar, about, you know—when you look at Stanford, for example, if you just look at the tech space—I think biotech is different. Medical sciences are different because you have more of that kind of pipeline from lab to startup in that space. But when you're looking at computer hardware and software, it's more about the people that went to Stanford that went on to found companies, right? Everyone from Hewlett and Packard to Brin and Page and everyone in between. That is, it's kind of a people factory, so that's part of it. And that federal money is paying for people for science and engineering programs. So that's a really important component.

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]]> 557. Beyond The Myth of Silicon Valley’s Origins feat. Margaret O’Mara Greg La Blanc 00:51:45 You know what they say — Silicon Valley wasn’t built in a day, nor was it built by just a small group of tech gurus. In fact, the origin story of the Valley is a complex story involving government, industry, and academia. Margaret O’Mara is a history professor at the University of Washington. Her latest book, The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America gives an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the tech empire, and how it’s grown into an economic engine. Margaret and Greg discuss the significant role the government played in the early days of Silicon Valley, key historical figures in the region’s rise to prominence and factors that set it apart from other tech hubs like Boston, and how the ecosystem has evolved alongside politics, technology, and cultural shifts. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* You know what they say — Silicon Valley wasn’t built in a day, nor was it built by just a small group of tech gurus. In fact, the origin story of the Valley is a complex story involving government, industry, and academia. Margaret O’Mara is a history professor at the University of Washington. Her latest book, The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America gives an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the tech empire, and how it’s grown into an economic engine. Margaret and Greg discuss the significant role the government played in the early days of Silicon Valley, key historical figures in the region’s rise to prominence and factors that set it apart from other tech hubs like Boston, and how the ecosystem has evolved alongside politics, technology, and cultural shifts. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 557 aa126540-8e34-40a4-971d-47379d027f31 556. Rewriting Your Personality and Overcoming Anxiety feat. Olga Khazan Are there ways to change your personality? What traits are easier to change than others? How does environment and life events tend to influence the Big Five traits of your personality?

Olga Khazan is a staff writer at The Atlantic magazine and also the author of the books Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change and Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World.

Greg and Olga discuss the concept of personality change, focusing on the Big Five personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Olga shares her personal journey of attempting to modify her own traits, the challenges faced, and the various techniques used, such as meditation, improv, and volunteering. They also talk about the implications of personality change in different environments, the heritability of traits, and the broader significance of these changes for personal and professional growth.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The case for volitional personality change

12:03; Everyone will change slightly, even if they do not do anything. So you can just, like, buckle up and enjoy the ride, I guess. The maturity principle — like people become less neurotic, more conscientious over time — so those are positive changes, and most of us will kind of enjoy those. But volitional personality change, which is what my book is really about, is trying to make a more pronounced change in a shorter period of time. And the kind of type of thing I am talking about is, like, starting therapy. Like most people, if they have a problem, they do not kind of sit back and say, "This problem will eventually go away, so I am not going to get therapy." You know, they are like, "I want to go see a therapist because I want this process to resolve faster — like, want to get over this problem sooner." And so, it is similar with volitional personality changes: you are noticing a problem in your life, and you are taking steps to change it faster than it would change naturally.

Why extroverts are often happier

22:40: Extroversion is important. Most studies show that extroverts are happier. That's just because they have more social connections... There's just something about being seen by other people, feeling like you're part of a community, feeling like you matter, that is really beneficial for health and can't be replicated by reading a book or watching a TV show.

Neuroticism and safety vs. risk

25:37: Neuroticism will keep you very safe because you will never do anything. But you have to ask yourself whether you want a life where you've never taken any risks. 'Cause that's also part of it.

What improv can teach you about being open

20:37: What improv is really good at is, if you are someone who is very controlling of situations or likes to be in control, it completely breaks you of that immediately because there is absolutely no way to control what's happening in improv. Everything is so made up and so confusing, and so you have to like to be in the moment and just pivot on the spot with whatever's happening. And for me, that really helped with extroversion, but also kind of just some of the parts of me that were kind of not willing to be extroverted.

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]]> Fri, 20 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Are there ways to change your personality? What traits are easier to change than others? How does environment and life events tend to influence the Big Five traits of your personality?

Olga Khazan is a staff writer at The Atlantic magazine and also the author of the books Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change and Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World.

Greg and Olga discuss the concept of personality change, focusing on the Big Five personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Olga shares her personal journey of attempting to modify her own traits, the challenges faced, and the various techniques used, such as meditation, improv, and volunteering. They also talk about the implications of personality change in different environments, the heritability of traits, and the broader significance of these changes for personal and professional growth.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The case for volitional personality change

12:03; Everyone will change slightly, even if they do not do anything. So you can just, like, buckle up and enjoy the ride, I guess. The maturity principle — like people become less neurotic, more conscientious over time — so those are positive changes, and most of us will kind of enjoy those. But volitional personality change, which is what my book is really about, is trying to make a more pronounced change in a shorter period of time. And the kind of type of thing I am talking about is, like, starting therapy. Like most people, if they have a problem, they do not kind of sit back and say, "This problem will eventually go away, so I am not going to get therapy." You know, they are like, "I want to go see a therapist because I want this process to resolve faster — like, want to get over this problem sooner." And so, it is similar with volitional personality changes: you are noticing a problem in your life, and you are taking steps to change it faster than it would change naturally.

Why extroverts are often happier

22:40: Extroversion is important. Most studies show that extroverts are happier. That's just because they have more social connections... There's just something about being seen by other people, feeling like you're part of a community, feeling like you matter, that is really beneficial for health and can't be replicated by reading a book or watching a TV show.

Neuroticism and safety vs. risk

25:37: Neuroticism will keep you very safe because you will never do anything. But you have to ask yourself whether you want a life where you've never taken any risks. 'Cause that's also part of it.

What improv can teach you about being open

20:37: What improv is really good at is, if you are someone who is very controlling of situations or likes to be in control, it completely breaks you of that immediately because there is absolutely no way to control what's happening in improv. Everything is so made up and so confusing, and so you have to like to be in the moment and just pivot on the spot with whatever's happening. And for me, that really helped with extroversion, but also kind of just some of the parts of me that were kind of not willing to be extroverted.

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Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> 556. Rewriting Your Personality and Overcoming Anxiety feat. Olga Khazan Greg La Blanc 00:41:47 Are there ways to change your personality? What traits are easier to change than others? How does environment and life events tend to influence the Big Five traits of your personality? Olga Khazan is a staff writer at The Atlantic magazine and also the author of the books Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change and Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World. Greg and Olga discuss the concept of personality change, focusing on the Big Five personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Olga shares her personal journey of attempting to modify her own traits, the challenges faced, and the various techniques used, such as meditation, improv, and volunteering. They also talk about the implications of personality change in different environments, the heritability of traits, and the broader significance of these changes for personal and professional growth. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Are there ways to change your personality? What traits are easier to change than others? How does environment and life events tend to influence the Big Five traits of your personality? Olga Khazan is a staff writer at The Atlantic magazine and also the author of the books Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change and Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World. Greg and Olga discuss the concept of personality change, focusing on the Big Five personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Olga shares her personal journey of attempting to modify her own traits, the challenges faced, and the various techniques used, such as meditation, improv, and volunteering. They also talk about the implications of personality change in different environments, the heritability of traits, and the broader significance of these changes for personal and professional growth. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 556 6011d33a-f551-4835-9e01-e7d832dfabbd 555. Happiness As Evolution’s Best Tool feat. William Von Hippel Could the key to a happier life be found with our most ancient ancestors and the way they depended on community over autonomy? In a modern world built to encourage independence, how do we find the right balance between connectedness and autonomy? 

William Von Hippel is a retired professor of psychology from the University of Queensland and the author of The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness. His research, also found in his first book The Social Leap and countless articles, focuses on the evolutionary science behind happiness.

William and Greg chat about how evolutionary science can offer guidance on living a happier, more fulfilled life, the psychological and physiological impacts of social connections, the historical context of human relationships, and the role of modern technology and societal changes in our well-being.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why loneliness hurts more than we realize

28:38: Loneliness is really hard on your health. We know that it kills you at rates higher than cigarettes once you get older, and you're more vulnerable. And so the feeling of loneliness doesn't guarantee you don't have people around, but it does mean that you don't feel part of it.

You feel somewhat excluded. And of course, feeling excluded should hurt because our ancestors who couldn't see that they're about to be excluded are the ancestors who kept misbehaving and therefore got excluded. When you look at hunter-gatherer societies, they all follow the same pattern of exclusion, whereby before they actually give you the heave-ho, first they kind of tease you. And if you don't respond to this teasing, well, already, you're a little bit too thick-skinned, because that's meant to bring you back in line. If teasing doesn't work, then they start acting like you're not even there. They talk around you and not responding to you. Almost everybody, when they get to that point, starts to feel terrible. It feels like physical pain because our ancestors, our potential ancestors who weren't bothered by that, took the next step and woke up one morning either dead or all alone. So, the system makes perfect sense that it really hurts. 

Happiness is one of evolution's best tools

04:06: Happiness is one of evolution's best tools. It motivates us to do things that are in our genes' best interest, not necessarily ours as human beings, who may or may not want to do those things, but it motivates us to do what's in our genes' best interest—typically by making us happy when we do those things.

The tradeoff between autonomy and connection

06:34: We enter relationships which are super important to us and our happiness; we're a gregarious species. When we enter those relationships, we have to sacrifice some degree of autonomy to do what our friends want some of the time, or at least at the time they want, et cetera. And when we decide to pursue our autonomy, usually in pursuit of skills and self-development, we have to sacrifice our relationships to some degree, because that means we're spending time honing our own skills and not socializing or helping others.

Why wealth doesn’t guarantee happiness

19:47: The things that made us happy, as far as the social connections, were also the things that made us reproductively successful. And they, in some ways, they very much still are. So if I'm famous or rich, I'm high in status, and then I'm attractive to members of the opposite sex or whoever I prefer. And I'm attractive to people who I want to be in my coalition. I have the sort of social accolades that actually make me feel good. And I think that's actually the basis of the Eastland Paradox—this notion that as societies get wealthier, people don't get happier. But richer people are happier than poorer people.

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]]> Wed, 18 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Could the key to a happier life be found with our most ancient ancestors and the way they depended on community over autonomy? In a modern world built to encourage independence, how do we find the right balance between connectedness and autonomy? 

William Von Hippel is a retired professor of psychology from the University of Queensland and the author of The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness. His research, also found in his first book The Social Leap and countless articles, focuses on the evolutionary science behind happiness.

William and Greg chat about how evolutionary science can offer guidance on living a happier, more fulfilled life, the psychological and physiological impacts of social connections, the historical context of human relationships, and the role of modern technology and societal changes in our well-being.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why loneliness hurts more than we realize

28:38: Loneliness is really hard on your health. We know that it kills you at rates higher than cigarettes once you get older, and you're more vulnerable. And so the feeling of loneliness doesn't guarantee you don't have people around, but it does mean that you don't feel part of it.

You feel somewhat excluded. And of course, feeling excluded should hurt because our ancestors who couldn't see that they're about to be excluded are the ancestors who kept misbehaving and therefore got excluded. When you look at hunter-gatherer societies, they all follow the same pattern of exclusion, whereby before they actually give you the heave-ho, first they kind of tease you. And if you don't respond to this teasing, well, already, you're a little bit too thick-skinned, because that's meant to bring you back in line. If teasing doesn't work, then they start acting like you're not even there. They talk around you and not responding to you. Almost everybody, when they get to that point, starts to feel terrible. It feels like physical pain because our ancestors, our potential ancestors who weren't bothered by that, took the next step and woke up one morning either dead or all alone. So, the system makes perfect sense that it really hurts. 

Happiness is one of evolution's best tools

04:06: Happiness is one of evolution's best tools. It motivates us to do things that are in our genes' best interest, not necessarily ours as human beings, who may or may not want to do those things, but it motivates us to do what's in our genes' best interest—typically by making us happy when we do those things.

The tradeoff between autonomy and connection

06:34: We enter relationships which are super important to us and our happiness; we're a gregarious species. When we enter those relationships, we have to sacrifice some degree of autonomy to do what our friends want some of the time, or at least at the time they want, et cetera. And when we decide to pursue our autonomy, usually in pursuit of skills and self-development, we have to sacrifice our relationships to some degree, because that means we're spending time honing our own skills and not socializing or helping others.

Why wealth doesn’t guarantee happiness

19:47: The things that made us happy, as far as the social connections, were also the things that made us reproductively successful. And they, in some ways, they very much still are. So if I'm famous or rich, I'm high in status, and then I'm attractive to members of the opposite sex or whoever I prefer. And I'm attractive to people who I want to be in my coalition. I have the sort of social accolades that actually make me feel good. And I think that's actually the basis of the Eastland Paradox—this notion that as societies get wealthier, people don't get happier. But richer people are happier than poorer people.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 555. Happiness As Evolution’s Best Tool feat. William Von Hippel Greg La Blanc 00:58:06 Could the key to a happier life be found with our most ancient ancestors and the way they depended on community over autonomy? In a modern world built to encourage independence, how do we find the right balance between connectedness and autonomy? William Von Hippel is a retired professor of psychology from the University of Queensland and the author of The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness. His research, also found in his first book The Social Leap and countless articles, focuses on the evolutionary science behind happiness. William and Greg chat about how evolutionary science can offer guidance on living a happier, more fulfilled life, the psychological and physiological impacts of social connections, the historical context of human relationships, and the role of modern technology and societal changes in our well-being. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Could the key to a happier life be found with our most ancient ancestors and the way they depended on community over autonomy? In a modern world built to encourage independence, how do we find the right balance between connectedness and autonomy? William Von Hippel is a retired professor of psychology from the University of Queensland and the author of The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness. His research, also found in his first book The Social Leap and countless articles, focuses on the evolutionary science behind happiness. William and Greg chat about how evolutionary science can offer guidance on living a happier, more fulfilled life, the psychological and physiological impacts of social connections, the historical context of human relationships, and the role of modern technology and societal changes in our well-being. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 555 665572ce-0668-49f9-940e-c5d34b559681 554. Trading at Light Speed: The Impact of Ultra-Fast Algorithms on Financial Markets feat. Donald MacKenzie What happens to the speed of trading as technology advances? How do we move from automated button pressing machines to ultra-fast algorithms? What surprising impact does the rain have on the trading windows of financial markets?

Donald MacKenzie is a professor of sociology at the University of Edinburgh and also the author of several books. His most recent works are Trading at the Speed of Light: How Ultrafast Algorithms Are Transforming Financial Markets and An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets.

Greg and Donald discuss the intersection of sociology and finance, exploring how financial models not only describe markets but also actively influence them. Donald explains the concept of performativity, where financial theories shape market behavior, and contrasts qualitative sociological methodologies with quantitative financial studies. Their conversation also touches on the history and impact of technologies and regulatory environments that have transformed financial trading, highlighting contributions from notable academics and instances of feedback loops between theory and practice.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Chicago pits vs. algorithms

28:34: For, say, investment management firms that have to buy and sell large portfolios of assets, there’s little doubt that the modern world of automated trading has benefits, but it also has downsides. I mean, the benefit is, quite simply, of course, that automated systems are a lot cheaper than human beings in colored jackets running around in Chicago’s pits or on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But, at the same time, of course, if you are trying to sell or buy a very large position, then you do leave electronic traces that trading algorithms can pick up on and make money out of.

Why financial models shapes markets like engine not camera

04:31: An engine does things, it's not a camera—at least in our ordinary thinking about cameras, where you take the photograph and the landscape remains the same. An engine does stuff, it changes its environment.

The power of shared signals in trading success

34:11: The secret of my success is I realized quite early on that there were things—signals, as they would be called in the field—inputs to algorithms that everybody knew about and that everybody knew that everybody knew about. So it wasn't like I had an unsuccessful attempt, way back to research statistical arbitrage and dare nobody would tell you what exactly they were trading off of. But I think they're trading because everybody knows that if you're trading shares, then a move in the relevant index future is a very, very important signal. Everybody knows that, and everybody knows that. Everybody knows that.

Finance beyond numbers, the human side of quantitative work

02:30: Finance as an academic field, and indeed of course finance as a practice, is typically highly quantitative. And to get into the technology, quantitative work can be great, but to really get into it you’ve got to talk to people. Ideally, you want to go see things, so the methodology is more qualitative than quantitative, and it probably would not be the best of ideas.

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]]> Mon, 16 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What happens to the speed of trading as technology advances? How do we move from automated button pressing machines to ultra-fast algorithms? What surprising impact does the rain have on the trading windows of financial markets?

Donald MacKenzie is a professor of sociology at the University of Edinburgh and also the author of several books. His most recent works are Trading at the Speed of Light: How Ultrafast Algorithms Are Transforming Financial Markets and An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets.

Greg and Donald discuss the intersection of sociology and finance, exploring how financial models not only describe markets but also actively influence them. Donald explains the concept of performativity, where financial theories shape market behavior, and contrasts qualitative sociological methodologies with quantitative financial studies. Their conversation also touches on the history and impact of technologies and regulatory environments that have transformed financial trading, highlighting contributions from notable academics and instances of feedback loops between theory and practice.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Chicago pits vs. algorithms

28:34: For, say, investment management firms that have to buy and sell large portfolios of assets, there’s little doubt that the modern world of automated trading has benefits, but it also has downsides. I mean, the benefit is, quite simply, of course, that automated systems are a lot cheaper than human beings in colored jackets running around in Chicago’s pits or on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But, at the same time, of course, if you are trying to sell or buy a very large position, then you do leave electronic traces that trading algorithms can pick up on and make money out of.

Why financial models shapes markets like engine not camera

04:31: An engine does things, it's not a camera—at least in our ordinary thinking about cameras, where you take the photograph and the landscape remains the same. An engine does stuff, it changes its environment.

The power of shared signals in trading success

34:11: The secret of my success is I realized quite early on that there were things—signals, as they would be called in the field—inputs to algorithms that everybody knew about and that everybody knew that everybody knew about. So it wasn't like I had an unsuccessful attempt, way back to research statistical arbitrage and dare nobody would tell you what exactly they were trading off of. But I think they're trading because everybody knows that if you're trading shares, then a move in the relevant index future is a very, very important signal. Everybody knows that, and everybody knows that. Everybody knows that.

Finance beyond numbers, the human side of quantitative work

02:30: Finance as an academic field, and indeed of course finance as a practice, is typically highly quantitative. And to get into the technology, quantitative work can be great, but to really get into it you’ve got to talk to people. Ideally, you want to go see things, so the methodology is more qualitative than quantitative, and it probably would not be the best of ideas.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 554. Trading at Light Speed: The Impact of Ultra-Fast Algorithms on Financial Markets feat. Donald MacKenzie Greg La Blanc 00:52:37 What happens to the speed of trading as technology advances? How do we move from automated button pressing machines to ultra-fast algorithms? What surprising impact does the rain have on the trading windows of financial markets? Donald MacKenzie is a professor of sociology at the University of Edinburgh and also the author of several books. His most recent works are Trading at the Speed of Light: How Ultrafast Algorithms Are Transforming Financial Markets and An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets. Greg and Donald discuss the intersection of sociology and finance, exploring how financial models not only describe markets but also actively influence them. Donald explains the concept of performativity, where financial theories shape market behavior, and contrasts qualitative sociological methodologies with quantitative financial studies. Their conversation also touches on the history and impact of technologies and regulatory environments that have transformed financial trading, highlighting contributions from notable academics and instances of feedback loops between theory and practice. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What happens to the speed of trading as technology advances? How do we move from automated button pressing machines to ultra-fast algorithms? What surprising impact does the rain have on the trading windows of financial markets? Donald MacKenzie is a professor of sociology at the University of Edinburgh and also the author of several books. His most recent works are Trading at the Speed of Light: How Ultrafast Algorithms Are Transforming Financial Markets and An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets. Greg and Donald discuss the intersection of sociology and finance, exploring how financial models not only describe markets but also actively influence them. Donald explains the concept of performativity, where financial theories shape market behavior, and contrasts qualitative sociological methodologies with quantitative financial studies. Their conversation also touches on the history and impact of technologies and regulatory environments that have transformed financial trading, highlighting contributions from notable academics and instances of feedback loops between theory and practice. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 554 830b267a-64a2-4097-b3d3-12b554f98645 553. Systems Leadership: Balancing the Cross Pressures in Modern Business feat. Robert Siegel How are effective leadership practices evolving to keep up in a continually changing world? What can be learned from the leaders of companies like Stitchfix or Waste Management? How can AI in education be handled in a way that is open and enriching to all?

Robert Siegel is a lecturer at Stanford University GSB and author of the books The Systems Leader: Mastering the Cross-Pressures That Make or Break Today's Companies and The Brains and Brawn Company: How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical.

Greg and Robert discuss the evolution of leadership, particularly in the context of managing crises and rapid technological advancements. Their discussion explores the different things that must be balanced in leadership roles, such as innovation vs. execution and strength vs. empathy. Robert also emphasizes the importance of systems thinking, adaptability, and statesmanship in modern leadership. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is statesmanship in short supply?

32:17: This notion of statesmanship or stateswomanship of stewardship is, it doesn't deny the ambition that we have as leaders. It doesn't deny who we want to be and what we hope to accomplish, but it's also about looking about everybody beyond us. And we have to lead men and women who agree with us and disagree with us, and we have to lead men and women. With whom we agree and disagree. Like we don't get to choose who we lead, Greg. Like we have to lead everybody. And if we've gotta get them from here to here, to me, that's what leadership is right now. And I don't think we're seeing this with a lot of the people who are put up there constantly in the mainstream media or on social media. But in the book I've got 15 to 20 leaders, all of whom are successful. And we can look at them and say, huh, well if they could do it, so can I.

What leadership looks like now

06:44:  Leadership today—in a world especially that's moving so quickly—that's where people have to be able to be more adaptable, internalize certain dualities that maybe existed separately inside of a company in the past that now need to exist inside of us internally. And so I think that things are different. The ability and willingness to adapt, I think, that's constant. But what you have to adapt to depends upon the times.

Is it harder to be a leader today?

08:09: Most leaders today are not trained to be thinking in kind of this level of speed, nor are they trained to understand what happens in different functions in an organization. In the old days, you could come up through engineering or through marketing or through manufacturing, and you would've teammates who would handle the other functions. Well, now we need to understand, like, what's the connection between what we do in one function versus the other function? How do we see internal and external? I think that's harder.

Investing time in yourself is leading smarter

32:01: A leader who says, I don't have time for this, they're probably spending time on the wrong issues, like where we spend time in the past isn't where we need to spend time in the future. And so making some time to invest in oneself, reading, finding trusted partners outside of the company. Who you can talk to and learn from. And, by the way, those people can be your peers. They can be people who are older, they can even be people who are younger.

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]]> Fri, 13 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How are effective leadership practices evolving to keep up in a continually changing world? What can be learned from the leaders of companies like Stitchfix or Waste Management? How can AI in education be handled in a way that is open and enriching to all?

Robert Siegel is a lecturer at Stanford University GSB and author of the books The Systems Leader: Mastering the Cross-Pressures That Make or Break Today's Companies and The Brains and Brawn Company: How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical.

Greg and Robert discuss the evolution of leadership, particularly in the context of managing crises and rapid technological advancements. Their discussion explores the different things that must be balanced in leadership roles, such as innovation vs. execution and strength vs. empathy. Robert also emphasizes the importance of systems thinking, adaptability, and statesmanship in modern leadership. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is statesmanship in short supply?

32:17: This notion of statesmanship or stateswomanship of stewardship is, it doesn't deny the ambition that we have as leaders. It doesn't deny who we want to be and what we hope to accomplish, but it's also about looking about everybody beyond us. And we have to lead men and women who agree with us and disagree with us, and we have to lead men and women. With whom we agree and disagree. Like we don't get to choose who we lead, Greg. Like we have to lead everybody. And if we've gotta get them from here to here, to me, that's what leadership is right now. And I don't think we're seeing this with a lot of the people who are put up there constantly in the mainstream media or on social media. But in the book I've got 15 to 20 leaders, all of whom are successful. And we can look at them and say, huh, well if they could do it, so can I.

What leadership looks like now

06:44:  Leadership today—in a world especially that's moving so quickly—that's where people have to be able to be more adaptable, internalize certain dualities that maybe existed separately inside of a company in the past that now need to exist inside of us internally. And so I think that things are different. The ability and willingness to adapt, I think, that's constant. But what you have to adapt to depends upon the times.

Is it harder to be a leader today?

08:09: Most leaders today are not trained to be thinking in kind of this level of speed, nor are they trained to understand what happens in different functions in an organization. In the old days, you could come up through engineering or through marketing or through manufacturing, and you would've teammates who would handle the other functions. Well, now we need to understand, like, what's the connection between what we do in one function versus the other function? How do we see internal and external? I think that's harder.

Investing time in yourself is leading smarter

32:01: A leader who says, I don't have time for this, they're probably spending time on the wrong issues, like where we spend time in the past isn't where we need to spend time in the future. And so making some time to invest in oneself, reading, finding trusted partners outside of the company. Who you can talk to and learn from. And, by the way, those people can be your peers. They can be people who are older, they can even be people who are younger.

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]]> 553. Systems Leadership: Balancing the Cross Pressures in Modern Business feat. Robert Siegel Greg La Blanc 00:52:10 How are effective leadership practices evolving to keep up in a continually changing world? What can be learned from the leaders of companies like Stitchfix or Waste Management? How can AI in education be handled in a way that is open and enriching to all? Robert Siegel is a lecturer at Stanford University GSB and author of the books The Systems Leader: Mastering the Cross-Pressures That Make or Break Today's Companies and The Brains and Brawn Company: How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical. Greg and Robert discuss the evolution of leadership, particularly in the context of managing crises and rapid technological advancements. Their discussion explores the different things that must be balanced in leadership roles, such as innovation vs. execution and strength vs. empathy. Robert also emphasizes the importance of systems thinking, adaptability, and statesmanship in modern leadership. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How are effective leadership practices evolving to keep up in a continually changing world? What can be learned from the leaders of companies like Stitchfix or Waste Management? How can AI in education be handled in a way that is open and enriching to all? Robert Siegel is a lecturer at Stanford University GSB and author of the books The Systems Leader: Mastering the Cross-Pressures That Make or Break Today's Companies and The Brains and Brawn Company: How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical. Greg and Robert discuss the evolution of leadership, particularly in the context of managing crises and rapid technological advancements. Their discussion explores the different things that must be balanced in leadership roles, such as innovation vs. execution and strength vs. empathy. Robert also emphasizes the importance of systems thinking, adaptability, and statesmanship in modern leadership. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 553 ed3ff992-d4c2-4b56-8838-bfad8164bf09 552. Memory: The Perfectly Imperfect Archive of Our Lives feat. Ciara M. Greene What are the effects of stress on memory? How does age change the nature of this vital piece of human cognition? What are the limitations of memory, and how can we embrace them?

Ciara M. Greene is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, UCD, where she also heads up the Attention and Memory Laboratory. She’s also the co-author of the book Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember.

Greg and Ciara discuss the nature of memory, challenging the common belief that the best memory is akin to a flawless recording device. Ciara argues that memory's imperfections are actually evolutionarily beneficial, aiding in survival and decision-making. They discuss how metaphors for memory have evolved alongside technology, the reconstructive nature of memory, and the importance of understanding its functions. Ciara also explains how schemas play a role in memory errors, but how they are also beneficial.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why forgetting your shopping list is a feature not a flaw

44:38: We don't need to have this fear that means technology is ruining our mind. This is exactly the same way as is. Like you say, you're, I dunno, you're going to the supermarket and instead of remembering your shopping list, you write it down. Okay. You don't then also need to remember it. They're able to adapt. So like if you say, I have written down my shopping list, you've essentially told your brain you no longer need to remember this. You don't need to remember bread and eggs and mouthwash. Like, our brains are flexible. Like they're not just running on tracks. It's not necessary.

It's not a good use of your resources because you've offloaded that task. That doesn't mean that your ability to go to the shop tomorrow and remember that you need to buy laundry detergent is going to be impaired because you wrote it down yesterday. It's just that we're, if you could think of it as being almost like extending your mind. Okay. It's almost like adding an external hard drive to your computer. You're just giving yourself a little bit more, like an, again, a broader sketch pad to play with. And that we, sometimes we use those tools. There's nothing wrong using those tools, but we should do them consciously.

How does the basis of memory work?

30:21: The reconstruction of memory is literally the basis of how memory works. It's inescapable. You can't just have a good memory and not have a reconstruction.

Memory helps us belong

03:46: It's important to think, not just about what memory is — it's not something static — but to think about what it's for, what its function is, and how it evolved in the way that it did.

Because just like every other part of our minds, and our bodies, every function that we have evolved under evolutionary pressures — you know, that there are survival pressures and reproduction pressures — and those influence the way in which we evolved as human beings, as any kind of species. So when we think about our memory, I think it's important to keep that in mind, and that evolution wasn't prioritizing: it's super important that you remember absolutely every boring detail of every single experience you've ever had. And, you know, that you have this perfect fidelity and recollection of every detail of everything you observe — that's not necessary to support your survival, it's not necessary to support reproduction, and in some cases, it can be counterproductive.

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]]> Wed, 11 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the effects of stress on memory? How does age change the nature of this vital piece of human cognition? What are the limitations of memory, and how can we embrace them?

Ciara M. Greene is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, UCD, where she also heads up the Attention and Memory Laboratory. She’s also the co-author of the book Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember.

Greg and Ciara discuss the nature of memory, challenging the common belief that the best memory is akin to a flawless recording device. Ciara argues that memory's imperfections are actually evolutionarily beneficial, aiding in survival and decision-making. They discuss how metaphors for memory have evolved alongside technology, the reconstructive nature of memory, and the importance of understanding its functions. Ciara also explains how schemas play a role in memory errors, but how they are also beneficial.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why forgetting your shopping list is a feature not a flaw

44:38: We don't need to have this fear that means technology is ruining our mind. This is exactly the same way as is. Like you say, you're, I dunno, you're going to the supermarket and instead of remembering your shopping list, you write it down. Okay. You don't then also need to remember it. They're able to adapt. So like if you say, I have written down my shopping list, you've essentially told your brain you no longer need to remember this. You don't need to remember bread and eggs and mouthwash. Like, our brains are flexible. Like they're not just running on tracks. It's not necessary.

It's not a good use of your resources because you've offloaded that task. That doesn't mean that your ability to go to the shop tomorrow and remember that you need to buy laundry detergent is going to be impaired because you wrote it down yesterday. It's just that we're, if you could think of it as being almost like extending your mind. Okay. It's almost like adding an external hard drive to your computer. You're just giving yourself a little bit more, like an, again, a broader sketch pad to play with. And that we, sometimes we use those tools. There's nothing wrong using those tools, but we should do them consciously.

How does the basis of memory work?

30:21: The reconstruction of memory is literally the basis of how memory works. It's inescapable. You can't just have a good memory and not have a reconstruction.

Memory helps us belong

03:46: It's important to think, not just about what memory is — it's not something static — but to think about what it's for, what its function is, and how it evolved in the way that it did.

Because just like every other part of our minds, and our bodies, every function that we have evolved under evolutionary pressures — you know, that there are survival pressures and reproduction pressures — and those influence the way in which we evolved as human beings, as any kind of species. So when we think about our memory, I think it's important to keep that in mind, and that evolution wasn't prioritizing: it's super important that you remember absolutely every boring detail of every single experience you've ever had. And, you know, that you have this perfect fidelity and recollection of every detail of everything you observe — that's not necessary to support your survival, it's not necessary to support reproduction, and in some cases, it can be counterproductive.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> 552. Memory: The Perfectly Imperfect Archive of Our Lives feat. Ciara M. Greene Greg La Blanc 01:04:09 What are the effects of stress on memory? How does age change the nature of this vital piece of human cognition? What are the limitations of memory, and how can we embrace them? Ciara M. Greene is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, UCD, where she also heads up the Attention and Memory Laboratory. She’s also the co-author of the book Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember. Greg and Ciara discuss the nature of memory, challenging the common belief that the best memory is akin to a flawless recording device. Ciara argues that memory's imperfections are actually evolutionarily beneficial, aiding in survival and decision-making. They discuss how metaphors for memory have evolved alongside technology, the reconstructive nature of memory, and the importance of understanding its functions. Ciara also explains how schemas play a role in memory errors, but how they are also beneficial. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the effects of stress on memory? How does age change the nature of this vital piece of human cognition? What are the limitations of memory, and how can we embrace them? Ciara M. Greene is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, UCD, where she also heads up the Attention and Memory Laboratory. She’s also the co-author of the book Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember. Greg and Ciara discuss the nature of memory, challenging the common belief that the best memory is akin to a flawless recording device. Ciara argues that memory's imperfections are actually evolutionarily beneficial, aiding in survival and decision-making. They discuss how metaphors for memory have evolved alongside technology, the reconstructive nature of memory, and the importance of understanding its functions. Ciara also explains how schemas play a role in memory errors, but how they are also beneficial. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 552 255895dc-c55d-4588-94d0-91c531d1ce7b 551. The Math Mindset and How to be Math-ish feat. Jo Boaler What is the role of active versus passive learning for math? How would data science become an avenue of math study for high school students and why isn’t it already? Where does change in math education start? At the college level or before?

Jo Boaler is a professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and also the author of a number of books, including Math-ish: Finding Creativity, Diversity, and Meaning in Mathematics, Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers, and Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching.

Greg and Jo discuss creativity, diversity, and meaning in math education. Their conversation identifies certain flaws in current math teaching methods, the resistance to educational change, and the importance of metacognition, visual learning, and collaborative problem-solving. Jo shares insights from her journey as a math educator, including her experiences with educational reform and the implications of neuroscience on learning math. They also examine the role of active versus passive learning, the potential of data science in education, and the impact of AI on future teaching practices.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How conjectures ignite mathematical thinking

17:00: When we ask kids to reason about maths and to come up with their own conjectures, we like to share that word with kids. This is a word that all mathematicians use—a conjecture for an idea they have that you need to test out. It's like a hypothesis in science, but kids have never heard of that word, which is, you know, means there's a reason for that. But anyway, we teach our kids to come up with conjectures and then to reason about them and prove it to each other. And they get these great discussions where they're reasoning and being skeptical with each other. And that's what sparks their interest. They actually feel like they're discovering new things. And it's, like, really engaging for the kids to get into these discussions about the meanings of why these things work in maths. So it's a great route in, not only to engage kids, but have them understand what they're doing. Yeah, it's not that common.

Why every kid should learn data science

31:02: Data science is really something all kids should be learning in school, before they leave school, and developing a data literacy and a comfort with data and being able to read and analyze data, to some extent, is an important life skill. And it probably is really important to say, if a democracy, as a lot of misinformation is shared now, and if kids aren't leaving able to make sense of and separate fact and fiction, they will be left vulnerable to those misinformation campaigns. So, it's important just to be an everyday citizen.

Why estimation is really important

34:48: The idea of Math-ish is, estimation is really important. There's a lot of research evidence that we should be getting kids to estimate, but I know that kids in schools hate to estimate, and they resist it, and they will work things out precisely and round them up to make them look like an estimate. But you ask them, what's your ish number? And something magical happens. Like, suddenly they're willing to share their thinking, but it doesn't happen enough.

The problem with teaching everything every year

14:28: In the US, we have this system of teaching everything every year. So, you start learning fractions in maybe grade three, but you also learn them again in grade four and grade five and grade six. And at the end of that, kids don't understand fractions and everything else. Everything is taught every year. Whereas if you look at very successful countries like Japan, they don't teach in that way. Fractions is taught in one year—one year group—deeply, well, conceptually. So this is why you see kids going around in these massive textbooks that they can hardly carry, because it has all this content. And, of course, when you try and teach everything every year, often kids don't learn any of it well.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> Mon, 9 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is the role of active versus passive learning for math? How would data science become an avenue of math study for high school students and why isn’t it already? Where does change in math education start? At the college level or before?

Jo Boaler is a professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and also the author of a number of books, including Math-ish: Finding Creativity, Diversity, and Meaning in Mathematics, Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers, and Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching.

Greg and Jo discuss creativity, diversity, and meaning in math education. Their conversation identifies certain flaws in current math teaching methods, the resistance to educational change, and the importance of metacognition, visual learning, and collaborative problem-solving. Jo shares insights from her journey as a math educator, including her experiences with educational reform and the implications of neuroscience on learning math. They also examine the role of active versus passive learning, the potential of data science in education, and the impact of AI on future teaching practices.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How conjectures ignite mathematical thinking

17:00: When we ask kids to reason about maths and to come up with their own conjectures, we like to share that word with kids. This is a word that all mathematicians use—a conjecture for an idea they have that you need to test out. It's like a hypothesis in science, but kids have never heard of that word, which is, you know, means there's a reason for that. But anyway, we teach our kids to come up with conjectures and then to reason about them and prove it to each other. And they get these great discussions where they're reasoning and being skeptical with each other. And that's what sparks their interest. They actually feel like they're discovering new things. And it's, like, really engaging for the kids to get into these discussions about the meanings of why these things work in maths. So it's a great route in, not only to engage kids, but have them understand what they're doing. Yeah, it's not that common.

Why every kid should learn data science

31:02: Data science is really something all kids should be learning in school, before they leave school, and developing a data literacy and a comfort with data and being able to read and analyze data, to some extent, is an important life skill. And it probably is really important to say, if a democracy, as a lot of misinformation is shared now, and if kids aren't leaving able to make sense of and separate fact and fiction, they will be left vulnerable to those misinformation campaigns. So, it's important just to be an everyday citizen.

Why estimation is really important

34:48: The idea of Math-ish is, estimation is really important. There's a lot of research evidence that we should be getting kids to estimate, but I know that kids in schools hate to estimate, and they resist it, and they will work things out precisely and round them up to make them look like an estimate. But you ask them, what's your ish number? And something magical happens. Like, suddenly they're willing to share their thinking, but it doesn't happen enough.

The problem with teaching everything every year

14:28: In the US, we have this system of teaching everything every year. So, you start learning fractions in maybe grade three, but you also learn them again in grade four and grade five and grade six. And at the end of that, kids don't understand fractions and everything else. Everything is taught every year. Whereas if you look at very successful countries like Japan, they don't teach in that way. Fractions is taught in one year—one year group—deeply, well, conceptually. So this is why you see kids going around in these massive textbooks that they can hardly carry, because it has all this content. And, of course, when you try and teach everything every year, often kids don't learn any of it well.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 551. The Math Mindset and How to be Math-ish feat. Jo Boaler Greg La Blanc 00:51:35 What is the role of active versus passive learning for math? How would data science become an avenue of math study for high school students and why isn’t it already? Where does change in math education start? At the college level or before? Jo Boaler is a professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and also the author of a number of books, including Math-ish: Finding Creativity, Diversity, and Meaning in Mathematics, Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers, and Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching. Greg and Jo discuss creativity, diversity, and meaning in math education. Their conversation identifies certain flaws in current math teaching methods, the resistance to educational change, and the importance of metacognition, visual learning, and collaborative problem-solving. Jo shares insights from her journey as a math educator, including her experiences with educational reform and the implications of neuroscience on learning math. They also examine the role of active versus passive learning, the potential of data science in education, and the impact of AI on future teaching practices. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is the role of active versus passive learning for math? How would data science become an avenue of math study for high school students and why isn’t it already? Where does change in math education start? At the college level or before? Jo Boaler is a professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and also the author of a number of books, including Math-ish: Finding Creativity, Diversity, and Meaning in Mathematics, Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers, and Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching. Greg and Jo discuss creativity, diversity, and meaning in math education. Their conversation identifies certain flaws in current math teaching methods, the resistance to educational change, and the importance of metacognition, visual learning, and collaborative problem-solving. Jo shares insights from her journey as a math educator, including her experiences with educational reform and the implications of neuroscience on learning math. They also examine the role of active versus passive learning, the potential of data science in education, and the impact of AI on future teaching practices. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 551 f48b27ae-41eb-49a4-a0cb-76cf4736e7d8 550. The Power of Uncertainty: Embracing the Unknown for Growth and Success feat. Maggie Jackson What is ‘good stress’ and what are the benefits of it? How does an upbringing in uncertainty prepare you in some ways better for the world than others? How are intolerance and uncertainty linked? What is the important purpose of daydreaming for creativity and business?

Maggie Jackson is a journalist and the author of the books Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure, Distracted: Reclaiming Our Focus in a World of Lost Attention, and What's Happening to Home: Balancing Work, Life and Refuge in the Information Age.

Greg and Maggie discuss the nuances of uncertainty, attention, and distraction, emphasizing the importance of daydreaming and mind wandering. Maggie explores her findings about the impact of these states on creativity, learning, and memory. Their discussion also covers how societal and cultural attitudes towards uncertainty affect decision-making and problem-solving, especially in professional settings like medicine and finance. Maggie also reveals the role of dissent in fostering creativity and collaboration, and the need to manage mental well-being in an increasingly fast-paced world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How uncertainty primes us to learn and perform

05:44: What's really important to understand, and comes from the new neuroscience of uncertainty, is that this discomfort we feel is actually good stress. So, when you're meeting up with something new or unexpected or ambiguous—in the forest, or in the workplace, or wherever—you actually have a stress response. Neurotransmitters, hormones, et cetera, you know, are cascading through your body. Your body and brain are kind of springing into action. And what's really amazing, and very new scientifically, is that your brain on uncertainty is undergoing remarkably positive changes. So, when you're unsure—this has been documented in emergency room physicians and others—your working memory improves, your attention heightens, your brain becomes more receptive to new data. So, this is a state—yes, that's uncomfortable—but that's good stress. You're actually being primed to learn and perform.

Uncertainty is a signal to learn not to retreat

06:42: Uncertainty is the brain telling itself, "There's something to be learned here." So, that puts a different spin on this idea that we should retreat from it.

Tolerance of uncertainty is a skill you can build

28:15: So, we all sit somewhere on the spectrum of this new personality trait. It was actually discovered about 50 years ago, but it's getting a lot of attention, called tolerance of uncertainty or intolerance of uncertainty. So, if you're tolerant of uncertainty—highly—you're more a flexible thinker. You like surprises, you see uncertainty as a challenge. Intolerant people, during the acute phase of the pandemic, for instance, they were far more likely to turn to denial, avoidance, and substance abuse to cope. So, it's really interesting because our intolerance of uncertainty is mutable. Not only can we boost our tolerance—we can practice, we can do daily exercises—there are clinical studies that are actually treating anxiety just by helping people bolster their tolerance and uncertainty. But it's also important to know that it's situational.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 6 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is ‘good stress’ and what are the benefits of it? How does an upbringing in uncertainty prepare you in some ways better for the world than others? How are intolerance and uncertainty linked? What is the important purpose of daydreaming for creativity and business?

Maggie Jackson is a journalist and the author of the books Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure, Distracted: Reclaiming Our Focus in a World of Lost Attention, and What's Happening to Home: Balancing Work, Life and Refuge in the Information Age.

Greg and Maggie discuss the nuances of uncertainty, attention, and distraction, emphasizing the importance of daydreaming and mind wandering. Maggie explores her findings about the impact of these states on creativity, learning, and memory. Their discussion also covers how societal and cultural attitudes towards uncertainty affect decision-making and problem-solving, especially in professional settings like medicine and finance. Maggie also reveals the role of dissent in fostering creativity and collaboration, and the need to manage mental well-being in an increasingly fast-paced world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How uncertainty primes us to learn and perform

05:44: What's really important to understand, and comes from the new neuroscience of uncertainty, is that this discomfort we feel is actually good stress. So, when you're meeting up with something new or unexpected or ambiguous—in the forest, or in the workplace, or wherever—you actually have a stress response. Neurotransmitters, hormones, et cetera, you know, are cascading through your body. Your body and brain are kind of springing into action. And what's really amazing, and very new scientifically, is that your brain on uncertainty is undergoing remarkably positive changes. So, when you're unsure—this has been documented in emergency room physicians and others—your working memory improves, your attention heightens, your brain becomes more receptive to new data. So, this is a state—yes, that's uncomfortable—but that's good stress. You're actually being primed to learn and perform.

Uncertainty is a signal to learn not to retreat

06:42: Uncertainty is the brain telling itself, "There's something to be learned here." So, that puts a different spin on this idea that we should retreat from it.

Tolerance of uncertainty is a skill you can build

28:15: So, we all sit somewhere on the spectrum of this new personality trait. It was actually discovered about 50 years ago, but it's getting a lot of attention, called tolerance of uncertainty or intolerance of uncertainty. So, if you're tolerant of uncertainty—highly—you're more a flexible thinker. You like surprises, you see uncertainty as a challenge. Intolerant people, during the acute phase of the pandemic, for instance, they were far more likely to turn to denial, avoidance, and substance abuse to cope. So, it's really interesting because our intolerance of uncertainty is mutable. Not only can we boost our tolerance—we can practice, we can do daily exercises—there are clinical studies that are actually treating anxiety just by helping people bolster their tolerance and uncertainty. But it's also important to know that it's situational.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 550. The Power of Uncertainty: Embracing the Unknown for Growth and Success feat. Maggie Jackson Greg La Blanc 00:53:56 What is ‘good stress’ and what are the benefits of it? How does an upbringing in uncertainty prepare you in some ways better for the world than others? How are intolerance and uncertainty linked? What is the important purpose of daydreaming for creativity and business? Maggie Jackson is a journalist and the author of the books Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure, Distracted: Reclaiming Our Focus in a World of Lost Attention, and What's Happening to Home: Balancing Work, Life and Refuge in the Information Age. Greg and Maggie discuss the nuances of uncertainty, attention, and distraction, emphasizing the importance of daydreaming and mind wandering. Maggie explores her findings about the impact of these states on creativity, learning, and memory. Their discussion also covers how societal and cultural attitudes towards uncertainty affect decision-making and problem-solving, especially in professional settings like medicine and finance. Maggie also reveals the role of dissent in fostering creativity and collaboration, and the need to manage mental well-being in an increasingly fast-paced world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is ‘good stress’ and what are the benefits of it? How does an upbringing in uncertainty prepare you in some ways better for the world than others? How are intolerance and uncertainty linked? What is the important purpose of daydreaming for creativity and business? Maggie Jackson is a journalist and the author of the books Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure, Distracted: Reclaiming Our Focus in a World of Lost Attention, and What's Happening to Home: Balancing Work, Life and Refuge in the Information Age. Greg and Maggie discuss the nuances of uncertainty, attention, and distraction, emphasizing the importance of daydreaming and mind wandering. Maggie explores her findings about the impact of these states on creativity, learning, and memory. Their discussion also covers how societal and cultural attitudes towards uncertainty affect decision-making and problem-solving, especially in professional settings like medicine and finance. Maggie also reveals the role of dissent in fostering creativity and collaboration, and the need to manage mental well-being in an increasingly fast-paced world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 550 4bfff36e-b899-4146-826d-0adeba93f6f5 549. Leadership Dynamics: Perspectives on Power and Ethics feat. Adam Galinsky How can the leadership power be wielded for both good and ill? How can leaders use their influence more ethically and effectively, and why is that important for the growth of the whole superorganism?

Adam Galinsky is a professor of leadership and ethics at Columbia Business School, and also the author of the books Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others and Friend & Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both.

Greg and Adam discuss Adam’s research and teaching experiences, emphasizing the complexities of human leadership compared to leadership in the rest of the animal kingdom. Adam highlights the importance of understanding power dynamics and how small actions from leaders can have amplified impacts on their teams. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the power perspective taking

40:13: One of my biggest research findings was, you know, that power lowers perspective taking, right? Even though the powerful have greater impact and, in some ways, need for perspective, they have less of it. But I also have shown that there's a particularly powerful force of power with perspective taking. And so I actually call it—it's like driving a race car, right? Would be a good analogy. So power is the gas that lets you go fast. But if you don't have a steering wheel, you're gonna crash into things. So perspective taking is your steering wheel. And so, if you just have the steering wheel without the gas, you just sit there going nowhere, right? So it's the combination, I think, of the two that are really, really powerful.

Leadership tools can build or break

51:48: Every single part of the leadership toolbox can be used for good. Or it can be used for a really bad goal. It can be used to hurt people. And so part of what inspiring leadership is, using the toolbox towards inspiring goals, and to making other people's lives better.

The five-second leadership habit

26:47:  One of the things that I hope from my books and from my teaching is it just helps people take a little step back and think thoughtfully about, like, little things that they can do, to, when they walk into a meeting, just be a little conscious of, like, where's the best place for me to sit? Five seconds. That's all you got to think about it, right? But like, what am I trying to accomplish in this meeting? Who needs to speak? Okay, I'm going to sit here, right? And I know people sometimes feel like, oh, it's overwhelming enough time. Like most people I know, once they get into the practice of doing that, it's actually very invigorating. It gives them a sense of agency, it gives them a sense of control over the world because they understand it. It's like the pill in the Matrix, right? Like the things, all of a sudden make sense in a way they didn't before.

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]]> Wed, 4 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How can the leadership power be wielded for both good and ill? How can leaders use their influence more ethically and effectively, and why is that important for the growth of the whole superorganism?

Adam Galinsky is a professor of leadership and ethics at Columbia Business School, and also the author of the books Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others and Friend & Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both.

Greg and Adam discuss Adam’s research and teaching experiences, emphasizing the complexities of human leadership compared to leadership in the rest of the animal kingdom. Adam highlights the importance of understanding power dynamics and how small actions from leaders can have amplified impacts on their teams. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the power perspective taking

40:13: One of my biggest research findings was, you know, that power lowers perspective taking, right? Even though the powerful have greater impact and, in some ways, need for perspective, they have less of it. But I also have shown that there's a particularly powerful force of power with perspective taking. And so I actually call it—it's like driving a race car, right? Would be a good analogy. So power is the gas that lets you go fast. But if you don't have a steering wheel, you're gonna crash into things. So perspective taking is your steering wheel. And so, if you just have the steering wheel without the gas, you just sit there going nowhere, right? So it's the combination, I think, of the two that are really, really powerful.

Leadership tools can build or break

51:48: Every single part of the leadership toolbox can be used for good. Or it can be used for a really bad goal. It can be used to hurt people. And so part of what inspiring leadership is, using the toolbox towards inspiring goals, and to making other people's lives better.

The five-second leadership habit

26:47:  One of the things that I hope from my books and from my teaching is it just helps people take a little step back and think thoughtfully about, like, little things that they can do, to, when they walk into a meeting, just be a little conscious of, like, where's the best place for me to sit? Five seconds. That's all you got to think about it, right? But like, what am I trying to accomplish in this meeting? Who needs to speak? Okay, I'm going to sit here, right? And I know people sometimes feel like, oh, it's overwhelming enough time. Like most people I know, once they get into the practice of doing that, it's actually very invigorating. It gives them a sense of agency, it gives them a sense of control over the world because they understand it. It's like the pill in the Matrix, right? Like the things, all of a sudden make sense in a way they didn't before.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 549. Leadership Dynamics: Perspectives on Power and Ethics feat. Adam Galinsky Greg La Blanc 00:52:24 How can the leadership power be wielded for both good and ill? How can leaders use their influence more ethically and effectively, and why is that important for the growth of the whole superorganism? Adam Galinsky is a professor of leadership and ethics at Columbia Business School, and also the author of the books Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others and Friend & Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both. Greg and Adam discuss Adam’s research and teaching experiences, emphasizing the complexities of human leadership compared to leadership in the rest of the animal kingdom. Adam highlights the importance of understanding power dynamics and how small actions from leaders can have amplified impacts on their teams. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How can the leadership power be wielded for both good and ill? How can leaders use their influence more ethically and effectively, and why is that important for the growth of the whole superorganism? Adam Galinsky is a professor of leadership and ethics at Columbia Business School, and also the author of the books Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others and Friend & Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both. Greg and Adam discuss Adam’s research and teaching experiences, emphasizing the complexities of human leadership compared to leadership in the rest of the animal kingdom. Adam highlights the importance of understanding power dynamics and how small actions from leaders can have amplified impacts on their teams. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 549 a3f48e42-f24f-4da8-bf0a-3ca56b8f3c1d 548. The Language of Painting with Martin Gayford There have been periods throughout history when cultural aficionados of the time proclaimed that painting was dead! Yet, the artform has risen over and over again. What is it about painting that makes it so timeless and gives it the ability to continuously evolve? Why, after centuries, can we still be awestruck by the right combination of brushstokes? 

Art critic Martin Gayford has interviewed many artists over his lifetime about their craft. His books explore painting through a multitude of eras and even gives a personal account of what it’s like to sit for a painting in Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud. His latest book, How Painting Happens (and why it matters), compiles wisdom from numerous artists past and present. 

Martin and Greg discuss the challenges of writing about a non-linguistic medium like painting, the unique, often physical process of painting, and insights Martin has gleaned from his conversations with contemporary artists, including what makes a painting a great one.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The silent intensity of painting

16:13: You don't have to talk or put things in words to think. There is such a thing as physical thinking, and painting is probably a very good example of that. That was one of the points that struck me when I was posing for Lucian Freud, which I—was a very long, drawn-out process. As you can imagine, it took about 18 months to produce two paintings. And Lucian was very slow, but it wasn't that he was painting all the time very slowly. Most of the time in a sitting, he'd spend thinking, looking. And then, after quite a while, and mixing up the paints and contemplating the situation—looking at me, looking at the painting—then he'd dart forward and put a stroke on, quite fast actually. But probably 95% of the time, he wasn't doing that. He was considering the situation.

Why we still need painting in a world of screens

42:43: It's arguable that, therefore, paintings, sculptures, unique works of art are what we need now. 'Cause they're the opposite of phones and screens and endless deluge of imagery and distraction, which the modern world offers us. A painting is—if it's good enough—it's something you can just look at for the rest of your life, and if it's really good enough, it'll carry on being rewarding.

Painting as a language without words

02:02: Painting or visual art isn't exactly a language. It's certainly not a verbal language, but it's a means of communication. And as such, it doesn't necessarily neatly translate into words.

How artists reshape art history to suit themselves

39:37: Although artists—practicing artists, rather—may have tremendous insights, and the insights of a kind which nobody else has access to, they're going to see art history and the art, the work of all other artists, from the point of view of their own art. And they'll be utterly out of sympathy, therefore, with quite large sections of the art of the past and of the present. To an extent, that's true with critics. They'll have certain idioms, certain styles, certain media they like more than others. But a critic can be a little bit less prejudiced. Oh, I'd like to think critics can be a bit more open-minded about what they're looking at. An artist will pretty well instinctively refashion the whole of art history so that it leads up to what they're doing today in their studio. But we don't all have to do that.

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]]> Mon, 2 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There have been periods throughout history when cultural aficionados of the time proclaimed that painting was dead! Yet, the artform has risen over and over again. What is it about painting that makes it so timeless and gives it the ability to continuously evolve? Why, after centuries, can we still be awestruck by the right combination of brushstokes? 

Art critic Martin Gayford has interviewed many artists over his lifetime about their craft. His books explore painting through a multitude of eras and even gives a personal account of what it’s like to sit for a painting in Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud. His latest book, How Painting Happens (and why it matters), compiles wisdom from numerous artists past and present. 

Martin and Greg discuss the challenges of writing about a non-linguistic medium like painting, the unique, often physical process of painting, and insights Martin has gleaned from his conversations with contemporary artists, including what makes a painting a great one.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The silent intensity of painting

16:13: You don't have to talk or put things in words to think. There is such a thing as physical thinking, and painting is probably a very good example of that. That was one of the points that struck me when I was posing for Lucian Freud, which I—was a very long, drawn-out process. As you can imagine, it took about 18 months to produce two paintings. And Lucian was very slow, but it wasn't that he was painting all the time very slowly. Most of the time in a sitting, he'd spend thinking, looking. And then, after quite a while, and mixing up the paints and contemplating the situation—looking at me, looking at the painting—then he'd dart forward and put a stroke on, quite fast actually. But probably 95% of the time, he wasn't doing that. He was considering the situation.

Why we still need painting in a world of screens

42:43: It's arguable that, therefore, paintings, sculptures, unique works of art are what we need now. 'Cause they're the opposite of phones and screens and endless deluge of imagery and distraction, which the modern world offers us. A painting is—if it's good enough—it's something you can just look at for the rest of your life, and if it's really good enough, it'll carry on being rewarding.

Painting as a language without words

02:02: Painting or visual art isn't exactly a language. It's certainly not a verbal language, but it's a means of communication. And as such, it doesn't necessarily neatly translate into words.

How artists reshape art history to suit themselves

39:37: Although artists—practicing artists, rather—may have tremendous insights, and the insights of a kind which nobody else has access to, they're going to see art history and the art, the work of all other artists, from the point of view of their own art. And they'll be utterly out of sympathy, therefore, with quite large sections of the art of the past and of the present. To an extent, that's true with critics. They'll have certain idioms, certain styles, certain media they like more than others. But a critic can be a little bit less prejudiced. Oh, I'd like to think critics can be a bit more open-minded about what they're looking at. An artist will pretty well instinctively refashion the whole of art history so that it leads up to what they're doing today in their studio. But we don't all have to do that.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 548. The Language of Painting with Martin Gayford Greg La Blanc 00:45:29 There have been periods throughout history when cultural aficionados of the time proclaimed that painting was dead! Yet, the artform has risen over and over again. What is it about painting that makes it so timeless and gives it the ability to continuously evolve? Why, after centuries, can we still be awestruck by the right combination of brushstokes? Art critic Martin Gayford has interviewed many artists over his lifetime about their craft. His books explore painting through a multitude of eras and even gives a personal account of what it’s like to sit for a painting in Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud. His latest book, How Painting Happens (and why it matters), compiles wisdom from numerous artists past and present. Martin and Greg discuss the challenges of writing about a non-linguistic medium like painting, the unique, often physical process of painting, and insights Martin has gleaned from his conversations with contemporary artists, including what makes a painting a great one. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* There have been periods throughout history when cultural aficionados of the time proclaimed that painting was dead! Yet, the artform has risen over and over again. What is it about painting that makes it so timeless and gives it the ability to continuously evolve? Why, after centuries, can we still be awestruck by the right combination of brushstokes? Art critic Martin Gayford has interviewed many artists over his lifetime about their craft. His books explore painting through a multitude of eras and even gives a personal account of what it’s like to sit for a painting in Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud. His latest book, How Painting Happens (and why it matters), compiles wisdom from numerous artists past and present. Martin and Greg discuss the challenges of writing about a non-linguistic medium like painting, the unique, often physical process of painting, and insights Martin has gleaned from his conversations with contemporary artists, including what makes a painting a great one. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 548 4830e127-6eca-4053-bf8b-0681cc0d302f 547. Exploring Midlife and Living Well Through Philosophy feat. Kieran Setiya What is the intrinsic link between philosophical inquiry and personal development? How can academic thought and theory be applied well to practical living in the real world?

Kieran Setiya is a professor of philosophy at MIT and also the author of a number of books, including Knowing Right From Wrong, Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way, and Midlife: A Philosophical Guide.

Greg and Kieran discuss how philosophy and self-help have diverged over time and the potential for their reintegration. Kieran explores the practical use of philosophical reflection in everyday life, the evolving view of philosophy from his early academic years to now, the impact of Aristotle's concept of the ideal life on contemporary thought, and the nature of midlife crises including his own. They also touch on topics like the value of choice, future bias, the role of suffering, and the integration of philosophy in early education. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why Aristotle’s ideal life isn’t always the answer

06:58: What am I going to do here and now, in the conditions I'm in—which are always, to some degree, imperfect—right now, maybe particularly challenging for many of us? And it's just not obvious at all. In fact, I think it's not true that the best way to answer the question, "What should I do in my problematic circumstances?" is, well, look at what an ideal life would be and just sort of aim towards that. And that just—it's both impractical and often very bad advice. It's like if someone said, "Well, you don't have any yeast; try to make some bread." You could think, "Well, what's the thing that's going to be most like a regular loaf of bread?" Or you might think, "Yeah, that's not the right thing to aim for here." There's some more dramatic pivot in how I'm going to try to make a kind of bread-like thing. And I think that's a good—a better—analogy for the situation we're in when we try to think about what to do here and now, when ideals like Aristotle's are not really viable.

On regret, choice, and the value of missed opportunities

21:21: Regret is a function of something that's not at all regrettable. Mainly the diversity of value.

Detached wanting and the good enough life

38:10: Stoics have this idea that virtue is the key thing for eudaimonia, and nothing else really matters for eudaimonia. But there are all these—what they call—preferred indifferents. So all the other stuff you might want, it's reasonable to want it, but you should want it in a kind of detached, "that would be a bonus" kind of way. And I think, while I'm not a Stoic and I don't think they draw that line in the right way, I think they're right that there is some kind of line here that has to do with sort of moderation and greed. In effect, thinking at a certain point: "If your life is good enough, you look at all the other things you could have," and the right attitude to have to them is something like, "Well, it’d be great if I had that. Sure." But the idea of being angry that I don't, or feeling like "this is unacceptable that I don't" is just not a virtuous — for want of a better word—it's not a reasonable, justifiable response.

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]]> Fri, 30 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is the intrinsic link between philosophical inquiry and personal development? How can academic thought and theory be applied well to practical living in the real world?

Kieran Setiya is a professor of philosophy at MIT and also the author of a number of books, including Knowing Right From Wrong, Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way, and Midlife: A Philosophical Guide.

Greg and Kieran discuss how philosophy and self-help have diverged over time and the potential for their reintegration. Kieran explores the practical use of philosophical reflection in everyday life, the evolving view of philosophy from his early academic years to now, the impact of Aristotle's concept of the ideal life on contemporary thought, and the nature of midlife crises including his own. They also touch on topics like the value of choice, future bias, the role of suffering, and the integration of philosophy in early education. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why Aristotle’s ideal life isn’t always the answer

06:58: What am I going to do here and now, in the conditions I'm in—which are always, to some degree, imperfect—right now, maybe particularly challenging for many of us? And it's just not obvious at all. In fact, I think it's not true that the best way to answer the question, "What should I do in my problematic circumstances?" is, well, look at what an ideal life would be and just sort of aim towards that. And that just—it's both impractical and often very bad advice. It's like if someone said, "Well, you don't have any yeast; try to make some bread." You could think, "Well, what's the thing that's going to be most like a regular loaf of bread?" Or you might think, "Yeah, that's not the right thing to aim for here." There's some more dramatic pivot in how I'm going to try to make a kind of bread-like thing. And I think that's a good—a better—analogy for the situation we're in when we try to think about what to do here and now, when ideals like Aristotle's are not really viable.

On regret, choice, and the value of missed opportunities

21:21: Regret is a function of something that's not at all regrettable. Mainly the diversity of value.

Detached wanting and the good enough life

38:10: Stoics have this idea that virtue is the key thing for eudaimonia, and nothing else really matters for eudaimonia. But there are all these—what they call—preferred indifferents. So all the other stuff you might want, it's reasonable to want it, but you should want it in a kind of detached, "that would be a bonus" kind of way. And I think, while I'm not a Stoic and I don't think they draw that line in the right way, I think they're right that there is some kind of line here that has to do with sort of moderation and greed. In effect, thinking at a certain point: "If your life is good enough, you look at all the other things you could have," and the right attitude to have to them is something like, "Well, it’d be great if I had that. Sure." But the idea of being angry that I don't, or feeling like "this is unacceptable that I don't" is just not a virtuous — for want of a better word—it's not a reasonable, justifiable response.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 547. Exploring Midlife and Living Well Through Philosophy feat. Kieran Setiya Greg La Blanc 00:54:50 What is the intrinsic link between philosophical inquiry and personal development? How can academic thought and theory be applied well to practical living in the real world? Kieran Setiya is a professor of philosophy at MIT and also the author of a number of books, including Knowing Right From Wrong, Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way, and Midlife: A Philosophical Guide. Greg and Kieran discuss how philosophy and self-help have diverged over time and the potential for their reintegration. Kieran explores the practical use of philosophical reflection in everyday life, the evolving view of philosophy from his early academic years to now, the impact of Aristotle's concept of the ideal life on contemporary thought, and the nature of midlife crises including his own. They also touch on topics like the value of choice, future bias, the role of suffering, and the integration of philosophy in early education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is the intrinsic link between philosophical inquiry and personal development? How can academic thought and theory be applied well to practical living in the real world? Kieran Setiya is a professor of philosophy at MIT and also the author of a number of books, including Knowing Right From Wrong, Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way, and Midlife: A Philosophical Guide. Greg and Kieran discuss how philosophy and self-help have diverged over time and the potential for their reintegration. Kieran explores the practical use of philosophical reflection in everyday life, the evolving view of philosophy from his early academic years to now, the impact of Aristotle's concept of the ideal life on contemporary thought, and the nature of midlife crises including his own. They also touch on topics like the value of choice, future bias, the role of suffering, and the integration of philosophy in early education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 547 1bd96db1-fe89-4205-a4bf-58391e25e9b0 546. The Intersection of Historical Consciousness and Strategic Thinking feat. John Lewis Gaddis How does strategy factor into the mindsets of presidents like Lincoln and Reagan on both a micro and macro level? What parts of grand strategy are at play when new countries enter NATO due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

John Lewis Gaddis is a professor of history at Yale University and also the author of several books on history and strategy. His latest books include The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past, On Grand Strategy, and The Cold War: A New History.

Greg and John discuss the concept of historical consciousness and its relation to strategic thinking. John goes over the teaching of strategy from a historical perspective, comparing it to evolutionary sciences and emphasizing the importance of common sense in strategic decisions. They also explore the use of metaphors in understanding history and strategy, the role of theory, and the necessity of adaptability in leadership. The conversation touches on various historical and contemporary examples to illustrate these ideas, including the strategic mindsets of figures like Lincoln and the implications of NATO expansion and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we failing to preserve common sense in business schools?

36:38: This whole thing about preserving common sense at all altitudes, it seems to me, is something that's often missing in business schools and also in businesses, as we've seen in various cases. So, if reading some history can create that kind of attitude, then I think it's worthwhile. And the reason I think it can work gets back to the sports metaphor because, okay, maybe your business guy is not interested in reading history, but they're probably watching the March Madness or the Super Bowl, and they're probably talking about coaches and why are certain coaches better than other coaches and so on. And when they're doing that, they're talking about what I'm talking about, which is just drawing these lessons from the past, looking at the objective, operating within the rules but understanding that the application of the rules is going to be different in every situation, every moment of the game.

The optimal grand strategists know when to adapt and when to steer

27:518: I think the optimal grand strategist would be someone who is agile and situationally aware, but also retains a sense of direction.

Big ambitions fail without this one principle

01:57: It seems to me that there's a kind of logic of strategy, which transcends time and place and culture. And when you set it out, when you give examples of what you mean by that, it sounds like a platitude. So if, for example, I were to tell you that aspirations can be infinite but capabilities must be finite, you would say, I knew that all along. You would say that's a platitude. You can get strategy on that? Well, yes, I think you can build a strategy on that because history is full of people who lost track of that insight, who let their aspirations exceed their capabilities to the point of complete overstretch and self-defeat. [02:50] History is littered with people who forgot that aphorism. And the aphorism is just plain common sense.

Why naive questions matter more than you think

30:56: You have to realize naive questions are always good to ask. Because one of the problems with theorists is that they don't like naive questions because they're inconvenient. And they're much more interested in the purity of the theory, the rigorousness of the theory, if it's a laboratory sense of replicability, of the theory. But for somebody to come along and just ask a naive question, sometimes they're not prepared for that.

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]]> Wed, 28 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does strategy factor into the mindsets of presidents like Lincoln and Reagan on both a micro and macro level? What parts of grand strategy are at play when new countries enter NATO due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

John Lewis Gaddis is a professor of history at Yale University and also the author of several books on history and strategy. His latest books include The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past, On Grand Strategy, and The Cold War: A New History.

Greg and John discuss the concept of historical consciousness and its relation to strategic thinking. John goes over the teaching of strategy from a historical perspective, comparing it to evolutionary sciences and emphasizing the importance of common sense in strategic decisions. They also explore the use of metaphors in understanding history and strategy, the role of theory, and the necessity of adaptability in leadership. The conversation touches on various historical and contemporary examples to illustrate these ideas, including the strategic mindsets of figures like Lincoln and the implications of NATO expansion and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we failing to preserve common sense in business schools?

36:38: This whole thing about preserving common sense at all altitudes, it seems to me, is something that's often missing in business schools and also in businesses, as we've seen in various cases. So, if reading some history can create that kind of attitude, then I think it's worthwhile. And the reason I think it can work gets back to the sports metaphor because, okay, maybe your business guy is not interested in reading history, but they're probably watching the March Madness or the Super Bowl, and they're probably talking about coaches and why are certain coaches better than other coaches and so on. And when they're doing that, they're talking about what I'm talking about, which is just drawing these lessons from the past, looking at the objective, operating within the rules but understanding that the application of the rules is going to be different in every situation, every moment of the game.

The optimal grand strategists know when to adapt and when to steer

27:518: I think the optimal grand strategist would be someone who is agile and situationally aware, but also retains a sense of direction.

Big ambitions fail without this one principle

01:57: It seems to me that there's a kind of logic of strategy, which transcends time and place and culture. And when you set it out, when you give examples of what you mean by that, it sounds like a platitude. So if, for example, I were to tell you that aspirations can be infinite but capabilities must be finite, you would say, I knew that all along. You would say that's a platitude. You can get strategy on that? Well, yes, I think you can build a strategy on that because history is full of people who lost track of that insight, who let their aspirations exceed their capabilities to the point of complete overstretch and self-defeat. [02:50] History is littered with people who forgot that aphorism. And the aphorism is just plain common sense.

Why naive questions matter more than you think

30:56: You have to realize naive questions are always good to ask. Because one of the problems with theorists is that they don't like naive questions because they're inconvenient. And they're much more interested in the purity of the theory, the rigorousness of the theory, if it's a laboratory sense of replicability, of the theory. But for somebody to come along and just ask a naive question, sometimes they're not prepared for that.

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]]> 546. The Intersection of Historical Consciousness and Strategic Thinking feat. John Lewis Gaddis Greg La Blanc 00:52:37 How does strategy factor into the mindsets of presidents like Lincoln and Reagan on both a micro and macro level? What parts of grand strategy are at play when new countries enter NATO due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict? John Lewis Gaddis is a professor of history at Yale University and also the author of several books on history and strategy. His latest books include The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past, On Grand Strategy, and The Cold War: A New History. Greg and John discuss the concept of historical consciousness and its relation to strategic thinking. John goes over the teaching of strategy from a historical perspective, comparing it to evolutionary sciences and emphasizing the importance of common sense in strategic decisions. They also explore the use of metaphors in understanding history and strategy, the role of theory, and the necessity of adaptability in leadership. The conversation touches on various historical and contemporary examples to illustrate these ideas, including the strategic mindsets of figures like Lincoln and the implications of NATO expansion and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does strategy factor into the mindsets of presidents like Lincoln and Reagan on both a micro and macro level? What parts of grand strategy are at play when new countries enter NATO due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict? John Lewis Gaddis is a professor of history at Yale University and also the author of several books on history and strategy. His latest books include The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past, On Grand Strategy, and The Cold War: A New History. Greg and John discuss the concept of historical consciousness and its relation to strategic thinking. John goes over the teaching of strategy from a historical perspective, comparing it to evolutionary sciences and emphasizing the importance of common sense in strategic decisions. They also explore the use of metaphors in understanding history and strategy, the role of theory, and the necessity of adaptability in leadership. The conversation touches on various historical and contemporary examples to illustrate these ideas, including the strategic mindsets of figures like Lincoln and the implications of NATO expansion and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 546 dbcdefb9-a8be-4c61-995f-17acb3a379e6 545. The Psychological Impact of Living With Social Inequality with Keith Payne Contrary to popular belief – making more money doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be happier in life. The same can be said for societies as a whole, especially when it comes to countries with lopsided wealth distribution leading to high levels of inequality. So what are the connections between that inequality,people’s general wellbeing, and politics? 

Keith Payne is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill. His books, Good Reasonable People: The Psychology Behind America's Dangerous Divide and The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die explore the science behind inequality and the far-reaching impact it has on modern society. 

Keith and Greg discuss how inequality affects subjective wellbeing and societal outcomes, the connection between inequality and political polarization, strategies to mitigate psychological harm of inequality, and how understanding these psychological mechanisms can improve cross-party dialogues and reduce divisiveness.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why facts don’t win arguments

51:42: Starting with the goal of understanding is  important, and then when we're actually engaging with the other person, we have this tendency , as soon as they say something is true, we say, well, that's not true, and here are my facts and figures. And so we need to stop trying to bludgeon the other person into agreeing with us by citing facts and better evidence. That may sound counterintuitive, especially in the academic world where I live, because, but that's the currency, right, for argumentation. That's not where most people are coming from. I mean, they care about the facts, but only as tools to defend their social identities. And so, I think a better question to ask is, well, not why do you believe that in terms of why are you wrong about the facts, but what is believing that doing for your psychological bottom line? How is that serving your sense of identity and your group loyalties?

Status is more than your paycheck

12:50: We need to find ways to judge our status not purely in terms of wealth or income, and to make those richer kind of social connections, as a source of status. Because those are things we have more control over than how rich the 1% is.

What shapes our political beliefs

06:39:  It is perceived inequality that makes a big difference. And you have to see the wealth around you. And usually, that's not comparing ourselves to the top one-tenth of 1%, because we don't see the billionaires. Even if you live in Manhattan and are surrounded by billionaires, you still don't see it much, right? People like that live in gated communities, surrounded by privacy-insuring mechanisms and stuff. What we see is maybe the top 20% who are driving expensive cars and showing off their vacation pictures on Facebook. So, for the psychological comparisons, you do have to have some visible inequality there. But there's other ways that extreme levels of inequality affect society through non-visible means. [07:34] When it comes to the day-to-day psychological experience of living in an unequal society, the blatant visibility or invisibility of wealth has a lot to do with it.

How inequality reshapes our behavior

37:07: We found that in high inequality countries, and in high inequality states within the United States, people are engaged in more risky financial behavior — whether that's buying lottery tickets, or not investing for retirement, going to check cashing places rather than traditional banking, et cetera. So that all happens more in high inequality places, and you can see the same sort of patterns with regard to non-financial risk taking around health, like drug use, cigarette smoking — things that are high risk but immediate reward in terms of hedonic or affective reactions — are better predicted by inequality than by poverty as well.

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]]> Mon, 26 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Contrary to popular belief – making more money doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be happier in life. The same can be said for societies as a whole, especially when it comes to countries with lopsided wealth distribution leading to high levels of inequality. So what are the connections between that inequality,people’s general wellbeing, and politics? 

Keith Payne is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill. His books, Good Reasonable People: The Psychology Behind America's Dangerous Divide and The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die explore the science behind inequality and the far-reaching impact it has on modern society. 

Keith and Greg discuss how inequality affects subjective wellbeing and societal outcomes, the connection between inequality and political polarization, strategies to mitigate psychological harm of inequality, and how understanding these psychological mechanisms can improve cross-party dialogues and reduce divisiveness.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why facts don’t win arguments

51:42: Starting with the goal of understanding is  important, and then when we're actually engaging with the other person, we have this tendency , as soon as they say something is true, we say, well, that's not true, and here are my facts and figures. And so we need to stop trying to bludgeon the other person into agreeing with us by citing facts and better evidence. That may sound counterintuitive, especially in the academic world where I live, because, but that's the currency, right, for argumentation. That's not where most people are coming from. I mean, they care about the facts, but only as tools to defend their social identities. And so, I think a better question to ask is, well, not why do you believe that in terms of why are you wrong about the facts, but what is believing that doing for your psychological bottom line? How is that serving your sense of identity and your group loyalties?

Status is more than your paycheck

12:50: We need to find ways to judge our status not purely in terms of wealth or income, and to make those richer kind of social connections, as a source of status. Because those are things we have more control over than how rich the 1% is.

What shapes our political beliefs

06:39:  It is perceived inequality that makes a big difference. And you have to see the wealth around you. And usually, that's not comparing ourselves to the top one-tenth of 1%, because we don't see the billionaires. Even if you live in Manhattan and are surrounded by billionaires, you still don't see it much, right? People like that live in gated communities, surrounded by privacy-insuring mechanisms and stuff. What we see is maybe the top 20% who are driving expensive cars and showing off their vacation pictures on Facebook. So, for the psychological comparisons, you do have to have some visible inequality there. But there's other ways that extreme levels of inequality affect society through non-visible means. [07:34] When it comes to the day-to-day psychological experience of living in an unequal society, the blatant visibility or invisibility of wealth has a lot to do with it.

How inequality reshapes our behavior

37:07: We found that in high inequality countries, and in high inequality states within the United States, people are engaged in more risky financial behavior — whether that's buying lottery tickets, or not investing for retirement, going to check cashing places rather than traditional banking, et cetera. So that all happens more in high inequality places, and you can see the same sort of patterns with regard to non-financial risk taking around health, like drug use, cigarette smoking — things that are high risk but immediate reward in terms of hedonic or affective reactions — are better predicted by inequality than by poverty as well.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

  • Professional Website
  • Professional Profile on X

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

]]> 545. The Psychological Impact of Living With Social Inequality with Keith Payne Greg La Blanc 00:50:37 Contrary to popular belief – making more money doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be happier in life. The same can be said for societies as a whole, especially when it comes to countries with lopsided wealth distribution leading to high levels of inequality. So what are the connections between that inequality,people’s general wellbeing, and politics? Keith Payne is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill. His books, Good Reasonable People: The Psychology Behind America's Dangerous Divide and The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die explore the science behind inequality and the far-reaching impact it has on modern society. Keith and Greg discuss how inequality affects subjective wellbeing and societal outcomes, the connection between inequality and political polarization, strategies to mitigate psychological harm of inequality, and how understanding these psychological mechanisms can improve cross-party dialogues and reduce divisiveness. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Contrary to popular belief – making more money doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be happier in life. The same can be said for societies as a whole, especially when it comes to countries with lopsided wealth distribution leading to high levels of inequality. So what are the connections between that inequality,people’s general wellbeing, and politics? Keith Payne is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill. His books, Good Reasonable People: The Psychology Behind America's Dangerous Divide and The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die explore the science behind inequality and the far-reaching impact it has on modern society. Keith and Greg discuss how inequality affects subjective wellbeing and societal outcomes, the connection between inequality and political polarization, strategies to mitigate psychological harm of inequality, and how understanding these psychological mechanisms can improve cross-party dialogues and reduce divisiveness. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 545 870f862c-31b4-4a31-93f4-9c1918af93ac 544. A Philosophical Approach to the Question of Childbearing with Anastasia Berg When did the idea of parenthood become less of a certainty and more of a choice? How have anxieties about the modern world impacted our desire to procreate and thus impacted the world’s population? Is that impact even a big deal?

Anastasia Berg is an assistant professor of philosophy at UC Irvine and co-author of the new book What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice in which she takes a philosophical approach to the question of whether or not to have children. 

Anastasia and Greg delve into the shifting motivations and anxieties influencing the choice to have children, how this question has popped up throughout history dating back to Aristotle’s time, feminism's relationship with motherhood, and the potential reasons behind declining birth rates.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When choosing parenthood feels like losing yourself

18:53: The transformation is one that really threatens annihilation of self. It's more radical than this difficulty of doing a hedonic calculation. What you are saying about the reluctance of calculating, though, I think is really important to thematize, because we see it especially as people increasingly report a conflict between pursuing what a lot of people are able to actually articulate as, like, a family goal or desire to have children and what they can see romantic relationships to be for.

Why fewer people won't save the planet

42:39: The fantasy that depopulation is going to be a solution for climate change—it's just that: it's a fantasy. What we need is immediate global climate action, and nothing short of it will make a difference.

What are parents really responsible for?

37:07 What I think people are responsible for in being parents is not that overall wellbeing. What they're responsible for is preparing, to the best of their abilities, their children for meeting life challenges, pains, and suffering. So it's not to say that you can't fail as a parent. It's not to say that we can't say that. Some people, like, should you be a parent? I'm not sure. But it is to say that judgment is not going to be based on the likelihood of your child to just encounter suffering of any kind.

Rethinking parenthood as an avenue for self-fulfillment

30:17:  The question of whether or not motherhood is an avenue for self-fulfillment should give way to the question of whether or not parenthood is something of value in human life and how to reconcile it with other demands, moral, material, et cetera. And as we said, that's true at both the individual level. So, within a relationship, to try to overcome the thought that the liberal left thing to do is to put the burden of not just choice, but the burden of asking this question of deliberation, of assuming responsibility for the choice, squarely on the shoulders of women, and also socially, to try and find a way of both recognizing the unique burdens that parenthood places on women, especially in the early stages of parenthood, but also reminding us that this is a profound human question.

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]]> Fri, 23 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When did the idea of parenthood become less of a certainty and more of a choice? How have anxieties about the modern world impacted our desire to procreate and thus impacted the world’s population? Is that impact even a big deal?

Anastasia Berg is an assistant professor of philosophy at UC Irvine and co-author of the new book What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice in which she takes a philosophical approach to the question of whether or not to have children. 

Anastasia and Greg delve into the shifting motivations and anxieties influencing the choice to have children, how this question has popped up throughout history dating back to Aristotle’s time, feminism's relationship with motherhood, and the potential reasons behind declining birth rates.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When choosing parenthood feels like losing yourself

18:53: The transformation is one that really threatens annihilation of self. It's more radical than this difficulty of doing a hedonic calculation. What you are saying about the reluctance of calculating, though, I think is really important to thematize, because we see it especially as people increasingly report a conflict between pursuing what a lot of people are able to actually articulate as, like, a family goal or desire to have children and what they can see romantic relationships to be for.

Why fewer people won't save the planet

42:39: The fantasy that depopulation is going to be a solution for climate change—it's just that: it's a fantasy. What we need is immediate global climate action, and nothing short of it will make a difference.

What are parents really responsible for?

37:07 What I think people are responsible for in being parents is not that overall wellbeing. What they're responsible for is preparing, to the best of their abilities, their children for meeting life challenges, pains, and suffering. So it's not to say that you can't fail as a parent. It's not to say that we can't say that. Some people, like, should you be a parent? I'm not sure. But it is to say that judgment is not going to be based on the likelihood of your child to just encounter suffering of any kind.

Rethinking parenthood as an avenue for self-fulfillment

30:17:  The question of whether or not motherhood is an avenue for self-fulfillment should give way to the question of whether or not parenthood is something of value in human life and how to reconcile it with other demands, moral, material, et cetera. And as we said, that's true at both the individual level. So, within a relationship, to try to overcome the thought that the liberal left thing to do is to put the burden of not just choice, but the burden of asking this question of deliberation, of assuming responsibility for the choice, squarely on the shoulders of women, and also socially, to try and find a way of both recognizing the unique burdens that parenthood places on women, especially in the early stages of parenthood, but also reminding us that this is a profound human question.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 544. A Philosophical Approach to the Question of Childbearing with Anastasia Berg Greg La Blanc 00:55:36 When did the idea of parenthood become less of a certainty and more of a choice? How have anxieties about the modern world impacted our desire to procreate and thus impacted the world’s population? Is that impact even a big deal? Anastasia Berg is an assistant professor of philosophy at UC Irvine and co-author of the new book What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice in which she takes a philosophical approach to the question of whether or not to have children. Anastasia and Greg delve into the shifting motivations and anxieties influencing the choice to have children, how this question has popped up throughout history dating back to Aristotle’s time, feminism's relationship with motherhood, and the potential reasons behind declining birth rates. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When did the idea of parenthood become less of a certainty and more of a choice? How have anxieties about the modern world impacted our desire to procreate and thus impacted the world’s population? Is that impact even a big deal? Anastasia Berg is an assistant professor of philosophy at UC Irvine and co-author of the new book What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice in which she takes a philosophical approach to the question of whether or not to have children. Anastasia and Greg delve into the shifting motivations and anxieties influencing the choice to have children, how this question has popped up throughout history dating back to Aristotle’s time, feminism's relationship with motherhood, and the potential reasons behind declining birth rates. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 544 3eb7ddca-faa0-4bdc-8b75-8d906f04a757 543. The Freedom of an Uncertain World with Margaret Heffernan How is our fear of uncertainty holding us back? Could an acceptance and willingness to embrace the unknown unlock new potential and innovation?  

Margaret Heffernan is a professor of Practice at the University of Bath, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to CEOs. Her books include Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril, Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future, and most recently Embracing Uncertainty: How writers, musicians and artists thrive in an unpredictable world.

Margaret and Greg discuss the importance of embracing uncertainty in business and life, the value of creative thinking, and the pitfalls of over-reliance on predictability and data models.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why dissent is the secret engine of creativity and better ideas

34:46: Our obsession with efficiency means that we may prioritize management over productivity, and critical to productivity is diversity, debate, dissent, because this is how bad ideas get turned into good ideas. I mean, as a CEO I could waltz into work one day with an idea, which I thought was fantastic. And the great gift I was given were  a lot of employees who would think, "Oh God, here she comes back with another terrible idea," and say, "Well, I don't know. What if we did it like this? So what if we did it like that?...[35:31] But at the end of a very long process, you end up with something which started with my bad idea and gradually got a lot better because of everybody else's input, and turns out to be marvelous at the end. But that dissent is absolutely fundamental to the creative process.

What's the relationship between being a noticer and being creative?

39:11:  It's impossible to be creative without being a noticer, for a start. And I think that the great value of being observant and thinking about what you see is it keeps you much more in touch with what's going on in the world.

The danger of mental models and the power of an open mind

45:55: The danger of mental models is that they will attract confirming evidence and marginalize, or disguise disconfirming data. And so, the antidotes to that are certainly about having enough time to be in different places with different people who think differently. Having a sufficiently open mind to be prepared to notice this confirmation. Having an open mind prepared to change one's mind. And having, I guess, a way of thinking that tends more towards skepticism.

Why embracing uncertainty means loosening up, not tightening down

57:32:  Engineers talk a lot about tight and loose. I think much that has gone wrong in organizational life is a function of being too tight. And it sounds very counterintuitive because it is counterintuitive, but uncertainty requires that we loosen up in order to be able to respond more flexibly. And I think you are exactly right that pertains as much to us as individuals, as it does to the largest corporations in the world.

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]]> Wed, 21 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How is our fear of uncertainty holding us back? Could an acceptance and willingness to embrace the unknown unlock new potential and innovation?  

Margaret Heffernan is a professor of Practice at the University of Bath, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to CEOs. Her books include Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril, Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future, and most recently Embracing Uncertainty: How writers, musicians and artists thrive in an unpredictable world.

Margaret and Greg discuss the importance of embracing uncertainty in business and life, the value of creative thinking, and the pitfalls of over-reliance on predictability and data models.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why dissent is the secret engine of creativity and better ideas

34:46: Our obsession with efficiency means that we may prioritize management over productivity, and critical to productivity is diversity, debate, dissent, because this is how bad ideas get turned into good ideas. I mean, as a CEO I could waltz into work one day with an idea, which I thought was fantastic. And the great gift I was given were  a lot of employees who would think, "Oh God, here she comes back with another terrible idea," and say, "Well, I don't know. What if we did it like this? So what if we did it like that?...[35:31] But at the end of a very long process, you end up with something which started with my bad idea and gradually got a lot better because of everybody else's input, and turns out to be marvelous at the end. But that dissent is absolutely fundamental to the creative process.

What's the relationship between being a noticer and being creative?

39:11:  It's impossible to be creative without being a noticer, for a start. And I think that the great value of being observant and thinking about what you see is it keeps you much more in touch with what's going on in the world.

The danger of mental models and the power of an open mind

45:55: The danger of mental models is that they will attract confirming evidence and marginalize, or disguise disconfirming data. And so, the antidotes to that are certainly about having enough time to be in different places with different people who think differently. Having a sufficiently open mind to be prepared to notice this confirmation. Having an open mind prepared to change one's mind. And having, I guess, a way of thinking that tends more towards skepticism.

Why embracing uncertainty means loosening up, not tightening down

57:32:  Engineers talk a lot about tight and loose. I think much that has gone wrong in organizational life is a function of being too tight. And it sounds very counterintuitive because it is counterintuitive, but uncertainty requires that we loosen up in order to be able to respond more flexibly. And I think you are exactly right that pertains as much to us as individuals, as it does to the largest corporations in the world.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 543. The Freedom of an Uncertain World with Margaret Heffernan Greg La Blanc 00:52:44 How is our fear of uncertainty holding us back? Could an acceptance and willingness to embrace the unknown unlock new potential and innovation?  Margaret Heffernan is a professor of Practice at the University of Bath, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to CEOs. Her books include Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril, Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future, and most recently Embracing Uncertainty: How writers, musicians and artists thrive in an unpredictable world. Margaret and Greg discuss the importance of embracing uncertainty in business and life, the value of creative thinking, and the pitfalls of over-reliance on predictability and data models. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How is our fear of uncertainty holding us back? Could an acceptance and willingness to embrace the unknown unlock new potential and innovation?  Margaret Heffernan is a professor of Practice at the University of Bath, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to CEOs. Her books include Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril, Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future, and most recently Embracing Uncertainty: How writers, musicians and artists thrive in an unpredictable world. Margaret and Greg discuss the importance of embracing uncertainty in business and life, the value of creative thinking, and the pitfalls of over-reliance on predictability and data models. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 543 ff204de7-3ced-4d54-966e-4ddb366ea9f1 542. The Modern Challenges of Aerospace, Automation, and Enlightenment feat. David A. Mindell Why is there a need for a cultural and educational shift towards appreciating, building, and maintaining industrial systems? What would a rebirth of manufacturing look like in 2025? How would we go about setting up a new Industrial Enlightenment?

David A. Mindell is a professor of aerospace engineering and the history of engineering and manufacturing at MIT. He is also the author of several books. The title of his latest book and the primary subject of this discussion is The New Lunar Society: An Enlightenment Guide to the Next Industrial Revolution.

Greg and David discuss the 18th-century industrial enlightenment and its implications for modern industrial society. They also explore the evolving relationship between technology and labor, the persistent myths around automation, and the importance of valuing industrial contributions in today's digital economy. 

Mendell emphasizes the need for a cultural and educational shift towards appreciating building and maintaining industrial systems, advocating for what he describes as a new industrial enlightenment.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The overlooked power of process knowledge

12:41: If you are working on a very advanced, cutting-edge product, like a phone, you want to know exactly where there's capacity that's left on the table to enable you to build the next form. Did you design it too conservatively here? Is there something there you could do more with? And that familiarity with process, whether it's manufacturing or maintenance or other aspects of it, is a really important source of knowledge in an industrial system that we've generally devalued in favor of the kind of product innovation. And inventing the shiny new thing. And I'm sitting on the middle of the campus here at MIT, where we spend a lot of time teaching students about what is essentially product innovation. And we have very few folks on this campus who know anything about the processes that make and maintain these systems, even though very often that knowledge is a source of really great innovation.

Is disruption really the enemy in industrial systems

11:16: Disruption is the enemy in an industrial system. Reliability, repeatability, efficiency, robustness—those are things that people care a lot about in these systems.

The untapped potential of maintenance cycles

31:59: Improving maintenance cycles is a huge source of process innovation that we have not paid enough attention to, and if you can make something that lasts longer, that's a real contribution. I'm a pilot, and people make airplanes last for 50, 60, 70 years because they're designed to be maintained and upgraded, and you replace the parts that wear out and keep them going. Why can't we do that with laptops and phones and even routers or other disposable parts of the electronic economy? And so, work is changing. Work should change. Work should always be responding to the technological changes and needs of the time.

On the myth of replacement in technology and work

45:55: The myth of replacement, as I talk about in the book, is really. It's not that technologies don't enable us to do things with fewer people. Again, that's really the definition of productivity and not a bad definition for technology in these settings. It's more that, for one, it's very rare that you see a technology replace a human job and do that job the same way. Much more common that they change the nature of the work. Either they move it to a different place, they change the kind of skills that are required. They maybe make the job higher level. Maybe they make the job lower level. And you want to ask those questions about who's doing the work, where are they? What's their background, what's their training? Why does it matter? Those things change a lot, but it's relatively rare.

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]]> Mon, 19 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why is there a need for a cultural and educational shift towards appreciating, building, and maintaining industrial systems? What would a rebirth of manufacturing look like in 2025? How would we go about setting up a new Industrial Enlightenment?

David A. Mindell is a professor of aerospace engineering and the history of engineering and manufacturing at MIT. He is also the author of several books. The title of his latest book and the primary subject of this discussion is The New Lunar Society: An Enlightenment Guide to the Next Industrial Revolution.

Greg and David discuss the 18th-century industrial enlightenment and its implications for modern industrial society. They also explore the evolving relationship between technology and labor, the persistent myths around automation, and the importance of valuing industrial contributions in today's digital economy. 

Mendell emphasizes the need for a cultural and educational shift towards appreciating building and maintaining industrial systems, advocating for what he describes as a new industrial enlightenment.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The overlooked power of process knowledge

12:41: If you are working on a very advanced, cutting-edge product, like a phone, you want to know exactly where there's capacity that's left on the table to enable you to build the next form. Did you design it too conservatively here? Is there something there you could do more with? And that familiarity with process, whether it's manufacturing or maintenance or other aspects of it, is a really important source of knowledge in an industrial system that we've generally devalued in favor of the kind of product innovation. And inventing the shiny new thing. And I'm sitting on the middle of the campus here at MIT, where we spend a lot of time teaching students about what is essentially product innovation. And we have very few folks on this campus who know anything about the processes that make and maintain these systems, even though very often that knowledge is a source of really great innovation.

Is disruption really the enemy in industrial systems

11:16: Disruption is the enemy in an industrial system. Reliability, repeatability, efficiency, robustness—those are things that people care a lot about in these systems.

The untapped potential of maintenance cycles

31:59: Improving maintenance cycles is a huge source of process innovation that we have not paid enough attention to, and if you can make something that lasts longer, that's a real contribution. I'm a pilot, and people make airplanes last for 50, 60, 70 years because they're designed to be maintained and upgraded, and you replace the parts that wear out and keep them going. Why can't we do that with laptops and phones and even routers or other disposable parts of the electronic economy? And so, work is changing. Work should change. Work should always be responding to the technological changes and needs of the time.

On the myth of replacement in technology and work

45:55: The myth of replacement, as I talk about in the book, is really. It's not that technologies don't enable us to do things with fewer people. Again, that's really the definition of productivity and not a bad definition for technology in these settings. It's more that, for one, it's very rare that you see a technology replace a human job and do that job the same way. Much more common that they change the nature of the work. Either they move it to a different place, they change the kind of skills that are required. They maybe make the job higher level. Maybe they make the job lower level. And you want to ask those questions about who's doing the work, where are they? What's their background, what's their training? Why does it matter? Those things change a lot, but it's relatively rare.

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]]> 542. The Modern Challenges of Aerospace, Automation, and Enlightenment feat. David A. Mindell Greg La Blanc 00:54:13 Why is there a need for a cultural and educational shift towards appreciating, building, and maintaining industrial systems? What would a rebirth of manufacturing look like in 2025? How would we go about setting up a new Industrial Enlightenment? David A. Mindell is a professor of aerospace engineering and the history of engineering and manufacturing at MIT. He is also the author of several books. The title of his latest book and the primary subject of this discussion is The New Lunar Society: An Enlightenment Guide to the Next Industrial Revolution. Greg and David discuss the 18th-century industrial enlightenment and its implications for modern industrial society. They also explore the evolving relationship between technology and labor, the persistent myths around automation, and the importance of valuing industrial contributions in today's digital economy. Mendell emphasizes the need for a cultural and educational shift towards appreciating building and maintaining industrial systems, advocating for what he describes as a new industrial enlightenment. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why is there a need for a cultural and educational shift towards appreciating, building, and maintaining industrial systems? What would a rebirth of manufacturing look like in 2025? How would we go about setting up a new Industrial Enlightenment? David A. Mindell is a professor of aerospace engineering and the history of engineering and manufacturing at MIT. He is also the author of several books. The title of his latest book and the primary subject of this discussion is The New Lunar Society: An Enlightenment Guide to the Next Industrial Revolution. Greg and David discuss the 18th-century industrial enlightenment and its implications for modern industrial society. They also explore the evolving relationship between technology and labor, the persistent myths around automation, and the importance of valuing industrial contributions in today's digital economy. Mendell emphasizes the need for a cultural and educational shift towards appreciating building and maintaining industrial systems, advocating for what he describes as a new industrial enlightenment. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 542 771f808d-5942-4d2c-8203-e42cac09e63a 541. The Ingredients That Make Up Human and Artificial Educability with Leslie Valiant What does it mean to learn something? While many living things have the capacity for learning, humans have taken this ability to unmatched levels. Our ability to learn and apply knowledge sets us apart from most other species, and now we’re passing that ability on to AI. 

Leslie Valiant is a professor of computer science and applied mathematics at Harvard University. His latest book, The Importance of Being Educable: A New Theory of Human Uniqueness, explores our ability to take in new information and raises questions about the broader implications of educability and artificial intelligence. 

Leslie and Greg discuss the uniqueness of human educability, how that ability differs from artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the future challenges of integrating machine intelligence in human society.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What do people miss when they think about intelligence?

02:05: Well, I think the difficulty is that we don't really know what the word "intelligence" is, and we've been using it for more than a century, and we're using it without having any note of what it means. I don't think it's been very useful, for example, in the study of artificial intelligence. So I think the context of IQ tests, I think, arose in the early 1900s in connection with potential definitions of intelligence in terms of people finding correlations between abilities of children to do various subjects at school. And they hypothesized that the children who are good at many subjects had something, and they hypothesized that what they had, this "something," was this intelligence. But that's not a definition of what intelligence is. So they didn't provide specification of how you recognize someone who's intelligent. It's a purely statistical notion.

What is the best way to understand humans?

03:00: To understand what one is doing, one has to have a definition of what one's trying to achieve. And in some sense, the successes of AI have been along those lines. So, machine learning was something which was defined in terms of what you wanted to achieve. So you had examples of things and you wanted to achieve a prediction of newer examples with high confidence, and people managed to implement this, and this became the kind of backburner of AI. So I think, in understanding humans, I think this is the way forward. We should understand what kind of things we're good at, what we do, what our functions are. And saying someone is intelligent is almost like name-calling.

How can we promote educability without also promoting vulnerability?

39:06: We already have these incredible capabilities for absorbing information, processing it, applying it, running with it. And this capability somehow exceeds our ability to evaluate information. So someone gives us some story about what happened on the other side of the world yesterday. We can't rush over to check it out. We either believe it or we don't believe it. So we find it very hard to evaluate, to evaluate everything we hear.

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]]> Fri, 16 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does it mean to learn something? While many living things have the capacity for learning, humans have taken this ability to unmatched levels. Our ability to learn and apply knowledge sets us apart from most other species, and now we’re passing that ability on to AI. 

Leslie Valiant is a professor of computer science and applied mathematics at Harvard University. His latest book, The Importance of Being Educable: A New Theory of Human Uniqueness, explores our ability to take in new information and raises questions about the broader implications of educability and artificial intelligence. 

Leslie and Greg discuss the uniqueness of human educability, how that ability differs from artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the future challenges of integrating machine intelligence in human society.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What do people miss when they think about intelligence?

02:05: Well, I think the difficulty is that we don't really know what the word "intelligence" is, and we've been using it for more than a century, and we're using it without having any note of what it means. I don't think it's been very useful, for example, in the study of artificial intelligence. So I think the context of IQ tests, I think, arose in the early 1900s in connection with potential definitions of intelligence in terms of people finding correlations between abilities of children to do various subjects at school. And they hypothesized that the children who are good at many subjects had something, and they hypothesized that what they had, this "something," was this intelligence. But that's not a definition of what intelligence is. So they didn't provide specification of how you recognize someone who's intelligent. It's a purely statistical notion.

What is the best way to understand humans?

03:00: To understand what one is doing, one has to have a definition of what one's trying to achieve. And in some sense, the successes of AI have been along those lines. So, machine learning was something which was defined in terms of what you wanted to achieve. So you had examples of things and you wanted to achieve a prediction of newer examples with high confidence, and people managed to implement this, and this became the kind of backburner of AI. So I think, in understanding humans, I think this is the way forward. We should understand what kind of things we're good at, what we do, what our functions are. And saying someone is intelligent is almost like name-calling.

How can we promote educability without also promoting vulnerability?

39:06: We already have these incredible capabilities for absorbing information, processing it, applying it, running with it. And this capability somehow exceeds our ability to evaluate information. So someone gives us some story about what happened on the other side of the world yesterday. We can't rush over to check it out. We either believe it or we don't believe it. So we find it very hard to evaluate, to evaluate everything we hear.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 541. The Ingredients That Make Up Human and Artificial Educability with Leslie Valiant Greg La Blanc 00:42:01 What does it mean to learn something? While many living things have the capacity for learning, humans have taken this ability to unmatched levels. Our ability to learn and apply knowledge sets us apart from most other species, and now we’re passing that ability on to AI. Leslie Valiant is a professor of computer science and applied mathematics at Harvard University. His latest book, The Importance of Being Educable: A New Theory of Human Uniqueness, explores our ability to take in new information and raises questions about the broader implications of educability and artificial intelligence. Leslie and Greg discuss the uniqueness of human educability, how that ability differs from artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the future challenges of integrating machine intelligence in human society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What does it mean to learn something? While many living things have the capacity for learning, humans have taken this ability to unmatched levels. Our ability to learn and apply knowledge sets us apart from most other species, and now we’re passing that ability on to AI. Leslie Valiant is a professor of computer science and applied mathematics at Harvard University. His latest book, The Importance of Being Educable: A New Theory of Human Uniqueness, explores our ability to take in new information and raises questions about the broader implications of educability and artificial intelligence. Leslie and Greg discuss the uniqueness of human educability, how that ability differs from artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the future challenges of integrating machine intelligence in human society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 541 f41833ef-4556-42a7-b292-6388bf11ec62 540. How Originalism and Libertarianism Changed the Legal Landscape with Randy E. Barnett What does it take to go from a criminal prosecutor to a pioneer of the “originalism” movement and one of the top constitutional law scholars in America?

Randy Barnett is a professor of law at Georgetown University and the director of Georgetown Center for the Constitution. He has written numerous books including, Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People, The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: Its Letter and Spirit, and most recently a memoir called A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist. 

Randy and Greg discuss his journey from private to public law, how he discovered and furthered the originalism movement, and his influential roles in landmark cases such as the 2004 medical marijuana challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court and the 2012 Affordable Care Act challenge. They also delve into the nuances of constitutional law and the structural challenges within legal academia.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What motivates justices beyond doctrine

19:35: What really motivates these justices, apart from the doctrine, which I think doesn't really motivate them, that means the law is not motivating. And what really motivates them is what I call constitutional principle. They carry within their minds some fundamental constitutional principles. And those principles kind of dictate what they think the right answer is. And at that point, they will start marshaling doctrine on behalf of that. But it isn't merely the policy outcome of the case. That's the difference. For the legal realists, the pure legal realists. It's just, "What outcome do I like?" But for most justices, it's, "What constitutional principles do I hold dear that I want to see vindicated, or do I believe will be undermined if the other side should prevail?" That's a big difference.

What is originalism?

12:37: Originalism is the view that the meaning of the constitution should remain the same until it is properly changed by amendment.

Can contract law theory help you understand constitutional theory better?

09:46: Being able to do contract law theory and to be able to do it at all enabled me to do constitutional theory way better than people who have known nothing but constitutional law. And if I can put this more in a vernacular, constitutional law is largely bullshit.

The empty concept of activism in legal discourse

29:03: The term activism is a completely empty concept. It is more, like what you said earlier, a label to be peeled off and stuck on a decision that you don't like. And it's a sort of process objection, which allows you to avoid having to talk about the merits of the constitutional argument. You say, "Oh, this judge is overstepping their authority. They're engaged in activism," without, and without having to say, "Well, what's wrong with what they said about the constitution?" Or whatever. And so, because it's empty, anybody can hurl it.

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]]> Wed, 14 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does it take to go from a criminal prosecutor to a pioneer of the “originalism” movement and one of the top constitutional law scholars in America?

Randy Barnett is a professor of law at Georgetown University and the director of Georgetown Center for the Constitution. He has written numerous books including, Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People, The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: Its Letter and Spirit, and most recently a memoir called A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist. 

Randy and Greg discuss his journey from private to public law, how he discovered and furthered the originalism movement, and his influential roles in landmark cases such as the 2004 medical marijuana challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court and the 2012 Affordable Care Act challenge. They also delve into the nuances of constitutional law and the structural challenges within legal academia.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What motivates justices beyond doctrine

19:35: What really motivates these justices, apart from the doctrine, which I think doesn't really motivate them, that means the law is not motivating. And what really motivates them is what I call constitutional principle. They carry within their minds some fundamental constitutional principles. And those principles kind of dictate what they think the right answer is. And at that point, they will start marshaling doctrine on behalf of that. But it isn't merely the policy outcome of the case. That's the difference. For the legal realists, the pure legal realists. It's just, "What outcome do I like?" But for most justices, it's, "What constitutional principles do I hold dear that I want to see vindicated, or do I believe will be undermined if the other side should prevail?" That's a big difference.

What is originalism?

12:37: Originalism is the view that the meaning of the constitution should remain the same until it is properly changed by amendment.

Can contract law theory help you understand constitutional theory better?

09:46: Being able to do contract law theory and to be able to do it at all enabled me to do constitutional theory way better than people who have known nothing but constitutional law. And if I can put this more in a vernacular, constitutional law is largely bullshit.

The empty concept of activism in legal discourse

29:03: The term activism is a completely empty concept. It is more, like what you said earlier, a label to be peeled off and stuck on a decision that you don't like. And it's a sort of process objection, which allows you to avoid having to talk about the merits of the constitutional argument. You say, "Oh, this judge is overstepping their authority. They're engaged in activism," without, and without having to say, "Well, what's wrong with what they said about the constitution?" Or whatever. And so, because it's empty, anybody can hurl it.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 540. How Originalism and Libertarianism Changed the Legal Landscape with Randy E. Barnett Greg La Blanc 00:57:28 What does it take to go from a criminal prosecutor to a pioneer of the “originalism” movement and one of the top constitutional law scholars in America? Randy Barnett is a professor of law at Georgetown University and the director of Georgetown Center for the Constitution. He has written numerous books including, Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People, The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: Its Letter and Spirit, and most recently a memoir called A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist. Randy and Greg discuss his journey from private to public law, how he discovered and furthered the originalism movement, and his influential roles in landmark cases such as the 2004 medical marijuana challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court and the 2012 Affordable Care Act challenge. They also delve into the nuances of constitutional law and the structural challenges within legal academia. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What does it take to go from a criminal prosecutor to a pioneer of the “originalism” movement and one of the top constitutional law scholars in America? Randy Barnett is a professor of law at Georgetown University and the director of Georgetown Center for the Constitution. He has written numerous books including, Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People, The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: Its Letter and Spirit, and most recently a memoir called A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist. Randy and Greg discuss his journey from private to public law, how he discovered and furthered the originalism movement, and his influential roles in landmark cases such as the 2004 medical marijuana challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court and the 2012 Affordable Care Act challenge. They also delve into the nuances of constitutional law and the structural challenges within legal academia. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 540 fdb3d7b3-ebc5-4dc1-87e1-34a824e85667 539. Contemporary Culture and the Battle with the Past feat. Frank Furedi Why is historical awareness so important in order to form a strong personal identity? What are the risks of a culture overly centered on safety and fragility?

Frank Furedi is an emeritus professor at the University of Kent and director of the think tank MCC Brussels. Frank is also the author of several books. His latest work is titled The War Against the Past: Why The West Must Fight For Its History, and he has also written How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the Twenty-First Century, First World War: Still No End in Sight, Power of Reading: From Socrates to Twitter.

Greg and Frank discuss the disparagement of the past in contemporary culture, the influence of identity politics on historical interpretation, and the educational system's decreasing demands on students. They also discuss the decline of practical wisdom and the impacts of education on cultural values. Frank critiques the modern tendency to detach from historical legacies, highlighting the dangers of presentism and the moral devaluation of the past. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Understanding history beyond simplistic narratives

07:26: People say Martin Luther, who isn't the hero of mine, but nevertheless played an important role in the Reformation, was the antecedent of Adolf Hitler, that already in his authoritarian behavior, there were the seeds of what would happen in the 1930s and 1940s. And that kind of simplistic history means that you do not even actually understand what is unique and special about the Holocaust. What is the tragedy that we fell upon us? If you see that merely as more of the same, because then you forget about the Enlightenment, you forget about the incredible achievements of German culture. Someone like Heine, Beethoven, and some of the artistic sort of endeavors that existed there. And impoverish our own sensibility through doing something like that. And I think a mature individual learns to be critical of the horrible things that have occurred in the past whilst at the same time learned to valorize and affirm what were very positive contributions to human civilization.

The Renaissance as a positive way of viewing the past

05:01: The Renaissance is really about rebirth, and there's a very strong sense in which what they wanna do is they wanna reappropriate the best that existed beforehand. And, in the course of reappropriating it, what they want to do is to make it come alive within their own lifetime. And I think that's a really positive way of dealing with the past.

The transformative power of books

35:41: Books are important because it kind of demands an element of interaction between you and the author. And what happens is that, sort of as you're going through the pages and reading them, it has the potential to stimulate your sensibilities in a way that provides you with both an aesthetic element but also an intellectual element. I think what is really great about a book is that it is both something that stirs the emotion and, at the same time, makes you aware of the fact that there are problems with these ideas, these existentially difficult kinds of questions. Which basically means that you can, on a good day, come out a slightly different person than when you began that journey when you kind of started on the first page.

How inclusion and market forces are reshaping education

44:54: What the woke, idea of inclusion does is it fundamentally changes the culture of academic learning, because now what becomes important is the student rather than the subject. So you have what's called student-led learning, which I think is a travesty of any kind of intellectual engagement because in a real academic setting, you have a partnership between the academic and the students that have come in there. So I think it's both a cultural dilution of academic standards alongside the market-driven impulse. And it's the convergence of the two, which is why you have a situation where you have administrators, professional administrators, experts kind of becoming the best allies of the inclusion diversity merchants. It's almost like they got this unholy alliance of controlling the university through their coalition.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Mon, 12 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why is historical awareness so important in order to form a strong personal identity? What are the risks of a culture overly centered on safety and fragility?

Frank Furedi is an emeritus professor at the University of Kent and director of the think tank MCC Brussels. Frank is also the author of several books. His latest work is titled The War Against the Past: Why The West Must Fight For Its History, and he has also written How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the Twenty-First Century, First World War: Still No End in Sight, Power of Reading: From Socrates to Twitter.

Greg and Frank discuss the disparagement of the past in contemporary culture, the influence of identity politics on historical interpretation, and the educational system's decreasing demands on students. They also discuss the decline of practical wisdom and the impacts of education on cultural values. Frank critiques the modern tendency to detach from historical legacies, highlighting the dangers of presentism and the moral devaluation of the past. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Understanding history beyond simplistic narratives

07:26: People say Martin Luther, who isn't the hero of mine, but nevertheless played an important role in the Reformation, was the antecedent of Adolf Hitler, that already in his authoritarian behavior, there were the seeds of what would happen in the 1930s and 1940s. And that kind of simplistic history means that you do not even actually understand what is unique and special about the Holocaust. What is the tragedy that we fell upon us? If you see that merely as more of the same, because then you forget about the Enlightenment, you forget about the incredible achievements of German culture. Someone like Heine, Beethoven, and some of the artistic sort of endeavors that existed there. And impoverish our own sensibility through doing something like that. And I think a mature individual learns to be critical of the horrible things that have occurred in the past whilst at the same time learned to valorize and affirm what were very positive contributions to human civilization.

The Renaissance as a positive way of viewing the past

05:01: The Renaissance is really about rebirth, and there's a very strong sense in which what they wanna do is they wanna reappropriate the best that existed beforehand. And, in the course of reappropriating it, what they want to do is to make it come alive within their own lifetime. And I think that's a really positive way of dealing with the past.

The transformative power of books

35:41: Books are important because it kind of demands an element of interaction between you and the author. And what happens is that, sort of as you're going through the pages and reading them, it has the potential to stimulate your sensibilities in a way that provides you with both an aesthetic element but also an intellectual element. I think what is really great about a book is that it is both something that stirs the emotion and, at the same time, makes you aware of the fact that there are problems with these ideas, these existentially difficult kinds of questions. Which basically means that you can, on a good day, come out a slightly different person than when you began that journey when you kind of started on the first page.

How inclusion and market forces are reshaping education

44:54: What the woke, idea of inclusion does is it fundamentally changes the culture of academic learning, because now what becomes important is the student rather than the subject. So you have what's called student-led learning, which I think is a travesty of any kind of intellectual engagement because in a real academic setting, you have a partnership between the academic and the students that have come in there. So I think it's both a cultural dilution of academic standards alongside the market-driven impulse. And it's the convergence of the two, which is why you have a situation where you have administrators, professional administrators, experts kind of becoming the best allies of the inclusion diversity merchants. It's almost like they got this unholy alliance of controlling the university through their coalition.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 539. Contemporary Culture and the Battle with the Past feat. Frank Furedi Greg La Blanc 00:49:37 Why is historical awareness so important in order to form a strong personal identity? What are the risks of a culture overly centered on safety and fragility? Frank Furedi is an emeritus professor at the University of Kent and director of the think tank MCC Brussels. Frank is also the author of several books. His latest work is titled The War Against the Past: Why The West Must Fight For Its History, and he has also written How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the Twenty-First Century, First World War: Still No End in Sight, Power of Reading: From Socrates to Twitter. Greg and Frank discuss the disparagement of the past in contemporary culture, the influence of identity politics on historical interpretation, and the educational system's decreasing demands on students. They also discuss the decline of practical wisdom and the impacts of education on cultural values. Frank critiques the modern tendency to detach from historical legacies, highlighting the dangers of presentism and the moral devaluation of the past. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why is historical awareness so important in order to form a strong personal identity? What are the risks of a culture overly centered on safety and fragility? Frank Furedi is an emeritus professor at the University of Kent and director of the think tank MCC Brussels. Frank is also the author of several books. His latest work is titled The War Against the Past: Why The West Must Fight For Its History, and he has also written How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the Twenty-First Century, First World War: Still No End in Sight, Power of Reading: From Socrates to Twitter. Greg and Frank discuss the disparagement of the past in contemporary culture, the influence of identity politics on historical interpretation, and the educational system's decreasing demands on students. They also discuss the decline of practical wisdom and the impacts of education on cultural values. Frank critiques the modern tendency to detach from historical legacies, highlighting the dangers of presentism and the moral devaluation of the past. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 539 a9cbee8a-c405-4587-b02a-2db0ebb197b7 538. Bankruptcy, Inequality, and the Quest for Fairness feat. Melissa B. Jacoby What are the broader implications of specialized bankruptcy courts on the U.S. legal system? How are bankruptcies being used and misused by debtors and creditors today?

Melissa B. Jacoby is a professor of law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She’s also the author of the book Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal.

Greg and Melissa discuss the complexities of the U.S. bankruptcy code, highlighting its impact on both individuals and corporations. Their conversation digs into the unintended and often unfair consequences of bankruptcy laws, especially concerning personal bankruptcy versus corporate restructuring. Melissa and Greg also touch on the racial disparities in bankruptcy cases, the influence of the consumer credit industry, and the role of non-bankrupt players like the Sacklers in liability discharge.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The cost of going bankrupt in America

09:35: You have to pay not to pay in America to go bankrupt. It is the kind of social insurance that requires an outlay of funds, and the bankruptcy system can't print money. It doesn't do job retraining. So the one thing it does is cancel debt, but you have to pay for that.

How bankruptcy reflects broader inequality

16:14: It's important to see how bankruptcy is in conversation with a lot of other laws and policies that create inequities outside of bankruptcy. And then, when they're brought into bankruptcy, bankruptcy piles on. 

The role of civil litigation in bankruptcy

24:27: There are areas of law that depend not as much on upfront regulation but on ex-post exploration of alleged wrongs, that the civil litigation process is not merely to reward a remedy like some people think, although again, sometimes that is what people want. It is to switch the power dynamics in the control that an injured person gets to ask someone else questions, gets to shape the process. And that doesn't mean they're going to prevail. It is possible that instead of getting 3 cents on the dollar, there will be zero. But that's not really the point here. The point here, you're losing a lot of other objectives that the law outside of bankruptcy is supposed to fill. And it becomes very easy once one spends a lot of time in the bankruptcy system. Everything is about money.

Bankruptcy can cancel debts but we've made it too hard to use

08:34: The thing that bankruptcy can do the best, or is the most equipped to do relative to other laws, is to cancel debts. So, what is going on with the consumer credit industry in its many, many years of lobbying to make the bankruptcy system more complicated and more expensive for average families to use? It doesn't seem to have been that the bankruptcy system operates more smoothly and efficiently, because, if anything, the 2005 amendments had the opposite effect.

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]]> Fri, 9 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the broader implications of specialized bankruptcy courts on the U.S. legal system? How are bankruptcies being used and misused by debtors and creditors today?

Melissa B. Jacoby is a professor of law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She’s also the author of the book Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal.

Greg and Melissa discuss the complexities of the U.S. bankruptcy code, highlighting its impact on both individuals and corporations. Their conversation digs into the unintended and often unfair consequences of bankruptcy laws, especially concerning personal bankruptcy versus corporate restructuring. Melissa and Greg also touch on the racial disparities in bankruptcy cases, the influence of the consumer credit industry, and the role of non-bankrupt players like the Sacklers in liability discharge.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The cost of going bankrupt in America

09:35: You have to pay not to pay in America to go bankrupt. It is the kind of social insurance that requires an outlay of funds, and the bankruptcy system can't print money. It doesn't do job retraining. So the one thing it does is cancel debt, but you have to pay for that.

How bankruptcy reflects broader inequality

16:14: It's important to see how bankruptcy is in conversation with a lot of other laws and policies that create inequities outside of bankruptcy. And then, when they're brought into bankruptcy, bankruptcy piles on. 

The role of civil litigation in bankruptcy

24:27: There are areas of law that depend not as much on upfront regulation but on ex-post exploration of alleged wrongs, that the civil litigation process is not merely to reward a remedy like some people think, although again, sometimes that is what people want. It is to switch the power dynamics in the control that an injured person gets to ask someone else questions, gets to shape the process. And that doesn't mean they're going to prevail. It is possible that instead of getting 3 cents on the dollar, there will be zero. But that's not really the point here. The point here, you're losing a lot of other objectives that the law outside of bankruptcy is supposed to fill. And it becomes very easy once one spends a lot of time in the bankruptcy system. Everything is about money.

Bankruptcy can cancel debts but we've made it too hard to use

08:34: The thing that bankruptcy can do the best, or is the most equipped to do relative to other laws, is to cancel debts. So, what is going on with the consumer credit industry in its many, many years of lobbying to make the bankruptcy system more complicated and more expensive for average families to use? It doesn't seem to have been that the bankruptcy system operates more smoothly and efficiently, because, if anything, the 2005 amendments had the opposite effect.

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]]> 538. Bankruptcy, Inequality, and the Quest for Fairness feat. Melissa B. Jacoby Greg La Blanc 00:58:59 What are the broader implications of specialized bankruptcy courts on the U.S. legal system? How are bankruptcies being used and misused by debtors and creditors today? Melissa B. Jacoby is a professor of law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She’s also the author of the book Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal. Greg and Melissa discuss the complexities of the U.S. bankruptcy code, highlighting its impact on both individuals and corporations. Their conversation digs into the unintended and often unfair consequences of bankruptcy laws, especially concerning personal bankruptcy versus corporate restructuring. Melissa and Greg also touch on the racial disparities in bankruptcy cases, the influence of the consumer credit industry, and the role of non-bankrupt players like the Sacklers in liability discharge. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the broader implications of specialized bankruptcy courts on the U.S. legal system? How are bankruptcies being used and misused by debtors and creditors today? Melissa B. Jacoby is a professor of law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She’s also the author of the book Unjust Debts: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal. Greg and Melissa discuss the complexities of the U.S. bankruptcy code, highlighting its impact on both individuals and corporations. Their conversation digs into the unintended and often unfair consequences of bankruptcy laws, especially concerning personal bankruptcy versus corporate restructuring. Melissa and Greg also touch on the racial disparities in bankruptcy cases, the influence of the consumer credit industry, and the role of non-bankrupt players like the Sacklers in liability discharge. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 538 31b7b41b-5575-4d09-8eca-e0d5d9a0eac9 537. Breaking Down Feminism: A Critique of The Movement's Impact on Women feat. Carrie Gress What are the consequences of feminist ideals on modern women? How have they affected the work-life balance, the denigration of motherhood, and the quest for female autonomy?

Carrie Gress is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and at Catholic University. She is also the author of several books. Her latest is titled, The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us.

Greg and Carrie discuss her latest book, where she argues that feminism has been detrimental to women's happiness and societal roles. Carrie explores the historical roots of feminism dating back to the French Revolution, and cites key figures such as Mary Wollstonecraft and the people around her. Carrie critiques the feminist movement’s focus on autonomy, notes its influence from communism and socialism, and laments its impact on modern societal issues, including motherhood, family dynamics, and mental health. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What feminism forgot about motherhood

16:41: I think the problems really get bigger. The more you start seeing how it's not just about women going to work, but it's really an ideology that we've been fed over and over again, and told that this is really the route to happiness. Meanwhile, something like motherhood is denigrated, even though, you know, there's so much personal growth that happens from motherhood. There's so much growth in terms of just maturing. And I think that's one of the great things about motherhood — it just pulls you out of yourself. And that's what people are resistant to — you don't wanna see how impatient you are. You don't wanna see your limits. And that's what motherhood pushes you to, so that you have to surpass them and become better than what you were before. And there's nobody to take over for you at five o'clock. It just keeps going. And I think that the ways in which our virtues are really extended and can grow — but, you know, few people understand and think through that prism when it comes to motherhood.

Home solidifies who you are

20:26: Home isn't meant to just be a hotel where you check in at night, but it's meant to be a place where you really solidify who you are. You learn your gifts; you learn your connection to family. And in that rootedness, then you can go out into the world and be something.

What really is feminism?

03:51: Feminism is a way to protect ourselves against things, instead of really opening ourselves up to something more beautiful, which comes about within the family, within having children, within the home — which is not to say that women shouldn't work. I'm obviously a working mom, but I think it has to be balanced with understanding who we are. And instead of rejecting something, it's really going back to embracing ourselves — the life of womanhood as a mother and wife, and caring for others.

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]]> Wed, 7 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the consequences of feminist ideals on modern women? How have they affected the work-life balance, the denigration of motherhood, and the quest for female autonomy?

Carrie Gress is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and at Catholic University. She is also the author of several books. Her latest is titled, The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us.

Greg and Carrie discuss her latest book, where she argues that feminism has been detrimental to women's happiness and societal roles. Carrie explores the historical roots of feminism dating back to the French Revolution, and cites key figures such as Mary Wollstonecraft and the people around her. Carrie critiques the feminist movement’s focus on autonomy, notes its influence from communism and socialism, and laments its impact on modern societal issues, including motherhood, family dynamics, and mental health. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What feminism forgot about motherhood

16:41: I think the problems really get bigger. The more you start seeing how it's not just about women going to work, but it's really an ideology that we've been fed over and over again, and told that this is really the route to happiness. Meanwhile, something like motherhood is denigrated, even though, you know, there's so much personal growth that happens from motherhood. There's so much growth in terms of just maturing. And I think that's one of the great things about motherhood — it just pulls you out of yourself. And that's what people are resistant to — you don't wanna see how impatient you are. You don't wanna see your limits. And that's what motherhood pushes you to, so that you have to surpass them and become better than what you were before. And there's nobody to take over for you at five o'clock. It just keeps going. And I think that the ways in which our virtues are really extended and can grow — but, you know, few people understand and think through that prism when it comes to motherhood.

Home solidifies who you are

20:26: Home isn't meant to just be a hotel where you check in at night, but it's meant to be a place where you really solidify who you are. You learn your gifts; you learn your connection to family. And in that rootedness, then you can go out into the world and be something.

What really is feminism?

03:51: Feminism is a way to protect ourselves against things, instead of really opening ourselves up to something more beautiful, which comes about within the family, within having children, within the home — which is not to say that women shouldn't work. I'm obviously a working mom, but I think it has to be balanced with understanding who we are. And instead of rejecting something, it's really going back to embracing ourselves — the life of womanhood as a mother and wife, and caring for others.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 537. Breaking Down Feminism: A Critique of The Movement's Impact on Women feat. Carrie Gress Greg La Blanc 00:53:27 What are the consequences of feminist ideals on modern women? How have they affected the work-life balance, the denigration of motherhood, and the quest for female autonomy? Carrie Gress is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and at Catholic University. She is also the author of several books. Her latest is titled, The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us. Greg and Carrie discuss her latest book, where she argues that feminism has been detrimental to women's happiness and societal roles. Carrie explores the historical roots of feminism dating back to the French Revolution, and cites key figures such as Mary Wollstonecraft and the people around her. Carrie critiques the feminist movement’s focus on autonomy, notes its influence from communism and socialism, and laments its impact on modern societal issues, including motherhood, family dynamics, and mental health. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the consequences of feminist ideals on modern women? How have they affected the work-life balance, the denigration of motherhood, and the quest for female autonomy? Carrie Gress is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and at Catholic University. She is also the author of several books. Her latest is titled, The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us. Greg and Carrie discuss her latest book, where she argues that feminism has been detrimental to women's happiness and societal roles. Carrie explores the historical roots of feminism dating back to the French Revolution, and cites key figures such as Mary Wollstonecraft and the people around her. Carrie critiques the feminist movement’s focus on autonomy, notes its influence from communism and socialism, and laments its impact on modern societal issues, including motherhood, family dynamics, and mental health. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 537 672e60cc-d986-47be-b681-c830d9128307 536. The Role of Judgment in Literature and Aesthetic Education feat. Michael W. Clune What have we lost when the expert aesthetic judgement of professors and literary critics is replaced by the marketplace and bestseller lists? How can someone be both a critic and a creator, and do those identities improve or detract from each other?

Michael W. Clune is a professor at Case Western Reserve University and the author of several books, including the subject of this discussion, A Defense of Judgment, and the upcoming novel Pan.

Greg and Michael discuss Michael's perspective on the necessity of judgment in the study of literature and the arts, contrasting it with the modern academic trend that moves away from making definitive evaluations. Michael draws parallels between literary criticism and economics, highlighting a shift towards egalitarianism and market-driven valuations at the expense of aesthetic judgment. Their conversation delves into the historical evolution of these ideas, the importance of close reading, and the role of literary education in transforming personal taste and understanding. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Michael finds it counterintuitive and strange that there is no public standard for distinguishing great art from mediocre art.

05:18 To say that there's no public standard for judging some work’s better than the other and to say that everyone should make their own judgements and professors and critics and museum curators shouldn't try to tell people what's good and what's not, that presents as like, oh, everyone gets to choose.There's no public standard. But in fact, what you actually see happening is that it's the replacement of one standard, the judgment of those educated in the arts by another standard, which is the marketplace. And so, bestseller lists basically replace the canon that's constantly changing and there's all of complex judgments, but that's basically the displacement. So in fact, it's not really an egalitarian move in the way that many of its proponents take it to be. It's actually a disavowal of the expertise of aesthetic educators and throwing everything to the kinds of orderings produced by the marketplace.

Everyone can make artistic judgments.

03:01 There's no coherent way to do literary study or to teach art history without making judgments all the time. That's just the nature of it.

The practice of teaching literature requires tacit skills. 

20:01 When it comes down to the brass tacks of pedagogy of teaching, and this is a famous thing about literary study, let's say Moby Dick, you could imagine a version of the class where I just talk about Moby Dick and no one reads it, and I describe how great it is and how wonderful it is, and how it's surprising and strange and so forth. You could do that in chemistry. You could do something like that in economics or in physics, but in literature, the student has to encounter it for him or herself, right? It's like nothing is happening unless they're encountering for themselves, unless they have the experience in which something magical is disclosed to them. And so, the actual practice of teaching literature involves what the chemist and philosopher of science Michael Polanyi, described as tacit skills, which is really simply a kind of knowing how, without being able to say exactly what you're doing.

Aesthetic education is a vital human need and universities are failing to provide it

44:01 The desire for aesthetic education, the desire to have one's taste, be guided to know what books one should look at, how one should read those books, how one should spend one's precious time. That desire is totally out there and is very strong and is not being met by literature departments in the way that I think they should. I think it's a tragedy and a big mistake that literature in our departments are no longer fulfilling that vital human need. 

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Mon, 5 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What have we lost when the expert aesthetic judgement of professors and literary critics is replaced by the marketplace and bestseller lists? How can someone be both a critic and a creator, and do those identities improve or detract from each other?

Michael W. Clune is a professor at Case Western Reserve University and the author of several books, including the subject of this discussion, A Defense of Judgment, and the upcoming novel Pan.

Greg and Michael discuss Michael's perspective on the necessity of judgment in the study of literature and the arts, contrasting it with the modern academic trend that moves away from making definitive evaluations. Michael draws parallels between literary criticism and economics, highlighting a shift towards egalitarianism and market-driven valuations at the expense of aesthetic judgment. Their conversation delves into the historical evolution of these ideas, the importance of close reading, and the role of literary education in transforming personal taste and understanding. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Michael finds it counterintuitive and strange that there is no public standard for distinguishing great art from mediocre art.

05:18 To say that there's no public standard for judging some work’s better than the other and to say that everyone should make their own judgements and professors and critics and museum curators shouldn't try to tell people what's good and what's not, that presents as like, oh, everyone gets to choose.There's no public standard. But in fact, what you actually see happening is that it's the replacement of one standard, the judgment of those educated in the arts by another standard, which is the marketplace. And so, bestseller lists basically replace the canon that's constantly changing and there's all of complex judgments, but that's basically the displacement. So in fact, it's not really an egalitarian move in the way that many of its proponents take it to be. It's actually a disavowal of the expertise of aesthetic educators and throwing everything to the kinds of orderings produced by the marketplace.

Everyone can make artistic judgments.

03:01 There's no coherent way to do literary study or to teach art history without making judgments all the time. That's just the nature of it.

The practice of teaching literature requires tacit skills. 

20:01 When it comes down to the brass tacks of pedagogy of teaching, and this is a famous thing about literary study, let's say Moby Dick, you could imagine a version of the class where I just talk about Moby Dick and no one reads it, and I describe how great it is and how wonderful it is, and how it's surprising and strange and so forth. You could do that in chemistry. You could do something like that in economics or in physics, but in literature, the student has to encounter it for him or herself, right? It's like nothing is happening unless they're encountering for themselves, unless they have the experience in which something magical is disclosed to them. And so, the actual practice of teaching literature involves what the chemist and philosopher of science Michael Polanyi, described as tacit skills, which is really simply a kind of knowing how, without being able to say exactly what you're doing.

Aesthetic education is a vital human need and universities are failing to provide it

44:01 The desire for aesthetic education, the desire to have one's taste, be guided to know what books one should look at, how one should read those books, how one should spend one's precious time. That desire is totally out there and is very strong and is not being met by literature departments in the way that I think they should. I think it's a tragedy and a big mistake that literature in our departments are no longer fulfilling that vital human need. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 536. The Role of Judgment in Literature and Aesthetic Education feat. Michael W. Clune Greg La Blanc 00:57:32 What have we lost when the expert aesthetic judgement of professors and literary critics is replaced by the marketplace and bestseller lists? How can someone be both a critic and a creator, and do those identities improve or detract from each other? Michael W. Clune is a professor at Case Western Reserve University and the author of several books, including the subject of this discussion, A Defense of Judgment, and the upcoming novel Pan. Greg and Michael discuss Michael's perspective on the necessity of judgment in the study of literature and the arts, contrasting it with the modern academic trend that moves away from making definitive evaluations. Michael draws parallels between literary criticism and economics, highlighting a shift towards egalitarianism and market-driven valuations at the expense of aesthetic judgment. Their conversation delves into the historical evolution of these ideas, the importance of close reading, and the role of literary education in transforming personal taste and understanding. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What have we lost when the expert aesthetic judgement of professors and literary critics is replaced by the marketplace and bestseller lists? How can someone be both a critic and a creator, and do those identities improve or detract from each other? Michael W. Clune is a professor at Case Western Reserve University and the author of several books, including the subject of this discussion, A Defense of Judgment, and the upcoming novel Pan. Greg and Michael discuss Michael's perspective on the necessity of judgment in the study of literature and the arts, contrasting it with the modern academic trend that moves away from making definitive evaluations. Michael draws parallels between literary criticism and economics, highlighting a shift towards egalitarianism and market-driven valuations at the expense of aesthetic judgment. Their conversation delves into the historical evolution of these ideas, the importance of close reading, and the role of literary education in transforming personal taste and understanding. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 536 a141d0b5-cafb-487e-8bb5-15398b4db3c5 535. How Evolutionary Psychology Can Inform Marketing, the Social Sciences, and the Denial of Science with Dr. Gad Saad According to today’s guest, “ You can't study anything involving any creature, let alone human beings, let alone human beings in a business setting, whilst pretending that the biological forces that shape our behavior are somehow non-existent.” 

Dr. Gad Saad is a professor of marketing at Concordia University and the author of the books, The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature and Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense. His work applies evolutionary psychology to the fields of marketing and consumerism. 

Gad and Greg discuss resistance toward evolutionary psychology in academia, practical applications of the field in marketing and business, and finally, the implications of parasitic ideas on society and the balance between empathy and scientific truth.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The animus against evolutionary psychology

[06:10] Maybe I could mention just a few reasons why people have such animus towards evolutionary psychology. So, number one, there's something called the human reticence effect, which exactly purports that evolutionary psychology and evolutionary biology should be applicable to every species, but human beings transcend those forces, right? Or it might explain why we have opposable thumbs, but surely don't use evolution to explain everything that's above the neck. Okay? In some cases, people could be a bit more flexible in saying, well, it explains very primal urges why I want to eat a juicy burger, but it surely can't explain higher-order reasoning. What do you mean? Where do you think our cognition comes from? And so, even though I'm completely used to, at this point, facing all the animus, it still surprises me because, to me, it should be banal and trivially obvious that, of course, evolutionary psychology explains our human behavior.

According to Dr. Saad, a good marketer is wedded to a solid understanding of human nature. 

[15:16] A marketer who decides based on their understanding of the human mind, they will create product lines. If it’s not weathered to evolutionary psychology, it’ll fail. 

On why people hate evolutionary theory

[20:52] There's a deeper reason why people hate evolutionary theory. I think it's because in many cases it attacks people's most foundational ideological commitment. 

Parasitic ideas that emanate from academia

I will be focusing on specific set of parasitic ideas that emanate from academia. And as it so happens, since academia is astonishingly leftist, those parasitic ideas happen to be originating, their genesis from the left. That doesn't mean that people on the right can't be parasitized. 

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Fri, 2 May 2025 13:31:47 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast According to today’s guest, “ You can't study anything involving any creature, let alone human beings, let alone human beings in a business setting, whilst pretending that the biological forces that shape our behavior are somehow non-existent.” 

Dr. Gad Saad is a professor of marketing at Concordia University and the author of the books, The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature and Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense. His work applies evolutionary psychology to the fields of marketing and consumerism. 

Gad and Greg discuss resistance toward evolutionary psychology in academia, practical applications of the field in marketing and business, and finally, the implications of parasitic ideas on society and the balance between empathy and scientific truth.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The animus against evolutionary psychology

[06:10] Maybe I could mention just a few reasons why people have such animus towards evolutionary psychology. So, number one, there's something called the human reticence effect, which exactly purports that evolutionary psychology and evolutionary biology should be applicable to every species, but human beings transcend those forces, right? Or it might explain why we have opposable thumbs, but surely don't use evolution to explain everything that's above the neck. Okay? In some cases, people could be a bit more flexible in saying, well, it explains very primal urges why I want to eat a juicy burger, but it surely can't explain higher-order reasoning. What do you mean? Where do you think our cognition comes from? And so, even though I'm completely used to, at this point, facing all the animus, it still surprises me because, to me, it should be banal and trivially obvious that, of course, evolutionary psychology explains our human behavior.

According to Dr. Saad, a good marketer is wedded to a solid understanding of human nature. 

[15:16] A marketer who decides based on their understanding of the human mind, they will create product lines. If it’s not weathered to evolutionary psychology, it’ll fail. 

On why people hate evolutionary theory

[20:52] There's a deeper reason why people hate evolutionary theory. I think it's because in many cases it attacks people's most foundational ideological commitment. 

Parasitic ideas that emanate from academia

I will be focusing on specific set of parasitic ideas that emanate from academia. And as it so happens, since academia is astonishingly leftist, those parasitic ideas happen to be originating, their genesis from the left. That doesn't mean that people on the right can't be parasitized. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 535. How Evolutionary Psychology Can Inform Marketing, the Social Sciences, and the Denial of Science with Dr. Gad Saad Greg La Blanc 00:51:59 According to today’s guest, “ You can't study anything involving any creature, let alone human beings, let alone human beings in a business setting, whilst pretending that the biological forces that shape our behavior are somehow non-existent.” Dr. Gad Saad is a professor of marketing at Concordia University and the author of the books, The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature and Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense. His work applies evolutionary psychology to the fields of marketing and consumerism. Gad and Greg discuss resistance toward evolutionary psychology in academia, practical applications of the field in marketing and business, and finally, the implications of parasitic ideas on society and the balance between empathy and scientific truth. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* According to today’s guest, “ You can't study anything involving any creature, let alone human beings, let alone human beings in a business setting, whilst pretending that the biological forces that shape our behavior are somehow non-existent.” Dr. Gad Saad is a professor of marketing at Concordia University and the author of the books, The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature and Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense. His work applies evolutionary psychology to the fields of marketing and consumerism. Gad and Greg discuss resistance toward evolutionary psychology in academia, practical applications of the field in marketing and business, and finally, the implications of parasitic ideas on society and the balance between empathy and scientific truth. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 535 6f769773-4642-421a-882d-72f48a737467 534. The Evolving Role of Christianity in American Democracy feat. Jonathan Rauch Why would religion be necessary for a liberal democracy to function fully as intended? What benefits does Christianity provide to society in tandem with democracy that would collapse if either of those pillars failed? 

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and also the author of several books and articles across various publications. His latest book is titled Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy.

Greg and Jonathan discuss the declining influence of Christianity in America, the historical symbiosis between religion and liberal democracy, and how that relationship has shifted over time. They explore the rise of alternative spiritual movements and the consequences of shifting toward a more secular society. Jonathan explains his concepts of thin Christianity, sharp Christianity, and thick Christianity, and the benefits of thick Christianity as exemplified by the Latter Day Saints. They also examine the political polarization within Christianity and the effects it is having on the makeup of the church.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The core message of Jonathan’s book

[15:10] You've probably seen this in academia. They look at religion as the sum total of sociology plus demography and political leanings. Those things matter, but theology matters more. The Bible matters, and that remains within Christianity, a fundamental groundwork that it's hard to shop your way out of. I mean, you can. Of course, there's some pretty wackadoodle Christianity out there, but most mainstream Christianity is rooted in certain teachings, and those do provide some important ethical principles. The core message of my book is that the three most important central principles to Christianity, according to Christians, are also three core principles of liberal democracy. And you don't have to believe in Jesus to see that they're true and to see that they're important.

Is America ungovernable without Christianity?

[04:47] Religion is fading as part of American life. And that's great because religion is divisive, and it's dogmatic, and we'll just all get along better without it. I have never been so wrong. It turns out the founders told us this, but I forgot it, that Christianity, religion generally, but in the US that means Christianity- that especially means white Christianity, is a load-bearing wall in our democracy. And America is becoming ungovernable in significant part because Christianity is failing.

The crisis of authority

[36:22] Barna, which is a Christian research group, did a big survey of pastors a couple years ago. They asked if pastors had seriously considered quitting in the last year. 42% said yes. And the number three reason after, I can't remember number one and two though, were obvious, like low pay and high stress.Number three was politics.

Why Christianity and liberalism need to support each other.

[39:29] Liberalism needs that sense of rootedness and groundedness, that attention to higher transcendent things and core values and scriptures that are 3000 years old or 2000 years old, depending. It needs those things precisely because it is always changing and always churning.

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]]> Wed, 30 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why would religion be necessary for a liberal democracy to function fully as intended? What benefits does Christianity provide to society in tandem with democracy that would collapse if either of those pillars failed? 

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and also the author of several books and articles across various publications. His latest book is titled Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy.

Greg and Jonathan discuss the declining influence of Christianity in America, the historical symbiosis between religion and liberal democracy, and how that relationship has shifted over time. They explore the rise of alternative spiritual movements and the consequences of shifting toward a more secular society. Jonathan explains his concepts of thin Christianity, sharp Christianity, and thick Christianity, and the benefits of thick Christianity as exemplified by the Latter Day Saints. They also examine the political polarization within Christianity and the effects it is having on the makeup of the church.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The core message of Jonathan’s book

[15:10] You've probably seen this in academia. They look at religion as the sum total of sociology plus demography and political leanings. Those things matter, but theology matters more. The Bible matters, and that remains within Christianity, a fundamental groundwork that it's hard to shop your way out of. I mean, you can. Of course, there's some pretty wackadoodle Christianity out there, but most mainstream Christianity is rooted in certain teachings, and those do provide some important ethical principles. The core message of my book is that the three most important central principles to Christianity, according to Christians, are also three core principles of liberal democracy. And you don't have to believe in Jesus to see that they're true and to see that they're important.

Is America ungovernable without Christianity?

[04:47] Religion is fading as part of American life. And that's great because religion is divisive, and it's dogmatic, and we'll just all get along better without it. I have never been so wrong. It turns out the founders told us this, but I forgot it, that Christianity, religion generally, but in the US that means Christianity- that especially means white Christianity, is a load-bearing wall in our democracy. And America is becoming ungovernable in significant part because Christianity is failing.

The crisis of authority

[36:22] Barna, which is a Christian research group, did a big survey of pastors a couple years ago. They asked if pastors had seriously considered quitting in the last year. 42% said yes. And the number three reason after, I can't remember number one and two though, were obvious, like low pay and high stress.Number three was politics.

Why Christianity and liberalism need to support each other.

[39:29] Liberalism needs that sense of rootedness and groundedness, that attention to higher transcendent things and core values and scriptures that are 3000 years old or 2000 years old, depending. It needs those things precisely because it is always changing and always churning.

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]]> 534. The Evolving Role of Christianity in American Democracy feat. Jonathan Rauch Greg La Blanc 00:53:48 Why would religion be necessary for a liberal democracy to function fully as intended? What benefits does Christianity provide to society in tandem with democracy that would collapse if either of those pillars failed? Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and also the author of several books and articles across various publications. His latest book is titled Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy. Greg and Jonathan discuss the declining influence of Christianity in America, the historical symbiosis between religion and liberal democracy, and how that relationship has shifted over time. They explore the rise of alternative spiritual movements and the consequences of shifting toward a more secular society. Jonathan explains his concepts of thin Christianity, sharp Christianity, and thick Christianity, and the benefits of thick Christianity as exemplified by the Latter Day Saints. They also examine the political polarization within Christianity and the effects it is having on the makeup of the church. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why would religion be necessary for a liberal democracy to function fully as intended? What benefits does Christianity provide to society in tandem with democracy that would collapse if either of those pillars failed? Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and also the author of several books and articles across various publications. His latest book is titled Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy. Greg and Jonathan discuss the declining influence of Christianity in America, the historical symbiosis between religion and liberal democracy, and how that relationship has shifted over time. They explore the rise of alternative spiritual movements and the consequences of shifting toward a more secular society. Jonathan explains his concepts of thin Christianity, sharp Christianity, and thick Christianity, and the benefits of thick Christianity as exemplified by the Latter Day Saints. They also examine the political polarization within Christianity and the effects it is having on the makeup of the church. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 534 0f81970d-13c1-4986-883e-07c8b6681e48 533. A Behind-the-Curtain Peek at the AI Revolution with Gary Rivlin The AI transformation of our world has already begun, and Silicon Valley has positioned itself to be home base. But how did the AI takeover happen so rapidly there? Who were the founders and investors who opened the floodgates? 

Investigative journalist Gary Rivlin has more than two decades of experience writing about the tech industry. In his new book, AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence, he gives readers an up-close look at the players behind AI’s dramatic rise to dominance in the tech world. 

Gary and Greg discuss some of the key moments in AI’s recent history, the role of venture capital in tech, how Silicon Valley's unique ecosystem lends itself to AI innovation, and what the future could hold for artificial intelligence. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why startups find themselves working for big companies like Google and Microsoft

[04:19] I started this book thinking I'm just going to follow the startups, right? What company's going to be the next Google, the next Facebook? And by this time I was finished, I realized that the next Google was probably going to be Google. The next Facebook was going to be…Meta, this stuff is so expensive. So, the start of 2023, you needed tens of millions of dollars, maybe hundreds of millions of dollars to train, fine tune, and run these models. By the end of 2024, you needed billions, if not tens of billions. And how does a startup raise that kind of money? There are a couple that have, I mean, openAI just raised another $40 billion. Anthropic, I think, has raised about $20 billion, but they still have to raise more money because they're not profitable yet. And they're looking at several years without profit. I worry that these really innovative startups doing incredible things are going to have to be gobbled up just to survive.

Can an army of AI help you build a billion-dollar company?

[13:18] Something to understand I think that people don't get about AI is, it's not like it's going to do it for you. It's your copilot. It's your assistant. It's a really powerful tool that you could use just like a computer or a calculator or a camera is a tool. It doesn't give you much unless you give it a lot. So the way I find it to be effective is I'm almost stream of consciousness. Here's what I wanna do, here's what I'm thinking about. Here's my idea, here's how I want to frame it. And that's when I get a good answer,you know. Write a book about AI would be awful. But if I start giving it, quotations and describe characters and all that, it'll be something much richer. So getting back to the example, you still need a marketing person or two, you still need salespeople. I don't think people are gonna be persuaded by some bot saying, Hey, will you buy our product? Here sign up, a million dollar contract for three years. There still needs to be humans in the loop.

AI has been part of people’s lives for a long time. 

[18:04] AI has been part of our world. It was different in 2022, the end of 2022 when Open AI released chatGPT. It was a product that you can talk with and like you could feel the AI. And so suddenly it was much more real. It wasn't behind the glass. It was something that you could converse with.

Dual edge of AI

[26:35] A powerful tool for good is also a powerful tool for bad. And, you know, many people have lots of concerns. I'm not a doomer, but the use of AI weaponry using AI for surveillance, these things reflect the biases we have. So using AI to predict, [or] determine someone's sentence, whether or not we interview them for a job, that scares me.

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]]> Mon, 28 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The AI transformation of our world has already begun, and Silicon Valley has positioned itself to be home base. But how did the AI takeover happen so rapidly there? Who were the founders and investors who opened the floodgates? 

Investigative journalist Gary Rivlin has more than two decades of experience writing about the tech industry. In his new book, AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence, he gives readers an up-close look at the players behind AI’s dramatic rise to dominance in the tech world. 

Gary and Greg discuss some of the key moments in AI’s recent history, the role of venture capital in tech, how Silicon Valley's unique ecosystem lends itself to AI innovation, and what the future could hold for artificial intelligence. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why startups find themselves working for big companies like Google and Microsoft

[04:19] I started this book thinking I'm just going to follow the startups, right? What company's going to be the next Google, the next Facebook? And by this time I was finished, I realized that the next Google was probably going to be Google. The next Facebook was going to be…Meta, this stuff is so expensive. So, the start of 2023, you needed tens of millions of dollars, maybe hundreds of millions of dollars to train, fine tune, and run these models. By the end of 2024, you needed billions, if not tens of billions. And how does a startup raise that kind of money? There are a couple that have, I mean, openAI just raised another $40 billion. Anthropic, I think, has raised about $20 billion, but they still have to raise more money because they're not profitable yet. And they're looking at several years without profit. I worry that these really innovative startups doing incredible things are going to have to be gobbled up just to survive.

Can an army of AI help you build a billion-dollar company?

[13:18] Something to understand I think that people don't get about AI is, it's not like it's going to do it for you. It's your copilot. It's your assistant. It's a really powerful tool that you could use just like a computer or a calculator or a camera is a tool. It doesn't give you much unless you give it a lot. So the way I find it to be effective is I'm almost stream of consciousness. Here's what I wanna do, here's what I'm thinking about. Here's my idea, here's how I want to frame it. And that's when I get a good answer,you know. Write a book about AI would be awful. But if I start giving it, quotations and describe characters and all that, it'll be something much richer. So getting back to the example, you still need a marketing person or two, you still need salespeople. I don't think people are gonna be persuaded by some bot saying, Hey, will you buy our product? Here sign up, a million dollar contract for three years. There still needs to be humans in the loop.

AI has been part of people’s lives for a long time. 

[18:04] AI has been part of our world. It was different in 2022, the end of 2022 when Open AI released chatGPT. It was a product that you can talk with and like you could feel the AI. And so suddenly it was much more real. It wasn't behind the glass. It was something that you could converse with.

Dual edge of AI

[26:35] A powerful tool for good is also a powerful tool for bad. And, you know, many people have lots of concerns. I'm not a doomer, but the use of AI weaponry using AI for surveillance, these things reflect the biases we have. So using AI to predict, [or] determine someone's sentence, whether or not we interview them for a job, that scares me.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 533. A Behind-the-Curtain Peek at the AI Revolution with Gary Rivlin Greg La Blanc 00:51:49 The AI transformation of our world has already begun, and Silicon Valley has positioned itself to be home base. But how did the AI takeover happen so rapidly there? Who were the founders and investors who opened the floodgates? Investigative journalist Gary Rivlin has more than two decades of experience writing about the tech industry. In his new book, AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence, he gives readers an up-close look at the players behind AI’s dramatic rise to dominance in the tech world. Gary and Greg discuss some of the key moments in AI’s recent history, the role of venture capital in tech, how Silicon Valley's unique ecosystem lends itself to AI innovation, and what the future could hold for artificial intelligence. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The AI transformation of our world has already begun, and Silicon Valley has positioned itself to be home base. But how did the AI takeover happen so rapidly there? Who were the founders and investors who opened the floodgates? Investigative journalist Gary Rivlin has more than two decades of experience writing about the tech industry. In his new book, AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence, he gives readers an up-close look at the players behind AI’s dramatic rise to dominance in the tech world. Gary and Greg discuss some of the key moments in AI’s recent history, the role of venture capital in tech, how Silicon Valley's unique ecosystem lends itself to AI innovation, and what the future could hold for artificial intelligence. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 533 f735448d-8bd2-44b9-a1aa-580d8b56f9ed 532. Beyond Happiness: Delving into Psychological Richness feat. Shigehiro Oishi What is the benefit of adventure, the role of adversity, and the importance of narrative in shaping one’s experience of happiness? What are the larger areas of fulfillment that round out one’s well-being and shape one’s life experience? 

Shigehiro (Shige) Oishi is a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and the author of the books Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life and The Psychological Wealth of Nations: Do Happy People Make a Happy Society?

Greg and Shige discuss the evolving field of subjective well-being, distinguishing between happiness, meaning, and Shige’s newly proposed third dimension – psychological richness. He discusses how these dimensions can sometimes conflict but also complement each other. They also delve into how culture, personality, and life choices like exploration versus stability affect psychological richness, and offer practical insights on how both individuals and organizations can cultivate a richer life.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On why there’s a need for a third dimension to a good life

[12:01] Some people really don't like structure. Some people really don't like routines. Some people really like to explore the world and find something interesting, something new. So when you, for instance, look at the big five personality traits and which traits are correlated with the happy life and meaningful life, and actually one big part of the big five traits, openness, the experience, it's not really correlated with happiness or meaning either. So, given that right, a lot of personality psychologists think that there are five global traits because they are useful. They're functional. Maybe there's an evolutionary reason.

Sensation seekers struggle with reflection and growth

[24:38] If you are [a] boredom-prone person, then obviously I think you have to do something new. But when you do something new, I think one thing you can change here is the reflection. I think what sensation seekers do not tend to do is that just after having this adventure, [is] sit down, reflect upon, and savor their experiences. If you do that, I think the boredom, at least the frequency of the boredom will be reduced.

What is the optimal amount of psychological richness?

[27:51]  I think you could definitely pursue psychological richness too much, right? I mean, some people may think, "Oh, I have to do something new every moment, every day."But as I said, unless you can just reflect upon [it] and add it up in your psychological memorabilia or portfolio, it is not really adding up. So essentially, unless you can just reflect upon and remember these experiences, it doesn't work that well. I think too much richness is the situation where, given a short period of time, you experience too much that you cannot really process and remember.

On the human tendency toward familiarity—and its hidden costs

[16:21] Looking at all kinds of cognitive bias literature, I think there's a huge familiarity bias. I mean, Bob Zagonc found this mere exposure effect in the 1960s, and essentially we like familiar things, right? And also, loss aversion is a huge example.The endowment effect is the same thing. Once you own it, you think it's more valuable than the new thing, right? So I think all these things are biased towards the familiar and sure gain. And if you're trying to maximize happiness, that's great. That's the strategy you should take actually. BuEt that has a downside, such as we said, you don't learn anything new. Maybe your curiosity is not fully met and you're not adventurous enough to discover something.

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]]> Fri, 25 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is the benefit of adventure, the role of adversity, and the importance of narrative in shaping one’s experience of happiness? What are the larger areas of fulfillment that round out one’s well-being and shape one’s life experience? 

Shigehiro (Shige) Oishi is a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and the author of the books Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life and The Psychological Wealth of Nations: Do Happy People Make a Happy Society?

Greg and Shige discuss the evolving field of subjective well-being, distinguishing between happiness, meaning, and Shige’s newly proposed third dimension – psychological richness. He discusses how these dimensions can sometimes conflict but also complement each other. They also delve into how culture, personality, and life choices like exploration versus stability affect psychological richness, and offer practical insights on how both individuals and organizations can cultivate a richer life.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On why there’s a need for a third dimension to a good life

[12:01] Some people really don't like structure. Some people really don't like routines. Some people really like to explore the world and find something interesting, something new. So when you, for instance, look at the big five personality traits and which traits are correlated with the happy life and meaningful life, and actually one big part of the big five traits, openness, the experience, it's not really correlated with happiness or meaning either. So, given that right, a lot of personality psychologists think that there are five global traits because they are useful. They're functional. Maybe there's an evolutionary reason.

Sensation seekers struggle with reflection and growth

[24:38] If you are [a] boredom-prone person, then obviously I think you have to do something new. But when you do something new, I think one thing you can change here is the reflection. I think what sensation seekers do not tend to do is that just after having this adventure, [is] sit down, reflect upon, and savor their experiences. If you do that, I think the boredom, at least the frequency of the boredom will be reduced.

What is the optimal amount of psychological richness?

[27:51]  I think you could definitely pursue psychological richness too much, right? I mean, some people may think, "Oh, I have to do something new every moment, every day."But as I said, unless you can just reflect upon [it] and add it up in your psychological memorabilia or portfolio, it is not really adding up. So essentially, unless you can just reflect upon and remember these experiences, it doesn't work that well. I think too much richness is the situation where, given a short period of time, you experience too much that you cannot really process and remember.

On the human tendency toward familiarity—and its hidden costs

[16:21] Looking at all kinds of cognitive bias literature, I think there's a huge familiarity bias. I mean, Bob Zagonc found this mere exposure effect in the 1960s, and essentially we like familiar things, right? And also, loss aversion is a huge example.The endowment effect is the same thing. Once you own it, you think it's more valuable than the new thing, right? So I think all these things are biased towards the familiar and sure gain. And if you're trying to maximize happiness, that's great. That's the strategy you should take actually. BuEt that has a downside, such as we said, you don't learn anything new. Maybe your curiosity is not fully met and you're not adventurous enough to discover something.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 532. Beyond Happiness: Delving into Psychological Richness feat. Shigehiro Oishi Greg La Blanc 00:48:20 What is the benefit of adventure, the role of adversity, and the importance of narrative in shaping one’s experience of happiness? What are the larger areas of fulfillment that round out one’s well-being and shape one’s life experience? Shigehiro (Shige) Oishi is a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and the author of the books Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life and The Psychological Wealth of Nations: Do Happy People Make a Happy Society? Greg and Shige discuss the evolving field of subjective well-being, distinguishing between happiness, meaning, and Shige’s newly proposed third dimension – psychological richness. He discusses how these dimensions can sometimes conflict but also complement each other. They also delve into how culture, personality, and life choices like exploration versus stability affect psychological richness, and offer practical insights on how both individuals and organizations can cultivate a richer life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is the benefit of adventure, the role of adversity, and the importance of narrative in shaping one’s experience of happiness? What are the larger areas of fulfillment that round out one’s well-being and shape one’s life experience? Shigehiro (Shige) Oishi is a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and the author of the books Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life and The Psychological Wealth of Nations: Do Happy People Make a Happy Society? Greg and Shige discuss the evolving field of subjective well-being, distinguishing between happiness, meaning, and Shige’s newly proposed third dimension – psychological richness. He discusses how these dimensions can sometimes conflict but also complement each other. They also delve into how culture, personality, and life choices like exploration versus stability affect psychological richness, and offer practical insights on how both individuals and organizations can cultivate a richer life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 532 df8720f4-662c-467a-8947-1d40793e4408 531. Cultural Engineering: Reclaiming Tribalism for Collective Growth feat. Michael Morris What does it mean to belong to a tribe? How does cultural psychology offer insight into politics, organizational behavior, and leadership? How does tribalism distinguish humans from other animals?

Michael Morris is the Chavkin-Chang Professor of Leadership at Columbia Business School and also serves as Professor in the Psychology Department of Columbia University. Michael is also the author of the new book Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together.

Greg and Michael discuss the concept of tribalism, its historical and modern connotations, and how our evolved group psychology can both contribute to and resolve contemporary social conflicts. Michael emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural instincts like the peer instinct, hero instinct, and ancestor instinct, and how leaders can harness these to steer cultural evolution in organizations and societies. The conversation also explores real-world examples of cultural change, the pitfalls of top-down and bottom-up change strategies, and the critical role of managing cultural identities in fostering cooperation and successful adaptation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What makes us human is our tribal nature

14:22: We are the tribal animal. If we want to understand what distinguishes us, our brains are not that much bigger than chimpanzees'. Our brains are not bigger than Neanderthals'; they're smaller than Neanderthal brains. But what distinguishes us is that we have these adaptations for sharing culture that enable tribal living, and this wonderful force of tribal inheritance, of wisdom accumulating like a snowball across the generations. And it can be the generations of a nation, but it can also be the generations of a corporation or the generations of a motorcycle club. Generations don't have to be referring to the human lifespan. And so, that's our killer app. That's what makes us who we are. That's what made us the top of the food chain and the dominant species of the planet and solar system. So, we should not renounce our tribal nature. We shouldn't pretend that what makes us human is rationality, or ethics, or poetry, or something like that.

Why tradition is actually a change maker's secret weapon

19:02: Tradition can seem like an obstacle to change. And the traditionalism in our mind can seem like an obstacle to cultural change, but it's a change-maker's secret weapon.

How we learn from our community through peer, hero, and ancestor instincts

16:39 There are social learning heuristics, and I kind of label them in a way to try to make them more concrete and more accessible. I label them the peer instinct, the hero instinct, and the ancestor instinct. But I'm aggregating decades of research from evolutionary anthropologists and from a cultural psychologist about the fact that we tend to learn the culture that nurtures us, in part by paying attention to what's widespread. And that's peer instinct learning, by paying attention to what carries prestige. That's hero instinct learning. And by paying attention to what seems like it's always been the distinctive mark of our community, traditions, and that's ancestor instinct learning. And so we're sort of wired to form maps of our community in those three ways.

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]]> Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does it mean to belong to a tribe? How does cultural psychology offer insight into politics, organizational behavior, and leadership? How does tribalism distinguish humans from other animals?

Michael Morris is the Chavkin-Chang Professor of Leadership at Columbia Business School and also serves as Professor in the Psychology Department of Columbia University. Michael is also the author of the new book Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together.

Greg and Michael discuss the concept of tribalism, its historical and modern connotations, and how our evolved group psychology can both contribute to and resolve contemporary social conflicts. Michael emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural instincts like the peer instinct, hero instinct, and ancestor instinct, and how leaders can harness these to steer cultural evolution in organizations and societies. The conversation also explores real-world examples of cultural change, the pitfalls of top-down and bottom-up change strategies, and the critical role of managing cultural identities in fostering cooperation and successful adaptation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What makes us human is our tribal nature

14:22: We are the tribal animal. If we want to understand what distinguishes us, our brains are not that much bigger than chimpanzees'. Our brains are not bigger than Neanderthals'; they're smaller than Neanderthal brains. But what distinguishes us is that we have these adaptations for sharing culture that enable tribal living, and this wonderful force of tribal inheritance, of wisdom accumulating like a snowball across the generations. And it can be the generations of a nation, but it can also be the generations of a corporation or the generations of a motorcycle club. Generations don't have to be referring to the human lifespan. And so, that's our killer app. That's what makes us who we are. That's what made us the top of the food chain and the dominant species of the planet and solar system. So, we should not renounce our tribal nature. We shouldn't pretend that what makes us human is rationality, or ethics, or poetry, or something like that.

Why tradition is actually a change maker's secret weapon

19:02: Tradition can seem like an obstacle to change. And the traditionalism in our mind can seem like an obstacle to cultural change, but it's a change-maker's secret weapon.

How we learn from our community through peer, hero, and ancestor instincts

16:39 There are social learning heuristics, and I kind of label them in a way to try to make them more concrete and more accessible. I label them the peer instinct, the hero instinct, and the ancestor instinct. But I'm aggregating decades of research from evolutionary anthropologists and from a cultural psychologist about the fact that we tend to learn the culture that nurtures us, in part by paying attention to what's widespread. And that's peer instinct learning, by paying attention to what carries prestige. That's hero instinct learning. And by paying attention to what seems like it's always been the distinctive mark of our community, traditions, and that's ancestor instinct learning. And so we're sort of wired to form maps of our community in those three ways.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 531. Cultural Engineering: Reclaiming Tribalism for Collective Growth feat. Michael Morris Greg La Blanc 00:54:50 What does it mean to belong to a tribe? How does cultural psychology offer insight into politics, organizational behavior, and leadership? How does tribalism distinguish humans from other animals? Michael Morris is the Chavkin-Chang Professor of Leadership at Columbia Business School and also serves as Professor in the Psychology Department of Columbia University. Michael is also the author of the new book Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together. Greg and Michael discuss the concept of tribalism, its historical and modern connotations, and how our evolved group psychology can both contribute to and resolve contemporary social conflicts. Michael emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural instincts like the peer instinct, hero instinct, and ancestor instinct, and how leaders can harness these to steer cultural evolution in organizations and societies. The conversation also explores real-world examples of cultural change, the pitfalls of top-down and bottom-up change strategies, and the critical role of managing cultural identities in fostering cooperation and successful adaptation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What does it mean to belong to a tribe? How does cultural psychology offer insight into politics, organizational behavior, and leadership? How does tribalism distinguish humans from other animals? Michael Morris is the Chavkin-Chang Professor of Leadership at Columbia Business School and also serves as Professor in the Psychology Department of Columbia University. Michael is also the author of the new book Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together. Greg and Michael discuss the concept of tribalism, its historical and modern connotations, and how our evolved group psychology can both contribute to and resolve contemporary social conflicts. Michael emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural instincts like the peer instinct, hero instinct, and ancestor instinct, and how leaders can harness these to steer cultural evolution in organizations and societies. The conversation also explores real-world examples of cultural change, the pitfalls of top-down and bottom-up change strategies, and the critical role of managing cultural identities in fostering cooperation and successful adaptation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 531 40cf1a28-6cc3-4469-a597-8f4f4dafc73f 530. The Roots of An ‘Awokening’ with Musa al-Gharbi The term “woke” might be modern, but woke movements have been going on throughout history. And while an “awokening” is meant to further equality among systemically marginalized groups, they often can exacerbate existing social inequalities. 

Musa al-Gharbi is a sociology and assistant professor of communication and journalism at Stony Brook University. His book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, examines how professionals in the so-called symbolic capitalism space like media, nonprofits, and education have gained elite status through woke culture, and in turn, benefit from some of the inequalities they are morally aligned against. 

Musa and Greg discuss the origins of woke movements throughout history including what factors in society can lead to “awokenings,” how symbolic capitalists have become the new elite, the role of cultural capital in today’s world, and why the elimination of DEI programs and pushback against woke culture can sometimes accelerate a new “awokening.”  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Can we be committed to seeking social justice and elite status at the same time?

12:52: It’s our desire to be an elite that often ends up winning out and kind of transforming how we pursue these social justice goals, so that we mostly try to pursue them in ways that don't cost anything for us, risk anything for us, require us to change anything about our lifestyles and our aspirations, and the aspirations of our children, and all of that stuff. And so that mostly pushes us into pursuing these social justice goals in largely symbolic ways, on the one hand. And on the other hand, it often leads us to expropriate blame to other people, who often benefit far less from the system than we do, and exert a lot less influence over institutions and so on than we do.

Has diversity become a status symbol instead of a value?

46:01: Diversity is great as long as its fellow affluent, highly educated people. But God forbid, if they want to build affordable housing in your neighborhood, that's a hard no.

On competition over status

18:41: One of the things that's interesting about competitions over status and cultural capital and things like this is that status—one—it’s actually more of a zero-sum competition.

So, for wealth, it's possible for everyone in a society to have a decent amount of wealth or a high amount of wealth. But for status, that's not the case. A situation where everyone had a high amount of status—the same status—would be a situation where nobody had any status. Status is more zero-sum. You actually can't give more attention, more time, more deference, and whatever to one person without actually taking some from someone else, because our attention is finite, et cetera, et cetera. And so status is actually more of a zero-sum competition.

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]]> Mon, 21 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The term “woke” might be modern, but woke movements have been going on throughout history. And while an “awokening” is meant to further equality among systemically marginalized groups, they often can exacerbate existing social inequalities. 

Musa al-Gharbi is a sociology and assistant professor of communication and journalism at Stony Brook University. His book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, examines how professionals in the so-called symbolic capitalism space like media, nonprofits, and education have gained elite status through woke culture, and in turn, benefit from some of the inequalities they are morally aligned against. 

Musa and Greg discuss the origins of woke movements throughout history including what factors in society can lead to “awokenings,” how symbolic capitalists have become the new elite, the role of cultural capital in today’s world, and why the elimination of DEI programs and pushback against woke culture can sometimes accelerate a new “awokening.”  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Can we be committed to seeking social justice and elite status at the same time?

12:52: It’s our desire to be an elite that often ends up winning out and kind of transforming how we pursue these social justice goals, so that we mostly try to pursue them in ways that don't cost anything for us, risk anything for us, require us to change anything about our lifestyles and our aspirations, and the aspirations of our children, and all of that stuff. And so that mostly pushes us into pursuing these social justice goals in largely symbolic ways, on the one hand. And on the other hand, it often leads us to expropriate blame to other people, who often benefit far less from the system than we do, and exert a lot less influence over institutions and so on than we do.

Has diversity become a status symbol instead of a value?

46:01: Diversity is great as long as its fellow affluent, highly educated people. But God forbid, if they want to build affordable housing in your neighborhood, that's a hard no.

On competition over status

18:41: One of the things that's interesting about competitions over status and cultural capital and things like this is that status—one—it’s actually more of a zero-sum competition.

So, for wealth, it's possible for everyone in a society to have a decent amount of wealth or a high amount of wealth. But for status, that's not the case. A situation where everyone had a high amount of status—the same status—would be a situation where nobody had any status. Status is more zero-sum. You actually can't give more attention, more time, more deference, and whatever to one person without actually taking some from someone else, because our attention is finite, et cetera, et cetera. And so status is actually more of a zero-sum competition.

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]]> 530. The Roots of An ‘Awokening’ with Musa al-Gharbi Greg La Blanc 01:18:52 The term “woke” might be modern, but woke movements have been going on throughout history. And while an “awokening” is meant to further equality among systemically marginalized groups, they often can exacerbate existing social inequalities. Musa al-Gharbi is a sociology and assistant professor of communication and journalism at Stony Brook University. His book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, examines how professionals in the so-called symbolic capitalism space like media, nonprofits, and education have gained elite status through woke culture, and in turn, benefit from some of the inequalities they are morally aligned against. Musa and Greg discuss the origins of woke movements throughout history including what factors in society can lead to “awokenings,” how symbolic capitalists have become the new elite, the role of cultural capital in today’s world, and why the elimination of DEI programs and pushback against woke culture can sometimes accelerate a new “awokening.”  *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The term “woke” might be modern, but woke movements have been going on throughout history. And while an “awokening” is meant to further equality among systemically marginalized groups, they often can exacerbate existing social inequalities. Musa al-Gharbi is a sociology and assistant professor of communication and journalism at Stony Brook University. His book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, examines how professionals in the so-called symbolic capitalism space like media, nonprofits, and education have gained elite status through woke culture, and in turn, benefit from some of the inequalities they are morally aligned against. Musa and Greg discuss the origins of woke movements throughout history including what factors in society can lead to “awokenings,” how symbolic capitalists have become the new elite, the role of cultural capital in today’s world, and why the elimination of DEI programs and pushback against woke culture can sometimes accelerate a new “awokening.”  *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 530 34995688-5722-4956-99fc-fd79ba45ca9d 529. Fixing Systems, Not People: What Works With Equality feat. Iris Bohnet What does a workplace look like where everyone can thrive and flourish? Once we know the makeup of that space, how can companies work to achieve it? When is it smart to rely on numbers and when will strict adherence to data lead you astray in the quest for equality?

Iris Bohnet is a professor at the Kennedy School at Harvard and the author of the books Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design for Real Results and What Works: Gender Equality by Design.

Greg and Iris discuss the concepts of workplace fairness, representation, and the indicators of a fair work environment. They delve into implicit and explicit biases, systematic interventions like structured hiring and promotions, and the effectiveness of diversity training. Iris emphasizes the importance of focusing on systemic changes rather than trying to 'fix' individuals. They also touch upon the necessity of role models, the impact of organizational culture, and the balance between fairness and business objectives. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

We should stop trying to fix people and fix our systems

09:17: We should stop trying to fix people and fix our systems. And this goes way beyond bias in terms of gender, race, or anything other in terms of demographic characteristics or social identities, but just general in behavioral science. We have by now identified more than 200 different types of biases. It's incredibly hard to unlearn them, and so that's why many behavioral scientists, again, beyond the question of fairness, now focus on changing the environment. So basically making it easier for all of us to get things right.

Meritocracy and the need for fairness

15:01: There is no meritocracy. Without fairness, we have to have that equal playing field to allow the best people to end at the top. And so, I think meritocracy is a valuable goal to have. I don't think we have ever lived in a meritocratic world.

Representation as an indicator of fairness

02:14:  Representation is not a dependent variable per se, independent of anything else. But, as you said, it is a bit of an indicator of whether what we're doing truly creates a level playing field where everyone can thrive.

On the value of larger diverse talent pool

16:07:  We now benefit from a larger talent pool. And that's the argument behind it—the larger talent pool has two implications. One is we literally have a larger talent pool, so we can draw from more people, and it goes back to the quote that you offered earlier: we're more likely to find the right person for the right job at the right time. And secondly, and that often is overlooked, we can also allocate that work better, that, in fact, Sandra Day O'Connor finds exactly the job for which she excels. And that fraction of GDP protector growth is about 14%. So I think that's the macro business case that I always have to remember—that, in fact, more talent is just good. And giving the talent the chance that they deserve and that our organizations deserve is both the right thing and the smart thing to do.

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]]> Fri, 18 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does a workplace look like where everyone can thrive and flourish? Once we know the makeup of that space, how can companies work to achieve it? When is it smart to rely on numbers and when will strict adherence to data lead you astray in the quest for equality?

Iris Bohnet is a professor at the Kennedy School at Harvard and the author of the books Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design for Real Results and What Works: Gender Equality by Design.

Greg and Iris discuss the concepts of workplace fairness, representation, and the indicators of a fair work environment. They delve into implicit and explicit biases, systematic interventions like structured hiring and promotions, and the effectiveness of diversity training. Iris emphasizes the importance of focusing on systemic changes rather than trying to 'fix' individuals. They also touch upon the necessity of role models, the impact of organizational culture, and the balance between fairness and business objectives. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

We should stop trying to fix people and fix our systems

09:17: We should stop trying to fix people and fix our systems. And this goes way beyond bias in terms of gender, race, or anything other in terms of demographic characteristics or social identities, but just general in behavioral science. We have by now identified more than 200 different types of biases. It's incredibly hard to unlearn them, and so that's why many behavioral scientists, again, beyond the question of fairness, now focus on changing the environment. So basically making it easier for all of us to get things right.

Meritocracy and the need for fairness

15:01: There is no meritocracy. Without fairness, we have to have that equal playing field to allow the best people to end at the top. And so, I think meritocracy is a valuable goal to have. I don't think we have ever lived in a meritocratic world.

Representation as an indicator of fairness

02:14:  Representation is not a dependent variable per se, independent of anything else. But, as you said, it is a bit of an indicator of whether what we're doing truly creates a level playing field where everyone can thrive.

On the value of larger diverse talent pool

16:07:  We now benefit from a larger talent pool. And that's the argument behind it—the larger talent pool has two implications. One is we literally have a larger talent pool, so we can draw from more people, and it goes back to the quote that you offered earlier: we're more likely to find the right person for the right job at the right time. And secondly, and that often is overlooked, we can also allocate that work better, that, in fact, Sandra Day O'Connor finds exactly the job for which she excels. And that fraction of GDP protector growth is about 14%. So I think that's the macro business case that I always have to remember—that, in fact, more talent is just good. And giving the talent the chance that they deserve and that our organizations deserve is both the right thing and the smart thing to do.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> 529. Fixing Systems, Not People: What Works With Equality feat. Iris Bohnet Greg La Blanc 00:59:12 What does a workplace look like where everyone can thrive and flourish? Once we know the makeup of that space, how can companies work to achieve it? When is it smart to rely on numbers and when will strict adherence to data lead you astray in the quest for equality? Iris Bohnet is a professor at the Kennedy School at Harvard and the author of the books Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design for Real Results and What Works: Gender Equality by Design. Greg and Iris discuss the concepts of workplace fairness, representation, and the indicators of a fair work environment. They delve into implicit and explicit biases, systematic interventions like structured hiring and promotions, and the effectiveness of diversity training. Iris emphasizes the importance of focusing on systemic changes rather than trying to 'fix' individuals. They also touch upon the necessity of role models, the impact of organizational culture, and the balance between fairness and business objectives. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What does a workplace look like where everyone can thrive and flourish? Once we know the makeup of that space, how can companies work to achieve it? When is it smart to rely on numbers and when will strict adherence to data lead you astray in the quest for equality? Iris Bohnet is a professor at the Kennedy School at Harvard and the author of the books Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design for Real Results and What Works: Gender Equality by Design. Greg and Iris discuss the concepts of workplace fairness, representation, and the indicators of a fair work environment. They delve into implicit and explicit biases, systematic interventions like structured hiring and promotions, and the effectiveness of diversity training. Iris emphasizes the importance of focusing on systemic changes rather than trying to 'fix' individuals. They also touch upon the necessity of role models, the impact of organizational culture, and the balance between fairness and business objectives. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 529 da426d19-10e9-4f12-9727-6e431f87012b 528. How Big Data Has Transformed Personalization with Sandra Matz Are the algorithms that exist in our daily lives getting so smart that they know us better than our parents or our spouses? How do we balance the convenience and efficiency of this technology with privacy and consumer protections? 

Sandra Matz is a professor at Columbia Business School and the director of the Center for Advanced Technology and Human Performance. Her book, Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior examines the link between algorithms and psychology. 

Sandra and Greg chat about the bright and dark sides of psychological targeting, its applications in marketing, politics, and mental health, as well as the ethical considerations and future implications of using algorithms for personalized interactions.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Even the smartest algorithms slip up

24:01: When we talk about these algorithms, and I'm guilty of that myself, it always seems like, well, yeah, if they can predict your personality with high accuracy, that makes sense, but it still makes mistakes, right? So, accuracy is always captured at the average level. So, on average, we kind of get it right most of the time. But that still means that, at the individual level, we make a lot of mistakes. And those mistakes can be costly for the individual, right? 'Cause now you are seeing stuff that is completely irrelevant. Also costly for companies, 'cause now you are optimizing for something that's not actually true. So, I think if you can really think about application—I think the more you can turn this into a two-way street and conversation, the same way that this works in an offline world, right? If you kind of suddenly start talking to me about topics that I care nothing about, you're going to get that feedback, 'cause either I'm not going to see you again, or I just tell you we just talk about something else. And companies oftentimes don't get that because they don't allow users to interact with some of the predictions that they make. And I think it's a mistake, not just from an ethical point of view, but even from a kind of service, convenience, product point of view.

Are algorithms making us boring?

11:09: There's something nice about having these algorithms understand what we want, but I also do think that there's the risk of us just becoming really boring.

The trouble with signing away our data

49:29: The way that we typically sign away data is, we consent, but not because we understand it. And I think some of it is just that technology moves so fast that just keeping up with technology is almost impossible. So I think about this 24/7, and I have a hard time, and you also have to have this understanding of — not just in the here and now — like, a fully rational person would say, "Here's all the benefits, and here's all the downsides." And now I kind of make this rational decision that kind of maximizes utility. But we don't understand the downsides.

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Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 16 Apr 2025 14:03:22 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Are the algorithms that exist in our daily lives getting so smart that they know us better than our parents or our spouses? How do we balance the convenience and efficiency of this technology with privacy and consumer protections? 

Sandra Matz is a professor at Columbia Business School and the director of the Center for Advanced Technology and Human Performance. Her book, Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior examines the link between algorithms and psychology. 

Sandra and Greg chat about the bright and dark sides of psychological targeting, its applications in marketing, politics, and mental health, as well as the ethical considerations and future implications of using algorithms for personalized interactions.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Even the smartest algorithms slip up

24:01: When we talk about these algorithms, and I'm guilty of that myself, it always seems like, well, yeah, if they can predict your personality with high accuracy, that makes sense, but it still makes mistakes, right? So, accuracy is always captured at the average level. So, on average, we kind of get it right most of the time. But that still means that, at the individual level, we make a lot of mistakes. And those mistakes can be costly for the individual, right? 'Cause now you are seeing stuff that is completely irrelevant. Also costly for companies, 'cause now you are optimizing for something that's not actually true. So, I think if you can really think about application—I think the more you can turn this into a two-way street and conversation, the same way that this works in an offline world, right? If you kind of suddenly start talking to me about topics that I care nothing about, you're going to get that feedback, 'cause either I'm not going to see you again, or I just tell you we just talk about something else. And companies oftentimes don't get that because they don't allow users to interact with some of the predictions that they make. And I think it's a mistake, not just from an ethical point of view, but even from a kind of service, convenience, product point of view.

Are algorithms making us boring?

11:09: There's something nice about having these algorithms understand what we want, but I also do think that there's the risk of us just becoming really boring.

The trouble with signing away our data

49:29: The way that we typically sign away data is, we consent, but not because we understand it. And I think some of it is just that technology moves so fast that just keeping up with technology is almost impossible. So I think about this 24/7, and I have a hard time, and you also have to have this understanding of — not just in the here and now — like, a fully rational person would say, "Here's all the benefits, and here's all the downsides." And now I kind of make this rational decision that kind of maximizes utility. But we don't understand the downsides.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 528. How Big Data Has Transformed Personalization with Sandra Matz Greg La Blanc 00:55:12 Are the algorithms that exist in our daily lives getting so smart that they know us better than our parents or our spouses? How do we balance the convenience and efficiency of this technology with privacy and consumer protections? Sandra Matz is a professor at Columbia Business School and the director of the Center for Advanced Technology and Human Performance. Her book, Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior examines the link between algorithms and psychology. Sandra and Greg chat about the bright and dark sides of psychological targeting, its applications in marketing, politics, and mental health, as well as the ethical considerations and future implications of using algorithms for personalized interactions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Are the algorithms that exist in our daily lives getting so smart that they know us better than our parents or our spouses? How do we balance the convenience and efficiency of this technology with privacy and consumer protections? Sandra Matz is a professor at Columbia Business School and the director of the Center for Advanced Technology and Human Performance. Her book, Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior examines the link between algorithms and psychology. Sandra and Greg chat about the bright and dark sides of psychological targeting, its applications in marketing, politics, and mental health, as well as the ethical considerations and future implications of using algorithms for personalized interactions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 528 87116fee-97e8-4f3c-87c0-aa0cd109c00a 527. Inoculating Yourself Against Misinformation with Sander van der Linden If critical thinking is the equivalent to daily exercise and eating a good diet, then today’s guest has the vaccine for misinformation viruses. 

Sander van der Linden is a professor of Social Psychology in Society at Cambridge University. His books, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity and The Psychology of Misinformation delve into his research on how people process misinformation and strategies we should be arming ourselves with to combat it. 

Sander and Greg discuss the historical context and modern-day challenges of misinformation, the concept of “pre-bunking” as a method to immunize people against false beliefs by exposing them to a weakened dose of misinformation beforehand, and the importance of building resilience against manipulative tactics from an early age through education and awareness. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How misinformation spreads like a virus

24:25: A virus wants to replicate, right? It wants to replicate itself. So, misinformation isn't a problem—you know, if it can't spread. But it has to find a susceptible host. So, for me, the viral analogy is that misinformation wouldn't spread unless it can find a susceptible host. There's something about human psychology that makes it susceptible to being infected with misinformation, and then our desire to want to share it with others. And so, that's kind of where it aligns for me.

Misinformation is about more than just obvious falsehoods

02:26: Misinformation is about more than just obvious falsehoods—it's also about misleading information. So, in a way, it's designed either unintentionally or intentionally to dupe people because it uses some kind of manipulation technique, whether that's presenting opinion as facts or presenting things out of context.

What is the antidote for misinformation?

12:20: Ideology correlates with cognitive rigidity, right? The more ideological people are, the more rigid and the more closed off they are. So, in some ways, the antidote to misinformation and conspiracy theories is being open-minded about things—not attaching yourself to a motivated sort of hypothesis—and that does strongly predict lower susceptibility to misinformation.

Why misinformation goes viral while facts don’t

27:15: So, research shows that misinformation explodes moral outrage. Specifically, for example, misinformation tends to be shocking, novel, emotionally manipulative, highly moralized, and polarized; it uses conspiracy, cognition, and paranoia, right? Whereas factual, neutral news uses none of those things. It tends to be boring, neutral, with no loaded words, right? And so, that tends to not go viral. Most people don't engage with fact checks—that's why fact checks don't go viral. So, in the cascades, when you model these things, there are clear differences in the virality of misinformation and the virality of neutral, objective information. And so, the infectiousness of these two things is very different.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 14 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast If critical thinking is the equivalent to daily exercise and eating a good diet, then today’s guest has the vaccine for misinformation viruses. 

Sander van der Linden is a professor of Social Psychology in Society at Cambridge University. His books, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity and The Psychology of Misinformation delve into his research on how people process misinformation and strategies we should be arming ourselves with to combat it. 

Sander and Greg discuss the historical context and modern-day challenges of misinformation, the concept of “pre-bunking” as a method to immunize people against false beliefs by exposing them to a weakened dose of misinformation beforehand, and the importance of building resilience against manipulative tactics from an early age through education and awareness. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How misinformation spreads like a virus

24:25: A virus wants to replicate, right? It wants to replicate itself. So, misinformation isn't a problem—you know, if it can't spread. But it has to find a susceptible host. So, for me, the viral analogy is that misinformation wouldn't spread unless it can find a susceptible host. There's something about human psychology that makes it susceptible to being infected with misinformation, and then our desire to want to share it with others. And so, that's kind of where it aligns for me.

Misinformation is about more than just obvious falsehoods

02:26: Misinformation is about more than just obvious falsehoods—it's also about misleading information. So, in a way, it's designed either unintentionally or intentionally to dupe people because it uses some kind of manipulation technique, whether that's presenting opinion as facts or presenting things out of context.

What is the antidote for misinformation?

12:20: Ideology correlates with cognitive rigidity, right? The more ideological people are, the more rigid and the more closed off they are. So, in some ways, the antidote to misinformation and conspiracy theories is being open-minded about things—not attaching yourself to a motivated sort of hypothesis—and that does strongly predict lower susceptibility to misinformation.

Why misinformation goes viral while facts don’t

27:15: So, research shows that misinformation explodes moral outrage. Specifically, for example, misinformation tends to be shocking, novel, emotionally manipulative, highly moralized, and polarized; it uses conspiracy, cognition, and paranoia, right? Whereas factual, neutral news uses none of those things. It tends to be boring, neutral, with no loaded words, right? And so, that tends to not go viral. Most people don't engage with fact checks—that's why fact checks don't go viral. So, in the cascades, when you model these things, there are clear differences in the virality of misinformation and the virality of neutral, objective information. And so, the infectiousness of these two things is very different.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 527. Inoculating Yourself Against Misinformation with Sander van der Linden Greg La Blanc 00:43:40 If critical thinking is the equivalent to daily exercise and eating a good diet, then today’s guest has the vaccine for misinformation viruses. Sander van der Linden is a professor of Social Psychology in Society at Cambridge University. His books, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity and The Psychology of Misinformation delve into his research on how people process misinformation and strategies we should be arming ourselves with to combat it. Sander and Greg discuss the historical context and modern-day challenges of misinformation, the concept of “pre-bunking” as a method to immunize people against false beliefs by exposing them to a weakened dose of misinformation beforehand, and the importance of building resilience against manipulative tactics from an early age through education and awareness. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* If critical thinking is the equivalent to daily exercise and eating a good diet, then today’s guest has the vaccine for misinformation viruses. Sander van der Linden is a professor of Social Psychology in Society at Cambridge University. His books, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity and The Psychology of Misinformation delve into his research on how people process misinformation and strategies we should be arming ourselves with to combat it. Sander and Greg discuss the historical context and modern-day challenges of misinformation, the concept of “pre-bunking” as a method to immunize people against false beliefs by exposing them to a weakened dose of misinformation beforehand, and the importance of building resilience against manipulative tactics from an early age through education and awareness. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 527 2bf9a79d-86b4-4c51-8461-5c4a69f4f67c 526. Beyond Problem Solving: Philosophy and the Quest for Understanding feat. Agnes Callard What are ‘untimely questions’ and why do they become common blind spots in philosophy? Why is philosophy a team sport?? How does Moore’s paradox highlight the differences between truth and belief?

Agnes Callard is a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and the author of the books Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life, Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming, The Case Against Travel, and On Anger.

Greg and Agnes discuss the essence of living a philosophical life through the Socratic method. Agnes emphasizes inquiry, human interaction, and rigorous thinking as processes that require effort and dialogue. Their discussion touches on the distinctions between problem-solving and questioning, the complexities of human preferences, and the societal tendency to convert deep philosophical questions into more manageable problems. 

Callard also reflects on philosophical engagement within various contexts, including education, relationships, and ethical frameworks. The episode highlights the value of philosophical inquiry not just as an academic pursuit but as a fundamental part of living a meaningful life.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Philosophy concerns itself with problems not questions

05:41: I think philosophy concerns itself not with problems, but with questions. Where the thing that you actually want is the answer to the question, and you're not trying to answer the question so that you can get on with something else that you were doing anyway. That's what you were doing—you were on a quest. And both problem-solving and question-answering are, kinesis, in Aristotle’s sense? They're emotions; they're processes. So they're similar in that way, but t hey're different in that, with a question, there's a sense in which the process leads to a sort of self-culmination, where the answer to the question kind of is the culmination of the process of questioning. And it's—we can almost say—you really fully understand the question when you have the answer, so that there's a kind of internal relationship between the question and the answer. Whereas, with problem-solving, anything that gets the problem out of the way is fine. You don't need a deep understanding of the problem. Like, if you were trying to move the boulder and someone else is like, "Look, you could just go around it," then that'll be fine.

Philosophical training means simulating an opponent

29:27: What philosophical training is, is training in simulating an interlocutor who objects to you—right? That's what you do in philosophy.

What gets you to the top won’t always keep you there

33:38: I think answering requires less training than asking; it requires less kind of experience in philosophical activity. And so Socrates had to relegate himself to the Socrates role because he was dealing with a bunch of people who didn't know how to do philosophy yet.

Why the Socratic approach matters in philosophy

39:54: Your philosophical, ethical system is going to constrain how you live your life. That's kind of the whole point of an ethical system. But I do think that the Socratic approach is one that can be inflected as a way of doing—a lot of what you were doing in your life. The Socratic approach says, do all that same stuff inquisitively. Now, there may be some things you can't do inquisitively—don't do those things. Or it may be that there are some things that you can't do inquisitively, but you simply have to do them to survive or something—like, as long as they're not unjust, that's fine. But the thought is like, well, let's take romance or something. Let's take politics. Let's take death, right? So those are the three areas I talk about. Can you be a philosopher and be doing those things? And Socrates, I think, goes out of his way to try to say, yes, that is, it's not just that those things can be done philosophically, but they're done best philosophically.

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]]> Fri, 11 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are ‘untimely questions’ and why do they become common blind spots in philosophy? Why is philosophy a team sport?? How does Moore’s paradox highlight the differences between truth and belief?

Agnes Callard is a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and the author of the books Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life, Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming, The Case Against Travel, and On Anger.

Greg and Agnes discuss the essence of living a philosophical life through the Socratic method. Agnes emphasizes inquiry, human interaction, and rigorous thinking as processes that require effort and dialogue. Their discussion touches on the distinctions between problem-solving and questioning, the complexities of human preferences, and the societal tendency to convert deep philosophical questions into more manageable problems. 

Callard also reflects on philosophical engagement within various contexts, including education, relationships, and ethical frameworks. The episode highlights the value of philosophical inquiry not just as an academic pursuit but as a fundamental part of living a meaningful life.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Philosophy concerns itself with problems not questions

05:41: I think philosophy concerns itself not with problems, but with questions. Where the thing that you actually want is the answer to the question, and you're not trying to answer the question so that you can get on with something else that you were doing anyway. That's what you were doing—you were on a quest. And both problem-solving and question-answering are, kinesis, in Aristotle’s sense? They're emotions; they're processes. So they're similar in that way, but t hey're different in that, with a question, there's a sense in which the process leads to a sort of self-culmination, where the answer to the question kind of is the culmination of the process of questioning. And it's—we can almost say—you really fully understand the question when you have the answer, so that there's a kind of internal relationship between the question and the answer. Whereas, with problem-solving, anything that gets the problem out of the way is fine. You don't need a deep understanding of the problem. Like, if you were trying to move the boulder and someone else is like, "Look, you could just go around it," then that'll be fine.

Philosophical training means simulating an opponent

29:27: What philosophical training is, is training in simulating an interlocutor who objects to you—right? That's what you do in philosophy.

What gets you to the top won’t always keep you there

33:38: I think answering requires less training than asking; it requires less kind of experience in philosophical activity. And so Socrates had to relegate himself to the Socrates role because he was dealing with a bunch of people who didn't know how to do philosophy yet.

Why the Socratic approach matters in philosophy

39:54: Your philosophical, ethical system is going to constrain how you live your life. That's kind of the whole point of an ethical system. But I do think that the Socratic approach is one that can be inflected as a way of doing—a lot of what you were doing in your life. The Socratic approach says, do all that same stuff inquisitively. Now, there may be some things you can't do inquisitively—don't do those things. Or it may be that there are some things that you can't do inquisitively, but you simply have to do them to survive or something—like, as long as they're not unjust, that's fine. But the thought is like, well, let's take romance or something. Let's take politics. Let's take death, right? So those are the three areas I talk about. Can you be a philosopher and be doing those things? And Socrates, I think, goes out of his way to try to say, yes, that is, it's not just that those things can be done philosophically, but they're done best philosophically.

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]]> 526. Beyond Problem Solving: Philosophy and the Quest for Understanding feat. Agnes Callard Greg La Blanc 01:12:13 What are ‘untimely questions’ and why do they become common blind spots in philosophy? Why is philosophy a team sport?? How does Moore’s paradox highlight the differences between truth and belief? Agnes Callard is a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and the author of the books Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life, Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming, The Case Against Travel, and On Anger. Greg and Agnes discuss the essence of living a philosophical life through the Socratic method. Agnes emphasizes inquiry, human interaction, and rigorous thinking as processes that require effort and dialogue. Their discussion touches on the distinctions between problem-solving and questioning, the complexities of human preferences, and the societal tendency to convert deep philosophical questions into more manageable problems. Callard also reflects on philosophical engagement within various contexts, including education, relationships, and ethical frameworks. The episode highlights the value of philosophical inquiry not just as an academic pursuit but as a fundamental part of living a meaningful life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are ‘untimely questions’ and why do they become common blind spots in philosophy? Why is philosophy a team sport?? How does Moore’s paradox highlight the differences between truth and belief? Agnes Callard is a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and the author of the books Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life, Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming, The Case Against Travel, and On Anger. Greg and Agnes discuss the essence of living a philosophical life through the Socratic method. Agnes emphasizes inquiry, human interaction, and rigorous thinking as processes that require effort and dialogue. Their discussion touches on the distinctions between problem-solving and questioning, the complexities of human preferences, and the societal tendency to convert deep philosophical questions into more manageable problems. Callard also reflects on philosophical engagement within various contexts, including education, relationships, and ethical frameworks. The episode highlights the value of philosophical inquiry not just as an academic pursuit but as a fundamental part of living a meaningful life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 526 f38136ca-b0c8-47c6-8457-b5453764e3a1 525. ‘Design Thinking’ As The Ultimate Integrator with Barry Katz Behind every great invention is an engineer who figured out how to make it work. But how do you take an extremely technical, cutting-edge innovation and make it easy to understand and use for the public? That’s where designers come in.

Barry Katz is a professor emeritus of industrial design at California College of the Arts and a consulting professor at Stanford University. He is the author of the book, Make It New: A History of Silicon Valley Design, co-author of Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, and has spent decades studying the history of design thinking and its purpose at organizations. 

Barry and Greg discuss the historical trajectory of design in tech, how engineers and designers began collaborating in the 1980s, and the role of design in transforming technologies into user-friendly products. The conversation also covers the interdisciplinary nature of design, the impact of design thinking on various industries, and Barry’s latest book detailing the application of design principles in healthcare. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

You don't have to be a designer to think like one

31:47: You don't have to be a designer to think like one. And in fact, you probably don't want to become a designer. But over the course of this rather remarkable few decades, designers have learned a lot of tricks, and they're basically tricks. And many of those tricks can be learned by entrepreneurs, lawyers, physicians, which is what we dealt with in our most recent book. And it's not turning them into designers; it's giving them tools to solve their problems in medicine, law, engineering, or wherever, in something like the way that designers solve their problems.

Why design thrives like an ecosystem

19:17: So what is the connector between the internal combustion engine and the car, between the printed circuit board and the lamp? It's design. So, in the course of that, designers have had to learn a whole lot of new skills, new tricks. That’s where design thinking has played, I think, an important role, which may be drawing to a close. They’ve learned to integrate the behavioral sciences. They’ve learned how to talk to technical people. There's no doubt that it is an ongoing challenge.

Designers shape experiences, not just products

25:40: We don't want products to fail people. Now, a refrigerator is one thing, but then, when you are starting not just to approach a large appliance in your kitchen but to put it in your pocket, your kid's backpack, or a contact lens—which is to deliver insulin to a diabetic, which Google X is working on—then your tolerance for a bad experience vanishes. And it is a bit of a hackneyed thing to say, but the role of designers has been to create an experience.

Design isn’t about knowing everything, it’s about knowing who to ask

27:15: What happens when you have an exposure to the way anthropologists approach a problem, or economists, or linguists, or whoever it might be, is not that you become one or you acquire that level of professionalism, but you know who to ask. And you've heard an entirely new inventory of questions that may not have occurred to you in the past but are now on your agenda.  And you either acquire a sufficient level of professional skill to answer those questions, or you now know who to ask. 

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]]> Wed, 9 Apr 2025 13:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Behind every great invention is an engineer who figured out how to make it work. But how do you take an extremely technical, cutting-edge innovation and make it easy to understand and use for the public? That’s where designers come in.

Barry Katz is a professor emeritus of industrial design at California College of the Arts and a consulting professor at Stanford University. He is the author of the book, Make It New: A History of Silicon Valley Design, co-author of Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, and has spent decades studying the history of design thinking and its purpose at organizations. 

Barry and Greg discuss the historical trajectory of design in tech, how engineers and designers began collaborating in the 1980s, and the role of design in transforming technologies into user-friendly products. The conversation also covers the interdisciplinary nature of design, the impact of design thinking on various industries, and Barry’s latest book detailing the application of design principles in healthcare. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

You don't have to be a designer to think like one

31:47: You don't have to be a designer to think like one. And in fact, you probably don't want to become a designer. But over the course of this rather remarkable few decades, designers have learned a lot of tricks, and they're basically tricks. And many of those tricks can be learned by entrepreneurs, lawyers, physicians, which is what we dealt with in our most recent book. And it's not turning them into designers; it's giving them tools to solve their problems in medicine, law, engineering, or wherever, in something like the way that designers solve their problems.

Why design thrives like an ecosystem

19:17: So what is the connector between the internal combustion engine and the car, between the printed circuit board and the lamp? It's design. So, in the course of that, designers have had to learn a whole lot of new skills, new tricks. That’s where design thinking has played, I think, an important role, which may be drawing to a close. They’ve learned to integrate the behavioral sciences. They’ve learned how to talk to technical people. There's no doubt that it is an ongoing challenge.

Designers shape experiences, not just products

25:40: We don't want products to fail people. Now, a refrigerator is one thing, but then, when you are starting not just to approach a large appliance in your kitchen but to put it in your pocket, your kid's backpack, or a contact lens—which is to deliver insulin to a diabetic, which Google X is working on—then your tolerance for a bad experience vanishes. And it is a bit of a hackneyed thing to say, but the role of designers has been to create an experience.

Design isn’t about knowing everything, it’s about knowing who to ask

27:15: What happens when you have an exposure to the way anthropologists approach a problem, or economists, or linguists, or whoever it might be, is not that you become one or you acquire that level of professionalism, but you know who to ask. And you've heard an entirely new inventory of questions that may not have occurred to you in the past but are now on your agenda.  And you either acquire a sufficient level of professional skill to answer those questions, or you now know who to ask. 

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Guest Profile:

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]]> 525. ‘Design Thinking’ As The Ultimate Integrator with Barry Katz Greg La Blanc 00:56:29 Behind every great invention is an engineer who figured out how to make it work. But how do you take an extremely technical, cutting-edge innovation and make it easy to understand and use for the public? That’s where designers come in. Barry Katz is a professor emeritus of industrial design at California College of the Arts and a consulting professor at Stanford University. He is the author of the book, Make It New: A History of Silicon Valley Design, co-author of Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, and has spent decades studying the history of design thinking and its purpose at organizations. Barry and Greg discuss the historical trajectory of design in tech, how engineers and designers began collaborating in the 1980s, and the role of design in transforming technologies into user-friendly products. The conversation also covers the interdisciplinary nature of design, the impact of design thinking on various industries, and Barry’s latest book detailing the application of design principles in healthcare. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Behind every great invention is an engineer who figured out how to make it work. But how do you take an extremely technical, cutting-edge innovation and make it easy to understand and use for the public? That’s where designers come in. Barry Katz is a professor emeritus of industrial design at California College of the Arts and a consulting professor at Stanford University. He is the author of the book, Make It New: A History of Silicon Valley Design, co-author of Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, and has spent decades studying the history of design thinking and its purpose at organizations. Barry and Greg discuss the historical trajectory of design in tech, how engineers and designers began collaborating in the 1980s, and the role of design in transforming technologies into user-friendly products. The conversation also covers the interdisciplinary nature of design, the impact of design thinking on various industries, and Barry’s latest book detailing the application of design principles in healthcare. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 525 fabf0e0e-ac83-40d4-af20-8ca66aa73683 524. Business Strategy: Beyond the Numbers feat. Freek Vermeulen What can shake organizations out of the cycle of doing things the way they have always been done because that’s the way they have always been done? Will a shift within an organization be more likely to stick with a top-down approach or a bottom-up approach? How can organizations allow freedom for their employees, but still be in control of the direction of that freedom?

Freek Vermeulen is a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at London Business School and the author of Business Exposed: The Naked Truth about What Really Goes on in the World of Business and Breaking Bad Habits: Why Best Practices Are Killing Your Business.

Greg and Freek discuss the essence of strategy in organizations, highlighting the complexities and dysfunctions within organizations, the evolutionary parallels in human behavior and cultural practices, and the critical importance of understanding organizational strategy at all levels. Freek emphasizes the necessity of both top-down strategic direction and bottom-up innovation, the pitfalls of over-reliance on visible metrics, and the value of periodic organizational changes. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A strategy no one follows is no strategy at all

40:14: Strategy can not only be top-down, it has also to be bottom-up, that people display initiative themselves in line with strategy. And this is how it relates to it being a collective cognitive construct, and people knowing about the firm's strategy. A strategy is only a strategy if people do something different as a result of it in their daily job. If the C-suite changes the strategy, but everybody in the cubicles keeps doing the same thing, I'm sorry, you don't have a strategy. Now you have a McKinsey PowerPoint deck, but you don't have a strategy. It's only a strategy if people do something different as a result of it. And one aspect of this is that can only happen if they know about it and if they understand it. And that places a big onus on how you communicate it, how you put that in people's minds or so. 

Strategy is  collective cognitive construct

39:26: Strategy is in the mind, and it is a mindset and understanding of what we're trying to work towards and trying to do as an organization. And it's collective because it has to be shared. It’s a tool to cooperate, that we have a joint understanding of what we're actually trying to do and what we're not trying to do.

What gets you to the top won’t always keep you there

14:50: What we certainly know, and also that's what we see in research in cultural anthropology, by the way, as well, where there is research on what sort of individuals are most likely to become the head of a tribe, where we observe highly similar things, is to say your chances of making it to the next level, what sort of variables determine your probability of making it to the next level, and hence eventually reaching the top, are not necessarily the same traits that make you a good CEO and a good steward in the long term for an organization. There can be mismatches between these things. In a tribe, for instance, if you are a very combative individual and prone to a good fight or something like that, that may make you more likely to go through the tournament and become the head of a tribe. But it may also make you more likely to take your tribe on the warpath, which may not be so good for survival. So the same characteristics that make people more likely to become CEO are not necessarily the same characteristics that make them better as CEOs for organizations.

Are business schools equipping mba students with the right tools for leadership success?

53:23: This understanding about how behavioral mechanisms, including norms and so on, work is something that we need to do better in business schools. The experiment... is indeed to see if people who have more managerial experience and more economics training get it more wrong because we have some other studies that suggest that understanding more about financial incentives and economic rational behavior makes you less aware of these other aspects of human behavior, which of course exist in organizations and in reality.

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]]> Mon, 7 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What can shake organizations out of the cycle of doing things the way they have always been done because that’s the way they have always been done? Will a shift within an organization be more likely to stick with a top-down approach or a bottom-up approach? How can organizations allow freedom for their employees, but still be in control of the direction of that freedom?

Freek Vermeulen is a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at London Business School and the author of Business Exposed: The Naked Truth about What Really Goes on in the World of Business and Breaking Bad Habits: Why Best Practices Are Killing Your Business.

Greg and Freek discuss the essence of strategy in organizations, highlighting the complexities and dysfunctions within organizations, the evolutionary parallels in human behavior and cultural practices, and the critical importance of understanding organizational strategy at all levels. Freek emphasizes the necessity of both top-down strategic direction and bottom-up innovation, the pitfalls of over-reliance on visible metrics, and the value of periodic organizational changes. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A strategy no one follows is no strategy at all

40:14: Strategy can not only be top-down, it has also to be bottom-up, that people display initiative themselves in line with strategy. And this is how it relates to it being a collective cognitive construct, and people knowing about the firm's strategy. A strategy is only a strategy if people do something different as a result of it in their daily job. If the C-suite changes the strategy, but everybody in the cubicles keeps doing the same thing, I'm sorry, you don't have a strategy. Now you have a McKinsey PowerPoint deck, but you don't have a strategy. It's only a strategy if people do something different as a result of it. And one aspect of this is that can only happen if they know about it and if they understand it. And that places a big onus on how you communicate it, how you put that in people's minds or so. 

Strategy is  collective cognitive construct

39:26: Strategy is in the mind, and it is a mindset and understanding of what we're trying to work towards and trying to do as an organization. And it's collective because it has to be shared. It’s a tool to cooperate, that we have a joint understanding of what we're actually trying to do and what we're not trying to do.

What gets you to the top won’t always keep you there

14:50: What we certainly know, and also that's what we see in research in cultural anthropology, by the way, as well, where there is research on what sort of individuals are most likely to become the head of a tribe, where we observe highly similar things, is to say your chances of making it to the next level, what sort of variables determine your probability of making it to the next level, and hence eventually reaching the top, are not necessarily the same traits that make you a good CEO and a good steward in the long term for an organization. There can be mismatches between these things. In a tribe, for instance, if you are a very combative individual and prone to a good fight or something like that, that may make you more likely to go through the tournament and become the head of a tribe. But it may also make you more likely to take your tribe on the warpath, which may not be so good for survival. So the same characteristics that make people more likely to become CEO are not necessarily the same characteristics that make them better as CEOs for organizations.

Are business schools equipping mba students with the right tools for leadership success?

53:23: This understanding about how behavioral mechanisms, including norms and so on, work is something that we need to do better in business schools. The experiment... is indeed to see if people who have more managerial experience and more economics training get it more wrong because we have some other studies that suggest that understanding more about financial incentives and economic rational behavior makes you less aware of these other aspects of human behavior, which of course exist in organizations and in reality.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 524. Business Strategy: Beyond the Numbers feat. Freek Vermeulen Greg La Blanc 00:57:50 What can shake organizations out of the cycle of doing things the way they have always been done because that’s the way they have always been done? Will a shift within an organization be more likely to stick with a top-down approach or a bottom-up approach? How can organizations allow freedom for their employees, but still be in control of the direction of that freedom? Freek Vermeulen is a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at London Business School and the author of Business Exposed: The Naked Truth about What Really Goes on in the World of Business and Breaking Bad Habits: Why Best Practices Are Killing Your Business. Greg and Freek discuss the essence of strategy in organizations, highlighting the complexities and dysfunctions within organizations, the evolutionary parallels in human behavior and cultural practices, and the critical importance of understanding organizational strategy at all levels. Freek emphasizes the necessity of both top-down strategic direction and bottom-up innovation, the pitfalls of over-reliance on visible metrics, and the value of periodic organizational changes. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What can shake organizations out of the cycle of doing things the way they have always been done because that’s the way they have always been done? Will a shift within an organization be more likely to stick with a top-down approach or a bottom-up approach? How can organizations allow freedom for their employees, but still be in control of the direction of that freedom? Freek Vermeulen is a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at London Business School and the author of Business Exposed: The Naked Truth about What Really Goes on in the World of Business and Breaking Bad Habits: Why Best Practices Are Killing Your Business. Greg and Freek discuss the essence of strategy in organizations, highlighting the complexities and dysfunctions within organizations, the evolutionary parallels in human behavior and cultural practices, and the critical importance of understanding organizational strategy at all levels. Freek emphasizes the necessity of both top-down strategic direction and bottom-up innovation, the pitfalls of over-reliance on visible metrics, and the value of periodic organizational changes. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 524 f8778741-ba4c-4eb7-8c2d-011b364d14ed 523. AI as a Colleague, Not a Replacement with Ethan Mollick It’s official: AI has arrived and, from here on out, will be a part of our world. So how do we begin to learn how to coexist with our new artificial coworkers? 

Ethan Mollick is an associate professor at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI. The book acts as a guide to readers navigating the new world of AI and explores how we might work alongside AI. 

He and Greg discuss the benefits of anthropomorphizing AI, the real impact the technology could have on employment, and how we can learn to co-work and co-learn with AI. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The result of an experiment identifying the impact of GEN AI

07:35 We went to the Boston Consulting Group, one of the elite consulting companies, and we gave them 18 realistic business tasks we created with them and these were judged to be very realistic. They were used to do actual evaluations of people in interviews and so on. And we got about 8 percent of the global workforce of BCG, which is a significant investment. And we had them do these tasks first on their own without AI, and then we had them do a second set of tasks either with or without AI. So, random selection to those two. The people who got access to AI, and by the way, this is just plain vanilla GPT-4 as of last April. No special fine-tuning, no extra details, no special interface, no RAG, nothing else. And they had a 40 percent improvement in the quality of their outputs on every measure that we had. We got work done about 25 percent faster, about 12.5 percent more work done in the same time period. Pretty big results in a pretty small period of time. 

Is AI taking over our jobs?

20:30 The ultimate question is: How good does AI get, and how long does it take to get that good? And I think if we knew the answer to that question, which we don't, that would teach us a lot about what jobs to think about and worry about.

Will there be a new data war where different LLM and Gen AI providers chase proprietary data?

11:17 I don't know whether this becomes like a data fight in that way because the open internet has tons of data on it, and people don't seem to be paying for permission to train on those. I think we'll see more specialized training data potentially in the future, but things like conversations, YouTube videos, podcasts are also useful data sources. So the whole idea of LLMs is that they use unsupervised learning. You throw all this data at them; they figure out the patterns.

Could public data be polluted by junk and bad actors?

16:39 Data quality is obviously going to be an issue for these systems. There are lots of ways of deceiving them, of hacking them, of working like a bad actor. I don't necessarily think it's going to be by poisoning the datasets themselves because the datasets are the Internet, Project Gutenberg, and Wikipedia. They're pretty resistant to that kind of mass poisoning, but I think data quality is an issue we should be concerned about.

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]]> Thu, 3 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It’s official: AI has arrived and, from here on out, will be a part of our world. So how do we begin to learn how to coexist with our new artificial coworkers? 

Ethan Mollick is an associate professor at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI. The book acts as a guide to readers navigating the new world of AI and explores how we might work alongside AI. 

He and Greg discuss the benefits of anthropomorphizing AI, the real impact the technology could have on employment, and how we can learn to co-work and co-learn with AI. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The result of an experiment identifying the impact of GEN AI

07:35 We went to the Boston Consulting Group, one of the elite consulting companies, and we gave them 18 realistic business tasks we created with them and these were judged to be very realistic. They were used to do actual evaluations of people in interviews and so on. And we got about 8 percent of the global workforce of BCG, which is a significant investment. And we had them do these tasks first on their own without AI, and then we had them do a second set of tasks either with or without AI. So, random selection to those two. The people who got access to AI, and by the way, this is just plain vanilla GPT-4 as of last April. No special fine-tuning, no extra details, no special interface, no RAG, nothing else. And they had a 40 percent improvement in the quality of their outputs on every measure that we had. We got work done about 25 percent faster, about 12.5 percent more work done in the same time period. Pretty big results in a pretty small period of time. 

Is AI taking over our jobs?

20:30 The ultimate question is: How good does AI get, and how long does it take to get that good? And I think if we knew the answer to that question, which we don't, that would teach us a lot about what jobs to think about and worry about.

Will there be a new data war where different LLM and Gen AI providers chase proprietary data?

11:17 I don't know whether this becomes like a data fight in that way because the open internet has tons of data on it, and people don't seem to be paying for permission to train on those. I think we'll see more specialized training data potentially in the future, but things like conversations, YouTube videos, podcasts are also useful data sources. So the whole idea of LLMs is that they use unsupervised learning. You throw all this data at them; they figure out the patterns.

Could public data be polluted by junk and bad actors?

16:39 Data quality is obviously going to be an issue for these systems. There are lots of ways of deceiving them, of hacking them, of working like a bad actor. I don't necessarily think it's going to be by poisoning the datasets themselves because the datasets are the Internet, Project Gutenberg, and Wikipedia. They're pretty resistant to that kind of mass poisoning, but I think data quality is an issue we should be concerned about.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 523. AI as a Colleague, Not a Replacement with Ethan Mollick Greg La Blanc 00:39:41 It’s official: AI has arrived and, from here on out, will be a part of our world. So how do we begin to learn how to coexist with our new artificial coworkers? Ethan Mollick is an associate professor at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI. The book acts as a guide to readers navigating the new world of AI and explores how we might work alongside AI. He and Greg discuss the benefits of anthropomorphizing AI, the real impact the technology could have on employment, and how we can learn to co-work and co-learn with AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* It’s official: AI has arrived and, from here on out, will be a part of our world. So how do we begin to learn how to coexist with our new artificial coworkers? Ethan Mollick is an associate professor at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI. The book acts as a guide to readers navigating the new world of AI and explores how we might work alongside AI. He and Greg discuss the benefits of anthropomorphizing AI, the real impact the technology could have on employment, and how we can learn to co-work and co-learn with AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 523 2d3202d0-85fe-4596-828b-4f2ed28a69bb 522. How The Invention of Choice Unlocked Freedom with Sophia Rosenfeld How much has our understanding of choice evolved throughout history? And what has that invention meant to how we experience and acknowledge freedom? 

Sophia Rosenfeld is a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on the history of things taken for granted. Her books, Common Sense: A Political History, Democracy and Truth: A Short History, and most recently The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life, examine the origins of ideas that have become so commonplace in our modern world, they can often go overlooked. 

Sophia and Greg discuss the historical role of choice in consumerism, politics, and personal relationships, how choice initially got a reputation for being a feminine phenomenon, what choice has meant for concepts like freedom, and the political evolution of common sense in today’s world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Has choice become the ultimate measure of freedom?

47:24: Choice once had this kind of very moral apparatus around it. And, as I mentioned, over time, choice became more, I would call, value-neutral. It meant pick what you like. I don't have to like your choices; it's just what you prefer. But the strange third twist in this story is that just having the choices itself started to become a moral good. Just saying choice itself was the good, and I think that's not always right because there are certainly moments in which choice is freeing, but there are also choices that are not freeing—there are choices that are contrary to our well-being, there are places where choice is not a benefit. This choice of any weapon to buy, for instance, is a different kind of decision than saying choice in profession. Your choice in profession has little bearing on me. Your choice in weapon might have a large bearing on me or the other guy down the street. So I do question the assumption that more choice, more opportunities, more options is always preferable.

How choice became the definition of freedom

37:22: In the face of the threat of communism on the one hand and the threat of fascism on the other, one thing that starts to emerge most strongly in the U.S., but also in other parts of the sort of allied world, is a convergence around political choice and commercial choice, saying that what freedom is, is having choice in these two different domains. And from that point forward, I think you might say that democracy and capitalism get wedded together around the notion that choice is freedom.

Is having more choices always a good thing?

42:42: We've now seen policies emerge on the right and on the left framed around choice. School choice is usually more appealing on the right, reproductive choice more appealing on the left. So, I would have said that choice is one of those things that we are so used to that it's a kind of unquestioned value across the political spectrum. We might fight about what should be and by whom, but we don't fight about the value of choice itself. And to this day, things are marketed all the time around choice. You look at billboards or look at advertising anywhere you are, and you'll see choice is still a really common term—whether it's banking, house cleaning, or anything else. That may be ending in some spheres on the right.

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

]]> Mon, 31 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How much has our understanding of choice evolved throughout history? And what has that invention meant to how we experience and acknowledge freedom? 

Sophia Rosenfeld is a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on the history of things taken for granted. Her books, Common Sense: A Political History, Democracy and Truth: A Short History, and most recently The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life, examine the origins of ideas that have become so commonplace in our modern world, they can often go overlooked. 

Sophia and Greg discuss the historical role of choice in consumerism, politics, and personal relationships, how choice initially got a reputation for being a feminine phenomenon, what choice has meant for concepts like freedom, and the political evolution of common sense in today’s world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Has choice become the ultimate measure of freedom?

47:24: Choice once had this kind of very moral apparatus around it. And, as I mentioned, over time, choice became more, I would call, value-neutral. It meant pick what you like. I don't have to like your choices; it's just what you prefer. But the strange third twist in this story is that just having the choices itself started to become a moral good. Just saying choice itself was the good, and I think that's not always right because there are certainly moments in which choice is freeing, but there are also choices that are not freeing—there are choices that are contrary to our well-being, there are places where choice is not a benefit. This choice of any weapon to buy, for instance, is a different kind of decision than saying choice in profession. Your choice in profession has little bearing on me. Your choice in weapon might have a large bearing on me or the other guy down the street. So I do question the assumption that more choice, more opportunities, more options is always preferable.

How choice became the definition of freedom

37:22: In the face of the threat of communism on the one hand and the threat of fascism on the other, one thing that starts to emerge most strongly in the U.S., but also in other parts of the sort of allied world, is a convergence around political choice and commercial choice, saying that what freedom is, is having choice in these two different domains. And from that point forward, I think you might say that democracy and capitalism get wedded together around the notion that choice is freedom.

Is having more choices always a good thing?

42:42: We've now seen policies emerge on the right and on the left framed around choice. School choice is usually more appealing on the right, reproductive choice more appealing on the left. So, I would have said that choice is one of those things that we are so used to that it's a kind of unquestioned value across the political spectrum. We might fight about what should be and by whom, but we don't fight about the value of choice itself. And to this day, things are marketed all the time around choice. You look at billboards or look at advertising anywhere you are, and you'll see choice is still a really common term—whether it's banking, house cleaning, or anything else. That may be ending in some spheres on the right.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 522. How The Invention of Choice Unlocked Freedom with Sophia Rosenfeld Greg La Blanc 00:49:33 How much has our understanding of choice evolved throughout history? And what has that invention meant to how we experience and acknowledge freedom? Sophia Rosenfeld is a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on the history of things taken for granted. Her books, Common Sense: A Political History, Democracy and Truth: A Short History, and most recently The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life, examine the origins of ideas that have become so commonplace in our modern world, they can often go overlooked. Sophia and Greg discuss the historical role of choice in consumerism, politics, and personal relationships, how choice initially got a reputation for being a feminine phenomenon, what choice has meant for concepts like freedom, and the political evolution of common sense in today’s world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How much has our understanding of choice evolved throughout history? And what has that invention meant to how we experience and acknowledge freedom? Sophia Rosenfeld is a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on the history of things taken for granted. Her books, Common Sense: A Political History, Democracy and Truth: A Short History, and most recently The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life, examine the origins of ideas that have become so commonplace in our modern world, they can often go overlooked. Sophia and Greg discuss the historical role of choice in consumerism, politics, and personal relationships, how choice initially got a reputation for being a feminine phenomenon, what choice has meant for concepts like freedom, and the political evolution of common sense in today’s world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 522 9802edb0-dc8c-4016-9b08-dc28f0c70394 521. The Vital Role of Talent Development in Business with Bill Conaty How important is it for business leaders to not only identify talent within their organization, but to take meaningful action to actually develop that talent? On the flip side, how handicapping can it be for an organization to keep employees who are holding the company back from success? 

Bill Conaty is a top former HR executive at GE and co-author of The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers. His 40 years at GE and his time as an advisory partner for Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has made him an expert in identifying and developing raw talent at an organization. 

Bill joins Greg to share insights from his time at GE, emphasizing the necessity of integrating HR with other business functions and the importance of having a seat at the table. They also discuss GE's unique HR practices, such as talent development programs, the role of corporate audit staff, and the evolution of HR through different business eras, including the impact of COVID-19 and the DEI movement.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Candor comes first trust comes later

41:55: Candor comes first; trust comes later. In other words, we always—through our leadership development in session C, we had to say, "We always had the list of development need, one or two." And it wasn't that I needed to go to the next course at Crotonville or that I'm too tough on myself. It had to do with legitimate development needs, and you had to be able to trust the company before you could cite, you know, "I don't have great listening skills," or—and you had to feel like, "Whatever you stipulate, we're going to work with you on that." And we said: a development need is not a fatal flaw. A development need is only a development need as long as you address it. If you don't, it can become a fatal flaw.

HR Success Starts with the CEO

05:41: No matter how good of an HR leader you are, if the CEO doesn't have high expectations for what he wants out of that function, you're in for a long day.

What do we look for in leaders?

34:50: What do we look for in leaders? We started out with three E's—energy, energize, and edge—and so that's a green light, red light, yellow light. We'd go out to all the businesses, and we came away from one, and the leader had dynamite energy, could energize others, more than enough edge, and his numbers sucked. So, I said to Jack, "We assume this, but we need a fourth E, and that's called execution."

 Do you need a different kind of talent master to evaluate the talent versus the values?

53:26: I think the values piece is—I think it's fairly easy to identify, but it's fairly easy to identify. If you have a real intimacy in the organization. If you don't, if you're just standing off in the distance and applauding the numbers that are coming in, you can have a real kick-ass leader that people really don't enjoy working for and probably won't work for that long.

Show Links:

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Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Thu, 27 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How important is it for business leaders to not only identify talent within their organization, but to take meaningful action to actually develop that talent? On the flip side, how handicapping can it be for an organization to keep employees who are holding the company back from success? 

Bill Conaty is a top former HR executive at GE and co-author of The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers. His 40 years at GE and his time as an advisory partner for Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has made him an expert in identifying and developing raw talent at an organization. 

Bill joins Greg to share insights from his time at GE, emphasizing the necessity of integrating HR with other business functions and the importance of having a seat at the table. They also discuss GE's unique HR practices, such as talent development programs, the role of corporate audit staff, and the evolution of HR through different business eras, including the impact of COVID-19 and the DEI movement.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Candor comes first trust comes later

41:55: Candor comes first; trust comes later. In other words, we always—through our leadership development in session C, we had to say, "We always had the list of development need, one or two." And it wasn't that I needed to go to the next course at Crotonville or that I'm too tough on myself. It had to do with legitimate development needs, and you had to be able to trust the company before you could cite, you know, "I don't have great listening skills," or—and you had to feel like, "Whatever you stipulate, we're going to work with you on that." And we said: a development need is not a fatal flaw. A development need is only a development need as long as you address it. If you don't, it can become a fatal flaw.

HR Success Starts with the CEO

05:41: No matter how good of an HR leader you are, if the CEO doesn't have high expectations for what he wants out of that function, you're in for a long day.

What do we look for in leaders?

34:50: What do we look for in leaders? We started out with three E's—energy, energize, and edge—and so that's a green light, red light, yellow light. We'd go out to all the businesses, and we came away from one, and the leader had dynamite energy, could energize others, more than enough edge, and his numbers sucked. So, I said to Jack, "We assume this, but we need a fourth E, and that's called execution."

 Do you need a different kind of talent master to evaluate the talent versus the values?

53:26: I think the values piece is—I think it's fairly easy to identify, but it's fairly easy to identify. If you have a real intimacy in the organization. If you don't, if you're just standing off in the distance and applauding the numbers that are coming in, you can have a real kick-ass leader that people really don't enjoy working for and probably won't work for that long.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 521. The Vital Role of Talent Development in Business with Bill Conaty Greg La Blanc 01:01:33 How important is it for business leaders to not only identify talent within their organization, but to take meaningful action to actually develop that talent? On the flip side, how handicapping can it be for an organization to keep employees who are holding the company back from success? Bill Conaty is a top former HR executive at GE and co-author of The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers. His 40 years at GE and his time as an advisory partner for Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has made him an expert in identifying and developing raw talent at an organization. Bill joins Greg to share insights from his time at GE, emphasizing the necessity of integrating HR with other business functions and the importance of having a seat at the table. They also discuss GE's unique HR practices, such as talent development programs, the role of corporate audit staff, and the evolution of HR through different business eras, including the impact of COVID-19 and the DEI movement. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How important is it for business leaders to not only identify talent within their organization, but to take meaningful action to actually develop that talent? On the flip side, how handicapping can it be for an organization to keep employees who are holding the company back from success? Bill Conaty is a top former HR executive at GE and co-author of The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers. His 40 years at GE and his time as an advisory partner for Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has made him an expert in identifying and developing raw talent at an organization. Bill joins Greg to share insights from his time at GE, emphasizing the necessity of integrating HR with other business functions and the importance of having a seat at the table. They also discuss GE's unique HR practices, such as talent development programs, the role of corporate audit staff, and the evolution of HR through different business eras, including the impact of COVID-19 and the DEI movement. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 521 df9b7d4a-d356-4e33-b384-c6512c09218f 520. Debunking The Biggest Migration Myths with Hein de Haas Contrary to popular belief, global migration levels have remained relatively stable. So why has it become such a hot button issue on the political world stage? 

Hein de Haas is a professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam and an expert in migration. His book, How Migration Really Works: The Facts About the Most Divisive Issue in Politics delves into migration as a historical and ongoing phenomenon, comparing past and present migration patterns.

Hein and Greg discuss common misconceptions about migration, why people migrate in the first place, and what the actual impact of migration is on the economy, culture, and climate. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Political showmanship won’t solve migration

26:24: There are no easy solutions for complex migration problems. So that migration can cause problems in places where migrants concentrate, and not everybody is happy about it, particularly because employers reap the biggest benefits of their cheap labor—I can fully understand that. But the kind of solutions that politicians sell to us have more to do with bold acts of political showmanship than any really serious effort to control and manage migration.

Migration is part of development

15:07: We need a new paradigm, a new theory on migration—that migration is part of development. This is not about liking migration or not or denying that migration can also lead to tensions and problems. But if you deny that fundamental reality, you also see it in middle-income countries, where many governments have tried to stop or curb rural-to-urban migration. It has all failed.

Are politicians in denial about the realities of migration?

02:53: Both in the U.S., but also across the Atlantic in Europe, politicians have been basically in denial for over the last four to five decades about the realities of migration. That's the reason why these policies always fail. It’s a lack of fundamental understanding of migration as a social and economic process that needs to be the foundation of any policy. The migration issue has been completely hijacked by politicians, with pro- and anti-migration debates that don't really engage with the realities of migration. That huge gap is really the problem.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 24 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Contrary to popular belief, global migration levels have remained relatively stable. So why has it become such a hot button issue on the political world stage? 

Hein de Haas is a professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam and an expert in migration. His book, How Migration Really Works: The Facts About the Most Divisive Issue in Politics delves into migration as a historical and ongoing phenomenon, comparing past and present migration patterns.

Hein and Greg discuss common misconceptions about migration, why people migrate in the first place, and what the actual impact of migration is on the economy, culture, and climate. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Political showmanship won’t solve migration

26:24: There are no easy solutions for complex migration problems. So that migration can cause problems in places where migrants concentrate, and not everybody is happy about it, particularly because employers reap the biggest benefits of their cheap labor—I can fully understand that. But the kind of solutions that politicians sell to us have more to do with bold acts of political showmanship than any really serious effort to control and manage migration.

Migration is part of development

15:07: We need a new paradigm, a new theory on migration—that migration is part of development. This is not about liking migration or not or denying that migration can also lead to tensions and problems. But if you deny that fundamental reality, you also see it in middle-income countries, where many governments have tried to stop or curb rural-to-urban migration. It has all failed.

Are politicians in denial about the realities of migration?

02:53: Both in the U.S., but also across the Atlantic in Europe, politicians have been basically in denial for over the last four to five decades about the realities of migration. That's the reason why these policies always fail. It’s a lack of fundamental understanding of migration as a social and economic process that needs to be the foundation of any policy. The migration issue has been completely hijacked by politicians, with pro- and anti-migration debates that don't really engage with the realities of migration. That huge gap is really the problem.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 520. Debunking The Biggest Migration Myths with Hein de Haas Greg La Blanc 00:59:03 Contrary to popular belief, global migration levels have remained relatively stable. So why has it become such a hot button issue on the political world stage? Hein de Haas is a professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam and an expert in migration. His book, How Migration Really Works: The Facts About the Most Divisive Issue in Politics delves into migration as a historical and ongoing phenomenon, comparing past and present migration patterns. Hein and Greg discuss common misconceptions about migration, why people migrate in the first place, and what the actual impact of migration is on the economy, culture, and climate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Contrary to popular belief, global migration levels have remained relatively stable. So why has it become such a hot button issue on the political world stage? Hein de Haas is a professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam and an expert in migration. His book, How Migration Really Works: The Facts About the Most Divisive Issue in Politics delves into migration as a historical and ongoing phenomenon, comparing past and present migration patterns. Hein and Greg discuss common misconceptions about migration, why people migrate in the first place, and what the actual impact of migration is on the economy, culture, and climate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 520 1356c117-0c7a-40fa-874b-e93c1d267062 519. Why Some Public Debt Is Good for the Economy with Barry Eichengreen As conversation swirls around how the U.S. is going to pay back its $30 trillion debt, old concerns about public debt have been raised once again.

Barry Eichengreen is a professor of economics at UC Berkeley and one of the leading experts on international currency markets and their history. His books include Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System, The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era, and most recently, In Defense of Public Debt. 

Barry and Greg delve into the pros and cons of public debt, the mechanisms ensuring sovereign debt repayment, and the potential risks of inflation, and put modern debt levels into perspective by looking back at other major financial events in history. They also discuss the impact of political polarization on long-term financial decisions.

**This episode was recorded in 2021.** 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The political capacity to issue public debt goes hand in hand with financial development

31:25: If you go back and look at the history, you see the value to financial markets of sovereign debt—that as sovereigns’ and states’ debts begin to be recognized as safe and liquid with political checks and balances, they become safe. With the development of markets in them, they become more liquid. They're then used as collateral for other borrowing and lending, and you accelerate the development of private financial markets. So, I think the political capacity to issue public debt goes hand in hand with financial development, and financial development, historically, is an important component of economic development.

Public debt as a lifeline in times of crisis

02:58: Public debt has been critically important in history. To enable states to meet emergencies—so, if you look at the history, it has been issued typically in wartime to defend the realm. Admittedly, states and rulers have issued it to fight offensive as well as defensive wars, but also to meet threats, pandemics, natural disasters, and other national emergencies.

Why public debt levels depend on politics and time

34:50: I don't think economic science is advanced to the point where we can identify an optimal or uniquely sustainable level of public debt. I think politics impinges on this as well. So, if you ask a German politician and an American politician what an appropriate or optimal level of public debt is, they'll give you very different answers. Economic circumstances change over time as well. So, public U.S. public debt in the hands of the public has basically tripled since the turn of the century. Debt service—interest paid on that debt as a share of GDP—hasn't budged. Interest rates have come down, and they've been trending downward for the better part of 30 or 40 years. That has made it easier to sustain a heavier level of public debt.


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

]]> Fri, 21 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As conversation swirls around how the U.S. is going to pay back its $30 trillion debt, old concerns about public debt have been raised once again.

Barry Eichengreen is a professor of economics at UC Berkeley and one of the leading experts on international currency markets and their history. His books include Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System, The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era, and most recently, In Defense of Public Debt. 

Barry and Greg delve into the pros and cons of public debt, the mechanisms ensuring sovereign debt repayment, and the potential risks of inflation, and put modern debt levels into perspective by looking back at other major financial events in history. They also discuss the impact of political polarization on long-term financial decisions.

**This episode was recorded in 2021.** 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The political capacity to issue public debt goes hand in hand with financial development

31:25: If you go back and look at the history, you see the value to financial markets of sovereign debt—that as sovereigns’ and states’ debts begin to be recognized as safe and liquid with political checks and balances, they become safe. With the development of markets in them, they become more liquid. They're then used as collateral for other borrowing and lending, and you accelerate the development of private financial markets. So, I think the political capacity to issue public debt goes hand in hand with financial development, and financial development, historically, is an important component of economic development.

Public debt as a lifeline in times of crisis

02:58: Public debt has been critically important in history. To enable states to meet emergencies—so, if you look at the history, it has been issued typically in wartime to defend the realm. Admittedly, states and rulers have issued it to fight offensive as well as defensive wars, but also to meet threats, pandemics, natural disasters, and other national emergencies.

Why public debt levels depend on politics and time

34:50: I don't think economic science is advanced to the point where we can identify an optimal or uniquely sustainable level of public debt. I think politics impinges on this as well. So, if you ask a German politician and an American politician what an appropriate or optimal level of public debt is, they'll give you very different answers. Economic circumstances change over time as well. So, public U.S. public debt in the hands of the public has basically tripled since the turn of the century. Debt service—interest paid on that debt as a share of GDP—hasn't budged. Interest rates have come down, and they've been trending downward for the better part of 30 or 40 years. That has made it easier to sustain a heavier level of public debt.


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

]]> 519. Why Some Public Debt Is Good for the Economy with Barry Eichengreen Greg La Blanc 00:53:17 As conversation swirls around how the U.S. is going to pay back its $30 trillion debt, old concerns about public debt have been raised once again. Barry Eichengreen is a professor of economics at UC Berkeley and one of the leading experts on international currency markets and their history. His books include Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System, The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era, and most recently, In Defense of Public Debt. Barry and Greg delve into the pros and cons of public debt, the mechanisms ensuring sovereign debt repayment, and the potential risks of inflation, and put modern debt levels into perspective by looking back at other major financial events in history. They also discuss the impact of political polarization on long-term financial decisions. **This episode was recorded in 2021.** *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* As conversation swirls around how the U.S. is going to pay back its $30 trillion debt, old concerns about public debt have been raised once again. Barry Eichengreen is a professor of economics at UC Berkeley and one of the leading experts on international currency markets and their history. His books include Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System, The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era, and most recently, In Defense of Public Debt. Barry and Greg delve into the pros and cons of public debt, the mechanisms ensuring sovereign debt repayment, and the potential risks of inflation, and put modern debt levels into perspective by looking back at other major financial events in history. They also discuss the impact of political polarization on long-term financial decisions. **This episode was recorded in 2021.** *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 519 e6557218-3832-4733-84b6-ab163c77c69f 518. Nurturing a Growth Mindset to Transform Individuals and Organizations feat. Mary C. Murphy What are the ramifications of holding a fixed mindset over a growth mindset? How does it alter the mechanics of the people within a company and what can be done to shift an entrenched culture mindset?

Mary C. Murphy is a Professor of Psychology and Brain Science at the University of Indiana, and the author of the book Cultures of Growth: How the New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations.

Greg and Mary discuss the differences between growth and fixed mindsets, the significant impact of environmental factors on a given mindset, and the concept of mindset culture. Mary shares insights from her research and personal experiences, including her collaboration with Carol Dweck on the external factors influencing mindset. Their conversation covers the practical applications of growth mindset principles in education and corporate settings, how to implement effective learning systems, the role of leadership in fostering a culture of growth, and the importance of reframing effort in relation to ability. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

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Guest Profile:

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Episode Quotes:

Reframing effort and ability through growth mindset

41:55: So, what the growth mindset culture does—and what we do when we are creating growth mindset learning environments or working environments in companies—is that we're really trying to reframe that relationship between effort and ability. Pointing out, telling stories, showing people, having them do self-reflection on where they made the most progress, right? Where do you actually see the best outcomes coming? Is it always effortless, or have there been challenges that have been overcome, strategies that had to be pivoted, and teams that had to come together, right? So, illuminating the process of success helps people understand whether or not effort is what's required for ability, required for high success, right? And strong success and excellence. 

Why growth cultures are more diverse and inclusive

49:36: In a culture of growth, it's much more diverse naturally. Why? Because it's not about matching to some narrow prototype of success that looks or feels a certain way. Instead, it's about who can grow the most, who can develop the most, who can pivot, who's overcome challenges. And when we look at our society and look at who has overcome challenges, who has actually had to pivot, try new things, and overcome these structural barriers, we see that that's a much more diverse group of people. And it's not just focused on any one identity. And so, we see that in these cultures of growth, they attract, retain, promote, and positively evaluate a much wider variety of people.

How do we mirror growth to inspire workplace success?

34:50: As adults in the workplace setting, if we can create relationships where we actually show employees and our direct reports—individual contributors—where we have seen their growth and development, appreciate that, and mirror it for them, it puts them in that growth mindset. This makes them willing to try something new, to continue to push, and to continue to develop either in that area or in a new area that's required in the moment. And so, I think that's one thing that we can do pretty easily—to just be that mirror for process, growth, and development for people and help them reflect on that for themselves. 


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]]> Mon, 17 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the ramifications of holding a fixed mindset over a growth mindset? How does it alter the mechanics of the people within a company and what can be done to shift an entrenched culture mindset?

Mary C. Murphy is a Professor of Psychology and Brain Science at the University of Indiana, and the author of the book Cultures of Growth: How the New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations.

Greg and Mary discuss the differences between growth and fixed mindsets, the significant impact of environmental factors on a given mindset, and the concept of mindset culture. Mary shares insights from her research and personal experiences, including her collaboration with Carol Dweck on the external factors influencing mindset. Their conversation covers the practical applications of growth mindset principles in education and corporate settings, how to implement effective learning systems, the role of leadership in fostering a culture of growth, and the importance of reframing effort in relation to ability. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Reframing effort and ability through growth mindset

41:55: So, what the growth mindset culture does—and what we do when we are creating growth mindset learning environments or working environments in companies—is that we're really trying to reframe that relationship between effort and ability. Pointing out, telling stories, showing people, having them do self-reflection on where they made the most progress, right? Where do you actually see the best outcomes coming? Is it always effortless, or have there been challenges that have been overcome, strategies that had to be pivoted, and teams that had to come together, right? So, illuminating the process of success helps people understand whether or not effort is what's required for ability, required for high success, right? And strong success and excellence. 

Why growth cultures are more diverse and inclusive

49:36: In a culture of growth, it's much more diverse naturally. Why? Because it's not about matching to some narrow prototype of success that looks or feels a certain way. Instead, it's about who can grow the most, who can develop the most, who can pivot, who's overcome challenges. And when we look at our society and look at who has overcome challenges, who has actually had to pivot, try new things, and overcome these structural barriers, we see that that's a much more diverse group of people. And it's not just focused on any one identity. And so, we see that in these cultures of growth, they attract, retain, promote, and positively evaluate a much wider variety of people.

How do we mirror growth to inspire workplace success?

34:50: As adults in the workplace setting, if we can create relationships where we actually show employees and our direct reports—individual contributors—where we have seen their growth and development, appreciate that, and mirror it for them, it puts them in that growth mindset. This makes them willing to try something new, to continue to push, and to continue to develop either in that area or in a new area that's required in the moment. And so, I think that's one thing that we can do pretty easily—to just be that mirror for process, growth, and development for people and help them reflect on that for themselves. 


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]]> 518. Nurturing a Growth Mindset to Transform Individuals and Organizations feat. Mary C. Murphy Greg La Blanc 00:57:46 What are the ramifications of holding a fixed mindset over a growth mindset? How does it alter the mechanics of the people within a company and what can be done to shift an entrenched culture mindset? Mary C. Murphy is a Professor of Psychology and Brain Science at the University of Indiana, and the author of the book Cultures of Growth: How the New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations. Greg and Mary discuss the differences between growth and fixed mindsets, the significant impact of environmental factors on a given mindset, and the concept of mindset culture. Mary shares insights from her research and personal experiences, including her collaboration with Carol Dweck on the external factors influencing mindset. Their conversation covers the practical applications of growth mindset principles in education and corporate settings, how to implement effective learning systems, the role of leadership in fostering a culture of growth, and the importance of reframing effort in relation to ability. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the ramifications of holding a fixed mindset over a growth mindset? How does it alter the mechanics of the people within a company and what can be done to shift an entrenched culture mindset? Mary C. Murphy is a Professor of Psychology and Brain Science at the University of Indiana, and the author of the book Cultures of Growth: How the New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations. Greg and Mary discuss the differences between growth and fixed mindsets, the significant impact of environmental factors on a given mindset, and the concept of mindset culture. Mary shares insights from her research and personal experiences, including her collaboration with Carol Dweck on the external factors influencing mindset. Their conversation covers the practical applications of growth mindset principles in education and corporate settings, how to implement effective learning systems, the role of leadership in fostering a culture of growth, and the importance of reframing effort in relation to ability. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 518 2a24360c-0654-4998-ac8e-d976517dea2c 517. Exploring the Intersection of Media and Science feat. Faye Flam What are the problems facing academic journals today? What changes to the system could be made to address them? How could being more open about studies that aren’t successful actually be a success strategy overall?

Faye Flam is a science and medical journalist, a columnist for Bloomberg, host of the podcast Follow the Science, and the author of The Score: The Science of the Male Sex Drive.

Greg and Faye discuss the importance and challenges of science journalism. Their conversation touches on the role of science journalists in translating and evaluating scientific data, the replication crisis, the influence of fraudulent research, the dynamics of public trust in science, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health communication. They also examine the issue with the growing proliferation of deepfakes, ‘fake news,’ and the importance of maintaining journalistic integrity in an increasingly digital age.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Science journalism and the challenge of neutrality

38:23: I think that it's harder these days to sell the kind of story that I used to think was, that I still think is, kind of the heart and soul of science journalism, which is to try to separate the science from the values, try to understand why people are disagreeing, try to understand where the science has evolved, where the science might have been wrong in the past. So even something as fraught as whether sex is binary, I think at least in the past, that's something you could tackle as a journalist without taking sides, but just adding clarity and adding context and saying, you know, these people disagree because they have different values and they want to use different language. They're interpreting things differently. But there are certain aspects of biology that everybody agrees on.

Rethinking failure in science

10:08:  People have to rethink the meaning of failure. If you have a hypothesis that's kind of a long shot, and you test it, and you do a really good experiment, and you find out the hypothesis didn't hold up, well, you've tested that. Maybe that's something you can rule out. That should be an acceptable, perfectly normal part of science. It's not a failure per se. It's just that sometimes you have to rule something out that's a long shot.

On the confidence trap of AI

49:01:  One of the hazards of AI is that people—it's so confident—it answers questions with so much confidence, and it sounds so smart that people just assume it's right. And it's often not right. People call them hallucinations, but it can just be, with some subtle thing in your prompt, right? I think there is going to be a period where people are seduced into believing AI because it can be so incredibly smart, and it makes these statements with so much confidence. But a lot of it—there is this kind of chaos to it. Little changes in the prompt will completely change the answer.


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

]]> Fri, 14 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the problems facing academic journals today? What changes to the system could be made to address them? How could being more open about studies that aren’t successful actually be a success strategy overall?

Faye Flam is a science and medical journalist, a columnist for Bloomberg, host of the podcast Follow the Science, and the author of The Score: The Science of the Male Sex Drive.

Greg and Faye discuss the importance and challenges of science journalism. Their conversation touches on the role of science journalists in translating and evaluating scientific data, the replication crisis, the influence of fraudulent research, the dynamics of public trust in science, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health communication. They also examine the issue with the growing proliferation of deepfakes, ‘fake news,’ and the importance of maintaining journalistic integrity in an increasingly digital age.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Science journalism and the challenge of neutrality

38:23: I think that it's harder these days to sell the kind of story that I used to think was, that I still think is, kind of the heart and soul of science journalism, which is to try to separate the science from the values, try to understand why people are disagreeing, try to understand where the science has evolved, where the science might have been wrong in the past. So even something as fraught as whether sex is binary, I think at least in the past, that's something you could tackle as a journalist without taking sides, but just adding clarity and adding context and saying, you know, these people disagree because they have different values and they want to use different language. They're interpreting things differently. But there are certain aspects of biology that everybody agrees on.

Rethinking failure in science

10:08:  People have to rethink the meaning of failure. If you have a hypothesis that's kind of a long shot, and you test it, and you do a really good experiment, and you find out the hypothesis didn't hold up, well, you've tested that. Maybe that's something you can rule out. That should be an acceptable, perfectly normal part of science. It's not a failure per se. It's just that sometimes you have to rule something out that's a long shot.

On the confidence trap of AI

49:01:  One of the hazards of AI is that people—it's so confident—it answers questions with so much confidence, and it sounds so smart that people just assume it's right. And it's often not right. People call them hallucinations, but it can just be, with some subtle thing in your prompt, right? I think there is going to be a period where people are seduced into believing AI because it can be so incredibly smart, and it makes these statements with so much confidence. But a lot of it—there is this kind of chaos to it. Little changes in the prompt will completely change the answer.


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

]]> 517. Exploring the Intersection of Media and Science feat. Faye Flam Greg La Blanc 00:52:05 What are the problems facing academic journals today? What changes to the system could be made to address them? How could being more open about studies that aren’t successful actually be a success strategy overall? Faye Flam is a science and medical journalist, a columnist for Bloomberg, host of the podcast Follow the Science, and the author of The Score: The Science of the Male Sex Drive. Greg and Faye discuss the importance and challenges of science journalism. Their conversation touches on the role of science journalists in translating and evaluating scientific data, the replication crisis, the influence of fraudulent research, the dynamics of public trust in science, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health communication. They also examine the issue with the growing proliferation of deepfakes, ‘fake news,’ and the importance of maintaining journalistic integrity in an increasingly digital age. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the problems facing academic journals today? What changes to the system could be made to address them? How could being more open about studies that aren’t successful actually be a success strategy overall? Faye Flam is a science and medical journalist, a columnist for Bloomberg, host of the podcast Follow the Science, and the author of The Score: The Science of the Male Sex Drive. Greg and Faye discuss the importance and challenges of science journalism. Their conversation touches on the role of science journalists in translating and evaluating scientific data, the replication crisis, the influence of fraudulent research, the dynamics of public trust in science, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health communication. They also examine the issue with the growing proliferation of deepfakes, ‘fake news,’ and the importance of maintaining journalistic integrity in an increasingly digital age. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 517 879234e0-22bb-4111-b9f8-a52695f88567 516. Demystifying The Origins of Language with Steven Mithen When did humans learn to communicate through language? Did it coincide with the invention of fire? Or was it more a gradual process that involved much more than just making sounds with our mouths? 

Steven Mithen is a professor of prehistory at the University of Reading and the author of numerous books on human evolution including, The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body, Thirst: Water and Power in the Ancient World, and most recently, The Language Puzzle: Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved. His work weaves together disciplines like psychology, linguistics, and genetics to chart the history and evolution of the ways our minds make sense of the world.

Greg and Steven discuss the integrative nature of language evolution, the role of social and physical environments in shaping language, and the interconnectedness of music and language in bonding and communication. Steven also shares how studying ancient civilizations’ water management strategies unveils lessons for today’s global water crisis. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

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His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Gesture evolved with language but never drove it forward

17:43: Gesture has always accompanied language but never driven it forward. Music's maybe a little bit different, really. It seems to me musical sounds we make are almost more like gestures. And I think that time of moving to full bipedalism at about two million years ago, did really make bodies hugely more expressive. And it was a time when not only body language became important, but I think dance and singing, stamping feet, slapping thighs—all of that acting  as a really important way of building social bonds, of doing some sort of communication, pushed forward that social interaction communication.

Language shapes perception

51:14:  Different languages have different concepts of how the world is and should be seen, and that does influence how you perceive and think about it.

Language shapes culture and complex thought

25:01: I think we're mistaken if we think social bonding is the only role of language or necessarily the most important. There are at least two other things that it really does. Just a transmission of information from generation to generation. What we don't see in our human ancestors, like Homo erectus, and then our relatives like the Neanderthals, is only accumulation of culture; it doesn't seem to build from one generation to the next. And I suspect that's because there is a limitation on the way they're using language and the ability to gradually construct more complex ideas. But the other way we use language, and the other important one, is for thinking about complex ideas that I think we just can't do without it. And that's where a metaphor comes in—I think it's hugely important.


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

]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When did humans learn to communicate through language? Did it coincide with the invention of fire? Or was it more a gradual process that involved much more than just making sounds with our mouths? 

Steven Mithen is a professor of prehistory at the University of Reading and the author of numerous books on human evolution including, The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body, Thirst: Water and Power in the Ancient World, and most recently, The Language Puzzle: Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved. His work weaves together disciplines like psychology, linguistics, and genetics to chart the history and evolution of the ways our minds make sense of the world.

Greg and Steven discuss the integrative nature of language evolution, the role of social and physical environments in shaping language, and the interconnectedness of music and language in bonding and communication. Steven also shares how studying ancient civilizations’ water management strategies unveils lessons for today’s global water crisis. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Gesture evolved with language but never drove it forward

17:43: Gesture has always accompanied language but never driven it forward. Music's maybe a little bit different, really. It seems to me musical sounds we make are almost more like gestures. And I think that time of moving to full bipedalism at about two million years ago, did really make bodies hugely more expressive. And it was a time when not only body language became important, but I think dance and singing, stamping feet, slapping thighs—all of that acting  as a really important way of building social bonds, of doing some sort of communication, pushed forward that social interaction communication.

Language shapes perception

51:14:  Different languages have different concepts of how the world is and should be seen, and that does influence how you perceive and think about it.

Language shapes culture and complex thought

25:01: I think we're mistaken if we think social bonding is the only role of language or necessarily the most important. There are at least two other things that it really does. Just a transmission of information from generation to generation. What we don't see in our human ancestors, like Homo erectus, and then our relatives like the Neanderthals, is only accumulation of culture; it doesn't seem to build from one generation to the next. And I suspect that's because there is a limitation on the way they're using language and the ability to gradually construct more complex ideas. But the other way we use language, and the other important one, is for thinking about complex ideas that I think we just can't do without it. And that's where a metaphor comes in—I think it's hugely important.


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

]]> 516. Demystifying The Origins of Language with Steven Mithen Greg La Blanc 01:03:37 When did humans learn to communicate through language? Did it coincide with the invention of fire? Or was it more a gradual process that involved much more than just making sounds with our mouths? Steven Mithen is a professor of prehistory at the University of Reading and the author of numerous books on human evolution including, The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body, Thirst: Water and Power in the Ancient World, and most recently, The Language Puzzle: Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved. His work weaves together disciplines like psychology, linguistics, and genetics to chart the history and evolution of the ways our minds make sense of the world. Greg and Steven discuss the integrative nature of language evolution, the role of social and physical environments in shaping language, and the interconnectedness of music and language in bonding and communication. Steven also shares how studying ancient civilizations’ water management strategies unveils lessons for today’s global water crisis. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When did humans learn to communicate through language? Did it coincide with the invention of fire? Or was it more a gradual process that involved much more than just making sounds with our mouths? Steven Mithen is a professor of prehistory at the University of Reading and the author of numerous books on human evolution including, The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body, Thirst: Water and Power in the Ancient World, and most recently, The Language Puzzle: Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved. His work weaves together disciplines like psychology, linguistics, and genetics to chart the history and evolution of the ways our minds make sense of the world. Greg and Steven discuss the integrative nature of language evolution, the role of social and physical environments in shaping language, and the interconnectedness of music and language in bonding and communication. Steven also shares how studying ancient civilizations’ water management strategies unveils lessons for today’s global water crisis. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 516 e6d5f543-b3c2-4890-be62-8ba03db3e323 515. Reinventing Legacy Companies and Navigating Tech's Impact feat. Vivek Wadhwa How can Legacy companies transform themselves to compete with Startups? What lessons can be learned from the different ways legacy companies Microsoft and IBM navigated the new business landscape. What can we expect from the new tech hubs popping up around the world that aim to be a recreation of what makes Silicon Valley work?

Vivek Wadhwa is an academic, entrepreneur, and author of five best-selling books: From Incremental to Exponential, Your Happiness Was Hacked, The Driver in the Driverless Car, Innovating Women, and The Immigrant Exodus.

Greg and Vivek discuss Vivek’s journey from tech entrepreneur to academic and prolific author. They discuss Vivek’s different books focusing on innovation, legacy companies, and the impact of technology on society. Vivek highlights the failures of traditional innovation methods, the cultural transformations necessary for company revitalization, and the broader societal impacts of technology addiction. Additionally, Vivek shares his personal strategies for managing tech distractions in his own life and emphasizes the necessity of face-to-face interactions for true innovation in business.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

**This episode was recorded in 2021.**

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The reason silicon valley can't be replicated

14:19: Silicon Valley can't be replicated because you need much more than a few people. It's all about culture, the fact that we interact with each other. I mean, you go to parties over here. I mean, I remember coming to Silicon Valley 12 years ago and bumping into Mark Zuckerberg. I said, "Oh my God, Mark Zuckerberg is here." And then you bump into Mitch Kapor, you know, all of these people, and you just go up to them, and they talk to you like normal people. So it's informal; you go to any coffee shop over here, and you ask someone, "You know, what are you doing?" First of all, they'll start telling you about all the things that they failed in. They'll show off about their failure, and then they'll openly tell you what they're doing. Try doing that anywhere else in the world.

On how are the people being addicted to technologies 

47:41:The fact is that all of us are addicted. We're checking email. We wake up in the morning, and we check email. We go to bed late at night; we're checking email. We're traveling home from work; we're checking email. Right? We're now exchanging texts, you know, 24/7. When we have any free time, we'll start watching some TikTok videos. I mean, the kids, from the time they're like six months old now, seem to be on their iPads and so on. And the result is that teen suicide rates are high. We're not aware. All the studies about happiness show that we are less happy than we ever were. So everything good that should have happened hasn't happened. Instead, we've become addicted, and it's become a big problem for us. 

Disruption can come from anywhere

08:38: You have to be aware that disruption would come from everywhere, and you need to have all hands on deck. It's no longer R&D departments that specialize in developing some specific technology—it's everyone in your company, right? Marketing, customer support, sales, your engineers, of course, finance—everyone now has a role in disruption, helping you reinvent yourself.


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

]]> Thu, 6 Mar 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How can Legacy companies transform themselves to compete with Startups? What lessons can be learned from the different ways legacy companies Microsoft and IBM navigated the new business landscape. What can we expect from the new tech hubs popping up around the world that aim to be a recreation of what makes Silicon Valley work?

Vivek Wadhwa is an academic, entrepreneur, and author of five best-selling books: From Incremental to Exponential, Your Happiness Was Hacked, The Driver in the Driverless Car, Innovating Women, and The Immigrant Exodus.

Greg and Vivek discuss Vivek’s journey from tech entrepreneur to academic and prolific author. They discuss Vivek’s different books focusing on innovation, legacy companies, and the impact of technology on society. Vivek highlights the failures of traditional innovation methods, the cultural transformations necessary for company revitalization, and the broader societal impacts of technology addiction. Additionally, Vivek shares his personal strategies for managing tech distractions in his own life and emphasizes the necessity of face-to-face interactions for true innovation in business.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

**This episode was recorded in 2021.**

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The reason silicon valley can't be replicated

14:19: Silicon Valley can't be replicated because you need much more than a few people. It's all about culture, the fact that we interact with each other. I mean, you go to parties over here. I mean, I remember coming to Silicon Valley 12 years ago and bumping into Mark Zuckerberg. I said, "Oh my God, Mark Zuckerberg is here." And then you bump into Mitch Kapor, you know, all of these people, and you just go up to them, and they talk to you like normal people. So it's informal; you go to any coffee shop over here, and you ask someone, "You know, what are you doing?" First of all, they'll start telling you about all the things that they failed in. They'll show off about their failure, and then they'll openly tell you what they're doing. Try doing that anywhere else in the world.

On how are the people being addicted to technologies 

47:41:The fact is that all of us are addicted. We're checking email. We wake up in the morning, and we check email. We go to bed late at night; we're checking email. We're traveling home from work; we're checking email. Right? We're now exchanging texts, you know, 24/7. When we have any free time, we'll start watching some TikTok videos. I mean, the kids, from the time they're like six months old now, seem to be on their iPads and so on. And the result is that teen suicide rates are high. We're not aware. All the studies about happiness show that we are less happy than we ever were. So everything good that should have happened hasn't happened. Instead, we've become addicted, and it's become a big problem for us. 

Disruption can come from anywhere

08:38: You have to be aware that disruption would come from everywhere, and you need to have all hands on deck. It's no longer R&D departments that specialize in developing some specific technology—it's everyone in your company, right? Marketing, customer support, sales, your engineers, of course, finance—everyone now has a role in disruption, helping you reinvent yourself.


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

]]> 515. Reinventing Legacy Companies and Navigating Tech's Impact feat. Vivek Wadhwa Greg La Blanc 00:45:58 How can Legacy companies transform themselves to compete with Startups? What lessons can be learned from the different ways legacy companies Microsoft and IBM navigated the new business landscape. What can we expect from the new tech hubs popping up around the world that aim to be a recreation of what makes Silicon Valley work? Vivek Wadhwa is an academic, entrepreneur, and author of five best-selling books: From Incremental to Exponential, Your Happiness Was Hacked, The Driver in the Driverless Car, Innovating Women, and The Immigrant Exodus. Greg and Vivek discuss Vivek’s journey from tech entrepreneur to academic and prolific author. They discuss Vivek’s different books focusing on innovation, legacy companies, and the impact of technology on society. Vivek highlights the failures of traditional innovation methods, the cultural transformations necessary for company revitalization, and the broader societal impacts of technology addiction. Additionally, Vivek shares his personal strategies for managing tech distractions in his own life and emphasizes the necessity of face-to-face interactions for true innovation in business. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* **This episode was recorded in 2021.** How can Legacy companies transform themselves to compete with Startups? What lessons can be learned from the different ways legacy companies Microsoft and IBM navigated the new business landscape. What can we expect from the new tech hubs popping up around the world that aim to be a recreation of what makes Silicon Valley work? Vivek Wadhwa is an academic, entrepreneur, and author of five best-selling books: From Incremental to Exponential, Your Happiness Was Hacked, The Driver in the Driverless Car, Innovating Women, and The Immigrant Exodus. Greg and Vivek discuss Vivek’s journey from tech entrepreneur to academic and prolific author. They discuss Vivek’s different books focusing on innovation, legacy companies, and the impact of technology on society. Vivek highlights the failures of traditional innovation methods, the cultural transformations necessary for company revitalization, and the broader societal impacts of technology addiction. Additionally, Vivek shares his personal strategies for managing tech distractions in his own life and emphasizes the necessity of face-to-face interactions for true innovation in business. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* **This episode was recorded in 2021.** false full 515 04c2b00d-f145-4e91-aa28-1e314c8d2050 514. Embracing and Growing Through Failure with John Danner Is it time to drastically change the way we think about failure? What if failure is the key to success? 

John Danner is a faculty member at UC Berkeley and Princeton University and the author of Built for Growth and The Other “F” Word. His research focuses on leadership, strategy, and innovation. He regularly consults with Fortune 500 companies, offering actionable strategies to help them adapt to ever-changing landscapes and grow. 

John and Greg discuss the paradox of Silicon Valley’s celebration of failure and the reality behind it, turning regrets into strategic resources, the importance of self-knowledge, both for individuals and organizations, and how understanding your personality can influence successful entrepreneurship.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

**This episode was recorded in 2021.**

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Embracing failure leads to growth

03:33: There's something quintessentially human about failure that connects all of us because we are all experts at it. We do it all the time in very unexpected ways, yet we tend too often to walk away from it, to ignore it, to not talk about it. And it's become, I think, a taboo unto itself, but also, from a leadership point of view, in my experience, both in teaching, consulting, and running organizations, starting organizations, it is a huge barrier in most organizations that I'm familiar with. If you can't talk about failure, if you can't genuinely, honestly, openly discuss it and understand what's behind it, you're never going to be in a position to actually leverage and benefit from it.

Failure is like gravity

12:11: Failure is like gravity. It is a force and fact of nature. It is inexorable and unavoidable, and it's not a strong force of nature. It's a weak force of nature, but it is the kind of phenomenon that I think we're dealing with.

The value of failure

02:41: What failure almost always is: reality's way of telling you that you weren't as smart as you thought you were, you were conducting an experiment all along, and it's reality that's telling you what you didn't know but thought you did. So, it's got some value for sure.

How can we embrace failure without being overwhelmed by it and use it to improve the odds of success

25:21: How can you both accommodate the likelihood of failure but not be overwhelmed by it, not ignore it, but manage through it and, more importantly, perhaps manage with it because failure is a little bit like the coal that holds the diamond; there's insight in every failure. There is something of value that is there to be mined if you have the humility to acknowledge it and the tenacity to go after it. And to that extent, I like this notion of thinking of initiative and action as chances to improve your odds that the experiments you're conducting are more likely than otherwise to prove successful.


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

]]> Mon, 3 Mar 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is it time to drastically change the way we think about failure? What if failure is the key to success? 

John Danner is a faculty member at UC Berkeley and Princeton University and the author of Built for Growth and The Other “F” Word. His research focuses on leadership, strategy, and innovation. He regularly consults with Fortune 500 companies, offering actionable strategies to help them adapt to ever-changing landscapes and grow. 

John and Greg discuss the paradox of Silicon Valley’s celebration of failure and the reality behind it, turning regrets into strategic resources, the importance of self-knowledge, both for individuals and organizations, and how understanding your personality can influence successful entrepreneurship.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

**This episode was recorded in 2021.**

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Embracing failure leads to growth

03:33: There's something quintessentially human about failure that connects all of us because we are all experts at it. We do it all the time in very unexpected ways, yet we tend too often to walk away from it, to ignore it, to not talk about it. And it's become, I think, a taboo unto itself, but also, from a leadership point of view, in my experience, both in teaching, consulting, and running organizations, starting organizations, it is a huge barrier in most organizations that I'm familiar with. If you can't talk about failure, if you can't genuinely, honestly, openly discuss it and understand what's behind it, you're never going to be in a position to actually leverage and benefit from it.

Failure is like gravity

12:11: Failure is like gravity. It is a force and fact of nature. It is inexorable and unavoidable, and it's not a strong force of nature. It's a weak force of nature, but it is the kind of phenomenon that I think we're dealing with.

The value of failure

02:41: What failure almost always is: reality's way of telling you that you weren't as smart as you thought you were, you were conducting an experiment all along, and it's reality that's telling you what you didn't know but thought you did. So, it's got some value for sure.

How can we embrace failure without being overwhelmed by it and use it to improve the odds of success

25:21: How can you both accommodate the likelihood of failure but not be overwhelmed by it, not ignore it, but manage through it and, more importantly, perhaps manage with it because failure is a little bit like the coal that holds the diamond; there's insight in every failure. There is something of value that is there to be mined if you have the humility to acknowledge it and the tenacity to go after it. And to that extent, I like this notion of thinking of initiative and action as chances to improve your odds that the experiments you're conducting are more likely than otherwise to prove successful.


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

]]> 514. Embracing and Growing Through Failure with John Danner Greg La Blanc 00:52:09 Is it time to drastically change the way we think about failure? What if failure is the key to success? John Danner is a faculty member at UC Berkeley and Princeton University and the author of Built for Growth and The Other “F” Word. His research focuses on leadership, strategy, and innovation. He regularly consults with Fortune 500 companies, offering actionable strategies to help them adapt to ever-changing landscapes and grow. John and Greg discuss the paradox of Silicon Valley’s celebration of failure and the reality behind it, turning regrets into strategic resources, the importance of self-knowledge, both for individuals and organizations, and how understanding your personality can influence successful entrepreneurship. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* **This episode was recorded in 2021.** Is it time to drastically change the way we think about failure? What if failure is the key to success? John Danner is a faculty member at UC Berkeley and Princeton University and the author of Built for Growth and The Other “F” Word. His research focuses on leadership, strategy, and innovation. He regularly consults with Fortune 500 companies, offering actionable strategies to help them adapt to ever-changing landscapes and grow. John and Greg discuss the paradox of Silicon Valley’s celebration of failure and the reality behind it, turning regrets into strategic resources, the importance of self-knowledge, both for individuals and organizations, and how understanding your personality can influence successful entrepreneurship. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* **This episode was recorded in 2021.** false full 514 26e6d20a-53a8-48b4-8ccf-e9d0c894eb0f 513. Harnessing AI and Experimentation in Startups feat. Jeffrey J. Bussgang What are the ways founders are using AI to experiment and optimize their start-ups faster than ever before? How does this shift affect the various makeups of different companies and industries, and who will be the winners and losers in the new age of AI?

Jeff Bussgang is the GP and Founder of Flybridge Capital, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, and also the author of the new book The Experimentation Machine: Finding Product-Market Fit in the Age of AI. 

Greg and Jeff discuss timeless methods and timely tools for startups. Jeff elaborates on the scientific approach to entrepreneurship and the importance of combining timeless principles with modern AI tools. He shares insights on how generative AI can enhance every aspect of a startup, from ideation to customer engagement, and discusses the evolving roles of founders, venture capitalists, and even employees in this new landscape. Their conversation includes practical advice for founders on prioritizing experiments, scaling, building customer value propositions, and leveraging AI to become more efficient and effective.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The startup path is unpredictable but patterns exist

03:08: Startups are highly nondeterministic, and so there's really no single playbook or single formula. And yet, there are timeless methods that you can apply to improve your odds of success. Now, you're never going to guarantee success. It's not an engineering formula where certain inputs result in certain outputs. There's just too much randomness. And as I said, nondeterminism is out there, and every age, era, context, startup, and individual are so radically different. So it's highly unpredictable. Yet, as I said, timeless methods. And then, as you noted—and I write in the book—timely tools. I mean, the tools, they're not just getting better every year, every month, every week, every day. 

Strategy in startups is all about test selection

10:36: This question of test selection being strategy is the essence of what founders need to think through because, anytime you have an organization with limited bandwidth and a limited envelope of resources and capital, you need to make prioritization decisions. You need to focus, and so what I advise founders, both that I teach and also through my Flybridge investment activities, is that they should select the tests that are going to uncover the most controversial part of their business model and have the highest likelihood of leading to a valuation inflection point if the test is successful.

Why judgment, strategy, and creativity are timeless values for founders

51:26: The notion that founders need to leverage their strategic thinking, creativity, and human judgment—and apply that again and again to prioritize these scarce resources—even if the resources can be stretched more fully—is still a competitive market, and everybody is stretching the resources and being more productive. I still think that that judgment is going to be very valuable.

AI won't replace founders—but founders who don't use AI will be replaced

47:41: AI is not going to replace founders anytime soon; but founders who don't use AI are going to replace founders who don't. I also believe that joiners who use AI are going to replace joiners who don't, that our portfolio companies are looking for AI-native employees, and that we may see a world where employees and candidates come to companies instead of with a team of engineers, marketers, or salespeople, as we have seen in the past—as the HubSpot mafia travels from company to company. [48:32] So I think there's going to be just a really rich set of opportunities for native joiners, and there's going to be a high bar that will be tested by employers about whether their individuals are native and facile with the AI tools.


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

]]> Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the ways founders are using AI to experiment and optimize their start-ups faster than ever before? How does this shift affect the various makeups of different companies and industries, and who will be the winners and losers in the new age of AI?

Jeff Bussgang is the GP and Founder of Flybridge Capital, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, and also the author of the new book The Experimentation Machine: Finding Product-Market Fit in the Age of AI. 

Greg and Jeff discuss timeless methods and timely tools for startups. Jeff elaborates on the scientific approach to entrepreneurship and the importance of combining timeless principles with modern AI tools. He shares insights on how generative AI can enhance every aspect of a startup, from ideation to customer engagement, and discusses the evolving roles of founders, venture capitalists, and even employees in this new landscape. Their conversation includes practical advice for founders on prioritizing experiments, scaling, building customer value propositions, and leveraging AI to become more efficient and effective.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The startup path is unpredictable but patterns exist

03:08: Startups are highly nondeterministic, and so there's really no single playbook or single formula. And yet, there are timeless methods that you can apply to improve your odds of success. Now, you're never going to guarantee success. It's not an engineering formula where certain inputs result in certain outputs. There's just too much randomness. And as I said, nondeterminism is out there, and every age, era, context, startup, and individual are so radically different. So it's highly unpredictable. Yet, as I said, timeless methods. And then, as you noted—and I write in the book—timely tools. I mean, the tools, they're not just getting better every year, every month, every week, every day. 

Strategy in startups is all about test selection

10:36: This question of test selection being strategy is the essence of what founders need to think through because, anytime you have an organization with limited bandwidth and a limited envelope of resources and capital, you need to make prioritization decisions. You need to focus, and so what I advise founders, both that I teach and also through my Flybridge investment activities, is that they should select the tests that are going to uncover the most controversial part of their business model and have the highest likelihood of leading to a valuation inflection point if the test is successful.

Why judgment, strategy, and creativity are timeless values for founders

51:26: The notion that founders need to leverage their strategic thinking, creativity, and human judgment—and apply that again and again to prioritize these scarce resources—even if the resources can be stretched more fully—is still a competitive market, and everybody is stretching the resources and being more productive. I still think that that judgment is going to be very valuable.

AI won't replace founders—but founders who don't use AI will be replaced

47:41: AI is not going to replace founders anytime soon; but founders who don't use AI are going to replace founders who don't. I also believe that joiners who use AI are going to replace joiners who don't, that our portfolio companies are looking for AI-native employees, and that we may see a world where employees and candidates come to companies instead of with a team of engineers, marketers, or salespeople, as we have seen in the past—as the HubSpot mafia travels from company to company. [48:32] So I think there's going to be just a really rich set of opportunities for native joiners, and there's going to be a high bar that will be tested by employers about whether their individuals are native and facile with the AI tools.


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

]]> 513. Harnessing AI and Experimentation in Startups feat. Jeffrey J. Bussgang Greg La Blanc 00:53:49 What are the ways founders are using AI to experiment and optimize their start-ups faster than ever before? How does this shift affect the various makeups of different companies and industries, and who will be the winners and losers in the new age of AI? Jeff Bussgang is the GP and Founder of Flybridge Capital, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, and also the author of the new book The Experimentation Machine: Finding Product-Market Fit in the Age of AI. Greg and Jeff discuss timeless methods and timely tools for startups. Jeff elaborates on the scientific approach to entrepreneurship and the importance of combining timeless principles with modern AI tools. He shares insights on how generative AI can enhance every aspect of a startup, from ideation to customer engagement, and discusses the evolving roles of founders, venture capitalists, and even employees in this new landscape. Their conversation includes practical advice for founders on prioritizing experiments, scaling, building customer value propositions, and leveraging AI to become more efficient and effective. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the ways founders are using AI to experiment and optimize their start-ups faster than ever before? How does this shift affect the various makeups of different companies and industries, and who will be the winners and losers in the new age of AI? Jeff Bussgang is the GP and Founder of Flybridge Capital, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, and also the author of the new book The Experimentation Machine: Finding Product-Market Fit in the Age of AI. Greg and Jeff discuss timeless methods and timely tools for startups. Jeff elaborates on the scientific approach to entrepreneurship and the importance of combining timeless principles with modern AI tools. He shares insights on how generative AI can enhance every aspect of a startup, from ideation to customer engagement, and discusses the evolving roles of founders, venture capitalists, and even employees in this new landscape. Their conversation includes practical advice for founders on prioritizing experiments, scaling, building customer value propositions, and leveraging AI to become more efficient and effective. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 513 449a9b4a-b731-4003-b59f-a402894a5f4b 512. Anthropomorphizing in the Age of AI with Webb Keane Given the advancements in technology and AI, how have humans learned to navigate the ever-shifting boundaries of morality in an increasingly complex world? 

Webb Keane is a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan. Through his books like, Ethical Life: Its Natural and Social Histories and most recently Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination, Webb offers insights into the nuances of moral life and human interaction. 

Webb joins Greg to discuss how different cultures navigate ethical boundaries, the complexities of human-animal relationships, the growing phenomenon of anthropomorphizing AI, and the challenges of understanding what it means to be human. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

How anthropologists immerse themselves in other ways of life

53:09: Anthropologists just do what everyone does—they just do it more intensely and with more intentionality. As I said, our most valuable tool is just knowing how to be a person and how to get along with other people. And that, I mean, in principle, anyone can learn a new language. You're never going to learn it as well as you learn your first language, but it's something that's available to you. And so, in some sense, that goes for learning to eat differently, to walk differently, to wear different kinds of [clothes], to interact with people differently, even to imagine yourself into a different kind of metaphysical system. Like, hang out with shamans long enough, and you're going to start to think that, yes, they do turn into jaguars and roam the forest at night.

Key difference between anthropologists and other social scientists

05:52: One of the key differences between what we do and what other social scientists do is we actually live with them and take part in their lives. And so, that way, you catch not just what people say, but what they do—and not just what they put into words, but what they hint at and imply.

Moral propositions must be livable to matter

15:28: If you're looking for inhabitable, feasible, ethical worlds—moral ways of living—you can't just sit back and think, "Well, how should this be?"... Moral propositions are great, but to be livable, they have to exist in a world that makes them possible and sustains them.

The boundaries between human and non-human are not universal

32:26: In many situations that look like we have dramatically different moral or ethical intuitions, the difference is less in what our moral intuitions are, but rather where we draw the line between us and them—between something to which it applies and something to which it doesn't. We may, in fact, share moral intuitions with people who seem utterly strange to us, but we just don't think we agree on where they apply properly.


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

]]> Mon, 24 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Given the advancements in technology and AI, how have humans learned to navigate the ever-shifting boundaries of morality in an increasingly complex world? 

Webb Keane is a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan. Through his books like, Ethical Life: Its Natural and Social Histories and most recently Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination, Webb offers insights into the nuances of moral life and human interaction. 

Webb joins Greg to discuss how different cultures navigate ethical boundaries, the complexities of human-animal relationships, the growing phenomenon of anthropomorphizing AI, and the challenges of understanding what it means to be human. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

How anthropologists immerse themselves in other ways of life

53:09: Anthropologists just do what everyone does—they just do it more intensely and with more intentionality. As I said, our most valuable tool is just knowing how to be a person and how to get along with other people. And that, I mean, in principle, anyone can learn a new language. You're never going to learn it as well as you learn your first language, but it's something that's available to you. And so, in some sense, that goes for learning to eat differently, to walk differently, to wear different kinds of [clothes], to interact with people differently, even to imagine yourself into a different kind of metaphysical system. Like, hang out with shamans long enough, and you're going to start to think that, yes, they do turn into jaguars and roam the forest at night.

Key difference between anthropologists and other social scientists

05:52: One of the key differences between what we do and what other social scientists do is we actually live with them and take part in their lives. And so, that way, you catch not just what people say, but what they do—and not just what they put into words, but what they hint at and imply.

Moral propositions must be livable to matter

15:28: If you're looking for inhabitable, feasible, ethical worlds—moral ways of living—you can't just sit back and think, "Well, how should this be?"... Moral propositions are great, but to be livable, they have to exist in a world that makes them possible and sustains them.

The boundaries between human and non-human are not universal

32:26: In many situations that look like we have dramatically different moral or ethical intuitions, the difference is less in what our moral intuitions are, but rather where we draw the line between us and them—between something to which it applies and something to which it doesn't. We may, in fact, share moral intuitions with people who seem utterly strange to us, but we just don't think we agree on where they apply properly.


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

]]> 512. Anthropomorphizing in the Age of AI with Webb Keane Greg La Blanc 00:51:36 Given the advancements in technology and AI, how have humans learned to navigate the ever-shifting boundaries of morality in an increasingly complex world? Webb Keane is a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan. Through his books like, Ethical Life: Its Natural and Social Histories and most recently Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination, Webb offers insights into the nuances of moral life and human interaction. Webb joins Greg to discuss how different cultures navigate ethical boundaries, the complexities of human-animal relationships, the growing phenomenon of anthropomorphizing AI, and the challenges of understanding what it means to be human. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Given the advancements in technology and AI, how have humans learned to navigate the ever-shifting boundaries of morality in an increasingly complex world? Webb Keane is a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan. Through his books like, Ethical Life: Its Natural and Social Histories and most recently Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination, Webb offers insights into the nuances of moral life and human interaction. Webb joins Greg to discuss how different cultures navigate ethical boundaries, the complexities of human-animal relationships, the growing phenomenon of anthropomorphizing AI, and the challenges of understanding what it means to be human. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 512 c626242b-6e2a-4f8e-a3c1-f0a26612572b 511. The Impact of Digital Platforms on Work feat. Hatim Rahman Why are external accountability and thoughtful integration of algorithms necessary now to ensure fairer labor dynamics across work environments? What’s the puzzling problem that comes with increasing the level of transparency of these algorithms?

Hatim Rahman is an Associate Professor of Management & Organizations at Northwestern University in the Kellogg School of Management, and the author of the new book, Inside the Invisible Cage: How Algorithms Control Workers.

Greg and Hatim discuss Hatim’s book, and his extensive case study of a company matching employers with gig workers, exploring the ways algorithms impact labor dynamics. Hatim draws connections between Max Weber's concept of the 'iron cage' and modern, opaque algorithmic systems, discussing how these systems control worker opportunities and behavior. Their conversation further delves into the evolution and consequences of rating systems, algorithmic transparency, organizational control, and the balance between digital and traditional workforce structures. 

Rahman emphasizes the need for external accountability and thoughtful integration of algorithms to ensure fairer labor dynamics.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Experimenting to find the right balance between regulation and self-regulation

33:36: Finding the right balance between self-regulation—where organizations can figure things out for themselves—and real legislation, regulation that creates societal and broader outcomes that are beneficial is where we are right now. Of course, the tricky thing is that you don't want to get that balance wrong either. But, I do think we're at the stage where we need to experiment, right? We need to figure out those optimal levels of transparency, opacity, regulation, and self-regulation.

Why employers struggle to recognize and value skills badges from lesser-known institutions

39:55: The problem with the skill sets that people develop is that, employers, they didn't understand what it meant. Right? Let's say you have a badge from some smaller university or community college. Employees generally struggle to understand what that means, right? Or they'll pass over it. They'll look for more recognizable, established credentials and proxies for skills. And so, at least when I was studying, many of the workers, employers—like we tried, but it didn't help us because the employer didn't know what it meant or how the passing of that skills test would concretely help them do the job that they required.

Why do digital platforms struggle to balance transparency and risk?

14:17: Organizations and digital platforms want to find the right balance, but they just struggle a lot to do so because many employers are risk-averse and want to limit their liability. I imagine that this is one of the reasons why they have favored opacity, right? If we don't have to reveal or tell, then it limits our ability to get exposure to lawsuits or exposure to gaming, zone, and so forth.


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

]]> Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why are external accountability and thoughtful integration of algorithms necessary now to ensure fairer labor dynamics across work environments? What’s the puzzling problem that comes with increasing the level of transparency of these algorithms?

Hatim Rahman is an Associate Professor of Management & Organizations at Northwestern University in the Kellogg School of Management, and the author of the new book, Inside the Invisible Cage: How Algorithms Control Workers.

Greg and Hatim discuss Hatim’s book, and his extensive case study of a company matching employers with gig workers, exploring the ways algorithms impact labor dynamics. Hatim draws connections between Max Weber's concept of the 'iron cage' and modern, opaque algorithmic systems, discussing how these systems control worker opportunities and behavior. Their conversation further delves into the evolution and consequences of rating systems, algorithmic transparency, organizational control, and the balance between digital and traditional workforce structures. 

Rahman emphasizes the need for external accountability and thoughtful integration of algorithms to ensure fairer labor dynamics.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Experimenting to find the right balance between regulation and self-regulation

33:36: Finding the right balance between self-regulation—where organizations can figure things out for themselves—and real legislation, regulation that creates societal and broader outcomes that are beneficial is where we are right now. Of course, the tricky thing is that you don't want to get that balance wrong either. But, I do think we're at the stage where we need to experiment, right? We need to figure out those optimal levels of transparency, opacity, regulation, and self-regulation.

Why employers struggle to recognize and value skills badges from lesser-known institutions

39:55: The problem with the skill sets that people develop is that, employers, they didn't understand what it meant. Right? Let's say you have a badge from some smaller university or community college. Employees generally struggle to understand what that means, right? Or they'll pass over it. They'll look for more recognizable, established credentials and proxies for skills. And so, at least when I was studying, many of the workers, employers—like we tried, but it didn't help us because the employer didn't know what it meant or how the passing of that skills test would concretely help them do the job that they required.

Why do digital platforms struggle to balance transparency and risk?

14:17: Organizations and digital platforms want to find the right balance, but they just struggle a lot to do so because many employers are risk-averse and want to limit their liability. I imagine that this is one of the reasons why they have favored opacity, right? If we don't have to reveal or tell, then it limits our ability to get exposure to lawsuits or exposure to gaming, zone, and so forth.


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

]]> 511. The Impact of Digital Platforms on Work feat. Hatim Rahman Greg La Blanc 00:52:33 Why are external accountability and thoughtful integration of algorithms necessary now to ensure fairer labor dynamics across work environments? What’s the puzzling problem that comes with increasing the level of transparency of these algorithms? Hatim Rahman is an Associate Professor of Management & Organizations at Northwestern University in the Kellogg School of Management, and the author of the new book, Inside the Invisible Cage: How Algorithms Control Workers. Greg and Hatim discuss Hatim’s book, and his extensive case study of a company matching employers with gig workers, exploring the ways algorithms impact labor dynamics. Hatim draws connections between Max Weber's concept of the 'iron cage' and modern, opaque algorithmic systems, discussing how these systems control worker opportunities and behavior. Their conversation further delves into the evolution and consequences of rating systems, algorithmic transparency, organizational control, and the balance between digital and traditional workforce structures. Rahman emphasizes the need for external accountability and thoughtful integration of algorithms to ensure fairer labor dynamics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why are external accountability and thoughtful integration of algorithms necessary now to ensure fairer labor dynamics across work environments? What’s the puzzling problem that comes with increasing the level of transparency of these algorithms? Hatim Rahman is an Associate Professor of Management & Organizations at Northwestern University in the Kellogg School of Management, and the author of the new book, Inside the Invisible Cage: How Algorithms Control Workers. Greg and Hatim discuss Hatim’s book, and his extensive case study of a company matching employers with gig workers, exploring the ways algorithms impact labor dynamics. Hatim draws connections between Max Weber's concept of the 'iron cage' and modern, opaque algorithmic systems, discussing how these systems control worker opportunities and behavior. Their conversation further delves into the evolution and consequences of rating systems, algorithmic transparency, organizational control, and the balance between digital and traditional workforce structures. Rahman emphasizes the need for external accountability and thoughtful integration of algorithms to ensure fairer labor dynamics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 511 840de47e-4bda-4cc1-8a2e-030b216ae205 510. Redefining Personhood in the Age of AI feat. James Boyle With AI becoming more advanced every day, what are the ethical considerations of such emerging technologies? How can the way we treat animals and other species of intelligence inform the way we can and should think of personhood in the realm of increasingly advanced artificial intelligence models?

James Boyle is a professor of law at Duke University’s law school, former chair of the Creative Commons, the founder of the Center for the Study of Public Domain, and the author of a number of books. His latest book is titled, The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood.

Greg and James discuss AI as it relates to the philosophical and legal approaches to defining personhood. They explore the historical context of personhood, its implications for AI, and the potential for new forms of legal entities. Their conversation also touches on the role of empathy, literature, and moral emotions in shaping our understanding of these issues. James advocates for a hybrid approach to personhood, recognizing both human and non-human rights while highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary thought in navigating these complex topics.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Are we more like ChatGPT than we want to admit?

14:21: There's that communication where we think, okay, this is a human spirit, and I touch a very tiny part of it and have that conversation—some of them deep, some of them shallow.  And so, I think the question is: is what we're doing mere defensiveness? Which it might be.  I mean, are we actually frightened that we're more like ChatGPT than we think? That it's not that ChatGPT isn't conscious, but that for most of our lives, you and I run around basically operating on a script?  I mean, I think most of us on our commute to work and our conversations with people who we barely know—the conversations are very predictable. Our minds can wander, just blah, blah, blah, blah. It's basically when you're on autopilot like that—are you that different than ChatGPT? Some neuroscientists would say, no, you're not. And actually, a lot of this is conceit.

Why language alone doesn’t equal consciousness

11:35: ChatGPT has no consciousness, but it does have language—just not intentional language. And so, basically, we've gone wrong thinking that sentences imply sentience.

How literature sparks empathy and expands perspective

24:01: One of the things about literature is our moral philosophy engines don't actually start going—they never get in gear. For those of you who drive manual and stick shift, the clutch is in, the engine's there, but it's not engaged. And it's that moment where the flash of empathy passes between two entities, where you think, wow, I've read this, I've seen this, and this makes real to me—makes tangible to me. That it also allows us to engage in thought experiments, which are not the kind of experiments we want to do in reality. They might be unethical, they might be illegal, they might be just impossible. That, I think, broadens our perspective, and for me, at least, it's about as close as I've ever got to inhabiting the mind of another being.


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

]]> Mon, 17 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast With AI becoming more advanced every day, what are the ethical considerations of such emerging technologies? How can the way we treat animals and other species of intelligence inform the way we can and should think of personhood in the realm of increasingly advanced artificial intelligence models?

James Boyle is a professor of law at Duke University’s law school, former chair of the Creative Commons, the founder of the Center for the Study of Public Domain, and the author of a number of books. His latest book is titled, The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood.

Greg and James discuss AI as it relates to the philosophical and legal approaches to defining personhood. They explore the historical context of personhood, its implications for AI, and the potential for new forms of legal entities. Their conversation also touches on the role of empathy, literature, and moral emotions in shaping our understanding of these issues. James advocates for a hybrid approach to personhood, recognizing both human and non-human rights while highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary thought in navigating these complex topics.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Are we more like ChatGPT than we want to admit?

14:21: There's that communication where we think, okay, this is a human spirit, and I touch a very tiny part of it and have that conversation—some of them deep, some of them shallow.  And so, I think the question is: is what we're doing mere defensiveness? Which it might be.  I mean, are we actually frightened that we're more like ChatGPT than we think? That it's not that ChatGPT isn't conscious, but that for most of our lives, you and I run around basically operating on a script?  I mean, I think most of us on our commute to work and our conversations with people who we barely know—the conversations are very predictable. Our minds can wander, just blah, blah, blah, blah. It's basically when you're on autopilot like that—are you that different than ChatGPT? Some neuroscientists would say, no, you're not. And actually, a lot of this is conceit.

Why language alone doesn’t equal consciousness

11:35: ChatGPT has no consciousness, but it does have language—just not intentional language. And so, basically, we've gone wrong thinking that sentences imply sentience.

How literature sparks empathy and expands perspective

24:01: One of the things about literature is our moral philosophy engines don't actually start going—they never get in gear. For those of you who drive manual and stick shift, the clutch is in, the engine's there, but it's not engaged. And it's that moment where the flash of empathy passes between two entities, where you think, wow, I've read this, I've seen this, and this makes real to me—makes tangible to me. That it also allows us to engage in thought experiments, which are not the kind of experiments we want to do in reality. They might be unethical, they might be illegal, they might be just impossible. That, I think, broadens our perspective, and for me, at least, it's about as close as I've ever got to inhabiting the mind of another being.


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

]]> 510. Redefining Personhood in the Age of AI feat. James Boyle Greg La Blanc 00:59:15 With AI becoming more advanced every day, what are the ethical considerations of such emerging technologies? How can the way we treat animals and other species of intelligence inform the way we can and should think of personhood in the realm of increasingly advanced artificial intelligence models? James Boyle is a professor of law at Duke University’s law school, former chair of the Creative Commons, the founder of the Center for the Study of Public Domain, and the author of a number of books. His latest book is titled, The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood. Greg and James discuss AI as it relates to the philosophical and legal approaches to defining personhood. They explore the historical context of personhood, its implications for AI, and the potential for new forms of legal entities. Their conversation also touches on the role of empathy, literature, and moral emotions in shaping our understanding of these issues. James advocates for a hybrid approach to personhood, recognizing both human and non-human rights while highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary thought in navigating these complex topics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* With AI becoming more advanced every day, what are the ethical considerations of such emerging technologies? How can the way we treat animals and other species of intelligence inform the way we can and should think of personhood in the realm of increasingly advanced artificial intelligence models? James Boyle is a professor of law at Duke University’s law school, former chair of the Creative Commons, the founder of the Center for the Study of Public Domain, and the author of a number of books. His latest book is titled, The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood. Greg and James discuss AI as it relates to the philosophical and legal approaches to defining personhood. They explore the historical context of personhood, its implications for AI, and the potential for new forms of legal entities. Their conversation also touches on the role of empathy, literature, and moral emotions in shaping our understanding of these issues. James advocates for a hybrid approach to personhood, recognizing both human and non-human rights while highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary thought in navigating these complex topics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 510 3783b359-0f08-4e38-b04f-4aad790dcb8d 509. Navigating Uncertainty and the Future of Economics feat. Amar Bhidé What is the difference between risk and uncertainty? Why does mainstream economics often overlook uncertainty altogether?

Amar Bhidé is a professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, professor emeritus at Tufts University, and the author of several books, his latest of which is entitled, Uncertainty and Enterprise: Venturing Beyond the Known.

Greg and Amar discuss Amar’s recent book, which ties together threads from his previous works such as A Call for Judgment: Sensible Finance for a Dynamic Economy and The Venturesome Economy: How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World. They delve into the concept of uncertainty in economics, touch on the roles of imagination and evidence in decision-making, and discuss the limitations of current economic models and theories. Greg and Amar also examine the importance of storytelling and narrative in understanding and teaching economics and business.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

A well-functioning board questions assumptions

11:40:A well-functioning board is questioning the assumptions, beliefs, and imaginations of the CEO and whatever the CEO has come up with. And these things, somebody cannot explain plausibly under standard economic models. Yet, they have clearly observable differences in what they produce. So the differences in these routines, I would argue, distinguish between the kinds of projects that an entrepreneur undertakes on his or her own. They distinguish between the kinds of projects that an angel investor is willing to undertake but a VC is not, and the kinds of projects that a VC is willing to undertake but the large corporation is not.

Using imagination as a bridge between the past and the future

24:12: If you want a bridge between what we know about the past and how we want to act vis-à-vis the future, we have to use imagination. And in the use of that imagination, the past provides the evidence; the imagination provides the bridge to what we do not know.

Balancing evidence and imagination in case discussions

57:06: A good case discussion is also teaching people how to discuss. But how to swap imaginations is not discourse in algebra; it is not discourse using statistics; it’s discourse using similes, metaphors, and analogies. How one balances evidence and imagination is such a vital skill in so many fields.


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

]]> Thu, 6 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is the difference between risk and uncertainty? Why does mainstream economics often overlook uncertainty altogether?

Amar Bhidé is a professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, professor emeritus at Tufts University, and the author of several books, his latest of which is entitled, Uncertainty and Enterprise: Venturing Beyond the Known.

Greg and Amar discuss Amar’s recent book, which ties together threads from his previous works such as A Call for Judgment: Sensible Finance for a Dynamic Economy and The Venturesome Economy: How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World. They delve into the concept of uncertainty in economics, touch on the roles of imagination and evidence in decision-making, and discuss the limitations of current economic models and theories. Greg and Amar also examine the importance of storytelling and narrative in understanding and teaching economics and business.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

A well-functioning board questions assumptions

11:40:A well-functioning board is questioning the assumptions, beliefs, and imaginations of the CEO and whatever the CEO has come up with. And these things, somebody cannot explain plausibly under standard economic models. Yet, they have clearly observable differences in what they produce. So the differences in these routines, I would argue, distinguish between the kinds of projects that an entrepreneur undertakes on his or her own. They distinguish between the kinds of projects that an angel investor is willing to undertake but a VC is not, and the kinds of projects that a VC is willing to undertake but the large corporation is not.

Using imagination as a bridge between the past and the future

24:12: If you want a bridge between what we know about the past and how we want to act vis-à-vis the future, we have to use imagination. And in the use of that imagination, the past provides the evidence; the imagination provides the bridge to what we do not know.

Balancing evidence and imagination in case discussions

57:06: A good case discussion is also teaching people how to discuss. But how to swap imaginations is not discourse in algebra; it is not discourse using statistics; it’s discourse using similes, metaphors, and analogies. How one balances evidence and imagination is such a vital skill in so many fields.


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

]]> 509. Navigating Uncertainty and the Future of Economics feat. Amar Bhidé Greg La Blanc 00:54:01 What is the difference between risk and uncertainty? Why does mainstream economics often overlook uncertainty altogether? Amar Bhidé is a professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, professor emeritus at Tufts University, and the author of several books, his latest of which is entitled, Uncertainty and Enterprise: Venturing Beyond the Known. Greg and Amar discuss Amar’s recent book, which ties together threads from his previous works such as A Call for Judgment: Sensible Finance for a Dynamic Economy and The Venturesome Economy: How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World. They delve into the concept of uncertainty in economics, touch on the roles of imagination and evidence in decision-making, and discuss the limitations of current economic models and theories. Greg and Amar also examine the importance of storytelling and narrative in understanding and teaching economics and business. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is the difference between risk and uncertainty? Why does mainstream economics often overlook uncertainty altogether? Amar Bhidé is a professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, professor emeritus at Tufts University, and the author of several books, his latest of which is entitled, Uncertainty and Enterprise: Venturing Beyond the Known. Greg and Amar discuss Amar’s recent book, which ties together threads from his previous works such as A Call for Judgment: Sensible Finance for a Dynamic Economy and The Venturesome Economy: How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World. They delve into the concept of uncertainty in economics, touch on the roles of imagination and evidence in decision-making, and discuss the limitations of current economic models and theories. Greg and Amar also examine the importance of storytelling and narrative in understanding and teaching economics and business. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 509 2e2f984d-7f4e-4095-bc42-690531957d6b 508. Examining Big Tech's Influence on Democracy feat. Marietje Schaake What truly is the relationship between tech giants and government, especially with the recent change of administrations? How does democracy remain at the forefront when corporations are amassing so much capital and power? How can the US hope to balance out the influence of Big Tech money with the needs of a population that will often have different needs and goals?

Marietje Schaake is a fellow at the Cyber Policy Center and a fellow at the Institute for Human Centered AI, both at Stanford University, and the author of the book The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley.

Greg and Marietje discuss the evolving and complex role of technology corporations in modern society, particularly in democratic contexts. Their conversation covers a range of topics from historical perspectives on corporate power, modern regulatory challenges, national security concerns, and the influence of tech companies on public policy and democracy. Marietje gives her insights on how the lack of deliberate governance has allowed tech companies to gain unprecedented power, and she makes the case for regulatory reforms and enhanced accountability for these companies.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

The relentless race for tech dominance without guardrails

13:55: There has been too little ownership on the part of corporate leaders of the great responsibilities that having so much power should mean, and they are also given a lot of space that they've taken. So, essentially, because there are too few guardrails, they're just going to continue to race ahead until something stops them. And the very political leaders that can typically wield quite a bit of power to put up guardrails, rules, oversight, and checks and balances, in the person of Donald Trump, are not going to do so, or at least not from a comprehensive democratic vision that I think is necessary if you put democracy first in assessing what role technology should play in our societies.

Tech's unavoidable role in our lives

03:13: It's hard to imagine any aspect of our lives—whether it's our kids, the elderly, or everyone in between—where tech company platforms and devices don't play a critical role. And that sort of interwovenness, not so much as a sector or as one company, but as a layer that impacts almost all aspects of our lives, makes this a different animal.

Regulation's biggest fans should be its biggest critics

31:02: Between the critics and the fans, I always say that the EU's biggest fans should be regulation's biggest critics because actually, we need to be honest about what it is and what it isn't. And I think one of the problems is that a lot of the regulation that has been adopted in the EU has been oversold—GDPR being a key example. At some point, the answer to every question about technology in Europe was, "But we have GDPR now." With a few years of hindsight, we can see that enforcement of GDPR was really imperfect. The fact that there was such a singular focus on the right to privacy, which is very important and understandably so from historic perspectives in Europe as well. We also needed to harmonize rules between all the different countries, so there was a lot of logic in there that doesn't translate to what it means for Silicon Valley because, in fact, that was not the most important driver.


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

]]> Mon, 3 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What truly is the relationship between tech giants and government, especially with the recent change of administrations? How does democracy remain at the forefront when corporations are amassing so much capital and power? How can the US hope to balance out the influence of Big Tech money with the needs of a population that will often have different needs and goals?

Marietje Schaake is a fellow at the Cyber Policy Center and a fellow at the Institute for Human Centered AI, both at Stanford University, and the author of the book The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley.

Greg and Marietje discuss the evolving and complex role of technology corporations in modern society, particularly in democratic contexts. Their conversation covers a range of topics from historical perspectives on corporate power, modern regulatory challenges, national security concerns, and the influence of tech companies on public policy and democracy. Marietje gives her insights on how the lack of deliberate governance has allowed tech companies to gain unprecedented power, and she makes the case for regulatory reforms and enhanced accountability for these companies.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

The relentless race for tech dominance without guardrails

13:55: There has been too little ownership on the part of corporate leaders of the great responsibilities that having so much power should mean, and they are also given a lot of space that they've taken. So, essentially, because there are too few guardrails, they're just going to continue to race ahead until something stops them. And the very political leaders that can typically wield quite a bit of power to put up guardrails, rules, oversight, and checks and balances, in the person of Donald Trump, are not going to do so, or at least not from a comprehensive democratic vision that I think is necessary if you put democracy first in assessing what role technology should play in our societies.

Tech's unavoidable role in our lives

03:13: It's hard to imagine any aspect of our lives—whether it's our kids, the elderly, or everyone in between—where tech company platforms and devices don't play a critical role. And that sort of interwovenness, not so much as a sector or as one company, but as a layer that impacts almost all aspects of our lives, makes this a different animal.

Regulation's biggest fans should be its biggest critics

31:02: Between the critics and the fans, I always say that the EU's biggest fans should be regulation's biggest critics because actually, we need to be honest about what it is and what it isn't. And I think one of the problems is that a lot of the regulation that has been adopted in the EU has been oversold—GDPR being a key example. At some point, the answer to every question about technology in Europe was, "But we have GDPR now." With a few years of hindsight, we can see that enforcement of GDPR was really imperfect. The fact that there was such a singular focus on the right to privacy, which is very important and understandably so from historic perspectives in Europe as well. We also needed to harmonize rules between all the different countries, so there was a lot of logic in there that doesn't translate to what it means for Silicon Valley because, in fact, that was not the most important driver.


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

]]> 508. Examining Big Tech's Influence on Democracy feat. Marietje Schaake Greg La Blanc 00:46:39 What truly is the relationship between tech giants and government, especially with the recent change of administrations? How does democracy remain at the forefront when corporations are amassing so much capital and power? How can the US hope to balance out the influence of Big Tech money with the needs of a population that will often have different needs and goals? Marietje Schaake is a fellow at the Cyber Policy Center and a fellow at the Institute for Human Centered AI, both at Stanford University, and the author of the book The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley. Greg and Marietje discuss the evolving and complex role of technology corporations in modern society, particularly in democratic contexts. Their conversation covers a range of topics from historical perspectives on corporate power, modern regulatory challenges, national security concerns, and the influence of tech companies on public policy and democracy. Marietje gives her insights on how the lack of deliberate governance has allowed tech companies to gain unprecedented power, and she makes the case for regulatory reforms and enhanced accountability for these companies. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What truly is the relationship between tech giants and government, especially with the recent change of administrations? How does democracy remain at the forefront when corporations are amassing so much capital and power? How can the US hope to balance out the influence of Big Tech money with the needs of a population that will often have different needs and goals? Marietje Schaake is a fellow at the Cyber Policy Center and a fellow at the Institute for Human Centered AI, both at Stanford University, and the author of the book The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley. Greg and Marietje discuss the evolving and complex role of technology corporations in modern society, particularly in democratic contexts. Their conversation covers a range of topics from historical perspectives on corporate power, modern regulatory challenges, national security concerns, and the influence of tech companies on public policy and democracy. Marietje gives her insights on how the lack of deliberate governance has allowed tech companies to gain unprecedented power, and she makes the case for regulatory reforms and enhanced accountability for these companies. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 508 3c786aa6-b19f-428c-b27b-d537d31a2cae 507. Exploring the Dynamics of War feat. Richard Overy What are the psychological and biological underpinnings of human violence and our collective propensity for war? How important really is leadership in wartime decision-making?

Richard Overy is an honorary professor at the University of Exeter, and the author of several books. His latest are the brand new Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and the Surrender of Japan, and also Why War?, and Why the Allies Won. 

Greg and Richard discuss Richard’s book, Why War?, which addresses the social and psychological aspects of war rather than just its historical dimensions. Richard explains the evolving nature of military history, the role of cultural and social factors, and the impact of major and minor conflicts throughout history. They also talk about current issues, including the war in Ukraine and how modern warfare strategies differ from traditional methods. Greg asks if Richard thinks World War II will start decreasing in importance as the generations who experienced it or stories of it pass on. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

How a leader's psychology shapes the path to war

28:58:  Leaders through history have played an important part, often in motivating their people to fight war and imposing their own personal ambition on what's going on. I think the problem is that this is, in some ways, the most unpredictable source of war. I mean, there's no way you can't have a standard psychological picture of the potential aggressor. And anyway, we don't know enough about Alexander, Napoleon, or even Hitler to be confident about that. But there's no doubt that, at times, a leader does come to play a very critical part in driving a particular community to war. Otherwise, of course, you know, it can be a collective decision; it can be a decision taken in cabinet, by parliament; it can be a decision taken by the tribal elders when they're sitting around the fire. But this hubristic leader, the person who thrives on war, thinks war is the solution, not the problem, is unpredictable and dangerous.

The evolving history of war

The history of war has broadened out. Before, it was just soldiers and guns. But now, when you're doing the history of war, you've got to do the whole thing: politics, culture, the psychological effects on the men, women, and so on. So the history of war has become more like history in general. And I think that's why there is much more interest in war than there was 20 or 30 years ago.

The role of belief in driving war

51:44:  Belief is a very important driver, and I think that the effort of social scientists, particularly to say, "Oh, well, belief is, in fact, a cover for something else. It's a cover for economic interest, or it's a cover for a social crisis, or whatever it is." It's just not the case. There are plenty of warlike societies, think of the Aztecs, you know—where their cosmology is central to the way they organize their life, organize their society, the way they make war, and why they make war. And, we might look at it and say, "What an irrational view of the world," but to them, it's not an irrational view of the world; it's their view of the world. And I think, throughout recorded history, belief has played a very important part in shaping the way people think about war and why they're waging it.


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

]]> Fri, 31 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the psychological and biological underpinnings of human violence and our collective propensity for war? How important really is leadership in wartime decision-making?

Richard Overy is an honorary professor at the University of Exeter, and the author of several books. His latest are the brand new Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and the Surrender of Japan, and also Why War?, and Why the Allies Won. 

Greg and Richard discuss Richard’s book, Why War?, which addresses the social and psychological aspects of war rather than just its historical dimensions. Richard explains the evolving nature of military history, the role of cultural and social factors, and the impact of major and minor conflicts throughout history. They also talk about current issues, including the war in Ukraine and how modern warfare strategies differ from traditional methods. Greg asks if Richard thinks World War II will start decreasing in importance as the generations who experienced it or stories of it pass on. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

How a leader's psychology shapes the path to war

28:58:  Leaders through history have played an important part, often in motivating their people to fight war and imposing their own personal ambition on what's going on. I think the problem is that this is, in some ways, the most unpredictable source of war. I mean, there's no way you can't have a standard psychological picture of the potential aggressor. And anyway, we don't know enough about Alexander, Napoleon, or even Hitler to be confident about that. But there's no doubt that, at times, a leader does come to play a very critical part in driving a particular community to war. Otherwise, of course, you know, it can be a collective decision; it can be a decision taken in cabinet, by parliament; it can be a decision taken by the tribal elders when they're sitting around the fire. But this hubristic leader, the person who thrives on war, thinks war is the solution, not the problem, is unpredictable and dangerous.

The evolving history of war

The history of war has broadened out. Before, it was just soldiers and guns. But now, when you're doing the history of war, you've got to do the whole thing: politics, culture, the psychological effects on the men, women, and so on. So the history of war has become more like history in general. And I think that's why there is much more interest in war than there was 20 or 30 years ago.

The role of belief in driving war

51:44:  Belief is a very important driver, and I think that the effort of social scientists, particularly to say, "Oh, well, belief is, in fact, a cover for something else. It's a cover for economic interest, or it's a cover for a social crisis, or whatever it is." It's just not the case. There are plenty of warlike societies, think of the Aztecs, you know—where their cosmology is central to the way they organize their life, organize their society, the way they make war, and why they make war. And, we might look at it and say, "What an irrational view of the world," but to them, it's not an irrational view of the world; it's their view of the world. And I think, throughout recorded history, belief has played a very important part in shaping the way people think about war and why they're waging it.


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

]]> 507. Exploring the Dynamics of War feat. Richard Overy Greg La Blanc 00:50:37 What are the psychological and biological underpinnings of human violence and our collective propensity for war? How important really is leadership in wartime decision-making? Richard Overy is an honorary professor at the University of Exeter, and the author of several books. His latest are the brand new Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and the Surrender of Japan, and also Why War?, and Why the Allies Won. Greg and Richard discuss Richard’s book, Why War?, which addresses the social and psychological aspects of war rather than just its historical dimensions. Richard explains the evolving nature of military history, the role of cultural and social factors, and the impact of major and minor conflicts throughout history. They also talk about current issues, including the war in Ukraine and how modern warfare strategies differ from traditional methods. Greg asks if Richard thinks World War II will start decreasing in importance as the generations who experienced it or stories of it pass on. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the psychological and biological underpinnings of human violence and our collective propensity for war? How important really is leadership in wartime decision-making? Richard Overy is an honorary professor at the University of Exeter, and the author of several books. His latest are the brand new Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and the Surrender of Japan, and also Why War?, and Why the Allies Won. Greg and Richard discuss Richard’s book, Why War?, which addresses the social and psychological aspects of war rather than just its historical dimensions. Richard explains the evolving nature of military history, the role of cultural and social factors, and the impact of major and minor conflicts throughout history. They also talk about current issues, including the war in Ukraine and how modern warfare strategies differ from traditional methods. Greg asks if Richard thinks World War II will start decreasing in importance as the generations who experienced it or stories of it pass on. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 507 526f6aa5-aa16-4c92-bf64-e216b1618348 506. From Human Logic to Machine Intelligence: Rethinking Decision-Making with Kartik Hosanagar The world of decision-making is now dominated by algorithms and automation. But how much has the AI really changed? Haven’t, on some level, humans always thought in algorithmic terms? 

Kartik Hosanagar is a professor of technology at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. His book, A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control explores how algorithms and AI are increasingly influencing our daily decisions and society, and proposes ways for individuals and organizations to maintain control in this algorithmic world.

Kartik and Greg discuss the integration of AI in decision-making, the differences and similarities of human based algorithmic thinking and AI based algorithmic thinking, the significance of AI literacy, and the future of creativity with AI. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

What’s a good system design for AI?

43:02: A good system design for AI systems, would be when there's deviation from the recommended decision to have some feedback loop. It's like in a music recommendation system, and Spotify Discover Weekly or any of these other systems where a recommendation comes in; ideally, you want some feedback on did this person like the song or not. And if there's a way to get that feedback, whether you know one way is it's an explicit feedback thumbs up, thumbs down, sometimes it's implicit; they just skipped it, or they didn't finish the song, they just left it halfway through, or something like that. But you need some way to get that feedback, and that helps the system get better over time.

At the end of the day, humans shape the future of AI

12:43: This view that it's all automation and we'll have mass human replacement by AI, I think, at the end of the day, we shape that outcome. We need to be actively involved in shaping that future where AI is empowering us and augmenting our work. And we design these human-AI systems in a more deliberate manner.

On driving trust in algorithmic systems

36:08: What drives trust in an algorithmic system shows that transparency and user control are two extremely important variables. Of course, you care about things like how accurate or good that system is. Those things, of course, matter. But transparency and trust are interesting. So, in transparency, the idea that you have a system making decisions for you or about you, but you have no clue about how the system works, is disturbing for people. And we've seen ample evidence that people reject that system.


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

]]> Wed, 29 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The world of decision-making is now dominated by algorithms and automation. But how much has the AI really changed? Haven’t, on some level, humans always thought in algorithmic terms? 

Kartik Hosanagar is a professor of technology at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. His book, A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control explores how algorithms and AI are increasingly influencing our daily decisions and society, and proposes ways for individuals and organizations to maintain control in this algorithmic world.

Kartik and Greg discuss the integration of AI in decision-making, the differences and similarities of human based algorithmic thinking and AI based algorithmic thinking, the significance of AI literacy, and the future of creativity with AI. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

What’s a good system design for AI?

43:02: A good system design for AI systems, would be when there's deviation from the recommended decision to have some feedback loop. It's like in a music recommendation system, and Spotify Discover Weekly or any of these other systems where a recommendation comes in; ideally, you want some feedback on did this person like the song or not. And if there's a way to get that feedback, whether you know one way is it's an explicit feedback thumbs up, thumbs down, sometimes it's implicit; they just skipped it, or they didn't finish the song, they just left it halfway through, or something like that. But you need some way to get that feedback, and that helps the system get better over time.

At the end of the day, humans shape the future of AI

12:43: This view that it's all automation and we'll have mass human replacement by AI, I think, at the end of the day, we shape that outcome. We need to be actively involved in shaping that future where AI is empowering us and augmenting our work. And we design these human-AI systems in a more deliberate manner.

On driving trust in algorithmic systems

36:08: What drives trust in an algorithmic system shows that transparency and user control are two extremely important variables. Of course, you care about things like how accurate or good that system is. Those things, of course, matter. But transparency and trust are interesting. So, in transparency, the idea that you have a system making decisions for you or about you, but you have no clue about how the system works, is disturbing for people. And we've seen ample evidence that people reject that system.


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

]]> 506. From Human Logic to Machine Intelligence: Rethinking Decision-Making with Kartik Hosanagar Greg La Blanc 00:54:57 The world of decision-making is now dominated by algorithms and automation. But how much has the AI really changed? Haven’t, on some level, humans always thought in algorithmic terms? Kartik Hosanagar is a professor of technology at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. His book, A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control explores how algorithms and AI are increasingly influencing our daily decisions and society, and proposes ways for individuals and organizations to maintain control in this algorithmic world. Kartik and Greg discuss the integration of AI in decision-making, the differences and similarities of human based algorithmic thinking and AI based algorithmic thinking, the significance of AI literacy, and the future of creativity with AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The world of decision-making is now dominated by algorithms and automation. But how much has the AI really changed? Haven’t, on some level, humans always thought in algorithmic terms? Kartik Hosanagar is a professor of technology at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. His book, A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control explores how algorithms and AI are increasingly influencing our daily decisions and society, and proposes ways for individuals and organizations to maintain control in this algorithmic world. Kartik and Greg discuss the integration of AI in decision-making, the differences and similarities of human based algorithmic thinking and AI based algorithmic thinking, the significance of AI literacy, and the future of creativity with AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 506 adf8b21b-ae1b-48c5-9cdd-6b1673c36d44 505. A Deep Dive into Signaling and Market Dynamics feat. Michael Spence How is market signaling tied to economic growth, and what will the introduction of AI do to the wave of economic development in the US and abroad? Will other surging economies surpass the United States as dynamics continue to change?

Michael Spence is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, also the author of a number of books, including The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World and most recently, Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World.

Greg and Michael discuss Michael’s ideas on economic growth and signaling, exploring the early days of applied micro theory with key figures like Ken Arrow and Tom Schelling. They also cover the evolution of global economic policy, particularly the challenges and opportunities in an increasingly fragmented world. Michael shares insights from his books and emphasizes the importance of cognitive diversity in understanding and addressing global socio-economic issues.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The scarcity of time as a signal

18:56: It turns out time is an incredibly important signal. In just an ordinary interaction, if somebody's willing to spend time with you, we always take this for granted because it's part of life, right? If they won't spend time with you, that sends a different signal. I mean, in the internet era, I think most people understand that the scarcest commodity is attention, not money, not other things. And so, the battle for people's attention, or time, or whatever you want to, these are slightly different, but it's pretty important. So, it's all there, but it did have origins well before the signaling and screening work.

Signaling model has to be visible

11:11: The core of the signaling model is that it has to be visible. It has to cost something; otherwise, everybody would do it. And the costs have to be negatively correlated with the quality; otherwise, it won't survive in equilibrium.

Navigating crises, inequality, and global interdependence

49:19: The way I approach that is try to look at the big challenges: maintaining some reasonable level of global sort of interdependence with the benefits that it brings without getting into big trouble, dealing with the various dimensions of the sustainability agenda, and dealing with sort of stunningly high levels of inequality, especially in wealth. Thomas Piketty's right; there's long cycles in these things, and maybe you just have to live through them. But, the last thing I did is look at the St. Louis Fed, which publishes pretty detailed data on American household net worth, assets, liabilities, and net worth. The top 10 percent has two-thirds of the net worth. The bottom 50 percent has 3%. Yeah. Sort of wonder, you know, can you really run a society that looks like that indefinitely, or if not, what's going to break and cause it to change?


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

]]> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How is market signaling tied to economic growth, and what will the introduction of AI do to the wave of economic development in the US and abroad? Will other surging economies surpass the United States as dynamics continue to change?

Michael Spence is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, also the author of a number of books, including The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World and most recently, Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World.

Greg and Michael discuss Michael’s ideas on economic growth and signaling, exploring the early days of applied micro theory with key figures like Ken Arrow and Tom Schelling. They also cover the evolution of global economic policy, particularly the challenges and opportunities in an increasingly fragmented world. Michael shares insights from his books and emphasizes the importance of cognitive diversity in understanding and addressing global socio-economic issues.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The scarcity of time as a signal

18:56: It turns out time is an incredibly important signal. In just an ordinary interaction, if somebody's willing to spend time with you, we always take this for granted because it's part of life, right? If they won't spend time with you, that sends a different signal. I mean, in the internet era, I think most people understand that the scarcest commodity is attention, not money, not other things. And so, the battle for people's attention, or time, or whatever you want to, these are slightly different, but it's pretty important. So, it's all there, but it did have origins well before the signaling and screening work.

Signaling model has to be visible

11:11: The core of the signaling model is that it has to be visible. It has to cost something; otherwise, everybody would do it. And the costs have to be negatively correlated with the quality; otherwise, it won't survive in equilibrium.

Navigating crises, inequality, and global interdependence

49:19: The way I approach that is try to look at the big challenges: maintaining some reasonable level of global sort of interdependence with the benefits that it brings without getting into big trouble, dealing with the various dimensions of the sustainability agenda, and dealing with sort of stunningly high levels of inequality, especially in wealth. Thomas Piketty's right; there's long cycles in these things, and maybe you just have to live through them. But, the last thing I did is look at the St. Louis Fed, which publishes pretty detailed data on American household net worth, assets, liabilities, and net worth. The top 10 percent has two-thirds of the net worth. The bottom 50 percent has 3%. Yeah. Sort of wonder, you know, can you really run a society that looks like that indefinitely, or if not, what's going to break and cause it to change?


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

]]> 505. A Deep Dive into Signaling and Market Dynamics feat. Michael Spence Greg La Blanc 01:00:27 How is market signaling tied to economic growth, and what will the introduction of AI do to the wave of economic development in the US and abroad? Will other surging economies surpass the United States as dynamics continue to change? Michael Spence is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, also the author of a number of books, including The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World and most recently, Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World. Greg and Michael discuss Michael’s ideas on economic growth and signaling, exploring the early days of applied micro theory with key figures like Ken Arrow and Tom Schelling. They also cover the evolution of global economic policy, particularly the challenges and opportunities in an increasingly fragmented world. Michael shares insights from his books and emphasizes the importance of cognitive diversity in understanding and addressing global socio-economic issues. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How is market signaling tied to economic growth, and what will the introduction of AI do to the wave of economic development in the US and abroad? Will other surging economies surpass the United States as dynamics continue to change? Michael Spence is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, also the author of a number of books, including The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World and most recently, Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World. Greg and Michael discuss Michael’s ideas on economic growth and signaling, exploring the early days of applied micro theory with key figures like Ken Arrow and Tom Schelling. They also cover the evolution of global economic policy, particularly the challenges and opportunities in an increasingly fragmented world. Michael shares insights from his books and emphasizes the importance of cognitive diversity in understanding and addressing global socio-economic issues. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 505 12de4878-a8ff-4898-97ce-3bc7ff8e3b7e 504. The Science of Sovereignty and Balancing Happiness with Success feat. Emma Seppälä How are happiness and success intertwined when it comes to business? What crucial element do you lose as a company when the boss or the culture becomes one of stress or pressure? 

Emma Seppälä teaches at the Yale School of Management and is a Scientific Director at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research at Stanford University. She is also the author of several books, most recently Sovereign: Reclaim Your Freedom, Energy, and Power in a Time of Distraction, Uncertainty, and Chaos.

Greg and Emma discuss the evolving field of happiness studies, its application in business, and Emma's research on the relationship between success, well-being, and stress. Emma shares insights on how high-stress cultures in academia and workplaces undermine long-term performance and creativity and offers practical strategies for individuals and leaders to cultivate emotional intelligence and resilience through practices like meditation and breathwork.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Self-awareness vs. self-criticism in leadership

18:17: If you want to be a good leader, compassion is so essential. It's a no-brainer. And I teach a lot of female executives, male too, but I would say both of them are highly self-critical. I differentiate between self-awareness and self-criticism. Self-awareness is, oh, you know what? My statistics are terrible. Like I actually need to hire a statistician to help me on my team. That's self-awareness, right? Self-criticism is, I'm a terrible accountant. I can't do this. Like, I'm just so bad, all that stuff is either going to make you feel less than and all the consequences thereof or make you feel like you have to make up for it by being a jerk or "narcissist." Everyone's a narcissist these days, according to everybody else. You know what I mean? But, like, yeah, both of those are consequences of profound self-hatred. That's why, you know, self-awareness is key. Self-criticism? Not so much.

Innovation starts with resilience and a sovereign state of mind

11:24: What we need the most is innovation, both in our young people, in our employees, and all around ourselves. We need to figure out the problems in our lives, and the best way to access that is to come back to, I'm going to call it, a sovereign state because when you're sovereign and you're sort of centered within yourself, and you're in a calmer state, and you're less frazzled, and also the whole antifragile thing. Well, it's antifragile psychologically, so you're in a state where you are most resilient to the outside world and most creative.

Why leadership begins with your well-being

33:25: People can't flourish around you if you're stressed, if you're burnt out, if you're showing up yourself; it's not going to happen. As a leader, people are watching you. They're very attuned to you because they're watching out for their own safety, and they're measuring where they are at, where they stand, and so it's critical. I think that's a place where people get lost. You're like, "Oh, well, if I just offer these perks or see these things, everything will be fine." It's like, well, really, people see through you. They see through you. And if you're not authentic, they know that.


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

]]> Fri, 24 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How are happiness and success intertwined when it comes to business? What crucial element do you lose as a company when the boss or the culture becomes one of stress or pressure? 

Emma Seppälä teaches at the Yale School of Management and is a Scientific Director at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research at Stanford University. She is also the author of several books, most recently Sovereign: Reclaim Your Freedom, Energy, and Power in a Time of Distraction, Uncertainty, and Chaos.

Greg and Emma discuss the evolving field of happiness studies, its application in business, and Emma's research on the relationship between success, well-being, and stress. Emma shares insights on how high-stress cultures in academia and workplaces undermine long-term performance and creativity and offers practical strategies for individuals and leaders to cultivate emotional intelligence and resilience through practices like meditation and breathwork.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Self-awareness vs. self-criticism in leadership

18:17: If you want to be a good leader, compassion is so essential. It's a no-brainer. And I teach a lot of female executives, male too, but I would say both of them are highly self-critical. I differentiate between self-awareness and self-criticism. Self-awareness is, oh, you know what? My statistics are terrible. Like I actually need to hire a statistician to help me on my team. That's self-awareness, right? Self-criticism is, I'm a terrible accountant. I can't do this. Like, I'm just so bad, all that stuff is either going to make you feel less than and all the consequences thereof or make you feel like you have to make up for it by being a jerk or "narcissist." Everyone's a narcissist these days, according to everybody else. You know what I mean? But, like, yeah, both of those are consequences of profound self-hatred. That's why, you know, self-awareness is key. Self-criticism? Not so much.

Innovation starts with resilience and a sovereign state of mind

11:24: What we need the most is innovation, both in our young people, in our employees, and all around ourselves. We need to figure out the problems in our lives, and the best way to access that is to come back to, I'm going to call it, a sovereign state because when you're sovereign and you're sort of centered within yourself, and you're in a calmer state, and you're less frazzled, and also the whole antifragile thing. Well, it's antifragile psychologically, so you're in a state where you are most resilient to the outside world and most creative.

Why leadership begins with your well-being

33:25: People can't flourish around you if you're stressed, if you're burnt out, if you're showing up yourself; it's not going to happen. As a leader, people are watching you. They're very attuned to you because they're watching out for their own safety, and they're measuring where they are at, where they stand, and so it's critical. I think that's a place where people get lost. You're like, "Oh, well, if I just offer these perks or see these things, everything will be fine." It's like, well, really, people see through you. They see through you. And if you're not authentic, they know that.


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

]]> 504. The Science of Sovereignty and Balancing Happiness with Success feat. Emma Seppälä Greg La Blanc 00:34:08 How are happiness and success intertwined when it comes to business? What crucial element do you lose as a company when the boss or the culture becomes one of stress or pressure? Emma Seppälä teaches at the Yale School of Management and is a Scientific Director at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research at Stanford University. She is also the author of several books, most recently Sovereign: Reclaim Your Freedom, Energy, and Power in a Time of Distraction, Uncertainty, and Chaos. Greg and Emma discuss the evolving field of happiness studies, its application in business, and Emma's research on the relationship between success, well-being, and stress. Emma shares insights on how high-stress cultures in academia and workplaces undermine long-term performance and creativity and offers practical strategies for individuals and leaders to cultivate emotional intelligence and resilience through practices like meditation and breathwork. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How are happiness and success intertwined when it comes to business? What crucial element do you lose as a company when the boss or the culture becomes one of stress or pressure? Emma Seppälä teaches at the Yale School of Management and is a Scientific Director at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research at Stanford University. She is also the author of several books, most recently Sovereign: Reclaim Your Freedom, Energy, and Power in a Time of Distraction, Uncertainty, and Chaos. Greg and Emma discuss the evolving field of happiness studies, its application in business, and Emma's research on the relationship between success, well-being, and stress. Emma shares insights on how high-stress cultures in academia and workplaces undermine long-term performance and creativity and offers practical strategies for individuals and leaders to cultivate emotional intelligence and resilience through practices like meditation and breathwork. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 504 7ee95e72-71f5-4d00-8519-6c300fb813ed 503. Unraveling Latin America’s Turbulent Economic History with Sebastián Edwards How did Chile's economic experiment reshape global economic thinking, and what can it teach us about the future of neoliberalism and populism in Latin America and beyond?

Sebastián Edwards is a professor of international economics at UCLA and writes about Latin American history, economics, and politics. His books include Left Behind: Latin America and the False Promise of Populism, American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold, and most recently The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism.

Sebastián and Greg chat about the remarkable economic transformation in Chile over the last seven decades, the roots of neoliberalism and its global implications, the contemporary challenges facing Argentina, and what lessons can be gleaned from historical economic events like the U.S.’s default during the FDR era. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why could the U.S. justify a default while Argentina couldn't?

48:11: I think that the notion of excusable default  is important. If there is an act of God, and the Great Depression was thought to be, in part at least, an act of God, that was one element. The other one is that I think the Supreme Court rulings were very detailed and pedagogical,  and they explained that aspect of the justifiable default in a clear way.  And the third one is that the devaluation was very large, from $20.67 to $35. So, the problem with Latin America is that most devaluation crises are very timid.

On Chile's horizontal inequality

56:01: Chile is one of the most unequal countries in terms of income, but also it's very segregated.  [56:37] So, there is this horizontal inequality that I think is also important, and as the country developed and people got out of poverty, being treated in a disrespectful way by whiter citizens—there's also a racial component, but in Chile, it's not acknowledged all the time—but being treated without respect is not acceptable anymore.  People get resentful, right?  So, I think that all of that added to this quite unstable cocktail.

How inequality and slow growth created Chile's deadly cocktail

04:11: When you combine inequality with slower growth, then you have a really deadly cocktail. And that happened after 2014, and it made the criticism higher. And the third point is that there were some implicit promises that the supporters of the model made that did not happen. And that's mostly related to pensions—the fully privately run (not anymore, but originally) pension system based on individual savings accounts. The idea was that if things worked the way people thought they were going to work, workers would get a rate of replacement of about 70 to 80 percent of their income. It turns out they get about 25 percent instead of 70 or 75 percent, and people feel betrayed.


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

]]> Wed, 22 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How did Chile's economic experiment reshape global economic thinking, and what can it teach us about the future of neoliberalism and populism in Latin America and beyond?

Sebastián Edwards is a professor of international economics at UCLA and writes about Latin American history, economics, and politics. His books include Left Behind: Latin America and the False Promise of Populism, American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold, and most recently The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism.

Sebastián and Greg chat about the remarkable economic transformation in Chile over the last seven decades, the roots of neoliberalism and its global implications, the contemporary challenges facing Argentina, and what lessons can be gleaned from historical economic events like the U.S.’s default during the FDR era. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why could the U.S. justify a default while Argentina couldn't?

48:11: I think that the notion of excusable default  is important. If there is an act of God, and the Great Depression was thought to be, in part at least, an act of God, that was one element. The other one is that I think the Supreme Court rulings were very detailed and pedagogical,  and they explained that aspect of the justifiable default in a clear way.  And the third one is that the devaluation was very large, from $20.67 to $35. So, the problem with Latin America is that most devaluation crises are very timid.

On Chile's horizontal inequality

56:01: Chile is one of the most unequal countries in terms of income, but also it's very segregated.  [56:37] So, there is this horizontal inequality that I think is also important, and as the country developed and people got out of poverty, being treated in a disrespectful way by whiter citizens—there's also a racial component, but in Chile, it's not acknowledged all the time—but being treated without respect is not acceptable anymore.  People get resentful, right?  So, I think that all of that added to this quite unstable cocktail.

How inequality and slow growth created Chile's deadly cocktail

04:11: When you combine inequality with slower growth, then you have a really deadly cocktail. And that happened after 2014, and it made the criticism higher. And the third point is that there were some implicit promises that the supporters of the model made that did not happen. And that's mostly related to pensions—the fully privately run (not anymore, but originally) pension system based on individual savings accounts. The idea was that if things worked the way people thought they were going to work, workers would get a rate of replacement of about 70 to 80 percent of their income. It turns out they get about 25 percent instead of 70 or 75 percent, and people feel betrayed.


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

]]> 503. Unraveling Latin America’s Turbulent Economic History with Sebastián Edwards Greg La Blanc 00:57:46 How did Chile's economic experiment reshape global economic thinking, and what can it teach us about the future of neoliberalism and populism in Latin America and beyond? Sebastián Edwards is a professor of international economics at UCLA and writes about Latin American history, economics, and politics. His books include Left Behind: Latin America and the False Promise of Populism, American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold, and most recently The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism. Sebastián and Greg chat about the remarkable economic transformation in Chile over the last seven decades, the roots of neoliberalism and its global implications, the contemporary challenges facing Argentina, and what lessons can be gleaned from historical economic events like the U.S.’s default during the FDR era. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How did Chile's economic experiment reshape global economic thinking, and what can it teach us about the future of neoliberalism and populism in Latin America and beyond? Sebastián Edwards is a professor of international economics at UCLA and writes about Latin American history, economics, and politics. His books include Left Behind: Latin America and the False Promise of Populism, American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold, and most recently The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism. Sebastián and Greg chat about the remarkable economic transformation in Chile over the last seven decades, the roots of neoliberalism and its global implications, the contemporary challenges facing Argentina, and what lessons can be gleaned from historical economic events like the U.S.’s default during the FDR era. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 503 b17a01ca-1f26-44aa-b3ea-244184d267e0 502. Fraud, Cybernetics, and the Architecture of Unaccountability with Dan Davies Why do our most complex systems—from financial markets to corporate behemoths—consistently produce outcomes that nobody intended, and what forgotten science might hold the key to fixing them?

Dan Davies is an economist and author of the books, Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World and most recently, The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - and How The World Lost its Mind. 

Dan and Greg discuss the complexities of fraud in financial systems and why no individual seems accountable for major financial crises, how the historical and intellectual foundations of cybernetics and systems thinking can be applied to improving organizational design, and the role of information theory in management.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Fraud thrives where trust exists

13:58: If you want to commit a big fraud, you don't go somewhere where there's low trust. You go somewhere where, as long as you show up, wear a nice suit, smile, and say please and thank you, people will assume that you're honest. But the thing is, that's what you want to do if you want to run a legitimate business too. So, people always say that the cost of fraud is never the amount of money that's stolen; it's the amount of legitimate business that doesn't get done. And that's just really saying that trust is an incredibly efficient way of organizing your economy compared to checking. Checking and trust are basically the only two kinds of technologies we have to ensure the integrity of information. And of the two of them, trust is a lot more efficient.

How fraud disrupts an economy

03:48: Fraud happens when not only does your assumption of perfect information break down, but there's some actual anti-information there. There's some actively false and misleading information that's been injected intentionally.

Why investors and economists lead in a data-driven era

58:40: A lot of the reason why economists rule the world in policy is the same reason why more and more companies are run by their investors or their investor relations departments. It's because they collect the data, and the economists collect the numbers that are used to make up the world of facts. 


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

]]> Mon, 20 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why do our most complex systems—from financial markets to corporate behemoths—consistently produce outcomes that nobody intended, and what forgotten science might hold the key to fixing them?

Dan Davies is an economist and author of the books, Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World and most recently, The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - and How The World Lost its Mind. 

Dan and Greg discuss the complexities of fraud in financial systems and why no individual seems accountable for major financial crises, how the historical and intellectual foundations of cybernetics and systems thinking can be applied to improving organizational design, and the role of information theory in management.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Fraud thrives where trust exists

13:58: If you want to commit a big fraud, you don't go somewhere where there's low trust. You go somewhere where, as long as you show up, wear a nice suit, smile, and say please and thank you, people will assume that you're honest. But the thing is, that's what you want to do if you want to run a legitimate business too. So, people always say that the cost of fraud is never the amount of money that's stolen; it's the amount of legitimate business that doesn't get done. And that's just really saying that trust is an incredibly efficient way of organizing your economy compared to checking. Checking and trust are basically the only two kinds of technologies we have to ensure the integrity of information. And of the two of them, trust is a lot more efficient.

How fraud disrupts an economy

03:48: Fraud happens when not only does your assumption of perfect information break down, but there's some actual anti-information there. There's some actively false and misleading information that's been injected intentionally.

Why investors and economists lead in a data-driven era

58:40: A lot of the reason why economists rule the world in policy is the same reason why more and more companies are run by their investors or their investor relations departments. It's because they collect the data, and the economists collect the numbers that are used to make up the world of facts. 


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

]]> 502. Fraud, Cybernetics, and the Architecture of Unaccountability with Dan Davies Greg La Blanc 01:03:12 Why do our most complex systems—from financial markets to corporate behemoths—consistently produce outcomes that nobody intended, and what forgotten science might hold the key to fixing them? Dan Davies is an economist and author of the books, Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World and most recently, The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - and How The World Lost its Mind. Dan and Greg discuss the complexities of fraud in financial systems and why no individual seems accountable for major financial crises, how the historical and intellectual foundations of cybernetics and systems thinking can be applied to improving organizational design, and the role of information theory in management. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why do our most complex systems—from financial markets to corporate behemoths—consistently produce outcomes that nobody intended, and what forgotten science might hold the key to fixing them? Dan Davies is an economist and author of the books, Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World and most recently, The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - and How The World Lost its Mind. Dan and Greg discuss the complexities of fraud in financial systems and why no individual seems accountable for major financial crises, how the historical and intellectual foundations of cybernetics and systems thinking can be applied to improving organizational design, and the role of information theory in management. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 502 0b11541c-8865-4d1d-a64f-4e9067e8589a 501. The Philosophical and Ethical Dimensions of Privacy and Surveillance feat. Carissa Véliz Why have philosophers historically failed to think seriously about privacy? How do invasions of privacy really impact a person? What do we give up when we let our data be freely commoditized by Big Tech companies without being fully aware of how they’re doing it?

Carissa Véliz is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI, a Fellow at Hertford College at the University of Oxford, and the author of multiple books including most recently, The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance.

Greg and Carissa discuss why philosophers have historically neglected privacy as a subject, the modern implications of privacy in the digital age, and the ethical issues surrounding data collection and targeted advertising. Carissa argues for a nuanced, objective approach to privacy that considers its deep evolutionary and societal roots. They touch on the tension between convenience and privacy, the importance of legal frameworks, and the responsibilities of both individuals and companies in safeguarding personal data.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

The hidden risks of sharing genetic data

34:40: Most people don't really realize what it means to give away your genetic data. Genetic data is something so abstract that I don't think our psychology is built to understand it. It's not something you can touch or you can see. I can't visually show it to you, I mean, except in a very abstract form. And so I don't think people think it through. I think in a society in which we are very respectful of private property, it's very intuitive to think that if we make privacy a question of private property, then we are being respectful towards privacy. And it just doesn't work that way, because when I sell my genetic data to one of these companies, I'm selling the data of my siblings, my parents, my kids, even my very distant kin who might get deported, who could have their insurance denied. So it's not a personal thing.

Privacy is a protection against possible abuses of power

06:09: Privacy is a protection against possible abuses of power. And as long as institutions are institutions, and people are people, there will always be that temptation to abuse power. We can see this very clearly because people who are more vulnerable to abuses of power tend to care more about privacy.

Can consent in data co-exist?

50:52: Consent in the data world just doesn't exist because it's not informed. You have no idea what they're doing with your data or where your data is going to end up. And it's not because you're uninformed; no data scientist would know it either. It's because of the way the data market works, and it's not really voluntary because if you say no, then you can't use the service, and not using the service might mean not getting a job or not getting an education. So, we need to change the kind of framework, and I propose an opt-in framework, in which you can opt in to have certain kinds of data collected, and that's effortful, and you only have to do it once.

Navigating privacy in a digitally-driven world

38:07: As long as the data exists, there's already a privacy risk. And that was my point with the iron law of digitization—that when you turn the analog into the digital, it might seem like a very neutral thing to do, but it's not because you turn something that wasn't trackable into something that's taggable, and that means it's being surveilled. That's what it means to surveil, to track something. And so, when we turn the analog into the digital, we're doing something very morally significant.


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

]]> Fri, 17 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why have philosophers historically failed to think seriously about privacy? How do invasions of privacy really impact a person? What do we give up when we let our data be freely commoditized by Big Tech companies without being fully aware of how they’re doing it?

Carissa Véliz is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI, a Fellow at Hertford College at the University of Oxford, and the author of multiple books including most recently, The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance.

Greg and Carissa discuss why philosophers have historically neglected privacy as a subject, the modern implications of privacy in the digital age, and the ethical issues surrounding data collection and targeted advertising. Carissa argues for a nuanced, objective approach to privacy that considers its deep evolutionary and societal roots. They touch on the tension between convenience and privacy, the importance of legal frameworks, and the responsibilities of both individuals and companies in safeguarding personal data.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

The hidden risks of sharing genetic data

34:40: Most people don't really realize what it means to give away your genetic data. Genetic data is something so abstract that I don't think our psychology is built to understand it. It's not something you can touch or you can see. I can't visually show it to you, I mean, except in a very abstract form. And so I don't think people think it through. I think in a society in which we are very respectful of private property, it's very intuitive to think that if we make privacy a question of private property, then we are being respectful towards privacy. And it just doesn't work that way, because when I sell my genetic data to one of these companies, I'm selling the data of my siblings, my parents, my kids, even my very distant kin who might get deported, who could have their insurance denied. So it's not a personal thing.

Privacy is a protection against possible abuses of power

06:09: Privacy is a protection against possible abuses of power. And as long as institutions are institutions, and people are people, there will always be that temptation to abuse power. We can see this very clearly because people who are more vulnerable to abuses of power tend to care more about privacy.

Can consent in data co-exist?

50:52: Consent in the data world just doesn't exist because it's not informed. You have no idea what they're doing with your data or where your data is going to end up. And it's not because you're uninformed; no data scientist would know it either. It's because of the way the data market works, and it's not really voluntary because if you say no, then you can't use the service, and not using the service might mean not getting a job or not getting an education. So, we need to change the kind of framework, and I propose an opt-in framework, in which you can opt in to have certain kinds of data collected, and that's effortful, and you only have to do it once.

Navigating privacy in a digitally-driven world

38:07: As long as the data exists, there's already a privacy risk. And that was my point with the iron law of digitization—that when you turn the analog into the digital, it might seem like a very neutral thing to do, but it's not because you turn something that wasn't trackable into something that's taggable, and that means it's being surveilled. That's what it means to surveil, to track something. And so, when we turn the analog into the digital, we're doing something very morally significant.


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

]]> 501. The Philosophical and Ethical Dimensions of Privacy and Surveillance feat. Carissa Véliz Greg La Blanc 00:51:49 Why have philosophers historically failed to think seriously about privacy? How do invasions of privacy really impact a person? What do we give up when we let our data be freely commoditized by Big Tech companies without being fully aware of how they’re doing it? Carissa Véliz is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI, a Fellow at Hertford College at the University of Oxford, and the author of multiple books including most recently, The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance. Greg and Carissa discuss why philosophers have historically neglected privacy as a subject, the modern implications of privacy in the digital age, and the ethical issues surrounding data collection and targeted advertising. Carissa argues for a nuanced, objective approach to privacy that considers its deep evolutionary and societal roots. They touch on the tension between convenience and privacy, the importance of legal frameworks, and the responsibilities of both individuals and companies in safeguarding personal data. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why have philosophers historically failed to think seriously about privacy? How do invasions of privacy really impact a person? What do we give up when we let our data be freely commoditized by Big Tech companies without being fully aware of how they’re doing it? Carissa Véliz is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI, a Fellow at Hertford College at the University of Oxford, and the author of multiple books including most recently, The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance. Greg and Carissa discuss why philosophers have historically neglected privacy as a subject, the modern implications of privacy in the digital age, and the ethical issues surrounding data collection and targeted advertising. Carissa argues for a nuanced, objective approach to privacy that considers its deep evolutionary and societal roots. They touch on the tension between convenience and privacy, the importance of legal frameworks, and the responsibilities of both individuals and companies in safeguarding personal data. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 501 76cce308-bb83-46b6-aafd-b15e28f5a12c 500. The Coders' Mindset and Transformation of Society feat. Clive Thompson What effects will generative AI have on coding and software engineering? Will it make anyone a coder? Will it just turn software engineering into copy/paste exercises? How will the top coders use AI to hack their own efficiency and productivity, and why is it so hard for the large tech companies to do the same things that the smaller ones do?

Clive Thompson is a journalist for the New York Times Magazine and Wired as well as the author of multiple books, including Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better and Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World.

Greg and Clive delve into the cultural and societal impacts of the rise of coders, exploring how the coding mindset infiltrates various aspects of life and business. They also discuss the nature of work in software engineering, the shift towards iterative and agile methodologies, and the potential future shaped by generative AI and its implications for the field. Clive explains the paradoxes of efficiency, the challenges of maintenance over creation in coding, and how his life experience and interests converge in his upcoming book about cycling across the United States and the future of mobility. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why do coders need an intense level of focus? 

If this thing happens [in coding], it will change this other thing. If that thing changes, this thing over here has to happen, and that's also reliant on this other thing. And it's so hard to get the structure of this in your head that you might spend several hours just looking at what you're trying to do, just thinking about it, sort of, getting it in your head. And when it's finally there, then you can begin to do the work. And of course, a couple interesting things fall out of this psychology. One is that you want to stay there. It took you three to four hours to get there, so you don't want to leave. So, you want to stay there for 10, 15, 20, 48 hours. 

The huge problem with managing coders.

[18:15] This is a huge problem with managing coders is that they love learning, in a weird way. You would argue, isn't this an ideal employee? Someone who is eager to learn. Constantly learning new things. Very few employees are like, “I am just omnivorous in my spare time when I'm not being paid, I'm going to do more of this.” I mean, how many accountants at your company go home, and then from eight o'clock at night to two in the morning, do more accounting for fun, just voluntarily? That's a coder, right? And what they're doing is they're going home, and they're doing crazy new forms of software that they're not really allowed to do at work, but they often try and bring that in, and they'll be like, “I'm now obsessed with this framework. Hey, boss, can we use this? And it’s like, “No! That framework is experimental and not reliable, and I want you to do the same old boring thing we've been doing for 30 years, because that is reliable.” And this is just a very hard thing. There's an excitement in the craft that a lot of software developers have that's not what the job requires.

An interesting analogy between law and coding

That's a great analogy that I'd never heard or thought of before, which is that law needs to be patched the way that software needs to be patched. Because it's the same challenge, which is that [in] writing code and writing law, you're trying to create a system that other people are going to use. Humans are going to use it. And so you, the author of the law, or you, the author of the code, have to try sitting at your desk to imagine all the things that those dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions, or billions of humans will do with this system. And you can't. There's no way you can. So, you have to just put it out there and watch and see what they do, and then fix it as it goes, basically. And, of course, the more critical the system, or the less critical system, the more or less you can get away with.

The mental character of coding is closer to that of an artist than it is to many other forms of engineering.

Coders hate being interrupted, and that's part of why they're regarded as being such irascible weirdos. [It] is like, if you tap them on the shoulder, they'll bite you.There's something delightful about that mentality of focus. There's something maybe even [to] be learned from it. It's one of the reasons why I realized the more I talked to coders about their attentional needs, and the sweep and drama, and a sort of, epic mental toil, that it reminded me of novelists, of artists, of poets, of temperament. The mental character of coding is closer to that of an artist than it is to many other forms of engineering.


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

]]> Wed, 15 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What effects will generative AI have on coding and software engineering? Will it make anyone a coder? Will it just turn software engineering into copy/paste exercises? How will the top coders use AI to hack their own efficiency and productivity, and why is it so hard for the large tech companies to do the same things that the smaller ones do?

Clive Thompson is a journalist for the New York Times Magazine and Wired as well as the author of multiple books, including Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better and Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World.

Greg and Clive delve into the cultural and societal impacts of the rise of coders, exploring how the coding mindset infiltrates various aspects of life and business. They also discuss the nature of work in software engineering, the shift towards iterative and agile methodologies, and the potential future shaped by generative AI and its implications for the field. Clive explains the paradoxes of efficiency, the challenges of maintenance over creation in coding, and how his life experience and interests converge in his upcoming book about cycling across the United States and the future of mobility. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why do coders need an intense level of focus? 

If this thing happens [in coding], it will change this other thing. If that thing changes, this thing over here has to happen, and that's also reliant on this other thing. And it's so hard to get the structure of this in your head that you might spend several hours just looking at what you're trying to do, just thinking about it, sort of, getting it in your head. And when it's finally there, then you can begin to do the work. And of course, a couple interesting things fall out of this psychology. One is that you want to stay there. It took you three to four hours to get there, so you don't want to leave. So, you want to stay there for 10, 15, 20, 48 hours. 

The huge problem with managing coders.

[18:15] This is a huge problem with managing coders is that they love learning, in a weird way. You would argue, isn't this an ideal employee? Someone who is eager to learn. Constantly learning new things. Very few employees are like, “I am just omnivorous in my spare time when I'm not being paid, I'm going to do more of this.” I mean, how many accountants at your company go home, and then from eight o'clock at night to two in the morning, do more accounting for fun, just voluntarily? That's a coder, right? And what they're doing is they're going home, and they're doing crazy new forms of software that they're not really allowed to do at work, but they often try and bring that in, and they'll be like, “I'm now obsessed with this framework. Hey, boss, can we use this? And it’s like, “No! That framework is experimental and not reliable, and I want you to do the same old boring thing we've been doing for 30 years, because that is reliable.” And this is just a very hard thing. There's an excitement in the craft that a lot of software developers have that's not what the job requires.

An interesting analogy between law and coding

That's a great analogy that I'd never heard or thought of before, which is that law needs to be patched the way that software needs to be patched. Because it's the same challenge, which is that [in] writing code and writing law, you're trying to create a system that other people are going to use. Humans are going to use it. And so you, the author of the law, or you, the author of the code, have to try sitting at your desk to imagine all the things that those dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions, or billions of humans will do with this system. And you can't. There's no way you can. So, you have to just put it out there and watch and see what they do, and then fix it as it goes, basically. And, of course, the more critical the system, or the less critical system, the more or less you can get away with.

The mental character of coding is closer to that of an artist than it is to many other forms of engineering.

Coders hate being interrupted, and that's part of why they're regarded as being such irascible weirdos. [It] is like, if you tap them on the shoulder, they'll bite you.There's something delightful about that mentality of focus. There's something maybe even [to] be learned from it. It's one of the reasons why I realized the more I talked to coders about their attentional needs, and the sweep and drama, and a sort of, epic mental toil, that it reminded me of novelists, of artists, of poets, of temperament. The mental character of coding is closer to that of an artist than it is to many other forms of engineering.


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

]]> 500. The Coders' Mindset and Transformation of Society feat. Clive Thompson Greg La Blanc 01:01:07 What effects will generative AI have on coding and software engineering? Will it make anyone a coder? Will it just turn software engineering into copy/paste exercises? How will the top coders use AI to hack their own efficiency and productivity, and why is it so hard for the large tech companies to do the same things that the smaller ones do? Clive Thompson is a journalist for the New York Times Magazine and Wired as well as the author of multiple books, including Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better and Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World. Greg and Clive delve into the cultural and societal impacts of the rise of coders, exploring how the coding mindset infiltrates various aspects of life and business. They also discuss the nature of work in software engineering, the shift towards iterative and agile methodologies, and the potential future shaped by generative AI and its implications for the field. Clive explains the paradoxes of efficiency, the challenges of maintenance over creation in coding, and how his life experience and interests converge in his upcoming book about cycling across the United States and the future of mobility. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What effects will generative AI have on coding and software engineering? Will it make anyone a coder? Will it just turn software engineering into copy/paste exercises? How will the top coders use AI to hack their own efficiency and productivity, and why is it so hard for the large tech companies to do the same things that the smaller ones do? Clive Thompson is a journalist for the New York Times Magazine and Wired as well as the author of multiple books, including Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better and Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World. Greg and Clive delve into the cultural and societal impacts of the rise of coders, exploring how the coding mindset infiltrates various aspects of life and business. They also discuss the nature of work in software engineering, the shift towards iterative and agile methodologies, and the potential future shaped by generative AI and its implications for the field. Clive explains the paradoxes of efficiency, the challenges of maintenance over creation in coding, and how his life experience and interests converge in his upcoming book about cycling across the United States and the future of mobility. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 500 0bb3e066-a750-4528-a70e-f18800e549de 499. The Roots of Modern Economic Growth: How the World Became Rich feat. Mark Koyama What more can be learned about a topic like the origins of economic growth that has been covered so extensively? When pulling back and looking at all the connected threads, is there an order in which things must happen to spark the change?

Mark Koyama is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Research Associate at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), and Mercatus Center, Senior Scholar. He is also the co-author of two books, How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth and Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom.

Greg and Mark discuss the recurring interest in the origins of economic growth and the Industrial Revolution. Mark lays out the various theories and factors that have shaped economic development across different regions and historical periods, such as geography, demography, culture, institutions, and political conditions. Greg asks why some regions like Europe succeeded in industrialization while others did not, and the role of colonialism in shaping global economic dynamics. Mark also offers insights into the ongoing relevance of economic history in understanding contemporary growth and innovation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The overlooked challenge of sustaining economic growth

04:45: Once you think about growth, it's hard to think about anything else. It's a question, I think, both for rich countries, which are stagnating. So, I mean, for the US in my view, but if you think about Germany or the UK, these are pretty stagnant economies right now. And so I think these are, you know, it's not just a "Oh, we've had this revolution. Now we can sit on this, wealth gradient.." No, this is an ongoing problem, and I think policymakers in most countries have totally neglected issues of growth. They've focused on all these other issues, which we think are important, and we might say we care about growth, but we really don't act like it. And, similarly, there's a need in developing countries, obviously, to sustain growth. Both the poorest countries in the world, but also middle-income countries, which can stagnate and fall into what's called a middle-income trap.

Geography’s impact on economic hubs

13:55: Geography still has this massive role, basically, even today, in the where, like the location, which locations are going to be economic hubs. But obviously, you can’t explain the why, so it’s going to be insufficient on its own, but it could be interacting with other factors.

On markets and creative destruction

42:06: You need markets, which are flexible and adaptable, so they can be disrupted by new technologies and entrepreneurs. Other people will have a more statist perspective. They’ll think that you need, maybe, the state to do more on basic science, right? Maybe more even on actual innovation to support this. But I tend to think that you need these market institutions, basically, and they need to be sufficiently vibrant.


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

]]> Mon, 13 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What more can be learned about a topic like the origins of economic growth that has been covered so extensively? When pulling back and looking at all the connected threads, is there an order in which things must happen to spark the change?

Mark Koyama is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Research Associate at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), and Mercatus Center, Senior Scholar. He is also the co-author of two books, How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth and Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom.

Greg and Mark discuss the recurring interest in the origins of economic growth and the Industrial Revolution. Mark lays out the various theories and factors that have shaped economic development across different regions and historical periods, such as geography, demography, culture, institutions, and political conditions. Greg asks why some regions like Europe succeeded in industrialization while others did not, and the role of colonialism in shaping global economic dynamics. Mark also offers insights into the ongoing relevance of economic history in understanding contemporary growth and innovation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The overlooked challenge of sustaining economic growth

04:45: Once you think about growth, it's hard to think about anything else. It's a question, I think, both for rich countries, which are stagnating. So, I mean, for the US in my view, but if you think about Germany or the UK, these are pretty stagnant economies right now. And so I think these are, you know, it's not just a "Oh, we've had this revolution. Now we can sit on this, wealth gradient.." No, this is an ongoing problem, and I think policymakers in most countries have totally neglected issues of growth. They've focused on all these other issues, which we think are important, and we might say we care about growth, but we really don't act like it. And, similarly, there's a need in developing countries, obviously, to sustain growth. Both the poorest countries in the world, but also middle-income countries, which can stagnate and fall into what's called a middle-income trap.

Geography’s impact on economic hubs

13:55: Geography still has this massive role, basically, even today, in the where, like the location, which locations are going to be economic hubs. But obviously, you can’t explain the why, so it’s going to be insufficient on its own, but it could be interacting with other factors.

On markets and creative destruction

42:06: You need markets, which are flexible and adaptable, so they can be disrupted by new technologies and entrepreneurs. Other people will have a more statist perspective. They’ll think that you need, maybe, the state to do more on basic science, right? Maybe more even on actual innovation to support this. But I tend to think that you need these market institutions, basically, and they need to be sufficiently vibrant.


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

]]> 499. The Roots of Modern Economic Growth: How the World Became Rich feat. Mark Koyama Greg La Blanc 00:45:12 What more can be learned about a topic like the origins of economic growth that has been covered so extensively? When pulling back and looking at all the connected threads, is there an order in which things must happen to spark the change? Mark Koyama is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Research Associate at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), and Mercatus Center, Senior Scholar. He is also the co-author of two books, How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth and Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom. Greg and Mark discuss the recurring interest in the origins of economic growth and the Industrial Revolution. Mark lays out the various theories and factors that have shaped economic development across different regions and historical periods, such as geography, demography, culture, institutions, and political conditions. Greg asks why some regions like Europe succeeded in industrialization while others did not, and the role of colonialism in shaping global economic dynamics. Mark also offers insights into the ongoing relevance of economic history in understanding contemporary growth and innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What more can be learned about a topic like the origins of economic growth that has been covered so extensively? When pulling back and looking at all the connected threads, is there an order in which things must happen to spark the change? Mark Koyama is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Research Associate at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), and Mercatus Center, Senior Scholar. He is also the co-author of two books, How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth and Persecution and Toleration: The Long Road to Religious Freedom. Greg and Mark discuss the recurring interest in the origins of economic growth and the Industrial Revolution. Mark lays out the various theories and factors that have shaped economic development across different regions and historical periods, such as geography, demography, culture, institutions, and political conditions. Greg asks why some regions like Europe succeeded in industrialization while others did not, and the role of colonialism in shaping global economic dynamics. Mark also offers insights into the ongoing relevance of economic history in understanding contemporary growth and innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 499 c702fd64-95a8-43aa-b990-61ab117c5869 498. Unlocking the Art of Conversation with Alison Wood Brooks We learn the skill of talking as toddlers and by the time we’re adults, most of us don’t think twice about the inner workings of a conversation. But the reality is, there’s a science and an art to conversing. And understanding that science could unlock so much potential in your professional and personal life. 

Alison Wood Brooks is a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of the book, Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves. She also teaches a cutting-edge course at Harvard called Talk where she helps students hone their conversational skills. 

Alison and Greg talk about talking, including why this critical skill should be incorporated into more school curriculums, the complexities of effective communication, and the importance of small talk. Alison also offers tips for enhancing your conversation skills, whether in personal relationships or professional settings. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why aren't people experts at communication?

01:59: Language acquisition starts very early in our lives, and we spend almost all day long, every day of our lives, practicing it. And so we get to adulthood, and we feel like we should be experts at it, that we should be really great at it. And yet, as we all know, based on our own ruminations about our own lives, and from our observations of others, we are far from perfect at communication. And the reason that we're not experts at it is because, when you look under the hood, conversation is a lot more complicated and tricky than it first appears, and it takes some rummaging under the hood to understand what's really going on here and why aren't we—why aren't we perfect at it?

What makes a successful conversation

12:12: A successful conversation is about the combination of prep—what you do ahead of time—and then how well you improvise once you're there. It's the combination of preparation and flexibility.

Small talk is the start not the destination in every conversation

18:01: Small talk is a very important social ritual. You have to do it. You have to start somewhere, especially with strangers and people you haven't seen in a long time. You gotta start with, like, how are you? Like, what's going on? How are you? It'd be weird not to. The mistake that people make is staying there too long, not finding those off-ramps to move up the pyramid to something more meaningful and interesting.

The challenge of explicit goals in conversations

10:49: Often, we don't know what we want, and it might emerge as the conversation goes on or as a relationship proceeds. So that's a big problem, right? Like, we just can't possibly anticipate all of the many things that we might want. The second challenge is by making our goals explicit. Like, if we were to say all the things out loud, it would undermine much of the magic that we're actually looking for. We want a conversation to feel almost magical. [11:27]  We want to get there and do the thing without having to say out loud what our goals are. And the things that go unsaid in a conversation really matter. If we were to make everything explicit, a lot of that delight would disappear.


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

]]> Fri, 10 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We learn the skill of talking as toddlers and by the time we’re adults, most of us don’t think twice about the inner workings of a conversation. But the reality is, there’s a science and an art to conversing. And understanding that science could unlock so much potential in your professional and personal life. 

Alison Wood Brooks is a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of the book, Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves. She also teaches a cutting-edge course at Harvard called Talk where she helps students hone their conversational skills. 

Alison and Greg talk about talking, including why this critical skill should be incorporated into more school curriculums, the complexities of effective communication, and the importance of small talk. Alison also offers tips for enhancing your conversation skills, whether in personal relationships or professional settings. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why aren't people experts at communication?

01:59: Language acquisition starts very early in our lives, and we spend almost all day long, every day of our lives, practicing it. And so we get to adulthood, and we feel like we should be experts at it, that we should be really great at it. And yet, as we all know, based on our own ruminations about our own lives, and from our observations of others, we are far from perfect at communication. And the reason that we're not experts at it is because, when you look under the hood, conversation is a lot more complicated and tricky than it first appears, and it takes some rummaging under the hood to understand what's really going on here and why aren't we—why aren't we perfect at it?

What makes a successful conversation

12:12: A successful conversation is about the combination of prep—what you do ahead of time—and then how well you improvise once you're there. It's the combination of preparation and flexibility.

Small talk is the start not the destination in every conversation

18:01: Small talk is a very important social ritual. You have to do it. You have to start somewhere, especially with strangers and people you haven't seen in a long time. You gotta start with, like, how are you? Like, what's going on? How are you? It'd be weird not to. The mistake that people make is staying there too long, not finding those off-ramps to move up the pyramid to something more meaningful and interesting.

The challenge of explicit goals in conversations

10:49: Often, we don't know what we want, and it might emerge as the conversation goes on or as a relationship proceeds. So that's a big problem, right? Like, we just can't possibly anticipate all of the many things that we might want. The second challenge is by making our goals explicit. Like, if we were to say all the things out loud, it would undermine much of the magic that we're actually looking for. We want a conversation to feel almost magical. [11:27]  We want to get there and do the thing without having to say out loud what our goals are. And the things that go unsaid in a conversation really matter. If we were to make everything explicit, a lot of that delight would disappear.


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]]> 498. Unlocking the Art of Conversation with Alison Wood Brooks Greg La Blanc 00:58:00 We learn the skill of talking as toddlers and by the time we’re adults, most of us don’t think twice about the inner workings of a conversation. But the reality is, there’s a science and an art to conversing. And understanding that science could unlock so much potential in your professional and personal life. Alison Wood Brooks is a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of the book, Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves. She also teaches a cutting-edge course at Harvard called Talk where she helps students hone their conversational skills. Alison and Greg talk about talking, including why this critical skill should be incorporated into more school curriculums, the complexities of effective communication, and the importance of small talk. Alison also offers tips for enhancing your conversation skills, whether in personal relationships or professional settings. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* We learn the skill of talking as toddlers and by the time we’re adults, most of us don’t think twice about the inner workings of a conversation. But the reality is, there’s a science and an art to conversing. And understanding that science could unlock so much potential in your professional and personal life. Alison Wood Brooks is a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of the book, Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves. She also teaches a cutting-edge course at Harvard called Talk where she helps students hone their conversational skills. Alison and Greg talk about talking, including why this critical skill should be incorporated into more school curriculums, the complexities of effective communication, and the importance of small talk. Alison also offers tips for enhancing your conversation skills, whether in personal relationships or professional settings. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 498 6c3cfcde-8d82-462a-8593-76a1b35db044 497. Spotting The Difference Between AI Innovation and AI Snake Oil feat. Arvind Narayanan Where is the line between fact and fiction in the capabilities of AI? Which predictions or promises about the future of AI are reasonable and which are the creations of hype for the benefit of the industry or the company making outsized claims?

Arvind Narayanan is a professor of computer science at Princeton University, the director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, and an author. His latest book is AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference.

Greg and Arvind discuss the misconceptions about AI technology, emphasizing the overestimations of AI's capabilities and the importance of understanding predictive versus generative AI. Arvind also points out the ethical and practical issues of deploying AI in fields like criminal justice and HR. Arvind and Greg also explore the challenges of regulation, the historical context of technological hype, and how academia can play a role in shaping AI's future. Arvind also reflects on his previous work on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technologies and shares insights into the complexities and future of AI and blockchain.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

What can the AI community learn from medicine about testing?

28:51: Let's talk about what we can learn from medicine and what maybe we shouldn't take from them. I think that the community internalized a long time ago that the hard part of innovation is not the building, but the testing. And the AI community needs to learn that. Traditionally, in machine learning, the building was the hard part, and everybody would evaluate on the same few sets of benchmarks. And that was okay because they were mostly solving toy problems as they were building up the complexities of these technologies. Now, we're building AI systems that need to do things in the real world. And the building, especially with foundation models, you build once and apply it to a lot of different things. Right? That has gotten a lot easier—not necessarily easier in terms of technical skills, but in terms of the relative amount of investment you need to put into that, as opposed to the testing—because now you have to test foundation models in a legal setting, medical setting, [and] hundreds of other settings. So that, I think, is one big lesson.

Replacing broken systems with AI can escalate the problem

08:36: Just because one system is broken doesn't mean that we should replace it with another broken system instead of trying to do the hard work of thinking about how to fix the system. And fixing it with AI is not even working because, in the hiring scenario, what's happening is that candidates are now turning to AI to apply to hundreds of positions at once. And it's clearly not solving the problem; it's only escalating the arms race. And it might be true that human decision-makers are biased; they're not very accurate. But at least, when you have a human in the loop, you're forced to confront this shittiness of the situation, right? You can't put this moral distance between yourself and what's going on, and I think that's one way in which AI could make it worse because it's got this veneer of objectivity and accuracy.

Foundation models lower costs and could shift AI research back to academia

27:22: The rise of foundation models has meant that they've kind of now become a layer on top of which you can build other things, and that is much, much less expensive. Then, building foundation models themselves—especially if it's going to be the case that scaling is going to run out—we don't need to look for AI advances by building 1 billion models and 10 billion models; we can take the existing foundation models for granted and build on top of them. Then, I would expect that a lot of research might move back to academia. Especially the kind of research that might involve offbeat ideas. 


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

]]> Wed, 8 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Where is the line between fact and fiction in the capabilities of AI? Which predictions or promises about the future of AI are reasonable and which are the creations of hype for the benefit of the industry or the company making outsized claims?

Arvind Narayanan is a professor of computer science at Princeton University, the director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, and an author. His latest book is AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference.

Greg and Arvind discuss the misconceptions about AI technology, emphasizing the overestimations of AI's capabilities and the importance of understanding predictive versus generative AI. Arvind also points out the ethical and practical issues of deploying AI in fields like criminal justice and HR. Arvind and Greg also explore the challenges of regulation, the historical context of technological hype, and how academia can play a role in shaping AI's future. Arvind also reflects on his previous work on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technologies and shares insights into the complexities and future of AI and blockchain.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

What can the AI community learn from medicine about testing?

28:51: Let's talk about what we can learn from medicine and what maybe we shouldn't take from them. I think that the community internalized a long time ago that the hard part of innovation is not the building, but the testing. And the AI community needs to learn that. Traditionally, in machine learning, the building was the hard part, and everybody would evaluate on the same few sets of benchmarks. And that was okay because they were mostly solving toy problems as they were building up the complexities of these technologies. Now, we're building AI systems that need to do things in the real world. And the building, especially with foundation models, you build once and apply it to a lot of different things. Right? That has gotten a lot easier—not necessarily easier in terms of technical skills, but in terms of the relative amount of investment you need to put into that, as opposed to the testing—because now you have to test foundation models in a legal setting, medical setting, [and] hundreds of other settings. So that, I think, is one big lesson.

Replacing broken systems with AI can escalate the problem

08:36: Just because one system is broken doesn't mean that we should replace it with another broken system instead of trying to do the hard work of thinking about how to fix the system. And fixing it with AI is not even working because, in the hiring scenario, what's happening is that candidates are now turning to AI to apply to hundreds of positions at once. And it's clearly not solving the problem; it's only escalating the arms race. And it might be true that human decision-makers are biased; they're not very accurate. But at least, when you have a human in the loop, you're forced to confront this shittiness of the situation, right? You can't put this moral distance between yourself and what's going on, and I think that's one way in which AI could make it worse because it's got this veneer of objectivity and accuracy.

Foundation models lower costs and could shift AI research back to academia

27:22: The rise of foundation models has meant that they've kind of now become a layer on top of which you can build other things, and that is much, much less expensive. Then, building foundation models themselves—especially if it's going to be the case that scaling is going to run out—we don't need to look for AI advances by building 1 billion models and 10 billion models; we can take the existing foundation models for granted and build on top of them. Then, I would expect that a lot of research might move back to academia. Especially the kind of research that might involve offbeat ideas. 


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

]]> 497. Spotting The Difference Between AI Innovation and AI Snake Oil feat. Arvind Narayanan Greg La Blanc 00:46:11 Where is the line between fact and fiction in the capabilities of AI? Which predictions or promises about the future of AI are reasonable and which are the creations of hype for the benefit of the industry or the company making outsized claims? Arvind Narayanan is a professor of computer science at Princeton University, the director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, and an author. His latest book is AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference. Greg and Arvind discuss the misconceptions about AI technology, emphasizing the overestimations of AI's capabilities and the importance of understanding predictive versus generative AI. Arvind also points out the ethical and practical issues of deploying AI in fields like criminal justice and HR. Arvind and Greg also explore the challenges of regulation, the historical context of technological hype, and how academia can play a role in shaping AI's future. Arvind also reflects on his previous work on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technologies and shares insights into the complexities and future of AI and blockchain. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Where is the line between fact and fiction in the capabilities of AI? Which predictions or promises about the future of AI are reasonable and which are the creations of hype for the benefit of the industry or the company making outsized claims? Arvind Narayanan is a professor of computer science at Princeton University, the director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, and an author. His latest book is AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference. Greg and Arvind discuss the misconceptions about AI technology, emphasizing the overestimations of AI's capabilities and the importance of understanding predictive versus generative AI. Arvind also points out the ethical and practical issues of deploying AI in fields like criminal justice and HR. Arvind and Greg also explore the challenges of regulation, the historical context of technological hype, and how academia can play a role in shaping AI's future. Arvind also reflects on his previous work on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technologies and shares insights into the complexities and future of AI and blockchain. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 497 57f854aa-69ae-4c96-a402-cd766ee7b1b1 496. Raising Boys in the Age of Gender Politics with Ruth Whippman Raising boys in post-MeToo times is beyond challenging. So how do moms balance societal pressures with the desire to raise happy, healthy, and emotionally intelligent boys?

Ruth Whippman is a journalist and author of the books, BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity and America the Anxious: How Our Pursuit of Happiness Is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks. In BoyMom, she weaves personal anecdotes with data and reporting to capture the complexities of raising emotionally healthy boys in today’s world. 

Ruth and Greg discuss the cultural expectations and modern pressures around parenting, the problem with labeling traits either feminine or masculine, the nurturing gap for boys, and why patriarchy harms men just as much as women. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Can we just allow everyone to be fully human without gendered traits?

39:02: I think there's all these attempts to rehabilitate masculinity and redefine it. And it's just like, can we just give it a rest and just allow everybody to be fully human? Stop assigning a gender to human traits and values. Every human needs power, agency, strength, and courage, and every human needs nurturing and relationships and care, those feminine-coded virtues. Why are we splitting them up? And when we try to say, oh, well, actually, caregiving is masculine, what are we even doing there? I mean, at what point does it just become meaningless? And we should just give up on those things altogether. At what point is it just reinforcing this idea that it's so important to be masculine that we come up with any kind of logical hack to make it work, to preserve it?

Are boys missing out on feminine-coded values that impact well-being?

08:24: Before you can encourage boys to take on those more feminine-coded attributes, you have to truly believe that those attributes have value. But I do believe that boys are genuinely missing out. I do believe that those feminine-coded values have huge worth and are hugely important for our psychological well-being and for living a happy, healthy life. And so I feel like this project of realizing that boys and men are losing out in this system is a really big part of what we need to do here.

Should we stop reinforcing masculinity as the be-all and end-all?

40:38: We should stop trying to push this positive masculinity framework. And it's not because I think it's great if people present as masculine; if they naturally like to embody all those virtues, if they come, if that's who they want to be, great. There's nothing wrong with masculinity per se. It's just that when we keep reinforcing it as the be-all and end-all of how a boy or man should be.

Understanding the invisible cultural baggage around gender

04:09: I think with kids, there's this sort of superficial idea that you can just choose whatever gender you are, but there's so much invisible cultural baggage going on in the lives of kids and adults with what we're all doing in terms of gender, all the invisible things and baggage that we bring to this project. [04:44] We're operating with this idea that we have this huge amount of control over all of these things. And both culturally and biologically, and in all kinds of different ways, we have far less control than we think we do.


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

]]> Mon, 6 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Raising boys in post-MeToo times is beyond challenging. So how do moms balance societal pressures with the desire to raise happy, healthy, and emotionally intelligent boys?

Ruth Whippman is a journalist and author of the books, BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity and America the Anxious: How Our Pursuit of Happiness Is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks. In BoyMom, she weaves personal anecdotes with data and reporting to capture the complexities of raising emotionally healthy boys in today’s world. 

Ruth and Greg discuss the cultural expectations and modern pressures around parenting, the problem with labeling traits either feminine or masculine, the nurturing gap for boys, and why patriarchy harms men just as much as women. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Can we just allow everyone to be fully human without gendered traits?

39:02: I think there's all these attempts to rehabilitate masculinity and redefine it. And it's just like, can we just give it a rest and just allow everybody to be fully human? Stop assigning a gender to human traits and values. Every human needs power, agency, strength, and courage, and every human needs nurturing and relationships and care, those feminine-coded virtues. Why are we splitting them up? And when we try to say, oh, well, actually, caregiving is masculine, what are we even doing there? I mean, at what point does it just become meaningless? And we should just give up on those things altogether. At what point is it just reinforcing this idea that it's so important to be masculine that we come up with any kind of logical hack to make it work, to preserve it?

Are boys missing out on feminine-coded values that impact well-being?

08:24: Before you can encourage boys to take on those more feminine-coded attributes, you have to truly believe that those attributes have value. But I do believe that boys are genuinely missing out. I do believe that those feminine-coded values have huge worth and are hugely important for our psychological well-being and for living a happy, healthy life. And so I feel like this project of realizing that boys and men are losing out in this system is a really big part of what we need to do here.

Should we stop reinforcing masculinity as the be-all and end-all?

40:38: We should stop trying to push this positive masculinity framework. And it's not because I think it's great if people present as masculine; if they naturally like to embody all those virtues, if they come, if that's who they want to be, great. There's nothing wrong with masculinity per se. It's just that when we keep reinforcing it as the be-all and end-all of how a boy or man should be.

Understanding the invisible cultural baggage around gender

04:09: I think with kids, there's this sort of superficial idea that you can just choose whatever gender you are, but there's so much invisible cultural baggage going on in the lives of kids and adults with what we're all doing in terms of gender, all the invisible things and baggage that we bring to this project. [04:44] We're operating with this idea that we have this huge amount of control over all of these things. And both culturally and biologically, and in all kinds of different ways, we have far less control than we think we do.


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

]]> 496. Raising Boys in the Age of Gender Politics with Ruth Whippman Greg La Blanc 00:44:58 Raising boys in post-MeToo times is beyond challenging. So how do moms balance societal pressures with the desire to raise happy, healthy, and emotionally intelligent boys? Ruth Whippman is a journalist and author of the books, BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity and America the Anxious: How Our Pursuit of Happiness Is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks. In BoyMom, she weaves personal anecdotes with data and reporting to capture the complexities of raising emotionally healthy boys in today’s world. Ruth and Greg discuss the cultural expectations and modern pressures around parenting, the problem with labeling traits either feminine or masculine, the nurturing gap for boys, and why patriarchy harms men just as much as women. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Raising boys in post-MeToo times is beyond challenging. So how do moms balance societal pressures with the desire to raise happy, healthy, and emotionally intelligent boys? Ruth Whippman is a journalist and author of the books, BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity and America the Anxious: How Our Pursuit of Happiness Is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks. In BoyMom, she weaves personal anecdotes with data and reporting to capture the complexities of raising emotionally healthy boys in today’s world. Ruth and Greg discuss the cultural expectations and modern pressures around parenting, the problem with labeling traits either feminine or masculine, the nurturing gap for boys, and why patriarchy harms men just as much as women. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 496 5ddd5c16-b2bf-46d4-a693-4b6289c290b7 495. The Art of Money: Tokens and Technology feat. Rachel O’Dwyer What brought about the rise of cryptocurrencies, and whats the difference between tokens and money? How are some of these modern concepts of currency much older than people may think, with older and older examples being unearthed in different parts of the world?

Rachel O’Dwyer is a writer and lecturer in Digital Cultures in the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She’s also the author of Tokens: The Future of Money in the Age of the Platform. It’s all about how more and more traditional mone is being replaced by tokens, but this has been happening in societies for a long time.

Greg and Rachel discuss the complex and interdisciplinary nature of tokens and their relationship to money, exploring the history, regulatory implications, and the current cultural significance of token-based economies. They also examine the role of digital tokens in various sectors, from gaming to social media, and their impact on financial activities and personal relationships. Rachel explains the rise of cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, and how these new forms of money shape modern culture and societal norms.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Where do we draw the regulatory line around money?

05:09: What I find quite interesting with tokens is that, increasingly, as we're seeing these sort of nonbank entities emerging and issuing money-like things, the token becomes a sort of regulatory sleight of hand. It becomes a way for platforms to issue money-like things, but say, well, hey, because this isn't real money, I'm not really a bank, so I'm doing everything that banks do, but because I don't have a financial license, I'm not processing payments. I'm doing everything that an employer does, but because I'm not handling money, I'm not officially an employer; therefore, I don't have any duty or responsibilities towards these people working or making a living on my platform. So there's all that sort of regulatory uncertainty sort of happening when we're dealing with tokens as opposed to money, but also, I think, as we saw in 2022 with the collapse of so many exchanges and stablecoins as well, there's this regulatory uncertainty around, what is legitimate financial activity and what is like a scam, and where do we draw the lines around those sorts of things?

Should tokens be seen as less than money?

17:25: When we start thinking about tokens as being less than money, there are all sorts of strings attached—all kinds of prescriptions, all sorts of controls attached to welfare payments, refugee payments—and all kinds of ways in which we can control prescribed behaviors when we issue tokens as opposed to "fungible," I suppose, cash or money.

Is scrip a double exploitation of workers?

23:29: I guess scrip is kind of a catch-22 because you're potentially being exploited when whoever's employing you is getting a profit—they're earning more than it costs to pay you and to sort of buy maybe the materials that it costs to produce whatever you're making. But scrip is double exploitation because they're paying you in their own special token that you can only redeem, basically, in the company store.

Programmable money ties payments to identity, unlike anonymous cash

38:56: A lot of what's happening with programmable money is tying the means of payment to your identity or to particular sorts of credentials. And I think with CBDCs, we're seeing more and more proposals for money that can be programmed, as they're saying, at issuance—that when that money is issued, there are potentially various terms and conditions hard-coded into it versus your dumb cash, which is just an anonymous, dumb bearer instrument that doesn't care and doesn't know who's holding it, who's bearing it, so long as it's bared up.


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

]]> Fri, 3 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What brought about the rise of cryptocurrencies, and whats the difference between tokens and money? How are some of these modern concepts of currency much older than people may think, with older and older examples being unearthed in different parts of the world?

Rachel O’Dwyer is a writer and lecturer in Digital Cultures in the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She’s also the author of Tokens: The Future of Money in the Age of the Platform. It’s all about how more and more traditional mone is being replaced by tokens, but this has been happening in societies for a long time.

Greg and Rachel discuss the complex and interdisciplinary nature of tokens and their relationship to money, exploring the history, regulatory implications, and the current cultural significance of token-based economies. They also examine the role of digital tokens in various sectors, from gaming to social media, and their impact on financial activities and personal relationships. Rachel explains the rise of cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, and how these new forms of money shape modern culture and societal norms.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Where do we draw the regulatory line around money?

05:09: What I find quite interesting with tokens is that, increasingly, as we're seeing these sort of nonbank entities emerging and issuing money-like things, the token becomes a sort of regulatory sleight of hand. It becomes a way for platforms to issue money-like things, but say, well, hey, because this isn't real money, I'm not really a bank, so I'm doing everything that banks do, but because I don't have a financial license, I'm not processing payments. I'm doing everything that an employer does, but because I'm not handling money, I'm not officially an employer; therefore, I don't have any duty or responsibilities towards these people working or making a living on my platform. So there's all that sort of regulatory uncertainty sort of happening when we're dealing with tokens as opposed to money, but also, I think, as we saw in 2022 with the collapse of so many exchanges and stablecoins as well, there's this regulatory uncertainty around, what is legitimate financial activity and what is like a scam, and where do we draw the lines around those sorts of things?

Should tokens be seen as less than money?

17:25: When we start thinking about tokens as being less than money, there are all sorts of strings attached—all kinds of prescriptions, all sorts of controls attached to welfare payments, refugee payments—and all kinds of ways in which we can control prescribed behaviors when we issue tokens as opposed to "fungible," I suppose, cash or money.

Is scrip a double exploitation of workers?

23:29: I guess scrip is kind of a catch-22 because you're potentially being exploited when whoever's employing you is getting a profit—they're earning more than it costs to pay you and to sort of buy maybe the materials that it costs to produce whatever you're making. But scrip is double exploitation because they're paying you in their own special token that you can only redeem, basically, in the company store.

Programmable money ties payments to identity, unlike anonymous cash

38:56: A lot of what's happening with programmable money is tying the means of payment to your identity or to particular sorts of credentials. And I think with CBDCs, we're seeing more and more proposals for money that can be programmed, as they're saying, at issuance—that when that money is issued, there are potentially various terms and conditions hard-coded into it versus your dumb cash, which is just an anonymous, dumb bearer instrument that doesn't care and doesn't know who's holding it, who's bearing it, so long as it's bared up.


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

]]> 495. The Art of Money: Tokens and Technology feat. Rachel O’Dwyer Greg La Blanc 00:47:36 What brought about the rise of cryptocurrencies, and whats the difference between tokens and money? How are some of these modern concepts of currency much older than people may think, with older and older examples being unearthed in different parts of the world? Rachel O’Dwyer is a writer and lecturer in Digital Cultures in the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She’s also the author of Tokens: The Future of Money in the Age of the Platform. It’s all about how more and more traditional mone is being replaced by tokens, but this has been happening in societies for a long time. Greg and Rachel discuss the complex and interdisciplinary nature of tokens and their relationship to money, exploring the history, regulatory implications, and the current cultural significance of token-based economies. They also examine the role of digital tokens in various sectors, from gaming to social media, and their impact on financial activities and personal relationships. Rachel explains the rise of cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, and how these new forms of money shape modern culture and societal norms. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What brought about the rise of cryptocurrencies, and whats the difference between tokens and money? How are some of these modern concepts of currency much older than people may think, with older and older examples being unearthed in different parts of the world? Rachel O’Dwyer is a writer and lecturer in Digital Cultures in the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She’s also the author of Tokens: The Future of Money in the Age of the Platform. It’s all about how more and more traditional mone is being replaced by tokens, but this has been happening in societies for a long time. Greg and Rachel discuss the complex and interdisciplinary nature of tokens and their relationship to money, exploring the history, regulatory implications, and the current cultural significance of token-based economies. They also examine the role of digital tokens in various sectors, from gaming to social media, and their impact on financial activities and personal relationships. Rachel explains the rise of cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, and how these new forms of money shape modern culture and societal norms. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 495 501d0e4a-9ab8-4bb5-a984-6f336dce30bd 494. The Limits of Liberal Rationalism feat. William Davies With more and more data available about each of us all the time, what are the consequences of rapid data-driven decision making by organizations, and what are the implications of it for democracy and social well being?

William Davies teaches Politics at Goldsmiths University of London and is the author of several books, including Nervous States: Democracy and the Decline of Reason.

Greg and William discuss how the ongoing crises are misunderstood by elites, and reasons behind the decline in public trust toward experts. William goes over the impact of advancements in behavioral economics, and how modern political and economic phenomena are influenced by historical and sociological contexts. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

True happiness lies in quality time, not more work or consumption

53:18: This science of happiness proves, not that surprisingly, that actually spending time doing things that we consider to be intrinsically worthwhile, like hanging out with our families or pursuing activities in the outdoors that we enjoy doing, is more likely to make us happy than simply working more and consuming more. This is not a mystery. Most people intuitively understand this, but that would then point towards a set of policy goals regarding work-life balance and the rights to log off and to not always be at the beck and call of your manager, and that thing. So, those are more about empowering people than just fixing them the whole time.

How social media weaponizes our comparisons to others

30:35: I think one of the things that a lot of political psychology and economic psychology demonstrate quite convincingly, and I think that this is something that social media platforms weaponize, is that, when we compare ourselves to others, it makes us far more unhappy than economics.

Why culture mass surveillance aligns with conspiracy theory

46:35: [The] culture of mass surveillance goes hand in hand with a mentality of conspiracy theory because a conspiracy theorist believes, in some ways, quite correctly, that there's all this other stuff going on; you don't yet know about it, but someone else knows about it, and they're right! And that, in a way, has always been a feature of conspiracy theory, of social life. There's always been more to political institutions than meets the eye, but what there wasn't in the past was this capacity for vast quantities of data to suddenly come spewing out and often discrediting quite famous and quite powerful people.


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

]]> Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast With more and more data available about each of us all the time, what are the consequences of rapid data-driven decision making by organizations, and what are the implications of it for democracy and social well being?

William Davies teaches Politics at Goldsmiths University of London and is the author of several books, including Nervous States: Democracy and the Decline of Reason.

Greg and William discuss how the ongoing crises are misunderstood by elites, and reasons behind the decline in public trust toward experts. William goes over the impact of advancements in behavioral economics, and how modern political and economic phenomena are influenced by historical and sociological contexts. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

True happiness lies in quality time, not more work or consumption

53:18: This science of happiness proves, not that surprisingly, that actually spending time doing things that we consider to be intrinsically worthwhile, like hanging out with our families or pursuing activities in the outdoors that we enjoy doing, is more likely to make us happy than simply working more and consuming more. This is not a mystery. Most people intuitively understand this, but that would then point towards a set of policy goals regarding work-life balance and the rights to log off and to not always be at the beck and call of your manager, and that thing. So, those are more about empowering people than just fixing them the whole time.

How social media weaponizes our comparisons to others

30:35: I think one of the things that a lot of political psychology and economic psychology demonstrate quite convincingly, and I think that this is something that social media platforms weaponize, is that, when we compare ourselves to others, it makes us far more unhappy than economics.

Why culture mass surveillance aligns with conspiracy theory

46:35: [The] culture of mass surveillance goes hand in hand with a mentality of conspiracy theory because a conspiracy theorist believes, in some ways, quite correctly, that there's all this other stuff going on; you don't yet know about it, but someone else knows about it, and they're right! And that, in a way, has always been a feature of conspiracy theory, of social life. There's always been more to political institutions than meets the eye, but what there wasn't in the past was this capacity for vast quantities of data to suddenly come spewing out and often discrediting quite famous and quite powerful people.


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

]]> 494. The Limits of Liberal Rationalism feat. William Davies Greg La Blanc 00:52:42 With more and more data available about each of us all the time, what are the consequences of rapid data-driven decision making by organizations, and what are the implications of it for democracy and social well being? William Davies teaches Politics at Goldsmiths University of London and is the author of several books, including Nervous States: Democracy and the Decline of Reason. Greg and William discuss how the ongoing crises are misunderstood by elites, and reasons behind the decline in public trust toward experts. William goes over the impact of advancements in behavioral economics, and how modern political and economic phenomena are influenced by historical and sociological contexts. With more and more data available about each of us all the time, what are the consequences of rapid data-driven decision making by organizations, and what are the implications of it for democracy and social well being? William Davies teaches Politics at Goldsmiths University of London and is the author of several books, including Nervous States: Democracy and the Decline of Reason. Greg and William discuss how the ongoing crises are misunderstood by elites, and reasons behind the decline in public trust toward experts. William goes over the impact of advancements in behavioral economics, and how modern political and economic phenomena are influenced by historical and sociological contexts. false full 494 c7f6562b-30fe-49de-8eb6-427a2399b514 493. What Human-Centered AI Looks Like with Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland How is artificial intelligence reshaping social dynamics, knowledge sharing, and the workplace in the digital age?

Alex “Sandy” Pentland is a fellow at Stanford University’s Human Centered AI Institute and helped create the MIT Media Lab. He’s the author of numerous books including, Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World, Social Physics: How Social Networks Can Make Us Smarter, and most recently, The Digitalist Papers: Artificial Intelligence and Democracy in America. 

Sandy and Greg discuss the evolution of social physics and computational social science, the importance of knowledge sharing in the age of AI, and AI’s implications on connectivity and curiosity. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

What impedes the transmission of good ideas from one part of the organization to the other? 

13:34: Organizations are always, today, siloed, and they're siloed for a variety of reasons. One is that we're not so smart. We can only understand a certain amount really well, and when it gets more complex than that, we go create another silo. We break it apart and create another silo, and people don't like to share things out of their silo because that means they're not valuable anymore. You like to control the staff and believe that your expertise is valuable. And if someone comes and says, "Well, give me all your data," that's like, "Hey, we're going to fire you in a month," right? People don't like to do that. And the data that they have is not contextualized, right? It means something to them, but somebody else looking at it will say, "Well, I don't know, it's a bunch of ones and zeros. What does that mean?" Right? You need to know what it's measuring and why. The intention is usually not in the data; it's in the context around it.

Does the rise of new AI tools stimulate curiosity or potentially dampen it?

59:34: The phenomenon of people not meeting other humans because they're all on social media is real and disturbing, and AI can make it worse. That's not quite the same thing as being curious. They are curious, just about things that are not actually in their physical environment or likely to affect them in that sort of immediate way.

Why smaller teams move faster and learn better

44:52: The smaller teams are necessary to move fast. If you have a big team, it's really hard to get everybody educated and on the same page. But with software and the sort of things that they do, you can do it with small teams. And so, you can have small teams, which means you can get consensus about what to do pretty fast. And, of course, the connections to everybody else mean you can look for opportunities and learn from other people much better than other people. So, it's a win-win thing. You get people that are able to put things out there quicker; they're able to learn from all the other people that have done it better. And it works pretty well.


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

]]> Fri, 20 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How is artificial intelligence reshaping social dynamics, knowledge sharing, and the workplace in the digital age?

Alex “Sandy” Pentland is a fellow at Stanford University’s Human Centered AI Institute and helped create the MIT Media Lab. He’s the author of numerous books including, Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World, Social Physics: How Social Networks Can Make Us Smarter, and most recently, The Digitalist Papers: Artificial Intelligence and Democracy in America. 

Sandy and Greg discuss the evolution of social physics and computational social science, the importance of knowledge sharing in the age of AI, and AI’s implications on connectivity and curiosity. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

What impedes the transmission of good ideas from one part of the organization to the other? 

13:34: Organizations are always, today, siloed, and they're siloed for a variety of reasons. One is that we're not so smart. We can only understand a certain amount really well, and when it gets more complex than that, we go create another silo. We break it apart and create another silo, and people don't like to share things out of their silo because that means they're not valuable anymore. You like to control the staff and believe that your expertise is valuable. And if someone comes and says, "Well, give me all your data," that's like, "Hey, we're going to fire you in a month," right? People don't like to do that. And the data that they have is not contextualized, right? It means something to them, but somebody else looking at it will say, "Well, I don't know, it's a bunch of ones and zeros. What does that mean?" Right? You need to know what it's measuring and why. The intention is usually not in the data; it's in the context around it.

Does the rise of new AI tools stimulate curiosity or potentially dampen it?

59:34: The phenomenon of people not meeting other humans because they're all on social media is real and disturbing, and AI can make it worse. That's not quite the same thing as being curious. They are curious, just about things that are not actually in their physical environment or likely to affect them in that sort of immediate way.

Why smaller teams move faster and learn better

44:52: The smaller teams are necessary to move fast. If you have a big team, it's really hard to get everybody educated and on the same page. But with software and the sort of things that they do, you can do it with small teams. And so, you can have small teams, which means you can get consensus about what to do pretty fast. And, of course, the connections to everybody else mean you can look for opportunities and learn from other people much better than other people. So, it's a win-win thing. You get people that are able to put things out there quicker; they're able to learn from all the other people that have done it better. And it works pretty well.


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

]]> 493. What Human-Centered AI Looks Like with Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland Greg La Blanc 01:02:33 How is artificial intelligence reshaping social dynamics, knowledge sharing, and the workplace in the digital age? Alex “Sandy” Pentland is a fellow at Stanford University’s Human Centered AI Institute and helped create the MIT Media Lab. He’s the author of numerous books including, Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World, Social Physics: How Social Networks Can Make Us Smarter, and most recently, The Digitalist Papers: Artificial Intelligence and Democracy in America. Sandy and Greg discuss the evolution of social physics and computational social science, the importance of knowledge sharing in the age of AI, and AI’s implications on connectivity and curiosity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How is artificial intelligence reshaping social dynamics, knowledge sharing, and the workplace in the digital age? Alex “Sandy” Pentland is a fellow at Stanford University’s Human Centered AI Institute and helped create the MIT Media Lab. He’s the author of numerous books including, Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World, Social Physics: How Social Networks Can Make Us Smarter, and most recently, The Digitalist Papers: Artificial Intelligence and Democracy in America. Sandy and Greg discuss the evolution of social physics and computational social science, the importance of knowledge sharing in the age of AI, and AI’s implications on connectivity and curiosity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 493 1bc224d6-9172-40ad-9bf8-5a49213005fa 492. The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall - Revisiting the Past and Renaming the Present feat. Andrew Garrett How does the present reckon with the historical legacies of notable figures of the past? How do you contextualize the actions of people from other generations today? How do we deal with the information learned through methods that are unacceptable today?

Andrew Garrett is a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall: Language, Memory, and Indigenous California.

Greg and Andrew discuss the renaming of Berkeley buildings originally named after problematic historical figures, with a focus on Alfred Kroeber. The discussion explores Kroeber's contributions to linguistics and anthropology, his controversial involvement with Indigenous peoples and remains, and his work with the Yurok language. Andrew provides an insightful examination of the broader implications of these issues for contemporary relations between universities and Indigenous communities.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Is Alfred Kroeber's legacy in language and storytelling overlooked?

48:26: One of the reasons why I think Kroeber's real legacy have not been seen so clearly in anthropology because I think his most important legacy going forward is about language and about storytelling, narrative, and oral history. And those are things that are less part of the anthropology world today and more part of the linguistics world. But he's usually identified as an anthropologist. So linguists tend to be a bit unaware of what he did. And anthropologists look only at the culture side of what he did and find it less interesting. So, this kind of separation has, I think, been part of the difficulty.

Understanding inequality today requires tracing its roots to the past

41:21: I think the law has evolved in California. I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding of the way the law has evolved is that geographical and national ownership is sufficient. So, you no longer have to show that certain ancestral remains are somehow intangibly associated with you culturally, simply that they are found in the area that is your tribal area. That makes it more analogous to the Etruscan situation.

How Alfred Kroeber helped revive indigenous cultures

25:49: I think one of the important uses that have been made of [Alfred Kroeber]'s material is not for world culture but for those cultures where there's a massive archive of material from their grandparents or great-grandparents that they can use in cultural and language revival projects today. It's like the thing that [Alfred Kroeber] didn't see as possible—the survival of Indigenous cultures—that he, in fact, helped to make possible.


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

]]> Wed, 18 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does the present reckon with the historical legacies of notable figures of the past? How do you contextualize the actions of people from other generations today? How do we deal with the information learned through methods that are unacceptable today?

Andrew Garrett is a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall: Language, Memory, and Indigenous California.

Greg and Andrew discuss the renaming of Berkeley buildings originally named after problematic historical figures, with a focus on Alfred Kroeber. The discussion explores Kroeber's contributions to linguistics and anthropology, his controversial involvement with Indigenous peoples and remains, and his work with the Yurok language. Andrew provides an insightful examination of the broader implications of these issues for contemporary relations between universities and Indigenous communities.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Is Alfred Kroeber's legacy in language and storytelling overlooked?

48:26: One of the reasons why I think Kroeber's real legacy have not been seen so clearly in anthropology because I think his most important legacy going forward is about language and about storytelling, narrative, and oral history. And those are things that are less part of the anthropology world today and more part of the linguistics world. But he's usually identified as an anthropologist. So linguists tend to be a bit unaware of what he did. And anthropologists look only at the culture side of what he did and find it less interesting. So, this kind of separation has, I think, been part of the difficulty.

Understanding inequality today requires tracing its roots to the past

41:21: I think the law has evolved in California. I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding of the way the law has evolved is that geographical and national ownership is sufficient. So, you no longer have to show that certain ancestral remains are somehow intangibly associated with you culturally, simply that they are found in the area that is your tribal area. That makes it more analogous to the Etruscan situation.

How Alfred Kroeber helped revive indigenous cultures

25:49: I think one of the important uses that have been made of [Alfred Kroeber]'s material is not for world culture but for those cultures where there's a massive archive of material from their grandparents or great-grandparents that they can use in cultural and language revival projects today. It's like the thing that [Alfred Kroeber] didn't see as possible—the survival of Indigenous cultures—that he, in fact, helped to make possible.


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

]]> 492. The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall - Revisiting the Past and Renaming the Present feat. Andrew Garrett Greg La Blanc 00:46:58 How does the present reckon with the historical legacies of notable figures of the past? How do you contextualize the actions of people from other generations today? How do we deal with the information learned through methods that are unacceptable today? Andrew Garrett is a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall: Language, Memory, and Indigenous California. Greg and Andrew discuss the renaming of Berkeley buildings originally named after problematic historical figures, with a focus on Alfred Kroeber. The discussion explores Kroeber's contributions to linguistics and anthropology, his controversial involvement with Indigenous peoples and remains, and his work with the Yurok language. Andrew provides an insightful examination of the broader implications of these issues for contemporary relations between universities and Indigenous communities. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does the present reckon with the historical legacies of notable figures of the past? How do you contextualize the actions of people from other generations today? How do we deal with the information learned through methods that are unacceptable today? Andrew Garrett is a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall: Language, Memory, and Indigenous California. Greg and Andrew discuss the renaming of Berkeley buildings originally named after problematic historical figures, with a focus on Alfred Kroeber. The discussion explores Kroeber's contributions to linguistics and anthropology, his controversial involvement with Indigenous peoples and remains, and his work with the Yurok language. Andrew provides an insightful examination of the broader implications of these issues for contemporary relations between universities and Indigenous communities. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 492 f2bb4512-13fe-48d3-83dc-a03846c8d29a 491. How Global Economic Inequality Began with Oded Galor When did the gaps in wealth distribution across the globe significantly widen? What is the role of human capital investment?Was the Industrial Revolution to blame? Or can the roots of economic inequality be traced back even further in human history? 

Oded Galor is a professor of economics at Brown University, the founder of the Unified Growth Theory, and author of the book, The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality. His work covers the history of economic development throughout human history, as well as the consequences of that development – vast global inequality.

Oded and Greg discuss the significant historical factors that have shaped wealth distribution across the globe, Oded’s Unified Growth Theory, addressing the long-term impacts of population dynamics, and why diversity is a key but precise ingredient in economic development. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The interplay of institutions, culture, and geography in inequality

30:59: When I view institutions, I view them as a byproduct of the process of development. And this will be true for cultural elements as well. Naturally, at a certain point, there are certain externalities in societies that people cannot fully internalize, and the society is forming some cultural norms that allow individuals to coordinate and act based on cumulative knowledge and cumulative wisdom generated in the course of the history of this group over time. These cultural norms can feed into institutions. Institutions can cause some adaptations in cultural norms. But in terms of the hierarchy of factors, the way that I view the world is that, if we think about inequality today, it is affected by deep-rooted factors, institutions, and culture that are reinforcing one another. But, underlying institutions and culture are geographical elements and human diversity that affecting the nature of the institutions, the nature of cultural characteristics, and their interaction.

Understanding inequality today requires tracing its roots to the past

04:45: In order to understand the rules of inequality today, we have to develop theories that will enable us to link the present and the past. Namely, we have to focus on those initial conditions that created the precondition for economic development and ultimately created much of the inequality we see today.

There is no universal policy that would fit all nations

24:57: One of the main insights of “The Journey of Humanity” is that, in fact, there is no universal policy that would fit all nations. In fact, the design of policy will have to be reflective of the history of each nation, the geography of each nation, and the evolutionary processes that occur there and lead this society into its current position. Once we understand these processes, we can design policies that will foster economic development and basically target societies in a differential way.

The role of diversity in economic development

43:49: Diversity is an incredible force in the context of economic development. Based on our estimates, it accounts for about one-sixth of the variations in inequality across the globe today. And much of the variation in diversity, as we see it across the globe today, was determined very much in the distant past. They were determined due to the exodus of humans from Africa during a time when humans started to populate the planetary assessor.


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

]]> Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When did the gaps in wealth distribution across the globe significantly widen? What is the role of human capital investment?Was the Industrial Revolution to blame? Or can the roots of economic inequality be traced back even further in human history? 

Oded Galor is a professor of economics at Brown University, the founder of the Unified Growth Theory, and author of the book, The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality. His work covers the history of economic development throughout human history, as well as the consequences of that development – vast global inequality.

Oded and Greg discuss the significant historical factors that have shaped wealth distribution across the globe, Oded’s Unified Growth Theory, addressing the long-term impacts of population dynamics, and why diversity is a key but precise ingredient in economic development. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The interplay of institutions, culture, and geography in inequality

30:59: When I view institutions, I view them as a byproduct of the process of development. And this will be true for cultural elements as well. Naturally, at a certain point, there are certain externalities in societies that people cannot fully internalize, and the society is forming some cultural norms that allow individuals to coordinate and act based on cumulative knowledge and cumulative wisdom generated in the course of the history of this group over time. These cultural norms can feed into institutions. Institutions can cause some adaptations in cultural norms. But in terms of the hierarchy of factors, the way that I view the world is that, if we think about inequality today, it is affected by deep-rooted factors, institutions, and culture that are reinforcing one another. But, underlying institutions and culture are geographical elements and human diversity that affecting the nature of the institutions, the nature of cultural characteristics, and their interaction.

Understanding inequality today requires tracing its roots to the past

04:45: In order to understand the rules of inequality today, we have to develop theories that will enable us to link the present and the past. Namely, we have to focus on those initial conditions that created the precondition for economic development and ultimately created much of the inequality we see today.

There is no universal policy that would fit all nations

24:57: One of the main insights of “The Journey of Humanity” is that, in fact, there is no universal policy that would fit all nations. In fact, the design of policy will have to be reflective of the history of each nation, the geography of each nation, and the evolutionary processes that occur there and lead this society into its current position. Once we understand these processes, we can design policies that will foster economic development and basically target societies in a differential way.

The role of diversity in economic development

43:49: Diversity is an incredible force in the context of economic development. Based on our estimates, it accounts for about one-sixth of the variations in inequality across the globe today. And much of the variation in diversity, as we see it across the globe today, was determined very much in the distant past. They were determined due to the exodus of humans from Africa during a time when humans started to populate the planetary assessor.


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

]]> 491. How Global Economic Inequality Began with Oded Galor Greg La Blanc 00:46:43 When did the gaps in wealth distribution across the globe significantly widen? What is the role of human capital investment?Was the Industrial Revolution to blame? Or can the roots of economic inequality be traced back even further in human history? Oded Galor is a professor of economics at Brown University, the founder of the Unified Growth Theory, and author of the book, The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality. His work covers the history of economic development throughout human history, as well as the consequences of that development – vast global inequality. Oded and Greg discuss the significant historical factors that have shaped wealth distribution across the globe, Oded’s Unified Growth Theory, addressing the long-term impacts of population dynamics, and why diversity is a key but precise ingredient in economic development. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When did the gaps in wealth distribution across the globe significantly widen? What is the role of human capital investment?Was the Industrial Revolution to blame? Or can the roots of economic inequality be traced back even further in human history? Oded Galor is a professor of economics at Brown University, the founder of the Unified Growth Theory, and author of the book, The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality. His work covers the history of economic development throughout human history, as well as the consequences of that development – vast global inequality. Oded and Greg discuss the significant historical factors that have shaped wealth distribution across the globe, Oded’s Unified Growth Theory, addressing the long-term impacts of population dynamics, and why diversity is a key but precise ingredient in economic development. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 491 5ad1e662-5b47-424b-9794-2a83c2331d5c 490. The Notebook’s Mighty Place in History with Roland Allen Ever considered how something as simple as a notebook could shape history?

Roland Allen from Thames & Hudson chronicles the substantial history of a humble tool in The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper which traces the roots of jotting things down all the way back to medieval Florence and beyond. 

Roland and Greg chat about the earliest forms of notetaking on things like papyrus and wax tablets, the great thinkers in history who were prolific notetakers, and the enduring importance of writing things by hand in a digital world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why writing by hand engages your brain

29:18: The brain, as you know, it's all about connections. It's not about really what one part of the brain does; it's about how different modules in the brain relate to each other. And when you write in a physical notebook, you activate more parts of the brain than when you type. So, for instance, you tend to activate the hippocampus, which is your mental map, and you activate that when you're writing in a notebook. And they reckon this is because a notebook isn't just a thing; it's also a kind of place. And so, when you put an idea on the page, you're locating it on this kind of mapped reality, which is the pages of your notebook. And if you think about this, when you're flicking through a notebook, you quite often think to yourself, "Oh, I know this is on the left side at the bottom," or, "I know this was in blue, not black," or, "I know that it was a doodle in a corner of the page." And you don't get that when you're typing. And they think it might be to do with the fact that, as you scroll up, or as your document scrolls up the screen away from whatever it is—the leading edge of what you're typing—it just vanishes into the machine.

Why slowing down improves your writing

26:57: It is much easier to tap into a laptop. It's much easier to edit on a laptop. And it's much easier to word process, produce a thousand words of text on a laptop. But to make it good takes work, and if the process of writing is a little bit difficult if you're forced by the labor of handwriting, which is slow and hard work, to actually think through every word carefully as you order it, as you make your sentence, this I think is a really good discipline, and it will give you better quality results.

The power of handwritten note taking

28:12: When you're note-taking, there's a real advantage to the physical labor of picking a phrase, a sentence, a reference; you excerpt it, you choose it. And because it takes that two minutes to write down a long quote or something like that, or longer, you have to focus on every word as you do it. You can't just control C, control V. Yeah, or Apple C, Apple V, all of the quotes you need, and just dump them into your document. If you do it by hand, you digest them. You get to know them. And that's the best way, I think, to understand something that's been written by someone else—to copy it out because you have to really engage with it.


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]]> Fri, 13 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Ever considered how something as simple as a notebook could shape history?

Roland Allen from Thames & Hudson chronicles the substantial history of a humble tool in The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper which traces the roots of jotting things down all the way back to medieval Florence and beyond. 

Roland and Greg chat about the earliest forms of notetaking on things like papyrus and wax tablets, the great thinkers in history who were prolific notetakers, and the enduring importance of writing things by hand in a digital world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why writing by hand engages your brain

29:18: The brain, as you know, it's all about connections. It's not about really what one part of the brain does; it's about how different modules in the brain relate to each other. And when you write in a physical notebook, you activate more parts of the brain than when you type. So, for instance, you tend to activate the hippocampus, which is your mental map, and you activate that when you're writing in a notebook. And they reckon this is because a notebook isn't just a thing; it's also a kind of place. And so, when you put an idea on the page, you're locating it on this kind of mapped reality, which is the pages of your notebook. And if you think about this, when you're flicking through a notebook, you quite often think to yourself, "Oh, I know this is on the left side at the bottom," or, "I know this was in blue, not black," or, "I know that it was a doodle in a corner of the page." And you don't get that when you're typing. And they think it might be to do with the fact that, as you scroll up, or as your document scrolls up the screen away from whatever it is—the leading edge of what you're typing—it just vanishes into the machine.

Why slowing down improves your writing

26:57: It is much easier to tap into a laptop. It's much easier to edit on a laptop. And it's much easier to word process, produce a thousand words of text on a laptop. But to make it good takes work, and if the process of writing is a little bit difficult if you're forced by the labor of handwriting, which is slow and hard work, to actually think through every word carefully as you order it, as you make your sentence, this I think is a really good discipline, and it will give you better quality results.

The power of handwritten note taking

28:12: When you're note-taking, there's a real advantage to the physical labor of picking a phrase, a sentence, a reference; you excerpt it, you choose it. And because it takes that two minutes to write down a long quote or something like that, or longer, you have to focus on every word as you do it. You can't just control C, control V. Yeah, or Apple C, Apple V, all of the quotes you need, and just dump them into your document. If you do it by hand, you digest them. You get to know them. And that's the best way, I think, to understand something that's been written by someone else—to copy it out because you have to really engage with it.


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

]]> 490. The Notebook’s Mighty Place in History with Roland Allen Greg La Blanc 00:50:42 Ever considered how something as simple as a notebook could shape history? Roland Allen from Thames & Hudson chronicles the substantial history of a humble tool in The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper which traces the roots of jotting things down all the way back to medieval Florence and beyond. Roland and Greg chat about the earliest forms of notetaking on things like papyrus and wax tablets, the great thinkers in history who were prolific notetakers, and the enduring importance of writing things by hand in a digital world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Ever considered how something as simple as a notebook could shape history? Roland Allen from Thames & Hudson chronicles the substantial history of a humble tool in The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper which traces the roots of jotting things down all the way back to medieval Florence and beyond. Roland and Greg chat about the earliest forms of notetaking on things like papyrus and wax tablets, the great thinkers in history who were prolific notetakers, and the enduring importance of writing things by hand in a digital world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 490 2aa465b7-d9a8-4fc6-ae31-d486233377a8 489. The Co-Evolution of Philosophy and Cognitive Science with Mark Johnson If meaning is made with our minds, what role does the body play in shaping meaning? How do the studies of philosophy and cognitive science intersect?  

Mark Johnson is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Oregon and one of the key thought leaders on the co-evolution of philosophy and science in the 20th century. His books like, Metaphors We Live By and Philosophy in the Flesh: the Embodied Mind & its Challenge to Western Thought explore the relationship between philosophy and cognitive science. 

Mark and Greg discuss the evolution of philosophical thought from metaphysical realism to embodied cognition, the impact of metaphors on human thought and understanding, and philosophy’s potential future in the world of artificial intelligence. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Embodiment and the human experience 

15:25: The fundamental unit of experience, or of anything you do or think, is a human brain, at least partially functioning, operating a human body, at least partially functioning as it engages in an ongoing way. It's an environment which is, at once, material, interpersonal, and cultural. That's a nugget of what everything we're doing is about and trying to articulate. So, embodiment all the way through. And now that we have all these information processing models, sometimes questions get raised about, well, you know, are we going to do what to do away with the body and all of that, but you have to build up to that.

All philosophy emerge in experience

44:53: I think that all philosophy, all thought, all action, and all values emerge in experience, which is not reducible; its enriched experience, and that we have to, through inquiry, remake that experience to move forward in the world. 

On bringing rigor from science to the humanities

50:05: Doing good science is so difficult, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive that it kind of fills up your world, I want to say. And they [scientists] don't see the same rigor in what they regard as the humanities. So, the best I can do with that is try to bring research out of the humanities and help it interface.

On the theory of meaning

26:27: My theory of meaning is built around the fact that the meaning of something is the affordances that it enacts. There's a complicated story to tell about that, but intuitively, it makes you grow into a world where you learn the meaning of things by what it affords you by way of experience.


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

]]> Wed, 11 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast If meaning is made with our minds, what role does the body play in shaping meaning? How do the studies of philosophy and cognitive science intersect?  

Mark Johnson is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Oregon and one of the key thought leaders on the co-evolution of philosophy and science in the 20th century. His books like, Metaphors We Live By and Philosophy in the Flesh: the Embodied Mind & its Challenge to Western Thought explore the relationship between philosophy and cognitive science. 

Mark and Greg discuss the evolution of philosophical thought from metaphysical realism to embodied cognition, the impact of metaphors on human thought and understanding, and philosophy’s potential future in the world of artificial intelligence. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Embodiment and the human experience 

15:25: The fundamental unit of experience, or of anything you do or think, is a human brain, at least partially functioning, operating a human body, at least partially functioning as it engages in an ongoing way. It's an environment which is, at once, material, interpersonal, and cultural. That's a nugget of what everything we're doing is about and trying to articulate. So, embodiment all the way through. And now that we have all these information processing models, sometimes questions get raised about, well, you know, are we going to do what to do away with the body and all of that, but you have to build up to that.

All philosophy emerge in experience

44:53: I think that all philosophy, all thought, all action, and all values emerge in experience, which is not reducible; its enriched experience, and that we have to, through inquiry, remake that experience to move forward in the world. 

On bringing rigor from science to the humanities

50:05: Doing good science is so difficult, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive that it kind of fills up your world, I want to say. And they [scientists] don't see the same rigor in what they regard as the humanities. So, the best I can do with that is try to bring research out of the humanities and help it interface.

On the theory of meaning

26:27: My theory of meaning is built around the fact that the meaning of something is the affordances that it enacts. There's a complicated story to tell about that, but intuitively, it makes you grow into a world where you learn the meaning of things by what it affords you by way of experience.


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

]]> 489. The Co-Evolution of Philosophy and Cognitive Science with Mark Johnson Greg La Blanc 00:52:49 If meaning is made with our minds, what role does the body play in shaping meaning? How do the studies of philosophy and cognitive science intersect?  Mark Johnson is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Oregon and one of the key thought leaders on the co-evolution of philosophy and science in the 20th century. His books like, Metaphors We Live By and Philosophy in the Flesh: the Embodied Mind & its Challenge to Western Thought explore the relationship between philosophy and cognitive science. Mark and Greg discuss the evolution of philosophical thought from metaphysical realism to embodied cognition, the impact of metaphors on human thought and understanding, and philosophy’s potential future in the world of artificial intelligence. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* If meaning is made with our minds, what role does the body play in shaping meaning? How do the studies of philosophy and cognitive science intersect?  Mark Johnson is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Oregon and one of the key thought leaders on the co-evolution of philosophy and science in the 20th century. His books like, Metaphors We Live By and Philosophy in the Flesh: the Embodied Mind & its Challenge to Western Thought explore the relationship between philosophy and cognitive science. Mark and Greg discuss the evolution of philosophical thought from metaphysical realism to embodied cognition, the impact of metaphors on human thought and understanding, and philosophy’s potential future in the world of artificial intelligence. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 489 3bfa257f-ac9c-4996-89d0-7745b35c34a5 488. Why AI Is a Bad Hiring Manager with Hilke Schellmann For many job seekers today, the first eyes on their application are most likely not human. Companies and recruiters are turning to AI more and more to streamline the hiring process. But is AI actually fairer than its human counterparts? Or is it bringing in new biases and discriminatory practices when looking at a job applicant’s qualifications?  

Hilke Schellmann is a professor of journalism at New York University and the author of The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now. Her work examines AI’s increasing role in the world of work and how companies should be cautious of its pitfalls. 

Hilke and Greg discuss the scale of AI’s impact on hiring, the bias and inefficiencies in these tools, and why more human oversight and testing is needed in this field. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Is AI more biased or human hiring?

04:16: I think the one concern that I have with AI tools is like, one human hiring manager can be biased against a certain amount of people; it's usually very limited. How many can they possibly hire in a year, right? And I'm sorry to all the people who have been the victim of somebody who's biased in HR or in hiring manager. The problem is with AI tool we sometimes see it used in a new scope. If you have a resume parser that's discriminating against women. If you use it in all incoming resumes in your company, some companies receive millions, literally millions, of applications. So the harm can be just so much larger than one biased human can apply, and I also feel like if we build these sophisticated AI tools, let's make sure they work. They're not compounding their already bias that people, especially people of color, especially women, especially people with disabilities, have already encountered.

The misconception of AI as thinking machines

16:29: I think the problem is that we assume that AI tools are thinking machines and that they find something meaningful. But they have no conscience. They don't understand. They just pick.

AI tools don't erase biases

14:09: If you work with an AI vendor that cannot tell you how a score comes to be and says, "We know it's a deep neural network. We don't know it's on in training data," I would be really worried because we have only seen time and again that we find bias in these tools and not the opposite. The tool doesn't erase the bias, unfortunately.

Do we need more educated HR consumers or consumer reports for AI tools?

51:54: I would love to have a consumer report, but in the absence of that for AI tools, we need to get a whole lot more skeptical and do pilot studies. Also, like, hire maybe an outside I/O psychologist to take apart the technical report. And if an AI vendor doesn't have a technical report that explains how the tool was validated and built, and how they did at least the four-fifth rule analysis to understand that there's no disparate impact—if they don't have a technical report that explains any of that or whatever they call it—I would assume they didn't do this. I would run away if they can't even tell you how the tool was validated and checked for disparate impact. And then I would scrutinize these technical reports. I had people help me with that, and they found flaws in a couple of technical reports that I was able to get my hands on. So I would do that.


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

]]> Mon, 9 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast For many job seekers today, the first eyes on their application are most likely not human. Companies and recruiters are turning to AI more and more to streamline the hiring process. But is AI actually fairer than its human counterparts? Or is it bringing in new biases and discriminatory practices when looking at a job applicant’s qualifications?  

Hilke Schellmann is a professor of journalism at New York University and the author of The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now. Her work examines AI’s increasing role in the world of work and how companies should be cautious of its pitfalls. 

Hilke and Greg discuss the scale of AI’s impact on hiring, the bias and inefficiencies in these tools, and why more human oversight and testing is needed in this field. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Is AI more biased or human hiring?

04:16: I think the one concern that I have with AI tools is like, one human hiring manager can be biased against a certain amount of people; it's usually very limited. How many can they possibly hire in a year, right? And I'm sorry to all the people who have been the victim of somebody who's biased in HR or in hiring manager. The problem is with AI tool we sometimes see it used in a new scope. If you have a resume parser that's discriminating against women. If you use it in all incoming resumes in your company, some companies receive millions, literally millions, of applications. So the harm can be just so much larger than one biased human can apply, and I also feel like if we build these sophisticated AI tools, let's make sure they work. They're not compounding their already bias that people, especially people of color, especially women, especially people with disabilities, have already encountered.

The misconception of AI as thinking machines

16:29: I think the problem is that we assume that AI tools are thinking machines and that they find something meaningful. But they have no conscience. They don't understand. They just pick.

AI tools don't erase biases

14:09: If you work with an AI vendor that cannot tell you how a score comes to be and says, "We know it's a deep neural network. We don't know it's on in training data," I would be really worried because we have only seen time and again that we find bias in these tools and not the opposite. The tool doesn't erase the bias, unfortunately.

Do we need more educated HR consumers or consumer reports for AI tools?

51:54: I would love to have a consumer report, but in the absence of that for AI tools, we need to get a whole lot more skeptical and do pilot studies. Also, like, hire maybe an outside I/O psychologist to take apart the technical report. And if an AI vendor doesn't have a technical report that explains how the tool was validated and built, and how they did at least the four-fifth rule analysis to understand that there's no disparate impact—if they don't have a technical report that explains any of that or whatever they call it—I would assume they didn't do this. I would run away if they can't even tell you how the tool was validated and checked for disparate impact. And then I would scrutinize these technical reports. I had people help me with that, and they found flaws in a couple of technical reports that I was able to get my hands on. So I would do that.


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

]]> 488. Why AI Is a Bad Hiring Manager with Hilke Schellmann Greg La Blanc 00:53:20 For many job seekers today, the first eyes on their application are most likely not human. Companies and recruiters are turning to AI more and more to streamline the hiring process. But is AI actually fairer than its human counterparts? Or is it bringing in new biases and discriminatory practices when looking at a job applicant’s qualifications?  Hilke Schellmann is a professor of journalism at New York University and the author of The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now. Her work examines AI’s increasing role in the world of work and how companies should be cautious of its pitfalls. Hilke and Greg discuss the scale of AI’s impact on hiring, the bias and inefficiencies in these tools, and why more human oversight and testing is needed in this field. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* For many job seekers today, the first eyes on their application are most likely not human. Companies and recruiters are turning to AI more and more to streamline the hiring process. But is AI actually fairer than its human counterparts? Or is it bringing in new biases and discriminatory practices when looking at a job applicant’s qualifications?  Hilke Schellmann is a professor of journalism at New York University and the author of The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now. Her work examines AI’s increasing role in the world of work and how companies should be cautious of its pitfalls. Hilke and Greg discuss the scale of AI’s impact on hiring, the bias and inefficiencies in these tools, and why more human oversight and testing is needed in this field. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 488 54af5567-5a3a-48c9-81ea-2c12e0a459f7 487. Challenging AI’s Capabilities with Gary Marcus In the last five years, artificial intelligence has exploded but there are a lot of holes in how it works, what it is and is not capable of, and what a realistic future of AI looks like. 

Gary Marcus is an emeritus professor of psychology and neural science at NYU and an expert in AI. His books like Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us and Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust explore the limitations and challenges of contemporary AI.

Gary and Greg discuss the misconceptions about AI’s current capabilities and the “gullibility gap” where people overestimate AI's abilities, the societal impacts of AI including misinformation and discrimination, and why AI might need regulatory oversight akin to the FDA. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Is Gary pessimistic about AI's future?

30:28: [With AI] I think the last five years have been a kind of digression, a detour from the work that we actually need to do. But I think we will get there. People are already realizing that the economics are not there, the reliability is not there. At some point, there will be an appetite to do something different. It's very difficult right now to do anything different because so many resources go into this one approach that makes it hard to start a startup to do anything else. Expectations are too high because people want magical AI that can answer any question, and we don't actually know how to do that with reliability right now. There are all kinds of sociological problems, but they will be solved. Not only that, but I'm somebody who wants AI to succeed.

Why AI hallucinations can't be fixed until we stop running the system

21:02: Any given hallucination is created by the same mechanism as any given truth that comes out of these systems. So, it's all built by the same thing. With your less-than, greater-than bug, you can work on it selectively in a modular system; you fix it. But the only way you can kill hallucinations is to not run the system. As long as you run the system, you're going to get it sometimes because that's how it works.

Should we help people cultivate their uniquely human common sense?

43:01: In general, critical thinking skills are always useful. It's not just common sense; a lot of its scientific method and reasoning. I think the most important thing that people learn in psychology grad school is whenever you've done an experiment and you think your hypothesis works, someone clever can come up with another hypothesis and point out a control group that you haven't done. That's a really valuable lesson. That breaks some of the confirmation bias and really raises one's level of sophistication. That's beyond common sense. It's part of scientific reasoning; those things are incredibly useful. I think they'll still be useful in 20 years.


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

]]> Fri, 6 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In the last five years, artificial intelligence has exploded but there are a lot of holes in how it works, what it is and is not capable of, and what a realistic future of AI looks like. 

Gary Marcus is an emeritus professor of psychology and neural science at NYU and an expert in AI. His books like Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us and Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust explore the limitations and challenges of contemporary AI.

Gary and Greg discuss the misconceptions about AI’s current capabilities and the “gullibility gap” where people overestimate AI's abilities, the societal impacts of AI including misinformation and discrimination, and why AI might need regulatory oversight akin to the FDA. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Is Gary pessimistic about AI's future?

30:28: [With AI] I think the last five years have been a kind of digression, a detour from the work that we actually need to do. But I think we will get there. People are already realizing that the economics are not there, the reliability is not there. At some point, there will be an appetite to do something different. It's very difficult right now to do anything different because so many resources go into this one approach that makes it hard to start a startup to do anything else. Expectations are too high because people want magical AI that can answer any question, and we don't actually know how to do that with reliability right now. There are all kinds of sociological problems, but they will be solved. Not only that, but I'm somebody who wants AI to succeed.

Why AI hallucinations can't be fixed until we stop running the system

21:02: Any given hallucination is created by the same mechanism as any given truth that comes out of these systems. So, it's all built by the same thing. With your less-than, greater-than bug, you can work on it selectively in a modular system; you fix it. But the only way you can kill hallucinations is to not run the system. As long as you run the system, you're going to get it sometimes because that's how it works.

Should we help people cultivate their uniquely human common sense?

43:01: In general, critical thinking skills are always useful. It's not just common sense; a lot of its scientific method and reasoning. I think the most important thing that people learn in psychology grad school is whenever you've done an experiment and you think your hypothesis works, someone clever can come up with another hypothesis and point out a control group that you haven't done. That's a really valuable lesson. That breaks some of the confirmation bias and really raises one's level of sophistication. That's beyond common sense. It's part of scientific reasoning; those things are incredibly useful. I think they'll still be useful in 20 years.


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

]]> 487. Challenging AI’s Capabilities with Gary Marcus Greg La Blanc 00:48:14 In the last five years, artificial intelligence has exploded but there are a lot of holes in how it works, what it is and is not capable of, and what a realistic future of AI looks like. Gary Marcus is an emeritus professor of psychology and neural science at NYU and an expert in AI. His books like Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us and Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust explore the limitations and challenges of contemporary AI. Gary and Greg discuss the misconceptions about AI’s current capabilities and the “gullibility gap” where people overestimate AI's abilities, the societal impacts of AI including misinformation and discrimination, and why AI might need regulatory oversight akin to the FDA. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In the last five years, artificial intelligence has exploded but there are a lot of holes in how it works, what it is and is not capable of, and what a realistic future of AI looks like. Gary Marcus is an emeritus professor of psychology and neural science at NYU and an expert in AI. His books like Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us and Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust explore the limitations and challenges of contemporary AI. Gary and Greg discuss the misconceptions about AI’s current capabilities and the “gullibility gap” where people overestimate AI's abilities, the societal impacts of AI including misinformation and discrimination, and why AI might need regulatory oversight akin to the FDA. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 487 4f0ed35c-445a-4c5d-ad3d-893eaf150755 486. Adapting to Rapid Technological Shifts feat. Azeem Azhar Technology changes have always meant business changes, but with technology changing this fast, how long can businesses keep up? How can businesses work with technology to increase their own yields exponentially?

Azeem Azhar is the founder of Exponential View, a platform that features podcasts, newsletters, and video content. Azeem is also the author of the book The Exponential Age: How Accelerating Technology is Transforming Business, Politics and Society.

Greg and Azeem discuss the rapid technological transformations reshaping business, politics, and society, transitioning from a linear era to an exponential age. Azeem explains the historical turning points of technological revolutions, the economic implications of these changes, and the role of general-purpose technologies like certain AI models and solar photovoltaics. They also go over the challenges and opportunities faced by corporations and government bodies in adapting to these rapid changes, and how to mitigate many problems with the practice of continuous learning within organizations.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Integrating technologies into organizations

42:58: My observation with these technologies is that they're very, very powerful. There are  clearly some good directions to head in, but they're a bit complicated to bring into an organization. And then the question about learning is this: Are you willing to do the work to bring onboard a powerful technology that's a bit complicated? That may mean you got to read a document on a weekend rather than golf, or do you not want to do that work? And I love learning, as you do. This podcast is about learning. Of course, I'm going to tell people, "Just do the work, get learning." Because it's never going to stabilize, right? This technology is not going to stabilize. It'll get better in many different ways and, therefore, harder to use. I can drive a Tesla Model 3; I can't drive a V12 Ferrari. I'm not a good enough driver to drive a great car. And so we have to get better at them. And that ultimately is your choice.

Are we all students in this exponential age?

49:58: In this new world, into the exponential age, we all become students because the world is going to change so rapidly. On the other hand, the cost of being a student is much lower than it ever has been because I've got a professor in my pocket. I will continue to learn, and I can continue to actively learn about the world.

AI's public good—who benefits and how?

54:07: I think that, with AI, the potential public good and social good of being able to put humanity's knowledge into systems that can become freely and widely available should force a process—an open process of discussion about how those rewards should get split and who should get what.


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

]]> Wed, 4 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Technology changes have always meant business changes, but with technology changing this fast, how long can businesses keep up? How can businesses work with technology to increase their own yields exponentially?

Azeem Azhar is the founder of Exponential View, a platform that features podcasts, newsletters, and video content. Azeem is also the author of the book The Exponential Age: How Accelerating Technology is Transforming Business, Politics and Society.

Greg and Azeem discuss the rapid technological transformations reshaping business, politics, and society, transitioning from a linear era to an exponential age. Azeem explains the historical turning points of technological revolutions, the economic implications of these changes, and the role of general-purpose technologies like certain AI models and solar photovoltaics. They also go over the challenges and opportunities faced by corporations and government bodies in adapting to these rapid changes, and how to mitigate many problems with the practice of continuous learning within organizations.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Integrating technologies into organizations

42:58: My observation with these technologies is that they're very, very powerful. There are  clearly some good directions to head in, but they're a bit complicated to bring into an organization. And then the question about learning is this: Are you willing to do the work to bring onboard a powerful technology that's a bit complicated? That may mean you got to read a document on a weekend rather than golf, or do you not want to do that work? And I love learning, as you do. This podcast is about learning. Of course, I'm going to tell people, "Just do the work, get learning." Because it's never going to stabilize, right? This technology is not going to stabilize. It'll get better in many different ways and, therefore, harder to use. I can drive a Tesla Model 3; I can't drive a V12 Ferrari. I'm not a good enough driver to drive a great car. And so we have to get better at them. And that ultimately is your choice.

Are we all students in this exponential age?

49:58: In this new world, into the exponential age, we all become students because the world is going to change so rapidly. On the other hand, the cost of being a student is much lower than it ever has been because I've got a professor in my pocket. I will continue to learn, and I can continue to actively learn about the world.

AI's public good—who benefits and how?

54:07: I think that, with AI, the potential public good and social good of being able to put humanity's knowledge into systems that can become freely and widely available should force a process—an open process of discussion about how those rewards should get split and who should get what.


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

]]> 486. Adapting to Rapid Technological Shifts feat. Azeem Azhar Greg La Blanc 00:55:02 Technology changes have always meant business changes, but with technology changing this fast, how long can businesses keep up? How can businesses work with technology to increase their own yields exponentially? Azeem Azhar is the founder of Exponential View, a platform that features podcasts, newsletters, and video content. Azeem is also the author of the book The Exponential Age: How Accelerating Technology is Transforming Business, Politics and Society. Greg and Azeem discuss the rapid technological transformations reshaping business, politics, and society, transitioning from a linear era to an exponential age. Azeem explains the historical turning points of technological revolutions, the economic implications of these changes, and the role of general-purpose technologies like certain AI models and solar photovoltaics. They also go over the challenges and opportunities faced by corporations and government bodies in adapting to these rapid changes, and how to mitigate many problems with the practice of continuous learning within organizations. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Technology changes have always meant business changes, but with technology changing this fast, how long can businesses keep up? How can businesses work with technology to increase their own yields exponentially? Azeem Azhar is the founder of Exponential View, a platform that features podcasts, newsletters, and video content. Azeem is also the author of the book The Exponential Age: How Accelerating Technology is Transforming Business, Politics and Society. Greg and Azeem discuss the rapid technological transformations reshaping business, politics, and society, transitioning from a linear era to an exponential age. Azeem explains the historical turning points of technological revolutions, the economic implications of these changes, and the role of general-purpose technologies like certain AI models and solar photovoltaics. They also go over the challenges and opportunities faced by corporations and government bodies in adapting to these rapid changes, and how to mitigate many problems with the practice of continuous learning within organizations. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 486 a1b9c501-8e2f-453a-97ae-2b292073ce3d 485. Understanding Economic Philosophy Through History feat. Margaret Schabas How has economic thought evolved throughout the years along with the development of the other modern science disciplines? What is the role of human agency, and what are the philosophical underpinnings of economic thought?

Margaret Schabas is a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia, and also the author of several books. Her latest work is A Philosopher's Economist: Hume and the Rise of Capitalism.

Greg and Margaret discuss how economics evolved from natural philosophy. The conversation delves into historical perspectives and the major influence of figures like Adam Smith and David Hume. Margaret explains the interplay between natural sciences and social sciences. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

How the 18th century shaped our understanding of economic growth and labor

09:13: The real concept of growth of an expanding economy really only takes hold in the early 18th century. And then the question is, how does this happen, and is it through labor? And if it's labor, is it at the expense of other organisms? Arguably, it is. We humans are now going to edge up to 10 billion, and presumably, we've done that very much at the expense of other organisms. But that's not how they're thinking in the 18th century; they're not really thinking that way at all. So then there are a lot of questions that don't get fully answered, and the labor theory of value is an attempt, I think, partly to answer that: that it's through efficiency of labor and increased skills and quality of labor, the intensification of labor, say per unit hour, through the assistance of capital. That allows us to produce more, and we're clearly much wealthier now than our ancestors three centuries ago, at least on average.

Philosophy is best grounded in historical analysis

53:22: Philosophy, to me, is always best grounded in historical analysis. So, every book I've written, I pose a philosophical question: Why is economics a mathematical science? Or why do people believe there are laws in the economy? And then I pursue it historically, because I think just doing it in one’s study, without the empirical resources of the actual discipline, is a disservice, too. But those are my views. I'm trained in the history and philosophy of science, and I think it's a discipline. I think it's best done if you have important philosophical questions to motivate your historical research, and vice versa. To do philosophy of science really is best done if you can appeal or note important historical case studies.

Strong empiricism and the enlightenment’s legacy in social sciences

42:03: I think that's the reigning view: that there is an empirical fact of the matter that can resolve a lot of questions that once were purely philosophical, and, of course, there'll always be disagreements empirically, and there's always question-begging moves in what methods one uses. And so the empirical record will never fully resolve any question, but I think the general thrust is towards a strong empiricism, and, in that sense, I think that's the 18th century—the Enlightenment. If you think about the great philosophers of the 18th century, starting with people like Voltaire, Mandeville, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Hume, and Smith—and one can go on—they're all contributing to what we call the social sciences.


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

]]> Mon, 2 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How has economic thought evolved throughout the years along with the development of the other modern science disciplines? What is the role of human agency, and what are the philosophical underpinnings of economic thought?

Margaret Schabas is a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia, and also the author of several books. Her latest work is A Philosopher's Economist: Hume and the Rise of Capitalism.

Greg and Margaret discuss how economics evolved from natural philosophy. The conversation delves into historical perspectives and the major influence of figures like Adam Smith and David Hume. Margaret explains the interplay between natural sciences and social sciences. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

How the 18th century shaped our understanding of economic growth and labor

09:13: The real concept of growth of an expanding economy really only takes hold in the early 18th century. And then the question is, how does this happen, and is it through labor? And if it's labor, is it at the expense of other organisms? Arguably, it is. We humans are now going to edge up to 10 billion, and presumably, we've done that very much at the expense of other organisms. But that's not how they're thinking in the 18th century; they're not really thinking that way at all. So then there are a lot of questions that don't get fully answered, and the labor theory of value is an attempt, I think, partly to answer that: that it's through efficiency of labor and increased skills and quality of labor, the intensification of labor, say per unit hour, through the assistance of capital. That allows us to produce more, and we're clearly much wealthier now than our ancestors three centuries ago, at least on average.

Philosophy is best grounded in historical analysis

53:22: Philosophy, to me, is always best grounded in historical analysis. So, every book I've written, I pose a philosophical question: Why is economics a mathematical science? Or why do people believe there are laws in the economy? And then I pursue it historically, because I think just doing it in one’s study, without the empirical resources of the actual discipline, is a disservice, too. But those are my views. I'm trained in the history and philosophy of science, and I think it's a discipline. I think it's best done if you have important philosophical questions to motivate your historical research, and vice versa. To do philosophy of science really is best done if you can appeal or note important historical case studies.

Strong empiricism and the enlightenment’s legacy in social sciences

42:03: I think that's the reigning view: that there is an empirical fact of the matter that can resolve a lot of questions that once were purely philosophical, and, of course, there'll always be disagreements empirically, and there's always question-begging moves in what methods one uses. And so the empirical record will never fully resolve any question, but I think the general thrust is towards a strong empiricism, and, in that sense, I think that's the 18th century—the Enlightenment. If you think about the great philosophers of the 18th century, starting with people like Voltaire, Mandeville, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Hume, and Smith—and one can go on—they're all contributing to what we call the social sciences.


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

]]> 485. Understanding Economic Philosophy Through History feat. Margaret Schabas Greg La Blanc 00:51:53 false full 485 da7acfb9-c245-4ca7-84e3-3cb2563da685 484. Design in a Rapidly Changing World feat. Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter What are the ethical responsibilities of designers today and what long-term impacts do they need to consider as they design? Who does the label of ‘designer’ actually apply to?

Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter are designers, writers, and educators. Scott is the Creative Director and Carissa is the Academic Director and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s d.school. They are also co-authors of the new book Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future from the Stanford d.school.

Greg, Scott, and Carissa discuss the evolution and impact of design thinking, the pervasive nature of design in today's world, and the importance of being intentional with design choices. They also highlight key concepts from their book such as the significance of noticing unintended consequences, embracing awkwardness, and understanding the role of constraints in the design process. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Their Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why embracing imperfection and discomfort is essential in design

19:38: [Scott Doorley] The thing about imperfection is, even if you get it right, it’s only temporary. If you get it so-called right, something’s going to change outside of you that’s going to render it not effectual,  in some matter of time. Or you’re going to get that right, but you’re going to miss something else. I was talking to a guy who teaches here, and he teaches entrepreneurs, and he was saying, “You’re going to fail somewhere. It might be at your business, it might be at your family, it might be at your health, but if you’re really trying to do something hard, there’s going to be failure.” So you just have to get used to it, acknowledge it, and then work with it. You’ve got to accept it as part of the design because it is.

We are all designers

03:34:[Carissa Carter] Whether you are a person that designs things, systems, or technologies, whether or not you call yourself a designer in your job title, if you are a part of making things and bringing them into the world, that's design work, and it's really important to pay attention to that.

Navigating design in a world of constraints

42:03: [Scott Doorley] The idea of transcending constraints is appealing, but what designers are doing is shifting the realm of what they're saying—no, these are the constraints that matter; this other one that we thought mattered doesn't matter. And they're really just hell-bent on figuring out: what is the set of constraints that work?

Embedding vision into everyday actions

42:03: [Scott Doorley] This ability to go big and go detailed can't be overstated because that's where things start to feel congruent, right? If I say, "Oh, my organization believes in X," but that's not coming through in the way someone's greeted when they come to the door, it's just going to feel off, and it just doesn't feel right. It just doesn't feel good. So that ability to be like, "Okay, not only are we going to have a vision, but we're going to embed it in the day-to-day that we do." You could think of that as parenting. That's sort of how a teacher sets up a classroom. That's clearly how a leader should lead an organization, in my opinion, because then you don't have to talk about the values—they're there. It's a hard thing to do. Frankly, sometimes I'd feel like we're on it. Sometimes I feel like we're missing the mark. It's not a static thing. You have to keep iterating and keep responding to what's going on.


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

]]> Thu, 28 Nov 2024 13:17:25 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the ethical responsibilities of designers today and what long-term impacts do they need to consider as they design? Who does the label of ‘designer’ actually apply to?

Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter are designers, writers, and educators. Scott is the Creative Director and Carissa is the Academic Director and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s d.school. They are also co-authors of the new book Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future from the Stanford d.school.

Greg, Scott, and Carissa discuss the evolution and impact of design thinking, the pervasive nature of design in today's world, and the importance of being intentional with design choices. They also highlight key concepts from their book such as the significance of noticing unintended consequences, embracing awkwardness, and understanding the role of constraints in the design process. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Their Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why embracing imperfection and discomfort is essential in design

19:38: [Scott Doorley] The thing about imperfection is, even if you get it right, it’s only temporary. If you get it so-called right, something’s going to change outside of you that’s going to render it not effectual,  in some matter of time. Or you’re going to get that right, but you’re going to miss something else. I was talking to a guy who teaches here, and he teaches entrepreneurs, and he was saying, “You’re going to fail somewhere. It might be at your business, it might be at your family, it might be at your health, but if you’re really trying to do something hard, there’s going to be failure.” So you just have to get used to it, acknowledge it, and then work with it. You’ve got to accept it as part of the design because it is.

We are all designers

03:34:[Carissa Carter] Whether you are a person that designs things, systems, or technologies, whether or not you call yourself a designer in your job title, if you are a part of making things and bringing them into the world, that's design work, and it's really important to pay attention to that.

Navigating design in a world of constraints

42:03: [Scott Doorley] The idea of transcending constraints is appealing, but what designers are doing is shifting the realm of what they're saying—no, these are the constraints that matter; this other one that we thought mattered doesn't matter. And they're really just hell-bent on figuring out: what is the set of constraints that work?

Embedding vision into everyday actions

42:03: [Scott Doorley] This ability to go big and go detailed can't be overstated because that's where things start to feel congruent, right? If I say, "Oh, my organization believes in X," but that's not coming through in the way someone's greeted when they come to the door, it's just going to feel off, and it just doesn't feel right. It just doesn't feel good. So that ability to be like, "Okay, not only are we going to have a vision, but we're going to embed it in the day-to-day that we do." You could think of that as parenting. That's sort of how a teacher sets up a classroom. That's clearly how a leader should lead an organization, in my opinion, because then you don't have to talk about the values—they're there. It's a hard thing to do. Frankly, sometimes I'd feel like we're on it. Sometimes I feel like we're missing the mark. It's not a static thing. You have to keep iterating and keep responding to what's going on.


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

]]> 484. Design in a Rapidly Changing World feat. Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter Greg La Blanc 00:47:31 What are the ethical responsibilities of designers today and what long-term impacts do they need to consider as they design? Who does the label of ‘designer’ actually apply to? Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter are designers, writers, and educators. Scott is the Creative Director and Carissa is the Academic Director and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s d.school. They are also co-authors of the new book Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future from the Stanford d.school. Greg, Scott, and Carissa discuss the evolution and impact of design thinking, the pervasive nature of design in today's world, and the importance of being intentional with design choices. They also highlight key concepts from their book such as the significance of noticing unintended consequences, embracing awkwardness, and understanding the role of constraints in the design process. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the ethical responsibilities of designers today and what long-term impacts do they need to consider as they design? Who does the label of ‘designer’ actually apply to? Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter are designers, writers, and educators. Scott is the Creative Director and Carissa is the Academic Director and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s d.school. They are also co-authors of the new book Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future from the Stanford d.school. Greg, Scott, and Carissa discuss the evolution and impact of design thinking, the pervasive nature of design in today's world, and the importance of being intentional with design choices. They also highlight key concepts from their book such as the significance of noticing unintended consequences, embracing awkwardness, and understanding the role of constraints in the design process. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 484 c7c9ae2f-73b2-4a24-a1fa-290195e6448e 483. Why Physics May Hold the Key to Global Warming with Richard A. Muller As the world searches for impactful solutions to global warming and energy independence, how important is it for policymakers to understand some level of physics? For today’s guest – it’s important enough to write a whole book on it. 

Richard Muller is a professor of physics at UC Berkeley and the author of numerous books including, Now: The Physics of Time and Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines. Through his books aimed at general audiences, Richard is bringing physics to the masses and illustrates the field’s relevance to everyday life. 

Richard and Greg discuss the critical role of physics in solving current global issues like global warming and energy independence, the broader significance of scientific literacy and objectivity, and major misconceptions about nuclear power. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Are we truly tackling climate change the right way?

16:30: Global warming is happening. It is real. Temperature has risen in the last 150 years by 1.5 degrees Celsius—1.5 degrees Celsius. It's real, and it's caused by humans. And I believe—and this isn't science anymore—I believe it's a threat. [16:59] I also know from careful analysis that no major suggestions being made by Republicans, Democrats, or anybody will work, even if implemented; that's the biggest problem. People are suggesting, 'Oh, we should have a carbon tax,' as if that will solve the problem. I can argue effectively why it will not solve the problem. Electric cars certainly won't solve the problem. I don't believe solar and wind have a chance of solving the problem. So the two things we have that can solve the problem are higher efficiency, and that is working well around the world. The efficiency is improving enormously. And the other is nuclear power, which we have to make cheaper than coal.

What do scientists need to do to maintain their reputation?

14:58: Science has lost its credibility largely due to two very important stories. The first one is global warming, where so many scientists lost objectivity. And the other was in the whole COVID story. Because these things are so important, scientists said, "I can't be objective." They didn't say this out loud. They said, "It's important for me to tell people what they should believe." [16:06] So I think scientists need to maintain their reputation, or get it back, as one of the few disciplines from which you can get objective information.

Science is driven by adventure, not curiosity

49:05: Now, scientists are not driven by curiosity. Now, if you're driven by curiosity, you spend your entire day in the library, reading books. Okay, that's curiosity. Scientists—it's more of a challenge, of an adventure. It's what drove the early explorers in the 1600s to go and find a new world, maybe with gold in them. The whole idea of having an adventure is why you go into science, not out of curiosity.


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

]]> Mon, 25 Nov 2024 13:01:33 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As the world searches for impactful solutions to global warming and energy independence, how important is it for policymakers to understand some level of physics? For today’s guest – it’s important enough to write a whole book on it. 

Richard Muller is a professor of physics at UC Berkeley and the author of numerous books including, Now: The Physics of Time and Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines. Through his books aimed at general audiences, Richard is bringing physics to the masses and illustrates the field’s relevance to everyday life. 

Richard and Greg discuss the critical role of physics in solving current global issues like global warming and energy independence, the broader significance of scientific literacy and objectivity, and major misconceptions about nuclear power. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Are we truly tackling climate change the right way?

16:30: Global warming is happening. It is real. Temperature has risen in the last 150 years by 1.5 degrees Celsius—1.5 degrees Celsius. It's real, and it's caused by humans. And I believe—and this isn't science anymore—I believe it's a threat. [16:59] I also know from careful analysis that no major suggestions being made by Republicans, Democrats, or anybody will work, even if implemented; that's the biggest problem. People are suggesting, 'Oh, we should have a carbon tax,' as if that will solve the problem. I can argue effectively why it will not solve the problem. Electric cars certainly won't solve the problem. I don't believe solar and wind have a chance of solving the problem. So the two things we have that can solve the problem are higher efficiency, and that is working well around the world. The efficiency is improving enormously. And the other is nuclear power, which we have to make cheaper than coal.

What do scientists need to do to maintain their reputation?

14:58: Science has lost its credibility largely due to two very important stories. The first one is global warming, where so many scientists lost objectivity. And the other was in the whole COVID story. Because these things are so important, scientists said, "I can't be objective." They didn't say this out loud. They said, "It's important for me to tell people what they should believe." [16:06] So I think scientists need to maintain their reputation, or get it back, as one of the few disciplines from which you can get objective information.

Science is driven by adventure, not curiosity

49:05: Now, scientists are not driven by curiosity. Now, if you're driven by curiosity, you spend your entire day in the library, reading books. Okay, that's curiosity. Scientists—it's more of a challenge, of an adventure. It's what drove the early explorers in the 1600s to go and find a new world, maybe with gold in them. The whole idea of having an adventure is why you go into science, not out of curiosity.


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

]]> 483. Why Physics May Hold the Key to Global Warming with Richard A. Muller Greg La Blanc 00:48:50 As the world searches for impactful solutions to global warming and energy independence, how important is it for policymakers to understand some level of physics? For today’s guest – it’s important enough to write a whole book on it. Richard Muller is a professor of physics at UC Berkeley and the author of numerous books including, Now: The Physics of Time and Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines. Through his books aimed at general audiences, Richard is bringing physics to the masses and illustrates the field’s relevance to everyday life. Richard and Greg discuss the critical role of physics in solving current global issues like global warming and energy independence, the broader significance of scientific literacy and objectivity, and major misconceptions about nuclear power. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* As the world searches for impactful solutions to global warming and energy independence, how important is it for policymakers to understand some level of physics? For today’s guest – it’s important enough to write a whole book on it. Richard Muller is a professor of physics at UC Berkeley and the author of numerous books including, Now: The Physics of Time and Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines. Through his books aimed at general audiences, Richard is bringing physics to the masses and illustrates the field’s relevance to everyday life. Richard and Greg discuss the critical role of physics in solving current global issues like global warming and energy independence, the broader significance of scientific literacy and objectivity, and major misconceptions about nuclear power. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 483 63cd1449-e7e7-45dc-a53c-6e324efe2787 482. The Origin of Humanity’s Musical Abilities with Michael Spitzer While many species in the world make music, humans have a unique musical ability. In some ways, music might even define what it means to be human. But how did we become so musical? And what is it about humans that sets our music apart from the music found in nature? 

Michael Spitzer is a professor of music at the University of Liverpool and the author of the book, The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth, which explores mankind’s ability to synthesize rhythm, melody, and culture throughout history and why music is fundamental to our humanity. 

Michael and Greg discuss when and how music became an intrinsic part of human life, the changing role of music from a participatory activity to its present-day passive consumption, and the implications of technological advancements in music creation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Are we losing the value of music?

43:32: Music should do much more than just relax you. It should make you think and make you feel more alive. The ubiquity means we, it says, as available now as water and air, and it's become cheapened. If you were born on Beethoven's day, you would be lucky to hear a symphony twice in your lifetime. And when you did, it was special because most of the time, you were in silence, and we've lost silence. So, it's swings and roundabouts. We have this fantastic availability all the time, everywhere, everything now, but it means we don't value it very much anymore.

Why is music spiritual?

21:01: Why is music spiritual? It's because you can't see it. Unlike vision, it is out there when you see an object. You have this external objectification of that source. But with music and sound, it's inside you, and ontology, or the experience of sound, that is, it's internal or inside your mind, and you can't see it. So, it's intrinsically related to spirituality. It's invisible; it's ineffable; it's interior; it's linked to contemplation, meditation, and prayer. So it makes sense that music evolved, side by side, hand in hand with spirituality.

Music as the ultimate mimic of emotion and movement

19:23: You can't separate the feeling from the ethology—the ethological dimension of the emotion. How do you get from there into music? Well, I hear music as a gesture. Even though you don't see anything, it's invisible. I mean, there may not even be any words. It could be a jazz improvisation or a string quartet. Music evokes a sense of emotion, of something virtual, in a virtual landscape, moving and gesturing. And also a sense of voice. There may not be a lyric, there may not be a human voice, but a violin or a guitar can definitely evoke a sense of voice. So you've got your voice, your gesture, your action, your movement, and all the ingredients of behavior and emotional behavior. And music is incredibly eloquent in communicating emotional behavior. In short, music is like a mimic, like a great impressionist.

Is music really universal?

24:55: I don't mean that music is universal. Our propensity and our capacity for music are universal. We're born into a culture, and then this is why every musical culture has different vocabularies, different scales, different instruments, and different vocal types.


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

]]> Thu, 21 Nov 2024 13:10:19 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast While many species in the world make music, humans have a unique musical ability. In some ways, music might even define what it means to be human. But how did we become so musical? And what is it about humans that sets our music apart from the music found in nature? 

Michael Spitzer is a professor of music at the University of Liverpool and the author of the book, The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth, which explores mankind’s ability to synthesize rhythm, melody, and culture throughout history and why music is fundamental to our humanity. 

Michael and Greg discuss when and how music became an intrinsic part of human life, the changing role of music from a participatory activity to its present-day passive consumption, and the implications of technological advancements in music creation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Are we losing the value of music?

43:32: Music should do much more than just relax you. It should make you think and make you feel more alive. The ubiquity means we, it says, as available now as water and air, and it's become cheapened. If you were born on Beethoven's day, you would be lucky to hear a symphony twice in your lifetime. And when you did, it was special because most of the time, you were in silence, and we've lost silence. So, it's swings and roundabouts. We have this fantastic availability all the time, everywhere, everything now, but it means we don't value it very much anymore.

Why is music spiritual?

21:01: Why is music spiritual? It's because you can't see it. Unlike vision, it is out there when you see an object. You have this external objectification of that source. But with music and sound, it's inside you, and ontology, or the experience of sound, that is, it's internal or inside your mind, and you can't see it. So, it's intrinsically related to spirituality. It's invisible; it's ineffable; it's interior; it's linked to contemplation, meditation, and prayer. So it makes sense that music evolved, side by side, hand in hand with spirituality.

Music as the ultimate mimic of emotion and movement

19:23: You can't separate the feeling from the ethology—the ethological dimension of the emotion. How do you get from there into music? Well, I hear music as a gesture. Even though you don't see anything, it's invisible. I mean, there may not even be any words. It could be a jazz improvisation or a string quartet. Music evokes a sense of emotion, of something virtual, in a virtual landscape, moving and gesturing. And also a sense of voice. There may not be a lyric, there may not be a human voice, but a violin or a guitar can definitely evoke a sense of voice. So you've got your voice, your gesture, your action, your movement, and all the ingredients of behavior and emotional behavior. And music is incredibly eloquent in communicating emotional behavior. In short, music is like a mimic, like a great impressionist.

Is music really universal?

24:55: I don't mean that music is universal. Our propensity and our capacity for music are universal. We're born into a culture, and then this is why every musical culture has different vocabularies, different scales, different instruments, and different vocal types.


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

]]> 482. The Origin of Humanity’s Musical Abilities with Michael Spitzer Greg La Blanc 00:44:55 false full 482 9cb9b989-2c2c-4af7-9abd-c69009832df6 481. The Science and Philosophy of Economics with Erik Angner How do economics play into solving major global issues like pandemics, climate change, or inequality?

Erik Angner is a professor of philosophy at Stockholm University and the author of How Economics Can Save the World: Simple Ideas to Solve Our Biggest Problems. He’s a rare kind of philosopher of science – while most focus on natural sciences, Erik studies social sciences like economics. 

In this episode, Erik and Greg discuss why philosophers have not given more attention to social sciences, how economics is not just a discipline but a methodology, and why economists should be more involved when it comes to solving the world’s issues. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why don’t people recognize the consensus in economics?

45:42: There's a real sort of illiteracy when it comes to economics. We see it in policy questions. We also see it on the private level. So, overwhelmingly, if you ask people questions about interest rates and inflation or whatever, across the world, like, large shares of the population don't understand these concepts, and what that means is that majorities of the population don't have the skills required to make the kind of decisions that they have to make as a citizen of a modern rich country in terms of like choosing mortgages, choosing credit cards, saving for the future, planning for retirement, and so on. We have a system now that requires people to make decisions they're not equipped to make, and that strikes me as a massive problem that we really ought to be doing something about. And it's connected because if people learned more about one, they would maybe learn more about the other.

How does interdisciplinary research drive economic progress?

21:01: There's something interesting that happens when you come from another discipline into economics or whatever: you notice blind spots—you bring your own blind spots. But they might be corrected, and then you begin to see opportunities for progress that people within the community might not have seen.

Why economics can’t ignore values

07:44: For the longest time, economists imagined that they could proceed without any sort of attention to values. The thought was that economics is a science, that science requires us to ignore values, and that to the extent that values enter into our work, the work is thereby deficient in some way. But that picture is gone. It's gone, broadly speaking, in the philosophy of science, and economists themselves have come to appreciate that we have to engage with values in order to do the kind of work that we need to do as economists. [08:48] To the extent that economists are building things and designing things—designing markets and institutions and auctions and retirement systems and healthcare systems and all sorts of things—we sort of have to begin with a picture of the end goal. What are we trying to build here? What do we want our healthcare system to look like? And that's a question of values. You can't pretend that that's something you can settle by means of data alone.


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

]]> Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:03:58 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do economics play into solving major global issues like pandemics, climate change, or inequality?

Erik Angner is a professor of philosophy at Stockholm University and the author of How Economics Can Save the World: Simple Ideas to Solve Our Biggest Problems. He’s a rare kind of philosopher of science – while most focus on natural sciences, Erik studies social sciences like economics. 

In this episode, Erik and Greg discuss why philosophers have not given more attention to social sciences, how economics is not just a discipline but a methodology, and why economists should be more involved when it comes to solving the world’s issues. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why don’t people recognize the consensus in economics?

45:42: There's a real sort of illiteracy when it comes to economics. We see it in policy questions. We also see it on the private level. So, overwhelmingly, if you ask people questions about interest rates and inflation or whatever, across the world, like, large shares of the population don't understand these concepts, and what that means is that majorities of the population don't have the skills required to make the kind of decisions that they have to make as a citizen of a modern rich country in terms of like choosing mortgages, choosing credit cards, saving for the future, planning for retirement, and so on. We have a system now that requires people to make decisions they're not equipped to make, and that strikes me as a massive problem that we really ought to be doing something about. And it's connected because if people learned more about one, they would maybe learn more about the other.

How does interdisciplinary research drive economic progress?

21:01: There's something interesting that happens when you come from another discipline into economics or whatever: you notice blind spots—you bring your own blind spots. But they might be corrected, and then you begin to see opportunities for progress that people within the community might not have seen.

Why economics can’t ignore values

07:44: For the longest time, economists imagined that they could proceed without any sort of attention to values. The thought was that economics is a science, that science requires us to ignore values, and that to the extent that values enter into our work, the work is thereby deficient in some way. But that picture is gone. It's gone, broadly speaking, in the philosophy of science, and economists themselves have come to appreciate that we have to engage with values in order to do the kind of work that we need to do as economists. [08:48] To the extent that economists are building things and designing things—designing markets and institutions and auctions and retirement systems and healthcare systems and all sorts of things—we sort of have to begin with a picture of the end goal. What are we trying to build here? What do we want our healthcare system to look like? And that's a question of values. You can't pretend that that's something you can settle by means of data alone.


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

]]> 481. The Science and Philosophy of Economics with Erik Angner Greg La Blanc 00:52:34 How do economics play into solving major global issues like pandemics, climate change, or inequality? Erik Angner is a professor of philosophy at Stockholm University and the author of How Economics Can Save the World: Simple Ideas to Solve Our Biggest Problems. He’s a rare kind of philosopher of science – while most focus on natural sciences, Erik studies social sciences like economics. In this episode, Erik and Greg discuss why philosophers have not given more attention to social sciences, how economics is not just a discipline but a methodology, and why economists should be more involved when it comes to solving the world’s issues. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How do economics play into solving major global issues like pandemics, climate change, or inequality? Erik Angner is a professor of philosophy at Stockholm University and the author of How Economics Can Save the World: Simple Ideas to Solve Our Biggest Problems. He’s a rare kind of philosopher of science – while most focus on natural sciences, Erik studies social sciences like economics. In this episode, Erik and Greg discuss why philosophers have not given more attention to social sciences, how economics is not just a discipline but a methodology, and why economists should be more involved when it comes to solving the world’s issues. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 481 3d9ac59d-bf41-497a-a110-88f74b80ce25 480. Beyond IQ: The Real Measure of Wisdom feat. David Robson What are the true natures of intelligence and wisdom, and how do they play off each other in sometimes surprising ways? What are the best ways to mitigate our many biases, and what factors create the placebo and nocebo effects?

David Robson is a prolific journalist, a former editor at New Scientist, and the author of the books The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network, The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World, and The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes.

Greg and David discuss how intelligence isn't always correlated with wise decision-making, the potential flaws in educational systems, and the crucial role of critical thinking. They also explore how mindset impacts health and learning, touching on topics like cognitive biases and rationality, and dissect the placebo and nocebo effects. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Are we reflexively pessimistic?

41:06: I think a lot of us are reflexively pessimistic in our lives because we think: you expect the worst, and then anything that's better than that will bring you joy. But actually, by expecting the worst through these expectation effects, you might actually be bringing about the worst. It could actually be changing the outcome so that a positive outcome is less likely. So being pessimistic is not rational; it's not as smart as we think it's going to be. But I'm not saying we should be like Pollyanna and just try to pretend that all of these difficulties in our lives don't exist. I think we need to be in that sweet middle ground, where we're remaining open-minded to all of the possibilities.

Embracing discomfort

43:06: We don't always have to catastrophise things that feel uncomfortable, because sometimes the discomfort is part of what makes them so powerful.

On motivated reasoning

13:38: When we measure something like IQ, it does seem to be related to the efficiency of the brain's networks in some ways. So it is helping the brain to process information more quickly, which can be a big advantage when you're learning something new and complex or when you have to make very rapid decisions. But what it doesn't protect you from is the things that we spoke about. So all of those biases doesn't necessarily mean that you're any more likely to consider a piece of evidence fairly rather than just allowing your preconceptions to cloud your judgment. The big problem is that once you have made those mistakes, you then have your intelligence to rationalize and justify the conclusion that you've come to. That's a process called motivated reasoning, and I think that's really behind this idea of the intelligence trap.

Can we use other people to counter our biases?

52:55: It's great to have someone who is a real optimist, is always looking on the bright side, and is always thinking big. But you do want someone—not someone who is pessimistic and is always going to drag everyone down. But you want someone who's realistic and is asking those difficult questions. And they're going to say, "Well, you have these big dreams, but here are the ten challenges that we're going to have to overcome before we get there." So you absolutely want to have those different perspectives. And teams full of one or the other would not work. If you have someone who's only looking at the challenges, they will be less ambitious and maybe produce more mediocre projects. If you have people who are blindly optimistic, well, they're going to overlook some really important challenge that is ultimately going to lead to failure unless you preempt it and plan for it. So that's why I think we can use other people to counter some of our own biases.


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

]]> Thu, 14 Nov 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the true natures of intelligence and wisdom, and how do they play off each other in sometimes surprising ways? What are the best ways to mitigate our many biases, and what factors create the placebo and nocebo effects?

David Robson is a prolific journalist, a former editor at New Scientist, and the author of the books The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network, The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World, and The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes.

Greg and David discuss how intelligence isn't always correlated with wise decision-making, the potential flaws in educational systems, and the crucial role of critical thinking. They also explore how mindset impacts health and learning, touching on topics like cognitive biases and rationality, and dissect the placebo and nocebo effects. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Are we reflexively pessimistic?

41:06: I think a lot of us are reflexively pessimistic in our lives because we think: you expect the worst, and then anything that's better than that will bring you joy. But actually, by expecting the worst through these expectation effects, you might actually be bringing about the worst. It could actually be changing the outcome so that a positive outcome is less likely. So being pessimistic is not rational; it's not as smart as we think it's going to be. But I'm not saying we should be like Pollyanna and just try to pretend that all of these difficulties in our lives don't exist. I think we need to be in that sweet middle ground, where we're remaining open-minded to all of the possibilities.

Embracing discomfort

43:06: We don't always have to catastrophise things that feel uncomfortable, because sometimes the discomfort is part of what makes them so powerful.

On motivated reasoning

13:38: When we measure something like IQ, it does seem to be related to the efficiency of the brain's networks in some ways. So it is helping the brain to process information more quickly, which can be a big advantage when you're learning something new and complex or when you have to make very rapid decisions. But what it doesn't protect you from is the things that we spoke about. So all of those biases doesn't necessarily mean that you're any more likely to consider a piece of evidence fairly rather than just allowing your preconceptions to cloud your judgment. The big problem is that once you have made those mistakes, you then have your intelligence to rationalize and justify the conclusion that you've come to. That's a process called motivated reasoning, and I think that's really behind this idea of the intelligence trap.

Can we use other people to counter our biases?

52:55: It's great to have someone who is a real optimist, is always looking on the bright side, and is always thinking big. But you do want someone—not someone who is pessimistic and is always going to drag everyone down. But you want someone who's realistic and is asking those difficult questions. And they're going to say, "Well, you have these big dreams, but here are the ten challenges that we're going to have to overcome before we get there." So you absolutely want to have those different perspectives. And teams full of one or the other would not work. If you have someone who's only looking at the challenges, they will be less ambitious and maybe produce more mediocre projects. If you have people who are blindly optimistic, well, they're going to overlook some really important challenge that is ultimately going to lead to failure unless you preempt it and plan for it. So that's why I think we can use other people to counter some of our own biases.


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

]]> 480. Beyond IQ: The Real Measure of Wisdom feat. David Robson Greg La Blanc 00:54:53 What are the true natures of intelligence and wisdom, and how do they play off each other in sometimes surprising ways? What are the best ways to mitigate our many biases, and what factors create the placebo and nocebo effects? David Robson is a prolific journalist, a former editor at New Scientist, and the author of the books The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network, The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World, and The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes. Greg and David discuss how intelligence isn't always correlated with wise decision-making, the potential flaws in educational systems, and the crucial role of critical thinking. They also explore how mindset impacts health and learning, touching on topics like cognitive biases and rationality, and dissect the placebo and nocebo effects. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the true natures of intelligence and wisdom, and how do they play off each other in sometimes surprising ways? What are the best ways to mitigate our many biases, and what factors create the placebo and nocebo effects? David Robson is a prolific journalist, a former editor at New Scientist, and the author of the books The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network, The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World, and The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes. Greg and David discuss how intelligence isn't always correlated with wise decision-making, the potential flaws in educational systems, and the crucial role of critical thinking. They also explore how mindset impacts health and learning, touching on topics like cognitive biases and rationality, and dissect the placebo and nocebo effects. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 480 13bd373d-1fe6-4d25-b130-13cb30b6e028 479. The Birth of Civilizations: Unpacking a 4,000-Year Global History feat. Josephine Quinn At what point did the concept of civilization and civilizations emerge? In what ways  do we know that societies were mingling and exchanging ideas and objects with each other? How were the Crusades responsible for our culture’s current sugar obsession?

Josephine Quinn is a Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford, and the author of several books, including her latest work How the World Made the West: A 4,000 Year History and also In Search of the Phoenicians.

Greg and Josephine discuss the challenges and insights from piecing together 4,000 years of global history, and digging into the concept of 'civilizational thinking' and its origins. Josephine explains how civilizations intertwine through war, trade, and cultural exchange, and also highlights how modern perspectives shape our understanding of past human interactions. They also discuss the subject of another of Josephine’s books and unpack the significant yet often misunderstood impact of Phoenicians and other early civilizations on today's world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Tracing the roots of civilizational thinking 

10:52: One of the things I really want people to take away from my book is that war is one of the most effective modes of communication that people have. But all the same, depended on fundamental notion of similarity between peoples. [11:36] But around 1500, what's happening with this European expansion is to me, a very radical change in that, at the same time as Europeans are engaging in mass conversions to Christianity overseas, they're expelling the significant Jewish and Muslim populations from Europe itself. And so, it's creating a, sort of, us and them situation. Basically for the first time, a significant scale, I mean, things like that happen on a smaller scale and throughout history in all societies but I think this is really, in terms of a global history, something really quite new. And so, to me, it is the roots of that civilizational thinking that gets fully articulated a few hundred years later, starting in the 18th century. 

The idea of continents is fictional and is used by other geographers to create divisions in their works. 

17:01: The idea of continents is a fascinating one to me. It goes back, in fact, to ancient Greek-speaking scientists who are working on the coast of what's now Turkey, very much in touch with what was going on in the big intellectual centers of antiquity, like Babylon, with Egyptian scientists, and so on. But we don't have any evidence that anybody else thought about the world in terms of continents. But they invented it with some geographers, and it was a kind of label. It wasn't a sort of major concept. One of my favorite commentaries is by another Greek historian, Herodotus. I say Greek-speaking. He also was from Anatolia, grew up in Persian lands, but he says, Well, people say that there are these three continents, and they're all named after women: Europa, Asia, Libya, [the] Greek term for what we now say—Africa, but I think this is nonsense. I mean, people don't even know where they begin and end. And, of course, that's right. I mean, some continents exist. The America exists. Australia exists. But Europe, Asia, and Africa?

Why do people care about the heterogeneity of origins of things in the modern world?

43:05 This is the big question, isn't it? Do people have an investment in the idea of a pure West that is facing pollution or even replacement from the outside right now? I think it's the same kind of question. And I think part of it is just that that's an easier way to think. It offers certainty. I think certainty is a terribly attractive thing but the problem is that human history isn't certain. It's fuzzy and complicated and if there's one thing that I would love people who read this book to think harder about, it's the idea of heritage. I think heritage is often seen as a very positive thing in the world today. But actually, I feel like there's a danger that people invest in a collective past at the expense of a collective present. And that, I think, is quite dangerous. But it is much easier to read things than it is to have conversations.

The idea of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations as two separate cultures is a historical typo.

The whole idea of Minoan and Mycenaean are basically just two rival labels of two basically warring groups of archaeologists about exactly the same thing. It's like a historical typo that people now think of them as different.


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

]]> Mon, 11 Nov 2024 13:58:01 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast At what point did the concept of civilization and civilizations emerge? In what ways  do we know that societies were mingling and exchanging ideas and objects with each other? How were the Crusades responsible for our culture’s current sugar obsession?

Josephine Quinn is a Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford, and the author of several books, including her latest work How the World Made the West: A 4,000 Year History and also In Search of the Phoenicians.

Greg and Josephine discuss the challenges and insights from piecing together 4,000 years of global history, and digging into the concept of 'civilizational thinking' and its origins. Josephine explains how civilizations intertwine through war, trade, and cultural exchange, and also highlights how modern perspectives shape our understanding of past human interactions. They also discuss the subject of another of Josephine’s books and unpack the significant yet often misunderstood impact of Phoenicians and other early civilizations on today's world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Tracing the roots of civilizational thinking 

10:52: One of the things I really want people to take away from my book is that war is one of the most effective modes of communication that people have. But all the same, depended on fundamental notion of similarity between peoples. [11:36] But around 1500, what's happening with this European expansion is to me, a very radical change in that, at the same time as Europeans are engaging in mass conversions to Christianity overseas, they're expelling the significant Jewish and Muslim populations from Europe itself. And so, it's creating a, sort of, us and them situation. Basically for the first time, a significant scale, I mean, things like that happen on a smaller scale and throughout history in all societies but I think this is really, in terms of a global history, something really quite new. And so, to me, it is the roots of that civilizational thinking that gets fully articulated a few hundred years later, starting in the 18th century. 

The idea of continents is fictional and is used by other geographers to create divisions in their works. 

17:01: The idea of continents is a fascinating one to me. It goes back, in fact, to ancient Greek-speaking scientists who are working on the coast of what's now Turkey, very much in touch with what was going on in the big intellectual centers of antiquity, like Babylon, with Egyptian scientists, and so on. But we don't have any evidence that anybody else thought about the world in terms of continents. But they invented it with some geographers, and it was a kind of label. It wasn't a sort of major concept. One of my favorite commentaries is by another Greek historian, Herodotus. I say Greek-speaking. He also was from Anatolia, grew up in Persian lands, but he says, Well, people say that there are these three continents, and they're all named after women: Europa, Asia, Libya, [the] Greek term for what we now say—Africa, but I think this is nonsense. I mean, people don't even know where they begin and end. And, of course, that's right. I mean, some continents exist. The America exists. Australia exists. But Europe, Asia, and Africa?

Why do people care about the heterogeneity of origins of things in the modern world?

43:05 This is the big question, isn't it? Do people have an investment in the idea of a pure West that is facing pollution or even replacement from the outside right now? I think it's the same kind of question. And I think part of it is just that that's an easier way to think. It offers certainty. I think certainty is a terribly attractive thing but the problem is that human history isn't certain. It's fuzzy and complicated and if there's one thing that I would love people who read this book to think harder about, it's the idea of heritage. I think heritage is often seen as a very positive thing in the world today. But actually, I feel like there's a danger that people invest in a collective past at the expense of a collective present. And that, I think, is quite dangerous. But it is much easier to read things than it is to have conversations.

The idea of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations as two separate cultures is a historical typo.

The whole idea of Minoan and Mycenaean are basically just two rival labels of two basically warring groups of archaeologists about exactly the same thing. It's like a historical typo that people now think of them as different.


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

]]> 479. The Birth of Civilizations: Unpacking a 4,000-Year Global History feat. Josephine Quinn Greg La Blanc 00:52:54 At what point did the concept of civilization and civilizations emerge? In what ways  do we know that societies were mingling and exchanging ideas and objects with each other? How were the Crusades responsible for our culture’s current sugar obsession? Josephine Quinn is a Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford, and the author of several books, including her latest work How the World Made the West: A 4,000 Year History and also In Search of the Phoenicians. Greg and Josephine discuss the challenges and insights from piecing together 4,000 years of global history, and digging into the concept of 'civilizational thinking' and its origins. Josephine explains how civilizations intertwine through war, trade, and cultural exchange, and also highlights how modern perspectives shape our understanding of past human interactions. They also discuss the subject of another of Josephine’s books and unpack the significant yet often misunderstood impact of Phoenicians and other early civilizations on today's world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* At what point did the concept of civilization and civilizations emerge? In what ways  do we know that societies were mingling and exchanging ideas and objects with each other? How were the Crusades responsible for our culture’s current sugar obsession? Josephine Quinn is a Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford, and the author of several books, including her latest work How the World Made the West: A 4,000 Year History and also In Search of the Phoenicians. Greg and Josephine discuss the challenges and insights from piecing together 4,000 years of global history, and digging into the concept of 'civilizational thinking' and its origins. Josephine explains how civilizations intertwine through war, trade, and cultural exchange, and also highlights how modern perspectives shape our understanding of past human interactions. They also discuss the subject of another of Josephine’s books and unpack the significant yet often misunderstood impact of Phoenicians and other early civilizations on today's world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 479 9e61fe04-d47c-4533-ba7a-24ab0cb27f75 478. The Neuroscience of Perception: Exploring Self, Social Conformity, and Animal Cognition feat. Gregory Berns What does the sense of self give humans over other animals, and how do our storytelling instincts set us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom? What can be learned about humans and animals by training a dog to allow humans to scan its brain with an MRI machine?

Gregory Berns is a neuroscientist at Emory University and the author of several books, including Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently, The Self Delusion: The New Neuroscience of How We Invent—and Reinvent—Our Identities, and his most recent work, Cowpuppy: An Unexpected Friendship and a Scientist’s Journey into the Secret World of Cows.

Greg and Gregory discuss the complex interplay between self-perception, social influence, and animal behavior. Referring to his work in The Self Delusion, Gregory delves into how our brains construct and reconstruct our identities, influenced by both sensory information and social pressures. Gregory used brain imaging and machine learning to study conformity, the psychological impacts of social media, and the balancing act between primal instincts and modern life. They also dive into the evolution of human storytelling compared to animal communication, Gregory’s groundbreaking MRI research on dogs, and the deep connections formed through living on a farm and working with cows. This insightful episode also touches on the philosophical and theological questions around human behavior, aiming to provide a holistic understanding of the underlying neuroscience and psychology.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Human life is telling stories

30:16: We're all storytellers, even if you write scientific papers. Ultimately, it's still a story where you do an experiment, you collect data, and yes, I guess at some level, we're testing hypotheses, but most scientific papers these days are not about that, to be honest. Most are more in the exploratory sense, where we're doing experiment because we want to understand something about the world. We might have an idea about it, but it's usually much more nuanced. And then you do the experiment, doesn't turn out the way you expect it. And then it's like, well, what happened? So you tell a story about what you think happened and what it means. And I think, ultimately, that is all that human life is. It is us telling stories, because if it weren't that, then we're not that much different than bees and all the other animals that I study, but we clearly are. 

Stories go beyond the current state of the art in terms of predictive models

31:38: We tell stories to ourselves and to each other to have meaning in our lives. It's not the case that the machine is ever going to care about what's meaningful. So, I do think that meaning, in and of itself, has value to humans that has yet to be captured in any kind of computer model.

Are preferences endogenous or constructed?

07:36: I think we tend to fool ourselves a little bit in that our preferences are endogenous because it comes back to us thinking about us thinking. It’s like, okay, well, I prefer vanilla ice cream over chocolate ice cream. Well, has it always been that way? I don’t know. Or is it just something that I have come to believe out of habit, and it’s not necessarily the case—or that it even changes based on the circumstance?

Why the most meaningful experiences are often the most uncomfortable

20:52: I've written a bit about the ways that we might get around that, and one of the ways is novel experiences. The thing about novel experiences is that they're anxiety-provoking—unless, I mean, for the minority of people who thrive on that. For most people, they like the status quo; they like the comfort of things being predictable, and things being unpredictable causes a great deal of anxiety. Even though, if you ask pretty much everyone, the most memorable experiences in their life, the things they think most fondly of, are probably the things that were most difficult, and the things that initially did cause all that anxiety or were uncomfortable. The things that we, as humans, attach meaning to are the things that are meaningful because they're difficult.


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

]]> Thu, 7 Nov 2024 17:21:13 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does the sense of self give humans over other animals, and how do our storytelling instincts set us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom? What can be learned about humans and animals by training a dog to allow humans to scan its brain with an MRI machine?

Gregory Berns is a neuroscientist at Emory University and the author of several books, including Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently, The Self Delusion: The New Neuroscience of How We Invent—and Reinvent—Our Identities, and his most recent work, Cowpuppy: An Unexpected Friendship and a Scientist’s Journey into the Secret World of Cows.

Greg and Gregory discuss the complex interplay between self-perception, social influence, and animal behavior. Referring to his work in The Self Delusion, Gregory delves into how our brains construct and reconstruct our identities, influenced by both sensory information and social pressures. Gregory used brain imaging and machine learning to study conformity, the psychological impacts of social media, and the balancing act between primal instincts and modern life. They also dive into the evolution of human storytelling compared to animal communication, Gregory’s groundbreaking MRI research on dogs, and the deep connections formed through living on a farm and working with cows. This insightful episode also touches on the philosophical and theological questions around human behavior, aiming to provide a holistic understanding of the underlying neuroscience and psychology.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Human life is telling stories

30:16: We're all storytellers, even if you write scientific papers. Ultimately, it's still a story where you do an experiment, you collect data, and yes, I guess at some level, we're testing hypotheses, but most scientific papers these days are not about that, to be honest. Most are more in the exploratory sense, where we're doing experiment because we want to understand something about the world. We might have an idea about it, but it's usually much more nuanced. And then you do the experiment, doesn't turn out the way you expect it. And then it's like, well, what happened? So you tell a story about what you think happened and what it means. And I think, ultimately, that is all that human life is. It is us telling stories, because if it weren't that, then we're not that much different than bees and all the other animals that I study, but we clearly are. 

Stories go beyond the current state of the art in terms of predictive models

31:38: We tell stories to ourselves and to each other to have meaning in our lives. It's not the case that the machine is ever going to care about what's meaningful. So, I do think that meaning, in and of itself, has value to humans that has yet to be captured in any kind of computer model.

Are preferences endogenous or constructed?

07:36: I think we tend to fool ourselves a little bit in that our preferences are endogenous because it comes back to us thinking about us thinking. It’s like, okay, well, I prefer vanilla ice cream over chocolate ice cream. Well, has it always been that way? I don’t know. Or is it just something that I have come to believe out of habit, and it’s not necessarily the case—or that it even changes based on the circumstance?

Why the most meaningful experiences are often the most uncomfortable

20:52: I've written a bit about the ways that we might get around that, and one of the ways is novel experiences. The thing about novel experiences is that they're anxiety-provoking—unless, I mean, for the minority of people who thrive on that. For most people, they like the status quo; they like the comfort of things being predictable, and things being unpredictable causes a great deal of anxiety. Even though, if you ask pretty much everyone, the most memorable experiences in their life, the things they think most fondly of, are probably the things that were most difficult, and the things that initially did cause all that anxiety or were uncomfortable. The things that we, as humans, attach meaning to are the things that are meaningful because they're difficult.


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]]> 478. The Neuroscience of Perception: Exploring Self, Social Conformity, and Animal Cognition feat. Gregory Berns Greg La Blanc 00:52:26 false full 478 60c9b067-7071-4c1e-a77e-e3b80d7d2618 477. Cultivating Creativity: The Vital Role of Art in Education and Personal Growth feat. Will Gompertz How does art influence our perception of the world? Can fostering creativity in education lead to overall personal happiness and growth? What lessons can be drawn from historical and modern art practices?

Will Gompertz is the director of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, and the author of several books, including What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art, Think Like an Artist: How to Live a Happier, Smarter, More Creative Life, and most recently See What You're Missing.

Greg and Will discuss the transformative power of art as a tool for self-help and critical engagement. Will analyzes the impact of creativity in education, emphasizing the need for a balanced curriculum that fosters both artistic and analytical thinking. Greg and Will talk about some key figures in the modern art world such as Pierre Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp, who serve as examples of revolutionary artists that challenged the status quo. Will and Greg also explore new ways to look at the importance of teaching art in schools, and how supportive environments in schools and workplaces, like those fostered under leaders like Satya Nadella, can enhance curiosity and innovation. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why is art considered self-help?

01:18: I think art is self-help. I think art is self-help by the artist when he or she is trying to express themselves. It's self-help for us as viewers when we're trying to commune with this idea, this thing which has been put before us and asked us to consider it. And so, I think actually for this sort of the crazy world we live in now, museums, galleries, art, the arts more broadly, are the sanest things that are available to us, where humans are thinking and sharing and considering and challenging and sharing their feelings in a way that seems to be completely disappearing from everyday life, which seems to be getting more hectic, more insular, more anxiety-ridden. So actually, I think the arts are an entity, a form of self-help for all involved.

Creativity and asking questions make us human

07:05: Creativity and asking questions are what make us human. Therefore, when we're doing that, we're at our most human; we're feeling the life force at its most powerful. 

On creating safe spaces for self-discovery in schools

17:56: School should be a place of self-discovery, friendship, community, and expression, not somewhere which feels like an army drill camp; where you get shouted at and told to sit still, sit still, then sit still. But why don't you want to sit still? So we start asking questions and start creating environments where young people feel respected and safe.

Do people need to set aside some time for the consumption of art?

53:45: Human beings have created art in one way, shape, or form since the very first person walked on this earth. And we will continue to create art until the very last person walks on this earth. It (art) is an essential part of the human experience. Therefore, we should all be given the time and space to enjoy.


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

]]> Mon, 4 Nov 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does art influence our perception of the world? Can fostering creativity in education lead to overall personal happiness and growth? What lessons can be drawn from historical and modern art practices?

Will Gompertz is the director of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, and the author of several books, including What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art, Think Like an Artist: How to Live a Happier, Smarter, More Creative Life, and most recently See What You're Missing.

Greg and Will discuss the transformative power of art as a tool for self-help and critical engagement. Will analyzes the impact of creativity in education, emphasizing the need for a balanced curriculum that fosters both artistic and analytical thinking. Greg and Will talk about some key figures in the modern art world such as Pierre Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp, who serve as examples of revolutionary artists that challenged the status quo. Will and Greg also explore new ways to look at the importance of teaching art in schools, and how supportive environments in schools and workplaces, like those fostered under leaders like Satya Nadella, can enhance curiosity and innovation. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why is art considered self-help?

01:18: I think art is self-help. I think art is self-help by the artist when he or she is trying to express themselves. It's self-help for us as viewers when we're trying to commune with this idea, this thing which has been put before us and asked us to consider it. And so, I think actually for this sort of the crazy world we live in now, museums, galleries, art, the arts more broadly, are the sanest things that are available to us, where humans are thinking and sharing and considering and challenging and sharing their feelings in a way that seems to be completely disappearing from everyday life, which seems to be getting more hectic, more insular, more anxiety-ridden. So actually, I think the arts are an entity, a form of self-help for all involved.

Creativity and asking questions make us human

07:05: Creativity and asking questions are what make us human. Therefore, when we're doing that, we're at our most human; we're feeling the life force at its most powerful. 

On creating safe spaces for self-discovery in schools

17:56: School should be a place of self-discovery, friendship, community, and expression, not somewhere which feels like an army drill camp; where you get shouted at and told to sit still, sit still, then sit still. But why don't you want to sit still? So we start asking questions and start creating environments where young people feel respected and safe.

Do people need to set aside some time for the consumption of art?

53:45: Human beings have created art in one way, shape, or form since the very first person walked on this earth. And we will continue to create art until the very last person walks on this earth. It (art) is an essential part of the human experience. Therefore, we should all be given the time and space to enjoy.


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

]]> 477. Cultivating Creativity: The Vital Role of Art in Education and Personal Growth feat. Will Gompertz Greg La Blanc 00:52:22 How does art influence our perception of the world? Can fostering creativity in education lead to overall personal happiness and growth? What lessons can be drawn from historical and modern art practices? Will Gompertz is the director of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, and the author of several books, including What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art, Think Like an Artist: How to Live a Happier, Smarter, More Creative Life, and most recently See What You're Missing. Greg and Will discuss the transformative power of art as a tool for self-help and critical engagement. Will analyzes the impact of creativity in education, emphasizing the need for a balanced curriculum that fosters both artistic and analytical thinking. Greg and Will talk about some key figures in the modern art world such as Pierre Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp, who serve as examples of revolutionary artists that challenged the status quo. Will and Greg also explore new ways to look at the importance of teaching art in schools, and how supportive environments in schools and workplaces, like those fostered under leaders like Satya Nadella, can enhance curiosity and innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does art influence our perception of the world? Can fostering creativity in education lead to overall personal happiness and growth? What lessons can be drawn from historical and modern art practices? Will Gompertz is the director of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, and the author of several books, including What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art, Think Like an Artist: How to Live a Happier, Smarter, More Creative Life, and most recently See What You're Missing. Greg and Will discuss the transformative power of art as a tool for self-help and critical engagement. Will analyzes the impact of creativity in education, emphasizing the need for a balanced curriculum that fosters both artistic and analytical thinking. Greg and Will talk about some key figures in the modern art world such as Pierre Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp, who serve as examples of revolutionary artists that challenged the status quo. Will and Greg also explore new ways to look at the importance of teaching art in schools, and how supportive environments in schools and workplaces, like those fostered under leaders like Satya Nadella, can enhance curiosity and innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 477 619616cf-9c84-4445-8b7c-4ac998efe7db 476. AI's Potential for Positive Social Change feat. Juan M. Lavista Ferres AI is a fast-growing field full of potential insights, challenges, and ethical implications for its users and the world. How can the people behind the machines explore the ways to use AI and data technology to leverage societal benefits?

Juan M. Lavista Ferres is the Corporate Vice President and Chief Data Scientist of the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft. He also co-authored the book AI for Good: Applications in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action, and Health.

Greg and Juan discuss Juan's book 'AI for Good,' various AI projects, and the critical role of data labeling. They also discuss philanthropic initiatives from Microsoft, the transformative impact of robust data collection, and the challenges of applying AI to real-world problems. 

Juan covers innovations like GPT and Seeing AI, as well as the ethical concerns of open access to AI models, and Satya Nadella's leadership transformation at Microsoft. Listen in for insights into the importance of using AI responsibly, collaborative efforts for accurate data processing, and how AI technology can actually enhance real lives.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

On deciding which ai-driven projects are worth doing

12:26: We first ask the questions like, can we solve it through AI? Not a lot of problems can be solved from AI. There's a small portion of them that can be solved with AI. From those problems, does the data exist? Is the data of good quality? And sometimes the answer is no. Even if the data exists, do we have access to the data? Can we get access to the data? We will usually work on the partners' data sets, not our data sets, meaning that the data set will not leave the partners, but sometimes there's no way to have a data-sharing agreement in place, where it makes it impossible to share the data. Once we have that part, the next question is, do we have the right partner? We are not subject matter experts on the point that we work. We are subject matter experts on AI, but if we're working with pancreatic cancer, we need, on the other side, a group of people that are experts on pancreatic cancer, for example. In that case, we try to partner with people who are subject matter experts and are world-renowned.

Data needs to be representative

19:55: Data is a fundamental part. I would say the majority of the success or failure will happen because of the data set, and investing in understanding the data set—making sure that there's no bias—is a critical part of the work. It's tough; it's difficult. Data needs to be representative.

What are the do’s and don’ts for companies looking to launch initiatives for good?

36:40: I would love more companies. So, this is something that we discussed with my team. Whenever we see other competitors creating something like we do, we feel proud because that would be a success for us in many ways. So I would encourage everybody to use that technology for good. That's something that I think is certainly worth the do's and don'ts; I think it's important to make sure that this organization remains clear that its objective is on the noncommercial part of the philanthropic aspect of the company because, within this organization, the objective is to be helping society and making it clear for the people that are working there. That is something that is helping us a lot. Our end goal is to help society, and I think I would encourage other companies to do it.

Is there a possibility of a zero bug project?

21:09: Some of these problems require people to really ask the question: how is this model going to be used correctly? And that takes experience. More importantly, I think it's crucial that in many of these cases, we need to be ready to find those problems and fix them, correct? And I think that this is like software development in many ways. The chances of having a zero-bug project are zero, correct? Projects that have zero bugs are projects that people don't use. What I think is important as an organization is to find those problems, be proactive in trying to find them, and be really fast in solving them.


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

]]> Thu, 31 Oct 2024 13:16:30 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast AI is a fast-growing field full of potential insights, challenges, and ethical implications for its users and the world. How can the people behind the machines explore the ways to use AI and data technology to leverage societal benefits?

Juan M. Lavista Ferres is the Corporate Vice President and Chief Data Scientist of the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft. He also co-authored the book AI for Good: Applications in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action, and Health.

Greg and Juan discuss Juan's book 'AI for Good,' various AI projects, and the critical role of data labeling. They also discuss philanthropic initiatives from Microsoft, the transformative impact of robust data collection, and the challenges of applying AI to real-world problems. 

Juan covers innovations like GPT and Seeing AI, as well as the ethical concerns of open access to AI models, and Satya Nadella's leadership transformation at Microsoft. Listen in for insights into the importance of using AI responsibly, collaborative efforts for accurate data processing, and how AI technology can actually enhance real lives.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

On deciding which ai-driven projects are worth doing

12:26: We first ask the questions like, can we solve it through AI? Not a lot of problems can be solved from AI. There's a small portion of them that can be solved with AI. From those problems, does the data exist? Is the data of good quality? And sometimes the answer is no. Even if the data exists, do we have access to the data? Can we get access to the data? We will usually work on the partners' data sets, not our data sets, meaning that the data set will not leave the partners, but sometimes there's no way to have a data-sharing agreement in place, where it makes it impossible to share the data. Once we have that part, the next question is, do we have the right partner? We are not subject matter experts on the point that we work. We are subject matter experts on AI, but if we're working with pancreatic cancer, we need, on the other side, a group of people that are experts on pancreatic cancer, for example. In that case, we try to partner with people who are subject matter experts and are world-renowned.

Data needs to be representative

19:55: Data is a fundamental part. I would say the majority of the success or failure will happen because of the data set, and investing in understanding the data set—making sure that there's no bias—is a critical part of the work. It's tough; it's difficult. Data needs to be representative.

What are the do’s and don’ts for companies looking to launch initiatives for good?

36:40: I would love more companies. So, this is something that we discussed with my team. Whenever we see other competitors creating something like we do, we feel proud because that would be a success for us in many ways. So I would encourage everybody to use that technology for good. That's something that I think is certainly worth the do's and don'ts; I think it's important to make sure that this organization remains clear that its objective is on the noncommercial part of the philanthropic aspect of the company because, within this organization, the objective is to be helping society and making it clear for the people that are working there. That is something that is helping us a lot. Our end goal is to help society, and I think I would encourage other companies to do it.

Is there a possibility of a zero bug project?

21:09: Some of these problems require people to really ask the question: how is this model going to be used correctly? And that takes experience. More importantly, I think it's crucial that in many of these cases, we need to be ready to find those problems and fix them, correct? And I think that this is like software development in many ways. The chances of having a zero-bug project are zero, correct? Projects that have zero bugs are projects that people don't use. What I think is important as an organization is to find those problems, be proactive in trying to find them, and be really fast in solving them.


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

]]> 476. AI's Potential for Positive Social Change feat. Juan M. Lavista Ferres Greg La Blanc 00:37:00 AI is a fast-growing field full of potential insights, challenges, and ethical implications for its users and the world. How can the people behind the machines explore the ways to use AI and data technology to leverage societal benefits? Juan M. Lavista Ferres is the Corporate Vice President and Chief Data Scientist of the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft. He also co-authored the book AI for Good: Applications in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action, and Health. Greg and Juan discuss Juan's book 'AI for Good,' various AI projects, and the critical role of data labeling. They also discuss philanthropic initiatives from Microsoft, the transformative impact of robust data collection, and the challenges of applying AI to real-world problems. Juan covers innovations like GPT and Seeing AI, as well as the ethical concerns of open access to AI models, and Satya Nadella's leadership transformation at Microsoft. Listen in for insights into the importance of using AI responsibly, collaborative efforts for accurate data processing, and how AI technology can actually enhance real lives. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* AI is a fast-growing field full of potential insights, challenges, and ethical implications for its users and the world. How can the people behind the machines explore the ways to use AI and data technology to leverage societal benefits? Juan M. Lavista Ferres is the Corporate Vice President and Chief Data Scientist of the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft. He also co-authored the book AI for Good: Applications in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action, and Health. Greg and Juan discuss Juan's book 'AI for Good,' various AI projects, and the critical role of data labeling. They also discuss philanthropic initiatives from Microsoft, the transformative impact of robust data collection, and the challenges of applying AI to real-world problems. Juan covers innovations like GPT and Seeing AI, as well as the ethical concerns of open access to AI models, and Satya Nadella's leadership transformation at Microsoft. Listen in for insights into the importance of using AI responsibly, collaborative efforts for accurate data processing, and how AI technology can actually enhance real lives. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 476 47347410-168a-4739-a143-484b7d104d08 475. Unraveling The History of Economic Crises with Harold James How have economic crises throughout history shaped the relationships between nations? Which crises had a hand in wars and major global conflicts? 

Harold James is a professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University. His recent book, Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalization examines major economic upheavals from the 1840s to modern day. 

Greg and Harold chat about the concept of a crisis and its evolution, the delicate nature of interconnected economies, and how the World Wars contributed to hyperinflation or exchange rate stability and continue to impact economic policy today. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

From isolation to innovation lessons from the 1840s and 1970s

41:07: In the longer run, it seems to me that the pattern that I saw in the 1840s and the 1970s, that the longer-term reaction to a supply shock is actually to open up more. And the 1970s had exactly that. First of all, it's turning inward to the thinking that we can do it ourselves in all the big economies. And then an awareness that the most successful economies had actually not done that, turning in on themselves, but had remained open and had allowed themselves, as a consequence, to innovate. 

The 1840s crisis paves the way for a new era

04:05: The crisis of the 1840s generated something in the 1850s that brought the world into a new era, and it's really an era where the Marxist diagnosis gets less and less appropriate.

Understanding demand and supply shocks

27:50: The 2008 shock was really best thought of as a negative demand shock that was the consequence of a financial panic, a contagious financial panic. The 2020 shock was a negative supply shock. It has analogies with previous negative supply shocks, but can't be handled in the way that you deal with the absence of a demand shock in the wake of a financial crisis. So the way in which people might have dealt more effectively with the Great Depression and did deal quite effectively with the Great Financial Crisis, the Great Recession, whatever you like to call the 2008 story. And so the fiscal stabilization is much bigger in 2020 than it was in 2008, but really inappropriately so. So it pushes more inflation in these moments of demand shocks. You just want more demand. When it's a supply shock, you need a specific kind of good or commodity.


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

]]> Mon, 28 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How have economic crises throughout history shaped the relationships between nations? Which crises had a hand in wars and major global conflicts? 

Harold James is a professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University. His recent book, Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalization examines major economic upheavals from the 1840s to modern day. 

Greg and Harold chat about the concept of a crisis and its evolution, the delicate nature of interconnected economies, and how the World Wars contributed to hyperinflation or exchange rate stability and continue to impact economic policy today. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

From isolation to innovation lessons from the 1840s and 1970s

41:07: In the longer run, it seems to me that the pattern that I saw in the 1840s and the 1970s, that the longer-term reaction to a supply shock is actually to open up more. And the 1970s had exactly that. First of all, it's turning inward to the thinking that we can do it ourselves in all the big economies. And then an awareness that the most successful economies had actually not done that, turning in on themselves, but had remained open and had allowed themselves, as a consequence, to innovate. 

The 1840s crisis paves the way for a new era

04:05: The crisis of the 1840s generated something in the 1850s that brought the world into a new era, and it's really an era where the Marxist diagnosis gets less and less appropriate.

Understanding demand and supply shocks

27:50: The 2008 shock was really best thought of as a negative demand shock that was the consequence of a financial panic, a contagious financial panic. The 2020 shock was a negative supply shock. It has analogies with previous negative supply shocks, but can't be handled in the way that you deal with the absence of a demand shock in the wake of a financial crisis. So the way in which people might have dealt more effectively with the Great Depression and did deal quite effectively with the Great Financial Crisis, the Great Recession, whatever you like to call the 2008 story. And so the fiscal stabilization is much bigger in 2020 than it was in 2008, but really inappropriately so. So it pushes more inflation in these moments of demand shocks. You just want more demand. When it's a supply shock, you need a specific kind of good or commodity.


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

]]> 475. Unraveling The History of Economic Crises with Harold James Greg La Blanc 00:44:27 How have economic crises throughout history shaped the relationships between nations? Which crises had a hand in wars and major global conflicts? Harold James is a professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University. His recent book, Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalization examines major economic upheavals from the 1840s to modern day. Greg and Harold chat about the concept of a crisis and its evolution, the delicate nature of interconnected economies, and how the World Wars contributed to hyperinflation or exchange rate stability and continue to impact economic policy today. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How have economic crises throughout history shaped the relationships between nations? Which crises had a hand in wars and major global conflicts? Harold James is a professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University. His recent book, Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalization examines major economic upheavals from the 1840s to modern day. Greg and Harold chat about the concept of a crisis and its evolution, the delicate nature of interconnected economies, and how the World Wars contributed to hyperinflation or exchange rate stability and continue to impact economic policy today. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 475 faa1c0a7-09d4-4e8d-ba57-511a33cdb5eb 474. Common Sense in the Discourse on Sex and Gender feat. Doriane Lambelet Coleman With sex and gender becoming such politicized and polarizing issues recently, what’s a common sense approach to sorting through all the information to better understand the issues at hand? How have different struggles for equal rights throughout history shaped and informed these common-sense positions?

Doriane Lambelet Coleman is a professor at Duke Law School, specializing in scholarship on women, sports, children and law. She is also the author of On Sex and Gender: A Commonsense Approach and Fixing Columbine: The Challenge to American Liberalism.

Greg and Doriane discuss the evolving landscape of sex and gender, highlighting the shift from traditional binary definitions to more inclusive yet controversial perspectives. Doriane advocates for a balanced, evidence-based approach that recognizes both biological differences and the rights of transgender individuals. The conversation also touches on the legal implications of defining sex and gender and the socio-political dynamics that shape current debates. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Balancing trans rights while acknowledging the reality of sex

46:59: Trans people, including trans women, of course, have every right to the same dignity and respect as anyone else, and certainly, equal protection should attach to everyone, including trans people. I don't think we can resolve the impasses without recognizing the difference between sex and gender. I think that we can have trans rights, but not by way of denying sex. In other words, the strategy that requires sex blindness in order to achieve rights for trans people is not going to work for a lot of females. And so, leaving the political right aside that doesn't want to see any gender diversity and working with people who want to be inclusive but also recognize that there are differences between females and trans women, it's going to require that trans advocates take a step back and accept that, in some places, we need to see sex, and we need to be smart about it.

What does it mean to be inclusive?

49:25: Being inclusive means taking into account relevant differences and ignoring differences that aren't relevant. That's really important to do, and we shouldn't shy away from that.

Confronting the provocative shift in our understanding of sex and gender

40:31: I think it's just a really provocative challenge to something so fundamental about ourselves and our society. Like, if you grow up understanding how fundamental sex is to you or gender is to you, and then somebody says it shouldn't be, or we're going to throw it out, or we're going to change what it means, or you can't use that word for yourself anymore, which is all the stuff that's happening, right? People are saying that you've got to start calling yourself a cis woman or, I mean, lots of vocabulary policing, all that kind of stuff about things that are so fundamental. I think it's super provocative, and I think it's super interesting. It's intellectual. It's a phenomenal intellectual challenge. It's an extraordinary political challenge.

Is sex difference an equality problem?

20:27: I think we've made a mistake to put all of sex into equality as an idea. That is the prism through which we view sex. Period, right? That anything you say about sex or do with sex that automatically belongs in the equality bucket, we've automatically got to, like, push it through this increasingly; it's technically intermediate scrutiny, but it's increasingly perceived as strict because that presumes that sex differences are bad. That presumes that any distinctions we would make on the basis of sex are bad. And I think that's wrong. I don't think sex is all bad. I don't think we should presume that most of it is bad. I think a lot of it is great. And so I think that we've made a mistake to see all of sex and sex differences as an equality problem.


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

]]> Thu, 24 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast With sex and gender becoming such politicized and polarizing issues recently, what’s a common sense approach to sorting through all the information to better understand the issues at hand? How have different struggles for equal rights throughout history shaped and informed these common-sense positions?

Doriane Lambelet Coleman is a professor at Duke Law School, specializing in scholarship on women, sports, children and law. She is also the author of On Sex and Gender: A Commonsense Approach and Fixing Columbine: The Challenge to American Liberalism.

Greg and Doriane discuss the evolving landscape of sex and gender, highlighting the shift from traditional binary definitions to more inclusive yet controversial perspectives. Doriane advocates for a balanced, evidence-based approach that recognizes both biological differences and the rights of transgender individuals. The conversation also touches on the legal implications of defining sex and gender and the socio-political dynamics that shape current debates. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Balancing trans rights while acknowledging the reality of sex

46:59: Trans people, including trans women, of course, have every right to the same dignity and respect as anyone else, and certainly, equal protection should attach to everyone, including trans people. I don't think we can resolve the impasses without recognizing the difference between sex and gender. I think that we can have trans rights, but not by way of denying sex. In other words, the strategy that requires sex blindness in order to achieve rights for trans people is not going to work for a lot of females. And so, leaving the political right aside that doesn't want to see any gender diversity and working with people who want to be inclusive but also recognize that there are differences between females and trans women, it's going to require that trans advocates take a step back and accept that, in some places, we need to see sex, and we need to be smart about it.

What does it mean to be inclusive?

49:25: Being inclusive means taking into account relevant differences and ignoring differences that aren't relevant. That's really important to do, and we shouldn't shy away from that.

Confronting the provocative shift in our understanding of sex and gender

40:31: I think it's just a really provocative challenge to something so fundamental about ourselves and our society. Like, if you grow up understanding how fundamental sex is to you or gender is to you, and then somebody says it shouldn't be, or we're going to throw it out, or we're going to change what it means, or you can't use that word for yourself anymore, which is all the stuff that's happening, right? People are saying that you've got to start calling yourself a cis woman or, I mean, lots of vocabulary policing, all that kind of stuff about things that are so fundamental. I think it's super provocative, and I think it's super interesting. It's intellectual. It's a phenomenal intellectual challenge. It's an extraordinary political challenge.

Is sex difference an equality problem?

20:27: I think we've made a mistake to put all of sex into equality as an idea. That is the prism through which we view sex. Period, right? That anything you say about sex or do with sex that automatically belongs in the equality bucket, we've automatically got to, like, push it through this increasingly; it's technically intermediate scrutiny, but it's increasingly perceived as strict because that presumes that sex differences are bad. That presumes that any distinctions we would make on the basis of sex are bad. And I think that's wrong. I don't think sex is all bad. I don't think we should presume that most of it is bad. I think a lot of it is great. And so I think that we've made a mistake to see all of sex and sex differences as an equality problem.


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]]> 474. Common Sense in the Discourse on Sex and Gender feat. Doriane Lambelet Coleman Greg La Blanc 00:47:07 With sex and gender becoming such politicized and polarizing issues recently, what’s a common sense approach to sorting through all the information to better understand the issues at hand? How have different struggles for equal rights throughout history shaped and informed these common-sense positions? Doriane Lambelet Coleman is a professor at Duke Law School, specializing in scholarship on women, sports, children and law. She is also the author of On Sex and Gender: A Commonsense Approach and Fixing Columbine: The Challenge to American Liberalism. Greg and Doriane discuss the evolving landscape of sex and gender, highlighting the shift from traditional binary definitions to more inclusive yet controversial perspectives. Doriane advocates for a balanced, evidence-based approach that recognizes both biological differences and the rights of transgender individuals. The conversation also touches on the legal implications of defining sex and gender and the socio-political dynamics that shape current debates. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* With sex and gender becoming such politicized and polarizing issues recently, what’s a common sense approach to sorting through all the information to better understand the issues at hand? How have different struggles for equal rights throughout history shaped and informed these common-sense positions? Doriane Lambelet Coleman is a professor at Duke Law School, specializing in scholarship on women, sports, children and law. She is also the author of On Sex and Gender: A Commonsense Approach and Fixing Columbine: The Challenge to American Liberalism. Greg and Doriane discuss the evolving landscape of sex and gender, highlighting the shift from traditional binary definitions to more inclusive yet controversial perspectives. Doriane advocates for a balanced, evidence-based approach that recognizes both biological differences and the rights of transgender individuals. The conversation also touches on the legal implications of defining sex and gender and the socio-political dynamics that shape current debates. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 474 a35ba5e9-1216-482d-a293-a9faccdebe92 473. The Evolution of Intelligence with Neil D. Lawrence As we get better and better at training machines to emulate humans, are there certain aspects of human intelligence that artificial intelligence will never be able to copy?

Neil D. Lawrence is a professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge. His new book, The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI explores the meaning of intelligence as it relates to both humans and machines. 

Neil and Greg chat about the nuances of human intelligence and artificial intelligence, discussing how terminology affects perceptions and expectations of AI, pivotal technology advancements in history that paved the way for AI, and the insights Neil gained from his time at Amazon. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The trade-offs of increasing automation and the moral concerns of AI

25:16: As you increase automation, things that would have been moral judgments get moved into processes, whether that's courts of law or whatever; we tend to sort of codify what was a moral judgment, and it brings big advantages. It means we can live together at scale. It reduces the moral load we have if I can make a thousand employees redundant without having to worry individually about how many of them are single mums or whatever I'm worrying about. But, we lose something in that process. And one of the big concerns I have with AI is, yes, something like that's going to happen again. And I don't want to prejudge the future—what people will decide about where they want this technology automating decisions and where they want the human element in. But what I strongly feel is that, as a society, we're not being invited into that decision. And that decision is being made by very few companies and entities who themselves have proven themselves to have a very limited understanding of these subtle elements of society.

On the great AI fallacy

22:17: I think that the great AI fallacy was that we built anything that was going to adapt to us and accommodate us. When we hadn't, it was just more automation of things that humans had to do or could do in the past; but humans then had to accommodate this automation in order to make the best use of it.

Debunking the myth of AI as infallible, all-seeing, and dominating

31:38: One of the problems with the international conversation now is that it's conflating these two things. It's like the thing that appears intelligent is being intelligent through copying our own evolution, our cultural ideas, but then people are assuming that alongside that it has this characteristic of always getting things right, which is just not true because these shortcuts and heuristics it's using are our shortcuts and heuristics, which we know can fail in different circumstances.

What’s the role of software engineers in the emergence of AI?

55:09: So, this modern scribe is the software engineer in terms of the modern scribe, the person who can translate human ideas into things that can be on machines. So it's almost an advance in terms of the computer's powerful technology; it's actually an unpicking of the democratization of information technology.  Because as more and more of our understanding of the world is stored in machines, we're entering a world where it's harder for lawyers and accountants, etc., to access the machine. But this latest wave of technology offers the potential to put that right, because this latest wave makes it possible for a regular human to talk to a computer. 


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]]> Mon, 21 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As we get better and better at training machines to emulate humans, are there certain aspects of human intelligence that artificial intelligence will never be able to copy?

Neil D. Lawrence is a professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge. His new book, The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI explores the meaning of intelligence as it relates to both humans and machines. 

Neil and Greg chat about the nuances of human intelligence and artificial intelligence, discussing how terminology affects perceptions and expectations of AI, pivotal technology advancements in history that paved the way for AI, and the insights Neil gained from his time at Amazon. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

The trade-offs of increasing automation and the moral concerns of AI

25:16: As you increase automation, things that would have been moral judgments get moved into processes, whether that's courts of law or whatever; we tend to sort of codify what was a moral judgment, and it brings big advantages. It means we can live together at scale. It reduces the moral load we have if I can make a thousand employees redundant without having to worry individually about how many of them are single mums or whatever I'm worrying about. But, we lose something in that process. And one of the big concerns I have with AI is, yes, something like that's going to happen again. And I don't want to prejudge the future—what people will decide about where they want this technology automating decisions and where they want the human element in. But what I strongly feel is that, as a society, we're not being invited into that decision. And that decision is being made by very few companies and entities who themselves have proven themselves to have a very limited understanding of these subtle elements of society.

On the great AI fallacy

22:17: I think that the great AI fallacy was that we built anything that was going to adapt to us and accommodate us. When we hadn't, it was just more automation of things that humans had to do or could do in the past; but humans then had to accommodate this automation in order to make the best use of it.

Debunking the myth of AI as infallible, all-seeing, and dominating

31:38: One of the problems with the international conversation now is that it's conflating these two things. It's like the thing that appears intelligent is being intelligent through copying our own evolution, our cultural ideas, but then people are assuming that alongside that it has this characteristic of always getting things right, which is just not true because these shortcuts and heuristics it's using are our shortcuts and heuristics, which we know can fail in different circumstances.

What’s the role of software engineers in the emergence of AI?

55:09: So, this modern scribe is the software engineer in terms of the modern scribe, the person who can translate human ideas into things that can be on machines. So it's almost an advance in terms of the computer's powerful technology; it's actually an unpicking of the democratization of information technology.  Because as more and more of our understanding of the world is stored in machines, we're entering a world where it's harder for lawyers and accountants, etc., to access the machine. But this latest wave of technology offers the potential to put that right, because this latest wave makes it possible for a regular human to talk to a computer. 


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

]]> 473. The Evolution of Intelligence with Neil D. Lawrence Greg La Blanc 00:56:07 As we get better and better at training machines to emulate humans, are there certain aspects of human intelligence that artificial intelligence will never be able to copy? Neil D. Lawrence is a professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge. His new book, The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI explores the meaning of intelligence as it relates to both humans and machines. Neil and Greg chat about the nuances of human intelligence and artificial intelligence, discussing how terminology affects perceptions and expectations of AI, pivotal technology advancements in history that paved the way for AI, and the insights Neil gained from his time at Amazon. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* As we get better and better at training machines to emulate humans, are there certain aspects of human intelligence that artificial intelligence will never be able to copy? Neil D. Lawrence is a professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge. His new book, The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI explores the meaning of intelligence as it relates to both humans and machines. Neil and Greg chat about the nuances of human intelligence and artificial intelligence, discussing how terminology affects perceptions and expectations of AI, pivotal technology advancements in history that paved the way for AI, and the insights Neil gained from his time at Amazon. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 473 a6dc0190-f70c-4f6d-b32b-30a02bd8d113 472. The Endless Quest to Define Humanity: Exploring Prehistory feat. Stefanos Geroulanos Historically, how were narratives used around race, species, and the beliefs of Western civilization? What have been the contemporary implications for those earlier societal beliefs?

Stefanos Geroulanos is the director of the Remarque Institute, a professor of history at New York University, and the author of several books. His latest book is called The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins. 

Greg and Stefanos discuss the complexities of defining human nature and the role of prehistory in understanding humanity's origins. Stefanos explores the ongoing debates about human progress, the impact of scientific discoveries like new fossils, and the culturally loaded interpretations of those findings. 

They also discuss how perspectives on indigenous populations and humanity's past are shaped by evolving scientific interpretations and narrative constructions, highlighting the intersection of science and politics in the research of human origins.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Understanding who we are as humans is key to recognizing our differences

47:37: If we can begin to admit that we are people who are culturally fundamentally, economically fundamentally different—our lemons come from half a world away, the meat that we consume from another half a world away, and so on. If we come around to understanding that our family structures, our relationships, our religious questions are structured in a different form, that our world is technologically bound, and that ultimately, one way or another, we have biological connections, but even our microbiomes must be fundamentally different from what ancient microbiomes were, then we will not end up having this need to say, "Here's where it's all begun."

Recognizing fundamental problems in our story opens paths beyond human origins research

54:49: Recognizing that there have been fundamental problems with a story is one path to recognizing that some of the things we believe in, and some of the hopes we want set, are not necessarily bound by that story entirely, nor were they ever necessarily or entirely bound by that story. I don't think that moral arguments would have ever utterly depended on human origins research.

How human origins research helped overcome traditional views

02:53: Human origins became really key at several stages, and at each of those stages, something absolutely current or something truly urgent was in play. Some of these moments had to do with overcoming traditional religious answers. Others had to do with an overcoming of ideas of human nature, so that certain kinds of stability of human nature and so on. Let's not pretend that they simply disappeared, but they did become secondary. And so human origins research came to fill that void. And in some respects, that's a real advance. And in some respects, that's a problem.

Two stories that helped convince people about evolution

44:40: I kept thinking, in some way, whether these stories of prehistory helped convince people about evolution. And I really thought that there were two of them that did. One was the bit that we were saying before about the thin veneer—that people came to use the expression so much and to believe there is a continuity between our antiquity and now. Not simply between another, meaning an indigenous person somewhere, but that person was a reflection of who we were. And that helped create the broader belief in human continuity. But the other one was this sense about a renaissance, that people would have to somehow come to this astonishing realization that their body is made of hundreds of thousands, millions of years, which is a story that they couldn't think of without these ruins within. 


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]]> Fri, 18 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Historically, how were narratives used around race, species, and the beliefs of Western civilization? What have been the contemporary implications for those earlier societal beliefs?

Stefanos Geroulanos is the director of the Remarque Institute, a professor of history at New York University, and the author of several books. His latest book is called The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins. 

Greg and Stefanos discuss the complexities of defining human nature and the role of prehistory in understanding humanity's origins. Stefanos explores the ongoing debates about human progress, the impact of scientific discoveries like new fossils, and the culturally loaded interpretations of those findings. 

They also discuss how perspectives on indigenous populations and humanity's past are shaped by evolving scientific interpretations and narrative constructions, highlighting the intersection of science and politics in the research of human origins.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Understanding who we are as humans is key to recognizing our differences

47:37: If we can begin to admit that we are people who are culturally fundamentally, economically fundamentally different—our lemons come from half a world away, the meat that we consume from another half a world away, and so on. If we come around to understanding that our family structures, our relationships, our religious questions are structured in a different form, that our world is technologically bound, and that ultimately, one way or another, we have biological connections, but even our microbiomes must be fundamentally different from what ancient microbiomes were, then we will not end up having this need to say, "Here's where it's all begun."

Recognizing fundamental problems in our story opens paths beyond human origins research

54:49: Recognizing that there have been fundamental problems with a story is one path to recognizing that some of the things we believe in, and some of the hopes we want set, are not necessarily bound by that story entirely, nor were they ever necessarily or entirely bound by that story. I don't think that moral arguments would have ever utterly depended on human origins research.

How human origins research helped overcome traditional views

02:53: Human origins became really key at several stages, and at each of those stages, something absolutely current or something truly urgent was in play. Some of these moments had to do with overcoming traditional religious answers. Others had to do with an overcoming of ideas of human nature, so that certain kinds of stability of human nature and so on. Let's not pretend that they simply disappeared, but they did become secondary. And so human origins research came to fill that void. And in some respects, that's a real advance. And in some respects, that's a problem.

Two stories that helped convince people about evolution

44:40: I kept thinking, in some way, whether these stories of prehistory helped convince people about evolution. And I really thought that there were two of them that did. One was the bit that we were saying before about the thin veneer—that people came to use the expression so much and to believe there is a continuity between our antiquity and now. Not simply between another, meaning an indigenous person somewhere, but that person was a reflection of who we were. And that helped create the broader belief in human continuity. But the other one was this sense about a renaissance, that people would have to somehow come to this astonishing realization that their body is made of hundreds of thousands, millions of years, which is a story that they couldn't think of without these ruins within. 


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]]> 472. The Endless Quest to Define Humanity: Exploring Prehistory feat. Stefanos Geroulanos Greg La Blanc 00:55:37 Historically, how were narratives used around race, species, and the beliefs of Western civilization? What have been the contemporary implications for those earlier societal beliefs? Stefanos Geroulanos is the director of the Remarque Institute, a professor of history at New York University, and the author of several books. His latest book is called The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins. Greg and Stefanos discuss the complexities of defining human nature and the role of prehistory in understanding humanity's origins. Stefanos explores the ongoing debates about human progress, the impact of scientific discoveries like new fossils, and the culturally loaded interpretations of those findings. They also discuss how perspectives on indigenous populations and humanity's past are shaped by evolving scientific interpretations and narrative constructions, highlighting the intersection of science and politics in the research of human origins. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Historically, how were narratives used around race, species, and the beliefs of Western civilization? What have been the contemporary implications for those earlier societal beliefs? Stefanos Geroulanos is the director of the Remarque Institute, a professor of history at New York University, and the author of several books. His latest book is called The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins. Greg and Stefanos discuss the complexities of defining human nature and the role of prehistory in understanding humanity's origins. Stefanos explores the ongoing debates about human progress, the impact of scientific discoveries like new fossils, and the culturally loaded interpretations of those findings. They also discuss how perspectives on indigenous populations and humanity's past are shaped by evolving scientific interpretations and narrative constructions, highlighting the intersection of science and politics in the research of human origins. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 472 5ce5f27a-8c63-4440-a58f-aba2c578d333 471. Why It’s Time For Evolutionary Science to Evolve with David P. Mindell The long-held dominant narrative about evolution is that it works like a tree. But as science has advanced in the last century, the idea of a family tree might not tell the full story anymore. 

Evolutionary biologist David P. Mindell is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and the author of The Network of Life: A New View of Evolution which explores the concept of horizontal evolution alongside traditional Darwinian vertical evolution.

Greg and David discuss the importance of creating an updated narrative for evolutionary biology, the intricate nature of hybridization and horizontal gene transfer, the ethical implications of gene editing, and horizontal evolution’s potential application in medicine, agriculture, and public health. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why horizontal evolution matters for understanding life

35:07: We really have to rethink what are the major mechanisms of evolution for all of life, not just what we see in animals or animals and plants. And this is why I think there's been some resistance to this idea that horizontal evolution really is highly consequential. It's just that we tend still to be human-centric, then animal-centric, and then maybe animal- and plant-centric. But if we really want to understand the evolution of all of life, then we can see that horizontal evolution is a big deal. There's both still vertical and horizontal, but we can't neglect the horizontal evolution from the basic, the most basic narrative, especially for the public, if we want them to understand how evolution operates.

How important is an overarching narrative in making sense of new discoveries?

07:37: Narrative is so important because, especially for the public, we understand stories. We're kind of wired to understand a story. And when you get the outlines of a story, you get a lot more information than just the basics of the story. You get new information, and you can plug it into the story as well. So having a narrative that is squared with our best science is valuable because it informs our understanding of evolutionary biology overall.

The power of decentralized evolution in rapid change

14:08: I talk in the book [The Network of Life] about inheritance when you're talking about how horizontal evolution can be decentralized. This is a powerful concept because they are supposed to have pros and cons of decentralization, but one of the advantages of it is its rapid change and rapid innovation. And this certainly can be advantageous for organisms, particularly when they're in a changeable environment, to suddenly get a new set of genes that have already been honed for millions of years in some other organism. If you can manage, if an organism can, if those can be expressed, and they are potentially useful, that's a way to get much faster adaptation than single base pair substitutions, which is what you usually see between parents and progeny.

Can we use horizontal evolution to our benefit—wisely?

41:50: Humans will be doing more and more forms of hybridizations or tinkering with life forms. If we can find some that carry particular functions that humans are interested in and talk briefly about bacteria that have the ability to remediate environmental toxins, this is something most everybody agrees could be a good thing, or bacteria that are capable of producing energy, and so we will eventually be using horizontal evolution to our benefit. You know, the question is, can we do it wisely enough?


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]]> Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The long-held dominant narrative about evolution is that it works like a tree. But as science has advanced in the last century, the idea of a family tree might not tell the full story anymore. 

Evolutionary biologist David P. Mindell is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and the author of The Network of Life: A New View of Evolution which explores the concept of horizontal evolution alongside traditional Darwinian vertical evolution.

Greg and David discuss the importance of creating an updated narrative for evolutionary biology, the intricate nature of hybridization and horizontal gene transfer, the ethical implications of gene editing, and horizontal evolution’s potential application in medicine, agriculture, and public health. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Why horizontal evolution matters for understanding life

35:07: We really have to rethink what are the major mechanisms of evolution for all of life, not just what we see in animals or animals and plants. And this is why I think there's been some resistance to this idea that horizontal evolution really is highly consequential. It's just that we tend still to be human-centric, then animal-centric, and then maybe animal- and plant-centric. But if we really want to understand the evolution of all of life, then we can see that horizontal evolution is a big deal. There's both still vertical and horizontal, but we can't neglect the horizontal evolution from the basic, the most basic narrative, especially for the public, if we want them to understand how evolution operates.

How important is an overarching narrative in making sense of new discoveries?

07:37: Narrative is so important because, especially for the public, we understand stories. We're kind of wired to understand a story. And when you get the outlines of a story, you get a lot more information than just the basics of the story. You get new information, and you can plug it into the story as well. So having a narrative that is squared with our best science is valuable because it informs our understanding of evolutionary biology overall.

The power of decentralized evolution in rapid change

14:08: I talk in the book [The Network of Life] about inheritance when you're talking about how horizontal evolution can be decentralized. This is a powerful concept because they are supposed to have pros and cons of decentralization, but one of the advantages of it is its rapid change and rapid innovation. And this certainly can be advantageous for organisms, particularly when they're in a changeable environment, to suddenly get a new set of genes that have already been honed for millions of years in some other organism. If you can manage, if an organism can, if those can be expressed, and they are potentially useful, that's a way to get much faster adaptation than single base pair substitutions, which is what you usually see between parents and progeny.

Can we use horizontal evolution to our benefit—wisely?

41:50: Humans will be doing more and more forms of hybridizations or tinkering with life forms. If we can find some that carry particular functions that humans are interested in and talk briefly about bacteria that have the ability to remediate environmental toxins, this is something most everybody agrees could be a good thing, or bacteria that are capable of producing energy, and so we will eventually be using horizontal evolution to our benefit. You know, the question is, can we do it wisely enough?


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]]> 471. Why It’s Time For Evolutionary Science to Evolve with David P. Mindell Greg La Blanc 00:48:39 The long-held dominant narrative about evolution is that it works like a tree. But as science has advanced in the last century, the idea of a family tree might not tell the full story anymore. Evolutionary biologist David P. Mindell is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and the author of The Network of Life: A New View of Evolution which explores the concept of horizontal evolution alongside traditional Darwinian vertical evolution. Greg and David discuss the importance of creating an updated narrative for evolutionary biology, the intricate nature of hybridization and horizontal gene transfer, the ethical implications of gene editing, and horizontal evolution’s potential application in medicine, agriculture, and public health. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The long-held dominant narrative about evolution is that it works like a tree. But as science has advanced in the last century, the idea of a family tree might not tell the full story anymore. Evolutionary biologist David P. Mindell is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and the author of The Network of Life: A New View of Evolution which explores the concept of horizontal evolution alongside traditional Darwinian vertical evolution. Greg and David discuss the importance of creating an updated narrative for evolutionary biology, the intricate nature of hybridization and horizontal gene transfer, the ethical implications of gene editing, and horizontal evolution’s potential application in medicine, agriculture, and public health. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 471 7bc556e5-6245-4ba2-8c54-9eef9c3b90fe 470. Understanding Macroeconomics During Volatile Times with Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak When COVID-19 hit, many predictions were made about how the global pandemic would impact the macroeconomy. Some of those predictions were accurate, some of them turned out to be false alarms. But when business leaders need to make strategic decisions with macroeconomic forecasts in mind, how do they tell the truth from the doomsaying? 

Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak is the global chief economist at Boston Consulting Group. He also leads the BCG’s Center for Macroeconomics and regularly contributes to publications like the Harvard Business Review and Fortune.com. His book, Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms: How to Assess True Macroeconomic Risk delves into strategic ways business leaders can assess macroeconomic risk in the face of events like a global pandemic, war, or even presidential elections.

Philipp and Greg discuss the necessity for today’s executives to understand the macroeconomy, a new approach to judging macroeconomic risk, and why conventional models of the past might not be the best predictor for the macroeconomy’s future. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Technology fuels productivity growth

31:53: What's important to recognize is that technology is only the fuel of productivity growth. That's what we call in the book [Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms]; it's the fuel, but you also need the spark. You need firms to actually embrace the technology and put it to use. And the spark—that's the tight labor market. When the availability of labor is low or when the price point is too high, that's when you first nudge firms and later force firms to replace their labor needs with technology.

How are leadership and macroeconomics connected?

06:30: Most leadership is about coming to a conviction of what the future will be like and adjusting actions around that conviction. Macro is no different, and the more we treat macroeconomics as a science, the worse the outcome will be.

How do we decide the optimal amount of history we ought to incorporate into our way of thinking about the world?

25:40: History has great case studies. It shows often coherent drivers that illuminate important parts of the story. But history is always idiosyncratic, and so applying it, extrapolating, or copy-pasting from history is exceedingly difficult, all the way to the sort of inevitability of the great power war. It's simply not true that a rising rival power always leads to great power conflict. I mean, most obviously, Britain was displaced by the U.S., and it didn't come to a head, or like a war or conflict in that sense. So, if you look at the patterns of some of these predictions, it fails right there in the sense that there never is a sort of template-like use of history. All of it is rather idiosyncratic, and that makes it both beautiful and treacherous as an analytical tool.

Navigating distractions with a strategic perspective

49:19: It's so easy to be distracted and go down every rabbit hole the financial press will lay out for you. Every data point is spun into disaster. For every true crisis, many false alarms. And how do we learn to navigate that with more calm and, frankly, a better experience? Well, it's by learning about that more strategic picture of how the thing works.


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]]> Thu, 10 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When COVID-19 hit, many predictions were made about how the global pandemic would impact the macroeconomy. Some of those predictions were accurate, some of them turned out to be false alarms. But when business leaders need to make strategic decisions with macroeconomic forecasts in mind, how do they tell the truth from the doomsaying? 

Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak is the global chief economist at Boston Consulting Group. He also leads the BCG’s Center for Macroeconomics and regularly contributes to publications like the Harvard Business Review and Fortune.com. His book, Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms: How to Assess True Macroeconomic Risk delves into strategic ways business leaders can assess macroeconomic risk in the face of events like a global pandemic, war, or even presidential elections.

Philipp and Greg discuss the necessity for today’s executives to understand the macroeconomy, a new approach to judging macroeconomic risk, and why conventional models of the past might not be the best predictor for the macroeconomy’s future. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Technology fuels productivity growth

31:53: What's important to recognize is that technology is only the fuel of productivity growth. That's what we call in the book [Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms]; it's the fuel, but you also need the spark. You need firms to actually embrace the technology and put it to use. And the spark—that's the tight labor market. When the availability of labor is low or when the price point is too high, that's when you first nudge firms and later force firms to replace their labor needs with technology.

How are leadership and macroeconomics connected?

06:30: Most leadership is about coming to a conviction of what the future will be like and adjusting actions around that conviction. Macro is no different, and the more we treat macroeconomics as a science, the worse the outcome will be.

How do we decide the optimal amount of history we ought to incorporate into our way of thinking about the world?

25:40: History has great case studies. It shows often coherent drivers that illuminate important parts of the story. But history is always idiosyncratic, and so applying it, extrapolating, or copy-pasting from history is exceedingly difficult, all the way to the sort of inevitability of the great power war. It's simply not true that a rising rival power always leads to great power conflict. I mean, most obviously, Britain was displaced by the U.S., and it didn't come to a head, or like a war or conflict in that sense. So, if you look at the patterns of some of these predictions, it fails right there in the sense that there never is a sort of template-like use of history. All of it is rather idiosyncratic, and that makes it both beautiful and treacherous as an analytical tool.

Navigating distractions with a strategic perspective

49:19: It's so easy to be distracted and go down every rabbit hole the financial press will lay out for you. Every data point is spun into disaster. For every true crisis, many false alarms. And how do we learn to navigate that with more calm and, frankly, a better experience? Well, it's by learning about that more strategic picture of how the thing works.


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]]> 470. Understanding Macroeconomics During Volatile Times with Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak Greg La Blanc 00:50:48 When COVID-19 hit, many predictions were made about how the global pandemic would impact the macroeconomy. Some of those predictions were accurate, some of them turned out to be false alarms. But when business leaders need to make strategic decisions with macroeconomic forecasts in mind, how do they tell the truth from the doomsaying? Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak is the global chief economist at Boston Consulting Group. He also leads the BCG’s Center for Macroeconomics and regularly contributes to publications like the Harvard Business Review and Fortune.com. His book, Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms: How to Assess True Macroeconomic Risk delves into strategic ways business leaders can assess macroeconomic risk in the face of events like a global pandemic, war, or even presidential elections. Philipp and Greg discuss the necessity for today’s executives to understand the macroeconomy, a new approach to judging macroeconomic risk, and why conventional models of the past might not be the best predictor for the macroeconomy’s future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When COVID-19 hit, many predictions were made about how the global pandemic would impact the macroeconomy. Some of those predictions were accurate, some of them turned out to be false alarms. But when business leaders need to make strategic decisions with macroeconomic forecasts in mind, how do they tell the truth from the doomsaying? Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak is the global chief economist at Boston Consulting Group. He also leads the BCG’s Center for Macroeconomics and regularly contributes to publications like the Harvard Business Review and Fortune.com. His book, Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms: How to Assess True Macroeconomic Risk delves into strategic ways business leaders can assess macroeconomic risk in the face of events like a global pandemic, war, or even presidential elections. Philipp and Greg discuss the necessity for today’s executives to understand the macroeconomy, a new approach to judging macroeconomic risk, and why conventional models of the past might not be the best predictor for the macroeconomy’s future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 470 98496259-7d18-430e-aa84-11c06f6aff8c 469. The Importance of Learning by Doing feat. Matt Beane How is technology disrupting on-the-job learning? What do we lose from outsourcing the work of novices to technological tools, and what do we gain? How do some surgical students make surprising decisions about where to do their residencies?

Matt Beane is an assistant professor of Technology Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also the author of The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines.

Greg and Matt discuss the impact of technology on work and tacit knowledge transmission, exploring topics like the economics of knowledge transfer, the necessity of Matt’s 3 C’s - Challenge, Complexity, and Connection - for skill development, and the implications of AI and remote work on learning. Matt also discusses his extensive field research and offers his ideas on improving learning and mentorship.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

​​Is connection strictly required for human connection?

40:28: Connection is the third of the three C's, strictly required for healthy skill development. And it is a warm bond of trust and respect between human beings, which we don't often think of as integral to developing skill, but that's integral in two ways. Practically, one is access. If you want to get better at something and I'm an expert, you have to earn my trust and respect to get a shot. I have to give you the job. I have to allow you in the room, whatever. But the other one is motivation, right? Yeah, humans like to produce effects in the world, and that's part of the motivation for skill, but part of it is status. Part of it is feeling like you fit in the social order. And so it is just intrinsically meaningful for us to earn the trust and respect of people who are better at something than us.

The novice is critical inflow for the expert

29:19: The novice is a critical inflow for the expert, a disturbing force. It's annoying, but it's also necessary to keep that expert sharp and ready to deal with today's challenges, not yesterday's.

How does healthy skill development occur?

23:38: Healthy skill development makes you robust to circumstances for machine learning and for human learning. The way that occurs is that as you progress towards skill in a particular area, you digest and consume collateral work. You make sense of your environment, the other jobs, tasks, skills, and data that are flowing through what you're doing.

On rules and discretion

25:39: Rules are useful, and this has to do with this complexity bit, like when and how. It's not just, do I engage with complexity? It's when and how. Before game time? During the game? Definitely not. But even in advance, there are numerous fine-grained different ways of, when is the right time to consume conceptual knowledge, including formalized rules and guidelines for how to do the work. The answer is, basically, don't read the manual before you start to try to use the VCR. You know, minimum exposure. Go try. That's a better time to rock back towards the conceptual.


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

]]> Mon, 7 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How is technology disrupting on-the-job learning? What do we lose from outsourcing the work of novices to technological tools, and what do we gain? How do some surgical students make surprising decisions about where to do their residencies?

Matt Beane is an assistant professor of Technology Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also the author of The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines.

Greg and Matt discuss the impact of technology on work and tacit knowledge transmission, exploring topics like the economics of knowledge transfer, the necessity of Matt’s 3 C’s - Challenge, Complexity, and Connection - for skill development, and the implications of AI and remote work on learning. Matt also discusses his extensive field research and offers his ideas on improving learning and mentorship.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

​​Is connection strictly required for human connection?

40:28: Connection is the third of the three C's, strictly required for healthy skill development. And it is a warm bond of trust and respect between human beings, which we don't often think of as integral to developing skill, but that's integral in two ways. Practically, one is access. If you want to get better at something and I'm an expert, you have to earn my trust and respect to get a shot. I have to give you the job. I have to allow you in the room, whatever. But the other one is motivation, right? Yeah, humans like to produce effects in the world, and that's part of the motivation for skill, but part of it is status. Part of it is feeling like you fit in the social order. And so it is just intrinsically meaningful for us to earn the trust and respect of people who are better at something than us.

The novice is critical inflow for the expert

29:19: The novice is a critical inflow for the expert, a disturbing force. It's annoying, but it's also necessary to keep that expert sharp and ready to deal with today's challenges, not yesterday's.

How does healthy skill development occur?

23:38: Healthy skill development makes you robust to circumstances for machine learning and for human learning. The way that occurs is that as you progress towards skill in a particular area, you digest and consume collateral work. You make sense of your environment, the other jobs, tasks, skills, and data that are flowing through what you're doing.

On rules and discretion

25:39: Rules are useful, and this has to do with this complexity bit, like when and how. It's not just, do I engage with complexity? It's when and how. Before game time? During the game? Definitely not. But even in advance, there are numerous fine-grained different ways of, when is the right time to consume conceptual knowledge, including formalized rules and guidelines for how to do the work. The answer is, basically, don't read the manual before you start to try to use the VCR. You know, minimum exposure. Go try. That's a better time to rock back towards the conceptual.


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

]]> 469. The Importance of Learning by Doing feat. Matt Beane Greg La Blanc 00:57:20 How is technology disrupting on-the-job learning? What do we lose from outsourcing the work of novices to technological tools, and what do we gain? How do some surgical students make surprising decisions about where to do their residencies? Matt Beane is an assistant professor of Technology Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also the author of The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines. Greg and Matt discuss the impact of technology on work and tacit knowledge transmission, exploring topics like the economics of knowledge transfer, the necessity of Matt’s 3 C’s - Challenge, Complexity, and Connection - for skill development, and the implications of AI and remote work on learning. Matt also discusses his extensive field research and offers his ideas on improving learning and mentorship. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How is technology disrupting on-the-job learning? What do we lose from outsourcing the work of novices to technological tools, and what do we gain? How do some surgical students make surprising decisions about where to do their residencies? Matt Beane is an assistant professor of Technology Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also the author of The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines. Greg and Matt discuss the impact of technology on work and tacit knowledge transmission, exploring topics like the economics of knowledge transfer, the necessity of Matt’s 3 C’s - Challenge, Complexity, and Connection - for skill development, and the implications of AI and remote work on learning. Matt also discusses his extensive field research and offers his ideas on improving learning and mentorship. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 469 68a8a4cd-7926-4f36-acce-8c9dadb311d8 468. Art Thinking and Innovative Business Models feat. Amy Whitaker How important is creative thinking and the fusion of business and art in today's ever-evolving business landscape? What are the challenges of navigating uncharted futures with the role of AI?

Amy Whitaker teaches Arts Administration at New York University and is also the author of three books, including Art Thinking: How to Carve Out Creative Space in a World of Schedules, Budgets, and Bosses and Economics of Visual Art: Market Practice and Market Resistance.

Greg and Amy discuss the value of integrating artistic mindsets into business environments. Their conversation delves into blockchain, NFTs, and the democratization of art, alongside anecdotes about the resilience and resourcefulness required for creative endeavors. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Can you be an artist in today's world without having to think about monetization and becoming part of the market?

11:21: I think that as a person, you have to think about being a citizen, and you have to think about being an economic actor. And I think that's true for artists. And I think it's that much more challenging for artists because artists are in a particular position of being both producers and investors, where they have to cover their day-to-day expenses, but they also have to take risks and show us things that are possible, where we are not able to perceive value until many years later, and that value is contestable. We wouldn't all agree on what it is.

Art and sustainable value creation 

10:24: We have to assume that everyone is an artist and that everyone has the potential to be an artist and think that that sort of dignity position has a lot of legs for us in terms of what our society can do. And what it means to have real sustainable value creation in our economy. I think it also is the most hopeful thing that I can come up with, with regard to the body politic as well.

The intersection of business and personal expression

45:25: I think that there's a way that people can understand business through their own ethos, as a person, and, in parallel, can relate to art and creativity without feeling like they have to be, you know, wearing a beret, the letter sort of like bringing your whole self to work and showing up in your particular way. And the envelope is doing that structurally.


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

]]> Thu, 3 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How important is creative thinking and the fusion of business and art in today's ever-evolving business landscape? What are the challenges of navigating uncharted futures with the role of AI?

Amy Whitaker teaches Arts Administration at New York University and is also the author of three books, including Art Thinking: How to Carve Out Creative Space in a World of Schedules, Budgets, and Bosses and Economics of Visual Art: Market Practice and Market Resistance.

Greg and Amy discuss the value of integrating artistic mindsets into business environments. Their conversation delves into blockchain, NFTs, and the democratization of art, alongside anecdotes about the resilience and resourcefulness required for creative endeavors. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:

Episode Quotes:

Can you be an artist in today's world without having to think about monetization and becoming part of the market?

11:21: I think that as a person, you have to think about being a citizen, and you have to think about being an economic actor. And I think that's true for artists. And I think it's that much more challenging for artists because artists are in a particular position of being both producers and investors, where they have to cover their day-to-day expenses, but they also have to take risks and show us things that are possible, where we are not able to perceive value until many years later, and that value is contestable. We wouldn't all agree on what it is.

Art and sustainable value creation 

10:24: We have to assume that everyone is an artist and that everyone has the potential to be an artist and think that that sort of dignity position has a lot of legs for us in terms of what our society can do. And what it means to have real sustainable value creation in our economy. I think it also is the most hopeful thing that I can come up with, with regard to the body politic as well.

The intersection of business and personal expression

45:25: I think that there's a way that people can understand business through their own ethos, as a person, and, in parallel, can relate to art and creativity without feeling like they have to be, you know, wearing a beret, the letter sort of like bringing your whole self to work and showing up in your particular way. And the envelope is doing that structurally.


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

]]> 468. Art Thinking and Innovative Business Models feat. Amy Whitaker Greg La Blanc 01:00:38 How important is creative thinking and the fusion of business and art in today's ever-evolving business landscape? What are the challenges of navigating uncharted futures with the role of AI? Amy Whitaker teaches Arts Administration at New York University and is also the author of three books, including Art Thinking: How to Carve Out Creative Space in a World of Schedules, Budgets, and Bosses and Economics of Visual Art: Market Practice and Market Resistance. Greg and Amy discuss the value of integrating artistic mindsets into business environments. Their conversation delves into blockchain, NFTs, and the democratization of art, alongside anecdotes about the resilience and resourcefulness required for creative endeavors. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How important is creative thinking and the fusion of business and art in today's ever-evolving business landscape? What are the challenges of navigating uncharted futures with the role of AI? Amy Whitaker teaches Arts Administration at New York University and is also the author of three books, including Art Thinking: How to Carve Out Creative Space in a World of Schedules, Budgets, and Bosses and Economics of Visual Art: Market Practice and Market Resistance. Greg and Amy discuss the value of integrating artistic mindsets into business environments. Their conversation delves into blockchain, NFTs, and the democratization of art, alongside anecdotes about the resilience and resourcefulness required for creative endeavors. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 468 612f51ed-f2eb-49a9-814d-3dba5431d027 467. Understanding Human Behavior in Economics with Vernon L. Smith Much of the field of economics derives its theories from a subset of Adam Smith’s philosophy found in the Wealth of Nations. But are economists overlooking other parts of Adam Smith’s teachings that could explain more about human behavior and economics?  

Nobel-prize winning economist Vernon L. Smith is an emeritus professor of economics and law at Chapman University. His books like Rationality in Economics: Constructivist and Ecological Forms and Humanomics: Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations for the Twenty-First Century explore how human behavior shapes economics.

Vernon and Greg discuss the role Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments plays in understanding behavioral economics, Vernon’s early supply and demand experiments, and how his work shaped the field of experimental economics. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Do humans learn economics through experience, not theory?

39:09: People don't get the economics right by thinking about it. They get it right by actually participating in markets and getting a feel for what's going on. And I argue that humans are very good, once they do that. Sure, they can be fooled. And they do a lot of crazy things in a new market before they've acquired experience, but they adapt very well. And so, that equilibrium concepts are relevant. But the behavior is very much experience-oriented. And so, they get there through experiential learning. You see more than just abstract analysis and thinking about it.

Perspective is at the foundation of the theorem of moral sentiments

12:29: [The relationship] Perspective is at the foundation of the Theory of Moral Sentiments. That's what he's [Adam Smith] talking about—sentiments. An important part of it is fellow feeling.

Gratitude influences sacrifice and motivates cooperation

48:16: Gratitude creates indebtedness. And so people may have self-interested motivations, but they also have this motivation to get along with others. And so this proposition predicts, in the trust game, that people are sacrificing; they're taking less reward in order to do what they believe is right, to treat this person.

Why is Vernon championing Adam Smith’s principles in the modern way of thinking about economics?

56:45: So that's why I'm a champion of trying to get that pattern of thinking and Adam Smith's principles into the modern way of thinking in economics. Economics and psychology, and in economics, because the Theorem of Sentiments was a contribution to social psychology that just never took hold. It was another hundred years, you see, before psychology started to do anything. And it was the beginning of the 20th century before psychology became very prominent. And then it was individual psychology, not social psychology. I think Adam Smith would find that strange.


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

]]> Mon, 30 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Much of the field of economics derives its theories from a subset of Adam Smith’s philosophy found in the Wealth of Nations. But are economists overlooking other parts of Adam Smith’s teachings that could explain more about human behavior and economics?  

Nobel-prize winning economist Vernon L. Smith is an emeritus professor of economics and law at Chapman University. His books like Rationality in Economics: Constructivist and Ecological Forms and Humanomics: Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations for the Twenty-First Century explore how human behavior shapes economics.

Vernon and Greg discuss the role Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments plays in understanding behavioral economics, Vernon’s early supply and demand experiments, and how his work shaped the field of experimental economics. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:

Episode Quotes:

Do humans learn economics through experience, not theory?

39:09: People don't get the economics right by thinking about it. They get it right by actually participating in markets and getting a feel for what's going on. And I argue that humans are very good, once they do that. Sure, they can be fooled. And they do a lot of crazy things in a new market before they've acquired experience, but they adapt very well. And so, that equilibrium concepts are relevant. But the behavior is very much experience-oriented. And so, they get there through experiential learning. You see more than just abstract analysis and thinking about it.

Perspective is at the foundation of the theorem of moral sentiments

12:29: [The relationship] Perspective is at the foundation of the Theory of Moral Sentiments. That's what he's [Adam Smith] talking about—sentiments. An important part of it is fellow feeling.

Gratitude influences sacrifice and motivates cooperation

48:16: Gratitude creates indebtedness. And so people may have self-interested motivations, but they also have this motivation to get along with others. And so this proposition predicts, in the trust game, that people are sacrificing; they're taking less reward in order to do what they believe is right, to treat this person.

Why is Vernon championing Adam Smith’s principles in the modern way of thinking about economics?

56:45: So that's why I'm a champion of trying to get that pattern of thinking and Adam Smith's principles into the modern way of thinking in economics. Economics and psychology, and in economics, because the Theorem of Sentiments was a contribution to social psychology that just never took hold. It was another hundred years, you see, before psychology started to do anything. And it was the beginning of the 20th century before psychology became very prominent. And then it was individual psychology, not social psychology. I think Adam Smith would find that strange.


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

]]> 467. Understanding Human Behavior in Economics with Vernon L. Smith Greg La Blanc 00:55:29 Much of the field of economics derives its theories from a subset of Adam Smith’s philosophy found in the Wealth of Nations. But are economists overlooking other parts of Adam Smith’s teachings that could explain more about human behavior and economics?  Nobel-prize winning economist Vernon L. Smith is an emeritus professor of economics and law at Chapman University. His books like Rationality in Economics: Constructivist and Ecological Forms and Humanomics: Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations for the Twenty-First Century explore how human behavior shapes economics. Vernon and Greg discuss the role Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments plays in understanding behavioral economics, Vernon’s early supply and demand experiments, and how his work shaped the field of experimental economics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Much of the field of economics derives its theories from a subset of Adam Smith’s philosophy found in the Wealth of Nations. But are economists overlooking other parts of Adam Smith’s teachings that could explain more about human behavior and economics?  Nobel-prize winning economist Vernon L. Smith is an emeritus professor of economics and law at Chapman University. His books like Rationality in Economics: Constructivist and Ecological Forms and Humanomics: Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations for the Twenty-First Century explore how human behavior shapes economics. Vernon and Greg discuss the role Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments plays in understanding behavioral economics, Vernon’s early supply and demand experiments, and how his work shaped the field of experimental economics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 467 92e0f802-d5a0-4f0e-b1f9-b2a2d27bd284 466. Keeping Science Apolitical with John Staddon Just like all people, scientists have their own morals and political ideologies. But how do those values influence their work? What are the potential ramifications of science mixing with politics? 

John Staddon is an emeritus professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and the author of numerous books. His works like Science in an Age of Unreason and Scientific Method: How Science Works, Fails to Work, and Pretends to Work examine the history of the scientific field and the challenges it faces today from becoming overly entangled with politics. 

John and Greg discuss the importance of distinguishing facts from values in scientific inquiry, how scientific consensus is often mistaken for truth, and the need for scientists to maintain objectivity despite societal pressures. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is modern society abandoning the distinction between balance and fact?

04:59: Science itself cannot be racist. A fact is either true or false. There’s no moral element to simply a fact. There are younger people now, who simply cannot accept that a fact is just a fact. Now, you may react to it one way or another depending on your value system, but the fact by itself is not racist or not racist. So, this is a very serious problem, I think, in modern society because a lot of people have completely abandoned this distinction between fact and value. And it's wrecking, not nuclear physics or electronics, but it's wrecking the human sciences. 

Suppressing a fact can be just a harmful as promoting a lie

07:04: Logic tells you suppressing a fact can be just as harmful as promoting a lie, and indeed, suppressing a fact will often lead to promoting a lie as a substitute for it. So, you've just gotta keep them [emotions and judgment of the truth or falsity of facts] separate.

When uncertainty is the only honest answer in science

13:54: One should be more skeptical of social science because it's much harder to obtain a definitive result. [14:13]: So the really only honest response is to say, "I don't know." The problem is that society doesn't want to say, "I don't know." 

Are there too many scientists and too many scientific journals, with too much effort invested in the sciences?

22:19: Success in science, a lot of it's luck. You happen to be in an area where there's a problem that can be solved, and the opportunity comes, and you solve it. But it's certainly not true that by sheer effort you can find a fertile area. So that's one problem. The other problem, well, there are a number of points to make. One other one is that science is not a manufacturing process. It's like widgets, you know. If you want to double the number of people making widgets, you've got to double the number of widgets. Science is not like that. It has to be solvable problems. But if you double the number of scientists and the number of available problems is not doubled, you've got a problem because they've got to find something to do, and so on, and you're liable to generate as much noise as knowledge. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Thu, 26 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Just like all people, scientists have their own morals and political ideologies. But how do those values influence their work? What are the potential ramifications of science mixing with politics? 

John Staddon is an emeritus professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and the author of numerous books. His works like Science in an Age of Unreason and Scientific Method: How Science Works, Fails to Work, and Pretends to Work examine the history of the scientific field and the challenges it faces today from becoming overly entangled with politics. 

John and Greg discuss the importance of distinguishing facts from values in scientific inquiry, how scientific consensus is often mistaken for truth, and the need for scientists to maintain objectivity despite societal pressures. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is modern society abandoning the distinction between balance and fact?

04:59: Science itself cannot be racist. A fact is either true or false. There’s no moral element to simply a fact. There are younger people now, who simply cannot accept that a fact is just a fact. Now, you may react to it one way or another depending on your value system, but the fact by itself is not racist or not racist. So, this is a very serious problem, I think, in modern society because a lot of people have completely abandoned this distinction between fact and value. And it's wrecking, not nuclear physics or electronics, but it's wrecking the human sciences. 

Suppressing a fact can be just a harmful as promoting a lie

07:04: Logic tells you suppressing a fact can be just as harmful as promoting a lie, and indeed, suppressing a fact will often lead to promoting a lie as a substitute for it. So, you've just gotta keep them [emotions and judgment of the truth or falsity of facts] separate.

When uncertainty is the only honest answer in science

13:54: One should be more skeptical of social science because it's much harder to obtain a definitive result. [14:13]: So the really only honest response is to say, "I don't know." The problem is that society doesn't want to say, "I don't know." 

Are there too many scientists and too many scientific journals, with too much effort invested in the sciences?

22:19: Success in science, a lot of it's luck. You happen to be in an area where there's a problem that can be solved, and the opportunity comes, and you solve it. But it's certainly not true that by sheer effort you can find a fertile area. So that's one problem. The other problem, well, there are a number of points to make. One other one is that science is not a manufacturing process. It's like widgets, you know. If you want to double the number of people making widgets, you've got to double the number of widgets. Science is not like that. It has to be solvable problems. But if you double the number of scientists and the number of available problems is not doubled, you've got a problem because they've got to find something to do, and so on, and you're liable to generate as much noise as knowledge. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 466. Keeping Science Apolitical with John Staddon Greg La Blanc 00:43:27 Just like all people, scientists have their own morals and political ideologies. But how do those values influence their work? What are the potential ramifications of science mixing with politics? John Staddon is an emeritus professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and the author of numerous books. His works like Science in an Age of Unreason and Scientific Method: How Science Works, Fails to Work, and Pretends to Work examine the history of the scientific field and the challenges it faces today from becoming overly entangled with politics. John and Greg discuss the importance of distinguishing facts from values in scientific inquiry, how scientific consensus is often mistaken for truth, and the need for scientists to maintain objectivity despite societal pressures. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Just like all people, scientists have their own morals and political ideologies. But how do those values influence their work? What are the potential ramifications of science mixing with politics? John Staddon is an emeritus professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and the author of numerous books. His works like Science in an Age of Unreason and Scientific Method: How Science Works, Fails to Work, and Pretends to Work examine the history of the scientific field and the challenges it faces today from becoming overly entangled with politics. John and Greg discuss the importance of distinguishing facts from values in scientific inquiry, how scientific consensus is often mistaken for truth, and the need for scientists to maintain objectivity despite societal pressures. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 466 aa5cf8de-0dca-48cb-8a2d-fcb8a54240e6 465. Placebo Power: Mindfulness and Its Impact on Health feat. Ellen J. Langer Ellen J. Langer is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. She is also the author of several books, including The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health, Mindfulness, Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility, and The Power of Mindful Learning.

Ellen and Greg discuss the profound influence of mindfulness on decision-making and work-life balance, while challenging the illusions of control, certainty, and predictability. Ellen also breaks down the extraordinary world of placebos, illustrating how mindfulness can have a placebo-like effect on health, and how our beliefs and thoughts can significantly impact our physical health. They also talk about mindfulness in education and healthcare, underscoring its invaluable benefits for patients, doctors, and individuals in general.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the importance of showing-up

07:34: If you're going to do something, you should show up for it. And when you do show up for it, everything is better. So as you're actively noticing, you look alive. People find you more attractive. When you're being mindful, people see you as charismatic, authentic, and certainly attractive. Not only that, it makes you healthier, it's fun, and people are going to find you more appealing, but it actually leaves its imprint in the things that we do. They're just better. So if you're painting, playing a musical instrument, writing a report, no matter what you're doing, if you show up for the activity, you're going to produce something better. To my mind, there's no reason, once people truly understand what this work is about, that you would not try to change your ways in some sense and be mindful virtually all the time.

Mindfulness is a way of being

03:24: People need to understand that mindfulness has nothing to do with meditation. Meditation is not about mindfulness. Meditation is a practice you engage in to result in post-meditative mindfulness. Mindfulness, as we study it, is immediate. And it's not a practice. It's a way of being.

Why is going from being mindless to mindful is hard?

24:31: Going from being mindless to mindful is hard because when you're not there, you're not there to know you're not there. So that's why the instruction is, "Stop and smell the roses and be in the present." It's sweet but empty because when you're not there, you don't know that you're not there. So you can't fix it, but if you were to throw yourself into some new activity without worrying about being evaluated, and you feel how good it feels to be totally engaged, then just don't accept anything less than that.

On being mindful of shifting point of view

11:48: When people are mindless, they're more or less acting like automatons. And when you're mindful, you have a general sense of what you want to do. You can have goals and routines, but they're guiding what you're doing. They're not overly determining what you're doing. So I say to my students, "Okay, let's say, on your way to class today, you run into Michelle Obama. And she takes such a liking to you for who knows what reason. And she says, 'Do you want to go have a cup of coffee?'" It would be crazy for you to say, "No, I have to go to class." All right, but I think mindlessly, especially the A students, that's just what they would do, rather than say, "Well, circumstances now are so unusual, I should take advantage of it." And so when you're mindful because you're there, you get to take advantage of opportunities to which you'd otherwise be blind, and you avoid the danger that has not yet arisen.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Ellen J. Langer is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. She is also the author of several books, including The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health, Mindfulness, Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility, and The Power of Mindful Learning.

Ellen and Greg discuss the profound influence of mindfulness on decision-making and work-life balance, while challenging the illusions of control, certainty, and predictability. Ellen also breaks down the extraordinary world of placebos, illustrating how mindfulness can have a placebo-like effect on health, and how our beliefs and thoughts can significantly impact our physical health. They also talk about mindfulness in education and healthcare, underscoring its invaluable benefits for patients, doctors, and individuals in general.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the importance of showing-up

07:34: If you're going to do something, you should show up for it. And when you do show up for it, everything is better. So as you're actively noticing, you look alive. People find you more attractive. When you're being mindful, people see you as charismatic, authentic, and certainly attractive. Not only that, it makes you healthier, it's fun, and people are going to find you more appealing, but it actually leaves its imprint in the things that we do. They're just better. So if you're painting, playing a musical instrument, writing a report, no matter what you're doing, if you show up for the activity, you're going to produce something better. To my mind, there's no reason, once people truly understand what this work is about, that you would not try to change your ways in some sense and be mindful virtually all the time.

Mindfulness is a way of being

03:24: People need to understand that mindfulness has nothing to do with meditation. Meditation is not about mindfulness. Meditation is a practice you engage in to result in post-meditative mindfulness. Mindfulness, as we study it, is immediate. And it's not a practice. It's a way of being.

Why is going from being mindless to mindful is hard?

24:31: Going from being mindless to mindful is hard because when you're not there, you're not there to know you're not there. So that's why the instruction is, "Stop and smell the roses and be in the present." It's sweet but empty because when you're not there, you don't know that you're not there. So you can't fix it, but if you were to throw yourself into some new activity without worrying about being evaluated, and you feel how good it feels to be totally engaged, then just don't accept anything less than that.

On being mindful of shifting point of view

11:48: When people are mindless, they're more or less acting like automatons. And when you're mindful, you have a general sense of what you want to do. You can have goals and routines, but they're guiding what you're doing. They're not overly determining what you're doing. So I say to my students, "Okay, let's say, on your way to class today, you run into Michelle Obama. And she takes such a liking to you for who knows what reason. And she says, 'Do you want to go have a cup of coffee?'" It would be crazy for you to say, "No, I have to go to class." All right, but I think mindlessly, especially the A students, that's just what they would do, rather than say, "Well, circumstances now are so unusual, I should take advantage of it." And so when you're mindful because you're there, you get to take advantage of opportunities to which you'd otherwise be blind, and you avoid the danger that has not yet arisen.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 465. Placebo Power: Mindfulness and Its Impact on Health feat. Ellen J. Langer Greg La Blanc 01:03:16 Ellen J. Langer is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. She is also the author of several books, including The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health, Mindfulness, Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility, and The Power of Mindful Learning. Ellen and Greg discuss the profound influence of mindfulness on decision-making and work-life balance, while challenging the illusions of control, certainty, and predictability. Ellen also breaks down the extraordinary world of placebos, illustrating how mindfulness can have a placebo-like effect on health, and how our beliefs and thoughts can significantly impact our physical health. They also talk about mindfulness in education and healthcare, underscoring its invaluable benefits for patients, doctors, and individuals in general. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Ellen J. Langer is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. She is also the author of several books, including The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health, Mindfulness, Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility, and The Power of Mindful Learning. Ellen and Greg discuss the profound influence of mindfulness on decision-making and work-life balance, while challenging the illusions of control, certainty, and predictability. Ellen also breaks down the extraordinary world of placebos, illustrating how mindfulness can have a placebo-like effect on health, and how our beliefs and thoughts can significantly impact our physical health. They also talk about mindfulness in education and healthcare, underscoring its invaluable benefits for patients, doctors, and individuals in general. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 465 fa355d1c-2107-46c5-b5fb-4258d4351f3f 464. The Digital Age From Your Brain’s POV with Richard Cytowic There’s a significant mismatch between our ancient brain's capabilities and the rapid advancements in technology. Simply put, our brains just can’t keep up in the digital age. But what does that impact look like from the brain’s point of view? What’s really going on with the neurotransmitters when we take in all that information? 

Richard Cytowic is a professor of neurology at George Washington University. His books like Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age: Coping with Digital Distraction and Sensory Overload and The Man Who Tasted Shapes examine the effects of technology on the brain and explore the rare but very real phenomenon of synesthesia. 

Richard and Greg chat about the energy economics of brain function, the inherent limitations of multitasking, and the benefits of a digital detox. They also explore synesthesia, how human neurology is uniquely wired for metaphor, and how babies might all have some form of synesthesia early on. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why multitasking is exhausting your brain

04:05: Our brains today are no different from those of our distant ancestors. I mean, they have not evolved one iota, whereas technology has been advancing ten thousand, a million times more than that. So I do think we've reached the point where we're asking it to do what it simply can't do anymore. The brain has a fixed level of energy that it can use, and no amount of diet, exercise, supplements, or Sudoku puzzles can possibly increase that. So when you're asking it to multitask or to keep switching attention from one thing to another, you're asking it to do things that it was never designed to do, that it can't do very well, if at all. And so that's why people are burned out and fatigued.

Why are people so concerned about what they put in their bodies, but not about what their mind consumes?

35:13: People are so concerned about what they put in their bodies—non-GMO, vegan, no sugar, no artificial colorings. But why aren't they as picky about what they ingest through their senses? I mean, the mental garbage that we take in is certainly less harmful than the occasional cheeseburger and Twinkie. So people just don't think in terms of, "What is my sensory diet?" And again, I'm so unusual because I'm thinking neurologically and neuropsychologically, and most people never have the opportunity or the inclination to think about the way that they think—this metacognition kind of thing.

Quiet is an essential nutrient 

15:03: Quiet is the antidote to everything. I call it an essential nutrient. We need it to give ourselves space to think. And part of it has to do, I think, with people feeling that they don't like solitude. They think being alone is an odious, difficult state. But I say that solitude has. Loneliness wants. And so if you can distinguish between the two—that here, sitting in a park with a tree and a green space, and I'm quite happy, eating my lunch here in solitude—then this is a positive experience for me. I'm giving myself a nourishing experience. But if I'm thinking, Oh my God, I'm all alone. There's nobody to talk to. I don't know what to do; you're doing a number on yourself and freaking yourself out.

The iPad as babysitter

29:52: The iPad is the worst babysitter in the world. Look at a baby when they get to be on the move and start crawling. They put everything in their mouths. They're touching, feeling, and having a visual apprenticeship with the world. And when you put this screen full of mediated images in front of them, those characters, if they're Disneyfied or not, don't engage with the child in the same way that a real human being does. They talk at a child. They don't talk with a child. Whereas an adult who's playing peek-a-boo, and "so big," and other kinds of things like that, they're speaking to the child in normal adult language. And these kids are picking things up like sponges, believe me, and that's what they need to have. They need to have that one-on-one interaction.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Thu, 19 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There’s a significant mismatch between our ancient brain's capabilities and the rapid advancements in technology. Simply put, our brains just can’t keep up in the digital age. But what does that impact look like from the brain’s point of view? What’s really going on with the neurotransmitters when we take in all that information? 

Richard Cytowic is a professor of neurology at George Washington University. His books like Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age: Coping with Digital Distraction and Sensory Overload and The Man Who Tasted Shapes examine the effects of technology on the brain and explore the rare but very real phenomenon of synesthesia. 

Richard and Greg chat about the energy economics of brain function, the inherent limitations of multitasking, and the benefits of a digital detox. They also explore synesthesia, how human neurology is uniquely wired for metaphor, and how babies might all have some form of synesthesia early on. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why multitasking is exhausting your brain

04:05: Our brains today are no different from those of our distant ancestors. I mean, they have not evolved one iota, whereas technology has been advancing ten thousand, a million times more than that. So I do think we've reached the point where we're asking it to do what it simply can't do anymore. The brain has a fixed level of energy that it can use, and no amount of diet, exercise, supplements, or Sudoku puzzles can possibly increase that. So when you're asking it to multitask or to keep switching attention from one thing to another, you're asking it to do things that it was never designed to do, that it can't do very well, if at all. And so that's why people are burned out and fatigued.

Why are people so concerned about what they put in their bodies, but not about what their mind consumes?

35:13: People are so concerned about what they put in their bodies—non-GMO, vegan, no sugar, no artificial colorings. But why aren't they as picky about what they ingest through their senses? I mean, the mental garbage that we take in is certainly less harmful than the occasional cheeseburger and Twinkie. So people just don't think in terms of, "What is my sensory diet?" And again, I'm so unusual because I'm thinking neurologically and neuropsychologically, and most people never have the opportunity or the inclination to think about the way that they think—this metacognition kind of thing.

Quiet is an essential nutrient 

15:03: Quiet is the antidote to everything. I call it an essential nutrient. We need it to give ourselves space to think. And part of it has to do, I think, with people feeling that they don't like solitude. They think being alone is an odious, difficult state. But I say that solitude has. Loneliness wants. And so if you can distinguish between the two—that here, sitting in a park with a tree and a green space, and I'm quite happy, eating my lunch here in solitude—then this is a positive experience for me. I'm giving myself a nourishing experience. But if I'm thinking, Oh my God, I'm all alone. There's nobody to talk to. I don't know what to do; you're doing a number on yourself and freaking yourself out.

The iPad as babysitter

29:52: The iPad is the worst babysitter in the world. Look at a baby when they get to be on the move and start crawling. They put everything in their mouths. They're touching, feeling, and having a visual apprenticeship with the world. And when you put this screen full of mediated images in front of them, those characters, if they're Disneyfied or not, don't engage with the child in the same way that a real human being does. They talk at a child. They don't talk with a child. Whereas an adult who's playing peek-a-boo, and "so big," and other kinds of things like that, they're speaking to the child in normal adult language. And these kids are picking things up like sponges, believe me, and that's what they need to have. They need to have that one-on-one interaction.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 464. The Digital Age From Your Brain’s POV with Richard Cytowic Greg La Blanc 00:55:31 There’s a significant mismatch between our ancient brain's capabilities and the rapid advancements in technology. Simply put, our brains just can’t keep up in the digital age. But what does that impact look like from the brain’s point of view? What’s really going on with the neurotransmitters when we take in all that information? Richard Cytowic is a professor of neurology at George Washington University. His books like Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age: Coping with Digital Distraction and Sensory Overload and The Man Who Tasted Shapes examine the effects of technology on the brain and explore the rare but very real phenomenon of synesthesia. Richard and Greg chat about the energy economics of brain function, the inherent limitations of multitasking, and the benefits of a digital detox. They also explore synesthesia, how human neurology is uniquely wired for metaphor, and how babies might all have some form of synesthesia early on. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* There’s a significant mismatch between our ancient brain's capabilities and the rapid advancements in technology. Simply put, our brains just can’t keep up in the digital age. But what does that impact look like from the brain’s point of view? What’s really going on with the neurotransmitters when we take in all that information? Richard Cytowic is a professor of neurology at George Washington University. His books like Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age: Coping with Digital Distraction and Sensory Overload and The Man Who Tasted Shapes examine the effects of technology on the brain and explore the rare but very real phenomenon of synesthesia. Richard and Greg chat about the energy economics of brain function, the inherent limitations of multitasking, and the benefits of a digital detox. They also explore synesthesia, how human neurology is uniquely wired for metaphor, and how babies might all have some form of synesthesia early on. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 464 819d4f57-1c7b-4353-bca7-3182ac1d0239 463. Forecasting the Future of Energy and AI feat. Mark P. Mills When does predicting the future become a science and not a fantasy? What can be learned from forecasts throughout the ages and across different industries? What does the future of energy look like, given certain unchangeable limitations of physics themselves?

Mark P. Mills is the founder and executive director of the National Center for Energy Analytics and the author of the books The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s, Digital Cathedrals, and Work in the Age of Robots. 

Greg and Mark discuss the complexities and pitfalls of forecasting, why we often get it wrong, and the various types of forecasters. Mark explains the interconnectedness of energy, computing, and infrastructure, arguing against a simplistic view of an energy transition and highlighting the intricate dance of innovation and efficiency across centuries. He also touches on the future impact of AI, the importance of complementary investments for technological growth, and the profound phase changes society is currently undergoing. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On forecasting and the future of technology

06:04: In the book [The Cloud Revolution], what I chose to do was a framing of a forecast with technology that was very specific, and which I think can be highly predictive and accurate. And this is not about how much money people will make or what company will succeed, but if you want to forecast the next decade on technology, not about human nature, not about wars, not about who gets elected, those things all matter because the world is dynamic, and these things interact. Economies matter; they affect our ability to build things, fund things. So, an economy that's shrinking can delay the forecast of a new product or service because if the new product or service requires new capital, new infrastructure, and capital's expensive, then the actual emergence of that system might take longer than you thought, but it'll still happen. It'll just happen later.

Efficiency fuels demand, not reduces it

44:15: The idea, which we can find better and implement better through compute communications and AI, means that we have not tapped all the efficiencies, systems, and supply chains. There's enormous efficiency to be had. But efficiency creates demand; it doesn't kill demand…This complete misunderstanding of efficiency is a failure to understand how humans operate, how we live our lives, and what we like to do.

Why big airplanes won't fly on lithium batteries

40:39: When the technologies are new, there are two things about them: we haven't figured out how to make them at physics limits yet. Our knowledge is weak. We haven't refined the engineering because it's a new technology. So, as you do that, you approach physics limits. And this is what's going on now with batteries. You can't store more energy in a lithium battery than exists in the lithiated chemicals. You can't. I mean, it's the lithium atom. It's one of the most energetic atoms on the periodic table. But lithiated chemicals have one-fifth the energy per pound that hydrocarbons do. So, hydrocarbons start with a 50-fold. That's a pretty big advantage in energy per pound. So, what you would do then is make machines to extract the energy per pound, which is why big airplanes are not going to have lithium batteries. They'll carry them, but they're not going to fly with them. Little ones can because the advantage that the hydrocarbons have in the physics of the universe we live in is so much greater. So, it doesn't matter how cheap the lithium is. If it were free, it wouldn't change the fact that the fuel for the airplane would weigh more than the airplane because it's not dense enough.

Systems have inertia

33:48: Systems have inertia, economic systems, and financial systems. Physical systems all have inertia. It's a physics term, but it's anchored in how the universe really operates. You can't change big things quickly, except by explosions, right? In social economic terms and physical terms. You can change things quickly and explosively, but explosions are destructive, whether it's a financial, economic, or physical system. So, the velocity of change first begins with the size of the system you're trying to change. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 16 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When does predicting the future become a science and not a fantasy? What can be learned from forecasts throughout the ages and across different industries? What does the future of energy look like, given certain unchangeable limitations of physics themselves?

Mark P. Mills is the founder and executive director of the National Center for Energy Analytics and the author of the books The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s, Digital Cathedrals, and Work in the Age of Robots. 

Greg and Mark discuss the complexities and pitfalls of forecasting, why we often get it wrong, and the various types of forecasters. Mark explains the interconnectedness of energy, computing, and infrastructure, arguing against a simplistic view of an energy transition and highlighting the intricate dance of innovation and efficiency across centuries. He also touches on the future impact of AI, the importance of complementary investments for technological growth, and the profound phase changes society is currently undergoing. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On forecasting and the future of technology

06:04: In the book [The Cloud Revolution], what I chose to do was a framing of a forecast with technology that was very specific, and which I think can be highly predictive and accurate. And this is not about how much money people will make or what company will succeed, but if you want to forecast the next decade on technology, not about human nature, not about wars, not about who gets elected, those things all matter because the world is dynamic, and these things interact. Economies matter; they affect our ability to build things, fund things. So, an economy that's shrinking can delay the forecast of a new product or service because if the new product or service requires new capital, new infrastructure, and capital's expensive, then the actual emergence of that system might take longer than you thought, but it'll still happen. It'll just happen later.

Efficiency fuels demand, not reduces it

44:15: The idea, which we can find better and implement better through compute communications and AI, means that we have not tapped all the efficiencies, systems, and supply chains. There's enormous efficiency to be had. But efficiency creates demand; it doesn't kill demand…This complete misunderstanding of efficiency is a failure to understand how humans operate, how we live our lives, and what we like to do.

Why big airplanes won't fly on lithium batteries

40:39: When the technologies are new, there are two things about them: we haven't figured out how to make them at physics limits yet. Our knowledge is weak. We haven't refined the engineering because it's a new technology. So, as you do that, you approach physics limits. And this is what's going on now with batteries. You can't store more energy in a lithium battery than exists in the lithiated chemicals. You can't. I mean, it's the lithium atom. It's one of the most energetic atoms on the periodic table. But lithiated chemicals have one-fifth the energy per pound that hydrocarbons do. So, hydrocarbons start with a 50-fold. That's a pretty big advantage in energy per pound. So, what you would do then is make machines to extract the energy per pound, which is why big airplanes are not going to have lithium batteries. They'll carry them, but they're not going to fly with them. Little ones can because the advantage that the hydrocarbons have in the physics of the universe we live in is so much greater. So, it doesn't matter how cheap the lithium is. If it were free, it wouldn't change the fact that the fuel for the airplane would weigh more than the airplane because it's not dense enough.

Systems have inertia

33:48: Systems have inertia, economic systems, and financial systems. Physical systems all have inertia. It's a physics term, but it's anchored in how the universe really operates. You can't change big things quickly, except by explosions, right? In social economic terms and physical terms. You can change things quickly and explosively, but explosions are destructive, whether it's a financial, economic, or physical system. So, the velocity of change first begins with the size of the system you're trying to change. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 463. Forecasting the Future of Energy and AI feat. Mark P. Mills Greg La Blanc 00:58:54 When does predicting the future become a science and not a fantasy? What can be learned from forecasts throughout the ages and across different industries? What does the future of energy look like, given certain unchangeable limitations of physics themselves? Mark P. Mills is the founder and executive director of the National Center for Energy Analytics and the author of the books The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s, Digital Cathedrals, and Work in the Age of Robots. Greg and Mark discuss the complexities and pitfalls of forecasting, why we often get it wrong, and the various types of forecasters. Mark explains the interconnectedness of energy, computing, and infrastructure, arguing against a simplistic view of an energy transition and highlighting the intricate dance of innovation and efficiency across centuries. He also touches on the future impact of AI, the importance of complementary investments for technological growth, and the profound phase changes society is currently undergoing. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When does predicting the future become a science and not a fantasy? What can be learned from forecasts throughout the ages and across different industries? What does the future of energy look like, given certain unchangeable limitations of physics themselves? Mark P. Mills is the founder and executive director of the National Center for Energy Analytics and the author of the books The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s, Digital Cathedrals, and Work in the Age of Robots. Greg and Mark discuss the complexities and pitfalls of forecasting, why we often get it wrong, and the various types of forecasters. Mark explains the interconnectedness of energy, computing, and infrastructure, arguing against a simplistic view of an energy transition and highlighting the intricate dance of innovation and efficiency across centuries. He also touches on the future impact of AI, the importance of complementary investments for technological growth, and the profound phase changes society is currently undergoing. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 463 21e6ae87-c298-4d45-a619-7049172269a6 462. The Science of Management with Nicholas Bloom How do you measure the quality of management at a company? And how much do management practices impact a firm’s overall performance? 

Nicholas Bloom is a professor of economics at Stanford University and co-director of the Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research on working from home and management practices has been published in numerous scientific journals, including the Journal of Political Economy and Nature. 

Nicholas and Greg discuss the historical trends of productivity growth, why management is often overlooked as a technological advance, and the challenges of measuring and improving management quality. Nicholas also shares some of his key management tips from his years of studying firms across the world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is high uncertainty an opportunity for big returns?

43:42: High uncertainty is where the money is. When life's uncertain, that's where the profits have been made. Kind of Warren Buffett/VCs. A good example of that would be the dot-com boom. So, in the dot-com boom, everyone knew in the early 2000s, look, the internet's going to be a big thing. And it turns out it was a big thing. You just don't know which bit and when and how. And so the view is, look, if we invest in the internet, we have a lot of these implicit options on it. And if it takes off, these are valuable. If they’re not, we wasted our money, but no more. And so, there's also kind of what I call exploratory investment when demand or markets are uncertain. You do, on the other hand, want to spend some kind of R&D-ish type money or open subsidiaries or open up a website or whatever. And it's like placing a bet. It's like investment in equity, if you think about it. And if it works out well, great. You've 10x your money. And if it doesn't, you've lost your cash.

The key for hybrid work is coordination

35:53: Hybrid is coordination. So, it sounds obvious, but if you're on a hybrid plan, whereby, say, you've got to be in the office three days a week, you want to make sure it's the same three days as your team because the thing that sends people mad is coming in and then spending all day on Zoom because everyone else is at home.

Why do owners struggle to recognize great management?

23:12: So, part of the problem why management isn't great is that owners don't appreciate it or aren't aware of it. The other hard part of it is that it's intangible, so it's hard to buy it. So, you have ten candidates; they all claim they're great managers. How do you know? It's a tough thing to actually turn. Ten consulting firms—every consulting firm claims that it will make you so much money, but whether they do after the event is much less obvious.

Do government-owned organizations struggle with managing underperformance?

16:34: You find in the data, on average, government-owned organizations tend not to be very well managed, and where they're particularly poor is what I'll call dealing with underperformance. So, if you look at our data, government organizations can be reasonably good at collecting data and having targets, and they can be—they're okay but not great on incentives if you perform well. They're just terrible at dealing with underperformers, and it's partly just politically—it’s painful for politicians; partly they're heavily unionized; partly there's typically also a reason why a government owns a firm.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Thu, 12 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do you measure the quality of management at a company? And how much do management practices impact a firm’s overall performance? 

Nicholas Bloom is a professor of economics at Stanford University and co-director of the Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research on working from home and management practices has been published in numerous scientific journals, including the Journal of Political Economy and Nature. 

Nicholas and Greg discuss the historical trends of productivity growth, why management is often overlooked as a technological advance, and the challenges of measuring and improving management quality. Nicholas also shares some of his key management tips from his years of studying firms across the world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is high uncertainty an opportunity for big returns?

43:42: High uncertainty is where the money is. When life's uncertain, that's where the profits have been made. Kind of Warren Buffett/VCs. A good example of that would be the dot-com boom. So, in the dot-com boom, everyone knew in the early 2000s, look, the internet's going to be a big thing. And it turns out it was a big thing. You just don't know which bit and when and how. And so the view is, look, if we invest in the internet, we have a lot of these implicit options on it. And if it takes off, these are valuable. If they’re not, we wasted our money, but no more. And so, there's also kind of what I call exploratory investment when demand or markets are uncertain. You do, on the other hand, want to spend some kind of R&D-ish type money or open subsidiaries or open up a website or whatever. And it's like placing a bet. It's like investment in equity, if you think about it. And if it works out well, great. You've 10x your money. And if it doesn't, you've lost your cash.

The key for hybrid work is coordination

35:53: Hybrid is coordination. So, it sounds obvious, but if you're on a hybrid plan, whereby, say, you've got to be in the office three days a week, you want to make sure it's the same three days as your team because the thing that sends people mad is coming in and then spending all day on Zoom because everyone else is at home.

Why do owners struggle to recognize great management?

23:12: So, part of the problem why management isn't great is that owners don't appreciate it or aren't aware of it. The other hard part of it is that it's intangible, so it's hard to buy it. So, you have ten candidates; they all claim they're great managers. How do you know? It's a tough thing to actually turn. Ten consulting firms—every consulting firm claims that it will make you so much money, but whether they do after the event is much less obvious.

Do government-owned organizations struggle with managing underperformance?

16:34: You find in the data, on average, government-owned organizations tend not to be very well managed, and where they're particularly poor is what I'll call dealing with underperformance. So, if you look at our data, government organizations can be reasonably good at collecting data and having targets, and they can be—they're okay but not great on incentives if you perform well. They're just terrible at dealing with underperformers, and it's partly just politically—it’s painful for politicians; partly they're heavily unionized; partly there's typically also a reason why a government owns a firm.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 462. The Science of Management with Nicholas Bloom Greg La Blanc 00:47:53 How do you measure the quality of management at a company? And how much do management practices impact a firm’s overall performance? Nicholas Bloom is a professor of economics at Stanford University and co-director of the Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research on working from home and management practices has been published in numerous scientific journals, including the Journal of Political Economy and Nature. Nicholas and Greg discuss the historical trends of productivity growth, why management is often overlooked as a technological advance, and the challenges of measuring and improving management quality. Nicholas also shares some of his key management tips from his years of studying firms across the world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How do you measure the quality of management at a company? And how much do management practices impact a firm’s overall performance? Nicholas Bloom is a professor of economics at Stanford University and co-director of the Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research on working from home and management practices has been published in numerous scientific journals, including the Journal of Political Economy and Nature. Nicholas and Greg discuss the historical trends of productivity growth, why management is often overlooked as a technological advance, and the challenges of measuring and improving management quality. Nicholas also shares some of his key management tips from his years of studying firms across the world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 462 3ec11372-f363-4233-a2bf-d08104eaa23b 461. The Other Gender Gap with Richard V. Reeves Women have been systematically marginalized throughout history. However, new research shows a growing gender gap in the other direction. Today, men may face many disadvantages regarding education and the workforce. So, how should society address the disadvantages of both women and men in a nuanced and inclusive way?

Richard Reeves founded the American Institute for Boys and Men after writing the book Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It. His work on class and inequality can also be found in publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic. 

Richard and Greg discuss the current disadvantages faced by men, the historical context of gender inequality, and potential solutions like “redshirting” boys in education to better serve their developmental needs. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Zero-sum thinking undermines gender progress for all

03:41: It feels to some people like it is zero-sum, and that, somehow, to acknowledge the problems of boys and men is to dilute the necessary work that still needs to be done for women and girls. You sort of have to choose, pick a side, or certainly this was the experience that I was warned about, which is that it's just really hard to elevate the problems of boys and men without somehow falling into the trap of being seen as anti-women and girls or anti the progress that they need. And so that zero-sum thinking around gender is a big part of the problem too.

Nature matters, but nurture is key in expressing our differences

49:14: The thing I find most frustrating about this whole ridiculous nature-nurture debate is that acknowledging some role for nature doesn't make nurture less important. It makes it more important because that is how we learn how to express these natural differences.

Are women excelling more educationally?

12:26: I think a lot of women have inherited this message: that if you want to get ahead, you're going to have to work even harder. It's almost like an immigrant mindset. It's like, you're going to have to be even better, work even harder. And so that message, I think, has really affected at least one or two generations of women who just seem to have much greater aspiration educationally than boys and men do. And that's playing out in the data.

Not a lack of rights, structural shifts leave men unmoored and vulnerable

14:25: There are real problems facing boys and men in different areas, but it's not because of a lack of rights, and it's not because of discrimination; it's a result of a series of quite big structural changes in the economy and society that have left a lot of men kind of feeling unmoored, uncertain, and vulnerable, and that problem is just a different problem.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 9 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Women have been systematically marginalized throughout history. However, new research shows a growing gender gap in the other direction. Today, men may face many disadvantages regarding education and the workforce. So, how should society address the disadvantages of both women and men in a nuanced and inclusive way?

Richard Reeves founded the American Institute for Boys and Men after writing the book Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It. His work on class and inequality can also be found in publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic. 

Richard and Greg discuss the current disadvantages faced by men, the historical context of gender inequality, and potential solutions like “redshirting” boys in education to better serve their developmental needs. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Zero-sum thinking undermines gender progress for all

03:41: It feels to some people like it is zero-sum, and that, somehow, to acknowledge the problems of boys and men is to dilute the necessary work that still needs to be done for women and girls. You sort of have to choose, pick a side, or certainly this was the experience that I was warned about, which is that it's just really hard to elevate the problems of boys and men without somehow falling into the trap of being seen as anti-women and girls or anti the progress that they need. And so that zero-sum thinking around gender is a big part of the problem too.

Nature matters, but nurture is key in expressing our differences

49:14: The thing I find most frustrating about this whole ridiculous nature-nurture debate is that acknowledging some role for nature doesn't make nurture less important. It makes it more important because that is how we learn how to express these natural differences.

Are women excelling more educationally?

12:26: I think a lot of women have inherited this message: that if you want to get ahead, you're going to have to work even harder. It's almost like an immigrant mindset. It's like, you're going to have to be even better, work even harder. And so that message, I think, has really affected at least one or two generations of women who just seem to have much greater aspiration educationally than boys and men do. And that's playing out in the data.

Not a lack of rights, structural shifts leave men unmoored and vulnerable

14:25: There are real problems facing boys and men in different areas, but it's not because of a lack of rights, and it's not because of discrimination; it's a result of a series of quite big structural changes in the economy and society that have left a lot of men kind of feeling unmoored, uncertain, and vulnerable, and that problem is just a different problem.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 461. The Other Gender Gap with Richard V. Reeves Greg La Blanc 01:01:26 Women have been systematically marginalized throughout history. However, new research shows a growing gender gap in the other direction. Today, men may face many disadvantages regarding education and the workforce. So, how should society address the disadvantages of both women and men in a nuanced and inclusive way? Richard Reeves founded the American Institute for Boys and Men after writing the book Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It. His work on class and inequality can also be found in publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic. Richard and Greg discuss the current disadvantages faced by men, the historical context of gender inequality, and potential solutions like “redshirting” boys in education to better serve their developmental needs. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Women have been systematically marginalized throughout history. However, new research shows a growing gender gap in the other direction. Today, men may face many disadvantages regarding education and the workforce. So, how should society address the disadvantages of both women and men in a nuanced and inclusive way? Richard Reeves founded the American Institute for Boys and Men after writing the book Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It. His work on class and inequality can also be found in publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic. Richard and Greg discuss the current disadvantages faced by men, the historical context of gender inequality, and potential solutions like “redshirting” boys in education to better serve their developmental needs. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 461 b50b537f-1f78-45e6-8d89-f7fe51d8103f 460. Unraveling Start-Up Success with Mike Maples, Jr. and Peter Ziebelman Is there a secret recipe for start-up success? Probably not. But if you take a close enough look at some of the massive success stories like Twitter and Lyft, patterns start to emerge. 

Venture capitalists Mike Maples, Jr. and Peter Ziebelman pull back the curtain and examine how start-ups go from seedling ideas to billion-dollar companies in their book, Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future.

Mike, Peter, and Greg discuss the roles that insight and implementation play in determining a start-up’s chance at success, how investors distinguish between genius and crazy, and why the best founders are like artists.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Distinguishing idea vs. insight

25:33: [Mike Maples Jr.] A lot of people confuse risk and uncertainty. And so, like, I might have an idea in an existing market that there's a clear need for, but it's a bounded upside idea. But I can connect the dots between the idea, customers wanting it, and a successful business. I might, on the other hand, have an idea that's like Justin TV, right? Which is a reality 24/7 streaming TV show, which is crazy online. But it embodied a lot of inflections and insight. It was a terrible idea, but a great opportunity. And so what we're interested in is not certainty about the future, because if we're going after a non-consensus idea, if we have real insight, we can't know we're certain yet. All we can know is that we're non-consensus. Just because we don't know how the dots will forward connect doesn't mean they won't forward connect. And it doesn't mean that the expected value of the upside isn't higher. So that's what we kind of encourage people to say: just because you don't know how success will happen doesn't mean that it's not way better to pursue that path.

The crucial elements that contribute to startup’s breakthrough

06:10: [Peter Ziebelman] There's still a lot of luck and perhaps intuition and guesswork to determine whether you're going to find a breakthrough or build a breakthrough. But having said that, we do believe there are elements that can tip the balance—inflections. Another element is seeing that the entrepreneur has insight, something they know to be true that others do not yet believe, and we believe insights are one of the things that explain a lot about startups.

Being a founder is like being an artist

52:34: [Mike Maples Jr.] A lot of people think about what type of business person is an entrepreneur. And what I've come to believe is that the right way to think about it is they're more like an artist than they are like an engineer, a salesperson, or anything else. [53:06] And by that, I mean two things. First of all, artists notice something that other people don't notice, right? And then the other thing that artists do is convince people to abandon their logic. And so, like, no rational employee would join a startup. No rational customer would buy from a startup. No rational investor would invest in a startup. [53:45] So the founder has to convince all of us to abandon logic and go on a journey where we're 85 percent likely to not succeed. And so the best founders I've ever met have those. Attributes of the artist, and they have the artistry to notice from their sensitivity, and they have the artistry to persuade and convince people. They have the artistry to notice from their sensitivity, and they have the artistry to persuade and convince people. 

How does a founder balance persistence with openness to new data and insights?

21:06: [Mike Maples Jr.] If you have the right insight, when we talk about pivoting, your insight, like in basketball, is like your pivot foot. You hold it planted firm, and you move your body by either modifying your implementation, modifying the audience that you talk to, or some combination. But if you have to leave your pivot foot, you're no longer attached to anything as a startup, right? You might as well start over. You might as well try a new idea or just give up. And so that's where I think you reconcile it. You want to be flexible in your experimentation of navigating your insight to the desperate, but you want to be fixed about what you believe is different about the future.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Their Work:


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

]]> Thu, 5 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is there a secret recipe for start-up success? Probably not. But if you take a close enough look at some of the massive success stories like Twitter and Lyft, patterns start to emerge. 

Venture capitalists Mike Maples, Jr. and Peter Ziebelman pull back the curtain and examine how start-ups go from seedling ideas to billion-dollar companies in their book, Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future.

Mike, Peter, and Greg discuss the roles that insight and implementation play in determining a start-up’s chance at success, how investors distinguish between genius and crazy, and why the best founders are like artists.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Distinguishing idea vs. insight

25:33: [Mike Maples Jr.] A lot of people confuse risk and uncertainty. And so, like, I might have an idea in an existing market that there's a clear need for, but it's a bounded upside idea. But I can connect the dots between the idea, customers wanting it, and a successful business. I might, on the other hand, have an idea that's like Justin TV, right? Which is a reality 24/7 streaming TV show, which is crazy online. But it embodied a lot of inflections and insight. It was a terrible idea, but a great opportunity. And so what we're interested in is not certainty about the future, because if we're going after a non-consensus idea, if we have real insight, we can't know we're certain yet. All we can know is that we're non-consensus. Just because we don't know how the dots will forward connect doesn't mean they won't forward connect. And it doesn't mean that the expected value of the upside isn't higher. So that's what we kind of encourage people to say: just because you don't know how success will happen doesn't mean that it's not way better to pursue that path.

The crucial elements that contribute to startup’s breakthrough

06:10: [Peter Ziebelman] There's still a lot of luck and perhaps intuition and guesswork to determine whether you're going to find a breakthrough or build a breakthrough. But having said that, we do believe there are elements that can tip the balance—inflections. Another element is seeing that the entrepreneur has insight, something they know to be true that others do not yet believe, and we believe insights are one of the things that explain a lot about startups.

Being a founder is like being an artist

52:34: [Mike Maples Jr.] A lot of people think about what type of business person is an entrepreneur. And what I've come to believe is that the right way to think about it is they're more like an artist than they are like an engineer, a salesperson, or anything else. [53:06] And by that, I mean two things. First of all, artists notice something that other people don't notice, right? And then the other thing that artists do is convince people to abandon their logic. And so, like, no rational employee would join a startup. No rational customer would buy from a startup. No rational investor would invest in a startup. [53:45] So the founder has to convince all of us to abandon logic and go on a journey where we're 85 percent likely to not succeed. And so the best founders I've ever met have those. Attributes of the artist, and they have the artistry to notice from their sensitivity, and they have the artistry to persuade and convince people. They have the artistry to notice from their sensitivity, and they have the artistry to persuade and convince people. 

How does a founder balance persistence with openness to new data and insights?

21:06: [Mike Maples Jr.] If you have the right insight, when we talk about pivoting, your insight, like in basketball, is like your pivot foot. You hold it planted firm, and you move your body by either modifying your implementation, modifying the audience that you talk to, or some combination. But if you have to leave your pivot foot, you're no longer attached to anything as a startup, right? You might as well start over. You might as well try a new idea or just give up. And so that's where I think you reconcile it. You want to be flexible in your experimentation of navigating your insight to the desperate, but you want to be fixed about what you believe is different about the future.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Their Work:


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

]]> 460. Unraveling Start-Up Success with Mike Maples, Jr. and Peter Ziebelman Greg La Blanc 01:15:43 Is there a secret recipe for start-up success? Probably not. But if you take a close enough look at some of the massive success stories like Twitter and Lyft, patterns start to emerge. Venture capitalists Mike Maples, Jr. and Peter Ziebelman pull back the curtain and examine how start-ups go from seedling ideas to billion-dollar companies in their book, Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future. Mike, Peter, and Greg discuss the roles that insight and implementation play in determining a start-up’s chance at success, how investors distinguish between genius and crazy, and why the best founders are like artists. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is there a secret recipe for start-up success? Probably not. But if you take a close enough look at some of the massive success stories like Twitter and Lyft, patterns start to emerge. Venture capitalists Mike Maples, Jr. and Peter Ziebelman pull back the curtain and examine how start-ups go from seedling ideas to billion-dollar companies in their book, Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future. Mike, Peter, and Greg discuss the roles that insight and implementation play in determining a start-up’s chance at success, how investors distinguish between genius and crazy, and why the best founders are like artists. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 460 80a0d022-89a1-48af-be4d-4e2ee96a8b2b 459. From Moon Landings to Magic: Exploring Quirky Psychology feat. Richard Wiseman How does drawing from experiments and scientists on the fringes of science help all of science and strengthen the core? How does luck actually work? How did the early members of NASA treat scientists who made mistakes in the quest to reach the moon?

Richard Wiseman is a professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, a magician, performer, and the author of several books. Two of his latest titles are Moonshot: What Landing a Man on the Moon Teaches Us About Collaboration, Creativity, and the Mind-set for Success and Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives.

Greg and Richard discuss Richard's unique career path, his popular books, and how psychology can have real-world applications. The conversation delves into various topics such as the public's fascination with luck, the importance of empirical research, and the psychology behind the successful teamwork that achieved the Apollo moon landings. 

Wiseman also shares insights from his background in magic and how it has influenced his understanding of human perception and deception. The episode highlights the need for applying psychological research to improve everyday life and the significant role of creativity and open-mindedness in both science and education.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why conservative thinking limits scientific innovation

34:01: Organizations, I think, have become very conservative in terms of risk-taking, which is sort of sad for the next generation of students within science. I think we want to encourage people to be expansive thinkers, to have crazy ideas. Obviously, you need to find out whether they're true or not. But again, even within science, I think we're quite conservative. We want to encourage students to think in a certain way, to do science in a certain way, and so on. And I'm just rather pro the more maverick approach in some extent; the only students we have are those people that are good at passing exams. And I often think, I wonder what talent is out there that just happened to not be so good at passing exams—that maybe who have had creative, amazing ideas that would have changed the world, and they don't sit in our labs or in our universities because they're not the sort of people who want to sit in a hall and write something on a piece of paper.

Why is creativity important in science?

37:56: I'm so pro-creativity in science and getting people to think differently because that's where your good ideas are going to come from, and sometimes those people are not the ones that perform best in an exam hall. They're the ones who just want to get out there and change the world.

What magic taught Richard about psychology

50:47: Magic is incredibly important, and it shows you, fundamentally, that you can be very, very confident and very, very wrong. You know, when a magician shows you an empty box and makes something appear in it, the audience has to be 100 percent certain that there's nothing in that box. And they are 100 percent wrong because an object is going to appear in that box. So it should teach us a bit of humility as well.

How Quirkology was born from a disappointing psychology experience

21:06: Quirkology came about because psychology broke my heart a bit. People are astonishing—when you think of your friends, partners, and family, they're amazing, complex, and fun to talk about. They experience emotions, behave differently in crowds, do things that surprise you, do things that disappoint you, and so on. That kind of buzzy energy of humanity, which was the reason I got into psychology, I really just loved it. Then I'd open a psychology journal, and I just saw this dusty old paper that reduced that buzzing humanity to a number that wasn't very interesting, and I thought, there must be some interesting psychology out there; there has to be. And that was the path into quirkology, where it was all the quirky psychology that I love, some of which I've carried out myself.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 2 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does drawing from experiments and scientists on the fringes of science help all of science and strengthen the core? How does luck actually work? How did the early members of NASA treat scientists who made mistakes in the quest to reach the moon?

Richard Wiseman is a professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, a magician, performer, and the author of several books. Two of his latest titles are Moonshot: What Landing a Man on the Moon Teaches Us About Collaboration, Creativity, and the Mind-set for Success and Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives.

Greg and Richard discuss Richard's unique career path, his popular books, and how psychology can have real-world applications. The conversation delves into various topics such as the public's fascination with luck, the importance of empirical research, and the psychology behind the successful teamwork that achieved the Apollo moon landings. 

Wiseman also shares insights from his background in magic and how it has influenced his understanding of human perception and deception. The episode highlights the need for applying psychological research to improve everyday life and the significant role of creativity and open-mindedness in both science and education.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why conservative thinking limits scientific innovation

34:01: Organizations, I think, have become very conservative in terms of risk-taking, which is sort of sad for the next generation of students within science. I think we want to encourage people to be expansive thinkers, to have crazy ideas. Obviously, you need to find out whether they're true or not. But again, even within science, I think we're quite conservative. We want to encourage students to think in a certain way, to do science in a certain way, and so on. And I'm just rather pro the more maverick approach in some extent; the only students we have are those people that are good at passing exams. And I often think, I wonder what talent is out there that just happened to not be so good at passing exams—that maybe who have had creative, amazing ideas that would have changed the world, and they don't sit in our labs or in our universities because they're not the sort of people who want to sit in a hall and write something on a piece of paper.

Why is creativity important in science?

37:56: I'm so pro-creativity in science and getting people to think differently because that's where your good ideas are going to come from, and sometimes those people are not the ones that perform best in an exam hall. They're the ones who just want to get out there and change the world.

What magic taught Richard about psychology

50:47: Magic is incredibly important, and it shows you, fundamentally, that you can be very, very confident and very, very wrong. You know, when a magician shows you an empty box and makes something appear in it, the audience has to be 100 percent certain that there's nothing in that box. And they are 100 percent wrong because an object is going to appear in that box. So it should teach us a bit of humility as well.

How Quirkology was born from a disappointing psychology experience

21:06: Quirkology came about because psychology broke my heart a bit. People are astonishing—when you think of your friends, partners, and family, they're amazing, complex, and fun to talk about. They experience emotions, behave differently in crowds, do things that surprise you, do things that disappoint you, and so on. That kind of buzzy energy of humanity, which was the reason I got into psychology, I really just loved it. Then I'd open a psychology journal, and I just saw this dusty old paper that reduced that buzzing humanity to a number that wasn't very interesting, and I thought, there must be some interesting psychology out there; there has to be. And that was the path into quirkology, where it was all the quirky psychology that I love, some of which I've carried out myself.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 459. From Moon Landings to Magic: Exploring Quirky Psychology feat. Richard Wiseman Greg La Blanc 00:53:21 How does drawing from experiments and scientists on the fringes of science help all of science and strengthen the core? How does luck actually work? How did the early members of NASA treat scientists who made mistakes in the quest to reach the moon? Richard Wiseman is a professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, a magician, performer, and the author of several books. Two of his latest titles are Moonshot: What Landing a Man on the Moon Teaches Us About Collaboration, Creativity, and the Mind-set for Success and Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives. Greg and Richard discuss Richard's unique career path, his popular books, and how psychology can have real-world applications. The conversation delves into various topics such as the public's fascination with luck, the importance of empirical research, and the psychology behind the successful teamwork that achieved the Apollo moon landings. Wiseman also shares insights from his background in magic and how it has influenced his understanding of human perception and deception. The episode highlights the need for applying psychological research to improve everyday life and the significant role of creativity and open-mindedness in both science and education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does drawing from experiments and scientists on the fringes of science help all of science and strengthen the core? How does luck actually work? How did the early members of NASA treat scientists who made mistakes in the quest to reach the moon? Richard Wiseman is a professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, a magician, performer, and the author of several books. Two of his latest titles are Moonshot: What Landing a Man on the Moon Teaches Us About Collaboration, Creativity, and the Mind-set for Success and Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives. Greg and Richard discuss Richard's unique career path, his popular books, and how psychology can have real-world applications. The conversation delves into various topics such as the public's fascination with luck, the importance of empirical research, and the psychology behind the successful teamwork that achieved the Apollo moon landings. Wiseman also shares insights from his background in magic and how it has influenced his understanding of human perception and deception. The episode highlights the need for applying psychological research to improve everyday life and the significant role of creativity and open-mindedness in both science and education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 459 4bc22b6a-2bee-48d3-808f-e53485d74db7 458. The Economics of Addiction with David Courtwright Are we a more addicted society now than ever before in history? And if that’s the case, is it because there are more things to be addicted to or has the thinking around addiction simply shifted in the last century? 

David Courtwright is an emeritus professor of history at the University of North Florida. His books like, The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business and Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World examine the history and proliferation of drugs and addiction in society. 

David and Greg discuss the expansion of addiction from substances like alcohol and hard drugs to today's digital vices such as gaming and social media, how “limbic capitalism” is perpetuated by not only the manufacturers of these products but governments as well, and the history of society’s quest for pleasure. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is the rise in addictive behaviors more of a supply or demand phenomenon?

08:27: I try to tell the story of “The Age of Addiction" in the context of a larger, big history story of the quest for pleasure. Because that's where this really comes from. I mean, human beings have always been looking to expand their repertoire of pleasures. And nothing wrong with that. Life is hard. Life has been hard. Life was even harder for our distant ancestors. And so that people should discover brewing, that they should discover tobacco, that they should discover psychoactive plants, and that they should use those for both pleasure and ritual purposes—none of this is surprising. And, in fact, the first chapters of the book show how there was a kind of expansion, throughout time, in the pleasure resources that were available.

Addiction begins with exposure

46:57: Nobody becomes addicted to anything unless they're exposed to it. And exposure varies with social and cultural circumstance...[48:35] So, social circumstance is a key variable in determining exposure to potentially addictive products.

Are we living in the age of addiction?

44:22: Addiction is socially constructed. It's something that expands over time, but it turns out there is a biological foundation for this. I was initially skeptical. [02:11] And I started looking into it, and the question was basically, is this just hype, or is this real? And the more I looked into it, and the more I studied the neuroscience behind it and the economics and the sociology of it, I became convinced that, yes, we are living in an age of addiction. Addiction is becoming more conspicuous, more commonplace, and more varied.

Is there a historical parallel in American susceptibility to addiction, particularly with things like the internet?

45:38: Vices are more likely to flourish in what I call bachelor societies. So, if you have a bunch of young, unmarried men congregated in a place—whether it's an army camp, frontier mining town, or cattle ranch—their behavioral patterns are going to be very different from a male of the same age who's, say, living in a residential neighborhood, married, and has a family. I mean, the indulgence in vice—the likelihood of indulging in what contemporaries would have called vice, like consorting with prostitutes, getting drunk in a saloon, et cetera—is much higher for the people in the unsupervised, unparented, competitive masculine group.

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]]> Thu, 29 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Are we a more addicted society now than ever before in history? And if that’s the case, is it because there are more things to be addicted to or has the thinking around addiction simply shifted in the last century? 

David Courtwright is an emeritus professor of history at the University of North Florida. His books like, The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business and Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World examine the history and proliferation of drugs and addiction in society. 

David and Greg discuss the expansion of addiction from substances like alcohol and hard drugs to today's digital vices such as gaming and social media, how “limbic capitalism” is perpetuated by not only the manufacturers of these products but governments as well, and the history of society’s quest for pleasure. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is the rise in addictive behaviors more of a supply or demand phenomenon?

08:27: I try to tell the story of “The Age of Addiction" in the context of a larger, big history story of the quest for pleasure. Because that's where this really comes from. I mean, human beings have always been looking to expand their repertoire of pleasures. And nothing wrong with that. Life is hard. Life has been hard. Life was even harder for our distant ancestors. And so that people should discover brewing, that they should discover tobacco, that they should discover psychoactive plants, and that they should use those for both pleasure and ritual purposes—none of this is surprising. And, in fact, the first chapters of the book show how there was a kind of expansion, throughout time, in the pleasure resources that were available.

Addiction begins with exposure

46:57: Nobody becomes addicted to anything unless they're exposed to it. And exposure varies with social and cultural circumstance...[48:35] So, social circumstance is a key variable in determining exposure to potentially addictive products.

Are we living in the age of addiction?

44:22: Addiction is socially constructed. It's something that expands over time, but it turns out there is a biological foundation for this. I was initially skeptical. [02:11] And I started looking into it, and the question was basically, is this just hype, or is this real? And the more I looked into it, and the more I studied the neuroscience behind it and the economics and the sociology of it, I became convinced that, yes, we are living in an age of addiction. Addiction is becoming more conspicuous, more commonplace, and more varied.

Is there a historical parallel in American susceptibility to addiction, particularly with things like the internet?

45:38: Vices are more likely to flourish in what I call bachelor societies. So, if you have a bunch of young, unmarried men congregated in a place—whether it's an army camp, frontier mining town, or cattle ranch—their behavioral patterns are going to be very different from a male of the same age who's, say, living in a residential neighborhood, married, and has a family. I mean, the indulgence in vice—the likelihood of indulging in what contemporaries would have called vice, like consorting with prostitutes, getting drunk in a saloon, et cetera—is much higher for the people in the unsupervised, unparented, competitive masculine group.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 458. The Economics of Addiction with David Courtwright Greg La Blanc 01:01:40 Are we a more addicted society now than ever before in history? And if that’s the case, is it because there are more things to be addicted to or has the thinking around addiction simply shifted in the last century? David Courtwright is an emeritus professor of history at the University of North Florida. His books like, The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business and Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World examine the history and proliferation of drugs and addiction in society. David and Greg discuss the expansion of addiction from substances like alcohol and hard drugs to today's digital vices such as gaming and social media, how “limbic capitalism” is perpetuated by not only the manufacturers of these products but governments as well, and the history of society’s quest for pleasure. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Are we a more addicted society now than ever before in history? And if that’s the case, is it because there are more things to be addicted to or has the thinking around addiction simply shifted in the last century? David Courtwright is an emeritus professor of history at the University of North Florida. His books like, The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business and Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World examine the history and proliferation of drugs and addiction in society. David and Greg discuss the expansion of addiction from substances like alcohol and hard drugs to today's digital vices such as gaming and social media, how “limbic capitalism” is perpetuated by not only the manufacturers of these products but governments as well, and the history of society’s quest for pleasure. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 458 aa1db993-e4b8-4e76-b498-30b002ccb668 457. The Origins and Spread of Democracy feat. David Stasavage What factors influenced the development of early democracies, the role of technology in governance? Who came up with the concept of fairness in taxation, and the evolution of democratic institutions over time?

David Stasavage is in the department of Politics at New York University, and also the author of several books. His latest book is titled The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today.

Greg and David discuss the historical divergence between Europe and China in both economic and political terms. They explore themes such as the emergence of representative assemblies in Europe, the necessity of rulers to obtain consent and information, and the contrasting ability of Chinese rulers to tax without broad-based consent due to their developed bureaucratic systems. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is democracy on the rise, or on the decline in today's world?

50:32: We're still in a position today, I think, where there's certainly a lot more people living under democracy than was the case in the early 19th century, right? And that's a very significant thing because, in the early 19th century, of course, we had sort of proto-democracies in some cases, and it then spread in Western Europe, but the rest of the world had been conquered by Europeans. And, pushed into having conqueror Europeans, colonizers weren't particularly eager in early stages to promote democratic institutions in areas that they colonized. In fact, sometimes they did away with indigenous democratic institutions. So that is why the book does say decline and then rise because, yes, there's some backtracking going on; it's serious, it's important, but there's been a pretty big rise all the same.

The more you expand democracy’s meaning, the less meaningful it becomes

26:59: The important thing to recognize about democracy is that the more you load on to the term, the less meaningful it becomes.

The ripple effect of a bond default

43:26: I think with today's economy, everybody recognizes that if you have a default—like, say, something on U.S. Treasuries—that's going to have massive, obviously massive, negative economic consequences. Whereas, if you think of England with those first few loans they issued in 1688, if they had been defaulted on, things wouldn't have been great in London, but it's not like there would have been some massive negative economic shock.

England's balancing act—bureaucracy and democracy

32:36: Chapter 9 of the book (The Decline and Rise of Democracy) is called "Why England Was Different," and different in the sense of having simultaneously pursued this sort of consensual route of governance, while also seeing over time a bureaucracy develop. So that today, when we think of democracy, we don't think in a modern democracy that bureaucracy is, I mean, apart from someone that wants to say, "Oh my God, we have to abolish the IRS because otherwise we'll be in, you know, a dictatorship," that we don't think of these two things as being opposites. We think, of course, we need a bureaucracy to run things because who else is going to do this on a daily basis in such a large republic?

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His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 26 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What factors influenced the development of early democracies, the role of technology in governance? Who came up with the concept of fairness in taxation, and the evolution of democratic institutions over time?

David Stasavage is in the department of Politics at New York University, and also the author of several books. His latest book is titled The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today.

Greg and David discuss the historical divergence between Europe and China in both economic and political terms. They explore themes such as the emergence of representative assemblies in Europe, the necessity of rulers to obtain consent and information, and the contrasting ability of Chinese rulers to tax without broad-based consent due to their developed bureaucratic systems. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is democracy on the rise, or on the decline in today's world?

50:32: We're still in a position today, I think, where there's certainly a lot more people living under democracy than was the case in the early 19th century, right? And that's a very significant thing because, in the early 19th century, of course, we had sort of proto-democracies in some cases, and it then spread in Western Europe, but the rest of the world had been conquered by Europeans. And, pushed into having conqueror Europeans, colonizers weren't particularly eager in early stages to promote democratic institutions in areas that they colonized. In fact, sometimes they did away with indigenous democratic institutions. So that is why the book does say decline and then rise because, yes, there's some backtracking going on; it's serious, it's important, but there's been a pretty big rise all the same.

The more you expand democracy’s meaning, the less meaningful it becomes

26:59: The important thing to recognize about democracy is that the more you load on to the term, the less meaningful it becomes.

The ripple effect of a bond default

43:26: I think with today's economy, everybody recognizes that if you have a default—like, say, something on U.S. Treasuries—that's going to have massive, obviously massive, negative economic consequences. Whereas, if you think of England with those first few loans they issued in 1688, if they had been defaulted on, things wouldn't have been great in London, but it's not like there would have been some massive negative economic shock.

England's balancing act—bureaucracy and democracy

32:36: Chapter 9 of the book (The Decline and Rise of Democracy) is called "Why England Was Different," and different in the sense of having simultaneously pursued this sort of consensual route of governance, while also seeing over time a bureaucracy develop. So that today, when we think of democracy, we don't think in a modern democracy that bureaucracy is, I mean, apart from someone that wants to say, "Oh my God, we have to abolish the IRS because otherwise we'll be in, you know, a dictatorship," that we don't think of these two things as being opposites. We think, of course, we need a bureaucracy to run things because who else is going to do this on a daily basis in such a large republic?

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 457. The Origins and Spread of Democracy feat. David Stasavage Greg La Blanc 00:55:21 What factors influenced the development of early democracies, the role of technology in governance? Who came up with the concept of fairness in taxation, and the evolution of democratic institutions over time? David Stasavage is in the department of Politics at New York University, and also the author of several books. His latest book is titled The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today. Greg and David discuss the historical divergence between Europe and China in both economic and political terms. They explore themes such as the emergence of representative assemblies in Europe, the necessity of rulers to obtain consent and information, and the contrasting ability of Chinese rulers to tax without broad-based consent due to their developed bureaucratic systems. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What factors influenced the development of early democracies, the role of technology in governance? Who came up with the concept of fairness in taxation, and the evolution of democratic institutions over time? David Stasavage is in the department of Politics at New York University, and also the author of several books. His latest book is titled The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today. Greg and David discuss the historical divergence between Europe and China in both economic and political terms. They explore themes such as the emergence of representative assemblies in Europe, the necessity of rulers to obtain consent and information, and the contrasting ability of Chinese rulers to tax without broad-based consent due to their developed bureaucratic systems. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 457 adf29c13-f8fa-4832-9ed5-a54df4798e34 456. Economic Growth in the Age of Automation with Carl Benedikt Frey The fear of AI taking our jobs has been buzzing for years, but it’s not a new conversation. Technology has been shaking up industries and displacing workers since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

In this episode, Greg sits down with Carl Benedikt Frey, the Dieter Schwarz Associate Professor of AI & Work at the Oxford Internet Institute, to dive deep into these shifts. As the Director of the Future of Work Programme and author of The Technology Trap, Frey sheds light on the historical and current impacts of automation, the Industrial Revolution, and the role of political power in technological progress. 

Together, they explore who wins and loses in the AI era and what history can teach us about the future. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Will AI drive long-term productivity or just short-term automation?

46:21: If all that AI is about is automation, then the future of productivity simply depends on the potential scope of automation, so to speak, and that will then eventually peter off. Whereas if it's about creating new tasks, new products, and new innovations, then it can be more sustained, right? And I think that's a key reason that the second industrial revolution lasted for a very long period of time: it created a host of entirely new types of economic activities. And so I think a key question going forward is: can we design our institutions to help make sure that AI is more being used to create new activities? I think it's likely to have a much more sustained impact on productivity growth going forward.

Starting from the past to predict the future

03:07: If you want to say that the future is likely to be very different from the past, then at the very least, I think we should be able to state why. So I think history should always be our starting point. 

On the race between technology and education

39:18: The race between technology and education is a world in which everybody is better off, right? That has not been the case. So we need to somehow modify that model of the world, and what we've seen since the 1980s, in particular across advanced economies, but also in some emerging economies, is labor market polarization and the decline of middle-income jobs, right? And so the race between technology and education and the view of technological change does not explain that part of the story, right? That's sort of the task-based view, and things like replacing versus enabling technologies do have some explanatory power.

Should we be thinking of this new revolution as being more like the first  than the second?

44:22: I think it is more like the first industrial revolution. And I still think that I can't think of a single AI application that is not about automation or doing something that people are already doing a bit more productively, whether it's writing, coding, or image generation. 

Show Links:

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Guest Profile:

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

]]> Thu, 22 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The fear of AI taking our jobs has been buzzing for years, but it’s not a new conversation. Technology has been shaking up industries and displacing workers since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

In this episode, Greg sits down with Carl Benedikt Frey, the Dieter Schwarz Associate Professor of AI & Work at the Oxford Internet Institute, to dive deep into these shifts. As the Director of the Future of Work Programme and author of The Technology Trap, Frey sheds light on the historical and current impacts of automation, the Industrial Revolution, and the role of political power in technological progress. 

Together, they explore who wins and loses in the AI era and what history can teach us about the future. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Will AI drive long-term productivity or just short-term automation?

46:21: If all that AI is about is automation, then the future of productivity simply depends on the potential scope of automation, so to speak, and that will then eventually peter off. Whereas if it's about creating new tasks, new products, and new innovations, then it can be more sustained, right? And I think that's a key reason that the second industrial revolution lasted for a very long period of time: it created a host of entirely new types of economic activities. And so I think a key question going forward is: can we design our institutions to help make sure that AI is more being used to create new activities? I think it's likely to have a much more sustained impact on productivity growth going forward.

Starting from the past to predict the future

03:07: If you want to say that the future is likely to be very different from the past, then at the very least, I think we should be able to state why. So I think history should always be our starting point. 

On the race between technology and education

39:18: The race between technology and education is a world in which everybody is better off, right? That has not been the case. So we need to somehow modify that model of the world, and what we've seen since the 1980s, in particular across advanced economies, but also in some emerging economies, is labor market polarization and the decline of middle-income jobs, right? And so the race between technology and education and the view of technological change does not explain that part of the story, right? That's sort of the task-based view, and things like replacing versus enabling technologies do have some explanatory power.

Should we be thinking of this new revolution as being more like the first  than the second?

44:22: I think it is more like the first industrial revolution. And I still think that I can't think of a single AI application that is not about automation or doing something that people are already doing a bit more productively, whether it's writing, coding, or image generation. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 456. Economic Growth in the Age of Automation with Carl Benedikt Frey Greg La Blanc 01:05:48 The fear of AI taking our jobs has been buzzing for years, but it’s not a new conversation. Technology has been shaking up industries and displacing workers since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. In this episode, Greg sits down with Carl Benedikt Frey, the Dieter Schwarz Associate Professor of AI & Work at the Oxford Internet Institute, to dive deep into these shifts. As the Director of the Future of Work Programme and author of The Technology Trap, Frey sheds light on the historical and current impacts of automation, the Industrial Revolution, and the role of political power in technological progress. Together, they explore who wins and loses in the AI era and what history can teach us about the future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The fear of AI taking our jobs has been buzzing for years, but it’s not a new conversation. Technology has been shaking up industries and displacing workers since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. In this episode, Greg sits down with Carl Benedikt Frey, the Dieter Schwarz Associate Professor of AI & Work at the Oxford Internet Institute, to dive deep into these shifts. As the Director of the Future of Work Programme and author of The Technology Trap, Frey sheds light on the historical and current impacts of automation, the Industrial Revolution, and the role of political power in technological progress. Together, they explore who wins and loses in the AI era and what history can teach us about the future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 456 7c2d6a90-e97b-4270-9946-62af409b1635 455. How Meritocracy Has Become the New Aristocracy feat. Daniel Markovits Discover how the American dream of meritocracy, rather than being a ladder to success,  may actually be fueling inequality, eroding the middle class, and even harming the elites it was meant to reward.

Our guest today is Daniel Markovits, the Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School and the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Private Law. Markovits publishes widely and in a range of disciplines, including law, philosophy, and economics. 

Greg LaBlanc sits down with Daniel in this episode to discuss his influential book, 'The Meritocracy Trap.' Listen as they inquire into the historical and structural reasons behind this phenomenon, the heritability of elite status through education, and the challenges of reconciling societal norms with economic realities. They also touch upon the precarious status of non-elite workers in the face of technological advancements and the cultural shifts needed to address these systemic issues.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How leisure took priority over income before the 17th century

23:30: This idea of seeking to maximize your income and viewing your wage as the price of your leisure is quite new historically. Until the 17th century or so, people thought of their income as, in some sense, secondary to their virtue. And they wanted to earn enough money or make enough money to be able to fund socially appropriate consumption. And after that, they preferred the combination of less money and more leisure over the combination of less leisure and more money. And you see this because when wages went up, the labor they yielded went down.

What did the founding fathers fail to foresee in this new type of aristocracy?

02:43: Meritocracy allocates income, status, and general advantage based on accomplishment. There are two obvious inputs into a person's accomplishment: their natural talent and their effort. But there's a third input, and this is the one the founders, I think, didn't really foresee. The third input is the extent of the person's training.

Is inequality more transmissible than it was in the past? 

12:08: I think it's more transmissible for two reasons, maybe three. First, human capital might survive the war, whereas physical capital gets destroyed. Second, this mechanism of elite transmission has a happy side effect if you're a dynasty: the way in which you give your children wealth also gives them the skills and character to keep their wealth. Whereas if you just give your children a bequest, when you die, they could be wastrels and free it away.[12:47] And then the third, which I think is really important, and this matters a lot to what we do about this, is that because we still in some way associate labor income with merit and virtue, elite labor income is extremely resistant to political redistribution.

Are the economic elites using DEI for their own economic privilege?

16:38 [Daniel Markovits]: The DEI is, in a fundamental way, consistent with the meritocratic vision.

16:43: [Gregory LaBlanc]: Right. I mean, that's why elites can all agree that diversity is a good thing and that we need to knock out any kind of remaining obstacle to achievement. 

16:53 [Daniel Markovits]:  The darker side of this. And the thing that I think when populists, including right-wing populists and some sort of nativist populists, complain about elite commitments to DEI, the thing I think that they're not wrong about is that economic elites use their commitment to diversity. Partly, they genuinely believe in it for the reason that it's morally required, but at the same time, they use it instrumentally to justify their own economic privilege.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 19 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Discover how the American dream of meritocracy, rather than being a ladder to success,  may actually be fueling inequality, eroding the middle class, and even harming the elites it was meant to reward.

Our guest today is Daniel Markovits, the Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School and the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Private Law. Markovits publishes widely and in a range of disciplines, including law, philosophy, and economics. 

Greg LaBlanc sits down with Daniel in this episode to discuss his influential book, 'The Meritocracy Trap.' Listen as they inquire into the historical and structural reasons behind this phenomenon, the heritability of elite status through education, and the challenges of reconciling societal norms with economic realities. They also touch upon the precarious status of non-elite workers in the face of technological advancements and the cultural shifts needed to address these systemic issues.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How leisure took priority over income before the 17th century

23:30: This idea of seeking to maximize your income and viewing your wage as the price of your leisure is quite new historically. Until the 17th century or so, people thought of their income as, in some sense, secondary to their virtue. And they wanted to earn enough money or make enough money to be able to fund socially appropriate consumption. And after that, they preferred the combination of less money and more leisure over the combination of less leisure and more money. And you see this because when wages went up, the labor they yielded went down.

What did the founding fathers fail to foresee in this new type of aristocracy?

02:43: Meritocracy allocates income, status, and general advantage based on accomplishment. There are two obvious inputs into a person's accomplishment: their natural talent and their effort. But there's a third input, and this is the one the founders, I think, didn't really foresee. The third input is the extent of the person's training.

Is inequality more transmissible than it was in the past? 

12:08: I think it's more transmissible for two reasons, maybe three. First, human capital might survive the war, whereas physical capital gets destroyed. Second, this mechanism of elite transmission has a happy side effect if you're a dynasty: the way in which you give your children wealth also gives them the skills and character to keep their wealth. Whereas if you just give your children a bequest, when you die, they could be wastrels and free it away.[12:47] And then the third, which I think is really important, and this matters a lot to what we do about this, is that because we still in some way associate labor income with merit and virtue, elite labor income is extremely resistant to political redistribution.

Are the economic elites using DEI for their own economic privilege?

16:38 [Daniel Markovits]: The DEI is, in a fundamental way, consistent with the meritocratic vision.

16:43: [Gregory LaBlanc]: Right. I mean, that's why elites can all agree that diversity is a good thing and that we need to knock out any kind of remaining obstacle to achievement. 

16:53 [Daniel Markovits]:  The darker side of this. And the thing that I think when populists, including right-wing populists and some sort of nativist populists, complain about elite commitments to DEI, the thing I think that they're not wrong about is that economic elites use their commitment to diversity. Partly, they genuinely believe in it for the reason that it's morally required, but at the same time, they use it instrumentally to justify their own economic privilege.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 455. How Meritocracy Has Become the New Aristocracy feat. Daniel Markovits Greg La Blanc 00:58:08 Why have historians often overlooked childhood despite its significance in shaping culture and political views? How did trends in family demographics and child-raising change across the country as new research became popular or new technology became widely adopted? Paula S. Fass is an emerita professor of history at UC Berkeley and also the author of a number of books. Her latest books are Inheriting the Holocaust: A Second-Generation Memoir, Children of a New World: Society, Culture, and Globalization, and Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America. Greg and Paula discuss how American childhood has evolved distinctly due to factors like land availability, mother's roles, and the education system. They explore the impact of historical figures like Locke, Rousseau, and de Tocqueville and how post-WWII global changes influenced childhood. The conversation also touches on contemporary parental practices, the effects of smaller family sizes, and whether the unique characteristics of American childhood are fading in the modern world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why have historians often overlooked childhood despite its significance in shaping culture and political views? How did trends in family demographics and child-raising change across the country as new research became popular or new technology became widely adopted? Paula S. Fass is an emerita professor of history at UC Berkeley and also the author of a number of books. Her latest books are Inheriting the Holocaust: A Second-Generation Memoir, Children of a New World: Society, Culture, and Globalization, and Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America. Greg and Paula discuss how American childhood has evolved distinctly due to factors like land availability, mother's roles, and the education system. They explore the impact of historical figures like Locke, Rousseau, and de Tocqueville and how post-WWII global changes influenced childhood. The conversation also touches on contemporary parental practices, the effects of smaller family sizes, and whether the unique characteristics of American childhood are fading in the modern world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 455 82b8913e-f6c2-461c-a1f9-0ebc9ab8246a 454. American Childhood From the Frontier to Helicopter Parenting feat. Paula S. Fass Why have historians often overlooked childhood despite its significance in shaping culture and political views? How did trends in family demographics and child-raising change across the country as new research became popular or new technology became widely adopted?  

Paula S. Fass is an emerita professor of history at UC Berkeley and also the author of a number of books. Her latest books are Inheriting the Holocaust: A Second-Generation Memoir, Children of a New World: Society, Culture, and Globalization, and Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America.

Greg and Paula discuss how American childhood has evolved distinctly due to factors like land availability, mother's roles, and the education system. They explore the impact of historical figures like Locke, Rousseau, and de Tocqueville and how post-WWII global changes influenced childhood. The conversation also touches on contemporary parental practices, the effects of smaller family sizes, and whether the unique characteristics of American childhood are fading in the modern world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How distinctive has American childhood actually been?

06:42: We in the United States, becoming aware of the fact that we're no longer so unique, have become much more conscious about not giving our children as much leeway as we used to have. What I call the managed child, helicoptering, and a variety of things like that have now become a very common American experience, precisely because we're worried that the kind of mobility—both geographic and social—and,  as a result, economic—that we used to have is now no longer a given. We are competing in a very different world than we were competing with before. And so trying to give our children a leg up, and the fear that, in fact, their mobility will be downward mobility, has led American parents to organize their children's lives much more than they have ever before.

The pressures of parenting are driving a sharp decline in birth rates in the U.S

55:11: We are now in a situation where parenting is so fraught that young people just don't want to do it. And given effective contraception, the birth rate has declined radically. 

On the intersection between politics, economics and they way children are raised in America

57:58: One of the realities that we talked about at the very beginning is the intersection between politics and economics and the way children are brought up. And certainly, the way American children were brought up in the 19th century and even in the 20th century led to an emphasis on  entrepreneurial innovative spirit. that the American economy has prided itself on. And it's not clear to me—I'm not an economic historian, and I'm not an economist—whether we are any longer providing children with the kind of home structures that would pivot them into those struggles. It is certainly possible that we've come to the point where what we prided ourselves on as Americans will no longer be the dominant form of American enterprise and American life. Yes, it's possible. And that would be related to childhood.

Can heightened awareness of children's needs lead to both overindulgence and overcontrol?

49:57: I won't describe that as an overindulgence. It is different than what happened in the 19th century, where there was not that much room for worrying so much about what your children were doing, worrying about what kinds of things they were playing with, and making sure they had appropriate reading material. Again, I won't call that overindulgence. Child consciousness, awareness of what you think children might need—yes. At the same time, that can lead to, and often does lead to, overcontrol bec

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]]> Fri, 16 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why have historians often overlooked childhood despite its significance in shaping culture and political views? How did trends in family demographics and child-raising change across the country as new research became popular or new technology became widely adopted?  

Paula S. Fass is an emerita professor of history at UC Berkeley and also the author of a number of books. Her latest books are Inheriting the Holocaust: A Second-Generation Memoir, Children of a New World: Society, Culture, and Globalization, and Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America.

Greg and Paula discuss how American childhood has evolved distinctly due to factors like land availability, mother's roles, and the education system. They explore the impact of historical figures like Locke, Rousseau, and de Tocqueville and how post-WWII global changes influenced childhood. The conversation also touches on contemporary parental practices, the effects of smaller family sizes, and whether the unique characteristics of American childhood are fading in the modern world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How distinctive has American childhood actually been?

06:42: We in the United States, becoming aware of the fact that we're no longer so unique, have become much more conscious about not giving our children as much leeway as we used to have. What I call the managed child, helicoptering, and a variety of things like that have now become a very common American experience, precisely because we're worried that the kind of mobility—both geographic and social—and,  as a result, economic—that we used to have is now no longer a given. We are competing in a very different world than we were competing with before. And so trying to give our children a leg up, and the fear that, in fact, their mobility will be downward mobility, has led American parents to organize their children's lives much more than they have ever before.

The pressures of parenting are driving a sharp decline in birth rates in the U.S

55:11: We are now in a situation where parenting is so fraught that young people just don't want to do it. And given effective contraception, the birth rate has declined radically. 

On the intersection between politics, economics and they way children are raised in America

57:58: One of the realities that we talked about at the very beginning is the intersection between politics and economics and the way children are brought up. And certainly, the way American children were brought up in the 19th century and even in the 20th century led to an emphasis on  entrepreneurial innovative spirit. that the American economy has prided itself on. And it's not clear to me—I'm not an economic historian, and I'm not an economist—whether we are any longer providing children with the kind of home structures that would pivot them into those struggles. It is certainly possible that we've come to the point where what we prided ourselves on as Americans will no longer be the dominant form of American enterprise and American life. Yes, it's possible. And that would be related to childhood.

Can heightened awareness of children's needs lead to both overindulgence and overcontrol?

49:57: I won't describe that as an overindulgence. It is different than what happened in the 19th century, where there was not that much room for worrying so much about what your children were doing, worrying about what kinds of things they were playing with, and making sure they had appropriate reading material. Again, I won't call that overindulgence. Child consciousness, awareness of what you think children might need—yes. At the same time, that can lead to, and often does lead to, overcontrol bec

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Her Work:


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]]> 454. American Childhood From the Frontier to Helicopter Parenting feat. Paula S. Fass Greg La Blanc 00:57:05 Why have historians often overlooked childhood despite its significance in shaping culture and political views? How did trends in family demographics and child-raising change across the country as new research became popular or new technology became widely adopted? Paula S. Fass is an emerita professor of history at UC Berkeley and also the author of a number of books. Her latest books are Inheriting the Holocaust: A Second-Generation Memoir, Children of a New World: Society, Culture, and Globalization, and Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America. Greg and Paula discuss how American childhood has evolved distinctly due to factors like land availability, mother's roles, and the education system. They explore the impact of historical figures like Locke, Rousseau, and de Tocqueville and how post-WWII global changes influenced childhood. The conversation also touches on contemporary parental practices, the effects of smaller family sizes, and whether the unique characteristics of American childhood are fading in the modern world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why have historians often overlooked childhood despite its significance in shaping culture and political views? How did trends in family demographics and child-raising change across the country as new research became popular or new technology became widely adopted? Paula S. Fass is an emerita professor of history at UC Berkeley and also the author of a number of books. Her latest books are Inheriting the Holocaust: A Second-Generation Memoir, Children of a New World: Society, Culture, and Globalization, and Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America. Greg and Paula discuss how American childhood has evolved distinctly due to factors like land availability, mother's roles, and the education system. They explore the impact of historical figures like Locke, Rousseau, and de Tocqueville and how post-WWII global changes influenced childhood. The conversation also touches on contemporary parental practices, the effects of smaller family sizes, and whether the unique characteristics of American childhood are fading in the modern world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 454 be81fe9b-a729-48f1-8336-9dd13ef1e6d5 453. Financial Deals that Shaped the World feat. Paolo Zannoni How was the financial world changed by the structured use of wooden sticks with dents in them? Why did silver coins disappear from England as soon as they were minted? How did one country that aimed to eliminate money ultimately end up creating the most stable currency in Europe?

Paolo Zannoni is  Executive Deputy Chairman at Prada, and the author of the book Money and Promises: Seven Deals That Changed the World. 

Greg and Paolo discuss Paolo’s career choices between academia and banking, his research into the history of financial systems, and the key historical figures and places that have shaped modern banking practices. They also delve into the importance of trust in finance, the transparency of early banking methods, and the pivotal role Italy played in the origin of modern banking.

Zanoni and Greg discuss the significance of historical financial transactions and their transparency, comparing them to present-day financial technologies like blockchain. They also cover the interesting evolution of financial instruments such as the bill of exchange, public finance systems, and the impacts of these systems on the state and society.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Common debt before common currency

34:07: It was cheaper issuing debt in Écu than issuing debt in your own national currency. That was the beginning of the common currency and could have been the beginning of the common debt. But the first part went fast, reasonably fast, and reasonably far. The second did not take off. And that shows the areas in which the Continental Congress of the United States was much superior to the EU. The Continental Congress of the United States had common public debt because before having a common currency. That I found is so marvelous, so innovative, and so great. They did not have a common currency, but they had common debt.

When banks fail, they turn to financial history

45:55: When banks go bad, they start confronting that particular crisis of the past, and depending on how good the financial history is, they go back in time. 

How an orderly banking system preserved centuries of financial history

27:44: Bank debt was a combination between a registered IOU and a banknote. And so when the bank was making promises, they were issuing these pledges of credit, but the pledges of credit afterward, to be deposited in a bank account, had to be entered into a special ledger by bank employees. And when that ledger, when that pledge of credit was entered into the ledger, was returned, all hundreds of years of pledges of credit are neatly stacked on the shelves. That's how you can find how much Caravaggio was paid for his painting. Isn't it amazing? With enough time and knowledge, you can find almost every big transaction.

On Venice's early banking transparency

09:49: They had two features. The first one was that they were public, and banking was transacted. The banker opened up his ledger, and the two parties, maybe not at the same time, appeared in front of him. And the second was that the government was checking those ledgers. I mean, Venice had magistrates that were required to supervise the ledgers of the bank. At the ledgers of the bankers, and they did supervise the ledger of the bankers, and the only place where you find those ledgers today are in the part of the archives that comes from those magistrates and from the senate.

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]]> Wed, 14 Aug 2024 14:27:44 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How was the financial world changed by the structured use of wooden sticks with dents in them? Why did silver coins disappear from England as soon as they were minted? How did one country that aimed to eliminate money ultimately end up creating the most stable currency in Europe?

Paolo Zannoni is  Executive Deputy Chairman at Prada, and the author of the book Money and Promises: Seven Deals That Changed the World. 

Greg and Paolo discuss Paolo’s career choices between academia and banking, his research into the history of financial systems, and the key historical figures and places that have shaped modern banking practices. They also delve into the importance of trust in finance, the transparency of early banking methods, and the pivotal role Italy played in the origin of modern banking.

Zanoni and Greg discuss the significance of historical financial transactions and their transparency, comparing them to present-day financial technologies like blockchain. They also cover the interesting evolution of financial instruments such as the bill of exchange, public finance systems, and the impacts of these systems on the state and society.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Common debt before common currency

34:07: It was cheaper issuing debt in Écu than issuing debt in your own national currency. That was the beginning of the common currency and could have been the beginning of the common debt. But the first part went fast, reasonably fast, and reasonably far. The second did not take off. And that shows the areas in which the Continental Congress of the United States was much superior to the EU. The Continental Congress of the United States had common public debt because before having a common currency. That I found is so marvelous, so innovative, and so great. They did not have a common currency, but they had common debt.

When banks fail, they turn to financial history

45:55: When banks go bad, they start confronting that particular crisis of the past, and depending on how good the financial history is, they go back in time. 

How an orderly banking system preserved centuries of financial history

27:44: Bank debt was a combination between a registered IOU and a banknote. And so when the bank was making promises, they were issuing these pledges of credit, but the pledges of credit afterward, to be deposited in a bank account, had to be entered into a special ledger by bank employees. And when that ledger, when that pledge of credit was entered into the ledger, was returned, all hundreds of years of pledges of credit are neatly stacked on the shelves. That's how you can find how much Caravaggio was paid for his painting. Isn't it amazing? With enough time and knowledge, you can find almost every big transaction.

On Venice's early banking transparency

09:49: They had two features. The first one was that they were public, and banking was transacted. The banker opened up his ledger, and the two parties, maybe not at the same time, appeared in front of him. And the second was that the government was checking those ledgers. I mean, Venice had magistrates that were required to supervise the ledgers of the bank. At the ledgers of the bankers, and they did supervise the ledger of the bankers, and the only place where you find those ledgers today are in the part of the archives that comes from those magistrates and from the senate.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 453. Financial Deals that Shaped the World feat. Paolo Zannoni Greg La Blanc 00:49:06 How was the financial world changed by the structured use of wooden sticks with dents in them? Why did silver coins disappear from England as soon as they were minted? How did one country that aimed to eliminate money ultimately end up creating the most stable currency in Europe? Paolo Zannoni is  Executive Deputy Chairman at Prada, and the author of the book Money and Promises: Seven Deals That Changed the World. Greg and Paolo discuss Paolo’s career choices between academia and banking, his research into the history of financial systems, and the key historical figures and places that have shaped modern banking practices. They also delve into the importance of trust in finance, the transparency of early banking methods, and the pivotal role Italy played in the origin of modern banking. Zanoni and Greg discuss the significance of historical financial transactions and their transparency, comparing them to present-day financial technologies like blockchain. They also cover the interesting evolution of financial instruments such as the bill of exchange, public finance systems, and the impacts of these systems on the state and society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How was the financial world changed by the structured use of wooden sticks with dents in them? Why did silver coins disappear from England as soon as they were minted? How did one country that aimed to eliminate money ultimately end up creating the most stable currency in Europe? Paolo Zannoni is  Executive Deputy Chairman at Prada, and the author of the book Money and Promises: Seven Deals That Changed the World. Greg and Paolo discuss Paolo’s career choices between academia and banking, his research into the history of financial systems, and the key historical figures and places that have shaped modern banking practices. They also delve into the importance of trust in finance, the transparency of early banking methods, and the pivotal role Italy played in the origin of modern banking. Zanoni and Greg discuss the significance of historical financial transactions and their transparency, comparing them to present-day financial technologies like blockchain. They also cover the interesting evolution of financial instruments such as the bill of exchange, public finance systems, and the impacts of these systems on the state and society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 453 023dc818-91f0-4ab5-bd64-83b2022771f6 452. The Groundbreaking Case That Changed Sovereign Debt Law with Gregory Makoff The thing about sovereign debt is that if a country defaults on its loan, there are no international bankruptcy laws in place to ensure the creditors get their money back. So what happens then?

Gregory Makoff, a physicist turned banker, is a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and the author of the book, Default: The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina's $100 Billion Debt Restructuring. In this debut, Makoff tells the gripping story of Argentina’s years-long court battle in the U.S. to settle a massive debt. 

He and Greg chat about the tricky nature of sovereign debt, the inner-workings of the Argentina case and why it took more than a decade for the debt to be settled, and the lasting impact the case has had on sovereign debt law. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is the IMF failing broke countries?

01:06:51: The biggest problem with most countries, for me, is going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) too slowly because you're in a deeper hole. You have more debt. It hurts the debtors more. You need a bigger adjustment. So, for me, the IMF isn't the problem. It's countries hearing all this negative IMF theory and politics and that anti-IMF view hurts them. And so, I think they do as well as they can. They're a member organization. Are they perfect? Nobody's perfect. You work with them. That's why you need countries to understand IMF programs, how they work. They need to do their own economic models. They need to be proactive with the fund and say, we need this and that. We don't want to do this and that.

Bridging differences and highlighting the role of arbitrators through 'Default’

31:34: The book (Default) is really about two things. One is good-faith negotiation—getting people to settle their differences and not letting the partisans far on the left or far on the right dominate the solution. And the other one is the role of arbitrators.

Why is it that we don't have an orderly process or system for sorting out government debt?

102:10: The answer is the word sovereignty. And you can ask the same, similar question: well, why isn't there an international court that makes wars not happen? And it's, a country wants to go to war, you can't stop it. My country doesn't want to pay its debt. In fact, when you buy a security, a bond, or a loan from a foreign country and they don't want to pay, there's not much you can do about it.

Can Argentina break free from its debt trap?

33:39: What does Argentina do? It's got a big debt load again. Does it just keep defaulting? Or does it wake up someday and say, We're going to start honoring our debts? We're going to live within our means. And they elected Javier Millie. He came with a chainsaw. He said, We're going to honor contracts. It's going to hurt. But the people are exhausted by crisis of the 80s, crisis of the 90s, crisis of the 2000s, crisis of the 2010s. And they're like enough. We value financial stability more than we do short-term increased pension, increased wages. And how that plays out is incredibly important, and it's unchartered territory

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]]> Mon, 12 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The thing about sovereign debt is that if a country defaults on its loan, there are no international bankruptcy laws in place to ensure the creditors get their money back. So what happens then?

Gregory Makoff, a physicist turned banker, is a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and the author of the book, Default: The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina's $100 Billion Debt Restructuring. In this debut, Makoff tells the gripping story of Argentina’s years-long court battle in the U.S. to settle a massive debt. 

He and Greg chat about the tricky nature of sovereign debt, the inner-workings of the Argentina case and why it took more than a decade for the debt to be settled, and the lasting impact the case has had on sovereign debt law. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is the IMF failing broke countries?

01:06:51: The biggest problem with most countries, for me, is going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) too slowly because you're in a deeper hole. You have more debt. It hurts the debtors more. You need a bigger adjustment. So, for me, the IMF isn't the problem. It's countries hearing all this negative IMF theory and politics and that anti-IMF view hurts them. And so, I think they do as well as they can. They're a member organization. Are they perfect? Nobody's perfect. You work with them. That's why you need countries to understand IMF programs, how they work. They need to do their own economic models. They need to be proactive with the fund and say, we need this and that. We don't want to do this and that.

Bridging differences and highlighting the role of arbitrators through 'Default’

31:34: The book (Default) is really about two things. One is good-faith negotiation—getting people to settle their differences and not letting the partisans far on the left or far on the right dominate the solution. And the other one is the role of arbitrators.

Why is it that we don't have an orderly process or system for sorting out government debt?

102:10: The answer is the word sovereignty. And you can ask the same, similar question: well, why isn't there an international court that makes wars not happen? And it's, a country wants to go to war, you can't stop it. My country doesn't want to pay its debt. In fact, when you buy a security, a bond, or a loan from a foreign country and they don't want to pay, there's not much you can do about it.

Can Argentina break free from its debt trap?

33:39: What does Argentina do? It's got a big debt load again. Does it just keep defaulting? Or does it wake up someday and say, We're going to start honoring our debts? We're going to live within our means. And they elected Javier Millie. He came with a chainsaw. He said, We're going to honor contracts. It's going to hurt. But the people are exhausted by crisis of the 80s, crisis of the 90s, crisis of the 2000s, crisis of the 2010s. And they're like enough. We value financial stability more than we do short-term increased pension, increased wages. And how that plays out is incredibly important, and it's unchartered territory

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 452. The Groundbreaking Case That Changed Sovereign Debt Law with Gregory Makoff Greg La Blanc 01:06:16 The thing about sovereign debt is that if a country defaults on its loan, there are no international bankruptcy laws in place to ensure the creditors get their money back. So what happens then? Gregory Makoff, a physicist turned banker, is a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and the author of the book, Default: The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina's $100 Billion Debt Restructuring. In this debut, Makoff tells the gripping story of Argentina’s years-long court battle in the U.S. to settle a massive debt. He and Greg chat about the tricky nature of sovereign debt, the inner-workings of the Argentina case and why it took more than a decade for the debt to be settled, and the lasting impact the case has had on sovereign debt law. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The thing about sovereign debt is that if a country defaults on its loan, there are no international bankruptcy laws in place to ensure the creditors get their money back. So what happens then? Gregory Makoff, a physicist turned banker, is a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and the author of the book, Default: The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina's $100 Billion Debt Restructuring. In this debut, Makoff tells the gripping story of Argentina’s years-long court battle in the U.S. to settle a massive debt. He and Greg chat about the tricky nature of sovereign debt, the inner-workings of the Argentina case and why it took more than a decade for the debt to be settled, and the lasting impact the case has had on sovereign debt law. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 452 06539c10-4e74-414d-a881-6027a739bd06 451. Reckoning with Imperial History feat. Sathnam Sanghera In what ways is England’s imperial past connected to its present? What of that past is reflected in the schools and schoolwork of students? Are there ways to acknowledge and repair things from the past in a way that moves society forward?

Sathnam Sanghera is a journalist for The Times of London and the author of several books. His latest two are titled Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain and Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe.

Greg and Sathnam discuss Sanghera's unexpected transition to writing about history, the complexities of British imperial history, and its nuanced impact on the modern world. The conversation digs into topics such as the perception of British imperialism in modern education, the contradictions within British history, and the ongoing struggles with racism in the UK. 

Sathnam also highlights the enduring influences of British rule in former colonies and the evolving discussions around reparations and historical reckoning.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Nuance is a useful concept for history

07:29: I would say balance is not a very useful concept for history in general. Nuance is what you want to aim for. But the reason I think we've always struggled to talk about British Empire, except in this way of trying to balance the positives against the negatives, is because this is how empire was discussed at the time. In the 19th century, there are endless arguments about whether we should hold on to our empire, whether we were making money out of it overall, whether overall it was a good thing or a bad thing. And this continues to be the way we discuss empire. We continue trying to weigh the miles of railway we built in India against the millions of lives that were lost in the potato famine in Ireland. It's an absurd way of trying to understand history, because how do you balance railways against death? And how you might balance slavery against anti-slavery? And I guess my ultimate conclusion after five years of studying this is that you can't come down on any side.

On arguing for sophistication

45:15: As writers and historians, we always argue for sophistication. Politicians will always try to simplify things.

Are people more comfortable with nuance journalism than they are with history? 

09:22: Social media is now just setting people up against each other all the time. And politics is becoming highly polarized. Everything is turning into a football match. Where you have your side, and the other side is evil, right? And history is just as it makes it. Trying to understand imperial history through that prism, it's like saying, I want to understand the history of the climate, but I'm only going to study the sunshine, or I'm only going to study the rain. It's not going to give you a very sophisticated sense of the climate, is it? You want to study the weather in between. And that is the same is true for history. 

On the phenomenon of indentured servitude

33:52: One of the main reasons, you see, Indians, wherever you go in the world, is because the British, after they abolished slavery, realized they needed workers, and they didn't seem willing to incentivize the formerly enslaved to do the work. So they decided to send one million Indians around the world to places like Mauritius, Trinidad, Jamaica, and Guyana to do the work that the enslaved formerly did. And often they were treated as badly as the enslaved. Not quite as badly, but pretty badly. But this led to all sorts of phenomena... And so, all these phenomena exist around the world, and the way in which the British Empire changed the demographics of the planet. I don't think we think about that enough.

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]]> Fri, 9 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In what ways is England’s imperial past connected to its present? What of that past is reflected in the schools and schoolwork of students? Are there ways to acknowledge and repair things from the past in a way that moves society forward?

Sathnam Sanghera is a journalist for The Times of London and the author of several books. His latest two are titled Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain and Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe.

Greg and Sathnam discuss Sanghera's unexpected transition to writing about history, the complexities of British imperial history, and its nuanced impact on the modern world. The conversation digs into topics such as the perception of British imperialism in modern education, the contradictions within British history, and the ongoing struggles with racism in the UK. 

Sathnam also highlights the enduring influences of British rule in former colonies and the evolving discussions around reparations and historical reckoning.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Nuance is a useful concept for history

07:29: I would say balance is not a very useful concept for history in general. Nuance is what you want to aim for. But the reason I think we've always struggled to talk about British Empire, except in this way of trying to balance the positives against the negatives, is because this is how empire was discussed at the time. In the 19th century, there are endless arguments about whether we should hold on to our empire, whether we were making money out of it overall, whether overall it was a good thing or a bad thing. And this continues to be the way we discuss empire. We continue trying to weigh the miles of railway we built in India against the millions of lives that were lost in the potato famine in Ireland. It's an absurd way of trying to understand history, because how do you balance railways against death? And how you might balance slavery against anti-slavery? And I guess my ultimate conclusion after five years of studying this is that you can't come down on any side.

On arguing for sophistication

45:15: As writers and historians, we always argue for sophistication. Politicians will always try to simplify things.

Are people more comfortable with nuance journalism than they are with history? 

09:22: Social media is now just setting people up against each other all the time. And politics is becoming highly polarized. Everything is turning into a football match. Where you have your side, and the other side is evil, right? And history is just as it makes it. Trying to understand imperial history through that prism, it's like saying, I want to understand the history of the climate, but I'm only going to study the sunshine, or I'm only going to study the rain. It's not going to give you a very sophisticated sense of the climate, is it? You want to study the weather in between. And that is the same is true for history. 

On the phenomenon of indentured servitude

33:52: One of the main reasons, you see, Indians, wherever you go in the world, is because the British, after they abolished slavery, realized they needed workers, and they didn't seem willing to incentivize the formerly enslaved to do the work. So they decided to send one million Indians around the world to places like Mauritius, Trinidad, Jamaica, and Guyana to do the work that the enslaved formerly did. And often they were treated as badly as the enslaved. Not quite as badly, but pretty badly. But this led to all sorts of phenomena... And so, all these phenomena exist around the world, and the way in which the British Empire changed the demographics of the planet. I don't think we think about that enough.

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]]> 451. Reckoning with Imperial History feat. Sathnam Sanghera Greg La Blanc 00:50:19 In what ways is England’s imperial past connected to its present? What of that past is reflected in the schools and schoolwork of students? Are there ways to acknowledge and repair things from the past in a way that moves society forward? Sathnam Sanghera is a journalist for The Times of London and the author of several books. His latest two are titled Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain and Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe. Greg and Sathnam discuss Sanghera's unexpected transition to writing about history, the complexities of British imperial history, and its nuanced impact on the modern world. The conversation digs into topics such as the perception of British imperialism in modern education, the contradictions within British history, and the ongoing struggles with racism in the UK. Sathnam also highlights the enduring influences of British rule in former colonies and the evolving discussions around reparations and historical reckoning. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In what ways is England’s imperial past connected to its present? What of that past is reflected in the schools and schoolwork of students? Are there ways to acknowledge and repair things from the past in a way that moves society forward? Sathnam Sanghera is a journalist for The Times of London and the author of several books. His latest two are titled Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain and Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe. Greg and Sathnam discuss Sanghera's unexpected transition to writing about history, the complexities of British imperial history, and its nuanced impact on the modern world. The conversation digs into topics such as the perception of British imperialism in modern education, the contradictions within British history, and the ongoing struggles with racism in the UK. Sathnam also highlights the enduring influences of British rule in former colonies and the evolving discussions around reparations and historical reckoning. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 451 cb575644-8938-4f6a-bcf6-b63a46f3e194 450. The Founding Fathers’ Tireless Pursuit of Virtue with Jeffrey Rosen How did the teachings of the great Greek and Roman moral philosophers shape America and its founders? How has the shift away from studying those teachings had an impact on the modern political landscape? 

Jeffrey Rosen is the CEO of the National Constitution Center, a law professor at George Washington University, and the host of the podcast We the People. His recent book, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America delves into the ideas of personal self governance and the historical and contemporary implications of virtues like self-mastery, moral philosophy, and happiness.

Jeffrey and Greg discuss the transformation of happiness from virtue-based to pleasure-seeking, the role of deep reading and character education, and the timeless struggle between personal gratification and civic virtue.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is there a connection between evolving definitions of personal happiness and political changes?

07:24: Sometime in the 60s, the definition changed from being good to feeling good. It had something to do with the change in the understanding of happiness in pop culture and during the revolutions of the 60s, sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and the new emphasis on seeking pleasure rather than seeking self-mastery. Both the popular understanding of happiness and what was rewarded in the political system changed. And the founders saw a connection between the need for personal self-government and political self-government, understanding that unless citizens could moderate their unreasonable emotions like anger, jealousy, and fear, they wouldn't choose virtuous leaders, educate themselves about the basic principles of liberty so that they could defend it when it was under threat, compromise, and deliberate with those who had different points of view.

An emphasis on deep reading in today’s online world

50:24: Citizens have an opportunity and a duty to read the primary sources, both the majority opinions and the dissents, so they can make up their minds. The same goes for news. We can always go back to the primary sources and make up our own minds. It is much more important to inspire these habits of deep reading and engagement so that we can take advantage of this marvelous world where all the primary sources are online.

When culture stopped valuing virtues, politics reflected the change

09:01: Once the culture stopped valuing things like self-mastery, moderation, temperance, prudence, courage, and justice to use the four classical virtues, then it became more acceptable to express this in the political arena.

What inspired Jeffrey to launch his recent book?

05:13: So, during COVID, I followed Jefferson's schedule. I got up early. I read the moral philosophy for two hours. I watched the sunrise. I wrote these sonnets, sort of summing up the wisdom, which is a weird practice until I learned that a lot of people in the founding era also wrote sonnets of virtue. There's something about this material that kind of inspires poetry. And what I learned after a year of reading this remarkable literature—it changed my life. It changed my understanding of how to be a good person and a good citizen.

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]]> Wed, 7 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How did the teachings of the great Greek and Roman moral philosophers shape America and its founders? How has the shift away from studying those teachings had an impact on the modern political landscape? 

Jeffrey Rosen is the CEO of the National Constitution Center, a law professor at George Washington University, and the host of the podcast We the People. His recent book, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America delves into the ideas of personal self governance and the historical and contemporary implications of virtues like self-mastery, moral philosophy, and happiness.

Jeffrey and Greg discuss the transformation of happiness from virtue-based to pleasure-seeking, the role of deep reading and character education, and the timeless struggle between personal gratification and civic virtue.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is there a connection between evolving definitions of personal happiness and political changes?

07:24: Sometime in the 60s, the definition changed from being good to feeling good. It had something to do with the change in the understanding of happiness in pop culture and during the revolutions of the 60s, sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and the new emphasis on seeking pleasure rather than seeking self-mastery. Both the popular understanding of happiness and what was rewarded in the political system changed. And the founders saw a connection between the need for personal self-government and political self-government, understanding that unless citizens could moderate their unreasonable emotions like anger, jealousy, and fear, they wouldn't choose virtuous leaders, educate themselves about the basic principles of liberty so that they could defend it when it was under threat, compromise, and deliberate with those who had different points of view.

An emphasis on deep reading in today’s online world

50:24: Citizens have an opportunity and a duty to read the primary sources, both the majority opinions and the dissents, so they can make up their minds. The same goes for news. We can always go back to the primary sources and make up our own minds. It is much more important to inspire these habits of deep reading and engagement so that we can take advantage of this marvelous world where all the primary sources are online.

When culture stopped valuing virtues, politics reflected the change

09:01: Once the culture stopped valuing things like self-mastery, moderation, temperance, prudence, courage, and justice to use the four classical virtues, then it became more acceptable to express this in the political arena.

What inspired Jeffrey to launch his recent book?

05:13: So, during COVID, I followed Jefferson's schedule. I got up early. I read the moral philosophy for two hours. I watched the sunrise. I wrote these sonnets, sort of summing up the wisdom, which is a weird practice until I learned that a lot of people in the founding era also wrote sonnets of virtue. There's something about this material that kind of inspires poetry. And what I learned after a year of reading this remarkable literature—it changed my life. It changed my understanding of how to be a good person and a good citizen.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 450. The Founding Fathers’ Tireless Pursuit of Virtue with Jeffrey Rosen Greg La Blanc 00:51:07 How did the teachings of the great Greek and Roman moral philosophers shape America and its founders? How has the shift away from studying those teachings had an impact on the modern political landscape? Jeffrey Rosen is the CEO of the National Constitution Center, a law professor at George Washington University, and the host of the podcast We the People. His recent book, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America delves into the ideas of personal self governance and the historical and contemporary implications of virtues like self-mastery, moral philosophy, and happiness. Jeffrey and Greg discuss the transformation of happiness from virtue-based to pleasure-seeking, the role of deep reading and character education, and the timeless struggle between personal gratification and civic virtue. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How did the teachings of the great Greek and Roman moral philosophers shape America and its founders? How has the shift away from studying those teachings had an impact on the modern political landscape? Jeffrey Rosen is the CEO of the National Constitution Center, a law professor at George Washington University, and the host of the podcast We the People. His recent book, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America delves into the ideas of personal self governance and the historical and contemporary implications of virtues like self-mastery, moral philosophy, and happiness. Jeffrey and Greg discuss the transformation of happiness from virtue-based to pleasure-seeking, the role of deep reading and character education, and the timeless struggle between personal gratification and civic virtue. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 450 fdc78640-51cd-44ee-b0aa-c6026874cb6a 449. The Pains of Legal Micromanagement with Philip K. Howard Does modern society have too many laws? Have we complicated legal codes to the point where we’re suffocating under them and grinding the government to a screeching halt? 

Lawyer and author Philip K. Howard is the founder of the nonpartisan coalition, Common Good, which works toward legal and government reform. He’s the author of numerous books like, The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America and most recently, Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society. 

Philip and Greg discuss the balance between rigid rules and human discretion, the importance of human judgment in law, and how legal micromanagement and excessive regulation curtails individual agency and practical wisdom.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Freedom does not exist without the authority of law

02:42: Freedom does not exist except within a framework of the authority of law. And the authority of law requires human judgment by the people in charge of law, judges, officials, and others. What's a safe workplace, etc.? Whether a seesaw is a reasonable risk? Whatever it is, they have to make those judgments so that people have a sense of where they stand. And then you get freedom back, and people can act again. You no longer have gridlock. But right now we have law, not as a kind of outer fence of a corral of freedom. We have law interceding in daily choices. There's almost nothing you can say in the workplace that doesn't have legal implications. Well, is that a free society? I don't think so. 

Has law become counterproductive?

05:53: Today, the law has become, in many areas, counterproductive. I mean, it doesn't make people feel more free; it makes them feel less free, right? And the point of the law is to provide a framework to enhance everyone's freedom, so we're not worried that the water we drink is polluted, that we feel comfortable, that we have free speech, and we can say what we think without getting into trouble. Well, that's not true anymore.

The role of law is to enhance freedom

32:06: We need to have a clearer sense of what the boundaries of our freedom are, and that requires the enforcement of norms that judges and others were not doing. So we have both too little and too much law. Ultimately, my goal—I think the role of law is to enhance freedom—everyone's freedom, freedom from abuse, freedom from dirty water, and to do what humans are good at doing.

Law doesn’t work without judgment

01:01:23: Law doesn't work without the judgment of the people—of the people in charge applying the norms of law. Law is not a speed limit sign that says 55 miles an hour. It's principles like the reasonable person standard or whatever. It's unreasonable search and seizure, free speech. All these things are principles that have to be interpreted by somebody. They're not self-executed.

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]]> Mon, 5 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Does modern society have too many laws? Have we complicated legal codes to the point where we’re suffocating under them and grinding the government to a screeching halt? 

Lawyer and author Philip K. Howard is the founder of the nonpartisan coalition, Common Good, which works toward legal and government reform. He’s the author of numerous books like, The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America and most recently, Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society. 

Philip and Greg discuss the balance between rigid rules and human discretion, the importance of human judgment in law, and how legal micromanagement and excessive regulation curtails individual agency and practical wisdom.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Freedom does not exist without the authority of law

02:42: Freedom does not exist except within a framework of the authority of law. And the authority of law requires human judgment by the people in charge of law, judges, officials, and others. What's a safe workplace, etc.? Whether a seesaw is a reasonable risk? Whatever it is, they have to make those judgments so that people have a sense of where they stand. And then you get freedom back, and people can act again. You no longer have gridlock. But right now we have law, not as a kind of outer fence of a corral of freedom. We have law interceding in daily choices. There's almost nothing you can say in the workplace that doesn't have legal implications. Well, is that a free society? I don't think so. 

Has law become counterproductive?

05:53: Today, the law has become, in many areas, counterproductive. I mean, it doesn't make people feel more free; it makes them feel less free, right? And the point of the law is to provide a framework to enhance everyone's freedom, so we're not worried that the water we drink is polluted, that we feel comfortable, that we have free speech, and we can say what we think without getting into trouble. Well, that's not true anymore.

The role of law is to enhance freedom

32:06: We need to have a clearer sense of what the boundaries of our freedom are, and that requires the enforcement of norms that judges and others were not doing. So we have both too little and too much law. Ultimately, my goal—I think the role of law is to enhance freedom—everyone's freedom, freedom from abuse, freedom from dirty water, and to do what humans are good at doing.

Law doesn’t work without judgment

01:01:23: Law doesn't work without the judgment of the people—of the people in charge applying the norms of law. Law is not a speed limit sign that says 55 miles an hour. It's principles like the reasonable person standard or whatever. It's unreasonable search and seizure, free speech. All these things are principles that have to be interpreted by somebody. They're not self-executed.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 449. The Pains of Legal Micromanagement with Philip K. Howard Greg La Blanc 01:08:35 Does modern society have too many laws? Have we complicated legal codes to the point where we’re suffocating under them and grinding the government to a screeching halt? Lawyer and author Philip K. Howard is the founder of the nonpartisan coalition, Common Good, which works toward legal and government reform. He’s the author of numerous books like, The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America and most recently, Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society. Philip and Greg discuss the balance between rigid rules and human discretion, the importance of human judgment in law, and how legal micromanagement and excessive regulation curtails individual agency and practical wisdom. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Does modern society have too many laws? Have we complicated legal codes to the point where we’re suffocating under them and grinding the government to a screeching halt? Lawyer and author Philip K. Howard is the founder of the nonpartisan coalition, Common Good, which works toward legal and government reform. He’s the author of numerous books like, The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America and most recently, Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society. Philip and Greg discuss the balance between rigid rules and human discretion, the importance of human judgment in law, and how legal micromanagement and excessive regulation curtails individual agency and practical wisdom. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 449 d95e0e71-fc8d-43db-ad9a-4e0fc90f05b2 448. Living Your Best Epicurean Life with Catherine Wilson Out of all the ancient moral philosophies, which one feels most applicable to how we live our lives in the modern world? As today’s guest would say, we are all Epicureans now.

Catherine Wilson is an emerita professor of philosophy at the University of York. She’s written many books on the subject of ethics and philosophy, including How to Be an Epicurean: The Ancient Art of Living Well and Moral Animals: Ideals and Constraints in Moral Theory.

Catherine and Greg talk about Epicureanism’s relevance in the modern world, how it contrasts with other ancient philosophies like stoicism, and debate the role of prudence in the  pursuit of pleasure.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why should we all be thinking about getting up to speed or at least exposing ourselves to ancient moral philosophy?

02:42: Epicureanism has been underappreciated relative to the other ancient philosophies. As we all know, Stoicism has become incredibly popular. Epicureanism is, in many ways, the foil to Stoicism. And frankly, I wouldn't go to Aristotle or Plato, particularly for moral advice. Some good parts of it, but I think Epicureanism needed a fresh look. And so what I tried to do in the book was to draw out some ways, possibly more fetch than they needed to be, some lessons or some implications that we could use now, taken directly from Epicurus and Lucretius. So that was the idea, and I think Epicureanism is really a breath of fresh air in many ways.

What makes Epicureanism appealing?

31:11: One of the most appealing features of Epicureanism is that because nature is always making new combinations and presenting you with new experiences, you're constantly having to update your beliefs and rethink your assumptions.

Epicurean perspective on meaning

41:01: The epicurean perspective is cosmological. It says you are here for a very short amount of time in the history of the universe. You came from dust; you're going to end up in dust. What you should do in that short time is have a nice life. Do the things you enjoy doing. And learning, teaching, figuring things out, and taking part in family life—those are the things that usually give people the most satisfaction in life. As human beings, that's what we like to do. So, you don't have to go to excess.

What accounts for the renewed success of stoicism? 

39:10: Stoicism says, well, you are you, and you are a fortress in yourself, and you have to not be so worried about what other people are doing that is making you miserable and believe that it's under your control whether you're miserable or not. And this seems to me completely on the wrong track when other people in other situations are making you miserable. You ought to try to change them. Speak up, or get out of there. "Don't Suffer in Silence" was, I think, the title of one of the chapters. And I think I referred there to Albert Hirschman. How do you respond to bad situations? Exit, voice, or loyalty?

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]]> Fri, 2 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Out of all the ancient moral philosophies, which one feels most applicable to how we live our lives in the modern world? As today’s guest would say, we are all Epicureans now.

Catherine Wilson is an emerita professor of philosophy at the University of York. She’s written many books on the subject of ethics and philosophy, including How to Be an Epicurean: The Ancient Art of Living Well and Moral Animals: Ideals and Constraints in Moral Theory.

Catherine and Greg talk about Epicureanism’s relevance in the modern world, how it contrasts with other ancient philosophies like stoicism, and debate the role of prudence in the  pursuit of pleasure.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why should we all be thinking about getting up to speed or at least exposing ourselves to ancient moral philosophy?

02:42: Epicureanism has been underappreciated relative to the other ancient philosophies. As we all know, Stoicism has become incredibly popular. Epicureanism is, in many ways, the foil to Stoicism. And frankly, I wouldn't go to Aristotle or Plato, particularly for moral advice. Some good parts of it, but I think Epicureanism needed a fresh look. And so what I tried to do in the book was to draw out some ways, possibly more fetch than they needed to be, some lessons or some implications that we could use now, taken directly from Epicurus and Lucretius. So that was the idea, and I think Epicureanism is really a breath of fresh air in many ways.

What makes Epicureanism appealing?

31:11: One of the most appealing features of Epicureanism is that because nature is always making new combinations and presenting you with new experiences, you're constantly having to update your beliefs and rethink your assumptions.

Epicurean perspective on meaning

41:01: The epicurean perspective is cosmological. It says you are here for a very short amount of time in the history of the universe. You came from dust; you're going to end up in dust. What you should do in that short time is have a nice life. Do the things you enjoy doing. And learning, teaching, figuring things out, and taking part in family life—those are the things that usually give people the most satisfaction in life. As human beings, that's what we like to do. So, you don't have to go to excess.

What accounts for the renewed success of stoicism? 

39:10: Stoicism says, well, you are you, and you are a fortress in yourself, and you have to not be so worried about what other people are doing that is making you miserable and believe that it's under your control whether you're miserable or not. And this seems to me completely on the wrong track when other people in other situations are making you miserable. You ought to try to change them. Speak up, or get out of there. "Don't Suffer in Silence" was, I think, the title of one of the chapters. And I think I referred there to Albert Hirschman. How do you respond to bad situations? Exit, voice, or loyalty?

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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

]]> 448. Living Your Best Epicurean Life with Catherine Wilson Greg La Blanc 00:45:11 Out of all the ancient moral philosophies, which one feels most applicable to how we live our lives in the modern world? As today’s guest would say, we are all Epicureans now. Catherine Wilson is an emerita professor of philosophy at the University of York. She’s written many books on the subject of ethics and philosophy, including How to Be an Epicurean: The Ancient Art of Living Well and Moral Animals: Ideals and Constraints in Moral Theory. Catherine and Greg talk about Epicureanism’s relevance in the modern world, how it contrasts with other ancient philosophies like stoicism, and debate the role of prudence in the pursuit of pleasure. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Out of all the ancient moral philosophies, which one feels most applicable to how we live our lives in the modern world? As today’s guest would say, we are all Epicureans now. Catherine Wilson is an emerita professor of philosophy at the University of York. She’s written many books on the subject of ethics and philosophy, including How to Be an Epicurean: The Ancient Art of Living Well and Moral Animals: Ideals and Constraints in Moral Theory. Catherine and Greg talk about Epicureanism’s relevance in the modern world, how it contrasts with other ancient philosophies like stoicism, and debate the role of prudence in the pursuit of pleasure. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 448 aa99deaf-7100-4865-bfd3-accd05369076 447. Weaponizing Shame and Algorithms feat. Cathy O'Neil Shame and the classification of people have always been with us, but new technology can amplify the harmful effects of both. What can be learned from a careful study of algorithms at play in pivotal places in society?

Cathy O’Neil is the founder of an algorithmic auditing company called Orca, a research fellow at Harvard University, and the author of two books, The Shame Machine: Who Profits in the New Age of Humiliation and Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy.

Greg and Cathy discuss what algorithmic auditing is and how it comes into play when we talk about using algorithms to affect decision-making in different businesses. Cathy explains how algorithms amplify and scale issues in the human auditing system without necessarily some of the failsafes, particularly how algorithms have modified the behavior and thinking of children and teens. 

Cathy also talks about the intersection of shame with these powerful algorithms in the seductive form of social media for teens and adults alike, and how they are geared toward and successfully generate outrage and arguments for their own profit and the ultimate detriment of the user. Explore more of her data-driven research positions in this conversation that can change the way you look at shame.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What’s the goal of shame?

38:35: Conformity might seem like the most obvious goal of shame, and I guess in useful examples of shame, like when you shame your child for beating his little brother, that's a great example: “You can't do that to their little brother. Shame on you.” That's a great example of pro-social. There are other goals of shame, and it should be said because it'll make more sense as to why it's gotten out of hand. And one of them is setting an example, like setting an example, like look at this person; look at what they did. It's too late for them to not do it. They did it, right? But we're going to use them as an example for everyone to see what's going to happen to you if you do it. So it's more like a signpost than a conformity thing. It's, I guess, sort of like trying to get other people to conform in the future rather than to that person's behavior.

Shame is required for a functioning society

03:49: Shame is not new. Shame is as old as social interaction, and it's absolutely required for a functioning society. We have to know how to sacrifice our personal goals and selfish desires for the sake of the group, which I think is the fundamental rule around shame.

How does social media amplify shame?

40:44: The social media platforms have done something really extraordinary. They've built a new business model. It's no longer necessary to implicitly and explicitly shame someone and make them buy a product from you. That's the old business model. What they've done instead is built a world, which is the online world, a platform where they get you to shame each other. You are doing it, like you're co-opted, if you will. You profit from the existence of shaming. Fights on your platform because the longer those guys engage in those shaming, the cross-shaming, let's call them shame trains, the longer they get on those shame trains and ride as hard as possible, the longer people are on your platform. And ultimately, you're selling their attention. And so they're there. So they're paying attention to the ads around them, which is really, really the business model, as we all know.

Finding the balance between shame and persuasion

52:18: Don't overestimate the choice involved. If you're shaming someone, you have to really be explicit about: is this really a choice? And if it is, then instead of shaming somebody, try to persuade them. And the way you persuade somebody of something, which is typically more successful than shaming them, is you appeal to a universal norm, which is to say you appeal to a norm that you both know you agree on.

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]]> Wed, 31 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Shame and the classification of people have always been with us, but new technology can amplify the harmful effects of both. What can be learned from a careful study of algorithms at play in pivotal places in society?

Cathy O’Neil is the founder of an algorithmic auditing company called Orca, a research fellow at Harvard University, and the author of two books, The Shame Machine: Who Profits in the New Age of Humiliation and Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy.

Greg and Cathy discuss what algorithmic auditing is and how it comes into play when we talk about using algorithms to affect decision-making in different businesses. Cathy explains how algorithms amplify and scale issues in the human auditing system without necessarily some of the failsafes, particularly how algorithms have modified the behavior and thinking of children and teens. 

Cathy also talks about the intersection of shame with these powerful algorithms in the seductive form of social media for teens and adults alike, and how they are geared toward and successfully generate outrage and arguments for their own profit and the ultimate detriment of the user. Explore more of her data-driven research positions in this conversation that can change the way you look at shame.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What’s the goal of shame?

38:35: Conformity might seem like the most obvious goal of shame, and I guess in useful examples of shame, like when you shame your child for beating his little brother, that's a great example: “You can't do that to their little brother. Shame on you.” That's a great example of pro-social. There are other goals of shame, and it should be said because it'll make more sense as to why it's gotten out of hand. And one of them is setting an example, like setting an example, like look at this person; look at what they did. It's too late for them to not do it. They did it, right? But we're going to use them as an example for everyone to see what's going to happen to you if you do it. So it's more like a signpost than a conformity thing. It's, I guess, sort of like trying to get other people to conform in the future rather than to that person's behavior.

Shame is required for a functioning society

03:49: Shame is not new. Shame is as old as social interaction, and it's absolutely required for a functioning society. We have to know how to sacrifice our personal goals and selfish desires for the sake of the group, which I think is the fundamental rule around shame.

How does social media amplify shame?

40:44: The social media platforms have done something really extraordinary. They've built a new business model. It's no longer necessary to implicitly and explicitly shame someone and make them buy a product from you. That's the old business model. What they've done instead is built a world, which is the online world, a platform where they get you to shame each other. You are doing it, like you're co-opted, if you will. You profit from the existence of shaming. Fights on your platform because the longer those guys engage in those shaming, the cross-shaming, let's call them shame trains, the longer they get on those shame trains and ride as hard as possible, the longer people are on your platform. And ultimately, you're selling their attention. And so they're there. So they're paying attention to the ads around them, which is really, really the business model, as we all know.

Finding the balance between shame and persuasion

52:18: Don't overestimate the choice involved. If you're shaming someone, you have to really be explicit about: is this really a choice? And if it is, then instead of shaming somebody, try to persuade them. And the way you persuade somebody of something, which is typically more successful than shaming them, is you appeal to a universal norm, which is to say you appeal to a norm that you both know you agree on.

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]]> 447. Weaponizing Shame and Algorithms feat. Cathy O'Neil Greg La Blanc 00:54:13 Shame and the classification of people have always been with us, but new technology can amplify the harmful effects of both. What can be learned from a careful study of algorithms at play in pivotal places in society? Cathy O’Neil is the founder of an algorithmic auditing company called Orca, a research fellow at Harvard University, and the author of two books, The Shame Machine: Who Profits in the New Age of Humiliation and Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. Greg and Cathy discuss what algorithmic auditing is and how it comes into play when we talk about using algorithms to affect decision-making in different businesses. Cathy explains how algorithms amplify and scale issues in the human auditing system without necessarily some of the failsafes, particularly how algorithms have modified the behavior and thinking of children and teens. Cathy also talks about the intersection of shame with these powerful algorithms in the seductive form of social media for teens and adults alike, and how they are geared toward and successfully generate outrage and arguments for their own profit and the ultimate detriment of the user. Explore more of her data-driven research positions in this conversation that can change the way you look at shame. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Shame and the classification of people have always been with us, but new technology can amplify the harmful effects of both. What can be learned from a careful study of algorithms at play in pivotal places in society? Cathy O’Neil is the founder of an algorithmic auditing company called Orca, a research fellow at Harvard University, and the author of two books, The Shame Machine: Who Profits in the New Age of Humiliation and Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. Greg and Cathy discuss what algorithmic auditing is and how it comes into play when we talk about using algorithms to affect decision-making in different businesses. Cathy explains how algorithms amplify and scale issues in the human auditing system without necessarily some of the failsafes, particularly how algorithms have modified the behavior and thinking of children and teens. Cathy also talks about the intersection of shame with these powerful algorithms in the seductive form of social media for teens and adults alike, and how they are geared toward and successfully generate outrage and arguments for their own profit and the ultimate detriment of the user. Explore more of her data-driven research positions in this conversation that can change the way you look at shame. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 447 6271985b-a807-4904-9bdf-141c6168695d 446. The Science of Success with Albert-László Barabási In order to study the science of success, you have to also study the science of failure. How much is performance connected to success? How do you leverage networks in your domain successfully?

Albert-László Barabási is a professor of network science at Northeastern University and the author of books like, Linked: The New Science Of Networks Science Of Networks and The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success. 

Albert and Greg chat about the evolution of network science, measuring performance vs. success, how to strategically network in your field, and the surprising findings about creativity and age.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Distinguishing success vs. performance

14:24: Performance is really about you, and your success is about us. And what do I mean by that? If we look very carefully, everything that is performance typically links to individual qualities. How fast can you run? How good of a research paper can you write? And how good of a speaker are you? And so on and so forth. However, every measure of success is really given by the community, whether that's feedback, acknowledgment, adoration, money, whether that’s likes, it's always a communal measure, right? You don't pay yourself; you don't like yourself—or you could do that, right, but not at the scale that really leads to success. It's really the community that provides that to you. Therefore, if you want to understand success, at the beginning, we do need to distinguish these two things, and you need to ask yourself: How do you measure performance? How do you measure success? And when and how is the relationship between them?

The social nature of success

32:42: This is the distinction between performance and success because success is a collective measure. We give success to you, so you need to come to us and make sure that we understand what you do. We can compare it to others who do different, similar things, and ultimately, we can acknowledge you and reward you for that. This is a collective phenomenon, and you have to work with the community; it's not a lonely journey any longer.

Is performance really measurable?

16:33: Performance is not a one-dimensional quantity. There's so many dimensions of performance when it comes to teaching, when it comes to having a podcast, when it comes to curing people, right? And hence, it becomes virtually unmeasurable. Yet, success is not unmeasurable, right? So, in most of us, the vast majority of humanity lives and works in professions where there is not an objective measure of performance, but there are very clear measures of success. And so really, all of the formula is really about how and when do these connect.

On understanding how success emerges

30:00: If you understand the forces that act on how success emerges, then you can actually start thinking about that in the domain where you are. What really matters, and where do you put your focus? I always think of these roles not as a way to manipulate the system—because you can't manipulate the system, right?—but rather as guidance on where to put your efforts.

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]]> Mon, 29 Jul 2024 13:09:10 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In order to study the science of success, you have to also study the science of failure. How much is performance connected to success? How do you leverage networks in your domain successfully?

Albert-László Barabási is a professor of network science at Northeastern University and the author of books like, Linked: The New Science Of Networks Science Of Networks and The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success. 

Albert and Greg chat about the evolution of network science, measuring performance vs. success, how to strategically network in your field, and the surprising findings about creativity and age.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Distinguishing success vs. performance

14:24: Performance is really about you, and your success is about us. And what do I mean by that? If we look very carefully, everything that is performance typically links to individual qualities. How fast can you run? How good of a research paper can you write? And how good of a speaker are you? And so on and so forth. However, every measure of success is really given by the community, whether that's feedback, acknowledgment, adoration, money, whether that’s likes, it's always a communal measure, right? You don't pay yourself; you don't like yourself—or you could do that, right, but not at the scale that really leads to success. It's really the community that provides that to you. Therefore, if you want to understand success, at the beginning, we do need to distinguish these two things, and you need to ask yourself: How do you measure performance? How do you measure success? And when and how is the relationship between them?

The social nature of success

32:42: This is the distinction between performance and success because success is a collective measure. We give success to you, so you need to come to us and make sure that we understand what you do. We can compare it to others who do different, similar things, and ultimately, we can acknowledge you and reward you for that. This is a collective phenomenon, and you have to work with the community; it's not a lonely journey any longer.

Is performance really measurable?

16:33: Performance is not a one-dimensional quantity. There's so many dimensions of performance when it comes to teaching, when it comes to having a podcast, when it comes to curing people, right? And hence, it becomes virtually unmeasurable. Yet, success is not unmeasurable, right? So, in most of us, the vast majority of humanity lives and works in professions where there is not an objective measure of performance, but there are very clear measures of success. And so really, all of the formula is really about how and when do these connect.

On understanding how success emerges

30:00: If you understand the forces that act on how success emerges, then you can actually start thinking about that in the domain where you are. What really matters, and where do you put your focus? I always think of these roles not as a way to manipulate the system—because you can't manipulate the system, right?—but rather as guidance on where to put your efforts.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 446. The Science of Success with Albert-László Barabási Greg La Blanc 00:58:06 In order to study the science of success, you have to also study the science of failure. How much is performance connected to success? How do you leverage networks in your domain successfully? Albert-László Barabási is a professor of network science at Northeastern University and the author of books like, Linked: The New Science Of Networks Science Of Networks and The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success. Albert and Greg chat about the evolution of network science, measuring performance vs. success, how to strategically network in your field, and the surprising findings about creativity and age. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In order to study the science of success, you have to also study the science of failure. How much is performance connected to success? How do you leverage networks in your domain successfully? Albert-László Barabási is a professor of network science at Northeastern University and the author of books like, Linked: The New Science Of Networks Science Of Networks and The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success. Albert and Greg chat about the evolution of network science, measuring performance vs. success, how to strategically network in your field, and the surprising findings about creativity and age. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 446 dc6693df-3fdc-4619-ba3f-a52fba4ddfca 445. How and When To Think Like a Scientist with Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun In a world challenged by the politicization of data, contradicting evidence, and an onslaught of information, could the key to more effective and informed decision-making be as simple as, thinking like a scientist? 

Professor of physics Saul Perlmutter, professor of philosophy John Campbell, and professor of psychology and law Robert MacCoun combine their interdisciplinary minds in the book, Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense. The book explores the essence of scientific thinking and how it can be applied to practical societal issues. 

Saul, John, and Robert join Greg to chat about the genesis of “third millenium thinking,” the role of values in scientific judgment, and the importance of teaching probabilistic thinking and experimentation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is it so hard to just walk the Humean line and to be very explicit about sorting out these differences?

09:03: [John Campbell] The message of the book is: keep the Humean line as far as we can, separate the facts and values. Scientists, we all know, have a lot to tell us about the facts, but we, the people, are the ones who tell you about the values. And then, I think, that has to be anyone's first brush, sort of partitioning off the boundaries of science, to keep that Humean line. But then it does get complicated when you think about things like mental illnesses and so on, where you're asking not just, Is this condition that a person had? Is this a real thing? But you're also asking, Is this a bad thing? Is it a bad thing for a person to be like that? So with autism, is that just neurodiversity that is not really within the sphere of medical treatment at all? There are boundaries there as to where science is authoritative and where the people have a voice. And this kind of issue clearly has to be a debate, it seems to me. It's not something for professionals only.

To what extent must we trust the processes within the expert community?

37:04: [Saul Perlmutter] I think that there's a difference between really understanding a field enough that you don't need the expert and having some understanding of how science works so you can recognize which experts you are more likely to trust.

They myth of lone genius

47:26: [Robert MacCoun] This mythology of the lone genius, I think, is very much the antithesis of third-millennium thinking, this notion that it's because I'm brilliant that you should listen to me. And that's really not where we think the authority of science comes from. It's not from the IQ of the scientist. It's from the procedures—the hoops you have to jump through to make your ideas work. And it's those procedures that give you credibility, not just brilliance.

If you hold to the Humean line, why would your value judgments about what's good or bad for society impact your causal arguments?

32:25: [Robert MacCoun]  The role of standards of proof when you're dealing with probabilistic evidence, you need to weigh two kinds of errors: false positive errors of claiming a hypothesis is true when it's not, and false negative errors of saying the hypothesis is wrong when in fact it's true. That is not a scientific matter. That is a matter of values. We can't avoid it. In dealing with uncertainty, we have to impose some sort of standard of proof. And so, under the Humean model, you take values very seriously. I don't think we would argue that values are simply outside the domain of science.

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]]> Fri, 26 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In a world challenged by the politicization of data, contradicting evidence, and an onslaught of information, could the key to more effective and informed decision-making be as simple as, thinking like a scientist? 

Professor of physics Saul Perlmutter, professor of philosophy John Campbell, and professor of psychology and law Robert MacCoun combine their interdisciplinary minds in the book, Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense. The book explores the essence of scientific thinking and how it can be applied to practical societal issues. 

Saul, John, and Robert join Greg to chat about the genesis of “third millenium thinking,” the role of values in scientific judgment, and the importance of teaching probabilistic thinking and experimentation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is it so hard to just walk the Humean line and to be very explicit about sorting out these differences?

09:03: [John Campbell] The message of the book is: keep the Humean line as far as we can, separate the facts and values. Scientists, we all know, have a lot to tell us about the facts, but we, the people, are the ones who tell you about the values. And then, I think, that has to be anyone's first brush, sort of partitioning off the boundaries of science, to keep that Humean line. But then it does get complicated when you think about things like mental illnesses and so on, where you're asking not just, Is this condition that a person had? Is this a real thing? But you're also asking, Is this a bad thing? Is it a bad thing for a person to be like that? So with autism, is that just neurodiversity that is not really within the sphere of medical treatment at all? There are boundaries there as to where science is authoritative and where the people have a voice. And this kind of issue clearly has to be a debate, it seems to me. It's not something for professionals only.

To what extent must we trust the processes within the expert community?

37:04: [Saul Perlmutter] I think that there's a difference between really understanding a field enough that you don't need the expert and having some understanding of how science works so you can recognize which experts you are more likely to trust.

They myth of lone genius

47:26: [Robert MacCoun] This mythology of the lone genius, I think, is very much the antithesis of third-millennium thinking, this notion that it's because I'm brilliant that you should listen to me. And that's really not where we think the authority of science comes from. It's not from the IQ of the scientist. It's from the procedures—the hoops you have to jump through to make your ideas work. And it's those procedures that give you credibility, not just brilliance.

If you hold to the Humean line, why would your value judgments about what's good or bad for society impact your causal arguments?

32:25: [Robert MacCoun]  The role of standards of proof when you're dealing with probabilistic evidence, you need to weigh two kinds of errors: false positive errors of claiming a hypothesis is true when it's not, and false negative errors of saying the hypothesis is wrong when in fact it's true. That is not a scientific matter. That is a matter of values. We can't avoid it. In dealing with uncertainty, we have to impose some sort of standard of proof. And so, under the Humean model, you take values very seriously. I don't think we would argue that values are simply outside the domain of science.

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Guest Profile:

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]]> 445. How and When To Think Like a Scientist with Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun Greg La Blanc 01:02:48 In a world challenged by the politicization of data, contradicting evidence, and an onslaught of information, could the key to more effective and informed decision-making be as simple as, thinking like a scientist? Professor of physics Saul Perlmutter, professor of philosophy John Campbell, and professor of psychology and law Robert MacCoun combine their interdisciplinary minds in the book, Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense. The book explores the essence of scientific thinking and how it can be applied to practical societal issues. Saul, John, and Robert join Greg to chat about the genesis of “third millenium thinking,” the role of values in scientific judgment, and the importance of teaching probabilistic thinking and experimentation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In a world challenged by the politicization of data, contradicting evidence, and an onslaught of information, could the key to more effective and informed decision-making be as simple as, thinking like a scientist? Professor of physics Saul Perlmutter, professor of philosophy John Campbell, and professor of psychology and law Robert MacCoun combine their interdisciplinary minds in the book, Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense. The book explores the essence of scientific thinking and how it can be applied to practical societal issues. Saul, John, and Robert join Greg to chat about the genesis of “third millenium thinking,” the role of values in scientific judgment, and the importance of teaching probabilistic thinking and experimentation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 445 99afefce-e7cf-4e9d-bf53-bef3606d5b4a 444. From Isolation to Connection in Modern Work Environments feat. David Bradford Can you truly build exceptional relationships in a professional setting? What are the secrets to effective communication and the role of social psychology in fostering strong connections?

David Bradford is a Senior Lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, having taught the legendary “touchy feely course for decades, and the author or co-author of several books. His latest work is called Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues.

Greg and David discuss the practical benefits of Stanford's T groups, where participants develop crucial skills like clear communication and conflict resolution. David explains the importance of seeing feedback as the start of a conversation rather than a critique, emphasizing the need to understand the impact of our behaviors on others. Explore the contrast between how children and adults handle conflicts and learn why genuine curiosity is key to bridging communication gaps.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we building organizations to build friendships?

35:08: I think more and more leaders in an organization are realizing that building collaboration is important. Now there is a danger with building friendships, which I said before, because there are many organizations that need to cut back, are too big, are facing adverse times, and have to do cutting. So it has to be clear that we're building a relationship to get the job done. That's the purpose of an organization. We're not building an organization to have warm and fuzzy friendships; that's the means to an end, not an end in itself. And we have to realize that there are going to be times in which we're going to have a reduction in force. There are going to be times in which we get rid of people.

Organization are held by network of relationships

02:49: Organizations are held together not by the organizational chart, but by the network of relationships that people have in the organization.

On vulnerability in leadership

37:41: The research on vulnerability shows two things: leaders who are vulnerable about their core competence lose power…[38:12] So leadership, which questions your basic competence, does lose power and does lose influence, but vulnerability, which shows your humanness, is different.

Do you have an understanding of human psychology, social psychology, and cognitive psychology to have a good relationship?

08:56: In general, the more that we know, the more we can start to see them as an individual, as a unique person, which is, I think, what all of us want and which all of us are. There is no rule that applies equally to all people. So I think that the broader our knowledge, the more we can find out. What approach allows me to understand you as an individual, you as a person, and we can move beyond me treating you like an object, which you don't want and I don't think I want.

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]]> Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:13:50 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Can you truly build exceptional relationships in a professional setting? What are the secrets to effective communication and the role of social psychology in fostering strong connections?

David Bradford is a Senior Lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, having taught the legendary “touchy feely course for decades, and the author or co-author of several books. His latest work is called Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues.

Greg and David discuss the practical benefits of Stanford's T groups, where participants develop crucial skills like clear communication and conflict resolution. David explains the importance of seeing feedback as the start of a conversation rather than a critique, emphasizing the need to understand the impact of our behaviors on others. Explore the contrast between how children and adults handle conflicts and learn why genuine curiosity is key to bridging communication gaps.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we building organizations to build friendships?

35:08: I think more and more leaders in an organization are realizing that building collaboration is important. Now there is a danger with building friendships, which I said before, because there are many organizations that need to cut back, are too big, are facing adverse times, and have to do cutting. So it has to be clear that we're building a relationship to get the job done. That's the purpose of an organization. We're not building an organization to have warm and fuzzy friendships; that's the means to an end, not an end in itself. And we have to realize that there are going to be times in which we're going to have a reduction in force. There are going to be times in which we get rid of people.

Organization are held by network of relationships

02:49: Organizations are held together not by the organizational chart, but by the network of relationships that people have in the organization.

On vulnerability in leadership

37:41: The research on vulnerability shows two things: leaders who are vulnerable about their core competence lose power…[38:12] So leadership, which questions your basic competence, does lose power and does lose influence, but vulnerability, which shows your humanness, is different.

Do you have an understanding of human psychology, social psychology, and cognitive psychology to have a good relationship?

08:56: In general, the more that we know, the more we can start to see them as an individual, as a unique person, which is, I think, what all of us want and which all of us are. There is no rule that applies equally to all people. So I think that the broader our knowledge, the more we can find out. What approach allows me to understand you as an individual, you as a person, and we can move beyond me treating you like an object, which you don't want and I don't think I want.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 444. From Isolation to Connection in Modern Work Environments feat. David Bradford Greg La Blanc 00:58:33 Can you truly build exceptional relationships in a professional setting? What are the secrets to effective communication and the role of social psychology in fostering strong connections? David Bradford is a Senior Lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, having taught the legendary “touchy feely course for decades, and the author or co-author of several books. His latest work is called Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues. Greg and David discuss the practical benefits of Stanford's T groups, where participants develop crucial skills like clear communication and conflict resolution. David explains the importance of seeing feedback as the start of a conversation rather than a critique, emphasizing the need to understand the impact of our behaviors on others. Explore the contrast between how children and adults handle conflicts and learn why genuine curiosity is key to bridging communication gaps. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Can you truly build exceptional relationships in a professional setting? What are the secrets to effective communication and the role of social psychology in fostering strong connections? David Bradford is a Senior Lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, having taught the legendary “touchy feely course for decades, and the author or co-author of several books. His latest work is called Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues. Greg and David discuss the practical benefits of Stanford's T groups, where participants develop crucial skills like clear communication and conflict resolution. David explains the importance of seeing feedback as the start of a conversation rather than a critique, emphasizing the need to understand the impact of our behaviors on others. Explore the contrast between how children and adults handle conflicts and learn why genuine curiosity is key to bridging communication gaps. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 444 a101305a-965c-4380-a842-8d279c62fe6c 443. Uncovering COVID-19’s Origin with Alina Chan More than four years after the pandemic began, a source for COVID-19 still eludes scientists and public health officials. The mystery has given rise to a slew of hypotheses ranging from natural zoonotic transmission to lab leaks. But to get to the bottom and find the real source of the virus, you have to start with the evidence. 

Alina Chan is a scientific advisor at the Broad Institute and the co-author of the book, Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19. She and her co-author Matt Ridley follow one evidence thread to the next in order to get closer to the truth. 

Alina joins Greg to chat about the two dominant hypotheses on COVID-19’s source, the challenges and methodology of identifying a virus’ origin, and why it’s crucial we find out where COVID-19 came from. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The debate over studying high-risk pathogens

43:50: There are definitely people who think that all of this research should be banned, but I think that there should be a certain amount allowed to continue. Again, this sort of research, where there's actually any pandemic risk, constitute an extremely small fraction of virology. So, I would say, like, less than even a percent, maybe even less than that. So, most virology doesn't even concern animal viruses. And those that do often do not pose a risk to cause outbreaks in people. But there are these types of research projects that are now becoming more and more trendy around the world, following in the footsteps of U.S. leaders to take these pathogens that could cause outbreaks in people and study them in the labs. And it's unclear where the risk is because some of these labs are doing it at such low biosafety levels. Or is it because there are so many of these high-biosafety labs now, and the work is increasing, yet in these labs there's still room for human error.

Public vs. scientists

51:56: Your political affiliation doesn't determine anymore whether you think this virus was natural or came through a lab. I would say that the difference between the public and scientists is that scientists, especially experts, tend to lean on priors very heavily, as well as peer-reviewed literature. 

Is the focus on avoiding retroactive blame or preventing future research constraints?

43:03: I think it's both. So, since then, and over the past few years, you've seen so many letters by virologists. Dozens of them have signed letters saying we are totally fine in the U.S. We do not need any more oversight or regulation. We are good at self-auditing and self-inspecting. We don't need any external oversight over our work. So, there's a clear fear amongst virologists that if this pandemic was started by a lab accident in Wuhan, they would become constrained as well, and that people would also perceive them to no longer just be the good guys but to be a source of risk and danger.

Why bats carry so many viruses

24:45: I think bats, aside from humans, are probably the most interesting mammalian species out there for virologists. It's because these bats have been found to carry so many different types of pathogens, many of which can jump into people. So, like Ebola, coronaviruses, both MERS and SARS were found to have come from reservoirs, for example, but they're quite similar to humans in the context that they live in large groups. So, you go into one of these caves, easily millions of bats in there, but actually, they're quite different. So, they can fly, and so their body has to adapt to handle that really high heat that happens when you're flapping your wings at such a high speed. And that is related to traits in bats that help them to coexist with so many of these viruses. So, these viruses, while they cause very severe diseases in people, in bats, they just live mostly in the gut and don't cause any severe disease. So, bats have this invulnerability in a sense to all these very dangerous pathogens.

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]]> Mon, 22 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast More than four years after the pandemic began, a source for COVID-19 still eludes scientists and public health officials. The mystery has given rise to a slew of hypotheses ranging from natural zoonotic transmission to lab leaks. But to get to the bottom and find the real source of the virus, you have to start with the evidence. 

Alina Chan is a scientific advisor at the Broad Institute and the co-author of the book, Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19. She and her co-author Matt Ridley follow one evidence thread to the next in order to get closer to the truth. 

Alina joins Greg to chat about the two dominant hypotheses on COVID-19’s source, the challenges and methodology of identifying a virus’ origin, and why it’s crucial we find out where COVID-19 came from. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The debate over studying high-risk pathogens

43:50: There are definitely people who think that all of this research should be banned, but I think that there should be a certain amount allowed to continue. Again, this sort of research, where there's actually any pandemic risk, constitute an extremely small fraction of virology. So, I would say, like, less than even a percent, maybe even less than that. So, most virology doesn't even concern animal viruses. And those that do often do not pose a risk to cause outbreaks in people. But there are these types of research projects that are now becoming more and more trendy around the world, following in the footsteps of U.S. leaders to take these pathogens that could cause outbreaks in people and study them in the labs. And it's unclear where the risk is because some of these labs are doing it at such low biosafety levels. Or is it because there are so many of these high-biosafety labs now, and the work is increasing, yet in these labs there's still room for human error.

Public vs. scientists

51:56: Your political affiliation doesn't determine anymore whether you think this virus was natural or came through a lab. I would say that the difference between the public and scientists is that scientists, especially experts, tend to lean on priors very heavily, as well as peer-reviewed literature. 

Is the focus on avoiding retroactive blame or preventing future research constraints?

43:03: I think it's both. So, since then, and over the past few years, you've seen so many letters by virologists. Dozens of them have signed letters saying we are totally fine in the U.S. We do not need any more oversight or regulation. We are good at self-auditing and self-inspecting. We don't need any external oversight over our work. So, there's a clear fear amongst virologists that if this pandemic was started by a lab accident in Wuhan, they would become constrained as well, and that people would also perceive them to no longer just be the good guys but to be a source of risk and danger.

Why bats carry so many viruses

24:45: I think bats, aside from humans, are probably the most interesting mammalian species out there for virologists. It's because these bats have been found to carry so many different types of pathogens, many of which can jump into people. So, like Ebola, coronaviruses, both MERS and SARS were found to have come from reservoirs, for example, but they're quite similar to humans in the context that they live in large groups. So, you go into one of these caves, easily millions of bats in there, but actually, they're quite different. So, they can fly, and so their body has to adapt to handle that really high heat that happens when you're flapping your wings at such a high speed. And that is related to traits in bats that help them to coexist with so many of these viruses. So, these viruses, while they cause very severe diseases in people, in bats, they just live mostly in the gut and don't cause any severe disease. So, bats have this invulnerability in a sense to all these very dangerous pathogens.

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]]> 443. Uncovering COVID-19’s Origin with Alina Chan Greg La Blanc 01:00:18 More than four years after the pandemic began, a source for COVID-19 still eludes scientists and public health officials. The mystery has given rise to a slew of hypotheses ranging from natural zoonotic transmission to lab leaks. But to get to the bottom and find the real source of the virus, you have to start with the evidence. Alina Chan is a scientific advisor at the Broad Institute and the co-author of the book, Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19. She and her co-author Matt Ridley follow one evidence thread to the next in order to get closer to the truth. Alina joins Greg to chat about the two dominant hypotheses on COVID-19’s source, the challenges and methodology of identifying a virus’ origin, and why it’s crucial we find out where COVID-19 came from. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* More than four years after the pandemic began, a source for COVID-19 still eludes scientists and public health officials. The mystery has given rise to a slew of hypotheses ranging from natural zoonotic transmission to lab leaks. But to get to the bottom and find the real source of the virus, you have to start with the evidence. Alina Chan is a scientific advisor at the Broad Institute and the co-author of the book, Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19. She and her co-author Matt Ridley follow one evidence thread to the next in order to get closer to the truth. Alina joins Greg to chat about the two dominant hypotheses on COVID-19’s source, the challenges and methodology of identifying a virus’ origin, and why it’s crucial we find out where COVID-19 came from. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 443 93c24488-264e-48a7-b768-13c96f7c47c1 442. Enhancing Community and Connection with Rituals feat. Michael Norton What if the key to managing stress and finding meaning lies in the simple rituals we perform daily? How can engaging in rituals can be a potent tool for combating anxiety and fostering a sense of community?

Michael Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and an author. His latest book is titled The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions.

Greg and Michael discuss Michael’s groundbreaking research on the distinctions between rituals, habits, and compulsions, and delves into how these practices—whether ancient or self-created—provide essential structure and purpose in our lives.

Michael and Greg dive deeper into the impact of rituals within organizations and relationships. Learn how companies can use simple, coordinated actions to bolster unity and core values, and why rites of passage are crucial for marking life's transitions. Michael also highlights the strong correlation between shared rituals and relationship success, emphasizing the importance of mutual participation. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Do successful companies leverage rituals to foster a sense of belonging and a common purpose?

24:45: Very often, the rituals that companies have are really intended to reflect a specific value that the company cares about. I was just talking to someone who told me at their company, what they do is every Friday: It's a smallish company, so they have an all-hands  every Friday, and each group says something that another group did that they're grateful for. Somebody on another team helped me out with this thing I was working on, and they do it every Friday. Now, they could do anything—they could say, "Think of another group that made you laugh this week. Tell us about that." But they don't laugh; they do gratitude. And they're trying to show in that moment one of the things that we care about in this place is helping and gratitude. You can have a silly mission statement that says, "Gratitude and all these platitudes," or you can use these kinds of regular rituals to show repeatedly: This is the value that we really care about. And families, when they have rituals at dinnertime as well, they're very often communicating a value that they really think is very important.

Rituals can bind us and separate us

23:52: It's not that you do rituals and it's all warm and fuzzy; it's that they can bind us together and they can separate us from other people. So there's tension—it's like a risk-reward kind of relationship with ritual.

Exploring how emotions drive action

17:18: I think the way that humans are built, unfortunately for us, is that we can't change our emotions when we feel like it. So, in other words, it would be amazing if I felt sad, if I could snap and be happy, just automatically, just instantly; we could easily be built like that.

Do we customize rituals according to our needs?

08:17: In fact, even in our own lives, we're changing them—rituals—all the time. And the reason I say that is because if they stop working for you, you could say, "Rituals obviously don't work. I'm never doing them again." Or you can say, "I must have the wrong ritual. It seems what people are likely to do is say, 'I must have the wrong ritual.' Let me mix it up a little bit and see if that will help." And it really, to me, speaks to how deeply ingrained they are in us because we are, in a sense, ignoring evidence from the world that not all of them work, and we continue to do them, modify them, and shape them as though if we keep doing that, we'll get to the optimal one.

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]]> Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:30:48 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if the key to managing stress and finding meaning lies in the simple rituals we perform daily? How can engaging in rituals can be a potent tool for combating anxiety and fostering a sense of community?

Michael Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and an author. His latest book is titled The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions.

Greg and Michael discuss Michael’s groundbreaking research on the distinctions between rituals, habits, and compulsions, and delves into how these practices—whether ancient or self-created—provide essential structure and purpose in our lives.

Michael and Greg dive deeper into the impact of rituals within organizations and relationships. Learn how companies can use simple, coordinated actions to bolster unity and core values, and why rites of passage are crucial for marking life's transitions. Michael also highlights the strong correlation between shared rituals and relationship success, emphasizing the importance of mutual participation. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Do successful companies leverage rituals to foster a sense of belonging and a common purpose?

24:45: Very often, the rituals that companies have are really intended to reflect a specific value that the company cares about. I was just talking to someone who told me at their company, what they do is every Friday: It's a smallish company, so they have an all-hands  every Friday, and each group says something that another group did that they're grateful for. Somebody on another team helped me out with this thing I was working on, and they do it every Friday. Now, they could do anything—they could say, "Think of another group that made you laugh this week. Tell us about that." But they don't laugh; they do gratitude. And they're trying to show in that moment one of the things that we care about in this place is helping and gratitude. You can have a silly mission statement that says, "Gratitude and all these platitudes," or you can use these kinds of regular rituals to show repeatedly: This is the value that we really care about. And families, when they have rituals at dinnertime as well, they're very often communicating a value that they really think is very important.

Rituals can bind us and separate us

23:52: It's not that you do rituals and it's all warm and fuzzy; it's that they can bind us together and they can separate us from other people. So there's tension—it's like a risk-reward kind of relationship with ritual.

Exploring how emotions drive action

17:18: I think the way that humans are built, unfortunately for us, is that we can't change our emotions when we feel like it. So, in other words, it would be amazing if I felt sad, if I could snap and be happy, just automatically, just instantly; we could easily be built like that.

Do we customize rituals according to our needs?

08:17: In fact, even in our own lives, we're changing them—rituals—all the time. And the reason I say that is because if they stop working for you, you could say, "Rituals obviously don't work. I'm never doing them again." Or you can say, "I must have the wrong ritual. It seems what people are likely to do is say, 'I must have the wrong ritual.' Let me mix it up a little bit and see if that will help." And it really, to me, speaks to how deeply ingrained they are in us because we are, in a sense, ignoring evidence from the world that not all of them work, and we continue to do them, modify them, and shape them as though if we keep doing that, we'll get to the optimal one.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 442. Enhancing Community and Connection with Rituals feat. Michael Norton Greg La Blanc 00:49:42 What if the key to managing stress and finding meaning lies in the simple rituals we perform daily? How can engaging in rituals can be a potent tool for combating anxiety and fostering a sense of community? Michael Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and an author. His latest book is titled The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions. Greg and Michael discuss Michael’s groundbreaking research on the distinctions between rituals, habits, and compulsions, and delves into how these practices—whether ancient or self-created—provide essential structure and purpose in our lives. Michael and Greg dive deeper into the impact of rituals within organizations and relationships. Learn how companies can use simple, coordinated actions to bolster unity and core values, and why rites of passage are crucial for marking life's transitions. Michael also highlights the strong correlation between shared rituals and relationship success, emphasizing the importance of mutual participation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What if the key to managing stress and finding meaning lies in the simple rituals we perform daily? How can engaging in rituals can be a potent tool for combating anxiety and fostering a sense of community? Michael Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and an author. His latest book is titled The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions. Greg and Michael discuss Michael’s groundbreaking research on the distinctions between rituals, habits, and compulsions, and delves into how these practices—whether ancient or self-created—provide essential structure and purpose in our lives. Michael and Greg dive deeper into the impact of rituals within organizations and relationships. Learn how companies can use simple, coordinated actions to bolster unity and core values, and why rites of passage are crucial for marking life's transitions. Michael also highlights the strong correlation between shared rituals and relationship success, emphasizing the importance of mutual participation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 442 9b54164f-05be-4d05-9791-9180cba5c8f7 441. Breaking Free From Emotional Habituation with Tali Sharot Humans are creatures of habit. It’s even wired that way in our brains. But what impact does habituation have on personal happiness?

Tali Sharot is a professor of neuroscience at University College London and researches habituation, adaptation, and other cognitive biases. Her latest book, Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There co-authored with Cass Sunstein explores how habituation leads people to stop noticing both good and bad things they’re accustomed to and the benefits of breaking free from those habits. 

Tali and Greg discuss why people are more likely to feel less excited about good things over time, how taking breaks from those habits can restore the good feelings, and optimism bias discrepancies in stressful environments.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is optimism bias?

20:41: Optimism bias is our tendency to expect to encounter positive events more on average than we do and underestimate our likelihood of experiencing negative events in our lives. So, underestimating our likelihood of going to prison, getting a divorce, being in an accident, and so on. It is not necessarily how we will react to those events. So, it's not that I think if I get divorced, then I won't feel bad. It's mostly, at least in my studies, about what is the likelihood of the event.

Can bad news be good news?

41:07: Bad news doesn't necessarily mean that it results in a negative feeling for you. It can result in a positive feeling, and that's why it seems like people are attracted to bad news when, in fact, it's not really bad news. So, all this is like celebrity breakups; to some extent, it can make people feel good because, well, everyone has problems. So now I'm feeling better about my own life.

Three main motives for searching information

40:12: It's instrumental utility, cognitive rewards, and affective rewards. So, that's our tendency to want good news over bad news. Now, all three will drive your decisions on whether to seek information or not. So, you will for sure seek a lot of negative information if the cognitive reward is high and instrumental utility is high. But all three things matter together. And there are ways for us to tease them apart and show that all of them matter. So, that's why, despite the fact that you feel like you go after bad news, you still have the tendency to want good news.

The difference between optimism about our own lives and pessimism about the external world

33:39: What we see is that people are optimistic about their own future, the future of their family, and the future of their kids, but they're not optimistic about the world at large. In fact, they are somewhat pessimistic about global issues and about the abilities of the leaders. And let me give you a few examples. Let's take AI. So, people say AI will take more jobs than it will create, and 75 percent of people say that. It's three out of four, but only one out of four, 25%, say their job is at risk. Out of every four people, three say that they're very optimistic about the future of their family; again, 75%, but only 30% say that the next generation will be doing better than the current one.

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

]]> Wed, 17 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Humans are creatures of habit. It’s even wired that way in our brains. But what impact does habituation have on personal happiness?

Tali Sharot is a professor of neuroscience at University College London and researches habituation, adaptation, and other cognitive biases. Her latest book, Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There co-authored with Cass Sunstein explores how habituation leads people to stop noticing both good and bad things they’re accustomed to and the benefits of breaking free from those habits. 

Tali and Greg discuss why people are more likely to feel less excited about good things over time, how taking breaks from those habits can restore the good feelings, and optimism bias discrepancies in stressful environments.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is optimism bias?

20:41: Optimism bias is our tendency to expect to encounter positive events more on average than we do and underestimate our likelihood of experiencing negative events in our lives. So, underestimating our likelihood of going to prison, getting a divorce, being in an accident, and so on. It is not necessarily how we will react to those events. So, it's not that I think if I get divorced, then I won't feel bad. It's mostly, at least in my studies, about what is the likelihood of the event.

Can bad news be good news?

41:07: Bad news doesn't necessarily mean that it results in a negative feeling for you. It can result in a positive feeling, and that's why it seems like people are attracted to bad news when, in fact, it's not really bad news. So, all this is like celebrity breakups; to some extent, it can make people feel good because, well, everyone has problems. So now I'm feeling better about my own life.

Three main motives for searching information

40:12: It's instrumental utility, cognitive rewards, and affective rewards. So, that's our tendency to want good news over bad news. Now, all three will drive your decisions on whether to seek information or not. So, you will for sure seek a lot of negative information if the cognitive reward is high and instrumental utility is high. But all three things matter together. And there are ways for us to tease them apart and show that all of them matter. So, that's why, despite the fact that you feel like you go after bad news, you still have the tendency to want good news.

The difference between optimism about our own lives and pessimism about the external world

33:39: What we see is that people are optimistic about their own future, the future of their family, and the future of their kids, but they're not optimistic about the world at large. In fact, they are somewhat pessimistic about global issues and about the abilities of the leaders. And let me give you a few examples. Let's take AI. So, people say AI will take more jobs than it will create, and 75 percent of people say that. It's three out of four, but only one out of four, 25%, say their job is at risk. Out of every four people, three say that they're very optimistic about the future of their family; again, 75%, but only 30% say that the next generation will be doing better than the current one.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 441. Breaking Free From Emotional Habituation with Tali Sharot Greg La Blanc 00:59:33 Humans are creatures of habit. It’s even wired that way in our brains. But what impact does habituation have on personal happiness? Tali Sharot is a professor of neuroscience at University College London and researches habituation, adaptation, and other cognitive biases. Her latest book, Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There co-authored with Cass Sunstein explores how habituation leads people to stop noticing both good and bad things they’re accustomed to and the benefits of breaking free from those habits. Tali and Greg discuss why people are more likely to feel less excited about good things over time, how taking breaks from those habits can restore the good feelings, and optimism bias discrepancies in stressful environments. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Humans are creatures of habit. It’s even wired that way in our brains. But what impact does habituation have on personal happiness? Tali Sharot is a professor of neuroscience at University College London and researches habituation, adaptation, and other cognitive biases. Her latest book, Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There co-authored with Cass Sunstein explores how habituation leads people to stop noticing both good and bad things they’re accustomed to and the benefits of breaking free from those habits. Tali and Greg discuss why people are more likely to feel less excited about good things over time, how taking breaks from those habits can restore the good feelings, and optimism bias discrepancies in stressful environments. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 441 a2571a47-5f28-44f4-ad37-eca89347ba5f 440. Whistleblowing in Medical Research with Carl Elliott Despite the Hippocratic Oath of “do no harm” that all physicians take, a dark side exists in the medical field.  

Carl Elliott is a professor of philosophy who teaches bioethics at the University of Minnesota. His latest book, The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No, shares the stories of some of the most egregious cases of medical abuse in history and the whistleblowers who tried to stop it. 

Carl and Greg chat about his own experience blowing the whistle after a psychiatric study went awry, the factors present in the medical field that lead to unethical and abusive studies, and the cost of deciding to take a stand.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On protecting vulnerable populations in research

19:16: One of the things that you see running through, I would say, at least 90% of the scandals that we look at in the class that I teach on research scandals, is that you're dealing with research subjects who are vulnerable in some way. They're often poor, they're uneducated, they're institutionalized, they're mentally ill, they're children, they're mentally disabled, they're unable to look out for their own interests in the way that an ordinary competent adult is. And those populations are easily exploitable. We should have protections for those people—serious protections. We have, in our honor code, the Common Rule; there are federal guidelines that say this: you need to take special care with vulnerable populations.

Is an honor system enough for medical research?

14:18: In other businesses out there, factories, restaurants, mines, fisheries, and so on, you have a regulatory system, like a full-blown regulatory system with inspections, safety rules, and so on. There's nothing like that in medical research. The oversight system is an honor system. Medical researchers are just trusted to behave honorably and honestly. And I think there are real questions about whether an honor system is up to the task of overseeing and doing the regulatory, quasi-regulatory job of managing what is now a multinational global multi-billion dollar industry.

Do we sometimes confuse the organization's purpose and the people in the organization? What and how does this idea of organizational loyalty play out?

32:22: It's really institutional loyalty, at least in academic medicine, and not loyalty to some higher mission—in the case of academic medicine, to the sort of humanitarian effort of doing medical research. Because I do think that there is this sense of physicians who have chosen to work in academic health centers rather than do like the vast majority and work out in the community somewhere, there's a reason for that. And the reason is science and medical advances and the many people that you could reach by developing new and better treatments, right? I mean, it's that tension between those humanitarian goals of the enterprise as a whole and the interests of individual patients that needs to be balanced.

The toxic mix of research funding and authoritarian hierarchy

13:46: There's a very rigid status hierarchy; it's extremely authoritarian and competitive. The coin of the realm is not patient care; it is research, particularly now research funding. In fact, research funding is more important than the actual research. And so, you can see, when you put all these things together, you have a very toxic mix.

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Guest Profile:

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

]]> Mon, 15 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Despite the Hippocratic Oath of “do no harm” that all physicians take, a dark side exists in the medical field.  

Carl Elliott is a professor of philosophy who teaches bioethics at the University of Minnesota. His latest book, The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No, shares the stories of some of the most egregious cases of medical abuse in history and the whistleblowers who tried to stop it. 

Carl and Greg chat about his own experience blowing the whistle after a psychiatric study went awry, the factors present in the medical field that lead to unethical and abusive studies, and the cost of deciding to take a stand.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On protecting vulnerable populations in research

19:16: One of the things that you see running through, I would say, at least 90% of the scandals that we look at in the class that I teach on research scandals, is that you're dealing with research subjects who are vulnerable in some way. They're often poor, they're uneducated, they're institutionalized, they're mentally ill, they're children, they're mentally disabled, they're unable to look out for their own interests in the way that an ordinary competent adult is. And those populations are easily exploitable. We should have protections for those people—serious protections. We have, in our honor code, the Common Rule; there are federal guidelines that say this: you need to take special care with vulnerable populations.

Is an honor system enough for medical research?

14:18: In other businesses out there, factories, restaurants, mines, fisheries, and so on, you have a regulatory system, like a full-blown regulatory system with inspections, safety rules, and so on. There's nothing like that in medical research. The oversight system is an honor system. Medical researchers are just trusted to behave honorably and honestly. And I think there are real questions about whether an honor system is up to the task of overseeing and doing the regulatory, quasi-regulatory job of managing what is now a multinational global multi-billion dollar industry.

Do we sometimes confuse the organization's purpose and the people in the organization? What and how does this idea of organizational loyalty play out?

32:22: It's really institutional loyalty, at least in academic medicine, and not loyalty to some higher mission—in the case of academic medicine, to the sort of humanitarian effort of doing medical research. Because I do think that there is this sense of physicians who have chosen to work in academic health centers rather than do like the vast majority and work out in the community somewhere, there's a reason for that. And the reason is science and medical advances and the many people that you could reach by developing new and better treatments, right? I mean, it's that tension between those humanitarian goals of the enterprise as a whole and the interests of individual patients that needs to be balanced.

The toxic mix of research funding and authoritarian hierarchy

13:46: There's a very rigid status hierarchy; it's extremely authoritarian and competitive. The coin of the realm is not patient care; it is research, particularly now research funding. In fact, research funding is more important than the actual research. And so, you can see, when you put all these things together, you have a very toxic mix.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 440. Whistleblowing in Medical Research with Carl Elliott Greg La Blanc 01:04:36 Despite the Hippocratic Oath of “do no harm” that all physicians take, a dark side exists in the medical field. Carl Elliott is a professor of philosophy who teaches bioethics at the University of Minnesota. His latest book, The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No, shares the stories of some of the most egregious cases of medical abuse in history and the whistleblowers who tried to stop it. Carl and Greg chat about his own experience blowing the whistle after a psychiatric study went awry, the factors present in the medical field that lead to unethical and abusive studies, and the cost of deciding to take a stand. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Despite the Hippocratic Oath of “do no harm” that all physicians take, a dark side exists in the medical field. Carl Elliott is a professor of philosophy who teaches bioethics at the University of Minnesota. His latest book, The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No, shares the stories of some of the most egregious cases of medical abuse in history and the whistleblowers who tried to stop it. Carl and Greg chat about his own experience blowing the whistle after a psychiatric study went awry, the factors present in the medical field that lead to unethical and abusive studies, and the cost of deciding to take a stand. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 440 a2597194-a9f8-45ab-9613-114fe43ac0a4 439. The Psychology Behind Misbelief and Conspiracy Theories feat. Dan Ariely What if you could understand why rational people sometimes believe the most irrational things?

Dan Ariely is a Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, the Center for Advanced Hindsight, and is also the author of several books including his most recent work, Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things. His work is also the subject of a new TV show called The Irrational.

Greg and Dan discuss many aspects of misbelief and irrationality. Dan describes his own journey of finding himself at the center of different conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic where he unexpectedly found himself accused of being part of a sinister plot. This shocking experience spurred him to delve deep into the phenomenon of misbelief, and he shares his invaluable field research and insights on this perplexing topic. 

Dan also explains the concept of "Shibboleth" as a social marker in political discourse, examining how language and terminology often signify group membership rather than convey actual beliefs. Dan and Greg discuss the critical role of maintaining transparency and trustworthiness in scientific communication and reflect on the evolving role of academia in addressing societal issues. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we in a period of low resilience?

19:25: We are at a period of high stress and low resilience. Why do we have low resilience? Because we spend less time with friends. We spend more time with our nuclear family. We have less good friends for all kinds of reasons, but, you know, for example, one of them is that we're not allowed to have friends at work anymore. And what I mean by that is that there are topics that you can't talk about at work. It’s frowned upon to talk about sexual issues. It's frowned upon to talk about politics. We spend lots of time with those people. It used to be the place where you got new friends. Now it's not anymore, right? There's not that much going out with friends after work to drink. And you don't know much about the people that we work with.

Redefining misbelief

06:14: Misbelief is not just about believing in something that isn't so; it's also about adopting it to such a degree that it colors everything we look at. And that's the dangerous thing, right? Because the moment you have some belief…[06:37] it becomes a central tenet in the way you interpret the world; it becomes much broader than that because you start being suspicious and so on.

Why does replication matter in social science?

52:20: I think there are lots of reasons why things don't replicate. I think that intention is a very small subset. And my hope is that we will grow as a science. We need to be more careful, and so on. But we also need to understand that lack of replication sometimes is just asking another question of what was different between those two things rather than saying, "Oh, it must mean that the first one was not correct. And the second one is correct."

The high cost of incorrect beliefs

23:43: We live in a world in which some wrong beliefs can have very large consequences. So I don't know if people believe in more incorrect things; probably we believe in less incorrect things, but I think that the cost of believing in incorrect things can be much higher.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 12 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if you could understand why rational people sometimes believe the most irrational things?

Dan Ariely is a Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, the Center for Advanced Hindsight, and is also the author of several books including his most recent work, Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things. His work is also the subject of a new TV show called The Irrational.

Greg and Dan discuss many aspects of misbelief and irrationality. Dan describes his own journey of finding himself at the center of different conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic where he unexpectedly found himself accused of being part of a sinister plot. This shocking experience spurred him to delve deep into the phenomenon of misbelief, and he shares his invaluable field research and insights on this perplexing topic. 

Dan also explains the concept of "Shibboleth" as a social marker in political discourse, examining how language and terminology often signify group membership rather than convey actual beliefs. Dan and Greg discuss the critical role of maintaining transparency and trustworthiness in scientific communication and reflect on the evolving role of academia in addressing societal issues. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we in a period of low resilience?

19:25: We are at a period of high stress and low resilience. Why do we have low resilience? Because we spend less time with friends. We spend more time with our nuclear family. We have less good friends for all kinds of reasons, but, you know, for example, one of them is that we're not allowed to have friends at work anymore. And what I mean by that is that there are topics that you can't talk about at work. It’s frowned upon to talk about sexual issues. It's frowned upon to talk about politics. We spend lots of time with those people. It used to be the place where you got new friends. Now it's not anymore, right? There's not that much going out with friends after work to drink. And you don't know much about the people that we work with.

Redefining misbelief

06:14: Misbelief is not just about believing in something that isn't so; it's also about adopting it to such a degree that it colors everything we look at. And that's the dangerous thing, right? Because the moment you have some belief…[06:37] it becomes a central tenet in the way you interpret the world; it becomes much broader than that because you start being suspicious and so on.

Why does replication matter in social science?

52:20: I think there are lots of reasons why things don't replicate. I think that intention is a very small subset. And my hope is that we will grow as a science. We need to be more careful, and so on. But we also need to understand that lack of replication sometimes is just asking another question of what was different between those two things rather than saying, "Oh, it must mean that the first one was not correct. And the second one is correct."

The high cost of incorrect beliefs

23:43: We live in a world in which some wrong beliefs can have very large consequences. So I don't know if people believe in more incorrect things; probably we believe in less incorrect things, but I think that the cost of believing in incorrect things can be much higher.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 439. The Psychology Behind Misbelief and Conspiracy Theories feat. Dan Ariely Greg La Blanc 00:59:57 What if you could understand why rational people sometimes believe the most irrational things? Dan Ariely is a Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, the Center for Advanced Hindsight, and is also the author of several books including his most recent work, Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things. His work is also the subject of a new TV show called The Irrational. Greg and Dan discuss many aspects of misbelief and irrationality. Dan describes his own journey of finding himself at the center of different conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic where he unexpectedly found himself accused of being part of a sinister plot. This shocking experience spurred him to delve deep into the phenomenon of misbelief, and he shares his invaluable field research and insights on this perplexing topic. Dan also explains the concept of "Shibboleth" as a social marker in political discourse, examining how language and terminology often signify group membership rather than convey actual beliefs. Dan and Greg discuss the critical role of maintaining transparency and trustworthiness in scientific communication and reflect on the evolving role of academia in addressing societal issues. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What if you could understand why rational people sometimes believe the most irrational things? Dan Ariely is a Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, the Center for Advanced Hindsight, and is also the author of several books including his most recent work, Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things. His work is also the subject of a new TV show called The Irrational. Greg and Dan discuss many aspects of misbelief and irrationality. Dan describes his own journey of finding himself at the center of different conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic where he unexpectedly found himself accused of being part of a sinister plot. This shocking experience spurred him to delve deep into the phenomenon of misbelief, and he shares his invaluable field research and insights on this perplexing topic. Dan also explains the concept of "Shibboleth" as a social marker in political discourse, examining how language and terminology often signify group membership rather than convey actual beliefs. Dan and Greg discuss the critical role of maintaining transparency and trustworthiness in scientific communication and reflect on the evolving role of academia in addressing societal issues. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 439 a6bc0f8e-e57f-413a-b103-04f96a3e0f89 438. Exploring Medicine’s Moral and Ethical Questions with Travis Rieder Travis Rieder, a professor of bioethics at Johns Hopkins University, is fascinated by the world’s ethical dilemmas.

His work sits at the intersection of medicine and philosophy, but also draws from his own life experiences like in his book, In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle with Opioids. His latest book, Catastrophe Ethics: How to Choose Well in a World of Tough Choices, delves into moral decision-making in the context of climate change and other pressing ethical challenges.

Travis chats with host Greg LeBlanc about his harrowing experience with opioid withdrawal following a motorcycle accident, historic societal shifts in opioid perception, and how much one’s individual decision-making truly impacts structural problems like climate change or the healthcare system.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How did we get to the place where we have conflicting attitudes about opioids?

09:53: How did we get to the place where we have conflicting attitudes about opioids? Because some people seem to think that they are, worth giving out like candy, and some people seem to think that they're like the devil's magic or whatever. And that story is old. That story is 200 years old plus, and it involves basically North America's attitudes just swinging back and forth from one extreme to the other. Every once in a while, we're like, "Oh, we really need to take pain seriously. Let's take opiates all the time." And then it predictably leads to a drug overdose crisis, an addiction crisis. And so the politicians freak out, and they slam on all the brakes, and they introduce new legislation. And then the country gets scared, and medicine gets scared. And we talk about how terrible these drugs are. And then we withhold them for 50 years. And then everyone's like, "Hey, maybe we should take care of cancer patients who are dying." And we start using the drugs again, and so on. And so we've done that move since the 1800s.

Risky handoffs in medication management

16:03: When it comes to pain medicine, when it comes to addiction management, when it comes to managing all sorts of difficult-to-manage medications, those handoffs are some of the riskiest places because they require care, and our system is not set up for that care to be there. 

Basic moral structure is everywhere

41:00: The main contribution that I wanted my book to make was to make clear that same basic moral structure, that we are contributing in very small ways to all sorts of goods and bads, good moral projects and bad moral projects, all the time. That basic puzzle is everywhere.

If someone argues that individual behavior doesn't matter, why would anyone bother trying?

33:44: Our actions have been decoupled from the consequences that make us worry. And so climate change is bad because it harms people. And so my classic moral brain says, okay, harm, that means don't do it. So, everything that I do that contributes to climate change, I'm like, okay, I shouldn't do that because climate change harms. But the thing is that the principle was don't cause harm, and your individual action doesn't cause harm. Your individual action does this other thing, which is it infinitesimally contributes to this massive, complex system that is so big and so complex, we can't really comprehend it. A trillion metric tons of greenhouse gasses accumulating in an atmosphere and cycling through a carbon cycle that is just unimaginably complex. And so there is no hurricane that is even a little bit worse because of what I did. That's just not how any of this works.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 10 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Travis Rieder, a professor of bioethics at Johns Hopkins University, is fascinated by the world’s ethical dilemmas.

His work sits at the intersection of medicine and philosophy, but also draws from his own life experiences like in his book, In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle with Opioids. His latest book, Catastrophe Ethics: How to Choose Well in a World of Tough Choices, delves into moral decision-making in the context of climate change and other pressing ethical challenges.

Travis chats with host Greg LeBlanc about his harrowing experience with opioid withdrawal following a motorcycle accident, historic societal shifts in opioid perception, and how much one’s individual decision-making truly impacts structural problems like climate change or the healthcare system.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How did we get to the place where we have conflicting attitudes about opioids?

09:53: How did we get to the place where we have conflicting attitudes about opioids? Because some people seem to think that they are, worth giving out like candy, and some people seem to think that they're like the devil's magic or whatever. And that story is old. That story is 200 years old plus, and it involves basically North America's attitudes just swinging back and forth from one extreme to the other. Every once in a while, we're like, "Oh, we really need to take pain seriously. Let's take opiates all the time." And then it predictably leads to a drug overdose crisis, an addiction crisis. And so the politicians freak out, and they slam on all the brakes, and they introduce new legislation. And then the country gets scared, and medicine gets scared. And we talk about how terrible these drugs are. And then we withhold them for 50 years. And then everyone's like, "Hey, maybe we should take care of cancer patients who are dying." And we start using the drugs again, and so on. And so we've done that move since the 1800s.

Risky handoffs in medication management

16:03: When it comes to pain medicine, when it comes to addiction management, when it comes to managing all sorts of difficult-to-manage medications, those handoffs are some of the riskiest places because they require care, and our system is not set up for that care to be there. 

Basic moral structure is everywhere

41:00: The main contribution that I wanted my book to make was to make clear that same basic moral structure, that we are contributing in very small ways to all sorts of goods and bads, good moral projects and bad moral projects, all the time. That basic puzzle is everywhere.

If someone argues that individual behavior doesn't matter, why would anyone bother trying?

33:44: Our actions have been decoupled from the consequences that make us worry. And so climate change is bad because it harms people. And so my classic moral brain says, okay, harm, that means don't do it. So, everything that I do that contributes to climate change, I'm like, okay, I shouldn't do that because climate change harms. But the thing is that the principle was don't cause harm, and your individual action doesn't cause harm. Your individual action does this other thing, which is it infinitesimally contributes to this massive, complex system that is so big and so complex, we can't really comprehend it. A trillion metric tons of greenhouse gasses accumulating in an atmosphere and cycling through a carbon cycle that is just unimaginably complex. And so there is no hurricane that is even a little bit worse because of what I did. That's just not how any of this works.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 438. Exploring Medicine’s Moral and Ethical Questions with Travis Rieder Greg La Blanc 01:02:58 Travis Rieder, a professor of bioethics at Johns Hopkins University, is fascinated by the world’s ethical dilemmas. His work sits at the intersection of medicine and philosophy, but also draws from his own life experiences like in his book, In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle with Opioids. His latest book, Catastrophe Ethics: How to Choose Well in a World of Tough Choices, delves into moral decision-making in the context of climate change and other pressing ethical challenges. Travis chats with host Greg LeBlanc about his harrowing experience with opioid withdrawal following a motorcycle accident, historic societal shifts in opioid perception, and how much one’s individual decision-making truly impacts structural problems like climate change or the healthcare system. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Travis Rieder, a professor of bioethics at Johns Hopkins University, is fascinated by the world’s ethical dilemmas. His work sits at the intersection of medicine and philosophy, but also draws from his own life experiences like in his book, In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle with Opioids. His latest book, Catastrophe Ethics: How to Choose Well in a World of Tough Choices, delves into moral decision-making in the context of climate change and other pressing ethical challenges. Travis chats with host Greg LeBlanc about his harrowing experience with opioid withdrawal following a motorcycle accident, historic societal shifts in opioid perception, and how much one’s individual decision-making truly impacts structural problems like climate change or the healthcare system. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 438 2602f720-ed4a-420f-aeb0-323c5ffe44a4 437. Aligning Data Science and Machine Learning for Business Success feat. Eric Siegel Ever wondered how to truly bridge the gap between technical expertise and practical business implementation? How did the terminology shift from "data mining" to "predictive analytics" and revolutionize the business world? 

Eric Siegel, Ph.D., is a leading consultant and former Columbia University professor who helps companies deploy machine learning. He is the founder of the long-running Machine Learning Week conference series and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment.

Eric and Greg discuss what motivated Eric to leave academia to see real-world applications of his machine learning models. Eric explains the pressing challenges organizations face when deploying machine learning projects, and provides an insightful look at the cultural and incentive-driven barriers that often lead to failed projects and unmet expectations. By focusing on collaboration from the outset, Eric reveals how businesses can align machine learning initiatives with their core needs to foster successful integration and operational change.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Ramping up on a semi technical understanding of data

03:46: Prediction is the most actionable thing you get from data, and the way you get it is with machine learning. Learn some data to predict. That's basically what it is. So, will the world wake up to this? Are they going to forever see it as arcane? What does that mean? So, be careful what you wish for, because flash forward to now, and everyone's all over this stuff in a way that's overzealous. We fetishize the core technology as the most awesome thing. We're more excited about the rocket science than the actual launch of the rocket. That is, getting it deployed, getting into action, making a difference in terms of actual business operations. And we're stuck there. Most new machine learning projects fail to reach deployment. So, still, there's a skill gap. Still, there's a kind of data literacy that's greatly needed across the non-data science community. But it's not foreboding once you actually dip your toe in. As a business stakeholder, you got to get your hands dirty, or your feet will get cold, and you won't get to the point. But that dirty hand stuff, it's only semi-technical. It's totally accessible.

Demos don't equal human intelligence

36:21: Generative AI is the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. But that's the problem. A great demo doesn't necessarily mean valuable, right? I think it's probably about five percent as valuable as the world seems to think, right? So, I mean, I spent six years in the Natural Language Processing Research Group at Columbia, where I was subsequently a professor during graduate school. I never thought I'd see what I can see today, but we need to recognize there's a big difference between something that's seemingly human-like and human.

On recognizing change

34:53: Do change management because the basic idea is so often overlooked. Again, we're fetishizing the core technology. More excited about the Rock Advanced Launch, but the launch is changed, right? You need to manage that change. The project needs to be reframed. It's not just a technology project. It's not a machine-learning project. It's an operations improvement project that uses machine learning as a core component but ultimately involves improvement, that is to say, change.

How do you drive a successful machine learning project?

56:38: We need to get everybody on the same page. We need to get those to speak in business terms, and for the business people to be interested in some of those concrete details. Business people might say, "Hey, look, I don't need to get involved in details. I don't need to pop the hood of my car to drive it, right? I don't need to know how the engine works." And that's true. Like, I personally have no idea, right? I know the general principles of internal combustion, but I don't know where the spark plugs are. But I'm totally an expert at driving. I know momentum, friction, the rules of the road, how the car operates, and the mutual expectations of drivers. The analogy holds: to drive a machine learning project successfully through to deployment, you need, analogously, those kinds of semi-technical understanding of what it means to run the project so that it will succeed.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 8 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Ever wondered how to truly bridge the gap between technical expertise and practical business implementation? How did the terminology shift from "data mining" to "predictive analytics" and revolutionize the business world? 

Eric Siegel, Ph.D., is a leading consultant and former Columbia University professor who helps companies deploy machine learning. He is the founder of the long-running Machine Learning Week conference series and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment.

Eric and Greg discuss what motivated Eric to leave academia to see real-world applications of his machine learning models. Eric explains the pressing challenges organizations face when deploying machine learning projects, and provides an insightful look at the cultural and incentive-driven barriers that often lead to failed projects and unmet expectations. By focusing on collaboration from the outset, Eric reveals how businesses can align machine learning initiatives with their core needs to foster successful integration and operational change.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Ramping up on a semi technical understanding of data

03:46: Prediction is the most actionable thing you get from data, and the way you get it is with machine learning. Learn some data to predict. That's basically what it is. So, will the world wake up to this? Are they going to forever see it as arcane? What does that mean? So, be careful what you wish for, because flash forward to now, and everyone's all over this stuff in a way that's overzealous. We fetishize the core technology as the most awesome thing. We're more excited about the rocket science than the actual launch of the rocket. That is, getting it deployed, getting into action, making a difference in terms of actual business operations. And we're stuck there. Most new machine learning projects fail to reach deployment. So, still, there's a skill gap. Still, there's a kind of data literacy that's greatly needed across the non-data science community. But it's not foreboding once you actually dip your toe in. As a business stakeholder, you got to get your hands dirty, or your feet will get cold, and you won't get to the point. But that dirty hand stuff, it's only semi-technical. It's totally accessible.

Demos don't equal human intelligence

36:21: Generative AI is the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. But that's the problem. A great demo doesn't necessarily mean valuable, right? I think it's probably about five percent as valuable as the world seems to think, right? So, I mean, I spent six years in the Natural Language Processing Research Group at Columbia, where I was subsequently a professor during graduate school. I never thought I'd see what I can see today, but we need to recognize there's a big difference between something that's seemingly human-like and human.

On recognizing change

34:53: Do change management because the basic idea is so often overlooked. Again, we're fetishizing the core technology. More excited about the Rock Advanced Launch, but the launch is changed, right? You need to manage that change. The project needs to be reframed. It's not just a technology project. It's not a machine-learning project. It's an operations improvement project that uses machine learning as a core component but ultimately involves improvement, that is to say, change.

How do you drive a successful machine learning project?

56:38: We need to get everybody on the same page. We need to get those to speak in business terms, and for the business people to be interested in some of those concrete details. Business people might say, "Hey, look, I don't need to get involved in details. I don't need to pop the hood of my car to drive it, right? I don't need to know how the engine works." And that's true. Like, I personally have no idea, right? I know the general principles of internal combustion, but I don't know where the spark plugs are. But I'm totally an expert at driving. I know momentum, friction, the rules of the road, how the car operates, and the mutual expectations of drivers. The analogy holds: to drive a machine learning project successfully through to deployment, you need, analogously, those kinds of semi-technical understanding of what it means to run the project so that it will succeed.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 437. Aligning Data Science and Machine Learning for Business Success feat. Eric Siegel Greg La Blanc 00:50:54 Ever wondered how to truly bridge the gap between technical expertise and practical business implementation? How did the terminology shift from "data mining" to "predictive analytics" and revolutionize the business world? Eric Siegel, Ph.D., is a leading consultant and former Columbia University professor who helps companies deploy machine learning. He is the founder of the long-running Machine Learning Week conference series and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment (Management on the Cutting Edge). Eric and Greg discuss what motivated Eric to leave academia to see real-world applications of his machine learning models. Eric explains the pressing challenges organizations face when deploying machine learning projects, and provides an insightful look at the cultural and incentive-driven barriers that often lead to failed projects and unmet expectations. By focusing on collaboration from the outset, Eric reveals how businesses can align machine learning initiatives with their core needs to foster successful integration and operational change. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Ever wondered how to truly bridge the gap between technical expertise and practical business implementation? How did the terminology shift from "data mining" to "predictive analytics" and revolutionize the business world? Eric Siegel, Ph.D., is a leading consultant and former Columbia University professor who helps companies deploy machine learning. He is the founder of the long-running Machine Learning Week conference series and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment (Management on the Cutting Edge). Eric and Greg discuss what motivated Eric to leave academia to see real-world applications of his machine learning models. Eric explains the pressing challenges organizations face when deploying machine learning projects, and provides an insightful look at the cultural and incentive-driven barriers that often lead to failed projects and unmet expectations. By focusing on collaboration from the outset, Eric reveals how businesses can align machine learning initiatives with their core needs to foster successful integration and operational change. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 437 fb1ddf0a-5b75-4bd2-99e4-d7b86ada9a13 436. What the History of Economic Growth Says About the Future of Work with Daniel Susskind The study of economic growth is a modern phenomenon. In fact, economists didn’t get serious about measuring it until the mid-20th century. So what brought growth into focus and are the ways we measure it today adequate for a technologically-advanced world? 

Daniel Susskind is an economics professor at King's College London and a senior research associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University. His books like The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts and Growth: A History and a Reckoning explore the impact of technology on work and the economy. 

Daniel and Greg discuss the history and circumstances that led to the creation of the GDP and its modern limitations, the moral and environmental challenges associated with a relentless pursuit of growth, and the need for societies to rethink the meaning and value of work in an increasingly automated world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The modern economic thought about the origins of growth

10:22: Growth doesn't come from the material world. It doesn't come from the world of tangible objects, but it comes from the intangible world of ideas. And ideas have all these interesting properties: they're nonrival, they're nonexcludable. But the key point is that whereas the world of finite material resources is finite, there's only so much material stuff out there. The world of ideas is unimaginably vast, for all intents and purposes, as good as infinite. And so if growth comes not from using more and more finite resources, but from discovering new ideas about how we can make ever more productive use of those finite resources, then the kind of constraints, the bottlenecks to growth, aren't to be found in the material world of those finite resources but it's to be found in our inability to discover enough new ideas about the world.

What do we do about growth?

11:23: If we want more growth, we need to become societies that discover new and more interesting ideas about how we can use the resources that we have.

Two big problems when it comes to GDP measure

14:40: ​​One is technical failings, which is that it's meant to be a measure of the activity that takes place in the market, and it's not a particularly good measure. Many of the things that we use today are free. Think about the search engines we use, the sort of email browsers, and so on, the sort of first generation of generative AI systems, whatever it might be; we don't pay a price for them in the market. And so they're not captured by traditional GDP statistics. The other thing, of course, that GDP is very bad at capturing is quality improvements. And if you think about particular technologies that we use, something like an iPhone today might have the same price as an iPhone X many years ago. All the different dimensions on which the quality of that technology has improved just aren't captured.

On the relationship between work and meaning

56:38: Although people say there's a strong relationship between work and meaning, actually, there's a lot of heterogeneity. Actually, a lot of people do not get meaning from their work. If they could get an income without working, they would. And you can see this in the simple polls that are done. Lots of people do not get meaning and purpose from their work. They don't think they're making a meaningful contribution to the world. I think it's often the people who write about this stuff are sometimes confusing the meaning that they get from their work as a kind of generalizable insight. I just don't think it's true.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 3 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The study of economic growth is a modern phenomenon. In fact, economists didn’t get serious about measuring it until the mid-20th century. So what brought growth into focus and are the ways we measure it today adequate for a technologically-advanced world? 

Daniel Susskind is an economics professor at King's College London and a senior research associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University. His books like The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts and Growth: A History and a Reckoning explore the impact of technology on work and the economy. 

Daniel and Greg discuss the history and circumstances that led to the creation of the GDP and its modern limitations, the moral and environmental challenges associated with a relentless pursuit of growth, and the need for societies to rethink the meaning and value of work in an increasingly automated world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The modern economic thought about the origins of growth

10:22: Growth doesn't come from the material world. It doesn't come from the world of tangible objects, but it comes from the intangible world of ideas. And ideas have all these interesting properties: they're nonrival, they're nonexcludable. But the key point is that whereas the world of finite material resources is finite, there's only so much material stuff out there. The world of ideas is unimaginably vast, for all intents and purposes, as good as infinite. And so if growth comes not from using more and more finite resources, but from discovering new ideas about how we can make ever more productive use of those finite resources, then the kind of constraints, the bottlenecks to growth, aren't to be found in the material world of those finite resources but it's to be found in our inability to discover enough new ideas about the world.

What do we do about growth?

11:23: If we want more growth, we need to become societies that discover new and more interesting ideas about how we can use the resources that we have.

Two big problems when it comes to GDP measure

14:40: ​​One is technical failings, which is that it's meant to be a measure of the activity that takes place in the market, and it's not a particularly good measure. Many of the things that we use today are free. Think about the search engines we use, the sort of email browsers, and so on, the sort of first generation of generative AI systems, whatever it might be; we don't pay a price for them in the market. And so they're not captured by traditional GDP statistics. The other thing, of course, that GDP is very bad at capturing is quality improvements. And if you think about particular technologies that we use, something like an iPhone today might have the same price as an iPhone X many years ago. All the different dimensions on which the quality of that technology has improved just aren't captured.

On the relationship between work and meaning

56:38: Although people say there's a strong relationship between work and meaning, actually, there's a lot of heterogeneity. Actually, a lot of people do not get meaning from their work. If they could get an income without working, they would. And you can see this in the simple polls that are done. Lots of people do not get meaning and purpose from their work. They don't think they're making a meaningful contribution to the world. I think it's often the people who write about this stuff are sometimes confusing the meaning that they get from their work as a kind of generalizable insight. I just don't think it's true.

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]]> 436. What the History of Economic Growth Says About the Future of Work with Daniel Susskind Greg La Blanc 01:03:13 The study of economic growth is a modern phenomenon. In fact, economists didn’t get serious about measuring it until the mid-20th century. So what brought growth into focus and are the ways we measure it today adequate for a technologically-advanced world? Daniel Susskind is an economics professor at King's College London and a senior research associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University. His books like The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts and Growth: A History and a Reckoning explore the impact of technology on work and the economy. Daniel and Greg discuss the history and circumstances that led to the creation of the GDP and its modern limitations, the moral and environmental challenges associated with a relentless pursuit of growth, and the need for societies to rethink the meaning and value of work in an increasingly automated world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The study of economic growth is a modern phenomenon. In fact, economists didn’t get serious about measuring it until the mid-20th century. So what brought growth into focus and are the ways we measure it today adequate for a technologically-advanced world? Daniel Susskind is an economics professor at King's College London and a senior research associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University. His books like The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts and Growth: A History and a Reckoning explore the impact of technology on work and the economy. Daniel and Greg discuss the history and circumstances that led to the creation of the GDP and its modern limitations, the moral and environmental challenges associated with a relentless pursuit of growth, and the need for societies to rethink the meaning and value of work in an increasingly automated world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 436 b3dfbce0-d569-48fc-97aa-add1999fa657 435. What the Past Can Tell Us About Our Climate Future with Brian Fagan Humans have lived with a changing climate  since we’ve been on this planet. But what archaeology and anthropology is able to reveal now, is how well civilizations have adapted to changing climates over the course of human history. 

Brian Fagan is an emeritus professor of anthropology at UC Santa Barbara and the author of more than 50 books including, Climate Chaos: Lessons on Survival from Our Ancestors and Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Nino and the Fate of Civilizations. His work focuses on the history of human culture and our relationship with the climate, using ancient artifacts to piece together the story. 

Brian and Greg discuss how humans have historically adapted to climate change, the role climate has played in the rise and fall of civilizations, and the importance of understanding our past to prepare for future climate challenges.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why has climate and other big global physical things been underappreciated as historical causes?

07:12: You've got a situation now where climate change is among us. We live with it every day. And every time there's a major storm, up come the media with the old climate change thing, which is all very well, but the fact of the matter is that we've lived with climate ever since we've been on this planet. The real immediacy of it has been in the last 10,000 years, particularly with the development of agriculture and herding, because then you're really getting into a situation where you've got the whole scene of climate changing rapidly.

Looking at climate as a player in history

09:12: We're looking at climate as a player in history, not necessarily a cause. But a major player, which it was.

On the dynamics of herding and the breathing of deserts

20:42: The dynamics of herding are very simple. In the final analysis, an awful lot of history, I think, is probably very simple. You get rainfall in the desert. Large, shallow lakes develop, water holes form, and a whole bit of vegetation comes up. What happens? Animals and, ultimately, humans and cattle move in. Then it dries up, and they move out. It's like lungs in and out. There's no question that there's movement of deserts, the lungs, or the breathing of the deserts.

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]]> Mon, 1 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Humans have lived with a changing climate  since we’ve been on this planet. But what archaeology and anthropology is able to reveal now, is how well civilizations have adapted to changing climates over the course of human history. 

Brian Fagan is an emeritus professor of anthropology at UC Santa Barbara and the author of more than 50 books including, Climate Chaos: Lessons on Survival from Our Ancestors and Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Nino and the Fate of Civilizations. His work focuses on the history of human culture and our relationship with the climate, using ancient artifacts to piece together the story. 

Brian and Greg discuss how humans have historically adapted to climate change, the role climate has played in the rise and fall of civilizations, and the importance of understanding our past to prepare for future climate challenges.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why has climate and other big global physical things been underappreciated as historical causes?

07:12: You've got a situation now where climate change is among us. We live with it every day. And every time there's a major storm, up come the media with the old climate change thing, which is all very well, but the fact of the matter is that we've lived with climate ever since we've been on this planet. The real immediacy of it has been in the last 10,000 years, particularly with the development of agriculture and herding, because then you're really getting into a situation where you've got the whole scene of climate changing rapidly.

Looking at climate as a player in history

09:12: We're looking at climate as a player in history, not necessarily a cause. But a major player, which it was.

On the dynamics of herding and the breathing of deserts

20:42: The dynamics of herding are very simple. In the final analysis, an awful lot of history, I think, is probably very simple. You get rainfall in the desert. Large, shallow lakes develop, water holes form, and a whole bit of vegetation comes up. What happens? Animals and, ultimately, humans and cattle move in. Then it dries up, and they move out. It's like lungs in and out. There's no question that there's movement of deserts, the lungs, or the breathing of the deserts.

Show Links:
Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 435. What the Past Can Tell Us About Our Climate Future with Brian Fagan Greg La Blanc 00:44:53 Humans have lived with a changing climate since we’ve been on this planet. But what archaeology and anthropology is able to reveal now, is how well civilizations have adapted to changing climates over the course of human history. Brian Fagan is an emeritus professor of anthropology at UC Santa Barbara and the author of more than 50 books including, Climate Chaos: Lessons on Survival from Our Ancestors and Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Nino and the Fate of Civilizations. His work focuses on the history of human culture and our relationship with the climate, using ancient artifacts to piece together the story. Brian and Greg discuss how humans have historically adapted to climate change, the role climate has played in the rise and fall of civilizations, and the importance of understanding our past to prepare for future climate challenges. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Humans have lived with a changing climate since we’ve been on this planet. But what archaeology and anthropology is able to reveal now, is how well civilizations have adapted to changing climates over the course of human history. Brian Fagan is an emeritus professor of anthropology at UC Santa Barbara and the author of more than 50 books including, Climate Chaos: Lessons on Survival from Our Ancestors and Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Nino and the Fate of Civilizations. His work focuses on the history of human culture and our relationship with the climate, using ancient artifacts to piece together the story. Brian and Greg discuss how humans have historically adapted to climate change, the role climate has played in the rise and fall of civilizations, and the importance of understanding our past to prepare for future climate challenges. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 435 42d92f55-9cfe-418f-a7a8-e36e0f76b90b 434. The Critical Role of Marriage in Societal Well-Being feat. Brad Wilcox What if the institution of marriage holds the key to societal well-being? How does marital status correlate with happiness, prosperity, and positive outcomes for children? Why do some elites downplay marriage's importance in public, even as they themselves often lead marriage-centric lives?

 

Brad Wilcox is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, director of the National Marriage Project and an author. His latest book is titled Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization.

Greg and Brad discuss contemporary views on marriage and how shifting societal norms around education, career focus, and individualism have impacted the timing and meaning of marital commitments. Brad Elaborates on what he calls the "soulmate myth" and how this quest for perfect partnership can delay or complicate marriage decisions. They draw intriguing comparisons between Western and arranged marriages, exploring how cultural expectations and extended family involvement contribute to marital success. Brad also dives into the evolving gender roles within marriage and their implications for marital stability and happiness.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What needs to be done to strengthen marriages in general?

39:15: We have to help our elites understand that marriage benefits not just them, but people in general. And so, insofar as they're school superintendents, professors, journalists, C-suite executives, they could be taking steps in Hollywood, at Netflix, heading up a school district's approach to relationship education, a New York Times journalist to just do a better job. And I'm not even asking for like a rose-colored take on marriage, but just like a truthful take, so that our ordinary kids out there who are watching a Netflix show or, exposed often indirectly to some kind of major media coverage just come to appreciate more how much marriage matters for them and for any kids that they have down the road. That would be, I think, part of the answer. But we've also got to recognize and realize that there's a financial piece to all this, and that's why addressing things like the marriage penalty and also giving people a more generous child tax credit would be helpful as well.

Can the people around you help you choose a better partner?

13:48: As we begin to get more serious or think about getting more serious about someone, I think we should pay attention to how our friends and family members react to a potential boyfriend or girlfriend to make a better decision about our future.

Is there a way in which your ability to manage conflict within the marriage helps you to manage conflict elsewhere?

16:00: Selection effect is part of the story, yes, but having the counsel of a spouse, having the perspective of a spouse as you navigate both work and social challenges of one sort or another, has been invaluable for me, and I think for a lot of people, and we do see when it comes to men, for instance, that guys who are married earn markedly more and make more strategic choices professionally than their peers who aren't married, even controlling things like race, education, profession, and age. So, I do think that being married often endows us with extra benefits, including the counsel and support of our spouse as we navigate life.

Should your spouse be your best friend? 

14:41: One of the key challenges for contemporary couples is to not rely on their spouse for all of their social support and all of their emotional connections and to recognize that oftentimes, a good girlfriend, a mother, a brother, a guy friend, or a friend is going to be a better place to turn than your spouse. Not putting all of your emotional eggs in the marital basket paradoxically tends to make your marriage more resilient rather than less important.

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His Work:


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]]> Wed, 26 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if the institution of marriage holds the key to societal well-being? How does marital status correlate with happiness, prosperity, and positive outcomes for children? Why do some elites downplay marriage's importance in public, even as they themselves often lead marriage-centric lives?

 

Brad Wilcox is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, director of the National Marriage Project and an author. His latest book is titled Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization.

Greg and Brad discuss contemporary views on marriage and how shifting societal norms around education, career focus, and individualism have impacted the timing and meaning of marital commitments. Brad Elaborates on what he calls the "soulmate myth" and how this quest for perfect partnership can delay or complicate marriage decisions. They draw intriguing comparisons between Western and arranged marriages, exploring how cultural expectations and extended family involvement contribute to marital success. Brad also dives into the evolving gender roles within marriage and their implications for marital stability and happiness.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What needs to be done to strengthen marriages in general?

39:15: We have to help our elites understand that marriage benefits not just them, but people in general. And so, insofar as they're school superintendents, professors, journalists, C-suite executives, they could be taking steps in Hollywood, at Netflix, heading up a school district's approach to relationship education, a New York Times journalist to just do a better job. And I'm not even asking for like a rose-colored take on marriage, but just like a truthful take, so that our ordinary kids out there who are watching a Netflix show or, exposed often indirectly to some kind of major media coverage just come to appreciate more how much marriage matters for them and for any kids that they have down the road. That would be, I think, part of the answer. But we've also got to recognize and realize that there's a financial piece to all this, and that's why addressing things like the marriage penalty and also giving people a more generous child tax credit would be helpful as well.

Can the people around you help you choose a better partner?

13:48: As we begin to get more serious or think about getting more serious about someone, I think we should pay attention to how our friends and family members react to a potential boyfriend or girlfriend to make a better decision about our future.

Is there a way in which your ability to manage conflict within the marriage helps you to manage conflict elsewhere?

16:00: Selection effect is part of the story, yes, but having the counsel of a spouse, having the perspective of a spouse as you navigate both work and social challenges of one sort or another, has been invaluable for me, and I think for a lot of people, and we do see when it comes to men, for instance, that guys who are married earn markedly more and make more strategic choices professionally than their peers who aren't married, even controlling things like race, education, profession, and age. So, I do think that being married often endows us with extra benefits, including the counsel and support of our spouse as we navigate life.

Should your spouse be your best friend? 

14:41: One of the key challenges for contemporary couples is to not rely on their spouse for all of their social support and all of their emotional connections and to recognize that oftentimes, a good girlfriend, a mother, a brother, a guy friend, or a friend is going to be a better place to turn than your spouse. Not putting all of your emotional eggs in the marital basket paradoxically tends to make your marriage more resilient rather than less important.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 434. The Critical Role of Marriage in Societal Well-Being feat. Brad Wilcox Greg La Blanc 00:43:31 Despite periods in history when evolutionary biology has been misused, there’s no denying that the study of biological human nature is intrinsic to the study of social and cultural human nature. David Barash is an emeritus professor of psychology and evolutionary biology at the University of Washington, and a prolific author. His books like, Through a Glass Brightly: Using Science to See Our Species as We Really Are and Threats: Intimidation and Its Discontents explore many different corners of human nature and why it should be incorporated into the field of social sciences. David and Greg discuss why there’s a resistance in the social sciences to study human nature, why it’s important to understand differences between the sexes, and why relying too much on deterrence could be a dangerous game. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Despite periods in history when evolutionary biology has been misused, there’s no denying that the study of biological human nature is intrinsic to the study of social and cultural human nature. David Barash is an emeritus professor of psychology and evolutionary biology at the University of Washington, and a prolific author. His books like, Through a Glass Brightly: Using Science to See Our Species as We Really Are and Threats: Intimidation and Its Discontents explore many different corners of human nature and why it should be incorporated into the field of social sciences. David and Greg discuss why there’s a resistance in the social sciences to study human nature, why it’s important to understand differences between the sexes, and why relying too much on deterrence could be a dangerous game. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 434 63b79d8a-77b5-4e30-b9fe-42013cddb7d5 433. Overcoming Biophobia with David Barash Despite periods in history when evolutionary biology has been misused, there’s no denying that the study of biological human nature is intrinsic to the study of social and cultural human nature.   

David Barash is an emeritus professor of psychology and evolutionary biology at the University of Washington, and a prolific author. His books like, Through a Glass Brightly: Using Science to See Our Species as We Really Are and Threats: Intimidation and Its Discontents explore many different corners of human nature and why it should be incorporated into the field of social sciences. 

David and Greg discuss why there’s a resistance in the social sciences to study human nature, why it’s important to understand differences between the sexes, and why relying too much on deterrence could be a dangerous game. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How social darwinism warped evolution

03:33: The unfortunate truth is that evolutionary biology in the past has been misused, especially shortly after Darwin—the whole time of social Darwinism. At which time, particularly right-wing zealots and supporters of imperialism and colonialism, were intrigued by the notion that somehow it was a misunderstanding of evolutionary biology, but they loved the idea that because of evolution, certain people notably, the "white races," were superior, that they were produced that way by natural forces, and hence it is appropriate for them to go ahead and conquer the world—conquer as many people as they can. Moreover, not just with regard to colonialism, but also with regard to the way things are at home. The wealthy are wealthy because they were biologically made superior, and we shouldn't argue with that. So there was that, and that's very much a misunderstanding of evolution and how it works.

Natural doesn't always mean good

12:44: The fact that something is natural doesn't mean that it's good, or that we have to succumb to it, or go along with it necessarily... [13;07] all sorts of feelings that one may have that may be "natural." That doesn't mean we have to go along with it. And by the same token, the differences that we observe in various human societies or between various individuals within society, the fact that it exists even, doesn't necessarily mean that's natural. It's a consequence of any number of things. And even if it was natural, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's good.

Why do male-female differences become problematic?

23:02: I think the reason male-female differences have been controversial has to do with something similar to why biophobia, in general, has existed, which is to say that recognition has been used in the past as a way of buttressing socially inappropriate distinctions. The notion that, well, men are more aggressive than women, men are more pushy than women, hence men are likely to become leaders, business leaders, political leaders, and that's all well and good; that's normal; it's natural; there we're back again to the naturalistic fallacy. And so, to some extent, that's, I think, a big part of the reason why male-female differences have become not quite toxic as an issue but really problematic.

Understanding infanticide

19:57: When we talk about such things as infanticide, I think we have a real obligation to make it clear: a.) that certainly, in the human case, it's extremely rare, and b.) the fact that it does happen in some cases, it's not uncommon among nonhuman animals. We need to make it very clear that that's not, in any way, a blueprint for how human beings ought to behave. There are lots of things in the natural world that are "natural." That's why we call it the natural world, but those aren't worth emulating. In fact, that is so important that we don't.

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

]]> Fri, 21 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Despite periods in history when evolutionary biology has been misused, there’s no denying that the study of biological human nature is intrinsic to the study of social and cultural human nature.   

David Barash is an emeritus professor of psychology and evolutionary biology at the University of Washington, and a prolific author. His books like, Through a Glass Brightly: Using Science to See Our Species as We Really Are and Threats: Intimidation and Its Discontents explore many different corners of human nature and why it should be incorporated into the field of social sciences. 

David and Greg discuss why there’s a resistance in the social sciences to study human nature, why it’s important to understand differences between the sexes, and why relying too much on deterrence could be a dangerous game. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How social darwinism warped evolution

03:33: The unfortunate truth is that evolutionary biology in the past has been misused, especially shortly after Darwin—the whole time of social Darwinism. At which time, particularly right-wing zealots and supporters of imperialism and colonialism, were intrigued by the notion that somehow it was a misunderstanding of evolutionary biology, but they loved the idea that because of evolution, certain people notably, the "white races," were superior, that they were produced that way by natural forces, and hence it is appropriate for them to go ahead and conquer the world—conquer as many people as they can. Moreover, not just with regard to colonialism, but also with regard to the way things are at home. The wealthy are wealthy because they were biologically made superior, and we shouldn't argue with that. So there was that, and that's very much a misunderstanding of evolution and how it works.

Natural doesn't always mean good

12:44: The fact that something is natural doesn't mean that it's good, or that we have to succumb to it, or go along with it necessarily... [13;07] all sorts of feelings that one may have that may be "natural." That doesn't mean we have to go along with it. And by the same token, the differences that we observe in various human societies or between various individuals within society, the fact that it exists even, doesn't necessarily mean that's natural. It's a consequence of any number of things. And even if it was natural, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's good.

Why do male-female differences become problematic?

23:02: I think the reason male-female differences have been controversial has to do with something similar to why biophobia, in general, has existed, which is to say that recognition has been used in the past as a way of buttressing socially inappropriate distinctions. The notion that, well, men are more aggressive than women, men are more pushy than women, hence men are likely to become leaders, business leaders, political leaders, and that's all well and good; that's normal; it's natural; there we're back again to the naturalistic fallacy. And so, to some extent, that's, I think, a big part of the reason why male-female differences have become not quite toxic as an issue but really problematic.

Understanding infanticide

19:57: When we talk about such things as infanticide, I think we have a real obligation to make it clear: a.) that certainly, in the human case, it's extremely rare, and b.) the fact that it does happen in some cases, it's not uncommon among nonhuman animals. We need to make it very clear that that's not, in any way, a blueprint for how human beings ought to behave. There are lots of things in the natural world that are "natural." That's why we call it the natural world, but those aren't worth emulating. In fact, that is so important that we don't.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 433. Overcoming Biophobia with David Barash Greg La Blanc 00:52:22 Despite periods in history when evolutionary biology has been misused, there’s no denying that the study of biological human nature is intrinsic to the study of social and cultural human nature. David Barash is an emeritus professor of psychology and evolutionary biology at the University of Washington, and a prolific author. His books like, Through a Glass Brightly: Using Science to See Our Species as We Really Are and Threats: Intimidation and Its Discontents explore many different corners of human nature and why it should be incorporated into the field of social sciences. David and Greg discuss why there’s a resistance in the social sciences to study human nature, why it’s important to understand differences between the sexes, and why relying too much on deterrence could be a dangerous game. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Despite periods in history when evolutionary biology has been misused, there’s no denying that the study of biological human nature is intrinsic to the study of social and cultural human nature. David Barash is an emeritus professor of psychology and evolutionary biology at the University of Washington, and a prolific author. His books like, Through a Glass Brightly: Using Science to See Our Species as We Really Are and Threats: Intimidation and Its Discontents explore many different corners of human nature and why it should be incorporated into the field of social sciences. David and Greg discuss why there’s a resistance in the social sciences to study human nature, why it’s important to understand differences between the sexes, and why relying too much on deterrence could be a dangerous game. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 433 fc5a76b8-1f6e-495c-afd5-a271f84ed877 432. Balancing Life and Efficiency: An Optimization Deep Dive feat. Coco Krumme What happens when the relentless pursuit of optimization backfires? What ethical dilemmas and hidden complexities exist inside of this obsession? How does our fixation with efficiency and quantification come at the cost of essential human values and spontaneity?

Coco Krumme is an applied mathematician and the author of the book Optimal Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization, where she lays out how optimization has stealthily transformed from a technical tool into an all-encompassing philosophy driving various fields, from economics to personal decision-making.

Greg and Coco discuss the fundamental pillars of optimization: quantification, abstraction, and automation, and question their impact. Coco sheds light on whether optimization is avoidable, and they evaluate the ethical trade-offs, especially in crucial sectors like healthcare where lives hang in the balance. They also reflect on the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to optimization. Enjoy this engrossing conversation that ends up questioning the very fabric of modern living.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

 

 

Episode Quotes:

Looking at optimization as a game

13:57: There are ways to enjoy optimization. It's a game, and you can see progress, and I think that's something humans enjoy. We like seeing ourselves or seeing the world get better. I do think it's pathological at the kind of Silicon Valley elite level. You know, I think there are varying degrees to which these different people that you mentioned and, beyond, right, actually, to what extent that belief in optimization is, very deeply rooted versus an intellectual exercise of posturing to justify whatever investments they're making or whatever success they've had. It's a very curious thing. And I do feel like in the last however many years, I'd be curious what you think as well, but maybe five years or so, we've, as a general population have become more skeptical of those kinds of techno-utopian proclamations.

Does optimization cause unhappiness?

10:38: I think part of our modern unhappiness is that all we have is optimization, and we are able to question it. We are able to say, "Well, maybe it should be working better," and then where do we reach if we don't have that alternative of a cultural or religious mooring that's been passed on for generations?

Breaking optimization into a components

15:46: I break optimization into a few sorts of necessary requirements or components, and one of them is quantification, or, specifically, atomization of the world into seeing things in terms of self-same units that can be tallied up. The other two sorts of necessary requirements that I see are abstractions. In order to optimize, we need to be able to think in terms of models with these atomized units as building blocks. What structures are we building? The third is automation, which is popular, or it's a term on the tip of many tongues these days, but to optimize, we need to be able to scale those abstractions up in a kind of hands-off way, so I do think quantification and optimization are certainly related. You can quantify without optimizing, though, right? You could simply count things up without seeking to improve or make things better.

On navigating modern modernity

28:53: I do think that's the struggle that, as modern Westerners, we face for the next number of years. We are aware that some of these ways of thinking and these systems are failing, both in the material world and in our intellectual and spiritual world. We don't feel happy. We feel we're going too fast. We feel we've lost track of some of the important things, and I think the question that we face is: how do we continue to live in the modern world with its many conveniences and its many fruits of optimization, and at the same time expand our ways of seeing that world and of being in that world, and expand our belief systems and our way of knowing, to hopefully a place where we feel more at ease in it.

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]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What happens when the relentless pursuit of optimization backfires? What ethical dilemmas and hidden complexities exist inside of this obsession? How does our fixation with efficiency and quantification come at the cost of essential human values and spontaneity?

Coco Krumme is an applied mathematician and the author of the book Optimal Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization, where she lays out how optimization has stealthily transformed from a technical tool into an all-encompassing philosophy driving various fields, from economics to personal decision-making.

Greg and Coco discuss the fundamental pillars of optimization: quantification, abstraction, and automation, and question their impact. Coco sheds light on whether optimization is avoidable, and they evaluate the ethical trade-offs, especially in crucial sectors like healthcare where lives hang in the balance. They also reflect on the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to optimization. Enjoy this engrossing conversation that ends up questioning the very fabric of modern living.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

 

 

Episode Quotes:

Looking at optimization as a game

13:57: There are ways to enjoy optimization. It's a game, and you can see progress, and I think that's something humans enjoy. We like seeing ourselves or seeing the world get better. I do think it's pathological at the kind of Silicon Valley elite level. You know, I think there are varying degrees to which these different people that you mentioned and, beyond, right, actually, to what extent that belief in optimization is, very deeply rooted versus an intellectual exercise of posturing to justify whatever investments they're making or whatever success they've had. It's a very curious thing. And I do feel like in the last however many years, I'd be curious what you think as well, but maybe five years or so, we've, as a general population have become more skeptical of those kinds of techno-utopian proclamations.

Does optimization cause unhappiness?

10:38: I think part of our modern unhappiness is that all we have is optimization, and we are able to question it. We are able to say, "Well, maybe it should be working better," and then where do we reach if we don't have that alternative of a cultural or religious mooring that's been passed on for generations?

Breaking optimization into a components

15:46: I break optimization into a few sorts of necessary requirements or components, and one of them is quantification, or, specifically, atomization of the world into seeing things in terms of self-same units that can be tallied up. The other two sorts of necessary requirements that I see are abstractions. In order to optimize, we need to be able to think in terms of models with these atomized units as building blocks. What structures are we building? The third is automation, which is popular, or it's a term on the tip of many tongues these days, but to optimize, we need to be able to scale those abstractions up in a kind of hands-off way, so I do think quantification and optimization are certainly related. You can quantify without optimizing, though, right? You could simply count things up without seeking to improve or make things better.

On navigating modern modernity

28:53: I do think that's the struggle that, as modern Westerners, we face for the next number of years. We are aware that some of these ways of thinking and these systems are failing, both in the material world and in our intellectual and spiritual world. We don't feel happy. We feel we're going too fast. We feel we've lost track of some of the important things, and I think the question that we face is: how do we continue to live in the modern world with its many conveniences and its many fruits of optimization, and at the same time expand our ways of seeing that world and of being in that world, and expand our belief systems and our way of knowing, to hopefully a place where we feel more at ease in it.

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]]> 432. Balancing Life and Efficiency: An Optimization Deep Dive feat. Coco Krumme Greg La Blanc 00:43:23 What happens when the relentless pursuit of optimization backfires? What ethical dilemmas and hidden complexities exist inside of this obsession? How does our fixation with efficiency and quantification come at the cost of essential human values and spontaneity? Coco Krumme is an applied mathematician and the author of the book Optimal Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization, where she lays out how optimization has stealthily transformed from a technical tool into an all-encompassing philosophy driving various fields, from economics to personal decision-making. Greg and Coco discuss the fundamental pillars of optimization: quantification, abstraction, and automation, and question their impact. Coco sheds light on whether optimization is avoidable, and they evaluate the ethical trade-offs, especially in crucial sectors like healthcare where lives hang in the balance. They also reflect on the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to optimization. Enjoy this engrossing conversation that ends up questioning the very fabric of modern living. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What happens when the relentless pursuit of optimization backfires? What ethical dilemmas and hidden complexities exist inside of this obsession? How does our fixation with efficiency and quantification come at the cost of essential human values and spontaneity? Coco Krumme is an applied mathematician and the author of the book Optimal Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization, where she lays out how optimization has stealthily transformed from a technical tool into an all-encompassing philosophy driving various fields, from economics to personal decision-making. Greg and Coco discuss the fundamental pillars of optimization: quantification, abstraction, and automation, and question their impact. Coco sheds light on whether optimization is avoidable, and they evaluate the ethical trade-offs, especially in crucial sectors like healthcare where lives hang in the balance. They also reflect on the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to optimization. Enjoy this engrossing conversation that ends up questioning the very fabric of modern living. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 432 5260c3f5-00f7-46b9-b5aa-10307dc00296 431. Religion’s Hand in the Invention of Politics with Anna Maria Grzymala-Busse Historical research on the development of states and political systems typically focuses on the role of war or economic class, but what about the influence of religion?

Anna Maria Grzymala-Busse is a political science professor at Stanford University. Her books, Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State and Nations under God: How Churches Use Moral Authority to Influence Policy emphasize the role religious institutions have played in shaping politics.

She and Greg discuss how religious authorities wielded power over emperors and kings, the role religion played in the creation of taxes, and how religion continues to influence politics in the modern world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is there something different about the way religion and politics relate in America?

40:40: The United States is different. It's a religious marketplace, which means that people can move within churches without actually leaving religion. Or they can even sort of continue to view themselves as religious, even when they don't attend churches. And in this religious marketplace, there are all kinds of individual religious leaders. There's no one central authority that speaks for religion in the United States, but there are multiple leaders, all of whom are trying to maximize their market share, right? And when they do so, you know some will claim they're conservative Christians, some will claim they're more liberal ones, and what you see basically is a lot of churn, where a lot of people move between, to some extent, Christian Catholic congregations rather than leave religion altogether. In a monopoly, if you're disgusted with religion or disappointed with your religious leader, you don't have that choice, right? You're in or out. In the United States, you just move to a different church that you find more acceptable and attractive. And I think that's part of the reason why there's so much more resilience in the United States.

Do contemporary social scientists sometimes fail to appreciate the impact of ideas, moral arguments, and religious beliefs?

44:11: I do think that we, as disciplines, tend to overlook religion because it's so unfamiliar. It's such weird territory. For many people, the idea that you can believe in God and for that to mean something is just so foreign. But I think we ought to remember that, for the vast majority of people on this planet, both now and then, this was actually really important. And if it's that important, it probably shapes how they think about politics and what they expect from politics, and we ought to include that.

What did Anna learn from doing both contemporary and historical work?

42:26: Doing both contemporary and historical work has taught me that humanity has changed very little. We know everything; the things that we tend to think of as shibboleths are now contested, much as they were back then. People have petty concerns, public opinion matters, and the sort of pettiness and unintended consequences and unanticipated consequences of decisions can make all the difference. And fundamentally, people were no better or worse than they are today. They were just as prone to violence. They were just as prone to love. They were just as prone to seeking justice and fairness. They just thought about them in different terms.

The power to deliver salvation shaped history

42:46: The ability to deliver salvation, the ability to basically be able to promise people that if you do these things, you can have life eternal, and if you don't do them, we have the power to withhold our own salvation. This sort of path to salvation from you is an enormous authority that I think mattered a great deal. 

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]]> Fri, 14 Jun 2024 15:34:23 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Historical research on the development of states and political systems typically focuses on the role of war or economic class, but what about the influence of religion?

Anna Maria Grzymala-Busse is a political science professor at Stanford University. Her books, Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State and Nations under God: How Churches Use Moral Authority to Influence Policy emphasize the role religious institutions have played in shaping politics.

She and Greg discuss how religious authorities wielded power over emperors and kings, the role religion played in the creation of taxes, and how religion continues to influence politics in the modern world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is there something different about the way religion and politics relate in America?

40:40: The United States is different. It's a religious marketplace, which means that people can move within churches without actually leaving religion. Or they can even sort of continue to view themselves as religious, even when they don't attend churches. And in this religious marketplace, there are all kinds of individual religious leaders. There's no one central authority that speaks for religion in the United States, but there are multiple leaders, all of whom are trying to maximize their market share, right? And when they do so, you know some will claim they're conservative Christians, some will claim they're more liberal ones, and what you see basically is a lot of churn, where a lot of people move between, to some extent, Christian Catholic congregations rather than leave religion altogether. In a monopoly, if you're disgusted with religion or disappointed with your religious leader, you don't have that choice, right? You're in or out. In the United States, you just move to a different church that you find more acceptable and attractive. And I think that's part of the reason why there's so much more resilience in the United States.

Do contemporary social scientists sometimes fail to appreciate the impact of ideas, moral arguments, and religious beliefs?

44:11: I do think that we, as disciplines, tend to overlook religion because it's so unfamiliar. It's such weird territory. For many people, the idea that you can believe in God and for that to mean something is just so foreign. But I think we ought to remember that, for the vast majority of people on this planet, both now and then, this was actually really important. And if it's that important, it probably shapes how they think about politics and what they expect from politics, and we ought to include that.

What did Anna learn from doing both contemporary and historical work?

42:26: Doing both contemporary and historical work has taught me that humanity has changed very little. We know everything; the things that we tend to think of as shibboleths are now contested, much as they were back then. People have petty concerns, public opinion matters, and the sort of pettiness and unintended consequences and unanticipated consequences of decisions can make all the difference. And fundamentally, people were no better or worse than they are today. They were just as prone to violence. They were just as prone to love. They were just as prone to seeking justice and fairness. They just thought about them in different terms.

The power to deliver salvation shaped history

42:46: The ability to deliver salvation, the ability to basically be able to promise people that if you do these things, you can have life eternal, and if you don't do them, we have the power to withhold our own salvation. This sort of path to salvation from you is an enormous authority that I think mattered a great deal. 

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Her Work:


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]]> 431. Religion’s Hand in the Invention of Politics with Anna Maria Grzymala-Busse Greg La Blanc 00:44:54 Historical research on the development of states and political systems typically focuses on the role of war or economic class, but what about the influence of religion? Anna Maria Grzymala-Busse is a political science professor at Stanford University. Her books, Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State and Nations under God: How Churches Use Moral Authority to Influence Policy emphasize the role religious institutions have played in shaping politics. She and Greg discuss how religious authorities wielded power over emperors and kings, the role religion played in the creation of taxes, and how religion continues to influence politics in the modern world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Historical research on the development of states and political systems typically focuses on the role of war or economic class, but what about the influence of religion? Anna Maria Grzymala-Busse is a political science professor at Stanford University. Her books, Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State and Nations under God: How Churches Use Moral Authority to Influence Policy emphasize the role religious institutions have played in shaping politics. She and Greg discuss how religious authorities wielded power over emperors and kings, the role religion played in the creation of taxes, and how religion continues to influence politics in the modern world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 431 c56ab6e2-8825-40e8-8bd1-5399bef23f12 430. How Darwinian Economics Could Explain Everything with Geoffrey Hodgson Over the course of history, human nature hasn’t changed a great deal, but culture and institutions are another story. And a key way of explaining those l shifts in history is through the lens of evolutionary economics.

Geoffrey Hodgson is a professor at Loughborough University and has written numerous books including Darwin's Conjecture: The Search for General Principles of Social and Economic Evolution and How Economics Forgot History: The Problem of Historical Specificity in Social Science. His work examines the crucial role economics plays in explaining the history of everything.

Geoffrey and Greg discuss the evolution of legal and financial institutions, why traditional economic theories, like general equilibrium models, don't quite pan out when explaining complex social systems, and how the key to finding a general theory for the social sciences may be Darwinism.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the theory of firm

33:04: Our argument is really, firms are historically specific. Human cooperation in production is back to the primates. We've banded together and hunted things together, but they aren't necessarily firms in the sense that business school students understand firms or want to apply that knowledge to understanding how firms operate. So we do have teams, groups, and hunting bands in different species, but the firm is something more. It's something long-lasting as mechanisms, which means it can outlive the lives of everyone within it—all employees, all owners, all shareholders—it can all be outlived by the firm. We have several firms which have literally existed for hundreds of years, and that's really important.

Focusing on the systems behind the memes

25:19: Rather than arguing about the definition of the meme, I think look more concretely at the psychological, organizational, legal, and other cultural rule systems that are involved.

Collateralization is also a very old concept, but it's underdeveloped

46:44: Mortgage is an old word. I mean, with the pawnbroker shop, they had pawnbroker shops in ancient Rome, so if you had a gold ring or something, you put it in, and that's a form of collateralization. You deposit the ring, a good bit of gold, you get the money out, and then you either repay it and get the gold back or you use the money. You don't. So collateralization is also a very old concept, but it's underdeveloped.

Is the issue with business people using evolutionary metaphors a lack of precision? 

20:13: Precision isn't everything. It's important. I would emphasize conceptual precision because often when people say we need more precision, they go off and try and build a mathematical model, but then they assume out of some of the problems and difficulties that were there at the beginning that the discussion about what should be done in terms of research is ruled out.

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]]> Wed, 5 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Over the course of history, human nature hasn’t changed a great deal, but culture and institutions are another story. And a key way of explaining those l shifts in history is through the lens of evolutionary economics.

Geoffrey Hodgson is a professor at Loughborough University and has written numerous books including Darwin's Conjecture: The Search for General Principles of Social and Economic Evolution and How Economics Forgot History: The Problem of Historical Specificity in Social Science. His work examines the crucial role economics plays in explaining the history of everything.

Geoffrey and Greg discuss the evolution of legal and financial institutions, why traditional economic theories, like general equilibrium models, don't quite pan out when explaining complex social systems, and how the key to finding a general theory for the social sciences may be Darwinism.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the theory of firm

33:04: Our argument is really, firms are historically specific. Human cooperation in production is back to the primates. We've banded together and hunted things together, but they aren't necessarily firms in the sense that business school students understand firms or want to apply that knowledge to understanding how firms operate. So we do have teams, groups, and hunting bands in different species, but the firm is something more. It's something long-lasting as mechanisms, which means it can outlive the lives of everyone within it—all employees, all owners, all shareholders—it can all be outlived by the firm. We have several firms which have literally existed for hundreds of years, and that's really important.

Focusing on the systems behind the memes

25:19: Rather than arguing about the definition of the meme, I think look more concretely at the psychological, organizational, legal, and other cultural rule systems that are involved.

Collateralization is also a very old concept, but it's underdeveloped

46:44: Mortgage is an old word. I mean, with the pawnbroker shop, they had pawnbroker shops in ancient Rome, so if you had a gold ring or something, you put it in, and that's a form of collateralization. You deposit the ring, a good bit of gold, you get the money out, and then you either repay it and get the gold back or you use the money. You don't. So collateralization is also a very old concept, but it's underdeveloped.

Is the issue with business people using evolutionary metaphors a lack of precision? 

20:13: Precision isn't everything. It's important. I would emphasize conceptual precision because often when people say we need more precision, they go off and try and build a mathematical model, but then they assume out of some of the problems and difficulties that were there at the beginning that the discussion about what should be done in terms of research is ruled out.

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]]> 430. How Darwinian Economics Could Explain Everything with Geoffrey Hodgson Greg La Blanc 01:06:33 Over the course of history, human nature hasn’t changed a great deal, but culture and institutions are another story. And a key way of explaining those l shifts in history is through the lens of evolutionary economics. Geoffrey Hodgson is a professor at Loughborough University and has written numerous books including Darwin's Conjecture: The Search for General Principles of Social and Economic Evolution and How Economics Forgot History: The Problem of Historical Specificity in Social Science. His work examines the crucial role economics plays in explaining the history of everything. Geoffrey and Greg discuss the evolution of legal and financial institutions, why traditional economic theories, like general equilibrium models, don't quite pan out when explaining complex social systems, and how the key to finding a general theory for the social sciences may be Darwinism. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Over the course of history, human nature hasn’t changed a great deal, but culture and institutions are another story. And a key way of explaining those l shifts in history is through the lens of evolutionary economics. Geoffrey Hodgson is a professor at Loughborough University and has written numerous books including Darwin's Conjecture: The Search for General Principles of Social and Economic Evolution and How Economics Forgot History: The Problem of Historical Specificity in Social Science. His work examines the crucial role economics plays in explaining the history of everything. Geoffrey and Greg discuss the evolution of legal and financial institutions, why traditional economic theories, like general equilibrium models, don't quite pan out when explaining complex social systems, and how the key to finding a general theory for the social sciences may be Darwinism. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 430 abe18095-7379-47a9-9fc7-3019f339a7ca 429. The Science Behind Animal Hijinks Understanding Play as Nature's Classroom feat. David Toomey Through navigating the intricate world of play behavior we can dissect how animals, from rambunctious rat pups to the majestic meerkats, use this seemingly frivolous activity as a critical tool for survival. Explore the fine line between amusement and aggression, and discover how young creatures use play as a classroom for the lessons of life, playing a part in everything from social hierarchies to practicing recovery.

David Toomey is a Professor and Co-Director of the PWTC Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also the author and co-author of several books, including Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself and The New Time Travelers: A Journey to the Frontiers of Physics.

David and Greg discuss where humor meets hierarchy, where verbal jousts and jests reveal much about the social fabric of our own species and the animal kingdom – Play Behavior. David discusses the evolutionary parallels between the spontaneous nature of improv and the unpredictability of life itself, proving that being adept at handling the unexpected may well be hardwired in our DNA. Then they examine the broader implications of play throughout life, challenging the separation of creation and judgment and considering the profound implications of play for our sense of self and the wider world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is play the defining characteristic of life?

33:49: Play and natural selection seem to have quite a lot in common. They are both provisional and they both balance competition and cooperation, and so on and so forth. All the many features of natural selection are also features of play. And you could push this, and I do push this a bit further, and say natural selection is the defining feature of life. You can say, well, life is something that grows, consumes, and dies, but the same can be said of stars or candle flames. You can say that life reproduces, but the same could be said of crystals. But the thing that characterizes life that does not characterize candle flames, stars, or crystals is that it evolved by natural selection. So, if natural selection and play share features, then I don't think it's going too far to say that life is fundamentally playful.

Exploration vs. play

04:32: One way to separate exploration from play is an animal exploring its environment or exploring something will conclude its exploration and decide that's all I'm going to do, that's all. Now I'm comfortable; I've sufficiently explored it, and we're done with that. But there's no clear endpoint to play. An animal stops playing only when it's tired of playing or becomes interested in something else. So all of that together may be sufficient to define play.

Natural selection is improv

21:48: Natural selection has many features, and one feature of natural selection, and Darwin noted this: it seldom works from scratch. It takes an existing feature and changes it—maybe improves it. So, for instance, the bones of a paw, if you will, if they are lengthened, and lightened, and hollowed, become the bones of a bird's wing, but the fundamental structure is the same; they're the same number, they are the same relation to each other, or they become the bones of a whale's fin, same thing, same number, same relation between them. So, natural selection doesn't invent things from scratch very often. It just changes things, and that's exactly what improv does. We all know the rule of improv is yes and. And that is, it seems to me, its natural selection is also yes and.

On the evolutionary purposes of play

06:59: This is what anyone would answer you if you asked the question right on this play. One is that it's training for adult behavior. That is, we're learning how to explore, hunt, or mate in our play. The other is that it's socialization. That is, for social animals, and consider wolf cubs. Wolves need to play together if they are to learn to cooperate, and they need to cooperate if they are to take down an animal larger than themselves, like an elk. A wolf can't do it alone. Thus, play is necessary for the survival of the individual animal. It's also essential for the survival of the pack itself. So those are the two long-standing hypotheses.

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]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 13:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Through navigating the intricate world of play behavior we can dissect how animals, from rambunctious rat pups to the majestic meerkats, use this seemingly frivolous activity as a critical tool for survival. Explore the fine line between amusement and aggression, and discover how young creatures use play as a classroom for the lessons of life, playing a part in everything from social hierarchies to practicing recovery.

David Toomey is a Professor and Co-Director of the PWTC Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also the author and co-author of several books, including Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself and The New Time Travelers: A Journey to the Frontiers of Physics.

David and Greg discuss where humor meets hierarchy, where verbal jousts and jests reveal much about the social fabric of our own species and the animal kingdom – Play Behavior. David discusses the evolutionary parallels between the spontaneous nature of improv and the unpredictability of life itself, proving that being adept at handling the unexpected may well be hardwired in our DNA. Then they examine the broader implications of play throughout life, challenging the separation of creation and judgment and considering the profound implications of play for our sense of self and the wider world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is play the defining characteristic of life?

33:49: Play and natural selection seem to have quite a lot in common. They are both provisional and they both balance competition and cooperation, and so on and so forth. All the many features of natural selection are also features of play. And you could push this, and I do push this a bit further, and say natural selection is the defining feature of life. You can say, well, life is something that grows, consumes, and dies, but the same can be said of stars or candle flames. You can say that life reproduces, but the same could be said of crystals. But the thing that characterizes life that does not characterize candle flames, stars, or crystals is that it evolved by natural selection. So, if natural selection and play share features, then I don't think it's going too far to say that life is fundamentally playful.

Exploration vs. play

04:32: One way to separate exploration from play is an animal exploring its environment or exploring something will conclude its exploration and decide that's all I'm going to do, that's all. Now I'm comfortable; I've sufficiently explored it, and we're done with that. But there's no clear endpoint to play. An animal stops playing only when it's tired of playing or becomes interested in something else. So all of that together may be sufficient to define play.

Natural selection is improv

21:48: Natural selection has many features, and one feature of natural selection, and Darwin noted this: it seldom works from scratch. It takes an existing feature and changes it—maybe improves it. So, for instance, the bones of a paw, if you will, if they are lengthened, and lightened, and hollowed, become the bones of a bird's wing, but the fundamental structure is the same; they're the same number, they are the same relation to each other, or they become the bones of a whale's fin, same thing, same number, same relation between them. So, natural selection doesn't invent things from scratch very often. It just changes things, and that's exactly what improv does. We all know the rule of improv is yes and. And that is, it seems to me, its natural selection is also yes and.

On the evolutionary purposes of play

06:59: This is what anyone would answer you if you asked the question right on this play. One is that it's training for adult behavior. That is, we're learning how to explore, hunt, or mate in our play. The other is that it's socialization. That is, for social animals, and consider wolf cubs. Wolves need to play together if they are to learn to cooperate, and they need to cooperate if they are to take down an animal larger than themselves, like an elk. A wolf can't do it alone. Thus, play is necessary for the survival of the individual animal. It's also essential for the survival of the pack itself. So those are the two long-standing hypotheses.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 429. The Science Behind Animal Hijinks Understanding Play as Nature's Classroom feat. David Toomey Greg La Blanc 00:36:01 Through navigating the intricate world of play behavior we can dissect how animals, from rambunctious rat pups to the majestic meerkats, use this seemingly frivolous activity as a critical tool for survival. Explore the fine line between amusement and aggression, and discover how young creatures use play as a classroom for the lessons of life, playing a part in everything from social hierarchies to practicing recovery. David Toomey is a Professor and Co-Director of the PWTC Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also the author and co-author of several books, including Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself and The New Time Travelers: A Journey to the Frontiers of Physics. David and Greg discuss where humor meets hierarchy, where verbal jousts and jests reveal much about the social fabric of our own species and the animal kingdom – Play Behavior. David discusses the evolutionary parallels between the spontaneous nature of improv and the unpredictability of life itself, proving that being adept at handling the unexpected may well be hardwired in our DNA. Then they examine the broader implications of play throughout life, challenging the separation of creation and judgment and considering the profound implications of play for our sense of self and the wider world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Through navigating the intricate world of play behavior we can dissect how animals, from rambunctious rat pups to the majestic meerkats, use this seemingly frivolous activity as a critical tool for survival. Explore the fine line between amusement and aggression, and discover how young creatures use play as a classroom for the lessons of life, playing a part in everything from social hierarchies to practicing recovery. David Toomey is a Professor and Co-Director of the PWTC Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also the author and co-author of several books, including Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself and The New Time Travelers: A Journey to the Frontiers of Physics. David and Greg discuss where humor meets hierarchy, where verbal jousts and jests reveal much about the social fabric of our own species and the animal kingdom – Play Behavior. David discusses the evolutionary parallels between the spontaneous nature of improv and the unpredictability of life itself, proving that being adept at handling the unexpected may well be hardwired in our DNA. Then they examine the broader implications of play throughout life, challenging the separation of creation and judgment and considering the profound implications of play for our sense of self and the wider world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 429 1d93e6f6-5cca-446d-a3e7-3365cec2757a 428. The Secrets of Constitution-Writing with Linda Colley Constitutions are often thought of as the agents of change for monarchies and empires, usually it spells doom for them. But the history of constitutions is far more complicated than a revolutionary tool, in fact some of them were penned by monarchs themselves. 

Linda Colley is a professor of history at Princeton University. Her latest book, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World is a deep dive into some of the most notable constitutions, how they came to be, and the impacts they have in today’s world. 

Linda and Greg discuss how constitutions often borrowed and plagiarized constitutions before them, how the purpose of the documents has evolved over time, and how a constitution-less Britain still influenced so many other constitutions. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Do constitutions borrow from each other?

05:16: Publishers started producing not just the text of one constitution; they started bundling together the texts of multiple constitutions. And these compendia became very useful for governments wanting to initiate or amend a constitution, particularly if they had to act quickly. Because they could say, "Oh, I really like that bit in Argentina's constitution." Or, "Oh, that Hawaiian constitution hits it on the spot." And if you analyze the makeup of some constitutions, the Norwegian constitution of 1814 is an extreme example. You can see them adopting sentences, sometimes whole paragraphs, because Norwegians had to act quickly before a Swedish army was moving in. So they had to do this in a matter of weeks. So they bought and acquired all these compendia of constitutions, and they just cut and pasted.

The evolving role of constitutions

21:37: So, constitutions, because they go into print and now go online, can work as advertisements and proclamations to foreign audiences—not just something that caters to domestic and legal purposes.

The british identity

49:51: In the British case, power and success have notably receded since the Second World War. There's been more uncertainty, therefore, about national identity and British identity. Hence, the independence movement in Scotland in part. And so, that's another factor that might influence future constitutional thinking. Given that some of the old props of national identity no longer work, would a statement of constitutional unity and definition be helpful?

How lockdowns hurt the poorest countries

48:15:The poorest countries reorganize their economies to fit in with the West. That's what brought a billion people out of poverty. The lockdowns essentially were a violation of that promise, right? What the West basically said was, "We're going to pull up the drawbridge because we're scared." And all of those trade promises we made to you were gone. The markets that we promised to you are gone, and the people at the lowest rungs of world society, meaning the poorest of the poor, became even poorer, and millions died as a consequence of that. On the first day of the lockdown, Prime Minister Modi of India ordered half a billion people to walk, bike, and find some way to go back from the city centers where they were working, migrant workers, to their home villages. And a thousand died en route that day. The life savings of those half a billion people were crushed overnight.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 31 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Constitutions are often thought of as the agents of change for monarchies and empires, usually it spells doom for them. But the history of constitutions is far more complicated than a revolutionary tool, in fact some of them were penned by monarchs themselves. 

Linda Colley is a professor of history at Princeton University. Her latest book, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World is a deep dive into some of the most notable constitutions, how they came to be, and the impacts they have in today’s world. 

Linda and Greg discuss how constitutions often borrowed and plagiarized constitutions before them, how the purpose of the documents has evolved over time, and how a constitution-less Britain still influenced so many other constitutions. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Do constitutions borrow from each other?

05:16: Publishers started producing not just the text of one constitution; they started bundling together the texts of multiple constitutions. And these compendia became very useful for governments wanting to initiate or amend a constitution, particularly if they had to act quickly. Because they could say, "Oh, I really like that bit in Argentina's constitution." Or, "Oh, that Hawaiian constitution hits it on the spot." And if you analyze the makeup of some constitutions, the Norwegian constitution of 1814 is an extreme example. You can see them adopting sentences, sometimes whole paragraphs, because Norwegians had to act quickly before a Swedish army was moving in. So they had to do this in a matter of weeks. So they bought and acquired all these compendia of constitutions, and they just cut and pasted.

The evolving role of constitutions

21:37: So, constitutions, because they go into print and now go online, can work as advertisements and proclamations to foreign audiences—not just something that caters to domestic and legal purposes.

The british identity

49:51: In the British case, power and success have notably receded since the Second World War. There's been more uncertainty, therefore, about national identity and British identity. Hence, the independence movement in Scotland in part. And so, that's another factor that might influence future constitutional thinking. Given that some of the old props of national identity no longer work, would a statement of constitutional unity and definition be helpful?

How lockdowns hurt the poorest countries

48:15:The poorest countries reorganize their economies to fit in with the West. That's what brought a billion people out of poverty. The lockdowns essentially were a violation of that promise, right? What the West basically said was, "We're going to pull up the drawbridge because we're scared." And all of those trade promises we made to you were gone. The markets that we promised to you are gone, and the people at the lowest rungs of world society, meaning the poorest of the poor, became even poorer, and millions died as a consequence of that. On the first day of the lockdown, Prime Minister Modi of India ordered half a billion people to walk, bike, and find some way to go back from the city centers where they were working, migrant workers, to their home villages. And a thousand died en route that day. The life savings of those half a billion people were crushed overnight.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 428. The Secrets of Constitution-Writing with Linda Colley Greg La Blanc 00:58:03 Constitutions are often thought of as the agents of change for monarchies and empires, usually it spells doom for them. But the history of constitutions is far more complicated than a revolutionary tool, in fact some of them were penned by monarchs themselves. Linda Colley is a professor of history at Princeton University. Her latest book, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World is a deep dive into some of the most notable constitutions, how they came to be, and the impacts they have in today’s world. Linda and Greg discuss how constitutions often borrowed and plagiarized constitutions before them, how the purpose of the documents has evolved over time, and how a constitution-less Britain still influenced so many other constitutions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Constitutions are often thought of as the agents of change for monarchies and empires, usually it spells doom for them. But the history of constitutions is far more complicated than a revolutionary tool, in fact some of them were penned by monarchs themselves. Linda Colley is a professor of history at Princeton University. Her latest book, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World is a deep dive into some of the most notable constitutions, how they came to be, and the impacts they have in today’s world. Linda and Greg discuss how constitutions often borrowed and plagiarized constitutions before them, how the purpose of the documents has evolved over time, and how a constitution-less Britain still influenced so many other constitutions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 428 adc1f72b-de75-4d13-909c-1654e8fe36c9 427. Lockdowns and Lessons: The Pandemic Retrospective feat. Jay Bhattacharya Discover the untold stories behind pandemic decision-making in COVID-19 responses and their seismic effects on society. Hear how early prevalence studies contradicted widespread measures, challenging the effectiveness of lockdowns and calling into question the ethical boundaries of public health compliance.This conversation is as much about ethics as it is about health policy.

Jay Bhattacharya is a professor of health policy at Stanford Medical School and also in the economics department at Stanford University. He co-wrote an opinion piece entitled “Is the Coronavirus as Deadly as They Say?”

Jay and Greg discuss the lab leak theory's influence on global policy and the issues faced by leaders in real-time crisis management. Jay weighs the stark health economics versus public health trade-offs, highlighting the profound yet often ignored consequences that lockdowns had on global poverty and social well-being. Greg points out the unprecedented speed of vaccine development, and they reflect on what seen and unseen effects of that time were really caused by the pandemic response and not the pandemic.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The real costs of flattening the curve

59:45: People died at home with heart attacks, they would've lived. And, of course, who faced tremendous pressure on hospital systems – in New York and Bergamo, and and during the pandemic, a few other places experienced that. But the modal hospital system in this country did not experience that, right? They were empty. And a lot of people who should have gotten care didn't get care for other conditions. Cancer screenings went down, heart attack treatment went down, diabetes management went down, stroke management went down, basic fundamental care that happened didn't happen. And, the cost of flattening the curve was exactly that, right? This suppression of fundamental care that ought to happened. We decided we were going to refocus all of healthcare just to manage COVID rather than all of the myriad health conditions that people are really subject to.

The longitudinal effect of the vaccine rollout

57:59: The vaccines, I think, were good, but they were not an unmitigated good. And I think the aftermath of that, of the tremendous mistakes public health made in the rollout of the vaccines, and that governments everywhere made in distinguishing clean and unclean on the basis of vaccine status, are going to be with us for a very long time to come.

Did the lockdowns help prevent COVID?

49:51: No matter what you think about how bad long COVID is, it does not justify lockdowns because the lockdowns do not prevent long COVID. I'm not even sure; the evidence is that the vaccines prevent long-term COVID, but it's very equivocal. So, the question of long COVID is not germane to the question of whether lockdowns were the right or wrong thing to do.

How lockdowns hurt the poorest countries

48:15:The poorest countries reorganize their economies to fit in with the West. That's what brought a billion people out of poverty. The lockdowns essentially were a violation of that promise, right? What the West basically said was, "We're going to pull up the drawbridge because we're scared." And all of those trade promises we made to you were gone. The markets that we promised to you are gone, and the people at the lowest rungs of world society, meaning the poorest of the poor, became even poorer, and millions died as a consequence of that. On the first day of the lockdown, Prime Minister Modi of India ordered half a billion people to walk, bike, and find some way to go back from the city centers where they were working, migrant workers, to their home villages. And a thousand died en route that day. The life savings of those half a billion people were crushed overnight.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Discover the untold stories behind pandemic decision-making in COVID-19 responses and their seismic effects on society. Hear how early prevalence studies contradicted widespread measures, challenging the effectiveness of lockdowns and calling into question the ethical boundaries of public health compliance.This conversation is as much about ethics as it is about health policy.

Jay Bhattacharya is a professor of health policy at Stanford Medical School and also in the economics department at Stanford University. He co-wrote an opinion piece entitled “Is the Coronavirus as Deadly as They Say?”

Jay and Greg discuss the lab leak theory's influence on global policy and the issues faced by leaders in real-time crisis management. Jay weighs the stark health economics versus public health trade-offs, highlighting the profound yet often ignored consequences that lockdowns had on global poverty and social well-being. Greg points out the unprecedented speed of vaccine development, and they reflect on what seen and unseen effects of that time were really caused by the pandemic response and not the pandemic.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The real costs of flattening the curve

59:45: People died at home with heart attacks, they would've lived. And, of course, who faced tremendous pressure on hospital systems – in New York and Bergamo, and and during the pandemic, a few other places experienced that. But the modal hospital system in this country did not experience that, right? They were empty. And a lot of people who should have gotten care didn't get care for other conditions. Cancer screenings went down, heart attack treatment went down, diabetes management went down, stroke management went down, basic fundamental care that happened didn't happen. And, the cost of flattening the curve was exactly that, right? This suppression of fundamental care that ought to happened. We decided we were going to refocus all of healthcare just to manage COVID rather than all of the myriad health conditions that people are really subject to.

The longitudinal effect of the vaccine rollout

57:59: The vaccines, I think, were good, but they were not an unmitigated good. And I think the aftermath of that, of the tremendous mistakes public health made in the rollout of the vaccines, and that governments everywhere made in distinguishing clean and unclean on the basis of vaccine status, are going to be with us for a very long time to come.

Did the lockdowns help prevent COVID?

49:51: No matter what you think about how bad long COVID is, it does not justify lockdowns because the lockdowns do not prevent long COVID. I'm not even sure; the evidence is that the vaccines prevent long-term COVID, but it's very equivocal. So, the question of long COVID is not germane to the question of whether lockdowns were the right or wrong thing to do.

How lockdowns hurt the poorest countries

48:15:The poorest countries reorganize their economies to fit in with the West. That's what brought a billion people out of poverty. The lockdowns essentially were a violation of that promise, right? What the West basically said was, "We're going to pull up the drawbridge because we're scared." And all of those trade promises we made to you were gone. The markets that we promised to you are gone, and the people at the lowest rungs of world society, meaning the poorest of the poor, became even poorer, and millions died as a consequence of that. On the first day of the lockdown, Prime Minister Modi of India ordered half a billion people to walk, bike, and find some way to go back from the city centers where they were working, migrant workers, to their home villages. And a thousand died en route that day. The life savings of those half a billion people were crushed overnight.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 427. Lockdowns and Lessons: The Pandemic Retrospective feat. Jay Bhattacharya Greg La Blanc 01:11:40 Discover the untold stories behind pandemic decision-making in COVID-19 responses and their seismic effects on society. Hear how early prevalence studies contradicted widespread measures, challenging the effectiveness of lockdowns and calling into question the ethical boundaries of public health compliance.This conversation is as much about ethics as it is about health policy. Jay Bhattacharya is a professor of health policy at Stanford Medical School and also in the economics department at Stanford University. He co-wrote an opinion piece entitled “Is the Coronavirus as Deadly as They Say?” Jay and Greg discuss the lab leak theory's influence on global policy and the issues faced by leaders in real-time crisis management. Jay weighs the stark health economics versus public health trade-offs, highlighting the profound yet often ignored consequences that lockdowns had on global poverty and social well-being. Greg points out the unprecedented speed of vaccine development, and they reflect on what seen and unseen effects of that time were really caused by the pandemic response and not the pandemic. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Discover the untold stories behind pandemic decision-making in COVID-19 responses and their seismic effects on society. Hear how early prevalence studies contradicted widespread measures, challenging the effectiveness of lockdowns and calling into question the ethical boundaries of public health compliance.This conversation is as much about ethics as it is about health policy. Jay Bhattacharya is a professor of health policy at Stanford Medical School and also in the economics department at Stanford University. He co-wrote an opinion piece entitled “Is the Coronavirus as Deadly as They Say?” Jay and Greg discuss the lab leak theory's influence on global policy and the issues faced by leaders in real-time crisis management. Jay weighs the stark health economics versus public health trade-offs, highlighting the profound yet often ignored consequences that lockdowns had on global poverty and social well-being. Greg points out the unprecedented speed of vaccine development, and they reflect on what seen and unseen effects of that time were really caused by the pandemic response and not the pandemic. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 427 0516b100-ac88-4786-b49d-d1d9218a0ef1 426. Overhauling Health Inequality feat. Amy Finkelstein How complex are the dynamics of employer-based insurance? Is the time ripe for a radical transformation towards universal basic healthcare—a move that could potentially curb the spiraling expenses and offer stable access to care?

Amy Finkelstein is the John & Jennie S. MacDonald Professor of Economics at MIT and the author and co-author of several books including We've Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care and

Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It.

Greg and Amy discuss the truth behind America's healthcare conundrum. Amy peels back the layers of the nation's healthcare system, exposing the patchwork structure that's left millions without stable insurance and grappling with soaring costs. Amy lays out the progression of medical practices and the government's shifting role in health insurance. Greg asks about the effects of cost-sharing in systems with universal coverage, and they weigh the pros and cons of mandates versus automatic health insurance provision

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why did insurance get so highly insecure and highly uncertain?

05:59: Almost everyone who's privately insured, which is about half the population as you said, is getting their insurance through their employer. And that actually can create a fair amount of this uncertainty, this insurance turnover. If you lose your job, change your job, retire, become ill (and therefore lose your job), you can lose your health insurance. And that's not a particularly sensible way to design a health insurance system. The very purpose of health insurance is to provide some modicum of economic and financial security in an insecure and uncertain world. So it's quite perverse from our perspective that health insurance is itself highly insecure and highly uncertain. And you asked, why did it get that way? I think because, there was never a "let's start with a clean slate and figure out how to build a coherent system" moment.

The true purpose of universal health coverage

48:15: We're arguing that we wouldn't have to raise taxes to provide universal basic coverage that fulfills sort of our commitment to access to essential medical care, regardless of resources. But we're not arguing, nor do I think it would be true, that this is actually going to save money. But again, this notion: when people advocate, we're going to do something to save money. So often, that's both a bit of a stretch, but it's also, I think, a bit of a distraction in the sense that the purpose of most policies is not to save money. It's to accomplish an objective, and we pay for that objective. We don't say we're having national defense to save money. We're having it to be secure. Similarly, the purpose of health insurance is not to save money; it's always nice if you do, but it's to ensure access to essential medical care, regardless of resources.

Why do people find it hard to invest in preventive care?

52:02: In general, there's a sense that it's hard to get people to take their statins to lower their cholesterol after a heart attack, even if those statins are free – so it's not about financing. And why? One of the theories is, well, you've got a lot going on in your life, and when you don't take the statin, there's no immediate feedback loop. You don't immediately have a heart attack. And so you don't see the benefit, and that makes it harder to remember…[52:48] Part of the reason it's hard to get people to invest in preventive care is because the returns are not so salient or obvious. You have to believe the evidence and remember it all the time, as opposed to seeing with your own eyes what's happening when you change your behavior.

What does health insurance really mean?

08:53: The term health insurance is a bit of a misnomer. Health insurance doesn't actually insure your health. It's not providing the fountain of youth. Instead, it provides economic or financial protection against the medical costs of poor health.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 27 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How complex are the dynamics of employer-based insurance? Is the time ripe for a radical transformation towards universal basic healthcare—a move that could potentially curb the spiraling expenses and offer stable access to care?

Amy Finkelstein is the John & Jennie S. MacDonald Professor of Economics at MIT and the author and co-author of several books including We've Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care and

Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It.

Greg and Amy discuss the truth behind America's healthcare conundrum. Amy peels back the layers of the nation's healthcare system, exposing the patchwork structure that's left millions without stable insurance and grappling with soaring costs. Amy lays out the progression of medical practices and the government's shifting role in health insurance. Greg asks about the effects of cost-sharing in systems with universal coverage, and they weigh the pros and cons of mandates versus automatic health insurance provision

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why did insurance get so highly insecure and highly uncertain?

05:59: Almost everyone who's privately insured, which is about half the population as you said, is getting their insurance through their employer. And that actually can create a fair amount of this uncertainty, this insurance turnover. If you lose your job, change your job, retire, become ill (and therefore lose your job), you can lose your health insurance. And that's not a particularly sensible way to design a health insurance system. The very purpose of health insurance is to provide some modicum of economic and financial security in an insecure and uncertain world. So it's quite perverse from our perspective that health insurance is itself highly insecure and highly uncertain. And you asked, why did it get that way? I think because, there was never a "let's start with a clean slate and figure out how to build a coherent system" moment.

The true purpose of universal health coverage

48:15: We're arguing that we wouldn't have to raise taxes to provide universal basic coverage that fulfills sort of our commitment to access to essential medical care, regardless of resources. But we're not arguing, nor do I think it would be true, that this is actually going to save money. But again, this notion: when people advocate, we're going to do something to save money. So often, that's both a bit of a stretch, but it's also, I think, a bit of a distraction in the sense that the purpose of most policies is not to save money. It's to accomplish an objective, and we pay for that objective. We don't say we're having national defense to save money. We're having it to be secure. Similarly, the purpose of health insurance is not to save money; it's always nice if you do, but it's to ensure access to essential medical care, regardless of resources.

Why do people find it hard to invest in preventive care?

52:02: In general, there's a sense that it's hard to get people to take their statins to lower their cholesterol after a heart attack, even if those statins are free – so it's not about financing. And why? One of the theories is, well, you've got a lot going on in your life, and when you don't take the statin, there's no immediate feedback loop. You don't immediately have a heart attack. And so you don't see the benefit, and that makes it harder to remember…[52:48] Part of the reason it's hard to get people to invest in preventive care is because the returns are not so salient or obvious. You have to believe the evidence and remember it all the time, as opposed to seeing with your own eyes what's happening when you change your behavior.

What does health insurance really mean?

08:53: The term health insurance is a bit of a misnomer. Health insurance doesn't actually insure your health. It's not providing the fountain of youth. Instead, it provides economic or financial protection against the medical costs of poor health.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 426. Overhauling Health Inequality feat. Amy Finkelstein Greg La Blanc 00:54:25 How complex are the dynamics of employer-based insurance? Is the time ripe for a radical transformation towards universal basic healthcare—a move that could potentially curb the spiraling expenses and offer stable access to care? Amy Finkelstein is the John & Jennie S. MacDonald Professor of Economics at MIT and the author and co-author of several books including We've Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care and Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It. Greg and Amy discuss the truth behind America's healthcare conundrum. Amy peels back the layers of the nation's healthcare system, exposing the patchwork structure that's left millions without stable insurance and grappling with soaring costs. Amy lays out the progression of medical practices and the government's shifting role in health insurance. Greg asks about the effects of cost-sharing in systems with universal coverage, and they weigh the pros and cons of mandates versus automatic health insurance provision *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How complex are the dynamics of employer-based insurance? Is the time ripe for a radical transformation towards universal basic healthcare—a move that could potentially curb the spiraling expenses and offer stable access to care? Amy Finkelstein is the John & Jennie S. MacDonald Professor of Economics at MIT and the author and co-author of several books including We've Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care and Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It. Greg and Amy discuss the truth behind America's healthcare conundrum. Amy peels back the layers of the nation's healthcare system, exposing the patchwork structure that's left millions without stable insurance and grappling with soaring costs. Amy lays out the progression of medical practices and the government's shifting role in health insurance. Greg asks about the effects of cost-sharing in systems with universal coverage, and they weigh the pros and cons of mandates versus automatic health insurance provision *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 426 83c7a9ce-9777-4858-ab3f-0ecf03b136bb 425. Mathematics & Cooperation As the Keys to Evolution with Martin Nowak While Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is still the most widely accepted, it may be missing a key component: cooperation. And how can mathematical equations help us understand this fundamental piece of evolutionary biology? 

Martin Nowak is a professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University. His books like, Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life and SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed use the intersection of mathematics and biology to delve deeper into our understanding of evolution theory. His latest book, Beyond, is an exploration of how mathematics and religion are intertwined.  

Martin and Greg discuss the five mechanisms of cooperation including direct and indirect reciprocity, how game theory evolved from economics as a way to explain strategic decisions of humans, and the role of religion and spirituality in promoting cooperative norms.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

To what extent is punishment necessary to keep cooperation going?

27:38: ​​Punishment, if you really think about it, is a terrible idea. Because, in most cases, punishment is not done for any noble reason. In most cases, punishment is just an act of violence. And every well-ordered society absolutely wants to make sure that people don't take the law into their own hands — that they just don't punish others. This is, for me, the principle of a functioning society: that we do not punish each other. So, for me, cooperation often means to refrain from punishment. And punishment is a very dangerous weapon. And I think many people have actually understood that critique — that punishment between individuals is a bad idea. And then they are still out there to say that it could be more useful if punishment is done by institutions. But also here, I'm very cautious. Because institutions are also not necessarily the best players all the time. They are the powerful players, and they could also use it inappropriately. So, I think that punishment is extremely problematic.

Does mathematics lead us to God?

43:47: It is not true that science explains everything. And now you should pause and ask yourself, so there is something which is independent of science, which is deep truth, which is absolute truth, which is unchanging truth. Where does that live? You know, where is that actually, if it's not in the atoms, if it's not in this, in the material world? So, this leads us to mathematical platonism. So, for me, mathematics is a step toward spirituality. It's a step toward the divine, as you say. And so, does mathematics lead us to God? Yes. The answer is yes, in my opinion, because it leads to a platonic heaven. And that is already the step of God. Does biology lead to God? Yes. Also because, in biology, the best understanding of evolution is mathematical. And so again, you need mathematics in order to understand evolution.

What is the mechanism of direct reciprocity?

15:12: The idea here is that, yes, interactions are repeated, but not necessarily between the same two people. So, I might help somebody who is a complete stranger. Or, in my class, I often talk about the New York subway hero, this brave man who saved another person who fell in front of the train. And, sort of, this isn't really the beginning of a long, repeated game. So, the question is, why do we have this instinct that we want to help? Even if it is with somebody we don't know, presumably a direct interaction is unlikely. And here, the proposal is that this works because of reputation. So, you help somebody, and that gets you the reputation of a valuable member, which is a person who receives help. Or, you refuse help to somebody, and that then will earn you other refusals in the future.

Transcending the ego to unveil the nameless self

50:05: Once you start to love the divine, you treat people differently; it becomes embracing. And so, if you also start to learn the difference between the ego and the self, there's this shell, and we are enslaved by the shell. And this shell has a name. And that name—we want to make that name famous. Then, we are sad if other people are against us. But inside us, there is the self. And the self is nameless, and the self is untouchable. The self can only be touched by us, not by others

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

]]> Fri, 24 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast While Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is still the most widely accepted, it may be missing a key component: cooperation. And how can mathematical equations help us understand this fundamental piece of evolutionary biology? 

Martin Nowak is a professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University. His books like, Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life and SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed use the intersection of mathematics and biology to delve deeper into our understanding of evolution theory. His latest book, Beyond, is an exploration of how mathematics and religion are intertwined.  

Martin and Greg discuss the five mechanisms of cooperation including direct and indirect reciprocity, how game theory evolved from economics as a way to explain strategic decisions of humans, and the role of religion and spirituality in promoting cooperative norms.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

To what extent is punishment necessary to keep cooperation going?

27:38: ​​Punishment, if you really think about it, is a terrible idea. Because, in most cases, punishment is not done for any noble reason. In most cases, punishment is just an act of violence. And every well-ordered society absolutely wants to make sure that people don't take the law into their own hands — that they just don't punish others. This is, for me, the principle of a functioning society: that we do not punish each other. So, for me, cooperation often means to refrain from punishment. And punishment is a very dangerous weapon. And I think many people have actually understood that critique — that punishment between individuals is a bad idea. And then they are still out there to say that it could be more useful if punishment is done by institutions. But also here, I'm very cautious. Because institutions are also not necessarily the best players all the time. They are the powerful players, and they could also use it inappropriately. So, I think that punishment is extremely problematic.

Does mathematics lead us to God?

43:47: It is not true that science explains everything. And now you should pause and ask yourself, so there is something which is independent of science, which is deep truth, which is absolute truth, which is unchanging truth. Where does that live? You know, where is that actually, if it's not in the atoms, if it's not in this, in the material world? So, this leads us to mathematical platonism. So, for me, mathematics is a step toward spirituality. It's a step toward the divine, as you say. And so, does mathematics lead us to God? Yes. The answer is yes, in my opinion, because it leads to a platonic heaven. And that is already the step of God. Does biology lead to God? Yes. Also because, in biology, the best understanding of evolution is mathematical. And so again, you need mathematics in order to understand evolution.

What is the mechanism of direct reciprocity?

15:12: The idea here is that, yes, interactions are repeated, but not necessarily between the same two people. So, I might help somebody who is a complete stranger. Or, in my class, I often talk about the New York subway hero, this brave man who saved another person who fell in front of the train. And, sort of, this isn't really the beginning of a long, repeated game. So, the question is, why do we have this instinct that we want to help? Even if it is with somebody we don't know, presumably a direct interaction is unlikely. And here, the proposal is that this works because of reputation. So, you help somebody, and that gets you the reputation of a valuable member, which is a person who receives help. Or, you refuse help to somebody, and that then will earn you other refusals in the future.

Transcending the ego to unveil the nameless self

50:05: Once you start to love the divine, you treat people differently; it becomes embracing. And so, if you also start to learn the difference between the ego and the self, there's this shell, and we are enslaved by the shell. And this shell has a name. And that name—we want to make that name famous. Then, we are sad if other people are against us. But inside us, there is the self. And the self is nameless, and the self is untouchable. The self can only be touched by us, not by others

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]]> 425. Mathematics & Cooperation As the Keys to Evolution with Martin Nowak Greg La Blanc 00:52:02 While Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is still the most widely accepted, it may be missing a key component: cooperation. And how can mathematical equations help us understand this fundamental piece of evolutionary biology? Martin Nowak is a professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University. His books like, Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life and SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed use the intersection of mathematics and biology to delve deeper into our understanding of evolution theory. His latest book, Beyond, is an exploration of how mathematics and religion are intertwined. Martin and Greg discuss the five mechanisms of cooperation including direct and indirect reciprocity, how game theory evolved from economics as a way to explain strategic decisions of humans, and the role of religion and spirituality in promoting cooperative norms. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* While Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is still the most widely accepted, it may be missing a key component: cooperation. And how can mathematical equations help us understand this fundamental piece of evolutionary biology? Martin Nowak is a professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University. His books like, Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life and SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed use the intersection of mathematics and biology to delve deeper into our understanding of evolution theory. His latest book, Beyond, is an exploration of how mathematics and religion are intertwined. Martin and Greg discuss the five mechanisms of cooperation including direct and indirect reciprocity, how game theory evolved from economics as a way to explain strategic decisions of humans, and the role of religion and spirituality in promoting cooperative norms. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 425 11ebb365-967d-405f-9b1c-deed76b37c8d 424. Rethinking the Social Underpinnings of Our Daily Decisions feat. Robin Hanson Why might our brains be keeping us in the dark about our own motives? What's the reason humans give to charity? How do cultural norms lead to continual efforts to signal to our potential allies?

Robin Hanson is a professor of economics at George Mason University . His latest two books are titled, The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life, and The Age of Em: Work, Love, and Life when Robots Rule the Earth.

Robin and Greg discuss the discrepancies between what we say and our true intentions.Robin shares how human interaction within our discussions is less about the content and more about social positioning and signaling. Robin talks about the intricate dance of conversations, where showing status, expressing care, and signaling allyship are at the forefront. They also wrestle with the concept of luxury goods and their role in consumer behavior, challenging the conventional wisdom about why we buy what we buy and the messages we're really sending with our choices.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On conscious mind and social norm

23:39: Humans have rules about what you're supposed to do and not supposed to do, especially regarding each other. And we really care a lot about our associates not violating those norms, and we're very eager to find rivals violating them and call them out on that. And that's just a really big thing in our lives. And in fact, it's so big that plausibly your conscious mind, the part of your mind I'm talking to, isn't the entire mind, you have noticed. You've got lots of stuff going on in your head that you're not very conscious of, but your conscious mind is the part of you whose job it is mainly to watch what you're doing and at all moments have a story about why you're doing it and why this thing you're doing, for the reason you're doing it,isn't something violating norms. If you didn't have this conscious mind all the time putting together the story, you'd be much more vulnerable to other people claiming that you're violating norms and accusing you of being a bad person for doing bad things.

Our individual doesn’t care much about norms

20:25: Sometimes norms are functional and helpful, and sometimes they're not. Our individual incentive doesn't care much about that. Our incentive is to not violate the norms and not be caught violating the norms, regardless of whether they're good or bad norms, regardless of what function they serve.

Why do people not want to subsidize luxury items, but they do subsidize education?

46:34: So part of the problem is that we often idealize some things and even make them sacred. And then, in their role as something sacred, we are willing to subsidize them and sacrifice for them. And then it's less about maybe their consequences and more about showing our devotion to the sacred. In some sense, sacred things are the things we are most eager to show our devotion to. And that's why people who want to promote things want us to see them as sacred. So, schools have succeeded in getting many people to see schools as a sacred venture and therefore worthy of extra subsidy. And they're less interested in maybe the calculation of the job consequences of education because they just see education itself as sacred.

On notion of cultural drift

47:55: So human superpower is cultural evolution. This is why we can do things so much better than other animals. The key mechanism of culture is that we copy the behaviors of others. In order to make that work, we have to differentially copy the behavior that's better, not the behavior that's worse. And to do that, we need a way to judge who is more successful so that we will copy the successful. So our estimate of what counts as success—who are the people around us who we will count as successful and worthy of emulation—is a key element of culture. And that's going to drive a lot of our choices, including our values and norms. We're going to have compatible and matching with our concept of who around us is the most admirable, the most worthy of celebration and emulation.

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]]> Wed, 22 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why might our brains be keeping us in the dark about our own motives? What's the reason humans give to charity? How do cultural norms lead to continual efforts to signal to our potential allies?

Robin Hanson is a professor of economics at George Mason University . His latest two books are titled, The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life, and The Age of Em: Work, Love, and Life when Robots Rule the Earth.

Robin and Greg discuss the discrepancies between what we say and our true intentions.Robin shares how human interaction within our discussions is less about the content and more about social positioning and signaling. Robin talks about the intricate dance of conversations, where showing status, expressing care, and signaling allyship are at the forefront. They also wrestle with the concept of luxury goods and their role in consumer behavior, challenging the conventional wisdom about why we buy what we buy and the messages we're really sending with our choices.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On conscious mind and social norm

23:39: Humans have rules about what you're supposed to do and not supposed to do, especially regarding each other. And we really care a lot about our associates not violating those norms, and we're very eager to find rivals violating them and call them out on that. And that's just a really big thing in our lives. And in fact, it's so big that plausibly your conscious mind, the part of your mind I'm talking to, isn't the entire mind, you have noticed. You've got lots of stuff going on in your head that you're not very conscious of, but your conscious mind is the part of you whose job it is mainly to watch what you're doing and at all moments have a story about why you're doing it and why this thing you're doing, for the reason you're doing it,isn't something violating norms. If you didn't have this conscious mind all the time putting together the story, you'd be much more vulnerable to other people claiming that you're violating norms and accusing you of being a bad person for doing bad things.

Our individual doesn’t care much about norms

20:25: Sometimes norms are functional and helpful, and sometimes they're not. Our individual incentive doesn't care much about that. Our incentive is to not violate the norms and not be caught violating the norms, regardless of whether they're good or bad norms, regardless of what function they serve.

Why do people not want to subsidize luxury items, but they do subsidize education?

46:34: So part of the problem is that we often idealize some things and even make them sacred. And then, in their role as something sacred, we are willing to subsidize them and sacrifice for them. And then it's less about maybe their consequences and more about showing our devotion to the sacred. In some sense, sacred things are the things we are most eager to show our devotion to. And that's why people who want to promote things want us to see them as sacred. So, schools have succeeded in getting many people to see schools as a sacred venture and therefore worthy of extra subsidy. And they're less interested in maybe the calculation of the job consequences of education because they just see education itself as sacred.

On notion of cultural drift

47:55: So human superpower is cultural evolution. This is why we can do things so much better than other animals. The key mechanism of culture is that we copy the behaviors of others. In order to make that work, we have to differentially copy the behavior that's better, not the behavior that's worse. And to do that, we need a way to judge who is more successful so that we will copy the successful. So our estimate of what counts as success—who are the people around us who we will count as successful and worthy of emulation—is a key element of culture. And that's going to drive a lot of our choices, including our values and norms. We're going to have compatible and matching with our concept of who around us is the most admirable, the most worthy of celebration and emulation.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 424. Rethinking the Social Underpinnings of Our Daily Decisions feat. Robin Hanson Greg La Blanc 01:03:43 Why might our brains be keeping us in the dark about our own motives? What's the reason humans give to charity? How do cultural norms lead to continual efforts to signal to our potential allies? Robin Hanson is a professor of economics at George Mason University . His latest two books are titled, The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life, and The Age of Em: Work, Love, and Life when Robots Rule the Earth. Robin and Greg discuss the discrepancies between what we say and our true intentions.Robin shares how human interaction within our discussions is less about the content and more about social positioning and signaling. Robin talks about the intricate dance of conversations, where showing status, expressing care, and signaling allyship are at the forefront. They also wrestle with the concept of luxury goods and their role in consumer behavior, challenging the conventional wisdom about why we buy what we buy and the messages we're really sending with our choices. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why might our brains be keeping us in the dark about our own motives? What's the reason humans give to charity? How do cultural norms lead to continual efforts to signal to our potential allies? Robin Hanson is a professor of economics at George Mason University . His latest two books are titled, The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life, and The Age of Em: Work, Love, and Life when Robots Rule the Earth. Robin and Greg discuss the discrepancies between what we say and our true intentions.Robin shares how human interaction within our discussions is less about the content and more about social positioning and signaling. Robin talks about the intricate dance of conversations, where showing status, expressing care, and signaling allyship are at the forefront. They also wrestle with the concept of luxury goods and their role in consumer behavior, challenging the conventional wisdom about why we buy what we buy and the messages we're really sending with our choices. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 424 6f0bb9ca-78ef-4c33-ae31-6766a3369e40 423. The Scale of Everything: Unifying the Sciences of Growth, Complexity, and Innovation feat. Geoffrey West What patterns can connect and unify biology, society, and the environment? How do cities outlast empires and survive unimaginable destruction? Why do buildings and trees have natural height limits?

Geoffrey West is a distinguished professor at the Santa Fe Institute, and also the author of the book Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies. 

Geoffrey and Greg discuss the intricate tapestry of complexity science, where the life of cities and the corporate world intertwine with the principles of biology. Geoffrey's expertise is in linking these seemingly disparate realms in a panoramic view of the universal laws that govern growth, innovation, and sustainability. Geoffrey explains how scaling laws inform everything from the rhythm of every heart in every animal to the pace of city life.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is it that companies die more quickly than cities?

52:57: ​​If you look at the biology and most of the scaling curves, the points lie very close to the scaling line. Cities, there's some variance; you know, there's much more variance, but it's still pretty good. Companies, it's much broader, a much bigger band of variance. Not surprisingly, because animals have evolved over hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of years, cities for hundreds of years to maybe a few thousand, possibly, and companies are tens of years, if you're lucky, in some cases, it's not surprising that you get tremendous variance. So, if you believe that the scaling laws are a tendency towards optimizing something to be decided, it's not surprising that companies will have a lot of variants because, if they haven't been around very long, everything's still sort of evolving and adapting.

Social interaction and the urban pace

48:26: Giving rise to more social interactions, more ideas; and so on also leads to the increasing pace of life in a systematic or predictable way, as distinct from biology, where that economy of life is the slowing of the pace of life. Everything slows down the bigger you are; you live longer, and everything takes longer.

The classic agglomeration effects of what city does

40:36: The fundamental structure of a social network is that A talks to B, B talks to C, C talks back to A, and we build on each other. We keep building on these ideas; I mean, effectively, they may be stupid ideas, and they may be wrong, and no one gives a damn about any of it, but we forget them afterward, so in almost all cases, it's irrelevant. On the other hand, the thing that's extraordinary about that is that dynamic is what produces a theory of relativity or a Google or a Microsoft or UC Berkeley or whatever, you know, produces; that's what it does. That's what we're here for. So these are the classic agglomeration effects of what a city does, and this is just putting it into a network language; it's the interaction within these networks and the structure of those networks. 

The scale of life’s capillary networks

20:11: The thing that distinguishes you from a whale is that, in this context, we have the same capillaries, but the network is so much bigger. So that's the idea. And there's this shrew; you can barely see it's less than a millimeter, but the whale is like, you could drive a car through it, and so, but down at the capillary end, but the other end. of the network when they're the same. So that's the idea because you build up and use those as building blocks.

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]]> Mon, 20 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What patterns can connect and unify biology, society, and the environment? How do cities outlast empires and survive unimaginable destruction? Why do buildings and trees have natural height limits?

Geoffrey West is a distinguished professor at the Santa Fe Institute, and also the author of the book Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies. 

Geoffrey and Greg discuss the intricate tapestry of complexity science, where the life of cities and the corporate world intertwine with the principles of biology. Geoffrey's expertise is in linking these seemingly disparate realms in a panoramic view of the universal laws that govern growth, innovation, and sustainability. Geoffrey explains how scaling laws inform everything from the rhythm of every heart in every animal to the pace of city life.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is it that companies die more quickly than cities?

52:57: ​​If you look at the biology and most of the scaling curves, the points lie very close to the scaling line. Cities, there's some variance; you know, there's much more variance, but it's still pretty good. Companies, it's much broader, a much bigger band of variance. Not surprisingly, because animals have evolved over hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of years, cities for hundreds of years to maybe a few thousand, possibly, and companies are tens of years, if you're lucky, in some cases, it's not surprising that you get tremendous variance. So, if you believe that the scaling laws are a tendency towards optimizing something to be decided, it's not surprising that companies will have a lot of variants because, if they haven't been around very long, everything's still sort of evolving and adapting.

Social interaction and the urban pace

48:26: Giving rise to more social interactions, more ideas; and so on also leads to the increasing pace of life in a systematic or predictable way, as distinct from biology, where that economy of life is the slowing of the pace of life. Everything slows down the bigger you are; you live longer, and everything takes longer.

The classic agglomeration effects of what city does

40:36: The fundamental structure of a social network is that A talks to B, B talks to C, C talks back to A, and we build on each other. We keep building on these ideas; I mean, effectively, they may be stupid ideas, and they may be wrong, and no one gives a damn about any of it, but we forget them afterward, so in almost all cases, it's irrelevant. On the other hand, the thing that's extraordinary about that is that dynamic is what produces a theory of relativity or a Google or a Microsoft or UC Berkeley or whatever, you know, produces; that's what it does. That's what we're here for. So these are the classic agglomeration effects of what a city does, and this is just putting it into a network language; it's the interaction within these networks and the structure of those networks. 

The scale of life’s capillary networks

20:11: The thing that distinguishes you from a whale is that, in this context, we have the same capillaries, but the network is so much bigger. So that's the idea. And there's this shrew; you can barely see it's less than a millimeter, but the whale is like, you could drive a car through it, and so, but down at the capillary end, but the other end. of the network when they're the same. So that's the idea because you build up and use those as building blocks.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 423. The Scale of Everything: Unifying the Sciences of Growth, Complexity, and Innovation feat. Geoffrey West Greg La Blanc 01:12:49 What patterns can connect and unify biology, society, and the environment? How do cities outlast empires and survive unimaginable destruction? Why do buildings and trees have natural height limits? Geoffrey West is a distinguished professor at the Santa Fe Institute, and also the author of the book Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies. Geoffrey and Greg discuss the intricate tapestry of complexity science, where the life of cities and the corporate world intertwine with the principles of biology. Geoffrey's expertise is in linking these seemingly disparate realms in a panoramic view of the universal laws that govern growth, innovation, and sustainability. Geoffrey explains how scaling laws inform everything from the rhythm of every heart in every animal to the pace of city life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What patterns can connect and unify biology, society, and the environment? How do cities outlast empires and survive unimaginable destruction? Why do buildings and trees have natural height limits? Geoffrey West is a distinguished professor at the Santa Fe Institute, and also the author of the book Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies. Geoffrey and Greg discuss the intricate tapestry of complexity science, where the life of cities and the corporate world intertwine with the principles of biology. Geoffrey's expertise is in linking these seemingly disparate realms in a panoramic view of the universal laws that govern growth, innovation, and sustainability. Geoffrey explains how scaling laws inform everything from the rhythm of every heart in every animal to the pace of city life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 423 f041cbdf-29f5-4e70-b1f1-548f2f7ecd2d 422. Reframing Uncertainty as Opportunity with Rebecca Homkes Business leaders face uncertainty everyday, it’s unavoidable. But one of the most important things leaders can do to help their companies thrive is to confront uncertainty and reframe it as an opportunity for growth. 

Rebecca Homkes is a lecturer at London Business School’s Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, a faculty member at Duke Corporate Executive Education, and the author of the book, Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times.

Rebecca and Greg discuss her three steps for growth strategy and how the pandemic shaped these ideas, the significance of utilizing uncertainty as an advantage, and why agility must be aligned with strategy if you want to avoid chaos.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Agility without strategy is chaos

44:45: What I hear often, and I'm sure you've heard something similar is, strategy is great. But we're not going to do strategy this year because we want to be more agile. And you have to pause, smile, and say, the definition of agility is making good decisions quickly aligned with strategy. Lacking a strategy, you cannot have agility. You have speed, but it's not aligned speed. And that's the key words you're looking for: aligned speed. Alignment without speed is too slow to matter. Speed without alignment is chaotic. You're building aligned speed, which comes from the true definition of agility: making good decisions quickly aligned with strategy. But you can't do that lacking a value-creating strategy, because then I don't know what's most important and why. And I might be making great decisions, and you're making decisions, but if they're not aligned with each other, we're not rowing in the same direction as an organization.

Directions give teams alignment

25:04: Directions are okay. And the direction gives the team the alignment they need from leadership while preventing you from falling into that delusion trap that you've got. Because as soon as you've communicated a firm message, you will also be less likely to be heads up looking for any information that might go against it.

What's the advantage of really surfacing uncertainty as one of the key things that leaders need to focus on?

02:30: If you want to grow consistently and successfully through every market cycle, you've got to start by reframing. The definition of uncertainty is a series of future events which may or may not occur. Whether or not those events are good or bad depends on what we're trying to do and how we're set up. So if you see your role as doing that, figure out what we're trying to do, and then get set up rather than reducing uncertainty, you've just opened the opportunity set to an order of magnitude more than others you're competing against.

The best pivots are changes

38:15: The best pivots are changes, not these big, massive "we're doing A, and now we're going to do B." It's about these small micro-changes and micro-adjustments as we're learning, and not necessarily tactical, right? But these micro-changes and adjustments—you know, this was one of my muscle memories and battles—you know, I'm going to kind of shift, like, you know, of these two sub-things I'm resourcing, I'm going to go from one to the other. And I'm doing that because I've got my belief tracker up.

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]]> Fri, 17 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Business leaders face uncertainty everyday, it’s unavoidable. But one of the most important things leaders can do to help their companies thrive is to confront uncertainty and reframe it as an opportunity for growth. 

Rebecca Homkes is a lecturer at London Business School’s Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, a faculty member at Duke Corporate Executive Education, and the author of the book, Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times.

Rebecca and Greg discuss her three steps for growth strategy and how the pandemic shaped these ideas, the significance of utilizing uncertainty as an advantage, and why agility must be aligned with strategy if you want to avoid chaos.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Agility without strategy is chaos

44:45: What I hear often, and I'm sure you've heard something similar is, strategy is great. But we're not going to do strategy this year because we want to be more agile. And you have to pause, smile, and say, the definition of agility is making good decisions quickly aligned with strategy. Lacking a strategy, you cannot have agility. You have speed, but it's not aligned speed. And that's the key words you're looking for: aligned speed. Alignment without speed is too slow to matter. Speed without alignment is chaotic. You're building aligned speed, which comes from the true definition of agility: making good decisions quickly aligned with strategy. But you can't do that lacking a value-creating strategy, because then I don't know what's most important and why. And I might be making great decisions, and you're making decisions, but if they're not aligned with each other, we're not rowing in the same direction as an organization.

Directions give teams alignment

25:04: Directions are okay. And the direction gives the team the alignment they need from leadership while preventing you from falling into that delusion trap that you've got. Because as soon as you've communicated a firm message, you will also be less likely to be heads up looking for any information that might go against it.

What's the advantage of really surfacing uncertainty as one of the key things that leaders need to focus on?

02:30: If you want to grow consistently and successfully through every market cycle, you've got to start by reframing. The definition of uncertainty is a series of future events which may or may not occur. Whether or not those events are good or bad depends on what we're trying to do and how we're set up. So if you see your role as doing that, figure out what we're trying to do, and then get set up rather than reducing uncertainty, you've just opened the opportunity set to an order of magnitude more than others you're competing against.

The best pivots are changes

38:15: The best pivots are changes, not these big, massive "we're doing A, and now we're going to do B." It's about these small micro-changes and micro-adjustments as we're learning, and not necessarily tactical, right? But these micro-changes and adjustments—you know, this was one of my muscle memories and battles—you know, I'm going to kind of shift, like, you know, of these two sub-things I'm resourcing, I'm going to go from one to the other. And I'm doing that because I've got my belief tracker up.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 422. Reframing Uncertainty as Opportunity with Rebecca Homkes Greg La Blanc 00:52:54 Business leaders face uncertainty everyday, it’s unavoidable. But one of the most important things leaders can do to help their companies thrive is to confront uncertainty and reframe it as an opportunity for growth. Rebecca Homkes is a lecturer at London Business School’s Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, a faculty member at Duke Corporate Executive Education, and the author of the book, Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times. Rebecca and Greg discuss her three steps for growth strategy and how the pandemic shaped these ideas, the significance of utilizing uncertainty as an advantage, and why agility must be aligned with strategy if you want to avoid chaos. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Business leaders face uncertainty everyday, it’s unavoidable. But one of the most important things leaders can do to help their companies thrive is to confront uncertainty and reframe it as an opportunity for growth. Rebecca Homkes is a lecturer at London Business School’s Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, a faculty member at Duke Corporate Executive Education, and the author of the book, Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times. Rebecca and Greg discuss her three steps for growth strategy and how the pandemic shaped these ideas, the significance of utilizing uncertainty as an advantage, and why agility must be aligned with strategy if you want to avoid chaos. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 422 57cc2351-478f-4a62-8730-6d6b1064fc52 421.The Law Through an Economic Lens with Robert Cooter and Michael Gilbert In recent decades, economic theory has made inroads into the study and practice of law, mainly in the domain of commercial transactions and corporate organization. But economics may also have a lot to say about how our governments are organized and how political actors engage in bargains and exchange.

Professors Robert Cooter and Michael Gilbert are leading experts in the field of economics and law. Robert is the Herman F. Slevin Professor of Law at UC Berkeley and the co-author of the textbook, Law and Economics. Michael is the vice dean of University of Virginia’s law school. He and Robert’s new book, Public Law and Economics, explores the impact economic scholarship has on the study and practice of public law like the separation of government powers and elections.

Robert, Michael, and Greg discuss why the disciplines of economics and law go hand in hand, how economics can inform the behavioral impact of legal rules, and how economic theories play out in a judicial context.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why law and economics has become so important in law schools

02:40 First of all, much of economics is about incentives, that is to say, the reasons why people are motivated to do things. For example, if the price goes up, there's an incentive for people to buy less of the good. It turns out that the law can be regarded as an incentive system. For example, if the speed limit is increased from 55 to 65 miles an hour, that provides incentives for people to go ahead and drive faster. Furthermore, if the fine is increased from 100 to 150 dollars for exceeding the speed limit, that's an incentive for people not to exceed the speed limit. So, it turns out that many of the laws can be regarded as incentives to change people's behavior.  

How economics can often be applied to humanistic practice of interpretation that lawyers are involved in

52:58 My impression is that a lot of interpretation, especially in the hard cases where there's room to maneuver, it ends up being a function of people's intuitions. And sometimes, their intuitions are good, but sometimes they lead us astray. And economics isn't about a single person's intuitions; it's programmatic, it's general, it's built on a set of tools and assumptions that you can pinpoint. It isn't just myths in one person's mind. And I think that can be very helpful for interpretation.

Understanding what efficiency means

15:23 People equate efficiency with money and profit. And that's not what efficiency is, as any economist will tell you. Efficiency is about the satisfaction of people's preferences, and economists place nearly no limits or constraints on what the content of those preferences are.

Is having more judiciary independence always better?

43:51 You need independence in order to free the judges from outside influence and allow them to apply the law correctly and objectively, rather than taking bribes or deciding based on threats or whatever else. On the other hand, there's something a little perplexing about this. So, if you give them too much independence, you're empowering them to decide the law objectively, free from influence, and that's good. But you're also empowering them to do anything they want. Maybe they'll ignore the law. Maybe they'll read their own preferences under the law. Where's the constraint now? (44:36) The other thing I'll say about this is that almost every state elects judges in one capacity or another. And when I've talked to people, especially non-US citizens, they just across the board think this system is absolutely crazy because it just cuts too much into the independence of the courts. And maybe it does. And yet, I think most states are perceived to have the rule of law and have for decades and decades. So we’re constantly navigating this trade-off.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Their Work:

Robert's Work:


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

]]> Wed, 15 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In recent decades, economic theory has made inroads into the study and practice of law, mainly in the domain of commercial transactions and corporate organization. But economics may also have a lot to say about how our governments are organized and how political actors engage in bargains and exchange.

Professors Robert Cooter and Michael Gilbert are leading experts in the field of economics and law. Robert is the Herman F. Slevin Professor of Law at UC Berkeley and the co-author of the textbook, Law and Economics. Michael is the vice dean of University of Virginia’s law school. He and Robert’s new book, Public Law and Economics, explores the impact economic scholarship has on the study and practice of public law like the separation of government powers and elections.

Robert, Michael, and Greg discuss why the disciplines of economics and law go hand in hand, how economics can inform the behavioral impact of legal rules, and how economic theories play out in a judicial context.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why law and economics has become so important in law schools

02:40 First of all, much of economics is about incentives, that is to say, the reasons why people are motivated to do things. For example, if the price goes up, there's an incentive for people to buy less of the good. It turns out that the law can be regarded as an incentive system. For example, if the speed limit is increased from 55 to 65 miles an hour, that provides incentives for people to go ahead and drive faster. Furthermore, if the fine is increased from 100 to 150 dollars for exceeding the speed limit, that's an incentive for people not to exceed the speed limit. So, it turns out that many of the laws can be regarded as incentives to change people's behavior.  

How economics can often be applied to humanistic practice of interpretation that lawyers are involved in

52:58 My impression is that a lot of interpretation, especially in the hard cases where there's room to maneuver, it ends up being a function of people's intuitions. And sometimes, their intuitions are good, but sometimes they lead us astray. And economics isn't about a single person's intuitions; it's programmatic, it's general, it's built on a set of tools and assumptions that you can pinpoint. It isn't just myths in one person's mind. And I think that can be very helpful for interpretation.

Understanding what efficiency means

15:23 People equate efficiency with money and profit. And that's not what efficiency is, as any economist will tell you. Efficiency is about the satisfaction of people's preferences, and economists place nearly no limits or constraints on what the content of those preferences are.

Is having more judiciary independence always better?

43:51 You need independence in order to free the judges from outside influence and allow them to apply the law correctly and objectively, rather than taking bribes or deciding based on threats or whatever else. On the other hand, there's something a little perplexing about this. So, if you give them too much independence, you're empowering them to decide the law objectively, free from influence, and that's good. But you're also empowering them to do anything they want. Maybe they'll ignore the law. Maybe they'll read their own preferences under the law. Where's the constraint now? (44:36) The other thing I'll say about this is that almost every state elects judges in one capacity or another. And when I've talked to people, especially non-US citizens, they just across the board think this system is absolutely crazy because it just cuts too much into the independence of the courts. And maybe it does. And yet, I think most states are perceived to have the rule of law and have for decades and decades. So we’re constantly navigating this trade-off.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Their Work:

Robert's Work:


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

]]> 421.The Law Through an Economic Lens with Robert Cooter and Michael Gilbert Greg La Blanc 00:55:20 In recent decades, economic theory has made inroads into the study and practice of law, mainly in the domain of commercial transactions and corporate organization. But economics may also have a lot to say about how our governments are organized and how political actors engage in bargains and exchange. Professors Robert Cooter and Michael Gilbert are leading experts in the field of economics and law. Robert is the Herman F. Slevin Professor of Law at UC Berkeley and the co-author of the textbook, Law and Economics. Michael is the vice dean of University of Virginia’s law school. He and Robert’s new book, Public Law and Economics, explores the impact economic scholarship has on the study and practice of public law like the separation of government powers and elections. Robert, Michael, and Greg discuss why the disciplines of economics and law go hand in hand, how economics can inform the behavioral impact of legal rules, and how economic theories play out in a judicial context. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In recent decades, economic theory has made inroads into the study and practice of law, mainly in the domain of commercial transactions and corporate organization. But economics may also have a lot to say about how our governments are organized and how political actors engage in bargains and exchange. Professors Robert Cooter and Michael Gilbert are leading experts in the field of economics and law. Robert is the Herman F. Slevin Professor of Law at UC Berkeley and the co-author of the textbook, Law and Economics. Michael is the vice dean of University of Virginia’s law school. He and Robert’s new book, Public Law and Economics, explores the impact economic scholarship has on the study and practice of public law like the separation of government powers and elections. Robert, Michael, and Greg discuss why the disciplines of economics and law go hand in hand, how economics can inform the behavioral impact of legal rules, and how economic theories play out in a judicial context. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 421 e5a8821a-1aeb-46c1-8c65-099d2ad736eb 420.Globalization From the Renaissance to the Age of the City feat. Ian Goldin How are our fates in society like hikers on a mountain, climbing together? In our ever increasingly interconnected world how can one balance the rewards of a connected planet against the perils that come with it?

Ian Goldin is an Oxford University Professor of Globalisation and Development, Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin School, and the author of several books. His upcoming book is titled, Age of the City: Why our Future will be Won or Lost Together.

Greg and Ian discuss intertwined nature of global connectivity and the systematic risks it poses. Ian explains how pandemics, like COVID-19, highlight these vulnerabilities, emphasizing the need for global cooperation and resilience. Greg and Ian explore modern urbanization, emphasizing how the future is increasingly urban and the challenges and opportunities this presents for sustainability and community within cities. At the end Ian leaves us inspired to adopt global stewardship in our daily lives, in a lesson he learned working with Nelson Mandela.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is the future more urban?

39:55:  Cities are going through a transformation, but one thing I would bet on is that the rate of urbanization will not decrease, and that's true in the U.S. and it's true elsewhere around the world. Where the most growth of cities is in developing countries with big challenges, the pandemic posed a big challenge, climate is a massive challenge. Cities are hotter than other places, so how they cope with heat stress, with water stress, with flooding becomes important. Ocean rise is a massive challenge for seaboard cities…So, big challenges, but the future will be more and more urban.

Cities are the future

40:55: Cities are the future, but making them livable and sustainable is a massive challenge; getting to zero carbon will make them resilient to climate pressures.

Why do people flock to urban Centers for choice and community?

45:37: People want to be near other people who are like them, creative, and where they'll have high efficiency. What we find in cities is that we have many more options. We can choose the lifestyle we want, whether you are young or old, have sexual preferences, religious preferences, fashion preferences, music preferences, or food preferences. All of these things can be satisfied in a city, which they never could in a small town, let alone in the countryside. And so, the more that we move into a world where our own preferences become important and we can be anywhere, we're going to be in a big city because that's where we're going to satisfy our preferences.

Is there always going to be a trade off that when we increase connectedness, we are necessarily  increasing risks?

03:12: Entanglement is the underbelly, the other side of connectivity, and I think it happens at all dimensions. If you think about it, one's own life, the more you get to know other people and get involved in them, it brings great joy and many benefits, but it can also bring great sadness. And I think it's like that at a macro scale as well, that we now increasingly recognize that we are entangled around the world in multiple ways. And that means that we can benefit enormously. A vaccine can be developed in one place and be around the world, or the worldwide web can join us all. We can hear new music or fashion, go to other places, meet incredible people, and benefit from incredible ideas, but we are also more vulnerable as a result. And so the great challenge of globalization, I think, is how does one harvest the upside and manage the downside.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 13 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How are our fates in society like hikers on a mountain, climbing together? In our ever increasingly interconnected world how can one balance the rewards of a connected planet against the perils that come with it?

Ian Goldin is an Oxford University Professor of Globalisation and Development, Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin School, and the author of several books. His upcoming book is titled, Age of the City: Why our Future will be Won or Lost Together.

Greg and Ian discuss intertwined nature of global connectivity and the systematic risks it poses. Ian explains how pandemics, like COVID-19, highlight these vulnerabilities, emphasizing the need for global cooperation and resilience. Greg and Ian explore modern urbanization, emphasizing how the future is increasingly urban and the challenges and opportunities this presents for sustainability and community within cities. At the end Ian leaves us inspired to adopt global stewardship in our daily lives, in a lesson he learned working with Nelson Mandela.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is the future more urban?

39:55:  Cities are going through a transformation, but one thing I would bet on is that the rate of urbanization will not decrease, and that's true in the U.S. and it's true elsewhere around the world. Where the most growth of cities is in developing countries with big challenges, the pandemic posed a big challenge, climate is a massive challenge. Cities are hotter than other places, so how they cope with heat stress, with water stress, with flooding becomes important. Ocean rise is a massive challenge for seaboard cities…So, big challenges, but the future will be more and more urban.

Cities are the future

40:55: Cities are the future, but making them livable and sustainable is a massive challenge; getting to zero carbon will make them resilient to climate pressures.

Why do people flock to urban Centers for choice and community?

45:37: People want to be near other people who are like them, creative, and where they'll have high efficiency. What we find in cities is that we have many more options. We can choose the lifestyle we want, whether you are young or old, have sexual preferences, religious preferences, fashion preferences, music preferences, or food preferences. All of these things can be satisfied in a city, which they never could in a small town, let alone in the countryside. And so, the more that we move into a world where our own preferences become important and we can be anywhere, we're going to be in a big city because that's where we're going to satisfy our preferences.

Is there always going to be a trade off that when we increase connectedness, we are necessarily  increasing risks?

03:12: Entanglement is the underbelly, the other side of connectivity, and I think it happens at all dimensions. If you think about it, one's own life, the more you get to know other people and get involved in them, it brings great joy and many benefits, but it can also bring great sadness. And I think it's like that at a macro scale as well, that we now increasingly recognize that we are entangled around the world in multiple ways. And that means that we can benefit enormously. A vaccine can be developed in one place and be around the world, or the worldwide web can join us all. We can hear new music or fashion, go to other places, meet incredible people, and benefit from incredible ideas, but we are also more vulnerable as a result. And so the great challenge of globalization, I think, is how does one harvest the upside and manage the downside.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 420.Globalization From the Renaissance to the Age of the City feat. Ian Goldin Greg La Blanc 00:50:25 How are our fates in society like hikers on a mountain, climbing together? In our ever increasingly interconnected world how can one balance the rewards of a connected planet against the perils that come with it? Ian Goldin is an Oxford University Professor of Globalisation and Development, Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin School, and the author of several books. His upcoming book is titled, Age of the City: Why our Future will be Won or Lost Together. Greg and Ian discuss intertwined nature of global connectivity and the systematic risks it poses. Ian explains how pandemics, like COVID-19, highlight these vulnerabilities, emphasizing the need for global cooperation and resilience. Greg and Ian explore modern urbanization, emphasizing how the future is increasingly urban and the challenges and opportunities this presents for sustainability and community within cities. At the end Ian leaves us inspired to adopt global stewardship in our daily lives, in a lesson he learned working with Nelson Mandela. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How are our fates in society like hikers on a mountain, climbing together? In our ever increasingly interconnected world how can one balance the rewards of a connected planet against the perils that come with it? Ian Goldin is an Oxford University Professor of Globalisation and Development, Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin School, and the author of several books. His upcoming book is titled, Age of the City: Why our Future will be Won or Lost Together. Greg and Ian discuss intertwined nature of global connectivity and the systematic risks it poses. Ian explains how pandemics, like COVID-19, highlight these vulnerabilities, emphasizing the need for global cooperation and resilience. Greg and Ian explore modern urbanization, emphasizing how the future is increasingly urban and the challenges and opportunities this presents for sustainability and community within cities. At the end Ian leaves us inspired to adopt global stewardship in our daily lives, in a lesson he learned working with Nelson Mandela. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 420 1b99b5ef-ffee-4469-b0f0-97ba5efe202e 419. Embracing the Venture Mindset feat. Ilya Strebulaev What is the mindset that's reshaping how companies and investors forge paths to success from beyond the balance sheets? How are the staunch principles of Net Present Value giving way to strategies that are as nimble and adventurous as the startups they finance?

Ilya Strebulaev is a Professor of Private Equity at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Director of their Venture Capital Initiative, and the co-author of the new book The Venture Mindset: How to Make Smarter Bets and Achieve Extraordinary Growth with Alex Deng.

Ilya and Greg discuss the layers of a dynamic business landscape, revealing how traditional corporate strategies are being outpaced by those who dare to think like venture capitalists. Ilya describes how top venture capitalists operate and why embracing their methodologies is critical in a world where change is the only constant. Ilya shares tales of contrarian investment decisions, the growing presence of corporate venture capital, and the converging paths of institutional and corporate VCs.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The venture mindset

42:02: The venture mindset doesn't mean that you have a perfectly crystal ball recognizing these great founders and great ideas. The venture mindset means that you, in an organization, build structure, build decision-making process, what we also call it, build racetracks, so that again and again and again, you will be able not just to spot but also to realize those unusual contrarian investment opportunities. And I think that most successful VC firms that I studied—well, actually all successful VC firms that I studied that have been successful for quite a bit of time, all follow these principles.

How having a prepared mind helps you to invest right away

16:27: In fact, the smartest decisions are never fast. You just prepare yourself for this decision. 

Institutional VCs vs. Corporate VCs

25:50: Institutional VCs have, first, much larger LinkedIn profiles. Larger meaning, not just that they have more information there, but have more connections. Their network is much, much larger. 26:10: Corporate VCs' LinkedIn are much, much smaller. But there's something else: if you look at corporate VCs' LinkedIn profiles, very likely, in fact, their connections will be within their four walls. Or maybe if you come from another organization, there will be these two four walls. So that there will be fewer organizations where their connections are coming from. And you could see it if you map them. But for institutional VCs, it's not just that you have three times more connections. But they're very different. 26:53: Because I think the diversity in constructive networking, as I call it, also brings a lot of new opportunities. And again, you need this, and this is a part of the venture mindset.

Is dissenting from the consensus important in the venture mindset?

35:20:There is something else, which I think is a huge part of the venture mindset, that if everybody invests and there's a craze about it, obviously, it means there are also going to be crazy valuations. That also means that you're likely too late for the party. It's likely that even if everybody is right, your return is going to be right. And as a result of that, I think the best way those who follow the venture mindset think about this is that we have to be right, but there should be a lot of disagreement. If there is consensus that you know, crypto is going to be the next craze. Well, right now, generative AI is going to be the next craze, okay? If everybody is right, then, in fact, you're going to be right, but your returns are going to be relatively small. You would like to be right when you are what we call in the book Mr. Contrarian—somebody who goes against the crowd.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 10 May 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is the mindset that's reshaping how companies and investors forge paths to success from beyond the balance sheets? How are the staunch principles of Net Present Value giving way to strategies that are as nimble and adventurous as the startups they finance?

Ilya Strebulaev is a Professor of Private Equity at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Director of their Venture Capital Initiative, and the co-author of the new book The Venture Mindset: How to Make Smarter Bets and Achieve Extraordinary Growth with Alex Deng.

Ilya and Greg discuss the layers of a dynamic business landscape, revealing how traditional corporate strategies are being outpaced by those who dare to think like venture capitalists. Ilya describes how top venture capitalists operate and why embracing their methodologies is critical in a world where change is the only constant. Ilya shares tales of contrarian investment decisions, the growing presence of corporate venture capital, and the converging paths of institutional and corporate VCs.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The venture mindset

42:02: The venture mindset doesn't mean that you have a perfectly crystal ball recognizing these great founders and great ideas. The venture mindset means that you, in an organization, build structure, build decision-making process, what we also call it, build racetracks, so that again and again and again, you will be able not just to spot but also to realize those unusual contrarian investment opportunities. And I think that most successful VC firms that I studied—well, actually all successful VC firms that I studied that have been successful for quite a bit of time, all follow these principles.

How having a prepared mind helps you to invest right away

16:27: In fact, the smartest decisions are never fast. You just prepare yourself for this decision. 

Institutional VCs vs. Corporate VCs

25:50: Institutional VCs have, first, much larger LinkedIn profiles. Larger meaning, not just that they have more information there, but have more connections. Their network is much, much larger. 26:10: Corporate VCs' LinkedIn are much, much smaller. But there's something else: if you look at corporate VCs' LinkedIn profiles, very likely, in fact, their connections will be within their four walls. Or maybe if you come from another organization, there will be these two four walls. So that there will be fewer organizations where their connections are coming from. And you could see it if you map them. But for institutional VCs, it's not just that you have three times more connections. But they're very different. 26:53: Because I think the diversity in constructive networking, as I call it, also brings a lot of new opportunities. And again, you need this, and this is a part of the venture mindset.

Is dissenting from the consensus important in the venture mindset?

35:20:There is something else, which I think is a huge part of the venture mindset, that if everybody invests and there's a craze about it, obviously, it means there are also going to be crazy valuations. That also means that you're likely too late for the party. It's likely that even if everybody is right, your return is going to be right. And as a result of that, I think the best way those who follow the venture mindset think about this is that we have to be right, but there should be a lot of disagreement. If there is consensus that you know, crypto is going to be the next craze. Well, right now, generative AI is going to be the next craze, okay? If everybody is right, then, in fact, you're going to be right, but your returns are going to be relatively small. You would like to be right when you are what we call in the book Mr. Contrarian—somebody who goes against the crowd.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 419. Embracing the Venture Mindset feat. Ilya Strebulaev Greg La Blanc 00:53:42 What is the mindset that's reshaping how companies and investors forge paths to success from beyond the balance sheets? How are the staunch principles of Net Present Value giving way to strategies that are as nimble and adventurous as the startups they finance? Ilya Strebulaev is a Professor of Private Equity at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Director of their Venture Capital Initiative, and the co-author of the new book The Venture Mindset: How to Make Smarter Bets and Achieve Extraordinary Growth with Alex Deng. Ilya and Greg discuss the layers of a dynamic business landscape, revealing how traditional corporate strategies are being outpaced by those who dare to think like venture capitalists. Ilya describes how top venture capitalists operate and why embracing their methodologies is critical in a world where change is the only constant. Ilya shares tales of contrarian investment decisions, the growing presence of corporate venture capital, and the converging paths of institutional and corporate VCs. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is the mindset that's reshaping how companies and investors forge paths to success from beyond the balance sheets? How are the staunch principles of Net Present Value giving way to strategies that are as nimble and adventurous as the startups they finance? Ilya Strebulaev is a Professor of Private Equity at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Director of their Venture Capital Initiative, and the co-author of the new book The Venture Mindset: How to Make Smarter Bets and Achieve Extraordinary Growth with Alex Deng. Ilya and Greg discuss the layers of a dynamic business landscape, revealing how traditional corporate strategies are being outpaced by those who dare to think like venture capitalists. Ilya describes how top venture capitalists operate and why embracing their methodologies is critical in a world where change is the only constant. Ilya shares tales of contrarian investment decisions, the growing presence of corporate venture capital, and the converging paths of institutional and corporate VCs. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 419 6a5c14d6-2432-45b4-8013-d321a8f14641 418. Urban Myths: Challenging the Green City Idea feat. Des Fitzgerald Are there reasons to doubt  the conventional wisdom of greenery as the cure-all for urban ills. What are the roots of the Garden City movement, and how has the reality of it been different than the theory?

Des Fitzgerald is a professor of medical humanities and social sciences at University College Cork Ireland, and also the author of a recent book titled, The Living City: Why Cities Don't Need to Be Green to Be Great. (released in the UK with a different title: The City of Today is a Dying Thing.

Greg and Des discuss how urban landscapes aren't just about aesthetics; they're intricately linked to our national identity and cognitive functions. Des helps us uncover how architecture influences our sense of place and impacts our brains, and explores the role of culture in shaping our environmental perceptions. The conversation spans everything from peat briquettes to Georgian-style facades. Des also guides us through an enlightening discussion on the burgeoning field of medical humanities and the innovative concept of green social prescribing within the NHS.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The transformative shift in environmental neuroscience

39:32: Something that is becoming really interesting in this space is the emergence of environmental neuroscience, as I think a relatively new, increasingly interesting, and powerful discipline. Environmental neuroscience exists for a whole bunch of reasons, but certainly the increasing sense that we're able to take a brain measure while a person moves around the space in three dimensions. That's, I think it's something that can be done imperfectly now. It's still very much in progress, but at least we have a horizon in which that's going to become pretty possible at kind of high-resolution research grade relatively soon. And that is transformative, actually, if the three dimensions of a space become truly available as a variable for brain measurement. Then something does happen, and something does change in that moment.

What’s wrong with planting a lot of trees?

43:13: What concerns me about urban tree planting is what we're not talking about when we're talking about urban trees, right? So the amount of social and public problems that trees are meant to solve is ridiculous. It's everything from mental health to youth crime to skills in some parts of England, where they're planting trees in an English town because it's like the people of the town have low skills for some reason. It just seems to go for not tackling boring social problems, right? So, for instance, it's very real that there are major mental health problems in cities. I think there is something very serious about the way we have constructed the contemporary city—that it has bad effects for lots of people.

We need to stop centering urban discourse on charismatic megafauna of global urbanism

45:37: We need to stop centering urban discourse on the kind of charismatic megafauna of global urbanism, right? And look at the kind of, what I would genuinely call the crap cities, right? The kind of second-tier, slightly stronger places, like places like Cork, Cardiff in Wales, where I used to live. I'm not sure what your go-to North American examples would be, but I'm still in those kinds of, like, lower-tier, maybe Poughkeepsie, Peoria, these kinds of places. That's your kind of modular urban experience, I think. And those are places I think we need to take much more seriously culturally and socially.

Interdisciplinarity in medical humanities

49:09: I think what folks in the field are trying to do is do something a little bit more collaborative and a little bit more imaginative, and not just have the philosopher who will sign off your ethics forms, but try to think seriously about how philosophy can inform experimental design. How philosophical work can itself be informed by stuff that's happening in biology and the life sciences. I'm trying to really get at the kind of complex space between those things where you're doing work that is not quite humanities or science but some kind of magic third thing.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 8 May 2024 13:02:13 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Are there reasons to doubt  the conventional wisdom of greenery as the cure-all for urban ills. What are the roots of the Garden City movement, and how has the reality of it been different than the theory?

Des Fitzgerald is a professor of medical humanities and social sciences at University College Cork Ireland, and also the author of a recent book titled, The Living City: Why Cities Don't Need to Be Green to Be Great. (released in the UK with a different title: The City of Today is a Dying Thing.

Greg and Des discuss how urban landscapes aren't just about aesthetics; they're intricately linked to our national identity and cognitive functions. Des helps us uncover how architecture influences our sense of place and impacts our brains, and explores the role of culture in shaping our environmental perceptions. The conversation spans everything from peat briquettes to Georgian-style facades. Des also guides us through an enlightening discussion on the burgeoning field of medical humanities and the innovative concept of green social prescribing within the NHS.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The transformative shift in environmental neuroscience

39:32: Something that is becoming really interesting in this space is the emergence of environmental neuroscience, as I think a relatively new, increasingly interesting, and powerful discipline. Environmental neuroscience exists for a whole bunch of reasons, but certainly the increasing sense that we're able to take a brain measure while a person moves around the space in three dimensions. That's, I think it's something that can be done imperfectly now. It's still very much in progress, but at least we have a horizon in which that's going to become pretty possible at kind of high-resolution research grade relatively soon. And that is transformative, actually, if the three dimensions of a space become truly available as a variable for brain measurement. Then something does happen, and something does change in that moment.

What’s wrong with planting a lot of trees?

43:13: What concerns me about urban tree planting is what we're not talking about when we're talking about urban trees, right? So the amount of social and public problems that trees are meant to solve is ridiculous. It's everything from mental health to youth crime to skills in some parts of England, where they're planting trees in an English town because it's like the people of the town have low skills for some reason. It just seems to go for not tackling boring social problems, right? So, for instance, it's very real that there are major mental health problems in cities. I think there is something very serious about the way we have constructed the contemporary city—that it has bad effects for lots of people.

We need to stop centering urban discourse on charismatic megafauna of global urbanism

45:37: We need to stop centering urban discourse on the kind of charismatic megafauna of global urbanism, right? And look at the kind of, what I would genuinely call the crap cities, right? The kind of second-tier, slightly stronger places, like places like Cork, Cardiff in Wales, where I used to live. I'm not sure what your go-to North American examples would be, but I'm still in those kinds of, like, lower-tier, maybe Poughkeepsie, Peoria, these kinds of places. That's your kind of modular urban experience, I think. And those are places I think we need to take much more seriously culturally and socially.

Interdisciplinarity in medical humanities

49:09: I think what folks in the field are trying to do is do something a little bit more collaborative and a little bit more imaginative, and not just have the philosopher who will sign off your ethics forms, but try to think seriously about how philosophy can inform experimental design. How philosophical work can itself be informed by stuff that's happening in biology and the life sciences. I'm trying to really get at the kind of complex space between those things where you're doing work that is not quite humanities or science but some kind of magic third thing.

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]]> 418. Urban Myths: Challenging the Green City Idea feat. Des Fitzgerald Greg La Blanc 00:52:18 Are there reasons to doubt the conventional wisdom of greenery as the cure-all for urban ills. What are the roots of the Garden City movement, and how has the reality of it been different than the theory? Des Fitzgerald is a professor of medical humanities and social sciences at University College Cork Ireland, and also the author of a recent book titled, The Living City: Why Cities Don't Need to Be Green to Be Great. (released in the UK with a different title: The City of Today is a Dying Thing. Greg and Des discuss how urban landscapes aren't just about aesthetics; they're intricately linked to our national identity and cognitive functions. Des helps us uncover how architecture influences our sense of place and impacts our brains, and explores the role of culture in shaping our environmental perceptions. The conversation spans everything from peat briquettes to Georgian-style facades. Des also guides us through an enlightening discussion on the burgeoning field of medical humanities and the innovative concept of green social prescribing within the NHS. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Are there reasons to doubt the conventional wisdom of greenery as the cure-all for urban ills. What are the roots of the Garden City movement, and how has the reality of it been different than the theory? Des Fitzgerald is a professor of medical humanities and social sciences at University College Cork Ireland, and also the author of a recent book titled, The Living City: Why Cities Don't Need to Be Green to Be Great. (released in the UK with a different title: The City of Today is a Dying Thing. Greg and Des discuss how urban landscapes aren't just about aesthetics; they're intricately linked to our national identity and cognitive functions. Des helps us uncover how architecture influences our sense of place and impacts our brains, and explores the role of culture in shaping our environmental perceptions. The conversation spans everything from peat briquettes to Georgian-style facades. Des also guides us through an enlightening discussion on the burgeoning field of medical humanities and the innovative concept of green social prescribing within the NHS. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 418 da9aad74-2a2a-4b12-bf69-48c43d2c1dbd 417. Harnessing Rhetoric’s Power for Contemporary Conversations feat. Robin Reames Is modern communication leaving us more divided than ever? What can the writings of ancient philosophers teach us about persuasion? How can ancient wisdom illuminate today's polarized political discourse?

Robin Reames is an associate professor of English at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is also an author and co-author. Her latest book is titled, The Ancient Art of Thinking For Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times.

Robin and Greg discuss the topic of spontaneous speaking. Robin's expertise leads us through the historical corridors of Grecian sophists, as we ponder whether a meticulously scripted statement can ever match the raw resonance of impromptu oratory. Together, Robin and Greg examine the power dynamics embedded in everyday language, underscoring the transformative potential of rhetoric to foster critical thinking and elevate public debate. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

 How studying rhetoric makes you a toughest customer

41:58: One of the effects of studying rhetoric is that you become a tougher customer, but not because there's something you're clinging to, not because there's some idea that you've decided is absolutely correct, fixed, and immovable, but because you can see how the sausage is made in the language. You can see how the persuasion is attempting to gain your credence and your conviction, and it makes it harder for you to persuade. That was the whole idea of creating an art where those techniques and moves are given names, and we can learn the names, and when we learn the names, we can identify when they happen in the language. Well, all of a sudden, it just demystifies it. I'm noticing that the language is making me feel angry, right? And rather than just assume that that's because the language is telling me something that's true in the world, I'm noticing, oh, this is the language that made me feel angry. Why did that make me feel angry? What in the language provoked that response, right? Those are the sorts of things that happen when you learn to identify the skills of rhetoric

Language can never give you reality

25:09: Language can never give you reality itself. It can only package it in a way that makes it recognizable to you.

Language on autopilot

46:17: To be a language user is, in many ways, to be on autopilot, but it is possible also, as a rhetorical language user, to be on autopilot and also to recognize the effects of that, to see how the effects of that work their way into our way of seeing and viewing the world and understanding and responding to it.

Analyzing arguments as arguments, not political alignments

32:02: It is possible, through using a mechanism like rhetoric, which was designed to have great utility in political discourse, to think about arguments as arguments and language as language, political arguments and political language as political arguments and political language, as opposed to thinking of them entirely in terms of whether they originate from the right or the left, whether I agree with them because I'm on the right or the left. Rhetorical thinking is about thinking language in other terms, in the terms that are supplied by the rhetorical tradition. The way the rhetorical tradition developed over the course of its long, centuries-long, millennia-long life was by noticing, cataloging, and naming the moves that happen in language.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 6 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is modern communication leaving us more divided than ever? What can the writings of ancient philosophers teach us about persuasion? How can ancient wisdom illuminate today's polarized political discourse?

Robin Reames is an associate professor of English at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is also an author and co-author. Her latest book is titled, The Ancient Art of Thinking For Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times.

Robin and Greg discuss the topic of spontaneous speaking. Robin's expertise leads us through the historical corridors of Grecian sophists, as we ponder whether a meticulously scripted statement can ever match the raw resonance of impromptu oratory. Together, Robin and Greg examine the power dynamics embedded in everyday language, underscoring the transformative potential of rhetoric to foster critical thinking and elevate public debate. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

 How studying rhetoric makes you a toughest customer

41:58: One of the effects of studying rhetoric is that you become a tougher customer, but not because there's something you're clinging to, not because there's some idea that you've decided is absolutely correct, fixed, and immovable, but because you can see how the sausage is made in the language. You can see how the persuasion is attempting to gain your credence and your conviction, and it makes it harder for you to persuade. That was the whole idea of creating an art where those techniques and moves are given names, and we can learn the names, and when we learn the names, we can identify when they happen in the language. Well, all of a sudden, it just demystifies it. I'm noticing that the language is making me feel angry, right? And rather than just assume that that's because the language is telling me something that's true in the world, I'm noticing, oh, this is the language that made me feel angry. Why did that make me feel angry? What in the language provoked that response, right? Those are the sorts of things that happen when you learn to identify the skills of rhetoric

Language can never give you reality

25:09: Language can never give you reality itself. It can only package it in a way that makes it recognizable to you.

Language on autopilot

46:17: To be a language user is, in many ways, to be on autopilot, but it is possible also, as a rhetorical language user, to be on autopilot and also to recognize the effects of that, to see how the effects of that work their way into our way of seeing and viewing the world and understanding and responding to it.

Analyzing arguments as arguments, not political alignments

32:02: It is possible, through using a mechanism like rhetoric, which was designed to have great utility in political discourse, to think about arguments as arguments and language as language, political arguments and political language as political arguments and political language, as opposed to thinking of them entirely in terms of whether they originate from the right or the left, whether I agree with them because I'm on the right or the left. Rhetorical thinking is about thinking language in other terms, in the terms that are supplied by the rhetorical tradition. The way the rhetorical tradition developed over the course of its long, centuries-long, millennia-long life was by noticing, cataloging, and naming the moves that happen in language.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 417. Harnessing Rhetoric’s Power for Contemporary Conversations feat. Robin Reames Greg La Blanc 00:51:49 Is modern communication leaving us more divided than ever? What can the writings of ancient philosophers teach us about persuasion? How can ancient wisdom illuminate today's polarized political discourse? Robin Reames is an associate professor of English at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is also an author and co-author. Her latest book is titled, The Ancient Art of Thinking For Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times. Robin and Greg discuss the topic of spontaneous speaking. Robin's expertise leads us through the historical corridors of Grecian sophists, as we ponder whether a meticulously scripted statement can ever match the raw resonance of impromptu oratory. Together, Robin and Greg examine the power dynamics embedded in everyday language, underscoring the transformative potential of rhetoric to foster critical thinking and elevate public debate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is modern communication leaving us more divided than ever? What can the writings of ancient philosophers teach us about persuasion? How can ancient wisdom illuminate today's polarized political discourse? Robin Reames is an associate professor of English at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is also an author and co-author. Her latest book is titled, The Ancient Art of Thinking For Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times. Robin and Greg discuss the topic of spontaneous speaking. Robin's expertise leads us through the historical corridors of Grecian sophists, as we ponder whether a meticulously scripted statement can ever match the raw resonance of impromptu oratory. Together, Robin and Greg examine the power dynamics embedded in everyday language, underscoring the transformative potential of rhetoric to foster critical thinking and elevate public debate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 417 59b889fe-7ef3-47f3-b5f3-4aad1ed5cdc2 416. The Fusion of Culture and Evolution in Human Development feat. Joseph Rouse Where do the lines lie between nature and culture within humanity? How can our human social practices affect and shape our biology? The answer is within the concept of niche construction, showcasing how human activities, much like those of other organisms, actively shape our environment, which in turn influences our evolution.

Joseph Rouse is a professor of philosophy and also science and technology at Wesleyan University, and also the author of several books. His latest work is titled, Social Practices as Biological Niche Construction. It's a deep dive into the cultural and ethical practices that have co-evolved with our species.

Greg and Joseph discuss the idea of a world where cultural evolution and biological evolution are not two disparate processes but intricately connected facets of human life. Joseph  illustrates how these have evolved to support a sophisticated network of social justice, individual freedom, and political democracy. Joseph also makes the case for human life as a complex network of practice-interdependent existence, contrasting the more simplistic view of human behavior as merely a quest for reproductive success. Enjoy this new angle on the ideas of evolutionary biology.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The interconnectedness of human biology and social culture

08:16 The anthropologist would happily tell you, culture includes material culture, right? And we live in built environments that have been massively transformed, niched constructively, and so seeing that part of what we think of as our social world, as on the one hand, always accommodating our biological capacities but then also recognizing that those needs and capacities have been transformed by this built environment that has been repeatedly transformed and complicated and diversified over millennia because, after all, one of the distinctive biological features of human beings compared to other organisms is that we don't live in the same way as other human beings.

Understanding what philosophers mean when they talk about practice

26:16 As we know from watching the role of the courts, once you have a rule or a law, what it actually means in each case is open to further interpretation and new issues that hadn't been initially considered and once you adapt the rule or the norm to those issues, it reverberates back on the earlier cases. And so you've got a constant dynamic of normative change in which what is normal enables one to make judgments about how to continue in the same way.

Defining biological normativity

11:35 In its basic form, biological normativity is the way in which an organism and a lineage are a process that's goal-directed. Organisms do all sorts of things and adjust to conditions in order to sustain the very process of their being alive.

The problem in talking about and measuring the complexity of social life

36:38 We tend to assume complexity is one thing and can be measured along one dimension. But in fact, there are many different kinds of complexity. I mean, someone living in what an earlier generation of anthropologists would have called a more primitive society, which we rightly no longer talk about, in fact, hasn't negotiated an extraordinary range of local knowledge and relationships, and so forth. Now, we have, in part, delegated more things to more practices, and that has allowed increasing specialization. It's also enhanced some limitations.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 3 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Where do the lines lie between nature and culture within humanity? How can our human social practices affect and shape our biology? The answer is within the concept of niche construction, showcasing how human activities, much like those of other organisms, actively shape our environment, which in turn influences our evolution.

Joseph Rouse is a professor of philosophy and also science and technology at Wesleyan University, and also the author of several books. His latest work is titled, Social Practices as Biological Niche Construction. It's a deep dive into the cultural and ethical practices that have co-evolved with our species.

Greg and Joseph discuss the idea of a world where cultural evolution and biological evolution are not two disparate processes but intricately connected facets of human life. Joseph  illustrates how these have evolved to support a sophisticated network of social justice, individual freedom, and political democracy. Joseph also makes the case for human life as a complex network of practice-interdependent existence, contrasting the more simplistic view of human behavior as merely a quest for reproductive success. Enjoy this new angle on the ideas of evolutionary biology.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The interconnectedness of human biology and social culture

08:16 The anthropologist would happily tell you, culture includes material culture, right? And we live in built environments that have been massively transformed, niched constructively, and so seeing that part of what we think of as our social world, as on the one hand, always accommodating our biological capacities but then also recognizing that those needs and capacities have been transformed by this built environment that has been repeatedly transformed and complicated and diversified over millennia because, after all, one of the distinctive biological features of human beings compared to other organisms is that we don't live in the same way as other human beings.

Understanding what philosophers mean when they talk about practice

26:16 As we know from watching the role of the courts, once you have a rule or a law, what it actually means in each case is open to further interpretation and new issues that hadn't been initially considered and once you adapt the rule or the norm to those issues, it reverberates back on the earlier cases. And so you've got a constant dynamic of normative change in which what is normal enables one to make judgments about how to continue in the same way.

Defining biological normativity

11:35 In its basic form, biological normativity is the way in which an organism and a lineage are a process that's goal-directed. Organisms do all sorts of things and adjust to conditions in order to sustain the very process of their being alive.

The problem in talking about and measuring the complexity of social life

36:38 We tend to assume complexity is one thing and can be measured along one dimension. But in fact, there are many different kinds of complexity. I mean, someone living in what an earlier generation of anthropologists would have called a more primitive society, which we rightly no longer talk about, in fact, hasn't negotiated an extraordinary range of local knowledge and relationships, and so forth. Now, we have, in part, delegated more things to more practices, and that has allowed increasing specialization. It's also enhanced some limitations.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 416. The Fusion of Culture and Evolution in Human Development feat. Joseph Rouse Greg La Blanc 00:46:08 Where do the lines lie between nature and culture within humanity? How can our human social practices affect and shape our biology? The answer is within the concept of niche construction, showcasing how human activities, much like those of other organisms, actively shape our environment, which in turn influences our evolution. Joseph Rouse is a professor of philosophy and also science and technology at Wesleyan University, and also the author of several books. His latest work is titled, Social Practices as Biological Niche Construction. It's a deep dive into the cultural and ethical practices that have co-evolved with our species. Greg and Joseph discuss the idea of a world where cultural evolution and biological evolution are not two disparate processes but intricately connected facets of human life. Joseph illustrates how these have evolved to support a sophisticated network of social justice, individual freedom, and political democracy. Joseph also makes the case for human life as a complex network of practice-interdependent existence, contrasting the more simplistic view of human behavior as merely a quest for reproductive success. Enjoy this new angle on the ideas of evolutionary biology. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Where do the lines lie between nature and culture within humanity? How can our human social practices affect and shape our biology? The answer is within the concept of niche construction, showcasing how human activities, much like those of other organisms, actively shape our environment, which in turn influences our evolution. Joseph Rouse is a professor of philosophy and also science and technology at Wesleyan University, and also the author of several books. His latest work is titled, Social Practices as Biological Niche Construction. It's a deep dive into the cultural and ethical practices that have co-evolved with our species. Greg and Joseph discuss the idea of a world where cultural evolution and biological evolution are not two disparate processes but intricately connected facets of human life. Joseph illustrates how these have evolved to support a sophisticated network of social justice, individual freedom, and political democracy. Joseph also makes the case for human life as a complex network of practice-interdependent existence, contrasting the more simplistic view of human behavior as merely a quest for reproductive success. Enjoy this new angle on the ideas of evolutionary biology. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 416 e42b0ffa-3c8e-451c-a994-53b4915f3f5c 415. Untangling Organizational Design with Gene Kim & Steven Spear Could the secret to organizational success be as simple as going back to basics? 

Gene Kim and Steven Spear’s new book, Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness through Slowification, Simplification, and Amplification presents practical, grounded research on organizational management and design. Gene is the chair of the Enterprise Technology Leadership Summit and Steven teaches at MIT Sloan.

Gene and Steven walk Greg through the three mechanisms of successful organizational design: slowify, simplify, and amplify. They also discuss how the field of organizational design has evolved and what still needs to evolve with management education. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Three mechanisms of a successful organizational design

We now have everything we need to be able to describe the three mechanisms that must be in place in any high-performing system. You got to slowify, meaning we move the most difficult problems from production into planning and practice, where work can be redone. We can do experiments. We can learn where we can simplify where we actually divide up the problems. We partition them so that they are easier to solve. And there's three dimensions of that. And then there's amplification, this overlay of how do we create a system that can amplify even the weakest signals so that when someone needs help or when there's danger that we can quickly detect and correct or ideally prevent from happening again. 

What the term ‘slowification’ means

38:39 The reason why we had to create the word ‘slowification’ is that we have a lot of adages for slow down to speed up or stop sawing to sharpen the saw, and the absence of the word prevents us from doing it or thinking it. (38:46) But the whole notion is creating time to be able to solve tough problems not in production but in planning and practice. To solve architectural problems, not during the normal sprint or what have you, but actually making time for the architectural spike or the period of technical debt reduction to enable people to do their work easily and well.

The wrong way to measure success

A lot of these metric-driven organizations, the pit they fall into is they don't account for the return on investment of discovery. They measure activity but not accomplishment.

The great advantages of technology in management education

And now, because we can do education at a distance, we can do asynchronous education, we can have education which is interspersed with either structured experiences or just natural experiences that people have. We can now actually teach one by one as needed as ready situation where information is pulled from the instructor to time and place and situation where it's needed, rather than being forced by the instructor in a formulation that the instructor thinks is right but may have nothing to do with the readiness of the student.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Their Work:

Gene's Books:

Steve's Book:

 


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]]> Wed, 1 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Could the secret to organizational success be as simple as going back to basics? 

Gene Kim and Steven Spear’s new book, Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness through Slowification, Simplification, and Amplification presents practical, grounded research on organizational management and design. Gene is the chair of the Enterprise Technology Leadership Summit and Steven teaches at MIT Sloan.

Gene and Steven walk Greg through the three mechanisms of successful organizational design: slowify, simplify, and amplify. They also discuss how the field of organizational design has evolved and what still needs to evolve with management education. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Three mechanisms of a successful organizational design

We now have everything we need to be able to describe the three mechanisms that must be in place in any high-performing system. You got to slowify, meaning we move the most difficult problems from production into planning and practice, where work can be redone. We can do experiments. We can learn where we can simplify where we actually divide up the problems. We partition them so that they are easier to solve. And there's three dimensions of that. And then there's amplification, this overlay of how do we create a system that can amplify even the weakest signals so that when someone needs help or when there's danger that we can quickly detect and correct or ideally prevent from happening again. 

What the term ‘slowification’ means

38:39 The reason why we had to create the word ‘slowification’ is that we have a lot of adages for slow down to speed up or stop sawing to sharpen the saw, and the absence of the word prevents us from doing it or thinking it. (38:46) But the whole notion is creating time to be able to solve tough problems not in production but in planning and practice. To solve architectural problems, not during the normal sprint or what have you, but actually making time for the architectural spike or the period of technical debt reduction to enable people to do their work easily and well.

The wrong way to measure success

A lot of these metric-driven organizations, the pit they fall into is they don't account for the return on investment of discovery. They measure activity but not accomplishment.

The great advantages of technology in management education

And now, because we can do education at a distance, we can do asynchronous education, we can have education which is interspersed with either structured experiences or just natural experiences that people have. We can now actually teach one by one as needed as ready situation where information is pulled from the instructor to time and place and situation where it's needed, rather than being forced by the instructor in a formulation that the instructor thinks is right but may have nothing to do with the readiness of the student.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Their Work:

Gene's Books:

Steve's Book:

 


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]]> 415. Untangling Organizational Design with Gene Kim & Steven Spear Greg La Blanc 01:13:22 Could the secret to organizational success be as simple as going back to basics? Gene Kim and Steven Spear’s new book, Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness through Slowification, Simplification, and Amplification presents practical, grounded research on organizational management and design. Gene is the chair of the Enterprise Technology Leadership Summit and Steven teaches at MIT Sloan. Gene and Steven walk Greg through the three mechanisms of successful organizational design: slowify, simplify, and amplify. They also discuss how the field of organizational design has evolved and what still needs to evolve with management education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Could the secret to organizational success be as simple as going back to basics? Gene Kim and Steven Spear’s new book, Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness through Slowification, Simplification, and Amplification presents practical, grounded research on organizational management and design. Gene is the chair of the Enterprise Technology Leadership Summit and Steven teaches at MIT Sloan. Gene and Steven walk Greg through the three mechanisms of successful organizational design: slowify, simplify, and amplify. They also discuss how the field of organizational design has evolved and what still needs to evolve with management education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 414 36e86b7a-0e19-43dd-a2f2-4493e074ba97 414. The Science of Social Networks with Nicholas Christakis Do our genes have an impact on how many friends we’ll have in life and the kinds of people we gravitate towards whether our friends are connected to each other? How can the study of social networks help us better prepare for the next pandemic? 

Nicholas Christakis is a professor of natural and social sciences and directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University. His research focuses on social networks and biosocial science, all of which are central points in his books like, Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live and Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society. 

He and Greg discuss how genes can influence our social networks, the dynamics of social contagion, and why the arc of human evolution bends towards goodness. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why even minds as brilliant as Isaac Newton's succumb to financial manias

01:01:41 Our ability to function in groups depends, in part, on our ability to copy the mood of others around us. And all of us have had this experience. (01:02:20) It's to build group solidarity. And the other is it's efficient in terms of learning. In other words, rather than having to learn something yourself, you just copy what others are doing. And that's extremely efficient. So rather than having to do your own research and figure out what stock really has good fundamentals, you're like, well, I'll just buy what everyone else is buying that sometimes leads to really over-the-top, frothy bubbles that are quite dangerous for all involved.

The spread of germs is the price we pay for the spread of ideas

23:07 One of the reasons we affiliate with each other and live in groups is to avail ourselves of this process of social learning, but in so doing, we expose ourselves to other risks—for example, the risks of infection, the risks of violence, and so on. So natural selection over time has balanced these costs and benefits and yielded, I argue, a structure of networks that obeys the principle that the benefits of a connected life outweigh the costs. Otherwise, we would live separate from each other. We wouldn't form networks.

Network science in a 21st-century approach

06:45 Network science offers a 21st-century approach because it connects the collective and individual layers. It explains how individuals become members of collectivities, become members of groups by identifying the pattern of connections between people. It's kind of a structural approach.

Do modern technologies influence human social interactions?

17:17 There's no question that new technologies are affecting our social interactions in a number of ways. But the fundamental reality of our desire for social connection and our susceptibility to technology's social influence is not changing over a hundred-year time span. This has been shaped by ancient and powerful evolutionary forces.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 29 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Do our genes have an impact on how many friends we’ll have in life and the kinds of people we gravitate towards whether our friends are connected to each other? How can the study of social networks help us better prepare for the next pandemic? 

Nicholas Christakis is a professor of natural and social sciences and directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University. His research focuses on social networks and biosocial science, all of which are central points in his books like, Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live and Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society. 

He and Greg discuss how genes can influence our social networks, the dynamics of social contagion, and why the arc of human evolution bends towards goodness. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why even minds as brilliant as Isaac Newton's succumb to financial manias

01:01:41 Our ability to function in groups depends, in part, on our ability to copy the mood of others around us. And all of us have had this experience. (01:02:20) It's to build group solidarity. And the other is it's efficient in terms of learning. In other words, rather than having to learn something yourself, you just copy what others are doing. And that's extremely efficient. So rather than having to do your own research and figure out what stock really has good fundamentals, you're like, well, I'll just buy what everyone else is buying that sometimes leads to really over-the-top, frothy bubbles that are quite dangerous for all involved.

The spread of germs is the price we pay for the spread of ideas

23:07 One of the reasons we affiliate with each other and live in groups is to avail ourselves of this process of social learning, but in so doing, we expose ourselves to other risks—for example, the risks of infection, the risks of violence, and so on. So natural selection over time has balanced these costs and benefits and yielded, I argue, a structure of networks that obeys the principle that the benefits of a connected life outweigh the costs. Otherwise, we would live separate from each other. We wouldn't form networks.

Network science in a 21st-century approach

06:45 Network science offers a 21st-century approach because it connects the collective and individual layers. It explains how individuals become members of collectivities, become members of groups by identifying the pattern of connections between people. It's kind of a structural approach.

Do modern technologies influence human social interactions?

17:17 There's no question that new technologies are affecting our social interactions in a number of ways. But the fundamental reality of our desire for social connection and our susceptibility to technology's social influence is not changing over a hundred-year time span. This has been shaped by ancient and powerful evolutionary forces.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 414. The Science of Social Networks with Nicholas Christakis Greg La Blanc 01:04:29 Do our genes have an impact on how many friends we’ll have in life and the kinds of people we gravitate towardswhether our friends are connected to each other? How can the study of social networks help us better prepare for the next pandemic? Nicholas Christakis is a professor of natural and social sciences and directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University. His research focuses on social networks and biosocial science, all of which are central points in his books like, Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live and Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society. He and Greg discuss how genes can influence our social networks, the dynamics of social contagion, and why the arc of human evolution bends towards goodness. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Do our genes have an impact on how many friends we’ll have in life and the kinds of people we gravitate towardswhether our friends are connected to each other? How can the study of social networks help us better prepare for the next pandemic? Nicholas Christakis is a professor of natural and social sciences and directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University. His research focuses on social networks and biosocial science, all of which are central points in his books like, Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live and Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society. He and Greg discuss how genes can influence our social networks, the dynamics of social contagion, and why the arc of human evolution bends towards goodness. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 414 11c261b8-5cbc-4c5f-a35b-6fa77edaadf0 413. A Rational Look at Irrationality with Steven Nadler Humans have always had the propensity to be irrational. In fact, humans may be as irrational today as they were centuries ago. But with a more educated and technologically advanced society, why does this level of irrational thought and behavior persist? 

Steven Nadler is a professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. His books like When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: How Philosophy Can Save Us from Ourselves and Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die encourage readers to examine their lives through a philosophical lens.

He and Greg discuss how social media has contributed to the perpetuity of irrationality in society, why more education doesn’t necessarily lead to more rational thought, and why philosophy should be more widely integrated into our education systems. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Exploring Spinoza’s determinism

Nobody can be truly free from external influences because we have to live in the world. But you can liberate yourself insofar as your life is guided by reason and not by passion. Now, for Spinoza, the world is deterministic. Everything happens because of its antecedent causes. And this is as true as much for leaves falling off trees and rocks rolling down hills and for our bodies, which respond to the physical influences of the world. But it's also completely true with respect to the human mind. Our mental states, our thoughts, our beliefs, our desires also exist within a deterministic system.

Where do irrational beliefs come from?

02:46: I don't think that human beings are necessarily more or less irrational now than they were centuries ago. However, the difference is that irrationality can flourish more easily now with the advent of social media internet sites that traffic in irrational beliefs that encourage irrational thinking, and that make it very easy for a person to be overwhelmed by misinformation and thus form beliefs without any evidence and never really be exposed to counter-evidence.

Two kinds of bad thinking

07:08: In the book, we distinguish between two kinds of stubbornness or two kinds of bad thinking. We call the first, epistemic stubbornness, and the second, normative stubbornness. Epistemic stubbornness is where you adopt beliefs without sufficient evidence in favor of their truth. (08:19) What we call normative stubbornness is more a matter of behavior. And maybe here, temperament plays a bigger role. A person who is normatively stubborn applies rules without thinking the actions they choose and the courses of behavior that they adopt.

What Nadler says is one of the root causes of persistent bad thinking

11:46 Very often we know what the right thing to do is, we know what is good, but we act contrary to our better judgment. That's not just something that's a matter of our actions and behavior, but even in our minds, sometimes we know that a belief is not probably the right thing. It's probably not true, and yet somehow through peer pressure, for example, we feel compelled to go with the crowd, and we find ourselves believing things that we have no evidence for believing, and in fact stand in the face of contrary evidence.

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]]> Fri, 26 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Humans have always had the propensity to be irrational. In fact, humans may be as irrational today as they were centuries ago. But with a more educated and technologically advanced society, why does this level of irrational thought and behavior persist? 

Steven Nadler is a professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. His books like When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: How Philosophy Can Save Us from Ourselves and Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die encourage readers to examine their lives through a philosophical lens.

He and Greg discuss how social media has contributed to the perpetuity of irrationality in society, why more education doesn’t necessarily lead to more rational thought, and why philosophy should be more widely integrated into our education systems. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Exploring Spinoza’s determinism

Nobody can be truly free from external influences because we have to live in the world. But you can liberate yourself insofar as your life is guided by reason and not by passion. Now, for Spinoza, the world is deterministic. Everything happens because of its antecedent causes. And this is as true as much for leaves falling off trees and rocks rolling down hills and for our bodies, which respond to the physical influences of the world. But it's also completely true with respect to the human mind. Our mental states, our thoughts, our beliefs, our desires also exist within a deterministic system.

Where do irrational beliefs come from?

02:46: I don't think that human beings are necessarily more or less irrational now than they were centuries ago. However, the difference is that irrationality can flourish more easily now with the advent of social media internet sites that traffic in irrational beliefs that encourage irrational thinking, and that make it very easy for a person to be overwhelmed by misinformation and thus form beliefs without any evidence and never really be exposed to counter-evidence.

Two kinds of bad thinking

07:08: In the book, we distinguish between two kinds of stubbornness or two kinds of bad thinking. We call the first, epistemic stubbornness, and the second, normative stubbornness. Epistemic stubbornness is where you adopt beliefs without sufficient evidence in favor of their truth. (08:19) What we call normative stubbornness is more a matter of behavior. And maybe here, temperament plays a bigger role. A person who is normatively stubborn applies rules without thinking the actions they choose and the courses of behavior that they adopt.

What Nadler says is one of the root causes of persistent bad thinking

11:46 Very often we know what the right thing to do is, we know what is good, but we act contrary to our better judgment. That's not just something that's a matter of our actions and behavior, but even in our minds, sometimes we know that a belief is not probably the right thing. It's probably not true, and yet somehow through peer pressure, for example, we feel compelled to go with the crowd, and we find ourselves believing things that we have no evidence for believing, and in fact stand in the face of contrary evidence.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 413. A Rational Look at Irrationality with Steven Nadler Greg La Blanc 00:58:05 Humans have always had the propensity to be irrational. In fact, humans may be as irrational today as they were centuries ago. But with a more educated and technologically advanced society, why does this level of irrational thought and behavior persist? Steven Nadler is a professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. His books like When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: How Philosophy Can Save Us from Ourselves and Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die encourage readers to examine their lives through a philosophical lens. He and Greg discuss how social media has contributed to the perpetuity of irrationality in society, why more education doesn’t necessarily lead to more rational thought, and why philosophy should be more widely integrated into our education systems. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Humans have always had the propensity to be irrational. In fact, humans may be as irrational today as they were centuries ago. But with a more educated and technologically advanced society, why does this level of irrational thought and behavior persist? Steven Nadler is a professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. His books like When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: How Philosophy Can Save Us from Ourselves and Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die encourage readers to examine their lives through a philosophical lens. He and Greg discuss how social media has contributed to the perpetuity of irrationality in society, why more education doesn’t necessarily lead to more rational thought, and why philosophy should be more widely integrated into our education systems. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 413 cbc1def4-f966-415f-adc0-b7b2e41f8e62 412. Fixing Organizational Culture with Frances Frei The problem with the business mindset of “move fast and break things” is that what often gets broken is people. But how can companies take care of their employees without sacrificing accelerated growth?

Frances Frei is a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School. She’s spent decades researching operational design and leadership and has co-authored numerous books like, Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems and Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. 

She and Greg discuss the importance of fostering a culture of curiosity, why moving fast and breaking things is not worth it, and how inclusion can be an organizational superpower. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Can you do layoffs with dignity?

27:01: When Elon Musk famously bought Twitter, he did layoffs and maybe a caricature of how to do everything wrong. But on the same day, he did layoffs, Stripe did layoffs. And so we got the two. Like on the same day, you could see the transcript of what Elon said to his employees and what Stripe said to their employees. So now Stripe didn't anticipate the layoffs, but the guy took responsibility for it in a way that I think strengthened the organization. That's what I mean. Either anticipate it so you don't have to do it or take responsibility that you did it and you learn the lessons…[28:02]I'm not sure we code layoffs as the management failure as they mostly are. And so I treat it, and I'm not saying this with any extra judgment; just learn from it like we do everything else. Like, great, yeah, you went through a layoff, what went wrong, learn from it so that you can avoid it the next time.

Curiosity is a cultural artifact

11:42 Curiosity is a cultural artifact; it's a cultural behavior. It's a cultural mindset, and when you have it, the symptoms are delightful to you because you're going to get curious about it. So many organizations have the "don't bring me a problem unless you bring me a solution," which is the opposite of curiosity. It's guaranteed not to have very much improvement.

Inclusion as an operational superpower

41:22: Inclusion, to me, the reason I like it so much, is I know of no other thing that can get me achievement, sentiment boosts, and performance with no new people and no new technology. I find inclusion to be an operational superpower. No new people, no new technology, and business performance and employee engagement skyrocketed.

Speed vs. sensibility

22:41: When people were writing code, and the code didn't influence individuals, I don't care if you got the code wrong and you wanted to move fast and fix things, and that somehow helps you do faster iterations of code. But when it's humans, personally, it's a worldview. I personally have a problem with it. That's the first thing. The second thing is it seduces you into thinking you are going faster, breaking things along the way, but when you factor in the collateral damage and the rework that you have to do, you're scarcely going faster; you just that somebody else had to pay for it later, and you got the advantage of it today. So, I think it's also misguided.

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]]> Wed, 24 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The problem with the business mindset of “move fast and break things” is that what often gets broken is people. But how can companies take care of their employees without sacrificing accelerated growth?

Frances Frei is a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School. She’s spent decades researching operational design and leadership and has co-authored numerous books like, Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems and Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. 

She and Greg discuss the importance of fostering a culture of curiosity, why moving fast and breaking things is not worth it, and how inclusion can be an organizational superpower. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Can you do layoffs with dignity?

27:01: When Elon Musk famously bought Twitter, he did layoffs and maybe a caricature of how to do everything wrong. But on the same day, he did layoffs, Stripe did layoffs. And so we got the two. Like on the same day, you could see the transcript of what Elon said to his employees and what Stripe said to their employees. So now Stripe didn't anticipate the layoffs, but the guy took responsibility for it in a way that I think strengthened the organization. That's what I mean. Either anticipate it so you don't have to do it or take responsibility that you did it and you learn the lessons…[28:02]I'm not sure we code layoffs as the management failure as they mostly are. And so I treat it, and I'm not saying this with any extra judgment; just learn from it like we do everything else. Like, great, yeah, you went through a layoff, what went wrong, learn from it so that you can avoid it the next time.

Curiosity is a cultural artifact

11:42 Curiosity is a cultural artifact; it's a cultural behavior. It's a cultural mindset, and when you have it, the symptoms are delightful to you because you're going to get curious about it. So many organizations have the "don't bring me a problem unless you bring me a solution," which is the opposite of curiosity. It's guaranteed not to have very much improvement.

Inclusion as an operational superpower

41:22: Inclusion, to me, the reason I like it so much, is I know of no other thing that can get me achievement, sentiment boosts, and performance with no new people and no new technology. I find inclusion to be an operational superpower. No new people, no new technology, and business performance and employee engagement skyrocketed.

Speed vs. sensibility

22:41: When people were writing code, and the code didn't influence individuals, I don't care if you got the code wrong and you wanted to move fast and fix things, and that somehow helps you do faster iterations of code. But when it's humans, personally, it's a worldview. I personally have a problem with it. That's the first thing. The second thing is it seduces you into thinking you are going faster, breaking things along the way, but when you factor in the collateral damage and the rework that you have to do, you're scarcely going faster; you just that somebody else had to pay for it later, and you got the advantage of it today. So, I think it's also misguided.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 412. Fixing Organizational Culture with Frances Frei Greg La Blanc 00:55:19 The problem with the business mindset of “move fast and break things” is that what often gets broken is people. But how can companies take care of their employees without sacrificing accelerated growth? Frances Frei is a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School. She’s spent decades researching operational design and leadership and has co-authored numerous books like, Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems and Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. She and Greg discuss the importance of fostering a culture of curiosity, why moving fast and breaking things is not worth it, and how inclusion can be an organizational superpower. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The problem with the business mindset of “move fast and break things” is that what often gets broken is people. But how can companies take care of their employees without sacrificing accelerated growth? Frances Frei is a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School. She’s spent decades researching operational design and leadership and has co-authored numerous books like, Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems and Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. She and Greg discuss the importance of fostering a culture of curiosity, why moving fast and breaking things is not worth it, and how inclusion can be an organizational superpower. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 412 245fbfbe-2131-4632-96f0-5d5140a4862e 411. Analyzing the Spanish Empire’s Global Footprint feat. Felipe Fernández-Armesto How can an interdisciplinary approach to the study of our past help our understanding of history? How transformative was the Spanish Empire’s global influence and how did they accomplish it?

Felipe Fernández-Armesto is the William P. Reynolds Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and the author of several books including How the Spanish Empire Was Built: A 400-Year History, 1492: The Year the Four Corners of the Earth Collided, and Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food.

Felipe and Greg discuss the hunger for simple, moral narratives in history, a stark contrast to the reality of multifaceted characters and events that shaped our world. They scrutinize the legacy of Cortez and the Spanish conquest, challenging notions that have influenced our moral judgments of history. Felipe also takes on some myths surrounding the technological prowess of the Spanish Empire.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What did engineers contribute to the political functioning of an empire?

24:02: What did engineers contribute to the political functioning of the empire? And I think that was crucial as well. Because if you've got an empire, especially if you've got a pre-industrial empire like that of Spain, and you're trying to manage this vast enterprise from a very small country with a very small population, a very restricted domestic resource base, a poor, small country, in order to do that, you need indigenous collaborators. You mentioned the Black Legend, of Spanish cruelty and oppression. No matter how cruel or oppressive you are, you can't run an empire of that sort with pre-industrial technology unless you can reconcile sufficient indigenous people to it.

What can we learn about hatred from history?

41:22: One of the lessons I've learned from history is that hatred is an intractable emotion that has extraordinary enduring powers, and people tend to change their friends a lot. The history of international relations is basically the history of shifting alliances. People always change their friends, but they keep the same enemies. I think, for all the good intentions of the Spaniards, they never quite created the sort of Pax Hispanica, which might fully deserve the name. Of course, Pax Romana didn't deserve the name either.

History isn't a science

51:08: For me, history isn't a science. It's an art; it's a humanistic discipline. I make no apology for that revel in it. That's what makes it fascinating, because the problems of science are fundamentally solvable; if they're genuinely problems of science, they're fundamentally solvable. When scientists take on subjects beyond their province, like, you know, "What's the origin of the cosmos?" or "Does God exist?" all those sorts of questions. Now, science—that's rather foolish and ambitious on the part of a scientist; if a question is genuinely scientific, then it's in principle answerable. If a problem is scientific, it's, in principle, solvable. Whereas a problem in the humanities is, in principle, insoluble because you can never have a completely objective assessment of the evidence.

The nature of truth in historical narratives

07:27: A very important truth about history is that we don't know what the truth is. We know only the truth of what the sources say, so we know what particular people who've left us sources wanted us to think. And to some extent, I suppose we can corroborate that against archaeological evidence or dispassionate statistics if they happen to be available. But essentially, the problem of being a historian and telling the truth is that the evidence is not present to our senses, so we cannot test it in the same way that we can test the truth of assertions that are made by things that are happening in our own time.

Show Links:

 

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]]> Mon, 22 Apr 2024 13:41:06 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How can an interdisciplinary approach to the study of our past help our understanding of history? How transformative was the Spanish Empire’s global influence and how did they accomplish it?

Felipe Fernández-Armesto is the William P. Reynolds Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and the author of several books including How the Spanish Empire Was Built: A 400-Year History, 1492: The Year the Four Corners of the Earth Collided, and Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food.

Felipe and Greg discuss the hunger for simple, moral narratives in history, a stark contrast to the reality of multifaceted characters and events that shaped our world. They scrutinize the legacy of Cortez and the Spanish conquest, challenging notions that have influenced our moral judgments of history. Felipe also takes on some myths surrounding the technological prowess of the Spanish Empire.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What did engineers contribute to the political functioning of an empire?

24:02: What did engineers contribute to the political functioning of the empire? And I think that was crucial as well. Because if you've got an empire, especially if you've got a pre-industrial empire like that of Spain, and you're trying to manage this vast enterprise from a very small country with a very small population, a very restricted domestic resource base, a poor, small country, in order to do that, you need indigenous collaborators. You mentioned the Black Legend, of Spanish cruelty and oppression. No matter how cruel or oppressive you are, you can't run an empire of that sort with pre-industrial technology unless you can reconcile sufficient indigenous people to it.

What can we learn about hatred from history?

41:22: One of the lessons I've learned from history is that hatred is an intractable emotion that has extraordinary enduring powers, and people tend to change their friends a lot. The history of international relations is basically the history of shifting alliances. People always change their friends, but they keep the same enemies. I think, for all the good intentions of the Spaniards, they never quite created the sort of Pax Hispanica, which might fully deserve the name. Of course, Pax Romana didn't deserve the name either.

History isn't a science

51:08: For me, history isn't a science. It's an art; it's a humanistic discipline. I make no apology for that revel in it. That's what makes it fascinating, because the problems of science are fundamentally solvable; if they're genuinely problems of science, they're fundamentally solvable. When scientists take on subjects beyond their province, like, you know, "What's the origin of the cosmos?" or "Does God exist?" all those sorts of questions. Now, science—that's rather foolish and ambitious on the part of a scientist; if a question is genuinely scientific, then it's in principle answerable. If a problem is scientific, it's, in principle, solvable. Whereas a problem in the humanities is, in principle, insoluble because you can never have a completely objective assessment of the evidence.

The nature of truth in historical narratives

07:27: A very important truth about history is that we don't know what the truth is. We know only the truth of what the sources say, so we know what particular people who've left us sources wanted us to think. And to some extent, I suppose we can corroborate that against archaeological evidence or dispassionate statistics if they happen to be available. But essentially, the problem of being a historian and telling the truth is that the evidence is not present to our senses, so we cannot test it in the same way that we can test the truth of assertions that are made by things that are happening in our own time.

Show Links:

 

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 411. Analyzing the Spanish Empire’s Global Footprint feat. Felipe Fernández-Armesto Greg La Blanc 00:53:10 How can an interdisciplinary approach to the study of our past help our understanding of history? How transformative was the Spanish Empire’s global influence and how did they accomplish it? Felipe Fernández-Armesto is the William P. Reynolds Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and the author of several books including How the Spanish Empire Was Built: A 400-Year History, 1492: The Year the Four Corners of the Earth Collided, and Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food. Felipe and Greg discuss the hunger for simple, moral narratives in history, a stark contrast to the reality of multifaceted characters and events that shaped our world. They scrutinize the legacy of Cortez and the Spanish conquest, challenging notions that have influenced our moral judgments of history. Felipe also takes on some myths surrounding the technological prowess of the Spanish Empire. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How can an interdisciplinary approach to the study of our past help our understanding of history? How transformative was the Spanish Empire’s global influence and how did they accomplish it? Felipe Fernández-Armesto is the William P. Reynolds Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and the author of several books including How the Spanish Empire Was Built: A 400-Year History, 1492: The Year the Four Corners of the Earth Collided, and Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food. Felipe and Greg discuss the hunger for simple, moral narratives in history, a stark contrast to the reality of multifaceted characters and events that shaped our world. They scrutinize the legacy of Cortez and the Spanish conquest, challenging notions that have influenced our moral judgments of history. Felipe also takes on some myths surrounding the technological prowess of the Spanish Empire. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 411 ff9860be-d341-4dc6-b20d-699cab83adbe 410. Giving Dutch History Its Due with Jonathan Scott Without the Dutch revolution of the 16th century, England may never have taken its place as a world superpower and there could have been no such thing as the American Revolution. Yet, the pivotal role the Netherlands played in the development of the modern world seems to go overlooked and under taught in history courses. Why? 

Jonathan Scott is a professor of history at the University of Auckland and the author of numerous books, including England's Troubles: Seventeenth-Century English Political Instability in European Context and, most recently, How the Old World Ended: The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution 1500-1800. 

He and Greg discuss how the Netherlands' geography played a crucial role in its rise to dominance in the 17th century, why that power eventually shifted to favor England, and how the Anglo-Dutch influence has permeated throughout history. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What inspired the American revolutionaries?

30:46 The people by whom the English Republicans and revolutionaries of the 17th century were themselves inspired, who were the Dutch revolutionaries of the 16th century, were very important for the American revolutionaries of the 18th century. So, I think the most important influence in America is the Anglo-Dutch. And the Dutch part of that has been forgotten in America. Why exactly is, again, complicated, but one reason might be that when England ends up dominating, the Dutch component of the American founding and of the American revolution is just quietly forgotten.

Was the Anglo-Dutch Revolution seminal to the success of England?

03:52 What happens in 17th and 18th century England, which is remarkable and of global importance, derives very substantially from competition with the Netherlands, a competition during which the Netherlands is initially dominant and during which they're eventually overtaken.

The complex alliance and rivalry between the English and the Dutch

04:43 Not just rivals and frenemies, but they were also very close allies and dependent on each other for the survival of their Protestant religion and political regimes. So, they were close military allies in the war against Spain during the Elizabethan period in the 16th century. Then, they were equally close military, political, and religious allies from the Glorious Revolution in 1689 against France in the nine-year war until 1697. So the framework is one of close alliance, but between those two dates, between the Elizabethan and that end of the 17th century, that is, during the 17th century itself, there's an increasingly bitter rivalry between the merchants of these two countries, which ends up involving three very bloody naval wars between 1652 and 1673.

The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution

33:12 The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution in the early modern period is a series of political revolutions which put in place a new kind of state, which is federated and the product of parliamentary representation and parliamentary votes. And so the United Provinces of the Netherlands is the first one established in the 16th century, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain is the second established in 1707. Then, the United States of America is the third. Each of these is conscious of its place in a sequence where there is copying and adaptation going on.

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Guest Profile:

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]]> Fri, 19 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Without the Dutch revolution of the 16th century, England may never have taken its place as a world superpower and there could have been no such thing as the American Revolution. Yet, the pivotal role the Netherlands played in the development of the modern world seems to go overlooked and under taught in history courses. Why? 

Jonathan Scott is a professor of history at the University of Auckland and the author of numerous books, including England's Troubles: Seventeenth-Century English Political Instability in European Context and, most recently, How the Old World Ended: The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution 1500-1800. 

He and Greg discuss how the Netherlands' geography played a crucial role in its rise to dominance in the 17th century, why that power eventually shifted to favor England, and how the Anglo-Dutch influence has permeated throughout history. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What inspired the American revolutionaries?

30:46 The people by whom the English Republicans and revolutionaries of the 17th century were themselves inspired, who were the Dutch revolutionaries of the 16th century, were very important for the American revolutionaries of the 18th century. So, I think the most important influence in America is the Anglo-Dutch. And the Dutch part of that has been forgotten in America. Why exactly is, again, complicated, but one reason might be that when England ends up dominating, the Dutch component of the American founding and of the American revolution is just quietly forgotten.

Was the Anglo-Dutch Revolution seminal to the success of England?

03:52 What happens in 17th and 18th century England, which is remarkable and of global importance, derives very substantially from competition with the Netherlands, a competition during which the Netherlands is initially dominant and during which they're eventually overtaken.

The complex alliance and rivalry between the English and the Dutch

04:43 Not just rivals and frenemies, but they were also very close allies and dependent on each other for the survival of their Protestant religion and political regimes. So, they were close military allies in the war against Spain during the Elizabethan period in the 16th century. Then, they were equally close military, political, and religious allies from the Glorious Revolution in 1689 against France in the nine-year war until 1697. So the framework is one of close alliance, but between those two dates, between the Elizabethan and that end of the 17th century, that is, during the 17th century itself, there's an increasingly bitter rivalry between the merchants of these two countries, which ends up involving three very bloody naval wars between 1652 and 1673.

The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution

33:12 The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution in the early modern period is a series of political revolutions which put in place a new kind of state, which is federated and the product of parliamentary representation and parliamentary votes. And so the United Provinces of the Netherlands is the first one established in the 16th century, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain is the second established in 1707. Then, the United States of America is the third. Each of these is conscious of its place in a sequence where there is copying and adaptation going on.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 410. Giving Dutch History Its Due with Jonathan Scott Greg La Blanc 00:51:46 Without the Dutch revolution of the 16th century, England may never have taken its place as a world superpower and there could have been no such thing as the American Revolution. Yet, the pivotal role the Netherlands played in the development of the modern world seems to go overlooked and under taught in history courses. Why? Jonathan Scott is a professor of history at the University of Auckland and the author of numerous books, including England's Troubles: Seventeenth-Century English Political Instability in European Context and, most recently, How the Old World Ended: The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution 1500-1800. He and Greg discuss how the Netherlands' geography played a crucial role in its rise to dominance in the 17th century, why that power eventually shifted to favor England, and how the Anglo-Dutch influence has permeated throughout history. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Without the Dutch revolution of the 16th century, England may never have taken its place as a world superpower and there could have been no such thing as the American Revolution. Yet, the pivotal role the Netherlands played in the development of the modern world seems to go overlooked and under taught in history courses. Why? Jonathan Scott is a professor of history at the University of Auckland and the author of numerous books, including England's Troubles: Seventeenth-Century English Political Instability in European Context and, most recently, How the Old World Ended: The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution 1500-1800. He and Greg discuss how the Netherlands' geography played a crucial role in its rise to dominance in the 17th century, why that power eventually shifted to favor England, and how the Anglo-Dutch influence has permeated throughout history. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 410 ca62bda5-52d5-4f40-a470-e50ed2ca7219 409. Capital’s Codes: The Legal DNA of Economy and Inequality feat. Katharina Pistor Our guest today suggests that law is the cloth from which capitalism is cut. And lawyers are the tailors! From the enclosure movement to the financial crisis, law has been the engine of capital accumulation.

Katharina Pistor is a Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School and the author of the book, The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality, about how capital is created behind closed doors in the offices of private attorneys and why this little-known fact is one of the biggest reasons for the widening wealth gap between the holders of capital and everybody else.

Katharina and Greg discuss the nuanced ways in which legal coding privileges certain groups. Katharina lays out the path of capital developing from land ownership and its metamorphosis into powerful financial instruments. Katharina and Greg analyze the legal frameworks that have contributed to the economic tapestry of today. They conclude with a discussion of the intricacies of global legal systems and their sway over commerce and society. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The unseen impacts of legal innovation

36:32: Under our civil procedure rules, not everyone has access to the courts. Not everyone has the justiciable interest. Who does or who does not, who has standing in a court of law, determines already who can bring a case to court. So, there was this wonderful debate in the 1970s about the efficiency of the common law. So, if you litigate and relitigate, the best rules will come about. But even at that time, people pushed back and said, "But this is not randomly selected, which rules will be even litigated." There are other conditions that have to be in place. So, I think if we were able to completely reverse those or change those conditions to make sure that everyone has access to the courts; remember how long women couldn't litigate for their own rights or Black people couldn't litigate for their own rights. And now that has changed, but there's still certain interests that you can't bring. Typically, individual rights have a better chance than collective rights. And so, there are lots of "if we could change all this, you can make your own rules," and there's some umpires that sort of sometimes create a balance between this. Then, I think we would be in a different world, but that's not the world we have.

Is common law taking over the world?

31:47: When I say capital is coded in law, I named the law, and it's actually domestic private law. We don't have a global private law, and we don't have a global state that could enforce it. So the question could be, how can global capitalism exist without that global law? And what I'm basically saying: global capitalism can exist in theory with only one legal system, as long as all other legal systems are willing to respect the rules that are made and enforce them in their own courts. That's what the config of law rules do.

Lawyers and the art of asset coding

11:42 You can see that a lot of private wealth is held in different types of assets over time. And that's actually what fascinated me so much: the same legal institutions were first used to code ownership in rural land for the landlords. The same mechanisms can be used to create complex derivatives today. And the shift from asset to asset is something that the lawyers can maneuver because they know how to code different assets. It also allows, and this is important to recognize: it allows different types of groups to come forward. So it's not necessarily that you have only the aristocracy that wins all the time.

Looking at the cumulative power of capital

08:19: If you look at the cumulative power of capital and the agency that certainly corporations have, or also agents have through their patron rights over others, sometimes you really have the feeling that these are actors in their own rights that actually can exert power over others, in particular over humans, in a way that might not have been anticipated when we created these institutions, but that's the real effect that we feel and experience today.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Our guest today suggests that law is the cloth from which capitalism is cut. And lawyers are the tailors! From the enclosure movement to the financial crisis, law has been the engine of capital accumulation.

Katharina Pistor is a Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School and the author of the book, The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality, about how capital is created behind closed doors in the offices of private attorneys and why this little-known fact is one of the biggest reasons for the widening wealth gap between the holders of capital and everybody else.

Katharina and Greg discuss the nuanced ways in which legal coding privileges certain groups. Katharina lays out the path of capital developing from land ownership and its metamorphosis into powerful financial instruments. Katharina and Greg analyze the legal frameworks that have contributed to the economic tapestry of today. They conclude with a discussion of the intricacies of global legal systems and their sway over commerce and society. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The unseen impacts of legal innovation

36:32: Under our civil procedure rules, not everyone has access to the courts. Not everyone has the justiciable interest. Who does or who does not, who has standing in a court of law, determines already who can bring a case to court. So, there was this wonderful debate in the 1970s about the efficiency of the common law. So, if you litigate and relitigate, the best rules will come about. But even at that time, people pushed back and said, "But this is not randomly selected, which rules will be even litigated." There are other conditions that have to be in place. So, I think if we were able to completely reverse those or change those conditions to make sure that everyone has access to the courts; remember how long women couldn't litigate for their own rights or Black people couldn't litigate for their own rights. And now that has changed, but there's still certain interests that you can't bring. Typically, individual rights have a better chance than collective rights. And so, there are lots of "if we could change all this, you can make your own rules," and there's some umpires that sort of sometimes create a balance between this. Then, I think we would be in a different world, but that's not the world we have.

Is common law taking over the world?

31:47: When I say capital is coded in law, I named the law, and it's actually domestic private law. We don't have a global private law, and we don't have a global state that could enforce it. So the question could be, how can global capitalism exist without that global law? And what I'm basically saying: global capitalism can exist in theory with only one legal system, as long as all other legal systems are willing to respect the rules that are made and enforce them in their own courts. That's what the config of law rules do.

Lawyers and the art of asset coding

11:42 You can see that a lot of private wealth is held in different types of assets over time. And that's actually what fascinated me so much: the same legal institutions were first used to code ownership in rural land for the landlords. The same mechanisms can be used to create complex derivatives today. And the shift from asset to asset is something that the lawyers can maneuver because they know how to code different assets. It also allows, and this is important to recognize: it allows different types of groups to come forward. So it's not necessarily that you have only the aristocracy that wins all the time.

Looking at the cumulative power of capital

08:19: If you look at the cumulative power of capital and the agency that certainly corporations have, or also agents have through their patron rights over others, sometimes you really have the feeling that these are actors in their own rights that actually can exert power over others, in particular over humans, in a way that might not have been anticipated when we created these institutions, but that's the real effect that we feel and experience today.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 409. Capital’s Codes: The Legal DNA of Economy and Inequality feat. Katharina Pistor Greg La Blanc 00:51:15 Our guest today suggests that law is the cloth from which capitalism is cut. And lawyers are the tailors! From the enclosure movement to the financial crisis, law has been the engine of capital accumulation. Katharina Pistor is a Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School and the author of the book, The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality, about how capital is created behind closed doors in the offices of private attorneys and why this little-known fact is one of the biggest reasons for the widening wealth gap between the holders of capital and everybody else. Katharina and Greg discuss the nuanced ways in which legal coding privileges certain groups. Katharina lays out the path of capital developing from land ownership and its metamorphosis into powerful financial instruments. Katharina and Greg analyze the legal frameworks that have contributed to the economic tapestry of today. They conclude with a discussion of the intricacies of global legal systems and their sway over commerce and society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Our guest today suggests that law is the cloth from which capitalism is cut. And lawyers are the tailors! From the enclosure movement to the financial crisis, law has been the engine of capital accumulation. Katharina Pistor is a Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School and the author of the book, The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality, about how capital is created behind closed doors in the offices of private attorneys and why this little-known fact is one of the biggest reasons for the widening wealth gap between the holders of capital and everybody else. Katharina and Greg discuss the nuanced ways in which legal coding privileges certain groups. Katharina lays out the path of capital developing from land ownership and its metamorphosis into powerful financial instruments. Katharina and Greg analyze the legal frameworks that have contributed to the economic tapestry of today. They conclude with a discussion of the intricacies of global legal systems and their sway over commerce and society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 409 16000b30-c6e2-4e0e-ad9d-419d416d59b2 408. Diabetes, Drugs, and Diet with Gary Taubes Doctors and scientists have been studying how our diet affects our health since the 18th century. But despite technological advancements and varying hypotheses over the years, there’s a chance that the wisdom of the 1700s might be more accurate than more recent beliefs on how food contributes to our overall health. 

Gary Taubes is an investigative health science journalist and the author of books like Rethinking Diabetes: What Science Reveals About Diet, Insulin, and Successful Treatments and Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It. For decades, he’s studied the history of diabetes and obesity research and found instance after instance of faulty science that’s led to some of the most widely accepted beliefs about metabolic health.

Gary and Greg deep dive into the centuries-long history of diabetes and obesity research, including some of the major moments and breakthroughs like the discovery of insulin. They also discuss what makes some science bad science, modern misconceptions about obesity and its causes, and the surprising impact WWII had on obesity research. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is an allegiance bias?

38:59: It's the first hypothesis that tends to have such an advantage over all those that follow. That the others have to then try and replace that, and then more and more people buy into that first hypothesis and believe it, and they base their treatments on it, and they write papers and textbooks about it. They've become more and more biased. I was just speaking to a nutritionist 80-year-old tremendous nutritionist the other day who used the phrase allegiance bias. So you develop an allegiance to what you believe, to the technologies you're using, to the therapies you're giving, and to what your colleagues believe. And all of these reasons are why scientists are supposed to express hypotheses with such humility. You get an idea of what's working and what's not, and you voice it with incredible humility because the worst thing that can happen is that it be wrong and be embraced. And it's the easiest thing to have.

Rethinking conventional wisdom in health

01:09:16: The internet took away the gatekeepers. So for anyone who's suffering from obesity or diabetes, if the conventional wisdom works for you, then you're fine, right? You eat a little less, you exercise, and you don't live with obesity anymore—end of story. You don't need blood sugar medications, but if you've tried the conventional wisdom, as I think most people do, and it fails, then you start looking for alternatives.

What makes a good scientist?

24:34: When you do an experiment, you learn how you screwed up if you're a good scientist because, by definition, you're always doing something no one's ever done before because it's boring to do stuff that people have done before. So you're always doing something new. You're always working at the limits of what your apparatus or your observational equipment can do. And 99 times out of 100, you're going to screw up that first time out, and then you're going to learn how you screw up and you're going to fix it. And you iterate your way toward what you hope is truth.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Mon, 15 Apr 2024 13:27:06 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Doctors and scientists have been studying how our diet affects our health since the 18th century. But despite technological advancements and varying hypotheses over the years, there’s a chance that the wisdom of the 1700s might be more accurate than more recent beliefs on how food contributes to our overall health. 

Gary Taubes is an investigative health science journalist and the author of books like Rethinking Diabetes: What Science Reveals About Diet, Insulin, and Successful Treatments and Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It. For decades, he’s studied the history of diabetes and obesity research and found instance after instance of faulty science that’s led to some of the most widely accepted beliefs about metabolic health.

Gary and Greg deep dive into the centuries-long history of diabetes and obesity research, including some of the major moments and breakthroughs like the discovery of insulin. They also discuss what makes some science bad science, modern misconceptions about obesity and its causes, and the surprising impact WWII had on obesity research. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is an allegiance bias?

38:59: It's the first hypothesis that tends to have such an advantage over all those that follow. That the others have to then try and replace that, and then more and more people buy into that first hypothesis and believe it, and they base their treatments on it, and they write papers and textbooks about it. They've become more and more biased. I was just speaking to a nutritionist 80-year-old tremendous nutritionist the other day who used the phrase allegiance bias. So you develop an allegiance to what you believe, to the technologies you're using, to the therapies you're giving, and to what your colleagues believe. And all of these reasons are why scientists are supposed to express hypotheses with such humility. You get an idea of what's working and what's not, and you voice it with incredible humility because the worst thing that can happen is that it be wrong and be embraced. And it's the easiest thing to have.

Rethinking conventional wisdom in health

01:09:16: The internet took away the gatekeepers. So for anyone who's suffering from obesity or diabetes, if the conventional wisdom works for you, then you're fine, right? You eat a little less, you exercise, and you don't live with obesity anymore—end of story. You don't need blood sugar medications, but if you've tried the conventional wisdom, as I think most people do, and it fails, then you start looking for alternatives.

What makes a good scientist?

24:34: When you do an experiment, you learn how you screwed up if you're a good scientist because, by definition, you're always doing something no one's ever done before because it's boring to do stuff that people have done before. So you're always doing something new. You're always working at the limits of what your apparatus or your observational equipment can do. And 99 times out of 100, you're going to screw up that first time out, and then you're going to learn how you screw up and you're going to fix it. And you iterate your way toward what you hope is truth.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 408. Diabetes, Drugs, and Diet with Gary Taubes Greg La Blanc 01:19:42 Doctors and scientists have been studying how our diet affects our health since the 18th century. But despite technological advancements and varying hypotheses over the years, there’s a chance that the wisdom of the 1700s might be more accurate than more recent beliefs on how food contributes to our overall health. Gary Taubes is an investigative health science journalist and the author of books like Rethinking Diabetes: What Science Reveals About Diet, Insulin, and Successful Treatments and Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It. For decades, he’s studied the history of diabetes and obesity research and found instance after instance of faulty science that’s led to some of the most widely accepted beliefs about metabolic health. Gary and Greg deep dive into the centuries-long history of diabetes and obesity research, including some of the major moments and breakthroughs like the discovery of insulin. They also discuss what makes some science bad science, modern misconceptions about obesity and its causes, and the surprising impact WWII had on obesity research. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Doctors and scientists have been studying how our diet affects our health since the 18th century. But despite technological advancements and varying hypotheses over the years, there’s a chance that the wisdom of the 1700s might be more accurate than more recent beliefs on how food contributes to our overall health. Gary Taubes is an investigative health science journalist and the author of books like Rethinking Diabetes: What Science Reveals About Diet, Insulin, and Successful Treatments and Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It. For decades, he’s studied the history of diabetes and obesity research and found instance after instance of faulty science that’s led to some of the most widely accepted beliefs about metabolic health. Gary and Greg deep dive into the centuries-long history of diabetes and obesity research, including some of the major moments and breakthroughs like the discovery of insulin. They also discuss what makes some science bad science, modern misconceptions about obesity and its causes, and the surprising impact WWII had on obesity research. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 408 ea590527-5077-4a84-9f3c-0a73387eca99 407. The Delicate Balance of Teaching and Research in Modern Academia feat. Nicholas Dirks University professors have to become good at doing the intricate dance between research and teaching, as institutions have to help their faculty navigate this balance as well as maintain a good experience for the students in the institution.

Nicholas Dirks is the president and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, the former chancellor of UC Berkeley, and the author of several books. His latest book is titled City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University.

Nicholas and Greg discuss how universities have dealt with and should deal with current issues and challenges with faculty governance, and the evolution of student activism while maintaining academic freedom. They discuss the challenges of maintaining relevance, fostering interdisciplinary study, and adapting to the 21st century's demands while preserving the essence of academic freedom and intellectual debate.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are universities too unique for outsiders to manage?

46:32: The difficulty you have when you bring somebody in from outside of the university to have a senior administrative position is that there's just so much about the university that is, only really possible to learn if you've been in it. And for the most part, in the corporate world, when somebody is running a company, they've worked in either that company or they've worked in that field. I've never been offered a job running Goldman Sachs or Google, but I have been offered a bunch of jobs running universities. Well, I say that because I think the presumption that universities are badly managed and therefore they need to have somebody who really knows about management doesn't fully take on board what the impediments to managerial success are in the university. And in part, it's about precisely the things we've been talking about—the kind of resistance to change on the part of the most senior, the most valuable faculty that you have, certainly as much as it is about the failure of the imagination of the administrator.

Modeling prompts institutional change 

45:20: You can't change an entire institution, and you can't do it even in the corporate world. It's a little more [difficult], particularly for a long-established institution, but you can begin to change things on the edge. And as you do so, you can model how things might actually be better.

What can we learn from history and anthropology that’ll help reinvent liberal arts

01:00:25: One of the things I learned from history and anthropology is how much things change over time. And so what today are the appropriate ways for one to both justify and organize a liberal arts curriculum that would inherit some of the things that I think were so important about earlier modes of doing this, reinvent it for the modern moments, and be more appropriate for the world that our students are in and about to enter. [01:01:14] I believe that we can find something that might not be the same, and I might not have it exactly, but we'll continue to carry on the tradition of a certain kind of knowledge that doesn't become confined to either disciplinary or professional modes of knowledge that can enlighten and enable one's disciplinary and professional education in time but can also address these issues about what it means to be human.

Rethinking institutional change

47:32: It's really critical to find new ways to think about institutional change in higher education. And I do believe that we risk serious problems in the sector if we don't take it much more seriously and then need to make this kind of collective commitment to know ourselves and think differently about who we are, how we function, who we're here for, how we contribute to society, and how we survive in the long term.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 12 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast University professors have to become good at doing the intricate dance between research and teaching, as institutions have to help their faculty navigate this balance as well as maintain a good experience for the students in the institution.

Nicholas Dirks is the president and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, the former chancellor of UC Berkeley, and the author of several books. His latest book is titled City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University.

Nicholas and Greg discuss how universities have dealt with and should deal with current issues and challenges with faculty governance, and the evolution of student activism while maintaining academic freedom. They discuss the challenges of maintaining relevance, fostering interdisciplinary study, and adapting to the 21st century's demands while preserving the essence of academic freedom and intellectual debate.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are universities too unique for outsiders to manage?

46:32: The difficulty you have when you bring somebody in from outside of the university to have a senior administrative position is that there's just so much about the university that is, only really possible to learn if you've been in it. And for the most part, in the corporate world, when somebody is running a company, they've worked in either that company or they've worked in that field. I've never been offered a job running Goldman Sachs or Google, but I have been offered a bunch of jobs running universities. Well, I say that because I think the presumption that universities are badly managed and therefore they need to have somebody who really knows about management doesn't fully take on board what the impediments to managerial success are in the university. And in part, it's about precisely the things we've been talking about—the kind of resistance to change on the part of the most senior, the most valuable faculty that you have, certainly as much as it is about the failure of the imagination of the administrator.

Modeling prompts institutional change 

45:20: You can't change an entire institution, and you can't do it even in the corporate world. It's a little more [difficult], particularly for a long-established institution, but you can begin to change things on the edge. And as you do so, you can model how things might actually be better.

What can we learn from history and anthropology that’ll help reinvent liberal arts

01:00:25: One of the things I learned from history and anthropology is how much things change over time. And so what today are the appropriate ways for one to both justify and organize a liberal arts curriculum that would inherit some of the things that I think were so important about earlier modes of doing this, reinvent it for the modern moments, and be more appropriate for the world that our students are in and about to enter. [01:01:14] I believe that we can find something that might not be the same, and I might not have it exactly, but we'll continue to carry on the tradition of a certain kind of knowledge that doesn't become confined to either disciplinary or professional modes of knowledge that can enlighten and enable one's disciplinary and professional education in time but can also address these issues about what it means to be human.

Rethinking institutional change

47:32: It's really critical to find new ways to think about institutional change in higher education. And I do believe that we risk serious problems in the sector if we don't take it much more seriously and then need to make this kind of collective commitment to know ourselves and think differently about who we are, how we function, who we're here for, how we contribute to society, and how we survive in the long term.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 407. The Delicate Balance of Teaching and Research in Modern Academia feat. Nicholas Dirks Greg La Blanc 01:02:42 University professors have to become good at doing the intricate dance between research and teaching, as institutions have to help their faculty navigate this balance as well as maintain a good experience for the students in the institution. Nicholas Dirks is the president and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, the former chancellor of UC Berkeley, and the author of several books. His latest book is titled City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University. Nicholas and Greg discuss how universities have dealt with and should deal with current issues and challenges with faculty governance, and the evolution of student activism while maintaining academic freedom. They discuss the challenges of maintaining relevance, fostering interdisciplinary study, and adapting to the 21st century's demands while preserving the essence of academic freedom and intellectual debate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* University professors have to become good at doing the intricate dance between research and teaching, as institutions have to help their faculty navigate this balance as well as maintain a good experience for the students in the institution. Nicholas Dirks is the president and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, the former chancellor of UC Berkeley, and the author of several books. His latest book is titled City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University. Nicholas and Greg discuss how universities have dealt with and should deal with current issues and challenges with faculty governance, and the evolution of student activism while maintaining academic freedom. They discuss the challenges of maintaining relevance, fostering interdisciplinary study, and adapting to the 21st century's demands while preserving the essence of academic freedom and intellectual debate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 407 35a6b2a3-b9e9-4be6-b7f5-c7296c177d53 406. Tackling Healthcare’s Big Business with Elisabeth Rosenthal To our guest today, the current American healthcare system feels less like a means to get well and more like a gigantic racket. We’ve gone from hospital visits in the 1950s costing five dollars a day to getting billed for everything from the oxygen reader on your finger to the IV bag. So how did we get here?

Elisabeth Rosenthal is the senior contributing editor at KFF Health News and the author of the book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. Before her career in journalism, she spent some time practicing medicine at an emergency room in New York City. 

Elisabeth and Greg discuss the puzzling economics behind healthcare pricing, how medical bills balloon because of too many hands in the honey pot, and some practical advice for people heading to the hospital. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Private equity goes with where the opportunity is, and it's in health care

04:32: One person told me, when I was writing my book, between the hip manufacturer, the implant manufacturer, and the patient's bill, that there are 13 people taking a cut of the price of that implant. 13 middlemen, and we just keep adding middlemen who take more money from the system. So the interesting thing is how much of that, now 3.5 trillion dollars that we spend on healthcare, how much of that is actually going to care, and how much of that is being siphoned off for profit, for executive salaries, for investor profit. I don't know what the percentage is, but it's like a Rube Goldberg machine for extracting money. And the poor patient is, well, what about me? You're just kind of an ATM; it’s really sad. Private equity goes where the opportunity is, and it's in healthcare.

Which side are the insurers truly on?

11:48: People have this misguided thinking that, ‘Oh, my insurers are in my corner’ They're not in your corner. They're like, ‘They take in premiums, and they pay out claims.’ And if they can raise the premiums and raise the copays and deductibles, they don't really care if the prices go up. Plus, they have these very sophisticated deals with big hospital systems.

Are we regulating the wrong things in healthcare? 

39:33: We regulate all the wrong things. Yes, putting stitches in your hand is fine. You don't need a doctor to do that. A tech can do that fine. But in the U.S., you are going to be billed as if a doctor did it, whether a doctor did it or not. You might be billed for the physician assistant who did it too. You might be charged for both because the doctor might have come and looked at it and said, "Yeah, that needs stitches." So it will be billed in this crazy way, but I think on the other hand, the physician assistants and nurse practitioners are looking for independent licensing. Mostly everything they do is billed as if the doctor did it, even if the doctor was 50 miles away. So that's why some of the bills are so high.

Navigating consumer rights and prices

50:23: When you go to a hospital, and they give you that clipboard to sign 20 forms or even a tablet, I always cross out the part that says I will pay for anything that my insurance doesn't cover because that's in one of those forms that are always in there. And people should never sign that; you can shop for the electives, small-dollar items. You can get estimates, and to me, this is where the government should come in.

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]]> Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast To our guest today, the current American healthcare system feels less like a means to get well and more like a gigantic racket. We’ve gone from hospital visits in the 1950s costing five dollars a day to getting billed for everything from the oxygen reader on your finger to the IV bag. So how did we get here?

Elisabeth Rosenthal is the senior contributing editor at KFF Health News and the author of the book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. Before her career in journalism, she spent some time practicing medicine at an emergency room in New York City. 

Elisabeth and Greg discuss the puzzling economics behind healthcare pricing, how medical bills balloon because of too many hands in the honey pot, and some practical advice for people heading to the hospital. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Private equity goes with where the opportunity is, and it's in health care

04:32: One person told me, when I was writing my book, between the hip manufacturer, the implant manufacturer, and the patient's bill, that there are 13 people taking a cut of the price of that implant. 13 middlemen, and we just keep adding middlemen who take more money from the system. So the interesting thing is how much of that, now 3.5 trillion dollars that we spend on healthcare, how much of that is actually going to care, and how much of that is being siphoned off for profit, for executive salaries, for investor profit. I don't know what the percentage is, but it's like a Rube Goldberg machine for extracting money. And the poor patient is, well, what about me? You're just kind of an ATM; it’s really sad. Private equity goes where the opportunity is, and it's in healthcare.

Which side are the insurers truly on?

11:48: People have this misguided thinking that, ‘Oh, my insurers are in my corner’ They're not in your corner. They're like, ‘They take in premiums, and they pay out claims.’ And if they can raise the premiums and raise the copays and deductibles, they don't really care if the prices go up. Plus, they have these very sophisticated deals with big hospital systems.

Are we regulating the wrong things in healthcare? 

39:33: We regulate all the wrong things. Yes, putting stitches in your hand is fine. You don't need a doctor to do that. A tech can do that fine. But in the U.S., you are going to be billed as if a doctor did it, whether a doctor did it or not. You might be billed for the physician assistant who did it too. You might be charged for both because the doctor might have come and looked at it and said, "Yeah, that needs stitches." So it will be billed in this crazy way, but I think on the other hand, the physician assistants and nurse practitioners are looking for independent licensing. Mostly everything they do is billed as if the doctor did it, even if the doctor was 50 miles away. So that's why some of the bills are so high.

Navigating consumer rights and prices

50:23: When you go to a hospital, and they give you that clipboard to sign 20 forms or even a tablet, I always cross out the part that says I will pay for anything that my insurance doesn't cover because that's in one of those forms that are always in there. And people should never sign that; you can shop for the electives, small-dollar items. You can get estimates, and to me, this is where the government should come in.

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]]> 406. Tackling Healthcare’s Big Business with Elisabeth Rosenthal Greg La Blanc 00:56:09 To our guest today, the current American healthcare system feels less like a means to get well and more like a gigantic racket. We’ve gone from hospital visits in the 1950s costing five dollars a day to getting billed for everything from the oxygen reader on your finger to the IV bag. So how did we get here? Elisabeth Rosenthal is the senior contributing editor at KFF Health News and the author of the book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. Before her career in journalism, she spent some time practicing medicine at an emergency room in New York City. Elisabeth and Greg discuss the puzzling economics behind healthcare pricing, how medical bills balloon because of too many hands in the honey pot, and some practical advice for people heading to the hospital. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* To our guest today, the current American healthcare system feels less like a means to get well and more like a gigantic racket. We’ve gone from hospital visits in the 1950s costing five dollars a day to getting billed for everything from the oxygen reader on your finger to the IV bag. So how did we get here? Elisabeth Rosenthal is the senior contributing editor at KFF Health News and the author of the book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. Before her career in journalism, she spent some time practicing medicine at an emergency room in New York City. Elisabeth and Greg discuss the puzzling economics behind healthcare pricing, how medical bills balloon because of too many hands in the honey pot, and some practical advice for people heading to the hospital. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 406 77e91e25-31a9-49ec-b358-b7bfb1ce9e34 405. Reassessing the Moral Narrative of Colonialism and Morality feat. Nigel Biggar Historical, moral judgment can be a difficult thing to navigate in the context of colonialism. Have you ever pondered the role of truth in history and its impact on today's political culture? 

Nigel Biggar is a p theologian, ethicist, and the author of several books. His latest work is titled,  Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning.

Nigel and Greg discuss whether historical accuracy should bow to political objectives or stand resolute in the face of revisionist pressures when it comes to European culture and the history of Western civilization. They reflect on the delicate balance between preserving facts and fostering reconciliation in a politically charged world. Nigel also talks about the Ethics and Empire Project's ambitious undertaking to assess empires across cultures and times and offer a deeper view that challenges historical judgments.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Historians and their moral judgements about colonialism

05:22: The problem with activist historians making moral judgments is, as it were, historians make moral judgments about colonialism, slavery, etc. They do so with the mantle of the authority of historians, but their moral judgments, from my point of view, really have no more moral authority than that of an ordinary person.

Why do we value understanding other cultures more than understanding other time periods?

32:11: An indiscriminate blanket condemnation of another culture is usually wrong and unwise because it is rare that every culture has got it right and every culture has got it wrong. So, we need to be open to the possibility that other cultures sometimes have something to teach us.

Considering context in moral judgments:

10:42: We can look back and judge certain instances where, let's say, European colonists were excessively violent, and the case of the Puritan attack on the Native American village of Mystic in Connecticut or Massachusetts in the 1600s. Fellow Puritans and Native Americans who were present were appalled at the excess and violence. So even at the time, people recognized excessive violence, but compared to our circumstances, theirs were very insecure and recourse to violent self-defense and often, of course, self-defense, will take the form of aggression. We need to put ourselves in those shoes before we judge what violence was excessive. So it's partly a matter of taking into account very different circumstances, and any good judgment, moral judgment, needs to do that, whether we're judging something that happened 200 years ago.

Is it possible to do history that is not presentist to some degree?

50:23: When it comes to making moral judgments about the past, which I think sometimes is perfectly appropriate, some people say, as you suggest, that one shouldn't use the norms of the present to judge the past. Well, when we're in the business of making judgments, we can't help doing that.

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]]> Mon, 8 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Historical, moral judgment can be a difficult thing to navigate in the context of colonialism. Have you ever pondered the role of truth in history and its impact on today's political culture? 

Nigel Biggar is a p theologian, ethicist, and the author of several books. His latest work is titled,  Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning.

Nigel and Greg discuss whether historical accuracy should bow to political objectives or stand resolute in the face of revisionist pressures when it comes to European culture and the history of Western civilization. They reflect on the delicate balance between preserving facts and fostering reconciliation in a politically charged world. Nigel also talks about the Ethics and Empire Project's ambitious undertaking to assess empires across cultures and times and offer a deeper view that challenges historical judgments.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Historians and their moral judgements about colonialism

05:22: The problem with activist historians making moral judgments is, as it were, historians make moral judgments about colonialism, slavery, etc. They do so with the mantle of the authority of historians, but their moral judgments, from my point of view, really have no more moral authority than that of an ordinary person.

Why do we value understanding other cultures more than understanding other time periods?

32:11: An indiscriminate blanket condemnation of another culture is usually wrong and unwise because it is rare that every culture has got it right and every culture has got it wrong. So, we need to be open to the possibility that other cultures sometimes have something to teach us.

Considering context in moral judgments:

10:42: We can look back and judge certain instances where, let's say, European colonists were excessively violent, and the case of the Puritan attack on the Native American village of Mystic in Connecticut or Massachusetts in the 1600s. Fellow Puritans and Native Americans who were present were appalled at the excess and violence. So even at the time, people recognized excessive violence, but compared to our circumstances, theirs were very insecure and recourse to violent self-defense and often, of course, self-defense, will take the form of aggression. We need to put ourselves in those shoes before we judge what violence was excessive. So it's partly a matter of taking into account very different circumstances, and any good judgment, moral judgment, needs to do that, whether we're judging something that happened 200 years ago.

Is it possible to do history that is not presentist to some degree?

50:23: When it comes to making moral judgments about the past, which I think sometimes is perfectly appropriate, some people say, as you suggest, that one shouldn't use the norms of the present to judge the past. Well, when we're in the business of making judgments, we can't help doing that.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 405. Reassessing the Moral Narrative of Colonialism and Morality feat. Nigel Biggar Greg La Blanc 00:54:48 Historical, moral judgment can be a difficult thing to navigate in the context of colonialism. Have you ever pondered the role of truth in history and its impact on today's political culture? Nigel Biggar is a p theologian, ethicist, and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning. Nigel and Greg discuss whether historical accuracy should bow to political objectives or stand resolute in the face of revisionist pressures when it comes to European culture and the history of Western civilization. They reflect on the delicate balance between preserving facts and fostering reconciliation in a politically charged world. Nigel also talks about the Ethics and Empire Project's ambitious undertaking to assess empires across cultures and times and offer a deeper view that challenges historical judgments. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Historical, moral judgment can be a difficult thing to navigate in the context of colonialism. Have you ever pondered the role of truth in history and its impact on today's political culture? Nigel Biggar is a p theologian, ethicist, and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning. Nigel and Greg discuss whether historical accuracy should bow to political objectives or stand resolute in the face of revisionist pressures when it comes to European culture and the history of Western civilization. They reflect on the delicate balance between preserving facts and fostering reconciliation in a politically charged world. Nigel also talks about the Ethics and Empire Project's ambitious undertaking to assess empires across cultures and times and offer a deeper view that challenges historical judgments. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 405 437fa1d7-d2c4-4753-8801-8ee39ae54d4a 404. The Evolution of Burnout with Christina Maslach Since the pandemic, the term “burnout” seems everywhere. But is burnout something that’s always existed at work, or is it a modern phenomenon? Have jobs changed or have workers' expectations and needs shifted?

Christina Maslach, an emerita professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, has pioneered research on burnout. For decades, she’s studied its causes, effects, and potential remedies. Her work has led to many books on the subject, including The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs. 

Christina and Greg chat about the history of the term “burnout,” how it’s not merely a result of heavy workloads but also stems from the quality of work and the surrounding work environment, and the six core needs essential for employee well-being. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is it burnout or are you just exhausted?

33:41: People often assume that if they're exhausted because of long hours and lots in a big load, is that burnout? And I'll say, "No, you're exhausted, but do you still like your job?” Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's a great job kind of thing. How do you feel about the work you're doing? Oh, I'm good at this. I said, "You're not burned out. You are what we call overextended, and it's the exhaustion, and it's often a high workload and unable to get enough rest and recovery and stuff like that.” But that's what we call job burnout when the other two things kick in as well. It's not just that you're highly stressed. There is more than that. If you still love what you do and still feel good about what you're doing, there's all these other things about the work that are positive; you'll be more willing to cope with that and figure out how to deal with it, and so forth. It's just not another word for stress, and it's that negative, cynical response to the job that is, in a sense, more the hallmark of burnout. That's really what makes it job burnout, as opposed to people use burnout for everything.

Components of a burnout response

10:21: These are the three components of a full burnout response: The exhaustion of the stress response, the cynicism, the negative distancing from the job, and the negative self-assessment of my own effectiveness in this job. 

What can help in dealing with burnout in the workplace?

37:59: Often, when I've asked people if you could have something that you think would help, in terms of dealing with burnout, they will say, "Somebody who is a mentor, somebody, a safe harbor, somebody I can go to, or some people that I can go to and talk to, and we work out problems, or I get advice, or they help me out, and I do the same for other people, it's reciprocal, and that kind of thing," and if I feel I can't ever trust anybody that has been, a real cause of, I could do this work somewhere else. But if people talk about colleagues, they're like gold.

People do not recover as well from chronic stressors as they do from occasional stressors

07:09: Chronic job stressors—that means they're there all the time. They don't go away. You think you've dealt with something, and here I am all over again dealing with this. What we know from decades of work on stress and coping is that people do not recover as well from chronic stressors as they do from occasional stressors.

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]]> Wed, 3 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Since the pandemic, the term “burnout” seems everywhere. But is burnout something that’s always existed at work, or is it a modern phenomenon? Have jobs changed or have workers' expectations and needs shifted?

Christina Maslach, an emerita professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, has pioneered research on burnout. For decades, she’s studied its causes, effects, and potential remedies. Her work has led to many books on the subject, including The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs. 

Christina and Greg chat about the history of the term “burnout,” how it’s not merely a result of heavy workloads but also stems from the quality of work and the surrounding work environment, and the six core needs essential for employee well-being. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is it burnout or are you just exhausted?

33:41: People often assume that if they're exhausted because of long hours and lots in a big load, is that burnout? And I'll say, "No, you're exhausted, but do you still like your job?” Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's a great job kind of thing. How do you feel about the work you're doing? Oh, I'm good at this. I said, "You're not burned out. You are what we call overextended, and it's the exhaustion, and it's often a high workload and unable to get enough rest and recovery and stuff like that.” But that's what we call job burnout when the other two things kick in as well. It's not just that you're highly stressed. There is more than that. If you still love what you do and still feel good about what you're doing, there's all these other things about the work that are positive; you'll be more willing to cope with that and figure out how to deal with it, and so forth. It's just not another word for stress, and it's that negative, cynical response to the job that is, in a sense, more the hallmark of burnout. That's really what makes it job burnout, as opposed to people use burnout for everything.

Components of a burnout response

10:21: These are the three components of a full burnout response: The exhaustion of the stress response, the cynicism, the negative distancing from the job, and the negative self-assessment of my own effectiveness in this job. 

What can help in dealing with burnout in the workplace?

37:59: Often, when I've asked people if you could have something that you think would help, in terms of dealing with burnout, they will say, "Somebody who is a mentor, somebody, a safe harbor, somebody I can go to, or some people that I can go to and talk to, and we work out problems, or I get advice, or they help me out, and I do the same for other people, it's reciprocal, and that kind of thing," and if I feel I can't ever trust anybody that has been, a real cause of, I could do this work somewhere else. But if people talk about colleagues, they're like gold.

People do not recover as well from chronic stressors as they do from occasional stressors

07:09: Chronic job stressors—that means they're there all the time. They don't go away. You think you've dealt with something, and here I am all over again dealing with this. What we know from decades of work on stress and coping is that people do not recover as well from chronic stressors as they do from occasional stressors.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 404. The Evolution of Burnout with Christina Maslach Greg La Blanc 01:10:50 Since the pandemic, the term “burnout” seems everywhere. But is burnout something that’s always existed at work, or is it a modern phenomenon? Have jobs changed or have workers' expectations and needs shifted? Christina Maslach, an emerita professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, has pioneered research on burnout. For decades, she’s studied its causes, effects, and potential remedies. Her work has led to many books on the subject, including The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs. Christina and Greg chat about the history of the term “burnout,” how it’s not merely a result of heavy workloads but also stems from the quality of work and the surrounding work environment, and the six core needs essential for employee well-being. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Since the pandemic, the term “burnout” seems everywhere. But is burnout something that’s always existed at work, or is it a modern phenomenon? Have jobs changed or have workers' expectations and needs shifted? Christina Maslach, an emerita professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, has pioneered research on burnout. For decades, she’s studied its causes, effects, and potential remedies. Her work has led to many books on the subject, including The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs. Christina and Greg chat about the history of the term “burnout,” how it’s not merely a result of heavy workloads but also stems from the quality of work and the surrounding work environment, and the six core needs essential for employee well-being. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 404 05f72e6e-8c92-4b52-889e-6990fb4ab220 403. Bridging Worlds: Explorations in Science, Spirituality, and Social Dynamics feat. David Myers Prepare to have your notions of nature vs. nurture thoroughly examined as we navigate the intricate web of genetics, environment, and well-being. What is more impactful than parent influence on children’s development?

David Myers is a professor at Hope College and the author of many books, including Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith, How Do We Know Ourselves?: Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind, and The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy.

David and Greg discuss the captivating terrain of psychology's overlap with philosophy. The transformative power of active educational engagement. We also delve into the 'religion factor' in personal happiness, contemplating whether secular institutions can replicate the community and meaning often found in religious congregations. David also explains the delicate balance between intuition and analytical thinking, inspired by an amusing interaction with Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The science of happiness

9:31: Most people say they're pretty happy; three in ten Americans say they're very happy; six in ten say they're pretty happy; only one in ten say they're not very happy. But what does that really mean? Well, it turns out that people that say they're very happy or that describe their life as deeply satisfying rather than unsatisfied, in fact, they look happier to other people. They smile and laugh more. Their friends rate them as happier. They're less vulnerable to disabling depression, and so forth. So, I think there is a lot of evidence that those subjective well-being measurements by which people assess their own happiness and life satisfaction have validity. And they're connected to other things that are also indicators of well-being. And that's why we have a science of happiness and a whole field of positive psychology now.

Impact of religion on one’s well-being

10:37: We know that actively religious people who worship regularly with a faith community are much likelier to say they're very happy than are people who are religiously disengaged. These people are connected to other people in a communal experience where there's mutual support. Religion is also a meaning system, and people who live with a sense of meaning and purpose in life report greater happiness than others.

A shocking finding on the effect of parental nurture on children’s development

16:27: Behavior genetics research has also had an even more spectacularly shocking finding: the effect of parental nurture on children's developing traits, such as their intelligence and personalities, is, assuming we're within the normal range of parental variation, excluding abuse and neglect. Parental nurture is a surprisingly small variable. Parental nurture matters for values, politics, and the religious faith of children as they're growing up, but their basic traits are not much influenced by parental nurture. What does matter more than we've calibrated in the past is peer influence. Particularly as kids grow up into middle and high schoolers. They're really much more attuned to and adapting themselves to the ideas and the lifestyles and so forth of their peers than they are of their parents.

Do genetic factors play a role in one's personality, subjective well being and, and social factors?

13:17: I would say that I have been amazed by the results of behavioral genetic studies, which we now have on many millions of twins, for example, both fraternal and identical twins, and also comparing biological and adoptive siblings with their biological and adoptive parents. About 50 percent of the person-to-person variation in various important traits, like intelligence, extroversion, and even physical characteristics—psychological trait characteristics—are especially attributable to genetic differences. Note that that doesn't mean that 50 percent of my intelligence, yours, or your extraversion is attributable to genes. You are 100 percent the product of your genes in your environment. However, if we want to understand individual variation, the differences among individuals, genes are very important. 

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]]> Mon, 1 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Prepare to have your notions of nature vs. nurture thoroughly examined as we navigate the intricate web of genetics, environment, and well-being. What is more impactful than parent influence on children’s development?

David Myers is a professor at Hope College and the author of many books, including Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith, How Do We Know Ourselves?: Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind, and The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy.

David and Greg discuss the captivating terrain of psychology's overlap with philosophy. The transformative power of active educational engagement. We also delve into the 'religion factor' in personal happiness, contemplating whether secular institutions can replicate the community and meaning often found in religious congregations. David also explains the delicate balance between intuition and analytical thinking, inspired by an amusing interaction with Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The science of happiness

9:31: Most people say they're pretty happy; three in ten Americans say they're very happy; six in ten say they're pretty happy; only one in ten say they're not very happy. But what does that really mean? Well, it turns out that people that say they're very happy or that describe their life as deeply satisfying rather than unsatisfied, in fact, they look happier to other people. They smile and laugh more. Their friends rate them as happier. They're less vulnerable to disabling depression, and so forth. So, I think there is a lot of evidence that those subjective well-being measurements by which people assess their own happiness and life satisfaction have validity. And they're connected to other things that are also indicators of well-being. And that's why we have a science of happiness and a whole field of positive psychology now.

Impact of religion on one’s well-being

10:37: We know that actively religious people who worship regularly with a faith community are much likelier to say they're very happy than are people who are religiously disengaged. These people are connected to other people in a communal experience where there's mutual support. Religion is also a meaning system, and people who live with a sense of meaning and purpose in life report greater happiness than others.

A shocking finding on the effect of parental nurture on children’s development

16:27: Behavior genetics research has also had an even more spectacularly shocking finding: the effect of parental nurture on children's developing traits, such as their intelligence and personalities, is, assuming we're within the normal range of parental variation, excluding abuse and neglect. Parental nurture is a surprisingly small variable. Parental nurture matters for values, politics, and the religious faith of children as they're growing up, but their basic traits are not much influenced by parental nurture. What does matter more than we've calibrated in the past is peer influence. Particularly as kids grow up into middle and high schoolers. They're really much more attuned to and adapting themselves to the ideas and the lifestyles and so forth of their peers than they are of their parents.

Do genetic factors play a role in one's personality, subjective well being and, and social factors?

13:17: I would say that I have been amazed by the results of behavioral genetic studies, which we now have on many millions of twins, for example, both fraternal and identical twins, and also comparing biological and adoptive siblings with their biological and adoptive parents. About 50 percent of the person-to-person variation in various important traits, like intelligence, extroversion, and even physical characteristics—psychological trait characteristics—are especially attributable to genetic differences. Note that that doesn't mean that 50 percent of my intelligence, yours, or your extraversion is attributable to genes. You are 100 percent the product of your genes in your environment. However, if we want to understand individual variation, the differences among individuals, genes are very important. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 403. Bridging Worlds: Explorations in Science, Spirituality, and Social Dynamics feat. David Myers Greg La Blanc 00:52:52 Prepare to have your notions of nature vs. nurture thoroughly examined as we navigate the intricate web of genetics, environment, and well-being. What is more impactful than parent influence on children’s development? David Myers is a professor at Hope College and the author of many books, including Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith, How Do We Know Ourselves?: Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind, and The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy. David and Greg discuss the captivating terrain of psychology's overlap with philosophy. The transformative power of active educational engagement. We also delve into the 'religion factor' in personal happiness, contemplating whether secular institutions can replicate the community and meaning often found in religious congregations. David also explains the delicate balance between intuition and analytical thinking, inspired by an amusing interaction with Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Prepare to have your notions of nature vs. nurture thoroughly examined as we navigate the intricate web of genetics, environment, and well-being. What is more impactful than parent influence on children’s development? David Myers is a professor at Hope College and the author of many books, including Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith, How Do We Know Ourselves?: Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind, and The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy. David and Greg discuss the captivating terrain of psychology's overlap with philosophy. The transformative power of active educational engagement. We also delve into the 'religion factor' in personal happiness, contemplating whether secular institutions can replicate the community and meaning often found in religious congregations. David also explains the delicate balance between intuition and analytical thinking, inspired by an amusing interaction with Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 403 78538586-dbd5-4931-b208-d5a6fe82d514 402. Replacing Democracy with Epistocracy feat. Jason Brennan Democracy stands as one of humanity's most treasured institutions, but what if the very foundation it’s built upon is less solid than we believe? What is an epistocracy and how could it work better as a form of government?

Jason Brennan is a professor at Georgetown University and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Against Democracy.

Jason and Greg discuss how voting, often romanticized as the pinnacle of civic duty, hides a twisted web of irrational loyalties and tribal instincts that can lead us astray. Jason explains the historical context of political discord and the role of expertise in an era where trusted figures become polarizing symbols. They scrutinize the influence of political factions and social signaling, the curious ways in which political interests align across different cultures, and whether deliberation in democracy genuinely elevates decision-making or merely intensifies division. Jason concludes by revealing the hidden trials and tribulations of pursuing a PhD, and the emphasis on research productivity over teaching, the financial realities of academic life, and the necessity of guidance for non-academic careers.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why don't voters admit their ignorance and defer to experts in policy matters?

16:37: You're right that even in markets when we do a lot of delegation, however, we still have a kind of check on this, right? So, I know only the most basic plumbing. So if I have any big problem, I'm going to have to call the plumber in. But when the plumber leaves, I can tell if there's still a leak underneath the bathtub, right? It's like, well, the water is still dripping, so he must have done a bad job. I couldn't fix it myself, but I can check to see whether he fixed it. [17:09] We don't have that same ability when it comes to politics. If a person implements a policy, I put in the Cares Act; did that make things better? How would you know? How would you measure that? That takes expert ability, not just to sort of know what's happened in the past five years as a result of it, but to disentangle the effects of that policy from all the other confounding things. I mean, you and I see policy papers where people try to do this, and it's extremely difficult. So the average person doesn't know how to do that. They do, however, defer to experts in a way, but the experts they defer to are people like comedians on late-night TV who make fun of the other side.

Politics as Social Signaling

28:46: A lot of what we're doing with politics is this kind of signaling to one another: we're the right kind of person, we're good, we're virtuous, we're kind. Please like me, be my friend, etc. I think that's what's happening in politics. We're using our vote as a way of getting social benefits for ourselves.

Why does Europe's political landscape look different?

23:21: One of the reasons why I think political distances, or differences, are less pernicious in most of Europe than they are in the U.S. is partly because when you have proportional voting systems, you have more viable political parties. And as a result, it's like your neighbors are all going to be people at different parties. It's really hard for you to segregate yourself in terms of your work, where you live, whom you date, and whom you befriend, because there's just so much variation. So, you can't afford to make that the same kind of signal that you do in the U.S., we have a first-past-the-post voting system that predicts there's going to be two major parties, and I think we get this behavior as a result.

In politics, you don't get the same kind of reward-punishment system that you get elsewhere

15:42: When it comes to politics, there are only two major parties, and so you can afford and get rewarded for excluding a bunch of people and just playing along with your team. So I think the incentive structure of politics is worse than the incentive structure we have in most other aspects of our lives.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 29 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Democracy stands as one of humanity's most treasured institutions, but what if the very foundation it’s built upon is less solid than we believe? What is an epistocracy and how could it work better as a form of government?

Jason Brennan is a professor at Georgetown University and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Against Democracy.

Jason and Greg discuss how voting, often romanticized as the pinnacle of civic duty, hides a twisted web of irrational loyalties and tribal instincts that can lead us astray. Jason explains the historical context of political discord and the role of expertise in an era where trusted figures become polarizing symbols. They scrutinize the influence of political factions and social signaling, the curious ways in which political interests align across different cultures, and whether deliberation in democracy genuinely elevates decision-making or merely intensifies division. Jason concludes by revealing the hidden trials and tribulations of pursuing a PhD, and the emphasis on research productivity over teaching, the financial realities of academic life, and the necessity of guidance for non-academic careers.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why don't voters admit their ignorance and defer to experts in policy matters?

16:37: You're right that even in markets when we do a lot of delegation, however, we still have a kind of check on this, right? So, I know only the most basic plumbing. So if I have any big problem, I'm going to have to call the plumber in. But when the plumber leaves, I can tell if there's still a leak underneath the bathtub, right? It's like, well, the water is still dripping, so he must have done a bad job. I couldn't fix it myself, but I can check to see whether he fixed it. [17:09] We don't have that same ability when it comes to politics. If a person implements a policy, I put in the Cares Act; did that make things better? How would you know? How would you measure that? That takes expert ability, not just to sort of know what's happened in the past five years as a result of it, but to disentangle the effects of that policy from all the other confounding things. I mean, you and I see policy papers where people try to do this, and it's extremely difficult. So the average person doesn't know how to do that. They do, however, defer to experts in a way, but the experts they defer to are people like comedians on late-night TV who make fun of the other side.

Politics as Social Signaling

28:46: A lot of what we're doing with politics is this kind of signaling to one another: we're the right kind of person, we're good, we're virtuous, we're kind. Please like me, be my friend, etc. I think that's what's happening in politics. We're using our vote as a way of getting social benefits for ourselves.

Why does Europe's political landscape look different?

23:21: One of the reasons why I think political distances, or differences, are less pernicious in most of Europe than they are in the U.S. is partly because when you have proportional voting systems, you have more viable political parties. And as a result, it's like your neighbors are all going to be people at different parties. It's really hard for you to segregate yourself in terms of your work, where you live, whom you date, and whom you befriend, because there's just so much variation. So, you can't afford to make that the same kind of signal that you do in the U.S., we have a first-past-the-post voting system that predicts there's going to be two major parties, and I think we get this behavior as a result.

In politics, you don't get the same kind of reward-punishment system that you get elsewhere

15:42: When it comes to politics, there are only two major parties, and so you can afford and get rewarded for excluding a bunch of people and just playing along with your team. So I think the incentive structure of politics is worse than the incentive structure we have in most other aspects of our lives.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 402. Replacing Democracy with Epistocracy feat. Jason Brennan Greg La Blanc 01:06:44 Democracy stands as one of humanity's most treasured institutions, but what if the very foundation it’s built upon is less solid than we believe? What is an epistocracy and how could it work better as a form of government? Jason Brennan is a professor at Georgetown University and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Against Democracy. Jason and Greg discuss how voting, often romanticized as the pinnacle of civic duty, hides a twisted web of irrational loyalties and tribal instincts that can lead us astray. Jason explains the historical context of political discord and the role of expertise in an era where trusted figures become polarizing symbols. They scrutinize the influence of political factions and social signaling, the curious ways in which political interests align across different cultures, and whether deliberation in democracy genuinely elevates decision-making or merely intensifies division. Jason concludes by revealing the hidden trials and tribulations of pursuing a PhD, and the emphasis on research productivity over teaching, the financial realities of academic life, and the necessity of guidance for non-academic careers. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Democracy stands as one of humanity's most treasured institutions, but what if the very foundation it’s built upon is less solid than we believe? What is an epistocracy and how could it work better as a form of government? Jason Brennan is a professor at Georgetown University and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Against Democracy. Jason and Greg discuss how voting, often romanticized as the pinnacle of civic duty, hides a twisted web of irrational loyalties and tribal instincts that can lead us astray. Jason explains the historical context of political discord and the role of expertise in an era where trusted figures become polarizing symbols. They scrutinize the influence of political factions and social signaling, the curious ways in which political interests align across different cultures, and whether deliberation in democracy genuinely elevates decision-making or merely intensifies division. Jason concludes by revealing the hidden trials and tribulations of pursuing a PhD, and the emphasis on research productivity over teaching, the financial realities of academic life, and the necessity of guidance for non-academic careers. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 402 bf463937-c3f2-4fd9-a868-6306ecb7670d 401. Why Science is Fundamentally Irrational feat. Michael Strevens What can we learn looking back on the paths of influential thinkers like Popper and Kuhn today? How are the motivations and passions of scientists left behind in the pursuit of scientific progress??

Micheal Strevens is a professor in the Philosophy department of New York University and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science.

Michael and Greg discuss the unspoken motivations and aesthetic judgments fueling the progress of science. They explore the delicate balance between rigorous empirical data and the broader intellectual landscape in which it resides, offering insights into the irrational but inherently human elements of scientific inquiry. Michael shares his own experiences and the profound joy found in understanding causal models in a field where explanation often trumps prediction. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The rule of science

10:11: I think science has its problems at any point, but it's in reasonably good shape in the sense that there's a sort of an agreed set of rules for playing the game, the iron rule, as I call them. I mean, even something like p-value null hypothesis testing, that has its downside, of course, but it is a rule for doing science. And if you just think of it as a kind of a set of boxes you have to check to have research that you can stick into a journal, then I think it mostly actually does what it's supposed to do. It's possible to game it and for things to go south in certain kinds of situations. But as long as you don't take it too seriously, it's actually telling you something about the intrinsic quality of the data. Basically, really just formal threshold the data has to pass. It's like a legitimate move in chess. Okay, a move can be legitimate and also a really crummy move, and likewise, data can satisfy these rules and still be terrible data.

Michael's motivation to tackle motivation in the world of science

03:46: Perhaps the most important things about modern science were more connected to the psychological or the sociological, to the institutional framework of science, rather than to the kind of thing that, more traditionally, stood out for philosophers of science—stuff to do with the method in a kind of logical, intellectual sense, a reasoning sense. And so it was a kind of switch in my thinking from arguing and logic to questions more subtle and background questions about motivation.

Diverse attitudes in science

11:34: I think there's a huge range of attitudes in science. There are a lot of scientists who it's just their daily job almost, and so they go and do the job and don't spend a lot of time worrying about it otherwise. And then there's some scientists who really feel like they want to make some breakthrough and come up with some revolutionary discovery. All of them have to, as it were, play the same game. And the game works ultimately independently of their personal motivations, simply by generating enough facts with enough systematicity and attention to detail that if there is some problem with the big framework, science will ultimately find it.

How do we optimize research efforts for maximum ROI on the frontier?

41:10: In a world where doing science costs millions and millions of dollars, it's not so easy to just leave it up to the judgment of scientists as a whole. It's a tough problem, but on the whole, I think it's good not to try to pick out just a few projects and funnel everything towards those few projects. I'm afraid I don't have too many good ideas about the alternative, apart from that, except to allow diversity to flourish in one way or another. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 27 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What can we learn looking back on the paths of influential thinkers like Popper and Kuhn today? How are the motivations and passions of scientists left behind in the pursuit of scientific progress??

Micheal Strevens is a professor in the Philosophy department of New York University and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science.

Michael and Greg discuss the unspoken motivations and aesthetic judgments fueling the progress of science. They explore the delicate balance between rigorous empirical data and the broader intellectual landscape in which it resides, offering insights into the irrational but inherently human elements of scientific inquiry. Michael shares his own experiences and the profound joy found in understanding causal models in a field where explanation often trumps prediction. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The rule of science

10:11: I think science has its problems at any point, but it's in reasonably good shape in the sense that there's a sort of an agreed set of rules for playing the game, the iron rule, as I call them. I mean, even something like p-value null hypothesis testing, that has its downside, of course, but it is a rule for doing science. And if you just think of it as a kind of a set of boxes you have to check to have research that you can stick into a journal, then I think it mostly actually does what it's supposed to do. It's possible to game it and for things to go south in certain kinds of situations. But as long as you don't take it too seriously, it's actually telling you something about the intrinsic quality of the data. Basically, really just formal threshold the data has to pass. It's like a legitimate move in chess. Okay, a move can be legitimate and also a really crummy move, and likewise, data can satisfy these rules and still be terrible data.

Michael's motivation to tackle motivation in the world of science

03:46: Perhaps the most important things about modern science were more connected to the psychological or the sociological, to the institutional framework of science, rather than to the kind of thing that, more traditionally, stood out for philosophers of science—stuff to do with the method in a kind of logical, intellectual sense, a reasoning sense. And so it was a kind of switch in my thinking from arguing and logic to questions more subtle and background questions about motivation.

Diverse attitudes in science

11:34: I think there's a huge range of attitudes in science. There are a lot of scientists who it's just their daily job almost, and so they go and do the job and don't spend a lot of time worrying about it otherwise. And then there's some scientists who really feel like they want to make some breakthrough and come up with some revolutionary discovery. All of them have to, as it were, play the same game. And the game works ultimately independently of their personal motivations, simply by generating enough facts with enough systematicity and attention to detail that if there is some problem with the big framework, science will ultimately find it.

How do we optimize research efforts for maximum ROI on the frontier?

41:10: In a world where doing science costs millions and millions of dollars, it's not so easy to just leave it up to the judgment of scientists as a whole. It's a tough problem, but on the whole, I think it's good not to try to pick out just a few projects and funnel everything towards those few projects. I'm afraid I don't have too many good ideas about the alternative, apart from that, except to allow diversity to flourish in one way or another. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 401. Why Science is Fundamentally Irrational feat. Michael Strevens Greg La Blanc 00:52:00 What can we learn looking back on the paths of influential thinkers like Popper and Kuhn today? How are the motivations and passions of scientists left behind in the pursuit of scientific progress?? Micheal Strevens is a professor in the Philosophy department of New York University and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science. Michael and Greg discuss the unspoken motivations and aesthetic judgments fueling the progress of science. They explore the delicate balance between rigorous empirical data and the broader intellectual landscape in which it resides, offering insights into the irrational but inherently human elements of scientific inquiry. Michael shares his own experiences and the profound joy found in understanding causal models in a field where explanation often trumps prediction. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What can we learn looking back on the paths of influential thinkers like Popper and Kuhn today? How are the motivations and passions of scientists left behind in the pursuit of scientific progress?? Micheal Strevens is a professor in the Philosophy department of New York University and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science. Michael and Greg discuss the unspoken motivations and aesthetic judgments fueling the progress of science. They explore the delicate balance between rigorous empirical data and the broader intellectual landscape in which it resides, offering insights into the irrational but inherently human elements of scientific inquiry. Michael shares his own experiences and the profound joy found in understanding causal models in a field where explanation often trumps prediction. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 401 a13ca5a8-374b-44fa-a57a-b390cf2817dd 400. The Essence of Human Bonds from Tribes to Modernity feat. Robin Dunbar Unlock the mysteries of human connections as we share a compelling dialogue with the man behind ‘Dunbar’s Number,’ the number of connections that humans can and do maintain across different cultures and time periods. What evolutionary forces have sculpted the essence of friendship and religion, also impacting our well-being and longevity?

Robin Dunbar is emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford. He is also the author of several books, including Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships, How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures, and The Science of Love and Betrayal.

Robin and Greg discuss storytelling and its influence on religion, probing how our cognitive prowess has enabled us to imagine unseen worlds and foster expansive social networks. Robin explains the transformative power of religious rituals and their ability to engender deep community bonds and emotional transcendence. They also examine the practical applications that our ancestral social constructs hold for the contemporary world. From the role of HR departments in nurturing community to the competitive edge ingrained within the collegiate system, they dissect the building blocks of successful organizational cultures and also what it looks like to cultivate meaningful relationships in an increasingly digital world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is religion what makes humans unique?

10:11: Of the things that distinguish humans from all other animals, birds, mammals, whatever: religion is certainly a key one, but I would probably want to argue that religion itself is derivative of something else that's more generally important; that is, actually storytelling. It's the ability to tell stories, as it were. And stories are about thinking about and concocting tales about worlds that we can't physically see. So if you like invisible worlds, things that, as in a sense of fiction, is the classic case, but all the kinds of many different kinds of stories you tell—fictional and even factual stories about places far away, metropolis tales, are all about things that we can't physically see. We have to imagine in our minds, and religion is part and parcel of that spread.

Friendships affect your lifespan

07:10: The single most important factor affecting your mental health and well-being, your physical health and well-being, and even how long you're going to live into the future from today on is the number and quality of friendships you have. And the optimal number seems to be about five.

Storytelling is a key component of religion

39:10: A key component, I think, of religion, storytelling seems to play a very strong supplementary role in bonding communities. So if we want to bond large-scale communities of the kinds we have now and then, one of those is having a shared history of that we are here, not necessarily as the favored sons and daughters of God, but that we are here because of a certain kind of history.

Is there a way to create a sense of belonging in an organization?

46:15: There's no silver bullet that applies to every organization; you have to look at the particular local culture and think about what kind of works in that kind of environment. And given the fact that these days people have families, they want kids, they want to get home to put to bed, and they have other friends that, outside, as it were. So you've got to design it around people's natural lives as we live them these days.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 25 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Unlock the mysteries of human connections as we share a compelling dialogue with the man behind ‘Dunbar’s Number,’ the number of connections that humans can and do maintain across different cultures and time periods. What evolutionary forces have sculpted the essence of friendship and religion, also impacting our well-being and longevity?

Robin Dunbar is emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford. He is also the author of several books, including Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships, How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures, and The Science of Love and Betrayal.

Robin and Greg discuss storytelling and its influence on religion, probing how our cognitive prowess has enabled us to imagine unseen worlds and foster expansive social networks. Robin explains the transformative power of religious rituals and their ability to engender deep community bonds and emotional transcendence. They also examine the practical applications that our ancestral social constructs hold for the contemporary world. From the role of HR departments in nurturing community to the competitive edge ingrained within the collegiate system, they dissect the building blocks of successful organizational cultures and also what it looks like to cultivate meaningful relationships in an increasingly digital world.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is religion what makes humans unique?

10:11: Of the things that distinguish humans from all other animals, birds, mammals, whatever: religion is certainly a key one, but I would probably want to argue that religion itself is derivative of something else that's more generally important; that is, actually storytelling. It's the ability to tell stories, as it were. And stories are about thinking about and concocting tales about worlds that we can't physically see. So if you like invisible worlds, things that, as in a sense of fiction, is the classic case, but all the kinds of many different kinds of stories you tell—fictional and even factual stories about places far away, metropolis tales, are all about things that we can't physically see. We have to imagine in our minds, and religion is part and parcel of that spread.

Friendships affect your lifespan

07:10: The single most important factor affecting your mental health and well-being, your physical health and well-being, and even how long you're going to live into the future from today on is the number and quality of friendships you have. And the optimal number seems to be about five.

Storytelling is a key component of religion

39:10: A key component, I think, of religion, storytelling seems to play a very strong supplementary role in bonding communities. So if we want to bond large-scale communities of the kinds we have now and then, one of those is having a shared history of that we are here, not necessarily as the favored sons and daughters of God, but that we are here because of a certain kind of history.

Is there a way to create a sense of belonging in an organization?

46:15: There's no silver bullet that applies to every organization; you have to look at the particular local culture and think about what kind of works in that kind of environment. And given the fact that these days people have families, they want kids, they want to get home to put to bed, and they have other friends that, outside, as it were. So you've got to design it around people's natural lives as we live them these days.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 400. The Essence of Human Bonds from Tribes to Modernity feat. Robin Dunbar Greg La Blanc 01:10:21 Unlock the mysteries of human connections as we share a compelling dialogue with the man behind ‘Dunbar’s Number,’ the number of connections that humans can and do maintain across different cultures and time periods. What evolutionary forces have sculpted the essence of friendship and religion, also impacting our well-being and longevity? Robin Dunbar is emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford. He is also the author of several books, including Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships, How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures, and The Science of Love and Betrayal. Robin and Greg discuss storytelling and its influence on religion, probing how our cognitive prowess has enabled us to imagine unseen worlds and foster expansive social networks. Robin explains the transformative power of religious rituals and their ability to engender deep community bonds and emotional transcendence. They also examine the practical applications that our ancestral social constructs hold for the contemporary world. From the role of HR departments in nurturing community to the competitive edge ingrained within the collegiate system, they dissect the building blocks of successful organizational cultures and also what it looks like to cultivate meaningful relationships in an increasingly digital world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Unlock the mysteries of human connections as we share a compelling dialogue with the man behind ‘Dunbar’s Number,’ the number of connections that humans can and do maintain across different cultures and time periods. What evolutionary forces have sculpted the essence of friendship and religion, also impacting our well-being and longevity? Robin Dunbar is emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford. He is also the author of several books, including Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships, How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures, and The Science of Love and Betrayal. Robin and Greg discuss storytelling and its influence on religion, probing how our cognitive prowess has enabled us to imagine unseen worlds and foster expansive social networks. Robin explains the transformative power of religious rituals and their ability to engender deep community bonds and emotional transcendence. They also examine the practical applications that our ancestral social constructs hold for the contemporary world. From the role of HR departments in nurturing community to the competitive edge ingrained within the collegiate system, they dissect the building blocks of successful organizational cultures and also what it looks like to cultivate meaningful relationships in an increasingly digital world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 400 6f1c9979-aecd-4351-8b3b-d3457f33a598 399. The Science Behind Human Connection and Engagement feat. Nicholas Epley Have you ever considered the transformative power of a simple hello or the profound effect of asking someone about their day? Why might our attempts at perspective-taking be inadequate compared to  the straightforward solution of ‘just ask.’

Nicholas Epley is the John Templeton Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science, and Director of the Roman Family Center for Decision Research, at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also the author of a book titled, Mindwise: Why We Misunderstand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want.

Nicholas and Greg discuss how social nuances influence every aspect of our lives. Nicholas’s expertise, combined with Greg’s teaching experiences, bring to light the nuanced dance of cross-cultural social engagement and the impact of technology on our interactions. This episode isn't just about making more friends or being likable—it's about harnessing the often overlooked science of social cognition to enrich every interaction you have. Discover why the 'superpower' of social cognition might be the most underutilized tool in your personal and professional arsenal.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Conversation is an entirely cooperative process 

16:25: Conversation itself is just an entirely cooperative process that tends to pull us together with somebody else. So, for us to have a conversation, we have to start by establishing some common ground with each other, figure out what we're going to talk about.That's inherently cooperative. We're going back and forth. We're taking turns. We're cooperating, right? And cooperation tends to pull people together. Reciprocity is, without question, the dominant social norm in social interaction. So, if I were to punch you in the face, you would probably punch me in the face back, right? That'd be a bad interaction. But if I reach out and say hello to you with sort of authentic kindness, you tend to respond back in the same way. And, it's those iterative social processes—those complicated social processes—that people tend to really underestimate the power of.

Deep talk is better than small talk, but small talk is better than no talk

25:43: Small talk is better than no talk in a given moment; deep talks are a little better, or not as bad as you might think it is. But when you see people reporting that having a really deep conversation with somebody is better than a shallow one, it's typically when they have both and can compare them on their own; the small talk is actually pretty good. 

How our social thinking keeps us from getting feedback

07:50: I think a bigger problem with a lot of our social thinking is that it can create reality, which then keeps us from getting the feedback we need. So Greg, if I thought you wanted to talk to me, I'd have a conversation with you, and I'd figure out if that assessment was right. So I'd get feedback on that because I would approach you and would find out if we're in a coffee shop, I didn't think you want to talk to me or didn't look very interesting, whatever. I decided, nah, I'm not going to have this conversation. Notice I wouldn't have anything to learn from. So when it comes to social thought, sometimes, particularly when it's about whether doing engage with somebody to connect with somebody or not, our beliefs are self-fulfilling, and they can keep us from getting the feedback we need.

The truth about our fear of social engagement

28:05: Our fears about how social engagement is going to go, particularly when it's positive, just tend to be a little off, a little overly pessimistic, in part because we don't seem to fully appreciate that when you reach out positively to others, they tend to reach out positively to you in return, and people are happier to be seen and have somebody take some notice of them. That's just very powerful—surprisingly powerful.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 20 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Have you ever considered the transformative power of a simple hello or the profound effect of asking someone about their day? Why might our attempts at perspective-taking be inadequate compared to  the straightforward solution of ‘just ask.’

Nicholas Epley is the John Templeton Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science, and Director of the Roman Family Center for Decision Research, at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also the author of a book titled, Mindwise: Why We Misunderstand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want.

Nicholas and Greg discuss how social nuances influence every aspect of our lives. Nicholas’s expertise, combined with Greg’s teaching experiences, bring to light the nuanced dance of cross-cultural social engagement and the impact of technology on our interactions. This episode isn't just about making more friends or being likable—it's about harnessing the often overlooked science of social cognition to enrich every interaction you have. Discover why the 'superpower' of social cognition might be the most underutilized tool in your personal and professional arsenal.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Conversation is an entirely cooperative process 

16:25: Conversation itself is just an entirely cooperative process that tends to pull us together with somebody else. So, for us to have a conversation, we have to start by establishing some common ground with each other, figure out what we're going to talk about.That's inherently cooperative. We're going back and forth. We're taking turns. We're cooperating, right? And cooperation tends to pull people together. Reciprocity is, without question, the dominant social norm in social interaction. So, if I were to punch you in the face, you would probably punch me in the face back, right? That'd be a bad interaction. But if I reach out and say hello to you with sort of authentic kindness, you tend to respond back in the same way. And, it's those iterative social processes—those complicated social processes—that people tend to really underestimate the power of.

Deep talk is better than small talk, but small talk is better than no talk

25:43: Small talk is better than no talk in a given moment; deep talks are a little better, or not as bad as you might think it is. But when you see people reporting that having a really deep conversation with somebody is better than a shallow one, it's typically when they have both and can compare them on their own; the small talk is actually pretty good. 

How our social thinking keeps us from getting feedback

07:50: I think a bigger problem with a lot of our social thinking is that it can create reality, which then keeps us from getting the feedback we need. So Greg, if I thought you wanted to talk to me, I'd have a conversation with you, and I'd figure out if that assessment was right. So I'd get feedback on that because I would approach you and would find out if we're in a coffee shop, I didn't think you want to talk to me or didn't look very interesting, whatever. I decided, nah, I'm not going to have this conversation. Notice I wouldn't have anything to learn from. So when it comes to social thought, sometimes, particularly when it's about whether doing engage with somebody to connect with somebody or not, our beliefs are self-fulfilling, and they can keep us from getting the feedback we need.

The truth about our fear of social engagement

28:05: Our fears about how social engagement is going to go, particularly when it's positive, just tend to be a little off, a little overly pessimistic, in part because we don't seem to fully appreciate that when you reach out positively to others, they tend to reach out positively to you in return, and people are happier to be seen and have somebody take some notice of them. That's just very powerful—surprisingly powerful.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 399. The Science Behind Human Connection and Engagement feat. Nicholas Epley Greg La Blanc 00:59:34 Have you ever considered the transformative power of a simple hello or the profound effect of asking someone about their day? Why might our attempts at perspective-taking be inadequate compared to the straightforward solution of ‘just ask.’ Nicholas Epley is the John Templeton Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science, and Director of the Roman Family Center for Decision Research, at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also the author of a book titled, Mindwise: Why We Misunderstand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want. Nicholas and Greg discuss how social nuances influence every aspect of our lives. Nicholas’s expertise, combined with Greg’s teaching experiences, bring to light the nuanced dance of cross-cultural social engagement and the impact of technology on our interactions. This episode isn't just about making more friends or being likable—it's about harnessing the often overlooked science of social cognition to enrich every interaction you have. Discover why the 'superpower' of social cognition might be the most underutilized tool in your personal and professional arsenal. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Have you ever considered the transformative power of a simple hello or the profound effect of asking someone about their day? Why might our attempts at perspective-taking be inadequate compared to the straightforward solution of ‘just ask.’ Nicholas Epley is the John Templeton Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science, and Director of the Roman Family Center for Decision Research, at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also the author of a book titled, Mindwise: Why We Misunderstand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want. Nicholas and Greg discuss how social nuances influence every aspect of our lives. Nicholas’s expertise, combined with Greg’s teaching experiences, bring to light the nuanced dance of cross-cultural social engagement and the impact of technology on our interactions. This episode isn't just about making more friends or being likable—it's about harnessing the often overlooked science of social cognition to enrich every interaction you have. Discover why the 'superpower' of social cognition might be the most underutilized tool in your personal and professional arsenal. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 399 4a821818-18ae-4204-be15-de9e287cd4e8 398. Navigating the Ideological Shift in Academia feat. John Ellis How did higher education come to be dominated by academics on the ideological left, and what are the potential consequences of this monoculture on diverse fields such as literature and engineering? What’s the mechanism behind this shift, and where did it originate?

John Ellis is Chairman of the Board of the California Association of Scholars, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the author of several books. His most recent work is titled, The Breakdown of Higher Education: How It Happened, the Damage It Does, and What Can Be Done.

John and Greg discuss the transformative changes happening in higher education. John questions the sustainability of the ideological shift towards political correctness and identity politics within humanities departments. Together they examine the impact of the marginalization of traditional scholarly perspectives and the wider implications for society's dialogue.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What happens when one political ideology dominates the campus

1:00:01 The more you get a group of people in one room that agree with each other,  the more you ban from that room any contrary opinion, the more those people will descend into stupidity because there's nothing to check them. What keeps people like you and me alive intellectually is that if we say something that has a flaw in it, someone is going to see those, spot the flaw. And in a thriving university, there are enough bright people around you, that if you say something with a weakness in it, there'll be someone who'll point it out to you, and you'll be better off. Because now, when you have a group of people that  all agree with each other, that discipline, self-correction is gone. And so you'll descend into greater and greater irrationality and stupidity, and that process is still ongoing.

Do universities only appoint people like themselves

58:48 The universities will not change. They are, at the moment, peopled by a sect, a minority sect, a political sect that is extraordinarily tenacious and unwilling to compromise. Extraordinarily intolerant and intemperate, and they will go on appointing people like themselves. And we're still seeing the grip on this. The grip of the radical left is growing ever tighter, day by day. People don't seem to grasp this, but it is true.

The idea of objectivity in sciences and engineering

40:25 There is definitely an assault on the idea of objectivity in sciences and engineering. I mean, you've heard about black mathematics and so on, which is a nonsense ideal. My favorite saying is, "Only an engineer can build a bridge that will stand up. It will only just stand up. anyone can build a bridge that is overbuilt." These standards are seriously under assault now. No one quite knows how far they'll go. Certainly, there's some good work still being done in the sciences.

DEI as a reflection of the values of a radical faculty

56:14 The reach of the radical faculty, its grip on American academia, is extensive. It is pervasive. It is everywhere.  And one of the things that I've found is very odd. What I don't understand is the fact that what was happening on one campus was replicated on almost every other campus,  and yet it seemed so, you know, irrational to me, and yet the whole country, the universities in the whole country were exhibiting the same kind of directionality.  And I still marvel at this. That there weren't more holdouts,  but, no,  the DEI is a reflection of the values of the radical faculty. 

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Guest Profile:

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]]> Tue, 19 Mar 2024 13:21:04 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How did higher education come to be dominated by academics on the ideological left, and what are the potential consequences of this monoculture on diverse fields such as literature and engineering? What’s the mechanism behind this shift, and where did it originate?

John Ellis is Chairman of the Board of the California Association of Scholars, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the author of several books. His most recent work is titled, The Breakdown of Higher Education: How It Happened, the Damage It Does, and What Can Be Done.

John and Greg discuss the transformative changes happening in higher education. John questions the sustainability of the ideological shift towards political correctness and identity politics within humanities departments. Together they examine the impact of the marginalization of traditional scholarly perspectives and the wider implications for society's dialogue.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What happens when one political ideology dominates the campus

1:00:01 The more you get a group of people in one room that agree with each other,  the more you ban from that room any contrary opinion, the more those people will descend into stupidity because there's nothing to check them. What keeps people like you and me alive intellectually is that if we say something that has a flaw in it, someone is going to see those, spot the flaw. And in a thriving university, there are enough bright people around you, that if you say something with a weakness in it, there'll be someone who'll point it out to you, and you'll be better off. Because now, when you have a group of people that  all agree with each other, that discipline, self-correction is gone. And so you'll descend into greater and greater irrationality and stupidity, and that process is still ongoing.

Do universities only appoint people like themselves

58:48 The universities will not change. They are, at the moment, peopled by a sect, a minority sect, a political sect that is extraordinarily tenacious and unwilling to compromise. Extraordinarily intolerant and intemperate, and they will go on appointing people like themselves. And we're still seeing the grip on this. The grip of the radical left is growing ever tighter, day by day. People don't seem to grasp this, but it is true.

The idea of objectivity in sciences and engineering

40:25 There is definitely an assault on the idea of objectivity in sciences and engineering. I mean, you've heard about black mathematics and so on, which is a nonsense ideal. My favorite saying is, "Only an engineer can build a bridge that will stand up. It will only just stand up. anyone can build a bridge that is overbuilt." These standards are seriously under assault now. No one quite knows how far they'll go. Certainly, there's some good work still being done in the sciences.

DEI as a reflection of the values of a radical faculty

56:14 The reach of the radical faculty, its grip on American academia, is extensive. It is pervasive. It is everywhere.  And one of the things that I've found is very odd. What I don't understand is the fact that what was happening on one campus was replicated on almost every other campus,  and yet it seemed so, you know, irrational to me, and yet the whole country, the universities in the whole country were exhibiting the same kind of directionality.  And I still marvel at this. That there weren't more holdouts,  but, no,  the DEI is a reflection of the values of the radical faculty. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 398. Navigating the Ideological Shift in Academia feat. John Ellis Greg La Blanc 01:13:19 How did higher education come to be dominated by academics on the ideological left, and what are the potential consequences of this monoculture on diverse fields such as literature and engineering? What’s the mechanism behind this shift, and where did it originate? John Ellis is Chairman of the Board of the California Association of Scholars, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the author of several books. His most recent work is titled, The Breakdown of Higher Education: How It Happened, the Damage It Does, and What Can Be Done. John and Greg discuss the transformative changes happening in higher education. John questions the sustainability of the ideological shift towards political correctness and identity politics within humanities departments. Together they examine the impact of the marginalization of traditional scholarly perspectives and the wider implications for society's dialogue. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How did higher education come to be dominated by academics on the ideological left, and what are the potential consequences of this monoculture on diverse fields such as literature and engineering? What’s the mechanism behind this shift, and where did it originate? John Ellis is Chairman of the Board of the California Association of Scholars, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the author of several books. His most recent work is titled, The Breakdown of Higher Education: How It Happened, the Damage It Does, and What Can Be Done. John and Greg discuss the transformative changes happening in higher education. John questions the sustainability of the ideological shift towards political correctness and identity politics within humanities departments. Together they examine the impact of the marginalization of traditional scholarly perspectives and the wider implications for society's dialogue. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 398 5c2d4b9b-43f0-4171-9ba5-60f4e2be0c2e 397. Food: An Underutilized Historical Lens with Mark Kurlansky What does the changing value of salt over history tell us about the future of oil? How are the views around milk and dairy products connected to class politics? 

Prolific author and journalist Mark Kurlansky has written 39 books with more on the way. His work has ranged from historical nonfiction to children’s literature to deep dives on food like his latest book, The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food―Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes.

Mark and Greg chat about the underestimated historical value of cookbooks, the evolution of dietary habits, and Kurlansky's work on nonviolence. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the birth of the idea of his book “Salt”

03:03: In my Cod book, I realized the importance of salt because you couldn't have a fishery if you didn't have salt. And my publisher was very interested in me doing something on salt and really pushed me to do it. And I kept saying, "But where's the story?" And then I realized that the story is that there was this ingredient, commodity, mineral, that was of tremendous value that nations would go through…. I mean, they founded colonies, went to war, and went to all these lengths to get this salt, and then salt lost its value. So what was it for? And I believe that is the trajectory of oil.

The role of salt and cheese in the international economy

22:35: You have to think about: Before the Industrial Revolution, if you wanted to have an international economy, what did you trade? Mostly food. And you couldn't trade food unless it was salted. So basically, if you didn't have salt, you didn't have an international economy. And as far as dairy farmers go, your possibility for trade was to make cheese.

Do we need to reprioritize our food?

43:19: The way I think commercial fishing should go, fish aren't going to be cheap. They can't be cheap. Cheap fish is the enemy, because if you're going to tell a fisherman to catch less fish, you better get more money for it, or he's going under. So does that mean that poor people can't eat fish anymore? This is a real question. It's a question about improving agriculture, improving beef and dairy, and everything that you do to improve it ends up making it more expensive.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 15 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does the changing value of salt over history tell us about the future of oil? How are the views around milk and dairy products connected to class politics? 

Prolific author and journalist Mark Kurlansky has written 39 books with more on the way. His work has ranged from historical nonfiction to children’s literature to deep dives on food like his latest book, The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food―Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes.

Mark and Greg chat about the underestimated historical value of cookbooks, the evolution of dietary habits, and Kurlansky's work on nonviolence. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the birth of the idea of his book “Salt”

03:03: In my Cod book, I realized the importance of salt because you couldn't have a fishery if you didn't have salt. And my publisher was very interested in me doing something on salt and really pushed me to do it. And I kept saying, "But where's the story?" And then I realized that the story is that there was this ingredient, commodity, mineral, that was of tremendous value that nations would go through…. I mean, they founded colonies, went to war, and went to all these lengths to get this salt, and then salt lost its value. So what was it for? And I believe that is the trajectory of oil.

The role of salt and cheese in the international economy

22:35: You have to think about: Before the Industrial Revolution, if you wanted to have an international economy, what did you trade? Mostly food. And you couldn't trade food unless it was salted. So basically, if you didn't have salt, you didn't have an international economy. And as far as dairy farmers go, your possibility for trade was to make cheese.

Do we need to reprioritize our food?

43:19: The way I think commercial fishing should go, fish aren't going to be cheap. They can't be cheap. Cheap fish is the enemy, because if you're going to tell a fisherman to catch less fish, you better get more money for it, or he's going under. So does that mean that poor people can't eat fish anymore? This is a real question. It's a question about improving agriculture, improving beef and dairy, and everything that you do to improve it ends up making it more expensive.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 397. Food: An Underutilized Historical Lens with Mark Kurlansky Greg La Blanc 00:50:40 What does the changing value of salt over history tell us about the future of oil? How are the views around milk and dairy products connected to class politics? Prolific author and journalist Mark Kurlansky has written 39 books with more on the way. His work has ranged from historical nonfiction to children’s literature to deep dives on food like his latest book, The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food―Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes. Mark and Greg chat about the underestimated historical value of cookbooks, the evolution of dietary habits, and Kurlansky's work on nonviolence. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What does the changing value of salt over history tell us about the future of oil? How are the views around milk and dairy products connected to class politics? Prolific author and journalist Mark Kurlansky has written 39 books with more on the way. His work has ranged from historical nonfiction to children’s literature to deep dives on food like his latest book, The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food―Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes. Mark and Greg chat about the underestimated historical value of cookbooks, the evolution of dietary habits, and Kurlansky's work on nonviolence. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 397 a98c6c28-c277-45e0-823d-25ab1b031a06 396. The American Healthcare Puzzle: Solutions and Strategies feat. Vivian Lee Our healthcare system is a complex dance of costs and inefficiencies, yet it's one we can't afford to sit out. What results have flowed from shifting the cost of healthcare to employers, and how have attempts to change that system sometimes backfired in unexpected ways?

Vivian Lee is a healthcare executive, an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, and an author. Her latest book is called, The Long Fix: Solving America's Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone. 

Vivian and Greg discuss the disconnect between healthcare consumers and payers and dissecting the employer-based insurance model. They scrutinize payment models and incentives, discussing the stark consequences of shifting healthcare costs to employees and the resultant avoidance of crucial preventive care. Vivian talks about the financial motivations of health providers versus patient demands, creating a landscape where escalating costs and quality care seem to be in constant conflict.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why we need to know where our dollars are going in healthcare

22:19: I think it's very important that everyone really understands a little bit about healthcare and where their dollars are going. When you look at the graphs, all of us would be doing a lot better if our healthcare expenditures were lower. It's just hidden from us because it's taken out before we even get our paychecks, because our employers are using those dollars that should have been going to our pay raises for the last 20–25 years and using it instead to pay for healthcare costs. I think we need to know it for a number of reasons. One, because we need (we need was deleted in the audio-perhaps restore) the public to move forward to be able to improve healthcare payment policies in this country. We have to act through the way in which we vote. We also need it because we need to understand better our own actions. What of our behaviors are most important for our own health outcomes? And so having a more nuanced understanding of what we can do in terms of our daily behaviors that can impact our own health, I think, would be also really, really important.

The US lacking universal healthcare for everybody is a key factor in its healthcare economy

05:28: In health care, we are responsible for caring for people when they show up to us, and we can't decline people just because they don't have health insurance. So, as a result, we also have this strange subsidization model within health care where we have to overcharge some people in order to cover the costs of care for those who aren't covered.

Money affects change in healthcare

16:49: Any time we want to change the system, it's going to be hard. It is hard because there's already so many dollars in healthcare and there's so many vested interests who, naturally, if they're doing well, want to maintain the status quo. So change is always hard, especially in healthcare, because of how much money is already involved.

How can we maximize the data from digital health systems

37:11: Increasingly, we have the opportunity to use the data from all the operating rooms that are going on in the country and in the world every single day, where we have information about how surgeons are doing things in particular ways with different kinds of patients. We know about the different patients, we know about what the surgeons are doing, and we also know about the outcomes that happen six months, a year later, two years later. We've been collecting these data with our digital health systems for a long time now. What we haven't been doing is using the data to create more evidence to say, "Oh, actually, we really do know that doing it exactly this way with this artificial hip provides really good outcomes," and that would be the evidence that you would need to talk to the surgeon or convince everybody to go to that standard approach.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 13 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Our healthcare system is a complex dance of costs and inefficiencies, yet it's one we can't afford to sit out. What results have flowed from shifting the cost of healthcare to employers, and how have attempts to change that system sometimes backfired in unexpected ways?

Vivian Lee is a healthcare executive, an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, and an author. Her latest book is called, The Long Fix: Solving America's Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone. 

Vivian and Greg discuss the disconnect between healthcare consumers and payers and dissecting the employer-based insurance model. They scrutinize payment models and incentives, discussing the stark consequences of shifting healthcare costs to employees and the resultant avoidance of crucial preventive care. Vivian talks about the financial motivations of health providers versus patient demands, creating a landscape where escalating costs and quality care seem to be in constant conflict.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why we need to know where our dollars are going in healthcare

22:19: I think it's very important that everyone really understands a little bit about healthcare and where their dollars are going. When you look at the graphs, all of us would be doing a lot better if our healthcare expenditures were lower. It's just hidden from us because it's taken out before we even get our paychecks, because our employers are using those dollars that should have been going to our pay raises for the last 20–25 years and using it instead to pay for healthcare costs. I think we need to know it for a number of reasons. One, because we need (we need was deleted in the audio-perhaps restore) the public to move forward to be able to improve healthcare payment policies in this country. We have to act through the way in which we vote. We also need it because we need to understand better our own actions. What of our behaviors are most important for our own health outcomes? And so having a more nuanced understanding of what we can do in terms of our daily behaviors that can impact our own health, I think, would be also really, really important.

The US lacking universal healthcare for everybody is a key factor in its healthcare economy

05:28: In health care, we are responsible for caring for people when they show up to us, and we can't decline people just because they don't have health insurance. So, as a result, we also have this strange subsidization model within health care where we have to overcharge some people in order to cover the costs of care for those who aren't covered.

Money affects change in healthcare

16:49: Any time we want to change the system, it's going to be hard. It is hard because there's already so many dollars in healthcare and there's so many vested interests who, naturally, if they're doing well, want to maintain the status quo. So change is always hard, especially in healthcare, because of how much money is already involved.

How can we maximize the data from digital health systems

37:11: Increasingly, we have the opportunity to use the data from all the operating rooms that are going on in the country and in the world every single day, where we have information about how surgeons are doing things in particular ways with different kinds of patients. We know about the different patients, we know about what the surgeons are doing, and we also know about the outcomes that happen six months, a year later, two years later. We've been collecting these data with our digital health systems for a long time now. What we haven't been doing is using the data to create more evidence to say, "Oh, actually, we really do know that doing it exactly this way with this artificial hip provides really good outcomes," and that would be the evidence that you would need to talk to the surgeon or convince everybody to go to that standard approach.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 396. The American Healthcare Puzzle: Solutions and Strategies feat. Vivian Lee Greg La Blanc 01:01:59 Our healthcare system is a complex dance of costs and inefficiencies, yet it's one we can't afford to sit out. What results have flowed from shifting the cost of healthcare to employers, and how have attempts to change that system sometimes backfired in unexpected ways? Vivian Lee is a healthcare executive, an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, and an author. Her latest book is called, The Long Fix: Solving America's Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone. Vivian and Greg discuss the disconnect between healthcare consumers and payers and dissecting the employer-based insurance model. They scrutinize payment models and incentives, discussing the stark consequences of shifting healthcare costs to employees and the resultant avoidance of crucial preventive care. Vivian talks about the financial motivations of health providers versus patient demands, creating a landscape where escalating costs and quality care seem to be in constant conflict. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Our healthcare system is a complex dance of costs and inefficiencies, yet it's one we can't afford to sit out. What results have flowed from shifting the cost of healthcare to employers, and how have attempts to change that system sometimes backfired in unexpected ways? Vivian Lee is a healthcare executive, an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, and an author. Her latest book is called, The Long Fix: Solving America's Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone. Vivian and Greg discuss the disconnect between healthcare consumers and payers and dissecting the employer-based insurance model. They scrutinize payment models and incentives, discussing the stark consequences of shifting healthcare costs to employees and the resultant avoidance of crucial preventive care. Vivian talks about the financial motivations of health providers versus patient demands, creating a landscape where escalating costs and quality care seem to be in constant conflict. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 396 f3b30498-e84f-4778-88a1-62b85d0c14f7 395. Tracing the Roots of Curiosity: From Galileo to Feynman and More: feat. Mario Livio Curiosity isn't reserved for the elite thinkers; it's a fundamental part of being human that propels us from the cradle to the cosmos. But what is the evolutionary necessity of curiosity, its manifestation in children and adults, and its intimate relationship with all of our personalities?

Mario Livio is an astrophysicist formerly at the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the author of several books. His latest works are titled Galileo: And the Science Deniers and Why?: What Makes Us Curious.

Mario and Greg discuss the educational systems and societal attitudes towards curiosity, with insights into Galileo's legacy and the synergies between science and art. Mario talks about the increasing tide of science denial and affirms the vital role of curiosity in perpetuating awe. Mario takes Greg deep into the concept of curiosity, and they explore the diverse ways in which curiosity is expressed and how it correlates with creativity and knowledge.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What’s the difference between perpetual and epistemic curiosity?

05:30: Perceptual curiosity is the curiosity we feel when something surprises us or when something kind of doesn't agree with what we know or think we know. And it is that curiosity which, when studied on the neuroscience side, they find that the areas in the brain that are associated with conflict, or sometimes with hunger or thirst, are the ones that are activated also when you have that type of curiosity. Epistemic curiosity, on the other hand, is when we really want to learn something new or we want to understand something we didn't understand before. And there, actually, the area in the brain that's activated is the one that's activated for anticipation of a reward. You know, it's like when you sit in a theater for a play you wanted to see for a long time or when somebody offers you a piece of chocolate. So that's the one that we want people to really have more of, to be more curious epistemically. 

Is curiosity necessary for creativity?

11:43: Curiosity seems to be a necessary condition for creativity, even though it is not always a sufficient condition for creativity.

Is there a universal approach to curiosity?

28:19: The best idea that I can think of is that you start with something that you know for a fact that this person is already curious about,  but you find an ingenious way to move from that to the topic that you are interested in to begin with.

Science and arts can be intertwined

41:05: Scientists try to understand the universe and make predictions about it, while artists give a human, emotional response to the universe. So, in some sense, these two things are complementary to each other. That's how I see this. But I would be very sad if we had one and not the other, so I really like this complementarity.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 11 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Curiosity isn't reserved for the elite thinkers; it's a fundamental part of being human that propels us from the cradle to the cosmos. But what is the evolutionary necessity of curiosity, its manifestation in children and adults, and its intimate relationship with all of our personalities?

Mario Livio is an astrophysicist formerly at the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the author of several books. His latest works are titled Galileo: And the Science Deniers and Why?: What Makes Us Curious.

Mario and Greg discuss the educational systems and societal attitudes towards curiosity, with insights into Galileo's legacy and the synergies between science and art. Mario talks about the increasing tide of science denial and affirms the vital role of curiosity in perpetuating awe. Mario takes Greg deep into the concept of curiosity, and they explore the diverse ways in which curiosity is expressed and how it correlates with creativity and knowledge.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What’s the difference between perpetual and epistemic curiosity?

05:30: Perceptual curiosity is the curiosity we feel when something surprises us or when something kind of doesn't agree with what we know or think we know. And it is that curiosity which, when studied on the neuroscience side, they find that the areas in the brain that are associated with conflict, or sometimes with hunger or thirst, are the ones that are activated also when you have that type of curiosity. Epistemic curiosity, on the other hand, is when we really want to learn something new or we want to understand something we didn't understand before. And there, actually, the area in the brain that's activated is the one that's activated for anticipation of a reward. You know, it's like when you sit in a theater for a play you wanted to see for a long time or when somebody offers you a piece of chocolate. So that's the one that we want people to really have more of, to be more curious epistemically. 

Is curiosity necessary for creativity?

11:43: Curiosity seems to be a necessary condition for creativity, even though it is not always a sufficient condition for creativity.

Is there a universal approach to curiosity?

28:19: The best idea that I can think of is that you start with something that you know for a fact that this person is already curious about,  but you find an ingenious way to move from that to the topic that you are interested in to begin with.

Science and arts can be intertwined

41:05: Scientists try to understand the universe and make predictions about it, while artists give a human, emotional response to the universe. So, in some sense, these two things are complementary to each other. That's how I see this. But I would be very sad if we had one and not the other, so I really like this complementarity.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 395. Tracing the Roots of Curiosity: From Galileo to Feynman and More: feat. Mario Livio Greg La Blanc 00:44:28 Curiosity isn't reserved for the elite thinkers; it's a fundamental part of being human that propels us from the cradle to the cosmos. But what is the evolutionary necessity of curiosity, its manifestation in children and adults, and its intimate relationship with all of our personalities? Mario Livio is an astrophysicist formerly at the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the author of several books. His latest works are titled Galileo: And the Science Deniers and Why?: What Makes Us Curious. Mario and Greg discuss the educational systems and societal attitudes towards curiosity, with insights into Galileo's legacy and the synergies between science and art. Mario talks about the increasing tide of science denial and affirms the vital role of curiosity in perpetuating awe. Mario takes Greg deep into the concept of curiosity, and they explore the diverse ways in which curiosity is expressed and how it correlates with creativity and knowledge. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Curiosity isn't reserved for the elite thinkers; it's a fundamental part of being human that propels us from the cradle to the cosmos. But what is the evolutionary necessity of curiosity, its manifestation in children and adults, and its intimate relationship with all of our personalities? Mario Livio is an astrophysicist formerly at the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the author of several books. His latest works are titled Galileo: And the Science Deniers and Why?: What Makes Us Curious. Mario and Greg discuss the educational systems and societal attitudes towards curiosity, with insights into Galileo's legacy and the synergies between science and art. Mario talks about the increasing tide of science denial and affirms the vital role of curiosity in perpetuating awe. Mario takes Greg deep into the concept of curiosity, and they explore the diverse ways in which curiosity is expressed and how it correlates with creativity and knowledge. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 395 298df879-3228-40e1-9d50-cdc4bea8c5d1 394. Where Money Comes From with Paul Sheard There’s a great misunderstanding surrounding government debt and its economic implications. Many view it as a financial burden that will be passed down to the next generations. But what if, in fact, government debt is a critical component to how money gets made? 

Paul Sheard is the former vice president of S&P Global and the author of The Power of Money: How Governments and Banks Create Money and Help Us All Prosper. He’s got decades of experience analyzing global financial markets and was the chief economist at Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis. 

Paul and Greg chat about the common misconceptions around how money is made and injected into the economy, government debt, and the role of quantitative easing.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The hidden costs of cutting government spending

20:04: This is a very widespread idea that the most virtuous thing is a balanced budget. Government deficits are somehow bad. This mountain of government debt is this bad thing and a burden on the future population. Well, that's like saying we have this expanding bathtub, and we need water. The water level in the bathtub to keep expanding as well. But we want to turn off one of the taps. The tap, the government spending tap, the government deficit tap. If you do that, you're going to need to turn on bank credit creation, tap much, much more. So much more water comes out of that.

The important thing about government spending

20:48: Government debt, government spending, has various elements, but one of the very important things that it allows is for money to be created and for purchasing power to be transferred through time.

Monetary and fiscal policy intertwined

05:00: We've sort of, for good, understandable reasons, developed this world where we think of monetary policy as being one thing, that's the preserve of independent technocratic central banks, and we have this fiscal policy, but that's the stuff that's separate, and that's the stuff that politicians have to deal with, where in actual fact they're actually very, very closely intertwined.

The canonical misunderstanding of how money come in our economy

09:05: Most people, if you ask them that, "Where does money come from?" they would think they understand. They'd give you some answers. And they'd say, "Central banks create money." Or they would say that banks collect savings, and that's the money that is in the economy, or they talk about governments borrowing money. All of those things are actually wrong or not really accurate descriptions.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 8 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There’s a great misunderstanding surrounding government debt and its economic implications. Many view it as a financial burden that will be passed down to the next generations. But what if, in fact, government debt is a critical component to how money gets made? 

Paul Sheard is the former vice president of S&P Global and the author of The Power of Money: How Governments and Banks Create Money and Help Us All Prosper. He’s got decades of experience analyzing global financial markets and was the chief economist at Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis. 

Paul and Greg chat about the common misconceptions around how money is made and injected into the economy, government debt, and the role of quantitative easing.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The hidden costs of cutting government spending

20:04: This is a very widespread idea that the most virtuous thing is a balanced budget. Government deficits are somehow bad. This mountain of government debt is this bad thing and a burden on the future population. Well, that's like saying we have this expanding bathtub, and we need water. The water level in the bathtub to keep expanding as well. But we want to turn off one of the taps. The tap, the government spending tap, the government deficit tap. If you do that, you're going to need to turn on bank credit creation, tap much, much more. So much more water comes out of that.

The important thing about government spending

20:48: Government debt, government spending, has various elements, but one of the very important things that it allows is for money to be created and for purchasing power to be transferred through time.

Monetary and fiscal policy intertwined

05:00: We've sort of, for good, understandable reasons, developed this world where we think of monetary policy as being one thing, that's the preserve of independent technocratic central banks, and we have this fiscal policy, but that's the stuff that's separate, and that's the stuff that politicians have to deal with, where in actual fact they're actually very, very closely intertwined.

The canonical misunderstanding of how money come in our economy

09:05: Most people, if you ask them that, "Where does money come from?" they would think they understand. They'd give you some answers. And they'd say, "Central banks create money." Or they would say that banks collect savings, and that's the money that is in the economy, or they talk about governments borrowing money. All of those things are actually wrong or not really accurate descriptions.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 394. Where Money Comes From with Paul Sheard Greg La Blanc 01:05:20 There’s a great misunderstanding surrounding government debt and its economic implications. Many view it as a financial burden that will be passed down to the next generations. But what if, in fact, government debt is a critical component to how money gets made? Paul Sheard is the former vice president of S&P Global and the author of The Power of Money: How Governments and Banks Create Money and Help Us All Prosper. He’s got decades of experience analyzing global financial markets and was the chief economist at Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis. Paul and Greg chat about the common misconceptions around how money is made and injected into the economy, government debt, and the role of quantitative easing. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* There’s a great misunderstanding surrounding government debt and its economic implications. Many view it as a financial burden that will be passed down to the next generations. But what if, in fact, government debt is a critical component to how money gets made? Paul Sheard is the former vice president of S&P Global and the author of The Power of Money: How Governments and Banks Create Money and Help Us All Prosper. He’s got decades of experience analyzing global financial markets and was the chief economist at Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis. Paul and Greg chat about the common misconceptions around how money is made and injected into the economy, government debt, and the role of quantitative easing. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 393 530e205e-221b-4e2d-9908-f30da32b59f7 393. Behind the Scenes of Medical Research feat. John Ioannidis The acceleration of research in science, comes with an increasing number of flawed resultsparticularly in the medical sciences, where misapplied statistical measures and the relentless pursuit of publishing create a breeding ground for Type I errors. What is the role of the humanities in medicine, and what other revelations did the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately reveal?

John Ioannidis is a professor, writer, physician, and researcher who studies scientific research. John and Greg discuss the current state of scientific research and the challenges researchers face, including uncertainty in statistics, the prevalence of flawed findings, and the need for effective hypothesis testing. John also highlights the need for collaboration, transparency, and accuracy in research. John and Greg also explore the intersection of science, politics, and empathy, advocating for a more humane healthcare system that honors the arts and literature.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How incentives drive scientist 

22:19: Incentives are a core feature in driving what we want to get out of science. Scientists are very bright people, very smart, and they will do their best to try to fit whatever orders are given to them. So if they're told, "You need to get extreme, extravagant, extraordinary results," they will come up with them because that's what will allow them to continue doing what they enjoy and what they love. I'm not saying that they're criminals in doing it. They just want to do science and continue to do science. So, we need to find ways that our reward and incentive system is aligned with the expectation not being spectacular but flawed results, but accurate results.

What can medicine learn from A/B testing?

35:34: Medicine could learn a lot from the massive scale that A/B testing is conducted in some other fields, mostly commercial, but pretty effectively. What we have learned from A/B testing is that, first of all, our prior beliefs are not very solid or not very accurate. So if people try to make guesses of what will be effective and what will not, probably they're better than chance, but not much better than chance.

Science vs. politics

01:01:49: Scientists are not trained to be politicians. They're not trained to be taming beasts, and it's a very different job. And it's very unfortunate when people who are those who tame beasts and are in the political sphere, instead of trying to find ways to bridge divides and close differences, find a way to have a societal response that is more understanding and more empathy, sympathy, and love for each other. It leads to just a split and division and even situations of disruption in a sense of the social fabric.

Is science self-contained?

01:07:17: Sometimes we tend to think that science is self-contained, but science is about humans, especially medicine; it is about humans who suffer, have emotions, have beliefs, and face big dilemmas in their life and in their deaths. And I don't think that you can answer all of that just with either equations, biological samples, or with very fancy analytical methods. We need something more than that to struggle with our inadequacy. I feel very inadequate all the time, just trying to cover that inadequacy as much as I can.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 6 Mar 2024 15:24:56 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The acceleration of research in science, comes with an increasing number of flawed resultsparticularly in the medical sciences, where misapplied statistical measures and the relentless pursuit of publishing create a breeding ground for Type I errors. What is the role of the humanities in medicine, and what other revelations did the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately reveal?

John Ioannidis is a professor, writer, physician, and researcher who studies scientific research. John and Greg discuss the current state of scientific research and the challenges researchers face, including uncertainty in statistics, the prevalence of flawed findings, and the need for effective hypothesis testing. John also highlights the need for collaboration, transparency, and accuracy in research. John and Greg also explore the intersection of science, politics, and empathy, advocating for a more humane healthcare system that honors the arts and literature.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How incentives drive scientist 

22:19: Incentives are a core feature in driving what we want to get out of science. Scientists are very bright people, very smart, and they will do their best to try to fit whatever orders are given to them. So if they're told, "You need to get extreme, extravagant, extraordinary results," they will come up with them because that's what will allow them to continue doing what they enjoy and what they love. I'm not saying that they're criminals in doing it. They just want to do science and continue to do science. So, we need to find ways that our reward and incentive system is aligned with the expectation not being spectacular but flawed results, but accurate results.

What can medicine learn from A/B testing?

35:34: Medicine could learn a lot from the massive scale that A/B testing is conducted in some other fields, mostly commercial, but pretty effectively. What we have learned from A/B testing is that, first of all, our prior beliefs are not very solid or not very accurate. So if people try to make guesses of what will be effective and what will not, probably they're better than chance, but not much better than chance.

Science vs. politics

01:01:49: Scientists are not trained to be politicians. They're not trained to be taming beasts, and it's a very different job. And it's very unfortunate when people who are those who tame beasts and are in the political sphere, instead of trying to find ways to bridge divides and close differences, find a way to have a societal response that is more understanding and more empathy, sympathy, and love for each other. It leads to just a split and division and even situations of disruption in a sense of the social fabric.

Is science self-contained?

01:07:17: Sometimes we tend to think that science is self-contained, but science is about humans, especially medicine; it is about humans who suffer, have emotions, have beliefs, and face big dilemmas in their life and in their deaths. And I don't think that you can answer all of that just with either equations, biological samples, or with very fancy analytical methods. We need something more than that to struggle with our inadequacy. I feel very inadequate all the time, just trying to cover that inadequacy as much as I can.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 393. Behind the Scenes of Medical Research feat. John Ioannidis Greg La Blanc 01:08:30 The acceleration of research in science, comes with an increasing number of flawed resultsparticularly in the medical sciences, where misapplied statistical measures and the relentless pursuit of publishing create a breeding ground for Type I errors. What is the role of the humanities in medicine, and what other revelations did the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately reveal? John Ioannidis is a professor, writer, physician, and researcher who studies scientific research. John and Greg discuss the current state of scientific research and the challenges researchers face, including uncertainty in statistics, the prevalence of flawed findings, and the need for effective hypothesis testing. John also highlights the need for collaboration, transparency, and accuracy in research. John and Greg also explore the intersection of science, politics, and empathy, advocating for a more humane healthcare system that honors the arts and literature. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The acceleration of research in science, comes with an increasing number of flawed resultsparticularly in the medical sciences, where misapplied statistical measures and the relentless pursuit of publishing create a breeding ground for Type I errors. What is the role of the humanities in medicine, and what other revelations did the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately reveal? John Ioannidis is a professor, writer, physician, and researcher who studies scientific research. John and Greg discuss the current state of scientific research and the challenges researchers face, including uncertainty in statistics, the prevalence of flawed findings, and the need for effective hypothesis testing. John also highlights the need for collaboration, transparency, and accuracy in research. John and Greg also explore the intersection of science, politics, and empathy, advocating for a more humane healthcare system that honors the arts and literature. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 393 ea0762f0-464e-4c89-b831-e6828ae67220 392. Mastering the Art of Influence feat. Zoe Chance Unlock the secrets to commanding any room with the power of influence and persuasion. Imagine ascending the corporate ladder with ease, your words leading the way—this episode will get you started.

Zoe Chance is formerly a creative force behind the Barbie brand at Mattel, currently teaching at the Yale School of Management, and author of the book Influence Is Your Superpower: How to Get What You What Without Compromising Who You Are.

Zoe and Greg discuss why finesse in influence is not just for marketers but a universal key to professional success across a wide range of jobs including teaching and education. Zoe explores the power behind the art of saying no, a skill that builds resilience and carves out space for personal growth, and the counterintuitive truth that a well-placed no can magnetically lead to more affirmative responses. 

They talk about the cultural conditioning that shackles us to a relentless cycle of yeses, and Zoe gives some techniques that allow the softer voices to echo through boardrooms and beyond. Find out also how to use the ‘Kindly Brontosaurus’ to get what you really want.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why paternalism and materialism work well with behavioral economics

53:39: Behavioral economics allows freedom of choice, and still, it nudges or encourages people towards certain outcomes. And the reason that paternalism or maternalism works well with behavioral economics is that if people feel that you are nudging them in a direction that's consistent with their best interests, they tend to not mind the nudging and the influence that you were doing. If they feel that you are trying to manipulate them to do something in your best interest but not theirs, then there can be tremendous backlash. So, this maternalism, paternalism piece is important. And when somebody feels that you're trying to influence them to do something that they don't feel bad about the possibility of doing, and it's not you just being this selfish, manipulative person, it feels pretty good on both sides. So, I like influence that feels good on both sides.

The magic of “no”

13:36: The magic of "no" is that when we're more comfortable saying no to other people, we're more comfortable with them saying no to us. And that means that our requests lose this edge of neediness that can be repulsive. So, practicing saying no leads indirectly to other people wanting to say yes to you.

The concept of “behavioral introversion”

26:56: There is the "what we do" and the "who we are" piece of introversion, extroversion. So the behavior and the traits, and we're probably not going to do anything about our traits, at least not in the short run. And we have a bit of control over our behavior. And then, as teachers or leaders in environments where we have a wide range of introverts and extroverts, we may not be thinking about how there are people who are extroverted in some contexts that show up as introverts in the domain in which we see them.

Influence is part of the job

04:19: Influencing other people, for most people in most jobs, is a huge part of our job. And it's definitely a bigger part of our job as we rise in an organization and levels of increasing responsibility. And I used to think that if you're the boss, you just get to tell people what to do, and they're going to do it. We know it's totally not like that, becoming less, but I think it has probably always been not that effective.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 4 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Unlock the secrets to commanding any room with the power of influence and persuasion. Imagine ascending the corporate ladder with ease, your words leading the way—this episode will get you started.

Zoe Chance is formerly a creative force behind the Barbie brand at Mattel, currently teaching at the Yale School of Management, and author of the book Influence Is Your Superpower: How to Get What You What Without Compromising Who You Are.

Zoe and Greg discuss why finesse in influence is not just for marketers but a universal key to professional success across a wide range of jobs including teaching and education. Zoe explores the power behind the art of saying no, a skill that builds resilience and carves out space for personal growth, and the counterintuitive truth that a well-placed no can magnetically lead to more affirmative responses. 

They talk about the cultural conditioning that shackles us to a relentless cycle of yeses, and Zoe gives some techniques that allow the softer voices to echo through boardrooms and beyond. Find out also how to use the ‘Kindly Brontosaurus’ to get what you really want.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why paternalism and materialism work well with behavioral economics

53:39: Behavioral economics allows freedom of choice, and still, it nudges or encourages people towards certain outcomes. And the reason that paternalism or maternalism works well with behavioral economics is that if people feel that you are nudging them in a direction that's consistent with their best interests, they tend to not mind the nudging and the influence that you were doing. If they feel that you are trying to manipulate them to do something in your best interest but not theirs, then there can be tremendous backlash. So, this maternalism, paternalism piece is important. And when somebody feels that you're trying to influence them to do something that they don't feel bad about the possibility of doing, and it's not you just being this selfish, manipulative person, it feels pretty good on both sides. So, I like influence that feels good on both sides.

The magic of “no”

13:36: The magic of "no" is that when we're more comfortable saying no to other people, we're more comfortable with them saying no to us. And that means that our requests lose this edge of neediness that can be repulsive. So, practicing saying no leads indirectly to other people wanting to say yes to you.

The concept of “behavioral introversion”

26:56: There is the "what we do" and the "who we are" piece of introversion, extroversion. So the behavior and the traits, and we're probably not going to do anything about our traits, at least not in the short run. And we have a bit of control over our behavior. And then, as teachers or leaders in environments where we have a wide range of introverts and extroverts, we may not be thinking about how there are people who are extroverted in some contexts that show up as introverts in the domain in which we see them.

Influence is part of the job

04:19: Influencing other people, for most people in most jobs, is a huge part of our job. And it's definitely a bigger part of our job as we rise in an organization and levels of increasing responsibility. And I used to think that if you're the boss, you just get to tell people what to do, and they're going to do it. We know it's totally not like that, becoming less, but I think it has probably always been not that effective.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 392. Mastering the Art of Influence feat. Zoe Chance Greg La Blanc 01:01:33 Unlock the secrets to commanding any room with the power of influence and persuasion. Imagine ascending the corporate ladder with ease, your words leading the way—this episode will get you started. Zoe Chance is formerly a creative force behind the Barbie brand at Mattel, currently teaching at the Yale School of Management, and author of the book Influence Is Your Superpower: How to Get What You What Without Compromising Who You Are. Zoe and Greg discuss why finesse in influence is not just for marketers but a universal key to professional success across a wide range of jobs including teaching and education. Zoe explores the power behind the art of saying no, a skill that builds resilience and carves out space for personal growth, and the counterintuitive truth that a well-placed no can magnetically lead to more affirmative responses. They talk about the cultural conditioning that shackles us to a relentless cycle of yeses, and Zoe gives some techniques that allow the softer voices to echo through boardrooms and beyond. Find out also how to use the ‘Kindly Brontosaurus’ to get what you really want. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Unlock the secrets to commanding any room with the power of influence and persuasion. Imagine ascending the corporate ladder with ease, your words leading the way—this episode will get you started. Zoe Chance is formerly a creative force behind the Barbie brand at Mattel, currently teaching at the Yale School of Management, and author of the book Influence Is Your Superpower: How to Get What You What Without Compromising Who You Are. Zoe and Greg discuss why finesse in influence is not just for marketers but a universal key to professional success across a wide range of jobs including teaching and education. Zoe explores the power behind the art of saying no, a skill that builds resilience and carves out space for personal growth, and the counterintuitive truth that a well-placed no can magnetically lead to more affirmative responses. They talk about the cultural conditioning that shackles us to a relentless cycle of yeses, and Zoe gives some techniques that allow the softer voices to echo through boardrooms and beyond. Find out also how to use the ‘Kindly Brontosaurus’ to get what you really want. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 392 1c14d7cc-846d-4c4a-905a-56827a112026 391. Balancing Incentives and Morals in Economics and Society feat. Samuel Bowles How can tempting kids with an extra allowance for extra chores cause them to lose interest in helping out at all? How do incentives work and fail on each level from knave to king? What can be learned from examining the intersection of economics, preferences, and morality?

Samuel Bowles is an economist, professor, and the author of several books on economics and related topics. His latest work is called The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens.

Samuel and Greg discuss how our modern service and information economies pose unique challenges to traditional market principles. Sam shares studies that illuminate the intricate relationship between intrinsic motivation and external rewards. They also debunk misplaced beliefs in equilibrium and Sam emphasizes the need to align economic education with the challenges of climate change. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A mistake economists make when it comes to the functions of law

28:59: Here's a mistake that economists sometimes make: When we think of people acting, we think that we're acting to get stuff. When we make a decision about saving, investment, getting a job, working hard, whatever, shopping, we're getting stuff. Now, we know, you and I, that when we act, we're acting to get stuff, and we're also acting to be something. So, it's not just getting we're talking about; it's becoming. Now, we know, you and I, that when we act, we're acting to get stuff, and we're also acting to be something. So, it's not just getting we're talking about; it's becoming. Now, yes, we want to be someone. We want to be a particular kind of person. Now, if you add becoming to getting, then you have a better view of what humans are like. Now, what is this becoming? Are we just being generous so as to impress other people? Yes, probably; that's part of it. But, speaking for myself, but also on the basis of a lot of psychological research, we're also signaling to ourselves,  we're reaffirming to ourselves that we're that kind of person.

Do we treat people as selfish when it comes to policy-making?

05:12: If you design policies that treat people as if they're self-interested, you're more likely to get people to act in self-interested ways. So, it's not only that these policies are going to be misguided; they may even be counterproductive and backfire. And they may produce a citizenry which requires increasing regulation and increasing coercion. Because if you generate an increasingly self-interested population by treating people as if they're selfish, well, then you're going to end up with a very, very authoritarian society or chaos.

Exploring the relationship between markets, generosity, and rule of law in European history

51:52: One of the ways you transact goods when you don't have markets is gift, but another way is theft. Now, I think that the really key idea and my explanation of why Europeans tend to be more generous than people who have less contact with markets, historically talking about Western and Northwestern Europeans most. I think the reason for that is that we've had markets under the rule of law for a long period of time. In a rule-of-law society, you can actually take a chance on trusting somebody. And the reason is the worst possible outcome isn't so bad. They're not going to take your kids. They're not going to burn down your house. Maybe you're going to get cheated once or twice.

Embracing incentives, constraints, and community to create change

10:46: We'll never solve the problems facing us, whether it's economic injustice, how to handle new innovations, or how to handle climate change. We have to have a combination of incentives and constraints of the traditional kind and appeal to people's desire to be members of the community and to actually do something that they'll be proud of because they're good human beings.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 1 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How can tempting kids with an extra allowance for extra chores cause them to lose interest in helping out at all? How do incentives work and fail on each level from knave to king? What can be learned from examining the intersection of economics, preferences, and morality?

Samuel Bowles is an economist, professor, and the author of several books on economics and related topics. His latest work is called The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens.

Samuel and Greg discuss how our modern service and information economies pose unique challenges to traditional market principles. Sam shares studies that illuminate the intricate relationship between intrinsic motivation and external rewards. They also debunk misplaced beliefs in equilibrium and Sam emphasizes the need to align economic education with the challenges of climate change. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A mistake economists make when it comes to the functions of law

28:59: Here's a mistake that economists sometimes make: When we think of people acting, we think that we're acting to get stuff. When we make a decision about saving, investment, getting a job, working hard, whatever, shopping, we're getting stuff. Now, we know, you and I, that when we act, we're acting to get stuff, and we're also acting to be something. So, it's not just getting we're talking about; it's becoming. Now, we know, you and I, that when we act, we're acting to get stuff, and we're also acting to be something. So, it's not just getting we're talking about; it's becoming. Now, yes, we want to be someone. We want to be a particular kind of person. Now, if you add becoming to getting, then you have a better view of what humans are like. Now, what is this becoming? Are we just being generous so as to impress other people? Yes, probably; that's part of it. But, speaking for myself, but also on the basis of a lot of psychological research, we're also signaling to ourselves,  we're reaffirming to ourselves that we're that kind of person.

Do we treat people as selfish when it comes to policy-making?

05:12: If you design policies that treat people as if they're self-interested, you're more likely to get people to act in self-interested ways. So, it's not only that these policies are going to be misguided; they may even be counterproductive and backfire. And they may produce a citizenry which requires increasing regulation and increasing coercion. Because if you generate an increasingly self-interested population by treating people as if they're selfish, well, then you're going to end up with a very, very authoritarian society or chaos.

Exploring the relationship between markets, generosity, and rule of law in European history

51:52: One of the ways you transact goods when you don't have markets is gift, but another way is theft. Now, I think that the really key idea and my explanation of why Europeans tend to be more generous than people who have less contact with markets, historically talking about Western and Northwestern Europeans most. I think the reason for that is that we've had markets under the rule of law for a long period of time. In a rule-of-law society, you can actually take a chance on trusting somebody. And the reason is the worst possible outcome isn't so bad. They're not going to take your kids. They're not going to burn down your house. Maybe you're going to get cheated once or twice.

Embracing incentives, constraints, and community to create change

10:46: We'll never solve the problems facing us, whether it's economic injustice, how to handle new innovations, or how to handle climate change. We have to have a combination of incentives and constraints of the traditional kind and appeal to people's desire to be members of the community and to actually do something that they'll be proud of because they're good human beings.

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]]> 391. Balancing Incentives and Morals in Economics and Society feat. Samuel Bowles Greg La Blanc 01:04:56 How can tempting kids with an extra allowance for extra chores cause them to lose interest in helping out at all? How do incentives work and fail on each level from knave to king? What can be learned from examining the intersection of economics, preferences, and morality? Samuel Bowles is an economist, professor, and the author of several books on economics and related topics. His latest work is called The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens. Samuel and Greg discuss how our modern service and information economies pose unique challenges to traditional market principles. Sam shares studies that illuminate the intricate relationship between intrinsic motivation and external rewards. They also debunk misplaced beliefs in equilibrium and Sam emphasizes the need to align economic education with the challenges of climate change. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How can tempting kids with an extra allowance for extra chores cause them to lose interest in helping out at all? How do incentives work and fail on each level from knave to king? What can be learned from examining the intersection of economics, preferences, and morality? Samuel Bowles is an economist, professor, and the author of several books on economics and related topics. His latest work is called The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens. Samuel and Greg discuss how our modern service and information economies pose unique challenges to traditional market principles. Sam shares studies that illuminate the intricate relationship between intrinsic motivation and external rewards. They also debunk misplaced beliefs in equilibrium and Sam emphasizes the need to align economic education with the challenges of climate change. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 391 d7c1bac5-2062-4ddd-9153-f1e775634797 390. Decoding the Expert Mind feat. Gary A. Klein How did a breakthrough in understanding how humans make split-second decisions and how did studying firefighters unlock the key piece of understanding expertise?

Gary Klein is the President of ShadowBox LLC who researches decision-making and is the author of several books. His latest book is Snapshots of the Mind, a compilation of essays that span his career. Also recently published was the 20th Anniversary edition of Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions which explores the ways in which expertise factors into decision-making in ways you may not have realized initially.

Gary and Greg discuss the complexities of decision-making, covering the importance of experience, expertise, and the role of mental models. They also explore concepts such as positive cognitive psychology and the idea of implementing positive aspects of decision-making as opposed to focusing on flaws. 

Gary discusses his innovative ShadowBox method used for training decision-makers by providing simulations of expert decisions. He also talks about the role of insights in successful decision-making and the challenges organizations face in fostering a culture of insights.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Can you have an optimal error path?

46:24: So, you want people to learn from feedback. But it's not that trivial because a lot of times, I see people say, "Yeah, we're going to provide feedback about whether you succeeded or not," but that's just the beginning. You also want to help people diagnose why they got it wrong, what they were misinterpreting, what they were missing that they should have been watching more carefully. And so there's that diagnostic part, which gets into the tacit knowledge, which sometimes people can do by themselves. Sometimes, you want to bring in another pair of eyes, somebody with more expertise, to help you unpack: "Why did I get that wrong? Or was there something I could have done that would have prevented this?" So you want to have that kind of opportunity for diagnosis to help get richer feedback rather than just, "I got it right or I got it wrong."

Should you trust your intuition?

19:25: People ask me, "When should you trust your intuition?" And the answer is never because intuition can mislead you. But that doesn't mean you should trust analytical methods either because they can mislead you as well. So, you need to be able to use both for intuition. You don't want to totally trust your intuition, but you want to at least listen to your intuition because your intuition may be telling you some things that aren't captured in the analyses.

Distinguishing experts from journeymen

28:26:  One of the hallmarks of humans, and particularly experts, is to engage in speculative reasoning when you've gone beyond what they've encountered before. And that's one of the ways that we distinguish experts from journeymen: you throw something at an expert that the expert hasn't seen before, and their eyes light up, and they say, "What can we do about this?" Whereas a journeyman says, "I don't know. I'm going to have to call somebody else in." And they get uncomfortable rather than enthusiastic. So yes, as people become more skilled, they love the challenge of having to engage in speculative reasoning. That's human capability and a human source of power.

How experts navigate mistakes

47:55: Some people, if they make a mistake, say, "Okay, I'm putting it behind me." But the real experts don't put the mistakes behind them. They're really upset about these mistakes, and they keep mulling about it until they can come up with some idea. "Here's what I could have done. Here's what I should have done." And then they can start to relax. And that's one of the ways we distinguish the real experts from the ones who are just pretending: you ask people what's the last mistake they made, and the real experts know the last mistake they made because they're still processing it.

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]]> Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How did a breakthrough in understanding how humans make split-second decisions and how did studying firefighters unlock the key piece of understanding expertise?

Gary Klein is the President of ShadowBox LLC who researches decision-making and is the author of several books. His latest book is Snapshots of the Mind, a compilation of essays that span his career. Also recently published was the 20th Anniversary edition of Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions which explores the ways in which expertise factors into decision-making in ways you may not have realized initially.

Gary and Greg discuss the complexities of decision-making, covering the importance of experience, expertise, and the role of mental models. They also explore concepts such as positive cognitive psychology and the idea of implementing positive aspects of decision-making as opposed to focusing on flaws. 

Gary discusses his innovative ShadowBox method used for training decision-makers by providing simulations of expert decisions. He also talks about the role of insights in successful decision-making and the challenges organizations face in fostering a culture of insights.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Can you have an optimal error path?

46:24: So, you want people to learn from feedback. But it's not that trivial because a lot of times, I see people say, "Yeah, we're going to provide feedback about whether you succeeded or not," but that's just the beginning. You also want to help people diagnose why they got it wrong, what they were misinterpreting, what they were missing that they should have been watching more carefully. And so there's that diagnostic part, which gets into the tacit knowledge, which sometimes people can do by themselves. Sometimes, you want to bring in another pair of eyes, somebody with more expertise, to help you unpack: "Why did I get that wrong? Or was there something I could have done that would have prevented this?" So you want to have that kind of opportunity for diagnosis to help get richer feedback rather than just, "I got it right or I got it wrong."

Should you trust your intuition?

19:25: People ask me, "When should you trust your intuition?" And the answer is never because intuition can mislead you. But that doesn't mean you should trust analytical methods either because they can mislead you as well. So, you need to be able to use both for intuition. You don't want to totally trust your intuition, but you want to at least listen to your intuition because your intuition may be telling you some things that aren't captured in the analyses.

Distinguishing experts from journeymen

28:26:  One of the hallmarks of humans, and particularly experts, is to engage in speculative reasoning when you've gone beyond what they've encountered before. And that's one of the ways that we distinguish experts from journeymen: you throw something at an expert that the expert hasn't seen before, and their eyes light up, and they say, "What can we do about this?" Whereas a journeyman says, "I don't know. I'm going to have to call somebody else in." And they get uncomfortable rather than enthusiastic. So yes, as people become more skilled, they love the challenge of having to engage in speculative reasoning. That's human capability and a human source of power.

How experts navigate mistakes

47:55: Some people, if they make a mistake, say, "Okay, I'm putting it behind me." But the real experts don't put the mistakes behind them. They're really upset about these mistakes, and they keep mulling about it until they can come up with some idea. "Here's what I could have done. Here's what I should have done." And then they can start to relax. And that's one of the ways we distinguish the real experts from the ones who are just pretending: you ask people what's the last mistake they made, and the real experts know the last mistake they made because they're still processing it.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 390. Decoding the Expert Mind feat. Gary A. Klein Greg La Blanc 00:58:46 How did a breakthrough in understanding how humans make split-second decisions and how did studying firefighters unlock the key piece of understanding expertise? Gary Klein is the President of ShadowBox LLC who researches decision-making and is the author of several books. His latest book is Snapshots of the Mind, a compilation of essays that span his career. Also recently published was the 20th Anniversary edition of Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions which explores the ways in which expertise factors into decision-making in ways you may not have realized initially. Gary and Greg discuss the complexities of decision-making, covering the importance of experience, expertise, and the role of mental models. They also explore concepts such as positive cognitive psychology and the idea of implementing positive aspects of decision-making as opposed to focusing on flaws. Gary discusses his innovative ShadowBox method used for training decision-makers by providing simulations of expert decisions. He also talks about the role of insights in successful decision-making and the challenges organizations face in fostering a culture of insights. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How did a breakthrough in understanding how humans make split-second decisions and how did studying firefighters unlock the key piece of understanding expertise? Gary Klein is the President of ShadowBox LLC who researches decision-making and is the author of several books. His latest book is Snapshots of the Mind, a compilation of essays that span his career. Also recently published was the 20th Anniversary edition of Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions which explores the ways in which expertise factors into decision-making in ways you may not have realized initially. Gary and Greg discuss the complexities of decision-making, covering the importance of experience, expertise, and the role of mental models. They also explore concepts such as positive cognitive psychology and the idea of implementing positive aspects of decision-making as opposed to focusing on flaws. Gary discusses his innovative ShadowBox method used for training decision-makers by providing simulations of expert decisions. He also talks about the role of insights in successful decision-making and the challenges organizations face in fostering a culture of insights. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 390 e08ff0b6-1256-4020-af78-1f11d3a1cc84 389. Why Understanding Statistics Is a Fundamental Part of Life with David Spiegelhalter When people are told a statistical claim, particularly about risk, the most important follow-up they can ask is about magnitude. How big of a number or impact is this? But many lack a basic understanding of statistics and how they fit into our world. It’s not baked into the fundamentals of education. 

David Spiegelhalter is an emeritus professor of statistics at the University of Cambridge. His books like The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data and Covid By Numbers: Making Sense of the Pandemic with Data help contextualize the importance and impact of statistics in everyday life. 

He and Greg discuss the vital role of data literacy, how concepts like 'micro-mort' and 'micro-life' can measure risk, and the ramifications of faulty statistical interpretation during crises like COVID-19. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

You can't talk about risk without talking about its magnitude

04:31: To talk about risk without talking about magnitude, I think, is an abominable thing to do. It's manipulative. It's always manipulative. If someone's going to talk about risk, they are trying to worry you, and they're trying to manipulate your emotions. Most of the time, we talk about increased risk and the risk (delete the ‘of” )without having any idea what the magnitude is. And even if we do, it's quite difficult to know: is that a big number or not? So, I think that this is absolutely essential: whenever people are told something, a claim, they should ask, "How big is it? And is this really a big number? Is this really important?"

Risk as analysis is very often dominated by risk as feeling

21:22: Risk as analysis is very often dominated by risk as feeling, and you've got to have risk as feeling, I think, in there as well. But it's when one of them takes over. And I think the real problem with this is that if you just operate on risk as a feeling, it's so easy to be manipulated by people. "Oh, this is awful. This is awful." You've got to be really careful of this. And you think, "No, it's not bad," or understating what the risks of some things are. So I think that if you're very vulnerable, if you only operate on risk as a feeling, you're vulnerable to manipulation.

How do you gain micro life?

38:40: You can gain micro-lives by exercising and stuff like that. And so, but that's highly nonlinear. The benefits from the first 20 minutes of exercising are considerable. It's about 40 minutes. So it's about a micro-life and a half, or something like that. After that, it's about the past. So, if you exercise for half an hour, you live an extra half an hour. So you better enjoy exercising because that's the extra bit you're living. And it's like time, and I quite like this image that while you're exercising moderately, your aging stops. You're not aging that half hour.

COVID's positive impact on public interest in data

47:00: During COVID, it was amazing. The popular interest in statistics, data, and graphs—I was on the media all the time trying to explain stuff. And that's carried on. It's even good. Is there any good news about COVID? One of the small things I think might be the greater public tolerance for an interest in data and graphs and more subtle ideas being used.

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]]> Mon, 26 Feb 2024 15:43:10 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When people are told a statistical claim, particularly about risk, the most important follow-up they can ask is about magnitude. How big of a number or impact is this? But many lack a basic understanding of statistics and how they fit into our world. It’s not baked into the fundamentals of education. 

David Spiegelhalter is an emeritus professor of statistics at the University of Cambridge. His books like The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data and Covid By Numbers: Making Sense of the Pandemic with Data help contextualize the importance and impact of statistics in everyday life. 

He and Greg discuss the vital role of data literacy, how concepts like 'micro-mort' and 'micro-life' can measure risk, and the ramifications of faulty statistical interpretation during crises like COVID-19. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

You can't talk about risk without talking about its magnitude

04:31: To talk about risk without talking about magnitude, I think, is an abominable thing to do. It's manipulative. It's always manipulative. If someone's going to talk about risk, they are trying to worry you, and they're trying to manipulate your emotions. Most of the time, we talk about increased risk and the risk (delete the ‘of” )without having any idea what the magnitude is. And even if we do, it's quite difficult to know: is that a big number or not? So, I think that this is absolutely essential: whenever people are told something, a claim, they should ask, "How big is it? And is this really a big number? Is this really important?"

Risk as analysis is very often dominated by risk as feeling

21:22: Risk as analysis is very often dominated by risk as feeling, and you've got to have risk as feeling, I think, in there as well. But it's when one of them takes over. And I think the real problem with this is that if you just operate on risk as a feeling, it's so easy to be manipulated by people. "Oh, this is awful. This is awful." You've got to be really careful of this. And you think, "No, it's not bad," or understating what the risks of some things are. So I think that if you're very vulnerable, if you only operate on risk as a feeling, you're vulnerable to manipulation.

How do you gain micro life?

38:40: You can gain micro-lives by exercising and stuff like that. And so, but that's highly nonlinear. The benefits from the first 20 minutes of exercising are considerable. It's about 40 minutes. So it's about a micro-life and a half, or something like that. After that, it's about the past. So, if you exercise for half an hour, you live an extra half an hour. So you better enjoy exercising because that's the extra bit you're living. And it's like time, and I quite like this image that while you're exercising moderately, your aging stops. You're not aging that half hour.

COVID's positive impact on public interest in data

47:00: During COVID, it was amazing. The popular interest in statistics, data, and graphs—I was on the media all the time trying to explain stuff. And that's carried on. It's even good. Is there any good news about COVID? One of the small things I think might be the greater public tolerance for an interest in data and graphs and more subtle ideas being used.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 389. Why Understanding Statistics Is a Fundamental Part of Life with David Spiegelhalter Greg La Blanc 01:00:38 When people are told a statistical claim, particularly about risk, the most important follow-up they can ask is about magnitude. How big of a number or impact is this? But many lack a basic understanding of statistics and how they fit into our world. It’s not baked into the fundamentals of education. David Spiegelhalter is an emeritus professor of statistics at the University of Cambridge. His books like The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data and Covid By Numbers: Making Sense of the Pandemic with Data help contextualize the importance and impact of statistics in everyday life. He and Greg discuss the vital role of data literacy, how concepts like 'micro-mort' and 'micro-life' can measure risk, and the ramifications of faulty statistical interpretation during crises like COVID-19. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When people are told a statistical claim, particularly about risk, the most important follow-up they can ask is about magnitude. How big of a number or impact is this? But many lack a basic understanding of statistics and how they fit into our world. It’s not baked into the fundamentals of education. David Spiegelhalter is an emeritus professor of statistics at the University of Cambridge. His books like The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data and Covid By Numbers: Making Sense of the Pandemic with Data help contextualize the importance and impact of statistics in everyday life. He and Greg discuss the vital role of data literacy, how concepts like 'micro-mort' and 'micro-life' can measure risk, and the ramifications of faulty statistical interpretation during crises like COVID-19. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 389 e451f63c-32c1-4f40-bb4f-64fc1d20c803 388. Is There a Tradeoff Between Profit and Purpose? feat. Alex Edmans The current debate over corporate Governance depicts a conflict between shareholders and stakeholders. But what if their interests were aligned?

Alex Edmans is a professor at the London School of Business and an expert on the impact of ESG factors on firm performance. His latest book is called Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit. 

Alex and Greg discuss the pervading discourse on ESG factors and fiduciary duty. Alex compares the benefits and challenges of long-term versus short-term activism. Join us as we debunk the stereotypes of activist investing, asserting its potential to spark long-term value through a lens that values genuine insight over raw data. Greg and Alex also navigate beyond the surface of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion metrics, drawing a parallel with the flawed educational policy of No Child Left Behind. Alex also gives his personal reflections on the importance of research in real-world business applications and leveraging purpose statements for strategic decision-making both in business and life.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is it difficult to craft a statement of purpose for companies?

36:03: So why is it difficult to come up with a mission statement, either for a company or for a person? To mean anything, it has to be selective. You can't be all things to all people, and that's why it's difficult to come up with such a statement because there's certain things that you miss out. So when I say to use rigorous research to influence the practice of business, that rules out just doing research for purely intellectual purposes, only to be published in top academic journals and be applauded by fellow academics. Instead, it's something where I'm doing this because I want to influence the way people think and act.

Is shareholder capitalism bad for companies?

11:42: Shareholder capitalism is actually not a bad thing as long as we correctly recognize that shareholder value is long-term shareholder value.

Reforming companies by improving it for the long-term

16:34:  Some of the most valuable companies today, such as the tech companies in the US, are worth far more than their quarterly earnings. Because investors are valuing the future, indeed, the most successful activist investors are the ones that will try to improve a company's productivity and innovation, and indeed there was some nice academic research which looks at the source of the value creation from activist shareholders, and it's not value extraction, value capture, it's indeed things such as improving productivity and improving innovation.

Pursuing action, not profit

08:46: So, one of the messages of the book [Grow The Pie] is actually the best way to pursue a goal. Let's say it's profits. It's not actually direct. If you go in with the mindset, and you're right to highlight the mindset, can I make money from this? There are many good things that do make money in the long term, but because that monetization is unexpected and difficult to predict, if you have the mindset of, I'm only going to do something if it makes me money, then I might not actually take that action.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 23 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The current debate over corporate Governance depicts a conflict between shareholders and stakeholders. But what if their interests were aligned?

Alex Edmans is a professor at the London School of Business and an expert on the impact of ESG factors on firm performance. His latest book is called Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit. 

Alex and Greg discuss the pervading discourse on ESG factors and fiduciary duty. Alex compares the benefits and challenges of long-term versus short-term activism. Join us as we debunk the stereotypes of activist investing, asserting its potential to spark long-term value through a lens that values genuine insight over raw data. Greg and Alex also navigate beyond the surface of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion metrics, drawing a parallel with the flawed educational policy of No Child Left Behind. Alex also gives his personal reflections on the importance of research in real-world business applications and leveraging purpose statements for strategic decision-making both in business and life.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why is it difficult to craft a statement of purpose for companies?

36:03: So why is it difficult to come up with a mission statement, either for a company or for a person? To mean anything, it has to be selective. You can't be all things to all people, and that's why it's difficult to come up with such a statement because there's certain things that you miss out. So when I say to use rigorous research to influence the practice of business, that rules out just doing research for purely intellectual purposes, only to be published in top academic journals and be applauded by fellow academics. Instead, it's something where I'm doing this because I want to influence the way people think and act.

Is shareholder capitalism bad for companies?

11:42: Shareholder capitalism is actually not a bad thing as long as we correctly recognize that shareholder value is long-term shareholder value.

Reforming companies by improving it for the long-term

16:34:  Some of the most valuable companies today, such as the tech companies in the US, are worth far more than their quarterly earnings. Because investors are valuing the future, indeed, the most successful activist investors are the ones that will try to improve a company's productivity and innovation, and indeed there was some nice academic research which looks at the source of the value creation from activist shareholders, and it's not value extraction, value capture, it's indeed things such as improving productivity and improving innovation.

Pursuing action, not profit

08:46: So, one of the messages of the book [Grow The Pie] is actually the best way to pursue a goal. Let's say it's profits. It's not actually direct. If you go in with the mindset, and you're right to highlight the mindset, can I make money from this? There are many good things that do make money in the long term, but because that monetization is unexpected and difficult to predict, if you have the mindset of, I'm only going to do something if it makes me money, then I might not actually take that action.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 388. Is There a Tradeoff Between Profit and Purpose? feat. Alex Edmans Greg La Blanc 00:37:43 The current debate over corporate Governance depicts a conflict between shareholders and stakeholders. But what if their interests were aligned? Alex Edmans is a professor at the London School of Business and an expert on the impact of ESG factors on firm performance. His latest book is called Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit.  Alex and Greg discuss the pervading discourse on ESG factors and fiduciary duty. Alex compares the benefits and challenges of long-term versus short-term activism. Join us as we debunk the stereotypes of activist investing, asserting its potential to spark long-term value through a lens that values genuine insight over raw data. Greg and Alex also navigate beyond the surface of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion metrics, drawing a parallel with the flawed educational policy of No Child Left Behind. Alex also gives his personal reflections on the importance of research in real-world business applications and leveraging purpose statements for strategic decision-making both in business and life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The current debate over corporate Governance depicts a conflict between shareholders and stakeholders. But what if their interests were aligned? Alex Edmans is a professor at the London School of Business and an expert on the impact of ESG factors on firm performance. His latest book is called Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit.  Alex and Greg discuss the pervading discourse on ESG factors and fiduciary duty. Alex compares the benefits and challenges of long-term versus short-term activism. Join us as we debunk the stereotypes of activist investing, asserting its potential to spark long-term value through a lens that values genuine insight over raw data. Greg and Alex also navigate beyond the surface of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion metrics, drawing a parallel with the flawed educational policy of No Child Left Behind. Alex also gives his personal reflections on the importance of research in real-world business applications and leveraging purpose statements for strategic decision-making both in business and life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 388 3896f2a6-d09e-4c4d-bbef-a3740944893b 387. Reframing Our Concept of Negative Emotions with Krista K. Thomason Is it better to suppress our negative emotions? How do we feel things like anger, envy, or spite without letting them take over and impact our relationships? Do these so-called negative emotions serve an important purpose in how we perceive the world and ourselves? 

Krista K. Thomason is a philosophy professor at Swarthmore College. Her books, Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good and Naked: The Dark Side of Shame and Moral Life, deal with the philosophy of emotion and examine why negative emotions are a key component of life. 

She and Greg discuss the history of philosophical thought when it comes to emotions, why bad feelings don’t always need to be turned into something productive, and why a life free of negative emotions wouldn’t actually be fulfilling at all. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The price you pay to master your emotions

49:52: We pay a price for the kind of control that I think we often want when we're trying to master our emotions. I think that's oftentimes what we're looking for. We're looking for safety and security, and we're looking for inner peace. We're looking for a life that is, as they say, frictionless and stress-free and all that. But I think what kind of life do we end up with if it's a kind of life where we have absolutely everything under our thumbs, and nothing escapes the boundaries of our will? What have we done? What sort of life is that? Is life in the comfortable, easy chair a life worth having, even if it never comes with any pain?

The role of emotions in self-discovery

08:24: Understanding and paying attention to your emotions is part of self-discovery. It's part of figuring out what are these things that matter to me. And sometimes your emotions will show what you're invested in and what matters to you, maybe before you fully realize it yourself. So there's this way that they can kind of point us in certain directions and help us learn things about ourselves that we may not initially realize.

Are negative emotions good?

05:45: We have this tendency to think that positive emotions are good, helpful things in our lives and that they're sources of information, but the negative emotions are somehow built on false positive beliefs. They are fundamentally irrational. They are seeing the world in the wrong ways, whereas positive emotions are seeing the world in the right ways.

On self-maturity

18:59: Emotional maturity doesn't have to mean reason controls the emotions. Emotional maturity can mean I am good at identifying what I'm feeling. I'm good at accepting that this is how I feel about something, and I'm also good at recognizing that this is how I am experiencing this situation that may or may not be reflecting how the situation actually is. But also, I'm good at just feeling my emotions without necessarily feeling like I have to do something with it.

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

]]> Wed, 21 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is it better to suppress our negative emotions? How do we feel things like anger, envy, or spite without letting them take over and impact our relationships? Do these so-called negative emotions serve an important purpose in how we perceive the world and ourselves? 

Krista K. Thomason is a philosophy professor at Swarthmore College. Her books, Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good and Naked: The Dark Side of Shame and Moral Life, deal with the philosophy of emotion and examine why negative emotions are a key component of life. 

She and Greg discuss the history of philosophical thought when it comes to emotions, why bad feelings don’t always need to be turned into something productive, and why a life free of negative emotions wouldn’t actually be fulfilling at all. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The price you pay to master your emotions

49:52: We pay a price for the kind of control that I think we often want when we're trying to master our emotions. I think that's oftentimes what we're looking for. We're looking for safety and security, and we're looking for inner peace. We're looking for a life that is, as they say, frictionless and stress-free and all that. But I think what kind of life do we end up with if it's a kind of life where we have absolutely everything under our thumbs, and nothing escapes the boundaries of our will? What have we done? What sort of life is that? Is life in the comfortable, easy chair a life worth having, even if it never comes with any pain?

The role of emotions in self-discovery

08:24: Understanding and paying attention to your emotions is part of self-discovery. It's part of figuring out what are these things that matter to me. And sometimes your emotions will show what you're invested in and what matters to you, maybe before you fully realize it yourself. So there's this way that they can kind of point us in certain directions and help us learn things about ourselves that we may not initially realize.

Are negative emotions good?

05:45: We have this tendency to think that positive emotions are good, helpful things in our lives and that they're sources of information, but the negative emotions are somehow built on false positive beliefs. They are fundamentally irrational. They are seeing the world in the wrong ways, whereas positive emotions are seeing the world in the right ways.

On self-maturity

18:59: Emotional maturity doesn't have to mean reason controls the emotions. Emotional maturity can mean I am good at identifying what I'm feeling. I'm good at accepting that this is how I feel about something, and I'm also good at recognizing that this is how I am experiencing this situation that may or may not be reflecting how the situation actually is. But also, I'm good at just feeling my emotions without necessarily feeling like I have to do something with it.

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]]> 387. Reframing Our Concept of Negative Emotions with Krista K. Thomason Greg La Blanc 00:54:44 Is it better to suppress our negative emotions? How do we feel things like anger, envy, or spite without letting them take over and impact our relationships? Do these so-called negative emotions serve an important purpose in how we perceive the world and ourselves? Krista K. Thomason is a philosophy professor at Swarthmore College. Her books, Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good and Naked: The Dark Side of Shame and Moral Life, deal with the philosophy of emotion and examine why negative emotions are a key component of life. She and Greg discuss the history of philosophical thought when it comes to emotions, why bad feelings don’t always need to be turned into something productive, and why a life free of negative emotions wouldn’t actually be fulfilling at all. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is it better to suppress our negative emotions? How do we feel things like anger, envy, or spite without letting them take over and impact our relationships? Do these so-called negative emotions serve an important purpose in how we perceive the world and ourselves? Krista K. Thomason is a philosophy professor at Swarthmore College. Her books, Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good and Naked: The Dark Side of Shame and Moral Life, deal with the philosophy of emotion and examine why negative emotions are a key component of life. She and Greg discuss the history of philosophical thought when it comes to emotions, why bad feelings don’t always need to be turned into something productive, and why a life free of negative emotions wouldn’t actually be fulfilling at all. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 387 dde4805f-7e02-4ed9-a5de-6ae2853341f1 386. The Lost Art of Civility in a Divided World feat. Alexandra Hudson What is the difference between politeness and civility? How do you show respect for others during difficult discourse instead of siloing yourself away in only like-minded company?

Alexandra Hudson is an author and writer of the book, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves, and also the creator of the Civic-Renaissance newsletter. 

Alexandra and Greg discuss Alexandra’s views on civility and humanity. Alexandra also recounts the wisdom of historical figures like Augustine and Pascal, shedding light on the balancing act between self-interest and societal harmony and why civility remains crucial, even when it's challenging. This episode not only offers a profound examination of civility's role in healing society but also provides actionable insights for integrating these timeless principles into the fabric of everyday life. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we overdoing democracy?

38:36: I argue in the final chapter of my book [The Soul of Civility] that we've made idols out of democracy, out of public life, out of our national public discourse. When we have an unhealthy love, unhealthy addiction to something, we know that we've made idols. We have an unhealthy addiction to this because it's invaded all areas of our lives. Things that were historically apolitical now have a profound political dimension and valence to them, like sports, schools, and education, and what newspaper you read, what area of town you live in, all of these historically apolitical decisions now, like you can assess a person's political dimension based on these decisions. And we do that all the time. That's not good—not good for our souls, not good for democracy. Democracy is a beautiful, important, and wonderful thing, but there's such a thing as too much of a good thing, and we're overdoing democracy by making it part of every aspect of our lives, and we're undermining it as a result.

Civility is inherent good

04:15: We need to realize that even when the stakes are high, we still owe the other some basic baseline of respect. That is civility. Even when it might be costly to us and even when it's inconvenient, that's just the right thing. Inherently, that is the right thing to do. And it's an obligation we have.

The essential distinction between civility and politeness

19:21:  I also realized this essential distinction between civility and politeness. That politeness is manners; it's etiquette; it's technique; it's external. It's the stuff where civility is internal. It's the disposition of the heart. It's a way of seeing others as our moral equals who are worthy of respect. And crucially, sometimes respecting others requires being impolite, telling hard truths, and engaging in robust debate. 

What are the foundational questions you ask yourself to be considered truly educated?

44:51: This is the dialogue about foundational questions that every single human being should have the opportunity to ask and answer for themselves in order to be considered truly educated. Questions of origin, purpose, and destiny: Who are we? Why are we here? What is the best way to live? These are thoughtful questions that thoughtful people across history and culture have reflected on and offered answers to. And we do ourselves a profound disservice if we don't grapple with these questions in the context of how other thoughtful people before us have answered them.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 19 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is the difference between politeness and civility? How do you show respect for others during difficult discourse instead of siloing yourself away in only like-minded company?

Alexandra Hudson is an author and writer of the book, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves, and also the creator of the Civic-Renaissance newsletter. 

Alexandra and Greg discuss Alexandra’s views on civility and humanity. Alexandra also recounts the wisdom of historical figures like Augustine and Pascal, shedding light on the balancing act between self-interest and societal harmony and why civility remains crucial, even when it's challenging. This episode not only offers a profound examination of civility's role in healing society but also provides actionable insights for integrating these timeless principles into the fabric of everyday life. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we overdoing democracy?

38:36: I argue in the final chapter of my book [The Soul of Civility] that we've made idols out of democracy, out of public life, out of our national public discourse. When we have an unhealthy love, unhealthy addiction to something, we know that we've made idols. We have an unhealthy addiction to this because it's invaded all areas of our lives. Things that were historically apolitical now have a profound political dimension and valence to them, like sports, schools, and education, and what newspaper you read, what area of town you live in, all of these historically apolitical decisions now, like you can assess a person's political dimension based on these decisions. And we do that all the time. That's not good—not good for our souls, not good for democracy. Democracy is a beautiful, important, and wonderful thing, but there's such a thing as too much of a good thing, and we're overdoing democracy by making it part of every aspect of our lives, and we're undermining it as a result.

Civility is inherent good

04:15: We need to realize that even when the stakes are high, we still owe the other some basic baseline of respect. That is civility. Even when it might be costly to us and even when it's inconvenient, that's just the right thing. Inherently, that is the right thing to do. And it's an obligation we have.

The essential distinction between civility and politeness

19:21:  I also realized this essential distinction between civility and politeness. That politeness is manners; it's etiquette; it's technique; it's external. It's the stuff where civility is internal. It's the disposition of the heart. It's a way of seeing others as our moral equals who are worthy of respect. And crucially, sometimes respecting others requires being impolite, telling hard truths, and engaging in robust debate. 

What are the foundational questions you ask yourself to be considered truly educated?

44:51: This is the dialogue about foundational questions that every single human being should have the opportunity to ask and answer for themselves in order to be considered truly educated. Questions of origin, purpose, and destiny: Who are we? Why are we here? What is the best way to live? These are thoughtful questions that thoughtful people across history and culture have reflected on and offered answers to. And we do ourselves a profound disservice if we don't grapple with these questions in the context of how other thoughtful people before us have answered them.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 386. The Lost Art of Civility in a Divided World feat. Alexandra Hudson Greg La Blanc 00:57:13 What is the difference between politeness and civility? How do you show respect for others during difficult discourse instead of siloing yourself away in only like-minded company? Alexandra Hudson is an author and writer of the book, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves, and also the creator of the Civic-Renaissance newsletter. Alexandra and Greg discuss Alexandra’s views on civility and humanity. Alexandra also recounts the wisdom of historical figures like Augustine and Pascal, shedding light on the balancing act between self-interest and societal harmony and why civility remains crucial, even when it's challenging. This episode not only offers a profound examination of civility's role in healing society but also provides actionable insights for integrating these timeless principles into the fabric of everyday life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is the difference between politeness and civility? How do you show respect for others during difficult discourse instead of siloing yourself away in only like-minded company? Alexandra Hudson is an author and writer of the book, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves, and also the creator of the Civic-Renaissance newsletter. Alexandra and Greg discuss Alexandra’s views on civility and humanity. Alexandra also recounts the wisdom of historical figures like Augustine and Pascal, shedding light on the balancing act between self-interest and societal harmony and why civility remains crucial, even when it's challenging. This episode not only offers a profound examination of civility's role in healing society but also provides actionable insights for integrating these timeless principles into the fabric of everyday life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 386 d4f0a78a-091b-44b1-ab9d-262d6a0f27a4 385. Understanding The Science Behind Brain Balance and Mental Health feat. Camilla Nord How do you reach the goal of a balanced brain? What will the future of mental health treatments look like, and how do we find the line between psychology and physiology? 

Camilla Nord leads the Mental Health Neuroscience Lab at the University of Cambridge and is the author of the new book, The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health, which explores several scientific developments that are revolutionizing the way we think about mental health, showing why and how events—and treatments—can affect people in such different ways.

Camilla and Greg discuss how phobias, immune responses, and learning intertwine, painting a picture of a brain that wields a direct influence on our physical states. They also examine the role of dopamine, unveiling its true colors in motivation and the intricate dynamics of mental health treatments from Cognitive Behavior Therapy to the uncharted territories of psychedelics and chore therapy. And finally Camilla lays out her view of the shifting landscape of mental health research. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Brain disruptions happen in the brain, whether neurological or physiological 

05:21: If you look at the history of psychiatry, lots of conditions that are now considered neurological conditions, because we understand to some degree their physiological basis, something like epilepsy, were not long ago called psychiatric conditions because we didn't. And it's sort of like every time we understand the basis of a brain disorder, it gets sucked up into a different category, into this neurology category. When in reality, these are all brain disorders that we have a better or worse understanding of the origin for. And often, we know less about neurological disorders than people might think. And we might know more about psychiatric disorders than people might think, but they are all disruptions happening in the brain. 

Awareness isn’t enough to fix mental health

36:58: Mental health is something that we all experience. Mental illness is not; it is something that some of us experience sometimes. In those times, it's critical to get those people the resources and treatments that they need. And sometimes, mental health awareness campaigns get in the way because it makes something like anxiety seem like a universal phenomenon, rather than anxiety disorders as a specific phenomenon that some people really suffer from and need help for.

Brain disruptions happen in the brain, whether neurological or physiological

32:05: I think often, one assumption is that dopamine just feels good. And whenever you experience something that kind of feels good, that must be dopamine. That's actually a mischaracterization of dopamine…[32:30] Dopamine, what it really is closer to is when you want something, when you're motivated to get something. And then it also is, of course, involved in how you learn about that thing. So it has a couple of different functions, different roles in the brain. But the motivational role of dopamine is a really fascinating one because it means you could be motivated to get something that isn't even necessarily pleasurable.

Unmasking dopamine

30:21: I think if you asked people who experience pain, they would say the optimal amount of pain is zero. But that's because we forget just how much we've learned about the world through pain. So if you look at a toddler in pain at some point every single day, and that's how they learn what things not to do so that they don't injure themselves, so they don't walk into a table, so they, you know, catch themselves when they fall over and don't just smash their face, so adapt to the world, they fit themselves in the world, partially via those painful experiences.

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Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 16 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do you reach the goal of a balanced brain? What will the future of mental health treatments look like, and how do we find the line between psychology and physiology? 

Camilla Nord leads the Mental Health Neuroscience Lab at the University of Cambridge and is the author of the new book, The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health, which explores several scientific developments that are revolutionizing the way we think about mental health, showing why and how events—and treatments—can affect people in such different ways.

Camilla and Greg discuss how phobias, immune responses, and learning intertwine, painting a picture of a brain that wields a direct influence on our physical states. They also examine the role of dopamine, unveiling its true colors in motivation and the intricate dynamics of mental health treatments from Cognitive Behavior Therapy to the uncharted territories of psychedelics and chore therapy. And finally Camilla lays out her view of the shifting landscape of mental health research. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Brain disruptions happen in the brain, whether neurological or physiological 

05:21: If you look at the history of psychiatry, lots of conditions that are now considered neurological conditions, because we understand to some degree their physiological basis, something like epilepsy, were not long ago called psychiatric conditions because we didn't. And it's sort of like every time we understand the basis of a brain disorder, it gets sucked up into a different category, into this neurology category. When in reality, these are all brain disorders that we have a better or worse understanding of the origin for. And often, we know less about neurological disorders than people might think. And we might know more about psychiatric disorders than people might think, but they are all disruptions happening in the brain. 

Awareness isn’t enough to fix mental health

36:58: Mental health is something that we all experience. Mental illness is not; it is something that some of us experience sometimes. In those times, it's critical to get those people the resources and treatments that they need. And sometimes, mental health awareness campaigns get in the way because it makes something like anxiety seem like a universal phenomenon, rather than anxiety disorders as a specific phenomenon that some people really suffer from and need help for.

Brain disruptions happen in the brain, whether neurological or physiological

32:05: I think often, one assumption is that dopamine just feels good. And whenever you experience something that kind of feels good, that must be dopamine. That's actually a mischaracterization of dopamine…[32:30] Dopamine, what it really is closer to is when you want something, when you're motivated to get something. And then it also is, of course, involved in how you learn about that thing. So it has a couple of different functions, different roles in the brain. But the motivational role of dopamine is a really fascinating one because it means you could be motivated to get something that isn't even necessarily pleasurable.

Unmasking dopamine

30:21: I think if you asked people who experience pain, they would say the optimal amount of pain is zero. But that's because we forget just how much we've learned about the world through pain. So if you look at a toddler in pain at some point every single day, and that's how they learn what things not to do so that they don't injure themselves, so they don't walk into a table, so they, you know, catch themselves when they fall over and don't just smash their face, so adapt to the world, they fit themselves in the world, partially via those painful experiences.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 385. Understanding The Science Behind Brain Balance and Mental Health feat. Camilla Nord Greg La Blanc 00:56:30 How do you reach the goal of a balanced brain? What will the future of mental health treatments look like, and how do we find the line between psychology and physiology? Camilla Nord leads the Mental Health Neuroscience Lab at the University of Cambridge and is the author of the new book, The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health, which explores several scientific developments that are revolutionizing the way we think about mental health, showing why and how events—and treatments—can affect people in such different ways. Camilla and Greg discuss how phobias, immune responses, and learning intertwine, painting a picture of a brain that wields a direct influence on our physical states. They also examine the role of dopamine, unveiling its true colors in motivation and the intricate dynamics of mental health treatments from Cognitive Behavior Therapy to the uncharted territories of psychedelics and chore therapy. And finally Camilla lays out her view of the shifting landscape of mental health research. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How do you reach the goal of a balanced brain? What will the future of mental health treatments look like, and how do we find the line between psychology and physiology? Camilla Nord leads the Mental Health Neuroscience Lab at the University of Cambridge and is the author of the new book, The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health, which explores several scientific developments that are revolutionizing the way we think about mental health, showing why and how events—and treatments—can affect people in such different ways. Camilla and Greg discuss how phobias, immune responses, and learning intertwine, painting a picture of a brain that wields a direct influence on our physical states. They also examine the role of dopamine, unveiling its true colors in motivation and the intricate dynamics of mental health treatments from Cognitive Behavior Therapy to the uncharted territories of psychedelics and chore therapy. And finally Camilla lays out her view of the shifting landscape of mental health research. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 385 8923a071-b206-4f6b-98e5-45cc4f1c1849 384. Putting the Family Back Into Economics with Melissa Kearney The family household is a fundamental unit of economics, and by extension – a fundamental unit of society. But the amount of research and study on the family within the profession of economics is still developing. 

Melissa Kearney is a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, and the director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group. Her book, The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind, examines how the makeup of families can determine a child’s economic success. 

She and Greg discuss the success gap between children from two-parent homes vs. one-parent homes, the role families play in the overall economic state of our country, and what needs to be done to bridge that inequality and address poverty.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why does family structure matter in economic success and social mobility?

03:43: When you look at all of the research that economists have done on poverty, inequality, and social mobility, family structure is important and determinant of all of that. And so what I'm doing is not uncovering something that isn't there in all of the academic evidence. I just think it doesn't get the attention it deserves when we then say, so what should we do about inequality, threats to social mobility, or poverty? We take family structure as a given in all of our research, and so it matters because it is so determinant. Even if we wish it were otherwise, it is so determinant. We just see that over and over and over again that kids from one-parent homes are less likely to graduate high school, graduate college, go on to achieve high earnings. It's really determinant of all of these markers of what we might think of as economic success.

The real constraints of higher educated parents vs. economically constrained parents

36:58: Higher-educated folks, married parents; they have more resources that allow them to be the kind of parents that they want to be. And more economically constrained parents have less; they have fewer resources, allowing them to be that.

The impact of diverging structures on social disparities

08:02: We don't just want to think about single moms and their kids being more likely to live in poverty, but I think the right way to think about it now is that the divergence in family structure between the college-educated class and everybody else is perpetuating inequality. It's exacerbating inequality precisely because these gaps are really large.

Shared income and time are key for positive child development

14:46: As an economist, my earnest wish is that this shouldn't be such a third-rail topic to talk about because nobody is blaming single parents for not doing an awesome job and putting in the hard work. But when there's a second parent in the house, there's more income coming in; there's more time coming in; there's more supervision; and there's more bandwidth. And we see that all of that collective input yields better outcomes for kids.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 14 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The family household is a fundamental unit of economics, and by extension – a fundamental unit of society. But the amount of research and study on the family within the profession of economics is still developing. 

Melissa Kearney is a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, and the director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group. Her book, The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind, examines how the makeup of families can determine a child’s economic success. 

She and Greg discuss the success gap between children from two-parent homes vs. one-parent homes, the role families play in the overall economic state of our country, and what needs to be done to bridge that inequality and address poverty.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why does family structure matter in economic success and social mobility?

03:43: When you look at all of the research that economists have done on poverty, inequality, and social mobility, family structure is important and determinant of all of that. And so what I'm doing is not uncovering something that isn't there in all of the academic evidence. I just think it doesn't get the attention it deserves when we then say, so what should we do about inequality, threats to social mobility, or poverty? We take family structure as a given in all of our research, and so it matters because it is so determinant. Even if we wish it were otherwise, it is so determinant. We just see that over and over and over again that kids from one-parent homes are less likely to graduate high school, graduate college, go on to achieve high earnings. It's really determinant of all of these markers of what we might think of as economic success.

The real constraints of higher educated parents vs. economically constrained parents

36:58: Higher-educated folks, married parents; they have more resources that allow them to be the kind of parents that they want to be. And more economically constrained parents have less; they have fewer resources, allowing them to be that.

The impact of diverging structures on social disparities

08:02: We don't just want to think about single moms and their kids being more likely to live in poverty, but I think the right way to think about it now is that the divergence in family structure between the college-educated class and everybody else is perpetuating inequality. It's exacerbating inequality precisely because these gaps are really large.

Shared income and time are key for positive child development

14:46: As an economist, my earnest wish is that this shouldn't be such a third-rail topic to talk about because nobody is blaming single parents for not doing an awesome job and putting in the hard work. But when there's a second parent in the house, there's more income coming in; there's more time coming in; there's more supervision; and there's more bandwidth. And we see that all of that collective input yields better outcomes for kids.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 384. Putting the Family Back Into Economics with Melissa Kearney Greg La Blanc 00:57:08 The family household is a fundamental unit of economics, and by extension – a fundamental unit of society. But the amount of research and study on the family within the profession of economics is still developing. Melissa Kearney is a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, and the director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group. Her book, The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind, examines how the makeup of families can determine a child’s economic success. She and Greg discuss the success gap between children from two-parent homes vs. one-parent homes, the role families play in the overall economic state of our country, and what needs to be done to bridge that inequality and address poverty. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The family household is a fundamental unit of economics, and by extension – a fundamental unit of society. But the amount of research and study on the family within the profession of economics is still developing. Melissa Kearney is a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, and the director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group. Her book, The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind, examines how the makeup of families can determine a child’s economic success. She and Greg discuss the success gap between children from two-parent homes vs. one-parent homes, the role families play in the overall economic state of our country, and what needs to be done to bridge that inequality and address poverty. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 384 50847fb0-8ce5-45be-8474-f7193ad3b882 383. The Interdisciplinary Nature of Evolution with David Sloan Wilson What do biology, religion, philosophy, and economics all have in common? Well, to some degree, they can all be grounded in the theory of evolution. 

David Sloan Wilson is a professor emeritus of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University at the State University of New York. He’s written a slew of books on a wide range of topics, all dealing with evolution like, Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior and Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives. 

David and Greg discuss how everything can be explained by evolution, why the last 50 years of science have been groundbreaking, and Darwinism’s shifts over time. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What are the dominant narratives in the management field?

42:34: So you have two things that are dominant narratives in the management field: laissez-faire and centralized planning, command and control planning, and neither one works. What does work is a process of managed cultural evolution. It's where we have a whole field of management that could not be more important for human affairs, which are suffering under these faulty ideas and just waiting for this in a series of essays or print conversations, this third wave, a managed process of cultural evolution... These two things don't work, and only one thing that can work emerges and is what practitioners typically converge on. So if you look at people that are not driven theoretically but have a lot of experience, they've typically become pragmatic cultural evolutionists. They try a bunch of stuff out. They have some systemic goal. They stick with what works, and then they repeat.

On Darwin's impact on human understanding

04:11: It is still the case that Darwin's theory of evolution is the unrivaled explanatory framework for all living processes. It is indeed true that nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. Now, when we go to humans, the very concept that humans are not part of biology is weird, but there's a historical reason why this framework, for all of its explanatory scope within biology, was constricted and was not applied to humans, especially human cultural evolution, until the closing decades of the 20th century. But now, that is taking place.

Does selfishness beat altruism in groups?

20:57: All natural selection is based on relative fitness. It doesn't matter how well you survive and reproduce in absolute terms; only compared to other organisms in your vicinity. And because of relative fitness, any behavior or trait that is oriented towards the welfare of others or one's group as a whole has a disadvantage—an inherent disadvantage compared to a more self-serving trait. So, that's why selfishness beats altruism within groups.

The Intersection of genes and symbols in shaping our worldview

45:05: The concept of a symbotype is the cultural equivalent of your genes, both for your symbotype and your genotype. There's quite a bit of flexibility in the way you see the world and your genes; they actually provide you with a repertoire of behaviors. So, you respond to your environment, but it's a limited repertoire, and if you want to go beyond that repertoire, you need to change something. You need to change your genes; you need to change your symbols. So, to an extent, in order to change the way we see the world and act upon the world—in other words, what takes place on the outside, we must change what takes place on the inside.

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

]]> Mon, 12 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What do biology, religion, philosophy, and economics all have in common? Well, to some degree, they can all be grounded in the theory of evolution. 

David Sloan Wilson is a professor emeritus of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University at the State University of New York. He’s written a slew of books on a wide range of topics, all dealing with evolution like, Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior and Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives. 

David and Greg discuss how everything can be explained by evolution, why the last 50 years of science have been groundbreaking, and Darwinism’s shifts over time. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What are the dominant narratives in the management field?

42:34: So you have two things that are dominant narratives in the management field: laissez-faire and centralized planning, command and control planning, and neither one works. What does work is a process of managed cultural evolution. It's where we have a whole field of management that could not be more important for human affairs, which are suffering under these faulty ideas and just waiting for this in a series of essays or print conversations, this third wave, a managed process of cultural evolution... These two things don't work, and only one thing that can work emerges and is what practitioners typically converge on. So if you look at people that are not driven theoretically but have a lot of experience, they've typically become pragmatic cultural evolutionists. They try a bunch of stuff out. They have some systemic goal. They stick with what works, and then they repeat.

On Darwin's impact on human understanding

04:11: It is still the case that Darwin's theory of evolution is the unrivaled explanatory framework for all living processes. It is indeed true that nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. Now, when we go to humans, the very concept that humans are not part of biology is weird, but there's a historical reason why this framework, for all of its explanatory scope within biology, was constricted and was not applied to humans, especially human cultural evolution, until the closing decades of the 20th century. But now, that is taking place.

Does selfishness beat altruism in groups?

20:57: All natural selection is based on relative fitness. It doesn't matter how well you survive and reproduce in absolute terms; only compared to other organisms in your vicinity. And because of relative fitness, any behavior or trait that is oriented towards the welfare of others or one's group as a whole has a disadvantage—an inherent disadvantage compared to a more self-serving trait. So, that's why selfishness beats altruism within groups.

The Intersection of genes and symbols in shaping our worldview

45:05: The concept of a symbotype is the cultural equivalent of your genes, both for your symbotype and your genotype. There's quite a bit of flexibility in the way you see the world and your genes; they actually provide you with a repertoire of behaviors. So, you respond to your environment, but it's a limited repertoire, and if you want to go beyond that repertoire, you need to change something. You need to change your genes; you need to change your symbols. So, to an extent, in order to change the way we see the world and act upon the world—in other words, what takes place on the outside, we must change what takes place on the inside.

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]]> 383. The Interdisciplinary Nature of Evolution with David Sloan Wilson Greg La Blanc 01:02:21 What do biology, religion, philosophy, and economics all have in common? Well, to some degree, they can all be grounded in the theory of evolution. David Sloan Wilson is a professor emeritus of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University at the State University of New York. He’s written a slew of books on a wide range of topics, all dealing with evolution like, Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior and Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives. David and Greg discuss how everything can be explained by evolution, why the last 50 years of science have been groundbreaking, and Darwinism’s shifts over time. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What do biology, religion, philosophy, and economics all have in common? Well, to some degree, they can all be grounded in the theory of evolution. David Sloan Wilson is a professor emeritus of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University at the State University of New York. He’s written a slew of books on a wide range of topics, all dealing with evolution like, Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior and Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives. David and Greg discuss how everything can be explained by evolution, why the last 50 years of science have been groundbreaking, and Darwinism’s shifts over time. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 383 cf518c5c-d7b6-4ce8-8930-b9c13d8870eb 382. The Crypto Craze: Unveiling the Hype, Scams, and Ethics feat. Zeke Faux What happened when El Salvador made Bitcoin an official currency? Who uses cryptocurrency the most? How does the blockchain both help and hinder would-be scam artists and criminals?

Zeke Faux is a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg News, a National Fellow at New America, and the author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall.

Zeke and Greg discuss crypto bubbles, the crypto space, and the memorable characters Zeke encountered, such as Sam Bankman Fried. Zeke explains his investigations into Tether, the mass scamming compounds in Southeast Asia, and his personal experiences within this fluctuating industry when he bought his own Mutant Ape NFT.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why crypto investors overcome risks

18:25: If you are making a crypto investment and your money is on some DeFi exchange or some centralized exchange, that seems pretty good. What kind of yield would you want just to let them hold your money? It'd have to be a pretty high-yield investment just to get over the risk that something unforeseen will happen, right? There's some chance that even if it seems great, that's something you didn't think is wrong with this because it keeps happening again and again in crypto. And I think what makes these people overcome is that they're not dumb. They know that these risks are there, the crypto investors. But they think, okay, maybe there's a 10% chance that something goes wrong here…[19:22] That's what makes people overcome everything: this desire to get rich quick, in this sense that it's possible because they've seen a lot of other people do it and get rich.

The difference between internet and crypto bubble

07:29: In crypto, the crypto guys do use crypto, but only to buy it. It's not serving any purpose other than just buying it, trading it, and doing things within this crypto world. Whereas with the internet, it was clearly a lot of fun, and it was affecting a lot of parts of real life. The internet bubble got way ahead of what could be justified by how much money these companies were making. But to me, there was never any doubt that the internet was a powerful innovation that was going to change our lives.

Exploring 'Number Go Up' psychology in blockchain

03:29: The key to it is psychology, and the title "Number Go Up" comes from this saying that I heard at my first crypto conference in 2021. I flew down to Miami. I thought I would hear more about technology. I thought I'd see bankers or fintech entrepreneurs who had ideas about how they're going to disrupt the financial system with this new technology, replace intermediaries, and make global transfers faster and cheaper. And instead, I heard this guy on stage saying, "Our technology is called number go up, and number go up technology means the price goes up, and that makes people excited, and they buy more, and the price goes up more, and then more people get excited, and pretty soon, Bitcoin is going to be at a million." And I just couldn't believe it. I was like, "Is that what it's really all about?"

The treatment of crypto wallet transactions vs. traditional banking in stablecoins

37:25: I can open a PayPal account, and I send money to PayPal. And now I have PayPal dollars that I can zap to your account. And that's not so different from a stablecoin. However, PayPal wants to know who I am. They follow all the banking rules and regulations about knowing your customer. They want to know who you are. You can't hold PayPal dollars without disclosing your identity. However, if I have a crypto wallet on my phone, like Metamask or any of the tons of other options, I can hold tethers on my phone and send them to your phone without disclosing any identifying information. And it seems like it's a very similar transaction that's treated very differently by regulators right now. And I just wonder if that will continue, especially if stablecoins keep growing.

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]]> Fri, 9 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What happened when El Salvador made Bitcoin an official currency? Who uses cryptocurrency the most? How does the blockchain both help and hinder would-be scam artists and criminals?

Zeke Faux is a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg News, a National Fellow at New America, and the author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall.

Zeke and Greg discuss crypto bubbles, the crypto space, and the memorable characters Zeke encountered, such as Sam Bankman Fried. Zeke explains his investigations into Tether, the mass scamming compounds in Southeast Asia, and his personal experiences within this fluctuating industry when he bought his own Mutant Ape NFT.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why crypto investors overcome risks

18:25: If you are making a crypto investment and your money is on some DeFi exchange or some centralized exchange, that seems pretty good. What kind of yield would you want just to let them hold your money? It'd have to be a pretty high-yield investment just to get over the risk that something unforeseen will happen, right? There's some chance that even if it seems great, that's something you didn't think is wrong with this because it keeps happening again and again in crypto. And I think what makes these people overcome is that they're not dumb. They know that these risks are there, the crypto investors. But they think, okay, maybe there's a 10% chance that something goes wrong here…[19:22] That's what makes people overcome everything: this desire to get rich quick, in this sense that it's possible because they've seen a lot of other people do it and get rich.

The difference between internet and crypto bubble

07:29: In crypto, the crypto guys do use crypto, but only to buy it. It's not serving any purpose other than just buying it, trading it, and doing things within this crypto world. Whereas with the internet, it was clearly a lot of fun, and it was affecting a lot of parts of real life. The internet bubble got way ahead of what could be justified by how much money these companies were making. But to me, there was never any doubt that the internet was a powerful innovation that was going to change our lives.

Exploring 'Number Go Up' psychology in blockchain

03:29: The key to it is psychology, and the title "Number Go Up" comes from this saying that I heard at my first crypto conference in 2021. I flew down to Miami. I thought I would hear more about technology. I thought I'd see bankers or fintech entrepreneurs who had ideas about how they're going to disrupt the financial system with this new technology, replace intermediaries, and make global transfers faster and cheaper. And instead, I heard this guy on stage saying, "Our technology is called number go up, and number go up technology means the price goes up, and that makes people excited, and they buy more, and the price goes up more, and then more people get excited, and pretty soon, Bitcoin is going to be at a million." And I just couldn't believe it. I was like, "Is that what it's really all about?"

The treatment of crypto wallet transactions vs. traditional banking in stablecoins

37:25: I can open a PayPal account, and I send money to PayPal. And now I have PayPal dollars that I can zap to your account. And that's not so different from a stablecoin. However, PayPal wants to know who I am. They follow all the banking rules and regulations about knowing your customer. They want to know who you are. You can't hold PayPal dollars without disclosing your identity. However, if I have a crypto wallet on my phone, like Metamask or any of the tons of other options, I can hold tethers on my phone and send them to your phone without disclosing any identifying information. And it seems like it's a very similar transaction that's treated very differently by regulators right now. And I just wonder if that will continue, especially if stablecoins keep growing.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 382. The Crypto Craze: Unveiling the Hype, Scams, and Ethics feat. Zeke Faux Greg La Blanc 00:59:07 What happened when El Salvador made Bitcoin an official currency? Who uses cryptocurrency the most? How does the blockchain both help and hinder would-be scam artists and criminals? Zeke Faux is a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg News, a National Fellow at New America, and the author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall. Zeke and Greg discuss crypto bubbles, the crypto space, and the memorable characters Zeke encountered, such as Sam Bankman Fried. Zeke explains his investigations into Tether, the mass scamming compounds in Southeast Asia, and his personal experiences within this fluctuating industry when he bought his own Mutant Ape NFT. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What happened when El Salvador made Bitcoin an official currency? Who uses cryptocurrency the most? How does the blockchain both help and hinder would-be scam artists and criminals? Zeke Faux is a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg News, a National Fellow at New America, and the author of Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall. Zeke and Greg discuss crypto bubbles, the crypto space, and the memorable characters Zeke encountered, such as Sam Bankman Fried. Zeke explains his investigations into Tether, the mass scamming compounds in Southeast Asia, and his personal experiences within this fluctuating industry when he bought his own Mutant Ape NFT. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 382 082bedf6-baed-41f7-83eb-6a6e731b2cdd 381. Using Cultural Evolution to Design Better Companies with Andrew McAfee Why are humans the only species on the planet that’s been able to cooperate on such a massive scale and continuously reinvent our culture? 

Andrew McAfee is the co-director of the Initiative on the Digital Economy and a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His books, such as the Machine trilogy and The Geek Way, examine how technology and cultural evolution have shaped the modern workplace.

He and Greg discuss what has allowed humans to evolve to be these super collaborators, how that evolution translates to organizational culture, and why the education system might be in need of an overhaul. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What does science do with overconfidence?

27:00: What science does that is brilliant is it says to us, overconfident human beings, "You're going to win. You're so smart. Your evidence is going to be right. Go collect the evidence; you're going to be right," and we over overconfidently march off and go do all that. So the amazing thing that happens, the jiujitsu that happens, is that science takes our overconfidence and channels it exactly where it should be. Which is doing the hard work to gather evidence and then confidently getting up in front of your peers and presenting it and have them kick you in the teeth over and over again. It ain't fun, but that's what we signed up for. And what I think is going on at geek companies is they're importing that ground rule to make their decisions. That's why their batting average is higher.

What is it that allows humans to do this thing unique on the planet?

05:12: We human beings, this weird species, have two superpowers. One of them is that we come together and cooperate intensely with large numbers of individuals who we are not related to and who are not our kin…[05:34]The other one is that we evolve our cultures much more rapidly than any other species on the planet.

Navigating disagreement and safetyism in higher education

33:53: If we're not training people about how to debate, disagree, argue, and do it without being jerks or without being completely thin-skinned about it, we're not doing people a service. We're doing them a real disservice. So I think there has been increased safetyism, especially on college campuses. And I think that is not serving young people well for a whole bunch of reasons.

Is our politics and bureaucracy complements or substitutes?

45:53: We want status, and that's where bureaucracy comes from. I'm going to figure out a need to be involved in this work. That gives me status. I honestly believe that's the deepest reason for this stultifying bureaucracy that we come across. The CEO of most companies, if they look at what the processes are like inside their company, they go, "How did things get this bad? What is going on here?" This is not anything close to what I want, but that's because the people in the organization create that encroachment or that encumbrance all the time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 7 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why are humans the only species on the planet that’s been able to cooperate on such a massive scale and continuously reinvent our culture? 

Andrew McAfee is the co-director of the Initiative on the Digital Economy and a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His books, such as the Machine trilogy and The Geek Way, examine how technology and cultural evolution have shaped the modern workplace.

He and Greg discuss what has allowed humans to evolve to be these super collaborators, how that evolution translates to organizational culture, and why the education system might be in need of an overhaul. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What does science do with overconfidence?

27:00: What science does that is brilliant is it says to us, overconfident human beings, "You're going to win. You're so smart. Your evidence is going to be right. Go collect the evidence; you're going to be right," and we over overconfidently march off and go do all that. So the amazing thing that happens, the jiujitsu that happens, is that science takes our overconfidence and channels it exactly where it should be. Which is doing the hard work to gather evidence and then confidently getting up in front of your peers and presenting it and have them kick you in the teeth over and over again. It ain't fun, but that's what we signed up for. And what I think is going on at geek companies is they're importing that ground rule to make their decisions. That's why their batting average is higher.

What is it that allows humans to do this thing unique on the planet?

05:12: We human beings, this weird species, have two superpowers. One of them is that we come together and cooperate intensely with large numbers of individuals who we are not related to and who are not our kin…[05:34]The other one is that we evolve our cultures much more rapidly than any other species on the planet.

Navigating disagreement and safetyism in higher education

33:53: If we're not training people about how to debate, disagree, argue, and do it without being jerks or without being completely thin-skinned about it, we're not doing people a service. We're doing them a real disservice. So I think there has been increased safetyism, especially on college campuses. And I think that is not serving young people well for a whole bunch of reasons.

Is our politics and bureaucracy complements or substitutes?

45:53: We want status, and that's where bureaucracy comes from. I'm going to figure out a need to be involved in this work. That gives me status. I honestly believe that's the deepest reason for this stultifying bureaucracy that we come across. The CEO of most companies, if they look at what the processes are like inside their company, they go, "How did things get this bad? What is going on here?" This is not anything close to what I want, but that's because the people in the organization create that encroachment or that encumbrance all the time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 381. Using Cultural Evolution to Design Better Companies with Andrew McAfee Greg La Blanc 01:01:19 Why are humans the only species on the planet that’s been able to cooperate on such a massive scale and continuously reinvent our culture? Andrew McAfee is the co-director of the Initiative on the Digital Economy and a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His books, such as the Machine trilogy and The Geek Way, examine how technology and cultural evolution have shaped the modern workplace. He and Greg discuss what has allowed humans to evolve to be these super collaborators, how that evolution translates to organizational culture, and why the education system might be in need of an overhaul. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why are humans the only species on the planet that’s been able to cooperate on such a massive scale and continuously reinvent our culture? Andrew McAfee is the co-director of the Initiative on the Digital Economy and a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His books, such as the Machine trilogy and The Geek Way, examine how technology and cultural evolution have shaped the modern workplace. He and Greg discuss what has allowed humans to evolve to be these super collaborators, how that evolution translates to organizational culture, and why the education system might be in need of an overhaul. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 381 b2b6748c-c89d-4538-9be2-3bcf8d9707c3 380. Examining the History of Mind feat. George Makari For centuries, the health of the body was the province of doctors while the health of the soul was the domain of the clergy. What happened with the discovery of a concept of mind as thinking matter? In this episode, we trace the emergence of mind and mental health as a new aspect of what it means to be human.

George Makari is a psychiatrist, historian, and the author of three books: Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia, Revolution in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis, and Soul Machine: The Invention of the Modern Mind.

George and Greg discuss the transformation in the way we perceive the mentally ill, thanks in part to the contributions of Philippe Pinel and others who dared to challenge the status quo. They explore the early intersection of sensibility, vitalism, and literary movements that have shaped modern mental health practices. They also dive into xenophobia, where it came from, and how it persists.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Do people in the world of intellectual history need to spend time thinking about medicine and the history of medicine?

02:38: When you went in search of the history of mind, what you found was maybe a history of the mind through the lens of philosophy. Charles Taylor wrote a good one like that. But the more and more I looked into it, it became so clear that the notion of the mind was highly implicated in science, medicine, politics, and broader social change. And that a lot of our 21st-century categories apply back to a time where they didn't really exist…[03:38] The argument in the book is that claims about these major human essences—the soul, the mind, the brain—have very important socio-political ramifications and, not just downstream, but can be affected by socio-political cultural beliefs. So, I tried to tell that bigger story—medicine being part of science, being part of politics—and trying to piece out how these different kinds of things interacted in the creation of the kind of state that we're in now, thinking about soul, mind, and body.

Are we all a little mentally ill?

26:32: Sensibilities getting disrupted, causing depression or something like that. We are all, potentially, the victims of that. So, there is this notion that the mind is a fragile thing. It's not simply that God gave us one, and it's fine. It's part of the body; it's part of the physiology; it's part of this sensible creature who the environment can deeply impact and who can deeply impact the environment.

On the origins of xenophobia

33:12: I did a little bit of etymology and whatnot and found that the Greeks actually, in antiquity, had never used the word xenophobia. And that was critical because phobos in antiquity is just fear. It doesn't mean anything medical. But by the time the term gets invented in the late 19th century, phobia was a medical term, and there were a multiplicity of phobias that had emerged in the late 19th century, up to 75 different ones. And xenophobia was one of them, so that it was now an irrational fear, and that makes all the difference, that adjective. It's an irrational fear; it's a mental illness; it's not just a fear. And so, when you talk about the irrational fear of the stranger, that becomes one of the origins of the concept of xenophobia. As it kind of makes its way.

The "Other Anxiety" of encountering difference

48:03: Bringing people from foreign worlds together works to some extent, and I call that other anxiety. I was like, we shouldn't call that xenophobia because we all have that. If I meet someone who looks different than me, who speaks a different language than I do, and who worships differently than I do, I am going to have some anxiety about what goes on with that person and how they're different and how they're thinking about me. So that's almost universal, and we should think about that as the easiest part of the problem: bringing people together.

Show Links:

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Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Mon, 5 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast For centuries, the health of the body was the province of doctors while the health of the soul was the domain of the clergy. What happened with the discovery of a concept of mind as thinking matter? In this episode, we trace the emergence of mind and mental health as a new aspect of what it means to be human.

George Makari is a psychiatrist, historian, and the author of three books: Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia, Revolution in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis, and Soul Machine: The Invention of the Modern Mind.

George and Greg discuss the transformation in the way we perceive the mentally ill, thanks in part to the contributions of Philippe Pinel and others who dared to challenge the status quo. They explore the early intersection of sensibility, vitalism, and literary movements that have shaped modern mental health practices. They also dive into xenophobia, where it came from, and how it persists.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Do people in the world of intellectual history need to spend time thinking about medicine and the history of medicine?

02:38: When you went in search of the history of mind, what you found was maybe a history of the mind through the lens of philosophy. Charles Taylor wrote a good one like that. But the more and more I looked into it, it became so clear that the notion of the mind was highly implicated in science, medicine, politics, and broader social change. And that a lot of our 21st-century categories apply back to a time where they didn't really exist…[03:38] The argument in the book is that claims about these major human essences—the soul, the mind, the brain—have very important socio-political ramifications and, not just downstream, but can be affected by socio-political cultural beliefs. So, I tried to tell that bigger story—medicine being part of science, being part of politics—and trying to piece out how these different kinds of things interacted in the creation of the kind of state that we're in now, thinking about soul, mind, and body.

Are we all a little mentally ill?

26:32: Sensibilities getting disrupted, causing depression or something like that. We are all, potentially, the victims of that. So, there is this notion that the mind is a fragile thing. It's not simply that God gave us one, and it's fine. It's part of the body; it's part of the physiology; it's part of this sensible creature who the environment can deeply impact and who can deeply impact the environment.

On the origins of xenophobia

33:12: I did a little bit of etymology and whatnot and found that the Greeks actually, in antiquity, had never used the word xenophobia. And that was critical because phobos in antiquity is just fear. It doesn't mean anything medical. But by the time the term gets invented in the late 19th century, phobia was a medical term, and there were a multiplicity of phobias that had emerged in the late 19th century, up to 75 different ones. And xenophobia was one of them, so that it was now an irrational fear, and that makes all the difference, that adjective. It's an irrational fear; it's a mental illness; it's not just a fear. And so, when you talk about the irrational fear of the stranger, that becomes one of the origins of the concept of xenophobia. As it kind of makes its way.

The "Other Anxiety" of encountering difference

48:03: Bringing people from foreign worlds together works to some extent, and I call that other anxiety. I was like, we shouldn't call that xenophobia because we all have that. If I meet someone who looks different than me, who speaks a different language than I do, and who worships differently than I do, I am going to have some anxiety about what goes on with that person and how they're different and how they're thinking about me. So that's almost universal, and we should think about that as the easiest part of the problem: bringing people together.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 380. Examining the History of Mind feat. George Makari Greg La Blanc 00:54:49 For centuries, the health of the body was the province of doctors while the health of the soul was the domain of the clergy. What happened with the discovery of a concept of mind as thinking matter? In this episode, we trace the emergence of mind and mental health as a new aspect of what it means to be human. George Makari is a psychiatrist, historian, and the author of three books: Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia, Revolution in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis, and Soul Machine: The Invention of the Modern Mind. George and Greg discuss the transformation in the way we perceive the mentally ill, thanks in part to the contributions of Philippe Pinel and others who dared to challenge the status quo. They explore the early intersection of sensibility, vitalism, and literary movements that have shaped modern mental health practices. They also dive into xenophobia, where it came from, and how it persists. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* For centuries, the health of the body was the province of doctors while the health of the soul was the domain of the clergy. What happened with the discovery of a concept of mind as thinking matter? In this episode, we trace the emergence of mind and mental health as a new aspect of what it means to be human. George Makari is a psychiatrist, historian, and the author of three books: Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia, Revolution in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis, and Soul Machine: The Invention of the Modern Mind. George and Greg discuss the transformation in the way we perceive the mentally ill, thanks in part to the contributions of Philippe Pinel and others who dared to challenge the status quo. They explore the early intersection of sensibility, vitalism, and literary movements that have shaped modern mental health practices. They also dive into xenophobia, where it came from, and how it persists. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 380 a29309d7-c2a9-4ff4-a30f-62d5d6fb02ac 379. Using Math To Predict the Future feat. Kit Yates Math is all around us. When you’re debating when to cross the street to avoid oncoming traffic, you’re doing math. When you sing in the shower and you notice how your voice bounces and sounds, that’s math. 

Kit Yates is a professor of mathematical biology at the University of Bath. His books, How to Expect the Unexpected: The Science of Making Predictions―and the Art of Knowing When Not To and The Math of Life and Death: 7 Mathematical Principles That Shape Our Lives look at real-world applications of scientific and mathematical concepts. 

He and Greg discuss why the idea of math needs to be reframed, what it takes to scientifically predict the future, and why it’s more important than ever to have basic math skills in this world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Math is a creative discipline

40:52: Maths is a creative discipline. Sometimes, it involves stewing and thinking about things, and in my case, it involves applying mathematics to the real world and building models of the real world. It's a really creative process because you've got to decide which bits you want to keep and which bits you can throw away, which are the most essential parts. And that's not a thing that you do in 10 seconds. This is something that you have to think really hard about and try and do trial and error and get things wrong, right? We don't encourage people to get things wrong enough. Getting things wrong is the way that you learn how to get things right. And in modeling, we go around in these cycles. When I'm doing a mathematical model of the biological process, we go through this process: model, predict, test, and alter. And then you go back. So you build your model, make a prediction, and then test it against biology, and it's not right. And that's good because you've learned something, and you go and change your model, make a new prediction, and go around the cycle. And this is how mathematical modeling works in general. But it's a really creative process.

You don’t need to be good at math to understand it

32:09: We don't need to be mathematical geniuses, but we do need to be aware of the places where mathematics can have an impact, and those are increasing in frequency over time. We're increasingly presented with more and more data.

On thinking of math in form of stories and narratives

03:09: We’re seeing the products of mathematics all around us all the time, and I think that I wanted to share that through the medium of stories because people connect with that. I wanted to tell the stories of real people's lives where they've been impacted by mathematics, perhaps without even being aware of it, so that other people who read the book can then be aware of what's going on and spot those situations when they start to come up.

It's better to be uncertain about a prediction than to trust a hundred percent in a poor prediction

05:56: We are so convinced that we're right; we fail to check the possibility that we could be wrong. We fail to ask the question, "What if I'm wrong?" And actually, we can get into trouble with that. It's much better to be uncertain and to admit and acknowledge that uncertainty about a particular prediction than it is to be 100 percent certain with the risk that the prediction is wrong.

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]]> Thu, 1 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Math is all around us. When you’re debating when to cross the street to avoid oncoming traffic, you’re doing math. When you sing in the shower and you notice how your voice bounces and sounds, that’s math. 

Kit Yates is a professor of mathematical biology at the University of Bath. His books, How to Expect the Unexpected: The Science of Making Predictions―and the Art of Knowing When Not To and The Math of Life and Death: 7 Mathematical Principles That Shape Our Lives look at real-world applications of scientific and mathematical concepts. 

He and Greg discuss why the idea of math needs to be reframed, what it takes to scientifically predict the future, and why it’s more important than ever to have basic math skills in this world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Math is a creative discipline

40:52: Maths is a creative discipline. Sometimes, it involves stewing and thinking about things, and in my case, it involves applying mathematics to the real world and building models of the real world. It's a really creative process because you've got to decide which bits you want to keep and which bits you can throw away, which are the most essential parts. And that's not a thing that you do in 10 seconds. This is something that you have to think really hard about and try and do trial and error and get things wrong, right? We don't encourage people to get things wrong enough. Getting things wrong is the way that you learn how to get things right. And in modeling, we go around in these cycles. When I'm doing a mathematical model of the biological process, we go through this process: model, predict, test, and alter. And then you go back. So you build your model, make a prediction, and then test it against biology, and it's not right. And that's good because you've learned something, and you go and change your model, make a new prediction, and go around the cycle. And this is how mathematical modeling works in general. But it's a really creative process.

You don’t need to be good at math to understand it

32:09: We don't need to be mathematical geniuses, but we do need to be aware of the places where mathematics can have an impact, and those are increasing in frequency over time. We're increasingly presented with more and more data.

On thinking of math in form of stories and narratives

03:09: We’re seeing the products of mathematics all around us all the time, and I think that I wanted to share that through the medium of stories because people connect with that. I wanted to tell the stories of real people's lives where they've been impacted by mathematics, perhaps without even being aware of it, so that other people who read the book can then be aware of what's going on and spot those situations when they start to come up.

It's better to be uncertain about a prediction than to trust a hundred percent in a poor prediction

05:56: We are so convinced that we're right; we fail to check the possibility that we could be wrong. We fail to ask the question, "What if I'm wrong?" And actually, we can get into trouble with that. It's much better to be uncertain and to admit and acknowledge that uncertainty about a particular prediction than it is to be 100 percent certain with the risk that the prediction is wrong.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 379. Using Math To Predict the Future feat. Kit Yates Greg La Blanc 00:52:33 Math is all around us. When you’re debating when to cross the street to avoid oncoming traffic, you’re doing math. When you sing in the shower and you notice how your voice bounces and sounds, that’s math. Kit Yates is a professor of mathematical biology at the University of Bath. His books, How to Expect the Unexpected: The Science of Making Predictions―and the Art of Knowing When Not To and The Math of Life and Death: 7 Mathematical Principles That Shape Our Lives look at real-world applications of scientific and mathematical concepts. He and Greg discuss why the idea of math needs to be reframed, what it takes to scientifically predict the future, and why it’s more important than ever to have basic math skills in this world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Math is all around us. When you’re debating when to cross the street to avoid oncoming traffic, you’re doing math. When you sing in the shower and you notice how your voice bounces and sounds, that’s math. Kit Yates is a professor of mathematical biology at the University of Bath. His books, How to Expect the Unexpected: The Science of Making Predictions―and the Art of Knowing When Not To and The Math of Life and Death: 7 Mathematical Principles That Shape Our Lives look at real-world applications of scientific and mathematical concepts. He and Greg discuss why the idea of math needs to be reframed, what it takes to scientifically predict the future, and why it’s more important than ever to have basic math skills in this world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 379 ceb0209a-8791-4e41-94f5-f201dd4870f4 378. Making Healthcare More Equitable feat. David A. Ansell In some neighborhoods in the US, life expectancy is lower than in some developing countries. How do poverty, inequality, and the uneven distribution of healthcare resources contribute to this problem? 

Dr. David A. Ansell is a professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. His books, County: Life, Death, and Politics at Chicago's Public Hospital and The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills examine the aspects of inequality that lead to a decline in life expectancy among marginalized groups. 

He and Greg discuss Dr. Ansell’s experiences working in hospitals in some of Chicago's poorest communities and why the current healthcare systems are leaving vulnerable populations behind.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The impact of capital extraction on communities and social cohesion

30:09: So this idea of when you extract capital out of a neighborhood, meaning the Sears leaves, the Western Electric leaves, the Zenith leaves—the big companies leave because white people have left. The bosses now, the ones who run the factories, said, I'm not going to rebuild it here. Why do I want to drive into a black neighborhood? When you take that capital out, it's not disinvestment; it's extraction. And then people are left devoid of work that's meaningful. But look at the South and globalization. Then what happens is what sets in: Grandma gets depressed, but the uncles now are off doing something else, and they don't look in on her. So you begin to erode that social cohesion, and when it erodes to a degree, that is now something that you could measure as concentrated disadvantage.

The destructive role of holding companies in healthcare

44:51: It's not just capitalism; it's the toxic form of capitalism that we have in this country that's allowed our healthcare delivery systems to be overly endowed with profit-making machines—holding companies, not healing companies.

How our ahistorical thinking hinders progress

16:05: One of the challenges that we have in our world is that we're ahistorical. We have this myth of meritocracy. There are ways in which ideology, built into a society, blinds us to the structures and realities of the world that we're in.

Rethinking healthcare in a broken system

33:39: So, I think we need universal healthcare because this idea of cherry-picking that goes on – that's racialized because white people, in general, have better, or people who have been assigned to whiteness have better, insurance – drives the behavior of healthcare delivery. It needs to be eliminated by some form of universal healthcare.

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]]> Mon, 29 Jan 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In some neighborhoods in the US, life expectancy is lower than in some developing countries. How do poverty, inequality, and the uneven distribution of healthcare resources contribute to this problem? 

Dr. David A. Ansell is a professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. His books, County: Life, Death, and Politics at Chicago's Public Hospital and The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills examine the aspects of inequality that lead to a decline in life expectancy among marginalized groups. 

He and Greg discuss Dr. Ansell’s experiences working in hospitals in some of Chicago's poorest communities and why the current healthcare systems are leaving vulnerable populations behind.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The impact of capital extraction on communities and social cohesion

30:09: So this idea of when you extract capital out of a neighborhood, meaning the Sears leaves, the Western Electric leaves, the Zenith leaves—the big companies leave because white people have left. The bosses now, the ones who run the factories, said, I'm not going to rebuild it here. Why do I want to drive into a black neighborhood? When you take that capital out, it's not disinvestment; it's extraction. And then people are left devoid of work that's meaningful. But look at the South and globalization. Then what happens is what sets in: Grandma gets depressed, but the uncles now are off doing something else, and they don't look in on her. So you begin to erode that social cohesion, and when it erodes to a degree, that is now something that you could measure as concentrated disadvantage.

The destructive role of holding companies in healthcare

44:51: It's not just capitalism; it's the toxic form of capitalism that we have in this country that's allowed our healthcare delivery systems to be overly endowed with profit-making machines—holding companies, not healing companies.

How our ahistorical thinking hinders progress

16:05: One of the challenges that we have in our world is that we're ahistorical. We have this myth of meritocracy. There are ways in which ideology, built into a society, blinds us to the structures and realities of the world that we're in.

Rethinking healthcare in a broken system

33:39: So, I think we need universal healthcare because this idea of cherry-picking that goes on – that's racialized because white people, in general, have better, or people who have been assigned to whiteness have better, insurance – drives the behavior of healthcare delivery. It needs to be eliminated by some form of universal healthcare.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 378. Making Healthcare More Equitable feat. David A. Ansell Greg La Blanc 01:05:54 In some neighborhoods in the US, life expectancy is lower than in some developing countries. How do poverty, inequality, and the uneven distribution of healthcare resources contribute to this problem? Dr. David A. Ansell is a professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. His books, County: Life, Death, and Politics at Chicago's Public Hospital and The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills examine the aspects of inequality that lead to a decline in life expectancy among marginalized groups. He and Greg discuss Dr. Ansell’s experiences working in hospitals in some of Chicago's poorest communities and why the current healthcare systems are leaving vulnerable populations behind. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In some neighborhoods in the US, life expectancy is lower than in some developing countries. How do poverty, inequality, and the uneven distribution of healthcare resources contribute to this problem? Dr. David A. Ansell is a professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. His books, County: Life, Death, and Politics at Chicago's Public Hospital and The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills examine the aspects of inequality that lead to a decline in life expectancy among marginalized groups. He and Greg discuss Dr. Ansell’s experiences working in hospitals in some of Chicago's poorest communities and why the current healthcare systems are leaving vulnerable populations behind. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 378 5f73b920-63d7-4da5-b972-7bceecd091ab 377. The Art of Cheating and Deception feat. Dr. Lixing Sun What’s the difference between a lie and deception? How does cheating show up in nature? And is it always a negative thing? 

Dr. Lixing Sun is a professor of animal behavior, ecology, and evolution at Central Washington University. His books, The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars: Cheating and Deception in the Living World and The Fairness Instinct: The Robin Hood Mentality and Our Biological Nature explore the idea that not everything is as it seems in this world, and seek to answer the question of why? 

He and Greg discuss the differences between lying and deceiving, examples of where you can find cheating in nature, and why humans have gotten so good at cheating and deception. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The substantial reality of female cheating

39:34: Recently, studies show that female cheating actually is substantial, and there are lots of benefits associated with that. In my book, I talk a little bit about it, but now there is more to know why cheating is a good strategy among female animals, including humans. Data do not lie, especially about us. I have this data that's from studies; for men, 22 to 25% in their lifetime, they do cheat. And women, 11% to 15% cheat in their lifetimes as well. So, it's quite substantial.

Self-deception in cheating

09:20: Self-deception is for better cheating because when your consciousness is shut down, you can cheat fluently without finding any conflict.

Cheating without conscious thought

16:47: So as to how or why you don't need a brain to cheat, that's relatively simple because, as long as you have a niche—the ecological niche or, no matter what economical niche—the organisms can always take advantage of it. Basically, you have a niche and this adaptive evolution to fit the niche, to take advantage of it. So that's the evolutionary process. It did not require conscious thinking, sort of like in the psychology approach; in humans, you need conscious thinking.

Lying vs. deception

33:39: Lying is referring to communication. A boy crying wolf is lying because he is sending the wrong information to take advantage of being killed by others. So, that is lying. He should say there's no wolf when he cries for a wolf. He is lying because there's no wolf. That's the reality; that's communication. Deception is different. Deception is not necessarily communication, but deception is a take advantage of our cognitive bias.

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What’s the difference between a lie and deception? How does cheating show up in nature? And is it always a negative thing? 

Dr. Lixing Sun is a professor of animal behavior, ecology, and evolution at Central Washington University. His books, The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars: Cheating and Deception in the Living World and The Fairness Instinct: The Robin Hood Mentality and Our Biological Nature explore the idea that not everything is as it seems in this world, and seek to answer the question of why? 

He and Greg discuss the differences between lying and deceiving, examples of where you can find cheating in nature, and why humans have gotten so good at cheating and deception. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The substantial reality of female cheating

39:34: Recently, studies show that female cheating actually is substantial, and there are lots of benefits associated with that. In my book, I talk a little bit about it, but now there is more to know why cheating is a good strategy among female animals, including humans. Data do not lie, especially about us. I have this data that's from studies; for men, 22 to 25% in their lifetime, they do cheat. And women, 11% to 15% cheat in their lifetimes as well. So, it's quite substantial.

Self-deception in cheating

09:20: Self-deception is for better cheating because when your consciousness is shut down, you can cheat fluently without finding any conflict.

Cheating without conscious thought

16:47: So as to how or why you don't need a brain to cheat, that's relatively simple because, as long as you have a niche—the ecological niche or, no matter what economical niche—the organisms can always take advantage of it. Basically, you have a niche and this adaptive evolution to fit the niche, to take advantage of it. So that's the evolutionary process. It did not require conscious thinking, sort of like in the psychology approach; in humans, you need conscious thinking.

Lying vs. deception

33:39: Lying is referring to communication. A boy crying wolf is lying because he is sending the wrong information to take advantage of being killed by others. So, that is lying. He should say there's no wolf when he cries for a wolf. He is lying because there's no wolf. That's the reality; that's communication. Deception is different. Deception is not necessarily communication, but deception is a take advantage of our cognitive bias.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 377. The Art of Cheating and Deception feat. Dr. Lixing Sun Greg La Blanc 00:57:42 What’s the difference between a lie and deception? How does cheating show up in nature? And is it always a negative thing? Dr. Lixing Sun is a professor of animal behavior, ecology, and evolution at Central Washington University. His books, The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars: Cheating and Deception in the Living World and The Fairness Instinct: The Robin Hood Mentality and Our Biological Nature explore the idea that not everything is as it seems in this world, and seek to answer the question of why? He and Greg discuss the differences between lying and deceiving, examples of where you can find cheating in nature, and why humans have gotten so good at cheating and deception. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What’s the difference between a lie and deception? How does cheating show up in nature? And is it always a negative thing? Dr. Lixing Sun is a professor of animal behavior, ecology, and evolution at Central Washington University. His books, The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars: Cheating and Deception in the Living World and The Fairness Instinct: The Robin Hood Mentality and Our Biological Nature explore the idea that not everything is as it seems in this world, and seek to answer the question of why? He and Greg discuss the differences between lying and deceiving, examples of where you can find cheating in nature, and why humans have gotten so good at cheating and deception. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 377 1a8a5b20-827d-4aab-9cde-3897fa873dc4 376. Unraveling the Cultural Significance of Food and Diet feat. Steven Shapin Today’s episode is a historical feast, unraveling the entwined roots of food, philosophy, and the essence of self. But it isn't just for the history buff; it's a banquet for anyone curious about the rich tapestry that flavors our modern approach to nutrition and identity. 

Steven Shapin is Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at Harvard University and also the author of several books. His upcoming book is titled Eating and Being, A History of Ideas About What We Eat and Who We Are.

Steven and Greg discuss dietetics far beyond mere sustenance, uncovering how health and moral virtue were historically seen as two sides of the same coin. They delve into the complex relationship between age-old folk wisdom and medical authority, and discover how our ancestors' understanding of well-being still simmers beneath the surface of today's nutritional discourse. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On exploring the relationship between food, identity, and modernity

06:06: The book could be considered as a kind of gloss on the expression "you are what you eat" because at the end of the day, what I'm interested in is what's the relationship between what we think of the stuff that we put in our mouths and who we are. And that, so it's a story about some quite recent changes in answering that sort of question. So it's a story about how we became modern, and are we indeed modern?

Balancing nutritional expertise and common sense in food choices

31:43: You could tell a story about the way in which nutritional expertise trumps common-sense sensory experience. But that, as it were, aura of expertise doesn't illuminate all of our lives. And there is pushback to that, and it's from people who said we've had enough of this scientific inspection of what's on our plate.

You cannot got from the scientific to the moral

11:33: You cannot get from an is to an ought. In other words, you cannot get from the scientific to the moral. But it's precisely the occupation in dietetics, in what counts as the scientific medicine of past centuries, that's placed the is and the ought in the same field. So that what was good for you would guarantee health and a long life also constituted virtue. Moderation is a virtue. It's one of the seven cardinal virtues. I found it tremendously interesting, so I found myself telling a story about, in a way, how we think about food and ourselves, which is also a story about the modern moment.

The multi-faceted considerations of healthy eating

33:39: When you're eating, you have a mind of what's good for your body, insofar as you know what's good for your body. You might know it through past experience. You might know it from the Nutrition Facts label. You might know it from medical expertise. But you also have in mind what is good for conviviality: a nice meal with friends, have a drink—you don't have to get drunk, but have a drink every now and then—what's good for the environment, what's good for the agricultural laborers that produce your food, and what's good for the people who produce your package and transport your food. All of these belong in this pushback to the nutritionally modulated desire to consume only what's good for your body and live forever.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 22 Jan 2024 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Today’s episode is a historical feast, unraveling the entwined roots of food, philosophy, and the essence of self. But it isn't just for the history buff; it's a banquet for anyone curious about the rich tapestry that flavors our modern approach to nutrition and identity. 

Steven Shapin is Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at Harvard University and also the author of several books. His upcoming book is titled Eating and Being, A History of Ideas About What We Eat and Who We Are.

Steven and Greg discuss dietetics far beyond mere sustenance, uncovering how health and moral virtue were historically seen as two sides of the same coin. They delve into the complex relationship between age-old folk wisdom and medical authority, and discover how our ancestors' understanding of well-being still simmers beneath the surface of today's nutritional discourse. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On exploring the relationship between food, identity, and modernity

06:06: The book could be considered as a kind of gloss on the expression "you are what you eat" because at the end of the day, what I'm interested in is what's the relationship between what we think of the stuff that we put in our mouths and who we are. And that, so it's a story about some quite recent changes in answering that sort of question. So it's a story about how we became modern, and are we indeed modern?

Balancing nutritional expertise and common sense in food choices

31:43: You could tell a story about the way in which nutritional expertise trumps common-sense sensory experience. But that, as it were, aura of expertise doesn't illuminate all of our lives. And there is pushback to that, and it's from people who said we've had enough of this scientific inspection of what's on our plate.

You cannot got from the scientific to the moral

11:33: You cannot get from an is to an ought. In other words, you cannot get from the scientific to the moral. But it's precisely the occupation in dietetics, in what counts as the scientific medicine of past centuries, that's placed the is and the ought in the same field. So that what was good for you would guarantee health and a long life also constituted virtue. Moderation is a virtue. It's one of the seven cardinal virtues. I found it tremendously interesting, so I found myself telling a story about, in a way, how we think about food and ourselves, which is also a story about the modern moment.

The multi-faceted considerations of healthy eating

33:39: When you're eating, you have a mind of what's good for your body, insofar as you know what's good for your body. You might know it through past experience. You might know it from the Nutrition Facts label. You might know it from medical expertise. But you also have in mind what is good for conviviality: a nice meal with friends, have a drink—you don't have to get drunk, but have a drink every now and then—what's good for the environment, what's good for the agricultural laborers that produce your food, and what's good for the people who produce your package and transport your food. All of these belong in this pushback to the nutritionally modulated desire to consume only what's good for your body and live forever.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 376. Unraveling the Cultural Significance of Food and Diet feat. Steven Shapin Greg La Blanc 00:59:46 Today’s episode is a historical feast, unraveling the entwined roots of food, philosophy, and the essence of self. But it isn't just for the history buff; it's a banquet for anyone curious about the rich tapestry that flavors our modern approach to nutrition and identity. Steven Shapin is Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at Harvard University and also the author of several books. His upcoming book is titled Eating and Being, A History of Ideas About What We Eat and Who We Are. Steven and Greg discuss dietetics far beyond mere sustenance, uncovering how health and moral virtue were historically seen as two sides of the same coin. They delve into the complex relationship between age-old folk wisdom and medical authority, and discover how our ancestors' understanding of well-being still simmers beneath the surface of today's nutritional discourse. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Today’s episode is a historical feast, unraveling the entwined roots of food, philosophy, and the essence of self. But it isn't just for the history buff; it's a banquet for anyone curious about the rich tapestry that flavors our modern approach to nutrition and identity. Steven Shapin is Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at Harvard University and also the author of several books. His upcoming book is titled Eating and Being, A History of Ideas About What We Eat and Who We Are. Steven and Greg discuss dietetics far beyond mere sustenance, uncovering how health and moral virtue were historically seen as two sides of the same coin. They delve into the complex relationship between age-old folk wisdom and medical authority, and discover how our ancestors' understanding of well-being still simmers beneath the surface of today's nutritional discourse. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 376 667e98da-1724-4b36-abc6-a68e96488c47 362. The Power of Our Senses: Insights from the Animal Kingdom feat. Ashley Ward How do human senses compare to those of animals? In what ways are they similar, how are they different, and how do they help us make sense of the world?


Ashley Ward is a Professor of Animal Behavior at the University of Sydney, Australia, and also the author of several books about animal behavior. His latest book is titled Where We Meet the World: The Story of the Senses.


Ashley and Greg discuss the complex labyrinth of sensory perceptions, illuminating how vision, taste, and smell can shape our understanding of the world. Ashley dissects the extraordinary ways animals and plants detect threats and communicate, the surprising power of smell in social insect communication, and interesting theories about the evolution of human behaviors like kissing and hand-shaking. They dive into animal behavior and group decision-making, including swarm intelligence and the dynamics of animal hierarchies in this fascinating exploration of animal behavior and sensory experiences.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Can we train ourselves to smell fear and excitement?


08:53: So, there's a huge value to interacting directly with other people, and an awful lot of cues are provided that go beyond the visual and hearing when we communicate by language. As to whether we can smell fear and excitement, the evidence suggests that we do produce different chemicals when we are in an aroused emotional state, such as when we're terrified by something or when we're thrilled about something. And those kinds of subtle cues can be collected by other animals. Dogs are an obvious example. And we might think that we're simply not capable of this. Our sense of smell, let's say, is not sophisticated enough to pick it up, but it does vary enormously from person to person. And there are people who have such an exquisite sense of smell that they can start to pick up these cues.


Information is a vital currency to animals


47:20: Information is a vital currency for all animals, and by pooling that information in whichever way, they can develop much, much better strategies. That applies to humans: If we're trying to make excellent decisions, then the best way to do that is to take a broad view of the information that's out there. Now, there are two ways of getting that information. You can either go out there and collect it all yourself, which is incredibly time-consuming. Often, in many cases, totally impossible, or you can use social information, which is readily available and relatively cheap, and as long as you get enough of it, it's very accurate. This is what the animals are doing. 


Decoding scents


38:51: Our perception—our sensation of smell—is produced by a mosaic of different activations in the receptors. We have 400 different smell receptors, and each smell is a composite of different activation patterns. Receptor numbers 189, 157, and 14 might all be activated, giving you the smell of a tangerine. But if it's not 14, 15, then maybe that's a lemon or something. And that's the difficulty. There are so many different permutations of inputs that go into each smell. There's a very difficult matter to untangle that and find the exact right receptor activation pattern which corresponds to each different smell.


Taste complexity across species


43:30: The pattern is that the more carnivorous an animal is, the fewer the different kinds of tastes, the less sensitive its sense of taste is, and the more herbivorous an animal is, conversely. The more complex and sophisticated their sense of taste is. So cows have a much better sense of taste than we do. We sit somewhere in the middle. We have approximately the same complexity in our sense of taste as a pig does. We're more complex than cats and dogs. We're less complex than rabbits and cows.


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]]> Wed, 29 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do human senses compare to those of animals? In what ways are they similar, how are they different, and how do they help us make sense of the world?


Ashley Ward is a Professor of Animal Behavior at the University of Sydney, Australia, and also the author of several books about animal behavior. His latest book is titled Where We Meet the World: The Story of the Senses.


Ashley and Greg discuss the complex labyrinth of sensory perceptions, illuminating how vision, taste, and smell can shape our understanding of the world. Ashley dissects the extraordinary ways animals and plants detect threats and communicate, the surprising power of smell in social insect communication, and interesting theories about the evolution of human behaviors like kissing and hand-shaking. They dive into animal behavior and group decision-making, including swarm intelligence and the dynamics of animal hierarchies in this fascinating exploration of animal behavior and sensory experiences.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Can we train ourselves to smell fear and excitement?


08:53: So, there's a huge value to interacting directly with other people, and an awful lot of cues are provided that go beyond the visual and hearing when we communicate by language. As to whether we can smell fear and excitement, the evidence suggests that we do produce different chemicals when we are in an aroused emotional state, such as when we're terrified by something or when we're thrilled about something. And those kinds of subtle cues can be collected by other animals. Dogs are an obvious example. And we might think that we're simply not capable of this. Our sense of smell, let's say, is not sophisticated enough to pick it up, but it does vary enormously from person to person. And there are people who have such an exquisite sense of smell that they can start to pick up these cues.


Information is a vital currency to animals


47:20: Information is a vital currency for all animals, and by pooling that information in whichever way, they can develop much, much better strategies. That applies to humans: If we're trying to make excellent decisions, then the best way to do that is to take a broad view of the information that's out there. Now, there are two ways of getting that information. You can either go out there and collect it all yourself, which is incredibly time-consuming. Often, in many cases, totally impossible, or you can use social information, which is readily available and relatively cheap, and as long as you get enough of it, it's very accurate. This is what the animals are doing. 


Decoding scents


38:51: Our perception—our sensation of smell—is produced by a mosaic of different activations in the receptors. We have 400 different smell receptors, and each smell is a composite of different activation patterns. Receptor numbers 189, 157, and 14 might all be activated, giving you the smell of a tangerine. But if it's not 14, 15, then maybe that's a lemon or something. And that's the difficulty. There are so many different permutations of inputs that go into each smell. There's a very difficult matter to untangle that and find the exact right receptor activation pattern which corresponds to each different smell.


Taste complexity across species


43:30: The pattern is that the more carnivorous an animal is, the fewer the different kinds of tastes, the less sensitive its sense of taste is, and the more herbivorous an animal is, conversely. The more complex and sophisticated their sense of taste is. So cows have a much better sense of taste than we do. We sit somewhere in the middle. We have approximately the same complexity in our sense of taste as a pig does. We're more complex than cats and dogs. We're less complex than rabbits and cows.


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]]> 362. The Power of Our Senses: Insights from the Animal Kingdom feat. Ashley Ward Greg La Blanc 00:48:13 How do human senses compare to those of animals? In what ways are they similar, how are they different, and how do they help us make sense of the world? Ashley Ward is a Professor of Animal Behavior at the University of Sydney, Australia, and also the author of several books about animal behavior. His latest book is titled Where We Meet the World: The Story of the Senses. Ashley and Greg discuss the complex labyrinth of sensory perceptions, illuminating how vision, taste, and smell can shape our understanding of the world. Ashley dissects the extraordinary ways animals and plants detect threats and communicate, the surprising power of smell in social insect communication, and interesting theories about the evolution of human behaviors like kissing and hand-shaking. They dive into animal behavior and group decision-making, including swarm intelligence and the dynamics of animal hierarchies in this fascinating exploration of animal behavior and sensory experiences. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How do human senses compare to those of animals? In what ways are they similar, how are they different, and how do they help us make sense of the world? Ashley Ward is a Professor of Animal Behavior at the University of Sydney, Australia, and also the author of several books about animal behavior. His latest book is titled Where We Meet the World: The Story of the Senses. Ashley and Greg discuss the complex labyrinth of sensory perceptions, illuminating how vision, taste, and smell can shape our understanding of the world. Ashley dissects the extraordinary ways animals and plants detect threats and communicate, the surprising power of smell in social insect communication, and interesting theories about the evolution of human behaviors like kissing and hand-shaking. They dive into animal behavior and group decision-making, including swarm intelligence and the dynamics of animal hierarchies in this fascinating exploration of animal behavior and sensory experiences. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 362 04397130-8e34-4fc2-94ed-c65e7b7a04d1 361. Understanding Allergies and Immune Responses feat. Theresa MacPhail Ever wondered why allergies seem to be on the rise? How about the intriguing link between the industrial revolution and our own immune responses?


Theresa MacPhail is an Associate Professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology, a medical anthropologist, and author of several books. Her latest is called Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World.


Theresa and Greg discuss the history of allergy research, the evolution of anaphylaxis, and the astounding revelations from her book, Allergic. Theresa talks with Greg about food labeling laws and the spike in pollen counts due to climate change. She also provides fascinating perspectives on how exposure to new pollutants, changing diets, and the advent of antibiotics have potentially disrupted our immune system's natural functioning. They dive into the importance of early investment in understanding conditions like asthma, food allergies, and eczema, alongside the potential dangers of overusing antibiotics. They also discuss what smarter societal immune responses would look like in preparation for future pandemics. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The Importance of early adrenaline intervention in anaphylaxis


13:59: What adrenaline does is it stops that histamine process. So the earlier you get a shot of adrenaline, the better your survival rates, which a lot of people don't know. It takes only 30 minutes for somebody to go from perfectly fine to dead on arrival at the hospital if you don't intervene in some way. And they have a serious anaphylactic response. So time is of the essence, and doing everything you possibly can, which is something I've been talking a lot about when I'm talking about the book because that's something that's easy for people to know and can make a big difference just in the interim while we're trying to figure out the larger problem of can we help our immune systems adjust to this modern world that we're living in, that clearly our immune systems are not thrilled about.


Debunking the germ theory


47:20: We take it for granted that everything's bad—bacteria and viruses are bad. And it turns out that not really; some of those bacteria and some of those viruses are actually helpful, and we need them to function appropriately.


On training our immune system


28:38: Our immune systems need this training by age three. So, before around age three, our immune systems get set in their ways. And before that, they're pretty malleable, so they can be exposed to tiny amounts of things and learn to cope with it fairly well. But then, if you get massive changes after that, which is why you move from one coast to the other, through your immune system, because it was trained on the stuff that was around you when you were growing up. And then, if you transport yourself to a new area thousands of miles away, your body has to, in essence, decide about new things with a mature immune system that isn't as flexible.


Can we develop an allergy later in life?


30:347: The orthodoxy of immunology was that you couldn't develop an allergy later in life. And that has been turned on its head. So if you look at most of the modern research, there is an adult-onset food allergy. There just is. There are adult-onset, other types, and forms of allergy. And what you always had genetically was the predisposition.


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]]> Mon, 27 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Ever wondered why allergies seem to be on the rise? How about the intriguing link between the industrial revolution and our own immune responses?


Theresa MacPhail is an Associate Professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology, a medical anthropologist, and author of several books. Her latest is called Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World.


Theresa and Greg discuss the history of allergy research, the evolution of anaphylaxis, and the astounding revelations from her book, Allergic. Theresa talks with Greg about food labeling laws and the spike in pollen counts due to climate change. She also provides fascinating perspectives on how exposure to new pollutants, changing diets, and the advent of antibiotics have potentially disrupted our immune system's natural functioning. They dive into the importance of early investment in understanding conditions like asthma, food allergies, and eczema, alongside the potential dangers of overusing antibiotics. They also discuss what smarter societal immune responses would look like in preparation for future pandemics. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The Importance of early adrenaline intervention in anaphylaxis


13:59: What adrenaline does is it stops that histamine process. So the earlier you get a shot of adrenaline, the better your survival rates, which a lot of people don't know. It takes only 30 minutes for somebody to go from perfectly fine to dead on arrival at the hospital if you don't intervene in some way. And they have a serious anaphylactic response. So time is of the essence, and doing everything you possibly can, which is something I've been talking a lot about when I'm talking about the book because that's something that's easy for people to know and can make a big difference just in the interim while we're trying to figure out the larger problem of can we help our immune systems adjust to this modern world that we're living in, that clearly our immune systems are not thrilled about.


Debunking the germ theory


47:20: We take it for granted that everything's bad—bacteria and viruses are bad. And it turns out that not really; some of those bacteria and some of those viruses are actually helpful, and we need them to function appropriately.


On training our immune system


28:38: Our immune systems need this training by age three. So, before around age three, our immune systems get set in their ways. And before that, they're pretty malleable, so they can be exposed to tiny amounts of things and learn to cope with it fairly well. But then, if you get massive changes after that, which is why you move from one coast to the other, through your immune system, because it was trained on the stuff that was around you when you were growing up. And then, if you transport yourself to a new area thousands of miles away, your body has to, in essence, decide about new things with a mature immune system that isn't as flexible.


Can we develop an allergy later in life?


30:347: The orthodoxy of immunology was that you couldn't develop an allergy later in life. And that has been turned on its head. So if you look at most of the modern research, there is an adult-onset food allergy. There just is. There are adult-onset, other types, and forms of allergy. And what you always had genetically was the predisposition.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 361. Understanding Allergies and Immune Responses feat. Theresa MacPhail Greg La Blanc 01:01:21 Ever wondered why allergies seem to be on the rise? How about the intriguing link between the industrial revolution and our own immune responses? Theresa MacPhail is an Associate Professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology, a medical anthropologist, and author of several books. Her latest is called Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World. Theresa and Greg discuss the history of allergy research, the evolution of anaphylaxis, and the astounding revelations from her book, Allergic. Theresa talks with Greg about food labeling laws and the spike in pollen counts due to climate change. She also provides fascinating perspectives on how exposure to new pollutants, changing diets, and the advent of antibiotics have potentially disrupted our immune system's natural functioning. They dive into the importance of early investment in understanding conditions like asthma, food allergies, and eczema, alongside the potential dangers of overusing antibiotics. They also discuss what smarter societal immune responses would look like in preparation for future pandemics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Ever wondered why allergies seem to be on the rise? How about the intriguing link between the industrial revolution and our own immune responses? Theresa MacPhail is an Associate Professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology, a medical anthropologist, and author of several books. Her latest is called Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World. Theresa and Greg discuss the history of allergy research, the evolution of anaphylaxis, and the astounding revelations from her book, Allergic. Theresa talks with Greg about food labeling laws and the spike in pollen counts due to climate change. She also provides fascinating perspectives on how exposure to new pollutants, changing diets, and the advent of antibiotics have potentially disrupted our immune system's natural functioning. They dive into the importance of early investment in understanding conditions like asthma, food allergies, and eczema, alongside the potential dangers of overusing antibiotics. They also discuss what smarter societal immune responses would look like in preparation for future pandemics. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 361 d8948daf-ffb3-40d6-8ceb-8fc04d386800 360. Measuring Labor Productivity feat. Robert J. Gordon How do you measure the true productivity of a country’s economy? What gets missed if the only metric being examined is the GDP? 


Robert J. Gordon is a professor of social sciences and economics at Northwestern University. His work focuses on the history of labor and capital productivity and has written numerous books, including, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War. 


Robert and Greg discuss why the GDP doesn’t give a full picture of a country’s economic growth and productivity, why the years between 1929 and 1950 saw the most rapid growth, and whether or not we’ll see another growth spurt in the age of AI. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Is our productivity running low?


37:46:  If we compare the forecasts of productivity growth that are baked into the government's budget forecasts and economic forecasts, our productivity over the last nearly 20 years has been running somewhat slower than they're assuming for the future. So, there's room for productivity growth to improve by a substantial amount without really changing the overall outlook for this enormous increase in public debt. That is going to go together with higher interest rates and severely impede the ability of future governments to finance Medicare, Social Security, and the general operations of government.


Understanding the US productivity growth


09:39: The fact is that the economy was producing well under its capacity in the 1930s, and it's a black box to figure out how much the economy was capable of. But we were producing at full capacity in 1929, and we certainly were in 1948, and so the growth rate between those two years was by far the most rapid that we have had.


On measuring total factor productivity


09:19: One of the fuzzy dividing lines in measuring total factor productivity is how much of the innovation is attributed to the capital and treated as an increase in the quantity of the capital, thus diminishing that ratio I just expressed. And how much of it comes out as the difference between output and input growth, and that dividing line is somewhat the quality of capital.


ChatGPT and the potential job losses for future productivity gains


32:34: To interpret ChatGPT and the potential for job losses for future productivity gains, it helps to break down the economy into three groups of workers. One group produces goods in mines, in farms, in factories, and they're producing objects with other objects. They're not involved in creating textual or visual material. So, the impact in the goods sector is going to be fairly minor, certainly compared to the development of automation. 


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]]> Wed, 22 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do you measure the true productivity of a country’s economy? What gets missed if the only metric being examined is the GDP? 


Robert J. Gordon is a professor of social sciences and economics at Northwestern University. His work focuses on the history of labor and capital productivity and has written numerous books, including, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War. 


Robert and Greg discuss why the GDP doesn’t give a full picture of a country’s economic growth and productivity, why the years between 1929 and 1950 saw the most rapid growth, and whether or not we’ll see another growth spurt in the age of AI. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Is our productivity running low?


37:46:  If we compare the forecasts of productivity growth that are baked into the government's budget forecasts and economic forecasts, our productivity over the last nearly 20 years has been running somewhat slower than they're assuming for the future. So, there's room for productivity growth to improve by a substantial amount without really changing the overall outlook for this enormous increase in public debt. That is going to go together with higher interest rates and severely impede the ability of future governments to finance Medicare, Social Security, and the general operations of government.


Understanding the US productivity growth


09:39: The fact is that the economy was producing well under its capacity in the 1930s, and it's a black box to figure out how much the economy was capable of. But we were producing at full capacity in 1929, and we certainly were in 1948, and so the growth rate between those two years was by far the most rapid that we have had.


On measuring total factor productivity


09:19: One of the fuzzy dividing lines in measuring total factor productivity is how much of the innovation is attributed to the capital and treated as an increase in the quantity of the capital, thus diminishing that ratio I just expressed. And how much of it comes out as the difference between output and input growth, and that dividing line is somewhat the quality of capital.


ChatGPT and the potential job losses for future productivity gains


32:34: To interpret ChatGPT and the potential for job losses for future productivity gains, it helps to break down the economy into three groups of workers. One group produces goods in mines, in farms, in factories, and they're producing objects with other objects. They're not involved in creating textual or visual material. So, the impact in the goods sector is going to be fairly minor, certainly compared to the development of automation. 


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 360. Measuring Labor Productivity feat. Robert J. Gordon Greg La Blanc 00:49:02 How do you measure the true productivity of a country’s economy? What gets missed if the only metric being examined is the GDP? Robert J. Gordon is a professor of social sciences and economics at Northwestern University. His work focuses on the history of labor and capital productivity and has written numerous books, including, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War. Robert and Greg discuss why the GDP doesn’t give a full picture of a country’s economic growth and productivity, why the years between 1929 and 1950 saw the most rapid growth, and whether or not we’ll see another growth spurt in the age of AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How do you measure the true productivity of a country’s economy? What gets missed if the only metric being examined is the GDP? Robert J. Gordon is a professor of social sciences and economics at Northwestern University. His work focuses on the history of labor and capital productivity and has written numerous books, including, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War. Robert and Greg discuss why the GDP doesn’t give a full picture of a country’s economic growth and productivity, why the years between 1929 and 1950 saw the most rapid growth, and whether or not we’ll see another growth spurt in the age of AI. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 360 f11a28f8-3de6-47dc-b103-7a310c3df65d 359. Debt, Forgiveness and the Nature of the Corporation feat. David Skeel In ancient times, debtors were treated with severe punishment, even sometimes being dismembered. So when did things start to shift towards debt forgiveness leading up to the modern-day concept of filing for bankruptcy?


David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He’s the author of several books that look at the history of corporate law, debt, and bankruptcy, including Icarus in the Boardroom: The Fundamental Flaws in Corporate America and Where They Came From and Debt's Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America. 


He and Greg discuss the origins of debt forgiveness in the world, how Christianity and the Bible played a role in that shift, and the proper amount of risk corporate leaders should take. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


A biblical perspective on debt and bankruptcy


17:40:  There's a verse in the Old Testament that says you cannot take as collateral a debtor's millstone. And the idea there is that is the tool of the trade. There's another verse that says if you take the debtor's cloak as collateral, you've got to give it back at the end of the day. The idea being that the debtor's going to need that to keep warm. Even going back thousands of years, a sense that there needs to be a balancing. You need to make it possible for creditors to get repaid, but you also need to be aware of the humanity of the debtor and the needs of the debtor.


Debt is like sex and fire


09:28: Debt is like sex and fire; both of them were important in the ancient world and are important now, but they also have some dangerous downsides if they're misused. And that's the picture you get of debt: that people need debt is inevitable, but it's easy for people to get in over their heads, and there needs to be a way to deal with that possibility.


How do you respond to risk-taking?


29:43: One simple response to the risk-taking concern is to be mindful of regulations that create bad incentives in that respect, such as tax rules. And also, things like disclosure can make a difference.


Sometimes lots of failures is an indication of a good economy or a good system, not a bad one


23:32: There is empirical evidence that shows that in countries where you have a more generous bankruptcy system and more generous availability of a fresh start, you do get more entrepreneurship. There is a direct relationship between the two, but risk-taking can sometimes be problematic.


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]]> Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In ancient times, debtors were treated with severe punishment, even sometimes being dismembered. So when did things start to shift towards debt forgiveness leading up to the modern-day concept of filing for bankruptcy?


David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He’s the author of several books that look at the history of corporate law, debt, and bankruptcy, including Icarus in the Boardroom: The Fundamental Flaws in Corporate America and Where They Came From and Debt's Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America. 


He and Greg discuss the origins of debt forgiveness in the world, how Christianity and the Bible played a role in that shift, and the proper amount of risk corporate leaders should take. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


A biblical perspective on debt and bankruptcy


17:40:  There's a verse in the Old Testament that says you cannot take as collateral a debtor's millstone. And the idea there is that is the tool of the trade. There's another verse that says if you take the debtor's cloak as collateral, you've got to give it back at the end of the day. The idea being that the debtor's going to need that to keep warm. Even going back thousands of years, a sense that there needs to be a balancing. You need to make it possible for creditors to get repaid, but you also need to be aware of the humanity of the debtor and the needs of the debtor.


Debt is like sex and fire


09:28: Debt is like sex and fire; both of them were important in the ancient world and are important now, but they also have some dangerous downsides if they're misused. And that's the picture you get of debt: that people need debt is inevitable, but it's easy for people to get in over their heads, and there needs to be a way to deal with that possibility.


How do you respond to risk-taking?


29:43: One simple response to the risk-taking concern is to be mindful of regulations that create bad incentives in that respect, such as tax rules. And also, things like disclosure can make a difference.


Sometimes lots of failures is an indication of a good economy or a good system, not a bad one


23:32: There is empirical evidence that shows that in countries where you have a more generous bankruptcy system and more generous availability of a fresh start, you do get more entrepreneurship. There is a direct relationship between the two, but risk-taking can sometimes be problematic.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> 359. Debt, Forgiveness and the Nature of the Corporation feat. David Skeel Greg La Blanc 00:57:02 In ancient times, debtors were treated with severe punishment, even sometimes being dismembered. So when did things start to shift towards debt forgiveness leading up to the modern-day concept of filing for bankruptcy? David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He’s the author of several books that look at the history of corporate law, debt, and bankruptcy, including Icarus in the Boardroom: The Fundamental Flaws in Corporate America and Where They Came From and Debt's Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America. He and Greg discuss the origins of debt forgiveness in the world, how Christianity and the Bible played a role in that shift, and the proper amount of risk corporate leaders should take. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In ancient times, debtors were treated with severe punishment, even sometimes being dismembered. So when did things start to shift towards debt forgiveness leading up to the modern-day concept of filing for bankruptcy? David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He’s the author of several books that look at the history of corporate law, debt, and bankruptcy, including Icarus in the Boardroom: The Fundamental Flaws in Corporate America and Where They Came From and Debt's Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America. He and Greg discuss the origins of debt forgiveness in the world, how Christianity and the Bible played a role in that shift, and the proper amount of risk corporate leaders should take. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 359 b9c0602a-88dc-496e-ab16-c124abffd72f 358. The Art of Venture Capital feat. Sebastian Mallaby How much does venture capital actually have to do with finance? It turns out, not that much. Rather, venture capital has more to do with psychology, network theory, and organizational dynamics. 


Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He’s written numerous books, including The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future and More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite. 


He and Greg discuss how venture capital can be a form of finance without much finance, why governance plays such an important role in successful venture capital, and why other places have found it difficult to replicate the Silicon Valley model. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Embeddedness is essential for startup success 


45:09: Most of the good GPs I wrote about in my book either had an engineering degree or some other skill which would add value to the portfolio company, maybe be an expert in go-to-market strategies. Secondly, they know something about business and finance; perhaps they have a business degree. Thirdly, they may have started a startup or been an early employee in a startup. So that experience from the inside of being an entrepreneur, and you don't need maybe all three of those things, but you probably might need two. That's the obvious thing. The less obvious thing is that You need to be what I call embedded. You need to be in a network which is going to be generating startup founders, and you need to have standing in that network. You need to have thought leadership such that the founders that emerge from this network are going to want to come to you for money because they're also going to want you as their advisor, and that embeddedness is super important.


What VCs are looking for


04:00: Credibility, storytelling, embeddedness in the network, a sense of vision, a sense of passion, and commitment from the founding team. These are what the Venture Capitalists are looking for.


Is there any chance we could create a more factory-like system for identifying good investments and good founders and investing in them?


41:42: I think fundamentally the things that AI will not cannibalize are things where human-to-human contact is super important, and that is true of venture investing because it is about a venture capitalist, a human being, meeting a startup entrepreneur. They have to agree that they're going to be partners together and that this is going to be something you can't exit very easily, and you're probably going to be meshed together if it goes well.


Behavioral dynamics


23:28: Behavioral dynamics are super interesting when you think about the question of whether solo venture capitalists—whether that's a good model—became fashionable in the last three, four, or five years. I think partly a function of the bull market leading up to 2021 because it was relatively easy to raise capital. If you had some decent claim to be embedded in the Silicon Valley ecosystem, you could go out as an individual and raise some money, and why not do it by yourself? But I think that when you're trying to make slippery judgments on early-stage ventures, which have no quantitative guidelines, as I began by saying, all you have is the ability to test your human judgment on a smart partner who will push back against you and say if they disagree. So I think the dynamics within venture companies like that Monday morning meeting when you decide what to invest in, you've got six or seven partners around the table. That's super important.


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]]> Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How much does venture capital actually have to do with finance? It turns out, not that much. Rather, venture capital has more to do with psychology, network theory, and organizational dynamics. 


Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He’s written numerous books, including The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future and More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite. 


He and Greg discuss how venture capital can be a form of finance without much finance, why governance plays such an important role in successful venture capital, and why other places have found it difficult to replicate the Silicon Valley model. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Embeddedness is essential for startup success 


45:09: Most of the good GPs I wrote about in my book either had an engineering degree or some other skill which would add value to the portfolio company, maybe be an expert in go-to-market strategies. Secondly, they know something about business and finance; perhaps they have a business degree. Thirdly, they may have started a startup or been an early employee in a startup. So that experience from the inside of being an entrepreneur, and you don't need maybe all three of those things, but you probably might need two. That's the obvious thing. The less obvious thing is that You need to be what I call embedded. You need to be in a network which is going to be generating startup founders, and you need to have standing in that network. You need to have thought leadership such that the founders that emerge from this network are going to want to come to you for money because they're also going to want you as their advisor, and that embeddedness is super important.


What VCs are looking for


04:00: Credibility, storytelling, embeddedness in the network, a sense of vision, a sense of passion, and commitment from the founding team. These are what the Venture Capitalists are looking for.


Is there any chance we could create a more factory-like system for identifying good investments and good founders and investing in them?


41:42: I think fundamentally the things that AI will not cannibalize are things where human-to-human contact is super important, and that is true of venture investing because it is about a venture capitalist, a human being, meeting a startup entrepreneur. They have to agree that they're going to be partners together and that this is going to be something you can't exit very easily, and you're probably going to be meshed together if it goes well.


Behavioral dynamics


23:28: Behavioral dynamics are super interesting when you think about the question of whether solo venture capitalists—whether that's a good model—became fashionable in the last three, four, or five years. I think partly a function of the bull market leading up to 2021 because it was relatively easy to raise capital. If you had some decent claim to be embedded in the Silicon Valley ecosystem, you could go out as an individual and raise some money, and why not do it by yourself? But I think that when you're trying to make slippery judgments on early-stage ventures, which have no quantitative guidelines, as I began by saying, all you have is the ability to test your human judgment on a smart partner who will push back against you and say if they disagree. So I think the dynamics within venture companies like that Monday morning meeting when you decide what to invest in, you've got six or seven partners around the table. That's super important.


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]]> 358. The Art of Venture Capital feat. Sebastian Mallaby Greg La Blanc 00:56:24 How much does venture capital actually have to do with finance? It turns out, not that much. Rather, venture capital has more to do with psychology, network theory, and organizational dynamics. Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He’s written numerous books, including The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future and More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite. He and Greg discuss how venture capital can be a form of finance without much finance, why governance plays such an important role in successful venture capital, and why other places have found it difficult to replicate the Silicon Valley model. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How much does venture capital actually have to do with finance? It turns out, not that much. Rather, venture capital has more to do with psychology, network theory, and organizational dynamics. Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He’s written numerous books, including The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future and More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite. He and Greg discuss how venture capital can be a form of finance without much finance, why governance plays such an important role in successful venture capital, and why other places have found it difficult to replicate the Silicon Valley model. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 358 17efdccc-d7ff-4e9a-aa4c-818f275971b3 357. The Science of Successful Project Planning feat. Bent Flyvbjerg Why are only 8.5% of large projects completed on time and within budget? No matter what type of project you're involved in, whether it's home renovations or space exploration, this conversation promises a wealth of knowledge and insights.


Bent Flyvbjerg is a professor at both Oxford University and the IT University of Copenhagen. He is also the author of several works, and his latest book is How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between.


Bent and Greg delve into the influence of strategic misrepresentation on project outcomes and the often-overlooked power dynamics within organizations that wield considerable influence over a project's fate. They discuss fascinating case studies from the Sydney Opera House, Pixar's blockbusters, and Amazon's product development approach.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The more you allow your brain to work, the more biases you're going to have


10:49: The more you allow your brain to work, the more biases you're going to have. If you're allowing your brain to work in this manner where it's trying to figure out things for this specific project, if you allow your brain to work in collecting data on similar projects, where it's an empirical fact that these data had the performance that they did and now you use this empirical fact as your base rates for what you're doing, then you're doing the right thing. Then you're thinking the right way. But if you're thinking the conventional way, where you're trying to understand things inside out, you understand your product from the inside without taking other projects into account that's when you open the doors for all these cognitive biases that we have—because you have to make everything up.


11:31: The mind is very good at making things up, and that's what you have to be careful about when you are working on big investment decisions.


The need for courses in power and politics 


56:59: If you're working on anything big, you are going to be in an organization, even a small organization. There's power. Wherever people are gathering, there will be power issues. And if you haven't been trained in how to deal with them, I don't know how you can be effective in a power environment.


Why is uniqueness bias dangerous? 


09:40: Uniqueness bias is a pretty mean bias in the sense that it makes us ignore reality. If you think my project is unique, you have no reason to look at other projects and go out and search for knowledge about what happened in other projects because it's irrelevant per definition, as you think your project is unique, right? And that's really dangerous.


On rationality and power


54:25: I think that it's less legitimate to talk about power than it is to talk about rationality. So it's much easier. And, by the way, on a lot of the project types that we are talking about, including IT projects, there's a large dose of engineers, and of course, engineers are trained in rationality, talking about rationality, and making their projects rational. But on the big projects, engineers are actually working in political organizations. And again, whether they are private businesses or public government, there's politics in both kinds of organizations. And that means that there's pressure to do things in certain ways.


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]]> Wed, 15 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why are only 8.5% of large projects completed on time and within budget? No matter what type of project you're involved in, whether it's home renovations or space exploration, this conversation promises a wealth of knowledge and insights.


Bent Flyvbjerg is a professor at both Oxford University and the IT University of Copenhagen. He is also the author of several works, and his latest book is How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between.


Bent and Greg delve into the influence of strategic misrepresentation on project outcomes and the often-overlooked power dynamics within organizations that wield considerable influence over a project's fate. They discuss fascinating case studies from the Sydney Opera House, Pixar's blockbusters, and Amazon's product development approach.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The more you allow your brain to work, the more biases you're going to have


10:49: The more you allow your brain to work, the more biases you're going to have. If you're allowing your brain to work in this manner where it's trying to figure out things for this specific project, if you allow your brain to work in collecting data on similar projects, where it's an empirical fact that these data had the performance that they did and now you use this empirical fact as your base rates for what you're doing, then you're doing the right thing. Then you're thinking the right way. But if you're thinking the conventional way, where you're trying to understand things inside out, you understand your product from the inside without taking other projects into account that's when you open the doors for all these cognitive biases that we have—because you have to make everything up.


11:31: The mind is very good at making things up, and that's what you have to be careful about when you are working on big investment decisions.


The need for courses in power and politics 


56:59: If you're working on anything big, you are going to be in an organization, even a small organization. There's power. Wherever people are gathering, there will be power issues. And if you haven't been trained in how to deal with them, I don't know how you can be effective in a power environment.


Why is uniqueness bias dangerous? 


09:40: Uniqueness bias is a pretty mean bias in the sense that it makes us ignore reality. If you think my project is unique, you have no reason to look at other projects and go out and search for knowledge about what happened in other projects because it's irrelevant per definition, as you think your project is unique, right? And that's really dangerous.


On rationality and power


54:25: I think that it's less legitimate to talk about power than it is to talk about rationality. So it's much easier. And, by the way, on a lot of the project types that we are talking about, including IT projects, there's a large dose of engineers, and of course, engineers are trained in rationality, talking about rationality, and making their projects rational. But on the big projects, engineers are actually working in political organizations. And again, whether they are private businesses or public government, there's politics in both kinds of organizations. And that means that there's pressure to do things in certain ways.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 357. The Science of Successful Project Planning feat. Bent Flyvbjerg Greg La Blanc 00:57:11 Why are only 8.5% of large projects completed on time and within budget? No matter what type of project you're involved in, whether it's home renovations or space exploration, this conversation promises a wealth of knowledge and insights. Bent Flyvbjerg is a professor at both Oxford University and the IT University of Copenhagen. He is also the author of several works, and his latest book is How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between. Bent and Greg delve into the influence of strategic misrepresentation on project outcomes and the often-overlooked power dynamics within organizations that wield considerable influence over a project's fate. They discuss fascinating case studies from the Sydney Opera House, Pixar's blockbusters, and Amazon's product development approach. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Why are only 8.5% of large projects completed on time and within budget? No matter what type of project you're involved in, whether it's home renovations or space exploration, this conversation promises a wealth of knowledge and insights. Bent Flyvbjerg is a professor at both Oxford University and the IT University of Copenhagen. He is also the author of several works, and his latest book is How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between. Bent and Greg delve into the influence of strategic misrepresentation on project outcomes and the often-overlooked power dynamics within organizations that wield considerable influence over a project's fate. They discuss fascinating case studies from the Sydney Opera House, Pixar's blockbusters, and Amazon's product development approach. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 357 596c7ad8-4a15-4234-b4a8-06d103344633 356. Epicureanism and Its Modern Relevance feat. Emily Austin In this episode, we unravel the misunderstood philosophy of Epicureanism. Don't be fooled by common misconceptions - Epicureanism isn't just about hedonism. It's about a balanced pursuit of tranquility, ataraxia, and the good life.


Emily Austin is a Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and the author of Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life. 


Emily and Greg compare and contrast Stoicism and Epicureanism, two philosophies with differing views on virtue and happiness. Discover why modern Stoicism has drifted from its ancient foundations and how the life of Seneca may have twisted his philosophy. Emily and Greg also break down the significance of shared meals in Epicurean tradition, discussing the peculiar competition around extravagance and the possible elitism attached to it. They also discuss Epicurus' methods to mitigate the fear of death and the complexities of living unnoticed in our modern, hyper-connected world.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Allegiances are central to friendship


32:37: As an adult, it's fascinating, right? When somebody starts to have some success, people basically almost pretend they don't know you. Will be like, “Hey, let's go out for a drink,” right? But given the finite amount of time and energy we have, you go out for a drink with that person, and you're neglecting a friend who's been trustworthy. And so you can start seeing some of this sort of shifting allegiances, even in adulthood. It's fascinating. So, those are the things that I think for Epicurus are central to friendship. But then once you have those things, you enjoy all these extravagances together, and those friends are there for you during times of need, and you have all these wonderful memories with them. Even when you find yourself dying, you don't feel like you're going to be abandoned.


What sets Stoics and Epicureans apart?


18:10: One of the big differences between the Stoics and the Epicureans is that the Epicureans avoid politics. And the Stoics think it's a demonstration of your masculinity, and your excellence to participate in politics.


Friends don’t make friends anxious


30:16: There is this kind of view about extravagances, and this way that we internalize kinds of status pulls us away from having meaningful relationships. It produces anxiety to see your friends, right? And then, I think that it is true for Epicurus too, like just in the general sense that friends don't make friends anxious. As I have it in the book, the two most important things for having a good friend are trust and a shared sense of fundamental values.


Epicurus thoughts on desire


24:13: One feature of a desire like that is that it's never satisfied because there's always more. And Epicurus thinks tranquility is a kind of satisfaction. It's being satisfied with having what you need. So if you have these desires, he thinks you're always going to be dissatisfied. Then they're competitive, so you're going to alienate people, and if you care a lot about them, then you're going to commit injustice, and that's going to cause anxiety. Or you'll become like a lackey or a bully to get them more, and that will again cause anxiety and alienate you. And so he thinks you should cut those out entirely. So necessary ones, get them, focus on them, their priorities, and then pursue the extravagances as they come along, and often those will be the most memorable experiences of your life. So, for various reasons, including the role of memory and his coping with misfortune, he wants you to pursue them the right way.


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Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 13 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In this episode, we unravel the misunderstood philosophy of Epicureanism. Don't be fooled by common misconceptions - Epicureanism isn't just about hedonism. It's about a balanced pursuit of tranquility, ataraxia, and the good life.


Emily Austin is a Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and the author of Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life. 


Emily and Greg compare and contrast Stoicism and Epicureanism, two philosophies with differing views on virtue and happiness. Discover why modern Stoicism has drifted from its ancient foundations and how the life of Seneca may have twisted his philosophy. Emily and Greg also break down the significance of shared meals in Epicurean tradition, discussing the peculiar competition around extravagance and the possible elitism attached to it. They also discuss Epicurus' methods to mitigate the fear of death and the complexities of living unnoticed in our modern, hyper-connected world.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Allegiances are central to friendship


32:37: As an adult, it's fascinating, right? When somebody starts to have some success, people basically almost pretend they don't know you. Will be like, “Hey, let's go out for a drink,” right? But given the finite amount of time and energy we have, you go out for a drink with that person, and you're neglecting a friend who's been trustworthy. And so you can start seeing some of this sort of shifting allegiances, even in adulthood. It's fascinating. So, those are the things that I think for Epicurus are central to friendship. But then once you have those things, you enjoy all these extravagances together, and those friends are there for you during times of need, and you have all these wonderful memories with them. Even when you find yourself dying, you don't feel like you're going to be abandoned.


What sets Stoics and Epicureans apart?


18:10: One of the big differences between the Stoics and the Epicureans is that the Epicureans avoid politics. And the Stoics think it's a demonstration of your masculinity, and your excellence to participate in politics.


Friends don’t make friends anxious


30:16: There is this kind of view about extravagances, and this way that we internalize kinds of status pulls us away from having meaningful relationships. It produces anxiety to see your friends, right? And then, I think that it is true for Epicurus too, like just in the general sense that friends don't make friends anxious. As I have it in the book, the two most important things for having a good friend are trust and a shared sense of fundamental values.


Epicurus thoughts on desire


24:13: One feature of a desire like that is that it's never satisfied because there's always more. And Epicurus thinks tranquility is a kind of satisfaction. It's being satisfied with having what you need. So if you have these desires, he thinks you're always going to be dissatisfied. Then they're competitive, so you're going to alienate people, and if you care a lot about them, then you're going to commit injustice, and that's going to cause anxiety. Or you'll become like a lackey or a bully to get them more, and that will again cause anxiety and alienate you. And so he thinks you should cut those out entirely. So necessary ones, get them, focus on them, their priorities, and then pursue the extravagances as they come along, and often those will be the most memorable experiences of your life. So, for various reasons, including the role of memory and his coping with misfortune, he wants you to pursue them the right way.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 356. Epicureanism and Its Modern Relevance feat. Emily Austin Greg La Blanc 01:02:40 In this episode, we unravel the misunderstood philosophy of Epicureanism. Don't be fooled by common misconceptions - Epicureanism isn't just about hedonism. It's about a balanced pursuit of tranquility, ataraxia, and the good life. Emily Austin is a Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and the author of Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life. Emily and Greg compare and contrast Stoicism and Epicureanism, two philosophies with differing views on virtue and happiness. Discover why modern Stoicism has drifted from its ancient foundations and how the life of Seneca may have twisted his philosophy. Emily and Greg also break down the significance of shared meals in Epicurean tradition, discussing the peculiar competition around extravagance and the possible elitism attached to it. They also discuss Epicurus' methods to mitigate the fear of death and the complexities of living unnoticed in our modern, hyper-connected world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In this episode, we unravel the misunderstood philosophy of Epicureanism. Don't be fooled by common misconceptions - Epicureanism isn't just about hedonism. It's about a balanced pursuit of tranquility, ataraxia, and the good life. Emily Austin is a Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and the author of Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life. Emily and Greg compare and contrast Stoicism and Epicureanism, two philosophies with differing views on virtue and happiness. Discover why modern Stoicism has drifted from its ancient foundations and how the life of Seneca may have twisted his philosophy. Emily and Greg also break down the significance of shared meals in Epicurean tradition, discussing the peculiar competition around extravagance and the possible elitism attached to it. They also discuss Epicurus' methods to mitigate the fear of death and the complexities of living unnoticed in our modern, hyper-connected world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 356 6275323c-bfa8-4afa-b48c-e6df39839e79 355. Crowdsourcing Strategy Through Openness feat. Christian Stadler Strategic Insights are everywhere, but they often go unnoticed by leaders. How can leaders of organizations harness the ideas around them by opening up their strategic planning process?


Christian Stadler is a Professor of Strategic Management at the Warwick Business School and the author of the books Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite (Management on the Cutting Edge), Enduring Success: What We Can Learn from the History of Outstanding Corporations, and the German book Krieg. 


Christian and Greg discuss the challenges of idea generation in established companies and champion mid-sized businesses for their ability to introduce fresh perspectives. Christian explains Open Strategy: promoting a culture of openness, reshuffling within an organization, and creating unexpected connections, all geared towards fostering an environment that thrives on change. They also take a look at how academia and organizations can build open environments that encourage lifelong learning and innovation.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


How much of our business idea should we share with other people?


30:38: You can control what you share and what you do not share when you open up, and try to get input from people. If it comes to that lot of details of formulating a strategy, then you probably have to reveal more. But for this, you can have a much more controlled setting where you bring people in who sign non-disclosure agreements, and then it's much more similar to what the consultant typically would do in this space. So here, you can contain that. If you talk about idea generation, you don't need to tell people much in order to get their ideas, and you don't need to share that much afterwards what you do with that information either.


New ideas thrive even in stable environments


47:25: Even if you have a stable environment, it doesn't prevent you from bringing in ideas on some dimensions, be it new product ideas, new markets, or opportunities where you can still engage larger groups of people in this. There are more opportunities when there's more radical change on the horizon.


Who do you communicate ideas and problems in companies?


23:33: Some companies develop this online culture where people constantly comment on things. To keep it alive, the top leadership needs to be visible in this space as well. And you need to have strong moderation. So, the illusion that this is somehow making less work and you can almost outsource this to somebody else is an illusion. You need somebody who sits on top of this, who moderates, who filters out things. There's crowdsourcing tools as well that can help you with this.


Is it harder to generate new ideas in large companies?


16:32: The other big problem you have in large companies, in particular, is silo thinking, where you have departments duplicating work and not talking to each other, where just being able to connect different departments sometimes would lead to this recombination of knowledge, which is a main kind of mechanism to create new ideas. But it's hard to do in large organizations.


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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> Fri, 10 Nov 2023 18:31:04 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Strategic Insights are everywhere, but they often go unnoticed by leaders. How can leaders of organizations harness the ideas around them by opening up their strategic planning process?


Christian Stadler is a Professor of Strategic Management at the Warwick Business School and the author of the books Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite (Management on the Cutting Edge), Enduring Success: What We Can Learn from the History of Outstanding Corporations, and the German book Krieg. 


Christian and Greg discuss the challenges of idea generation in established companies and champion mid-sized businesses for their ability to introduce fresh perspectives. Christian explains Open Strategy: promoting a culture of openness, reshuffling within an organization, and creating unexpected connections, all geared towards fostering an environment that thrives on change. They also take a look at how academia and organizations can build open environments that encourage lifelong learning and innovation.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


How much of our business idea should we share with other people?


30:38: You can control what you share and what you do not share when you open up, and try to get input from people. If it comes to that lot of details of formulating a strategy, then you probably have to reveal more. But for this, you can have a much more controlled setting where you bring people in who sign non-disclosure agreements, and then it's much more similar to what the consultant typically would do in this space. So here, you can contain that. If you talk about idea generation, you don't need to tell people much in order to get their ideas, and you don't need to share that much afterwards what you do with that information either.


New ideas thrive even in stable environments


47:25: Even if you have a stable environment, it doesn't prevent you from bringing in ideas on some dimensions, be it new product ideas, new markets, or opportunities where you can still engage larger groups of people in this. There are more opportunities when there's more radical change on the horizon.


Who do you communicate ideas and problems in companies?


23:33: Some companies develop this online culture where people constantly comment on things. To keep it alive, the top leadership needs to be visible in this space as well. And you need to have strong moderation. So, the illusion that this is somehow making less work and you can almost outsource this to somebody else is an illusion. You need somebody who sits on top of this, who moderates, who filters out things. There's crowdsourcing tools as well that can help you with this.


Is it harder to generate new ideas in large companies?


16:32: The other big problem you have in large companies, in particular, is silo thinking, where you have departments duplicating work and not talking to each other, where just being able to connect different departments sometimes would lead to this recombination of knowledge, which is a main kind of mechanism to create new ideas. But it's hard to do in large organizations.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> 355. Crowdsourcing Strategy Through Openness feat. Christian Stadler Greg La Blanc 00:48:44 Strategic Insights are everywhere, but they often go unnoticed by leaders. How can leaders of organizations harness the ideas around them by opening up their strategic planning process? Christian Stadler is a Professor of Strategic Management at the Warwick Business School and the author of the books Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite (Management on the Cutting Edge), Enduring Success: What We Can Learn from the History of Outstanding Corporations, and the German book Krieg. Christian and Greg discuss the challenges of idea generation in established companies and champion mid-sized businesses for their ability to introduce fresh perspectives. Christian explains Open Strategy: promoting a culture of openness, reshuffling within an organization, and creating unexpected connections, all geared towards fostering an environment that thrives on change. They also take a look at how academia and organizations can build open environments that encourage lifelong learning and innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Strategic Insights are everywhere, but they often go unnoticed by leaders. How can leaders of organizations harness the ideas around them by opening up their strategic planning process? Christian Stadler is a Professor of Strategic Management at the Warwick Business School and the author of the books Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite (Management on the Cutting Edge), Enduring Success: What We Can Learn from the History of Outstanding Corporations, and the German book Krieg. Christian and Greg discuss the challenges of idea generation in established companies and champion mid-sized businesses for their ability to introduce fresh perspectives. Christian explains Open Strategy: promoting a culture of openness, reshuffling within an organization, and creating unexpected connections, all geared towards fostering an environment that thrives on change. They also take a look at how academia and organizations can build open environments that encourage lifelong learning and innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 355 38d1293d-5943-4419-8ed8-99732bbb54fc 354. Evolutionary Ideas and COVID-19 Controversies feat. Matt Ridley Is History driven by heroic individuals or by variation and selection? What determines the speed of innovation? 


Matt Ridley is a science writer, journalist, and businessman. His books include The Red Queen, The Origins of Virtue, Genome, Nature via Nurture, Francis Crick, The Rational Optimist, The Evolution of Everything, and How Innovation Works.


Matt and Greg discuss the integral role freedom, idea exchange, and trade play in driving innovation. They delve deep into the concept of creative destruction and how it's essential for large corporations to reinvent themselves to stay competitive or be allowed to cease to exist suddenly. Matt talks about the debate surrounding the origin of COVID-19, its implications for virology, and the spread of false information in our interconnected world. The discussion examines the controversial lab leak hypothesis and the impact of China's rise on global innovation.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Why is it that evolutionary thinking is like the gift that keeps on giving?


02:25: The message of my book, "The Evolution of Everything," is that we don't want to let this insight remain confined to biology. It's just as useful as a way of understanding human society in lots of different aspects. Not just economics, but social change as well. Because really, the simple idea that if there's variation, if there's trial and error, if there's experimentation going on, then some ideas are going to survive at the expense of others. And that's going to lead to progressive adaptation. That's going to lead to progressive improvement in some technology, in some social habits, whatever it might be.


Innovation is more about rearranging the world


14:20: Recombination of existing genes is the main way that innovation happens in evolutionary biology, much more common than de novo mutation, and that's true of us too. Most of the new products we produce in the world by innovation are actually just the same old materials combined in new and interesting ways. Innovation is more about rearranging the world than it is about coming up with completely new things.


Crony capitalism extends corporate lifespans, stifling innovation


27:41: Crony capitalism, corporate favoritism, is a tried-and-true and tested way to stay in the game. But it tends to come at the expense of innovation, and it tends to leave you more and more vulnerable to collapse when you do. Get to face real competition. It tends to leave the company vulnerable to disappearing. 


Everybody thinks they know innovation, but only few people can pin it down


30:46: The main reason we're living lives of far greater comfort than we did 500 years ago is still somewhat mysterious. We can tell you things like it needs freedom, it needs trial and error, and things like that, but we can't switch it on and off, let alone tell you when and where it's going to happen. In that sense, it's a surprisingly slippery thing, innovation. Everybody talks about it. Everybody thinks they know about it, but surprisingly, few people can really pin it down. And as I say, you can't put it in a mathematical model, at least not in a very convincing way.


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

]]> Wed, 8 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is History driven by heroic individuals or by variation and selection? What determines the speed of innovation? 


Matt Ridley is a science writer, journalist, and businessman. His books include The Red Queen, The Origins of Virtue, Genome, Nature via Nurture, Francis Crick, The Rational Optimist, The Evolution of Everything, and How Innovation Works.


Matt and Greg discuss the integral role freedom, idea exchange, and trade play in driving innovation. They delve deep into the concept of creative destruction and how it's essential for large corporations to reinvent themselves to stay competitive or be allowed to cease to exist suddenly. Matt talks about the debate surrounding the origin of COVID-19, its implications for virology, and the spread of false information in our interconnected world. The discussion examines the controversial lab leak hypothesis and the impact of China's rise on global innovation.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Why is it that evolutionary thinking is like the gift that keeps on giving?


02:25: The message of my book, "The Evolution of Everything," is that we don't want to let this insight remain confined to biology. It's just as useful as a way of understanding human society in lots of different aspects. Not just economics, but social change as well. Because really, the simple idea that if there's variation, if there's trial and error, if there's experimentation going on, then some ideas are going to survive at the expense of others. And that's going to lead to progressive adaptation. That's going to lead to progressive improvement in some technology, in some social habits, whatever it might be.


Innovation is more about rearranging the world


14:20: Recombination of existing genes is the main way that innovation happens in evolutionary biology, much more common than de novo mutation, and that's true of us too. Most of the new products we produce in the world by innovation are actually just the same old materials combined in new and interesting ways. Innovation is more about rearranging the world than it is about coming up with completely new things.


Crony capitalism extends corporate lifespans, stifling innovation


27:41: Crony capitalism, corporate favoritism, is a tried-and-true and tested way to stay in the game. But it tends to come at the expense of innovation, and it tends to leave you more and more vulnerable to collapse when you do. Get to face real competition. It tends to leave the company vulnerable to disappearing. 


Everybody thinks they know innovation, but only few people can pin it down


30:46: The main reason we're living lives of far greater comfort than we did 500 years ago is still somewhat mysterious. We can tell you things like it needs freedom, it needs trial and error, and things like that, but we can't switch it on and off, let alone tell you when and where it's going to happen. In that sense, it's a surprisingly slippery thing, innovation. Everybody talks about it. Everybody thinks they know about it, but surprisingly, few people can really pin it down. And as I say, you can't put it in a mathematical model, at least not in a very convincing way.


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]]> 354. Evolutionary Ideas and COVID-19 Controversies feat. Matt Ridley Greg La Blanc 00:56:07 Is History driven by heroic individuals or by variation and selection? What determines the speed of innovation? Matt Ridley is a science writer, journalist, and businessman. His books include The Red Queen, The Origins of Virtue, Genome, Nature via Nurture, Francis Crick, The Rational Optimist, The Evolution of Everything, and How Innovation Works. Matt and Greg discuss the integral role freedom, idea exchange, and trade play in driving innovation. They delve deep into the concept of creative destruction and how it's essential for large corporations to reinvent themselves to stay competitive or be allowed to cease to exist suddenly. Matt talks about the debate surrounding the origin of COVID-19, its implications for virology, and the spread of false information in our interconnected world. The discussion examines the controversial lab leak hypothesis and the impact of China's rise on global innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is History driven by heroic individuals or by variation and selection? What determines the speed of innovation? Matt Ridley is a science writer, journalist, and businessman. His books include The Red Queen, The Origins of Virtue, Genome, Nature via Nurture, Francis Crick, The Rational Optimist, The Evolution of Everything, and How Innovation Works. Matt and Greg discuss the integral role freedom, idea exchange, and trade play in driving innovation. They delve deep into the concept of creative destruction and how it's essential for large corporations to reinvent themselves to stay competitive or be allowed to cease to exist suddenly. Matt talks about the debate surrounding the origin of COVID-19, its implications for virology, and the spread of false information in our interconnected world. The discussion examines the controversial lab leak hypothesis and the impact of China's rise on global innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 354 05a8c738-2eda-454f-87b7-7cdf6bce99c7 353. Studying the History of Knowledge feat. Peter Burke How does one tell the story of knowledge through the centuries? And what kind of knowledge is being discussed when looking at its history? 


Peter Burke, a professor of history at Cambridge University, has written more than 30 books over the course of his lifetime and has taken a special interest in studying the history of knowledge and polymaths. 


He and Greg discuss a couple of his major works like The Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag and What is the History of Knowledge? (What is History?). They also discuss how the history of knowledge can not come without a history of ignorance, whether or not polymaths are a thing of the past, and if the aggregate amount of knowledge is increasing today.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Decision-Making, where history of knowledge meets general history


39:59: I got into decision-making, and the nice thing about it is it connects history of knowledge with general history more clearly than other studies in the history of knowledge. So it breaks down one more barrier because one great thing about history in the last couple of generations is the interest of different historians in different other disciplines: economic historians studying economics, social historians studying sociology. The great price has been that in having a fruitful dialogue with their colleagues in the neighboring discipline, they no longer speak to other historical colleagues, but this history of knowledge and ignorance has the potential for connecting things. All these different practical areas where decisions are taken that is influencing the history of the world, and knowledge is playing this crucial part, or the absence of knowledge is playing this crucial part.


What unique insights do historians offer to understand knowledge creation and innovation?


48:30: Historians are people who specialize in telling you that the problem that you think is unique is one that has occurred a number of times in the past. And that's the most specifically historical. Otherwise, I think historians are like sociologists and even more like anthropologists because they try to understand the mindset of people in other cultures, and this is an absolutely indispensable kind of knowledge, which we need more and more in a globalizing world where we're constantly living. Meeting people from other cultures, constantly misunderstanding them, and constantly being misunderstood by them.


How does the brain of polymaths work?


21:17: Polymaths need a great power of concentration. So, they're described by their families and friends as they pick up a book, and they somehow sort of suck the contents out in half an hour, but they do this because they've got this incredible concentration. But because they're concentrating on the problem, and they're living in the everyday world, what other people notice is their failure: The failure of the polymaths to notice what's happening around them, absent-mindedness. But their mind, if it's absent from ordinary everyday life, is extremely present next to the problem they're trying to solve.


New knowledge is always associated with new ignorance


42:33: New knowledge is always associated with new ignorance, and this is inevitable given that human beings still sleep for eight hours a night except for a few polymaths. And they don't spend all their time acquiring knowledge. So if they acquire some of the new knowledge, for example, about IT, and then they've got less time to acquire some of the old knowledge.


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]]> Mon, 6 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does one tell the story of knowledge through the centuries? And what kind of knowledge is being discussed when looking at its history? 


Peter Burke, a professor of history at Cambridge University, has written more than 30 books over the course of his lifetime and has taken a special interest in studying the history of knowledge and polymaths. 


He and Greg discuss a couple of his major works like The Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag and What is the History of Knowledge? (What is History?). They also discuss how the history of knowledge can not come without a history of ignorance, whether or not polymaths are a thing of the past, and if the aggregate amount of knowledge is increasing today.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Decision-Making, where history of knowledge meets general history


39:59: I got into decision-making, and the nice thing about it is it connects history of knowledge with general history more clearly than other studies in the history of knowledge. So it breaks down one more barrier because one great thing about history in the last couple of generations is the interest of different historians in different other disciplines: economic historians studying economics, social historians studying sociology. The great price has been that in having a fruitful dialogue with their colleagues in the neighboring discipline, they no longer speak to other historical colleagues, but this history of knowledge and ignorance has the potential for connecting things. All these different practical areas where decisions are taken that is influencing the history of the world, and knowledge is playing this crucial part, or the absence of knowledge is playing this crucial part.


What unique insights do historians offer to understand knowledge creation and innovation?


48:30: Historians are people who specialize in telling you that the problem that you think is unique is one that has occurred a number of times in the past. And that's the most specifically historical. Otherwise, I think historians are like sociologists and even more like anthropologists because they try to understand the mindset of people in other cultures, and this is an absolutely indispensable kind of knowledge, which we need more and more in a globalizing world where we're constantly living. Meeting people from other cultures, constantly misunderstanding them, and constantly being misunderstood by them.


How does the brain of polymaths work?


21:17: Polymaths need a great power of concentration. So, they're described by their families and friends as they pick up a book, and they somehow sort of suck the contents out in half an hour, but they do this because they've got this incredible concentration. But because they're concentrating on the problem, and they're living in the everyday world, what other people notice is their failure: The failure of the polymaths to notice what's happening around them, absent-mindedness. But their mind, if it's absent from ordinary everyday life, is extremely present next to the problem they're trying to solve.


New knowledge is always associated with new ignorance


42:33: New knowledge is always associated with new ignorance, and this is inevitable given that human beings still sleep for eight hours a night except for a few polymaths. And they don't spend all their time acquiring knowledge. So if they acquire some of the new knowledge, for example, about IT, and then they've got less time to acquire some of the old knowledge.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 353. Studying the History of Knowledge feat. Peter Burke Greg La Blanc 00:52:59 How does one tell the story of knowledge through the centuries? And what kind of knowledge is being discussed when looking at its history? Peter Burke, a professor of history at Cambridge University, has written more than 30 books over the course of his lifetime and has taken a special interest in studying the history of knowledge and polymaths. He and Greg discuss a couple of his major works like The Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag and What is the History of Knowledge? (What is History?). They also discuss how the history of knowledge can not come without a history of ignorance, whether or not polymaths are a thing of the past, and if the aggregate amount of knowledge is increasing today. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does one tell the story of knowledge through the centuries? And what kind of knowledge is being discussed when looking at its history? Peter Burke, a professor of history at Cambridge University, has written more than 30 books over the course of his lifetime and has taken a special interest in studying the history of knowledge and polymaths. He and Greg discuss a couple of his major works like The Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag and What is the History of Knowledge? (What is History?). They also discuss how the history of knowledge can not come without a history of ignorance, whether or not polymaths are a thing of the past, and if the aggregate amount of knowledge is increasing today. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 353 d178fd3f-b761-463b-9b67-1c4a2c054f9d 352. The Crackdown on Private Equity feat. Brendan Ballou Nowadays, if someone wants to make a lot of money in finance, they don’t go and work for investment banks. The real money to be made is at private equity firms. With most of these firms controlling a huge percentage of the country’s overall GDP and doing so largely unchecked, is it time to take a hard look at the systems that protect and allow these actors to flourish?? 


Brendan Ballou is special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. His book, Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America, takes a hard look at the way private equity firms operate and the laws they exploit.  


He and Greg discuss what sets private equity firms apart from other financial institutions in America, the ways private equity firms avoid liability when things go wrong, and what reforms are needed to the systems that essentially allowed private equity to become the beast that it is today. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Private equity as an institution is unique


05:31: Private equity as an institution is unique for three reasons. One is that private equity owners tend to invest for just a few years, so you're talking about a three, five, or seven-year time horizon. Two is that private equity firms tend to load up the companies they buy with a lot of debt and extract a lot of fees. And the magic trick, as you probably know, a lot of these private equity deals is when they load these companies up with debt; for the acquisition, it's the company that holds the debt, not the private equity firm. So if things go badly, it's the company that's on the hook. It's not the private equity owners and investors. And then the third thing, and this is what really interests me as a lawyer, is private equity firms are enormously successful at insulating themselves legally from the consequences of their portfolio company's actions. So, if something goes wrong at a portfolio company, someone is hurt, or an employee is taken advantage of, whatever it happens to be, it's very hard to hold a private equity firm responsible.


Is private equity an extreme version of capitalism?


03:44:  Private equity is an extreme version of capitalism, for better or for worse...It's not an extreme form of capitalism. It's a deviation or a perversion of capitalism by the specific laws and regulations that we have that incentivize short-term term investing, reliance on debt, and insolation from liability. We've created these legal structures that allow certain people to capture all the upside of our economy if things go well, but walk away if they don't.


Short-term gain versus long-term success


12:17: The time frame that you've got for an investment changes your perspective on what you're going to do with it, whether you're going to jack up prices for the short term, even if it means that you're going to lose customers for the long term, underinvest in your employees and your innovation, even if it means that you might be scooped by the competition in a few years, and so forth.


How are private equity firms compensated?


31:00: Private equity firms are compensated on a 2-in-20 model: 2% of the profits above a certain threshold, 20% of the profits above a certain threshold, and 2% of the assets under management every year. The carried interest loophole says that both of those should be treated as capital gains rather than ordinary income, and capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income. That's pretty much all the money that a private equity executive typically makes. So, leaders of private equity firms have historically paid a lower tax rate than the firefighters and teachers that they nominally serve.


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Guest Profile:

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

]]> Fri, 3 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Nowadays, if someone wants to make a lot of money in finance, they don’t go and work for investment banks. The real money to be made is at private equity firms. With most of these firms controlling a huge percentage of the country’s overall GDP and doing so largely unchecked, is it time to take a hard look at the systems that protect and allow these actors to flourish?? 


Brendan Ballou is special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. His book, Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America, takes a hard look at the way private equity firms operate and the laws they exploit.  


He and Greg discuss what sets private equity firms apart from other financial institutions in America, the ways private equity firms avoid liability when things go wrong, and what reforms are needed to the systems that essentially allowed private equity to become the beast that it is today. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Private equity as an institution is unique


05:31: Private equity as an institution is unique for three reasons. One is that private equity owners tend to invest for just a few years, so you're talking about a three, five, or seven-year time horizon. Two is that private equity firms tend to load up the companies they buy with a lot of debt and extract a lot of fees. And the magic trick, as you probably know, a lot of these private equity deals is when they load these companies up with debt; for the acquisition, it's the company that holds the debt, not the private equity firm. So if things go badly, it's the company that's on the hook. It's not the private equity owners and investors. And then the third thing, and this is what really interests me as a lawyer, is private equity firms are enormously successful at insulating themselves legally from the consequences of their portfolio company's actions. So, if something goes wrong at a portfolio company, someone is hurt, or an employee is taken advantage of, whatever it happens to be, it's very hard to hold a private equity firm responsible.


Is private equity an extreme version of capitalism?


03:44:  Private equity is an extreme version of capitalism, for better or for worse...It's not an extreme form of capitalism. It's a deviation or a perversion of capitalism by the specific laws and regulations that we have that incentivize short-term term investing, reliance on debt, and insolation from liability. We've created these legal structures that allow certain people to capture all the upside of our economy if things go well, but walk away if they don't.


Short-term gain versus long-term success


12:17: The time frame that you've got for an investment changes your perspective on what you're going to do with it, whether you're going to jack up prices for the short term, even if it means that you're going to lose customers for the long term, underinvest in your employees and your innovation, even if it means that you might be scooped by the competition in a few years, and so forth.


How are private equity firms compensated?


31:00: Private equity firms are compensated on a 2-in-20 model: 2% of the profits above a certain threshold, 20% of the profits above a certain threshold, and 2% of the assets under management every year. The carried interest loophole says that both of those should be treated as capital gains rather than ordinary income, and capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income. That's pretty much all the money that a private equity executive typically makes. So, leaders of private equity firms have historically paid a lower tax rate than the firefighters and teachers that they nominally serve.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> 352. The Crackdown on Private Equity feat. Brendan Ballou Greg La Blanc 00:46:13 Nowadays, if someone wants to make a lot of money in finance, they don’t go and work for investment banks. The real money to be made is at private equity firms. With most of these firms controlling a huge percentage of the country’s overall GDP and doing so largely unchecked, is it time to take a hard look at the systems that protect and allow these actors to flourish?? Brendan Ballou is special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. His book, Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America, takes a hard look at the way private equity firms operate and the laws they exploit. He and Greg discuss what sets private equity firms apart from other financial institutions in America, the ways private equity firms avoid liability when things go wrong, and what reforms are needed to the systems that essentially allowed private equity to become the beast that it is today. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Nowadays, if someone wants to make a lot of money in finance, they don’t go and work for investment banks. The real money to be made is at private equity firms. With most of these firms controlling a huge percentage of the country’s overall GDP and doing so largely unchecked, is it time to take a hard look at the systems that protect and allow these actors to flourish?? Brendan Ballou is special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. His book, Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America, takes a hard look at the way private equity firms operate and the laws they exploit. He and Greg discuss what sets private equity firms apart from other financial institutions in America, the ways private equity firms avoid liability when things go wrong, and what reforms are needed to the systems that essentially allowed private equity to become the beast that it is today. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 352 38ee3a3e-cc15-4993-82ec-97fed68ea6e4 351. The Transformative Power of Gestures feat. Susan Goldin-Meadow Ever wondered why some people seem to have an aversion to gesturing while speaking? Or did you know that even in the absence of sight, human beings instinctively use gestures to communicate?


Susan Goldin-Meadow is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago and also the author of the books Thinking with Your Hands: The Surprising Science Behind How Gestures Shape Our Thoughts, The Resilience of Language, and Hearing Gesture: How Our Hands Help Us Think.


Susan and Greg take a deep dive into the integral role of gestures in language acquisition, especially during early childhood. They also discuss the striking similarity of key gestures across various cultures, indicating a shared linguistic heritage, the fascinating evolution of various sign languages, and the unique ways they convey information distinctly from spoken language. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


On integrating gesture with speech


34:21: What gesture is really good at is integrating with speech. It needs to be integrated with speech. It's one of the reasons co-speech gesture is useless for deaf kids because they can't hear the speech, and then they see all of these things that we do, and they think, and so what they come up with is quite different from co-speech gestures. So, co-speech gesture is co-speech gesture and needs to be thought about along with speech. So, taking away speech isn't going to do it. If in fact, you tell people, "Okay, shut up, don't say a word," but gesture to describe this, your gesture will look different from the way it looks when it accompanies speech.


Gestures are not as sophisticated as sign language


26:18:  You can do whatever you want in sign language, and it works. It's a language. Gestures are not as sophisticated as sign language or spoken language.


Transmission is important for language to take-off


12:40: Deaf individuals used to be pretty isolated in hearing homes. But at one point, they created a Deaf education system, and they brought a bunch of homesigners, essentially, together, and they interacted with one another. So, at that point, they started to develop lexical items that they shared, things like that. But the language took off when new little deaf kids came into the community and learned the system from these older ones. So, there's some evidence that real transmission helps the language grow. You may need to share it and communicate. But transmission is essential in order for the language to take off.


Sign language is more than just Hand-in-Mouth


31:00: Signers gesture, but their sign language is categorical, just like spoken language, and their gesture is more imagistic. So, sign language sign-gesture mismatches work in the same way that speech-gesture mismatches work: to predict. Learning it can't be about two modalities because the signers are using one modality, just hands, to represent this stuff—and that turns out to be true. So it feels like it's not just hand-in-mouth. Hand-in-mouth may help. It may do some work for us, but there's something more. It really is the way gesture represents information and language represents information co-occurring together.


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

]]> Wed, 1 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Ever wondered why some people seem to have an aversion to gesturing while speaking? Or did you know that even in the absence of sight, human beings instinctively use gestures to communicate?


Susan Goldin-Meadow is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago and also the author of the books Thinking with Your Hands: The Surprising Science Behind How Gestures Shape Our Thoughts, The Resilience of Language, and Hearing Gesture: How Our Hands Help Us Think.


Susan and Greg take a deep dive into the integral role of gestures in language acquisition, especially during early childhood. They also discuss the striking similarity of key gestures across various cultures, indicating a shared linguistic heritage, the fascinating evolution of various sign languages, and the unique ways they convey information distinctly from spoken language. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


On integrating gesture with speech


34:21: What gesture is really good at is integrating with speech. It needs to be integrated with speech. It's one of the reasons co-speech gesture is useless for deaf kids because they can't hear the speech, and then they see all of these things that we do, and they think, and so what they come up with is quite different from co-speech gestures. So, co-speech gesture is co-speech gesture and needs to be thought about along with speech. So, taking away speech isn't going to do it. If in fact, you tell people, "Okay, shut up, don't say a word," but gesture to describe this, your gesture will look different from the way it looks when it accompanies speech.


Gestures are not as sophisticated as sign language


26:18:  You can do whatever you want in sign language, and it works. It's a language. Gestures are not as sophisticated as sign language or spoken language.


Transmission is important for language to take-off


12:40: Deaf individuals used to be pretty isolated in hearing homes. But at one point, they created a Deaf education system, and they brought a bunch of homesigners, essentially, together, and they interacted with one another. So, at that point, they started to develop lexical items that they shared, things like that. But the language took off when new little deaf kids came into the community and learned the system from these older ones. So, there's some evidence that real transmission helps the language grow. You may need to share it and communicate. But transmission is essential in order for the language to take off.


Sign language is more than just Hand-in-Mouth


31:00: Signers gesture, but their sign language is categorical, just like spoken language, and their gesture is more imagistic. So, sign language sign-gesture mismatches work in the same way that speech-gesture mismatches work: to predict. Learning it can't be about two modalities because the signers are using one modality, just hands, to represent this stuff—and that turns out to be true. So it feels like it's not just hand-in-mouth. Hand-in-mouth may help. It may do some work for us, but there's something more. It really is the way gesture represents information and language represents information co-occurring together.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:



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

]]> 351. The Transformative Power of Gestures feat. Susan Goldin-Meadow Greg La Blanc 00:38:32 Ever wondered why some people seem to have an aversion to gesturing while speaking? Or did you know that even in the absence of sight, human beings instinctively use gestures to communicate? Susan Goldin-Meadow is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago and also the author of the books Thinking with Your Hands: The Surprising Science Behind How Gestures Shape Our Thoughts, The Resilience of Language, and Hearing Gesture: How Our Hands Help Us Think. Susan and Greg take a deep dive into the integral role of gestures in language acquisition, especially during early childhood. They also discuss the striking similarity of key gestures across various cultures, indicating a shared linguistic heritage, the fascinating evolution of various sign languages, and the unique ways they convey information distinctly from spoken language. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Ever wondered why some people seem to have an aversion to gesturing while speaking? Or did you know that even in the absence of sight, human beings instinctively use gestures to communicate? Susan Goldin-Meadow is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago and also the author of the books Thinking with Your Hands: The Surprising Science Behind How Gestures Shape Our Thoughts, The Resilience of Language, and Hearing Gesture: How Our Hands Help Us Think. Susan and Greg take a deep dive into the integral role of gestures in language acquisition, especially during early childhood. They also discuss the striking similarity of key gestures across various cultures, indicating a shared linguistic heritage, the fascinating evolution of various sign languages, and the unique ways they convey information distinctly from spoken language. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 351 c3338ce1-328e-4b4c-a85a-e031a947879a 350. The Risks of a Deteriorating Democracy feat. Victor Davis Hanson Is democracy and the idea of citizenship deteriorating because of the state of our country’s education system? 


Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He’s written more than 25 books in the realm of classics, military history, and the American political system. His latest book, The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America, explores what it means to be an American. 


Victor and Greg discuss the modern threats to citizenship, the disappearing middle class, and how America’s education system may be exacerbating the problem.  


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Is the decline of classics and the decline of liberal arts education the same things?


32:16: Classics is an intensification of a history or a literature major, but it's the foundation of it. It had a much greater burden because it required or centered on two difficult languages, which you can become an English major or a history major without that as an undergraduate. But they're the same thing. They were the idea that you had a reverence for the past. You didn't go back and try to use the standards of the present to judge people in the past necessarily. You made moral judgments, but that wasn't the intent of history per se. In addition, through the use of literature and historical examples and writing, discussing, and debating, you develop oral fluency. You learn how to write grammatically correct English and stylistically engaging English. You thought. You were inductive. You didn't go into a class where the professor said if you say this particular gender is evil, the subtext is, and then you deduce examples that prove that.


On globalism


51:21: Globalism is a synonym for American popular culture in many ways. We have the most dynamic culture that has very few prerequisites to participate in, as Europe does. But the more sinister thing is: it's an elite-driven phenomenon.


The power of citizenship


02:33: Citizenship is very rare in history. It's usually either the person ruled or is either a member of a tribal organization, a mere resident, a subject, a serf, or a slave. But the idea that a citizen is empowered to self-govern and to create the conditions under which government exists by the consent of the governed doesn't exist anywhere outside the Mediterranean or before the 7th century.


The shifting dynamics of race, class, and gender


17:33: We used to talk about race, class, gender, race, class, gender, but class has disappeared. When you hear that mantra, it's usually race and gender. And this was very brilliant on the part of the left because class is a mobile, fluid concept, and a very successful capitalist society. One generation does not guarantee, necessarily, that they're all going to be in the class of their parents. I can tell you from my own family that's true, both positively and negatively. Races, if you fixate on it, so if you say race is the entire definition of deprivation, bias, racism, and not class, then it's immutable; it's forever.


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]]> Mon, 30 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is democracy and the idea of citizenship deteriorating because of the state of our country’s education system? 


Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He’s written more than 25 books in the realm of classics, military history, and the American political system. His latest book, The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America, explores what it means to be an American. 


Victor and Greg discuss the modern threats to citizenship, the disappearing middle class, and how America’s education system may be exacerbating the problem.  


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Is the decline of classics and the decline of liberal arts education the same things?


32:16: Classics is an intensification of a history or a literature major, but it's the foundation of it. It had a much greater burden because it required or centered on two difficult languages, which you can become an English major or a history major without that as an undergraduate. But they're the same thing. They were the idea that you had a reverence for the past. You didn't go back and try to use the standards of the present to judge people in the past necessarily. You made moral judgments, but that wasn't the intent of history per se. In addition, through the use of literature and historical examples and writing, discussing, and debating, you develop oral fluency. You learn how to write grammatically correct English and stylistically engaging English. You thought. You were inductive. You didn't go into a class where the professor said if you say this particular gender is evil, the subtext is, and then you deduce examples that prove that.


On globalism


51:21: Globalism is a synonym for American popular culture in many ways. We have the most dynamic culture that has very few prerequisites to participate in, as Europe does. But the more sinister thing is: it's an elite-driven phenomenon.


The power of citizenship


02:33: Citizenship is very rare in history. It's usually either the person ruled or is either a member of a tribal organization, a mere resident, a subject, a serf, or a slave. But the idea that a citizen is empowered to self-govern and to create the conditions under which government exists by the consent of the governed doesn't exist anywhere outside the Mediterranean or before the 7th century.


The shifting dynamics of race, class, and gender


17:33: We used to talk about race, class, gender, race, class, gender, but class has disappeared. When you hear that mantra, it's usually race and gender. And this was very brilliant on the part of the left because class is a mobile, fluid concept, and a very successful capitalist society. One generation does not guarantee, necessarily, that they're all going to be in the class of their parents. I can tell you from my own family that's true, both positively and negatively. Races, if you fixate on it, so if you say race is the entire definition of deprivation, bias, racism, and not class, then it's immutable; it's forever.


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]]> 350. The Risks of a Deteriorating Democracy feat. Victor Davis Hanson Greg La Blanc 01:06:49 Is democracy and the idea of citizenship deteriorating because of the state of our country’s education system? Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He’s written more than 25 books in the realm of classics, military history, and the American political system. His latest book, The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America, explores what it means to be an American. Victor and Greg discuss the modern threats to citizenship, the disappearing middle class, and how America’s education system may be exacerbating the problem. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is democracy and the idea of citizenship deteriorating because of the state of our country’s education system? Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He’s written more than 25 books in the realm of classics, military history, and the American political system. His latest book, The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America, explores what it means to be an American. Victor and Greg discuss the modern threats to citizenship, the disappearing middle class, and how America’s education system may be exacerbating the problem. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 350 18d90978-2c1b-4cc4-a69d-29c0c9b85d75 349. Deconstructing Asset Management: The Shifts, Opportunities, and Concerns feat. Brett Christophers Ever wondered about the growing presence of asset managers in all aspects of our lives?


Brett Christophers is a Professor in the Department of Human Geography at Uppsala University in Sweden and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World, and next year, he has a new book coming out called The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet. 


Brett and Greg discuss the migration from public equity to private, the rise of large landlords and infrastructure providers, and the outsourcing of public services to the private sector. The conversation takes a deep dive into the realm of asset management in the housing sector. Brett offers an enlightening perspective on what it means for tenants when asset managers are landlords. They unpack the mixed bag of potential benefits and disadvantages that could arise in this scenario. Brett and Greg also discuss the rising trend of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing, and how asset managers are leveraging this wave.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Are asset managers public service or a powerful rhetoric?


40:43: One of the main lines of defense that these investment managers, asset managers, rely upon when they come under attack from the likes of me, but not only the likes of me, politicians from the likes of Elizabeth Warren and so on in the U.S., is they'll say, "Look, you don't want to be attacking us because we're providing a public service in the way you just outlined. If our funds perform well, then that's all to the well and good because the money we're investing through those funds is the money of the firefighters, the teachers, and the nurses." And that's a very powerful piece of rhetoric. It's that rhetoric which sustains the business model in large part because people buy that rhetoric, and therefore, the business continues on its merry way.


The power of asset managers in infrastructure investments


33:50: If governments have increasingly persuaded themselves that the private sector is the answer in terms of infrastructure investment, then almost by definition they've persuaded themselves that asset managers are the answer. Because asset managers have the command of the greatest surplus capital today, if you're looking into the private sector to invest, then, essentially, you're looking to asset managers because they're the ones that have all the dry powder.


Are asset management companies publicly traded but still opaque?


23:40: Public ownership entails a certain degree of scrutiny that is still lacking in the cases of these asset management companies, even if those asset management firms are themselves publicly traded. Many of them now are the likes of Blackstone, which would be a good example of that. So yes, the firms themselves are publicly traded, but much of what occurs through the funds that they established is obviously still very, very opaque in a way that is not necessarily true of publicly traded companies.


Private equity and real estate investments use the same fee mechanisms and fund structures


03:41: Whether you're talking about private equity or real estate investment, what you find is that they're often using exactly the same kind of fee mechanisms, fund structures, and so on. So that's why I use that terminology, because I think that the most important thing to really draw attention to is this fact that, at the end of the day, most of the money that they're investing is not their own. And that's a key feature of this. But even though, of course, they're using different investment strategies, different fund structures, and so on.


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]]> Fri, 27 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Ever wondered about the growing presence of asset managers in all aspects of our lives?


Brett Christophers is a Professor in the Department of Human Geography at Uppsala University in Sweden and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World, and next year, he has a new book coming out called The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet. 


Brett and Greg discuss the migration from public equity to private, the rise of large landlords and infrastructure providers, and the outsourcing of public services to the private sector. The conversation takes a deep dive into the realm of asset management in the housing sector. Brett offers an enlightening perspective on what it means for tenants when asset managers are landlords. They unpack the mixed bag of potential benefits and disadvantages that could arise in this scenario. Brett and Greg also discuss the rising trend of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing, and how asset managers are leveraging this wave.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Are asset managers public service or a powerful rhetoric?


40:43: One of the main lines of defense that these investment managers, asset managers, rely upon when they come under attack from the likes of me, but not only the likes of me, politicians from the likes of Elizabeth Warren and so on in the U.S., is they'll say, "Look, you don't want to be attacking us because we're providing a public service in the way you just outlined. If our funds perform well, then that's all to the well and good because the money we're investing through those funds is the money of the firefighters, the teachers, and the nurses." And that's a very powerful piece of rhetoric. It's that rhetoric which sustains the business model in large part because people buy that rhetoric, and therefore, the business continues on its merry way.


The power of asset managers in infrastructure investments


33:50: If governments have increasingly persuaded themselves that the private sector is the answer in terms of infrastructure investment, then almost by definition they've persuaded themselves that asset managers are the answer. Because asset managers have the command of the greatest surplus capital today, if you're looking into the private sector to invest, then, essentially, you're looking to asset managers because they're the ones that have all the dry powder.


Are asset management companies publicly traded but still opaque?


23:40: Public ownership entails a certain degree of scrutiny that is still lacking in the cases of these asset management companies, even if those asset management firms are themselves publicly traded. Many of them now are the likes of Blackstone, which would be a good example of that. So yes, the firms themselves are publicly traded, but much of what occurs through the funds that they established is obviously still very, very opaque in a way that is not necessarily true of publicly traded companies.


Private equity and real estate investments use the same fee mechanisms and fund structures


03:41: Whether you're talking about private equity or real estate investment, what you find is that they're often using exactly the same kind of fee mechanisms, fund structures, and so on. So that's why I use that terminology, because I think that the most important thing to really draw attention to is this fact that, at the end of the day, most of the money that they're investing is not their own. And that's a key feature of this. But even though, of course, they're using different investment strategies, different fund structures, and so on.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 349. Deconstructing Asset Management: The Shifts, Opportunities, and Concerns feat. Brett Christophers Greg La Blanc 00:58:09 Ever wondered about the growing presence of asset managers in all aspects of our lives? Brett Christophers is a Professor in the Department of Human Geography at Uppsala University in Sweden and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World, and next year, he has a new book coming out called The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet. Brett and Greg discuss the migration from public equity to private, the rise of large landlords and infrastructure providers, and the outsourcing of public services to the private sector. The conversation takes a deep dive into the realm of asset management in the housing sector. Brett offers an enlightening perspective on what it means for tenants when asset managers are landlords. They unpack the mixed bag of potential benefits and disadvantages that could arise in this scenario. Brett and Greg also discuss the rising trend of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing, and how asset managers are leveraging this wave. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Ever wondered about the growing presence of asset managers in all aspects of our lives? Brett Christophers is a Professor in the Department of Human Geography at Uppsala University in Sweden and the author of several books. His latest work is titled Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World, and next year, he has a new book coming out called The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet. Brett and Greg discuss the migration from public equity to private, the rise of large landlords and infrastructure providers, and the outsourcing of public services to the private sector. The conversation takes a deep dive into the realm of asset management in the housing sector. Brett offers an enlightening perspective on what it means for tenants when asset managers are landlords. They unpack the mixed bag of potential benefits and disadvantages that could arise in this scenario. Brett and Greg also discuss the rising trend of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing, and how asset managers are leveraging this wave. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 349 6be80ecc-4e84-4064-8db9-cd23d1718b1e 348. Simplifying in the Age of Complexity feat. John Maeda Is it possible to simplify life without losing the comfort and complexity that enriches it? 


John Maeda, vice president of artificial intelligence and design at Microsoft, has been writing about the intersection of design, technology, business, and life for years. His book, The Laws of Simplicity, explores the question of needing less while still getting something more. 


He and Greg discuss some of the pivotal moments in John’s career, how his view of design changed over the course of writing The Laws of Simplicity, and the aspects of business education that could use some tweaking. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Traditional design is not the same as customer-centricity


26:42: Business is about design thinking. It's different. It's customer-centricity. It's all the C words, whatever. But the way design is taught, like your microphone, is so beautiful. It's super cool-looking, right? That was created not just to be easy to use. It was also created to be "beautiful, stand out, et cetera," whatever—all these other factors that are not user-centered. They're ego-centered, which you could argue is like user-centered design, but it's different…[27:32] Traditional design is good at messing with your mind, your ego, and your wallet or purse. And it's fascinating. But it's not the same as customer-centricity. And that's what's so interesting about it and useful about it at certain times in a product's evolution.


Understanding powerful concepts of computer science


23:27:  There are certain concepts in computer science that are hard to understand because they're so powerful. So, I focus on what's powerful. And what's powerful is that it never gets tired. That's weird. It can loot forever. It is able to encompass large data sets at any scale and at any level of precision. So, it can handle infinitely large issues with infinitesimal accuracy. That is strange. And so, going through these properties helped me understand how weird it is. 


Two kinds of supply chain risks


10:32:  There are two kinds of supply chain risk. There's physical supply chain risk and digital supply chain risk. And a physical supply chain – we know what that looks like in our heads, or optimized with Amazon robots, etc. But a digital supply chain is like building on top of Azure, and Azure goes down. Whoa, what do you do? Or you've built your organization's communication system on Slack, and it goes down. Like, what do you do? So that's an invisible supply chain that we're just starting to understand in business, and they're very similar. Unless you're cyber-equipped, it's just that you can't see the kind of analogy you could make between the two worlds.


On being equipped to explain computation


30:13: I realized how powerful computation is, and I realized that anyone can explain design better than me. What is something that I'm equipped to do? Oh, I can explain computation. So, I wanted to make a way to explain to any business leader what computation is. Because if they don't understand it, they can't digitally transform.


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

]]> Wed, 25 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is it possible to simplify life without losing the comfort and complexity that enriches it? 


John Maeda, vice president of artificial intelligence and design at Microsoft, has been writing about the intersection of design, technology, business, and life for years. His book, The Laws of Simplicity, explores the question of needing less while still getting something more. 


He and Greg discuss some of the pivotal moments in John’s career, how his view of design changed over the course of writing The Laws of Simplicity, and the aspects of business education that could use some tweaking. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Traditional design is not the same as customer-centricity


26:42: Business is about design thinking. It's different. It's customer-centricity. It's all the C words, whatever. But the way design is taught, like your microphone, is so beautiful. It's super cool-looking, right? That was created not just to be easy to use. It was also created to be "beautiful, stand out, et cetera," whatever—all these other factors that are not user-centered. They're ego-centered, which you could argue is like user-centered design, but it's different…[27:32] Traditional design is good at messing with your mind, your ego, and your wallet or purse. And it's fascinating. But it's not the same as customer-centricity. And that's what's so interesting about it and useful about it at certain times in a product's evolution.


Understanding powerful concepts of computer science


23:27:  There are certain concepts in computer science that are hard to understand because they're so powerful. So, I focus on what's powerful. And what's powerful is that it never gets tired. That's weird. It can loot forever. It is able to encompass large data sets at any scale and at any level of precision. So, it can handle infinitely large issues with infinitesimal accuracy. That is strange. And so, going through these properties helped me understand how weird it is. 


Two kinds of supply chain risks


10:32:  There are two kinds of supply chain risk. There's physical supply chain risk and digital supply chain risk. And a physical supply chain – we know what that looks like in our heads, or optimized with Amazon robots, etc. But a digital supply chain is like building on top of Azure, and Azure goes down. Whoa, what do you do? Or you've built your organization's communication system on Slack, and it goes down. Like, what do you do? So that's an invisible supply chain that we're just starting to understand in business, and they're very similar. Unless you're cyber-equipped, it's just that you can't see the kind of analogy you could make between the two worlds.


On being equipped to explain computation


30:13: I realized how powerful computation is, and I realized that anyone can explain design better than me. What is something that I'm equipped to do? Oh, I can explain computation. So, I wanted to make a way to explain to any business leader what computation is. Because if they don't understand it, they can't digitally transform.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> 348. Simplifying in the Age of Complexity feat. John Maeda Greg La Blanc 00:45:50 Is it possible to simplify life without losing the comfort and complexity that enriches it? John Maeda, vice president of artificial intelligence and design at Microsoft, has been writing about the intersection of design, technology, business, and life for years. His book, The Laws of Simplicity, explores the question of needing less while still getting something more. He and Greg discuss some of the pivotal moments in John’s career, how his view of design changed over the course of writing The Laws of Simplicity, and the aspects of business education that could use some tweaking. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is it possible to simplify life without losing the comfort and complexity that enriches it? John Maeda, vice president of artificial intelligence and design at Microsoft, has been writing about the intersection of design, technology, business, and life for years. His book, The Laws of Simplicity, explores the question of needing less while still getting something more. He and Greg discuss some of the pivotal moments in John’s career, how his view of design changed over the course of writing The Laws of Simplicity, and the aspects of business education that could use some tweaking. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 348 834611a5-aad6-43e7-98f5-3b01ab73bd80 347. Research vs Teaching: The Tug of War in Education feat. Jonathan Zimmerman Will the subjects we debate in education still be relevant a century from now? There are enduring controversies and tensions in education that continue even today.


Jonathan Zimmerman is a professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and also the author of a number of books in the field of Education History. His latest work is Whose America?: Culture Wars in the Public Schools, and he is also the author of The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America. 


Jonathan and Greg discuss the dichotomy between research and teaching in the Higher Education system, unravel the implications of student evaluations, the necessity for peer review of teaching, and how the dynamics of teaching and learning, as relationship-based activities, leave a lasting impact on lives.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


What is the most effective way of teaching?


20:56: There's been a growing body of research about effective teaching, and there's a pretty strong and robust consensus about what's most effective, and the most effective teaching is the teaching that engages people in their own learning, right? It creates activities that very specifically require the students to ask and answer questions in the way the discipline does. So, the best history course makes people behave like historians, and the best chemistry course makes people behave like chemists. Now, if they've been socialized to sit there and do not a whole lot, they may bridle at that. That's life. Maybe I would, too, if I were them. But look, if our knowledge and professional authority means anything, it means that we know some things they don't, right? And one of the things we know is that they'll learn more if they are engaged in the questions of the discipline. And I think there are many good ways to do that, by the way.


Is education always political?


02:20: We're always going to have controversies around education because education is where we decide who we are. Education is the realm in which the people of a nation decide what the nation means and where they stand vis-à-vis it. So it's always political, it's always contentious, and we will always argue about it.


History as a moral discipline


59:09: I think history is a moral discipline. That's what it is: a bunch of stories, but these stories are morality plays in a very real way. And when these institutions we work at started, it was taken for granted that the faculty were in the business of trying to make better people. That was just a prima facie assumption.


Why do we have to be in the same room?


30:13: Why do we have to be in the same room? And I ask that of my students all the time. And I tell them, if I am just going to talk to you, I think I could just be on a screen. There's got to be something else. There's got to be some exchange. There's got to be some activity. If I'm just going to draw at you, you might as well replace me with a computer, but I think that should be the question that every single faculty member is required to answer. And there are many good answers, but you shouldn't be able to evade the question. Why are we in the same room? That should be the question in the frontal lobes of everybody, because we don't have to be.


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

]]> Mon, 23 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Will the subjects we debate in education still be relevant a century from now? There are enduring controversies and tensions in education that continue even today.


Jonathan Zimmerman is a professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and also the author of a number of books in the field of Education History. His latest work is Whose America?: Culture Wars in the Public Schools, and he is also the author of The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America. 


Jonathan and Greg discuss the dichotomy between research and teaching in the Higher Education system, unravel the implications of student evaluations, the necessity for peer review of teaching, and how the dynamics of teaching and learning, as relationship-based activities, leave a lasting impact on lives.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


What is the most effective way of teaching?


20:56: There's been a growing body of research about effective teaching, and there's a pretty strong and robust consensus about what's most effective, and the most effective teaching is the teaching that engages people in their own learning, right? It creates activities that very specifically require the students to ask and answer questions in the way the discipline does. So, the best history course makes people behave like historians, and the best chemistry course makes people behave like chemists. Now, if they've been socialized to sit there and do not a whole lot, they may bridle at that. That's life. Maybe I would, too, if I were them. But look, if our knowledge and professional authority means anything, it means that we know some things they don't, right? And one of the things we know is that they'll learn more if they are engaged in the questions of the discipline. And I think there are many good ways to do that, by the way.


Is education always political?


02:20: We're always going to have controversies around education because education is where we decide who we are. Education is the realm in which the people of a nation decide what the nation means and where they stand vis-à-vis it. So it's always political, it's always contentious, and we will always argue about it.


History as a moral discipline


59:09: I think history is a moral discipline. That's what it is: a bunch of stories, but these stories are morality plays in a very real way. And when these institutions we work at started, it was taken for granted that the faculty were in the business of trying to make better people. That was just a prima facie assumption.


Why do we have to be in the same room?


30:13: Why do we have to be in the same room? And I ask that of my students all the time. And I tell them, if I am just going to talk to you, I think I could just be on a screen. There's got to be something else. There's got to be some exchange. There's got to be some activity. If I'm just going to draw at you, you might as well replace me with a computer, but I think that should be the question that every single faculty member is required to answer. And there are many good answers, but you shouldn't be able to evade the question. Why are we in the same room? That should be the question in the frontal lobes of everybody, because we don't have to be.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> 347. Research vs Teaching: The Tug of War in Education feat. Jonathan Zimmerman Greg La Blanc 01:02:15 Will the subjects we debate in education still be relevant a century from now? There are enduring controversies and tensions in education that continue even today. Jonathan Zimmerman is a professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and also the author of a number of books in the field of Education History. His latest work is Whose America?: Culture Wars in the Public Schools, and he is also the author of The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America. Jonathan and Greg discuss the dichotomy between research and teaching in the Higher Education system, unravel the implications of student evaluations, the necessity for peer review of teaching, and how the dynamics of teaching and learning, as relationship-based activities, leave a lasting impact on lives. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Will the subjects we debate in education still be relevant a century from now? There are enduring controversies and tensions in education that continue even today. Jonathan Zimmerman is a professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and also the author of a number of books in the field of Education History. His latest work is Whose America?: Culture Wars in the Public Schools, and he is also the author of The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America. Jonathan and Greg discuss the dichotomy between research and teaching in the Higher Education system, unravel the implications of student evaluations, the necessity for peer review of teaching, and how the dynamics of teaching and learning, as relationship-based activities, leave a lasting impact on lives. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 347 c5faf7f1-f748-44cb-bf96-c819e3203aec 346. A History of The American Corporation feat. Richard N. Langlois What technological and societal factors led to the rise of the large corporation in 20th-century America?


Richard N. Langlois is an economics professor at the University of Connecticut and the author of the book The Corporation and the Twentieth Century: The History of American Business Enterprise. His work examines the economics of organizations, business history, and theories of firm performance and innovation. 


Richard and Greg discuss the rise and fall of the managerial era in American corporations, common misconceptions about antitrust laws, and companies’ influence on the political system. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Why does Schumpeterian innovation work?


47:35: In the real world, you have to learn how to produce things. And that knowledge is private information most of the time. And so, you learn how to make a car a certain way… [48:09] So, if you're always spending your time looking for new ideas, you're not going to get good at the things you're doing, or you can focus on the things that you're doing and get good at them, but then you're going to be bad at looking around…But in the end, I think it's the case that if you get really good at one thing, like operating systems or big office computing systems, just the fact of getting good at that, it's going to make it hard for you to be good at other things, especially at other things that are different from what you're doing because there's a lot of barriers there. 


The threat of antitrust can influence organizational decisions


34:57: The threat of antitrust or other public policies can influence organizational division decisions inside a firm, often in ways that are inefficient or that maybe aren't the best way to do things.


Do big firms control the government?


50:22: Companies are very good at influencing the government when some narrow thing really affects them, like a tariff on something. But influencing the government in some general way—what the results show is that companies don't care. They'll give money to whoever's going to leave them alone.


On considering how exogenous factors influence organizations, not just internal factors.


05:43: We need to think more about the ways in which these exogenous factors influence internal organizations instead of only thinking about organization from an internal point of view. So, how do we organize? How do we manage? How should we structure it? We also want to think about what the external constraints on organizational forms are. It may lead us to create organizational forms that aren't the kinds that we would have chosen in a perfect world.


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]]> Fri, 20 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What technological and societal factors led to the rise of the large corporation in 20th-century America?


Richard N. Langlois is an economics professor at the University of Connecticut and the author of the book The Corporation and the Twentieth Century: The History of American Business Enterprise. His work examines the economics of organizations, business history, and theories of firm performance and innovation. 


Richard and Greg discuss the rise and fall of the managerial era in American corporations, common misconceptions about antitrust laws, and companies’ influence on the political system. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Why does Schumpeterian innovation work?


47:35: In the real world, you have to learn how to produce things. And that knowledge is private information most of the time. And so, you learn how to make a car a certain way… [48:09] So, if you're always spending your time looking for new ideas, you're not going to get good at the things you're doing, or you can focus on the things that you're doing and get good at them, but then you're going to be bad at looking around…But in the end, I think it's the case that if you get really good at one thing, like operating systems or big office computing systems, just the fact of getting good at that, it's going to make it hard for you to be good at other things, especially at other things that are different from what you're doing because there's a lot of barriers there. 


The threat of antitrust can influence organizational decisions


34:57: The threat of antitrust or other public policies can influence organizational division decisions inside a firm, often in ways that are inefficient or that maybe aren't the best way to do things.


Do big firms control the government?


50:22: Companies are very good at influencing the government when some narrow thing really affects them, like a tariff on something. But influencing the government in some general way—what the results show is that companies don't care. They'll give money to whoever's going to leave them alone.


On considering how exogenous factors influence organizations, not just internal factors.


05:43: We need to think more about the ways in which these exogenous factors influence internal organizations instead of only thinking about organization from an internal point of view. So, how do we organize? How do we manage? How should we structure it? We also want to think about what the external constraints on organizational forms are. It may lead us to create organizational forms that aren't the kinds that we would have chosen in a perfect world.


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

]]> 346. A History of The American Corporation feat. Richard N. Langlois Greg La Blanc 00:58:24 What technological and societal factors led to the rise of the large corporation in 20th-century America? Richard N. Langlois is an economics professor at the University of Connecticut and the author of the book The Corporation and the Twentieth Century: The History of American Business Enterprise. His work examines the economics of organizations, business history, and theories of firm performance and innovation. Richard and Greg discuss the rise and fall of the managerial era in American corporations, common misconceptions about antitrust laws, and companies’ influence on the political system. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What technological and societal factors led to the rise of the large corporation in 20th-century America? Richard N. Langlois is an economics professor at the University of Connecticut and the author of the book The Corporation and the Twentieth Century: The History of American Business Enterprise. His work examines the economics of organizations, business history, and theories of firm performance and innovation. Richard and Greg discuss the rise and fall of the managerial era in American corporations, common misconceptions about antitrust laws, and companies’ influence on the political system. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 346 c4eca358-348d-4be2-85f1-0fe73f92f909 345. The Delicate Dance of Communication feat. Matt Abrahams Do you find communication a necessary evil rather than a tool for success? How can you use communication as a fundamental key to success in both your personal and professional lives?


Matt Abrahams is a Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, podcaster, and author. His latest book is Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot. 


Matt and Greg dissect the difference between rehearsed and spontaneous communication, demonstrating how mastering both is within reach and discuss the pivotal role of mindset and attitude in the journey to effective communication. Matt gives insight on both providing and receiving feedback, and they explore how communication styles and preferences change between eras and age groups. Matt reveals how stories and structures enhance communication and how anyone can get better at communication with practice.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Is there a universally 'correct' way to communicate?


16:52: There is no one right way to communicate. There are better ways and worse ways, but no one right way. And when you put pressure on yourself to do it right, however you define that, you actually almost guarantee you will do it more poorly. Why? Your brain is like a computer. It's not a perfect analogy, but for this, it works. You only have so much processing power. You only have so much bandwidth. And if part of your bandwidth is being exercised by evaluating what you're doing, as you're doing it, the entire time you're doing it, you have less bandwidth to focus on what you're saying. So, I'm not saying we don't judge and evaluate our communication—you must. But if we can turn that volume down a little bit and just allow ourselves to do what comes naturally, we will typically do better because we have more bandwidth to focus on what we're doing.


A structure is not a script, it’s a roadmap


37:11: Structure is not about memorizing and hitting certain points; it's about directionality, and that can be helpful. And I'm not saying every communication needs to be structured in this way. But for people who are nervous and are novice to the particular circumstances they're in, having a structure helps you get through that communication.


On setting up an environment where people are comfortable communicatin


19:17: I firmly believe that we need to hear from as many people as we can to make good decisions. So it is incumbent on those of us in leadership roles—those of us who are teachers, parents—to set up environments where people feel comfortable. And what that means is to encourage people speaking, to listen when they speak, and to make sure that you prize people exploring ideas so you don't shut them down. You don't make people feel bad when they make mistakes. We have to actually set those environments up, and it is incumbent on all of us in positions of status and power to do that, and you do that partially by saying it but, more importantly, by demonstrating it.


What are the three parts of goals?


15:163: A goal has three parts: know, feel, do. You should say, "What is it I want people to know? How do I want them to feel? What is it I might want them to do?" As an intention going into a spontaneous speaking situation, but I don't do as politicians and some business leaders are coached to just morph everything to my goal. I think that leads to some of this disingenuous interaction. So I think it is possible to be goal-driven. I think it is possible to be authentic and, at the same time, spontaneous, adjust, and adapt. But that comes with practice and a little bit of letting go of the pressure we put on ourselves to do these things so right. And it's that pressure that can also make it feel artificial and inauthentic.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Do you find communication a necessary evil rather than a tool for success? How can you use communication as a fundamental key to success in both your personal and professional lives?


Matt Abrahams is a Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, podcaster, and author. His latest book is Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot. 


Matt and Greg dissect the difference between rehearsed and spontaneous communication, demonstrating how mastering both is within reach and discuss the pivotal role of mindset and attitude in the journey to effective communication. Matt gives insight on both providing and receiving feedback, and they explore how communication styles and preferences change between eras and age groups. Matt reveals how stories and structures enhance communication and how anyone can get better at communication with practice.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Is there a universally 'correct' way to communicate?


16:52: There is no one right way to communicate. There are better ways and worse ways, but no one right way. And when you put pressure on yourself to do it right, however you define that, you actually almost guarantee you will do it more poorly. Why? Your brain is like a computer. It's not a perfect analogy, but for this, it works. You only have so much processing power. You only have so much bandwidth. And if part of your bandwidth is being exercised by evaluating what you're doing, as you're doing it, the entire time you're doing it, you have less bandwidth to focus on what you're saying. So, I'm not saying we don't judge and evaluate our communication—you must. But if we can turn that volume down a little bit and just allow ourselves to do what comes naturally, we will typically do better because we have more bandwidth to focus on what we're doing.


A structure is not a script, it’s a roadmap


37:11: Structure is not about memorizing and hitting certain points; it's about directionality, and that can be helpful. And I'm not saying every communication needs to be structured in this way. But for people who are nervous and are novice to the particular circumstances they're in, having a structure helps you get through that communication.


On setting up an environment where people are comfortable communicatin


19:17: I firmly believe that we need to hear from as many people as we can to make good decisions. So it is incumbent on those of us in leadership roles—those of us who are teachers, parents—to set up environments where people feel comfortable. And what that means is to encourage people speaking, to listen when they speak, and to make sure that you prize people exploring ideas so you don't shut them down. You don't make people feel bad when they make mistakes. We have to actually set those environments up, and it is incumbent on all of us in positions of status and power to do that, and you do that partially by saying it but, more importantly, by demonstrating it.


What are the three parts of goals?


15:163: A goal has three parts: know, feel, do. You should say, "What is it I want people to know? How do I want them to feel? What is it I might want them to do?" As an intention going into a spontaneous speaking situation, but I don't do as politicians and some business leaders are coached to just morph everything to my goal. I think that leads to some of this disingenuous interaction. So I think it is possible to be goal-driven. I think it is possible to be authentic and, at the same time, spontaneous, adjust, and adapt. But that comes with practice and a little bit of letting go of the pressure we put on ourselves to do these things so right. And it's that pressure that can also make it feel artificial and inauthentic.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 345. The Delicate Dance of Communication feat. Matt Abrahams Greg La Blanc 00:50:48 Do you find communication a necessary evil rather than a tool for success? How can you use communication as a fundamental key to success in both your personal and professional lives? Matt Abrahams is a Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, podcaster, and author. His latest book is Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot. Matt and Greg dissect the difference between rehearsed and spontaneous communication, demonstrating how mastering both is within reach and discuss the pivotal role of mindset and attitude in the journey to effective communication. Matt gives insight on both providing and receiving feedback, and they explore how communication styles and preferences change between eras and age groups. Matt reveals how stories and structures enhance communication and how anyone can get better at communication with practice. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM. Do you find communication a necessary evil rather than a tool for success? How can you use communication as a fundamental key to success in both your personal and professional lives? Matt Abrahams is a Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, podcaster, and author. His latest book is Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot. Matt and Greg dissect the difference between rehearsed and spontaneous communication, demonstrating how mastering both is within reach and discuss the pivotal role of mindset and attitude in the journey to effective communication. Matt gives insight on both providing and receiving feedback, and they explore how communication styles and preferences change between eras and age groups. Matt reveals how stories and structures enhance communication and how anyone can get better at communication with practice. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM. false full 345 31ac8c6a-ad7c-4731-b252-5f3ed393b4f4 344. The Philosophy of Empathy feat. Heidi L. Maibom Many scholars and philosophers have taken the stance that empathy hinders the true pursuit of knowledge and justice. But our guest today takes the opposite approach.


Heidi L. Maibom is a professor of philosophy at the University of Cincinnati and the University of the Basque Country. Her book, The Space Between: How Empathy Really Works, argues that not only is empathy indispensable, but it's impossible to acquire knowledge about this world and ourselves without it. 


She and Greg discuss the place empathy occupies in philosophy, the different types of perspectives that go along with empathizing, and whether or not it's possible to have too much empathy. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Empathy is many things


44:18: Empathy is many things, and that's partly why I find it distressing to read so many dismissals of empathy which focus on it as one thing. Either you have to understand the other person entirely—their entire history, their experiences, and so forth and so on. Of course we can't empathize in that way. Or you are empathizing with them as an act of "I know better than you," and so forth. We're empathizing with people for all kinds of reasons. It's important to appreciate that and also to then focus your empathy in the right way, depending on what kind of project you're engaging.


Does empathy require identification?


21:08: Empathy requires some amount of identification. But the identification is interesting because, in essence, what you're trying to do is map the other person's subjectivity onto your own. That's why you have to find a situation of your own that you have experience with to map that situation on. But at the same time, of course, you have to be aware of the ways in which you differ from the other person.


Can you have too much empathy?


49:05: People who are empathetic are more vulnerable to exploitation from others, to gaslighting perhaps, right? So, being empathetic comes with dangers and advantages. But I think that if we try to go back to this notion of the shape of subjectivity, being how I experience things as the one who acts and who thinks and so forth, then I think that when you then try to understand yourself, taking the perspective, as it were, from the inside, taking a perspective from the outside, as little engaged with yourself as you can be, as it were, and then if you are in a particular interaction with somebody else, the victim or the perpetrator perspective, in addition.


How does philosophy of emotions tie with philosophy of empathy?


36:02: There's a tremendous amount of information that we can derive from a successful act of emotionally empathizing with someone. And more information than from simply empathizing with a thought or thinking, okay, here is exactly what they're thinking. I think emotions are richer. It just gives us more information, and there's important aspects to an emotion, namely from the perspective of closeness with another person, from feeling understood, just seeing that another person is emoting. It's incredibly important, but there's also all this information that we shouldn't ignore that is really crucial and very helpful for understanding this. 


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Many scholars and philosophers have taken the stance that empathy hinders the true pursuit of knowledge and justice. But our guest today takes the opposite approach.


Heidi L. Maibom is a professor of philosophy at the University of Cincinnati and the University of the Basque Country. Her book, The Space Between: How Empathy Really Works, argues that not only is empathy indispensable, but it's impossible to acquire knowledge about this world and ourselves without it. 


She and Greg discuss the place empathy occupies in philosophy, the different types of perspectives that go along with empathizing, and whether or not it's possible to have too much empathy. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Empathy is many things


44:18: Empathy is many things, and that's partly why I find it distressing to read so many dismissals of empathy which focus on it as one thing. Either you have to understand the other person entirely—their entire history, their experiences, and so forth and so on. Of course we can't empathize in that way. Or you are empathizing with them as an act of "I know better than you," and so forth. We're empathizing with people for all kinds of reasons. It's important to appreciate that and also to then focus your empathy in the right way, depending on what kind of project you're engaging.


Does empathy require identification?


21:08: Empathy requires some amount of identification. But the identification is interesting because, in essence, what you're trying to do is map the other person's subjectivity onto your own. That's why you have to find a situation of your own that you have experience with to map that situation on. But at the same time, of course, you have to be aware of the ways in which you differ from the other person.


Can you have too much empathy?


49:05: People who are empathetic are more vulnerable to exploitation from others, to gaslighting perhaps, right? So, being empathetic comes with dangers and advantages. But I think that if we try to go back to this notion of the shape of subjectivity, being how I experience things as the one who acts and who thinks and so forth, then I think that when you then try to understand yourself, taking the perspective, as it were, from the inside, taking a perspective from the outside, as little engaged with yourself as you can be, as it were, and then if you are in a particular interaction with somebody else, the victim or the perpetrator perspective, in addition.


How does philosophy of emotions tie with philosophy of empathy?


36:02: There's a tremendous amount of information that we can derive from a successful act of emotionally empathizing with someone. And more information than from simply empathizing with a thought or thinking, okay, here is exactly what they're thinking. I think emotions are richer. It just gives us more information, and there's important aspects to an emotion, namely from the perspective of closeness with another person, from feeling understood, just seeing that another person is emoting. It's incredibly important, but there's also all this information that we shouldn't ignore that is really crucial and very helpful for understanding this. 


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 344. The Philosophy of Empathy feat. Heidi L. Maibom Greg La Blanc 00:51:33 Many scholars and philosophers have taken the stance that empathy hinders the true pursuit of knowledge and justice. But our guest today takes the opposite approach. Heidi L. Maibom is a professor of philosophy at the University of Cincinnati and the University of the Basque Country. Her book, The Space Between: How Empathy Really Works, argues that not only is empathy indispensable, but it's impossible to acquire knowledge about this world and ourselves without it. She and Greg discuss the place empathy occupies in philosophy, the different types of perspectives that go along with empathizing, and whether or not it's possible to have too much empathy. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Many scholars and philosophers have taken the stance that empathy hinders the true pursuit of knowledge and justice. But our guest today takes the opposite approach. Heidi L. Maibom is a professor of philosophy at the University of Cincinnati and the University of the Basque Country. Her book, The Space Between: How Empathy Really Works, argues that not only is empathy indispensable, but it's impossible to acquire knowledge about this world and ourselves without it. She and Greg discuss the place empathy occupies in philosophy, the different types of perspectives that go along with empathizing, and whether or not it's possible to have too much empathy. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 344 097daeaf-119c-42bd-8ac0-6e2c326ea882 343. Shaking Up Wall Street with Disruptive Financial Strategies feat. Scott Patterson Does the financial world need a shake-up? By venturing into the minds of Nassim Taleb and Benoit Mandelbrot, two outliers who challenge the status quo of modern portfolio theory and efficient market hypothesis, we can find groundbreaking theories with implications for the financial sphere, especially in the face of unpredictable "Black Swan" events.


Scott Patterson is a journalist with The Wall Street Journal and also the author of Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis, Dark Pools: The Rise of the Machine Traders and the Rigging of the U.S. Stock Market, and The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It, all of which factor into this episode.


Scott and Greg discuss the financial ups and downs of the stock market and traders who tried to ride the wave or predict when bubbles were going to burst. Scott talks about covering climate change for the Journal and the way it complicates predicting what start-ups will end up on top. Dive into the subtle and sometimes blurry distinctions between investing and gambling and find out what can make a company shut off its computers on this episode of UnSILOed.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Is climate change the big dog in the world of crises?


42:12: Climate change is what I write about in the journal—that's my beat—so I wanted the book (Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis) to be not just about buying out-of- the-money options to protect your portfolio. I wanted it to be broader in terms of thinking about the risks that we face. And that's in the subtitle of the book, The New Age of Crisis, which I try to make an argument that we're entering a world of crises that are manifesting and overlapping more and magnifying the nature of the crisis. Some people call it the polycrisis, and climate, I think, is the big dog in that crisis world.


On the risk of high-speed contagion across markets


36:00: The risk of a high-speed contagion across markets is something we should be concerned about...[36:33] With high-speed trading, I was on the front lines there reporting it. It wasn't a well-known phenomenon. And I found it very alarming that the financial markets evolved into this race to trade microseconds faster than the next guy.


The inconvenient truth of ignoring fat tails


06:55: Nassim [Taleb] one time showed me an email that he'd gotten from a very well-known, respected academic in finance, who conceded to Nassim that, yes, we know that these fat tails exist, but our models don't work if we incorporate them into the models. And that's the problem: if you recognize that there is potential for three, four, five sigma events, then you have to put a fat tail into the model. And that's fine. But as long as the people running trading desks and executives understand that if you have a value-at-risk model, it's not capturing the real risk that you're going to be facing because it carves out 5 percent of the volatility, of the extreme volatility over a year.


Is high-speed computer trading a threat to financial markets?


38:32: In 2020, there were some extremely insane things going on in the markets, and I think probably negative oil prices and bonds. You couldn't buy a Treasury bond or sell a Treasury bond for a while at one point. Not normal. But I think a lot of that was not just an exogenous event: COVID was causing the global economy to seize up, and that moved into financial markets. Central bankers came in and threw a bunch of money at it, and cleaned out the pipes. But this idea of a high-speed computer-driven contagion is something I've always been concerned about, but I don't think we've seen that yet.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 13 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Does the financial world need a shake-up? By venturing into the minds of Nassim Taleb and Benoit Mandelbrot, two outliers who challenge the status quo of modern portfolio theory and efficient market hypothesis, we can find groundbreaking theories with implications for the financial sphere, especially in the face of unpredictable "Black Swan" events.


Scott Patterson is a journalist with The Wall Street Journal and also the author of Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis, Dark Pools: The Rise of the Machine Traders and the Rigging of the U.S. Stock Market, and The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It, all of which factor into this episode.


Scott and Greg discuss the financial ups and downs of the stock market and traders who tried to ride the wave or predict when bubbles were going to burst. Scott talks about covering climate change for the Journal and the way it complicates predicting what start-ups will end up on top. Dive into the subtle and sometimes blurry distinctions between investing and gambling and find out what can make a company shut off its computers on this episode of UnSILOed.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Is climate change the big dog in the world of crises?


42:12: Climate change is what I write about in the journal—that's my beat—so I wanted the book (Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis) to be not just about buying out-of- the-money options to protect your portfolio. I wanted it to be broader in terms of thinking about the risks that we face. And that's in the subtitle of the book, The New Age of Crisis, which I try to make an argument that we're entering a world of crises that are manifesting and overlapping more and magnifying the nature of the crisis. Some people call it the polycrisis, and climate, I think, is the big dog in that crisis world.


On the risk of high-speed contagion across markets


36:00: The risk of a high-speed contagion across markets is something we should be concerned about...[36:33] With high-speed trading, I was on the front lines there reporting it. It wasn't a well-known phenomenon. And I found it very alarming that the financial markets evolved into this race to trade microseconds faster than the next guy.


The inconvenient truth of ignoring fat tails


06:55: Nassim [Taleb] one time showed me an email that he'd gotten from a very well-known, respected academic in finance, who conceded to Nassim that, yes, we know that these fat tails exist, but our models don't work if we incorporate them into the models. And that's the problem: if you recognize that there is potential for three, four, five sigma events, then you have to put a fat tail into the model. And that's fine. But as long as the people running trading desks and executives understand that if you have a value-at-risk model, it's not capturing the real risk that you're going to be facing because it carves out 5 percent of the volatility, of the extreme volatility over a year.


Is high-speed computer trading a threat to financial markets?


38:32: In 2020, there were some extremely insane things going on in the markets, and I think probably negative oil prices and bonds. You couldn't buy a Treasury bond or sell a Treasury bond for a while at one point. Not normal. But I think a lot of that was not just an exogenous event: COVID was causing the global economy to seize up, and that moved into financial markets. Central bankers came in and threw a bunch of money at it, and cleaned out the pipes. But this idea of a high-speed computer-driven contagion is something I've always been concerned about, but I don't think we've seen that yet.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 343. Shaking Up Wall Street with Disruptive Financial Strategies feat. Scott Patterson Greg La Blanc 00:46:04 Does the financial world need a shake-up? By venturing into the minds of Nassim Taleb and Benoit Mandelbrot, two outliers who challenge the status quo of modern portfolio theory and efficient market hypothesis, we can find groundbreaking theories with implications for the financial sphere, especially in the face of unpredictable "Black Swan" events. Scott Patterson is a journalist with The Wall Street Journal and also the author of Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis, Dark Pools: The Rise of the Machine Traders and the Rigging of the U.S. Stock Market, and The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It, all of which factor into this episode. Scott and Greg discuss the financial ups and downs of the stock market and traders who tried to ride the wave or predict when bubbles were going to burst. Scott talks about covering climate change for the Journal and the way it complicates predicting what start-ups will end up on top. Dive into the subtle and sometimes blurry distinctions between investing and gambling and find out what can make a company shut off its computers on this episode of UnSILOed. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Does the financial world need a shake-up? By venturing into the minds of Nassim Taleb and Benoit Mandelbrot, two outliers who challenge the status quo of modern portfolio theory and efficient market hypothesis, we can find groundbreaking theories with implications for the financial sphere, especially in the face of unpredictable "Black Swan" events. Scott Patterson is a journalist with The Wall Street Journal and also the author of Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis, Dark Pools: The Rise of the Machine Traders and the Rigging of the U.S. Stock Market, and The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It, all of which factor into this episode. Scott and Greg discuss the financial ups and downs of the stock market and traders who tried to ride the wave or predict when bubbles were going to burst. Scott talks about covering climate change for the Journal and the way it complicates predicting what start-ups will end up on top. Dive into the subtle and sometimes blurry distinctions between investing and gambling and find out what can make a company shut off its computers on this episode of UnSILOed. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 343 83f68aae-46bd-4af1-b5bf-4db28f678abd 342. Suicide, Addiction, and the Power of Narrative feat. Clancy Martin As we navigate life's challenges, it's crucial we confront the subjects that often remain unspoken out of fear or misunderstanding. Both modern and ancient philosophers have had the wisdom to lead about the tough topics of suicide and addiction, and the nature of their complexities can be informed by both philosophy and science.


Clancy Martin, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at the University of Missouri Kansas City and also the author of several books in both the categories of fiction and nonfiction. His latest nonfiction work is titled How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind, and Clancy talks with Greg about this book as well as his previous nonfiction work Love and Lies: An Essay on Truthfulness, Deceit, and the Growth and Care of Erotic Love, and several of his fiction titles.


Clancy shares his personal experiences with the complexities of suicidal ideation and its relationship with addiction, illuminating the power of narrative in preventing suicide and fostering understanding. They also dive into the Christian and Buddhist perspectives on suicide and suffering to examine these concepts from the lens of religion, and Clancy shares personal stories of how his work has directly affected the lives of others.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Distraction as a lifesaving tool


17:42: When a person is in a moment of real crisis, right on the brink, I think distraction and busyness can be very helpful. The reason I think it can be helpful is that when you're really in that moment of crisis, where you're thinking about taking your own life and maybe about to do it…[18:18]your thinking at that point is not clear at all. So, in advance of that moment, if you know you're predisposed to this, you should have some strategies in place to distract yourself. And distraction at that point, I think, is a fantastic tool. You should get up and take a walk. You should text a friend. You should consider calling a number like 988, a mental health line. You need to recognize and you need to open your blinders a little bit so you can see that there are other options. You need to lessen the pressure a little bit and ease the pain a little bit, because you're not thinking clearly.


Do we take our senses for granted until we lose them?


20:39: You can't really love other human beings until you start engaging with these meaning-of-life questions, which require tremendous courage and do require you to turn away from constantly distracting yourself.


Is addiction a way to escape intimacy and vulnerability?


35:17: An addiction is just this way of running away, of escaping from the terrible, scary vulnerability that comes with intimacy, and ultimately, from the fact that your life really does have meaning and is really important. But it's a frightening thought, actually. The more you think about that thought, that your life is really, really important as a function of its interaction with other people's lives, that is scary, and maybe ought to be a little bit scary, but being willing to embrace that scariness.


The truth about addiction


17:42: The more we think about all of these little addictions we have, the more we might have a tendency to recognize that they are ways of running away from ourselves rather than ways of accepting ourselves. And the person who attempts suicide is just kind of on the extreme end of that scale.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As we navigate life's challenges, it's crucial we confront the subjects that often remain unspoken out of fear or misunderstanding. Both modern and ancient philosophers have had the wisdom to lead about the tough topics of suicide and addiction, and the nature of their complexities can be informed by both philosophy and science.


Clancy Martin, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at the University of Missouri Kansas City and also the author of several books in both the categories of fiction and nonfiction. His latest nonfiction work is titled How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind, and Clancy talks with Greg about this book as well as his previous nonfiction work Love and Lies: An Essay on Truthfulness, Deceit, and the Growth and Care of Erotic Love, and several of his fiction titles.


Clancy shares his personal experiences with the complexities of suicidal ideation and its relationship with addiction, illuminating the power of narrative in preventing suicide and fostering understanding. They also dive into the Christian and Buddhist perspectives on suicide and suffering to examine these concepts from the lens of religion, and Clancy shares personal stories of how his work has directly affected the lives of others.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Distraction as a lifesaving tool


17:42: When a person is in a moment of real crisis, right on the brink, I think distraction and busyness can be very helpful. The reason I think it can be helpful is that when you're really in that moment of crisis, where you're thinking about taking your own life and maybe about to do it…[18:18]your thinking at that point is not clear at all. So, in advance of that moment, if you know you're predisposed to this, you should have some strategies in place to distract yourself. And distraction at that point, I think, is a fantastic tool. You should get up and take a walk. You should text a friend. You should consider calling a number like 988, a mental health line. You need to recognize and you need to open your blinders a little bit so you can see that there are other options. You need to lessen the pressure a little bit and ease the pain a little bit, because you're not thinking clearly.


Do we take our senses for granted until we lose them?


20:39: You can't really love other human beings until you start engaging with these meaning-of-life questions, which require tremendous courage and do require you to turn away from constantly distracting yourself.


Is addiction a way to escape intimacy and vulnerability?


35:17: An addiction is just this way of running away, of escaping from the terrible, scary vulnerability that comes with intimacy, and ultimately, from the fact that your life really does have meaning and is really important. But it's a frightening thought, actually. The more you think about that thought, that your life is really, really important as a function of its interaction with other people's lives, that is scary, and maybe ought to be a little bit scary, but being willing to embrace that scariness.


The truth about addiction


17:42: The more we think about all of these little addictions we have, the more we might have a tendency to recognize that they are ways of running away from ourselves rather than ways of accepting ourselves. And the person who attempts suicide is just kind of on the extreme end of that scale.


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]]> 342. Suicide, Addiction, and the Power of Narrative feat. Clancy Martin Greg La Blanc 00:56:02 As we navigate life's challenges, it's crucial we confront the subjects that often remain unspoken out of fear or misunderstanding. Both modern and ancient philosophers have had the wisdom to lead about the tough topics of suicide and addiction, and the nature of their complexities can be informed by both philosophy and science. Clancy Martin, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at the University of Missouri Kansas City and also the author of several books in both the categories of fiction and nonfiction. His latest nonfiction work is titled How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind, and Clancy talks with Greg about this book as well as his previous nonfiction work Love and Lies: An Essay on Truthfulness, Deceit, and the Growth and Care of Erotic Love, and several of his fiction titles. Clancy shares his personal experiences with the complexities of suicidal ideation and its relationship with addiction, illuminating the power of narrative in preventing suicide and fostering understanding. They also dive into the Christian and Buddhist perspectives on suicide and suffering to examine these concepts from the lens of religion, and Clancy shares personal stories of how his work has directly affected the lives of others. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* As we navigate life's challenges, it's crucial we confront the subjects that often remain unspoken out of fear or misunderstanding. Both modern and ancient philosophers have had the wisdom to lead about the tough topics of suicide and addiction, and the nature of their complexities can be informed by both philosophy and science. Clancy Martin, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at the University of Missouri Kansas City and also the author of several books in both the categories of fiction and nonfiction. His latest nonfiction work is titled How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind, and Clancy talks with Greg about this book as well as his previous nonfiction work Love and Lies: An Essay on Truthfulness, Deceit, and the Growth and Care of Erotic Love, and several of his fiction titles. Clancy shares his personal experiences with the complexities of suicidal ideation and its relationship with addiction, illuminating the power of narrative in preventing suicide and fostering understanding. They also dive into the Christian and Buddhist perspectives on suicide and suffering to examine these concepts from the lens of religion, and Clancy shares personal stories of how his work has directly affected the lives of others. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 342 1991e6c6-7a5f-485b-afe6-56662c4849fd 341. How Art and Philosophy are Critically Intertwined feat. Alva Noë Humans are creatures of habit. We have habits for talking, eating, walking, sleeping–we don’t question these habits; much of it happens on autopilot. But it’s through art and philosophy that allows us to take a step back from those habits and examine them in a meaningful way.


This is the argument that Alva Noë, professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley, makes in his book The Entanglement: How Art and Philosophy Make Us What We Are. He’s also written a number of books that tackle philosophical questions surrounding how humans interact with the world, like Action in Perception and Learning to Look: Dispatches from the Art World. 


Alva and Greg discuss how art and philosophy help us break free from the habits we’re saddled with, what’s really happening in the brain when we deem something “aesthetic,” and what it means to truly see the world. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Philosophy and life are entangled


19:49: I think philosophy happens throughout our lives. It happens not only in the law, it happens in the laboratory, and it probably happens in your discussions with your partner at the dinner table sometimes. Art [and] philosophy is a moment in our thought processes. So, in a way, I want to say that there is all the difference in the world between business as usual and the work of philosophy and art. But outside in the wild of our lives, whether our legal lives, our political lives, our social lives, our family lives, there’s lots of opportunities for art and philosophy.


There is no STEM without art and philosophy


06:23: Art and philosophy are really important, and they are important in ways that the popular ideas in our civilization at the moment about the preeminence of science, technology, engineering, and math, this kind of STEM worldview really misses the point. There is no STEM without art and philosophy.


Language isn't an automatic thing that we do following the rules blindly


38:39: To be a language user is to have resources for coping with problems that arise in the course of that activity: misunderstandings, needs for clarifications, demands for repetitions, or justifications. So, to be a speaker is not just to do this kind of automatic thing. It's to be able to reflect on what we're doing. So, the ability to reflect is presupposed at the ground level. See, this is why I want to resist the hierarchy idea because there are two levels. There's the use of language, and there's the reflection about language. But it turns out that the ability to be a user of language presupposes that you're also able to reflect on language.


Great philosophers start debates


13:36: What makes a philosopher a great philosopher? Not that they landed on the truth, and we all know it, but rather that they started a debate that we're still having. That's what greatness is. So, as a philosopher, I'm very interested in what is the value of these non-utilitarian things that are so important to us. Why are they so important to us? And, that's where I want to say, actually, they are opportunities for us to finally grow and change and not just be trapped by the habits of culture, by the ways of doing things.


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

]]> Mon, 9 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Humans are creatures of habit. We have habits for talking, eating, walking, sleeping–we don’t question these habits; much of it happens on autopilot. But it’s through art and philosophy that allows us to take a step back from those habits and examine them in a meaningful way.


This is the argument that Alva Noë, professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley, makes in his book The Entanglement: How Art and Philosophy Make Us What We Are. He’s also written a number of books that tackle philosophical questions surrounding how humans interact with the world, like Action in Perception and Learning to Look: Dispatches from the Art World. 


Alva and Greg discuss how art and philosophy help us break free from the habits we’re saddled with, what’s really happening in the brain when we deem something “aesthetic,” and what it means to truly see the world. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Philosophy and life are entangled


19:49: I think philosophy happens throughout our lives. It happens not only in the law, it happens in the laboratory, and it probably happens in your discussions with your partner at the dinner table sometimes. Art [and] philosophy is a moment in our thought processes. So, in a way, I want to say that there is all the difference in the world between business as usual and the work of philosophy and art. But outside in the wild of our lives, whether our legal lives, our political lives, our social lives, our family lives, there’s lots of opportunities for art and philosophy.


There is no STEM without art and philosophy


06:23: Art and philosophy are really important, and they are important in ways that the popular ideas in our civilization at the moment about the preeminence of science, technology, engineering, and math, this kind of STEM worldview really misses the point. There is no STEM without art and philosophy.


Language isn't an automatic thing that we do following the rules blindly


38:39: To be a language user is to have resources for coping with problems that arise in the course of that activity: misunderstandings, needs for clarifications, demands for repetitions, or justifications. So, to be a speaker is not just to do this kind of automatic thing. It's to be able to reflect on what we're doing. So, the ability to reflect is presupposed at the ground level. See, this is why I want to resist the hierarchy idea because there are two levels. There's the use of language, and there's the reflection about language. But it turns out that the ability to be a user of language presupposes that you're also able to reflect on language.


Great philosophers start debates


13:36: What makes a philosopher a great philosopher? Not that they landed on the truth, and we all know it, but rather that they started a debate that we're still having. That's what greatness is. So, as a philosopher, I'm very interested in what is the value of these non-utilitarian things that are so important to us. Why are they so important to us? And, that's where I want to say, actually, they are opportunities for us to finally grow and change and not just be trapped by the habits of culture, by the ways of doing things.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 341. How Art and Philosophy are Critically Intertwined feat. Alva Noë Greg La Blanc 00:46:50 Humans are creatures of habit. We have habits for talking, eating, walking, sleeping–we don’t question these habits; much of it happens on autopilot. But it’s through art and philosophy that allows us to take a step back from those habits and examine them in a meaningful way. This is the argument that Alva Noë, professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley, makes in his book The Entanglement: How Art and Philosophy Make Us What We Are. He’s also written a number of books that tackle philosophical questions surrounding how humans interact with the world, like Action in Perception and Learning to Look: Dispatches from the Art World. Alva and Greg discuss how art and philosophy help us break free from the habits we’re saddled with, what’s really happening in the brain when we deem something “aesthetic,” and what it means to truly see the world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Humans are creatures of habit. We have habits for talking, eating, walking, sleeping–we don’t question these habits; much of it happens on autopilot. But it’s through art and philosophy that allows us to take a step back from those habits and examine them in a meaningful way. This is the argument that Alva Noë, professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley, makes in his book The Entanglement: How Art and Philosophy Make Us What We Are. He’s also written a number of books that tackle philosophical questions surrounding how humans interact with the world, like Action in Perception and Learning to Look: Dispatches from the Art World. Alva and Greg discuss how art and philosophy help us break free from the habits we’re saddled with, what’s really happening in the brain when we deem something “aesthetic,” and what it means to truly see the world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 341 e29a2673-d3e9-449d-8e75-10cc993d451f 340. Discovering The True Potential of Human Senses feat. Jackie Higgins What if we haven’t unlocked the true potential of our senses because we simply don't pay enough attention to them? 


Writer and filmmaker Jackie Higgins explores human senses by comparing them to their animal counterparts in her book Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses. Spoiler alert: Human senses are far more powerful than we give them credit for, and there’s a lot more than just five. 


Jackie and Greg discuss how culture impacts the way we perceive the world, examples of animals that have similar senses to ours, and certain case studies that show how humans could refine their senses to be much more powerful than previously thought.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


On the two types of touch


19:34: I split touch into two types of touch, two big headings of touch. One of them is the discriminative touch. This idea that you take a walnut and roll it around in your hand. And you can feel its roughness, and you can feel the corrugations, and you can feel the size of it, and you can feel the curves. And if you perhaps put it in your pocket, you can feel your fingers being stretched, the skin being stretched by it. Different senses for discriminative touch will be involved in that. But, there is another sense of touch called affective or emotional touch. And I was expecting touch to be quite a pedestrian story. I thought I knew a lot about touch, and I was completely blown away by how little we know about touch.


Culture's influence on perception


04:02: If your language and culture imbue a certain way to perceive the world, that's as important as the senses in our bodies firing and sending information to our brain.


Do we take our senses for granted until we lose them?


40:54: Our brain is scooting off in other directions. We're rarely present in the sensory information that the world is giving us at that moment in time...And that was part of the message of the book, which is when you take time, time out. I think if we take time out and focus on these senses, they'll surprise you.


The relationship between our brain and smell perception


10:21: Neuroscientists looking at smell would say that the brain is the place where we may have far fewer receptors, a little bit like the shrimp tail; it's a kind of echo of that. But studies have been done on how good we are at fine-dividing sense, recognizing sense, and following sense. Some scientists at your university had some students stand on their knees following a string dipped in chocolate to see how good they were at being dogs, so they were remarkably good. And we have fewer senses, but yes, our brain—there are very many areas in our brain that are dedicated to figuring out and creating smell perceptions.


Show Links:

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Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 6 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if we haven’t unlocked the true potential of our senses because we simply don't pay enough attention to them? 


Writer and filmmaker Jackie Higgins explores human senses by comparing them to their animal counterparts in her book Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses. Spoiler alert: Human senses are far more powerful than we give them credit for, and there’s a lot more than just five. 


Jackie and Greg discuss how culture impacts the way we perceive the world, examples of animals that have similar senses to ours, and certain case studies that show how humans could refine their senses to be much more powerful than previously thought.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


On the two types of touch


19:34: I split touch into two types of touch, two big headings of touch. One of them is the discriminative touch. This idea that you take a walnut and roll it around in your hand. And you can feel its roughness, and you can feel the corrugations, and you can feel the size of it, and you can feel the curves. And if you perhaps put it in your pocket, you can feel your fingers being stretched, the skin being stretched by it. Different senses for discriminative touch will be involved in that. But, there is another sense of touch called affective or emotional touch. And I was expecting touch to be quite a pedestrian story. I thought I knew a lot about touch, and I was completely blown away by how little we know about touch.


Culture's influence on perception


04:02: If your language and culture imbue a certain way to perceive the world, that's as important as the senses in our bodies firing and sending information to our brain.


Do we take our senses for granted until we lose them?


40:54: Our brain is scooting off in other directions. We're rarely present in the sensory information that the world is giving us at that moment in time...And that was part of the message of the book, which is when you take time, time out. I think if we take time out and focus on these senses, they'll surprise you.


The relationship between our brain and smell perception


10:21: Neuroscientists looking at smell would say that the brain is the place where we may have far fewer receptors, a little bit like the shrimp tail; it's a kind of echo of that. But studies have been done on how good we are at fine-dividing sense, recognizing sense, and following sense. Some scientists at your university had some students stand on their knees following a string dipped in chocolate to see how good they were at being dogs, so they were remarkably good. And we have fewer senses, but yes, our brain—there are very many areas in our brain that are dedicated to figuring out and creating smell perceptions.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 340. Discovering The True Potential of Human Senses feat. Jackie Higgins Greg La Blanc 00:41:40 What if we haven’t unlocked the true potential of our senses because we simply don't pay enough attention to them? Writer and filmmaker Jackie Higgins explores human senses by comparing them to their animal counterparts in her book Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses. Spoiler alert: Human senses are far more powerful than we give them credit for, and there’s a lot more than just five. Jackie and Greg discuss how culture impacts the way we perceive the world, examples of animals that have similar senses to ours, and certain case studies that show how humans could refine their senses to be much more powerful than previously thought. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What if we haven’t unlocked the true potential of our senses because we simply don't pay enough attention to them? Writer and filmmaker Jackie Higgins explores human senses by comparing them to their animal counterparts in her book Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses. Spoiler alert: Human senses are far more powerful than we give them credit for, and there’s a lot more than just five. Jackie and Greg discuss how culture impacts the way we perceive the world, examples of animals that have similar senses to ours, and certain case studies that show how humans could refine their senses to be much more powerful than previously thought. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 340 e69c3ea8-5809-411e-be64-3e856efd5ce9 339. How the Brain Handles Balance and Misinformation feat. Paul Thagard Can you imagine the brain's intricate dance that helps us maintain balance? How does this process connect with vertigo, cognitive decline, and even our emotions and decision-making?


Paul Thagard is a professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo and the author of several books. His latest release is titled Balance: How It Works and What It Means, and next year his new book, Falsehoods Fly: Why Misinformation Spreads and How to Stop It, will be published.


Paul and Greg discuss Paul’s research into the brain and the way it handles certain tasks. Paul sheds light on how balance and nausea are linked and also how misinformation commonly weaves its way into our knowledge base. Learn about the surprising links between vertigo and nausea as he explains how our brains influence our lives in nuanced ways.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Cognition and emotion are constantly integrated


19:09: So, the idea that cognition and emotion are separate in the brain is all wrong. They're constantly integrated, and it's a really good thing because it means that the perceptions that we're doing, the predictions that we're making, the explanations we're coming up, are all tied with the explanations of current ways in which our situation is relevant to our goals. So emotion, instead of just being something that somehow gets in the way of cognition or is extraneous to it, is actually tightly integrated with it, and that's one of the great powers of the human brain.


Is balance conscious?


10:32: Balance is mostly unconscious because almost all the things you do, when you're walking down the street or even just sitting in front of a TV, doesn't involve thinking about it. But when consciousness becomes important, balance breaks.


Misinformation is a major issue in everyday life


58:19: In decision-making and ethics in general, empathy is really important—that is, you've got to be able to put yourself in somebody else's shoes and figure out why they're feeling the way they are. But the solution for this isn't just courses in critical thinking—I never thought of my book on misinformation as being a critical thinking textbook. It's not a textbook at all. But it's a book that I hope will make it clear to people that all these problems of information and misinformation are major issues in everyday life.


Is there something wrong with the way that economists talk about goals?


48:45: The economist's way of talking about goals is just ridiculous. But they think of values as preferences. Well, where do preferences come from? Preferences come from goals and emotions. And so the fundamental idea here is that goals and emotions and preferences are derivative.


Show Links:

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Guest Profile:

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

]]> Wed, 4 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Can you imagine the brain's intricate dance that helps us maintain balance? How does this process connect with vertigo, cognitive decline, and even our emotions and decision-making?


Paul Thagard is a professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo and the author of several books. His latest release is titled Balance: How It Works and What It Means, and next year his new book, Falsehoods Fly: Why Misinformation Spreads and How to Stop It, will be published.


Paul and Greg discuss Paul’s research into the brain and the way it handles certain tasks. Paul sheds light on how balance and nausea are linked and also how misinformation commonly weaves its way into our knowledge base. Learn about the surprising links between vertigo and nausea as he explains how our brains influence our lives in nuanced ways.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Cognition and emotion are constantly integrated


19:09: So, the idea that cognition and emotion are separate in the brain is all wrong. They're constantly integrated, and it's a really good thing because it means that the perceptions that we're doing, the predictions that we're making, the explanations we're coming up, are all tied with the explanations of current ways in which our situation is relevant to our goals. So emotion, instead of just being something that somehow gets in the way of cognition or is extraneous to it, is actually tightly integrated with it, and that's one of the great powers of the human brain.


Is balance conscious?


10:32: Balance is mostly unconscious because almost all the things you do, when you're walking down the street or even just sitting in front of a TV, doesn't involve thinking about it. But when consciousness becomes important, balance breaks.


Misinformation is a major issue in everyday life


58:19: In decision-making and ethics in general, empathy is really important—that is, you've got to be able to put yourself in somebody else's shoes and figure out why they're feeling the way they are. But the solution for this isn't just courses in critical thinking—I never thought of my book on misinformation as being a critical thinking textbook. It's not a textbook at all. But it's a book that I hope will make it clear to people that all these problems of information and misinformation are major issues in everyday life.


Is there something wrong with the way that economists talk about goals?


48:45: The economist's way of talking about goals is just ridiculous. But they think of values as preferences. Well, where do preferences come from? Preferences come from goals and emotions. And so the fundamental idea here is that goals and emotions and preferences are derivative.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 339. How the Brain Handles Balance and Misinformation feat. Paul Thagard Greg La Blanc 00:57:52 Can you imagine the brain's intricate dance that helps us maintain balance? How does this process connect with vertigo, cognitive decline, and even our emotions and decision-making? Paul Thagard is a professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo and the author of several books. His latest release is titled Balance: How It Works and What It Means, and next year his new book, Falsehoods Fly: Why Misinformation Spreads and How to Stop It, will be published. Paul and Greg discuss Paul’s research into the brain and the way it handles certain tasks. Paul sheds light on how balance and nausea are linked and also how misinformation commonly weaves its way into our knowledge base. Learn about the surprising links between vertigo and nausea as he explains how our brains influence our lives in nuanced ways. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Can you imagine the brain's intricate dance that helps us maintain balance? How does this process connect with vertigo, cognitive decline, and even our emotions and decision-making? Paul Thagard is a professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo and the author of several books. His latest release is titled Balance: How It Works and What It Means, and next year his new book, Falsehoods Fly: Why Misinformation Spreads and How to Stop It, will be published. Paul and Greg discuss Paul’s research into the brain and the way it handles certain tasks. Paul sheds light on how balance and nausea are linked and also how misinformation commonly weaves its way into our knowledge base. Learn about the surprising links between vertigo and nausea as he explains how our brains influence our lives in nuanced ways. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 339 371153c7-77d4-498b-838b-7cd7df2373e9 338. The Rules of Rules feat. Lorraine Daston Where does the concept of rules originate from? And how does that history inform the rules we use to organize society today? 


Lorraine Daston is the director emerita at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and a professor at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought. Her book, Rules: A Short History of What We Live By, takes a wide-encompassing view of rules throughout history, going all the way back to ancient Greek and Roman times. 


Lorraine and Greg discuss thick vs. thin rules, how recipes are some of the oldest forms of rules and the important and complicated role judgment and equity play in the system of rules and laws.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Do people perceive paradigms and rules as inconsistent?


30:27: I think paradigms and models suffer from one problem, which is a political problem, which is the suspicion that discretion inevitably means either favoritism or corruption in the political domain. In the domain of knowledge, they suffer from being foggy. Nobody can explain how we think in terms of models and paradigms. We do it all the time. Our life would be impossible if we did not do it. So we know that we can do it, but we can't explain how we do it. And that makes the philosophically minded profoundly uncomfortable. 


Why are recipes an important genre in the history of knowledge?


09:41: Recipes are amongst the oldest and most mobile of knowledge genres that we know. If you want a genre that travels across continents, centuries, and classes and breaks down the barriers between men and women, it's recipes.


Thick vs. thin rules


19:23: The thick rules are rules that anticipate a high degree of variability and unforeseen circumstances. So they come upholstered even in their articulation with caveats, examples, and exceptions. They warn you that you're going to have to use your judgment in applying these rules…[20:09] The thin rule, on the other hand, is short, usually short, peremptory, and imperative, and it does not anticipate exceptions. This is a rule which is made for a world which is predictable and uniform.


Judgment straddles into two categories


46:50: The problem is that we divide our world into the objective and the subjective, but judgment straddles those two categories. It's possible to give reasons—good reasons, bad reasons, and arguments—for why one judgment should prevail over another. And if we don't exercise that faculty, like any other faculty, atrophy. And my fear is that because judgment discretion is the faculty that dare not speak its name, we are in danger of becoming judgmentally flabby.


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

]]> Mon, 2 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Where does the concept of rules originate from? And how does that history inform the rules we use to organize society today? 


Lorraine Daston is the director emerita at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and a professor at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought. Her book, Rules: A Short History of What We Live By, takes a wide-encompassing view of rules throughout history, going all the way back to ancient Greek and Roman times. 


Lorraine and Greg discuss thick vs. thin rules, how recipes are some of the oldest forms of rules and the important and complicated role judgment and equity play in the system of rules and laws.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Do people perceive paradigms and rules as inconsistent?


30:27: I think paradigms and models suffer from one problem, which is a political problem, which is the suspicion that discretion inevitably means either favoritism or corruption in the political domain. In the domain of knowledge, they suffer from being foggy. Nobody can explain how we think in terms of models and paradigms. We do it all the time. Our life would be impossible if we did not do it. So we know that we can do it, but we can't explain how we do it. And that makes the philosophically minded profoundly uncomfortable. 


Why are recipes an important genre in the history of knowledge?


09:41: Recipes are amongst the oldest and most mobile of knowledge genres that we know. If you want a genre that travels across continents, centuries, and classes and breaks down the barriers between men and women, it's recipes.


Thick vs. thin rules


19:23: The thick rules are rules that anticipate a high degree of variability and unforeseen circumstances. So they come upholstered even in their articulation with caveats, examples, and exceptions. They warn you that you're going to have to use your judgment in applying these rules…[20:09] The thin rule, on the other hand, is short, usually short, peremptory, and imperative, and it does not anticipate exceptions. This is a rule which is made for a world which is predictable and uniform.


Judgment straddles into two categories


46:50: The problem is that we divide our world into the objective and the subjective, but judgment straddles those two categories. It's possible to give reasons—good reasons, bad reasons, and arguments—for why one judgment should prevail over another. And if we don't exercise that faculty, like any other faculty, atrophy. And my fear is that because judgment discretion is the faculty that dare not speak its name, we are in danger of becoming judgmentally flabby.


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]]> 338. The Rules of Rules feat. Lorraine Daston Greg La Blanc 00:53:45 Where does the concept of rules originate from? And how does that history inform the rules we use to organize society today? Lorraine Daston is the director emerita at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and a professor at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought. Her book, Rules: A Short History of What We Live By, takes a wide-encompassing view of rules throughout history, going all the way back to ancient Greek and Roman times. Lorraine and Greg discuss thick vs. thin rules, how recipes are some of the oldest forms of rules and the important and complicated role judgment and equity play in the system of rules and laws. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Where does the concept of rules originate from? And how does that history inform the rules we use to organize society today? Lorraine Daston is the director emerita at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and a professor at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought. Her book, Rules: A Short History of What We Live By, takes a wide-encompassing view of rules throughout history, going all the way back to ancient Greek and Roman times. Lorraine and Greg discuss thick vs. thin rules, how recipes are some of the oldest forms of rules and the important and complicated role judgment and equity play in the system of rules and laws. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 338 42520eff-3a62-4d79-8c5e-d8151e540613 337. Navigating the Waves of Technology and Prosperity feat. Simon Johnson Technological progress drives productivity improvements and increases wealth, but the distribution of those gains depends on both technological and political factors. The debates we see now over the impact of AI on social welfare are not new: similar debates surrounded previous waves of innovation. One thing we have learned from those previous waves is that society and politics can dramatically impact the trajectory of technological change. 


Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management group. He has also co-authored several books, his latest being Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity with Daron Acemoglu.


Simon and Greg discuss how technological advances had disrupted industries in the past, ranging from the industrial revolution in the English midlands to the mass production of Henry Ford in America. They discuss how some innovations can bring about catastrophe, as in the 2008 financial crisis, and the current landscape of disruptive technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in particular. Simon talks about how it may be deployed in business but how, in education, there will be an adjustment period before being incorporated.


Listen in for insights on the past, present, and anticipated future of technology and prosperity with Simon Johnson.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


When workers became a cost, not a resource


37:55: Managerial thinking, including what was taught at business school, shifted in the 1970s and 1980s, and the concept of shareholder capitalism, which I would contend has been around for a long time. In the 1970s and 1980s, there's a different concept that comes to the fore, and it's one which treats the workers much more as a cost to be minimized rather than a resource to be developed. And I think that wasn't just business schools; business economics played a role in that broader social discussion. That corporate thinking and corporate logic are very powerful, and that is part of what's propelled us in this particular direction that's led to a lot of job market polarization.


The future of tech is too important to leave to a few


42:07: We should be very careful about placing our technological future in the hands of a few individuals, even if those individuals have previously had great success in something that seems like it might be quite relevant for what comes next.


How prepared ideas shapes history


55:43: I don't think that books, ideas, or, I'm afraid, podcasts, change history. I think what changes history is events, but when you have an event, when you have a scandal, when you have a big problem, when you have something that is really in people's faces, it matters whether or not you have prepared ideas, whether or not you understand what the problem could be, and whether or not you are ready with solutions, not just solutions as something that I wrote a paper about; you should do what I say, but solutions that have been kicked around, debated, and hammered out.


What’s the key point of the industrial revolution?


04:23: The key point from the Industrial Revolution is that it did increase productivity. It did increase the surplus. That could be shared in some fashion, but it also increased the power of a certain set of people—the people who owned the mills, the cotton mills in particular, in the north of England, for example. And that change in the balance of power is part of what, of course, encouraged them to invest, as part of what gave them a good return on investment. But it also meant they didn't really care that much about the workers.


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

]]> Fri, 29 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Technological progress drives productivity improvements and increases wealth, but the distribution of those gains depends on both technological and political factors. The debates we see now over the impact of AI on social welfare are not new: similar debates surrounded previous waves of innovation. One thing we have learned from those previous waves is that society and politics can dramatically impact the trajectory of technological change. 


Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management group. He has also co-authored several books, his latest being Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity with Daron Acemoglu.


Simon and Greg discuss how technological advances had disrupted industries in the past, ranging from the industrial revolution in the English midlands to the mass production of Henry Ford in America. They discuss how some innovations can bring about catastrophe, as in the 2008 financial crisis, and the current landscape of disruptive technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in particular. Simon talks about how it may be deployed in business but how, in education, there will be an adjustment period before being incorporated.


Listen in for insights on the past, present, and anticipated future of technology and prosperity with Simon Johnson.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


When workers became a cost, not a resource


37:55: Managerial thinking, including what was taught at business school, shifted in the 1970s and 1980s, and the concept of shareholder capitalism, which I would contend has been around for a long time. In the 1970s and 1980s, there's a different concept that comes to the fore, and it's one which treats the workers much more as a cost to be minimized rather than a resource to be developed. And I think that wasn't just business schools; business economics played a role in that broader social discussion. That corporate thinking and corporate logic are very powerful, and that is part of what's propelled us in this particular direction that's led to a lot of job market polarization.


The future of tech is too important to leave to a few


42:07: We should be very careful about placing our technological future in the hands of a few individuals, even if those individuals have previously had great success in something that seems like it might be quite relevant for what comes next.


How prepared ideas shapes history


55:43: I don't think that books, ideas, or, I'm afraid, podcasts, change history. I think what changes history is events, but when you have an event, when you have a scandal, when you have a big problem, when you have something that is really in people's faces, it matters whether or not you have prepared ideas, whether or not you understand what the problem could be, and whether or not you are ready with solutions, not just solutions as something that I wrote a paper about; you should do what I say, but solutions that have been kicked around, debated, and hammered out.


What’s the key point of the industrial revolution?


04:23: The key point from the Industrial Revolution is that it did increase productivity. It did increase the surplus. That could be shared in some fashion, but it also increased the power of a certain set of people—the people who owned the mills, the cotton mills in particular, in the north of England, for example. And that change in the balance of power is part of what, of course, encouraged them to invest, as part of what gave them a good return on investment. But it also meant they didn't really care that much about the workers.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 337. Navigating the Waves of Technology and Prosperity feat. Simon Johnson Greg La Blanc 01:00:01 Technological progress drives productivity improvements and increases wealth, but the distribution of those gains depends on both technological and political factors. The debates we see now over the impact of AI on social welfare are not new: similar debates surrounded previous waves of innovation. One thing we have learned from those previous waves is that society and politics can dramatically impact the trajectory of technological change. Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management group. He has also co-authored several books, his latest being Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity with Daron Acemoglu. Simon and Greg discuss how technological advances had disrupted industries in the past, ranging from the industrial revolution in the English midlands to the mass production of Henry Ford in America. They discuss how some innovations can bring about catastrophe, as in the 2008 financial crisis, and the current landscape of disruptive technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in particular. Simon talks about how it may be deployed in business but how, in education, there will be an adjustment period before being incorporated. Listen in for insights on the past, present, and anticipated future of technology and prosperity with Simon Johnson. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Technological progress drives productivity improvements and increases wealth, but the distribution of those gains depends on both technological and political factors. The debates we see now over the impact of AI on social welfare are not new: similar debates surrounded previous waves of innovation. One thing we have learned from those previous waves is that society and politics can dramatically impact the trajectory of technological change. Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management group. He has also co-authored several books, his latest being Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity with Daron Acemoglu. Simon and Greg discuss how technological advances had disrupted industries in the past, ranging from the industrial revolution in the English midlands to the mass production of Henry Ford in America. They discuss how some innovations can bring about catastrophe, as in the 2008 financial crisis, and the current landscape of disruptive technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in particular. Simon talks about how it may be deployed in business but how, in education, there will be an adjustment period before being incorporated. Listen in for insights on the past, present, and anticipated future of technology and prosperity with Simon Johnson. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 337 f96ab174-c42e-4bf2-b3ad-1c24f6e60da6 336. An Intellectual History of Money feat. Felix Martin The history of money isn’t just an Economics story, but it’s a cultural and philosophical one, too. 


Felix Martin, a columnist for Reuters, charts this history in his book, Money: The Unauthorized Biography – From Coinage to Cryptocurrencies, and argues that money as a social institution has always been wielded as a political instrument. 


Felix and Greg discuss the determining factors of money’s value, some of the key moments in the history of currency, and what could be done to improve modern financial banking systems.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Money as a credit relationship


21:08: There is this great value in thinking about money as a credit relationship. And the real value is to think about two dimensions. One dimension is the creditworthiness of the issuer…[21:52] And another dimension I think conceptually, you can think of them as different. Some people like to think of them the same, but I think the difference is the liquidity question. Creditworthiness is about this bilateral relationship between you and the central bank. And then there's this question of how many other people in the network will accept this in payment of goods or services? And that's this sort of liquidity question. And, so these are two factors which are behind that. They're all subsumed under this (V) in the Fisher equation, but you can break them down a bit conceptually, I think, in terms of money as credit is useful to do that.


Money is a social institution


04:02: I believe that money is a social institution, a communal fiction, then a history of money is not a history of coins and notes and that kind of thing. It's an intellectual history. It's a history of these ideas and these institutions and where they come from.


What is the whole point of banking?


52:00: The whole point of banking and its historical origin is precisely the flexibility of the balance sheets of the banks. The whole way that the capitalist economy works, what is useful about banks and the reason they exist is precisely that they are able to expand and contract their balance sheets in line with the needs of trade.


Theories around money are useful but contingent


18:22: It's not that the Fisher equation or the quantity theory of money are not useful. All these theories of money are very useful for interpreting and predicting given points in time. But they are contingent.


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

]]> Mon, 25 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The history of money isn’t just an Economics story, but it’s a cultural and philosophical one, too. 


Felix Martin, a columnist for Reuters, charts this history in his book, Money: The Unauthorized Biography – From Coinage to Cryptocurrencies, and argues that money as a social institution has always been wielded as a political instrument. 


Felix and Greg discuss the determining factors of money’s value, some of the key moments in the history of currency, and what could be done to improve modern financial banking systems.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Money as a credit relationship


21:08: There is this great value in thinking about money as a credit relationship. And the real value is to think about two dimensions. One dimension is the creditworthiness of the issuer…[21:52] And another dimension I think conceptually, you can think of them as different. Some people like to think of them the same, but I think the difference is the liquidity question. Creditworthiness is about this bilateral relationship between you and the central bank. And then there's this question of how many other people in the network will accept this in payment of goods or services? And that's this sort of liquidity question. And, so these are two factors which are behind that. They're all subsumed under this (V) in the Fisher equation, but you can break them down a bit conceptually, I think, in terms of money as credit is useful to do that.


Money is a social institution


04:02: I believe that money is a social institution, a communal fiction, then a history of money is not a history of coins and notes and that kind of thing. It's an intellectual history. It's a history of these ideas and these institutions and where they come from.


What is the whole point of banking?


52:00: The whole point of banking and its historical origin is precisely the flexibility of the balance sheets of the banks. The whole way that the capitalist economy works, what is useful about banks and the reason they exist is precisely that they are able to expand and contract their balance sheets in line with the needs of trade.


Theories around money are useful but contingent


18:22: It's not that the Fisher equation or the quantity theory of money are not useful. All these theories of money are very useful for interpreting and predicting given points in time. But they are contingent.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 336. An Intellectual History of Money feat. Felix Martin Greg La Blanc 00:54:16 The history of money isn’t just an Economics story, but it’s a cultural and philosophical one, too. Felix Martin, a columnist for Reuters, charts this history in his book, Money: The Unauthorized Biography – From Coinage to Cryptocurrencies, and argues that money as a social institution has always been wielded as a political instrument. Felix and Greg discuss the determining factors of money’s value, some of the key moments in the history of currency, and what could be done to improve modern financial banking systems. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The history of money isn’t just an Economics story, but it’s a cultural and philosophical one, too. Felix Martin, a columnist for Reuters, charts this history in his book, Money: The Unauthorized Biography – From Coinage to Cryptocurrencies, and argues that money as a social institution has always been wielded as a political instrument. Felix and Greg discuss the determining factors of money’s value, some of the key moments in the history of currency, and what could be done to improve modern financial banking systems. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 336 bcd95907-e892-4073-8b41-150a54513aca 335. Traversing Environmental Politics feat. Jedediah Purdy As more and more humans came up against the edges of wilderness in American history, new laws were needed to help guide and shape what the process would look like. As time changed, so did the laws dealing with preserving nature and society’s view on its importance. 


Jedediah Purdy is a professor of Law at Duke Law and the author of several books. His latest work is called Two Cheers for Politics: Why Democracy Is Flawed, Frightening―and Our Best Hope.


Jedediah and Greg discuss the complex terrain of America's environmental laws, tracing the roots from the liberal tradition of conquering Fortuna to modern ecological movements. They also dissect the tension between preserving nature for human benefit and maintaining its mystical allure. They also talk about the often overlooked role of class in environmental politics, analyzing in-depth how this has influenced public debates over laws and public lands.


Listen in and explore these intersections of politics, law, and nature with Jed Purdy.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


On the four different visions


04:02: There are definitely, even more than four kinds of ways of experiencing and relating to the natural world that exist in the broad shape of American life. And then, especially if we were to take account of the variety of indigenous ways of relating that continue to have a life and have their own kinds of futures, these are four that are really embodied in legal regimes. So, they're a way of trying to understand how environmental imagination has been very practical in lending a shape to the law's world making activity.


Viewing nature as a spiritual source


12:00: There is this very different way of seeing nature, which is as a spiritual source, as a way of connecting us with a meaning that goes beyond and, in a way, above our practical and material projects. And has a religious significance, whether understood theologically or in a romantic register, that replaces religion traditionally understood with aesthetic experience and mystical intuition of a sort of world soul.


The paradox of political energy and political aversion


35:00: The book begins with the observation that our political moment feels paradoxical and that it's extremely politically energized, but the mobilization often feels connected much more with fear and despair around politics than any real sense that it's a constructive or hopeful activity. So we're very political, but we're very, obviously, big and crude, inviting people to recognize some part of their own experience and observation. But we are also very anxious about and averse to it.


Climate crisis is an everything problem, not just an environmental one


54:17: I don't think anyone would want to make averting the climate crisis hang on our ability or willingness to change all of those things at once. In some ways, the environmental question finally refuses to be siloed, and it may lose some of its distinctiveness. It may even be a residual habit—that sort of category error—to think of climate as an environmental problem rather than an everything problem.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 22 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As more and more humans came up against the edges of wilderness in American history, new laws were needed to help guide and shape what the process would look like. As time changed, so did the laws dealing with preserving nature and society’s view on its importance. 


Jedediah Purdy is a professor of Law at Duke Law and the author of several books. His latest work is called Two Cheers for Politics: Why Democracy Is Flawed, Frightening―and Our Best Hope.


Jedediah and Greg discuss the complex terrain of America's environmental laws, tracing the roots from the liberal tradition of conquering Fortuna to modern ecological movements. They also dissect the tension between preserving nature for human benefit and maintaining its mystical allure. They also talk about the often overlooked role of class in environmental politics, analyzing in-depth how this has influenced public debates over laws and public lands.


Listen in and explore these intersections of politics, law, and nature with Jed Purdy.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


On the four different visions


04:02: There are definitely, even more than four kinds of ways of experiencing and relating to the natural world that exist in the broad shape of American life. And then, especially if we were to take account of the variety of indigenous ways of relating that continue to have a life and have their own kinds of futures, these are four that are really embodied in legal regimes. So, they're a way of trying to understand how environmental imagination has been very practical in lending a shape to the law's world making activity.


Viewing nature as a spiritual source


12:00: There is this very different way of seeing nature, which is as a spiritual source, as a way of connecting us with a meaning that goes beyond and, in a way, above our practical and material projects. And has a religious significance, whether understood theologically or in a romantic register, that replaces religion traditionally understood with aesthetic experience and mystical intuition of a sort of world soul.


The paradox of political energy and political aversion


35:00: The book begins with the observation that our political moment feels paradoxical and that it's extremely politically energized, but the mobilization often feels connected much more with fear and despair around politics than any real sense that it's a constructive or hopeful activity. So we're very political, but we're very, obviously, big and crude, inviting people to recognize some part of their own experience and observation. But we are also very anxious about and averse to it.


Climate crisis is an everything problem, not just an environmental one


54:17: I don't think anyone would want to make averting the climate crisis hang on our ability or willingness to change all of those things at once. In some ways, the environmental question finally refuses to be siloed, and it may lose some of its distinctiveness. It may even be a residual habit—that sort of category error—to think of climate as an environmental problem rather than an everything problem.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 335. Traversing Environmental Politics feat. Jedediah Purdy Greg La Blanc 00:58:39 As more and more humans came up against the edges of wilderness in American history, new laws were needed to help guide and shape what the process would look like. As time changed, so did the laws dealing with preserving nature and society’s view on its importance. Jedediah Purdy is a professor of Law at Duke Law and the author of several books. His latest work is called Two Cheers for Politics: Why Democracy Is Flawed, Frightening―and Our Best Hope. Jedediah and Greg discuss the complex terrain of America's environmental laws, tracing the roots from the liberal tradition of conquering Fortuna to modern ecological movements. They also dissect the tension between preserving nature for human benefit and maintaining its mystical allure. They also talk about the often overlooked role of class in environmental politics, analyzing in-depth how this has influenced public debates over laws and public lands. Listen in and explore these intersections of politics, law, and nature with Jed Purdy. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* As more and more humans came up against the edges of wilderness in American history, new laws were needed to help guide and shape what the process would look like. As time changed, so did the laws dealing with preserving nature and society’s view on its importance. Jedediah Purdy is a professor of Law at Duke Law and the author of several books. His latest work is called Two Cheers for Politics: Why Democracy Is Flawed, Frightening―and Our Best Hope. Jedediah and Greg discuss the complex terrain of America's environmental laws, tracing the roots from the liberal tradition of conquering Fortuna to modern ecological movements. They also dissect the tension between preserving nature for human benefit and maintaining its mystical allure. They also talk about the often overlooked role of class in environmental politics, analyzing in-depth how this has influenced public debates over laws and public lands. Listen in and explore these intersections of politics, law, and nature with Jed Purdy. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 335 f99254e0-5398-4d12-ba6e-a16938e6d162 334. The Animal with the Longest Childhood feat. Brenna Hassett Humans, as a species, are unique among the animal kingdom in a number of ways, but several of those involve how we have and raise our children. In a class of our own, even compared to other primates, humans spend an extremely long time in childhood and even longer until all parts of us, including our bones, fully mature.


Brenna Hassett is a biological anthropologist and archaeologist. She is also the author of two books, Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death and her latest book, Growing Up Human: The Evolution of Childhood.


Brenna and Greg discuss the significant impact of cultural adaptations on reproduction, exploring the complexities of human birth and the uniqueness of human fertility. Brenna goes over the hurdles of breastfeeding in diverse societies, the sway of nutrition in modern societies and its tie to fertility cycles, and what unexpected correlation humans have to zebras.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The perfect parenting myth


16:03: The idea that there is one true way to parent is insidious because it preys on every insecurity you have as a new parent, which is, "Oh my God, this machine that I have purchased from the store and brought home is glitching. I can't turn it off and on again; there is no helpline that is working. What on earth am I supposed to do?" And a lot of people look for answers in a sort of imagined past where, if the phone wasn't ringing off the hook, if the television wasn't on, if you didn't have to go back to work after three weeks or something, childrearing would be much easier. And a lot of that stuff is true.


Are babies demanding?


25:48: If you think about the signaling mechanism in a human pregnancy being much more baby-led than maternal-led, I think you start to see how our very demanding babies can take advantage of that.


The challenges of balancing work and care


34:44: The thing to remember with humans is that every single evolutionary adaptation that we've made, we have adjusted the levers of the adaptation with our culture. Our culture is essentially another mechanism by which we move our adaptations forward, backward, sideways, or whatever. So if you think about something that ought to be straightforward, like birth, and then you look at the actual mechanics of it for humans.


The push for adulthood in our changing world


47:47: We've set up a society that had some expectations and a culture that had some expectations, and then we changed them, and we are slowly allowing some people in our society to fit our changed expectations. We are pushing our expectations absolutely to their limit in some ways. And that's why fertility treatment and things like that are so important now, because people are waiting longer; it is harder to meet the sort of traditional adult milestones in the economy we have today.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 20 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Humans, as a species, are unique among the animal kingdom in a number of ways, but several of those involve how we have and raise our children. In a class of our own, even compared to other primates, humans spend an extremely long time in childhood and even longer until all parts of us, including our bones, fully mature.


Brenna Hassett is a biological anthropologist and archaeologist. She is also the author of two books, Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death and her latest book, Growing Up Human: The Evolution of Childhood.


Brenna and Greg discuss the significant impact of cultural adaptations on reproduction, exploring the complexities of human birth and the uniqueness of human fertility. Brenna goes over the hurdles of breastfeeding in diverse societies, the sway of nutrition in modern societies and its tie to fertility cycles, and what unexpected correlation humans have to zebras.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The perfect parenting myth


16:03: The idea that there is one true way to parent is insidious because it preys on every insecurity you have as a new parent, which is, "Oh my God, this machine that I have purchased from the store and brought home is glitching. I can't turn it off and on again; there is no helpline that is working. What on earth am I supposed to do?" And a lot of people look for answers in a sort of imagined past where, if the phone wasn't ringing off the hook, if the television wasn't on, if you didn't have to go back to work after three weeks or something, childrearing would be much easier. And a lot of that stuff is true.


Are babies demanding?


25:48: If you think about the signaling mechanism in a human pregnancy being much more baby-led than maternal-led, I think you start to see how our very demanding babies can take advantage of that.


The challenges of balancing work and care


34:44: The thing to remember with humans is that every single evolutionary adaptation that we've made, we have adjusted the levers of the adaptation with our culture. Our culture is essentially another mechanism by which we move our adaptations forward, backward, sideways, or whatever. So if you think about something that ought to be straightforward, like birth, and then you look at the actual mechanics of it for humans.


The push for adulthood in our changing world


47:47: We've set up a society that had some expectations and a culture that had some expectations, and then we changed them, and we are slowly allowing some people in our society to fit our changed expectations. We are pushing our expectations absolutely to their limit in some ways. And that's why fertility treatment and things like that are so important now, because people are waiting longer; it is harder to meet the sort of traditional adult milestones in the economy we have today.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 334. The Animal with the Longest Childhood feat. Brenna Hassett Greg La Blanc 00:56:40 Humans, as a species, are unique among the animal kingdom in a number of ways, but several of those involve how we have and raise our children. In a class of our own, even compared to other primates, humans spend an extremely long time in childhood and even longer until all parts of us, including our bones, fully mature. Brenna Hassett is a biological anthropologist and archaeologist. She is also the author of two books, Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death and her latest book, Growing Up Human: The Evolution of Childhood. Brenna and Greg discuss the significant impact of cultural adaptations on reproduction, exploring the complexities of human birth and the uniqueness of human fertility. Brenna goes over the hurdles of breastfeeding in diverse societies, the sway of nutrition in modern societies and its tie to fertility cycles, and what unexpected correlation humans have to zebras. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Humans, as a species, are unique among the animal kingdom in a number of ways, but several of those involve how we have and raise our children. In a class of our own, even compared to other primates, humans spend an extremely long time in childhood and even longer until all parts of us, including our bones, fully mature. Brenna Hassett is a biological anthropologist and archaeologist. She is also the author of two books, Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death and her latest book, Growing Up Human: The Evolution of Childhood. Brenna and Greg discuss the significant impact of cultural adaptations on reproduction, exploring the complexities of human birth and the uniqueness of human fertility. Brenna goes over the hurdles of breastfeeding in diverse societies, the sway of nutrition in modern societies and its tie to fertility cycles, and what unexpected correlation humans have to zebras. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 334 cd171fcf-30a3-4dd5-84fa-a8a0dbe5eae3 333. The Science of Reading feat. Adrian Johns In the information economy, reading is an essential skill. How can competency in reading be measured, and how can it be improved? In the 19th century, there emerged a science of reading that led to the “reading wars” that are with us to this day.


Adrian Johns is the Allan Grant Maclear Professor of History at the University of Chicago and also an author. His latest book is titled The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America.


Adrian and Greg discuss both the problems of literacy levels in society and the problems with measuring it accurately. Adrian goes over the central target that past literacy texts tried to hit or sometimes ignore and the missteps they make when they get it wrong. They discuss what has caused literacy panics and what those have looked like throughout the years. From the staccato rhythm of reading to the unexpected way people view images, our understanding of reading behavior has been transformed by technologies like the eye movement camera and the Tachistoscope. Adrian shares the ripple effect these tools have had on fields like marketing and user interface work.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Jerome Bruner’s idea of a good reader


43:39: The people who are the best readers are the people who have a hypothesis-testing model for how they read. So, as you imagine this, as your eyes are moving across the line, you are all the time predicting what the next word is going to be. And the people who are really good readers are better at predicting this. So they're making hypotheses, and then they're experimentally seeing whether the hypothesis is born out really fast. And if it's not, then they go back and come up with another hypothesis.


Does being a good text message reader mean you're also a good book reader?


53:34: Being a really good reader of text messages is not the same thing as being a really good reader of Moby Dick, but they're both good things. They're both worth having, and we want to train people to be masters of all of those things, which in a certain sense is what the people were aiming for in 1900, but we're in a different world now, so we have to adapt to that.


On looking at experts insights more than credentials


06:17: There's a notion that, in application, the science of reading can tell us how to make our schools create the next generation who will be more efficient and more adapted to the world in which they live.


Reading is not just about decoding words


52:32: Once you're beyond that very basic level of phonics character-by-character interpretation, it's not actually clear that the target that you are aiming at is one thing. So we think of reading singular as one or would be a gerund. One verb, but if you look around empirically at what happens in the professional social world, this thing, if it is one thing, is carried out in lots of different ways.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 18 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In the information economy, reading is an essential skill. How can competency in reading be measured, and how can it be improved? In the 19th century, there emerged a science of reading that led to the “reading wars” that are with us to this day.


Adrian Johns is the Allan Grant Maclear Professor of History at the University of Chicago and also an author. His latest book is titled The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America.


Adrian and Greg discuss both the problems of literacy levels in society and the problems with measuring it accurately. Adrian goes over the central target that past literacy texts tried to hit or sometimes ignore and the missteps they make when they get it wrong. They discuss what has caused literacy panics and what those have looked like throughout the years. From the staccato rhythm of reading to the unexpected way people view images, our understanding of reading behavior has been transformed by technologies like the eye movement camera and the Tachistoscope. Adrian shares the ripple effect these tools have had on fields like marketing and user interface work.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Jerome Bruner’s idea of a good reader


43:39: The people who are the best readers are the people who have a hypothesis-testing model for how they read. So, as you imagine this, as your eyes are moving across the line, you are all the time predicting what the next word is going to be. And the people who are really good readers are better at predicting this. So they're making hypotheses, and then they're experimentally seeing whether the hypothesis is born out really fast. And if it's not, then they go back and come up with another hypothesis.


Does being a good text message reader mean you're also a good book reader?


53:34: Being a really good reader of text messages is not the same thing as being a really good reader of Moby Dick, but they're both good things. They're both worth having, and we want to train people to be masters of all of those things, which in a certain sense is what the people were aiming for in 1900, but we're in a different world now, so we have to adapt to that.


On looking at experts insights more than credentials


06:17: There's a notion that, in application, the science of reading can tell us how to make our schools create the next generation who will be more efficient and more adapted to the world in which they live.


Reading is not just about decoding words


52:32: Once you're beyond that very basic level of phonics character-by-character interpretation, it's not actually clear that the target that you are aiming at is one thing. So we think of reading singular as one or would be a gerund. One verb, but if you look around empirically at what happens in the professional social world, this thing, if it is one thing, is carried out in lots of different ways.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 333. The Science of Reading feat. Adrian Johns Greg La Blanc 00:56:28 In the information economy, reading is an essential skill. How can competency in reading be measured, and how can it be improved? In the 19th century, there emerged a science of reading that led to the “reading wars” that are with us to this day. Adrian Johns is the Allan Grant Maclear Professor of History at the University of Chicago and also an author. His latest book is titled The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America. Adrian and Greg discuss both the problems of literacy levels in society and the problems with measuring it accurately. Adrian goes over the central target that past literacy texts tried to hit or sometimes ignore and the missteps they make when they get it wrong. They discuss what has caused literacy panics and what those have looked like throughout the years. From the staccato rhythm of reading to the unexpected way people view images, our understanding of reading behavior has been transformed by technologies like the eye movement camera and the Tachistoscope. Adrian shares the ripple effect these tools have had on fields like marketing and user interface work. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In the information economy, reading is an essential skill. How can competency in reading be measured, and how can it be improved? In the 19th century, there emerged a science of reading that led to the “reading wars” that are with us to this day. Adrian Johns is the Allan Grant Maclear Professor of History at the University of Chicago and also an author. His latest book is titled The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America. Adrian and Greg discuss both the problems of literacy levels in society and the problems with measuring it accurately. Adrian goes over the central target that past literacy texts tried to hit or sometimes ignore and the missteps they make when they get it wrong. They discuss what has caused literacy panics and what those have looked like throughout the years. From the staccato rhythm of reading to the unexpected way people view images, our understanding of reading behavior has been transformed by technologies like the eye movement camera and the Tachistoscope. Adrian shares the ripple effect these tools have had on fields like marketing and user interface work. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 333 4c7906f1-e00d-42a2-8609-21f2b2e0f2fd 332. The Origins of Feminism feat. Erika Bachiochi Even well before the suffragettes of the 19th century, women had been writing, thinking, and pushing for equal rights for almost a hundred years. How did those early feminist activists inform policy and the way we view household and family politics today? 


Erika Bachiochi is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and a senior fellow at the Abigail Adams Institute. Her new book, The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision, provides an intellectual history of the women’s rights movement going all the way back to the 18th century. 


She and Greg discuss the influential work of Mary Wollstonecraft on the women’s rights movement, how industrialization and the rise of capitalism shifted priorities in the movement, and the history of the abortion debate. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The effect of technology in reproduction


37:43: What answers asymmetry now, what answers the fact that men and women can engage in sex but women get pregnant and men don't, is technology. So, you have contraception and you have abortion, and when technology fills in the gaps, again, you have this shift, so that's when you see the sexual revolution come about: more sexual risk-taking, more sort of casual sex as a sexual ethos that kind of takes over because we're relying now on technology instead of our development of self-mastery in the sexual realm.


The big shift in the women's right movement


19:28: With industrialization and the rise of capitalism, women started to become far more dependent, where they used to work together on the agrarian homestead. That dependency puts them at great risk because they now depend on men for a paycheck. So it's not just women's ambition that sent them into the workplace; it's a real desire to have some insurance against male vice in a lot of ways, which is what you saw in that first wave of feminism.


The challenges of balancing work and care


52:32: We need to listen more to those who would prefer to be in the home and prefer to be caring for their children, who would prefer to see the work of the home that both mothers and fathers engage in as having great value, as getting back to the Wilson crafting insight as kind, kind of underlying every social, political, and economic good. And that we've forgotten about that. And thinking about what children really need to become independent and mature—not only workers, not only citizens, but also spouses and neighbors—is a really important shift that needs to happen.


On Ginsburg's fight for women's equality


14:43: By really fighting for women to be understood as equal citizens, Ginsburg is constitutionalizing Wilson's craft's principle. What Ginsburg is fighting against in the 1970s as an advocate for the ACLU is that we shouldn't have these laws that basically confine women to maternity and expect that just because a woman has the capacity for childbirth and motherhood, she should be kept out of professions. And that was a really important gain and a really important underlying political philosophy.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 15 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Even well before the suffragettes of the 19th century, women had been writing, thinking, and pushing for equal rights for almost a hundred years. How did those early feminist activists inform policy and the way we view household and family politics today? 


Erika Bachiochi is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and a senior fellow at the Abigail Adams Institute. Her new book, The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision, provides an intellectual history of the women’s rights movement going all the way back to the 18th century. 


She and Greg discuss the influential work of Mary Wollstonecraft on the women’s rights movement, how industrialization and the rise of capitalism shifted priorities in the movement, and the history of the abortion debate. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The effect of technology in reproduction


37:43: What answers asymmetry now, what answers the fact that men and women can engage in sex but women get pregnant and men don't, is technology. So, you have contraception and you have abortion, and when technology fills in the gaps, again, you have this shift, so that's when you see the sexual revolution come about: more sexual risk-taking, more sort of casual sex as a sexual ethos that kind of takes over because we're relying now on technology instead of our development of self-mastery in the sexual realm.


The big shift in the women's right movement


19:28: With industrialization and the rise of capitalism, women started to become far more dependent, where they used to work together on the agrarian homestead. That dependency puts them at great risk because they now depend on men for a paycheck. So it's not just women's ambition that sent them into the workplace; it's a real desire to have some insurance against male vice in a lot of ways, which is what you saw in that first wave of feminism.


The challenges of balancing work and care


52:32: We need to listen more to those who would prefer to be in the home and prefer to be caring for their children, who would prefer to see the work of the home that both mothers and fathers engage in as having great value, as getting back to the Wilson crafting insight as kind, kind of underlying every social, political, and economic good. And that we've forgotten about that. And thinking about what children really need to become independent and mature—not only workers, not only citizens, but also spouses and neighbors—is a really important shift that needs to happen.


On Ginsburg's fight for women's equality


14:43: By really fighting for women to be understood as equal citizens, Ginsburg is constitutionalizing Wilson's craft's principle. What Ginsburg is fighting against in the 1970s as an advocate for the ACLU is that we shouldn't have these laws that basically confine women to maternity and expect that just because a woman has the capacity for childbirth and motherhood, she should be kept out of professions. And that was a really important gain and a really important underlying political philosophy.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 332. The Origins of Feminism feat. Erika Bachiochi Greg La Blanc 01:04:05 Even well before the suffragettes of the 19th century, women had been writing, thinking, and pushing for equal rights for almost a hundred years. How did those early feminist activists inform policy and the way we view household and family politics today? Erika Bachiochi is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and a senior fellow at the Abigail Adams Institute. Her new book, The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision, provides an intellectual history of the women’s rights movement going all the way back to the 18th century. She and Greg discuss the influential work of Mary Wollstonecraft on the women’s rights movement, how industrialization and the rise of capitalism shifted priorities in the movement, and the history of the abortion debate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Even well before the suffragettes of the 19th century, women had been writing, thinking, and pushing for equal rights for almost a hundred years. How did those early feminist activists inform policy and the way we view household and family politics today? Erika Bachiochi is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and a senior fellow at the Abigail Adams Institute. Her new book, The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision, provides an intellectual history of the women’s rights movement going all the way back to the 18th century. She and Greg discuss the influential work of Mary Wollstonecraft on the women’s rights movement, how industrialization and the rise of capitalism shifted priorities in the movement, and the history of the abortion debate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 332 809efdd6-af26-4acb-8bbd-84c262599353 331. Inflation Strikes Back feat. Stephen D. King Even though central banks have become independent over the years, is it fair to say they still face political challenges? Could inflation be viewed as a political problem or a technical one?


Stephen D. King is a senior economic adviser at HSBC and has been writing about global economics for years. His most recent book, We Need to Talk About Inflation: 14 Urgent Lessons from the Last 2,000 Years, examines the root causes of inflation through a historical lens. 


Stephen and Greg discuss whether inflation is inherently tied to politics, why deflation is not necessarily a scary thing, and the greatest challenge facing central bankers today. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Inflation tends to create a world for winners and losers


07:00: So, inflation tends to create a world of both winners and losers. And it's a profoundly undemocratic process in that sense because that process of creating winners and losers is pretty arbitrary. But of course, the problem there is that if you happen to be a loser initially, you're going to want to push for your own wage increase or your price increase later on because your next-door neighbor has already had one of those, and you're waiting for your turn. So when you try to stop inflation, you are effectively trying to stop it when some people have already perhaps benefited from it. And other people feel quite rightly quite justifiably that they haven't; in fact, they're actually worse off in some sense. So stopping it once it's started becomes a lot more difficult.


Have we forgotten the adverse consequences of inflation?


05:47: With the advent of central banks becoming politically independent, I think there was a habit of thinking that inflation was a technical problem. It was a technical challenge for central banks, but not really a political challenge in any significant way. But actually, I think inflation is a huge political challenge.


Does the central bank overestimate the degree of control they have over velocity?


33:22: It's not just how much money you print; it's what the public thinks of what it is you're doing. Do they trust you? Do they think you're on the right track or the wrong track? In other words, the velocity partly depends on how the public rates you as a credible monetary institution. So, if you're doing stuff that seems to be overly experimental or peculiar, you may suddenly discover that what you thought was a relationship between money and the economy breaks down one way or the other.


Will we be entering into a new era where the central banks reassert their independence and reestablish their credibility?


57:27: I think that where inflation is relatively high and economic growth is relatively low, it's going to be a very interesting situation to monitor over the next three or four years to see whether central banks, first of all, are able to reassert their sort of independence. And secondly, whether, politically, they can get away with it and have the legitimacy to do so.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 13 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Even though central banks have become independent over the years, is it fair to say they still face political challenges? Could inflation be viewed as a political problem or a technical one?


Stephen D. King is a senior economic adviser at HSBC and has been writing about global economics for years. His most recent book, We Need to Talk About Inflation: 14 Urgent Lessons from the Last 2,000 Years, examines the root causes of inflation through a historical lens. 


Stephen and Greg discuss whether inflation is inherently tied to politics, why deflation is not necessarily a scary thing, and the greatest challenge facing central bankers today. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Inflation tends to create a world for winners and losers


07:00: So, inflation tends to create a world of both winners and losers. And it's a profoundly undemocratic process in that sense because that process of creating winners and losers is pretty arbitrary. But of course, the problem there is that if you happen to be a loser initially, you're going to want to push for your own wage increase or your price increase later on because your next-door neighbor has already had one of those, and you're waiting for your turn. So when you try to stop inflation, you are effectively trying to stop it when some people have already perhaps benefited from it. And other people feel quite rightly quite justifiably that they haven't; in fact, they're actually worse off in some sense. So stopping it once it's started becomes a lot more difficult.


Have we forgotten the adverse consequences of inflation?


05:47: With the advent of central banks becoming politically independent, I think there was a habit of thinking that inflation was a technical problem. It was a technical challenge for central banks, but not really a political challenge in any significant way. But actually, I think inflation is a huge political challenge.


Does the central bank overestimate the degree of control they have over velocity?


33:22: It's not just how much money you print; it's what the public thinks of what it is you're doing. Do they trust you? Do they think you're on the right track or the wrong track? In other words, the velocity partly depends on how the public rates you as a credible monetary institution. So, if you're doing stuff that seems to be overly experimental or peculiar, you may suddenly discover that what you thought was a relationship between money and the economy breaks down one way or the other.


Will we be entering into a new era where the central banks reassert their independence and reestablish their credibility?


57:27: I think that where inflation is relatively high and economic growth is relatively low, it's going to be a very interesting situation to monitor over the next three or four years to see whether central banks, first of all, are able to reassert their sort of independence. And secondly, whether, politically, they can get away with it and have the legitimacy to do so.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 331. Inflation Strikes Back feat. Stephen D. King Greg La Blanc 00:59:15 Even though central banks have become independent over the years, is it fair to say they still face political challenges? Could inflation be viewed as a political problem or a technical one? Stephen D. King is a senior economic adviser at HSBC and has been writing about global economics for years. His most recent book, We Need to Talk About Inflation: 14 Urgent Lessons from the Last 2,000 Years, examines the root causes of inflation through a historical lens. Stephen and Greg discuss whether inflation is inherently tied to politics, why deflation is not necessarily a scary thing, and the greatest challenge facing central bankers today. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Even though central banks have become independent over the years, is it fair to say they still face political challenges? Could inflation be viewed as a political problem or a technical one? Stephen D. King is a senior economic adviser at HSBC and has been writing about global economics for years. His most recent book, We Need to Talk About Inflation: 14 Urgent Lessons from the Last 2,000 Years, examines the root causes of inflation through a historical lens. Stephen and Greg discuss whether inflation is inherently tied to politics, why deflation is not necessarily a scary thing, and the greatest challenge facing central bankers today. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 331 3c0c318e-0f4c-48be-ac39-b51f5ee75988 330. Saving Lives With Outsider Ideas feat. Charles Barber Sometimes, the ideas that end up being the most revolutionary come from outside the scientific mainstream. People who can approach the problem with different eyes and thoughts and see solutions from another angle. For medicine, the idea that revolutionized trauma wound care came from a complete outsider and accelerated when he joined forces with another outsider to promote a new way to clot blood.


Charles Barber is a professor at Wesleyan University and the author of several books. His latest book, titled In the Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took On the US Army, recounts the story of the unlikely development of Quikclot and the hurdles that were along its path to adoption. 


Charles and Greg discuss what doctors had tried before Quikclot came along and then the story of how Frank Hursey and Brad Gullong turned heads and changed minds with the effectiveness of their new product to clot blood quickly and save the lives of those who had wounds that would previously have been fatal.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


How two outsiders and three combat veterans revolutionized medicine


25:39: One of the reasons they don't go in for the very expensive things that the army went in—these high-tech blood-clotting things that eventually failed—is they just didn't have the budget. They didn't have the money for it. And the Quikclot that was produced out of the Zeolite, which, by the way, was deployed very early in Iraq war and saved a lot of lives, was like $15 a packet. And so it was this kismet of two outsider inventors with no credentials doing things that would allow them to lose their medical license had they had a medical license, putting a rock in the bloodstream, and then meeting up over a number of years with these three outsider medical people. What they all shared was combat, raw combat experience, and an intolerance for the bureaucracy if it got in the way of the phrase that they all used independently, saving the kids in the ditch.


Prioritizing insights over credentials


17:32: We live in this age of experts, where you have to have PhDs, MDs, and everything at the same time. And we don't pay attention the way we did even a hundred years ago to people who don't necessarily have the credentials but have the insight.


Does our approach to medicine create fertile ground for pharmaceutical company marketing?


46:22: If you were to pick one thing that changed the commodification of psychiatric drugs, it was the television advertising of drugs. And New Zealand and the US, then and now, are still the only countries that do it. And so, it's not far afield from this sort of American Wild West of grabbing highly potent, sometimes effective, often not effective technological solutions without going to the undergirding issues.


Mental illness is complicated


48:45: Mental illness is nothing if not extraordinarily complicated, and we've grown up with even advanced psychiatry. It's all this: either medicines or therapy, genes or character, environment or hereditary. And for some reason, we can't seem to understand that it's not that complicated.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 11 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Sometimes, the ideas that end up being the most revolutionary come from outside the scientific mainstream. People who can approach the problem with different eyes and thoughts and see solutions from another angle. For medicine, the idea that revolutionized trauma wound care came from a complete outsider and accelerated when he joined forces with another outsider to promote a new way to clot blood.


Charles Barber is a professor at Wesleyan University and the author of several books. His latest book, titled In the Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took On the US Army, recounts the story of the unlikely development of Quikclot and the hurdles that were along its path to adoption. 


Charles and Greg discuss what doctors had tried before Quikclot came along and then the story of how Frank Hursey and Brad Gullong turned heads and changed minds with the effectiveness of their new product to clot blood quickly and save the lives of those who had wounds that would previously have been fatal.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


How two outsiders and three combat veterans revolutionized medicine


25:39: One of the reasons they don't go in for the very expensive things that the army went in—these high-tech blood-clotting things that eventually failed—is they just didn't have the budget. They didn't have the money for it. And the Quikclot that was produced out of the Zeolite, which, by the way, was deployed very early in Iraq war and saved a lot of lives, was like $15 a packet. And so it was this kismet of two outsider inventors with no credentials doing things that would allow them to lose their medical license had they had a medical license, putting a rock in the bloodstream, and then meeting up over a number of years with these three outsider medical people. What they all shared was combat, raw combat experience, and an intolerance for the bureaucracy if it got in the way of the phrase that they all used independently, saving the kids in the ditch.


Prioritizing insights over credentials


17:32: We live in this age of experts, where you have to have PhDs, MDs, and everything at the same time. And we don't pay attention the way we did even a hundred years ago to people who don't necessarily have the credentials but have the insight.


Does our approach to medicine create fertile ground for pharmaceutical company marketing?


46:22: If you were to pick one thing that changed the commodification of psychiatric drugs, it was the television advertising of drugs. And New Zealand and the US, then and now, are still the only countries that do it. And so, it's not far afield from this sort of American Wild West of grabbing highly potent, sometimes effective, often not effective technological solutions without going to the undergirding issues.


Mental illness is complicated


48:45: Mental illness is nothing if not extraordinarily complicated, and we've grown up with even advanced psychiatry. It's all this: either medicines or therapy, genes or character, environment or hereditary. And for some reason, we can't seem to understand that it's not that complicated.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 330. Saving Lives With Outsider Ideas feat. Charles Barber Greg La Blanc 01:02:37 Sometimes, the ideas that end up being the most revolutionary come from outside the scientific mainstream. People who can approach the problem with different eyes and thoughts and see solutions from another angle. For medicine, the idea that revolutionized trauma wound care came from a complete outsider and accelerated when he joined forces with another outsider to promote a new way to clot blood. Charles Barber is a professor at Wesleyan University and the author of several books. His latest book, titled In the Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took On the US Army, recounts the story of the unlikely development of Quikclot and the hurdles that were along its path to adoption. Charles and Greg discuss what doctors had tried before Quikclot came along and then the story of how Frank Hursey and Brad Gullong turned heads and changed minds with the effectiveness of their new product to clot blood quickly and save the lives of those who had wounds that would previously have been fatal. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Sometimes, the ideas that end up being the most revolutionary come from outside the scientific mainstream. People who can approach the problem with different eyes and thoughts and see solutions from another angle. For medicine, the idea that revolutionized trauma wound care came from a complete outsider and accelerated when he joined forces with another outsider to promote a new way to clot blood. Charles Barber is a professor at Wesleyan University and the author of several books. His latest book, titled In the Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took On the US Army, recounts the story of the unlikely development of Quikclot and the hurdles that were along its path to adoption. Charles and Greg discuss what doctors had tried before Quikclot came along and then the story of how Frank Hursey and Brad Gullong turned heads and changed minds with the effectiveness of their new product to clot blood quickly and save the lives of those who had wounds that would previously have been fatal. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 330 d305e65b-011e-4bda-8c7a-d141c7e39892 329. What Good is Pessimism? feat. David Benatar Humans have a tendency to see the glass as half full. What arguments can be made on behalf of the half-empty perspective? Whether it's evaluating your life or making decisions about becoming a parent, viewing things through a pessimistic lens could ultimately help reduce suffering in the world.


David Benatar is a professor of philosophy and director of the Bioethics Centre at the University of Cape Town. He is also the author of several books. His latest book, titled The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions, explores the meaningfulness of life. 


David and Greg discuss optimism versus pessimism and the positive and negative qualities that they both possess. David talks about suicide and the historic and where our views on it have evolved from. David and Greg talk about the ethics of having children, what true immortality would really mean, and how to get the most out of our time on the hedonic treadmill of life.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


General broad pessimism is a product of the clear-eyed view


48:48: General broad pessimism is a product of the clear-eyed view. If you look at the human condition realistically, you're going to reach unhappy conclusions about all the things I've said that you should reach unhappy conclusions about. But now the question is, "Well, what do you do with that information?" Do you just become morose? Do you withdraw? What do you do with this information? And one mistake would be to become overly morose about it, to derive no joy, because then what happens is there's a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy there where you're making; there's another feedback loop. You're making it actually worse for yourself than it would be if you didn't have that kind of response to the pessimism. At the same time, I don't think you should fall into optimism because now you're going to lose the clear-eyed view. So, what I would say is preserve the clear-eyed pessimistic view but be pragmatic.


Is there a feedback loop between the subjective and the objective?


18:29: If you think your life is better than it is, it objectively becomes a bit better. That doesn't mean it reaches the level you think it's at. It doesn't completely eliminate the gap between the subjective and the objective, but the subjective view makes it a little better. And similarly, when we're speaking about negative evaluation. So, there is that feedback loop.


Life’s meaning doesn’t have to be broad


22:05: I don't think that we should conclude from the absence of that kind of meaning that our lives have no meaning. Because they do have meaning at more micro-levels, and we matter to other people. We can have a positive impact on people and beings around us. And I don't think we should pretend that isn't the case simply because our lives can't have a broader kind of meaning.


On the relationship of quality and meaning of life


13:29: There are different views about what the relationship is between quality and meaning. Some people want to treat meaning as part of the quality of life. Others want to separate it out. There is some value in separating them, but I don't want to be committed to that view. I don't think we need to be.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 8 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Humans have a tendency to see the glass as half full. What arguments can be made on behalf of the half-empty perspective? Whether it's evaluating your life or making decisions about becoming a parent, viewing things through a pessimistic lens could ultimately help reduce suffering in the world.


David Benatar is a professor of philosophy and director of the Bioethics Centre at the University of Cape Town. He is also the author of several books. His latest book, titled The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions, explores the meaningfulness of life. 


David and Greg discuss optimism versus pessimism and the positive and negative qualities that they both possess. David talks about suicide and the historic and where our views on it have evolved from. David and Greg talk about the ethics of having children, what true immortality would really mean, and how to get the most out of our time on the hedonic treadmill of life.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


General broad pessimism is a product of the clear-eyed view


48:48: General broad pessimism is a product of the clear-eyed view. If you look at the human condition realistically, you're going to reach unhappy conclusions about all the things I've said that you should reach unhappy conclusions about. But now the question is, "Well, what do you do with that information?" Do you just become morose? Do you withdraw? What do you do with this information? And one mistake would be to become overly morose about it, to derive no joy, because then what happens is there's a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy there where you're making; there's another feedback loop. You're making it actually worse for yourself than it would be if you didn't have that kind of response to the pessimism. At the same time, I don't think you should fall into optimism because now you're going to lose the clear-eyed view. So, what I would say is preserve the clear-eyed pessimistic view but be pragmatic.


Is there a feedback loop between the subjective and the objective?


18:29: If you think your life is better than it is, it objectively becomes a bit better. That doesn't mean it reaches the level you think it's at. It doesn't completely eliminate the gap between the subjective and the objective, but the subjective view makes it a little better. And similarly, when we're speaking about negative evaluation. So, there is that feedback loop.


Life’s meaning doesn’t have to be broad


22:05: I don't think that we should conclude from the absence of that kind of meaning that our lives have no meaning. Because they do have meaning at more micro-levels, and we matter to other people. We can have a positive impact on people and beings around us. And I don't think we should pretend that isn't the case simply because our lives can't have a broader kind of meaning.


On the relationship of quality and meaning of life


13:29: There are different views about what the relationship is between quality and meaning. Some people want to treat meaning as part of the quality of life. Others want to separate it out. There is some value in separating them, but I don't want to be committed to that view. I don't think we need to be.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 329. What Good is Pessimism? feat. David Benatar Greg La Blanc 00:59:55 Humans have a tendency to see the glass as half full. What arguments can be made on behalf of the half-empty perspective? Whether it's evaluating your life or making decisions about becoming a parent, viewing things through a pessimistic lens could ultimately help reduce suffering in the world. David Benatar is a professor of philosophy and director of the Bioethics Centre at the University of Cape Town. He is also the author of several books. His latest book, titled The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions, explores the meaningfulness of life. David and Greg discuss optimism versus pessimism and the positive and negative qualities that they both possess. David talks about suicide and the historic and where our views on it have evolved from. David and Greg talk about the ethics of having children, what true immortality would really mean, and how to get the most out of our time on the hedonic treadmill of life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Humans have a tendency to see the glass as half full. What arguments can be made on behalf of the half-empty perspective? Whether it's evaluating your life or making decisions about becoming a parent, viewing things through a pessimistic lens could ultimately help reduce suffering in the world. David Benatar is a professor of philosophy and director of the Bioethics Centre at the University of Cape Town. He is also the author of several books. His latest book, titled The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions, explores the meaningfulness of life. David and Greg discuss optimism versus pessimism and the positive and negative qualities that they both possess. David talks about suicide and the historic and where our views on it have evolved from. David and Greg talk about the ethics of having children, what true immortality would really mean, and how to get the most out of our time on the hedonic treadmill of life. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 329 3dcdd87a-a75b-4762-851c-5876c142e9e2 328. How To Fail The Right Way feat. Amy Edmondson As risk-averse individuals, we tend to try to avoid failure at all costs. But failing is an essential part of learning. So, how can we get better at it? And how can organizations create psychological safety so employees are more willing to take chances, even if it may lead to failure? 


Amy Edmondson is a professor at Harvard Business School and studies psychological safety, organizational learning, and teaming. In her new book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, she guides readers through the art of failing. 


Amy and Greg discuss her psychological safety origin story, the taxonomy of failure, and the importance of learning how to fail right. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


What does psychological safety truly mean?


19:55: My least favorite misconception of what psychological safety is that it means a lack of accountability or a lack of high standards. It means anything goes, and we're just going to be soft and, you know, wrap everybody in bubble wrap. And it's not what it means. It means permission for candor, right? It means permission to take risks, and hopefully, most of those risks will be smart risks.


Errors and failures are rich territory for learning


07:51: You've got to learn, and you have to learn fast, and you have to keep learning—and errors and failures, which I do not believe are synonymous, are really rich territory for learning. Unfortunately, we don't often do it very well. There's a whole lot of room for improvement there.


Leadership doesn’t exist without fellowship


27:19: Leadership doesn't even exist without followership. So we've got to be as interested in what everyone does to co-create value. And some people are at higher levels of leadership than others, but we're all trying to create value for the customers. And we have an overemphasis on sort of the role of those at the top.


At what level can you safely try to change the culture?


25:49: We have this very deep instinct to pay attention to what's happening above us. And oftentimes, because we're a little judgmental, we will decide that what's happening above us is suboptimal, and they don't get it. And they're not doing their part to create a psychological safety or learning environment. And I say that may very well be true, and your responsibility is simply to take a look at what you can do. Look down or across instead of up.


Shifting the way you look at leadership


28:11: We need to think less about organizations and more about teams because organizations are just made up of teams, and if every team does its part, whether it's developing the strategy, deciding on acquisition, building a product, or designing tomorrow's products. Every team does its job in the most learning-oriented, ambitious way possible. Some of those activities will be pretty powerful.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 6 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As risk-averse individuals, we tend to try to avoid failure at all costs. But failing is an essential part of learning. So, how can we get better at it? And how can organizations create psychological safety so employees are more willing to take chances, even if it may lead to failure? 


Amy Edmondson is a professor at Harvard Business School and studies psychological safety, organizational learning, and teaming. In her new book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, she guides readers through the art of failing. 


Amy and Greg discuss her psychological safety origin story, the taxonomy of failure, and the importance of learning how to fail right. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


What does psychological safety truly mean?


19:55: My least favorite misconception of what psychological safety is that it means a lack of accountability or a lack of high standards. It means anything goes, and we're just going to be soft and, you know, wrap everybody in bubble wrap. And it's not what it means. It means permission for candor, right? It means permission to take risks, and hopefully, most of those risks will be smart risks.


Errors and failures are rich territory for learning


07:51: You've got to learn, and you have to learn fast, and you have to keep learning—and errors and failures, which I do not believe are synonymous, are really rich territory for learning. Unfortunately, we don't often do it very well. There's a whole lot of room for improvement there.


Leadership doesn’t exist without fellowship


27:19: Leadership doesn't even exist without followership. So we've got to be as interested in what everyone does to co-create value. And some people are at higher levels of leadership than others, but we're all trying to create value for the customers. And we have an overemphasis on sort of the role of those at the top.


At what level can you safely try to change the culture?


25:49: We have this very deep instinct to pay attention to what's happening above us. And oftentimes, because we're a little judgmental, we will decide that what's happening above us is suboptimal, and they don't get it. And they're not doing their part to create a psychological safety or learning environment. And I say that may very well be true, and your responsibility is simply to take a look at what you can do. Look down or across instead of up.


Shifting the way you look at leadership


28:11: We need to think less about organizations and more about teams because organizations are just made up of teams, and if every team does its part, whether it's developing the strategy, deciding on acquisition, building a product, or designing tomorrow's products. Every team does its job in the most learning-oriented, ambitious way possible. Some of those activities will be pretty powerful.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 328. How To Fail The Right Way feat. Amy Edmondson Greg La Blanc 00:59:04 As risk-averse individuals, we tend to try to avoid failure at all costs. But failing is an essential part of learning. So, how can we get better at it? And how can organizations create psychological safety so employees are more willing to take chances, even if it may lead to failure? Amy Edmondson is a professor at Harvard Business School and studies psychological safety, organizational learning, and teaming. In her new book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, she guides readers through the art of failing. Amy and Greg discuss her psychological safety origin story, the taxonomy of failure, and the importance of learning how to fail right. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* As risk-averse individuals, we tend to try to avoid failure at all costs. But failing is an essential part of learning. So, how can we get better at it? And how can organizations create psychological safety so employees are more willing to take chances, even if it may lead to failure? Amy Edmondson is a professor at Harvard Business School and studies psychological safety, organizational learning, and teaming. In her new book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, she guides readers through the art of failing. Amy and Greg discuss her psychological safety origin story, the taxonomy of failure, and the importance of learning how to fail right. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 328 14a7e5e1-a91d-47f9-996f-0067daa2d201 327. What Actually Makes A College The Best? feat. Colin Diver Does the way we rank colleges prioritize status over educational quality or the public good? 


Colin Diver is the Charles A. Heimbold, Jr., Professor of Law and Economics, former dean at the University of Pennsylvania, and former president of Reed College. His book, Breaking Ranks: How the Rankings Industry Rules Higher Education and What to Do about It, explores the methodologies of U.S. News and others to evaluate higher education institutions.


Colin and Greg discuss the pitfalls of college rankings, how they fail to measure important aspects of education,  how they distort the incentives of college administrators, and what a better system could look like. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Why are the SATs becoming less popular?


27:43: I realized that in this day and age, the SAT is becoming less and less popular, and I understand why—it does tend to favor privileged students that are economically and academically privileged students. But I still think that it is a force for democratizing higher education. It's a way of identifying talented students from out-of-the-way places, unfamiliar high schools, maybe even kids who didn't have a high GPA for whatever reason, but still have a lot of raw talent.


Do we have the capacity to opt out of rankings?


26:23: Yes, we dislike the rankings. We may even hate them, but we can't afford to fight them. And we can't afford to pull out. I understand that calculation. It's like we depend on the rankings to signal our value to our primary constituency, which is potential undergraduate students.


How does early decision admission contribute to economic inequality?


27:43: If you apply early, we'll give you an answer early, but if we admit you, you've got to accept our offer. And so, that way, you drove up your yield rate because everybody who applied that you admitted was going to come because they had agreed ahead of time that they would come. And, well, what was wrong with that? What was wrong with that was that it favored the rich because the poorer students can't afford to commit early. They need to see what the competitive financial aid awards are. And so, it was well demonstrated in the literature that early decisions tended to favor rich applicants and disfavor poor applicants.


The value of Ivy League education is a function of its exclusivity


55:23: The apparent value of an Ivy League education is a function of its exclusivity. We want to be a club that only a few people can join, is the sentiment. And that is unfortunate. It's a reflection of the competitive conditions in higher education.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 4 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Does the way we rank colleges prioritize status over educational quality or the public good? 


Colin Diver is the Charles A. Heimbold, Jr., Professor of Law and Economics, former dean at the University of Pennsylvania, and former president of Reed College. His book, Breaking Ranks: How the Rankings Industry Rules Higher Education and What to Do about It, explores the methodologies of U.S. News and others to evaluate higher education institutions.


Colin and Greg discuss the pitfalls of college rankings, how they fail to measure important aspects of education,  how they distort the incentives of college administrators, and what a better system could look like. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Why are the SATs becoming less popular?


27:43: I realized that in this day and age, the SAT is becoming less and less popular, and I understand why—it does tend to favor privileged students that are economically and academically privileged students. But I still think that it is a force for democratizing higher education. It's a way of identifying talented students from out-of-the-way places, unfamiliar high schools, maybe even kids who didn't have a high GPA for whatever reason, but still have a lot of raw talent.


Do we have the capacity to opt out of rankings?


26:23: Yes, we dislike the rankings. We may even hate them, but we can't afford to fight them. And we can't afford to pull out. I understand that calculation. It's like we depend on the rankings to signal our value to our primary constituency, which is potential undergraduate students.


How does early decision admission contribute to economic inequality?


27:43: If you apply early, we'll give you an answer early, but if we admit you, you've got to accept our offer. And so, that way, you drove up your yield rate because everybody who applied that you admitted was going to come because they had agreed ahead of time that they would come. And, well, what was wrong with that? What was wrong with that was that it favored the rich because the poorer students can't afford to commit early. They need to see what the competitive financial aid awards are. And so, it was well demonstrated in the literature that early decisions tended to favor rich applicants and disfavor poor applicants.


The value of Ivy League education is a function of its exclusivity


55:23: The apparent value of an Ivy League education is a function of its exclusivity. We want to be a club that only a few people can join, is the sentiment. And that is unfortunate. It's a reflection of the competitive conditions in higher education.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 327. What Actually Makes A College The Best? feat. Colin Diver Greg La Blanc 00:55:39 Does the way we rank colleges prioritize status over educational quality or the public good? Colin Diver is the Charles A. Heimbold, Jr., Professor of Law and Economics, former dean at the University of Pennsylvania, and former president of Reed College. His book, Breaking Ranks: How the Rankings Industry Rules Higher Education and What to Do about It, explores the methodologies of U.S. News and others to evaluate higher education institutions. Colin and Greg discuss the pitfalls of college rankings, how they fail to measure important aspects of education, how they distort the incentives of college administrators, and what a better system could look like. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Does the way we rank colleges prioritize status over educational quality or the public good? Colin Diver is the Charles A. Heimbold, Jr., Professor of Law and Economics, former dean at the University of Pennsylvania, and former president of Reed College. His book, Breaking Ranks: How the Rankings Industry Rules Higher Education and What to Do about It, explores the methodologies of U.S. News and others to evaluate higher education institutions. Colin and Greg discuss the pitfalls of college rankings, how they fail to measure important aspects of education, how they distort the incentives of college administrators, and what a better system could look like. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 327 2b7ab53e-6dc1-459b-9acf-a3b5d94bc4f1 326. How Epigenetics Drive Your DNA feat. Nessa Carey The double helix of DNA twists in the heart of every human cell, and it comes with some editing software known as epigenetics that power what parts turn on and off and when. Scientists are still still working to understand exactly how genetics and epigenetics work, but we are learning more every day.


Nessa Carey is the former International Director at PraxisUnico and the author of several books on genetics. Her latest book is titled Hacking the Code of Life: How gene editing will rewrite our futures.


Nessa and Greg discuss how genetics and epigenetics work and are related, with some concrete examples. Nessa discusses how genetics have been used to clone species and cells in laboratories and the differences between other animals and humans. Greg and Nessa talk about the uses and limitations of gene technology and the exciting possibilities of the gene editing technology CRISPR.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:


Not all scientists are the same


01:00:39: We have to get better at recognizing that not all scientists are the same. Some are really good problem solvers, some are really good creative thinkers, and it's about finding the right ways to support those people to maximum effect. And we need both. We need the problem solvers as well as the genuinely, deeply creative people. And that is expensive, but on the other hand, you don't get the great breakthroughs. If we only had the problem solvers, all we would have now are better iron lungs for polio. We'd never have a vaccine. But sometimes you need those problem solvers to get other things done as well. So we need to be supporting all different types of research.


On the complexity of biology


17:27: The reality is biology is very, very complicated. All of those systems need to work. If any of them fall apart, the whole thing falls apart. But we're surprisingly tribal and surprisingly wedded to our own theories. I think in biology, we quite often don't realize we're constantly putting ourselves on Gartner's hype cycle, and everybody gets very invested in whichever bit they like and where it's in the cycle at the time.


The beauty and cultural value of funding science


01:01:52: It's a mistake to think we should fund science because, eventually, it'll fund us back. We should fund science because it's beautiful. We should fund it because it's a magnificent cultural activity that adds to the wealth of human gorgeousness in the same way that fine arts and great literature do. Stuff shouldn't just be funded because it has an economic imperative. Isn't it just beautiful to understand more about how the world works?


Why is epigenetics a notable example of scientific paradigm shifts?


14:49: Epigenetics has been a great example of how you get paradigm shifts in scientific fields. You get this situation where there's the prevailing theory, and it survives a lot of onslaughts. But then eventually, it crumbles, and the new theory emerges. So, it's been great both scientifically and in terms of the philosophy of science.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 1 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The double helix of DNA twists in the heart of every human cell, and it comes with some editing software known as epigenetics that power what parts turn on and off and when. Scientists are still still working to understand exactly how genetics and epigenetics work, but we are learning more every day.


Nessa Carey is the former International Director at PraxisUnico and the author of several books on genetics. Her latest book is titled Hacking the Code of Life: How gene editing will rewrite our futures.


Nessa and Greg discuss how genetics and epigenetics work and are related, with some concrete examples. Nessa discusses how genetics have been used to clone species and cells in laboratories and the differences between other animals and humans. Greg and Nessa talk about the uses and limitations of gene technology and the exciting possibilities of the gene editing technology CRISPR.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:


Not all scientists are the same


01:00:39: We have to get better at recognizing that not all scientists are the same. Some are really good problem solvers, some are really good creative thinkers, and it's about finding the right ways to support those people to maximum effect. And we need both. We need the problem solvers as well as the genuinely, deeply creative people. And that is expensive, but on the other hand, you don't get the great breakthroughs. If we only had the problem solvers, all we would have now are better iron lungs for polio. We'd never have a vaccine. But sometimes you need those problem solvers to get other things done as well. So we need to be supporting all different types of research.


On the complexity of biology


17:27: The reality is biology is very, very complicated. All of those systems need to work. If any of them fall apart, the whole thing falls apart. But we're surprisingly tribal and surprisingly wedded to our own theories. I think in biology, we quite often don't realize we're constantly putting ourselves on Gartner's hype cycle, and everybody gets very invested in whichever bit they like and where it's in the cycle at the time.


The beauty and cultural value of funding science


01:01:52: It's a mistake to think we should fund science because, eventually, it'll fund us back. We should fund science because it's beautiful. We should fund it because it's a magnificent cultural activity that adds to the wealth of human gorgeousness in the same way that fine arts and great literature do. Stuff shouldn't just be funded because it has an economic imperative. Isn't it just beautiful to understand more about how the world works?


Why is epigenetics a notable example of scientific paradigm shifts?


14:49: Epigenetics has been a great example of how you get paradigm shifts in scientific fields. You get this situation where there's the prevailing theory, and it survives a lot of onslaughts. But then eventually, it crumbles, and the new theory emerges. So, it's been great both scientifically and in terms of the philosophy of science.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 326. How Epigenetics Drive Your DNA feat. Nessa Carey Greg La Blanc 01:02:59 The double helix of DNA twists in the heart of every human cell, and it comes with some editing software known as epigenetics that power what parts turn on and off and when. Scientists are still still working to understand exactly how genetics and epigenetics work, but we are learning more every day. Nessa Carey is the former International Director at PraxisUnico and the author of several books on genetics. Her latest book is titled Hacking the Code of Life: How gene editing will rewrite our futures. Nessa and Greg discuss how genetics and epigenetics work and are related, with some concrete examples. Nessa discusses how genetics have been used to clone species and cells in laboratories and the differences between other animals and humans. Greg and Nessa talk about the uses and limitations of gene technology and the exciting possibilities of the gene editing technology CRISPR. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The double helix of DNA twists in the heart of every human cell, and it comes with some editing software known as epigenetics that power what parts turn on and off and when. Scientists are still still working to understand exactly how genetics and epigenetics work, but we are learning more every day. Nessa Carey is the former International Director at PraxisUnico and the author of several books on genetics. Her latest book is titled Hacking the Code of Life: How gene editing will rewrite our futures. Nessa and Greg discuss how genetics and epigenetics work and are related, with some concrete examples. Nessa discusses how genetics have been used to clone species and cells in laboratories and the differences between other animals and humans. Greg and Nessa talk about the uses and limitations of gene technology and the exciting possibilities of the gene editing technology CRISPR. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 326 82a2ff74-3f32-42f2-8807-5d776ceb5841 325. Privacy Meets Security: Keeping Our Data Safe feat. Daniel J. Solove When it comes to data privacy laws these days, it’s still sort of like the Wild West out there. There’s no federal agency holding software makers responsible for security holes, consumers don’t understand how much risk there is, and the laws that are on the books are inadequate.


Daniel J. Solove is a leading authority on privacy law and is a professor at the George Washington University Law School. He’s written numerous books and articles on data security and privacy laws, including his most recent book, Breached!: Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve it and his textbook, Information Privacy Law.


Daniel and Greg discuss why current privacy laws are counterproductive, what a useful federal law regulating data security could look like, and why being forced to change your password regularly is actually bad advice. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The need for a human element when it comes to security


38:32: Security does need to think about the human element. And that's a different kind of thinking than what might be best for security. And that's what makes security so tricky. There are good technologies and weaker technologies for security. I think two-factor authentication is good. There are a lot of things that people can do that will make very effective security. But there's also this human dimension, and that's a dimension that a lot of them are not trained on. It's just they're not experts in human psychology, human cognitive abilities, and what humans are likely or unlikely to do. But we need that expertise involved if we're going to create the right security framework for a company.


Is the law focusing on data breaches so much that it's making them worse?


13:25: The law, unfortunately, has focused way too obsessively on breach and failed to focus on things that could actually address this problem in a much more effective way. 


The role that companies play in data breaches


32:51: If we had companies devise ways that they authenticated themselves to people, then we would be a lot safer, and fewer people would be falling for hacker tricks. And if the company is doing some practice that is miseducating, you should be penalized.


Do we make exceptions for technology when it comes to security?


17:40: There's a bit of exceptionalism when it comes to technology, where we accept the risks and dangers of technology and don't hold the makers of it accountable in ways we would never do with any other product. 


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

]]> Wed, 30 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When it comes to data privacy laws these days, it’s still sort of like the Wild West out there. There’s no federal agency holding software makers responsible for security holes, consumers don’t understand how much risk there is, and the laws that are on the books are inadequate.


Daniel J. Solove is a leading authority on privacy law and is a professor at the George Washington University Law School. He’s written numerous books and articles on data security and privacy laws, including his most recent book, Breached!: Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve it and his textbook, Information Privacy Law.


Daniel and Greg discuss why current privacy laws are counterproductive, what a useful federal law regulating data security could look like, and why being forced to change your password regularly is actually bad advice. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The need for a human element when it comes to security


38:32: Security does need to think about the human element. And that's a different kind of thinking than what might be best for security. And that's what makes security so tricky. There are good technologies and weaker technologies for security. I think two-factor authentication is good. There are a lot of things that people can do that will make very effective security. But there's also this human dimension, and that's a dimension that a lot of them are not trained on. It's just they're not experts in human psychology, human cognitive abilities, and what humans are likely or unlikely to do. But we need that expertise involved if we're going to create the right security framework for a company.


Is the law focusing on data breaches so much that it's making them worse?


13:25: The law, unfortunately, has focused way too obsessively on breach and failed to focus on things that could actually address this problem in a much more effective way. 


The role that companies play in data breaches


32:51: If we had companies devise ways that they authenticated themselves to people, then we would be a lot safer, and fewer people would be falling for hacker tricks. And if the company is doing some practice that is miseducating, you should be penalized.


Do we make exceptions for technology when it comes to security?


17:40: There's a bit of exceptionalism when it comes to technology, where we accept the risks and dangers of technology and don't hold the makers of it accountable in ways we would never do with any other product. 


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 325. Privacy Meets Security: Keeping Our Data Safe feat. Daniel J. Solove Greg La Blanc 00:58:54 When it comes to data privacy laws these days, it’s still sort of like the Wild West out there. There’s no federal agency holding software makers responsible for security holes, consumers don’t understand how much risk there is, and the laws that are on the books are inadequate. Daniel J. Solove is a leading authority on privacy law and is a professor at the George Washington University Law School. He’s written numerous books and articles on data security and privacy laws, including his most recent book, Breached!: Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve it and his textbook, Information Privacy Law. Daniel and Greg discuss why current privacy laws are counterproductive, what a useful federal law regulating data security could look like, and why being forced to change your password regularly is actually bad advice. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When it comes to data privacy laws these days, it’s still sort of like the Wild West out there. There’s no federal agency holding software makers responsible for security holes, consumers don’t understand how much risk there is, and the laws that are on the books are inadequate. Daniel J. Solove is a leading authority on privacy law and is a professor at the George Washington University Law School. He’s written numerous books and articles on data security and privacy laws, including his most recent book, Breached!: Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve it and his textbook, Information Privacy Law. Daniel and Greg discuss why current privacy laws are counterproductive, what a useful federal law regulating data security could look like, and why being forced to change your password regularly is actually bad advice. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 325 ec2bb8ea-1bbf-45af-aa17-29e7b763e347 324. A History of Interest Rates feat. Edward Chancellor Is finance really just the economics of time and risk? How do you price things like time and risk?


Edward Chancellor is a columnist with Reuters and is the author of the book, The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest, which delves into the history of lending and the interest rates that followed for the last five millennia. 


Edward and Greg discuss the history of interest and its connections to Greek philosophy, the potential problems with centralized banking, and financial repression in China and the US.

 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The overlooked aspects of monetary policy and central planning


08:05: What I think happened is you have the support amongst some neoclassical economists for Hayek's ideas relating to the economy as spontaneous, complex, emergent order that is difficult to control centrally. And yet, at the same time, no one has any problem with taking the most important price in the system, the one that affects everything, namely the interest rate. And so it's somehow perfectly acceptable to tweak that for whatever your end.


Insights from a finance journalist


51:34: One of the things I've discovered about writing about finance for nearly 30 years is that it's hardly worth having new ideas, because the conservatism of the world is so great that it's very hard to get them taken up. So I prefer to describe, rather than create, solutions.


Unraveling the complexity between the relationship between inflation and interest


42:37: The relationship between inflation and interest is not as straightforward as people surmise. If a low-interest rate encourages leverage, then the more leverage you have, the greater the leverage tottering over an individual household or an economy as a whole, and the more potential deflation pressure there is.


What’s an inevitable feature of a market-based system?


13:23: The notion that a transitional rise in unemployment may actually be useful is complete heresy and is seen as being a sort of strange, perverted form of sadism. Which I didn't think it was. So it's an inevitable feature of a capitalist or market-based system that you'd have these periods of boom and bust.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 28 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is finance really just the economics of time and risk? How do you price things like time and risk?


Edward Chancellor is a columnist with Reuters and is the author of the book, The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest, which delves into the history of lending and the interest rates that followed for the last five millennia. 


Edward and Greg discuss the history of interest and its connections to Greek philosophy, the potential problems with centralized banking, and financial repression in China and the US.

 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The overlooked aspects of monetary policy and central planning


08:05: What I think happened is you have the support amongst some neoclassical economists for Hayek's ideas relating to the economy as spontaneous, complex, emergent order that is difficult to control centrally. And yet, at the same time, no one has any problem with taking the most important price in the system, the one that affects everything, namely the interest rate. And so it's somehow perfectly acceptable to tweak that for whatever your end.


Insights from a finance journalist


51:34: One of the things I've discovered about writing about finance for nearly 30 years is that it's hardly worth having new ideas, because the conservatism of the world is so great that it's very hard to get them taken up. So I prefer to describe, rather than create, solutions.


Unraveling the complexity between the relationship between inflation and interest


42:37: The relationship between inflation and interest is not as straightforward as people surmise. If a low-interest rate encourages leverage, then the more leverage you have, the greater the leverage tottering over an individual household or an economy as a whole, and the more potential deflation pressure there is.


What’s an inevitable feature of a market-based system?


13:23: The notion that a transitional rise in unemployment may actually be useful is complete heresy and is seen as being a sort of strange, perverted form of sadism. Which I didn't think it was. So it's an inevitable feature of a capitalist or market-based system that you'd have these periods of boom and bust.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 324. A History of Interest Rates feat. Edward Chancellor Greg La Blanc 00:52:55 Is finance really just the economics of time and risk? How do you price things like time and risk? Edward Chancellor is a columnist with Reuters and is the author of the book, The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest, which delves into the history of lending and the interest rates that followed for the last five millennia. Edward and Greg discuss the history of interest and its connections to Greek philosophy, the potential problems with centralized banking, and financial repression in China and the US. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is finance really just the economics of time and risk? How do you price things like time and risk? Edward Chancellor is a columnist with Reuters and is the author of the book, The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest, which delves into the history of lending and the interest rates that followed for the last five millennia. Edward and Greg discuss the history of interest and its connections to Greek philosophy, the potential problems with centralized banking, and financial repression in China and the US. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 324 d4c09644-2562-4eb5-9a43-ec91af798776 323. Learning from the South Sea Bubble feat. Thomas Levenson The financial revolution in Europe was an outgrowth of the scientific revolution, and the greatest minds of the time were studying, commenting on, and even participating in the emerging world of finance. Then came the 1720 South Sea Bubble and the financial crisis that followed.


Thomas Levenson is a Professor of Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an author, and his latest book is titled Money for Nothing: The Scientists, Fraudsters, and Corrupt Politicians Who Reinvented Money, Panicked a Nation, and Made.


Thomas and Greg discuss the circumstances of the South Sea Bubble and how it connected to famous minds like Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley. They relate the financial crisis to other bubbles, like the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Thomas draws out the fascinating parts of what happened with the South Sea Bubble and what lessons can be learned from it and applied to today’s financial markets.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Insights on the role of innovation and government purpose in bubbles


33:51: The point of the bubble is that at the core of the bubble was a really good idea that actually served the government's purposes. In fact, served the government's purposes so well that one of the reasons you don't get joint stock companies going forward and in particular, you don't allow private companies to have access to the bond markets, the debt market, in the same way that the government has, is because the government wants to make sure it essentially has a monopoly on that form of finance so that it can continue executing its purposes. And you don't see a private bond market emerging, at least in Britain, until the second quarter of the 19th century.


You can have truth in mathematics


29:02: Mathematics is this sure and certain science. You can have truth in mathematics... The best that physics can be is demonstrated, and there's a difference. And so, if the mathematics work out, then, of course, this is a safe, sound, and perfectly acceptable way to spend your money until it isn't. So there's a rhetoric in the use of mathematical arguments that shouldn't be ignored. It was present in the 1720s bubble and in that era, and it was very much present recently.


Humanities teach you to think about the future in ways that are simply useful


01:01:24: If you try to train for the present, what you're doing is making sure that the future is going to catch you by surprise. And one of the things that the humanities do is teach you to think about the future in ways that are more flexible, more interesting, and, dare I say it, pragmatically, simply useful.


A perspective on continuous evolution and profound shifts


13:29: I see events as a continuous flow rather than as sudden, momentary revolutionary breakthroughs. But if ever there was a profoundly changing, rapidly changing sort of thing, you can experience it in your own lifetime. The late 17th century was remarkable.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 25 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The financial revolution in Europe was an outgrowth of the scientific revolution, and the greatest minds of the time were studying, commenting on, and even participating in the emerging world of finance. Then came the 1720 South Sea Bubble and the financial crisis that followed.


Thomas Levenson is a Professor of Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an author, and his latest book is titled Money for Nothing: The Scientists, Fraudsters, and Corrupt Politicians Who Reinvented Money, Panicked a Nation, and Made.


Thomas and Greg discuss the circumstances of the South Sea Bubble and how it connected to famous minds like Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley. They relate the financial crisis to other bubbles, like the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Thomas draws out the fascinating parts of what happened with the South Sea Bubble and what lessons can be learned from it and applied to today’s financial markets.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Insights on the role of innovation and government purpose in bubbles


33:51: The point of the bubble is that at the core of the bubble was a really good idea that actually served the government's purposes. In fact, served the government's purposes so well that one of the reasons you don't get joint stock companies going forward and in particular, you don't allow private companies to have access to the bond markets, the debt market, in the same way that the government has, is because the government wants to make sure it essentially has a monopoly on that form of finance so that it can continue executing its purposes. And you don't see a private bond market emerging, at least in Britain, until the second quarter of the 19th century.


You can have truth in mathematics


29:02: Mathematics is this sure and certain science. You can have truth in mathematics... The best that physics can be is demonstrated, and there's a difference. And so, if the mathematics work out, then, of course, this is a safe, sound, and perfectly acceptable way to spend your money until it isn't. So there's a rhetoric in the use of mathematical arguments that shouldn't be ignored. It was present in the 1720s bubble and in that era, and it was very much present recently.


Humanities teach you to think about the future in ways that are simply useful


01:01:24: If you try to train for the present, what you're doing is making sure that the future is going to catch you by surprise. And one of the things that the humanities do is teach you to think about the future in ways that are more flexible, more interesting, and, dare I say it, pragmatically, simply useful.


A perspective on continuous evolution and profound shifts


13:29: I see events as a continuous flow rather than as sudden, momentary revolutionary breakthroughs. But if ever there was a profoundly changing, rapidly changing sort of thing, you can experience it in your own lifetime. The late 17th century was remarkable.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 323. Learning from the South Sea Bubble feat. Thomas Levenson Greg La Blanc 01:01:40 When the stock market emerged, everyone was foraging the path for the first time. The potential and problems engrossed the wisest minds in the world and the richest names in banking. Then came the 1720 South Sea Bubble, and people were met with a financial crisis. Thomas Levenson is a Professor of Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an author, and his latest book is titled Money for Nothing: The Scientists, Fraudsters, and Corrupt Politicians Who Reinvented Money, Panicked a Nation, and Made. Thomas and Greg discuss the circumstances of the South Sea Bubble and how it connected to famous minds like Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley. They relate the financial crisis to other bubbles, like the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Thomas draws out the fascinating parts of what happened with the South Sea Bubble and what lessons can be learned from it and applied to today’s financial markets. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When the stock market emerged, everyone was foraging the path for the first time. The potential and problems engrossed the wisest minds in the world and the richest names in banking. Then came the 1720 South Sea Bubble, and people were met with a financial crisis. Thomas Levenson is a Professor of Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an author, and his latest book is titled Money for Nothing: The Scientists, Fraudsters, and Corrupt Politicians Who Reinvented Money, Panicked a Nation, and Made. Thomas and Greg discuss the circumstances of the South Sea Bubble and how it connected to famous minds like Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley. They relate the financial crisis to other bubbles, like the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Thomas draws out the fascinating parts of what happened with the South Sea Bubble and what lessons can be learned from it and applied to today’s financial markets. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 323 cd3305ba-52b7-4d53-8d6e-3cf4e781e26c 322. A Course in Wisdom feat. Thomas Gilovich Is the smartest person in the room also the wisest? Not necessarily. So what does it mean to be wise, and how do you go about finding that wisdom in life? 


Thomas Gilovich is the Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. His work in social psychology includes the key textbook in the field, and has written books that touch on topics such as behavioral economics and the fallibility of human reason.


Thomas and Greg discuss what it means to truly be wise, whether or not more wisdom leads to more happiness in life, and how to train ourselves to see beyond our subjective perception of the world. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Should we start with an understanding of the self in order to gain a better understanding of other people?


54:05: We have this great capacity to zoom in, zoom out, look at things from a variety of different angles. And, if you do that well, that's going to give you a better understanding of other people and a better understanding of yourself. So, let's look at it from my perspective. Let's look at it from their perspective, and so on. That is part and parcel of what wisdom is—turning things around to look at a hard problem from a variety of different angles. And, if that's a big component of wisdom, it would be surprising if wisdom was located in one area rather than the other.


Wisdom is where rational understanding meets human insights


03:45: To be wise and effective in this world means that you need to understand all that we've learned about rational choice, logic, etc., and combine that with knowledge of people.


Why construal principle is a big component of wisdom


25:26: One of the biggest principles of social psychology is the so-called "construal principle," which is that there's a reality out there. But we don't respond to that reality. We respond to how we interpret that reality. And knowing that's what we're reacting to is a big component of wisdom; it allows us to understand where other people are coming from, especially when their behavior on the surface immediately may not make sense to us. So, what does it mean to them that they're reacting that way? It's a big part of wisdom.


Considering happiness as a talent, not just a trait


34:35: We think of happiness as a trait, which at some level of description it is, but maybe it's better to think of it as a talent: happy people have the talent to make all these mental moves and arrange their lives in such a way that they will be happier.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 23 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is the smartest person in the room also the wisest? Not necessarily. So what does it mean to be wise, and how do you go about finding that wisdom in life? 


Thomas Gilovich is the Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. His work in social psychology includes the key textbook in the field, and has written books that touch on topics such as behavioral economics and the fallibility of human reason.


Thomas and Greg discuss what it means to truly be wise, whether or not more wisdom leads to more happiness in life, and how to train ourselves to see beyond our subjective perception of the world. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Should we start with an understanding of the self in order to gain a better understanding of other people?


54:05: We have this great capacity to zoom in, zoom out, look at things from a variety of different angles. And, if you do that well, that's going to give you a better understanding of other people and a better understanding of yourself. So, let's look at it from my perspective. Let's look at it from their perspective, and so on. That is part and parcel of what wisdom is—turning things around to look at a hard problem from a variety of different angles. And, if that's a big component of wisdom, it would be surprising if wisdom was located in one area rather than the other.


Wisdom is where rational understanding meets human insights


03:45: To be wise and effective in this world means that you need to understand all that we've learned about rational choice, logic, etc., and combine that with knowledge of people.


Why construal principle is a big component of wisdom


25:26: One of the biggest principles of social psychology is the so-called "construal principle," which is that there's a reality out there. But we don't respond to that reality. We respond to how we interpret that reality. And knowing that's what we're reacting to is a big component of wisdom; it allows us to understand where other people are coming from, especially when their behavior on the surface immediately may not make sense to us. So, what does it mean to them that they're reacting that way? It's a big part of wisdom.


Considering happiness as a talent, not just a trait


34:35: We think of happiness as a trait, which at some level of description it is, but maybe it's better to think of it as a talent: happy people have the talent to make all these mental moves and arrange their lives in such a way that they will be happier.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 322. A Course in Wisdom feat. Thomas Gilovich Greg La Blanc 00:55:13 Is the smartest person in the room also the wisest? Not necessarily. So what does it mean to be wise, and how do you go about finding that wisdom in life? Thomas Gilovich is the Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. His work in social psychology includes the key textbook in the field, and has written books that touch on topics such as behavioral economics and the fallibility of human reason. Thomas and Greg discuss what it means to truly be wise, whether or not more wisdom leads to more happiness in life, and how to train ourselves to see beyond our subjective perception of the world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is the smartest person in the room also the wisest? Not necessarily. So what does it mean to be wise, and how do you go about finding that wisdom in life? Thomas Gilovich is the Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. His work in social psychology includes the key textbook in the field, and has written books that touch on topics such as behavioral economics and the fallibility of human reason. Thomas and Greg discuss what it means to truly be wise, whether or not more wisdom leads to more happiness in life, and how to train ourselves to see beyond our subjective perception of the world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 322 953a1545-aa03-48f2-9b98-2f440ea2bb21 321. The Power of Creative Problem-Solving with Tina Seelig From an early age, students are taught the major academic disciplines like math, science, history, and art. But one thing that often gets overlooked or not formally taught is creative problem-solving. Why? And what would those classes look like? 


Tina Seelig, the executive director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University, teaches creativity courses to students around the world and in corporate settings. She’s written numerous books on the subject, such as Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and into the World and inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. 


Tina and Greg discuss some of the ways she unlocks creativity in her students, why there should be more of an emphasis on creative problem-solving at educational institutions, and how to cultivate curiosity. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Insights from 'What I Wish I Knew When I Was 40'


41:02: You can start anywhere. The lane lines of the pool might be on top, but you can swim under them. And it's really, really important that you don't get a job. You get the keys to the building. So find the building you want to be in, figure out where you're going to get your foot in the door, and then figure out how you're going to really make an impact and create new opportunities for yourself.


Failure is data for growth


15:14: I deeply believe that failure is actually data and that you need to understand that every time something doesn't work as you expected, you have some really interesting data that is going to help you get to the next stage.


Do we need courses for creativity?


06:08: We teach math, science, history, art, and music. Why do we not teach creative problem-solving? And there are a very clear set of tools, techniques, and mindsets that are required that allow you to come up with really interesting solutions to problems that we face every single day.


From boredom to fascination in pursuit of passion


25:11: I'm a huge believer that before something is your passion, it's something you know nothing about. And so, something might seem boring and uninteresting, but if you have the right mindset, it's going to be fascinating.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:



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

]]> Mon, 21 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast From an early age, students are taught the major academic disciplines like math, science, history, and art. But one thing that often gets overlooked or not formally taught is creative problem-solving. Why? And what would those classes look like? 


Tina Seelig, the executive director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University, teaches creativity courses to students around the world and in corporate settings. She’s written numerous books on the subject, such as Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and into the World and inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. 


Tina and Greg discuss some of the ways she unlocks creativity in her students, why there should be more of an emphasis on creative problem-solving at educational institutions, and how to cultivate curiosity. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Insights from 'What I Wish I Knew When I Was 40'


41:02: You can start anywhere. The lane lines of the pool might be on top, but you can swim under them. And it's really, really important that you don't get a job. You get the keys to the building. So find the building you want to be in, figure out where you're going to get your foot in the door, and then figure out how you're going to really make an impact and create new opportunities for yourself.


Failure is data for growth


15:14: I deeply believe that failure is actually data and that you need to understand that every time something doesn't work as you expected, you have some really interesting data that is going to help you get to the next stage.


Do we need courses for creativity?


06:08: We teach math, science, history, art, and music. Why do we not teach creative problem-solving? And there are a very clear set of tools, techniques, and mindsets that are required that allow you to come up with really interesting solutions to problems that we face every single day.


From boredom to fascination in pursuit of passion


25:11: I'm a huge believer that before something is your passion, it's something you know nothing about. And so, something might seem boring and uninteresting, but if you have the right mindset, it's going to be fascinating.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:



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

]]> 321. The Power of Creative Problem-Solving with Tina Seelig Greg La Blanc 00:49:19 From an early age, students are taught the major academic disciplines like math, science, history, and art. But one thing that often gets overlooked or not formally taught is creative problem-solving. Why? And what would those classes look like? Tina Seelig, the executive director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University, teaches creativity courses to students around the world and in corporate settings. She’s written numerous books on the subject, such as Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and into the World and inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. Tina and Greg discuss some of the ways she unlocks creativity in her students, why there should be more of an emphasis on creative problem-solving at educational institutions, and how to cultivate curiosity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* From an early age, students are taught the major academic disciplines like math, science, history, and art. But one thing that often gets overlooked or not formally taught is creative problem-solving. Why? And what would those classes look like? Tina Seelig, the executive director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University, teaches creativity courses to students around the world and in corporate settings. She’s written numerous books on the subject, such as Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and into the World and inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. Tina and Greg discuss some of the ways she unlocks creativity in her students, why there should be more of an emphasis on creative problem-solving at educational institutions, and how to cultivate curiosity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 321 49ca764c-0a5a-4018-b8e9-f8a32eff1fb2 320. The Origins of Fitness Culture feat. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela Society’s view on fitness swings wildly from era to era throughout history. There were times when caring about your body was considered feminine, times when it was masculine, times when it was patriotic, and times when that was too close to how ideologies we don’t like behave - so not caring about your body was patriotic, but there have been many shifts in the last hundred years alone.


Natalia Mehlman Petrzela is a historian of contemporary American politics and culture, an Associate Professor of History at The New School, and the author of two books, the latest of which is titled Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession. 


Natalia and Greg discuss how fitness has become part of a broader wellness movement. They discuss how access to fitness and attitudes around it has become reserved for the wealthy or privileged. Natalia details how PE offerings in schools have changed over the years to line up with different political attitudes and the fine line between professionalizing fitness instruction and limiting access to the profession.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The imperative of certification and licensing for health and fitness instructors


56:57: One of the biggest impediments to protecting people, both instructors and students, would be certification, real professional guidelines, and licensing. Because right now, fitness instructors and trainers are assuming this outsized role in people's lives with basically no guardrails, no instruction, or no laws governing that. You can sue if you hurt your neck in class, etc. But it's a wild west. And there's a lot of incentives for fitness professionals to actually be really zany and cross boundaries, because that creates this rapport in this very intimate relationship. You want that role in people's lives, but that can go wrong. And so, licensing and professional standards would help with that.


The fitness industry and the dimension of inclusivity


21:33: The gym evolves in how intimidating it becomes over time, but that remains a hallmark of a lot of people's gym experiences. And I should point out that in some ways, that's what the fitness industry is selling—a dimension of exclusivity.


The interplay between American lifestyle and exercise trends


05:58: One of the things that has really happened, that's emerged, that's helped propel this industry and this pressure to exercise, is that so many aspects of American life have become more sedentary. One of the reasons that we do have this class divide and who's thought to participate in exercise regularly is that the big moments when you have the expansion of the fitness industry always have to do with the expansion of the white-collar workforce.


Fitness and community should go hand in hand


51:15: We both know, coming out of the pandemic, that exercise is really good for you, but we know it was a big help with comorbidities and it's so important. But on the other hand, unfortunately, I think we hastened some of this privatization because we shut down parks and recreation centers. And we were like, "Oh, go do Peloton in your home; good luck with that," and that really isolated us and got rid of the community aspect, which is never perfectly inclusive, but I think it's really important.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Society’s view on fitness swings wildly from era to era throughout history. There were times when caring about your body was considered feminine, times when it was masculine, times when it was patriotic, and times when that was too close to how ideologies we don’t like behave - so not caring about your body was patriotic, but there have been many shifts in the last hundred years alone.


Natalia Mehlman Petrzela is a historian of contemporary American politics and culture, an Associate Professor of History at The New School, and the author of two books, the latest of which is titled Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession. 


Natalia and Greg discuss how fitness has become part of a broader wellness movement. They discuss how access to fitness and attitudes around it has become reserved for the wealthy or privileged. Natalia details how PE offerings in schools have changed over the years to line up with different political attitudes and the fine line between professionalizing fitness instruction and limiting access to the profession.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The imperative of certification and licensing for health and fitness instructors


56:57: One of the biggest impediments to protecting people, both instructors and students, would be certification, real professional guidelines, and licensing. Because right now, fitness instructors and trainers are assuming this outsized role in people's lives with basically no guardrails, no instruction, or no laws governing that. You can sue if you hurt your neck in class, etc. But it's a wild west. And there's a lot of incentives for fitness professionals to actually be really zany and cross boundaries, because that creates this rapport in this very intimate relationship. You want that role in people's lives, but that can go wrong. And so, licensing and professional standards would help with that.


The fitness industry and the dimension of inclusivity


21:33: The gym evolves in how intimidating it becomes over time, but that remains a hallmark of a lot of people's gym experiences. And I should point out that in some ways, that's what the fitness industry is selling—a dimension of exclusivity.


The interplay between American lifestyle and exercise trends


05:58: One of the things that has really happened, that's emerged, that's helped propel this industry and this pressure to exercise, is that so many aspects of American life have become more sedentary. One of the reasons that we do have this class divide and who's thought to participate in exercise regularly is that the big moments when you have the expansion of the fitness industry always have to do with the expansion of the white-collar workforce.


Fitness and community should go hand in hand


51:15: We both know, coming out of the pandemic, that exercise is really good for you, but we know it was a big help with comorbidities and it's so important. But on the other hand, unfortunately, I think we hastened some of this privatization because we shut down parks and recreation centers. And we were like, "Oh, go do Peloton in your home; good luck with that," and that really isolated us and got rid of the community aspect, which is never perfectly inclusive, but I think it's really important.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 320. The Origins of Fitness Culture feat. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela Greg La Blanc 00:59:22 Society’s view on fitness swings wildly from era to era throughout history. There were times when caring about your body was considered feminine, times when it was masculine, times when it was patriotic, and times when that was too close to how ideologies we don’t like behave - so not caring about your body was patriotic, but there have been many shifts in the last hundred years alone. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela is a historian of contemporary American politics and culture, an Associate Professor of History at The New School, and the author of two books, the latest of which is titled Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession. Natalia and Greg discuss how fitness has become part of a broader wellness movemente. They discuss how access to fitness and attitudes around it has become reserved for the wealthy or privileged. Natalia details how PE offerings in schools have changed over the years to line up with different political attitudes and the fine line between professionalizing fitness instruction and limiting access to the profession. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Society’s view on fitness swings wildly from era to era throughout history. There were times when caring about your body was considered feminine, times when it was masculine, times when it was patriotic, and times when that was too close to how ideologies we don’t like behave - so not caring about your body was patriotic, but there have been many shifts in the last hundred years alone. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela is a historian of contemporary American politics and culture, an Associate Professor of History at The New School, and the author of two books, the latest of which is titled Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession. Natalia and Greg discuss how fitness has become part of a broader wellness movemente. They discuss how access to fitness and attitudes around it has become reserved for the wealthy or privileged. Natalia details how PE offerings in schools have changed over the years to line up with different political attitudes and the fine line between professionalizing fitness instruction and limiting access to the profession. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 320 77080361-859e-4376-936d-f7e667fab54e 319. The Future Repeats Itself feat. Tom Standage A new era of technology brings about advancements that both thrill and concern society. Some see the oncoming innovations as the solution to our problems, others as the harbinger of the end, but one thing is certain: this isn’t the first time. Whether it’s the criticisms of social media, new vehicles meant to make communing easier, or industries disrupted by new technology, the present can look to and learn from the examples of the past. 


Tom Standage is the Deputy Editor at The Economist and the author of several books. His latest book, A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next, explores how personal vehicles have changed and shaped societies for millennia and continue to do so now with the onset of self-driving technology. 


Tom and Greg discuss how the present tech concerns echo panics of the past and the ways in which the discussion of self-driving vehicles today is following the discourse of other major shifts in society, like that from horses to vehicles. Tom gives a different take on the prevalence of smartphones and why it’s wise to take with a grain of salt both the prophets and the doomsayers of new innovations.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Curating information for readers who want to save time


22:02: The Economist has always got most of its revenue from subscriptions. We have quite a high subscription price. Because basically, we have people who don't have much time but have enough money. They pay us to save them time. And getting up to speed quickly on what's happening in the world is the service we provide to our readers. And they pay us money for that information directly. And there isn't an intermediary. There aren't tech platforms, advertisers, and clicks in the middle. But the other thing they're paying us to do is curate what's happened. Tell them what's important. And very often, that's something like, "Have you noticed what's happened to the economy of Venezuela?" That's not a very clickbaity subject, but you know, essentially, that responsibility we have to our readers, which is tell you what's important that you didn't know you needed to know about. You are never going to get that with a click-driven model.


Can journalists see things that professional historians can't see?


18:42: Journalism is structured very differently from history and from academia because it's not generally about learning more and more about a thing. It's generally being able to pick things up quickly. 


What’s the problem with the click-driven model?


32:33: The problem with a click-driven model is, firstly, it distorts those sorts of journalistic incentives. But then the other problem with it is that even if you can make a click-driven model work, you are mortgaging your future to the platform that is sending you the clicks.


Can we fix misinformation?


41:02: I think getting information in that direct way, directly from someone who you pay and who you trust, is something that we are likely to see more of, and swimming in the seas of misinformation is something we'll go and do sometimes, but we'll do it very aware.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 16 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast A new era of technology brings about advancements that both thrill and concern society. Some see the oncoming innovations as the solution to our problems, others as the harbinger of the end, but one thing is certain: this isn’t the first time. Whether it’s the criticisms of social media, new vehicles meant to make communing easier, or industries disrupted by new technology, the present can look to and learn from the examples of the past. 


Tom Standage is the Deputy Editor at The Economist and the author of several books. His latest book, A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next, explores how personal vehicles have changed and shaped societies for millennia and continue to do so now with the onset of self-driving technology. 


Tom and Greg discuss how the present tech concerns echo panics of the past and the ways in which the discussion of self-driving vehicles today is following the discourse of other major shifts in society, like that from horses to vehicles. Tom gives a different take on the prevalence of smartphones and why it’s wise to take with a grain of salt both the prophets and the doomsayers of new innovations.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


Curating information for readers who want to save time


22:02: The Economist has always got most of its revenue from subscriptions. We have quite a high subscription price. Because basically, we have people who don't have much time but have enough money. They pay us to save them time. And getting up to speed quickly on what's happening in the world is the service we provide to our readers. And they pay us money for that information directly. And there isn't an intermediary. There aren't tech platforms, advertisers, and clicks in the middle. But the other thing they're paying us to do is curate what's happened. Tell them what's important. And very often, that's something like, "Have you noticed what's happened to the economy of Venezuela?" That's not a very clickbaity subject, but you know, essentially, that responsibility we have to our readers, which is tell you what's important that you didn't know you needed to know about. You are never going to get that with a click-driven model.


Can journalists see things that professional historians can't see?


18:42: Journalism is structured very differently from history and from academia because it's not generally about learning more and more about a thing. It's generally being able to pick things up quickly. 


What’s the problem with the click-driven model?


32:33: The problem with a click-driven model is, firstly, it distorts those sorts of journalistic incentives. But then the other problem with it is that even if you can make a click-driven model work, you are mortgaging your future to the platform that is sending you the clicks.


Can we fix misinformation?


41:02: I think getting information in that direct way, directly from someone who you pay and who you trust, is something that we are likely to see more of, and swimming in the seas of misinformation is something we'll go and do sometimes, but we'll do it very aware.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 319. The Future Repeats Itself feat. Tom Standage Greg La Blanc 00:57:26 A new era of technology brings about advancements that both thrill and concern society. Some see the oncoming innovations as the solution to our problems, others as the harbinger of the end, but one thing is certain: this isn’t the first time. Whether it’s the criticisms of social media, new vehicles meant to make communing easier, or industries disrupted by new technology, the present can look to and learn from the examples of the past. Tom Standage is the Deputy Editor at The Economist and the author of several books. His latest book, A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next, explores how personal vehicles have changed and shaped societies for millennia and continue to do so now with the onset of self-driving technology. Tom and Greg discuss how the present tech concerns echo panics of the past and the ways in which the discussion of self-driving vehicles today is following the discourse of other major shifts in society, like that from horses to vehicles. Tom gives a different take on the prevalence of smartphones and why it’s wise to take with a grain of salt both the prophets and the doomsayers of new innovations. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* A new era of technology brings about advancements that both thrill and concern society. Some see the oncoming innovations as the solution to our problems, others as the harbinger of the end, but one thing is certain: this isn’t the first time. Whether it’s the criticisms of social media, new vehicles meant to make communing easier, or industries disrupted by new technology, the present can look to and learn from the examples of the past. Tom Standage is the Deputy Editor at The Economist and the author of several books. His latest book, A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next, explores how personal vehicles have changed and shaped societies for millennia and continue to do so now with the onset of self-driving technology. Tom and Greg discuss how the present tech concerns echo panics of the past and the ways in which the discussion of self-driving vehicles today is following the discourse of other major shifts in society, like that from horses to vehicles. Tom gives a different take on the prevalence of smartphones and why it’s wise to take with a grain of salt both the prophets and the doomsayers of new innovations. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 319 78e2afc9-8c63-4c31-bcef-433f4ded1c1f 318. Discovering the Artist’s Eye feat. Lincoln Perry In order to fully appreciate art, does one have to have first-hand experience creating art oneself? How does experiencing art help artists with their own work? 


Artist Lincoln Perry is the author of the book, Seeing Like an Artist: What Artists Perceive in the Art of Others which aims to take the overwhelming and intimidating nature out of viewing and appreciating art. 


Lincoln and Greg discuss why experiencing art in person is paramount, the dangers of focusing too much on an artist’s biography, and the difference between a viewer of art and a participant. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


What differentiates a participant from a viewer when encountering art?


22:02: Viewing is a distancing implication. I enjoy implicating or trying to implicate the viewer. There are many numbers of ways you can do that. You can pull them in, say you have a tiny etching. Say you're Goya, and you have a tiny etching of the disasters of war, and you're holding it in your hand, and you're all of a sudden pulled into these horrors that are going on again. It's in the present. It's in your present, and you are participating, implicated. You have to wonder, Would I have been capable of this behavior? A viewer, somehow or other, does potentially walk through a space and not have an emotional reaction, but somehow or other, a participant will be answerable and also find enjoyment.


Painting beyond accessibility


16:37: I don't paint the way I paint to make it more accessible. I paint the way I paint because I can't do anything else.


Paintings are more like music


03:14: Paintings are more like music. They should wash over you, and if they pull you in and seduce you, you're motivated to read them at that point to figure out their content, their narrative, who's who, the iconography. But if you start with that, it's usually fairly intimidating and somehow off-putting to think that it's a quiz.


Looking beneath art


48:05: So what I'm advocating for in this book is looking beneath the surface of even touch. I don't talk about factors, but try to stress how you read art, how a sculpture carries your eye around, and how a painting guides your eye through depth and then back out again.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> Mon, 14 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In order to fully appreciate art, does one have to have first-hand experience creating art oneself? How does experiencing art help artists with their own work? 


Artist Lincoln Perry is the author of the book, Seeing Like an Artist: What Artists Perceive in the Art of Others which aims to take the overwhelming and intimidating nature out of viewing and appreciating art. 


Lincoln and Greg discuss why experiencing art in person is paramount, the dangers of focusing too much on an artist’s biography, and the difference between a viewer of art and a participant. 


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


What differentiates a participant from a viewer when encountering art?


22:02: Viewing is a distancing implication. I enjoy implicating or trying to implicate the viewer. There are many numbers of ways you can do that. You can pull them in, say you have a tiny etching. Say you're Goya, and you have a tiny etching of the disasters of war, and you're holding it in your hand, and you're all of a sudden pulled into these horrors that are going on again. It's in the present. It's in your present, and you are participating, implicated. You have to wonder, Would I have been capable of this behavior? A viewer, somehow or other, does potentially walk through a space and not have an emotional reaction, but somehow or other, a participant will be answerable and also find enjoyment.


Painting beyond accessibility


16:37: I don't paint the way I paint to make it more accessible. I paint the way I paint because I can't do anything else.


Paintings are more like music


03:14: Paintings are more like music. They should wash over you, and if they pull you in and seduce you, you're motivated to read them at that point to figure out their content, their narrative, who's who, the iconography. But if you start with that, it's usually fairly intimidating and somehow off-putting to think that it's a quiz.


Looking beneath art


48:05: So what I'm advocating for in this book is looking beneath the surface of even touch. I don't talk about factors, but try to stress how you read art, how a sculpture carries your eye around, and how a painting guides your eye through depth and then back out again.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> 318. Discovering the Artist’s Eye feat. Lincoln Perry Greg La Blanc 00:47:53 In order to fully appreciate art, does one have to have first-hand experience creating art oneself? How does experiencing art help artists with their own work? Artist Lincoln Perry is the author of the book, Seeing Like an Artist: What Artists Perceive in the Art of Others which aims to take the overwhelming and intimidating nature out of viewing and appreciating art. Lincoln and Greg discuss why experiencing art in person is paramount, the dangers of focusing too much on an artist’s biography, and the difference between a viewer of art and a participant. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In order to fully appreciate art, does one have to have first-hand experience creating art oneself? How does experiencing art help artists with their own work? Artist Lincoln Perry is the author of the book, Seeing Like an Artist: What Artists Perceive in the Art of Others which aims to take the overwhelming and intimidating nature out of viewing and appreciating art. Lincoln and Greg discuss why experiencing art in person is paramount, the dangers of focusing too much on an artist’s biography, and the difference between a viewer of art and a participant. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 318 f9caf11e-5bf7-4da8-9bca-818a1ef07874 317. Cultivating Humanity in a More Natural Way feat. Charles Foster The prevalence of spending ample time indoors, engaging in screen-based activities, is narrowing our experiential landscape.


As we constantly underutilize our sensory capabilities, we are missing out on the rich and vibrant information available from the colorful world around us.


To thrive in a multi-dimensional world, reawakening our senses, enhancing our awareness of diverse experiences, and cultivating stronger connections with other species and nature are key.


Charles Foster is an English writer, traveler, veterinarian, taxidermist, barrister, and philosopher. He is known for his books and articles on Natural History, travel, theology, law, and medical ethics. His latest publication, Cry of the Wild: Eight Animals Under Siege, explores the complexity, beauty, and fragility of wild lives living alongside humans.


Charles and Greg talk about our potential to unlock additional sensory experiences, how to increase our “empathy muscles” by studying other species, nurturing our ability to see otherness, and the need for cultivating humanity in education.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


How should we think about reconstructing education to cultivate humanity in a more authentic way?


42:47: We need to teach the principle that relationships are everything, not just human relationships, but relationships with the non-human world. We need to say that the relationship between things is the web and weave of the cosmos and that anything which defeats that insight—whether it's the atomism of modern sociology which asserts that everyone is an island unto himself or whether it's things which lock us up physically in our rooms or on our screens—we've got to say that those things strike at the very heart of the way the universe is meant to be and that radical measures are therefore needed to restore relationship to its central place, not only in our philosophical understanding of the world but also in relation to our personal lives.


On the theory of mind


11:53: Direct experience is what we should be after, rather than a cognitive set of conclusions about what another person is thinking. So the theory of mind is a specifically adult human way of appreciating what, if we were non-adult humans, we would be able to have naturally.


Is there a way we could foster a better relationship with the non-human world and instill this connection in our children?


43:59: Relationship breeds an appetite for relationship, and if we go out into green, we will learn to love green, and that green is better than the gray of the breeze blocks from which our houses are made. There also needs to be a part of the compulsory curriculum in which people just go out and lie in a field or climb a tree. If you have had a childhood marinated in greenness, not only are you far less likely to suffer from ADHD or depression, but you're also far less likely to become, when you are an adult, a major trasher of the natural law.


The business of observing is a two-way conversation.


11:53: The whole business of observing is necessarily a two-way conversation; that's what relativity is all about, and it seems to me that exactly that principle applies at the level of a human looking at the bird that he's studying or the human looking at the rock that he's studying as well. Unless we enter into a conversation which allows both the observer and the observed to be changed, our perspective is going to be distorted by the fact that we have fallen prey to the delusion that we can be objective.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 11 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The prevalence of spending ample time indoors, engaging in screen-based activities, is narrowing our experiential landscape.


As we constantly underutilize our sensory capabilities, we are missing out on the rich and vibrant information available from the colorful world around us.


To thrive in a multi-dimensional world, reawakening our senses, enhancing our awareness of diverse experiences, and cultivating stronger connections with other species and nature are key.


Charles Foster is an English writer, traveler, veterinarian, taxidermist, barrister, and philosopher. He is known for his books and articles on Natural History, travel, theology, law, and medical ethics. His latest publication, Cry of the Wild: Eight Animals Under Siege, explores the complexity, beauty, and fragility of wild lives living alongside humans.


Charles and Greg talk about our potential to unlock additional sensory experiences, how to increase our “empathy muscles” by studying other species, nurturing our ability to see otherness, and the need for cultivating humanity in education.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


How should we think about reconstructing education to cultivate humanity in a more authentic way?


42:47: We need to teach the principle that relationships are everything, not just human relationships, but relationships with the non-human world. We need to say that the relationship between things is the web and weave of the cosmos and that anything which defeats that insight—whether it's the atomism of modern sociology which asserts that everyone is an island unto himself or whether it's things which lock us up physically in our rooms or on our screens—we've got to say that those things strike at the very heart of the way the universe is meant to be and that radical measures are therefore needed to restore relationship to its central place, not only in our philosophical understanding of the world but also in relation to our personal lives.


On the theory of mind


11:53: Direct experience is what we should be after, rather than a cognitive set of conclusions about what another person is thinking. So the theory of mind is a specifically adult human way of appreciating what, if we were non-adult humans, we would be able to have naturally.


Is there a way we could foster a better relationship with the non-human world and instill this connection in our children?


43:59: Relationship breeds an appetite for relationship, and if we go out into green, we will learn to love green, and that green is better than the gray of the breeze blocks from which our houses are made. There also needs to be a part of the compulsory curriculum in which people just go out and lie in a field or climb a tree. If you have had a childhood marinated in greenness, not only are you far less likely to suffer from ADHD or depression, but you're also far less likely to become, when you are an adult, a major trasher of the natural law.


The business of observing is a two-way conversation.


11:53: The whole business of observing is necessarily a two-way conversation; that's what relativity is all about, and it seems to me that exactly that principle applies at the level of a human looking at the bird that he's studying or the human looking at the rock that he's studying as well. Unless we enter into a conversation which allows both the observer and the observed to be changed, our perspective is going to be distorted by the fact that we have fallen prey to the delusion that we can be objective.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 317. Cultivating Humanity in a More Natural Way feat. Charles Foster Greg La Blanc 00:44:31 The prevalence of spending ample time indoors, engaging in screen-based activities, is narrowing our experiential landscape. As we constantly underutilize our sensory capabilities, we are missing out on the rich and vibrant information available from the colorful world around us. To thrive in a multi-dimensional world, reawakening our senses, enhancing our awareness of diverse experiences, and cultivating stronger connections with other species and nature are key. Charles Foster is an English writer, traveler, veterinarian, taxidermist, barrister, and philosopher. He is known for his books and articles on Natural History, travel, theology, law, and medical ethics. His latest publication, “Cry of the Wild: Eight Animals Under Siege,” explores the complexity, beauty, and fragility of wild lives living alongside humans. Charles and Greg talk about our potential to unlock additional sensory experiences, how to increase our “empathy muscles” by studying other species, nurturing our ability to see otherness, and the need for cultivating humanity in education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The prevalence of spending ample time indoors, engaging in screen-based activities, is narrowing our experiential landscape. As we constantly underutilize our sensory capabilities, we are missing out on the rich and vibrant information available from the colorful world around us. To thrive in a multi-dimensional world, reawakening our senses, enhancing our awareness of diverse experiences, and cultivating stronger connections with other species and nature are key. Charles Foster is an English writer, traveler, veterinarian, taxidermist, barrister, and philosopher. He is known for his books and articles on Natural History, travel, theology, law, and medical ethics. His latest publication, “Cry of the Wild: Eight Animals Under Siege,” explores the complexity, beauty, and fragility of wild lives living alongside humans. Charles and Greg talk about our potential to unlock additional sensory experiences, how to increase our “empathy muscles” by studying other species, nurturing our ability to see otherness, and the need for cultivating humanity in education. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 317 78921ad4-edda-459e-ad41-c3df823e7c28 316. The Future is Sustainable feat. Andrew S. Winston Is the practice of making a company sustainable a performative act, one motivated by a company's true values, or a move made for profit? And furthermore, does it matter if the effects are all the same? Companies all over the world are starting to align with newer, greener trajectories, and they do it for a myriad of reasons.


Andrew S. Winston is the founder of Winston EcoStrategies, and an author whose latest book, co-authored with Paul Polman, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, examines precisely these questions. 


Greg and Andrew discuss what sustainability really means and how it differs and overlaps with ESG. Andrew recounts how the company Unilever has solved problems of sustainability and implemented them on a multinational scale. Greg and Andrew talk about the problem of the terms ballooning to include things originally outside the original definitions, what the future looks like on the sustainability landscape for corporations, and why Andrew is so optimistic about it.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The impact of individual actions on the environmental footprints


24:22: The reason an individual can only do so much on their footprint is because they can't control that the grid is 80% coal in their area or whatever. Like the way that they can impact that is how they vote, right? How they support companies that are promoting the right things are not like it's much bigger elements of their lives than just literally what are they buying day to day. They can vote with their feet, and they should, and there's a few things people can do that move their footprint noticeably like eating less meat is the most immediate thing you can do, starting right now. But there's actually not a thousand things that really have any impact. There's a few, there's a handful. What you eat, what you drive, how close to work you live, and a bunch of these decisions don't come every day. 


Does sustainability make a company outperform? 


12:12: There's been a long correlation between doing well on sustainability and doing well as a business, and the correlation causation there is difficult and impossible to parse. And it's because companies that are good at most things are good at most things. 


Climate change and the inequality issue


46:33: The poorest people on the planet are the least responsible for climate and are basically the ones getting hit the hardest. And the people producing all of the emissions over the last 50 to 100 years are the richest; the richest billion or so of us have created the entire problem.


Is the CEO job harder today than it was before?


48:45: I was speaking with a CEO group recently, and they said the CEO job is much harder than it ever was before. Well, clearly, look at what's going on, right? You have to chime in on an LGBTQ law if you're Disney. These are hard things. I can't say I feel too bad for CEOs. The average Fortune 500 CEO makes what, $10–15 million a year? Like they're getting paid a lot. Like they're supposed to deal with the hard problems, and they're now being put to the test. And I'm not saying these things are easy, but I have these debates all the time. People say, 'Well, how come my company doesn't respond to everything? ' They don't have to. But the hard reality is that if you don't say something about an issue, you're still saying something.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 9 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is the practice of making a company sustainable a performative act, one motivated by a company's true values, or a move made for profit? And furthermore, does it matter if the effects are all the same? Companies all over the world are starting to align with newer, greener trajectories, and they do it for a myriad of reasons.


Andrew S. Winston is the founder of Winston EcoStrategies, and an author whose latest book, co-authored with Paul Polman, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, examines precisely these questions. 


Greg and Andrew discuss what sustainability really means and how it differs and overlaps with ESG. Andrew recounts how the company Unilever has solved problems of sustainability and implemented them on a multinational scale. Greg and Andrew talk about the problem of the terms ballooning to include things originally outside the original definitions, what the future looks like on the sustainability landscape for corporations, and why Andrew is so optimistic about it.


*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*


Episode Quotes:


The impact of individual actions on the environmental footprints


24:22: The reason an individual can only do so much on their footprint is because they can't control that the grid is 80% coal in their area or whatever. Like the way that they can impact that is how they vote, right? How they support companies that are promoting the right things are not like it's much bigger elements of their lives than just literally what are they buying day to day. They can vote with their feet, and they should, and there's a few things people can do that move their footprint noticeably like eating less meat is the most immediate thing you can do, starting right now. But there's actually not a thousand things that really have any impact. There's a few, there's a handful. What you eat, what you drive, how close to work you live, and a bunch of these decisions don't come every day. 


Does sustainability make a company outperform? 


12:12: There's been a long correlation between doing well on sustainability and doing well as a business, and the correlation causation there is difficult and impossible to parse. And it's because companies that are good at most things are good at most things. 


Climate change and the inequality issue


46:33: The poorest people on the planet are the least responsible for climate and are basically the ones getting hit the hardest. And the people producing all of the emissions over the last 50 to 100 years are the richest; the richest billion or so of us have created the entire problem.


Is the CEO job harder today than it was before?


48:45: I was speaking with a CEO group recently, and they said the CEO job is much harder than it ever was before. Well, clearly, look at what's going on, right? You have to chime in on an LGBTQ law if you're Disney. These are hard things. I can't say I feel too bad for CEOs. The average Fortune 500 CEO makes what, $10–15 million a year? Like they're getting paid a lot. Like they're supposed to deal with the hard problems, and they're now being put to the test. And I'm not saying these things are easy, but I have these debates all the time. People say, 'Well, how come my company doesn't respond to everything? ' They don't have to. But the hard reality is that if you don't say something about an issue, you're still saying something.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 316. The Future is Sustainable feat. Andrew S. Winston Greg La Blanc 01:11:47 Is the practice of making a company sustainable a performative act, one motivated by a company's true values, or a move made for profit? And furthermore, does it matter if the effects are all the same? Companies all over the world are starting to align with newer, greener trajectories, and they do it for a myriad of reasons. Andrew S. Winston is the founder of Winston EcoStrategies, and an author whose latest book, co-authored with Paul Polman, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, examines precisely these questions. Greg and Andrew discuss what sustainability really means and how it differs and overlaps with ESG. Andrew recounts how the company Unilever has solved problems of sustainability and implemented them on a multinational scale. Greg and Andrew talk about the problem of the terms ballooning to include things originally outside the original definitions, what the future looks like on the sustainability landscape for corporations, and why Andrew is so optimistic about it. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is the practice of making a company sustainable a performative act, one motivated by a company's true values, or a move made for profit? And furthermore, does it matter if the effects are all the same? Companies all over the world are starting to align with newer, greener trajectories, and they do it for a myriad of reasons. Andrew S. Winston is the founder of Winston EcoStrategies, and an author whose latest book, co-authored with Paul Polman, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, examines precisely these questions. Greg and Andrew discuss what sustainability really means and how it differs and overlaps with ESG. Andrew recounts how the company Unilever has solved problems of sustainability and implemented them on a multinational scale. Greg and Andrew talk about the problem of the terms ballooning to include things originally outside the original definitions, what the future looks like on the sustainability landscape for corporations, and why Andrew is so optimistic about it. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 316 04ed3317-a2c2-4ca2-b5f0-35541fda66c0 315. Science Writing as a Discipline feat. Philip Ball It’s one thing to talk about the science and physics behind the notion of invisibility, it’s another thing to examine the cultural place that idea occupies in media and philosophy. 

Science writer Philip Ball wants to do both, and not just with things unseen. He’s written numerous books spanning a multitude of topics like the invention of color, how music works in the brain, and scientific rules of society. His latest book is The Book of Minds: How to Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, from Animals to AI to Aliens. 

Philip and Greg discuss the perks and pitfalls of interdisciplinary work, whether curiosity is a virtue or a vice, and different perspectives on the mind and consciousness. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Embodiment is a crucial aspect of the mind

45:15: You can't expect a mind that is just computing in some abstract space to develop the kinds of resources and capabilities that the human mind has. The human mind is part of us as an evolved being. And the mind didn't evolve by itself. It involved in the body, for the body as part of the body. In fact, it's an organ. The brain is an organ. And so, we understand the world as embodied beings. And partly what I mean by that is that we have a sense of things that we can do and things that we can't do that are predicated on the kinds of bodies we have.

Having a computer isn't enough to understand the nature of human minds

47:07: The idea of the brain as a computer, sitting in a room somewhere doing computation, is not enough to understand the nature of our minds, let alone others.

The importance of fluency in scientific Research

33:18: That fluency, that ability to put on different lenses and to remain open to different ways of thinking about a problem, is not just a great thing to have in life in general, but it's a really valuable thing to be able to do in scientific research.

Bridging Physics and Social Science through Critical Mass

18:26: Critical Mass was a book that was looking at how ideas that were developed in physics, condensed metaphysics, in statistical physics for understanding things like gasses and liquids and how they switch between the two forms, the things called phase transitions, how those ideas are now proving useful for social scientists because we can find some situations where people en masse, taken in large enough body and large enough numbers, show the same kinds of behaviors

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 7 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It’s one thing to talk about the science and physics behind the notion of invisibility, it’s another thing to examine the cultural place that idea occupies in media and philosophy. 

Science writer Philip Ball wants to do both, and not just with things unseen. He’s written numerous books spanning a multitude of topics like the invention of color, how music works in the brain, and scientific rules of society. His latest book is The Book of Minds: How to Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, from Animals to AI to Aliens. 

Philip and Greg discuss the perks and pitfalls of interdisciplinary work, whether curiosity is a virtue or a vice, and different perspectives on the mind and consciousness. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Embodiment is a crucial aspect of the mind

45:15: You can't expect a mind that is just computing in some abstract space to develop the kinds of resources and capabilities that the human mind has. The human mind is part of us as an evolved being. And the mind didn't evolve by itself. It involved in the body, for the body as part of the body. In fact, it's an organ. The brain is an organ. And so, we understand the world as embodied beings. And partly what I mean by that is that we have a sense of things that we can do and things that we can't do that are predicated on the kinds of bodies we have.

Having a computer isn't enough to understand the nature of human minds

47:07: The idea of the brain as a computer, sitting in a room somewhere doing computation, is not enough to understand the nature of our minds, let alone others.

The importance of fluency in scientific Research

33:18: That fluency, that ability to put on different lenses and to remain open to different ways of thinking about a problem, is not just a great thing to have in life in general, but it's a really valuable thing to be able to do in scientific research.

Bridging Physics and Social Science through Critical Mass

18:26: Critical Mass was a book that was looking at how ideas that were developed in physics, condensed metaphysics, in statistical physics for understanding things like gasses and liquids and how they switch between the two forms, the things called phase transitions, how those ideas are now proving useful for social scientists because we can find some situations where people en masse, taken in large enough body and large enough numbers, show the same kinds of behaviors

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 315. Science Writing as a Discipline feat. Philip Ball Greg La Blanc 01:02:02 It’s one thing to talk about the science and physics behind the notion of invisibility, it’s another thing to examine the cultural place that idea occupies in media and philosophy. Science writer Philip Ball wants to do both, and not just with things unseen. He’s written numerous books spanning a multitude of topics like the invention of color, how music works in the brain, and scientific rules of society. His latest book is The Book of Minds: How to Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, from Animals to AI to Aliens. Philip and Greg discuss the perks and pitfalls of interdisciplinary work, whether curiosity is a virtue or a vice, and different perspectives on the mind and consciousness. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* It’s one thing to talk about the science and physics behind the notion of invisibility, it’s another thing to examine the cultural place that idea occupies in media and philosophy. Science writer Philip Ball wants to do both, and not just with things unseen. He’s written numerous books spanning a multitude of topics like the invention of color, how music works in the brain, and scientific rules of society. His latest book is The Book of Minds: How to Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, from Animals to AI to Aliens. Philip and Greg discuss the perks and pitfalls of interdisciplinary work, whether curiosity is a virtue or a vice, and different perspectives on the mind and consciousness. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 315 9e5628fb-789c-41a4-88d7-a325267285f4 314. The Risks and Rewards of Data in Real Time feat. Mohan Subramaniam The future has a landscape that is navigated as it comes, but across industries, legacy firms, and newly formed start-ups will do that very differently. All companies will be used to having sound strategies in the product world but may miss ways to capitalize on their data streams and what opportunities they open up. Mohan Subramaniam is a professor of Strategy at IMD in Lausanne, and he is also the author of the book The Future of Competitive Strategy: Unleashing the Power of Data and Digital Ecosystems.

Mohan and Greg discuss the operational and strategic differences between digital firms and legacy firms in business with Mohan’s research into how companies like Ford compare to a company like Tesla. Mohan talks about the value chains created by the utilization of data but also the real-time access to it for use by third parties that you may not have initially planned for, having its own set of risks and rewards.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How can legacy firms navigate digital ecosystems?

04:38: My hypothesis is that increasingly legacy firms will have to find ways of expanding their revenue base beyond their product and service worlds into the data world. And if you want to compete with data, it requires different principles. You have to figure out what digital ecosystems mean for you. They're not the same as Uber's or Amazon's digital ecosystems. They're different, and you have to understand what those digital ecosystems are. And figure out how to expand your business scope beyond what is defined by value chains through digital platforms.

What is the incumbency advantage in the digital world?

12:25: The bigger your value chain infrastructure and the greater your product footprint, the more powerful your digital ecosystems can become. But, of course, it requires a different way of framing and thinking about competitive strategy.

How do you look at your buyers in the digital world?

10:58: How do you look at your buyers in the industrial world? Buyers are those who basically buy your products. But in this digital world, your customers, or buyers, are those who give you data. Now, that's a very different ballgame. Selling a product and getting data from customers. It's a very different proposition. I call them digital customers. These are customers who give you sensor data.

Adapting to the new frameworks

51:34: If you want to impact practice, you have to give frameworks that tell you that in your business what makes sense. What is the new value that data can give you? What's the nature of the digital ecosystems you can build? How does it influence your competitive advantage? Now, it may fit in with the theory of the firm. I'm not denying that. But we need to now move forward with more specific frameworks for the new world that we are in.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 4 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The future has a landscape that is navigated as it comes, but across industries, legacy firms, and newly formed start-ups will do that very differently. All companies will be used to having sound strategies in the product world but may miss ways to capitalize on their data streams and what opportunities they open up. Mohan Subramaniam is a professor of Strategy at IMD in Lausanne, and he is also the author of the book The Future of Competitive Strategy: Unleashing the Power of Data and Digital Ecosystems.

Mohan and Greg discuss the operational and strategic differences between digital firms and legacy firms in business with Mohan’s research into how companies like Ford compare to a company like Tesla. Mohan talks about the value chains created by the utilization of data but also the real-time access to it for use by third parties that you may not have initially planned for, having its own set of risks and rewards.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How can legacy firms navigate digital ecosystems?

04:38: My hypothesis is that increasingly legacy firms will have to find ways of expanding their revenue base beyond their product and service worlds into the data world. And if you want to compete with data, it requires different principles. You have to figure out what digital ecosystems mean for you. They're not the same as Uber's or Amazon's digital ecosystems. They're different, and you have to understand what those digital ecosystems are. And figure out how to expand your business scope beyond what is defined by value chains through digital platforms.

What is the incumbency advantage in the digital world?

12:25: The bigger your value chain infrastructure and the greater your product footprint, the more powerful your digital ecosystems can become. But, of course, it requires a different way of framing and thinking about competitive strategy.

How do you look at your buyers in the digital world?

10:58: How do you look at your buyers in the industrial world? Buyers are those who basically buy your products. But in this digital world, your customers, or buyers, are those who give you data. Now, that's a very different ballgame. Selling a product and getting data from customers. It's a very different proposition. I call them digital customers. These are customers who give you sensor data.

Adapting to the new frameworks

51:34: If you want to impact practice, you have to give frameworks that tell you that in your business what makes sense. What is the new value that data can give you? What's the nature of the digital ecosystems you can build? How does it influence your competitive advantage? Now, it may fit in with the theory of the firm. I'm not denying that. But we need to now move forward with more specific frameworks for the new world that we are in.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 314. The Risks and Rewards of Data in Real Time feat. Mohan Subramaniam Greg La Blanc 01:00:06 The future has a landscape that is navigated as it comes, but across industries, legacy firms, and newly formed start-ups will do that very differently. All companies will be used to having sound strategies in the product world but may miss ways to capitalize on their data streams and what opportunities they open up. Mohan Subramaniam is a professor of Strategy at IMD in Lausanne, and he is also the author of the book The Future of Competitive Strategy: Unleashing the Power of Data and Digital Ecosystems. Mohan and Greg discuss the operational and strategic differences between digital firms and legacy firms in business with Mohan’s research into how companies like Ford compare to a company like Tesla. Mohan talks about the value chains created by the utilization of data but also the real-time access to it for use by third parties that you may not have initially planned for, having its own set of risks and rewards. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The future has a landscape that is navigated as it comes, but across industries, legacy firms, and newly formed start-ups will do that very differently. All companies will be used to having sound strategies in the product world but may miss ways to capitalize on their data streams and what opportunities they open up. Mohan Subramaniam is a professor of Strategy at IMD in Lausanne, and he is also the author of the book The Future of Competitive Strategy: Unleashing the Power of Data and Digital Ecosystems. Mohan and Greg discuss the operational and strategic differences between digital firms and legacy firms in business with Mohan’s research into how companies like Ford compare to a company like Tesla. Mohan talks about the value chains created by the utilization of data but also the real-time access to it for use by third parties that you may not have initially planned for, having its own set of risks and rewards. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 314 a3e756f6-1e98-415c-9358-d11592c5cbb5 313. Closing Opportunity Gaps Through Early Childhood Skill Development feat. Nate G. Hilger The significance of early childhood skill development and its influence on long-term income and success differentials is widely recognized today. However, there exists a reluctance within society to allocate substantial resources toward extensive research and development endeavors aimed at innovating and enhancing the effectiveness of this pivotal learning process.

While discussions about educational inequality receive significant attention, it is important to note that formal education constitutes only a small portion of a child's overall time. This places the primary responsibility for child skill development on parents as a private obligation, without providing them adequate training or addressing unrealistic expectations.

Nate G. Hilger is a researcher and writer with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He has worked as a professor of economics at Brown University and as an economist and data scientist in Silicon Valley. His book The Parent Trap: How to Stop Overloading Parents and Fix Our Inequality Crisis exposes the true costs of our society’s unrealistic expectations around parenting and lays out a profoundly hopeful blueprint for reform.

Greg and Nate discuss how the limited political influence of parents leads to the lack of funding for child skill development research and how cultural discussion about gender and race in the curriculum distracts from more valuable and universally supported concerns such as financing childcare and extracurricular activities, as well as ensuring access to comprehensive health and mental healthcare for children.

They also talk about how to close the gap between kids of lower and higher-income families by providing access to high-quality early learning environments before kindergarten for everyone.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Should we start investing in parenting?

20:40: I think the reason why we don't have hundreds of large-scale clinical trials, testing what works and what doesn't work in parenting and, more specifically, child development every year is just because we're not choosing to invest in the development of this knowledge. And I think it's a huge mistake we're making as a society. 

Shifting perspective on childhood development

02:39: Once we reframe how we see child development, it starts to become clear that asking parents to organize 90% of this complicated activity on their own, in their spare time, on their dollar, is not a realistic expectation.

A promising direction for progressives to push on

49:31: If we could all come together and agree that kids need more universal support from professionals, like tutors, teachers, counselors, and nurses in their local communities, that would help people reach adulthood ready to stand independently and not rely as much on government programs.

A big shift into the broader portfolio of skills that feed into lifelong success

09:52: Economists tend to fixate on what they can measure and do statistics with. So now economists are coming on board as well to realize the extreme importance of things like social skills, empathy, your ability to speak clearly and persuasively, communication skills, your ability to persevere when you suffer a setback or a rejection, and your ability to control your emotions and your impulses in hot situations. So it's this broader range of skills that we're talking about here in terms of the burden we place on parents and what schools can achieve given that they have such a small share of children's time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 2 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The significance of early childhood skill development and its influence on long-term income and success differentials is widely recognized today. However, there exists a reluctance within society to allocate substantial resources toward extensive research and development endeavors aimed at innovating and enhancing the effectiveness of this pivotal learning process.

While discussions about educational inequality receive significant attention, it is important to note that formal education constitutes only a small portion of a child's overall time. This places the primary responsibility for child skill development on parents as a private obligation, without providing them adequate training or addressing unrealistic expectations.

Nate G. Hilger is a researcher and writer with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He has worked as a professor of economics at Brown University and as an economist and data scientist in Silicon Valley. His book The Parent Trap: How to Stop Overloading Parents and Fix Our Inequality Crisis exposes the true costs of our society’s unrealistic expectations around parenting and lays out a profoundly hopeful blueprint for reform.

Greg and Nate discuss how the limited political influence of parents leads to the lack of funding for child skill development research and how cultural discussion about gender and race in the curriculum distracts from more valuable and universally supported concerns such as financing childcare and extracurricular activities, as well as ensuring access to comprehensive health and mental healthcare for children.

They also talk about how to close the gap between kids of lower and higher-income families by providing access to high-quality early learning environments before kindergarten for everyone.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Should we start investing in parenting?

20:40: I think the reason why we don't have hundreds of large-scale clinical trials, testing what works and what doesn't work in parenting and, more specifically, child development every year is just because we're not choosing to invest in the development of this knowledge. And I think it's a huge mistake we're making as a society. 

Shifting perspective on childhood development

02:39: Once we reframe how we see child development, it starts to become clear that asking parents to organize 90% of this complicated activity on their own, in their spare time, on their dollar, is not a realistic expectation.

A promising direction for progressives to push on

49:31: If we could all come together and agree that kids need more universal support from professionals, like tutors, teachers, counselors, and nurses in their local communities, that would help people reach adulthood ready to stand independently and not rely as much on government programs.

A big shift into the broader portfolio of skills that feed into lifelong success

09:52: Economists tend to fixate on what they can measure and do statistics with. So now economists are coming on board as well to realize the extreme importance of things like social skills, empathy, your ability to speak clearly and persuasively, communication skills, your ability to persevere when you suffer a setback or a rejection, and your ability to control your emotions and your impulses in hot situations. So it's this broader range of skills that we're talking about here in terms of the burden we place on parents and what schools can achieve given that they have such a small share of children's time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 313. Closing Opportunity Gaps Through Early Childhood Skill Development feat. Nate G. Hilger Greg La Blanc 00:57:10 The significance of early childhood skill development and its influence on long-term income and success differentials is widely recognized today. However, there exists a reluctance within society to allocate substantial resources toward extensive research and development endeavors aimed at innovating and enhancing the effectiveness of this pivotal learning process. While discussions about educational inequality receive significant attention, it is important to note that formal education constitutes only a small portion of a child's overall time. This places the primary responsibility for child skill development on parents as a private obligation, without providing them adequate training or addressing unrealistic expectations. Nate G. Hilger is a researcher and writer with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He has worked as a professor of economics at Brown University and as an economist and data scientist in Silicon Valley. His book The Parent Trap: How to Stop Overloading Parents and Fix Our Inequality Crisis exposes the true costs of our society’s unrealistic expectations around parenting and lays out a profoundly hopeful blueprint for reform. Greg and Nate discuss how the limited political influence of parents leads to the lack of funding for child skill development research and how cultural discussion about gender and race in the curriculum distracts from more valuable and universally supported concerns such as financing childcare and extracurricular activities, as well as ensuring access to comprehensive health and mental healthcare for children. They also talk about how to close the gap between kids of lower and higher-income families by providing access to high-quality early learning environments before kindergarten for everyone. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The significance of early childhood skill development and its influence on long-term income and success differentials is widely recognized today. However, there exists a reluctance within society to allocate substantial resources toward extensive research and development endeavors aimed at innovating and enhancing the effectiveness of this pivotal learning process. While discussions about educational inequality receive significant attention, it is important to note that formal education constitutes only a small portion of a child's overall time. This places the primary responsibility for child skill development on parents as a private obligation, without providing them adequate training or addressing unrealistic expectations. Nate G. Hilger is a researcher and writer with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He has worked as a professor of economics at Brown University and as an economist and data scientist in Silicon Valley. His book The Parent Trap: How to Stop Overloading Parents and Fix Our Inequality Crisis exposes the true costs of our society’s unrealistic expectations around parenting and lays out a profoundly hopeful blueprint for reform. Greg and Nate discuss how the limited political influence of parents leads to the lack of funding for child skill development research and how cultural discussion about gender and race in the curriculum distracts from more valuable and universally supported concerns such as financing childcare and extracurricular activities, as well as ensuring access to comprehensive health and mental healthcare for children. They also talk about how to close the gap between kids of lower and higher-income families by providing access to high-quality early learning environments before kindergarten for everyone. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 313 c8cce3a6-d1bd-46d6-930a-f794639689ca 312. The Origins of Human Rights feat. Samuel Moyn The concern for human rights seems to be deeply rooted in history and based on longstanding moral concerns, but the modern human rights movement has very different motivations and concerns than previous rights-based movements. Samuel Moyn is a Professor of History and Law at Yale University and Yale Law School. He is also the author of several books, the most recent of which being Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War.

Samuel and Greg discuss common perceptions and misconceptions about the growth of human rights doctrine, how the modern human rights movement is anti-utopian, and the role of Christianity in human rights movements. Samuel points out that governments throughout America’s history and also that of the West have used Human Rights as a rallying cry from both the left and the right to justify invasion, destruction, and violence. Samuel zooms out to talk with Greg about what morality these rights have been latched onto and where that morality has derived its authority at different times, and they talk about the current state of politics and the use of human rights as a chess piece in a very divided political landscape.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Historians’ role in imparting knowledge for progress or correcting past misunderstandings

52:48: Historians can play a powerful and useful role in challenging dominant narratives, especially when they leave a lot out. And I've tried to do that in my work—not because I know what we should do, but because I wanted to disrupt a consensus that has been earned through historical myth. And once that myth is cleared away or less distortion, to rarely lie, it would be a lot easier if we could just say, "Our enemies are lying." But it's clear that history is a war in politics, and there's no way to free history from politics, although hopefully, we can have some conventions that keep our stories, at least from outright propaganda.

Christianity and its connection to the human rights movement

21:26: We can't say that Christianity always leads to human rights; often it leads to opposing human rights, but at various pivotal moments, there's a connection that we have to recognize.

Human rights can mean a lot of things to different people

48:53: Human rights can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, so I wouldn't rule out that there could be some movement that says it's a human rights movement that sets the world on fire. And after all, I'm claiming that human rights 1.0 - revolutionary human rights - did so. But if we take that for granted, then we have to ask: is the current version of the idea of human rights and the movement associated with it going to have that same effect without being radically reimagined? And I think the answer is no, especially if we care more than ever about the distribution of the good things in life.

Is utopia a recipe for terror?

38:03: Before the human rights movement, these Cold War liberals think utopia is a recipe for terror, and it's just people didn't get the memo for a while, but in our time, I think we've kind of embedded Cold War liberalism as our kind of second nature.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Mon, 31 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The concern for human rights seems to be deeply rooted in history and based on longstanding moral concerns, but the modern human rights movement has very different motivations and concerns than previous rights-based movements. Samuel Moyn is a Professor of History and Law at Yale University and Yale Law School. He is also the author of several books, the most recent of which being Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War.

Samuel and Greg discuss common perceptions and misconceptions about the growth of human rights doctrine, how the modern human rights movement is anti-utopian, and the role of Christianity in human rights movements. Samuel points out that governments throughout America’s history and also that of the West have used Human Rights as a rallying cry from both the left and the right to justify invasion, destruction, and violence. Samuel zooms out to talk with Greg about what morality these rights have been latched onto and where that morality has derived its authority at different times, and they talk about the current state of politics and the use of human rights as a chess piece in a very divided political landscape.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Historians’ role in imparting knowledge for progress or correcting past misunderstandings

52:48: Historians can play a powerful and useful role in challenging dominant narratives, especially when they leave a lot out. And I've tried to do that in my work—not because I know what we should do, but because I wanted to disrupt a consensus that has been earned through historical myth. And once that myth is cleared away or less distortion, to rarely lie, it would be a lot easier if we could just say, "Our enemies are lying." But it's clear that history is a war in politics, and there's no way to free history from politics, although hopefully, we can have some conventions that keep our stories, at least from outright propaganda.

Christianity and its connection to the human rights movement

21:26: We can't say that Christianity always leads to human rights; often it leads to opposing human rights, but at various pivotal moments, there's a connection that we have to recognize.

Human rights can mean a lot of things to different people

48:53: Human rights can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, so I wouldn't rule out that there could be some movement that says it's a human rights movement that sets the world on fire. And after all, I'm claiming that human rights 1.0 - revolutionary human rights - did so. But if we take that for granted, then we have to ask: is the current version of the idea of human rights and the movement associated with it going to have that same effect without being radically reimagined? And I think the answer is no, especially if we care more than ever about the distribution of the good things in life.

Is utopia a recipe for terror?

38:03: Before the human rights movement, these Cold War liberals think utopia is a recipe for terror, and it's just people didn't get the memo for a while, but in our time, I think we've kind of embedded Cold War liberalism as our kind of second nature.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 312. The Origins of Human Rights feat. Samuel Moyn Greg La Blanc 00:53:02 The concern for human rights seems to be deeply rooted in history and based on longstanding moral concerns, but the modern human rights movement has very different motivations and concerns than previous rights-based movements. Samuel Moyn is a Professor of History and Law at Yale University and Yale Law School. He is also the author of several books, the most recent of which being Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War. Samuel and Greg discuss common perceptions and misconceptions about the growth of human rights doctrine, how the modern human rights movement is anti-utopian, and the role of Christianity in human rights movements. Samuel points out that governments throughout America’s history and also that of the West have used Human Rights as a rallying cry from both the left and the right to justify invasion, destruction, and violence. Samuel zooms out to talk with Greg about what morality these rights have been latched onto and where that morality has derived its authority at different times, and they talk about the current state of politics and the use of human rights as a chess piece in a very divided political landscape. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The concern for human rights seems to be deeply rooted in history and based on longstanding moral concerns, but the modern human rights movement has very different motivations and concerns than previous rights-based movements. Samuel Moyn is a Professor of History and Law at Yale University and Yale Law School. He is also the author of several books, the most recent of which being Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War. Samuel and Greg discuss common perceptions and misconceptions about the growth of human rights doctrine, how the modern human rights movement is anti-utopian, and the role of Christianity in human rights movements. Samuel points out that governments throughout America’s history and also that of the West have used Human Rights as a rallying cry from both the left and the right to justify invasion, destruction, and violence. Samuel zooms out to talk with Greg about what morality these rights have been latched onto and where that morality has derived its authority at different times, and they talk about the current state of politics and the use of human rights as a chess piece in a very divided political landscape. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 312 fdc95213-148a-49b6-9a86-f41366e2e00f 311. What Exactly is Violence? feat. David Alan Sklansky The importance of the division between violent and non-violent crimes seems to have existed for as long as we’ve had laws, but in reality, its legal salience is much more recent. So what happened in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s that led to the increase in punishment for crimes designated as violent? And what effects has it had?

David Alan Sklansky is a professor at Stanford Law School and also an author. His latest book, from earlier this year, is titled A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice.

David and Greg discuss what changes the division of punishments of crimes has gone through over the years, what makes a crime violent or non-violent, and how those labels can be misleading or have shifted over time. They talk about how the stand-your-ground laws have grown in popularity, taking over from the former philosophy of duty to retreat. David discusses how violent acts are looked at differently, whether they are committed by citizens vs. officers of the law, and what that can say about a society.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The perils of distinguishing serious violence

54:37: It may seem like that's not a big deal to talk about serious violence rather than violence. But I think it is because the thing about the language of serious violence is it wears its ambiguity, its subjectivity, or its vagueness on its sleeve. Nobody imagines that the line between serious and non-serious violence is clear and sharp. The very language makes it obvious that we're going to have to draw a distinction. We don't know exactly where the line is, but when we talk about violent versus nonviolent offenses, it's easy, it's natural, and it's common to think that there's a sharp line here and that anybody who's convicted of a violent offense is obviously and categorically worse, and that has huge consequence.

The law draws on popular ideas about violence

12:34: The law draws on popular ideas about violence, but the law also clearly reinforces those ideas by treating violence as a formal category and a category that has clear boundaries.

Recognizing the gravity of violent policing

04:18: There are other areas where we don't pay enough attention to the distinction between violence and nonviolent conduct, and the most important of those has to do with policing, where the law and rules that have developed for police misconduct don't treat violent police misconduct as categorically worse or really as even different than nonviolent police misconduct. And I think that's a mistake.

Is violence a result of someone’s deep-seated character?

17:49: Violence was thought to be the kind of thing that often happened explosively. I think over the last several decades, the way in which the law has thought about violence has shifted, and it's become much more common in many, but not all contexts to think about violence as something that is the result of somebody's deep-seated character and not the result of the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 28 Jul 2023 08:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The importance of the division between violent and non-violent crimes seems to have existed for as long as we’ve had laws, but in reality, its legal salience is much more recent. So what happened in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s that led to the increase in punishment for crimes designated as violent? And what effects has it had?

David Alan Sklansky is a professor at Stanford Law School and also an author. His latest book, from earlier this year, is titled A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice.

David and Greg discuss what changes the division of punishments of crimes has gone through over the years, what makes a crime violent or non-violent, and how those labels can be misleading or have shifted over time. They talk about how the stand-your-ground laws have grown in popularity, taking over from the former philosophy of duty to retreat. David discusses how violent acts are looked at differently, whether they are committed by citizens vs. officers of the law, and what that can say about a society.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The perils of distinguishing serious violence

54:37: It may seem like that's not a big deal to talk about serious violence rather than violence. But I think it is because the thing about the language of serious violence is it wears its ambiguity, its subjectivity, or its vagueness on its sleeve. Nobody imagines that the line between serious and non-serious violence is clear and sharp. The very language makes it obvious that we're going to have to draw a distinction. We don't know exactly where the line is, but when we talk about violent versus nonviolent offenses, it's easy, it's natural, and it's common to think that there's a sharp line here and that anybody who's convicted of a violent offense is obviously and categorically worse, and that has huge consequence.

The law draws on popular ideas about violence

12:34: The law draws on popular ideas about violence, but the law also clearly reinforces those ideas by treating violence as a formal category and a category that has clear boundaries.

Recognizing the gravity of violent policing

04:18: There are other areas where we don't pay enough attention to the distinction between violence and nonviolent conduct, and the most important of those has to do with policing, where the law and rules that have developed for police misconduct don't treat violent police misconduct as categorically worse or really as even different than nonviolent police misconduct. And I think that's a mistake.

Is violence a result of someone’s deep-seated character?

17:49: Violence was thought to be the kind of thing that often happened explosively. I think over the last several decades, the way in which the law has thought about violence has shifted, and it's become much more common in many, but not all contexts to think about violence as something that is the result of somebody's deep-seated character and not the result of the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 311. What Exactly is Violence? feat. David Alan Sklansky Greg La Blanc 00:57:53 The importance of the division between violent and non-violent crimes seems to have existed for as long as we’ve had laws, but in reality, its legal salience is much more recent. So what happened in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s that led to the increase in punishment for crimes designated as violent? And what effects has it had? David Alan Sklansky is a professor at Stanford Law School and also an author. His latest book, from earlier this year, is titled A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice. David and Greg discuss what changes the division of punishments of crimes has gone through over the years, what makes a crime violent or non-violent, and how those labels can be misleading or have shifted over time. They talk about how the stand-your-ground laws have grown in popularity, taking over from the former philosophy of duty to retreat. David discusses how violent acts are looked at differently, whether they are committed by citizens vs. officers of the law, and what that can say about a society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The importance of the division between violent and non-violent crimes seems to have existed for as long as we’ve had laws, but in reality, its legal salience is much more recent. So what happened in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s that led to the increase in punishment for crimes designated as violent? And what effects has it had? David Alan Sklansky is a professor at Stanford Law School and also an author. His latest book, from earlier this year, is titled A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice. David and Greg discuss what changes the division of punishments of crimes has gone through over the years, what makes a crime violent or non-violent, and how those labels can be misleading or have shifted over time. They talk about how the stand-your-ground laws have grown in popularity, taking over from the former philosophy of duty to retreat. David discusses how violent acts are looked at differently, whether they are committed by citizens vs. officers of the law, and what that can say about a society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 311 ea149aab-5859-4546-b4ae-095eacc4be04 310. Understanding the Gender Wage Gap feat. Claudia Goldin It’s 2023, and women still only make 83 cents for every dollar a man makes in the U.S. While that gender wage gap has shrunk over time, why does it still persist? And what would it take to close it?

Claudia Goldin is the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University. She’s written numerous books on women in the workforce and the history of labor. Her most recent book is called Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey Toward Equity. 

Claudia and Greg discuss the history of the gender wage gap, how women’s place in the workforce has shifted over time, and what steps employers can take toward true pay and gender equity. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is a greedy job?

24:43: The greedy jobs are the ones that pay the most for additional hours, maybe not even additional hours, but your weekends, your vacations, that demand that you be on the road, that you be up in the air. And so those are the ones that women, disproportionately and for reasons that have to do with social norms, can't take. And so, therefore, in different-sex couples, there is a decision that we're not going to have couple equity. I'm going to take the flexible job, and you're going to take the greedy job. And so, by removing the fact that we no longer have couple equity, we throw gender equity under the bus.

Are people constrained by norms?

56:12: Norms arise because they have a function and are often kept in place and enforced by generations of people, whom we often call our parents and grandparents. And it would be very, very good if these norms changed as fast as society is changing.

The difference between norms and beliefs

32:26: It's required for a norm that there be a set of arbiters outside that care about the norms and go like this when you're not following the norms. And when those people go away, then you can do whatever you want. Norms require that there be an enforcer. An arbiter, okay? Beliefs are different. Beliefs are things like religion. No one isn't necessarily enforcing that. It's something that you believe in and preferences. If we have a mental accounting of this, preferences as well do not require that there be orbiters, but norms require that there be orbiters.

Reframing the way we think about leaky pipeline

50:17: A better way of thinking about the pipeline is that it's not leaking. It's that it's been made so convoluted. It has twists and turns that it's impeding. It's not as if women are leaking out. They're just being impeded from going forward.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 26 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It’s 2023, and women still only make 83 cents for every dollar a man makes in the U.S. While that gender wage gap has shrunk over time, why does it still persist? And what would it take to close it?

Claudia Goldin is the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University. She’s written numerous books on women in the workforce and the history of labor. Her most recent book is called Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey Toward Equity. 

Claudia and Greg discuss the history of the gender wage gap, how women’s place in the workforce has shifted over time, and what steps employers can take toward true pay and gender equity. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is a greedy job?

24:43: The greedy jobs are the ones that pay the most for additional hours, maybe not even additional hours, but your weekends, your vacations, that demand that you be on the road, that you be up in the air. And so those are the ones that women, disproportionately and for reasons that have to do with social norms, can't take. And so, therefore, in different-sex couples, there is a decision that we're not going to have couple equity. I'm going to take the flexible job, and you're going to take the greedy job. And so, by removing the fact that we no longer have couple equity, we throw gender equity under the bus.

Are people constrained by norms?

56:12: Norms arise because they have a function and are often kept in place and enforced by generations of people, whom we often call our parents and grandparents. And it would be very, very good if these norms changed as fast as society is changing.

The difference between norms and beliefs

32:26: It's required for a norm that there be a set of arbiters outside that care about the norms and go like this when you're not following the norms. And when those people go away, then you can do whatever you want. Norms require that there be an enforcer. An arbiter, okay? Beliefs are different. Beliefs are things like religion. No one isn't necessarily enforcing that. It's something that you believe in and preferences. If we have a mental accounting of this, preferences as well do not require that there be orbiters, but norms require that there be orbiters.

Reframing the way we think about leaky pipeline

50:17: A better way of thinking about the pipeline is that it's not leaking. It's that it's been made so convoluted. It has twists and turns that it's impeding. It's not as if women are leaking out. They're just being impeded from going forward.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 310. Understanding the Gender Wage Gap feat. Claudia Goldin Greg La Blanc 00:57:09 It’s 2023, and women still only make 83 cents for every dollar a man makes in the U.S. While that gender wage gap has shrunk over time, why does it still persist? And what would it take to close it? Claudia Goldin is the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University. She’s written numerous books on women in the workforce and the history of labor. Her most recent book is called Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey Toward Equity. Claudia and Greg discuss the history of the gender wage gap, how women’s place in the workforce has shifted over time, and what steps employers can take toward true pay and gender equity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* It’s 2023, and women still only make 83 cents for every dollar a man makes in the U.S. While that gender wage gap has shrunk over time, why does it still persist? And what would it take to close it? Claudia Goldin is the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University. She’s written numerous books on women in the workforce and the history of labor. Her most recent book is called Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey Toward Equity. Claudia and Greg discuss the history of the gender wage gap, how women’s place in the workforce has shifted over time, and what steps employers can take toward true pay and gender equity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 310 0cc5de32-2a71-4d29-9a6d-b300174d8b30 309. The Roots of Our Desires feat. Luke Burgis Where do our desires come from? Babies don’t come into this world with an inherent drive to found tech companies. How much do our environment and the people around us shape those wants? 

Luke Burgis is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Catholic University of America and is the author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, which expands on the mimetic theory of René Girard's. He also co-authored the book, Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person, which explores how to find one’s true vocation in life. 

Luke and Greg discuss why so many of our desires come from imitating those around us, the difference between thick vs. thin desires, and how true vocations in life should transcend just a job. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The importance of developing the habit of being present 

47:41: We need to learn that skill of being present because we're always on all the time, social media phones. And when I say on, I mean we live in a world where everything is recorded. Everything is on stage; all the world's a stage, as Shakespeare said. So stepping off that stage from time to time doesn't necessarily mean going on a silent retreat, as I have. I've been very lucky to have had the opportunity to go on those. Sometimes it just means stepping off that stage and just being alone with ourselves and the people that are close to us.

The moving goalpost is a real problem for mimesis

33:23: The moving goalpost problem is a real problem when it comes to mimesis, especially when we're not clear about what the objectives are.

Social media and how it made all of us into internal mediators for one another

26:43: Social media, it's called the town square. But in a sense, it's made all of us into internal mediators for one another. We can all interact. It's narrowed the space—the existential space—between us and just made it a lot easier to assimilate ideas. It seems like we're all kind of living in each other's heads.

What does it mean to have a personal vocation that is unrepeatable?

53:22: ​​A vocation is something intensely personal. And that, you know, is mine because of my unique, created nature because of my time and unique circumstances that I've been born into. My unique family, the people that I encounter on a daily basis, and my personal vocation will be different than anybody else's who's ever lived.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 24 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Where do our desires come from? Babies don’t come into this world with an inherent drive to found tech companies. How much do our environment and the people around us shape those wants? 

Luke Burgis is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Catholic University of America and is the author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, which expands on the mimetic theory of René Girard's. He also co-authored the book, Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person, which explores how to find one’s true vocation in life. 

Luke and Greg discuss why so many of our desires come from imitating those around us, the difference between thick vs. thin desires, and how true vocations in life should transcend just a job. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The importance of developing the habit of being present 

47:41: We need to learn that skill of being present because we're always on all the time, social media phones. And when I say on, I mean we live in a world where everything is recorded. Everything is on stage; all the world's a stage, as Shakespeare said. So stepping off that stage from time to time doesn't necessarily mean going on a silent retreat, as I have. I've been very lucky to have had the opportunity to go on those. Sometimes it just means stepping off that stage and just being alone with ourselves and the people that are close to us.

The moving goalpost is a real problem for mimesis

33:23: The moving goalpost problem is a real problem when it comes to mimesis, especially when we're not clear about what the objectives are.

Social media and how it made all of us into internal mediators for one another

26:43: Social media, it's called the town square. But in a sense, it's made all of us into internal mediators for one another. We can all interact. It's narrowed the space—the existential space—between us and just made it a lot easier to assimilate ideas. It seems like we're all kind of living in each other's heads.

What does it mean to have a personal vocation that is unrepeatable?

53:22: ​​A vocation is something intensely personal. And that, you know, is mine because of my unique, created nature because of my time and unique circumstances that I've been born into. My unique family, the people that I encounter on a daily basis, and my personal vocation will be different than anybody else's who's ever lived.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 309. The Roots of Our Desires feat. Luke Burgis Greg La Blanc 00:57:59 Where do our desires come from? Babies don’t come into this world with an inherent drive to found tech companies. How much do our environment and the people around us shape those wants? Luke Burgis is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Catholic University of America and is the author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, which expands on the mimetic theory of René Girard's. He also co-authored the book, Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person, which explores how to find one’s true vocation in life. Luke and Greg discuss why so many of our desires come from imitating those around us, the difference between thick vs. thin desires, and how true vocations in life should transcend just a job. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Where do our desires come from? Babies don’t come into this world with an inherent drive to found tech companies. How much do our environment and the people around us shape those wants? Luke Burgis is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Catholic University of America and is the author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, which expands on the mimetic theory of René Girard's. He also co-authored the book, Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person, which explores how to find one’s true vocation in life. Luke and Greg discuss why so many of our desires come from imitating those around us, the difference between thick vs. thin desires, and how true vocations in life should transcend just a job. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 309 3e032291-95ba-4395-80a3-6ea2381ff7cf 308. Understand Others / Understand Yourself feat. Thomas Erikson What if the key to understanding the way other people behave is understanding your own behavior first? 

Author Thomas Erikson has spent decades studying how people communicate and function. Through his work, he outlines four basic behavioral types to help people understand each other better in the workplace and in life. His books include, Surrounded by Idiots, Surrounded by Psychopaths, and Surrounded by Bad Bosses. 

Thomas and Greg discuss the red, yellow, green, and blue archetypes of behavior, why this framework will help you understand yourself better, and the benefits and limitations of personality tests. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On why you shouldn't forget about your soft skills

01:05:09: If you forget about the soft skills, you're going to get yourself in trouble because you will need other people throughout your life to cooperate with. But to anybody who's listening, you will never make it on your own. I'm a self-made man. No, you’re not. You didn't do it completely on your own. Maybe you're the strongest driver in your life. Sure. But you didn't make it on your own. That is actually not true. You use a lot of other people. And if you know the best possible way to motivate them and bring them on board, that is what you're going to need. People skills—that’s the magic.

Knowing how to keep your word is crucial to any process

47:26: The difference between what you say and what you do for me is the most crucial point in any process, really, when it comes to recruiting new staff members, finding business partners, or finding investors.

Motivators vs. behaviors

23:14: Motivators are even more important than behaviors. Cause behaviors are what's on the surface. You can see the behavior, you can see how he talks, how he walks, what he says, what he doesn't say. You can't see the motivators. I call them even drivers. Because motivational factors drive your actions, it drives your behaviors. And deeper down that, you have the personality which is somewhere beneath the surface.

How do you recognize a psychopath?

59:00: If it feels bad, then it is bad because your emotions don't lie. Maybe you don't know why you feel bad when you're around this person or that person, but if it feels bad, it's bad, and then you should listen to that. Try to observe why I feel bad when I'm working with him. What is it that he's doing that makes me feel like this? That could be the only answer you need for now, and maybe then you should 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if the key to understanding the way other people behave is understanding your own behavior first? 

Author Thomas Erikson has spent decades studying how people communicate and function. Through his work, he outlines four basic behavioral types to help people understand each other better in the workplace and in life. His books include, Surrounded by Idiots, Surrounded by Psychopaths, and Surrounded by Bad Bosses. 

Thomas and Greg discuss the red, yellow, green, and blue archetypes of behavior, why this framework will help you understand yourself better, and the benefits and limitations of personality tests. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On why you shouldn't forget about your soft skills

01:05:09: If you forget about the soft skills, you're going to get yourself in trouble because you will need other people throughout your life to cooperate with. But to anybody who's listening, you will never make it on your own. I'm a self-made man. No, you’re not. You didn't do it completely on your own. Maybe you're the strongest driver in your life. Sure. But you didn't make it on your own. That is actually not true. You use a lot of other people. And if you know the best possible way to motivate them and bring them on board, that is what you're going to need. People skills—that’s the magic.

Knowing how to keep your word is crucial to any process

47:26: The difference between what you say and what you do for me is the most crucial point in any process, really, when it comes to recruiting new staff members, finding business partners, or finding investors.

Motivators vs. behaviors

23:14: Motivators are even more important than behaviors. Cause behaviors are what's on the surface. You can see the behavior, you can see how he talks, how he walks, what he says, what he doesn't say. You can't see the motivators. I call them even drivers. Because motivational factors drive your actions, it drives your behaviors. And deeper down that, you have the personality which is somewhere beneath the surface.

How do you recognize a psychopath?

59:00: If it feels bad, then it is bad because your emotions don't lie. Maybe you don't know why you feel bad when you're around this person or that person, but if it feels bad, it's bad, and then you should listen to that. Try to observe why I feel bad when I'm working with him. What is it that he's doing that makes me feel like this? That could be the only answer you need for now, and maybe then you should 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 308. Understand Others / Understand Yourself feat. Thomas Erikson Greg La Blanc 01:10:27 What if the key to understanding the way other people behave is understanding your own behavior first? Author Thomas Erikson has spent decades studying how people communicate and function. Through his work, he outlines four basic behavioral types to help people understand each other better in the workplace and in life. His books include, Surrounded by Idiots, Surrounded by Psychopaths, and Surrounded by Bad Bosses. Thomas and Greg discuss the red, yellow, green, and blue archetypes of behavior, why this framework will help you understand yourself better, and the benefits and limitations of personality tests. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What if the key to understanding the way other people behave is understanding your own behavior first? Author Thomas Erikson has spent decades studying how people communicate and function. Through his work, he outlines four basic behavioral types to help people understand each other better in the workplace and in life. His books include, Surrounded by Idiots, Surrounded by Psychopaths, and Surrounded by Bad Bosses. Thomas and Greg discuss the red, yellow, green, and blue archetypes of behavior, why this framework will help you understand yourself better, and the benefits and limitations of personality tests. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 308 7d1c2a34-9fbf-45ed-8949-bdc303d9e0ea 307. The Socioeconomic Diversity Problem at Elite Colleges feat. Evan Mandery Colleges and universities, especially ivy league ones, make a point of accepting the “best and brightest” students. But what if they’re missing a whole slew of the best and brightest because of socioeconomic barriers? 

Evan Mandery is a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. He’s a leading expert on the death penalty but has also been an outspoken critic of elite college admission practices. His most recent book, Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us, looks at the social inequity created by some of these practices, like legacy admissions. 

Evan and Greg discuss the steps colleges could take to socioeconomically diversify their classes, why these inequities exist in the first place, and how public universities compare to their Ivy peers when it comes to admission practices. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The different buckets of college admissions

27:44: The way I conceptualize college admissions is there are like these different buckets that are being filled. You have the athletics bucket, which I don't think people get this. It's huge. And you have the legacy bucket. You have the donor bucket and the children bucket, you know, children of staff and faculty. And so, what you're having is like a "fair competition" for like a third of the slots. And, that's why it's restricted. So the only way this is going to change is either they expand capacity without adding another alpine skiing team or something like that. Or they're going to have to diminish their commitment to those, to reduce the size of some of those inequitable buckets.

The trade-off of increasing spending per student

51:34: As we increase spending per student, we make it more expensive to let in socioeconomically disadvantaged students. This disparity is staggering.

How elite colleges are selling the perception that they have the best and the brightest

10:54: Elite colleges have done a great job of selling the perception that they've identified the best and the brightest. And that is a lot of what the brand is. It's very damaging because I always hasten to say that meritocracy is a double-edged sword. If you say Harvard, Yale, and Princeton students are the best and brightest, you mean everybody else is the worst and dumbest.

What’s wrong about ranking?

19:38: I don't think there's anything inherently wrong about rankings, but they make no effort whatsoever to measure what's actually going on in the classroom. Everything that they're measuring is a proxy for wealth.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 19 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Colleges and universities, especially ivy league ones, make a point of accepting the “best and brightest” students. But what if they’re missing a whole slew of the best and brightest because of socioeconomic barriers? 

Evan Mandery is a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. He’s a leading expert on the death penalty but has also been an outspoken critic of elite college admission practices. His most recent book, Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us, looks at the social inequity created by some of these practices, like legacy admissions. 

Evan and Greg discuss the steps colleges could take to socioeconomically diversify their classes, why these inequities exist in the first place, and how public universities compare to their Ivy peers when it comes to admission practices. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The different buckets of college admissions

27:44: The way I conceptualize college admissions is there are like these different buckets that are being filled. You have the athletics bucket, which I don't think people get this. It's huge. And you have the legacy bucket. You have the donor bucket and the children bucket, you know, children of staff and faculty. And so, what you're having is like a "fair competition" for like a third of the slots. And, that's why it's restricted. So the only way this is going to change is either they expand capacity without adding another alpine skiing team or something like that. Or they're going to have to diminish their commitment to those, to reduce the size of some of those inequitable buckets.

The trade-off of increasing spending per student

51:34: As we increase spending per student, we make it more expensive to let in socioeconomically disadvantaged students. This disparity is staggering.

How elite colleges are selling the perception that they have the best and the brightest

10:54: Elite colleges have done a great job of selling the perception that they've identified the best and the brightest. And that is a lot of what the brand is. It's very damaging because I always hasten to say that meritocracy is a double-edged sword. If you say Harvard, Yale, and Princeton students are the best and brightest, you mean everybody else is the worst and dumbest.

What’s wrong about ranking?

19:38: I don't think there's anything inherently wrong about rankings, but they make no effort whatsoever to measure what's actually going on in the classroom. Everything that they're measuring is a proxy for wealth.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 307. The Socioeconomic Diversity Problem at Elite Colleges feat. Evan Mandery Greg La Blanc 00:58:35 Colleges and universities, especially ivy league ones, make a point of accepting the “best and brightest” students. But what if they’re missing a whole slew of the best and brightest because of socioeconomic barriers? Evan Mandery is a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. He’s a leading expert on the death penalty but has also been an outspoken critic of elite college admission practices. His most recent book, Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us, looks at the social inequity created by some of these practices, like legacy admissions. Evan and Greg discuss the steps colleges could take to socioeconomically diversify their classes, why these inequities exist in the first place, and how public universities compare to their Ivy peers when it comes to admission practices. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Colleges and universities, especially ivy league ones, make a point of accepting the “best and brightest” students. But what if they’re missing a whole slew of the best and brightest because of socioeconomic barriers? Evan Mandery is a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. He’s a leading expert on the death penalty but has also been an outspoken critic of elite college admission practices. His most recent book, Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us, looks at the social inequity created by some of these practices, like legacy admissions. Evan and Greg discuss the steps colleges could take to socioeconomically diversify their classes, why these inequities exist in the first place, and how public universities compare to their Ivy peers when it comes to admission practices. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 307 11698e70-a6a2-418e-a011-71c638734ec0 306. The Permanently Inadequate Human Body feat. Clare Chambers In a society where our bodies are constantly scrutinized and judged, surrounded by filtered images and surgically-enhanced features, we face overwhelming commercial and social pressure to contort ourselves to fit into predefined notions of acceptability.

But is body positivity alone sufficient to resist those societal expectations, or is there a need perhaps for a deeper cultural shift in our relationship with our bodies?

Clare Chambers is a British political philosopher at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, a political philosopher specializing in feminist theory, contemporary liberal theory, theories of social justice, theories of social construction, and bioethics, In her most recent publication, Intact: A Case for the Unaltered Body, Clare explores the unmodified body as a fundamental element of equality.

Clare and Greg explore the detrimental impact of cultural and commercial pressures that perpetually reinforce body dissatisfaction, resulting in notable mental health challenges, while also investigating our inclination to focus on altering the physical form rather than shifting the societal viewpoint on diverse bodies and offering strategies to liberate ourselves from oppressive forces that impose body modifications.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we all anxious about our bodies?

17:15: The message that your body is not good enough is absolutely ubiquitous. We receive that on every level about almost every body part. So each of us has a different personal history with our bodies. Each of us has a different understanding of how our bodies fit into our culture. But in talking to people about the arguments for Intact, what I have clearly seen is that everybody has a part of their body or an aspect of their embodied experience that they feel anxious about and often ashamed of. That shame is about the body is a deep and ubiquitous phenomenon, and it's actually so deep that I think if we feel we don't have that shame, we feel shame as well. There's a sense we expect people to have shame about their bodies.

Is feeling bad about your body part of life?

56:52: Our society, our economics, and our culture are set up in such a way as to try to make us feel bad about our bodies all the time. And so if you are feeling bad about your body as a kid, that is part of life. That doesn't mean that your body is wrong; it's something to recognize and notice but try to move past.

On accepting our bodies and their limitations 

38:49: The body is its limitation for all of us. There are things that our bodies will never be like and can never do. And so the language of kind of cure suggests we need to somehow get rid of this problematic body, and then we'll have fixed the problem. Whereas actually, what we need to do is deal with the social context.

Trying to allow our bodies to be normal is not an easy thing to do

34:53: So trying to allow our bodies to be normal is not an easy thing to do. Our bodies change, and we have to come to terms with them and re-inhabit them. And each time we are faced with this disruption. But it's that allowing our bodies to be normal that I think is and can be compatible with equality, rather than thinking that they must be normal in the sense of being like other bodies.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In a society where our bodies are constantly scrutinized and judged, surrounded by filtered images and surgically-enhanced features, we face overwhelming commercial and social pressure to contort ourselves to fit into predefined notions of acceptability.

But is body positivity alone sufficient to resist those societal expectations, or is there a need perhaps for a deeper cultural shift in our relationship with our bodies?

Clare Chambers is a British political philosopher at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, a political philosopher specializing in feminist theory, contemporary liberal theory, theories of social justice, theories of social construction, and bioethics, In her most recent publication, Intact: A Case for the Unaltered Body, Clare explores the unmodified body as a fundamental element of equality.

Clare and Greg explore the detrimental impact of cultural and commercial pressures that perpetually reinforce body dissatisfaction, resulting in notable mental health challenges, while also investigating our inclination to focus on altering the physical form rather than shifting the societal viewpoint on diverse bodies and offering strategies to liberate ourselves from oppressive forces that impose body modifications.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we all anxious about our bodies?

17:15: The message that your body is not good enough is absolutely ubiquitous. We receive that on every level about almost every body part. So each of us has a different personal history with our bodies. Each of us has a different understanding of how our bodies fit into our culture. But in talking to people about the arguments for Intact, what I have clearly seen is that everybody has a part of their body or an aspect of their embodied experience that they feel anxious about and often ashamed of. That shame is about the body is a deep and ubiquitous phenomenon, and it's actually so deep that I think if we feel we don't have that shame, we feel shame as well. There's a sense we expect people to have shame about their bodies.

Is feeling bad about your body part of life?

56:52: Our society, our economics, and our culture are set up in such a way as to try to make us feel bad about our bodies all the time. And so if you are feeling bad about your body as a kid, that is part of life. That doesn't mean that your body is wrong; it's something to recognize and notice but try to move past.

On accepting our bodies and their limitations 

38:49: The body is its limitation for all of us. There are things that our bodies will never be like and can never do. And so the language of kind of cure suggests we need to somehow get rid of this problematic body, and then we'll have fixed the problem. Whereas actually, what we need to do is deal with the social context.

Trying to allow our bodies to be normal is not an easy thing to do

34:53: So trying to allow our bodies to be normal is not an easy thing to do. Our bodies change, and we have to come to terms with them and re-inhabit them. And each time we are faced with this disruption. But it's that allowing our bodies to be normal that I think is and can be compatible with equality, rather than thinking that they must be normal in the sense of being like other bodies.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 306. The Permanently Inadequate Human Body feat. Clare Chambers Greg La Blanc 01:02:27 In a society where our bodies are constantly scrutinized and judged, surrounded by filtered images and surgically-enhanced features, we face overwhelming commercial and social pressure to contort ourselves to fit into predefined notions of acceptability. But is body positivity alone sufficient to resist those societal expectations, or is there a need perhaps for a deeper cultural shift in our relationship with our bodies? Clare Chambers is a British political philosopher at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, a political philosopher specializing in feminist theory, contemporary liberal theory, theories of social justice, theories of social construction, and bioethics, In her most recent publication, Intact: A Case for the Unaltered Body, Clare explores the unmodified body as a fundamental element of equality. Clare and Greg explore the detrimental impact of cultural and commercial pressures that perpetually reinforce body dissatisfaction, resulting in notable mental health challenges, while also investigating our inclination to focus on altering the physical form rather than shifting the societal viewpoint on diverse bodies and offering strategies to liberate ourselves from oppressive forces that impose body modifications. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In a society where our bodies are constantly scrutinized and judged, surrounded by filtered images and surgically-enhanced features, we face overwhelming commercial and social pressure to contort ourselves to fit into predefined notions of acceptability. But is body positivity alone sufficient to resist those societal expectations, or is there a need perhaps for a deeper cultural shift in our relationship with our bodies? Clare Chambers is a British political philosopher at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, a political philosopher specializing in feminist theory, contemporary liberal theory, theories of social justice, theories of social construction, and bioethics, In her most recent publication, Intact: A Case for the Unaltered Body, Clare explores the unmodified body as a fundamental element of equality. Clare and Greg explore the detrimental impact of cultural and commercial pressures that perpetually reinforce body dissatisfaction, resulting in notable mental health challenges, while also investigating our inclination to focus on altering the physical form rather than shifting the societal viewpoint on diverse bodies and offering strategies to liberate ourselves from oppressive forces that impose body modifications. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 306 bf870bce-393d-4e8d-a3bc-c0f467095a17 305. Navigating a World of Deception feat. Daniel Simons From social media disinformation and phishing emails to grand-scale scams such as multimillion-dollar counterfeit art, Ponzi schemes or scientific fraud, our world is full of deceptions.

Surprisingly, it is our own intuition that can be our worst enemy. The tendency to blindly accept what we already believe in or trust what sounds too good to be true leaves us vulnerable to deception. 

So how do we find the right balance between blind trust and constant skepticism?

Daniel Simons is an experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, and the co-author of several books. His latest book, Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It, explores how our instincts lead us to fall prey to scams and how to spot deceptions. 

Daniel and Greg discuss how our limited attention resources result in a focus on specific tasks and potential neglect of other crucial elements, and how personally appealing information can easily lead us down the wrong path. They also talk about the need to parse the world more finely without succumbing to wholesale distrust by evaluating our assumptions and posing challenging questions.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The problem with attention

09:52: This is the general problem with attention. We tend to focus on one thing well and need to do that. We need to be able to filter out those distractions. So you want people looking for the thing that they’re supposed to find, because most of the time, that's what you want them doing, right? You want them devoting their resources to the diagnosis that's most likely. It's just that every now and then, you're going to miss something that's sometimes rare and sometimes not what you're looking for.

Looking at consistency in a different way

23:48: We often take consistency as a sign of deep understanding and credibility when we really should be looking for noise and should take it as a red flag.

How do you know what the optimal allocation of trust resources is?

10:04: We have to trust, and we have to accept that what other people are telling us is true much of the time. Otherwise, you really couldn't function if you were perpetual, cynic and skeptic about everything. You couldn't get anywhere. You'd be checking the ingredients on every box of food you buy to make sure it truly is what it says it is. You couldn't function in society and be a perpetual skeptic. And there's going to be a spectrum of people who are going to be much more trusting and much less critical and skeptical, and others who are much more skeptical. But you have to find this happy medium.

Considering how we can be deceived

02:26: This book is more about how our patterns of thought and the information that we find appealing and attractive can lead us down the wrong path. (02:51) The problem for most of us is that we don't typically think about how we can be deceived. So in that sense, it's probably less likely to become a tool for scammers than for users and consumers. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 14 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast From social media disinformation and phishing emails to grand-scale scams such as multimillion-dollar counterfeit art, Ponzi schemes or scientific fraud, our world is full of deceptions.

Surprisingly, it is our own intuition that can be our worst enemy. The tendency to blindly accept what we already believe in or trust what sounds too good to be true leaves us vulnerable to deception. 

So how do we find the right balance between blind trust and constant skepticism?

Daniel Simons is an experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, and the co-author of several books. His latest book, Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It, explores how our instincts lead us to fall prey to scams and how to spot deceptions. 

Daniel and Greg discuss how our limited attention resources result in a focus on specific tasks and potential neglect of other crucial elements, and how personally appealing information can easily lead us down the wrong path. They also talk about the need to parse the world more finely without succumbing to wholesale distrust by evaluating our assumptions and posing challenging questions.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The problem with attention

09:52: This is the general problem with attention. We tend to focus on one thing well and need to do that. We need to be able to filter out those distractions. So you want people looking for the thing that they’re supposed to find, because most of the time, that's what you want them doing, right? You want them devoting their resources to the diagnosis that's most likely. It's just that every now and then, you're going to miss something that's sometimes rare and sometimes not what you're looking for.

Looking at consistency in a different way

23:48: We often take consistency as a sign of deep understanding and credibility when we really should be looking for noise and should take it as a red flag.

How do you know what the optimal allocation of trust resources is?

10:04: We have to trust, and we have to accept that what other people are telling us is true much of the time. Otherwise, you really couldn't function if you were perpetual, cynic and skeptic about everything. You couldn't get anywhere. You'd be checking the ingredients on every box of food you buy to make sure it truly is what it says it is. You couldn't function in society and be a perpetual skeptic. And there's going to be a spectrum of people who are going to be much more trusting and much less critical and skeptical, and others who are much more skeptical. But you have to find this happy medium.

Considering how we can be deceived

02:26: This book is more about how our patterns of thought and the information that we find appealing and attractive can lead us down the wrong path. (02:51) The problem for most of us is that we don't typically think about how we can be deceived. So in that sense, it's probably less likely to become a tool for scammers than for users and consumers. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 305. Navigating a World of Deception feat. Daniel Simons Greg La Blanc 00:52:05 From social media disinformation and phishing emails to grand-scale scams such as multimillion-dollar counterfeit art, Ponzi schemes or scientific fraud, our world is full of deceptions. Surprisingly, it is our own intuition that can be our worst enemy. The tendency to blindly accept what we already believe in or trust what sounds too good to be true leaves us vulnerable to deception. So how do we find the right balance between blind trust and constant skepticism? Daniel Simons is an experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, and the co-author of several books. His latest book, Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It, explores how our instincts lead us to fall prey to scams and how to spot deceptions. Daniel and Greg discuss how our limited attention resources result in a focus on specific tasks and potential neglect of other crucial elements, and how personally appealing information can easily lead us down the wrong path. They also talk about the need to parse the world more finely without succumbing to wholesale distrust by evaluating our assumptions and posing challenging questions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* From social media disinformation and phishing emails to grand-scale scams such as multimillion-dollar counterfeit art, Ponzi schemes or scientific fraud, our world is full of deceptions. Surprisingly, it is our own intuition that can be our worst enemy. The tendency to blindly accept what we already believe in or trust what sounds too good to be true leaves us vulnerable to deception. So how do we find the right balance between blind trust and constant skepticism? Daniel Simons is an experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, and the co-author of several books. His latest book, Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It, explores how our instincts lead us to fall prey to scams and how to spot deceptions. Daniel and Greg discuss how our limited attention resources result in a focus on specific tasks and potential neglect of other crucial elements, and how personally appealing information can easily lead us down the wrong path. They also talk about the need to parse the world more finely without succumbing to wholesale distrust by evaluating our assumptions and posing challenging questions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 305 440a8037-4d26-47f1-aef4-99e1dbf022ce 304. What Happened To University Teaching? feat. William Deresiewicz There has been an undeniable shift in priorities throughout Higher Education during the 21st century. As schooling gets more and more expensive, the pathways to making a good return on that investment grow increasingly steeper so students prioritize prestige and certification over education. At the same time, the competition among universities to recruit the best researchers and achieve the highest rankings marginalizes the importance of teaching.

William Deresiewicz is an award-winning essayist, critic, speaker, and the author of several books, including Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, The Death of the Artist: How Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech, and his newest work, The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society.

William and Greg discuss Williams’s background, the heavy emphasis on research over teaching in Higher Education, and how one can get cut off from academia. They talk about the ways in which educational institutions are lacking and why receiving good instruction may not be a top priority for students anymore. William reveals what he thinks is at the root of the main problems in higher education and also how the invention of the smartphone has exacerbated the situation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is inequality the fundamental problem in everything?

45:27: The more we sort society into a few big, big, big winners, and a lot of losers, the more parents are understandably going to want to get their kids into the few schools that seem to guarantee theirs are going to be one of the winners. If we had a robust middle class, if you could support a family and send your own kids to college with one middle-class salary, I think there would be much less of this mania. So that's obviously a very big thing to do, but it would also make everything else better. To me, this inequality is the besetting sin. It is the fundamental problem of just about everything in American life, including all of our political pathologies. That's what I believe.

Students aren't choosing a school based on how good they think the teachers are

13:25: Students are not picking their university or college based on how good the teaching is or how good they think the teaching is. They're picking it mainly—if we're talking about selective colleges and universities—they're picking it based on the name.

Can you still thrive in today’s academic world?

40:02: If a student is really a seeker, cares about learning, and is less worried about accumulating credentials, they can do it. But it's harder because college costs more because everything costs more. Some people still make that choice. And are happy having made the choice, even though it's a struggle, but it's a struggle that they're willing to put up with because they can stand their lives.

People are looking for humanistic education

55:02: There is a tremendous hunger among young people for guidance and among adults for this kind of humanistic education. This kind of wisdom, but not wisdom where someone's imparting it to you. Wisdom in the sense of, let's open this text together and see what it has to say to us. People want that.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 12 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There has been an undeniable shift in priorities throughout Higher Education during the 21st century. As schooling gets more and more expensive, the pathways to making a good return on that investment grow increasingly steeper so students prioritize prestige and certification over education. At the same time, the competition among universities to recruit the best researchers and achieve the highest rankings marginalizes the importance of teaching.

William Deresiewicz is an award-winning essayist, critic, speaker, and the author of several books, including Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, The Death of the Artist: How Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech, and his newest work, The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society.

William and Greg discuss Williams’s background, the heavy emphasis on research over teaching in Higher Education, and how one can get cut off from academia. They talk about the ways in which educational institutions are lacking and why receiving good instruction may not be a top priority for students anymore. William reveals what he thinks is at the root of the main problems in higher education and also how the invention of the smartphone has exacerbated the situation.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is inequality the fundamental problem in everything?

45:27: The more we sort society into a few big, big, big winners, and a lot of losers, the more parents are understandably going to want to get their kids into the few schools that seem to guarantee theirs are going to be one of the winners. If we had a robust middle class, if you could support a family and send your own kids to college with one middle-class salary, I think there would be much less of this mania. So that's obviously a very big thing to do, but it would also make everything else better. To me, this inequality is the besetting sin. It is the fundamental problem of just about everything in American life, including all of our political pathologies. That's what I believe.

Students aren't choosing a school based on how good they think the teachers are

13:25: Students are not picking their university or college based on how good the teaching is or how good they think the teaching is. They're picking it mainly—if we're talking about selective colleges and universities—they're picking it based on the name.

Can you still thrive in today’s academic world?

40:02: If a student is really a seeker, cares about learning, and is less worried about accumulating credentials, they can do it. But it's harder because college costs more because everything costs more. Some people still make that choice. And are happy having made the choice, even though it's a struggle, but it's a struggle that they're willing to put up with because they can stand their lives.

People are looking for humanistic education

55:02: There is a tremendous hunger among young people for guidance and among adults for this kind of humanistic education. This kind of wisdom, but not wisdom where someone's imparting it to you. Wisdom in the sense of, let's open this text together and see what it has to say to us. People want that.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 304. What Happened To University Teaching? feat. William Deresiewicz Greg La Blanc 00:53:17 There has been an undeniable shift in priorities throughout Higher Education during the 21st century. As schooling gets more and more expensive, the pathways to making a good return on that investment grow increasingly steeper so students prioritize prestige and certification over education. At the same time, the competition among universities to recruit the best researchers and achieve the highest rankings marginalizes the importance of teaching. William Deresiewicz is an award-winning essayist, critic, speaker, and the author of several books, including Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, The Death of the Artist: How Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech, and his newest work, The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society. William and Greg discuss Williams’s background, the heavy emphasis on research over teaching in Higher Education, and how one can get cut off from academia. They talk about the ways in which educational institutions are lacking and why receiving good instruction may not be a top priority for students anymore. William reveals what he thinks is at the root of the main problems in higher education and also how the invention of the smartphone has exacerbated the situation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* There has been an undeniable shift in priorities throughout Higher Education during the 21st century. As schooling gets more and more expensive, the pathways to making a good return on that investment grow increasingly steeper so students prioritize prestige and certification over education. At the same time, the competition among universities to recruit the best researchers and achieve the highest rankings marginalizes the importance of teaching. William Deresiewicz is an award-winning essayist, critic, speaker, and the author of several books, including Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, The Death of the Artist: How Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech, and his newest work, The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society. William and Greg discuss Williams’s background, the heavy emphasis on research over teaching in Higher Education, and how one can get cut off from academia. They talk about the ways in which educational institutions are lacking and why receiving good instruction may not be a top priority for students anymore. William reveals what he thinks is at the root of the main problems in higher education and also how the invention of the smartphone has exacerbated the situation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 304 bd8cc76d-07fe-4288-ae4b-b2e0549a80da 303. The Selection Markets, Corruption, and Toy Models feat. Raymond Fisman How do economists understand complex phenomena like selection markets and corruption? With frameworks often called toy models. These models often point toward unexpected consequences and help us to design better markets and incentives. 

Raymond Fisman is the Slater Family Professor in Behavioral Economics at Boston University and the co-author of many books, including Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations, The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office, and his new book Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It.

Raymond and Greg discuss Raymond’s work and how it relates to industries trying to deal with the problem of selection through examples in the airline, film, and sports markets. Raymond also shares what he’s learned about corruption, as well as the perception of corruption and how little the difference between those may matter. They discuss the issue as it relates with examples in China, Indonesia, India, as well as the United States Congress and Supreme Court. Greg also gets Raymond’s opinion on whether there is such a thing as ‘good corruption.’ 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A barrier to finding a solution to a democratic political system

39:52: One real barrier to finding our way to a solution in the context of a democratic political system is that people see corruption; they just think, ugh, the whole system's rotten. They're all the same. And it’s made even harder by the fact that we have seen, in many instances, politicians run on anti-corruption platforms only to find out they're just as corrupt as the people they replaced. So it was very undermining to citizens' faith that they can be part of the solution.

The government isn't a business

48:48: The government isn't a business, and you wouldn't want to run it like a business because there are features of the government's job that are very, very different from the job of a business.

What is a selection market?

06:18: A market that suffers from a selection problem is one in which businesses don't just care how much they sell, but they care whom they are selling to.

Do we need to spend more time convincing economists to take culture seriously?

51:22: What economists push back against is not that culture matters but just using culture as a residual explanation. Once you've tried everything else and nothing else quite worked, you say, "Oh, that's just culture." That's why we get these differences across groups. As is surely almost always the case, the truth lies somewhere in the gray between the black and the white.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 10 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do economists understand complex phenomena like selection markets and corruption? With frameworks often called toy models. These models often point toward unexpected consequences and help us to design better markets and incentives. 

Raymond Fisman is the Slater Family Professor in Behavioral Economics at Boston University and the co-author of many books, including Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations, The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office, and his new book Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It.

Raymond and Greg discuss Raymond’s work and how it relates to industries trying to deal with the problem of selection through examples in the airline, film, and sports markets. Raymond also shares what he’s learned about corruption, as well as the perception of corruption and how little the difference between those may matter. They discuss the issue as it relates with examples in China, Indonesia, India, as well as the United States Congress and Supreme Court. Greg also gets Raymond’s opinion on whether there is such a thing as ‘good corruption.’ 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A barrier to finding a solution to a democratic political system

39:52: One real barrier to finding our way to a solution in the context of a democratic political system is that people see corruption; they just think, ugh, the whole system's rotten. They're all the same. And it’s made even harder by the fact that we have seen, in many instances, politicians run on anti-corruption platforms only to find out they're just as corrupt as the people they replaced. So it was very undermining to citizens' faith that they can be part of the solution.

The government isn't a business

48:48: The government isn't a business, and you wouldn't want to run it like a business because there are features of the government's job that are very, very different from the job of a business.

What is a selection market?

06:18: A market that suffers from a selection problem is one in which businesses don't just care how much they sell, but they care whom they are selling to.

Do we need to spend more time convincing economists to take culture seriously?

51:22: What economists push back against is not that culture matters but just using culture as a residual explanation. Once you've tried everything else and nothing else quite worked, you say, "Oh, that's just culture." That's why we get these differences across groups. As is surely almost always the case, the truth lies somewhere in the gray between the black and the white.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 303. The Selection Markets, Corruption, and Toy Models feat. Raymond Fisman Greg La Blanc 00:51:35 How do economists understand complex phenomena like selection markets and corruption? With frameworks often called toy models. These models often point toward unexpected consequences and help us to design better markets and incentives. Raymond Fisman is the Slater Family Professor in Behavioral Economics at Boston University and the co-author of many books, including Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations, The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office, and his new book Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It. Raymond and Greg discuss Raymond’s work and how it relates to industries trying to deal with the problem of selection through examples in the airline, film, and sports markets. Raymond also shares what he’s learned about corruption, as well as the perception of corruption and how little the difference between those may matter. They discuss the issue as it relates with examples in China, Indonesia, India, as well as the United States Congress and Supreme Court. Greg also gets Raymond’s opinion on whether there is such a thing as ‘good corruption’ *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How do economists understand complex phenomena like selection markets and corruption? With frameworks often called toy models. These models often point toward unexpected consequences and help us to design better markets and incentives. Raymond Fisman is the Slater Family Professor in Behavioral Economics at Boston University and the co-author of many books, including Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations, The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office, and his new book Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It. Raymond and Greg discuss Raymond’s work and how it relates to industries trying to deal with the problem of selection through examples in the airline, film, and sports markets. Raymond also shares what he’s learned about corruption, as well as the perception of corruption and how little the difference between those may matter. They discuss the issue as it relates with examples in China, Indonesia, India, as well as the United States Congress and Supreme Court. Greg also gets Raymond’s opinion on whether there is such a thing as ‘good corruption’ *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 303 d28ebb5f-c8dd-417b-92ef-f401085a6c30 302. Sentient Creatures & Phenomenal Consciousness feat. Nicholas Humphrey Sentience lies at the core of the human experience, allowing us to experience conscious awareness, subjective experiences, and a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. But are these capacities exclusive to humans? And are future machines likely to develop these abilities as well?

Nicholas Humphrey is a theoretical psychologist based in Cambridge who is known for his work on the evolution of human intelligence and consciousness. He has been a lecturer in psychology at Oxford, assistant director of the Subdepartment of Animal Behaviour at Cambridge, senior research fellow at Cambridge, professor of psychology at the New School for Social Research, New York, and school professor at the London School of Economics. His latest book, Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness, uncovers the evolutionary history of consciousness and the nature of sentient experience in various species.

Nicholas and Greg talk about some examples of animals that are believed to possess sentience, how high levels of consciousness can exist in animals without the extra dimension of sentience being present, how phenomenal consciousness came into being, and why it's very restricted in the animal kingdom and why being sentient should not be the only criterion for protecting certain animals and plants.

They also explore that while sentience is not expected to emerge in machines naturally, there are potential benefits in our future endeavors to develop sentient artificial intelligence.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A theory on how phenomenal consciousness came to being

19:28: Psychology is a very difficult thing to do—to understand another person with a brain-like mine. The brain is the most complicated mechanism in the universe, as has often been pointed out. Yet you and I can read other people's minds with relative ease. How do we do it? We don't do it by virtue simply of intelligence or being clever. We do it by using our own presence, our own sense of ourself as a model for what it's like to be the other person. We are introspective psychologists, and you can only understand what it's like to be someone else by putting yourself in that place if you first know what it's like to be you. So you have to have a sense of your own self in order to model the selves of other individuals. 

The essential ingredient in our psychological life 

17:50: For creatures like ourselves who value our individuality and count on it in our interactions with other creatures like ourselves, whom we assume to be phenomenally conscious in the same way and to have the same sense of self, this presence, this groundedness of our psychic life, is crucial to the way in which we develop our notion of what it is to be ourselves and our role in the world.

The distinction between perception and sensation

34:58: Perception is how we represent facts about the world. You know, the apple is round, the chair is heavy, or whatever it may be, the weight is heavy. The sound is the middle sea; facts about the world out there; and sensation is how we represent our interaction with the sensory stimuli in our body and how we feel about those.

Soul niche

26:41: This phenomenal consciousness and sense of self opened up a new ecological niche for human beings. I've called it the soul niche, which is that humans live in the soul niche, which is, I think, a niche centered on the idea of our individuality based on our self-consciousness. We live in that niche in just the same way that trout live in rivers or bed bugs live in beds.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 7 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Sentience lies at the core of the human experience, allowing us to experience conscious awareness, subjective experiences, and a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. But are these capacities exclusive to humans? And are future machines likely to develop these abilities as well?

Nicholas Humphrey is a theoretical psychologist based in Cambridge who is known for his work on the evolution of human intelligence and consciousness. He has been a lecturer in psychology at Oxford, assistant director of the Subdepartment of Animal Behaviour at Cambridge, senior research fellow at Cambridge, professor of psychology at the New School for Social Research, New York, and school professor at the London School of Economics. His latest book, Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness, uncovers the evolutionary history of consciousness and the nature of sentient experience in various species.

Nicholas and Greg talk about some examples of animals that are believed to possess sentience, how high levels of consciousness can exist in animals without the extra dimension of sentience being present, how phenomenal consciousness came into being, and why it's very restricted in the animal kingdom and why being sentient should not be the only criterion for protecting certain animals and plants.

They also explore that while sentience is not expected to emerge in machines naturally, there are potential benefits in our future endeavors to develop sentient artificial intelligence.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

A theory on how phenomenal consciousness came to being

19:28: Psychology is a very difficult thing to do—to understand another person with a brain-like mine. The brain is the most complicated mechanism in the universe, as has often been pointed out. Yet you and I can read other people's minds with relative ease. How do we do it? We don't do it by virtue simply of intelligence or being clever. We do it by using our own presence, our own sense of ourself as a model for what it's like to be the other person. We are introspective psychologists, and you can only understand what it's like to be someone else by putting yourself in that place if you first know what it's like to be you. So you have to have a sense of your own self in order to model the selves of other individuals. 

The essential ingredient in our psychological life 

17:50: For creatures like ourselves who value our individuality and count on it in our interactions with other creatures like ourselves, whom we assume to be phenomenally conscious in the same way and to have the same sense of self, this presence, this groundedness of our psychic life, is crucial to the way in which we develop our notion of what it is to be ourselves and our role in the world.

The distinction between perception and sensation

34:58: Perception is how we represent facts about the world. You know, the apple is round, the chair is heavy, or whatever it may be, the weight is heavy. The sound is the middle sea; facts about the world out there; and sensation is how we represent our interaction with the sensory stimuli in our body and how we feel about those.

Soul niche

26:41: This phenomenal consciousness and sense of self opened up a new ecological niche for human beings. I've called it the soul niche, which is that humans live in the soul niche, which is, I think, a niche centered on the idea of our individuality based on our self-consciousness. We live in that niche in just the same way that trout live in rivers or bed bugs live in beds.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 302. Sentient Creatures & Phenomenal Consciousness feat. Nicholas Humphrey Greg La Blanc 01:00:11 Sentience lies at the core of the human experience, allowing us to experience conscious awareness, subjective experiences, and a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. But are these capacities exclusive to humans? And are future machines likely to develop these abilities as well? Nicholas Humphrey is a theoretical psychologist based in Cambridge who is known for his work on the evolution of human intelligence and consciousness. He has been a lecturer in psychology at Oxford, assistant director of the Subdepartment of Animal Behaviour at Cambridge, senior research fellow at Cambridge, professor of psychology at the New School for Social Research, New York, and school professor at the London School of Economics. His latest book, Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness, uncovers the evolutionary history of consciousness and the nature of sentient experience in various species. Nicholas and Greg talk about some examples of animals that are believed to possess sentience, how high levels of consciousness can exist in animals without the extra dimension of sentience being present, how phenomenal consciousness came into being, and why it's very restricted in the animal kingdom and why being sentient should not be the only criterion for protecting certain animals and plants. They also explore that while sentience is not expected to emerge in machines naturally, there are potential benefits in our future endeavors to develop sentient artificial intelligence. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Sentience lies at the core of the human experience, allowing us to experience conscious awareness, subjective experiences, and a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. But are these capacities exclusive to humans? And are future machines likely to develop these abilities as well? Nicholas Humphrey is a theoretical psychologist based in Cambridge who is known for his work on the evolution of human intelligence and consciousness. He has been a lecturer in psychology at Oxford, assistant director of the Subdepartment of Animal Behaviour at Cambridge, senior research fellow at Cambridge, professor of psychology at the New School for Social Research, New York, and school professor at the London School of Economics. His latest book, Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness, uncovers the evolutionary history of consciousness and the nature of sentient experience in various species. Nicholas and Greg talk about some examples of animals that are believed to possess sentience, how high levels of consciousness can exist in animals without the extra dimension of sentience being present, how phenomenal consciousness came into being, and why it's very restricted in the animal kingdom and why being sentient should not be the only criterion for protecting certain animals and plants. They also explore that while sentience is not expected to emerge in machines naturally, there are potential benefits in our future endeavors to develop sentient artificial intelligence. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 302 d503d4a9-5f11-4a41-b587-e950126364a4 301. What Neuroscience Has to Do With Company Culture feat. Paul J. Zak What if brain chemicals like oxytocin and cortisol could predict how people will behave in social situations and the workplace? Does more testosterone lead to aggressive leadership? 

Paul J. Zak is the head of the Center for Neuroeconomic Studies at Claremont Graduate University. His books, including Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies and The Moral Molecule: How Trust Works, examine the connection between brain functions and building trust and cooperation in social groups. 

Paul and Greg discuss why, 99% of the time, humans default to cooperation, how leadership roles can lead to more circulating testosterone, and a tool that determines exactly what we love based on our brain functions.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How do you sustain long-term profit growth?

25:15: Right now, we are dying for good people. So, the number of high performers is scarce, and the number of overall performers is scarce. So let's create an environment where they can flourish and perform at their best. They have the freedom and accountability to do what they love once they're trained. Give them some discretion; let them make mistakes; let them learn. Let them innovate. And that's the way to sustain long-term profit growth.

An amazing customer experience starts with a great employee experience

28:32: It's a sacred duty to create an amazing customer experience. But that starts with creating a great employee experience.

Effective work cultures have low turnover

34:55: One of the best predictors we found for effective cultures is low turnover. So, it's well known that most people do not leave jobs for more money. They leave because they just can't stand where they're working. And can't stand means the culture, the humans, and the way humans interact. That's what culture is.

On trust and human performance

24:31: What I think about trust, about human performance is that employees want it, and organizations benefit from it. So it's a really nice win-win space. On the data, you know, people who work in high-trust organizations get sick less, they retain their jobs more. They enjoy their jobs more. They recommend their place of business to friends and family to work there. So all these good things.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 5 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What if brain chemicals like oxytocin and cortisol could predict how people will behave in social situations and the workplace? Does more testosterone lead to aggressive leadership? 

Paul J. Zak is the head of the Center for Neuroeconomic Studies at Claremont Graduate University. His books, including Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies and The Moral Molecule: How Trust Works, examine the connection between brain functions and building trust and cooperation in social groups. 

Paul and Greg discuss why, 99% of the time, humans default to cooperation, how leadership roles can lead to more circulating testosterone, and a tool that determines exactly what we love based on our brain functions.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How do you sustain long-term profit growth?

25:15: Right now, we are dying for good people. So, the number of high performers is scarce, and the number of overall performers is scarce. So let's create an environment where they can flourish and perform at their best. They have the freedom and accountability to do what they love once they're trained. Give them some discretion; let them make mistakes; let them learn. Let them innovate. And that's the way to sustain long-term profit growth.

An amazing customer experience starts with a great employee experience

28:32: It's a sacred duty to create an amazing customer experience. But that starts with creating a great employee experience.

Effective work cultures have low turnover

34:55: One of the best predictors we found for effective cultures is low turnover. So, it's well known that most people do not leave jobs for more money. They leave because they just can't stand where they're working. And can't stand means the culture, the humans, and the way humans interact. That's what culture is.

On trust and human performance

24:31: What I think about trust, about human performance is that employees want it, and organizations benefit from it. So it's a really nice win-win space. On the data, you know, people who work in high-trust organizations get sick less, they retain their jobs more. They enjoy their jobs more. They recommend their place of business to friends and family to work there. So all these good things.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 301. What Neuroscience Has to Do With Company Culture feat. Paul J. Zak Greg La Blanc 01:01:33 What if brain chemicals like oxytocin and cortisol could predict how people will behave in social situations and the workplace? Does more testosterone lead to aggressive leadership? Paul J. Zak is the head of the Center for Neuroeconomic Studies at Claremont Graduate University. His books, including Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies and The Moral Molecule: How Trust Works, examine the connection between brain functions and building trust and cooperation in social groups. Paul and Greg discuss why, 99% of the time, humans default to cooperation, how leadership roles can lead to more circulating testosterone, and a tool that determines exactly what we love based on our brain functions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What if brain chemicals like oxytocin and cortisol could predict how people will behave in social situations and the workplace? Does more testosterone lead to aggressive leadership? Paul J. Zak is the head of the Center for Neuroeconomic Studies at Claremont Graduate University. His books, including Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies and The Moral Molecule: How Trust Works, examine the connection between brain functions and building trust and cooperation in social groups. Paul and Greg discuss why, 99% of the time, humans default to cooperation, how leadership roles can lead to more circulating testosterone, and a tool that determines exactly what we love based on our brain functions. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 301 b4e1b3aa-5de4-4cab-aa4d-1ef032ebe649 300. Leadership Through Culture at SVB feat. Ken Wilcox There are levels to leadership, and at the CEO level, the leadership needs are many, but it’s important to strike the right balance. CEOs must think about strategy in both the short and long term but also must not lose sight of the culture they create. ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast,’ as Peter Drucker famously said, and a wise leader pays close attention to the culture in their organization. 

Ken Wilcox is the and previously served as its CEO. Ken is also an author, and his latest book, Leading Through Culture: How Real Leaders Create Cultures That Motivate People to Achieve Great Things, is a guidebook for leaders of all kinds on how to create culture and, more importantly, why it is so important. 

Ken and Greg discuss Ken’s history with Silicon Valley Bank, but also why he was so successful there because of his emphasis and attention to creating the right culture. Ken goes over some key parts of being a good leader and the characteristics of different types of people in the organization. Ken and Greg also discuss the current state of SVB and what happened, as well as the interesting history of SVB starting a joint venture with China. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

You cannot hire good people to help you build the culture

04:35: You can hire good people to help you build the strategy. You cannot hire good people to help you build the culture. That's something that has to emanate from the CEO, I believe. And the other thing about that is that if you have a good strategy but a poor culture, you're not going to do well. If you have a great culture and maybe a poor strategy, you can always bring some strategic thinkers on board, either in the form of employees or consultants, and they can help you create a much better strategy.

Great leaders have a vision

09:30: Great leaders have a vision. They're not focused on the present. They delegate most of the responsibility for what happens today and tomorrow to their management team. But most of them are looking into the future and saying, "Where is it I would like us to go, and how will we get there?" and sharing that over and over again with the management team and with the entire corporation.

What makes a great CEO?

10:01: Great leaders realize they can't do it all by themselves. They build themselves a management team, and then they use that management team to inform them before they make a decision. And one thing that's key here is who makes the decisions. I think good CEOs delegate most decisions downward and focus on only the really big decisions that have to do with long-term direction.

Choosing the right adults for your team

13:38: The people on your team are adults who understand that adults have different opinions, that all opinions may be valuable to one degree or another, and that the way to solve problems with other adults is to have good discussions where people are being honest without being bossy. There are two kinds of people, or three kinds of people, that you could bring onto a management team that are adults, and those are the people you should seek.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 3 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There are levels to leadership, and at the CEO level, the leadership needs are many, but it’s important to strike the right balance. CEOs must think about strategy in both the short and long term but also must not lose sight of the culture they create. ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast,’ as Peter Drucker famously said, and a wise leader pays close attention to the culture in their organization. 

Ken Wilcox is the and previously served as its CEO. Ken is also an author, and his latest book, Leading Through Culture: How Real Leaders Create Cultures That Motivate People to Achieve Great Things, is a guidebook for leaders of all kinds on how to create culture and, more importantly, why it is so important. 

Ken and Greg discuss Ken’s history with Silicon Valley Bank, but also why he was so successful there because of his emphasis and attention to creating the right culture. Ken goes over some key parts of being a good leader and the characteristics of different types of people in the organization. Ken and Greg also discuss the current state of SVB and what happened, as well as the interesting history of SVB starting a joint venture with China. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

You cannot hire good people to help you build the culture

04:35: You can hire good people to help you build the strategy. You cannot hire good people to help you build the culture. That's something that has to emanate from the CEO, I believe. And the other thing about that is that if you have a good strategy but a poor culture, you're not going to do well. If you have a great culture and maybe a poor strategy, you can always bring some strategic thinkers on board, either in the form of employees or consultants, and they can help you create a much better strategy.

Great leaders have a vision

09:30: Great leaders have a vision. They're not focused on the present. They delegate most of the responsibility for what happens today and tomorrow to their management team. But most of them are looking into the future and saying, "Where is it I would like us to go, and how will we get there?" and sharing that over and over again with the management team and with the entire corporation.

What makes a great CEO?

10:01: Great leaders realize they can't do it all by themselves. They build themselves a management team, and then they use that management team to inform them before they make a decision. And one thing that's key here is who makes the decisions. I think good CEOs delegate most decisions downward and focus on only the really big decisions that have to do with long-term direction.

Choosing the right adults for your team

13:38: The people on your team are adults who understand that adults have different opinions, that all opinions may be valuable to one degree or another, and that the way to solve problems with other adults is to have good discussions where people are being honest without being bossy. There are two kinds of people, or three kinds of people, that you could bring onto a management team that are adults, and those are the people you should seek.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 300. Leadership Through Culture at SVB feat. Ken Wilcox Greg La Blanc 01:04:38 There are levels to leadership, and at the CEO level, the leadership needs are many, but it’s important to strike the right balance. CEOs must think about strategy in both the short and long term but also must not lose sight of the culture they create. ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast,’ as Peter Drucker famously said, and a wise leader pays close attention to the culture in their organization. Ken Wilcox is the and previously served as its CEO. Ken is also an author, and his latest book, Leading Through Culture: How Real Leaders Create Cultures That Motivate People to Achieve Great Things, is a guidebook for leaders of all kinds on how to create culture and, more importantly, why it is so important. Ken and Greg discuss Ken’s history with Silicon Valley Bank, but also why he was so successful there because of his emphasis and attention to creating the right culture. Ken goes over some key parts of being a good leader and the characteristics of different types of people in the organization. Ken and Greg also discuss the current state of SVB and what happened, as well as the interesting history of SVB starting a joint venture with China. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* There are levels to leadership, and at the CEO level, the leadership needs are many, but it’s important to strike the right balance. CEOs must think about strategy in both the short and long term but also must not lose sight of the culture they create. ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast,’ as Peter Drucker famously said, and a wise leader pays close attention to the culture in their organization. Ken Wilcox is the and previously served as its CEO. Ken is also an author, and his latest book, Leading Through Culture: How Real Leaders Create Cultures That Motivate People to Achieve Great Things, is a guidebook for leaders of all kinds on how to create culture and, more importantly, why it is so important. Ken and Greg discuss Ken’s history with Silicon Valley Bank, but also why he was so successful there because of his emphasis and attention to creating the right culture. Ken goes over some key parts of being a good leader and the characteristics of different types of people in the organization. Ken and Greg also discuss the current state of SVB and what happened, as well as the interesting history of SVB starting a joint venture with China. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 300 e2ef8317-f9cd-4b9e-9d97-b22abbeea1f1 299. What’s The Right Amount of Democracy feat. Garett Jones Has the word “democracy” become a catch-all for good government? At this point, the idea is so romanticized that it may go unnoticed that the way America is run today is somewhere between a democracy and an oligarchy.

Garett Jones, associate professor of Economics at George Mason University, delves into those questions in his book 10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less. He also studies the factors and foundations of economic growth in his book The Culture Transplant: How Migrants Make the Economies They Move To a Lot Like The Ones They Left. 

Garett and Greg discuss the true meaning of the word “democracy,” whether it’s better to have a well-educated elite calling the shots, and how migration can actually determine how prosperous a country will be. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What we love about our so-called ‘democratic system” are its most undemocratic parts

03:18: When people use the phrase "we're a nation of laws, not of men," that's a way of saying in the short run, democracy doesn't decide how this trial turns out; the voters don't get to rule on this. We have some rules we set a long time ago. We have some nerdy judges who oversee the system, and they're making the decisions. So a lot of what we love about our so-called “democratic system" are its most undemocratic parts.

08:54: The closer a politician is to voters, the further the politician is from wisdom.

How do we measure democracy?

06:09: The modern methods of measuring democracy often make this mistake of blurring together, like actual voter participation in government with neutral rules that can't be manipulated in the short run. So the first part, to me, is truly democratic. The second part is pretty much judicial independence, which is not democratic.

Can migration determine how prosperous a country will be?

43:04: The most important channel through which immigration of people from places like China and Western Europe the way that ends up shaping broadly shared prosperity is through our old cliche in economics, which is institutions. So for reasons that are somewhat poorly understood, countries that wind up with a lot of migrants from Eastern Europe, Western Europe, or Eastern Asia tend to wind up with better institutions, better rules of the game. Better rule of law, lower corruption, and that by itself creates a better set of rules that help create broadly shared prosperity for everyone.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 30 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Has the word “democracy” become a catch-all for good government? At this point, the idea is so romanticized that it may go unnoticed that the way America is run today is somewhere between a democracy and an oligarchy.

Garett Jones, associate professor of Economics at George Mason University, delves into those questions in his book 10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less. He also studies the factors and foundations of economic growth in his book The Culture Transplant: How Migrants Make the Economies They Move To a Lot Like The Ones They Left. 

Garett and Greg discuss the true meaning of the word “democracy,” whether it’s better to have a well-educated elite calling the shots, and how migration can actually determine how prosperous a country will be. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What we love about our so-called ‘democratic system” are its most undemocratic parts

03:18: When people use the phrase "we're a nation of laws, not of men," that's a way of saying in the short run, democracy doesn't decide how this trial turns out; the voters don't get to rule on this. We have some rules we set a long time ago. We have some nerdy judges who oversee the system, and they're making the decisions. So a lot of what we love about our so-called “democratic system" are its most undemocratic parts.

08:54: The closer a politician is to voters, the further the politician is from wisdom.

How do we measure democracy?

06:09: The modern methods of measuring democracy often make this mistake of blurring together, like actual voter participation in government with neutral rules that can't be manipulated in the short run. So the first part, to me, is truly democratic. The second part is pretty much judicial independence, which is not democratic.

Can migration determine how prosperous a country will be?

43:04: The most important channel through which immigration of people from places like China and Western Europe the way that ends up shaping broadly shared prosperity is through our old cliche in economics, which is institutions. So for reasons that are somewhat poorly understood, countries that wind up with a lot of migrants from Eastern Europe, Western Europe, or Eastern Asia tend to wind up with better institutions, better rules of the game. Better rule of law, lower corruption, and that by itself creates a better set of rules that help create broadly shared prosperity for everyone.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 299. What’s The Right Amount of Democracy feat. Garett Jones Greg La Blanc 00:52:50 Has the word “democracy” become a catch-all for good government? At this point, the idea is so romanticized that it may go unnoticed that the way America is run today is somewhere between a democracy and an oligarchy. Garett Jones, associate professor of Economics at George Mason University, delves into those questions in his book 10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less. He also studies the factors and foundations of economic growth in his book The Culture Transplant: How Migrants Make the Economies They Move To a Lot Like The Ones They Left. Garett and Greg discuss the true meaning of the word “democracy,” whether it’s better to have a well-educated elite calling the shots, and how migration can actually determine how prosperous a country will be. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Has the word “democracy” become a catch-all for good government? At this point, the idea is so romanticized that it may go unnoticed that the way America is run today is somewhere between a democracy and an oligarchy. Garett Jones, associate professor of Economics at George Mason University, delves into those questions in his book 10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less. He also studies the factors and foundations of economic growth in his book The Culture Transplant: How Migrants Make the Economies They Move To a Lot Like The Ones They Left. Garett and Greg discuss the true meaning of the word “democracy,” whether it’s better to have a well-educated elite calling the shots, and how migration can actually determine how prosperous a country will be. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 299 87f3f7a6-2760-4f38-aa14-f6f1384b5967 298. The Libertarian Roots of Cryptocurrency feat. Finn Brunton If you start to dig into the origin story of cryptocurrency, don’t be surprised if you find the ideas and values of the American Libertarian movement all over it. 

Finn Brunton teaches science and technology studies at UC Davis and is fascinated by the historical narratives and subcultures behind modern technology. His books include Digital Cash: The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency and Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet (Infrastructures). 

Finn and Greg discuss how spammers and scammers were actually some of the earliest adopters of cryptocurrency, the American Libertarian roots in the movement, and the dark future cryptocurrency pioneers worried about.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Cryptographic algorithms as a weapons of war

39:50: Cryptographic algorithms were classified as munitions, as weapons of war. Like you needed a foreign export license for them in the same way you would if you were selling tanks or something. So, as people were figuring out these sort of cryptographic primitives and fundamental algorithms and things like that, they started doing stuff like getting them printed on t-shirts because then you could be like, if I wear this t-shirt on an overseas flight, I am doing the equivalent of selling crates of AK-47s. And most famously, people got this extremely laconic version of this algorithm in a programming language called “perl” tattooed on themselves. And then you could say, my body is classified as a deadly weapon. You know, it's like this military device. So that tension, I think, is a really good tension for us to bear in mind as we look at how cryptocurrencies developed because part of their heritage was this awareness that strong civilian cryptography was seen as posing a genuine threat to the safety and security of the state.

American libertarianism as an ideological strain of the history of cryptocurrency

09:08: All of these different agendas for what technology should do represent different threads in libertarian, ideological ideas about what money should be and how society should operate. So that's part of what makes it so fascinating—that it's this new technology.

What crypto as a whole shows

10:01: To get certain kinds of technologies off the ground ,you can't just build the tech. You have to tell people about the future in which the tech is going to do something of value for them. And that kind of storytelling that media work is for me, where the rubber meets the road of these new technological ideas. And I saw both of them in crypto.

On the value of science and technology studies

01:01:05: What STS (Science and Technology Studies) provided was a space where all of these different areas, which are all adjacent, could have like a common center in the Venn diagram to meet up and hang out there, and part of what I love is that it gives you a passport to go and meet and learn from really interesting people in all kinds of different zones.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 28 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast If you start to dig into the origin story of cryptocurrency, don’t be surprised if you find the ideas and values of the American Libertarian movement all over it. 

Finn Brunton teaches science and technology studies at UC Davis and is fascinated by the historical narratives and subcultures behind modern technology. His books include Digital Cash: The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency and Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet (Infrastructures). 

Finn and Greg discuss how spammers and scammers were actually some of the earliest adopters of cryptocurrency, the American Libertarian roots in the movement, and the dark future cryptocurrency pioneers worried about.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Cryptographic algorithms as a weapons of war

39:50: Cryptographic algorithms were classified as munitions, as weapons of war. Like you needed a foreign export license for them in the same way you would if you were selling tanks or something. So, as people were figuring out these sort of cryptographic primitives and fundamental algorithms and things like that, they started doing stuff like getting them printed on t-shirts because then you could be like, if I wear this t-shirt on an overseas flight, I am doing the equivalent of selling crates of AK-47s. And most famously, people got this extremely laconic version of this algorithm in a programming language called “perl” tattooed on themselves. And then you could say, my body is classified as a deadly weapon. You know, it's like this military device. So that tension, I think, is a really good tension for us to bear in mind as we look at how cryptocurrencies developed because part of their heritage was this awareness that strong civilian cryptography was seen as posing a genuine threat to the safety and security of the state.

American libertarianism as an ideological strain of the history of cryptocurrency

09:08: All of these different agendas for what technology should do represent different threads in libertarian, ideological ideas about what money should be and how society should operate. So that's part of what makes it so fascinating—that it's this new technology.

What crypto as a whole shows

10:01: To get certain kinds of technologies off the ground ,you can't just build the tech. You have to tell people about the future in which the tech is going to do something of value for them. And that kind of storytelling that media work is for me, where the rubber meets the road of these new technological ideas. And I saw both of them in crypto.

On the value of science and technology studies

01:01:05: What STS (Science and Technology Studies) provided was a space where all of these different areas, which are all adjacent, could have like a common center in the Venn diagram to meet up and hang out there, and part of what I love is that it gives you a passport to go and meet and learn from really interesting people in all kinds of different zones.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 298. The Libertarian Roots of Cryptocurrency feat. Finn Brunton Greg La Blanc 01:02:18 If you start to dig into the origin story of cryptocurrency, don’t be surprised if you find the ideas and values of the American Libertarian movement all over it. Finn Brunton teaches science and technology studies at UC Davis and is fascinated by the historical narratives and subcultures behind modern technology. His books include Digital Cash: The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency and Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet (Infrastructures). Finn and Greg discuss how spammers and scammers were actually some of the earliest adopters of cryptocurrency, the American Libertarian roots in the movement, and the dark future cryptocurrency pioneers worried about. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* If you start to dig into the origin story of cryptocurrency, don’t be surprised if you find the ideas and values of the American Libertarian movement all over it. Finn Brunton teaches science and technology studies at UC Davis and is fascinated by the historical narratives and subcultures behind modern technology. His books include Digital Cash: The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency and Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet (Infrastructures). Finn and Greg discuss how spammers and scammers were actually some of the earliest adopters of cryptocurrency, the American Libertarian roots in the movement, and the dark future cryptocurrency pioneers worried about. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 298 85f1d91a-220c-49b7-ada8-94165f29fd66 297. Balancing a Digital Future With Human Connections and Experiences feat. David Sax The future is (not entirely) digital - The notion that digital technology will overtake every existing aspect of our lives is an oversimplified assumption.

The pandemic-induced revelations, alongside the growing affinity of a younger generation raised in a digital era towards analog media like vinyl records or books, provide compelling evidence to the intrinsic human longing for experiences that transcend the purely digital domain.

David Sax is a Canadian journalist, award-winning writer for publications such as New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg Business Week, and The New York Times, a keynote speaker, and the author of several books. His latest work, The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World, examines why our future is not inevitably digital and how to reject the downsides of digital technology without rejecting change.

David and Greg talk about the need in a tech-obsessed society to find the right balance between embracing digital advancements that can genuinely enhance certain parts of our lives and the grand human experiences like everyday social interactions, building authentic connections, and experiential education that cannot be replicated by digital technology.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The value of the analog experience isn't diminished

41:55: The world is everything. And I think we're sort of losing sight of that, and I think we still continually have the risk of losing sight of it because we can get everything in one place, because the information's so much easier and requires so much less effort in this way. But the value of that greater experience—the analog experience, this more human experience—isn't diminished simply because you don't have to step outside. 

What is the core of analog?

16:19: We lose sight of the fact that the world is analog. The world is not digital. The planet that we're currently on, depending on where you are, is this physical, tactile thing that's the core of what analog is. And the computers, the ones and zeros, play a big role in certain parts of it.

Who's driving the growth and interest in all things analog?

18:12: I think generational generalization is this great lazy misstep that we always make around technology. [18:34] You know who's driving the growth and interest in all things analog. It's younger people—people who've grown up with this technology, right? Whether you look at the sales and vinyl records, whether you look at the pinball resurgence, whether you look at whatever it is, book sales, you know, all this sort of stuff, it's not people of my generation or your generation. It's those younger than us.

On consuming technology wisely

25:41: Plunging forward into the newest technology because it's possible and reorienting our lives around it because that's something that seems attractive or maybe there's an economic advantage or something that someone can sell is not something that we should do lightly.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 26 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The future is (not entirely) digital - The notion that digital technology will overtake every existing aspect of our lives is an oversimplified assumption.

The pandemic-induced revelations, alongside the growing affinity of a younger generation raised in a digital era towards analog media like vinyl records or books, provide compelling evidence to the intrinsic human longing for experiences that transcend the purely digital domain.

David Sax is a Canadian journalist, award-winning writer for publications such as New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg Business Week, and The New York Times, a keynote speaker, and the author of several books. His latest work, The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World, examines why our future is not inevitably digital and how to reject the downsides of digital technology without rejecting change.

David and Greg talk about the need in a tech-obsessed society to find the right balance between embracing digital advancements that can genuinely enhance certain parts of our lives and the grand human experiences like everyday social interactions, building authentic connections, and experiential education that cannot be replicated by digital technology.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The value of the analog experience isn't diminished

41:55: The world is everything. And I think we're sort of losing sight of that, and I think we still continually have the risk of losing sight of it because we can get everything in one place, because the information's so much easier and requires so much less effort in this way. But the value of that greater experience—the analog experience, this more human experience—isn't diminished simply because you don't have to step outside. 

What is the core of analog?

16:19: We lose sight of the fact that the world is analog. The world is not digital. The planet that we're currently on, depending on where you are, is this physical, tactile thing that's the core of what analog is. And the computers, the ones and zeros, play a big role in certain parts of it.

Who's driving the growth and interest in all things analog?

18:12: I think generational generalization is this great lazy misstep that we always make around technology. [18:34] You know who's driving the growth and interest in all things analog. It's younger people—people who've grown up with this technology, right? Whether you look at the sales and vinyl records, whether you look at the pinball resurgence, whether you look at whatever it is, book sales, you know, all this sort of stuff, it's not people of my generation or your generation. It's those younger than us.

On consuming technology wisely

25:41: Plunging forward into the newest technology because it's possible and reorienting our lives around it because that's something that seems attractive or maybe there's an economic advantage or something that someone can sell is not something that we should do lightly.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 297. Balancing a Digital Future With Human Connections and Experiences feat. David Sax Greg La Blanc 00:58:41 The future is (not entirely) digital - The notion that digital technology will overtake every existing aspect of our lives is an oversimplified assumption. The pandemic-induced revelations, alongside the growing affinity of a younger generation raised in a digital era towards analog media like vinyl records or books, provide compelling evidence to the intrinsic human longing for experiences that transcend the purely digital domain. David Sax is a Canadian journalist, award-winning writer for publications such as New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg Business Week, and The New York Times, a keynote speaker, and the author of several books. His latest work, The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World, examines why our future is not inevitably digital and how to reject the downsides of digital technology without rejecting change. David and Greg talk about the need in a tech-obsessed society to find the right balance between embracing digital advancements that can genuinely enhance certain parts of our lives and the grand human experiences like everyday social interactions, building authentic connections, and experiential education that cannot be replicated by digital technology. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The future is (not entirely) digital - The notion that digital technology will overtake every existing aspect of our lives is an oversimplified assumption. The pandemic-induced revelations, alongside the growing affinity of a younger generation raised in a digital era towards analog media like vinyl records or books, provide compelling evidence to the intrinsic human longing for experiences that transcend the purely digital domain. David Sax is a Canadian journalist, award-winning writer for publications such as New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg Business Week, and The New York Times, a keynote speaker, and the author of several books. His latest work, The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World, examines why our future is not inevitably digital and how to reject the downsides of digital technology without rejecting change. David and Greg talk about the need in a tech-obsessed society to find the right balance between embracing digital advancements that can genuinely enhance certain parts of our lives and the grand human experiences like everyday social interactions, building authentic connections, and experiential education that cannot be replicated by digital technology. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 297 5bcc5cb1-cc75-4cb4-af60-5737f8074e86 296. The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence feat. Peter Norvig Questions around the possibilities and potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence cover the headlines these days, but are these actually new questions?

Computer scientist Peter Norvig has been writing about AI and the ethics of data science for years. Before he was a professor at Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute, he worked for NASA and held a major consulting role at Google. His books, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (4th Edition) and Data Science in Context: Foundations, Challenges, Opportunities, explore the theory and practice of AI and data science.

Peter and Greg discuss the cyclical nature of new technology mania, the misconceptions of modern AI,  and the different ways companies could monetize these systems in the future. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Open source and AI Systems

27:56: One reason to open source is if you have a vibrant open-source community, it's hard for one individual company to compete against that. One of the places I worked was Sun Microsystems. They had their own version of Unix. But that wasn't sustainable. You know, one company couldn't compete against the entire open-source Linux community. And I think companies see that. That'll be the same kind of thing with AI systems; if you try to be proprietary and go it alone, you'll fall behind the rest of the open source. And so, it's much better to participate with the open source than try to compete against it.

The difference between AI and machine learning

02:25: AI is trying to write programs that do intelligent things. Machine learning is doing that by showing examples. And the alternative to that is an older technology we call "expert systems", which means you use the blood, sweat, and tears of graduate students to write down pieces of knowledge by hand rather than trying to learn them.

Data science is the intersection of statistics, machine learning and programming

03:00: I think of data science as a combination of statistics or machine learning, the ability to do some programming, but not necessarily be a professional-level programmer. And then expertise in the particular type of data you have, whether that's biology, economics, or whatever the data is. And so, data science is the combination or intersection of those three aspects.

Is there a possibility of generating revenue through subscriptions for big social media companies?

35:39: As a society, we still haven't really understood or adapted to how digital works. And people are super willing to say, “I'm going to spend $50 or even a hundred dollars per month for some kind of physical good that I pay to my phone or cable provider.” But when it comes to paying a few pennies to read something on the internet, it's, “oh, no. Information wants to be free.” And I think we might be better off in a world where these assets were all aggregated, and you just paid for a subscription.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Fri, 23 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Questions around the possibilities and potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence cover the headlines these days, but are these actually new questions?

Computer scientist Peter Norvig has been writing about AI and the ethics of data science for years. Before he was a professor at Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute, he worked for NASA and held a major consulting role at Google. His books, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (4th Edition) and Data Science in Context: Foundations, Challenges, Opportunities, explore the theory and practice of AI and data science.

Peter and Greg discuss the cyclical nature of new technology mania, the misconceptions of modern AI,  and the different ways companies could monetize these systems in the future. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Open source and AI Systems

27:56: One reason to open source is if you have a vibrant open-source community, it's hard for one individual company to compete against that. One of the places I worked was Sun Microsystems. They had their own version of Unix. But that wasn't sustainable. You know, one company couldn't compete against the entire open-source Linux community. And I think companies see that. That'll be the same kind of thing with AI systems; if you try to be proprietary and go it alone, you'll fall behind the rest of the open source. And so, it's much better to participate with the open source than try to compete against it.

The difference between AI and machine learning

02:25: AI is trying to write programs that do intelligent things. Machine learning is doing that by showing examples. And the alternative to that is an older technology we call "expert systems", which means you use the blood, sweat, and tears of graduate students to write down pieces of knowledge by hand rather than trying to learn them.

Data science is the intersection of statistics, machine learning and programming

03:00: I think of data science as a combination of statistics or machine learning, the ability to do some programming, but not necessarily be a professional-level programmer. And then expertise in the particular type of data you have, whether that's biology, economics, or whatever the data is. And so, data science is the combination or intersection of those three aspects.

Is there a possibility of generating revenue through subscriptions for big social media companies?

35:39: As a society, we still haven't really understood or adapted to how digital works. And people are super willing to say, “I'm going to spend $50 or even a hundred dollars per month for some kind of physical good that I pay to my phone or cable provider.” But when it comes to paying a few pennies to read something on the internet, it's, “oh, no. Information wants to be free.” And I think we might be better off in a world where these assets were all aggregated, and you just paid for a subscription.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 296. The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence feat. Peter Norvig Greg La Blanc 00:53:39 Questions around the possibilities and potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence cover the headlines these days, but are these actually new questions? Computer scientist Peter Norvig has been writing about AI and the ethics of data science for years. Before he was a professor at Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute, he worked for NASA and held a major consulting role at Google. His books, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (4th Edition) and Data Science in Context: Foundations, Challenges, Opportunities, explore the theory and practice of AI and data science. Peter and Greg discuss the cyclical nature of new technology mania, the misconceptions of modern AI, and the different ways companies could monetize these systems in the future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Questions around the possibilities and potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence cover the headlines these days, but are these actually new questions? Computer scientist Peter Norvig has been writing about AI and the ethics of data science for years. Before he was a professor at Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute, he worked for NASA and held a major consulting role at Google. His books, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (4th Edition) and Data Science in Context: Foundations, Challenges, Opportunities, explore the theory and practice of AI and data science. Peter and Greg discuss the cyclical nature of new technology mania, the misconceptions of modern AI, and the different ways companies could monetize these systems in the future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 296 6b26da78-0f78-4909-9a68-570b71204c7f 295. Keeping the Conversation Going feat. Paula Marantz Cohen Conversation and communication with others is a natural human urge, as well as a skill that can be developed and honed like any other. The power of conversation has been long known in society, and still, there are regular efforts to preserve and maintain the spaces and opportunities for genuine conversation in today’s world of screens and distractions.

Paula Marantz Cohen is the Dean of the Pennoni Honors College and a Distinguished Professor of English at Drexel University. She is also the author of several books. Her latest, which is titled Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation, is all about the art of good conversation and examining how it connects us all. 

Paula and Greg discuss the connection with Sigmund Freud and her own book’s title, as well as the connections and differences between conversation and therapy. Paula sheds some light on good practices in conversation and how to carry on civilly on issues that parties disagree with or are controversial. Greg and Paula discuss dinner parties and the false idea that all professors were constantly having them. They discuss the differences between French and American culture and also the idea that there must be a conventional hero and villain in circumstances that may be more nuanced than that.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we professionalizing conversation by hiring people to have conversations with us?

35:15: We're outsourcing conversation to our therapist. Yeah, that's a sad thing to think of because it also reflects the isolation of the individual. We're alone in ultimately anyway. And this seems to reinforce it further and make it less and less necessary to reach out to other people if we have that weekly appointment with the therapist whom we pay to listen to us and not agree with us but make us the center of focus. So that reinforces the fact that we don't really need anybody else to help us.

Conversation is about the exercise of the mind

47:34: I think we could sell conversation if we said it was about exercise for the mind, but then we might defeat the purpose.

On forging bonds with people through conversation

35:15: Finding points of divergence is a lot of fun. As long as goodwill is involved, as soon as there's animus involved, it's not fun anymore, and as soon as it becomes a matter of winning or losing, which is detrimental to conversation, I know people who can only converse or only discuss things they disagree with if they can win. And I didn't realize until recently that I just don't want to do that anymore.

Why is dynamic so inherent in our nature?

28:59: Many young people are trying desperately to get out of that dynamic of othering because they find it not virtuous. On the other hand, for the sake of intimacy, there has to be a little bit of that we versus they.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 21 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Conversation and communication with others is a natural human urge, as well as a skill that can be developed and honed like any other. The power of conversation has been long known in society, and still, there are regular efforts to preserve and maintain the spaces and opportunities for genuine conversation in today’s world of screens and distractions.

Paula Marantz Cohen is the Dean of the Pennoni Honors College and a Distinguished Professor of English at Drexel University. She is also the author of several books. Her latest, which is titled Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation, is all about the art of good conversation and examining how it connects us all. 

Paula and Greg discuss the connection with Sigmund Freud and her own book’s title, as well as the connections and differences between conversation and therapy. Paula sheds some light on good practices in conversation and how to carry on civilly on issues that parties disagree with or are controversial. Greg and Paula discuss dinner parties and the false idea that all professors were constantly having them. They discuss the differences between French and American culture and also the idea that there must be a conventional hero and villain in circumstances that may be more nuanced than that.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Are we professionalizing conversation by hiring people to have conversations with us?

35:15: We're outsourcing conversation to our therapist. Yeah, that's a sad thing to think of because it also reflects the isolation of the individual. We're alone in ultimately anyway. And this seems to reinforce it further and make it less and less necessary to reach out to other people if we have that weekly appointment with the therapist whom we pay to listen to us and not agree with us but make us the center of focus. So that reinforces the fact that we don't really need anybody else to help us.

Conversation is about the exercise of the mind

47:34: I think we could sell conversation if we said it was about exercise for the mind, but then we might defeat the purpose.

On forging bonds with people through conversation

35:15: Finding points of divergence is a lot of fun. As long as goodwill is involved, as soon as there's animus involved, it's not fun anymore, and as soon as it becomes a matter of winning or losing, which is detrimental to conversation, I know people who can only converse or only discuss things they disagree with if they can win. And I didn't realize until recently that I just don't want to do that anymore.

Why is dynamic so inherent in our nature?

28:59: Many young people are trying desperately to get out of that dynamic of othering because they find it not virtuous. On the other hand, for the sake of intimacy, there has to be a little bit of that we versus they.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 295. Keeping the Conversation Going feat. Paula Marantz Cohen Greg La Blanc 00:55:04 Conversation and communication with others is a natural human urge, as well as a skill that can be developed and honed like any other. The power of conversation has been long known in society, and still, there are regular efforts to preserve and maintain the spaces and opportunities for genuine conversation in today’s world of screens and distractions. Paula Marantz Cohen is the Dean of the Pennoni Honors College and a Distinguished Professor of English at Drexel University. She is also the author of several books. Her latest, which is titled Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation, is all about the art of good conversation and examining how it connects us all. Paula and Greg discuss the connection with Sigmund Freud and her own book’s title, as well as the connections and differences between conversation and therapy. Paula sheds some light on good practices in conversation and how to carry on civilly on issues that parties disagree with or are controversial. Greg and Paula discuss dinner parties and the false idea that all professors were constantly having them. They discuss the differences between French and American culture and also the idea that there must be a conventional hero and villain in circumstances that may be more nuanced than that. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Conversation and communication with others is a natural human urge, as well as a skill that can be developed and honed like any other. The power of conversation has been long known in society, and still, there are regular efforts to preserve and maintain the spaces and opportunities for genuine conversation in today’s world of screens and distractions. Paula Marantz Cohen is the Dean of the Pennoni Honors College and a Distinguished Professor of English at Drexel University. She is also the author of several books. Her latest, which is titled Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation, is all about the art of good conversation and examining how it connects us all. Paula and Greg discuss the connection with Sigmund Freud and her own book’s title, as well as the connections and differences between conversation and therapy. Paula sheds some light on good practices in conversation and how to carry on civilly on issues that parties disagree with or are controversial. Greg and Paula discuss dinner parties and the false idea that all professors were constantly having them. They discuss the differences between French and American culture and also the idea that there must be a conventional hero and villain in circumstances that may be more nuanced than that. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 295 9e673317-07ba-4b85-82ab-3fc2d9fa460e 294. The Habit of Courage feat. Jim Detert Courage is not a character trait that is limited to a select few but rather a skill that can be cultivated through deliberate practice.

Unless we repetitively practice the high-stress, emotion-laden situations in which we aspire to be courageous, we will never magically become skillful in those moments.

Jim Detert is a Professor in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and a Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. In his book “Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work” he explores how to be 'competently courageous' so that our courage pays off for us and for our organizations.

Jim and Greg talk about how to instill a habit of courage, how to overcome the fear of potential negative consequences work-wise or socially, and how to create accurate risk assessments when it comes to choosing the right battles. They also discuss the prevalent inconsistency within organizations that profess to value individuals with courage while, in actuality, demonstrating a reluctance to embrace them and how to change the structural policy and behavioral conditions to truly facilitate courage in the workplace.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How do you power-through emotion-laden situations?

35:25: If you're going to act skillfully in high-stress, emotion-laden situations, you have to practice in high-stress, emotion-laden situations. Practicing in a cognitively cool manner is what a lot of us do, and it's why most of us walk out of a room after and go 30 seconds later. Oh sh*t, I should have said this during the because what happens is your amygdala hijacks your executive functioning, and unless we practice repetitively trying to stay in the moment during that hijacking and tamp it down and act, we'll never just magically be skillful in those moments.

In a true learning culture, nobody has to pretend they’re perfect

19:27: In a true learning culture, nobody has to pretend they're perfect, and nobody has to pretend that they can't be corrected in public.

The key to sorting out a troublemaker  

23:42: If you were going to help a recruiter sort out the difference between a chronic troublemaker versus a legitimate truth-teller who simply wanted to draw its right and improve the organization, I think to me it's a matter of patterning. So if a person has had a pattern of successful jobs they've been in for some time and then has a single situation where they are able to explain why it didn't work out, that to me is different than a person who's had seven jobs in the last six years. And for whom every single organization has somehow been toxic and had a terrible boss. At some point, when you are the only consistent thing in a pattern of different situations, you're the problem.

The role of leaders

30:02: The role of leaders, particularly senior leaders, is to change the structural policy and behavioral conditions so that they get the learning behaviors they need without people thinking it's courageous.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 19 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Courage is not a character trait that is limited to a select few but rather a skill that can be cultivated through deliberate practice.

Unless we repetitively practice the high-stress, emotion-laden situations in which we aspire to be courageous, we will never magically become skillful in those moments.

Jim Detert is a Professor in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and a Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. In his book “Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work” he explores how to be 'competently courageous' so that our courage pays off for us and for our organizations.

Jim and Greg talk about how to instill a habit of courage, how to overcome the fear of potential negative consequences work-wise or socially, and how to create accurate risk assessments when it comes to choosing the right battles. They also discuss the prevalent inconsistency within organizations that profess to value individuals with courage while, in actuality, demonstrating a reluctance to embrace them and how to change the structural policy and behavioral conditions to truly facilitate courage in the workplace.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How do you power-through emotion-laden situations?

35:25: If you're going to act skillfully in high-stress, emotion-laden situations, you have to practice in high-stress, emotion-laden situations. Practicing in a cognitively cool manner is what a lot of us do, and it's why most of us walk out of a room after and go 30 seconds later. Oh sh*t, I should have said this during the because what happens is your amygdala hijacks your executive functioning, and unless we practice repetitively trying to stay in the moment during that hijacking and tamp it down and act, we'll never just magically be skillful in those moments.

In a true learning culture, nobody has to pretend they’re perfect

19:27: In a true learning culture, nobody has to pretend they're perfect, and nobody has to pretend that they can't be corrected in public.

The key to sorting out a troublemaker  

23:42: If you were going to help a recruiter sort out the difference between a chronic troublemaker versus a legitimate truth-teller who simply wanted to draw its right and improve the organization, I think to me it's a matter of patterning. So if a person has had a pattern of successful jobs they've been in for some time and then has a single situation where they are able to explain why it didn't work out, that to me is different than a person who's had seven jobs in the last six years. And for whom every single organization has somehow been toxic and had a terrible boss. At some point, when you are the only consistent thing in a pattern of different situations, you're the problem.

The role of leaders

30:02: The role of leaders, particularly senior leaders, is to change the structural policy and behavioral conditions so that they get the learning behaviors they need without people thinking it's courageous.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 294. The Habit of Courage feat. Jim Detert Greg La Blanc 00:54:11 Courage is not a character trait that is limited to a select few but rather a skill that can be cultivated through deliberate practice. Unless we repetitively practice the high-stress, emotion-laden situations in which we aspire to be courageous, we will never magically become skillful in those moments. Jim Detert is a Professor in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and a Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. In his book “Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work” he explores how to be 'competently courageous' so that our courage pays off for us and for our organizations. Jim and Greg talk about how to instill a habit of courage, how to overcome the fear of potential negative consequences work-wise or socially, and how to create accurate risk assessments when it comes to choosing the right battles. They also discuss the prevalent inconsistency within organizations that profess to value individuals with courage while, in actuality, demonstrating a reluctance to embrace them and how to change the structural policy and behavioral conditions to truly facilitate courage in the workplace. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Courage is not a character trait that is limited to a select few but rather a skill that can be cultivated through deliberate practice. Unless we repetitively practice the high-stress, emotion-laden situations in which we aspire to be courageous, we will never magically become skillful in those moments. Jim Detert is a Professor in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and a Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. In his book “Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work” he explores how to be 'competently courageous' so that our courage pays off for us and for our organizations. Jim and Greg talk about how to instill a habit of courage, how to overcome the fear of potential negative consequences work-wise or socially, and how to create accurate risk assessments when it comes to choosing the right battles. They also discuss the prevalent inconsistency within organizations that profess to value individuals with courage while, in actuality, demonstrating a reluctance to embrace them and how to change the structural policy and behavioral conditions to truly facilitate courage in the workplace. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 294 66c989c9-fff2-43a2-8021-8c1c95872efb 293. Stop Torturing Data feat. Gary Smith When scientists game the system to get publishable results, it undermines the legitimacy of science.. Data can be interpreted many different ways and sliced into an infinite number of shapes, but specifically shaping your results to make them fit restrictions leads everyone down the wrong path. This is called torturing data, and it can look like cherry-picking participants or results for a study or getting your results first and then reverse engineering your hypothesis after the fact.

Gary Smith is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics at Pomona College. He is also the author of several books on data and economics. His latest work, Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science, explores society’s general and specific instances of distrusting science in different ways.

Greg and Gary discuss what nefarious things go on when scientists focus on keeping low P Values. They discuss the distinctions between correlation and causation that an AI might not be able to distinguish and the work in that area of Diedrik Stapel. Gary discusses data mining and HARKing. Gary and Greg discuss the difference in importance and feasibility of both backcasting and forecasting with markets, what makes ChatGPT work under the hood, and the real advantage that Warren Buffet has in investing.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The future of education with large language models

50:22: We may be going to a world where my ChatGPT talks to your ChatGPT, but I hope not. And in most jobs, you have to communicate, you have to write reports that are persuasive, coherent, and factually correct. And sometimes you have to get up, speak and talk. And in some of my classes, a lot of the things I do are group projects where they work on things outside of class, then they come into class, stand up, and present the results, kind of like a real-world business situation. And the large language models are not going to take that over. And I think if education switches more to that model, teaching critical thinking, working on projects, communicating results, education's going to actually get better. It's not going to destroy education.

Underestimating our capacity as human beings

29:27: The problem today is not that computers are smarter than us. But we think they're smarter than us, and we trust them to make decisions they shouldn't be trusted to make. 

Data mining is a vice

23:02: The problem is these computer algorithms they're good at finding patterns—statistical patterns—but they have no way of judging, assessing whether it makes any sense or not. They have no way of assessing whether that is likely to be a meaningful or meaningless thing. And too many people think that data mining is a virtue. And I continue to consider it a vice.

The danger of large language models

46:53: The real danger of large language models is not that they're going to take over the world but that we're going to trust them too much and start making decisions they shouldn't be making.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 16 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When scientists game the system to get publishable results, it undermines the legitimacy of science.. Data can be interpreted many different ways and sliced into an infinite number of shapes, but specifically shaping your results to make them fit restrictions leads everyone down the wrong path. This is called torturing data, and it can look like cherry-picking participants or results for a study or getting your results first and then reverse engineering your hypothesis after the fact.

Gary Smith is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics at Pomona College. He is also the author of several books on data and economics. His latest work, Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science, explores society’s general and specific instances of distrusting science in different ways.

Greg and Gary discuss what nefarious things go on when scientists focus on keeping low P Values. They discuss the distinctions between correlation and causation that an AI might not be able to distinguish and the work in that area of Diedrik Stapel. Gary discusses data mining and HARKing. Gary and Greg discuss the difference in importance and feasibility of both backcasting and forecasting with markets, what makes ChatGPT work under the hood, and the real advantage that Warren Buffet has in investing.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The future of education with large language models

50:22: We may be going to a world where my ChatGPT talks to your ChatGPT, but I hope not. And in most jobs, you have to communicate, you have to write reports that are persuasive, coherent, and factually correct. And sometimes you have to get up, speak and talk. And in some of my classes, a lot of the things I do are group projects where they work on things outside of class, then they come into class, stand up, and present the results, kind of like a real-world business situation. And the large language models are not going to take that over. And I think if education switches more to that model, teaching critical thinking, working on projects, communicating results, education's going to actually get better. It's not going to destroy education.

Underestimating our capacity as human beings

29:27: The problem today is not that computers are smarter than us. But we think they're smarter than us, and we trust them to make decisions they shouldn't be trusted to make. 

Data mining is a vice

23:02: The problem is these computer algorithms they're good at finding patterns—statistical patterns—but they have no way of judging, assessing whether it makes any sense or not. They have no way of assessing whether that is likely to be a meaningful or meaningless thing. And too many people think that data mining is a virtue. And I continue to consider it a vice.

The danger of large language models

46:53: The real danger of large language models is not that they're going to take over the world but that we're going to trust them too much and start making decisions they shouldn't be making.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 293. Stop Torturing Data feat. Gary Smith Greg La Blanc 00:53:10 When scientists game the system to get publishable results, it undermines the legitimacy of science.. Data can be interpreted many different ways and sliced into an infinite number of shapes, but specifically shaping your results to make them fit restrictions leads everyone down the wrong path. This is called torturing data, and it can look like cherry-picking participants or results for a study or getting your results first and then reverse engineering your hypothesis after the fact. Gary Smith is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics at Pomona College. He is also the author of several books on data and economics. His latest work, Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science, explores society’s general and specific instances of distrusting science in different ways. Greg and Gary discuss what nefarious things go on when scientists focus on keeping low P Values. They discuss the distinctions between correlation and causation that an AI might not be able to distinguish and the work in that area of Diedrik Stapel. Gary discusses data mining and HARKing. Gary and Greg discuss the difference in importance and feasibility of both backcasting and forecasting with markets, what makes ChatGPT work under the hood, and the real advantage that Warren Buffet has in investing. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* When scientists game the system to get publishable results, it undermines the legitimacy of science.. Data can be interpreted many different ways and sliced into an infinite number of shapes, but specifically shaping your results to make them fit restrictions leads everyone down the wrong path. This is called torturing data, and it can look like cherry-picking participants or results for a study or getting your results first and then reverse engineering your hypothesis after the fact. Gary Smith is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics at Pomona College. He is also the author of several books on data and economics. His latest work, Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science, explores society’s general and specific instances of distrusting science in different ways. Greg and Gary discuss what nefarious things go on when scientists focus on keeping low P Values. They discuss the distinctions between correlation and causation that an AI might not be able to distinguish and the work in that area of Diedrik Stapel. Gary discusses data mining and HARKing. Gary and Greg discuss the difference in importance and feasibility of both backcasting and forecasting with markets, what makes ChatGPT work under the hood, and the real advantage that Warren Buffet has in investing. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 293 f8b20600-a196-41c8-8b51-a7b56976ed7f 292. Re-examining Human Exceptionalism feat. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz While it is commonly assumed that prevalent health issues like heart disease, obesity, and depression are uniquely human experiences, they exist across multiple species.

Despite the undeniable connection rooted in our shared animal nature, a perceptible barrier remains between human and veterinary medicine and psychology, often driven by the notion of human exceptionalism.

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz is a cardiologist, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UCLA, a visiting professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, as well as a New York Times bestselling author. Her latest book “Wildhood” examines the surprising parallels of adolescent humans and animals in navigating risk and social hierarchies, how to connect romantically, and how to live independently.

Barbara and Greg talk about the importance of removing the blindfold of human exceptionalism and a cross-species approach to medicine and psychology, which includes veterinary and evolutionary perspectives, to gain valuable insights from other species.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What are the core competencies of being an adult?

54:24: Adolescence occurs across vertebrates, and even—we studied lobsters, crayfish, and so on—invertebrates. And that we decided to make the definition our own, and this was based on a number of studies that we did to figure out what are the core competencies of being an adult. And we said, "Okay, it starts with puberty. And it ends when an animal has mastered four core competencies, which are staying safe, learning to navigate social structures and hierarchies, learning to communicate sexually, not have sex because, as we say, copulation is easy, courtship is hard, and then finally learning to feed yourself and be independent.

The connection between human and animal medicine

57:47: If you ask physicians today what is the connection between human and animal medicine, they'll say infection; they'll say what is called zoonosis; and what they'll leave out are the connections around heart disease and psychiatry, which is mental health.

What is most likely to kill wild animals?

23:15: The risk of starvation is a clear and present danger when you look at what is most likely to kill wild animals. And there is some debate about what is the greatest danger. And it probably varies, but starvation, predation, and infection are definitely high up there. And the three interact. So starvation is a clear and present danger to survival.

Recognizing biodiversity

21:02: Part of biodiversity is physiologic diversity, and part of physiologic diversity is neurophysiologic diversity, and neurophysiologic diversity shapes behavior. So there's this continuity that I don't think most psychotherapists and psychiatrists are sufficiently aware of.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 14 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast While it is commonly assumed that prevalent health issues like heart disease, obesity, and depression are uniquely human experiences, they exist across multiple species.

Despite the undeniable connection rooted in our shared animal nature, a perceptible barrier remains between human and veterinary medicine and psychology, often driven by the notion of human exceptionalism.

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz is a cardiologist, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UCLA, a visiting professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, as well as a New York Times bestselling author. Her latest book “Wildhood” examines the surprising parallels of adolescent humans and animals in navigating risk and social hierarchies, how to connect romantically, and how to live independently.

Barbara and Greg talk about the importance of removing the blindfold of human exceptionalism and a cross-species approach to medicine and psychology, which includes veterinary and evolutionary perspectives, to gain valuable insights from other species.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What are the core competencies of being an adult?

54:24: Adolescence occurs across vertebrates, and even—we studied lobsters, crayfish, and so on—invertebrates. And that we decided to make the definition our own, and this was based on a number of studies that we did to figure out what are the core competencies of being an adult. And we said, "Okay, it starts with puberty. And it ends when an animal has mastered four core competencies, which are staying safe, learning to navigate social structures and hierarchies, learning to communicate sexually, not have sex because, as we say, copulation is easy, courtship is hard, and then finally learning to feed yourself and be independent.

The connection between human and animal medicine

57:47: If you ask physicians today what is the connection between human and animal medicine, they'll say infection; they'll say what is called zoonosis; and what they'll leave out are the connections around heart disease and psychiatry, which is mental health.

What is most likely to kill wild animals?

23:15: The risk of starvation is a clear and present danger when you look at what is most likely to kill wild animals. And there is some debate about what is the greatest danger. And it probably varies, but starvation, predation, and infection are definitely high up there. And the three interact. So starvation is a clear and present danger to survival.

Recognizing biodiversity

21:02: Part of biodiversity is physiologic diversity, and part of physiologic diversity is neurophysiologic diversity, and neurophysiologic diversity shapes behavior. So there's this continuity that I don't think most psychotherapists and psychiatrists are sufficiently aware of.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 292. Re-examining Human Exceptionalism feat. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz Greg La Blanc 00:59:08 While it is commonly assumed that prevalent health issues like heart disease, obesity, and depression are uniquely human experiences, they exist across multiple species. Despite the undeniable connection rooted in our shared animal nature, a perceptible barrier remains between human and veterinary medicine and psychology, often driven by the notion of human exceptionalism. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz is a cardiologist, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UCLA, a visiting professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, as well as a New York Times bestselling author. Her latest book “Wildhood” examines the surprising parallels of adolescent humans and animals in navigating risk and social hierarchies, how to connect romantically, and how to live independently. Barbara and Greg talk about the importance of removing the blindfold of human exceptionalism and a cross-species approach to medicine and psychology, which includes veterinary and evolutionary perspectives, to gain valuable insights from other species. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* While it is commonly assumed that prevalent health issues like heart disease, obesity, and depression are uniquely human experiences, they exist across multiple species. Despite the undeniable connection rooted in our shared animal nature, a perceptible barrier remains between human and veterinary medicine and psychology, often driven by the notion of human exceptionalism. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz is a cardiologist, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UCLA, a visiting professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, as well as a New York Times bestselling author. Her latest book “Wildhood” examines the surprising parallels of adolescent humans and animals in navigating risk and social hierarchies, how to connect romantically, and how to live independently. Barbara and Greg talk about the importance of removing the blindfold of human exceptionalism and a cross-species approach to medicine and psychology, which includes veterinary and evolutionary perspectives, to gain valuable insights from other species. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 292 7c77a44b-2648-433d-9157-5c6aeadf2168 291. Embracing the Problems in Your Life feat. Bernard Roth Life is all about solving problems—whether it’s what shirt to put on in the morning or how to solve a complex engineering question. And without problems, life wouldn’t have much meaning. But how do you master effective problem-solving skills? 

Bernard Roth is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University and is one of the founders of Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (also known as the d.school). It was at Stanford that he first noticed a correlation between problem-solving in engineering and problem-solving in life. So he integrated those ideas into his teaching and wrote, The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life. 

Bernie and Greg discuss the importance of embracing the problems in your life, how to become a more effective problem solver, and why reasons are bullshit. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Seeing problem as an opportunity

14:54: I live with people who believe problems are opportunities. So the bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity. And if you think about it, that's what life is about. Life is about problem-solving. Problem-solving is a great activity, and it's not necessarily frustrating. It's not like a disease, you know; it's actually an exercise.

Redefining achievement

17:30: To me, achievement is when you die, your friends don't have to lie about you. And you enjoyed life in a way that you found it to be a life force

Using reasons as an excuse

26:39: The big thing is reasons are often used as excuses. And that's for me the big “so what?” So “reasons are bullshit” is the truth, that they're not the truth of anything because there is no reason for one thing, and who cares? But the point is that if you use a reason, it's an excuse often and doesn't let you move forward.

The idea of failing forward

13:47: You have to do something. You have to take a step. You don't sit there and think and think and think about it; you're taking the step. You get valuable feedback, which you can then use to improve things. So that's our philosophy of this bias towards action and the idea of failing forward. And it seems to work.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 12 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Life is all about solving problems—whether it’s what shirt to put on in the morning or how to solve a complex engineering question. And without problems, life wouldn’t have much meaning. But how do you master effective problem-solving skills? 

Bernard Roth is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University and is one of the founders of Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (also known as the d.school). It was at Stanford that he first noticed a correlation between problem-solving in engineering and problem-solving in life. So he integrated those ideas into his teaching and wrote, The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life. 

Bernie and Greg discuss the importance of embracing the problems in your life, how to become a more effective problem solver, and why reasons are bullshit. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Seeing problem as an opportunity

14:54: I live with people who believe problems are opportunities. So the bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity. And if you think about it, that's what life is about. Life is about problem-solving. Problem-solving is a great activity, and it's not necessarily frustrating. It's not like a disease, you know; it's actually an exercise.

Redefining achievement

17:30: To me, achievement is when you die, your friends don't have to lie about you. And you enjoyed life in a way that you found it to be a life force

Using reasons as an excuse

26:39: The big thing is reasons are often used as excuses. And that's for me the big “so what?” So “reasons are bullshit” is the truth, that they're not the truth of anything because there is no reason for one thing, and who cares? But the point is that if you use a reason, it's an excuse often and doesn't let you move forward.

The idea of failing forward

13:47: You have to do something. You have to take a step. You don't sit there and think and think and think about it; you're taking the step. You get valuable feedback, which you can then use to improve things. So that's our philosophy of this bias towards action and the idea of failing forward. And it seems to work.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 291. Embracing the Problems in Your Life feat. Bernard Roth Greg La Blanc 00:48:01 Life is all about solving problems—whether it’s what shirt to put on in the morning or how to solve a complex engineering question. And without problems, life wouldn’t have much meaning. But how do you master effective problem-solving skills? Bernard Roth is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University and is one of the founders of Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (also known as the d.school). It was at Stanford that he first noticed a correlation between problem-solving in engineering and problem-solving in life. So he integrated those ideas into his teaching and wrote, The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life. Bernie and Greg discuss the importance of embracing the problems in your life, how to become a more effective problem solver, and why reasons are bullshit. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Life is all about solving problems—whether it’s what shirt to put on in the morning or how to solve a complex engineering question. And without problems, life wouldn’t have much meaning. But how do you master effective problem-solving skills? Bernard Roth is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University and is one of the founders of Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (also known as the d.school). It was at Stanford that he first noticed a correlation between problem-solving in engineering and problem-solving in life. So he integrated those ideas into his teaching and wrote, The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life. Bernie and Greg discuss the importance of embracing the problems in your life, how to become a more effective problem solver, and why reasons are bullshit. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 291 6f17772b-a17a-4471-9475-025793273682 290. Evolution as the Tinkerer Not the Engineer feat. Marlene Zuk Here’s the thing about evolution: It’s really complicated. And there’s so much about how humans have evolved and what causes certain behaviors that scientists are still figuring out. 

It’s those unknowns that fascinate Marlene Zuk, a professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. She’s written numerous books on animal behavior and evolution, with her most recent publication being Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters. 

Marlene and Greg discuss common misconceptions about genes and heredity, how to even define “behavior,” and why humans have not evolved to be perfectly suited for our environment. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the complexity of science

04:14: Newsflash: Science is complicated. But I feel like if you can internalize that complication, it's really liberating because you realize that you do not have to come up with the sound bite, the click bait, or whatever you want to call it.

Underestimating our capacity as human beings

29:44: Mismatch is real, but what it illustrates is how evolution works, which is full of trade-offs and things that are just okay but functional. And evolution doesn't produce organisms that are perfect for their environment because it can't. Evolution can only produce something based on what's already there.

Evolution shows your connectedness among living things

20:44: One of the things that I think is super cool about evolution is that it shows you the connectedness among living things. How awesome is that? But to go from there to creating this scale of nature, this chain of being, and saying, "Okay, well, this one is next to me because it's better than the one that's behind it, and the ones that are next to me are better than the ones that aren't next to me," That just seems feudal.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 9 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Here’s the thing about evolution: It’s really complicated. And there’s so much about how humans have evolved and what causes certain behaviors that scientists are still figuring out. 

It’s those unknowns that fascinate Marlene Zuk, a professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. She’s written numerous books on animal behavior and evolution, with her most recent publication being Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters. 

Marlene and Greg discuss common misconceptions about genes and heredity, how to even define “behavior,” and why humans have not evolved to be perfectly suited for our environment. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the complexity of science

04:14: Newsflash: Science is complicated. But I feel like if you can internalize that complication, it's really liberating because you realize that you do not have to come up with the sound bite, the click bait, or whatever you want to call it.

Underestimating our capacity as human beings

29:44: Mismatch is real, but what it illustrates is how evolution works, which is full of trade-offs and things that are just okay but functional. And evolution doesn't produce organisms that are perfect for their environment because it can't. Evolution can only produce something based on what's already there.

Evolution shows your connectedness among living things

20:44: One of the things that I think is super cool about evolution is that it shows you the connectedness among living things. How awesome is that? But to go from there to creating this scale of nature, this chain of being, and saying, "Okay, well, this one is next to me because it's better than the one that's behind it, and the ones that are next to me are better than the ones that aren't next to me," That just seems feudal.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 290. Evolution as the Tinkerer Not the Engineer feat. Marlene Zuk Greg La Blanc 00:55:51 Here’s the thing about evolution: It’s really complicated. And there’s so much about how humans have evolved and what causes certain behaviors that scientists are still figuring out. It’s those unknowns that fascinate Marlene Zuk, a professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. She’s written numerous books on animal behavior and evolution, with her most recent publication being Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters. Marlene and Greg discuss common misconceptions about genes and heredity, how to even define “behavior,” and why humans have not evolved to be perfectly suited for our environment. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Here’s the thing about evolution: It’s really complicated. And there’s so much about how humans have evolved and what causes certain behaviors that scientists are still figuring out. It’s those unknowns that fascinate Marlene Zuk, a professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. She’s written numerous books on animal behavior and evolution, with her most recent publication being Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters. Marlene and Greg discuss common misconceptions about genes and heredity, how to even define “behavior,” and why humans have not evolved to be perfectly suited for our environment. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 290 6f71ab19-c062-4915-8b43-c36f27f3fdd4 289. The Religious Roots of Economics feat. Benjamin M. Friedman How much did the religious beliefs of the Enlightenment Age influence the evolution of modern economic theory? Can widespread economic growth lead to an improvement in moral character across a vast population? 

Benjamin M. Friedman is a professor and former Chair of Economics at Harvard University. In his books Religion and the Rise of Capitalism and The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, he explores the relationship between economic theory, religious thought, and views of moral progress.

Benjamin chats with Greg about how the Scottish Enlightenment, in particular, became a hub for social scientific thought, what the belief in Calvinism had to do with the rise of capitalism and the correlation between economic growth and positive moral changes in society.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Predictable pathologies

01:01:20: The fact that there's a lot of ungenerosity in our society, the fact that we have renewed racial tensions, the fact that there's a lot of antipathy toward immigrants, the fact that large numbers of people in our country are not particularly committed to the fundamentals of American democracy that we've had for a very long time—all these are not just pathologies. They are predictable pathologies. They are the symptoms that emerge whenever we go through a lengthy period, like 18 years, in which the broad bulk of society doesn't have any improvement in its living standard.

The cause and effect of our acts and works

34:26: The fact that people can and sometimes do make other people better off through actions, which are not self-interested behavior doesn't preclude the fact that people also can make others better off under the right conditions by acting in a way that's self-interested.

Is economic growth consistent with the improvement of human moral character?

58:33: I believe that economic growth, by which I mean rises sustained, increases improvements in living standards, broadly distributed among the population. That is the condition under which society is able to move forward in a variety of non-material dimensions that, ever since the Enlightenment, we've taken to be morally positive.

Economics is a product of the Enlightenment

06:09: Economics is a part of the Enlightenment, and we do normally think of the Enlightenment as a movement away from conceptions of a God-centered universe toward what we, in our modern vocabulary, would call secular humanism. And so I don't think people who have the conventional view are being stupid, obtuse, or ignorant, but I do think it is wrong. And that's what the book was about: showing that the conventional view, which excludes any role for religious thinking in the origins of modern Western economics, is seriously incomplete.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 5 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How much did the religious beliefs of the Enlightenment Age influence the evolution of modern economic theory? Can widespread economic growth lead to an improvement in moral character across a vast population? 

Benjamin M. Friedman is a professor and former Chair of Economics at Harvard University. In his books Religion and the Rise of Capitalism and The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, he explores the relationship between economic theory, religious thought, and views of moral progress.

Benjamin chats with Greg about how the Scottish Enlightenment, in particular, became a hub for social scientific thought, what the belief in Calvinism had to do with the rise of capitalism and the correlation between economic growth and positive moral changes in society.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Predictable pathologies

01:01:20: The fact that there's a lot of ungenerosity in our society, the fact that we have renewed racial tensions, the fact that there's a lot of antipathy toward immigrants, the fact that large numbers of people in our country are not particularly committed to the fundamentals of American democracy that we've had for a very long time—all these are not just pathologies. They are predictable pathologies. They are the symptoms that emerge whenever we go through a lengthy period, like 18 years, in which the broad bulk of society doesn't have any improvement in its living standard.

The cause and effect of our acts and works

34:26: The fact that people can and sometimes do make other people better off through actions, which are not self-interested behavior doesn't preclude the fact that people also can make others better off under the right conditions by acting in a way that's self-interested.

Is economic growth consistent with the improvement of human moral character?

58:33: I believe that economic growth, by which I mean rises sustained, increases improvements in living standards, broadly distributed among the population. That is the condition under which society is able to move forward in a variety of non-material dimensions that, ever since the Enlightenment, we've taken to be morally positive.

Economics is a product of the Enlightenment

06:09: Economics is a part of the Enlightenment, and we do normally think of the Enlightenment as a movement away from conceptions of a God-centered universe toward what we, in our modern vocabulary, would call secular humanism. And so I don't think people who have the conventional view are being stupid, obtuse, or ignorant, but I do think it is wrong. And that's what the book was about: showing that the conventional view, which excludes any role for religious thinking in the origins of modern Western economics, is seriously incomplete.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 289. The Religious Roots of Economics feat. Benjamin M. Friedman Greg La Blanc 01:02:36 How much did the religious beliefs of the Enlightenment Age influence the evolution of modern economic theory? Can widespread economic growth lead to an improvement in moral character across a vast population? Benjamin M. Friedman is a professor and former Chair of Economics at Harvard University. In his books Religion and the Rise of Capitalism and The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, he explores the relationship between economic theory, religious thought, and views of moral progress. Benjamin chats with Greg about how the Scottish Enlightenment, in particular, became a hub for social scientific thought, what the belief in Calvinism had to do with the rise of capitalism and the correlation between economic growth and positive moral changes in society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How much did the religious beliefs of the Enlightenment Age influence the evolution of modern economic theory? Can widespread economic growth lead to an improvement in moral character across a vast population? Benjamin M. Friedman is a professor and former Chair of Economics at Harvard University. In his books Religion and the Rise of Capitalism and The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, he explores the relationship between economic theory, religious thought, and views of moral progress. Benjamin chats with Greg about how the Scottish Enlightenment, in particular, became a hub for social scientific thought, what the belief in Calvinism had to do with the rise of capitalism and the correlation between economic growth and positive moral changes in society. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 289 03f1f7f9-a37e-414c-a550-710269e46fd1 288. Politics, Economics, and Irrationality feat. Bryan Caplan It may be rational to be ignorant, and it might even be rational to be irrational! This is quite prevalent in our highly polarized and tribalized current political landscape. In fact, it is what gives politics its newfound religious flavor. In education it exists where we move everyone forward the same amount, no one has moved relative to each other, and it is considered progress. 

Bryan Caplan is an economist and a Professor of Economics at George Mason University. He is also an author whose latest book is titled Voters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political Irrationality, and it is a collection of his very best essays published originally over the years on EconLog.

Bryan and Greg discuss politics and voting. They discuss the value of voting in this democracy. They also talk about Bryan’s book and get into different instances of voter irrationality. Bryan discusses his political views, and they both ponder the question of how much educational investment is socially wasteful. Finally, they talk about parenting and schools and how to an economist, everything has an associated price.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

On deciding your family size

52:03: I think that most people decide their family size based upon current exhaustion rather than weighing, "How many kids do I want now? How many kids do I want in 40 years?" But the main thing I tell people is that first, fix your parenting style to get in line with the facts, because it's just not true that your kid's future is in your hands. And then, secondly, once you do that, once you have relaxed to this level, that is when it makes sense to rethink the number of kids you want to have.

Rational rationality gives politics its religious flavor

11:21: The same incentives that give you very little reason to acquire information also give you very little reason to be intellectually honest and exert normal intellectual self-discipline. And those latter things are what I call rational irrationality. And this is really what gives politics its religious flavor.

How do you know if you’re making rationally ignorant decisions?

10:04: Rationally ignorance is something that has been talked about in social science for a long time. It's just the idea that when time is money, it is often not worthwhile to get information. And so you can rationally make a decision to be ignorant.

Thinking beyond normal data sets can change your kids' outcomes

49:59: If you want to change your kids' long-run outcomes, you have to do something weird. You have to do something that is literally off the chart, something that is rare enough that we don't see it happening in normal data sets.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 2 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It may be rational to be ignorant, and it might even be rational to be irrational! This is quite prevalent in our highly polarized and tribalized current political landscape. In fact, it is what gives politics its newfound religious flavor. In education it exists where we move everyone forward the same amount, no one has moved relative to each other, and it is considered progress. 

Bryan Caplan is an economist and a Professor of Economics at George Mason University. He is also an author whose latest book is titled Voters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political Irrationality, and it is a collection of his very best essays published originally over the years on EconLog.

Bryan and Greg discuss politics and voting. They discuss the value of voting in this democracy. They also talk about Bryan’s book and get into different instances of voter irrationality. Bryan discusses his political views, and they both ponder the question of how much educational investment is socially wasteful. Finally, they talk about parenting and schools and how to an economist, everything has an associated price.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

On deciding your family size

52:03: I think that most people decide their family size based upon current exhaustion rather than weighing, "How many kids do I want now? How many kids do I want in 40 years?" But the main thing I tell people is that first, fix your parenting style to get in line with the facts, because it's just not true that your kid's future is in your hands. And then, secondly, once you do that, once you have relaxed to this level, that is when it makes sense to rethink the number of kids you want to have.

Rational rationality gives politics its religious flavor

11:21: The same incentives that give you very little reason to acquire information also give you very little reason to be intellectually honest and exert normal intellectual self-discipline. And those latter things are what I call rational irrationality. And this is really what gives politics its religious flavor.

How do you know if you’re making rationally ignorant decisions?

10:04: Rationally ignorance is something that has been talked about in social science for a long time. It's just the idea that when time is money, it is often not worthwhile to get information. And so you can rationally make a decision to be ignorant.

Thinking beyond normal data sets can change your kids' outcomes

49:59: If you want to change your kids' long-run outcomes, you have to do something weird. You have to do something that is literally off the chart, something that is rare enough that we don't see it happening in normal data sets.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 288. Politics, Economics, and Irrationality feat. Bryan Caplan Greg La Blanc 01:01:31 It may be rational to be ignorant, and it might even be rational to be irrational! This is quite prevalent in our highly polarized and tribalized current political landscape. In fact, it is what gives politics its newfound religious flavor. In education it exists where we move everyone forward the same amount, no one has moved relative to each other, and it is considered progress. Bryan Caplan is an economist and a Professor of Economics at George Mason University. He is also an author whose latest book is titled Voters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political Irrationality, and it is a collection of his very best essays published originally over the years on EconLog. Bryan and Greg discuss politics and voting. They discuss the value of voting in this democracy. They also talk about Bryan’s book and get into different instances of voter irrationality. Bryan discusses his political views, and they both ponder the question of how much educational investment is socially wasteful. Finally, they talk about parenting and schools and how to an economist, everything has an associated price. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM. It may be rational to be ignorant, and it might even be rational to be irrational! This is quite prevalent in our highly polarized and tribalized current political landscape. In fact, it is what gives politics its newfound religious flavor. In education it exists where we move everyone forward the same amount, no one has moved relative to each other, and it is considered progress. Bryan Caplan is an economist and a Professor of Economics at George Mason University. He is also an author whose latest book is titled Voters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political Irrationality, and it is a collection of his very best essays published originally over the years on EconLog. Bryan and Greg discuss politics and voting. They discuss the value of voting in this democracy. They also talk about Bryan’s book and get into different instances of voter irrationality. Bryan discusses his political views, and they both ponder the question of how much educational investment is socially wasteful. Finally, they talk about parenting and schools and how to an economist, everything has an associated price. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM. false full 288 6cef4923-ae82-4671-bf90-cfe6a3665311 287. Generational Differences and the Influence of Technology feat. Jean M. Twenge From the Silent Generation to Gen Z, different generations have distinct behaviors, values, and attitudes that were shaped by the events during their formative years.

However, the most significant factor influencing generational differences is technology.

While technological progress has led to more individualism, it also can have negative impacts on mental health, leading to depression and suicide.

Jean M. Twenge is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, consultant, public speaker, and author of a number of books. Her most recent book “Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future” explores how different generations connect, conflict, and compete with one another.

Jean and Greg discuss the most critical influences on different generations' experiences, such as parenting styles and technology, and the importance of understanding and respecting other generations' viewpoints.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The negative impact of social media on mental health

19:35: Right around that time, 2012, teens also started to spend a lot less time with their friends in person. So that had been on a slow decline since about 2000, but it fell off a cliff in the age of the smartphone. Teens also started spending less time sleeping right around that time. So, basically, the way they spent their time outside of school fundamentally changed. They started spending a lot more time online. A lot less time with their friends in person and less time sleeping. And that's not a good formula for mental health. So that's one of the mechanisms. And there's all of the others—all of the negative content that people come across on social media. Cyberbullying, the social comparison because everybody else's life is more glamorous. Body image issues, which have been well documented, including by the company Facebook themselves, who owns Instagram, found that Instagram led to body image issues among teen girls and young women. So, it's all of these mechanisms that the end result is more depression.

Depression isn't just about emotions; it's about cognition.

30:15: Depression isn't just about emotions; it's about cognition. It's about how you see the world, and so when more people are depressed, then you'll get that, as we do between millennials and Gen Z, that shift from optimism to pessimism, and pessimism and negativity are not all bad. If they're channeled into action, they can be a good thing.

One dilemma of individualism

40:01: That's one of the dilemmas of individualism, particularly for young adults: There's a lot more freedom, not as much restriction, on what I mean, it's just one example, like what you're going to do for your career. It used to be that was, not exclusively, but certainly heavily influenced by your race and your gender, and that's not true as much anymore. So it opens up many more possibilities. It also means, though, that there's a lot of choices, and that can sometimes be overwhelming.

To what extent are the rise in depression and the data simply an acknowledgment that it's okay to have mental health issues?

41:49: We know for sure that just more willingness to admit symptoms or problems doesn't explain the rise in mental health issues. Because if it was just that, you wouldn't see the rise in emergency room visits for self-harm, suicide attempts, or completed suicides, and not only is there that rise, but the pattern is about the same as the reports of symptoms.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast From the Silent Generation to Gen Z, different generations have distinct behaviors, values, and attitudes that were shaped by the events during their formative years.

However, the most significant factor influencing generational differences is technology.

While technological progress has led to more individualism, it also can have negative impacts on mental health, leading to depression and suicide.

Jean M. Twenge is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, consultant, public speaker, and author of a number of books. Her most recent book “Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future” explores how different generations connect, conflict, and compete with one another.

Jean and Greg discuss the most critical influences on different generations' experiences, such as parenting styles and technology, and the importance of understanding and respecting other generations' viewpoints.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The negative impact of social media on mental health

19:35: Right around that time, 2012, teens also started to spend a lot less time with their friends in person. So that had been on a slow decline since about 2000, but it fell off a cliff in the age of the smartphone. Teens also started spending less time sleeping right around that time. So, basically, the way they spent their time outside of school fundamentally changed. They started spending a lot more time online. A lot less time with their friends in person and less time sleeping. And that's not a good formula for mental health. So that's one of the mechanisms. And there's all of the others—all of the negative content that people come across on social media. Cyberbullying, the social comparison because everybody else's life is more glamorous. Body image issues, which have been well documented, including by the company Facebook themselves, who owns Instagram, found that Instagram led to body image issues among teen girls and young women. So, it's all of these mechanisms that the end result is more depression.

Depression isn't just about emotions; it's about cognition.

30:15: Depression isn't just about emotions; it's about cognition. It's about how you see the world, and so when more people are depressed, then you'll get that, as we do between millennials and Gen Z, that shift from optimism to pessimism, and pessimism and negativity are not all bad. If they're channeled into action, they can be a good thing.

One dilemma of individualism

40:01: That's one of the dilemmas of individualism, particularly for young adults: There's a lot more freedom, not as much restriction, on what I mean, it's just one example, like what you're going to do for your career. It used to be that was, not exclusively, but certainly heavily influenced by your race and your gender, and that's not true as much anymore. So it opens up many more possibilities. It also means, though, that there's a lot of choices, and that can sometimes be overwhelming.

To what extent are the rise in depression and the data simply an acknowledgment that it's okay to have mental health issues?

41:49: We know for sure that just more willingness to admit symptoms or problems doesn't explain the rise in mental health issues. Because if it was just that, you wouldn't see the rise in emergency room visits for self-harm, suicide attempts, or completed suicides, and not only is there that rise, but the pattern is about the same as the reports of symptoms.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 287. Generational Differences and the Influence of Technology feat. Jean M. Twenge Greg La Blanc 00:52:28 From the Silent Generation to Gen Z, different generations have distinct behaviors, values, and attitudes that were shaped by the events during their formative years. However, the most significant factor influencing generational differences is technology. While technological progress has led to more individualism, it also can have negative impacts on mental health, leading to depression and suicide. Jean M. Twenge is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, consultant, public speaker, and author of a number of books. Her most recent book “Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future” explores how different generations connect, conflict, and compete with one another. Jean and Greg discuss the most critical influences on different generations' experiences, such as parenting styles and technology, and the importance of understanding and respecting other generations' viewpoints. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* From the Silent Generation to Gen Z, different generations have distinct behaviors, values, and attitudes that were shaped by the events during their formative years. However, the most significant factor influencing generational differences is technology. While technological progress has led to more individualism, it also can have negative impacts on mental health, leading to depression and suicide. Jean M. Twenge is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, consultant, public speaker, and author of a number of books. Her most recent book “Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future” explores how different generations connect, conflict, and compete with one another. Jean and Greg discuss the most critical influences on different generations' experiences, such as parenting styles and technology, and the importance of understanding and respecting other generations' viewpoints. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 287 9b2ebe39-05d6-4fa7-bc0f-821e530add8f 286. The Market as Miracle feat. Matthew Hennessey The science of economics can be an intimidating topic to understand, but it can be broken down into basic motivations and forces that are understandable to anyone. Supply, demand, and trade-offs are a part of everyone’s daily life and should be identifiable in any industry or market. 

Matthew Hennessey is a journalist who is the Deputy Op-Ed Editor for the Wall Street Journal. He is also an author, and his latest book is titled Visible Hand: A Wealth of Notions on the Miracle of the Market, which is an accessible primer on economics for newcomers of all ages and explains the concepts of the market in plain and understandable terms.

Matthew and Greg discuss how Matthew’s book works to support and inform all ages of readers. Matthew recounts a motto from a high school teacher that on a wall stuck with him and changed his life. They talk about the differences in the ways different generations act with respect to the market, and they discuss how a newsroom goes about keeping the news and opinion departments separate. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Bad ideas never really die

20:54: Bad ideas never really die. They go to sleep for a while, and then they come, wake up, and come back to life to haunt us all. And people our age are living through something that we never thought could happen, which is a revival of a bunch of really bad ideas that everyone thought had been laid to rest long ago.

14:29: The world is more filled with mystery than any one person can ever understand, and there's no reason why markets should be any different.

The market is like gravity

16:58: The market is like that. It's like gravity. You can't see it, but you know what it does, and don't mess with it. I don't mean that as a threat. Like, don't mess with the market. You can't take the screws out of the tires and expect it to do what it's meant to do. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 29 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The science of economics can be an intimidating topic to understand, but it can be broken down into basic motivations and forces that are understandable to anyone. Supply, demand, and trade-offs are a part of everyone’s daily life and should be identifiable in any industry or market. 

Matthew Hennessey is a journalist who is the Deputy Op-Ed Editor for the Wall Street Journal. He is also an author, and his latest book is titled Visible Hand: A Wealth of Notions on the Miracle of the Market, which is an accessible primer on economics for newcomers of all ages and explains the concepts of the market in plain and understandable terms.

Matthew and Greg discuss how Matthew’s book works to support and inform all ages of readers. Matthew recounts a motto from a high school teacher that on a wall stuck with him and changed his life. They talk about the differences in the ways different generations act with respect to the market, and they discuss how a newsroom goes about keeping the news and opinion departments separate. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Bad ideas never really die

20:54: Bad ideas never really die. They go to sleep for a while, and then they come, wake up, and come back to life to haunt us all. And people our age are living through something that we never thought could happen, which is a revival of a bunch of really bad ideas that everyone thought had been laid to rest long ago.

14:29: The world is more filled with mystery than any one person can ever understand, and there's no reason why markets should be any different.

The market is like gravity

16:58: The market is like that. It's like gravity. You can't see it, but you know what it does, and don't mess with it. I don't mean that as a threat. Like, don't mess with the market. You can't take the screws out of the tires and expect it to do what it's meant to do. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 286. The Market as Miracle feat. Matthew Hennessey Greg La Blanc 00:51:08 The science of economics can be an intimidating topic to understand, but it can be broken down into basic motivations and forces that are understandable to anyone. Supply, demand, and trade-offs are a part of everyone’s daily life and should be identifiable in any industry or market. Matthew Hennessey is a journalist who is the Deputy Op-Ed Editor for the Wall Street Journal. He is also an author, and his latest book is titled Visible Hand: A Wealth of Notions on the Miracle of the Market, which is an accessible primer on economics for newcomers of all ages and explains the concepts of the market in plain and understandable terms. Matthew and Greg discuss how Matthew’s book works to support and inform all ages of readers. Matthew recounts a motto from a high school teacher that on a wall stuck with him and changed his life. They talk about the differences in the ways different generations act with respect to the market, and they discuss how a newsroom goes about keeping the news and opinion departments separate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The science of economics can be an intimidating topic to understand, but it can be broken down into basic motivations and forces that are understandable to anyone. Supply, demand, and trade-offs are a part of everyone’s daily life and should be identifiable in any industry or market. Matthew Hennessey is a journalist who is the Deputy Op-Ed Editor for the Wall Street Journal. He is also an author, and his latest book is titled Visible Hand: A Wealth of Notions on the Miracle of the Market, which is an accessible primer on economics for newcomers of all ages and explains the concepts of the market in plain and understandable terms. Matthew and Greg discuss how Matthew’s book works to support and inform all ages of readers. Matthew recounts a motto from a high school teacher that on a wall stuck with him and changed his life. They talk about the differences in the ways different generations act with respect to the market, and they discuss how a newsroom goes about keeping the news and opinion departments separate. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 286 3f35bcd9-4ea3-4708-852c-e2514850f9b6 285. How the Buildings We Shape Shape Us feat. Sarah Williams Goldhagen Is it a bad day that puts someone in a bad mood, or could it be the room they’re sitting in? The environments we place ourselves in function as much more than just mere backdrops, and the way spaces are designed can greatly influence how the people in them feel and react. A simple window can mean the difference between health and sickness, and the height of a ceiling may unlock creativity.

Sarah Williams Goldhagen is an architecture critic and an author. Her latest book, Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives, is about how the environments we are in shape us in some ways we realize and in many ways that we don’t.

Sarah and Greg discuss Sarah’s background and how she forged her own path to the field of environmental psychology. They talk about different known features of built architecture that affect humans in non-conscious ways, like higher ceilings, sharp angles, and the presence of windows. Sarah also introduces and explains how we experience a sort of ‘blindsight’ everyday.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The importance of attention management for designers

13:54: I often say to architects part of your job is attention management. Don't make people pay attention when they're just trying to find their way. They've got better things to do. They're stressed anyway, unless they're going into a hospital, a classroom, or whatever. They want to get there. That's not where you want them to pay attention, but you do want them to pay attention in, for example, so-called “restorative spaces,” which are spaces that people can deliberately design in order to slow people down, let them notice, in a fascinated and intriguing way, what's around them, which is shown to lower cortisol levels, relax people, and make them less stressed. 

Neutral buildings don’t exist

19:43: There is no such thing as a neutral building. If a building is not helping the people who are using it, it's probably hurting them. And you can do a bad building or a good building at any level of investment for the same amount of money.

Do we have blindsight in our environments?

28:15: Most of the time, people don't pay a whole lot of attention to their environments. They're busy. We're all busy. You're not thinking about your environment, but that doesn't mean the environment isn't affecting you. So in this sense, we're all blindsighted.

Something to look forward to in the built environment

42:53: The most interesting thing that is happening in the built environment right now is probably related to the workplace because nobody can figure out what the workplace is for, how to use it, what it should be for, how to reconfigure these monoliths that we have that were meant for a kind of work that most people don't want to do anymore. And I think that there is more data. Around the workplace and around healthcare than there is around anything else. Because, of course, those are two big money drivers in the economy, and it will be very interesting to see. And some organizations involved in this space are already beginning to incorporate insights from environmental psychology and other research?

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 26 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is it a bad day that puts someone in a bad mood, or could it be the room they’re sitting in? The environments we place ourselves in function as much more than just mere backdrops, and the way spaces are designed can greatly influence how the people in them feel and react. A simple window can mean the difference between health and sickness, and the height of a ceiling may unlock creativity.

Sarah Williams Goldhagen is an architecture critic and an author. Her latest book, Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives, is about how the environments we are in shape us in some ways we realize and in many ways that we don’t.

Sarah and Greg discuss Sarah’s background and how she forged her own path to the field of environmental psychology. They talk about different known features of built architecture that affect humans in non-conscious ways, like higher ceilings, sharp angles, and the presence of windows. Sarah also introduces and explains how we experience a sort of ‘blindsight’ everyday.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The importance of attention management for designers

13:54: I often say to architects part of your job is attention management. Don't make people pay attention when they're just trying to find their way. They've got better things to do. They're stressed anyway, unless they're going into a hospital, a classroom, or whatever. They want to get there. That's not where you want them to pay attention, but you do want them to pay attention in, for example, so-called “restorative spaces,” which are spaces that people can deliberately design in order to slow people down, let them notice, in a fascinated and intriguing way, what's around them, which is shown to lower cortisol levels, relax people, and make them less stressed. 

Neutral buildings don’t exist

19:43: There is no such thing as a neutral building. If a building is not helping the people who are using it, it's probably hurting them. And you can do a bad building or a good building at any level of investment for the same amount of money.

Do we have blindsight in our environments?

28:15: Most of the time, people don't pay a whole lot of attention to their environments. They're busy. We're all busy. You're not thinking about your environment, but that doesn't mean the environment isn't affecting you. So in this sense, we're all blindsighted.

Something to look forward to in the built environment

42:53: The most interesting thing that is happening in the built environment right now is probably related to the workplace because nobody can figure out what the workplace is for, how to use it, what it should be for, how to reconfigure these monoliths that we have that were meant for a kind of work that most people don't want to do anymore. And I think that there is more data. Around the workplace and around healthcare than there is around anything else. Because, of course, those are two big money drivers in the economy, and it will be very interesting to see. And some organizations involved in this space are already beginning to incorporate insights from environmental psychology and other research?

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 285. How the Buildings We Shape Shape Us feat. Sarah Williams Goldhagen Greg La Blanc 00:52:40 Is it a bad day that puts someone in a bad mood, or could it be the room they’re sitting in? The environments we place ourselves in function as much more than just mere backdrops, and the way spaces are designed can greatly influence how the people in them feel and react. A simple window can mean the difference between health and sickness, and the height of a ceiling may unlock creativity. Sarah Williams Goldhagen is an architecture critic and an author. Her latest book, Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives, is about how the environments we are in shape us in some ways we realize and in many ways that we don’t. Sarah and Greg discuss Sarah’s background and how she forged her own path to the field of environmental psychology. They talk about different known features of built architecture that affect humans in non-conscious ways, like higher ceilings, sharp angles, and the presence of windows. Sarah also introduces and explains how we experience a sort of ‘blindsight’ everyday. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is it a bad day that puts someone in a bad mood, or could it be the room they’re sitting in? The environments we place ourselves in function as much more than just mere backdrops, and the way spaces are designed can greatly influence how the people in them feel and react. A simple window can mean the difference between health and sickness, and the height of a ceiling may unlock creativity. Sarah Williams Goldhagen is an architecture critic and an author. Her latest book, Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives, is about how the environments we are in shape us in some ways we realize and in many ways that we don’t. Sarah and Greg discuss Sarah’s background and how she forged her own path to the field of environmental psychology. They talk about different known features of built architecture that affect humans in non-conscious ways, like higher ceilings, sharp angles, and the presence of windows. Sarah also introduces and explains how we experience a sort of ‘blindsight’ everyday. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 285 740bff81-0d55-4991-9169-3ef748d18036 284. What Racial Categories Say About Discrimination in America feat. David E. Bernstein Most Americans have had to do it at some point: check the box that most closely describes how you identify your race or ethnicity. But those categories can be limiting. How did America settle on the specific categories that are in use? And what does it mean for how the country works on a sociological level and a legal one? 

David E. Bernstein is a law professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He’s written several books and scholarly articles dealing with legal history and legal interpretation, such as Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America and Rehabilitating Lochner: Defending Individual Rights against Progressive Reform. 

David and Greg discuss both of those books in a sweeping conversation about the history of race in America, why certain categories or groups were established, and how the idea of progressivism can look starkly different depending on the time period.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why are educated people so comfortable with simplistic narratives?

01:04:15: For academics, I think that once a narrative becomes established, it's really hard to fight against it. You're a young academic writing your Ph.D. thesis, you're writing your initial articles. Yes, you might want to be the Dragon Slayer who proves the new thesis and everyone else was wrong. But you better do that really well. So if you do a half-baked job, don't persuade people that much. People can say, "Oh, you're just a nut; you're just someone on the fringe, and you don't know what you're talking about." It's a lot easier to go along with the accepted narrative, add your little piece to it, add your little extra research, get tenure, and live your happy life. So I think most people are go along to get along people, they're not especially independent-minded or interested in upsetting the apple cart.

On the identity entrepreneur issue

12:05: The identity entrepreneur issue—there are several layers to it. There are people who could choose one of many identities and choose whatever happens to be the most convenient for their particular purposes.

Why are classifications so influential?

16:13: One reason these classifications are so influential is that the census uses them. And it's not just that the census uses them. The census is the font of all data for researchers.

Are Americans becoming less prejudiced?

39:59: I think what we have in the long run is a cultural battle that's sort of beneath the surface that no one talks about between what's going on at the grassroots, where Americans are less prejudiced than they've ever been. 95% of Americans have no objection to interracial marriage, compared to 4% in 1958. That's quite a difference.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 24 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Most Americans have had to do it at some point: check the box that most closely describes how you identify your race or ethnicity. But those categories can be limiting. How did America settle on the specific categories that are in use? And what does it mean for how the country works on a sociological level and a legal one? 

David E. Bernstein is a law professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He’s written several books and scholarly articles dealing with legal history and legal interpretation, such as Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America and Rehabilitating Lochner: Defending Individual Rights against Progressive Reform. 

David and Greg discuss both of those books in a sweeping conversation about the history of race in America, why certain categories or groups were established, and how the idea of progressivism can look starkly different depending on the time period.  

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why are educated people so comfortable with simplistic narratives?

01:04:15: For academics, I think that once a narrative becomes established, it's really hard to fight against it. You're a young academic writing your Ph.D. thesis, you're writing your initial articles. Yes, you might want to be the Dragon Slayer who proves the new thesis and everyone else was wrong. But you better do that really well. So if you do a half-baked job, don't persuade people that much. People can say, "Oh, you're just a nut; you're just someone on the fringe, and you don't know what you're talking about." It's a lot easier to go along with the accepted narrative, add your little piece to it, add your little extra research, get tenure, and live your happy life. So I think most people are go along to get along people, they're not especially independent-minded or interested in upsetting the apple cart.

On the identity entrepreneur issue

12:05: The identity entrepreneur issue—there are several layers to it. There are people who could choose one of many identities and choose whatever happens to be the most convenient for their particular purposes.

Why are classifications so influential?

16:13: One reason these classifications are so influential is that the census uses them. And it's not just that the census uses them. The census is the font of all data for researchers.

Are Americans becoming less prejudiced?

39:59: I think what we have in the long run is a cultural battle that's sort of beneath the surface that no one talks about between what's going on at the grassroots, where Americans are less prejudiced than they've ever been. 95% of Americans have no objection to interracial marriage, compared to 4% in 1958. That's quite a difference.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 284. What Racial Categories Say About Discrimination in America feat. David E. Bernstein Greg La Blanc 01:06:08 Most Americans have had to do it at some point: check the box that most closely describes how you identify your race or ethnicity. But those categories can be limiting. How did America settle on the specific categories that are in use? And what does it mean for how the country works on a sociological level and a legal one? David E. Bernstein is a law professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He’s written several books and scholarly articles dealing with legal history and legal interpretation, such as Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America and Rehabilitating Lochner: Defending Individual Rights against Progressive Reform. David and Greg discuss both of those books in a sweeping conversation about the history of race in America, why certain categories or groups were established, and how the idea of progressivism can look starkly different depending on the time period. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Most Americans have had to do it at some point: check the box that most closely describes how you identify your race or ethnicity. But those categories can be limiting. How did America settle on the specific categories that are in use? And what does it mean for how the country works on a sociological level and a legal one? David E. Bernstein is a law professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He’s written several books and scholarly articles dealing with legal history and legal interpretation, such as Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America and Rehabilitating Lochner: Defending Individual Rights against Progressive Reform. David and Greg discuss both of those books in a sweeping conversation about the history of race in America, why certain categories or groups were established, and how the idea of progressivism can look starkly different depending on the time period. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 284 422fe0a7-7b47-47f5-bc24-43d23da52277 283. Balancing Scientific Progress with Scientific Responsibility feat. Matthew Cobb Throughout history, new advances in science, such as the advent of electricity, nuclear power, genetic engineering, or artificial intelligence, have often been met with fear and uncertainty. While novel scientific developments offer countless possibilities for improving our lives, they also come with ethical considerations and sometimes unintended consequences that must be carefully navigated.

Matthew Cobb is a professor of zoology at the University of Manchester, where his research focuses on the sense of smell, insect behavior, and the history of science. He is also the author of a number of books, including As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age and The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience.

Matthew and Greg discuss how even well-intended use of novel technology can lead to unforeseen repercussions, why certain research, such as the gain-of-function studies, might not be worth the risk, and how good international regulation can ensure the safe use of potentially hazardous technologies such as atomic energy.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Overcoming fears and diving deep into genetic engineering

09:08: Partly, why I want to write the book because there are three things that do worry me, very much. At least maybe two of which people are aware, and the third one they're not. And I wanted to alert people, but also, I recognize that my fears are very similar to those that occurred in the mid-1970s, for example, when genetic engineering was first developed. And it turns out that those fears were, well, unnecessary or not. But certainly, they have not caused the catastrophe that some people feared. So I wanted to test my anxieties against the past and try and work out whether I'm making a fuss about nothing or whether I'm to be alarmed.

On crispr

33:30: There's a series of quantitative steps toward genetic engineering. But there's a qualitative difference when you know what you're going to do and what you're putting in. This gene does this, we're going to put it in to do that. And that's an element of precision and intentionality, which makes it different.

New technology disturbs us

06:49: New technology generally does disturb us. If it's very widespread. Look at all the fuss about screen time and our dopamine systems being hacked by our phones. And so, no, they're not. But that's what it feels like, because you can get addicted to this endless scrolling. So, technology always has this very dangerous aspect when it's introduced, and then gradually, it becomes slightly less alarming. And that's happened with nuclear power.

Why do we have different views genetically modified food

24:37: Food is not simply stuff you put in your mouth. It's actually cultural. It's part of you, it's part of your way of looking at the world. And that's one of the explanations why.

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]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Throughout history, new advances in science, such as the advent of electricity, nuclear power, genetic engineering, or artificial intelligence, have often been met with fear and uncertainty. While novel scientific developments offer countless possibilities for improving our lives, they also come with ethical considerations and sometimes unintended consequences that must be carefully navigated.

Matthew Cobb is a professor of zoology at the University of Manchester, where his research focuses on the sense of smell, insect behavior, and the history of science. He is also the author of a number of books, including As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age and The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience.

Matthew and Greg discuss how even well-intended use of novel technology can lead to unforeseen repercussions, why certain research, such as the gain-of-function studies, might not be worth the risk, and how good international regulation can ensure the safe use of potentially hazardous technologies such as atomic energy.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Overcoming fears and diving deep into genetic engineering

09:08: Partly, why I want to write the book because there are three things that do worry me, very much. At least maybe two of which people are aware, and the third one they're not. And I wanted to alert people, but also, I recognize that my fears are very similar to those that occurred in the mid-1970s, for example, when genetic engineering was first developed. And it turns out that those fears were, well, unnecessary or not. But certainly, they have not caused the catastrophe that some people feared. So I wanted to test my anxieties against the past and try and work out whether I'm making a fuss about nothing or whether I'm to be alarmed.

On crispr

33:30: There's a series of quantitative steps toward genetic engineering. But there's a qualitative difference when you know what you're going to do and what you're putting in. This gene does this, we're going to put it in to do that. And that's an element of precision and intentionality, which makes it different.

New technology disturbs us

06:49: New technology generally does disturb us. If it's very widespread. Look at all the fuss about screen time and our dopamine systems being hacked by our phones. And so, no, they're not. But that's what it feels like, because you can get addicted to this endless scrolling. So, technology always has this very dangerous aspect when it's introduced, and then gradually, it becomes slightly less alarming. And that's happened with nuclear power.

Why do we have different views genetically modified food

24:37: Food is not simply stuff you put in your mouth. It's actually cultural. It's part of you, it's part of your way of looking at the world. And that's one of the explanations why.

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]]> 283. Balancing Scientific Progress with Scientific Responsibility feat. Matthew Cobb Greg La Blanc 01:02:42 Throughout history, new advances in science, such as the advent of electricity, nuclear power, genetic engineering, or artificial intelligence, have often been met with fear and uncertainty. While novel scientific developments offer countless possibilities for improving our lives, they also come with ethical considerations and sometimes unintended consequences that must be carefully navigated. Matthew Cobb is a professor of zoology at the University of Manchester, where his research focuses on the sense of smell, insect behavior, and the history of science. He is also the author of a number of books, including As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age and The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience. Matthew and Greg discuss how even well-intended use of novel technology can lead to unforeseen repercussions, why certain research, such as the gain-of-function studies, might not be worth the risk, and how good international regulation can ensure the safe use of potentially hazardous technologies such as atomic energy. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Throughout history, new advances in science, such as the advent of electricity, nuclear power, genetic engineering, or artificial intelligence, have often been met with fear and uncertainty. While novel scientific developments offer countless possibilities for improving our lives, they also come with ethical considerations and sometimes unintended consequences that must be carefully navigated. Matthew Cobb is a professor of zoology at the University of Manchester, where his research focuses on the sense of smell, insect behavior, and the history of science. He is also the author of a number of books, including As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age and The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience. Matthew and Greg discuss how even well-intended use of novel technology can lead to unforeseen repercussions, why certain research, such as the gain-of-function studies, might not be worth the risk, and how good international regulation can ensure the safe use of potentially hazardous technologies such as atomic energy. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 283 a67583a0-f003-48a5-a2a5-07b6b42384ca 282. Fostering Corporate Innovation feat. Andrew Binns Innovation is both extremely important to the life of a corporation and also extremely tricky to regularly achieve and maintain. There are certain strategies that tend to yield higher innovation, but at its heart are the people, the corporate explorers that drive things forward.

Andrew Binns is the co-founder and manager of Change Logic, an advisory firm, and the author of several articles and books. His latest book, Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game, co-written with Charles O’Reilly and Michael Tushman, is about the differences in how corporations and startups approach encouraging innovation, and analyzes those efforts for how effective they are.

Andrew and Greg discuss the innovation industry and the three stages of innovation. They talk about the differences between product-centric and customer-centric thinking, the paradox of limiting uncertainty and innovation, corporate explorers, and which ones end up succeeding. They discuss the concepts of feedback and it’s counterpart, ‘feedforward,’ and some examples of successful corporate innovation cultures. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

It’s all about passion, not process

45:45: Corporations get wrapped up in thinking that the answer is about process, right? I can't tell you how many people ask me, "How do you make a repeatable process of this?" when they haven't even done it once. Have something to repeat, please. And then structure—how do we get the right organization structure around this? And we miss the importance of the individual with passion to solve a customer problem who is going to find that strong personal motivation. Because whether you're a corporate explorer or an entrepreneur, you are signing up for a really hard life. (46:37) And if you're going to live through that, you need passion. You need to be committed to solving the problem that you face. And that's what all of these examples in Corporate Explorer tell you about.

18:32: The thing that we know about innovation is that you need to hold open your ability to learn and see multiple possibilities.

How business logic kills the explorer in corporate innovation

21:32: You've got to pursue your innovation to the scale of the opportunity, the scale of the market, not the scale of what you think can get past your manager or what you can squeeze through the stage gate process. That is exactly how exploit or core business logic kills the explorer in corporate innovation.

Re-orienting ourselves when we talk about risks 

25:23: This is a fundamentally important thing to re-reorient ourselves in terms of how we engage in talking about the topic of risk. Because one thing is for sure: in a traditional corporate career, you do not get rewarded by saying, "I don't know," right? That is counter-cultural. So unless you take it head-on, it's going to be hard to make progress.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 19 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Innovation is both extremely important to the life of a corporation and also extremely tricky to regularly achieve and maintain. There are certain strategies that tend to yield higher innovation, but at its heart are the people, the corporate explorers that drive things forward.

Andrew Binns is the co-founder and manager of Change Logic, an advisory firm, and the author of several articles and books. His latest book, Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game, co-written with Charles O’Reilly and Michael Tushman, is about the differences in how corporations and startups approach encouraging innovation, and analyzes those efforts for how effective they are.

Andrew and Greg discuss the innovation industry and the three stages of innovation. They talk about the differences between product-centric and customer-centric thinking, the paradox of limiting uncertainty and innovation, corporate explorers, and which ones end up succeeding. They discuss the concepts of feedback and it’s counterpart, ‘feedforward,’ and some examples of successful corporate innovation cultures. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

It’s all about passion, not process

45:45: Corporations get wrapped up in thinking that the answer is about process, right? I can't tell you how many people ask me, "How do you make a repeatable process of this?" when they haven't even done it once. Have something to repeat, please. And then structure—how do we get the right organization structure around this? And we miss the importance of the individual with passion to solve a customer problem who is going to find that strong personal motivation. Because whether you're a corporate explorer or an entrepreneur, you are signing up for a really hard life. (46:37) And if you're going to live through that, you need passion. You need to be committed to solving the problem that you face. And that's what all of these examples in Corporate Explorer tell you about.

18:32: The thing that we know about innovation is that you need to hold open your ability to learn and see multiple possibilities.

How business logic kills the explorer in corporate innovation

21:32: You've got to pursue your innovation to the scale of the opportunity, the scale of the market, not the scale of what you think can get past your manager or what you can squeeze through the stage gate process. That is exactly how exploit or core business logic kills the explorer in corporate innovation.

Re-orienting ourselves when we talk about risks 

25:23: This is a fundamentally important thing to re-reorient ourselves in terms of how we engage in talking about the topic of risk. Because one thing is for sure: in a traditional corporate career, you do not get rewarded by saying, "I don't know," right? That is counter-cultural. So unless you take it head-on, it's going to be hard to make progress.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 282. Fostering Corporate Innovation feat. Andrew Binns Greg La Blanc 00:54:50 Innovation is both extremely important to the life of a corporation and also extremely tricky to regularly achieve and maintain. There are certain strategies that tend to yield higher innovation, but at its heart are the people, the corporate explorers that drive things forward. Andrew Binns is the co-founder and manager of ChangeLogic, an advisory firm, and the author of several articles and books. His latest book, Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game, co-written with Charles O’Reilly and Michael Tushman, is about the differences in how corporations and startups approach encouraging innovation, and analyzes those efforts for how effective they are. Andrew and Greg discuss the innovation industry and the three stages of innovation. They talk about the differences between product-centric and customer-centric thinking, the paradox of limiting uncertainty and innovation, corporate explorers, and which ones end up succeeding. They discuss the concepts of feedback and it’s counterpart, ‘feedforward,’ and some examples of successful corporate innovation cultures. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Innovation is both extremely important to the life of a corporation and also extremely tricky to regularly achieve and maintain. There are certain strategies that tend to yield higher innovation, but at its heart are the people, the corporate explorers that drive things forward. Andrew Binns is the co-founder and manager of ChangeLogic, an advisory firm, and the author of several articles and books. His latest book, Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game, co-written with Charles O’Reilly and Michael Tushman, is about the differences in how corporations and startups approach encouraging innovation, and analyzes those efforts for how effective they are. Andrew and Greg discuss the innovation industry and the three stages of innovation. They talk about the differences between product-centric and customer-centric thinking, the paradox of limiting uncertainty and innovation, corporate explorers, and which ones end up succeeding. They discuss the concepts of feedback and it’s counterpart, ‘feedforward,’ and some examples of successful corporate innovation cultures. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 282 7e518d6c-bc31-44ef-83b7-d66e907456fb 281. The Plague Paradox feat. Kyle Harper Over the course of history, as human civilization has developed and advanced, so have our microbial enemies. This has led to a vast and diverse disease pool dating all the way back to the last Ice Age. 

Kyle Harper is a professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma. In his books, Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History and The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire, he examines the history of disease and its impact on the human race. 

Kyle and Greg discuss how Rome was both a rich and sick society, the common misconceptions about disease, and what history should have taught us about COVID-19. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two basic problems of parasites

16:05: Every microparasite has a couple of really basic problems. The two most basic problems are: how do I survive the immune system of a host? Because our immune system is absolutely amazing. I mean, it wins 99.99999% of the time. They're incredible at picking out foreign cells or particles and getting rid of them. And so that's a really hard problem. The other really hard problem that every germ has is: how do I get from one host to the next? Because if I want to pass on my genes to future generations, I can get a few generations inside a host, but I've ultimately got to keep going to the next host, or my children's, children's children have to go to the next host.

The human body is responsive to things around it

06:06: The human body is responsive to things around it, things we put into it. And so, the human body changes over time, and it can be a crude yet really, really powerful way of thinking about changes in human health.

How can human societies bring infectious disease under control

49:37: Human societies are able to bring infectious diseases under control through the deployment of a number of always-overlapping mechanisms. And so you need all of it. You need good nutrition; you need economic growth and development that give particularly children high levels of nutrition to survive infection. You also need good policy. This would include number one, clean water, and number two, mandatory vaccination.

Infections hinder growth development

07:58: If your whole childhood is fighting off nasty infections, your body doesn't have the energy budget to invest in growth. So it's not just what you eat—protein is one thing. It's also eating away your energy, like little microparasites that you're fighting off constantly. And then other things—social stress, the kind of work environment— So bones. Tell a big story.

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]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Over the course of history, as human civilization has developed and advanced, so have our microbial enemies. This has led to a vast and diverse disease pool dating all the way back to the last Ice Age. 

Kyle Harper is a professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma. In his books, Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History and The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire, he examines the history of disease and its impact on the human race. 

Kyle and Greg discuss how Rome was both a rich and sick society, the common misconceptions about disease, and what history should have taught us about COVID-19. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two basic problems of parasites

16:05: Every microparasite has a couple of really basic problems. The two most basic problems are: how do I survive the immune system of a host? Because our immune system is absolutely amazing. I mean, it wins 99.99999% of the time. They're incredible at picking out foreign cells or particles and getting rid of them. And so that's a really hard problem. The other really hard problem that every germ has is: how do I get from one host to the next? Because if I want to pass on my genes to future generations, I can get a few generations inside a host, but I've ultimately got to keep going to the next host, or my children's, children's children have to go to the next host.

The human body is responsive to things around it

06:06: The human body is responsive to things around it, things we put into it. And so, the human body changes over time, and it can be a crude yet really, really powerful way of thinking about changes in human health.

How can human societies bring infectious disease under control

49:37: Human societies are able to bring infectious diseases under control through the deployment of a number of always-overlapping mechanisms. And so you need all of it. You need good nutrition; you need economic growth and development that give particularly children high levels of nutrition to survive infection. You also need good policy. This would include number one, clean water, and number two, mandatory vaccination.

Infections hinder growth development

07:58: If your whole childhood is fighting off nasty infections, your body doesn't have the energy budget to invest in growth. So it's not just what you eat—protein is one thing. It's also eating away your energy, like little microparasites that you're fighting off constantly. And then other things—social stress, the kind of work environment— So bones. Tell a big story.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 281. The Plague Paradox feat. Kyle Harper Greg La Blanc 01:01:06 Over the course of history, as human civilization has developed and advanced, so have our microbial enemies. This has led to a vast and diverse disease pool dating all the way back to the last Ice Age. Kyle Harper is a professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma. In his books, Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History and The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire, he examines the history of disease and its impact on the human race. Kyle and Greg discuss how Rome was both a rich and sick society, the common misconceptions about disease, and what history should have taught us about COVID-19. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Over the course of history, as human civilization has developed and advanced, so have our microbial enemies. This has led to a vast and diverse disease pool dating all the way back to the last Ice Age. Kyle Harper is a professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma. In his books, Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History and The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire, he examines the history of disease and its impact on the human race. Kyle and Greg discuss how Rome was both a rich and sick society, the common misconceptions about disease, and what history should have taught us about COVID-19. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 281 8a6a7bfc-935d-4b29-ba9c-ee2be1fc6804 280. The Story of Money feat. Frederick Kaufman Money is a mirage, and the harder and deeper you look into it, the hazier it can become. It is a human construct, a tool that we have all agreed to hold value in so that we can exchange it with each other for goods and services, but what is it really? How did we all come to agree on this abstract thing together, and where does it go from here?

Frederick Kaufman is a journalist, professor of English and Journalism at the City University of New York, and an author. His latest book is called The Money Plot, and explores the story of how money has been developed and used in human cultures as a narrative, and uses that narrative to reveal a deeper understanding of this human construct we all use.

Frederick and Greg discuss Frederick's connections and history coming through journalism to the areas of both food and money, as well as their surprising connections to each other. Frederick addresses some of the longstanding myths of the history of money and reveals some of the falsehoods and what the realities are instead. They talk about how looking at finance through the eyes of an English professor can show things that the typical finance-minded person would miss.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How is establishing a narrative the same as establishing a currency?

31:41: Once you can establish the context for trading and establishing, this is our currency. That's where the money is. And that's precisely similar to establishing any narrative. Once we establish the grounds of a narrative, a Christian narrative, for instance, then we understand our basis for meaning. The same thing here. Once we understand that commodity narrative, that's where we make money. The problem is to make other people believe it.

How Wall Street makes its living

18:59: This is how Wall Street makes its living: through derivative trades and through understanding metaphors upon metaphors, upon metaphors. And they are, in my estimation, better poets than anybody out there today. I say the guy who's trading in derivatives, the guy who's an options trader, the guy who's using the Black-Scholes theorem to price options, really understands the ethereal realm of the sublime better than any other poet out there.

What lies underneath the narrative of money

02:17: I think, ultimately, the point of the book is that we have to remember that stories do define us, and we have to remember that it's about us. It's about humans, about human bodies, about human shelter, and about human need. All those things have to come first. We cannot be the victims of the stories that we tell.

Public vs. private realm

53:18: When everything that was in the private realm is now in the public realm, what the hell is it that we got? What do we have anymore that defines me? And the answer is increasingly, nothing.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Money is a mirage, and the harder and deeper you look into it, the hazier it can become. It is a human construct, a tool that we have all agreed to hold value in so that we can exchange it with each other for goods and services, but what is it really? How did we all come to agree on this abstract thing together, and where does it go from here?

Frederick Kaufman is a journalist, professor of English and Journalism at the City University of New York, and an author. His latest book is called The Money Plot, and explores the story of how money has been developed and used in human cultures as a narrative, and uses that narrative to reveal a deeper understanding of this human construct we all use.

Frederick and Greg discuss Frederick's connections and history coming through journalism to the areas of both food and money, as well as their surprising connections to each other. Frederick addresses some of the longstanding myths of the history of money and reveals some of the falsehoods and what the realities are instead. They talk about how looking at finance through the eyes of an English professor can show things that the typical finance-minded person would miss.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How is establishing a narrative the same as establishing a currency?

31:41: Once you can establish the context for trading and establishing, this is our currency. That's where the money is. And that's precisely similar to establishing any narrative. Once we establish the grounds of a narrative, a Christian narrative, for instance, then we understand our basis for meaning. The same thing here. Once we understand that commodity narrative, that's where we make money. The problem is to make other people believe it.

How Wall Street makes its living

18:59: This is how Wall Street makes its living: through derivative trades and through understanding metaphors upon metaphors, upon metaphors. And they are, in my estimation, better poets than anybody out there today. I say the guy who's trading in derivatives, the guy who's an options trader, the guy who's using the Black-Scholes theorem to price options, really understands the ethereal realm of the sublime better than any other poet out there.

What lies underneath the narrative of money

02:17: I think, ultimately, the point of the book is that we have to remember that stories do define us, and we have to remember that it's about us. It's about humans, about human bodies, about human shelter, and about human need. All those things have to come first. We cannot be the victims of the stories that we tell.

Public vs. private realm

53:18: When everything that was in the private realm is now in the public realm, what the hell is it that we got? What do we have anymore that defines me? And the answer is increasingly, nothing.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 280. The Story of Money feat. Frederick Kaufman Greg La Blanc 00:57:01 Money is a mirage, and the harder and deeper you look into it, the hazier it can become. It is a human construct, a tool that we have all agreed to hold value in so that we can exchange it with each other for goods and services, but what is it really? How did we all come to agree on this abstract thing together, and where does it go from here? Frederick Kaufman is a journalist, professor of English and Journalism at the City University of New York, and an author. His latest book is called The Money Plot, and explores the story of how money has been developed and used in human cultures as a narrative, and uses that narrative to reveal a deeper understanding of this human construct we all use. Frederick and Greg discuss Frederick's connections and history coming through journalism to the areas of both food and money, as well as their surprising connections to each other. Frederick addresses some of the longstanding myths of the history of money and reveals some of the falsehoods and what the realities are instead. They talk about how looking at finance through the eyes of an English professor can show things that the typical finance-minded person would miss. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Money is a mirage, and the harder and deeper you look into it, the hazier it can become. It is a human construct, a tool that we have all agreed to hold value in so that we can exchange it with each other for goods and services, but what is it really? How did we all come to agree on this abstract thing together, and where does it go from here? Frederick Kaufman is a journalist, professor of English and Journalism at the City University of New York, and an author. His latest book is called The Money Plot, and explores the story of how money has been developed and used in human cultures as a narrative, and uses that narrative to reveal a deeper understanding of this human construct we all use. Frederick and Greg discuss Frederick's connections and history coming through journalism to the areas of both food and money, as well as their surprising connections to each other. Frederick addresses some of the longstanding myths of the history of money and reveals some of the falsehoods and what the realities are instead. They talk about how looking at finance through the eyes of an English professor can show things that the typical finance-minded person would miss. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 280 a68faae7-3df0-4cd0-973d-2958c7314382 279. An Anthropological Look at Legal Systems feat. Fernanda Pirie Is law an instrument of the state? Or is it broader than that? 

Fernanda Pirie is a professor of law and anthropology at the University of Oxford. Through her books like, The Anthropology of Law and The Rule of Laws: A 4,000-Year Quest to Order the World, she makes the distinction that law is a particular type of custom that doesn’t necessarily need a governmental system to exist. 

In this episode, Fernanda and Greg discuss the earliest iterations of legal systems in history, Fernanda’s view on what makes something a real law, and is the modern Western way of doing things really the best way. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Do we underappreciate and undervalue other non-state institutions and their role in resolving disputes?

48:37: I think we underestimate how difficult it is to develop those institutions from scratch. We can't just take a model that's worked somewhere else and assume it's going to work in a different context. You know, it's all about understanding the local dynamics, which are different. Who are the powerholders? Who do people listen to? Who has respect? What are the tensions in the community? What are the prejudices? And all of that comes into the effectiveness of any local systems.

Do we have a vague concept of the law?

04:00: Our concept of law is very vague; the way we use it in everyday language, it covers all sorts of things. It covers the process of you going to the law to resolve our disputes. We talk about law in general ways: "Oh, the laws of these people." Meaning the customs we think about as law in the books. It's one of those words. It's slippery.

A particular area where people approach disputes and the law is important

53:18: When dealing with transnational aspects, the factor that a lot of international lawyers worry about is their enforcement. Are things democratic? They apply the ideals and ideologies of the modern nation-state to the legal processes that develop transnationally because they have to because they're transnational problems. And I think it's important not to assume that everything has to work. Like how state law works, it's important to allow that there can be effective ways of approaching disputes and making laws that might work in different ways.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> Fri, 12 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is law an instrument of the state? Or is it broader than that? 

Fernanda Pirie is a professor of law and anthropology at the University of Oxford. Through her books like, The Anthropology of Law and The Rule of Laws: A 4,000-Year Quest to Order the World, she makes the distinction that law is a particular type of custom that doesn’t necessarily need a governmental system to exist. 

In this episode, Fernanda and Greg discuss the earliest iterations of legal systems in history, Fernanda’s view on what makes something a real law, and is the modern Western way of doing things really the best way. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Do we underappreciate and undervalue other non-state institutions and their role in resolving disputes?

48:37: I think we underestimate how difficult it is to develop those institutions from scratch. We can't just take a model that's worked somewhere else and assume it's going to work in a different context. You know, it's all about understanding the local dynamics, which are different. Who are the powerholders? Who do people listen to? Who has respect? What are the tensions in the community? What are the prejudices? And all of that comes into the effectiveness of any local systems.

Do we have a vague concept of the law?

04:00: Our concept of law is very vague; the way we use it in everyday language, it covers all sorts of things. It covers the process of you going to the law to resolve our disputes. We talk about law in general ways: "Oh, the laws of these people." Meaning the customs we think about as law in the books. It's one of those words. It's slippery.

A particular area where people approach disputes and the law is important

53:18: When dealing with transnational aspects, the factor that a lot of international lawyers worry about is their enforcement. Are things democratic? They apply the ideals and ideologies of the modern nation-state to the legal processes that develop transnationally because they have to because they're transnational problems. And I think it's important not to assume that everything has to work. Like how state law works, it's important to allow that there can be effective ways of approaching disputes and making laws that might work in different ways.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 279. An Anthropological Look at Legal Systems feat. Fernanda Pirie Greg La Blanc 00:49:26 Is law an instrument of the state? Or is it broader than that? Fernanda Pirie is a professor of law and anthropology at the University of Oxford. Through her books like, The Anthropology of Law and The Rule of Laws: A 4,000-Year Quest to Order the World, she makes the distinction that law is a particular type of custom that doesn’t necessarily need a governmental system to exist. In this episode, Fernanda and Greg discuss the earliest iterations of legal systems in history, Fernanda’s view on what makes something a real law, and is the modern Western way of doing things really the best way. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is law an instrument of the state? Or is it broader than that? Fernanda Pirie is a professor of law and anthropology at the University of Oxford. Through her books like, The Anthropology of Law and The Rule of Laws: A 4,000-Year Quest to Order the World, she makes the distinction that law is a particular type of custom that doesn’t necessarily need a governmental system to exist. In this episode, Fernanda and Greg discuss the earliest iterations of legal systems in history, Fernanda’s view on what makes something a real law, and is the modern Western way of doing things really the best way. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 279 95970c67-009a-440f-9fb8-24ad1fcdc4b5 278. The Real Value of Museums feat. Daniel H. Weiss Museums are centers for culture, for art, and for conversation. They are places where the far ends of the earth come together in the same place and expose people of all ages to things from across space and time. They also draw the past into the present and become centers for experiencing and understanding humans and humanity.

Daniel H. Weiss is an art historian and president of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City. He is also an author, and his latest book is called Why the Museum Matters. It examines the roles museums have played in our culture, what their purpose is in the present, and their uncertain future. 

Daniel and Greg discuss Daniel’s experience with the Met and other museums, as well as the history of the Met and how it was created, what separates museums from universities, how to engage visitors and convert them into lifelong museum-goers, as well as Daniel’s take on protests in art museums and the economics behind the Met’s ‘pay what you wish’ policy.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The role of museums in creating meaningful experiences

17:16: I think the role of museums is to present material, ideas, content in ways that engage people in meaningful learning experiences that sometimes might offend them, and there's nothing wrong with that. If our objective is to present programs that everybody likes and nobody ever finds challenging, we're not likely to teach them very much—we're not likely to go very far. So we need to be thoughtful about how we make clear the agreement we hope to have with our visitors.

The art of doing museum work

15:41: The art of doing museum work thoughtfully is reaching out to people in ways that invite them in that are not threatening or intimidating to them but also allow them to learn new things.

How do museums make the world a better place?

29:04: If you were to ask me how the museum makes the world a better place, I would say, ideally, it creates better global citizens because the more people learn about other cultures, the more respectful they are, and maybe they'll be less inclined to go to war with them, or they might be more inclined to try to learn more about why a point of view that they hear is different from their own because they're seeing something about this other culture. That might give them pause, and that might give them the opportunity for reflection and respect, so it makes for better global citizens.

How museums differ from educational institutions

02:33: Museums are places where materials—I'd say cultural materials—can be broadly real. It can be scientific materials or sports objects where we use objects to help us understand our own history, our own experience, and to connect us to ideas. And that can be in any number of ways.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 10 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Museums are centers for culture, for art, and for conversation. They are places where the far ends of the earth come together in the same place and expose people of all ages to things from across space and time. They also draw the past into the present and become centers for experiencing and understanding humans and humanity.

Daniel H. Weiss is an art historian and president of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City. He is also an author, and his latest book is called Why the Museum Matters. It examines the roles museums have played in our culture, what their purpose is in the present, and their uncertain future. 

Daniel and Greg discuss Daniel’s experience with the Met and other museums, as well as the history of the Met and how it was created, what separates museums from universities, how to engage visitors and convert them into lifelong museum-goers, as well as Daniel’s take on protests in art museums and the economics behind the Met’s ‘pay what you wish’ policy.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The role of museums in creating meaningful experiences

17:16: I think the role of museums is to present material, ideas, content in ways that engage people in meaningful learning experiences that sometimes might offend them, and there's nothing wrong with that. If our objective is to present programs that everybody likes and nobody ever finds challenging, we're not likely to teach them very much—we're not likely to go very far. So we need to be thoughtful about how we make clear the agreement we hope to have with our visitors.

The art of doing museum work

15:41: The art of doing museum work thoughtfully is reaching out to people in ways that invite them in that are not threatening or intimidating to them but also allow them to learn new things.

How do museums make the world a better place?

29:04: If you were to ask me how the museum makes the world a better place, I would say, ideally, it creates better global citizens because the more people learn about other cultures, the more respectful they are, and maybe they'll be less inclined to go to war with them, or they might be more inclined to try to learn more about why a point of view that they hear is different from their own because they're seeing something about this other culture. That might give them pause, and that might give them the opportunity for reflection and respect, so it makes for better global citizens.

How museums differ from educational institutions

02:33: Museums are places where materials—I'd say cultural materials—can be broadly real. It can be scientific materials or sports objects where we use objects to help us understand our own history, our own experience, and to connect us to ideas. And that can be in any number of ways.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 278. The Real Value of Museums feat. Daniel H. Weiss Greg La Blanc 00:58:41 Museums are centers for culture, for art, and for conversation. They are places where the far ends of the earth come together in the same place and expose people of all ages to things from across space and time. They also draw the past into the present and become centers for experiencing and understanding humans and humanity. Daniel H. Weiss is an art historian and president of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City. He is also an author, and his latest book is called Why the Museum Matters. It examines the roles museums have played in our culture, what their purpose is in the present, and their uncertain future. Daniel and Greg discuss Daniel’s experience with the Met and other museums, as well as the history of the Met and how it was created, what separates museums from universities, how to engage visitors and convert them into lifelong museum-goers, as well as Daniel’s take on protests in art museums and the economics behind the Met’s ‘pay what you wish’ policy. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Museums are centers for culture, for art, and for conversation. They are places where the far ends of the earth come together in the same place and expose people of all ages to things from across space and time. They also draw the past into the present and become centers for experiencing and understanding humans and humanity. Daniel H. Weiss is an art historian and president of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City. He is also an author, and his latest book is called Why the Museum Matters. It examines the roles museums have played in our culture, what their purpose is in the present, and their uncertain future. Daniel and Greg discuss Daniel’s experience with the Met and other museums, as well as the history of the Met and how it was created, what separates museums from universities, how to engage visitors and convert them into lifelong museum-goers, as well as Daniel’s take on protests in art museums and the economics behind the Met’s ‘pay what you wish’ policy. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 278 320dc0a8-3a2e-4d0d-88b5-b2a9bfc3dbb9 277. Resilience Begins at Birth feat. Erica Komisar Mental health disorders have become an epidemic in today's society. Yet, we often fail to recognize the critical impact of early childhood adversity and our relationships with our parents, especially our mothers, on the mental and physical health of adolescents.

Erica Komisar is a psychoanalyst and also a contributor, contributing editor at the Institute for Family Studies, journalist, and author. Her recent book “Chicken Little the Sky Isn't Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety” explores how to raise emotionally healthy, resilient adolescents in a time of great stress.

Erica and Greg discuss how the cultural emphasis, especially in the West, on individual success outside of the home often results in a reluctance to make necessary sacrifices in raising children and why dedicating time to establish a strong emotional foundation for the future generation is a significant and fulfilling responsibility for every parent.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is attachment theory?

14:52: Emotional security, meaning trusting that your primary attachment object is there for you from moment to moment to help you with what we call "regulate" your emotions, keeping them from going too high or too low and helping you through distress, provides you with the kind of security that says, "The world is a safe place. I can deal with the adversity that comes my way." That is attachment theory.

Raising a child requires sacrifice

08:19: Having children is the easy part; caring for them requires sacrifice. And we cannot raise healthy children if we're not willing to sacrifice.

Humans and denial

02:17: As human beings, we have a great deal of denial. It helps us get along, function, forget, avoid painful feelings, and avoid responsibility. So, denial is one of the most powerful human defenses. And that's not an accusation. That's just as a psychoanalyst. That is just a fact.

Self-awareness is the cornerstone of mental health

03:38: Self-awareness is the cornerstone of mental and physical health. If we're not aware that we're doing harm to ourselves, we end up sick. If we're not aware we're doing harm to our children, they end up sick.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 8 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Mental health disorders have become an epidemic in today's society. Yet, we often fail to recognize the critical impact of early childhood adversity and our relationships with our parents, especially our mothers, on the mental and physical health of adolescents.

Erica Komisar is a psychoanalyst and also a contributor, contributing editor at the Institute for Family Studies, journalist, and author. Her recent book “Chicken Little the Sky Isn't Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety” explores how to raise emotionally healthy, resilient adolescents in a time of great stress.

Erica and Greg discuss how the cultural emphasis, especially in the West, on individual success outside of the home often results in a reluctance to make necessary sacrifices in raising children and why dedicating time to establish a strong emotional foundation for the future generation is a significant and fulfilling responsibility for every parent.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is attachment theory?

14:52: Emotional security, meaning trusting that your primary attachment object is there for you from moment to moment to help you with what we call "regulate" your emotions, keeping them from going too high or too low and helping you through distress, provides you with the kind of security that says, "The world is a safe place. I can deal with the adversity that comes my way." That is attachment theory.

Raising a child requires sacrifice

08:19: Having children is the easy part; caring for them requires sacrifice. And we cannot raise healthy children if we're not willing to sacrifice.

Humans and denial

02:17: As human beings, we have a great deal of denial. It helps us get along, function, forget, avoid painful feelings, and avoid responsibility. So, denial is one of the most powerful human defenses. And that's not an accusation. That's just as a psychoanalyst. That is just a fact.

Self-awareness is the cornerstone of mental health

03:38: Self-awareness is the cornerstone of mental and physical health. If we're not aware that we're doing harm to ourselves, we end up sick. If we're not aware we're doing harm to our children, they end up sick.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 277. Resilience Begins at Birth feat. Erica Komisar Greg La Blanc 00:48:56 Mental health disorders have become an epidemic in today's society. Yet, we often fail to recognize the critical impact of early childhood adversity and our relationships with our parents, especially our mothers, on the mental and physical health of adolescents. Erica Komisar is a psychoanalyst and also a contributor, contributing editor at the Institute for Family Studies, journalist, and author. Her recent book “Chicken Little the Sky Isn't Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety” explores how to raise emotionally healthy, resilient adolescents in a time of great stress. Erica and Greg discuss how the cultural emphasis, especially in the West, on individual success outside of the home often results in a reluctance to make necessary sacrifices in raising children and why dedicating time to establish a strong emotional foundation for the future generation is a significant and fulfilling responsibility for every parent. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Mental health disorders have become an epidemic in today's society. Yet, we often fail to recognize the critical impact of early childhood adversity and our relationships with our parents, especially our mothers, on the mental and physical health of adolescents. Erica Komisar is a psychoanalyst and also a contributor, contributing editor at the Institute for Family Studies, journalist, and author. Her recent book “Chicken Little the Sky Isn't Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety” explores how to raise emotionally healthy, resilient adolescents in a time of great stress. Erica and Greg discuss how the cultural emphasis, especially in the West, on individual success outside of the home often results in a reluctance to make necessary sacrifices in raising children and why dedicating time to establish a strong emotional foundation for the future generation is a significant and fulfilling responsibility for every parent. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 277 fc7d4d42-e7fd-41f1-aece-946a4ede6526 276. The Bubble Triangle feat. William Quinn There are three necessary conditions for a fire to start – oxygen, heat, and fuel. The same can be said for financial bubbles. In order for them to happen, three conditions must be in place.

In his book, Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles, economic and financial historian William Quinn lays out what those conditions are in what he calls, “the bubble triangle.” At Queen’s University Belfast, he’s a senior lecturer in finance and researches historical stock markets, stock market bubbles, and market corners. 

William and Greg discuss the three sides of the bubble triangle, how narratives in the media shape bubbles, and historical bubbles that have gone overlooked. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The bubble triangle

04:43: ​​We came up with this model, which we called the bubble triangle. And this is similar to the fire triangle in chemistry. (05:20) So it's also got three sides. The first side is now what we call marketability, which is similar to liquidity. So, how easy are assets to buy and sell? This is multi-dimensional. So, what are the laws surrounding how easy it is to buy and sell this asset? How divisible is it? Can you package it up and sell it in small quantities? What are the transaction costs involved? What are the legal costs involved? Does anything have to physically change hands to buy it? And what we find is that the more marketable an asset is, the less work you have to do to buy and sell an asset, and the more likely it is to experience a bubble.

The two things you can take away from economics

29:35: I love historians. I love history, and I love history books. What I think they could take from economics is rigor and formal reasoning. So, for an economist to say that one thing caused something else, they will need to set out a counterfactual.

All markets are political

31:43: All markets are political to some extent, and it's not enough to say, "Look, these prices are being propped up by the government; therefore, there's going to be a crash." You need to make the argument that that can't go on, that this political interference isn't sustainable. And that's why prices are going to fall, but it's very difficult.

Looking at three sides of the bubble triangle

22:40: We look at the three sides of the bubble triangle. So is there a lot of money? And right now, there is a lot of marketability. Is marketability increasing? There is a lot of speculation, and right now, these conditions are in place, so we're going to get a lot of bubbles in the near future.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 3 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There are three necessary conditions for a fire to start – oxygen, heat, and fuel. The same can be said for financial bubbles. In order for them to happen, three conditions must be in place.

In his book, Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles, economic and financial historian William Quinn lays out what those conditions are in what he calls, “the bubble triangle.” At Queen’s University Belfast, he’s a senior lecturer in finance and researches historical stock markets, stock market bubbles, and market corners. 

William and Greg discuss the three sides of the bubble triangle, how narratives in the media shape bubbles, and historical bubbles that have gone overlooked. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The bubble triangle

04:43: ​​We came up with this model, which we called the bubble triangle. And this is similar to the fire triangle in chemistry. (05:20) So it's also got three sides. The first side is now what we call marketability, which is similar to liquidity. So, how easy are assets to buy and sell? This is multi-dimensional. So, what are the laws surrounding how easy it is to buy and sell this asset? How divisible is it? Can you package it up and sell it in small quantities? What are the transaction costs involved? What are the legal costs involved? Does anything have to physically change hands to buy it? And what we find is that the more marketable an asset is, the less work you have to do to buy and sell an asset, and the more likely it is to experience a bubble.

The two things you can take away from economics

29:35: I love historians. I love history, and I love history books. What I think they could take from economics is rigor and formal reasoning. So, for an economist to say that one thing caused something else, they will need to set out a counterfactual.

All markets are political

31:43: All markets are political to some extent, and it's not enough to say, "Look, these prices are being propped up by the government; therefore, there's going to be a crash." You need to make the argument that that can't go on, that this political interference isn't sustainable. And that's why prices are going to fall, but it's very difficult.

Looking at three sides of the bubble triangle

22:40: We look at the three sides of the bubble triangle. So is there a lot of money? And right now, there is a lot of marketability. Is marketability increasing? There is a lot of speculation, and right now, these conditions are in place, so we're going to get a lot of bubbles in the near future.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 276. The Bubble Triangle feat. William Quinn Greg La Blanc 00:31:54 There are three necessary conditions for a fire to start – oxygen, heat, and fuel. The same can be said for financial bubbles. In order for them to happen, three conditions must be in place. In his book, Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles, economic and financial historian William Quinn lays out what those conditions are in what he calls, “the bubble triangle.” At Queen’s University Belfast, he’s a senior lecturer in finance and researches historical stock markets, stock market bubbles, and market corners. William and Greg discuss the three sides of the bubble triangle, how narratives in the media shape bubbles, and historical bubbles that have gone overlooked. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* There are three necessary conditions for a fire to start – oxygen, heat, and fuel. The same can be said for financial bubbles. In order for them to happen, three conditions must be in place. In his book, Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles, economic and financial historian William Quinn lays out what those conditions are in what he calls, “the bubble triangle.” At Queen’s University Belfast, he’s a senior lecturer in finance and researches historical stock markets, stock market bubbles, and market corners. William and Greg discuss the three sides of the bubble triangle, how narratives in the media shape bubbles, and historical bubbles that have gone overlooked. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 277 2c66705a-4763-4608-bc96-28397766354f 275. The Madness of Crowds feat. William Bernstein What do financial bubbles and religious millenarianism have in common? They both involve collective delusion. When Charles Mackey wrote a book on the Madness of Crowds in the 19th century, he could not have imagined that religious and financial bubbles will continue to reappear, but as Willam Bernstein points out, the world has not gotten any saner.

William Bernstein is an investment manager and the author of a number of books including, The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups and The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created. And before his work in finance, he spent more than 30 years practicing medicine. 

William and Greg discuss the difference between intelligence and rationality, how human nature is rooted in imitation and mimicry, and the end of the world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When it comes to pattern recognition, who are the right people to listen to?

47:23: ​​When I'm listening to an analyst or a commentator, what I'm listening for is not how eloquent they are or how smart they sound, because it turns out that the most eloquent people tend to be people who can get away with a lot of analytical sloppiness. What I'm looking for is nuance. I'm looking for someone who can see both sides of an argument and argue something from both sides.

Who are the people you want to make decisions for you?

06:37: Rationality and intelligence are entirely orthogonal. There are people who really aren't all that brilliant but are eminently rational. Those are the kinds of people you want making decisions for you.

Are you a seller or consumer opinions?

31:43: If you are a seller of opinions and want to sell opinions, then you tell stories. But if you are a consumer of opinions, you want to ignore the stories and focus on the data.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 28 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What do financial bubbles and religious millenarianism have in common? They both involve collective delusion. When Charles Mackey wrote a book on the Madness of Crowds in the 19th century, he could not have imagined that religious and financial bubbles will continue to reappear, but as Willam Bernstein points out, the world has not gotten any saner.

William Bernstein is an investment manager and the author of a number of books including, The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups and The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created. And before his work in finance, he spent more than 30 years practicing medicine. 

William and Greg discuss the difference between intelligence and rationality, how human nature is rooted in imitation and mimicry, and the end of the world. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

When it comes to pattern recognition, who are the right people to listen to?

47:23: ​​When I'm listening to an analyst or a commentator, what I'm listening for is not how eloquent they are or how smart they sound, because it turns out that the most eloquent people tend to be people who can get away with a lot of analytical sloppiness. What I'm looking for is nuance. I'm looking for someone who can see both sides of an argument and argue something from both sides.

Who are the people you want to make decisions for you?

06:37: Rationality and intelligence are entirely orthogonal. There are people who really aren't all that brilliant but are eminently rational. Those are the kinds of people you want making decisions for you.

Are you a seller or consumer opinions?

31:43: If you are a seller of opinions and want to sell opinions, then you tell stories. But if you are a consumer of opinions, you want to ignore the stories and focus on the data.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 275. The Madness of Crowds feat. William Bernstein Greg La Blanc 00:51:26 What do financial bubbles and religious millenarianism have in common? They both involve collective delusion. When Charles Mackey wrote a book on the Madness of Crowds in the 19th century, he could not have imagined that religious and financial bubbles will continue to reappear, but as Willam Bernstein points out, the world has not gotten any saner. William Bernstein is an investment manager and the author of a number of books including, The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups and The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created. And before his work in finance, he spent more than 30 years practicing medicine. William and Greg discuss the difference between intelligence and rationality, how human nature is rooted in imitation and mimicry, and the end of the world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What do financial bubbles and religious millenarianism have in common? They both involve collective delusion. When Charles Mackey wrote a book on the Madness of Crowds in the 19th century, he could not have imagined that religious and financial bubbles will continue to reappear, but as Willam Bernstein points out, the world has not gotten any saner. William Bernstein is an investment manager and the author of a number of books including, The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups and The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created. And before his work in finance, he spent more than 30 years practicing medicine. William and Greg discuss the difference between intelligence and rationality, how human nature is rooted in imitation and mimicry, and the end of the world. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 275 0ea3697b-fed1-44bf-b34a-75c23c56ef85 274. The New Science of Political Economy featuring James A. Robinson Does a strong state mean a weak market? This is a common misconception amongst economists. Many view the state as either taxing and regulating the market too much or too little. However, the truth is that state capacity is just not well conceptualized in economic theory.

James A. Robinson is a political scientist, economist, and professor at the University of Chicago. His recent book, co-authored with Daron Acemoglu, “The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty,” explores the critical balance needed between state and society and how liberty can continue to thrive despite threats from both sides.

James and Greg explore the correlation between inclusive political institutions and economic growth and prosperity and why the absence of state capacity in developing nations is a major contributing factor to their economic struggles. This highlights the necessity for a genuine debate on whether strong governments and effective state institutions facilitate or stifle independence and innovation. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two dimensions to political institutions 

27:45: ​​There's two dimensions to political institutions. There's this issue of the breadth of political power in society, and there's also the capacity of the state. So we say why nations fail. Well, you can have extractive political institutions if either or both of those things fail. Either if the state lacks capacity or you have narrow distribution of political power.

19:25: You can't have inclusive economic institutions on the whim of some autocrat or dictator. It's who benefits from inclusive institutions. They have to be empowered politically to demand them.

Building institutions is not an engineering problem

31:43: Building institutions is not an engineering problem. It's an equilibrium between these different forces. And so the state is always trying to get out of control, and you can hem it in a bit with institutions and stuff, but it also needs society to do that.

When it comes to giving helpful policy advice, the devil is in the details

40:18: In order to give useful policy advice, you have to get into all the details of different cases, and at some point, these big social science generalizations don't help you much to know what to do. Maybe the idea of getting into the corridor is useful and institutionalizing the power of civil society and how you deal with all the problems that are different. (40:48) All those details are going to be very important in figuring out what to do.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 26 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Does a strong state mean a weak market? This is a common misconception amongst economists. Many view the state as either taxing and regulating the market too much or too little. However, the truth is that state capacity is just not well conceptualized in economic theory.

James A. Robinson is a political scientist, economist, and professor at the University of Chicago. His recent book, co-authored with Daron Acemoglu, “The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty,” explores the critical balance needed between state and society and how liberty can continue to thrive despite threats from both sides.

James and Greg explore the correlation between inclusive political institutions and economic growth and prosperity and why the absence of state capacity in developing nations is a major contributing factor to their economic struggles. This highlights the necessity for a genuine debate on whether strong governments and effective state institutions facilitate or stifle independence and innovation. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The two dimensions to political institutions 

27:45: ​​There's two dimensions to political institutions. There's this issue of the breadth of political power in society, and there's also the capacity of the state. So we say why nations fail. Well, you can have extractive political institutions if either or both of those things fail. Either if the state lacks capacity or you have narrow distribution of political power.

19:25: You can't have inclusive economic institutions on the whim of some autocrat or dictator. It's who benefits from inclusive institutions. They have to be empowered politically to demand them.

Building institutions is not an engineering problem

31:43: Building institutions is not an engineering problem. It's an equilibrium between these different forces. And so the state is always trying to get out of control, and you can hem it in a bit with institutions and stuff, but it also needs society to do that.

When it comes to giving helpful policy advice, the devil is in the details

40:18: In order to give useful policy advice, you have to get into all the details of different cases, and at some point, these big social science generalizations don't help you much to know what to do. Maybe the idea of getting into the corridor is useful and institutionalizing the power of civil society and how you deal with all the problems that are different. (40:48) All those details are going to be very important in figuring out what to do.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 274. The New Science of Political Economy featuring James A. Robinson Greg La Blanc 00:49:09 Does a strong state mean a weak market? This is a common misconception amongst economists. Many view the state as either taxing and regulating the market too much or too little. However, the truth is that state capacity is just not well conceptualized in economic theory. James A. Robinson is a political scientist, economist, and professor at the University of Chicago. His recent book, co-authored with Daron Acemoglu, “The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty,” explores the critical balance needed between state and society and how liberty can continue to thrive despite threats from both sides. James and Greg explore the correlation between inclusive political institutions and economic growth and prosperity and why the absence of state capacity in developing nations is a major contributing factor to their economic struggles. This highlights the necessity for a genuine debate on whether strong governments and effective state institutions facilitate or stifle independence and innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Does a strong state mean a weak market? This is a common misconception amongst economists. Many view the state as either taxing and regulating the market too much or too little. However, the truth is that state capacity is just not well conceptualized in economic theory. James A. Robinson is a political scientist, economist, and professor at the University of Chicago. His recent book, co-authored with Daron Acemoglu, “The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty,” explores the critical balance needed between state and society and how liberty can continue to thrive despite threats from both sides. James and Greg explore the correlation between inclusive political institutions and economic growth and prosperity and why the absence of state capacity in developing nations is a major contributing factor to their economic struggles. This highlights the necessity for a genuine debate on whether strong governments and effective state institutions facilitate or stifle independence and innovation. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 274 e449d5ab-e70c-4d6d-ac70-5a03e3568532 273. Putting the Science into Political Science feat. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita In order to make an impact in the political world, we need to understand the science of politics, which means setting aside emotion and designing general models of strategic behavior and equilibrium drawn from game theory. These models may not only explain the past but predict the future.

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is a political scientist, a professor at New York University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is also an author, and his latest work is titled, The Invention of Power: Popes, Kings, and the Birth of the West, where he argues that battles over power nearly 1000 years ago have had profound consequences for European history up to the present.

Bruce and Greg discuss all of Bruce’s books, how to use game theory, and to look at political science analytically, just like any other science. They go over the emergence of Western Europe, the rise and fall of dictatorships, and the possible fate of Vladimir Putin. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What makes game theory such a powerful tool for predicting present and future outcomes?

13:45: ​​People think about their own well-being. They're interested in making themselves, their families so forth, better off. They understand that rivals, competitors are thinking exactly the same thing about themselves. So you have to figure out what should I do? And how will people competing with me react to what I do. Will I be worse off if I do what I really want, or will I be better off doing what I really want or doing something else? Well, that's the domain of game theory. It is how entities—in this case, people—interact strategically.

Why dictators keep their inner circle small

23:41: Dictators depend on very few people to keep them in power, so they have to keep those people sufficiently happy that they don't find a rival who could do better by them.

One of the unfortunate features of political science

02:52: If you want to improve the way the world works, from whatever lights you have as to what is an improvement. You can't do that without understanding what makes it come out the way it is so that you can figure out how to incentivize, by rewarding or punishing people, to behave differently. That requires science. It doesn't require opinion. It doesn't require speculation. It doesn't require partisanship.

Rationality doesn’t require that you’re right

21:08: Rationality doesn't require that you're right. It just requires that your actions are motivated by your beliefs about what are the things that you should do now.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 24 Apr 2023 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In order to make an impact in the political world, we need to understand the science of politics, which means setting aside emotion and designing general models of strategic behavior and equilibrium drawn from game theory. These models may not only explain the past but predict the future.

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is a political scientist, a professor at New York University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is also an author, and his latest work is titled, The Invention of Power: Popes, Kings, and the Birth of the West, where he argues that battles over power nearly 1000 years ago have had profound consequences for European history up to the present.

Bruce and Greg discuss all of Bruce’s books, how to use game theory, and to look at political science analytically, just like any other science. They go over the emergence of Western Europe, the rise and fall of dictatorships, and the possible fate of Vladimir Putin. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What makes game theory such a powerful tool for predicting present and future outcomes?

13:45: ​​People think about their own well-being. They're interested in making themselves, their families so forth, better off. They understand that rivals, competitors are thinking exactly the same thing about themselves. So you have to figure out what should I do? And how will people competing with me react to what I do. Will I be worse off if I do what I really want, or will I be better off doing what I really want or doing something else? Well, that's the domain of game theory. It is how entities—in this case, people—interact strategically.

Why dictators keep their inner circle small

23:41: Dictators depend on very few people to keep them in power, so they have to keep those people sufficiently happy that they don't find a rival who could do better by them.

One of the unfortunate features of political science

02:52: If you want to improve the way the world works, from whatever lights you have as to what is an improvement. You can't do that without understanding what makes it come out the way it is so that you can figure out how to incentivize, by rewarding or punishing people, to behave differently. That requires science. It doesn't require opinion. It doesn't require speculation. It doesn't require partisanship.

Rationality doesn’t require that you’re right

21:08: Rationality doesn't require that you're right. It just requires that your actions are motivated by your beliefs about what are the things that you should do now.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 273. Putting the Science into Political Science feat. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita Greg La Blanc 00:38:21 In order to make an impact in the political world, we need to understand the science of politics, which means setting aside emotion and designing general models of strategic behavior and equilibrium drawn from game theory. These models may not only explain the past but predict the future. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is a political scientist, a professor at New York University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is also an author, and his latest work is titled, The Invention of Power: Popes, Kings, and the Birth of the West, where he argues that battles over power nearly 1000 years ago have had profound consequences for European history up to the present. Bruce and Greg discuss all of Bruce’s books, how to use game theory, and to look at political science analytically, just like any other science. They go over the emergence of Western Europe, the rise and fall of dictatorships, and the possible fate of Vladimir Putin. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In order to make an impact in the political world, we need to understand the science of politics, which means setting aside emotion and designing general models of strategic behavior and equilibrium drawn from game theory. These models may not only explain the past but predict the future. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is a political scientist, a professor at New York University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is also an author, and his latest work is titled, The Invention of Power: Popes, Kings, and the Birth of the West, where he argues that battles over power nearly 1000 years ago have had profound consequences for European history up to the present. Bruce and Greg discuss all of Bruce’s books, how to use game theory, and to look at political science analytically, just like any other science. They go over the emergence of Western Europe, the rise and fall of dictatorships, and the possible fate of Vladimir Putin. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 273 e61d36e5-e780-4f28-b75f-a9019bb92d5e 272. Free Speech’s Complex Role on Campus feat. Ulrich Baer What are the limits to free speech in a university setting? And how does our society define what is permissible speech and what is not? When Ulrich Baer wrote What Snowflakes Get Right, his hope was to expand free speech on campuses and provoke a debate on the proper scope of conversation in the classroom.

Ulrich is a professor of comparative literature at New York University and is the author and translator of multiple books of translation and criticism, including The Poet’s Guide to Life: The Wisdom of Rilke and a novel, We Are But a Moment. 

Ulrich and Greg discuss the unique emphasis that Americans place on free speech, especially in a higher education context, and how free speech can sometimes be in conflict with other values.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What things should be up for debate? What should not be up for debate?

50:33: We should allow everybody to debate: What is the true meaning of equality? Those things should have to be open for debate precisely because we don't want to impose that on people to say, this is the way our society is functioning.

The importance of free speech

9:43: If free speech is restricted, the first thing that goes is creative literature because it's obscene, offensive, or anything. But free speech is a value, and it's also federally mandated and enshrined in the First Amendment.

The power of opening yourself up to other ideas and perspectives

52:02: The most amazing thing is what happens in universities when people actually change their minds. Actually, as a teacher, I think about this a lot. I cannot change my students' minds. I cannot make them have an imagination. All I can do is give them moments and opportunities where that happens for them.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 21 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What are the limits to free speech in a university setting? And how does our society define what is permissible speech and what is not? When Ulrich Baer wrote What Snowflakes Get Right, his hope was to expand free speech on campuses and provoke a debate on the proper scope of conversation in the classroom.

Ulrich is a professor of comparative literature at New York University and is the author and translator of multiple books of translation and criticism, including The Poet’s Guide to Life: The Wisdom of Rilke and a novel, We Are But a Moment. 

Ulrich and Greg discuss the unique emphasis that Americans place on free speech, especially in a higher education context, and how free speech can sometimes be in conflict with other values.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What things should be up for debate? What should not be up for debate?

50:33: We should allow everybody to debate: What is the true meaning of equality? Those things should have to be open for debate precisely because we don't want to impose that on people to say, this is the way our society is functioning.

The importance of free speech

9:43: If free speech is restricted, the first thing that goes is creative literature because it's obscene, offensive, or anything. But free speech is a value, and it's also federally mandated and enshrined in the First Amendment.

The power of opening yourself up to other ideas and perspectives

52:02: The most amazing thing is what happens in universities when people actually change their minds. Actually, as a teacher, I think about this a lot. I cannot change my students' minds. I cannot make them have an imagination. All I can do is give them moments and opportunities where that happens for them.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 272. Free Speech’s Complex Role on Campus feat. Ulrich Baer Greg La Blanc 01:01:55 What are the limits to free speech in a university setting? And how does our society define what is permissible speech and what is not? When Ulrich Baer wrote What Snowflakes Get Right, his hope was to expand free speech on campuses and provoke a debate on the proper scope of conversation in the classroom. Ulrich is a professor of comparative literature at New York University and is the author and translator of multiple books of translation and criticism, including The Poet’s Guide to Life: The Wisdom of Rilke and a novel, We Are But a Moment. Ulrich and Greg discuss the unique emphasis that Americans place on free speech, especially in a higher education context, and how free speech can sometimes be in conflict with other values. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What are the limits to free speech in a university setting? And how does our society define what is permissible speech and what is not? When Ulrich Baer wrote What Snowflakes Get Right, his hope was to expand free speech on campuses and provoke a debate on the proper scope of conversation in the classroom. Ulrich is a professor of comparative literature at New York University and is the author and translator of multiple books of translation and criticism, including The Poet’s Guide to Life: The Wisdom of Rilke and a novel, We Are But a Moment. Ulrich and Greg discuss the unique emphasis that Americans place on free speech, especially in a higher education context, and how free speech can sometimes be in conflict with other values. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 272 d541f6c8-28b0-41b7-9583-a8ad20b8ff04 271. The Philosophy of Sports feat. David Papineau Philosophical problems are all around us. From economics to games and sports, most people in the world are philosophizing every day, maybe without even realizing it. 

David Papineau is a Professor of Philosophy of Science at the King’s College London. He’s written numerous books, including The Metaphysics of Sensory Experience and Knowing the Score: What Sports Can Teach Us About Philosophy (And What Philosophy Can Teach Us About Sports). David is also a visiting professor at City University of New York.

David and Greg discuss how philosophy can be applied to virtually anything, even sports. They delve into questions around the role sports play in our lives, what sports can reveal about conscious control and the philosophical puzzles regarding fandom. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How our performance function differs in sports

19:01: In sports, when you are competing, there's not much that can be left to unmonitored routine. I mean, there's a difference between somebody who's doing the vaulting horse in gymnastics or a hundred-meter sprint. There's a level of focus and intensity in competition that you can't reproduce every time in practice. And if you don't have it in mind now, we're competing. What's to tell your body that you're not in practice mode? You've got to gear things up and keep them there.

A general point about conventions and morality

29:01: This is a general point about conventions and morality. We need some rules to have all kinds of things that we benefit from and enjoy, but exactly which set of rules we have doesn't matter too much up to a point.

How much control do we really have over our consciousness? 

13:21: Many of my philosophical colleagues would say that if you are acting intentionally, your eyes are open, and you are awake, then your consciousness is playing a controlling role all the time. And that was the idea I wanted to resist by saying that in these fast sporting contexts, there isn't any time.

Conventions are like contracts

21:18: There are some sports where, maybe more so in the past, where it wasn't acceptable to say anything to distract your opponent. And then there are sports where it's acceptable. Everybody knows you might get inside somebody's head a bit, but that's part of the game. But you are allowed to make jokes and make certain kinds of comments, but you aren't supposed to be talking, making comments, or disreputable comments about their wives or mothers. And so, the way I think about it is that these conventions, which vary from sport to sport, are like a kind of contract or deal.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 19 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Philosophical problems are all around us. From economics to games and sports, most people in the world are philosophizing every day, maybe without even realizing it. 

David Papineau is a Professor of Philosophy of Science at the King’s College London. He’s written numerous books, including The Metaphysics of Sensory Experience and Knowing the Score: What Sports Can Teach Us About Philosophy (And What Philosophy Can Teach Us About Sports). David is also a visiting professor at City University of New York.

David and Greg discuss how philosophy can be applied to virtually anything, even sports. They delve into questions around the role sports play in our lives, what sports can reveal about conscious control and the philosophical puzzles regarding fandom. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

How our performance function differs in sports

19:01: In sports, when you are competing, there's not much that can be left to unmonitored routine. I mean, there's a difference between somebody who's doing the vaulting horse in gymnastics or a hundred-meter sprint. There's a level of focus and intensity in competition that you can't reproduce every time in practice. And if you don't have it in mind now, we're competing. What's to tell your body that you're not in practice mode? You've got to gear things up and keep them there.

A general point about conventions and morality

29:01: This is a general point about conventions and morality. We need some rules to have all kinds of things that we benefit from and enjoy, but exactly which set of rules we have doesn't matter too much up to a point.

How much control do we really have over our consciousness? 

13:21: Many of my philosophical colleagues would say that if you are acting intentionally, your eyes are open, and you are awake, then your consciousness is playing a controlling role all the time. And that was the idea I wanted to resist by saying that in these fast sporting contexts, there isn't any time.

Conventions are like contracts

21:18: There are some sports where, maybe more so in the past, where it wasn't acceptable to say anything to distract your opponent. And then there are sports where it's acceptable. Everybody knows you might get inside somebody's head a bit, but that's part of the game. But you are allowed to make jokes and make certain kinds of comments, but you aren't supposed to be talking, making comments, or disreputable comments about their wives or mothers. And so, the way I think about it is that these conventions, which vary from sport to sport, are like a kind of contract or deal.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 271. The Philosophy of Sports feat. David Papineau Greg La Blanc 00:55:47 Philosophical problems are all around us. From economics to games and sports, most people in the world are philosophizing every day, maybe without even realizing it. David Papineau is a Professor of Philosophy of Science at the King’s College London. He’s written numerous books, including The Metaphysics of Sensory Experience and Knowing the Score: What Sports Can Teach Us About Philosophy (And What Philosophy Can Teach Us About Sports). David is also a visiting professor at City University of New York. David and Greg discuss how philosophy can be applied to virtually anything, even sports. They delve into questions around the role sports play in our lives, what sports can reveal about conscious control and the philosophical puzzles regarding fandom. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Philosophical problems are all around us. From economics to games and sports, most people in the world are philosophizing every day, maybe without even realizing it. David Papineau is a Professor of Philosophy of Science at the King’s College London. He’s written numerous books, including The Metaphysics of Sensory Experience and Knowing the Score: What Sports Can Teach Us About Philosophy (And What Philosophy Can Teach Us About Sports). David is also a visiting professor at City University of New York. David and Greg discuss how philosophy can be applied to virtually anything, even sports. They delve into questions around the role sports play in our lives, what sports can reveal about conscious control and the philosophical puzzles regarding fandom. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 271 1bd56042-3fcf-49ea-bbdc-7935839ac8b0 270. Attentional Fitness feat. Gloria Mark What is attention, and how can we manage it? The new science of attention explores how our conscious and unconscious attention dictate how we interact with the world. With the proliferation of digital media and always being on digital devices, a proper understanding of attention is more important than ever. 

Gloria Mark is the Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California Irvine. Her new book, Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, explores what is going on with attention in today’s culture and environment as well as how to regain the ability to focus and pay attention for longer periods of time.

Gloria and Greg discuss her new book and the ways in which attention is studied, as well as identify many real-world causes that may be in play for why the attention span of humans has been regularly getting shorter. Is there a cultural shift going on? Gloria links attention to sleep, health, and also even success in quitting unhealthy habits. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Attention is the currency of our time

48:48: I would love it, especially for young people, if they could have the experience of building their attentional muscles because it's a lifelong skill, and attention is really the currency of our time. And we can't perform well unless we have good attention.

Flow isn't for all situations or settings

23:42: No one should feel bad if they can't get into flow because we use an analytical mindset when we're doing knowledge work. And that can be very rewarding and fulfilling. So, flow isn't for all situations or settings; it can happen, but we shouldn't expect it in knowledge work.

Attention has different kinds of states

28:18: We can be engaged in something and challenged where we're using some mental effort, and I call that a state of focus. We can also be very engaged in something without hardly any mental effort; I call that rote attention.

Reframing our thinking about how we use technology

43:48: The main point I've tried to express in the book is that I'd like to reframe our thinking about how we use technology to put well-being first. (44:03) Instead of pushing ourselves to the limits, which is what the current narrative is, let's use technology to be as productive as possible. Let's think about maintaining psychological balance and positive well-being. Because if we're positive, we will be productive.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 17 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is attention, and how can we manage it? The new science of attention explores how our conscious and unconscious attention dictate how we interact with the world. With the proliferation of digital media and always being on digital devices, a proper understanding of attention is more important than ever. 

Gloria Mark is the Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California Irvine. Her new book, Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, explores what is going on with attention in today’s culture and environment as well as how to regain the ability to focus and pay attention for longer periods of time.

Gloria and Greg discuss her new book and the ways in which attention is studied, as well as identify many real-world causes that may be in play for why the attention span of humans has been regularly getting shorter. Is there a cultural shift going on? Gloria links attention to sleep, health, and also even success in quitting unhealthy habits. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Attention is the currency of our time

48:48: I would love it, especially for young people, if they could have the experience of building their attentional muscles because it's a lifelong skill, and attention is really the currency of our time. And we can't perform well unless we have good attention.

Flow isn't for all situations or settings

23:42: No one should feel bad if they can't get into flow because we use an analytical mindset when we're doing knowledge work. And that can be very rewarding and fulfilling. So, flow isn't for all situations or settings; it can happen, but we shouldn't expect it in knowledge work.

Attention has different kinds of states

28:18: We can be engaged in something and challenged where we're using some mental effort, and I call that a state of focus. We can also be very engaged in something without hardly any mental effort; I call that rote attention.

Reframing our thinking about how we use technology

43:48: The main point I've tried to express in the book is that I'd like to reframe our thinking about how we use technology to put well-being first. (44:03) Instead of pushing ourselves to the limits, which is what the current narrative is, let's use technology to be as productive as possible. Let's think about maintaining psychological balance and positive well-being. Because if we're positive, we will be productive.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 270. Attentional Fitness feat. Gloria Mark Greg La Blanc 00:50:18 What is attention, and how can we manage it? The new science of attention explores how our conscious and unconscious attention dictate how we interact with the world. With the proliferation of digital media and always being on digital devices, a proper understanding of attention is more important than ever. Gloria Mark is the Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California Irvine. Her new book, Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, explores what is going on with attention in today’s culture and environment as well as how to regain the ability to focus and pay attention for longer periods of time. Gloria and Greg discuss her new book and the ways in which attention is studied, as well as identify many real-world causes that may be in play for why the attention span of humans has been regularly getting shorter. Is there a cultural shift going on? Gloria links attention to sleep, health, and also even success in quitting unhealthy habits. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is attention, and how can we manage it? The new science of attention explores how our conscious and unconscious attention dictate how we interact with the world. With the proliferation of digital media and always being on digital devices, a proper understanding of attention is more important than ever. Gloria Mark is the Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California Irvine. Her new book, Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, explores what is going on with attention in today’s culture and environment as well as how to regain the ability to focus and pay attention for longer periods of time. Gloria and Greg discuss her new book and the ways in which attention is studied, as well as identify many real-world causes that may be in play for why the attention span of humans has been regularly getting shorter. Is there a cultural shift going on? Gloria links attention to sleep, health, and also even success in quitting unhealthy habits. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 270 3ef8ff7c-fea4-4f5e-b318-79e8795317be 269. Balancing Personal Life and Career Decision Making feat. Myra Strober and Abby Davisson Should we separate decisions related to love and money, approaching finance and career-related decisions solely in a rational way while relying more on our emotions in the personal domain? Perhaps it's time to start using both our heads and hearts together when making life's most significant decisions.

Myra Strober is an emerita Professor at the Schools of Education and Business at Stanford University. She also sits on the board of the journal Feminist Economics and is the former president of the International Association for Feminist Economics 9. Abby Davisson is a social innovation leader and career development expert. She is a senior leader on global retailer Gap Inc.'s Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) team and is President of Gap Foundation. She is also an alumni career advisor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

Together they wrote the book “Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life's Biggest Decisions,” exploring how to navigate life’s most consequential and daunting decisions.

Myra, Abby, and Greg discuss the importance of incorporating decision-making into an interdisciplinary curriculum at an early stage for students to equip them with the skills to make optimal strategic choices while avoiding the need to compromise their professional or personal lives. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The similarities of finding a business and a life partner

17:08: [Myra Strober] People who say that you need to make love decisions with your heart are not entirely wrong. Your heart surely needs to be part of the decision, or your gut, or however you want to think about it. And you may find a co-founder for a business who works well with you, but you wouldn't like to spend your evenings and weekends with them. You wouldn't like to go on vacation with them. And that all works fine, but it doesn't work fine if this is your life partner. So certainly, before you have any conversations of any depth, you need to be sure that you're linked to this person in some way through your heart, through your gut, that you're excited about this person in some way.

On making decisions you won’t regret

16:03: [Abby Davisson] What we advocate and why we have a whole framework around decision-making is to slow down and bring in other elements to that decision that can help you make a decision you are less likely to regret.

The huge impact of your work decisions

12:40: [Myra Strober] The work decisions that you make, which you might assume are only work decisions, have a huge impact on your family. And if you're going to make a major work decision, you need to communicate your ideas with the people who matter to you.

Humans and their short-term bias

39:38: [Abby Davisson] Humans have a short-term bias, and we are much more likely to overweight the positive or negative consequences of decisions in the short term.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Myra Strober 

Abby Davisson 

Their Work:


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

]]> Fri, 14 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Should we separate decisions related to love and money, approaching finance and career-related decisions solely in a rational way while relying more on our emotions in the personal domain? Perhaps it's time to start using both our heads and hearts together when making life's most significant decisions.

Myra Strober is an emerita Professor at the Schools of Education and Business at Stanford University. She also sits on the board of the journal Feminist Economics and is the former president of the International Association for Feminist Economics 9. Abby Davisson is a social innovation leader and career development expert. She is a senior leader on global retailer Gap Inc.'s Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) team and is President of Gap Foundation. She is also an alumni career advisor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

Together they wrote the book “Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life's Biggest Decisions,” exploring how to navigate life’s most consequential and daunting decisions.

Myra, Abby, and Greg discuss the importance of incorporating decision-making into an interdisciplinary curriculum at an early stage for students to equip them with the skills to make optimal strategic choices while avoiding the need to compromise their professional or personal lives. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The similarities of finding a business and a life partner

17:08: [Myra Strober] People who say that you need to make love decisions with your heart are not entirely wrong. Your heart surely needs to be part of the decision, or your gut, or however you want to think about it. And you may find a co-founder for a business who works well with you, but you wouldn't like to spend your evenings and weekends with them. You wouldn't like to go on vacation with them. And that all works fine, but it doesn't work fine if this is your life partner. So certainly, before you have any conversations of any depth, you need to be sure that you're linked to this person in some way through your heart, through your gut, that you're excited about this person in some way.

On making decisions you won’t regret

16:03: [Abby Davisson] What we advocate and why we have a whole framework around decision-making is to slow down and bring in other elements to that decision that can help you make a decision you are less likely to regret.

The huge impact of your work decisions

12:40: [Myra Strober] The work decisions that you make, which you might assume are only work decisions, have a huge impact on your family. And if you're going to make a major work decision, you need to communicate your ideas with the people who matter to you.

Humans and their short-term bias

39:38: [Abby Davisson] Humans have a short-term bias, and we are much more likely to overweight the positive or negative consequences of decisions in the short term.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Myra Strober 

Abby Davisson 

Their Work:


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]]> 269. Balancing Personal Life and Career Decision Making feat. Myra Strober and Abby Davisson Greg La Blanc 00:47:11 Should we separate decisions related to love and money, approaching finance and career-related decisions solely in a rational way while relying more on our emotions in the personal domain? Perhaps it's time to start using both our heads and hearts together when making life's most significant decisions. Myra Strober is an emerita Professor at the Schools of Education and Business at Stanford University. She also sits on the editorial board of Feminist Economics and is the former president of the International Association for Feminist Economics 9. Abby Davisson is a social innovation leader and career development expert. She is a senior leader on global retailer Gap Inc.'s Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) team and is President of Gap Foundation. She is also an alumni career advisor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Together they wrote the book “Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life's Biggest Decisions,” exploring how to navigate life’s most consequential and daunting decisions. Myra, Abby, and Greg discuss the importance of incorporating decision-making into an interdisciplinary curriculum at an early stage for students to equip them with the skills to make optimal strategic choices while avoiding the need to compromise their professional or personal lives. unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM. Should we separate decisions related to love and money, approaching finance and career-related decisions solely in a rational way while relying more on our emotions in the personal domain? Perhaps it's time to start using both our heads and hearts together when making life's most significant decisions. Myra Strober is an emerita Professor at the Schools of Education and Business at Stanford University. She also sits on the editorial board of Feminist Economics and is the former president of the International Association for Feminist Economics 9. Abby Davisson is a social innovation leader and career development expert. She is a senior leader on global retailer Gap Inc.'s Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) team and is President of Gap Foundation. She is also an alumni career advisor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Together they wrote the book “Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life's Biggest Decisions,” exploring how to navigate life’s most consequential and daunting decisions. Myra, Abby, and Greg discuss the importance of incorporating decision-making into an interdisciplinary curriculum at an early stage for students to equip them with the skills to make optimal strategic choices while avoiding the need to compromise their professional or personal lives. unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM. false full 269 e8847379-7104-481e-a08a-705b7fa89999 268. Finding Power in Paradoxes feat. Wendy K. Smith In a world of either/or tradeoffs, it sometimes pays to explore the possibility of and/or. By changing our perspective and embracing paradox, we can see possibilities that were obscured by our tendency to see only tradeoffs.

Wendy K. Smith is the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Business at the University of Delaware and co-founder of the Women's Leadership Initiative. She is also an author, and with Marianne Lewis their latest book is Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems, about how to navigate the inevitable paradoxes and demands of life and the world.

Wendy and Greg discuss Wendy’s book and what she has learned about paradoxes and the changes made possible when you replace ‘Either/Or thinking with ‘Both/And’ thinking. They discuss this approach and how you can learn from fields as diverse as philosophy, therapy, and improv, as well as Wendy’s three conditions of Change, Plurality, and Scarcity.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The power of listening

24:24: Listening is a form of respect. It doesn't mean you have to agree. It means you have to engage, or it doesn't mean that you are agreeing. It means that you are respecting somebody, that they have a different point of view than you, and you're engaging and accepting that there is a different point of view out there. And sometimes, listening to hard things that we absolutely don't agree with with curiosity can be a really powerful tool to be able to get to a better point.

Adopting a paradox mindset is two things

29:40: Adopting a paradox mindset is two things: It's both experiencing the tensions that are out there and applying a both/and approach to those tensions.

Navigating the both/and space

21:02: In order to effectively navigate in this both/and space, we have to be able to pull apart the opposing tensions and do a deep dive into understanding each one in service of a more profound, thoughtful, creative, and understood holistic synergy.

How do we understand the relationship between both/and inherent approach and a socially constructed approach?

06:49: There is an inherent nature to our world that is paradoxical, and our understanding of the world, our social construction, our framing, our mindsets, and surfaces, makes that salient to us, which gives us the power or the tools, the possibility to navigate our competing demands in another way.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 12 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In a world of either/or tradeoffs, it sometimes pays to explore the possibility of and/or. By changing our perspective and embracing paradox, we can see possibilities that were obscured by our tendency to see only tradeoffs.

Wendy K. Smith is the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Business at the University of Delaware and co-founder of the Women's Leadership Initiative. She is also an author, and with Marianne Lewis their latest book is Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems, about how to navigate the inevitable paradoxes and demands of life and the world.

Wendy and Greg discuss Wendy’s book and what she has learned about paradoxes and the changes made possible when you replace ‘Either/Or thinking with ‘Both/And’ thinking. They discuss this approach and how you can learn from fields as diverse as philosophy, therapy, and improv, as well as Wendy’s three conditions of Change, Plurality, and Scarcity.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The power of listening

24:24: Listening is a form of respect. It doesn't mean you have to agree. It means you have to engage, or it doesn't mean that you are agreeing. It means that you are respecting somebody, that they have a different point of view than you, and you're engaging and accepting that there is a different point of view out there. And sometimes, listening to hard things that we absolutely don't agree with with curiosity can be a really powerful tool to be able to get to a better point.

Adopting a paradox mindset is two things

29:40: Adopting a paradox mindset is two things: It's both experiencing the tensions that are out there and applying a both/and approach to those tensions.

Navigating the both/and space

21:02: In order to effectively navigate in this both/and space, we have to be able to pull apart the opposing tensions and do a deep dive into understanding each one in service of a more profound, thoughtful, creative, and understood holistic synergy.

How do we understand the relationship between both/and inherent approach and a socially constructed approach?

06:49: There is an inherent nature to our world that is paradoxical, and our understanding of the world, our social construction, our framing, our mindsets, and surfaces, makes that salient to us, which gives us the power or the tools, the possibility to navigate our competing demands in another way.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 268. Finding Power in Paradoxes feat. Wendy K. Smith Greg La Blanc 00:50:48 In a world of either/or tradeoffs, it sometimes pays to explore the possibility of and/or. By changing our perspective and embracing paradox, we can see possibilities that were obscured by our tendency to see only tradeoffs. Wendy K. Smith is the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Business at the University of Delaware and co-founder of the Women's Leadership Initiative. She is also an author, and with Marianne Lewis their latest book is Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems, about how to navigate the inevitable paradoxes and demands of life and the world. Wendy and Greg discuss Wendy’s book and what she has learned about paradoxes and the changes made possible when you replace ‘Either/Or thinking with ‘Both/And’ thinking. They discuss this approach and how you can learn from fields as diverse as philosophy, therapy, and improv, as well as Wendy’s three conditions of Change, Plurality, and Scarcity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* In a world of either/or tradeoffs, it sometimes pays to explore the possibility of and/or. By changing our perspective and embracing paradox, we can see possibilities that were obscured by our tendency to see only tradeoffs. Wendy K. Smith is the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Business at the University of Delaware and co-founder of the Women's Leadership Initiative. She is also an author, and with Marianne Lewis their latest book is Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems, about how to navigate the inevitable paradoxes and demands of life and the world. Wendy and Greg discuss Wendy’s book and what she has learned about paradoxes and the changes made possible when you replace ‘Either/Or thinking with ‘Both/And’ thinking. They discuss this approach and how you can learn from fields as diverse as philosophy, therapy, and improv, as well as Wendy’s three conditions of Change, Plurality, and Scarcity. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 268 d4848861-4c48-42a3-9c3a-e3efc6baab88 267. Constructing the Self feat. Roy F. Baumeister We often think of the self as something that exists independent of social relations, but without society, there would be no need for a self or any of the concepts that relate to the self, including morality, duties, belonging, or reputation. 

Roy F. Baumeister is a professor of psychology at the University of Queensland and is known for his work on several areas such as the self, self-control, self-esteem, motivation, and free will. His latest book is The Self Explained which builds on previous books, including The Power of Bad: And How to Overcome It, where he explores negativity bias and Willpower: Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength.

Greg and Roy discuss how the notion of the self is used and why it evolved in the first place, along with the ways that humans are different from animals psychologically. Roy identifies a few key features of psychology and traces some of psychology’s concepts historically. In the end, they discuss the practicality and efficacy of different ways of building character and avoiding temptations. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What gets people to embrace morality? Why do they find it useful to do that? 

16:48: We evolved to communicate and cooperate, that means your survival is essentially dependent on whether other people want to cooperate with you. So you need to figure out how to behave to keep cooperative partners in the future and to attract others. And morality is a blueprint for that. Morality is a set of rules: if you act this way and do the right things, other people will be glad to work with you and cooperate with you.

35:50: You're not learning as fast if you're not being criticized or told that what you did is fine, even when it's not. It's essentially lowering the standards.

On building up character

46:07: If you want to build up your strength of character, you have to expose yourself to temptation and overcome it.

Daily, regular exercise of self-control does make you stronger.

45:59: So we think self-control works like a muscle. When you use it, it gets tired. That's the immediate depleted willpower—the ego depletion effect. But when it recovers, especially if you do it regularly, as with a muscle exercise, it becomes stronger.

Punishment and criticism work better than praise and support

30:35: I understand the education establishment has ambivalence about punishment. It can create resentment and other things, but purely in terms of learning, if you only have one or the other, the punishment and criticism work better than the praise and support. And certainly praising people and telling them they're doing great when they're not has to have some cost in the long run, although it feels good to all concerned. Informationally, the best thing is to get both praise and criticism.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 10 Apr 2023 14:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We often think of the self as something that exists independent of social relations, but without society, there would be no need for a self or any of the concepts that relate to the self, including morality, duties, belonging, or reputation. 

Roy F. Baumeister is a professor of psychology at the University of Queensland and is known for his work on several areas such as the self, self-control, self-esteem, motivation, and free will. His latest book is The Self Explained which builds on previous books, including The Power of Bad: And How to Overcome It, where he explores negativity bias and Willpower: Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength.

Greg and Roy discuss how the notion of the self is used and why it evolved in the first place, along with the ways that humans are different from animals psychologically. Roy identifies a few key features of psychology and traces some of psychology’s concepts historically. In the end, they discuss the practicality and efficacy of different ways of building character and avoiding temptations. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What gets people to embrace morality? Why do they find it useful to do that? 

16:48: We evolved to communicate and cooperate, that means your survival is essentially dependent on whether other people want to cooperate with you. So you need to figure out how to behave to keep cooperative partners in the future and to attract others. And morality is a blueprint for that. Morality is a set of rules: if you act this way and do the right things, other people will be glad to work with you and cooperate with you.

35:50: You're not learning as fast if you're not being criticized or told that what you did is fine, even when it's not. It's essentially lowering the standards.

On building up character

46:07: If you want to build up your strength of character, you have to expose yourself to temptation and overcome it.

Daily, regular exercise of self-control does make you stronger.

45:59: So we think self-control works like a muscle. When you use it, it gets tired. That's the immediate depleted willpower—the ego depletion effect. But when it recovers, especially if you do it regularly, as with a muscle exercise, it becomes stronger.

Punishment and criticism work better than praise and support

30:35: I understand the education establishment has ambivalence about punishment. It can create resentment and other things, but purely in terms of learning, if you only have one or the other, the punishment and criticism work better than the praise and support. And certainly praising people and telling them they're doing great when they're not has to have some cost in the long run, although it feels good to all concerned. Informationally, the best thing is to get both praise and criticism.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 267. Constructing the Self feat. Roy F. Baumeister Greg La Blanc 00:52:34 We often think of the self as something that exists independent of social relations, but without society, there would be no need for a self or any of the concepts that relate to the self, including morality, duties, belonging, or reputation. Roy Baumeister is a professor of psychology at the University of Queensland and is known for his work on several areas such as the self, self-control, self-esteem, motivation, and free will. His latest book is The Self Explained which builds on previous books, including The Power of Bad: And How to Overcome It, where he explores negativity bias and Willpower: Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength. Greg and Roy discuss how the notion of the self is used and why it evolved in the first place, along with the ways that humans are different from animals psychologically. Roy identifies a few key features of psychology and traces some of psychology’s concepts historically. In the end, they discuss the practicality and efficacy of different ways of building character and avoiding temptations. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* We often think of the self as something that exists independent of social relations, but without society, there would be no need for a self or any of the concepts that relate to the self, including morality, duties, belonging, or reputation. Roy Baumeister is a professor of psychology at the University of Queensland and is known for his work on several areas such as the self, self-control, self-esteem, motivation, and free will. His latest book is The Self Explained which builds on previous books, including The Power of Bad: And How to Overcome It, where he explores negativity bias and Willpower: Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength. Greg and Roy discuss how the notion of the self is used and why it evolved in the first place, along with the ways that humans are different from animals psychologically. Roy identifies a few key features of psychology and traces some of psychology’s concepts historically. In the end, they discuss the practicality and efficacy of different ways of building character and avoiding temptations. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 267 0e43bd6b-d212-4ac2-8992-8dc24cec5b5d 266. Poetry in the Modern World feat. Dana Gioia Is poetry only for the elite? There are some who would reserve poems only for a specialized audience, but poetry can be found everywhere. Poetry is the language of heightened experience.

Dana Gioia is an internationally acclaimed poet and writer. Dana is a former California Poet laureate and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. He holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from Stanford and an M.A. from Harvard. Dana’s latest book of poems is called Meet Me at the Lighthouse.

Dana and Greg discuss the place of poetry in today’s society and how our relation to poetry differs from that of past eras. Dana goes over the different pathways to becoming a poet today and how his path differed from other poets. They talk about the advantages of being a poet working in business, and Dana also recites some of his poems for Greg. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Intelligence is in every profession

17:03: Intelligence is in every profession. It's in every class. It's in every race. And poets are deluding themselves to think that if they try to engage a broader public, they're somehow lowering their standards. It's more difficult to write a poem which engages different people in different professions with different life experience. 

The magic spell of poetry

19:59: Poetry allows us to talk to the dead, remember people, and renew our experiences. That's the magic spell of poetry.

A big mistake academics make in poetry

35:39: As a poet, you're trying to create something which has enough room for your reader. And that is the big mistake academics make. If they were writing this poem, they would give it to you, tell you how to interpret it, and then ironize it and go; then there's no room for anybody else to bring their interpretation into it.

Poetry deepens your expression

48:39:If you're trying to write poetry at the outermost extent of its possibilities, you are by nature wrestling with the mysteries of human existence. It clarifies and deepens your expression to have one of the great spiritual traditions behind you, underneath you, or in front of you.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 5 Apr 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is poetry only for the elite? There are some who would reserve poems only for a specialized audience, but poetry can be found everywhere. Poetry is the language of heightened experience.

Dana Gioia is an internationally acclaimed poet and writer. Dana is a former California Poet laureate and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. He holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from Stanford and an M.A. from Harvard. Dana’s latest book of poems is called Meet Me at the Lighthouse.

Dana and Greg discuss the place of poetry in today’s society and how our relation to poetry differs from that of past eras. Dana goes over the different pathways to becoming a poet today and how his path differed from other poets. They talk about the advantages of being a poet working in business, and Dana also recites some of his poems for Greg. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Intelligence is in every profession

17:03: Intelligence is in every profession. It's in every class. It's in every race. And poets are deluding themselves to think that if they try to engage a broader public, they're somehow lowering their standards. It's more difficult to write a poem which engages different people in different professions with different life experience. 

The magic spell of poetry

19:59: Poetry allows us to talk to the dead, remember people, and renew our experiences. That's the magic spell of poetry.

A big mistake academics make in poetry

35:39: As a poet, you're trying to create something which has enough room for your reader. And that is the big mistake academics make. If they were writing this poem, they would give it to you, tell you how to interpret it, and then ironize it and go; then there's no room for anybody else to bring their interpretation into it.

Poetry deepens your expression

48:39:If you're trying to write poetry at the outermost extent of its possibilities, you are by nature wrestling with the mysteries of human existence. It clarifies and deepens your expression to have one of the great spiritual traditions behind you, underneath you, or in front of you.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 266. Poetry in the Modern World feat. Dana Gioia Greg La Blanc 01:06:42 Is poetry only for the elite? There are some who would reserve poems only for a specialized audience, but poetry can be found everywhere. Poetry is the language of heightened experience. Dana Gioia is an internationally acclaimed poet and writer. Dana is a former California Poet laureate and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. He holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from Stanford and an M.A. from Harvard. Dana’s latest book of poems is called Meet Me at the Lighthouse. Dana and Greg discuss the place of poetry in today’s society and how our relation to poetry differs from that of past eras. Dana goes over the different pathways to becoming a poet today and how his path differed from other poets. They talk about the advantages of being a poet working in business, and Dana also recites some of his poems for Greg. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Is poetry only for the elite? There are some who would reserve poems only for a specialized audience, but poetry can be found everywhere. Poetry is the language of heightened experience. Dana Gioia is an internationally acclaimed poet and writer. Dana is a former California Poet laureate and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. He holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from Stanford and an M.A. from Harvard. Dana’s latest book of poems is called Meet Me at the Lighthouse. Dana and Greg discuss the place of poetry in today’s society and how our relation to poetry differs from that of past eras. Dana goes over the different pathways to becoming a poet today and how his path differed from other poets. They talk about the advantages of being a poet working in business, and Dana also recites some of his poems for Greg. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 266 7f687782-2cb7-4ef9-ba9e-2e30ac5d7d79 265. The Platform Delusion feat. Jonathan Knee Every business wants to become a platform business, believing that network effects and first mover advantages will lead to market power and competitive advantage. Indeed, some investors think that the advantages that come from being a platform are the only ones that matter in the digital economy. But not every great business is a platform, and not every platform is a great business.

Jonathan Knee is the Michael T. Fries Professor of Professional Practice of Media and Technology at Columbia Business School and the Co-Director of their Media and Technology Program. He is also the author of several books, including his latest, The Platform Delusion: Who Wins and Who Loses in the Age of Tech Titans, where he explores the business models of tech companies, large and small.

Jonathan and Greg discuss business strategy and how it looks different in the modern era. Jonathan also emphasizes the importance of vertical specialization in a world of big data, what really qualifies as a platform, and also what, surprisingly, does not. They discuss the features of a platform and how things like Amazon’s Marketplace and the travel site Booking.com made use of platforms to gain market share on their competitors and scale quickly. They also look at the changing career paths of today’s business school graduates.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is fundamental to being smart about strategy?

02:49: The laws of economics and strategy, which are closely related, do not change just like the laws of gravity. But what does change, and what is fundamental to being smart about strategy, is industry structure. And industry structure drives strategy at the end of the day, and industry structure is extremely dynamic. And the key to being successful, in my view, is to overlay the timeless economic principles on top of the morphing industry structures.

Defining platform

16:44: What is the definition of a platform? It's essentially a business whose fundamental value proposition derives not from making something but from connecting, whether it's individuals, businesses, or otherwise.

Something important to keep in mind if you have a network effect business

23:33: If you've got a network effects business that has no significant fixed cost requirements and also has no real mechanism to have customer captivity, you're going to have a real shitty business.

Why the merchant model is better in a hot market

45:52: The reality is in a hot market, the merchant model is better because you bought a bunch of inventory cheap, and can sell it for a huge profit. And in a down market, you'd rather be an agency model. So you don't have a bunch of inventory on your balance sheet. So one isn't better than the other.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 31 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Every business wants to become a platform business, believing that network effects and first mover advantages will lead to market power and competitive advantage. Indeed, some investors think that the advantages that come from being a platform are the only ones that matter in the digital economy. But not every great business is a platform, and not every platform is a great business.

Jonathan Knee is the Michael T. Fries Professor of Professional Practice of Media and Technology at Columbia Business School and the Co-Director of their Media and Technology Program. He is also the author of several books, including his latest, The Platform Delusion: Who Wins and Who Loses in the Age of Tech Titans, where he explores the business models of tech companies, large and small.

Jonathan and Greg discuss business strategy and how it looks different in the modern era. Jonathan also emphasizes the importance of vertical specialization in a world of big data, what really qualifies as a platform, and also what, surprisingly, does not. They discuss the features of a platform and how things like Amazon’s Marketplace and the travel site Booking.com made use of platforms to gain market share on their competitors and scale quickly. They also look at the changing career paths of today’s business school graduates.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

What is fundamental to being smart about strategy?

02:49: The laws of economics and strategy, which are closely related, do not change just like the laws of gravity. But what does change, and what is fundamental to being smart about strategy, is industry structure. And industry structure drives strategy at the end of the day, and industry structure is extremely dynamic. And the key to being successful, in my view, is to overlay the timeless economic principles on top of the morphing industry structures.

Defining platform

16:44: What is the definition of a platform? It's essentially a business whose fundamental value proposition derives not from making something but from connecting, whether it's individuals, businesses, or otherwise.

Something important to keep in mind if you have a network effect business

23:33: If you've got a network effects business that has no significant fixed cost requirements and also has no real mechanism to have customer captivity, you're going to have a real shitty business.

Why the merchant model is better in a hot market

45:52: The reality is in a hot market, the merchant model is better because you bought a bunch of inventory cheap, and can sell it for a huge profit. And in a down market, you'd rather be an agency model. So you don't have a bunch of inventory on your balance sheet. So one isn't better than the other.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 265. The Platform Delusion feat. Jonathan Knee Greg La Blanc 01:02:49 Every business wants to become a platform business, believing that network effects and first mover advantages will lead to market power and competitive advantage. Indeed, some investors think that the advantages that come from being a platform are the only ones that matter in the digital economy. But not every great business is a platform, and not every platform is a great business. Jonathan Knee is the Michael T. Fries Professor of Professional Practice of Media and Technology at Columbia Business School and the Co-Director of their Media and Technology Program. He is also the author of several books, including his latest, The Platform Delusion: Who Wins and Who Loses in the Age of Tech Titans, where he explores the business models of tech companies, large and small. Jonathan and Greg discuss business strategy and how it looks different in the modern era. Jonathan also emphasizes the importance of vertical specialization in a world of big data, what really qualifies as a platform, and also what, surprisingly, does not. They discuss the features of a platform and how things like Amazon’s Marketplace and the travel site Booking.com made use of platforms to gain market share on their competitors and scale quickly. They also look at the changing career paths of today’s business school graduates. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Every business wants to become a platform business, believing that network effects and first mover advantages will lead to market power and competitive advantage. Indeed, some investors think that the advantages that come from being a platform are the only ones that matter in the digital economy. But not every great business is a platform, and not every platform is a great business. Jonathan Knee is the Michael T. Fries Professor of Professional Practice of Media and Technology at Columbia Business School and the Co-Director of their Media and Technology Program. He is also the author of several books, including his latest, The Platform Delusion: Who Wins and Who Loses in the Age of Tech Titans, where he explores the business models of tech companies, large and small. Jonathan and Greg discuss business strategy and how it looks different in the modern era. Jonathan also emphasizes the importance of vertical specialization in a world of big data, what really qualifies as a platform, and also what, surprisingly, does not. They discuss the features of a platform and how things like Amazon’s Marketplace and the travel site Booking.com made use of platforms to gain market share on their competitors and scale quickly. They also look at the changing career paths of today’s business school graduates. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 265 59cf6a49-852e-45a8-aaa9-75c77ed41a0c 264. Human Intelligence - Curse or Gift? feat. Justin Gregg As humans, we have undoubtedly dominated our planet like no other species before us.

However, facing the sobering reality that our own actions could lead to our extinction demands the question: have the very traits that set us apart from other species also paved the way for our self-destruction?

Justin Gregg is an Adjunct Professor at St. Francis Xavier University, a Senior Research Associate with the Dolphin Communication Project, a science writer, and the author of the book “If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity.”

Justin and Greg discuss the unique features of human intelligence, such as causal inference, awareness of death, or the ability to make long-term plans, as well as its flaws, with our biology primarily focused on the present moment, leading us to make poor decisions for our future.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is there anything about humans that makes them worse than animals?

26:35: Our biology is focused on the moment. So, when you're telling people how to invest properly, you have to bypass their natural inclination to not save money, to not put money away, like, have it happen automatically from their paycheck. Otherwise, they're not going do it. It's that disconnect between being able to know about the future and not actually doing anything about it and not caring. In some domains, that's a big problem. (27:27) That disconnect between how important the future feels to us and how important the moment feels to us causes all this trouble. And so, for that simple reason, because animals can't think about the future, they're focused on the here and now; they don't get into extinction-level trouble.

Humans are designed to deal with the present, just as animals are.

020:51: Humans can think about and plan for the future, but our brains are like animals designed to deal with the here and now. 

The power of causal inference

06:20: Causal inference is something unique to our species that allows us to invent things like science. We can ask why things happen. We can design experiments to figure out whether or not the underlying proposed mechanisms are real or not, and that produces engineering and science and all of the stuff that we have. So, in that sense, It's very powerful.

Distinguishing learned associations

08:00: All of the intelligent behavior we see in other animals can be produced through learned associations, just as it is for you and me when we're going about our daily lives. So, it's hard to know, but you know it when you see it.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 29 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As humans, we have undoubtedly dominated our planet like no other species before us.

However, facing the sobering reality that our own actions could lead to our extinction demands the question: have the very traits that set us apart from other species also paved the way for our self-destruction?

Justin Gregg is an Adjunct Professor at St. Francis Xavier University, a Senior Research Associate with the Dolphin Communication Project, a science writer, and the author of the book “If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity.”

Justin and Greg discuss the unique features of human intelligence, such as causal inference, awareness of death, or the ability to make long-term plans, as well as its flaws, with our biology primarily focused on the present moment, leading us to make poor decisions for our future.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is there anything about humans that makes them worse than animals?

26:35: Our biology is focused on the moment. So, when you're telling people how to invest properly, you have to bypass their natural inclination to not save money, to not put money away, like, have it happen automatically from their paycheck. Otherwise, they're not going do it. It's that disconnect between being able to know about the future and not actually doing anything about it and not caring. In some domains, that's a big problem. (27:27) That disconnect between how important the future feels to us and how important the moment feels to us causes all this trouble. And so, for that simple reason, because animals can't think about the future, they're focused on the here and now; they don't get into extinction-level trouble.

Humans are designed to deal with the present, just as animals are.

020:51: Humans can think about and plan for the future, but our brains are like animals designed to deal with the here and now. 

The power of causal inference

06:20: Causal inference is something unique to our species that allows us to invent things like science. We can ask why things happen. We can design experiments to figure out whether or not the underlying proposed mechanisms are real or not, and that produces engineering and science and all of the stuff that we have. So, in that sense, It's very powerful.

Distinguishing learned associations

08:00: All of the intelligent behavior we see in other animals can be produced through learned associations, just as it is for you and me when we're going about our daily lives. So, it's hard to know, but you know it when you see it.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 264. Human Intelligence - Curse or Gift? feat. Justin Gregg Greg La Blanc 00:47:29 As humans, we have undoubtedly dominated our planet like no other species before us. However, facing the sobering reality that our own actions could lead to our extinction demands the question: have the very traits that set us apart from other species also paved the way for our self-destruction? Justin Gregg is an Adjunct Professor at St. Francis Xavier University, a Senior Research Associate with the Dolphin Communication Project, a science writer, and the author of the book “If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity.” Justin and Greg discuss the unique features of human intelligence, such as causal inference, awareness of death, or the ability to make long-term plans, as well as its flaws, with our biology primarily focused on the present moment, leading us to make poor decisions for our future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* As humans, we have undoubtedly dominated our planet like no other species before us. However, facing the sobering reality that our own actions could lead to our extinction demands the question: have the very traits that set us apart from other species also paved the way for our self-destruction? Justin Gregg is an Adjunct Professor at St. Francis Xavier University, a Senior Research Associate with the Dolphin Communication Project, a science writer, and the author of the book “If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity.” Justin and Greg discuss the unique features of human intelligence, such as causal inference, awareness of death, or the ability to make long-term plans, as well as its flaws, with our biology primarily focused on the present moment, leading us to make poor decisions for our future. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 264 21724a7a-25d2-4de6-8b77-bd7f69e869fd 263. Using Technology to Create a More Inclusive Society feat. Orly Lobel The fear of algorithmic decision-making and surveillance capitalism dominate today's tech policy discussions. But instead of simply criticizing big data and automation, we can harness technology to correct discrimination, historical exclusions, and subvert long-standing stereotypes.

Orly Lobel is the author of “The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future” and Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law. Lobel is one of the nation's foremost legal experts on labor and employment law. She is also one of the nation's top-cited young legal scholars.

Orly and Greg discuss how collecting more data and adding more inputs into decision algorithms may be beneficial to expose disparities in current frameworks in the real world, and help us to right past injustices and ongoing inequities.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The idea of data minimization

22:24: At the EU level, there's this term that is now coming into the federal policy and legislation before Congress, which is "data minimization." This idea that the default needs to be that we need to collect as little as possible and use the data that we collect to a very narrow channel of predefined use because that will protect our privacy. And the assumption also kind of the next step in this fallacy analysis that's really flawed is that when we collect more information, we're actually going to be harming the more vulnerable.

Is the law counterproductive?

15:21: I think that we've designed our laws in ways that are counterproductive by restricting the inputs into decision-making rather than checking on the outputs.

Rethinking the role of public investment

37:21: We're at a moment where there's going to be acceleration. There's always been a lot of changes. But right now, for sure, there's going to be a leap in speed in which some jobs are going to be annihilated and others are going to be available. So there's very much a role for public investment there for digital literacy and re-skilling that will not necessarily be provided by the market.

What makes an employee do their job well?

31:56: When they think about their careers and their human capital as their own, even from time zero, employees will invest much more in doing the job well.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The fear of algorithmic decision-making and surveillance capitalism dominate today's tech policy discussions. But instead of simply criticizing big data and automation, we can harness technology to correct discrimination, historical exclusions, and subvert long-standing stereotypes.

Orly Lobel is the author of “The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future” and Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law. Lobel is one of the nation's foremost legal experts on labor and employment law. She is also one of the nation's top-cited young legal scholars.

Orly and Greg discuss how collecting more data and adding more inputs into decision algorithms may be beneficial to expose disparities in current frameworks in the real world, and help us to right past injustices and ongoing inequities.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The idea of data minimization

22:24: At the EU level, there's this term that is now coming into the federal policy and legislation before Congress, which is "data minimization." This idea that the default needs to be that we need to collect as little as possible and use the data that we collect to a very narrow channel of predefined use because that will protect our privacy. And the assumption also kind of the next step in this fallacy analysis that's really flawed is that when we collect more information, we're actually going to be harming the more vulnerable.

Is the law counterproductive?

15:21: I think that we've designed our laws in ways that are counterproductive by restricting the inputs into decision-making rather than checking on the outputs.

Rethinking the role of public investment

37:21: We're at a moment where there's going to be acceleration. There's always been a lot of changes. But right now, for sure, there's going to be a leap in speed in which some jobs are going to be annihilated and others are going to be available. So there's very much a role for public investment there for digital literacy and re-skilling that will not necessarily be provided by the market.

What makes an employee do their job well?

31:56: When they think about their careers and their human capital as their own, even from time zero, employees will invest much more in doing the job well.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 263. Using Technology to Create a More Inclusive Society feat. Orly Lobel Greg La Blanc 00:52:59 The fear of algorithmic decision-making and surveillance capitalism dominate today's tech policy discussions. But instead of simply criticizing big data and automation, we can harness technology to correct discrimination, historical exclusions, and subvert long-standing stereotypes. Orly Lobel is the author of “The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future” and Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law. Lobel is one of the nation's foremost legal experts on labor and employment law. She is also one of the nation's top-cited young legal scholars. Orly and Greg discuss how collecting more data and adding more inputs into decision algorithms may be beneficial to expose disparities in current frameworks in the real world, and help us to right past injustices and ongoing inequities. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* The fear of algorithmic decision-making and surveillance capitalism dominate today's tech policy discussions. But instead of simply criticizing big data and automation, we can harness technology to correct discrimination, historical exclusions, and subvert long-standing stereotypes. Orly Lobel is the author of “The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future” and Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law. Lobel is one of the nation's foremost legal experts on labor and employment law. She is also one of the nation's top-cited young legal scholars. Orly and Greg discuss how collecting more data and adding more inputs into decision algorithms may be beneficial to expose disparities in current frameworks in the real world, and help us to right past injustices and ongoing inequities. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 263 60eb583b-e598-4fde-9e70-11fa991739fd 262. The How and Why of Art feat. Lance Esplund What is art, and who gets to define it? Museums have long staked a claim on knowing what to show, but there has always been a wide range of how viewers engage with art. There is also a wide range of artists and what is considered art, from classical masters like Titian to modern conceptual artists like Marcel Duchamp.

Lance Esplund is an art critic, journalist, educator, and author. His book, titled The Art of Looking: How to Read Modern and Contemporary Art, is about telling the reader how to become a better viewer of art, what to look for, and how to engage with the works of more conceptual and modern artists.  

Lance and Greg discuss how people can think when they engage with works of art, and the intentions that can be known from the artists. They discuss art history courses and what they get right and wrong, how art is always changing and yet still the same as the cave paintings in Lascaux, France, and Lance’s tips for how to go through a museum.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:  

Art exists for art’s sake

43:30: Art exists for art's sake. Art is only art, and I don’t think it has any job to help with social justice, change the world, help with climate change, or assist with starving people. It has no other purpose other than to be art. And to be in dialogue with other arts. Now, certainly, art doesn't exist without the people who make it and experience of it. But it is there and meant to be in relationship to other art. 

47:48: The artwork doesn't care who made it or what the purpose was. Either it works, or it doesn't. And the only way to know if it works is for us to experience it on an aesthetic level and on personal, emotional, and intellectual levels.

Art is a universal experience

09:01: Great art gives you infinite ways to enter, and one was made just for you specifically. If it's great work, it can give you an entry point that works just for you. And that's one of the great things. It's a very personal but universal kind of experience.

Developing your aesthetic judgment by asking the right questions

27:07: We use our aesthetic judgment everywhere, whether we prefer this taste to that taste or this color to that color. And these are the things that you're doing with art too. It's just the human experience. That's all you're doing: bringing your human experience to it. It doesn't take any other skills than that, but it does require that you ask the right questions.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 22 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is art, and who gets to define it? Museums have long staked a claim on knowing what to show, but there has always been a wide range of how viewers engage with art. There is also a wide range of artists and what is considered art, from classical masters like Titian to modern conceptual artists like Marcel Duchamp.

Lance Esplund is an art critic, journalist, educator, and author. His book, titled The Art of Looking: How to Read Modern and Contemporary Art, is about telling the reader how to become a better viewer of art, what to look for, and how to engage with the works of more conceptual and modern artists.  

Lance and Greg discuss how people can think when they engage with works of art, and the intentions that can be known from the artists. They discuss art history courses and what they get right and wrong, how art is always changing and yet still the same as the cave paintings in Lascaux, France, and Lance’s tips for how to go through a museum.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:  

Art exists for art’s sake

43:30: Art exists for art's sake. Art is only art, and I don’t think it has any job to help with social justice, change the world, help with climate change, or assist with starving people. It has no other purpose other than to be art. And to be in dialogue with other arts. Now, certainly, art doesn't exist without the people who make it and experience of it. But it is there and meant to be in relationship to other art. 

47:48: The artwork doesn't care who made it or what the purpose was. Either it works, or it doesn't. And the only way to know if it works is for us to experience it on an aesthetic level and on personal, emotional, and intellectual levels.

Art is a universal experience

09:01: Great art gives you infinite ways to enter, and one was made just for you specifically. If it's great work, it can give you an entry point that works just for you. And that's one of the great things. It's a very personal but universal kind of experience.

Developing your aesthetic judgment by asking the right questions

27:07: We use our aesthetic judgment everywhere, whether we prefer this taste to that taste or this color to that color. And these are the things that you're doing with art too. It's just the human experience. That's all you're doing: bringing your human experience to it. It doesn't take any other skills than that, but it does require that you ask the right questions.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 262. The How and Why of Art feat. Lance Esplund Greg La Blanc 00:59:14 What is art, and who gets to define it? Museums have long staked a claim on knowing what to show, but there has always been a wide range of how viewers engage with art. There is also a wide range of artists and what is considered art, from classical masters like Titian to modern conceptual artists like Marcel Duchamp. Lance Esplund is an art critic, journalist, educator, and author. His book, titled The Art of Looking: How to Read Modern and Contemporary Art, is about telling the reader how to become a better viewer of art, what to look for, and how to engage with the works of more conceptual and modern artists. Lance and Greg discuss how people can think when they engage with works of art, and the intentions that can be known from the artists. They discuss art history courses and what they get right and wrong, how art is always changing and yet still the same as the cave paintings in Lascaux, France, and Lance’s tips for how to go through a museum. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* What is art, and who gets to define it? Museums have long staked a claim on knowing what to show, but there has always been a wide range of how viewers engage with art. There is also a wide range of artists and what is considered art, from classical masters like Titian to modern conceptual artists like Marcel Duchamp. Lance Esplund is an art critic, journalist, educator, and author. His book, titled The Art of Looking: How to Read Modern and Contemporary Art, is about telling the reader how to become a better viewer of art, what to look for, and how to engage with the works of more conceptual and modern artists. Lance and Greg discuss how people can think when they engage with works of art, and the intentions that can be known from the artists. They discuss art history courses and what they get right and wrong, how art is always changing and yet still the same as the cave paintings in Lascaux, France, and Lance’s tips for how to go through a museum. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 262 6fea631a-947c-4c9e-9d36-446d39980ea7 261. The Magic of Magical Thinking feat. Matthew Hutson How does magical thinking help or hurt us in our everyday lives?? What would we lose if we removed the enchantment that it provides? Magical thinking is inherent in the human experience and persists even in an era dominated by the scientific worldview.

Matthew Hutson is a journalist who writes for The New Yorker and other publications. Matt is also the author of the book The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, and Sane. He shows us how magical thinking is hardwired into our brains and how we use it to both our benefit and detriment depending on the circumstance.

Matt and Greg discuss Matt’s book and his different examples of magical thinking in scientific and practical environments. They discuss different experiments and trials which include lucky golf balls and sweaters worn by Mr. Rogers and the feelings of those who were nearly struck down by lightning. Matt discusses how error management theory and conditioned response theory help illuminate the roots of magical thinking.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Pattern-finding enhances when you’re anxious

20:08: Pattern-finding can be enhanced when we're anxious. When you feel out of control, when you feel scared, when you feel stressed out, you try to regain control. And one way to regain control is to look for patterns in the world to try to understand the world better so that you can predict what's going to happen next or find some way to gain leverage to control your fate. So there's a lot of evidence showing that when people are stressed out or anxious, they see various patterns.

What is magical thinking?

03:25: The way that I define it [magical thinking] in the book is by applying attributing mental properties to non-mental phenomena or non-mental properties to mental phenomena.

Attributing your mind to things around is not necessarily magical thinking

43:59: In order to make sense of the social world, you need to attribute your mind to the fleshy objects moving around you. You have to see them like yourself, as having thoughts, emotions, hopes, dreams, and fears, which is not necessarily magical thinking.

What is the error management theory?

19:20: The error management theory is the idea that if there are two opposing types of errors, like false positives versus false negatives, it's often better to make one kind of error than the other.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 20 Mar 2023 14:45:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How does magical thinking help or hurt us in our everyday lives?? What would we lose if we removed the enchantment that it provides? Magical thinking is inherent in the human experience and persists even in an era dominated by the scientific worldview.

Matthew Hutson is a journalist who writes for The New Yorker and other publications. Matt is also the author of the book The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, and Sane. He shows us how magical thinking is hardwired into our brains and how we use it to both our benefit and detriment depending on the circumstance.

Matt and Greg discuss Matt’s book and his different examples of magical thinking in scientific and practical environments. They discuss different experiments and trials which include lucky golf balls and sweaters worn by Mr. Rogers and the feelings of those who were nearly struck down by lightning. Matt discusses how error management theory and conditioned response theory help illuminate the roots of magical thinking.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Pattern-finding enhances when you’re anxious

20:08: Pattern-finding can be enhanced when we're anxious. When you feel out of control, when you feel scared, when you feel stressed out, you try to regain control. And one way to regain control is to look for patterns in the world to try to understand the world better so that you can predict what's going to happen next or find some way to gain leverage to control your fate. So there's a lot of evidence showing that when people are stressed out or anxious, they see various patterns.

What is magical thinking?

03:25: The way that I define it [magical thinking] in the book is by applying attributing mental properties to non-mental phenomena or non-mental properties to mental phenomena.

Attributing your mind to things around is not necessarily magical thinking

43:59: In order to make sense of the social world, you need to attribute your mind to the fleshy objects moving around you. You have to see them like yourself, as having thoughts, emotions, hopes, dreams, and fears, which is not necessarily magical thinking.

What is the error management theory?

19:20: The error management theory is the idea that if there are two opposing types of errors, like false positives versus false negatives, it's often better to make one kind of error than the other.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 261. The Magic of Magical Thinking feat. Matthew Hutson Greg La Blanc 00:47:19 How does magical thinking help or hurt us in our everyday lives?? What would we lose if we removed the enchantment that it provides? Magical thinking is inherent in the human experience and persists even in an era dominated by the scientific worldview. Matthew Hutson is a journalist who writes for The New Yorker and other publications. Matt is also the author of the book The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, and Sane. He shows us how magical thinking is hardwired into our brains and how we use it to both our benefit and detriment depending on the circumstance. Matt and Greg discuss Matt’s book and his different examples of magical thinking in scientific and practical environments. They discuss different experiments and trials which include lucky golf balls and sweaters worn by Mr. Rogers and the feelings of those who were nearly struck down by lightning. Matt discusses how error management theory and conditioned response theory help illuminate the roots of magical thinking. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* How does magical thinking help or hurt us in our everyday lives?? What would we lose if we removed the enchantment that it provides? Magical thinking is inherent in the human experience and persists even in an era dominated by the scientific worldview. Matthew Hutson is a journalist who writes for The New Yorker and other publications. Matt is also the author of the book The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, and Sane. He shows us how magical thinking is hardwired into our brains and how we use it to both our benefit and detriment depending on the circumstance. Matt and Greg discuss Matt’s book and his different examples of magical thinking in scientific and practical environments. They discuss different experiments and trials which include lucky golf balls and sweaters worn by Mr. Rogers and the feelings of those who were nearly struck down by lightning. Matt discusses how error management theory and conditioned response theory help illuminate the roots of magical thinking. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 261 67583688-77fc-4e7f-9995-66e077a5d092 260. Leading Decision Factory feat. Max H. Bazerman & Don A. Moore Organizational leaders can use the power of behavioral economics to not only make better decisions themselves, but by leading their employees, their customers, and their stakeholders to make wiser decisions, make the company more effective, and also make society better off as a result.

Max H. Bazerman is Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and the Co-Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Don A. Moore is Professor in Leadership and Communication at Berkeley Haas and serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Their most recent book “Decision Leadership: Empowering Others to Make Better Choices" deals with how successful leaders can maximize the potential of others by empowering them to make better decisions.

Max and Don are joining Greg to discuss how thinking systematically can help leaders make better decisions and create an environment for more people within their organizations to make more deliberate, smarter, and more ethical decisions.

They are also exchanging ideas about the importance of empowering employees and rewarding wise decision-making within organizations, even when that means taking a risk.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On helping leaders create better decisions for their organizations

[Max H. Bazerman] 10:50: When we think about leadership, we often think about people moving heavy objects from one side of the factory to the other. That isn't what most of our leaders coming out of Haas and HBS are doing these days. They're guiding an organization to make better decisions. And that's where the decision factory idea comes from, and that's where our motivation comes from—to help leaders create better decisions throughout their organization.

Encouraging decision-makers to have leadership perspective

[Don A. Moore] 12:34: We want to encourage decision-makers to think broadly about their interests and the interests of those who are affected by their decisions. That is the leader's perspective—not just what serves my interests but the long-term interests of the stakeholders, the organization, and others affected by my decisions, those who depend on me, and those I influence.

Everyone has the power to exercise leadership

[Don A.Moore] 50:25: If leadership is about affecting the behavior of those around us, then each and every one of us has some power to exercise leadership. Now, by virtue of their structural location in the organization, some of us have more such influence than others. But it is common for people to make the mistake of underestimating how much influence they have to guide the thinking and behavior of those around them.

On being a good mentor

[Max H. Bazerman] 36:17: One of the things that made me good as a mentor, and probably what I've been best at in my career, is not just telling them what to do but benefiting from what they can do better than I can do and bringing that together in an integrated way.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Max H. Bazerman 

Don A. Moore 

Their Work:

Max H. Bazerman Work

Don A. Moore Work


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]]> Fri, 17 Mar 2023 15:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Organizational leaders can use the power of behavioral economics to not only make better decisions themselves, but by leading their employees, their customers, and their stakeholders to make wiser decisions, make the company more effective, and also make society better off as a result.

Max H. Bazerman is Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and the Co-Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Don A. Moore is Professor in Leadership and Communication at Berkeley Haas and serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Their most recent book “Decision Leadership: Empowering Others to Make Better Choices" deals with how successful leaders can maximize the potential of others by empowering them to make better decisions.

Max and Don are joining Greg to discuss how thinking systematically can help leaders make better decisions and create an environment for more people within their organizations to make more deliberate, smarter, and more ethical decisions.

They are also exchanging ideas about the importance of empowering employees and rewarding wise decision-making within organizations, even when that means taking a risk.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On helping leaders create better decisions for their organizations

[Max H. Bazerman] 10:50: When we think about leadership, we often think about people moving heavy objects from one side of the factory to the other. That isn't what most of our leaders coming out of Haas and HBS are doing these days. They're guiding an organization to make better decisions. And that's where the decision factory idea comes from, and that's where our motivation comes from—to help leaders create better decisions throughout their organization.

Encouraging decision-makers to have leadership perspective

[Don A. Moore] 12:34: We want to encourage decision-makers to think broadly about their interests and the interests of those who are affected by their decisions. That is the leader's perspective—not just what serves my interests but the long-term interests of the stakeholders, the organization, and others affected by my decisions, those who depend on me, and those I influence.

Everyone has the power to exercise leadership

[Don A.Moore] 50:25: If leadership is about affecting the behavior of those around us, then each and every one of us has some power to exercise leadership. Now, by virtue of their structural location in the organization, some of us have more such influence than others. But it is common for people to make the mistake of underestimating how much influence they have to guide the thinking and behavior of those around them.

On being a good mentor

[Max H. Bazerman] 36:17: One of the things that made me good as a mentor, and probably what I've been best at in my career, is not just telling them what to do but benefiting from what they can do better than I can do and bringing that together in an integrated way.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Max H. Bazerman 

Don A. Moore 

Their Work:

Max H. Bazerman Work

Don A. Moore Work


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]]> 260. Leading Decision Factory feat. Max H. Bazerman & Don A. Moore Greg La Blanc 00:56:15 Organizational leaders can use the power of behavioral economics to not only make better decisions themselves, but by leading their employees, their customers, and their stakeholders to make wiser decisions, make the company more effective, and also make society better off as a result. Max H. Bazerman is Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and the Co-Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Don A. Moore is Professor in Leadership and Communication at Berkeley Haas and serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Their most recent book “Decision Leadership: Empowering Others to Make Better Choices" deals with how successful leaders can maximize the potential of others by empowering them to make better decisions. Max and Don are joining Greg to discuss how thinking systematically can help leaders make better decisions and create an environment for more people within their organizations to make more deliberate, smarter, and more ethical decisions. They are also exchanging ideas about the importance of empowering employees and rewarding wise decision-making within organizations, even when that means taking a risk. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Organizational leaders can use the power of behavioral economics to not only make better decisions themselves, but by leading their employees, their customers, and their stakeholders to make wiser decisions, make the company more effective, and also make society better off as a result. Max H. Bazerman is Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and the Co-Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Don A. Moore is Professor in Leadership and Communication at Berkeley Haas and serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Their most recent book “Decision Leadership: Empowering Others to Make Better Choices" deals with how successful leaders can maximize the potential of others by empowering them to make better decisions. Max and Don are joining Greg to discuss how thinking systematically can help leaders make better decisions and create an environment for more people within their organizations to make more deliberate, smarter, and more ethical decisions. They are also exchanging ideas about the importance of empowering employees and rewarding wise decision-making within organizations, even when that means taking a risk. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 260 0165a65d-c2b7-4318-86e3-62fde9045369 259. Storytelling is Everywhere feat. David Riemer Everyone loves a good story, but more than that, we as humans are programmed on a genetic level to share and learn all kinds of information through stories. When you tap into the power of that response you can use it to engage people on all levels, from customers to audiences to investors, and achieve a connection with them on a fundamental level.

David Riemer is a lecturer at the University of California’s Haas School of Business and adviser at Berkeley’s Skydeck Accelerator, where He has been called the “startup whisperer” He has recently put his insight into a book, Get Your Startup Story Straight: The Definitive Storytelling Framework for Innovators and Entrepreneurs, which is all about how founders can use the power of stories to enhance their chances in business.

David and Greg discuss how this response to story evolved, how to form your core product story, some examples where storytelling was the x-factor to success for different startups and founders, and other examples of storytelling in other industries like advertising and blockbuster movies tying together an audience through the shared understanding that makes us human. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Every story is different

13:48: Every time you tell the story, it's going to be a little bit different. For the simple reason that there's a different player in the storytelling, and that's your audience. When the audience is different, people respond differently to different things, and it can lead you to different paths and down different channels. So it's always a bit of a dialogue.

Best leaders are good storytellers

41:26: One thing that separates a leader in their career is that the best leaders are good storytellers. And these folks want to grow in organizations, continue moving up the ladder, and have bigger jobs. And storytelling can be a great differentiator for them in their careers.

The importance of human experience in storytelling

34:10: If we're looking for ways for people to empathize and have something resonate with someone who may not understand the experience or the category, I always encourage people to look for that human experience. That helps explain the struggle of the customer so that, when you describe the solution, anybody can relate to what you're talking about.

You can be authentic and a good performer

16:53: Sometimes people think if someone is showing energy and their voice is showing vocal variety, they're using their arms, and maybe they're walking around and looking and making eye contact that they're not being authentic. They're being human. You can be authentic and be a good performer. One doesn't replace the other. And I always advise people that true stories are better than made-up stories.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 15 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Everyone loves a good story, but more than that, we as humans are programmed on a genetic level to share and learn all kinds of information through stories. When you tap into the power of that response you can use it to engage people on all levels, from customers to audiences to investors, and achieve a connection with them on a fundamental level.

David Riemer is a lecturer at the University of California’s Haas School of Business and adviser at Berkeley’s Skydeck Accelerator, where He has been called the “startup whisperer” He has recently put his insight into a book, Get Your Startup Story Straight: The Definitive Storytelling Framework for Innovators and Entrepreneurs, which is all about how founders can use the power of stories to enhance their chances in business.

David and Greg discuss how this response to story evolved, how to form your core product story, some examples where storytelling was the x-factor to success for different startups and founders, and other examples of storytelling in other industries like advertising and blockbuster movies tying together an audience through the shared understanding that makes us human. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Every story is different

13:48: Every time you tell the story, it's going to be a little bit different. For the simple reason that there's a different player in the storytelling, and that's your audience. When the audience is different, people respond differently to different things, and it can lead you to different paths and down different channels. So it's always a bit of a dialogue.

Best leaders are good storytellers

41:26: One thing that separates a leader in their career is that the best leaders are good storytellers. And these folks want to grow in organizations, continue moving up the ladder, and have bigger jobs. And storytelling can be a great differentiator for them in their careers.

The importance of human experience in storytelling

34:10: If we're looking for ways for people to empathize and have something resonate with someone who may not understand the experience or the category, I always encourage people to look for that human experience. That helps explain the struggle of the customer so that, when you describe the solution, anybody can relate to what you're talking about.

You can be authentic and a good performer

16:53: Sometimes people think if someone is showing energy and their voice is showing vocal variety, they're using their arms, and maybe they're walking around and looking and making eye contact that they're not being authentic. They're being human. You can be authentic and be a good performer. One doesn't replace the other. And I always advise people that true stories are better than made-up stories.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 259. Storytelling is Everywhere feat. David Riemer Greg La Blanc 00:49:51 Everyone loves a good story, but more than that, we as humans are programmed on a genetic level to share and learn all kinds of information through stories. When you tap into the power of that response you can use it to engage people on all levels, from customers to audiences to investors, and achieve a connection with them on a fundamental level. David Riemer is a lecturer at the University of California’s Haas School of Business and adviser at Berkeley’s Skydeck Accelerator, where He has been called the “startup whisperer” He has recently put his insight into a book, Get Your Startup Story Straight: The Definitive Storytelling Framework for Innovators and Entrepreneurs, which is all about how founders can use the power of stories to enhance their chances in business. David and Greg discuss how this response to story evolved, how to form your core product story, some examples where storytelling was the x-factor to success for different startups and founders, and other examples of storytelling in other industries like advertising and blockbuster movies tying together an audience through the shared understanding that makes us human. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Everyone loves a good story, but more than that, we as humans are programmed on a genetic level to share and learn all kinds of information through stories. When you tap into the power of that response you can use it to engage people on all levels, from customers to audiences to investors, and achieve a connection with them on a fundamental level. David Riemer is a lecturer at the University of California’s Haas School of Business and adviser at Berkeley’s Skydeck Accelerator, where He has been called the “startup whisperer” He has recently put his insight into a book, Get Your Startup Story Straight: The Definitive Storytelling Framework for Innovators and Entrepreneurs, which is all about how founders can use the power of stories to enhance their chances in business. David and Greg discuss how this response to story evolved, how to form your core product story, some examples where storytelling was the x-factor to success for different startups and founders, and other examples of storytelling in other industries like advertising and blockbuster movies tying together an audience through the shared understanding that makes us human. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 259 202d864f-bcd5-44ae-974a-7a4c57349df8 258. Exploring the Role of Corporations in Society feat. William Magnuson Corporations are engines of progress and prosperity, directly influencing the quality of life of the general public while sometimes recklessly pursuing profit at the expense of us all.

William joins Greg for a nuanced examination of the modern economy’s central institution, its origins in the Roman Republic, where corporations were designed to promote the common good, their role in mediating influence between the tyranny of government and the populace, their flaws, and the cultural shift to turn increasingly to corporations to solve society's biggest problems rather than the public sector.

William Magnuson is an associate professor at Texas A&M Law School. Previously he taught law at Harvard, worked as an associate in Sullivan & Cromwell, and as a journalist in the Rome bureau of the Washington Post. He is the author of Blockchain Democracy: Technology, Law and the Rule of the Crowd, and has written for numerous leading publications including Harvard Business Law Review, Stanford Journal of Law, Business and Finance, and the Wall Street Journal.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Creating corporations then vs. now

15:27: Today, if you want to create a corporation, I could log on right now and form a corporation within the next five minutes, and I could include in my charter a provision that would say my purpose is all purposes that are legal. Now that's a remarkable change. It used to be you had to go in front of a sovereign and ask them for permission and show why you were going to be good for the state. Nowadays, you can just create immediately.

25:55: It's hard to deny that the sole, single-minded pursuit of profit sometimes, maybe even often, leads to harm to society.

The cultural shift in the way we view corporations

16:22: There's been a cultural shift in the way that we view corporations. It used to be, we thought of them as a tool, right? This tool would be used to promote the common good through the pursuit of commercial endeavors. All right? You had to justify yourself to the sovereign. Nowadays, we don't think of that.

Who influences your life today? The government or corporations.

12:00: You think about who influences your lives more today. Is it the government, or is it a corporation? Most people spend eight to nine hours a day working for corporations. Most people are not doing that for the government. That gives you a pretty clear indication of the importance of corporations today.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 13 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Corporations are engines of progress and prosperity, directly influencing the quality of life of the general public while sometimes recklessly pursuing profit at the expense of us all.

William joins Greg for a nuanced examination of the modern economy’s central institution, its origins in the Roman Republic, where corporations were designed to promote the common good, their role in mediating influence between the tyranny of government and the populace, their flaws, and the cultural shift to turn increasingly to corporations to solve society's biggest problems rather than the public sector.

William Magnuson is an associate professor at Texas A&M Law School. Previously he taught law at Harvard, worked as an associate in Sullivan & Cromwell, and as a journalist in the Rome bureau of the Washington Post. He is the author of Blockchain Democracy: Technology, Law and the Rule of the Crowd, and has written for numerous leading publications including Harvard Business Law Review, Stanford Journal of Law, Business and Finance, and the Wall Street Journal.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Creating corporations then vs. now

15:27: Today, if you want to create a corporation, I could log on right now and form a corporation within the next five minutes, and I could include in my charter a provision that would say my purpose is all purposes that are legal. Now that's a remarkable change. It used to be you had to go in front of a sovereign and ask them for permission and show why you were going to be good for the state. Nowadays, you can just create immediately.

25:55: It's hard to deny that the sole, single-minded pursuit of profit sometimes, maybe even often, leads to harm to society.

The cultural shift in the way we view corporations

16:22: There's been a cultural shift in the way that we view corporations. It used to be, we thought of them as a tool, right? This tool would be used to promote the common good through the pursuit of commercial endeavors. All right? You had to justify yourself to the sovereign. Nowadays, we don't think of that.

Who influences your life today? The government or corporations.

12:00: You think about who influences your lives more today. Is it the government, or is it a corporation? Most people spend eight to nine hours a day working for corporations. Most people are not doing that for the government. That gives you a pretty clear indication of the importance of corporations today.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 258. Exploring the Role of Corporations in Society feat. William Magnuson Greg La Blanc 00:54:22 Corporations are engines of progress and prosperity, directly influencing the quality of life of the general public while sometimes recklessly pursuing profit at the expense of us all. William joins Greg for a nuanced examination of the modern economy’s central institution, its origins in the Roman Republic, where corporations were designed to promote the common good, their role in mediating influence between the tyranny of government and the populace, their flaws, and the cultural shift to turn increasingly to corporations to solve society's biggest problems rather than the public sector. William Magnuson is an associate professor at Texas A&M Law School. Previously he taught law at Harvard, worked as an associate in Sullivan & Cromwell, and as a journalist in the Rome bureau of the Washington Post. He is the author of Blockchain Democracy: Technology, Law and the Rule of the Crowd, and has written for numerous leading publications including Harvard Business Law Review, Stanford Journal of Law, Business and Finance, and the Wall Street Journal. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*rsit Corporations are engines of progress and prosperity, directly influencing the quality of life of the general public while sometimes recklessly pursuing profit at the expense of us all. William joins Greg for a nuanced examination of the modern economy’s central institution, its origins in the Roman Republic, where corporations were designed to promote the common good, their role in mediating influence between the tyranny of government and the populace, their flaws, and the cultural shift to turn increasingly to corporations to solve society's biggest problems rather than the public sector. William Magnuson is an associate professor at Texas A&M Law School. Previously he taught law at Harvard, worked as an associate in Sullivan & Cromwell, and as a journalist in the Rome bureau of the Washington Post. He is the author of Blockchain Democracy: Technology, Law and the Rule of the Crowd, and has written for numerous leading publications including Harvard Business Law Review, Stanford Journal of Law, Business and Finance, and the Wall Street Journal. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*rsit false full 258 629ea0b0-b51a-475f-ba6a-dcbb3e3b9880 257. How Influence Works feat. Jon Levy Is our behavior truly our own? Or do our choices grow out of our environment? There are influences all around each of us, and often the walking talking version of influencers ends up shaping the behavior of the people around them in ways that are not always visible.

Jon Levy is a behavior scientist and the founder of the Influencers Dinner. He is also an author. His latest book is called You're Invited: The Art and Science of Connection, Trust, and Belonging, and his previous work is titled The 2 AM Principle: Discover the Science of Adventure. Through the use of models, Jon has studied the science of influence and in what ways to both change what influences are affecting you, and how to use influences to affect a change in your behaviors.

Jon and Greg discuss Jon’s work, how to level yourself up by surrounding yourself with the right people, how people become friends, and the surprising camaraderie that happens when you ask strangers to work and make food together. Jon also examines how behavior can become contagious, and the surprising reasons why you might not want your child to grow up to be an Olympian.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Adventure is a way to build a muscle for social skills

09:38: Adventure is a fantastic process to live an interesting, exciting, potentially creative life. It's a fantastic way to bond with people that you adventure with, and more importantly, it is an incredible way to build the muscle of social skills and tolerance for discomfort, and social discomfort. These are skills that are essential in just about anything you'd want to do in life.

03:08: If we can understand the mechanics of how relationship works, just like how an adventure works, suddenly things become possible that otherwise would be impossible.

How do you establish meaningful interactions?

41:33: Regardless of how introverted, extroverted, or shy you might be, just start gathering people or go and participate in other people's gatherings.

On cultivating community

39:39: If you want to be more active in cultivating community around you, you need consistent opportunities for people to engage with each other. So it's not just about me knowing you, me knowing your friend, and me knowing 20 other people. It's how do I get them to know each other.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 10 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Is our behavior truly our own? Or do our choices grow out of our environment? There are influences all around each of us, and often the walking talking version of influencers ends up shaping the behavior of the people around them in ways that are not always visible.

Jon Levy is a behavior scientist and the founder of the Influencers Dinner. He is also an author. His latest book is called You're Invited: The Art and Science of Connection, Trust, and Belonging, and his previous work is titled The 2 AM Principle: Discover the Science of Adventure. Through the use of models, Jon has studied the science of influence and in what ways to both change what influences are affecting you, and how to use influences to affect a change in your behaviors.

Jon and Greg discuss Jon’s work, how to level yourself up by surrounding yourself with the right people, how people become friends, and the surprising camaraderie that happens when you ask strangers to work and make food together. Jon also examines how behavior can become contagious, and the surprising reasons why you might not want your child to grow up to be an Olympian.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Adventure is a way to build a muscle for social skills

09:38: Adventure is a fantastic process to live an interesting, exciting, potentially creative life. It's a fantastic way to bond with people that you adventure with, and more importantly, it is an incredible way to build the muscle of social skills and tolerance for discomfort, and social discomfort. These are skills that are essential in just about anything you'd want to do in life.

03:08: If we can understand the mechanics of how relationship works, just like how an adventure works, suddenly things become possible that otherwise would be impossible.

How do you establish meaningful interactions?

41:33: Regardless of how introverted, extroverted, or shy you might be, just start gathering people or go and participate in other people's gatherings.

On cultivating community

39:39: If you want to be more active in cultivating community around you, you need consistent opportunities for people to engage with each other. So it's not just about me knowing you, me knowing your friend, and me knowing 20 other people. It's how do I get them to know each other.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 257. How Influence Works feat. Jon Levy Greg La Blanc 00:45:35 Is our behavior truly our own? Or do our choices grow out of our environment? There are influences all around each of us, and often the walking talking version of influencers ends up shaping the behavior of the people around them in ways that are not always visible. Jon Levy is a behavior scientist and the founder of the Influencers Dinner. He is also an author. His latest book is called You're Invited: The Art and Science of Connection, Trust, and Belonging, and his previous work is titled The 2 AM Principle: Discover the Science of Adventure. Through the use of models, Jon has studied the science of influence and in what ways to both change what influences are affecting you, and how to use influences to affect a change in your behaviors. Jon and Greg discuss Jon’s work, how to level yourself up by surrounding yourself with the right people, how people become friends, and the surprising camaraderie that happens when you ask strangers to work and make food together. Jon also examines how behavior can become contagious, and the surprising reasons why you might not want your child to grow up to be an Olympian. Is our behavior truly our own? Or do our choices grow out of our environment? There are influences all around each of us, and often the walking talking version of influencers ends up shaping the behavior of the people around them in ways that are not always visible. Jon Levy is a behavior scientist and the founder of the Influencers Dinner. He is also an author. His latest book is called You're Invited: The Art and Science of Connection, Trust, and Belonging, and his previous work is titled The 2 AM Principle: Discover the Science of Adventure. Through the use of models, Jon has studied the science of influence and in what ways to both change what influences are affecting you, and how to use influences to affect a change in your behaviors. Jon and Greg discuss Jon’s work, how to level yourself up by surrounding yourself with the right people, how people become friends, and the surprising camaraderie that happens when you ask strangers to work and make food together. Jon also examines how behavior can become contagious, and the surprising reasons why you might not want your child to grow up to be an Olympian. false full 257 7a23799c-9b80-4d4f-bd53-1b321dfdc58c 256. Accepting Mortality feat. Andrew Stark Live every day like it’s your last, or like it's the beginning of the rest of your life? The way we answer this question is closely tied to views on mortality, and how humans deal with the concept of their own impending demise. Death is the inevitable great leveler, and yet there are many different ways that humans think and live with the topic.

Andrew Stark is a professor of Strategic Management at the University of Toronto. Andrew is also the author of several books. His latest is titled The Consolations of Mortality: Making Sense of Death and his other books include, Drawing the Line: Public and Private in America, The Limits of Medicine, and Conflict of Interest in American Public Life.

Andrew and Greg discuss different views on death and mortality that have been present throughout history in different cultures and religions. They touch on the philosophies of Epicurus and of famous Stoics like Marcus Aurelius, and what more modern philosophers and literary figures have had to say about the subject of death, and explore how those more technologically-minded have set about to eliminate the threat of death and transform mortality almost completely. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the resurgence of Buddhist and Stoic thinking

26:57: If you're a Buddhist and you believe there is no such thing as the self, then there's nothing that can die, first of all, because there is no self to die. There is nothing that really has any attachments in the world such that you could be harmed if something happens to them. And so letting go is, if you can achieve it, something that might allow you to lead a life that's more tranquil, more realistic, and maybe more beautiful. Stoicism is similar. It doesn't say there is no self, but it says that we should put ourselves in a situation where the only things we care about are the things we can control. 

29:28: Mortal or immortal, we'd still be temporal. We would still be creatures who lived in time, and time brings changes. Things are constantly changing in time. One implication of that is that even if we didn't die, we'd still have the motivation to get out of bed in the morning.

Do we need to suppress some awareness of death to get the best out of us?

37:17: My own hope is that we simply be aware that being mortal is better than any other option we might have had if we're going to live in time; that is, if we're going to be temporal creatures, which we have to be, then being mortal is better than being immortal.

Even if we escape mortality, we're not going to escape time

32:49: I see right now that the world is changing in all sorts of ways, and I'm not saying I disapprove or approve of them. They're strange to me. And even if I can acclimatize to them, it's not as if the changes are going to stop. They're going to keep going on and on. And if we think about that over hundreds of years, thousands of years, or tens of thousands of years, time is the problem, and even if we escape mortality, we're not going to escape time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 8 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Live every day like it’s your last, or like it's the beginning of the rest of your life? The way we answer this question is closely tied to views on mortality, and how humans deal with the concept of their own impending demise. Death is the inevitable great leveler, and yet there are many different ways that humans think and live with the topic.

Andrew Stark is a professor of Strategic Management at the University of Toronto. Andrew is also the author of several books. His latest is titled The Consolations of Mortality: Making Sense of Death and his other books include, Drawing the Line: Public and Private in America, The Limits of Medicine, and Conflict of Interest in American Public Life.

Andrew and Greg discuss different views on death and mortality that have been present throughout history in different cultures and religions. They touch on the philosophies of Epicurus and of famous Stoics like Marcus Aurelius, and what more modern philosophers and literary figures have had to say about the subject of death, and explore how those more technologically-minded have set about to eliminate the threat of death and transform mortality almost completely. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On the resurgence of Buddhist and Stoic thinking

26:57: If you're a Buddhist and you believe there is no such thing as the self, then there's nothing that can die, first of all, because there is no self to die. There is nothing that really has any attachments in the world such that you could be harmed if something happens to them. And so letting go is, if you can achieve it, something that might allow you to lead a life that's more tranquil, more realistic, and maybe more beautiful. Stoicism is similar. It doesn't say there is no self, but it says that we should put ourselves in a situation where the only things we care about are the things we can control. 

29:28: Mortal or immortal, we'd still be temporal. We would still be creatures who lived in time, and time brings changes. Things are constantly changing in time. One implication of that is that even if we didn't die, we'd still have the motivation to get out of bed in the morning.

Do we need to suppress some awareness of death to get the best out of us?

37:17: My own hope is that we simply be aware that being mortal is better than any other option we might have had if we're going to live in time; that is, if we're going to be temporal creatures, which we have to be, then being mortal is better than being immortal.

Even if we escape mortality, we're not going to escape time

32:49: I see right now that the world is changing in all sorts of ways, and I'm not saying I disapprove or approve of them. They're strange to me. And even if I can acclimatize to them, it's not as if the changes are going to stop. They're going to keep going on and on. And if we think about that over hundreds of years, thousands of years, or tens of thousands of years, time is the problem, and even if we escape mortality, we're not going to escape time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 256. Accepting Mortality feat. Andrew Stark Greg La Blanc 00:49:53 Live every day like it’s your last, or like it's the beginning of the rest of your life? The way we answer this question is closely tied to views on mortality, and how humans deal with the concept of their own impending demise. Death is the inevitable great leveler, and yet there are many different ways that humans think and live with the topic. Andrew Stark is a professor of Strategic Management at the University of Toronto. Andrew is also the author of several books. His latest is titled The Consolations of Mortality: Making Sense of Death and his other books include, Drawing the Line: Public and Private in America, The Limits of Medicine, and Conflict of Interest in American Public Life. Andrew and Greg discuss different views on death and mortality that have been present throughout history in different cultures and religions. They touch on the philosophies of Epicurus and of famous Stoics like Marcus Aurelius, and what more modern philosophers and literary figures have had to say about the subject of death, and explore how those more technologically-minded have set about to eliminate the threat of death and transform mortality almost completely. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Live every day like it’s your last, or like it's the beginning of the rest of your life? The way we answer this question is closely tied to views on mortality, and how humans deal with the concept of their own impending demise. Death is the inevitable great leveler, and yet there are many different ways that humans think and live with the topic. Andrew Stark is a professor of Strategic Management at the University of Toronto. Andrew is also the author of several books. His latest is titled The Consolations of Mortality: Making Sense of Death and his other books include, Drawing the Line: Public and Private in America, The Limits of Medicine, and Conflict of Interest in American Public Life. Andrew and Greg discuss different views on death and mortality that have been present throughout history in different cultures and religions. They touch on the philosophies of Epicurus and of famous Stoics like Marcus Aurelius, and what more modern philosophers and literary figures have had to say about the subject of death, and explore how those more technologically-minded have set about to eliminate the threat of death and transform mortality almost completely. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 256 2e851042-1557-46b7-99ec-3643b5c8a119 255. Why Emotions are Key to Rationality feat. Ronald de Sousa Emotions play a pivotal role in shaping our lives. They contribute crucially to the rationality of life, making us unique in our ability to reason and make sense of the world.

Ronnie de Sousa is a Swiss-born Canadian philosopher, renowned for his outstanding contributions to the philosophy of emotion and biology, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto and author of such books as  The Rationality of Emotion (1987), Why Think? Evolution and the Rational Mind (2007) and Love: a Very Short Introduction (2015).

Ronald and Greg talk about how emotions enable us to create appropriate responses to situations we face in life and to what extent we can evaluate emotions themselves as being more or less rational. They also discuss the profound impact that language has on how we perceive and experience our emotions, and how our relationships are shaped by what we say about them and what others say about them.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Emotions contribute to the rationality of life

25:31: Emotions are just attitudes, and value in the world is just the projection of your attitude. The world is completely devoid of any objective real value. It's just chaos. And what makes life meaningful is that we are interested in this, that, and the other. That's what creates goals, and that's why our emotions help us to respond in ways that are relevant to those goals. And so emotions contribute crucially to the rationality of life. 

06:24: An enormously important point about rationality is that it often escapes people because they tend to think that the only options are, well, you're either rational or irrational.

Teleology vs. rationality

08:05: Teleology is just something that has to do with the adaptation of a strategy to a goal. And, of course, in the context of evolutionary psychology, the goal is essentially just the trivial goal of propagating DNA, but rationality has to do with how we conceptualize the relationship between goal and means. And once again, with language, how we can debate about that, consider different strategies, invent new strategies, and innovate.

Why people shouldn't be so sure of themselves

47:22: If there's anything I want to convince people of is that they shouldn't be so sure of themselves and that moral fervor is not, in general, something that will achieve any of the reasonable goals that a moralist might want to achieve.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Mon, 6 Mar 2023 14:00:21 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Emotions play a pivotal role in shaping our lives. They contribute crucially to the rationality of life, making us unique in our ability to reason and make sense of the world.

Ronnie de Sousa is a Swiss-born Canadian philosopher, renowned for his outstanding contributions to the philosophy of emotion and biology, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto and author of such books as  The Rationality of Emotion (1987), Why Think? Evolution and the Rational Mind (2007) and Love: a Very Short Introduction (2015).

Ronald and Greg talk about how emotions enable us to create appropriate responses to situations we face in life and to what extent we can evaluate emotions themselves as being more or less rational. They also discuss the profound impact that language has on how we perceive and experience our emotions, and how our relationships are shaped by what we say about them and what others say about them.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Emotions contribute to the rationality of life

25:31: Emotions are just attitudes, and value in the world is just the projection of your attitude. The world is completely devoid of any objective real value. It's just chaos. And what makes life meaningful is that we are interested in this, that, and the other. That's what creates goals, and that's why our emotions help us to respond in ways that are relevant to those goals. And so emotions contribute crucially to the rationality of life. 

06:24: An enormously important point about rationality is that it often escapes people because they tend to think that the only options are, well, you're either rational or irrational.

Teleology vs. rationality

08:05: Teleology is just something that has to do with the adaptation of a strategy to a goal. And, of course, in the context of evolutionary psychology, the goal is essentially just the trivial goal of propagating DNA, but rationality has to do with how we conceptualize the relationship between goal and means. And once again, with language, how we can debate about that, consider different strategies, invent new strategies, and innovate.

Why people shouldn't be so sure of themselves

47:22: If there's anything I want to convince people of is that they shouldn't be so sure of themselves and that moral fervor is not, in general, something that will achieve any of the reasonable goals that a moralist might want to achieve.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 255. Why Emotions are Key to Rationality feat. Ronald de Sousa Greg La Blanc 00:58:45 Emotions play a pivotal role in shaping our lives. They contribute crucially to the rationality of life, making us unique in our ability to reason and make sense of the world. Ronnie de Sousa is a Swiss-born Canadian philosopher, renowned for his outstanding contributions to the philosophy of emotion and biology, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto and author of such books as The Rationality of Emotion (1987), Why Think? Evolution and the Rational Mind (2007) and Love: a Very Short Introduction (2015). Ronald and Greg talk about how emotions enable us to create appropriate responses to situations we face in life and to what extent we can evaluate emotions themselves as being more or less rational. They also discuss the profound impact that language has on how we perceive and experience our emotions, and how our relationships are shaped by what we say about them and what others say about them. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* Emotions play a pivotal role in shaping our lives. They contribute crucially to the rationality of life, making us unique in our ability to reason and make sense of the world. Ronnie de Sousa is a Swiss-born Canadian philosopher, renowned for his outstanding contributions to the philosophy of emotion and biology, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto and author of such books as The Rationality of Emotion (1987), Why Think? Evolution and the Rational Mind (2007) and Love: a Very Short Introduction (2015). Ronald and Greg talk about how emotions enable us to create appropriate responses to situations we face in life and to what extent we can evaluate emotions themselves as being more or less rational. They also discuss the profound impact that language has on how we perceive and experience our emotions, and how our relationships are shaped by what we say about them and what others say about them. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.* false full 255 30910e85-09c0-4e74-980e-32dd28c91360 254. Creating an Innovation Factory feat. Linda Yates In the last decade, disruptive innovation has come primarily from startups like Uber, AirBnB, or not legacy companies. But Linda Yates argues that large companies can and should compete with start-ups by creating an internal innovation pipeline.

Linda joins Greg to discuss her new book, The Unicorn Within: How Companies Can Create Game-Changing Ventures at Startup Speed, which is a step-by-step guide for leading internal corporate innovation 

Linda Yates is the Founder and CEO of Mach49, which partners with companies to create their internal pipelines for new ventures and investments. The company helps its clients figure out how to disrupt their own market and innovate within their own industry.   

Episode Quotes:

Looking at funding like an onion

44:26: If you think about Silicon Valley, we look at funding like an onion. Every layer of onion is a layer of risk. It could be a financial risk, technical risk, market risk, or, in the case of a large company, governance risk. You love it to death or you starve of oxygen. And every single internal entrepreneur must build a very rigorous business and execution plan designed to remove the greatest amount of risk on a least amount of capital.

15:26: The only way you are going to drive growth that matters and have a financial impact on these large multi-billion dollar multinational public companies is if they can innovate at scale.

The importance of understanding customer pain

43:36: What's the fundamental underlying principles of what we do? Understand customer pain. Everything you have to do has to be customer driven. We say customer insights are the currency of credibility. Everything else is an uninformed opinion.

The fundamental shift that created an existential crisis among large companies

09:44: The large companies could be fat, dumb, and happy. They didn't have to innovate with the speed with which they have to do it now because they weren't facing that whole category of competitors, which are these startups fueled with billions of dollars of capital and zero orthodoxies and antibodies coming after them. That's the fundamental shift that has created a little bit of an existential crisis among these large. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 3 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In the last decade, disruptive innovation has come primarily from startups like Uber, AirBnB, or not legacy companies. But Linda Yates argues that large companies can and should compete with start-ups by creating an internal innovation pipeline.

Linda joins Greg to discuss her new book, The Unicorn Within: How Companies Can Create Game-Changing Ventures at Startup Speed, which is a step-by-step guide for leading internal corporate innovation 

Linda Yates is the Founder and CEO of Mach49, which partners with companies to create their internal pipelines for new ventures and investments. The company helps its clients figure out how to disrupt their own market and innovate within their own industry.   

Episode Quotes:

Looking at funding like an onion

44:26: If you think about Silicon Valley, we look at funding like an onion. Every layer of onion is a layer of risk. It could be a financial risk, technical risk, market risk, or, in the case of a large company, governance risk. You love it to death or you starve of oxygen. And every single internal entrepreneur must build a very rigorous business and execution plan designed to remove the greatest amount of risk on a least amount of capital.

15:26: The only way you are going to drive growth that matters and have a financial impact on these large multi-billion dollar multinational public companies is if they can innovate at scale.

The importance of understanding customer pain

43:36: What's the fundamental underlying principles of what we do? Understand customer pain. Everything you have to do has to be customer driven. We say customer insights are the currency of credibility. Everything else is an uninformed opinion.

The fundamental shift that created an existential crisis among large companies

09:44: The large companies could be fat, dumb, and happy. They didn't have to innovate with the speed with which they have to do it now because they weren't facing that whole category of competitors, which are these startups fueled with billions of dollars of capital and zero orthodoxies and antibodies coming after them. That's the fundamental shift that has created a little bit of an existential crisis among these large. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 254. Creating an Innovation Factory feat. Linda Yates Greg La Blanc 01:02:40 In the last decade, disruptive innovation has come primarily from startups like Uber, AirBnB, or not legacy companies. But Linda Yates argues that large companies can and should compete with start-ups by creating an internal innovation pipeline. Linda joins Greg to discuss her new book, The Unicorn Within: How Companies Can Create Game-Changing Ventures at Startup Speed, which is a step-by-step guide for leading internal corporate innovation Linda Yates is the Founder and CEO of Mach49, which partners with companies to create their internal pipelines for new ventures and investments. The company helps its clients figure out how to disrupt their own market and innovate within their own industry. In the last decade, disruptive innovation has come primarily from startups like Uber, AirBnB, or not legacy companies. But Linda Yates argues that large companies can and should compete with start-ups by creating an internal innovation pipeline. Linda joins Greg to discuss her new book, The Unicorn Within: How Companies Can Create Game-Changing Ventures at Startup Speed, which is a step-by-step guide for leading internal corporate innovation Linda Yates is the Founder and CEO of Mach49, which partners with companies to create their internal pipelines for new ventures and investments. The company helps its clients figure out how to disrupt their own market and innovate within their own industry. false full 254 06d3ef1b-b5cc-4c5d-876f-b49d0ea3f0be 253. The Problem with Economic Orthodoxy feat. Ha Joon Chang Food is much better and more interesting when it combines many cuisines. So too is economics more fruitful when it sources from different schools. While many countries have seen their diets expand, the profession of economics increasingly relies on “monocropping”, drawing only from the neo-classical school. 

In his latest book, Edible Economics, economist Ha Joon Chang uses the ever changing food culture to help readers understand how economic theories are also constantly evolving and merging. In this episode of unSILOed, Chang and Greg discuss Chang’s new ideas around economic theories and how food can guide us into that new way of thinking. 

Ha Joon Chang is an economist based at the University of London. He’s also taught at The University of Cambridge. He is the author of 17 economics books.

Episode Quotes:

The effect of free trade in the long run

42:46: Free trade is good actually in the short run for everyone. Trouble is that if you keep doing free trade, the economically backward countries will be basically stuck where they are. So, you need different medicines for different people. But since most economists these days believe that there's only one correct policy for everyone, they keep giving the wrong medicine.

Is economics the supreme logic?

06:38: By saying that economics is the supreme logic, we are actually forcing all these other things to be secondary to the calculations of the profit, the prices, and so on. And I don't think that's a healthy thing.

We cannot have economics the same way with physics & chemistry

13:54: The world is too complex and too uncertain, and human beings are so unpredictable that we cannot have economics that is scientific in the same way that physics or chemistry are. Just think about it. Subatomic particles do not say, “According to the theory, I’m supposed to behave this way.” I’m not going to do that because it’s unethical. Chemical molecules do not say, “Well, we always have been moving this way, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if we went the other way?” You know, that’s what humans do.

What can we learn from rich countries about good economic development?

31:25: In the last 40 years, the prevailing view has been that pre-trade, deregulated markets, and the prevalence of private ownership are things that are good for economic development. When you look at the history of today's rich countries, you find that they use almost the exact opposite of what they're recommending.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 1 Mar 2023 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Food is much better and more interesting when it combines many cuisines. So too is economics more fruitful when it sources from different schools. While many countries have seen their diets expand, the profession of economics increasingly relies on “monocropping”, drawing only from the neo-classical school. 

In his latest book, Edible Economics, economist Ha Joon Chang uses the ever changing food culture to help readers understand how economic theories are also constantly evolving and merging. In this episode of unSILOed, Chang and Greg discuss Chang’s new ideas around economic theories and how food can guide us into that new way of thinking. 

Ha Joon Chang is an economist based at the University of London. He’s also taught at The University of Cambridge. He is the author of 17 economics books.

Episode Quotes:

The effect of free trade in the long run

42:46: Free trade is good actually in the short run for everyone. Trouble is that if you keep doing free trade, the economically backward countries will be basically stuck where they are. So, you need different medicines for different people. But since most economists these days believe that there's only one correct policy for everyone, they keep giving the wrong medicine.

Is economics the supreme logic?

06:38: By saying that economics is the supreme logic, we are actually forcing all these other things to be secondary to the calculations of the profit, the prices, and so on. And I don't think that's a healthy thing.

We cannot have economics the same way with physics & chemistry

13:54: The world is too complex and too uncertain, and human beings are so unpredictable that we cannot have economics that is scientific in the same way that physics or chemistry are. Just think about it. Subatomic particles do not say, “According to the theory, I’m supposed to behave this way.” I’m not going to do that because it’s unethical. Chemical molecules do not say, “Well, we always have been moving this way, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if we went the other way?” You know, that’s what humans do.

What can we learn from rich countries about good economic development?

31:25: In the last 40 years, the prevailing view has been that pre-trade, deregulated markets, and the prevalence of private ownership are things that are good for economic development. When you look at the history of today's rich countries, you find that they use almost the exact opposite of what they're recommending.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 253. The Problem with Economic Orthodoxy feat. Ha Joon Chang Greg La Blanc 00:59:45 Food is much better and more interesting when it combines many cuisines. So too is economics more fruitful when it sources from different schools. While many countries have seen their diets expand, the profession of economics increasingly relies on “monocropping”, drawing only from the neo-classical school. In his latest book, Edible Economics, economist Ha Joon Chang uses the ever changing food culture to help readers understand how economic theories are also constantly evolving and merging. In this episode of unSILOed, Chang and Greg discuss Chang’s new ideas around economic theories and how food can guide us into that new way of thinking. Ha Joon Chang is an economist based at the University of London. He’s also taught at The University of Cambridge. He is the author of 17 economics books. Food is much better and more interesting when it combines many cuisines. So too is economics more fruitful when it sources from different schools. While many countries have seen their diets expand, the profession of economics increasingly relies on “monocropping”, drawing only from the neo-classical school. In his latest book, Edible Economics, economist Ha Joon Chang uses the ever changing food culture to help readers understand how economic theories are also constantly evolving and merging. In this episode of unSILOed, Chang and Greg discuss Chang’s new ideas around economic theories and how food can guide us into that new way of thinking. Ha Joon Chang is an economist based at the University of London. He’s also taught at The University of Cambridge. He is the author of 17 economics books. false full 253 3b06fd25-eb74-4cbc-841c-1957c76f1c04 252. Increasing Productivity in a World of Remote Work feat. Robert Pozen No matter what industry we all work in, productivity is key. Not only is managing our time properly good for getting all of our tasks done but also spending time doing things we love. In this episode of unSILOed, Robert Pozen shares methods to creating priorities for your time, ways to protect your time, and making sure you’re spending each day addressing your priorities.

Robert Pozen is the author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours as well as Remote, Inc.: How to Thrive at Work…Wherever You Are. He teaches at the MIT Sloan School of Management. 

Episode Quotes:

Is a billable hour system a bad idea?

07:22: A billable hour system is an input system, and in a knowledge-based economy, the idea that counting the inputs is the way to look at it is just crazy because people shouldn't be congratulated for spending more hours on something if they have a bad result.

08:56: The only way to get organizations off hours and into a results-oriented output system is to provide them with an alternative system of accountability.

What increases job satisfaction and productivity?

11:33: It's that flexibility and autonomy that increase job satisfaction and productivity. So, that's a long way of saying we've got to get off hours and inputs. We've got to move to outputs and results, and we've got to show managers and bosses that we can have a system of accountability that's based on results.

Hybrid setups will always be the dominant way to work

46:03: Hybrid will be important because certain work, certain teams, certain aspects of jobs are always going to be done better in person, where people get together, and others are not. And that's why the hybrid is going to be the dominant form.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast No matter what industry we all work in, productivity is key. Not only is managing our time properly good for getting all of our tasks done but also spending time doing things we love. In this episode of unSILOed, Robert Pozen shares methods to creating priorities for your time, ways to protect your time, and making sure you’re spending each day addressing your priorities.

Robert Pozen is the author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours as well as Remote, Inc.: How to Thrive at Work…Wherever You Are. He teaches at the MIT Sloan School of Management. 

Episode Quotes:

Is a billable hour system a bad idea?

07:22: A billable hour system is an input system, and in a knowledge-based economy, the idea that counting the inputs is the way to look at it is just crazy because people shouldn't be congratulated for spending more hours on something if they have a bad result.

08:56: The only way to get organizations off hours and into a results-oriented output system is to provide them with an alternative system of accountability.

What increases job satisfaction and productivity?

11:33: It's that flexibility and autonomy that increase job satisfaction and productivity. So, that's a long way of saying we've got to get off hours and inputs. We've got to move to outputs and results, and we've got to show managers and bosses that we can have a system of accountability that's based on results.

Hybrid setups will always be the dominant way to work

46:03: Hybrid will be important because certain work, certain teams, certain aspects of jobs are always going to be done better in person, where people get together, and others are not. And that's why the hybrid is going to be the dominant form.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 252. Increasing Productivity in a World of Remote Work feat. Robert Pozen Greg La Blanc 00:49:28 No matter what industry we all work in, productivity is key. Not only is managing our time properly good for getting all of our tasks done but also spending time doing things we love. In this episode of unSILOed, Robert Pozen shares methods to creating priorities for your time, ways to protect your time, and making sure you’re spending each day addressing your priorities. Robert Pozen is the author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours as well as Remote, Inc.: How to Thrive at Work…Wherever You Are. He teaches at the MIT Sloan School of Management. No matter what industry we all work in, productivity is key. Not only is managing our time properly good for getting all of our tasks done but also spending time doing things we love. In this episode of unSILOed, Robert Pozen shares methods to creating priorities for your time, ways to protect your time, and making sure you’re spending each day addressing your priorities. Robert Pozen is the author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours as well as Remote, Inc.: How to Thrive at Work…Wherever You Are. He teaches at the MIT Sloan School of Management. false full 252 f1c3abbc-2338-405c-bb9c-273246a49414 251. Combining Science and Technology for Growth feat. Joel Mokyr Sometime in the 18th century, the world began to grow at much faster rate. Economic Historians have debated the reasons for this Industrial Revolution, but it almost certainly has to do with the growth of technology and a culture of scientific inquiry. 

Joel Mokyr is both an economist and a historian. He is also a professor of both Economic and History at Northwestern University. In addition, Joel has authored several books on history and the economy over the years. His latest book, A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy, is about how science and technology evolved in ways that reinforced each other.

Joel and Greg discuss the connections between the industrial and scientific revolutions and between scientific discovery and technological adaptation. They discuss the decline of the guilds in England and the subsequent diffusion of English artisans and mechanics accross Europe They also discuss Darwin not being a darwinian, and how Caldwell’ss law leads to the decline in growth.

Episode Quotes:

Apprenticeship in Britain

42:07: Engineers, mechanics, chemists, and technicians of any kind, whether they're carpenters, blacksmiths, or millwrights, are not produced in schools. They are not produced in universities. They're produced by other artisans through personal contact, which is called apprenticeship, and apprenticeship is all over the world. This is how people were trained, and what happens in Britain is, for historical reasons, apprenticeship worked much better than anywhere else.

What makes the study of society complicated?

28:15: The study of society is infinitely more complex and difficult because we humans are damn complicated creatures, and our minds have some level of complexity that defies anything that the quantum theorist can think about. So, in principle, we can, and we've made some progress in understanding certain things about society. Where it gets difficult is utilizing that kind of knowledge. 

Our power over natures keeps on increasing but our wisdom in handling that power is not

26:30: There's something we can learn from the evolutionary people, which is yes, there is progress in certain dimensions and not others. And part of the problem is that these dynamics are not in sync with one another. And that creates these equilibria. It creates all kinds of trouble. And that is, to some extent, the great dilemma of the modern age: power over nature keeps increasing, but our wisdom and benevolence in handling that power is not.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 24 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Sometime in the 18th century, the world began to grow at much faster rate. Economic Historians have debated the reasons for this Industrial Revolution, but it almost certainly has to do with the growth of technology and a culture of scientific inquiry. 

Joel Mokyr is both an economist and a historian. He is also a professor of both Economic and History at Northwestern University. In addition, Joel has authored several books on history and the economy over the years. His latest book, A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy, is about how science and technology evolved in ways that reinforced each other.

Joel and Greg discuss the connections between the industrial and scientific revolutions and between scientific discovery and technological adaptation. They discuss the decline of the guilds in England and the subsequent diffusion of English artisans and mechanics accross Europe They also discuss Darwin not being a darwinian, and how Caldwell’ss law leads to the decline in growth.

Episode Quotes:

Apprenticeship in Britain

42:07: Engineers, mechanics, chemists, and technicians of any kind, whether they're carpenters, blacksmiths, or millwrights, are not produced in schools. They are not produced in universities. They're produced by other artisans through personal contact, which is called apprenticeship, and apprenticeship is all over the world. This is how people were trained, and what happens in Britain is, for historical reasons, apprenticeship worked much better than anywhere else.

What makes the study of society complicated?

28:15: The study of society is infinitely more complex and difficult because we humans are damn complicated creatures, and our minds have some level of complexity that defies anything that the quantum theorist can think about. So, in principle, we can, and we've made some progress in understanding certain things about society. Where it gets difficult is utilizing that kind of knowledge. 

Our power over natures keeps on increasing but our wisdom in handling that power is not

26:30: There's something we can learn from the evolutionary people, which is yes, there is progress in certain dimensions and not others. And part of the problem is that these dynamics are not in sync with one another. And that creates these equilibria. It creates all kinds of trouble. And that is, to some extent, the great dilemma of the modern age: power over nature keeps increasing, but our wisdom and benevolence in handling that power is not.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 251. Combining Science and Technology for Growth feat. Joel Mokyr Greg La Blanc 01:03:00 Sometime in the 18th century, the world began to grow at much faster rate. Economic Historians have debated the reasons for this Industrial Revolution, but it almost certainly has to do with the growth of technology and a culture of scientific inquiry. Joel Mokyr is both an economist and a historian. He is also a professor of both Economic and History at Northwestern University. In addition, Joel has authored several books on history and the economy over the years. His latest book, A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy, is about how science and technology evolved in ways that reinforced each other. Joel and Greg discuss the connections between the industrial and scientific revolutions and between scientific discovery and technological adaptation. They discuss the decline of the guilds in England and the subsequent diffusion of English artisans and mechanics accross Europe They also discuss Darwin not being a darwinian, and how Caldwell’ss law leads to the decline in growth. Sometime in the 18th century, the world began to grow at much faster rate. Economic Historians have debated the reasons for this Industrial Revolution, but it almost certainly has to do with the growth of technology and a culture of scientific inquiry. Joel Mokyr is both an economist and a historian. He is also a professor of both Economic and History at Northwestern University. In addition, Joel has authored several books on history and the economy over the years. His latest book, A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy, is about how science and technology evolved in ways that reinforced each other. Joel and Greg discuss the connections between the industrial and scientific revolutions and between scientific discovery and technological adaptation. They discuss the decline of the guilds in England and the subsequent diffusion of English artisans and mechanics accross Europe They also discuss Darwin not being a darwinian, and how Caldwell’ss law leads to the decline in growth. false full 251 d746f79b-e7be-4e1e-8af2-a6dbb163d0a8 250. Tackling ‘Big History’ feat. Ian Morris When most historians set out to write a book, they choose a particular point in history to dive deep into. But Ian Morris prefers to write about history from the 10,000-foot view- or in some cases, the 10,000-year view. 

He calls it big history, and on this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Ian talk about some of the Big History topics Ian has tackled in his writing career such as: the evolution of human values over thousands of years, how war has shaped our various cultures, and how Britain’s recent choice to the leave the European Union is actually rooted in 10,000-year-old history in the country. 

Ian Morris is a historian and archaeologist and teaches in the Stanford Classics department.  

Episode Quotes:

Fairness is a fundamental human value

40:15: There are certain things that unite all human beings, just as part of our biology. You can talk about such thing as human nature, and part of human nature, which is actually not that different from many other animal natures, is this idea of fairness that we all want to be treated fairly. And this is something you find, whether you're in a hunting gatherer society, or an ancient farming society, or in your modern California: fairness is a fundamental human value.

52:24: Life for many people in the wealthier parts of the world is being transferred onto a digital platform. We're living in different ways from people in the past, and we're able to do that because we consume so much more energy than they have.

The mechanism that led to diffusion of values across the world

42:43: We are completely free to devise whatever moral system we want. But if you devise an inefficient system of cultural values and live next door to somebody whose system works much more efficiently, they're going to steal all your food and kill you. And this is the mechanism that led to the diffusion of values across the world in different periods.

Are people the same all over the world?

20:09: People are pretty much all the same in the sense of, say, large groups of people are pretty much all the same. You'll get about the same proportion of selfish, mean-spirited ones and same proportion of generous, kind ones, hardworking ones, and lazy ones wherever you look around the world, and the culture does inflect these biological forces, but it's the biology that's really in the driving seat.

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His Work:


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]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2023 14:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When most historians set out to write a book, they choose a particular point in history to dive deep into. But Ian Morris prefers to write about history from the 10,000-foot view- or in some cases, the 10,000-year view. 

He calls it big history, and on this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Ian talk about some of the Big History topics Ian has tackled in his writing career such as: the evolution of human values over thousands of years, how war has shaped our various cultures, and how Britain’s recent choice to the leave the European Union is actually rooted in 10,000-year-old history in the country. 

Ian Morris is a historian and archaeologist and teaches in the Stanford Classics department.  

Episode Quotes:

Fairness is a fundamental human value

40:15: There are certain things that unite all human beings, just as part of our biology. You can talk about such thing as human nature, and part of human nature, which is actually not that different from many other animal natures, is this idea of fairness that we all want to be treated fairly. And this is something you find, whether you're in a hunting gatherer society, or an ancient farming society, or in your modern California: fairness is a fundamental human value.

52:24: Life for many people in the wealthier parts of the world is being transferred onto a digital platform. We're living in different ways from people in the past, and we're able to do that because we consume so much more energy than they have.

The mechanism that led to diffusion of values across the world

42:43: We are completely free to devise whatever moral system we want. But if you devise an inefficient system of cultural values and live next door to somebody whose system works much more efficiently, they're going to steal all your food and kill you. And this is the mechanism that led to the diffusion of values across the world in different periods.

Are people the same all over the world?

20:09: People are pretty much all the same in the sense of, say, large groups of people are pretty much all the same. You'll get about the same proportion of selfish, mean-spirited ones and same proportion of generous, kind ones, hardworking ones, and lazy ones wherever you look around the world, and the culture does inflect these biological forces, but it's the biology that's really in the driving seat.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 250. Tackling ‘Big History’ feat. Ian Morris Greg La Blanc 01:10:01 When most historians set out to write a book, they choose a particular point in history to dive deep into. But Ian Morris prefers to write about history from the 10,000-foot view- or in some cases, the 10,000-year view. He calls it big history, and on this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Ian talk about some of the Big History topics Ian has tackled in his writing career such as: the evolution of human values over thousands of years, how war has shaped our various cultures, and how Britain’s recent choice to the leave the European Union is actually rooted in 10,000-year-old history in the country. Ian Morris is a historian and archaeologist and teaches in the Stanford Classics department. When most historians set out to write a book, they choose a particular point in history to dive deep into. But Ian Morris prefers to write about history from the 10,000-foot view- or in some cases, the 10,000-year view. He calls it big history, and on this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Ian talk about some of the Big History topics Ian has tackled in his writing career such as: the evolution of human values over thousands of years, how war has shaped our various cultures, and how Britain’s recent choice to the leave the European Union is actually rooted in 10,000-year-old history in the country. Ian Morris is a historian and archaeologist and teaches in the Stanford Classics department. false full 250 cf2d75a2-bd11-4a5e-b873-b87f11406f94 249. Getting the Right Results from Incentives feat. Uri Gneezy Humans respond to incentives just like any other animal, but it’s important to make sure to use the right incentive to get the results that you desire because sometimes incentives can lead to unintended outcomes. 

Uri Gneey holds a chair in Behavioral Economics and is Professor of Economics and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. He is also an author and his latest book, Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work will be released in March. Uri is also the co-author of The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life with John A. List.

Uri and Greg discuss the differing ways in which Psychologists and Economists look at incentives, and go over examples of companies like Coca Cola and Toyota using incentives that led to surprising outcomes. They discuss the difference between incentives for quantity versus quality, and how to incentivize the right things in the right way. Uri reveals the results of money incentives in paying people to go to the gym, take tests, or even paying them to quit their jobs. It all revolves around Uri’s axiom that if you understand the signal behind the incentive and can control it you gain a large advantage.

Episode Quotes:

The advantage of understanding signals

32:07: Gifts are really signals of something, right? They're extremely inefficient. Imagine how much time and money is wasted on people going around before Christmas looking for gifts and trying to find something that will match, and then other people have to return it. Just give cash─but it signals what you think about the other person, and the signals, controlling those signals─that's my argument: if you understand that incentive sends the signal, and you control it, you can get a big advantage.

Knowing the right questions will help you get the right answers. 

49:34: The problem is that today there is so much data that people think that it's all out there, but they don't know how to get interesting answers because there are lots of people who know how to answer questions. You have very few people who know how to ask questions.

Should we incentivize quantity?

18:29: Very often, people incentivize the quantity instead of the quality dimension, and economists call it multitasking. Turns out that in such situations, what you'll get is exactly what you pay for. (19:38) The quantity versus quality is a really important thing. Don't just incentivize quantity because people are just going to produce more. The quality will go down.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Humans respond to incentives just like any other animal, but it’s important to make sure to use the right incentive to get the results that you desire because sometimes incentives can lead to unintended outcomes. 

Uri Gneey holds a chair in Behavioral Economics and is Professor of Economics and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. He is also an author and his latest book, Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work will be released in March. Uri is also the co-author of The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life with John A. List.

Uri and Greg discuss the differing ways in which Psychologists and Economists look at incentives, and go over examples of companies like Coca Cola and Toyota using incentives that led to surprising outcomes. They discuss the difference between incentives for quantity versus quality, and how to incentivize the right things in the right way. Uri reveals the results of money incentives in paying people to go to the gym, take tests, or even paying them to quit their jobs. It all revolves around Uri’s axiom that if you understand the signal behind the incentive and can control it you gain a large advantage.

Episode Quotes:

The advantage of understanding signals

32:07: Gifts are really signals of something, right? They're extremely inefficient. Imagine how much time and money is wasted on people going around before Christmas looking for gifts and trying to find something that will match, and then other people have to return it. Just give cash─but it signals what you think about the other person, and the signals, controlling those signals─that's my argument: if you understand that incentive sends the signal, and you control it, you can get a big advantage.

Knowing the right questions will help you get the right answers. 

49:34: The problem is that today there is so much data that people think that it's all out there, but they don't know how to get interesting answers because there are lots of people who know how to answer questions. You have very few people who know how to ask questions.

Should we incentivize quantity?

18:29: Very often, people incentivize the quantity instead of the quality dimension, and economists call it multitasking. Turns out that in such situations, what you'll get is exactly what you pay for. (19:38) The quantity versus quality is a really important thing. Don't just incentivize quantity because people are just going to produce more. The quality will go down.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 249. Getting the Right Results from Incentives feat. Uri Gneezy Greg La Blanc 00:54:25 Humans respond to incentives just like any other animal, but it’s important to make sure to use the right incentive to get the results that you desire because sometimes incentives can lead to unintended outcomes. Uri Gneey holds a chair in Behavioral Economics and is Professor of Economics and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. He is also an author and his latest book, Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work will be released in March. Uri is also the co-author of The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life with John A. List. Uri and Greg discuss the differing ways in which Psychologists and Economists look at incentives, and go over examples of companies like Coca Cola and Toyota using incentives that led to surprising outcomes. They discuss the difference between incentives for quantity versus quality, and how to incentivize the right things in the right way. Uri reveals the results of money incentives in paying people to go to the gym, take tests, or even paying them to quit their jobs. It all revolves around Uri’s axiom that if you understand the signal behind the incentive and can control it you gain a large advantage. Humans respond to incentives just like any other animal, but it’s important to make sure to use the right incentive to get the results that you desire because sometimes incentives can lead to unintended outcomes. Uri Gneey holds a chair in Behavioral Economics and is Professor of Economics and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. He is also an author and his latest book, Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work will be released in March. Uri is also the co-author of The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life with John A. List. Uri and Greg discuss the differing ways in which Psychologists and Economists look at incentives, and go over examples of companies like Coca Cola and Toyota using incentives that led to surprising outcomes. They discuss the difference between incentives for quantity versus quality, and how to incentivize the right things in the right way. Uri reveals the results of money incentives in paying people to go to the gym, take tests, or even paying them to quit their jobs. It all revolves around Uri’s axiom that if you understand the signal behind the incentive and can control it you gain a large advantage. false full 249 079bd522-c6fb-49fc-98ea-9348cd426dfe 248. Unlocking Innovation feat. Jeremy Utley When we think about the greatest innovators of our time (Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Frank Lloyd Wright) we often hear about their work ethic. But one thing that all of these innovators have in common is their ability to walk away from the work. They nap, they garden, and they go shopping to give themselves a break from the problem they are working on and look for inspiration in the real world. They gave themselves space to let inspiration come to them, rather than trying to force it. 

In this episode of unSILOed, Greg talks with Stanford professor Jeremy Utley about his new book Ideaflow, which gives readers a strategy to come up with better ideas and determine which ones are worth pursuing.

Jeremy Utley is a Director of Executive Education at Stanford's renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school) and works with leaders around the world to untap their abilities to innovate better and more effectively. 

Episode Quotes:

How you perceive your problems matter

02:44: Inspiration is the disciplined pursuit of unexpected input. And every one of those words matters, but being disciplined in your pursuit of input is the way to solve problems. When you think about problem-solving as the big problem, we believe that idea flow can solve the problem of solving problems for good. Because you realize it's actually about how you think about the problem that matters.

04:02: The most innovative individuals have this instinct to go and seek input, that drives fresh thinking when they're stuck.

39:16:Our default assumption is to think that the majority of ideas we have are good, commercially viable, and successful. The opposite is true.

Problems have solutions when you choose to find them

30:15: Just because you don't know how to solve a problem doesn't mean it hasn't been solved in the world more broadly. And a lot of times, if you're thoughtful about where you go looking, you stumble upon novel solutions that you never would've seen in your own industry.

What is the right way of thinking about idea flow?

50:33: When you think about idea flow, it's not a measure of how many good ideas you can generate at any moment. That's an output metric. It's a measure of how many ideas you can generate at any moment and how many ideas are being generated.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Fri, 17 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When we think about the greatest innovators of our time (Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Frank Lloyd Wright) we often hear about their work ethic. But one thing that all of these innovators have in common is their ability to walk away from the work. They nap, they garden, and they go shopping to give themselves a break from the problem they are working on and look for inspiration in the real world. They gave themselves space to let inspiration come to them, rather than trying to force it. 

In this episode of unSILOed, Greg talks with Stanford professor Jeremy Utley about his new book Ideaflow, which gives readers a strategy to come up with better ideas and determine which ones are worth pursuing.

Jeremy Utley is a Director of Executive Education at Stanford's renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school) and works with leaders around the world to untap their abilities to innovate better and more effectively. 

Episode Quotes:

How you perceive your problems matter

02:44: Inspiration is the disciplined pursuit of unexpected input. And every one of those words matters, but being disciplined in your pursuit of input is the way to solve problems. When you think about problem-solving as the big problem, we believe that idea flow can solve the problem of solving problems for good. Because you realize it's actually about how you think about the problem that matters.

04:02: The most innovative individuals have this instinct to go and seek input, that drives fresh thinking when they're stuck.

39:16:Our default assumption is to think that the majority of ideas we have are good, commercially viable, and successful. The opposite is true.

Problems have solutions when you choose to find them

30:15: Just because you don't know how to solve a problem doesn't mean it hasn't been solved in the world more broadly. And a lot of times, if you're thoughtful about where you go looking, you stumble upon novel solutions that you never would've seen in your own industry.

What is the right way of thinking about idea flow?

50:33: When you think about idea flow, it's not a measure of how many good ideas you can generate at any moment. That's an output metric. It's a measure of how many ideas you can generate at any moment and how many ideas are being generated.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 248. Unlocking Innovation feat. Jeremy Utley Greg La Blanc 00:59:04 When we think about the greatest innovators of our time (Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Frank Lloyd Wright) we often hear about their work ethic. But one thing that all of these innovators have in common is their ability to walk away from the work. They nap, they garden, and they go shopping to give themselves a break from the problem they are working on and look for inspiration in the real world. They gave themselves space to let inspiration come to them, rather than trying to force it. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg talks with Stanford professor Jeremy Utley about his new book Ideaflow, which gives readers a strategy to come up with better ideas and determine which ones are worth pursuing. Jeremy Utley is a Director of Executive Education at Stanford's renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school) and works with leaders around the world to untap their abilities to innovate better and more effectively. When we think about the greatest innovators of our time (Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Frank Lloyd Wright) we often hear about their work ethic. But one thing that all of these innovators have in common is their ability to walk away from the work. They nap, they garden, and they go shopping to give themselves a break from the problem they are working on and look for inspiration in the real world. They gave themselves space to let inspiration come to them, rather than trying to force it. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg talks with Stanford professor Jeremy Utley about his new book Ideaflow, which gives readers a strategy to come up with better ideas and determine which ones are worth pursuing. Jeremy Utley is a Director of Executive Education at Stanford's renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school) and works with leaders around the world to untap their abilities to innovate better and more effectively. false full 248 0fadd8c3-b30a-4684-9dbc-ce4de1184a36 247. Game Theory in Everyday Actions feat. Moshe Hoffman and Erez Yoeli Can ordinary symbolic human behavior be analyzed through the lens of game theory the same way that the economic behavior can?? What similarities show up in both economics and culture??

Moshe Hoffman and Erez Yoeli are both research scientists at MIT, lecturers at Harvard, and authors of the book Hidden Games: The Surprising Power of Game Theory to Explain Irrational Human Behavior. In the book, Moshe and Erez use game theory to examine human behavior and provide an insightful way to explain seemingly irrational human behavior, along with some fascinating real-world examples.  

Moshe, Erez, and Greg discuss their book and Greg’s common interest in game theory as a teacher of it. They talk about evolutionary rewards. They touch on symbolic behavior and group identification behavior, as well as how aesthetic taste has a cost, and what that is. Moshe and Erez use game theory to link to motivated reasoning, and Greg goes over the differences between being charitable and feeling charitable with an example from his real life.

Episode Quotes:

The central role of coordination

18:04 [Moshe Hoffman]: I guess what we're trying to highlight, the central role that coordination plays, and many situations involve coordination. So norm enforcement involves coordination. You only want to punish norm violators if you expect others to agree with you that they violated the norm, and maybe they'll punish you if you don't punish it, or they'll reward you for punishing the norm violation.

35:56 [Erez Yoeli]: We'd like for at least people to question whether, when they see something that seems irrational, they have simply failed to understand. The reason it's there is because they're thinking about it the wrong way.

On creating pragmatic impact

40:27 [Erez Yoeli]: In order to really have a pragmatic impact, you have to work a little bit harder. You have to draw the connection for people.

People’s altruistic sentiment has a spillover effect

32:45 [Moshe Hoffman]: People's altruistic sentiments and how much they're willing to give is like a dictator's game. It is a spillover effect. It's really shaped by the outside of the lab environment, that tends to be where norms get enforced and where you can build up a reputation, and in those kinds of settings, what the norm really matters, and how things are framed very much tells you what the norm is.

When charity donations are given for reputation rather than for impact

31:03 [Erez Yoeli]: If you try to force everybody to constantly give in very particular ways that they don't find intuitive, that don't help them build up a reputation that they care about, that don't help them show off certain sets of values that they want to show off, you're just going to cut them out of charity entirely. And it's not clear to me which is better, having them give to ineffective charities or not give to effective charities.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Moshe Hoffman
Erez Yoeli

Their Works:


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

]]> Wed, 15 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Can ordinary symbolic human behavior be analyzed through the lens of game theory the same way that the economic behavior can?? What similarities show up in both economics and culture??

Moshe Hoffman and Erez Yoeli are both research scientists at MIT, lecturers at Harvard, and authors of the book Hidden Games: The Surprising Power of Game Theory to Explain Irrational Human Behavior. In the book, Moshe and Erez use game theory to examine human behavior and provide an insightful way to explain seemingly irrational human behavior, along with some fascinating real-world examples.  

Moshe, Erez, and Greg discuss their book and Greg’s common interest in game theory as a teacher of it. They talk about evolutionary rewards. They touch on symbolic behavior and group identification behavior, as well as how aesthetic taste has a cost, and what that is. Moshe and Erez use game theory to link to motivated reasoning, and Greg goes over the differences between being charitable and feeling charitable with an example from his real life.

Episode Quotes:

The central role of coordination

18:04 [Moshe Hoffman]: I guess what we're trying to highlight, the central role that coordination plays, and many situations involve coordination. So norm enforcement involves coordination. You only want to punish norm violators if you expect others to agree with you that they violated the norm, and maybe they'll punish you if you don't punish it, or they'll reward you for punishing the norm violation.

35:56 [Erez Yoeli]: We'd like for at least people to question whether, when they see something that seems irrational, they have simply failed to understand. The reason it's there is because they're thinking about it the wrong way.

On creating pragmatic impact

40:27 [Erez Yoeli]: In order to really have a pragmatic impact, you have to work a little bit harder. You have to draw the connection for people.

People’s altruistic sentiment has a spillover effect

32:45 [Moshe Hoffman]: People's altruistic sentiments and how much they're willing to give is like a dictator's game. It is a spillover effect. It's really shaped by the outside of the lab environment, that tends to be where norms get enforced and where you can build up a reputation, and in those kinds of settings, what the norm really matters, and how things are framed very much tells you what the norm is.

When charity donations are given for reputation rather than for impact

31:03 [Erez Yoeli]: If you try to force everybody to constantly give in very particular ways that they don't find intuitive, that don't help them build up a reputation that they care about, that don't help them show off certain sets of values that they want to show off, you're just going to cut them out of charity entirely. And it's not clear to me which is better, having them give to ineffective charities or not give to effective charities.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Moshe Hoffman
Erez Yoeli

Their Works:


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

]]> 247. Game Theory in Everyday Actions feat. Moshe Hoffman and Erez Yoeli Greg La Blanc 00:42:34 Can ordinary symbolic human behavior be analyzed through the lens of game theory the same way that the economic behavior can?? What similarities show up in both economics and culture?? Moshe Hoffman and Erez Yoeli are both research scientists at MIT, lecturers at Harvard, and authors of the book Hidden Games: The Surprising Power of Game Theory to Explain Irrational Human Behavior. In the book, Moshe and Erez use game theory to examine human behavior and provide an insightful way to explain seemingly irrational human behavior, along with some fascinating real-world examples. Moshe, Erez, and Greg discuss their book and Greg’s common interest in game theory as a teacher of it. They talk about evolutionary rewards. They touch on symbolic behavior and group identification behavior, as well as how aesthetic taste has a cost, and what that is. Moshe and Erez use game theory to link to motivated reasoning, and Greg goes over the differences between being charitable and feeling charitable with an example from his real life. Can ordinary symbolic human behavior be analyzed through the lens of game theory the same way that the economic behavior can?? What similarities show up in both economics and culture?? Moshe Hoffman and Erez Yoeli are both research scientists at MIT, lecturers at Harvard, and authors of the book Hidden Games: The Surprising Power of Game Theory to Explain Irrational Human Behavior. In the book, Moshe and Erez use game theory to examine human behavior and provide an insightful way to explain seemingly irrational human behavior, along with some fascinating real-world examples. Moshe, Erez, and Greg discuss their book and Greg’s common interest in game theory as a teacher of it. They talk about evolutionary rewards. They touch on symbolic behavior and group identification behavior, as well as how aesthetic taste has a cost, and what that is. Moshe and Erez use game theory to link to motivated reasoning, and Greg goes over the differences between being charitable and feeling charitable with an example from his real life. false full 247 2df44451-e330-4018-af4d-7794316f230f 246. Network Revolutions: Old and New feat. Tom Wheeler The evolution of Networks has been characterized by periodic technological revolutions that result in accelerated dispersion of information and new ideas. By examining these moments and the conditions that caused them we can learn new things about the nature of networks.

Tom Wheeler is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Center and also an author. He has an upcoming book called Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the New Gilded age. His previous book is called From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future, and he is also the author of Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War. Tom is also the former FCC Chairman appointed by President Barack Obama. 

Tom and Greg discuss what constitutes a network, and what Tom would surprisingly classify as the first high-speed network. Tom relays the history of telegraphy, and the debt the telegraph owes to the printing press. Tom explains where some companies made huge blunders, passing on the chance to control important networks and the nefarious ways in which some ‘inventors’ actually came to be remembered for the inventions of others.

Episode Quotes:

What can we learn from the previous revolutions?

50:04: Napoleon used to tell his generals: “Study the campaigns of the past.” It wasn't so that you will do the same thing. It was that, so you internalize those experiences. So when your leadership moment comes, you can say, "Aha, I've got an approach," and I think that's what's lacking right now in our discussion of what has been created by this third network revolution.

51:54: What fascinates me about military history is the leadership moment. When you have a clear-cut decision, you have clear-cut winners and losers, and it happens in the public eye, so you can learn from it.

How can regulators stay ahead and maintain environments that allow continuous disruptions?

43:53: Regulators need to get their heads out of the cockpit. And the trap that you fall into that is easy to fall into is to rely on the incumbents and those that they fund, because the current technique is that the incumbents fund "independent groups" to keep feeding information into the regulators, the public media, and Congress. And you've got to get your head out of the cockpit and have an understanding of what's going on, or at least be seeking what's going on.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Mon, 13 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The evolution of Networks has been characterized by periodic technological revolutions that result in accelerated dispersion of information and new ideas. By examining these moments and the conditions that caused them we can learn new things about the nature of networks.

Tom Wheeler is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Center and also an author. He has an upcoming book called Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the New Gilded age. His previous book is called From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future, and he is also the author of Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War. Tom is also the former FCC Chairman appointed by President Barack Obama. 

Tom and Greg discuss what constitutes a network, and what Tom would surprisingly classify as the first high-speed network. Tom relays the history of telegraphy, and the debt the telegraph owes to the printing press. Tom explains where some companies made huge blunders, passing on the chance to control important networks and the nefarious ways in which some ‘inventors’ actually came to be remembered for the inventions of others.

Episode Quotes:

What can we learn from the previous revolutions?

50:04: Napoleon used to tell his generals: “Study the campaigns of the past.” It wasn't so that you will do the same thing. It was that, so you internalize those experiences. So when your leadership moment comes, you can say, "Aha, I've got an approach," and I think that's what's lacking right now in our discussion of what has been created by this third network revolution.

51:54: What fascinates me about military history is the leadership moment. When you have a clear-cut decision, you have clear-cut winners and losers, and it happens in the public eye, so you can learn from it.

How can regulators stay ahead and maintain environments that allow continuous disruptions?

43:53: Regulators need to get their heads out of the cockpit. And the trap that you fall into that is easy to fall into is to rely on the incumbents and those that they fund, because the current technique is that the incumbents fund "independent groups" to keep feeding information into the regulators, the public media, and Congress. And you've got to get your head out of the cockpit and have an understanding of what's going on, or at least be seeking what's going on.

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]]> 246. Network Revolutions: Old and New feat. Tom Wheeler Greg La Blanc 00:53:20 The evolution of Networks has been characterized by periodic technological revolutions that result in accelerated dispersion of information and new ideas. By examining these moments and the conditions that caused them we can learn new things about the nature of networks. Tom Wheeler is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Center and also an author. He has an upcoming book called Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the New Gilded age. His previous book is called From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future, and he is also the author of Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War. Tom is also the former FCC Chairman appointed by President Barack Obama. Tom and Greg discuss what constitutes a network, and what Tom would surprisingly classify as the first high-speed network. Tom relays the history of telegraphy, and the debt the telegraph owes to the printing press. Tom explains where some companies made huge blunders, passing on the chance to control important networks and the nefarious ways in which some ‘inventors’ actually came to be remembered for the inventions of others. The evolution of Networks has been characterized by periodic technological revolutions that result in accelerated dispersion of information and new ideas. By examining these moments and the conditions that caused them we can learn new things about the nature of networks. Tom Wheeler is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Center and also an author. He has an upcoming book called Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the New Gilded age. His previous book is called From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future, and he is also the author of Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War. Tom is also the former FCC Chairman appointed by President Barack Obama. Tom and Greg discuss what constitutes a network, and what Tom would surprisingly classify as the first high-speed network. Tom relays the history of telegraphy, and the debt the telegraph owes to the printing press. Tom explains where some companies made huge blunders, passing on the chance to control important networks and the nefarious ways in which some ‘inventors’ actually came to be remembered for the inventions of others. false full 246 46fb7209-e16a-4abe-b86d-fe76f30401c8 245. Mental Illness Throughout History feat. Andrew Scull Psychiatry has been called the stepchild of medicine, experiencing far less progress than care of the body. Andrew Scull, a sociology professor at the University of California at San Diego, chronicles the history of Psychiatry in America in his latest book, Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry’s turbulent quest to cure mental illness. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Andrew discuss this history including the rise and rapid fall of asylums, and the procession of remedies that offered false hope to the afflicted. Andrew also shares his research on the pharmaceutical industry and how the reliance on drugs to treat mental illness has grown. 

Andrew Scull has written multiple books on the history of psychiatry, including Madness, a very short introduction and Hysteria: The Biography. 

Episode Quotes:

How asylums first started

35:30: We build asylums to rescue people from the gutter, the prison, and the jail and put them in a therapeutic environment. The therapeutic environment deteriorates and indeed becomes anti-therapeutic in many ways, but then, beginning slowly in the late 1950s but much more expeditiously from the late 1960s onwards, we empty these hospitals out and don't put anything in their place.

20:12: Mental illness, more generally, it's not just the desperation of the patients we're talking about; it's the desperation of their family members and everybody close to them in the face of the disasters.

Neglecting the voices that caused the bigger problem

45:21: There were enough voices being raised in the late seventies, early eighties about the defects that we should have addressed those issues now, but it was politically inexpedient.

Are drugs the only way to treat mental illness?

1:00:27: I doubt drugs will ever be the whole answer. It's also important to consider all sorts of environmental things and ways in which we can provide the kinds of levels of social support that can mitigate the problems that come with this.

Show Links:

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Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Fri, 10 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Psychiatry has been called the stepchild of medicine, experiencing far less progress than care of the body. Andrew Scull, a sociology professor at the University of California at San Diego, chronicles the history of Psychiatry in America in his latest book, Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry’s turbulent quest to cure mental illness. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Andrew discuss this history including the rise and rapid fall of asylums, and the procession of remedies that offered false hope to the afflicted. Andrew also shares his research on the pharmaceutical industry and how the reliance on drugs to treat mental illness has grown. 

Andrew Scull has written multiple books on the history of psychiatry, including Madness, a very short introduction and Hysteria: The Biography. 

Episode Quotes:

How asylums first started

35:30: We build asylums to rescue people from the gutter, the prison, and the jail and put them in a therapeutic environment. The therapeutic environment deteriorates and indeed becomes anti-therapeutic in many ways, but then, beginning slowly in the late 1950s but much more expeditiously from the late 1960s onwards, we empty these hospitals out and don't put anything in their place.

20:12: Mental illness, more generally, it's not just the desperation of the patients we're talking about; it's the desperation of their family members and everybody close to them in the face of the disasters.

Neglecting the voices that caused the bigger problem

45:21: There were enough voices being raised in the late seventies, early eighties about the defects that we should have addressed those issues now, but it was politically inexpedient.

Are drugs the only way to treat mental illness?

1:00:27: I doubt drugs will ever be the whole answer. It's also important to consider all sorts of environmental things and ways in which we can provide the kinds of levels of social support that can mitigate the problems that come with this.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 245. Mental Illness Throughout History feat. Andrew Scull Greg La Blanc 01:03:22 Psychiatry has been called the stepchild of medicine, experiencing far less progress than care of the body. Andrew Scull, a sociology professor at the University of California at San Diego, chronicles the history of Psychiatry in America in his latest book, Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry’s turbulent quest to cure mental illness. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Andrew discuss this history including the rise and rapid fall of asylums, and the procession of remedies that offered false hope to the afflicted. Andrew also shares his research on the pharmaceutical industry and how the reliance on drugs to treat mental illness has grown. Andrew Scull has written multiple books on the history of psychiatry, including Madness, a very short introduction and Hysteria: The Biography. Psychiatry has been called the stepchild of medicine, experiencing far less progress than care of the body. Andrew Scull, a sociology professor at the University of California at San Diego, chronicles the history of Psychiatry in America in his latest book, Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry’s turbulent quest to cure mental illness. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Andrew discuss this history including the rise and rapid fall of asylums, and the procession of remedies that offered false hope to the afflicted. Andrew also shares his research on the pharmaceutical industry and how the reliance on drugs to treat mental illness has grown. Andrew Scull has written multiple books on the history of psychiatry, including Madness, a very short introduction and Hysteria: The Biography. false full 245 94d2ef38-dd11-4421-b7b8-0fac131bb1d6 244. Land of the Free but Not the Free Markets feat. Thomas Philippon Competition drives down prices, makes it hard to collude on prices, and keeps any one company from taking excessive profits, but the fewer players there are in the game of free markets, the more power and control each one has, and consumers are ultimately the ones who lose. 

Thomas Philippon is an economist, a professor at New York University in the Stern School of Business, and the author of the book The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets. In his book, Thomas investigates the paradox of America having trended away from the free market dominance they were once known for, and how while American companies have been consolidating across every sector, European free market forces are very robust and stronger than those in America by a wide margin. 

Thomas and Greg discuss the shifts in the ways America’s markets used to operate versus how they do now, and why. y. Thomas lays out several instances of consolidation in American sectors such as the airline industry, health care, and telecoms over the past 20 years.

Episode Quotes:

The political game of lobbying

39:41: The reason we elect officials is precisely because we don't have the space in our brains to deal with all of the issues. We elect people to take care of it. That's their job, so we can go about our business. But as soon as you do that, you will never have the full information. And therefore, it's possible for players to take advantage of their insider knowledge and insider power to tilt the outcome in their favor. And so the political game of lobbying is always, like any market, trying to find the balance between these two.

45:51: These are the three pillars: a strong competitive market, consumer protection, and antitrust, universities, and one big integrated market. Over the past 20 years, the EU has made very good progress on the first one to the point that today it's at least as good, and in some cases, better than the US, at enforcing consumer protection.

Is lobbying bad?

34:41: There's no reason to think that lobbying is bad in and of itself. And in fact, there is no reason to think that the political system is not operating like any market. We have supply demand, competition, and it's not obvious that the outcome is going to be bad just because we call that politics.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Wed, 8 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Competition drives down prices, makes it hard to collude on prices, and keeps any one company from taking excessive profits, but the fewer players there are in the game of free markets, the more power and control each one has, and consumers are ultimately the ones who lose. 

Thomas Philippon is an economist, a professor at New York University in the Stern School of Business, and the author of the book The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets. In his book, Thomas investigates the paradox of America having trended away from the free market dominance they were once known for, and how while American companies have been consolidating across every sector, European free market forces are very robust and stronger than those in America by a wide margin. 

Thomas and Greg discuss the shifts in the ways America’s markets used to operate versus how they do now, and why. y. Thomas lays out several instances of consolidation in American sectors such as the airline industry, health care, and telecoms over the past 20 years.

Episode Quotes:

The political game of lobbying

39:41: The reason we elect officials is precisely because we don't have the space in our brains to deal with all of the issues. We elect people to take care of it. That's their job, so we can go about our business. But as soon as you do that, you will never have the full information. And therefore, it's possible for players to take advantage of their insider knowledge and insider power to tilt the outcome in their favor. And so the political game of lobbying is always, like any market, trying to find the balance between these two.

45:51: These are the three pillars: a strong competitive market, consumer protection, and antitrust, universities, and one big integrated market. Over the past 20 years, the EU has made very good progress on the first one to the point that today it's at least as good, and in some cases, better than the US, at enforcing consumer protection.

Is lobbying bad?

34:41: There's no reason to think that lobbying is bad in and of itself. And in fact, there is no reason to think that the political system is not operating like any market. We have supply demand, competition, and it's not obvious that the outcome is going to be bad just because we call that politics.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 244. Land of the Free but Not the Free Markets feat. Thomas Philippon Greg La Blanc 00:59:52 Competition drives down prices, makes it hard to collude on prices, and keeps any one company from taking excessive profits, but the fewer players there are in the game of free markets, the more power and control each one has, and consumers are ultimately the ones who lose. Thomas Philippon is an economist, a professor at New York University in the Stern School of Business, and the author of the book The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets. In his book, Thomas investigates the paradox of America having trended away from the free market dominance they were once known for, and how while American companies have been consolidating across every sector, European free market forces are very robust and stronger than those in America by a wide margin. Thomas and Greg discuss the shifts in the ways America’s markets used to operate versus how they do now, and why. y. Thomas lays out several instances of consolidation in American sectors such as the airline industry, health care, and telecoms over the past 20 years. Competition drives down prices, makes it hard to collude on prices, and keeps any one company from taking excessive profits, but the fewer players there are in the game of free markets, the more power and control each one has, and consumers are ultimately the ones who lose. Thomas Philippon is an economist, a professor at New York University in the Stern School of Business, and the author of the book The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets. In his book, Thomas investigates the paradox of America having trended away from the free market dominance they were once known for, and how while American companies have been consolidating across every sector, European free market forces are very robust and stronger than those in America by a wide margin. Thomas and Greg discuss the shifts in the ways America’s markets used to operate versus how they do now, and why. y. Thomas lays out several instances of consolidation in American sectors such as the airline industry, health care, and telecoms over the past 20 years. false full 244 2655e9f7-55d2-4f18-b992-535890b35f10 243. Culture as Human Super Power in Evolution feat. Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson The classic image of evolution everyone knows is the man who goes from apelike body to tool using biped. But the bigger, story would include families, groups of humans who worked together, including women, children, and people of all ages, which means division of labor and culture.

Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson are a Research Associate and Professor Emeritus, respectively, in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California Davis. They are also authors, and their newest book is A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution. Detailing far more than earlier works about the lives of the women and children of these societies, and the ways in which human culture has been shaped over time.

Lesley, Peter, and Greg discuss the surprises and wonders that their deeper dive into the evolution and the history of ancient cultures have produced. They detail how the use of tools and the stacking of technologies set humans apart from other animals. They discuss humans in relation to other animals. They also go over the transitions our primate ancestors had to make to evolve, and how modern cultural roles affect and inform and explain current human birthrates.

Episode Quotes:

What kept the birth rate high for most of human history?

[Peter Richerson] 59:21: The rising importance of teachers, non-relative colleagues, military officers, and bosses in our lives meant that much cultural transmission came from people who had achieved social roles that didn't involve being parents. You don't have to be a parent to be a teacher. You don't have to be a parent to be a charismatic boss. And so, the support for pronatalist norms that kept birth rates high throughout most of human history came because your relatives and people in your community were the most important influences on your values. You weren't really an adult until you married and had children in many communities. So the whole status system revolved around reproduction.

On language, culture, and stories

[Lesley Newson] 24:02: There's no way of telling a story without having language, and knowing the same stories binds people together. Believing the same stories binds people together, which is one of the most important things for any culture.

Why is culture good for adapting on a certain time scale?

[Peter Richerson] 10:01: What culture is good for is adapting to spatial and temporal environmental variation on a certain timescale. If the fluctuations are on a very short timescale, then the only thing that is useful is individual learning.

On complex culture

[Lesley Newson] 25:51: Culture got more complex and language got more complex once more and more groups got together and found ways of reconciling their different stories, beliefs, and that kind of thing, it made it possible to have a more complex culture.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Lesley Newson
Peter Richerson

Their Work:


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]]> Mon, 6 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The classic image of evolution everyone knows is the man who goes from apelike body to tool using biped. But the bigger, story would include families, groups of humans who worked together, including women, children, and people of all ages, which means division of labor and culture.

Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson are a Research Associate and Professor Emeritus, respectively, in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California Davis. They are also authors, and their newest book is A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution. Detailing far more than earlier works about the lives of the women and children of these societies, and the ways in which human culture has been shaped over time.

Lesley, Peter, and Greg discuss the surprises and wonders that their deeper dive into the evolution and the history of ancient cultures have produced. They detail how the use of tools and the stacking of technologies set humans apart from other animals. They discuss humans in relation to other animals. They also go over the transitions our primate ancestors had to make to evolve, and how modern cultural roles affect and inform and explain current human birthrates.

Episode Quotes:

What kept the birth rate high for most of human history?

[Peter Richerson] 59:21: The rising importance of teachers, non-relative colleagues, military officers, and bosses in our lives meant that much cultural transmission came from people who had achieved social roles that didn't involve being parents. You don't have to be a parent to be a teacher. You don't have to be a parent to be a charismatic boss. And so, the support for pronatalist norms that kept birth rates high throughout most of human history came because your relatives and people in your community were the most important influences on your values. You weren't really an adult until you married and had children in many communities. So the whole status system revolved around reproduction.

On language, culture, and stories

[Lesley Newson] 24:02: There's no way of telling a story without having language, and knowing the same stories binds people together. Believing the same stories binds people together, which is one of the most important things for any culture.

Why is culture good for adapting on a certain time scale?

[Peter Richerson] 10:01: What culture is good for is adapting to spatial and temporal environmental variation on a certain timescale. If the fluctuations are on a very short timescale, then the only thing that is useful is individual learning.

On complex culture

[Lesley Newson] 25:51: Culture got more complex and language got more complex once more and more groups got together and found ways of reconciling their different stories, beliefs, and that kind of thing, it made it possible to have a more complex culture.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Lesley Newson
Peter Richerson

Their Work:


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]]> 243. Culture as Human Super Power in Evolution feat. Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson Greg La Blanc 01:10:54 The classic image of evolution everyone knows is the man who goes from apelike body to tool using biped. But the bigger, story would include families, groups of humans who worked together, including women, children, and people of all ages, which means division of labor and culture. Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson are a Research Associate and Professor Emeritus, respectively, in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California Davis. They are also authors, and their newest book is A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution. Detailing far more than earlier works about the lives of the women and children of these societies, and the ways in which human culture has been shaped over time. Lesley, Peter, and Greg discuss the surprises and wonders that their deeper dive into the evolution and the history of ancient cultures have produced. They detail how the use of tools and the stacking of technologies set humans apart from other animals. They discuss humans in relation to other animals. They also go over the transitions our primate ancestors had to make to evolve, and how modern cultural roles affect and inform and explain current human birthrates. The classic image of evolution everyone knows is the man who goes from apelike body to tool using biped. But the bigger, story would include families, groups of humans who worked together, including women, children, and people of all ages, which means division of labor and culture. Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson are a Research Associate and Professor Emeritus, respectively, in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California Davis. They are also authors, and their newest book is A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution. Detailing far more than earlier works about the lives of the women and children of these societies, and the ways in which human culture has been shaped over time. Lesley, Peter, and Greg discuss the surprises and wonders that their deeper dive into the evolution and the history of ancient cultures have produced. They detail how the use of tools and the stacking of technologies set humans apart from other animals. They discuss humans in relation to other animals. They also go over the transitions our primate ancestors had to make to evolve, and how modern cultural roles affect and inform and explain current human birthrates. false full 243 4e5cd0c1-7f0e-4cff-934c-8930f047af0a 242. Fixing Economics with Insights from Other Sciences feat. George Cooper How did we get to the financial crisis of 2008? Where were the signs, and what did we miss? For these questions and more, we turn to the person who wrote a book on the subject. 

Dr. George Cooper is an author and the chief investment Officer of Equitile investments. He has 27 years of investment experience including with JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and BlueCrest Capital before. His first book, The Origin of Financial Crises: Central Banks, Credit Bubbles, and the Efficient Market Fallacy, has an updated version out, and his latest book is called Fixing Economics: The story of how the dismal science was broken - and how it could be rebuilt. 

George and Greg talk about the limits of neoclassical economics, the importance of systems thinking, and they go into the origins of financial crises. George and Greg talk about the ideas of Keynes, Minsky, Marx, Maxwell,  Kuhn, and Brahmagupta. George introduces his view of dynamic equilibrium and his perspective on Modern Money Theory and other alternative schools of economics.

Episode Quotes:

Recognizing the role of credit creation system

11:18: When you understand the connection between asset inflation, profit formation, and credit creation. When you realize that all three of those are intimately entwined, then you can no longer believe in an equilibrium model anymore because asset inflation leads to credit creation. And interestingly, the creation of credit also leads to a boom in corporate profits.

49:21: When we talk about money creation, we need to also think about anti-money creation, which is debt. So debt and money combined are literally created and destroyed.

Are we analyzing the wrong side of economic theory? 

16:07: We tend to analyze the economy only from the private sector side, but there are no successful economies in the world that are 100 percent private sector. Every successful economy in the world has a public sector that is comparable in size to the private sector.

Finding important truths and valid insights in economics

25:51: Many social scientists, even today, talk about emotions as if it were one great category, but emotions to their work by virtue of their specificity, that is, by their community entities and action tenses that are also very specific or different from the different emotions. So if you are angry, you want to make the other person suffer. If you hate, then you want other person to disappear from the face of the earth.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Fri, 3 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How did we get to the financial crisis of 2008? Where were the signs, and what did we miss? For these questions and more, we turn to the person who wrote a book on the subject. 

Dr. George Cooper is an author and the chief investment Officer of Equitile investments. He has 27 years of investment experience including with JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and BlueCrest Capital before. His first book, The Origin of Financial Crises: Central Banks, Credit Bubbles, and the Efficient Market Fallacy, has an updated version out, and his latest book is called Fixing Economics: The story of how the dismal science was broken - and how it could be rebuilt. 

George and Greg talk about the limits of neoclassical economics, the importance of systems thinking, and they go into the origins of financial crises. George and Greg talk about the ideas of Keynes, Minsky, Marx, Maxwell,  Kuhn, and Brahmagupta. George introduces his view of dynamic equilibrium and his perspective on Modern Money Theory and other alternative schools of economics.

Episode Quotes:

Recognizing the role of credit creation system

11:18: When you understand the connection between asset inflation, profit formation, and credit creation. When you realize that all three of those are intimately entwined, then you can no longer believe in an equilibrium model anymore because asset inflation leads to credit creation. And interestingly, the creation of credit also leads to a boom in corporate profits.

49:21: When we talk about money creation, we need to also think about anti-money creation, which is debt. So debt and money combined are literally created and destroyed.

Are we analyzing the wrong side of economic theory? 

16:07: We tend to analyze the economy only from the private sector side, but there are no successful economies in the world that are 100 percent private sector. Every successful economy in the world has a public sector that is comparable in size to the private sector.

Finding important truths and valid insights in economics

25:51: Many social scientists, even today, talk about emotions as if it were one great category, but emotions to their work by virtue of their specificity, that is, by their community entities and action tenses that are also very specific or different from the different emotions. So if you are angry, you want to make the other person suffer. If you hate, then you want other person to disappear from the face of the earth.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 242. Fixing Economics with Insights from Other Sciences feat. George Cooper Greg La Blanc 00:54:43 How did we get to the financial crisis of 2008? Where were the signs, and what did we miss? For these questions and more, we turn to the person who wrote a book on the subject. Dr. George Cooper is an author and the chief investment Officer of Equitile investments. He has 27 years of investment experience including with JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and BlueCrest Capital before. His first book, The Origin of Financial Crises: Central Banks, Credit Bubbles, and the Efficient Market Fallacy, has an updated version out, and his latest book is called Fixing Economics: The story of how the dismal science was broken - and how it could be rebuilt. George and Greg talk about the limits of neoclassical economics, the importance of systems thinking, and they go into the origins of financial crises. George and Greg talk about the ideas of Keynes, Minsky, Marx, Maxwell, Kuhn, and Brahmagupta. George introduces his view of dynamic equilibrium and his perspective on Modern Money Theory and other alternative schools of economics. How did we get to the financial crisis of 2008? Where were the signs, and what did we miss? For these questions and more, we turn to the person who wrote a book on the subject. Dr. George Cooper is an author and the chief investment Officer of Equitile investments. He has 27 years of investment experience including with JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and BlueCrest Capital before. His first book, The Origin of Financial Crises: Central Banks, Credit Bubbles, and the Efficient Market Fallacy, has an updated version out, and his latest book is called Fixing Economics: The story of how the dismal science was broken - and how it could be rebuilt. George and Greg talk about the limits of neoclassical economics, the importance of systems thinking, and they go into the origins of financial crises. George and Greg talk about the ideas of Keynes, Minsky, Marx, Maxwell, Kuhn, and Brahmagupta. George introduces his view of dynamic equilibrium and his perspective on Modern Money Theory and other alternative schools of economics. false full 242 38d180c0-feee-46dc-b9ba-e17414d1c274 241. The Role of Emotions in History feat. Jon Elster Most history books explain the details of events and provide well-researched context to these events. But history isn’t just about what happened, it’s often about why. The root of any social change is often complex, human emotions.

In his new book, France before 1789, Jon Elster explores the circumstances leading up to the French Revolution and the limits of rational choice theory in explaining collective action. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Jon talk about how human emotions like fear, anger, jealousy, and hope can motivate entire populations of people to change history.

Jon Elster is a professor at Columbia University and the author of a wide range of books exploring Marxism, Social Science, Choice Theory, Constitutions, and Addiction.

Episode Quotes:

What can we still learn about Aristotle about emotions?

35:04: Many social scientists, even today, talk about emotions as if it were one great category, but emotions do their work by virtue of their specificity, that is, by their cognitive antecedents and action tendencies that are also very specific or different from the different emotions. So if you are angry, you want to make the other person suffer. If you hate, then you want other person to disappear from the face of the earth.

11:43: Emotions have a short half-life and various other features that don't actually form a formal model but form a complex of features that we can find in many situations where emotions are at work.

Self-interest and rationality are not the same thing

10:04: Self-interest and rationality are not the same thing, but people act against their rational self-interest under the influence of emotions with respect to vengeance, revenge is often a pointless, sterile act, but it's undertaken under the impulse of very strong emotions.

What’s the problem with studying leadership?

13:55: The problem about studying leadership is that you can identify good leaders only by their results. There's no way of identifying good leaders ex ante to pick them. That would be good. Of course, if we could, but we can't.

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His Work:


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]]> Wed, 1 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Most history books explain the details of events and provide well-researched context to these events. But history isn’t just about what happened, it’s often about why. The root of any social change is often complex, human emotions.

In his new book, France before 1789, Jon Elster explores the circumstances leading up to the French Revolution and the limits of rational choice theory in explaining collective action. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Jon talk about how human emotions like fear, anger, jealousy, and hope can motivate entire populations of people to change history.

Jon Elster is a professor at Columbia University and the author of a wide range of books exploring Marxism, Social Science, Choice Theory, Constitutions, and Addiction.

Episode Quotes:

What can we still learn about Aristotle about emotions?

35:04: Many social scientists, even today, talk about emotions as if it were one great category, but emotions do their work by virtue of their specificity, that is, by their cognitive antecedents and action tendencies that are also very specific or different from the different emotions. So if you are angry, you want to make the other person suffer. If you hate, then you want other person to disappear from the face of the earth.

11:43: Emotions have a short half-life and various other features that don't actually form a formal model but form a complex of features that we can find in many situations where emotions are at work.

Self-interest and rationality are not the same thing

10:04: Self-interest and rationality are not the same thing, but people act against their rational self-interest under the influence of emotions with respect to vengeance, revenge is often a pointless, sterile act, but it's undertaken under the impulse of very strong emotions.

What’s the problem with studying leadership?

13:55: The problem about studying leadership is that you can identify good leaders only by their results. There's no way of identifying good leaders ex ante to pick them. That would be good. Of course, if we could, but we can't.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 241. The Role of Emotions in History feat. Jon Elster Greg La Blanc 00:50:26 Most history books explain the details of events and provide well-researched context to these events. But history isn’t just about what happened, it’s often about why. The root of any social change is often complex, human emotions. In his new book, France before 1789, Jon Elster explores the circumstances leading up to the French Revolution and the limits of rational choice theory in explaining collective action. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Jon talk about how human emotions like fear, anger, jealousy, and hope can motivate entire populations of people to change history. Jon Elster is a professor at Columbia University and the author of a wide range of books exploring Marxism, Social Science, Choice Theory, Constitutions, and Addiction. Most history books explain the details of events and provide well-researched context to these events. But history isn’t just about what happened, it’s often about why. The root of any social change is often complex, human emotions. In his new book, France before 1789, Jon Elster explores the circumstances leading up to the French Revolution and the limits of rational choice theory in explaining collective action. In this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Jon talk about how human emotions like fear, anger, jealousy, and hope can motivate entire populations of people to change history. Jon Elster is a professor at Columbia University and the author of a wide range of books exploring Marxism, Social Science, Choice Theory, Constitutions, and Addiction. false full 241 0c9b7624-97d5-4677-aad5-9b712c2a892a 240. From Capitalism To Talentism - Today’s Key Competitive Advantage feat. Edward Conard In recent decades there has been a major restructuring of the economy from capital-intensive manufacturing to knowledge-intensive, innovation-driven fields which increases the demand for high skilled workers. But why is it, that the US is producing a lot more innovation than other parts of the world?

Edward W. Conard is an American businessman, author, and scholar. He is a New York Times-bestselling author of The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class and Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong; and a contributor to the book Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality. Conard is an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Previously, he was a managing director at Bain Capital, where he worked closely with former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Edward and Greg talk about how information technology led to increased productivity and how the vast majority of the benefits generated by these technological advances go to the consumers and only a tiny fraction is captured by the people that are in the business of producing it. They also discuss why the argument that the middle class is being hollowed out is wrong, and Edward’s strategy for increasing wages for the middle and working classes.

Episode Quotes:

The constraint to growth in the world

04:52: We can't afford to waste our talent because we have a lot less of it. And we have a lot more need from our population in terms of the economic help they need in order to live a happy life and in our economy. Because we have a lot of talent, a lot of it is not properly trained, and ultimately, we have to get the properly trained talent to take risks. (05:20) Because if all we do is our doctor or lawyer, they're not going to increase productivity. They're not going to produce innovation. And so that is the constraint to growth in our economy, it’s probably the constraint to growth in the world.

41:41: The lack of talent is a real constraint in trying to get things done. Not only find the ideas but reduce the risk. And so that's a very important piece of it. This whole risk with our savings gives the impression that capital's really cheap.

How ideas affect taxes

07:22: If you have great ideas, the tax rate is going to matter a lot because you're multiplying by the tax rate. If you don't have good ideas, it doesn't matter if you have zero times in a high or a low tax; then we're still going to be zero.

Two effects of properly trained talent 

39:41: Properly trained talent has two effects. One is that it goes out and finds the ideas because, without talent, you don't find the ideas. But the second thing it does is reduce the risk of implementing those ideas. So it has this risk-reducing function.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 30 Jan 2023 22:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In recent decades there has been a major restructuring of the economy from capital-intensive manufacturing to knowledge-intensive, innovation-driven fields which increases the demand for high skilled workers. But why is it, that the US is producing a lot more innovation than other parts of the world?

Edward W. Conard is an American businessman, author, and scholar. He is a New York Times-bestselling author of The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class and Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong; and a contributor to the book Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality. Conard is an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Previously, he was a managing director at Bain Capital, where he worked closely with former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Edward and Greg talk about how information technology led to increased productivity and how the vast majority of the benefits generated by these technological advances go to the consumers and only a tiny fraction is captured by the people that are in the business of producing it. They also discuss why the argument that the middle class is being hollowed out is wrong, and Edward’s strategy for increasing wages for the middle and working classes.

Episode Quotes:

The constraint to growth in the world

04:52: We can't afford to waste our talent because we have a lot less of it. And we have a lot more need from our population in terms of the economic help they need in order to live a happy life and in our economy. Because we have a lot of talent, a lot of it is not properly trained, and ultimately, we have to get the properly trained talent to take risks. (05:20) Because if all we do is our doctor or lawyer, they're not going to increase productivity. They're not going to produce innovation. And so that is the constraint to growth in our economy, it’s probably the constraint to growth in the world.

41:41: The lack of talent is a real constraint in trying to get things done. Not only find the ideas but reduce the risk. And so that's a very important piece of it. This whole risk with our savings gives the impression that capital's really cheap.

How ideas affect taxes

07:22: If you have great ideas, the tax rate is going to matter a lot because you're multiplying by the tax rate. If you don't have good ideas, it doesn't matter if you have zero times in a high or a low tax; then we're still going to be zero.

Two effects of properly trained talent 

39:41: Properly trained talent has two effects. One is that it goes out and finds the ideas because, without talent, you don't find the ideas. But the second thing it does is reduce the risk of implementing those ideas. So it has this risk-reducing function.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 240. From Capitalism To Talentism - Today’s Key Competitive Advantage feat. Edward Conard Greg La Blanc 01:05:09 In recent decades there has been a major restructuring of the economy from capital-intensive manufacturing to knowledge-intensive, innovation-driven fields which increases the demand for high skilled workers. But why is it, that the US is producing a lot more innovation than other parts of the world? Edward W. Conard is an American businessman, author, and scholar. He is a New York Times-bestselling author of The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class and Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong; and a contributor to the book Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality. Conard is an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Previously, he was a managing director at Bain Capital, where he worked closely with former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Edward and Greg talk about how information technology led to increased productivity and how the vast majority of the benefits generated by these technological advances go to the consumers and only a tiny fraction is captured by the people that are in the business of producing it. They also discuss why the argument that the middle class is being hollowed out is wrong, and Edward’s strategy for increasing wages for the middle and working classes. In recent decades there has been a major restructuring of the economy from capital-intensive manufacturing to knowledge-intensive, innovation-driven fields which increases the demand for high skilled workers. But why is it, that the US is producing a lot more innovation than other parts of the world? Edward W. Conard is an American businessman, author, and scholar. He is a New York Times-bestselling author of The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class and Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong; and a contributor to the book Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality. Conard is an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Previously, he was a managing director at Bain Capital, where he worked closely with former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Edward and Greg talk about how information technology led to increased productivity and how the vast majority of the benefits generated by these technological advances go to the consumers and only a tiny fraction is captured by the people that are in the business of producing it. They also discuss why the argument that the middle class is being hollowed out is wrong, and Edward’s strategy for increasing wages for the middle and working classes. false full 240 78eeb97a-216e-441a-9541-34582fc4ec7e 239. Chasing Curiosity in Science and Philosophy feat. Dani Bassett and Perry Zurn The brain is a curious thing, but how does curiosity happen in it? Where does curiosity begin, and what does that process look like? Curiosity does quite a lot inside the brain, from connecting dots of knowledge to shaping entire architectures of thought and organization. Understanding the underpinnings of this motivating force can allow us to harness its power for our own advancement.

Dani Bassett is the J. Peter Skirkanich Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, with appointments in the Departments of Bioengineering, Electrical & Systems Engineering, Physics & Astronomy, Neurology, and Psychiatry. They are also an external professor of the Santa Fe Institute. Perry Zurn is an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Philosophy Department of Philosophy & Religion at American University in Washington D.C. Bassett and Zurn are also twins, and co-authors of the new book, Curious Minds: The Power of Connection, about the nature of curiosity, where it originates from, and how it functions. 

Dani, Perry, and Greg talk about curiosity as it relates to both Perry’s specialty area of Philosophy and Dani’s specialty area of Neuroscience. They discuss lessons they learned from researching and writing their book and get into some of the discoveries they made inside. They talk about how people can be subdivided into busy bodies, hunters, and dancers and the traits of each. They discuss early school experiences that allowed them to chase and foster the power of curiosity in their own childhoods, and they touch on what a collective curiosity would entail. 

Episode Quotes:

Curiosity is a connective process

[Dani Bassett ] 06:39: We argue that it's that connective property of information gathering, information seeking that is what curiosity does. And it provides us with a full, interconnected knowledge base that allows us to reason from our past and make new decisions in the future. It allows us to understand the mental processes of another person, and it also allows us to connect among people themselves.

[Perry Zurn] 47:01: Creativity along the way, as fundamental to what it means to be educated, would change the entire structure of education. 

The practices of attunement

[Perry Zurn] 13:04: When we're curious, we direct our observational skills—our capacity to notice or be attuned to certain things or be attuned to particular dynamics, for example. That's something that's at the core of what curiosity does. That's how it does some of its connecting work.

The role of a teacher in a child’s curiosity

[Dani Bassett ]13:04: Teachers are in this very tricky situation where they have an opportunity to model and to say, "Here, look at how my mind moves." You could try this too. And they also need to be quiet and not forecasting their own curiosity sometimes so that they can notice, hear, support, value, and encourage the kind of curiosity that the child has.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Dani Bassett
Perry Zurn

Their/His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 27 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The brain is a curious thing, but how does curiosity happen in it? Where does curiosity begin, and what does that process look like? Curiosity does quite a lot inside the brain, from connecting dots of knowledge to shaping entire architectures of thought and organization. Understanding the underpinnings of this motivating force can allow us to harness its power for our own advancement.

Dani Bassett is the J. Peter Skirkanich Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, with appointments in the Departments of Bioengineering, Electrical & Systems Engineering, Physics & Astronomy, Neurology, and Psychiatry. They are also an external professor of the Santa Fe Institute. Perry Zurn is an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Philosophy Department of Philosophy & Religion at American University in Washington D.C. Bassett and Zurn are also twins, and co-authors of the new book, Curious Minds: The Power of Connection, about the nature of curiosity, where it originates from, and how it functions. 

Dani, Perry, and Greg talk about curiosity as it relates to both Perry’s specialty area of Philosophy and Dani’s specialty area of Neuroscience. They discuss lessons they learned from researching and writing their book and get into some of the discoveries they made inside. They talk about how people can be subdivided into busy bodies, hunters, and dancers and the traits of each. They discuss early school experiences that allowed them to chase and foster the power of curiosity in their own childhoods, and they touch on what a collective curiosity would entail. 

Episode Quotes:

Curiosity is a connective process

[Dani Bassett ] 06:39: We argue that it's that connective property of information gathering, information seeking that is what curiosity does. And it provides us with a full, interconnected knowledge base that allows us to reason from our past and make new decisions in the future. It allows us to understand the mental processes of another person, and it also allows us to connect among people themselves.

[Perry Zurn] 47:01: Creativity along the way, as fundamental to what it means to be educated, would change the entire structure of education. 

The practices of attunement

[Perry Zurn] 13:04: When we're curious, we direct our observational skills—our capacity to notice or be attuned to certain things or be attuned to particular dynamics, for example. That's something that's at the core of what curiosity does. That's how it does some of its connecting work.

The role of a teacher in a child’s curiosity

[Dani Bassett ]13:04: Teachers are in this very tricky situation where they have an opportunity to model and to say, "Here, look at how my mind moves." You could try this too. And they also need to be quiet and not forecasting their own curiosity sometimes so that they can notice, hear, support, value, and encourage the kind of curiosity that the child has.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Dani Bassett
Perry Zurn

Their/His Work:


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

]]> 239. Chasing Curiosity in Science and Philosophy feat. Dani Bassett and Perry Zurn Greg La Blanc 00:50:51 The brain is a curious thing, but how does curiosity happen in it? Where does curiosity begin, and what does that process look like? Curiosity does quite a lot inside the brain, from connecting dots of knowledge to shaping entire architectures of thought and organization. Understanding the underpinnings of this motivating force can allow us to harness its power for our own advancement. Dani Bassett is the J. Peter Skirkanich Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, with appointments in the Departments of Bioengineering, Electrical & Systems Engineering, Physics & Astronomy, Neurology, and Psychiatry. They are also an external professor of the Santa Fe Institute. Perry Zurn is an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Philosophy Department of Philosophy & Religion at American University in Washington D.C. Bassett and Zurn are also twins, and co-authors of the new book, Curious Minds: The Power of Connection, about the nature of curiosity, where it originates from, and how it functions. Dani, Perry, and Greg talk about curiosity as it relates to both Perry’s specialty area of Philosophy and Dani’s specialty area of Neuroscience. They discuss lessons they learned from researching and writing their book and get into some of the discoveries they made inside. They talk about how people can be subdivided into busy bodies, hunters, and dancers and the traits of each. They discuss early school experiences that allowed them to chase and foster the power of curiosity in their own childhoods, and they touch on what a collective curiosity would entail. The brain is a curious thing, but how does curiosity happen in it? Where does curiosity begin, and what does that process look like? Curiosity does quite a lot inside the brain, from connecting dots of knowledge to shaping entire architectures of thought and organization. Understanding the underpinnings of this motivating force can allow us to harness its power for our own advancement. Dani Bassett is the J. Peter Skirkanich Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, with appointments in the Departments of Bioengineering, Electrical & Systems Engineering, Physics & Astronomy, Neurology, and Psychiatry. They are also an external professor of the Santa Fe Institute. Perry Zurn is an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Philosophy Department of Philosophy & Religion at American University in Washington D.C. Bassett and Zurn are also twins, and co-authors of the new book, Curious Minds: The Power of Connection, about the nature of curiosity, where it originates from, and how it functions. Dani, Perry, and Greg talk about curiosity as it relates to both Perry’s specialty area of Philosophy and Dani’s specialty area of Neuroscience. They discuss lessons they learned from researching and writing their book and get into some of the discoveries they made inside. They talk about how people can be subdivided into busy bodies, hunters, and dancers and the traits of each. They discuss early school experiences that allowed them to chase and foster the power of curiosity in their own childhoods, and they touch on what a collective curiosity would entail. false full 239 b83fa72c-7cb8-41f8-8045-a9093b344c6e 238. Walling Versus Bridging feat. Glenn Hubbard Growth is good but creates losers as well as winners. The Economics profession has far too often failed to provide insight into how to design policies that protect those negatively impacted by forces such as technological change and globalization. 

There’s a lot riding with how we address the economic ‘losers’, and it matters because the two main ways to engage with this problem have dramatically different consequences.

Glenn Hubbard is an author, economist, and also Professor of Economics as well as Dean at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business until his retirement in 2019. Glenn was also the Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Glenn’s latest book is The Wall and the Bridge: Fear and Opportunity in Disruption’s Wake, and he tackles the two main ways to assist the ‘losers’ in life. Governments and establishments try to wall off the affected areas and protect them from further harm, but at great cost to and minimal benefit for those people affected. Glenn promotes the second strategy of building bridges out from the areas of loss in different directions as lifelines, serving to assist in whatever transition needs to be made to reach a working position.

Glenn and Greg talk about the two approaches to disruption, walls, which seek to keep change at bay, and bridges, which make change easier to accept. They discuss how Lincoln and Roosevelt built bridges through Land Grant Colleges and the GI Bill and how current policymakers could build new bridges to opportunity. . Glenn explains the role of community colleges and labor mobility and local development initiatives in places like Pittsburgh, PA, and Youngstown, OH.

Episode Quotes:

Why business leaders should step outside their comfort zone

41:18: Many business people think that there's enormous and widespread support for business in the system. And so we can just tinker around the edges and ignore the social support. (41:48) I do think business leaders have to step outside their comfort zone a little. I don't think social support is given, and I do think they have to think of themselves as somewhere, not anywhere.

On being optimistic about the future of economic growth

49:07: Markets and the market for ideas have a great capacity to solve our problems. Where we trip over ourselves is when we don't notice the consequences of things, but a perfectly alert group of economists, businesspeople, public policymakers, and citizens—real people as well as economists—can make this work.

Growth and economic development

03:16: Imagine in my hand, I had a coin, and the head side of that coin is called growth. Now, who wouldn't be for that? Here's the problem: There's no modern theory of economic growth that doesn't entail a tail side of the coin, which is disruption. Every modern theory of growth has it. There's no such thing as growing a little bit each year smoothly, and everybody's incrementally better off. That's not how economic growth happens.

Why isn't the congress the political realm where deals take place?

26:56: Elites, whether they sat in boardrooms, congressional halls, or, dare I say, the economics profession, weren't noticing that we were speaking more to people who won. And not enough the people who lost and the anxiety that creates for individuals and communities. So I think noticing is a big element of it.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 25 Jan 2023 15:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Growth is good but creates losers as well as winners. The Economics profession has far too often failed to provide insight into how to design policies that protect those negatively impacted by forces such as technological change and globalization. 

There’s a lot riding with how we address the economic ‘losers’, and it matters because the two main ways to engage with this problem have dramatically different consequences.

Glenn Hubbard is an author, economist, and also Professor of Economics as well as Dean at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business until his retirement in 2019. Glenn was also the Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Glenn’s latest book is The Wall and the Bridge: Fear and Opportunity in Disruption’s Wake, and he tackles the two main ways to assist the ‘losers’ in life. Governments and establishments try to wall off the affected areas and protect them from further harm, but at great cost to and minimal benefit for those people affected. Glenn promotes the second strategy of building bridges out from the areas of loss in different directions as lifelines, serving to assist in whatever transition needs to be made to reach a working position.

Glenn and Greg talk about the two approaches to disruption, walls, which seek to keep change at bay, and bridges, which make change easier to accept. They discuss how Lincoln and Roosevelt built bridges through Land Grant Colleges and the GI Bill and how current policymakers could build new bridges to opportunity. . Glenn explains the role of community colleges and labor mobility and local development initiatives in places like Pittsburgh, PA, and Youngstown, OH.

Episode Quotes:

Why business leaders should step outside their comfort zone

41:18: Many business people think that there's enormous and widespread support for business in the system. And so we can just tinker around the edges and ignore the social support. (41:48) I do think business leaders have to step outside their comfort zone a little. I don't think social support is given, and I do think they have to think of themselves as somewhere, not anywhere.

On being optimistic about the future of economic growth

49:07: Markets and the market for ideas have a great capacity to solve our problems. Where we trip over ourselves is when we don't notice the consequences of things, but a perfectly alert group of economists, businesspeople, public policymakers, and citizens—real people as well as economists—can make this work.

Growth and economic development

03:16: Imagine in my hand, I had a coin, and the head side of that coin is called growth. Now, who wouldn't be for that? Here's the problem: There's no modern theory of economic growth that doesn't entail a tail side of the coin, which is disruption. Every modern theory of growth has it. There's no such thing as growing a little bit each year smoothly, and everybody's incrementally better off. That's not how economic growth happens.

Why isn't the congress the political realm where deals take place?

26:56: Elites, whether they sat in boardrooms, congressional halls, or, dare I say, the economics profession, weren't noticing that we were speaking more to people who won. And not enough the people who lost and the anxiety that creates for individuals and communities. So I think noticing is a big element of it.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 238. Walling Versus Bridging feat. Glenn Hubbard Greg La Blanc 00:50:05 Growth is good but creates losers as well as winners. The Economics profession has far too often failed to provide insight into how to design policies that protect those negatively impacted by forces such as technological change and globalization. There’s a lot riding with how we address the economic ‘losers’, and it matters because the two main ways to engage with this problem have dramatically different consequences. Glenn Hubbard is an author, economist, and also Professor of Economics as well as Dean at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business until his retirement in 2019. Glenn was also the Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Glenn’s latest book is The Wall and the Bridge: Fear and Opportunity in Disruption’s Wake, and he tackles the two main ways to assist the ‘losers’ in life. Governments and establishments try to wall off the affected areas and protect them from further harm, but at great cost to and minimal benefit for those people affected. Glenn promotes the second strategy of building bridges out from the areas of loss in different directions as lifelines, serving to assist in whatever transition needs to be made to reach a working position. Glenn and Greg talk about the two approaches to disruption, walls, which seek to keep change at bay, and bridges, which make change easier to accept. They discuss how Lincoln and Roosevelt built bridges through Land Grant Colleges and the GI Bill and how current policymakers could build new bridges to opportunity. . Glenn explains the role of community colleges and labor mobility and local development initiatives in places like Pittsburgh, PA, and Youngstown, OH. Growth is good but creates losers as well as winners. The Economics profession has far too often failed to provide insight into how to design policies that protect those negatively impacted by forces such as technological change and globalization. There’s a lot riding with how we address the economic ‘losers’, and it matters because the two main ways to engage with this problem have dramatically different consequences. Glenn Hubbard is an author, economist, and also Professor of Economics as well as Dean at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business until his retirement in 2019. Glenn was also the Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Glenn’s latest book is The Wall and the Bridge: Fear and Opportunity in Disruption’s Wake, and he tackles the two main ways to assist the ‘losers’ in life. Governments and establishments try to wall off the affected areas and protect them from further harm, but at great cost to and minimal benefit for those people affected. Glenn promotes the second strategy of building bridges out from the areas of loss in different directions as lifelines, serving to assist in whatever transition needs to be made to reach a working position. Glenn and Greg talk about the two approaches to disruption, walls, which seek to keep change at bay, and bridges, which make change easier to accept. They discuss how Lincoln and Roosevelt built bridges through Land Grant Colleges and the GI Bill and how current policymakers could build new bridges to opportunity. . Glenn explains the role of community colleges and labor mobility and local development initiatives in places like Pittsburgh, PA, and Youngstown, OH. false full 238 d74e5e87-ecc8-4e2d-87b4-90764fbc56f0 237. The Science Of Taste feat. John McQuaid In the last 30 years, there has been an explosion in the diversity of cuisine. But while there are more diverse and healthier food choices available than ever before, and people are becoming more aware of what they are actually eating, the science of taste is still underdeveloped compared to our other senses.

John McQuaid, is a journalist and author, most recently of the book "Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat," which explores the biology and history of flavor from the origin of life to the modern food system. While working for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, he was the lead reporter on a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper series about market-driven fisheries collapses around the world and co-writer of a series that anticipated the city’s near-demise by Hurricane Katrina. He has also written for other publications including Smithsonian magazine, The Washington Post, and Scientific American.

John and Greg talk about the interplay of the natural, genetic and neurological aspects of taste and how this sense has evolved in our culture in the last decades. They also discuss the limitations of industrial manufacturing and artificial flavors and the obstacles to using machine intelligence to come up with new recipes.

Episode Quotes:

Food is a product of a particular time and place

28:36: Food is very much a product of particular time and place. And to experiment radically with it is both exciting, somewhat dangerous; if you do it right, can be a real revolution. And so that's a lot of what's going on now. In flavor, they're starting to manipulate these processes, which have cultural roots, but nobody really understands how it works in terms of the flavors it produces because flavors are so complicated. Just the biochemical makeup of them, in addition to how we experience them, is very poorly understood.

12:02: Over time, we learned to integrate and create more complicated experiences around food that could turn bitterness into something that was a plus rather than a minus.

Can we use machine intelligence to come up with new recipes?

44:15: To create new cuisine, you need to build on existing traditions and experiment, and it's a constant, never-ending process that's underway. And it's a live process. It requires human beings trying different things and tasting different things. And they might get some clues from looking at how computers would suggest putting certain flavors together. But until you actually do that in a kitchen, you're not really going to know what works and what doesn't.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

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]]> Tue, 24 Jan 2023 03:50:43 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In the last 30 years, there has been an explosion in the diversity of cuisine. But while there are more diverse and healthier food choices available than ever before, and people are becoming more aware of what they are actually eating, the science of taste is still underdeveloped compared to our other senses.

John McQuaid, is a journalist and author, most recently of the book "Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat," which explores the biology and history of flavor from the origin of life to the modern food system. While working for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, he was the lead reporter on a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper series about market-driven fisheries collapses around the world and co-writer of a series that anticipated the city’s near-demise by Hurricane Katrina. He has also written for other publications including Smithsonian magazine, The Washington Post, and Scientific American.

John and Greg talk about the interplay of the natural, genetic and neurological aspects of taste and how this sense has evolved in our culture in the last decades. They also discuss the limitations of industrial manufacturing and artificial flavors and the obstacles to using machine intelligence to come up with new recipes.

Episode Quotes:

Food is a product of a particular time and place

28:36: Food is very much a product of particular time and place. And to experiment radically with it is both exciting, somewhat dangerous; if you do it right, can be a real revolution. And so that's a lot of what's going on now. In flavor, they're starting to manipulate these processes, which have cultural roots, but nobody really understands how it works in terms of the flavors it produces because flavors are so complicated. Just the biochemical makeup of them, in addition to how we experience them, is very poorly understood.

12:02: Over time, we learned to integrate and create more complicated experiences around food that could turn bitterness into something that was a plus rather than a minus.

Can we use machine intelligence to come up with new recipes?

44:15: To create new cuisine, you need to build on existing traditions and experiment, and it's a constant, never-ending process that's underway. And it's a live process. It requires human beings trying different things and tasting different things. And they might get some clues from looking at how computers would suggest putting certain flavors together. But until you actually do that in a kitchen, you're not really going to know what works and what doesn't.

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]]> 237. The Science Of Taste feat. John McQuaid Greg La Blanc 00:47:20 In the last 30 years, there has been an explosion in the diversity of cuisine. But while there are more diverse and healthier food choices available than ever before, and people are becoming more aware of what they are actually eating, the science of taste is still underdeveloped compared to our other senses. John McQuaid, is a journalist and author, most recently of the book "Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat," which explores the biology and history of flavor from the origin of life to the modern food system. While working for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, he was the lead reporter on a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper series about market-driven fisheries collapses around the world and co-writer of a series that anticipated the city’s near-demise by Hurricane Katrina. He has also written for other publications including Smithsonian magazine, The Washington Post, and Scientific American. John and Greg talk about the interplay of the natural, genetic and neurological aspects of taste and how this sense has evolved in our culture in the last decades. They also discuss the limitations of industrial manufacturing and artificial flavors and the obstacles to using machine intelligence to come up with new recipes. In the last 30 years, there has been an explosion in the diversity of cuisine. But while there are more diverse and healthier food choices available than ever before, and people are becoming more aware of what they are actually eating, the science of taste is still underdeveloped compared to our other senses. John McQuaid, is a journalist and author, most recently of the book "Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat," which explores the biology and history of flavor from the origin of life to the modern food system. While working for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, he was the lead reporter on a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper series about market-driven fisheries collapses around the world and co-writer of a series that anticipated the city’s near-demise by Hurricane Katrina. He has also written for other publications including Smithsonian magazine, The Washington Post, and Scientific American. John and Greg talk about the interplay of the natural, genetic and neurological aspects of taste and how this sense has evolved in our culture in the last decades. They also discuss the limitations of industrial manufacturing and artificial flavors and the obstacles to using machine intelligence to come up with new recipes. false full 237 6625c0a5-fdd2-4042-a903-e3c1adc98f12 236. Cleanliness, Purity, Health and Culture feat. James Hamblin When is clean too clean? And what science connects how we treat our skin with common skin conditions? While the virtues of cleanliness may seem to flow from modern scientific findings about germs, there are deep cultural and economic factors that have shaped the evolution of hygiene.

James Hamblin is a physician who specializes in public health and preventative medicine. He is also a journalist, author, and lecturer at Yale University. His latest book is titled Clean: The New Science of Skin, which was named an editor’s choice by The New York Times Book Review, and Vanity Fair named it among the best books of 2020. 

James and Greg discuss James’s book and the counterintuitive way we sometimes think of clean and healthy skin. They touch on the history of marketing by the soap and beauty industry and the relationship between status and cleanliness. James discusses new insights into the skin biome, how doctors blur the lines between the medical and the cosmetic, and unlocks some of the mysteries around various small body parts.

Episode Quotes:

How marketing manipulated us to things we don't really need

11:26: You have to create a need in someone. You have to make them believe that they are lacking something, that they previously were fine. The term "body odor" didn't exist before people trying to sell deodorant. People didn't worry about fine lines before certain beauty soaps started saying they could prevent them—a soap for preventing wrinkles. They just were using every possible marketing strategy, and that's what’s really unfortunate about it. It didn’t have to go that way.

On the concept of cleanliness

03:54: The concept of cleanliness goes back far, far beyond germ theory, and it's always been a stand-in for purity, whether it's religious purity, ethnic purity, or sexual purity, and these are arbitrary concepts, but it's been used as this sort of idea of what is right and wrong, essentially.

The information constraints faced by doctors

26:56: All kinds of different psychological stressors require constant work, help, and support. It's not that doctors don't know. It's just that we don't have a healthcare system that makes those things part of the toolkit.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

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]]> Fri, 20 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When is clean too clean? And what science connects how we treat our skin with common skin conditions? While the virtues of cleanliness may seem to flow from modern scientific findings about germs, there are deep cultural and economic factors that have shaped the evolution of hygiene.

James Hamblin is a physician who specializes in public health and preventative medicine. He is also a journalist, author, and lecturer at Yale University. His latest book is titled Clean: The New Science of Skin, which was named an editor’s choice by The New York Times Book Review, and Vanity Fair named it among the best books of 2020. 

James and Greg discuss James’s book and the counterintuitive way we sometimes think of clean and healthy skin. They touch on the history of marketing by the soap and beauty industry and the relationship between status and cleanliness. James discusses new insights into the skin biome, how doctors blur the lines between the medical and the cosmetic, and unlocks some of the mysteries around various small body parts.

Episode Quotes:

How marketing manipulated us to things we don't really need

11:26: You have to create a need in someone. You have to make them believe that they are lacking something, that they previously were fine. The term "body odor" didn't exist before people trying to sell deodorant. People didn't worry about fine lines before certain beauty soaps started saying they could prevent them—a soap for preventing wrinkles. They just were using every possible marketing strategy, and that's what’s really unfortunate about it. It didn’t have to go that way.

On the concept of cleanliness

03:54: The concept of cleanliness goes back far, far beyond germ theory, and it's always been a stand-in for purity, whether it's religious purity, ethnic purity, or sexual purity, and these are arbitrary concepts, but it's been used as this sort of idea of what is right and wrong, essentially.

The information constraints faced by doctors

26:56: All kinds of different psychological stressors require constant work, help, and support. It's not that doctors don't know. It's just that we don't have a healthcare system that makes those things part of the toolkit.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 236. Cleanliness, Purity, Health and Culture feat. James Hamblin Greg La Blanc 00:33:17 When is clean too clean? And what science connects how we treat our skin with common skin conditions? While the virtues of cleanliness may seem to flow from modern scientific findings about germs, there are deep cultural and economic factors that have shaped the evolution of hygiene. James Hamblin is a physician who specializes in public health and preventative medicine. He is also a journalist, author, and lecturer at Yale University. His latest book is titled Clean: The New Science of Skin, which was named an editor’s choice by The New York Times Book Review, and Vanity Fair named it among the best books of 2020. James and Greg discuss James’s book and the counterintuitive way we sometimes think of clean and healthy skin. They touch on the history of marketing by the soap and beauty industry and the relationship between status and cleanliness. James discusses new insights into the skin biome, how doctors blur the lines between the medical and the cosmetic, and unlocks some of the mysteries around various small body parts. When is clean too clean? And what science connects how we treat our skin with common skin conditions? While the virtues of cleanliness may seem to flow from modern scientific findings about germs, there are deep cultural and economic factors that have shaped the evolution of hygiene. James Hamblin is a physician who specializes in public health and preventative medicine. He is also a journalist, author, and lecturer at Yale University. His latest book is titled Clean: The New Science of Skin, which was named an editor’s choice by The New York Times Book Review, and Vanity Fair named it among the best books of 2020. James and Greg discuss James’s book and the counterintuitive way we sometimes think of clean and healthy skin. They touch on the history of marketing by the soap and beauty industry and the relationship between status and cleanliness. James discusses new insights into the skin biome, how doctors blur the lines between the medical and the cosmetic, and unlocks some of the mysteries around various small body parts. false full 236 bbc9abed-25df-4fa3-a353-fb4fb27f63cd 235. Fear, Emotional Recognition, and Empathy feat. Abigail Marsh Fear is a common and important human emotion that we’ve all experienced at some time. But have you ever paid attention to how you react to fear in others? Your response may say a lot about your moral compass. 

Neuroscientist Abigail Marsh studied two groups of people, psychopaths and altruists, and how they interpret fear and other emotions in others. The psychopaths have trouble identifying fear in others, while the altruists respond immediately with empathy. The result of Marsh’s research is her book The Fear Factor: How one emotion connects altruists, psychopaths & everyone in between. On this episode of unSILOed, Abigail and Greg talk about her research and how these findings apply to all of our lives and interactions with people. 

Abigail Marsh is a professor of psychology at Georgetown University. She runs the Laboratory on Social & Affective Neuroscience which conducts research on human behavior and interaction. 

Episode Quotes:

Fearlessness is a core part of a psychopathic personality

39:07: People with psychopathy are really bad at recognizing when other people are afraid. And the reason we think that is because they don't feel fear strongly themselves. Fearlessness is a core part of the psychopathic personality. And so the idea is if you don't really know what fear feels like, and some people with psychopathy report not ever feeling fear, you don't have the empathic reaction to it in the brain that, I think, is what allows you to then identify the emotion that you're witnessing in somebody else.

30:59: Being good at fear and recognizing when other people are afraid is a really strong individual difference predictor of altruism. 

The violence inhibition mechanism

45:47: The idea is that, in typical people, the amygdala is a key part of the brain that, during development, is sort of neurobiologically prepared to respond to other people's distress and to learn from other people's distress, such that when you learn that a particular behavior results in another person looking highly distressed, for example, afraid, you very quickly learn not to do that thing again. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 18 Jan 2023 16:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Fear is a common and important human emotion that we’ve all experienced at some time. But have you ever paid attention to how you react to fear in others? Your response may say a lot about your moral compass. 

Neuroscientist Abigail Marsh studied two groups of people, psychopaths and altruists, and how they interpret fear and other emotions in others. The psychopaths have trouble identifying fear in others, while the altruists respond immediately with empathy. The result of Marsh’s research is her book The Fear Factor: How one emotion connects altruists, psychopaths & everyone in between. On this episode of unSILOed, Abigail and Greg talk about her research and how these findings apply to all of our lives and interactions with people. 

Abigail Marsh is a professor of psychology at Georgetown University. She runs the Laboratory on Social & Affective Neuroscience which conducts research on human behavior and interaction. 

Episode Quotes:

Fearlessness is a core part of a psychopathic personality

39:07: People with psychopathy are really bad at recognizing when other people are afraid. And the reason we think that is because they don't feel fear strongly themselves. Fearlessness is a core part of the psychopathic personality. And so the idea is if you don't really know what fear feels like, and some people with psychopathy report not ever feeling fear, you don't have the empathic reaction to it in the brain that, I think, is what allows you to then identify the emotion that you're witnessing in somebody else.

30:59: Being good at fear and recognizing when other people are afraid is a really strong individual difference predictor of altruism. 

The violence inhibition mechanism

45:47: The idea is that, in typical people, the amygdala is a key part of the brain that, during development, is sort of neurobiologically prepared to respond to other people's distress and to learn from other people's distress, such that when you learn that a particular behavior results in another person looking highly distressed, for example, afraid, you very quickly learn not to do that thing again. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 235. Fear, Emotional Recognition, and Empathy feat. Abigail Marsh Greg La Blanc 00:56:02 Fear is a common and important human emotion that we’ve all experienced at some time. But have you ever paid attention to how you react to fear in others? Your response may say a lot about your moral compass. Neuroscientist Abigail Marsh studied two groups of people, psychopaths and altruists, and how they interpret fear and other emotions in others. The psychopaths have trouble identifying fear in others, while the altruists respond immediately with empathy. The result of Marsh’s research is her book The Fear Factor: How one emotion connects altruists, psychopaths & everyone in between. On this episode of unSILOed, Abigail and Greg talk about her research and how these findings apply to all of our lives and interactions with people. Abigail Marsh is a professor of psychology at Georgetown University. She runs the Laboratory on Social & Affective Neuroscience which conducts research on human behavior and interaction. Fear is a common and important human emotion that we’ve all experienced at some time. But have you ever paid attention to how you react to fear in others? Your response may say a lot about your moral compass. Neuroscientist Abigail Marsh studied two groups of people, psychopaths and altruists, and how they interpret fear and other emotions in others. The psychopaths have trouble identifying fear in others, while the altruists respond immediately with empathy. The result of Marsh’s research is her book The Fear Factor: How one emotion connects altruists, psychopaths & everyone in between. On this episode of unSILOed, Abigail and Greg talk about her research and how these findings apply to all of our lives and interactions with people. Abigail Marsh is a professor of psychology at Georgetown University. She runs the Laboratory on Social & Affective Neuroscience which conducts research on human behavior and interaction. false full 235 516e1682-b138-42cc-8075-1cf1409082cb 234. How Middlemen Dominate The Economy feat. Kathryn Judge Whether we are talking about food, clothing, or financial products, the supply chains which convert the raw materials to finished goods are getting more and more complex, giving rise to a wide range of intermediaries, ranging from the Walmarts and Amazons of the world to the Etsys and the Kickstarters. Increasing complexity often means increasing opacity. Regardless of the industry, understanding where our stuff comes from requires an understanding of intermediation design. 

Kathryn Judge, a Columbia law professor who researches financial markets, explores the complexities of our modern economy and supply chain systems in her new book Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source. She joins Greg on this episode of unSILOed to talk about consumer habits in our modern economy, how convenience changed the world, and the sociological impacts of this convenience. 

Kathryn Judge is the Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. Her academic work focuses on financial institutions, innovation, and banking. 

Episode Quotes:

Defining the middleman economy

03:31: When I talk about the middleman economy, it's really two phenomena that build off each other. One, are they increasing the scale of intermediaries? Whether it's large banks, Walmart, or Amazon. And then how the scale of those largest intermediaries justifies changes in the process of production quite often where it becomes more disaggregated so you get the longer and the complex supply chains, and then how these two patterns feed off of each other.

38:09: Even though we're seeing a shift in consumer and investor demands, conscious consumerism is not going to solve the structural challenges we're facing right now. 

There is always somebody on the other side of your transaction.

28:34: There are people and places behind all of the goods that we're bringing into our lives. And once you start to reawaken that awareness, that becomes a mechanism for also helping to build a political will to think about, "Well, what do we want those structures to look like?" And what are the tradeoffs we're willing to make, and what are the tradeoffs we don't want to make?

Using technology to enable disruption to intermediation schemes

21:58: We are seeing technology being used in different ways. On the one hand, you do have these large intermediaries, like Amazon and Walmart, that we think about that are doing an incredible amount with data in ways that are helping to strengthen their position. At the same time, we are seeing technology come in and enable a disruption to some of the largest and most entrenched intermediation schemes and enable a different type of exchange.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 16 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Whether we are talking about food, clothing, or financial products, the supply chains which convert the raw materials to finished goods are getting more and more complex, giving rise to a wide range of intermediaries, ranging from the Walmarts and Amazons of the world to the Etsys and the Kickstarters. Increasing complexity often means increasing opacity. Regardless of the industry, understanding where our stuff comes from requires an understanding of intermediation design. 

Kathryn Judge, a Columbia law professor who researches financial markets, explores the complexities of our modern economy and supply chain systems in her new book Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source. She joins Greg on this episode of unSILOed to talk about consumer habits in our modern economy, how convenience changed the world, and the sociological impacts of this convenience. 

Kathryn Judge is the Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. Her academic work focuses on financial institutions, innovation, and banking. 

Episode Quotes:

Defining the middleman economy

03:31: When I talk about the middleman economy, it's really two phenomena that build off each other. One, are they increasing the scale of intermediaries? Whether it's large banks, Walmart, or Amazon. And then how the scale of those largest intermediaries justifies changes in the process of production quite often where it becomes more disaggregated so you get the longer and the complex supply chains, and then how these two patterns feed off of each other.

38:09: Even though we're seeing a shift in consumer and investor demands, conscious consumerism is not going to solve the structural challenges we're facing right now. 

There is always somebody on the other side of your transaction.

28:34: There are people and places behind all of the goods that we're bringing into our lives. And once you start to reawaken that awareness, that becomes a mechanism for also helping to build a political will to think about, "Well, what do we want those structures to look like?" And what are the tradeoffs we're willing to make, and what are the tradeoffs we don't want to make?

Using technology to enable disruption to intermediation schemes

21:58: We are seeing technology being used in different ways. On the one hand, you do have these large intermediaries, like Amazon and Walmart, that we think about that are doing an incredible amount with data in ways that are helping to strengthen their position. At the same time, we are seeing technology come in and enable a disruption to some of the largest and most entrenched intermediation schemes and enable a different type of exchange.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 234. How Middlemen Dominate The Economy feat. Kathryn Judge Greg La Blanc 00:50:51 Whether we are talking about food, clothing, or financial products, the supply chains which convert the raw materials to finished goods are getting more and more complex, giving rise to a wide range of intermediaries, ranging from the Walmarts and Amazons of the world to the Etsys and the Kickstarters. Increasing complexity often means increasing opacity. Regardless of the industry, understanding where our stuff comes from requires and understanding of intermediation design. Kathryn Judge, a Columbia law professor who researches financial markets, explores the complexities of our modern economy and supply chain systems in her new book Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source. She joins Greg on this episode of unSILOed to talk about consumer habits in our modern economy, how convenience changed the world and the sociological impacts of this convenience. Kathryn Judge is the Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. Her academic work focuses on financial institutions, innovation, and banking. Whether we are talking about food, clothing, or financial products, the supply chains which convert the raw materials to finished goods are getting more and more complex, giving rise to a wide range of intermediaries, ranging from the Walmarts and Amazons of the world to the Etsys and the Kickstarters. Increasing complexity often means increasing opacity. Regardless of the industry, understanding where our stuff comes from requires and understanding of intermediation design. Kathryn Judge, a Columbia law professor who researches financial markets, explores the complexities of our modern economy and supply chain systems in her new book Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source. She joins Greg on this episode of unSILOed to talk about consumer habits in our modern economy, how convenience changed the world and the sociological impacts of this convenience. Kathryn Judge is the Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. Her academic work focuses on financial institutions, innovation, and banking. false full 234 7f20efff-b1b7-4936-98ca-67ef95114d89 233. Changing How You Change Your Mind feat. David McRaney What happens when two sides are in disagreement and both think they are right? How do you change a mind? Some tactics can be persuasive, but others can backfire and result in no movement or even extra resistance. There are things that can be learned from these disagreements, and tools that can be used to resolve them.

David McRaney is a journalist, podcaster and author. His latest book is How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion where David explores different methodologies for changing both one’s own mind and the minds of others, exploring what works, what does not, and what was surprising along the way. He is also the author of the books You Are Now Less Dumb, and You Are Not So Smart, which shares that title with his podcast.

David and Greg talk about David’s experiences researching his books and what he found out about changing minds as he was studying how minds change. They talk about experiments with coin flips and card colors where seemingly arbitrary decisions are motivated by unconscious thought processes. They also discuss the social phenomenon of ‘The Dress’ and what science could tell us about people on either side of the color line. 

Episode Quotes:

Why do we tend to make decisions that are easier to justify?

22:52: If you deny people the information that they will use to justify their decision, they won't make the decision because they can't. We do not make decisions unless we’re allowed the opportunity to justify them. And the other side of that spectrum is unfortunately, that means we'll also tend to only make the decisions that are easiest to justify, not the ones that are "best" or have the most factual evidence underpinning them.

19:10: When it comes to arguing about facts, figures, politics, hypotheticals, and abstractions, the facts often remain inert. They stay the same, and the reasons don’t change. Your motivation to search for reasons changes.

An important part of how we flow from acting to thinking

21:42: You have people and put them in situations where they have to rationalize and justify their decisions. They will always choose the option that is easiest to justify, and if you deny them the opportunity to justify their decisions, they just stop. They just don't make anything. It's such an important part of how we flow from thinking to acting.

Defining an epiphany

47:58: An epiphany is the moment you realize you have changed your mind. It's not the moment you change your mind. It's the moment you realize you have already changed your mind. And it's a shocking, thrilling, visceral experience. And it needs to be. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 11 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What happens when two sides are in disagreement and both think they are right? How do you change a mind? Some tactics can be persuasive, but others can backfire and result in no movement or even extra resistance. There are things that can be learned from these disagreements, and tools that can be used to resolve them.

David McRaney is a journalist, podcaster and author. His latest book is How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion where David explores different methodologies for changing both one’s own mind and the minds of others, exploring what works, what does not, and what was surprising along the way. He is also the author of the books You Are Now Less Dumb, and You Are Not So Smart, which shares that title with his podcast.

David and Greg talk about David’s experiences researching his books and what he found out about changing minds as he was studying how minds change. They talk about experiments with coin flips and card colors where seemingly arbitrary decisions are motivated by unconscious thought processes. They also discuss the social phenomenon of ‘The Dress’ and what science could tell us about people on either side of the color line. 

Episode Quotes:

Why do we tend to make decisions that are easier to justify?

22:52: If you deny people the information that they will use to justify their decision, they won't make the decision because they can't. We do not make decisions unless we’re allowed the opportunity to justify them. And the other side of that spectrum is unfortunately, that means we'll also tend to only make the decisions that are easiest to justify, not the ones that are "best" or have the most factual evidence underpinning them.

19:10: When it comes to arguing about facts, figures, politics, hypotheticals, and abstractions, the facts often remain inert. They stay the same, and the reasons don’t change. Your motivation to search for reasons changes.

An important part of how we flow from acting to thinking

21:42: You have people and put them in situations where they have to rationalize and justify their decisions. They will always choose the option that is easiest to justify, and if you deny them the opportunity to justify their decisions, they just stop. They just don't make anything. It's such an important part of how we flow from thinking to acting.

Defining an epiphany

47:58: An epiphany is the moment you realize you have changed your mind. It's not the moment you change your mind. It's the moment you realize you have already changed your mind. And it's a shocking, thrilling, visceral experience. And it needs to be. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 233. Changing How You Change Your Mind feat. David McRaney Greg La Blanc 00:59:27 What happens when two sides are in disagreement and both think they are right? How do you change a mind? Some tactics can be persuasive, but others can backfire and result in no movement or even extra resistance. There are things that can be learned from these disagreements, and tools that can be used to resolve them. David McRaney is a journalist, podcaster and author. His latest book is How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion where David explores different methodologies for changing both one’s own mind and the minds of others, exploring what works, what does not, and what was surprising along the way. He is also the author of the books You Are Now Less Dumb, and You Are Not So Smart, which shares that title with his podcast. David and Greg talk about David’s experiences researching his books and what he found out about changing minds as he was studying how minds change. They talk about experiments with coin flips and card colors where seemingly arbitrary decisions are motivated by unconscious thought processes. They also discuss the social phenomenon of ‘The Dress’ and what science could tell us about people on either side of the color line. What happens when two sides are in disagreement and both think they are right? How do you change a mind? Some tactics can be persuasive, but others can backfire and result in no movement or even extra resistance. There are things that can be learned from these disagreements, and tools that can be used to resolve them. David McRaney is a journalist, podcaster and author. His latest book is How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion where David explores different methodologies for changing both one’s own mind and the minds of others, exploring what works, what does not, and what was surprising along the way. He is also the author of the books You Are Now Less Dumb, and You Are Not So Smart, which shares that title with his podcast. David and Greg talk about David’s experiences researching his books and what he found out about changing minds as he was studying how minds change. They talk about experiments with coin flips and card colors where seemingly arbitrary decisions are motivated by unconscious thought processes. They also discuss the social phenomenon of ‘The Dress’ and what science could tell us about people on either side of the color line. false full 233 b1f2f671-76e0-4561-964e-801425f9e71b 232. Cancer, Cooperation, and Cheating feat. Athena Aktipis All multicellular organisms face the risk of cancer cells developing and growing. When these cells work together and cooperate they can create new problems that require novel approaches to solve. Healthy cells also cooperate with each other in the effort to eliminate the cancer as the two sides battle for territory in the body. 

Athena Aktipis is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, the Director of ASU’s Interdisciplinary Cooperation Initiative, and a member of the Center for Evolution and Medicine. Athena is also the author of The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer. She is a cooperation theorist, theoretical evolutionary biologist, and cancer biologist working at the intersection of these fields, and she searches for general principles of cooperation that manifest across diverse systems. 

Athena and Greg discuss the world of cancer cells, and the way in which they cooperate with each other. They go over different theories for cellular evolution that relate to cancer and Athena shares some surprising strategies to deal with cancer when it evolves in a body. They also discuss ways to deal with evolutionary management, and the different approaches that some disciplines have that lend themselves well to interdisciplinary study.

Episode Quotes:

How should cancer intervention be approached?

33:24: If we think about cancer as an evolutionary system, as an evolutionary problem, we think of cancer as fundamentally being a process, right? It's a process of evolution happening inside the body in a way that is favoring cells aligned with our interests as beings. Then that allows us to really shift the question about intervention to, how we could, instead of targeting cancer and trying to kill cancer, which, you know, sometimes that makes sense. But we can instead think, "How can we actually shape the process of evolution in the body?"

23:03: One of the dirty tricks cancer cells have up their collective sleeves is that within their genomes are all of the genes that allow cells to cooperate really well to make our bodies functional.

Our bodies are a vast ecosystem for cancer cells

24:00: Our bodies are a vast ecosystem for cancer cells. And there are so many sub-habitats, regions, and places where cancer cells and groups of cancer cells can be early in the evolution of cancer before you can even detect anything like invasion and metastasis. There could very well be these microscopic populations of these groups of cancer cells that are, in all these little niches, that may be competing with each other.

The trade-off with treating cancer

18:49: In order to have a body that would be not susceptible to cancer at all, the ways that evolution could select for that include shutting a lot of things down that are important for other functions.

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]]> Mon, 9 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast All multicellular organisms face the risk of cancer cells developing and growing. When these cells work together and cooperate they can create new problems that require novel approaches to solve. Healthy cells also cooperate with each other in the effort to eliminate the cancer as the two sides battle for territory in the body. 

Athena Aktipis is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, the Director of ASU’s Interdisciplinary Cooperation Initiative, and a member of the Center for Evolution and Medicine. Athena is also the author of The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer. She is a cooperation theorist, theoretical evolutionary biologist, and cancer biologist working at the intersection of these fields, and she searches for general principles of cooperation that manifest across diverse systems. 

Athena and Greg discuss the world of cancer cells, and the way in which they cooperate with each other. They go over different theories for cellular evolution that relate to cancer and Athena shares some surprising strategies to deal with cancer when it evolves in a body. They also discuss ways to deal with evolutionary management, and the different approaches that some disciplines have that lend themselves well to interdisciplinary study.

Episode Quotes:

How should cancer intervention be approached?

33:24: If we think about cancer as an evolutionary system, as an evolutionary problem, we think of cancer as fundamentally being a process, right? It's a process of evolution happening inside the body in a way that is favoring cells aligned with our interests as beings. Then that allows us to really shift the question about intervention to, how we could, instead of targeting cancer and trying to kill cancer, which, you know, sometimes that makes sense. But we can instead think, "How can we actually shape the process of evolution in the body?"

23:03: One of the dirty tricks cancer cells have up their collective sleeves is that within their genomes are all of the genes that allow cells to cooperate really well to make our bodies functional.

Our bodies are a vast ecosystem for cancer cells

24:00: Our bodies are a vast ecosystem for cancer cells. And there are so many sub-habitats, regions, and places where cancer cells and groups of cancer cells can be early in the evolution of cancer before you can even detect anything like invasion and metastasis. There could very well be these microscopic populations of these groups of cancer cells that are, in all these little niches, that may be competing with each other.

The trade-off with treating cancer

18:49: In order to have a body that would be not susceptible to cancer at all, the ways that evolution could select for that include shutting a lot of things down that are important for other functions.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> 232. Cancer, Cooperation, and Cheating feat. Athena Aktipis Greg La Blanc 00:53:46 All multicellular organisms face the risk of cancer cells developing and growing. When these cells work together and cooperate they can create new problems that require novel approaches to solve. Healthy cells also cooperate with each other in the effort to eliminate the cancer as the two sides battle for territory in the body. Athena Aktipis is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, the Director of ASU’s Interdisciplinary Cooperation Initiative, and a member of the Center for Evolution and Medicine. Athena is also the author of The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer. She is a cooperation theorist, theoretical evolutionary biologist, and cancer biologist working at the intersection of these fields, and she searches for general principles of cooperation that manifest across diverse systems. Athena and Greg discuss the world of cancer cells, and the way in which they cooperate with each other. They go over different theories for cellular evolution that relate to cancer and Athena shares some surprising strategies to deal with cancer when it evolves in a body. They also discuss ways to deal with evolutionary management, and the different approaches that some disciplines have that lend themselves well to interdisciplinary study. All multicellular organisms face the risk of cancer cells developing and growing. When these cells work together and cooperate they can create new problems that require novel approaches to solve. Healthy cells also cooperate with each other in the effort to eliminate the cancer as the two sides battle for territory in the body. Athena Aktipis is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, the Director of ASU’s Interdisciplinary Cooperation Initiative, and a member of the Center for Evolution and Medicine. Athena is also the author of The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer. She is a cooperation theorist, theoretical evolutionary biologist, and cancer biologist working at the intersection of these fields, and she searches for general principles of cooperation that manifest across diverse systems. Athena and Greg discuss the world of cancer cells, and the way in which they cooperate with each other. They go over different theories for cellular evolution that relate to cancer and Athena shares some surprising strategies to deal with cancer when it evolves in a body. They also discuss ways to deal with evolutionary management, and the different approaches that some disciplines have that lend themselves well to interdisciplinary study. false full 232 49a06bf3-c8a1-46f6-868a-3cbe0f3121fc 231. Pandemics and Public Health feat. Mark Woolhouse In February 2020, Mark Woolhouse, a UK epidemiologist, called the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland. Mark wanted to talk to the leader about what the country was doing to prepare for the inevitable arrival of a virus that was spreading through China. Thus began Mark’s years-long critique and study of the worldwide system failure in reaction to COVID-19. 

On this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Mark discuss some of the things Mark thought we did wrong (lockdowns), what we might do going forward (bring medicine outside of hospitals) and how epidemiologists, journalists, and politicians need to communicate better during moments of public health emergencies. 

Mark Woolhouse is a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh. His latest book is The Year The World Went Mad: A Scientific Memoir. 

Episode Quotes:

On the failings on the pandemic response

57:38: It's very hard to pin the failings of the pandemic response in the US and the UK and elsewhere on a single section of that overall response community, as it were. It's not just the scientist's fault. It's not just the advisor's fault. It's not just the civil service's fault, the politician's fault. It's not just the healthcare worker's fault. All of us were at fault in some ways. So I described that as a system failure. Our system was challenged with this particular event, which wasn't that different from what we planned for; it wasn't massively different from pandemic influenza, but it was different enough that it flew threw our system into complete disarray.

04:03: There's a lot of humility needed in the public health and scientific community to try and understand that preparedness and vulnerability are different things, and they're different things to a virus.

Lockdowns should be implemented with greater caution

21:22: We better take a long, hard, critical look about the evidence, strengths, and weaknesses of the lockdown approach before we wholeheartedly embrace it as part of the next generation of pandemic preparedness plans. I think there's a real big danger there that we'll just jump into lockdown again the next time anything comes along to threaten us.

Doesn't lockdown protect everybody?

37:30: There was this rather naive argument that, well, doesn't lockdown protect everybody? Well, it's true to a degree. But it demonstrably doesn't protect all of those vulnerable people…(37:56) So whether you are against lockdown or somewhere on the fence, clearly, we needed other strategies, ones that did a better job of protecting the people who were most vulnerable.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Fri, 6 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In February 2020, Mark Woolhouse, a UK epidemiologist, called the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland. Mark wanted to talk to the leader about what the country was doing to prepare for the inevitable arrival of a virus that was spreading through China. Thus began Mark’s years-long critique and study of the worldwide system failure in reaction to COVID-19. 

On this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Mark discuss some of the things Mark thought we did wrong (lockdowns), what we might do going forward (bring medicine outside of hospitals) and how epidemiologists, journalists, and politicians need to communicate better during moments of public health emergencies. 

Mark Woolhouse is a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh. His latest book is The Year The World Went Mad: A Scientific Memoir. 

Episode Quotes:

On the failings on the pandemic response

57:38: It's very hard to pin the failings of the pandemic response in the US and the UK and elsewhere on a single section of that overall response community, as it were. It's not just the scientist's fault. It's not just the advisor's fault. It's not just the civil service's fault, the politician's fault. It's not just the healthcare worker's fault. All of us were at fault in some ways. So I described that as a system failure. Our system was challenged with this particular event, which wasn't that different from what we planned for; it wasn't massively different from pandemic influenza, but it was different enough that it flew threw our system into complete disarray.

04:03: There's a lot of humility needed in the public health and scientific community to try and understand that preparedness and vulnerability are different things, and they're different things to a virus.

Lockdowns should be implemented with greater caution

21:22: We better take a long, hard, critical look about the evidence, strengths, and weaknesses of the lockdown approach before we wholeheartedly embrace it as part of the next generation of pandemic preparedness plans. I think there's a real big danger there that we'll just jump into lockdown again the next time anything comes along to threaten us.

Doesn't lockdown protect everybody?

37:30: There was this rather naive argument that, well, doesn't lockdown protect everybody? Well, it's true to a degree. But it demonstrably doesn't protect all of those vulnerable people…(37:56) So whether you are against lockdown or somewhere on the fence, clearly, we needed other strategies, ones that did a better job of protecting the people who were most vulnerable.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 231. Pandemics and Public Health feat. Mark Woolhouse Greg La Blanc 01:00:53 In February 2020, Mark Woolhouse, a UK epidemiologist, called the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland. Mark wanted to talk to the leader about what the country was doing to prepare for the inevitable arrival of a virus that was spreading through China. Thus began Mark’s years-long critique and study of the worldwide system failure in reaction to COVID-19. On this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Mark discuss some of the things Mark thought we did wrong (lockdowns), what we might do going forward (bring medicine outside of hospitals) and how epidemiologists, journalists, and politicians need to communicate better during moments of public health emergencies. Mark Woolhouse is a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh. His latest book is The Year The World Went Mad: A Scientific Memoir. In February 2020, Mark Woolhouse, a UK epidemiologist, called the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland. Mark wanted to talk to the leader about what the country was doing to prepare for the inevitable arrival of a virus that was spreading through China. Thus began Mark’s years-long critique and study of the worldwide system failure in reaction to COVID-19. On this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Mark discuss some of the things Mark thought we did wrong (lockdowns), what we might do going forward (bring medicine outside of hospitals) and how epidemiologists, journalists, and politicians need to communicate better during moments of public health emergencies. Mark Woolhouse is a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh. His latest book is The Year The World Went Mad: A Scientific Memoir. false full 231 6fa243ad-923a-4933-8dbf-0af7b7e32796 230. Using Literature to Know Ourselves feat. Leonard Barkan When we read fiction, our brains are able to suspend our awareness of the fiction so we can fully immerse ourselves in the story we’re reading. When this happens, we are able to think about our own lives and personal beliefs in the context of the story. That’s the power of great art- the themes of a text should transcend the particulars of that story, its setting, or those characters. 

Leonard Barkan, professor of literature and classics at Princeton, has had this experience over and over in his life when it comes to the work of Shakespeare. His new book, Reading Shakespeare Reading Me, details the different personal revelations he’s had throughout the course of his life through reading or watching Shakespeare’s play. Leonard and Greg discuss the role of art in modern society, how we should all approach our personal reading practices to get the most out of it and the power of seeing Shakespeare’s plays performed on stage. 

Barkan is also the author of The Hungry Eye: Eating, Drinking, and European culture from Rome to the Renaissance, which explores the role of food in European culture and art through the years. He teaches comparative literature at Princeton. 

Episode Quotes:

How arts & literature shape who you become as a person

43:19: My choice is great art. I can't make it, but I need to embrace it and figure out how it reads me. What is there in me that has some chance of growth, of development of responsiveness, beyond what my ordinary experience gives me? These are fields of experience that I am allowed to have, say Shakespeare. Not only as good as a real experience but better, more complicated, more troubling, more thrilling. That makes me more complicated, troubled, and thrilled than all those other things.

38:59: Aesthetics is about the validity of beauty and the study of what makes something beautiful, how to produce the beautiful, how to recognize the beautiful, and how to take pleasure in the beautiful.

What's the difference between watching a play versus simply reading it?

24:26: What happens in a theater, of course, the text is narrowed down. Let's not forget that it's narrowed down to a particular trajectory that the director and the actors chose, but ideally, that trajectory is life itself. It is happening for real. The actors look like certain things. Their expressions are saying something. The way they listen is important. Novels don't have that. Their bodies on a stage- beautiful, ugly, fat, thin, whatever, and their voices are a certain way.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Wed, 4 Jan 2023 16:10:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When we read fiction, our brains are able to suspend our awareness of the fiction so we can fully immerse ourselves in the story we’re reading. When this happens, we are able to think about our own lives and personal beliefs in the context of the story. That’s the power of great art- the themes of a text should transcend the particulars of that story, its setting, or those characters. 

Leonard Barkan, professor of literature and classics at Princeton, has had this experience over and over in his life when it comes to the work of Shakespeare. His new book, Reading Shakespeare Reading Me, details the different personal revelations he’s had throughout the course of his life through reading or watching Shakespeare’s play. Leonard and Greg discuss the role of art in modern society, how we should all approach our personal reading practices to get the most out of it and the power of seeing Shakespeare’s plays performed on stage. 

Barkan is also the author of The Hungry Eye: Eating, Drinking, and European culture from Rome to the Renaissance, which explores the role of food in European culture and art through the years. He teaches comparative literature at Princeton. 

Episode Quotes:

How arts & literature shape who you become as a person

43:19: My choice is great art. I can't make it, but I need to embrace it and figure out how it reads me. What is there in me that has some chance of growth, of development of responsiveness, beyond what my ordinary experience gives me? These are fields of experience that I am allowed to have, say Shakespeare. Not only as good as a real experience but better, more complicated, more troubling, more thrilling. That makes me more complicated, troubled, and thrilled than all those other things.

38:59: Aesthetics is about the validity of beauty and the study of what makes something beautiful, how to produce the beautiful, how to recognize the beautiful, and how to take pleasure in the beautiful.

What's the difference between watching a play versus simply reading it?

24:26: What happens in a theater, of course, the text is narrowed down. Let's not forget that it's narrowed down to a particular trajectory that the director and the actors chose, but ideally, that trajectory is life itself. It is happening for real. The actors look like certain things. Their expressions are saying something. The way they listen is important. Novels don't have that. Their bodies on a stage- beautiful, ugly, fat, thin, whatever, and their voices are a certain way.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 230. Using Literature to Know Ourselves feat. Leonard Barkan Greg La Blanc 00:44:42 When we read fiction, our brains are able to suspend our awareness of the fiction so we can fully immerse ourselves in the story we’re reading. When this happens, we are able to think about our own lives and personal beliefs in the context of the story. That’s the power of great art- the themes of a text should transcend the particulars of that story, its setting, or those characters. Leonard Barkan, professor of literature and classics at Princeton, has had this experience over and over in his life when it comes to the work of Shakespeare. His new book, Reading Shakespeare Reading Me, details the different personal revelations he’s had throughout the course of his life through reading or watching Shakespeare’s play. Leonard and Greg discuss the role of art in modern society, how we should all approach our personal reading practices to get the most out of it and the power of seeing Shakespeare’s plays performed on stage. Barkan is also the author of The Hungry Eye: Eating, Drinking, and European culture from Rome to the Renaissance, which explores the role of food in European culture and art through the years. He teaches comparative literature at Princeton. When we read fiction, our brains are able to suspend our awareness of the fiction so we can fully immerse ourselves in the story we’re reading. When this happens, we are able to think about our own lives and personal beliefs in the context of the story. That’s the power of great art- the themes of a text should transcend the particulars of that story, its setting, or those characters. Leonard Barkan, professor of literature and classics at Princeton, has had this experience over and over in his life when it comes to the work of Shakespeare. His new book, Reading Shakespeare Reading Me, details the different personal revelations he’s had throughout the course of his life through reading or watching Shakespeare’s play. Leonard and Greg discuss the role of art in modern society, how we should all approach our personal reading practices to get the most out of it and the power of seeing Shakespeare’s plays performed on stage. Barkan is also the author of The Hungry Eye: Eating, Drinking, and European culture from Rome to the Renaissance, which explores the role of food in European culture and art through the years. He teaches comparative literature at Princeton. false full 230 9d5dc730-5ebb-42de-a504-fd5f6031956d 229. Demography: A Window Into History feat. Paul Morland What drives fertility? What drives mortality? What drives migration? These are some of the questions that drive the field of demography. 

Paul Morland is the author of three books: 'Demographic Engineering: Population Strategies and Ethnic Conflict' which looks at the links between demography and conflict, 'The Human Tide: How Population Shaped the Modern World' which charts the last two hundred years from a demographic perspective, and his most recent, 'Tomorrow's People' which examines current and future population trends.

Greg and Paul analyze how economics and cultural values affect fertility in a society, population size & productivity, the political attitudes to demography, the relationship between demography and power, and what sort of future current trends may bring.

Episode Quotes:

Demography has a unique insight to history

02:05: Demography has indeed a unique insight into history. It's a field of its own. So, apart from history, people are studying: What drives fertility? What drives mortality? What drives migration? It can be a very contemporary study. It can be a highly mathematical, highly statistical study, but thinking of it historically, it is a window on history, and there are many windows on history, and to see history properly, we need to look through all those windows.

Defining postmodernity 

08:34: Your fertility rate is going to be driven hugely not by how much you earn or even the level of education you have, but by your beliefs.

Who controls fertility

12:15: Control of fertility tends to start at the top and work its way down. So access to contraception, it was often quite expensive or you needed to know about it, you needed education. So very often in societies it's the wealthier that start using contraception and it filters down.  

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]]> Tue, 3 Jan 2023 21:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What drives fertility? What drives mortality? What drives migration? These are some of the questions that drive the field of demography. 

Paul Morland is the author of three books: 'Demographic Engineering: Population Strategies and Ethnic Conflict' which looks at the links between demography and conflict, 'The Human Tide: How Population Shaped the Modern World' which charts the last two hundred years from a demographic perspective, and his most recent, 'Tomorrow's People' which examines current and future population trends.

Greg and Paul analyze how economics and cultural values affect fertility in a society, population size & productivity, the political attitudes to demography, the relationship between demography and power, and what sort of future current trends may bring.

Episode Quotes:

Demography has a unique insight to history

02:05: Demography has indeed a unique insight into history. It's a field of its own. So, apart from history, people are studying: What drives fertility? What drives mortality? What drives migration? It can be a very contemporary study. It can be a highly mathematical, highly statistical study, but thinking of it historically, it is a window on history, and there are many windows on history, and to see history properly, we need to look through all those windows.

Defining postmodernity 

08:34: Your fertility rate is going to be driven hugely not by how much you earn or even the level of education you have, but by your beliefs.

Who controls fertility

12:15: Control of fertility tends to start at the top and work its way down. So access to contraception, it was often quite expensive or you needed to know about it, you needed education. So very often in societies it's the wealthier that start using contraception and it filters down.  

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 229. Demography: A Window Into History feat. Paul Morland Greg La Blanc 01:18:18 What drives fertility? What drives mortality? What drives migration? These are some of the questions that drive the field of demography. Paul Morland is the author of three books: 'Demographic Engineering: Population Strategies and Ethnic Conflict' which looks at the links between demography and conflict, 'The Human Tide: How Population Shaped the Modern World' which charts the last two hundred years from a demographic perspective, and his most recent, 'Tomorrow's People' which examines current and future population trends. Greg and Paul analyze how economics and cultural values affect fertility in a society, population size & productivity, the political attitudes to demography, the relationship between demography and power, and what sort of future current trends may bring. What drives fertility? What drives mortality? What drives migration? These are some of the questions that drive the field of demography. Paul Morland is the author of three books: 'Demographic Engineering: Population Strategies and Ethnic Conflict' which looks at the links between demography and conflict, 'The Human Tide: How Population Shaped the Modern World' which charts the last two hundred years from a demographic perspective, and his most recent, 'Tomorrow's People' which examines current and future population trends. Greg and Paul analyze how economics and cultural values affect fertility in a society, population size & productivity, the political attitudes to demography, the relationship between demography and power, and what sort of future current trends may bring. false full 229 c673f14c-828c-43cd-bc64-282d90fdb1d3 228. Design for a Better World feat. Donald A. Norman Design is the science of the artificial, but what makes for good design? 

Everything designed is man-made, but not everything man-made is designed. There are ways to study and teach good design theory, but implementation and human use is needed to refine and inform the field to make things more efficient and intuitive. 

Donald A. Norman is a professor emeritus at the University of California San Diego, who has also taught at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is the founding Director of the Design Lab and was a member of the Nielsen Norman Group. Don is also the author of several books. His latest book on design, Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered, will be released in early 2023 and joins a large library of other notable books he has written on the subject, including The Design Of Everyday Things, Living with Complexity, and Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things among many others.

Don and Greg discuss Don’s work at Apple and how design thinking has evolved over time. They talk about what it means to think of design in human-centered or people-centered ways and how optimal design can be different depending on the user and the needs of the space. They talk about how design has spread from product design to service design to even business model design. Don recounts resistance to design thinking in his business school classes and why the students have difficulty reframing the way we all think of this essential element of the world.

Episode Quotes:

On the integration design doing and thinking

55:38: The problem was design thinking was good in the sense that it taught people that design is not just making it look pretty. It's much deeper than that. But it also made it look too easy because these courses were so much fun, and they say, "Oh, now I understand." No. In fact, the hard part is design doing not design thinking. And if you try to implement or do things, you discover your thinking wasn't complete. So you need to integrate doing and thinking.

23:15: Simplicity is in the head, not in the world. If you understand something, it's simple, and if you don't understand, then it's complicated.

The trade-off between costs and service quality

45:35: Most people who look at productivity and cost look at the short term. They don't look at the long term. And the long term includes, yes, everything is more efficient and faster, but you make and get errors along the way, and the cost of repairing the error more than makes up for all the savings.

The important component of humanity-center

20:25: Human-centered is an important component of humanity center. It's just that it isn't enough. We have to worry about climate change, the environment, the loss of species, the loss of natural habitats, and the way we've treated all the disadvantaged people in the world. And what does "disadvantage" mean? It means we've treated them badly.

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]]> Fri, 23 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Design is the science of the artificial, but what makes for good design? 

Everything designed is man-made, but not everything man-made is designed. There are ways to study and teach good design theory, but implementation and human use is needed to refine and inform the field to make things more efficient and intuitive. 

Donald A. Norman is a professor emeritus at the University of California San Diego, who has also taught at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is the founding Director of the Design Lab and was a member of the Nielsen Norman Group. Don is also the author of several books. His latest book on design, Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered, will be released in early 2023 and joins a large library of other notable books he has written on the subject, including The Design Of Everyday Things, Living with Complexity, and Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things among many others.

Don and Greg discuss Don’s work at Apple and how design thinking has evolved over time. They talk about what it means to think of design in human-centered or people-centered ways and how optimal design can be different depending on the user and the needs of the space. They talk about how design has spread from product design to service design to even business model design. Don recounts resistance to design thinking in his business school classes and why the students have difficulty reframing the way we all think of this essential element of the world.

Episode Quotes:

On the integration design doing and thinking

55:38: The problem was design thinking was good in the sense that it taught people that design is not just making it look pretty. It's much deeper than that. But it also made it look too easy because these courses were so much fun, and they say, "Oh, now I understand." No. In fact, the hard part is design doing not design thinking. And if you try to implement or do things, you discover your thinking wasn't complete. So you need to integrate doing and thinking.

23:15: Simplicity is in the head, not in the world. If you understand something, it's simple, and if you don't understand, then it's complicated.

The trade-off between costs and service quality

45:35: Most people who look at productivity and cost look at the short term. They don't look at the long term. And the long term includes, yes, everything is more efficient and faster, but you make and get errors along the way, and the cost of repairing the error more than makes up for all the savings.

The important component of humanity-center

20:25: Human-centered is an important component of humanity center. It's just that it isn't enough. We have to worry about climate change, the environment, the loss of species, the loss of natural habitats, and the way we've treated all the disadvantaged people in the world. And what does "disadvantage" mean? It means we've treated them badly.

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]]> 228. Design for a Better World feat. Donald A. Norman Greg La Blanc 00:56:53 Design is the science of the artificial, but what makes for good design? Everything designed is man-made, but not everything man-made is designed. There are ways to study and teach good design theory, but implementation and human use is needed to refine and inform the field to make things more efficient and intuitive. Donald A. Norman is a professor emeritus at the University of California San Diego, who has also taught at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is the founding Director of the Design Lab and was a member of the Nielsen Norman Group. Don is also the author of several books. His latest book on design, Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered, will be released in early 2023 and joins a large library of other notable books he has written on the subject, including The Design Of Everyday Things, Living with Complexity, and Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things among many others. Don and Greg discuss Don’s work at Apple and how design thinking has evolved over time. They talk about what it means to think of design in human-centered or people-centered ways and how optimal design can be different depending on the user and the needs of the space. They talk about how design has spread from product design to service design to even business model design. Don recounts resistance to design thinking in his business school classes and why the students have difficulty reframing the way we all think of this essential element of the world. Design is the science of the artificial, but what makes for good design? Everything designed is man-made, but not everything man-made is designed. There are ways to study and teach good design theory, but implementation and human use is needed to refine and inform the field to make things more efficient and intuitive. Donald A. Norman is a professor emeritus at the University of California San Diego, who has also taught at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is the founding Director of the Design Lab and was a member of the Nielsen Norman Group. Don is also the author of several books. His latest book on design, Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered, will be released in early 2023 and joins a large library of other notable books he has written on the subject, including The Design Of Everyday Things, Living with Complexity, and Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things among many others. Don and Greg discuss Don’s work at Apple and how design thinking has evolved over time. They talk about what it means to think of design in human-centered or people-centered ways and how optimal design can be different depending on the user and the needs of the space. They talk about how design has spread from product design to service design to even business model design. Don recounts resistance to design thinking in his business school classes and why the students have difficulty reframing the way we all think of this essential element of the world. false full 228 83eca684-e37b-4214-bc84-17d993fc250d 227. The Mysterious World of Bankruptcy Law feat. Doug Baird Bankruptcy law and laws that govern corporate restructures play an important role in our economy. How a business moves forward after declaring bankruptcy is determined by these laws and the judges who uphold them – but how this all works can be somewhat of a mystery to many people. 

Doug Baird is the author of the new book ‘The Unwritten Law of Corporate Reorganizations,’ which explains these laws and how they impact our modern economy. Doug and Greg discuss the history of bankruptcy laws (this was an important topic to the Founding Fathers!) and how the first large businesses in the U.S. used them. 

Baird is a professor of law at the University of Chicago and focuses a lot of his work on bankruptcy law. He’s written one of the foremost textbooks on the subject, The Elements of Bankruptcy Law, which is one of the most heavily used texts on the subject. 

Episode Quotes:

US has always been a debtor nation

18:00: We've always been a debtor nation. And indeed, if you look at debates over the Bill of Rights, I think people who aren't lawyers or aren't familiar with this history would be surprised that a big issue about the Bill of Rights was basically protecting debtors.

One fundamental principle of bankruptcy

07:58: Bankruptcy takes non-bankruptcy rights as it finds them. And it doesn't create new substantive rights. If you're a debtor in bankruptcy, you have to obey the law just like anyone else.

What bankruptcy judges shouldn't do

08:45: Bankruptcy judges shouldn't invent new substantive rights. They shouldn't give you a right; you never had before. But that's different. These substantive rights are different than the rules that govern the bargaining, you know, these meta rules. What are the conditions and the norms of the bargaining environment? And, you know, it's not a question of the deal, but rather who gets a seat at the table and how we figure out the agenda and all these other things.

The relative priority rule 

47:41: Relative priority says, "Look, we have a company; we need a new capital structure." But it's not a day of reckoning. It's like an exchange offer. There's no reason to cash out interests, even if they'd be out the money in a day of reckoning because it's not a day of reckoning. 

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]]> Wed, 21 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Bankruptcy law and laws that govern corporate restructures play an important role in our economy. How a business moves forward after declaring bankruptcy is determined by these laws and the judges who uphold them – but how this all works can be somewhat of a mystery to many people. 

Doug Baird is the author of the new book ‘The Unwritten Law of Corporate Reorganizations,’ which explains these laws and how they impact our modern economy. Doug and Greg discuss the history of bankruptcy laws (this was an important topic to the Founding Fathers!) and how the first large businesses in the U.S. used them. 

Baird is a professor of law at the University of Chicago and focuses a lot of his work on bankruptcy law. He’s written one of the foremost textbooks on the subject, The Elements of Bankruptcy Law, which is one of the most heavily used texts on the subject. 

Episode Quotes:

US has always been a debtor nation

18:00: We've always been a debtor nation. And indeed, if you look at debates over the Bill of Rights, I think people who aren't lawyers or aren't familiar with this history would be surprised that a big issue about the Bill of Rights was basically protecting debtors.

One fundamental principle of bankruptcy

07:58: Bankruptcy takes non-bankruptcy rights as it finds them. And it doesn't create new substantive rights. If you're a debtor in bankruptcy, you have to obey the law just like anyone else.

What bankruptcy judges shouldn't do

08:45: Bankruptcy judges shouldn't invent new substantive rights. They shouldn't give you a right; you never had before. But that's different. These substantive rights are different than the rules that govern the bargaining, you know, these meta rules. What are the conditions and the norms of the bargaining environment? And, you know, it's not a question of the deal, but rather who gets a seat at the table and how we figure out the agenda and all these other things.

The relative priority rule 

47:41: Relative priority says, "Look, we have a company; we need a new capital structure." But it's not a day of reckoning. It's like an exchange offer. There's no reason to cash out interests, even if they'd be out the money in a day of reckoning because it's not a day of reckoning. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 227. The Mysterious World of Bankruptcy Law feat. Doug Baird Greg La Blanc 01:03:03 Bankruptcy law and laws that govern corporate restructures play an important role in our economy. How a business moves forward after declaring bankruptcy is determined by these laws and the judges who uphold them – but how this all works can be somewhat of a mystery to many people. Doug Baird is the author of the new book ‘The Unwritten Law of Corporate Reorganizations’, which explains these laws and how they impact our modern economy. Doug and Greg discuss the history of bankruptcy laws (this was an important topic to the Founding Fathers!) and how the first large businesses in the U.S. used them. Baird is a professor of law at the University of Chicago and focuses a lot of his work on bankruptcy law. He’s written one of the foremost textbooks on the subject, The Elements of Bankruptcy Law, which is one of the most heavily used texts on the subject. Bankruptcy law and laws that govern corporate restructures play an important role in our economy. How a business moves forward after declaring bankruptcy is determined by these laws and the judges who uphold them – but how this all works can be somewhat of a mystery to many people. Doug Baird is the author of the new book ‘The Unwritten Law of Corporate Reorganizations’, which explains these laws and how they impact our modern economy. Doug and Greg discuss the history of bankruptcy laws (this was an important topic to the Founding Fathers!) and how the first large businesses in the U.S. used them. Baird is a professor of law at the University of Chicago and focuses a lot of his work on bankruptcy law. He’s written one of the foremost textbooks on the subject, The Elements of Bankruptcy Law, which is one of the most heavily used texts on the subject. false full 227 c8505e24-2cd5-4676-b3b5-d3e08cbc2cb1 226. Beauty Lessons From the Animal Kingdom feat. Michael J. Ryan What can the study of animals tell us about beauty? How can the mate choices of birds or frogs give us insight into human attraction? As a part of the animal kingdom, humans share more than we think with the ways of other animals, and by studying how they assess and reward beauty, we can unlock truths about our relationship to beauty as humans, too.

Michael J. Ryan is a biologist and author of several books. He is a Senior Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and a professor of Zoology in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Michael is an expert in the fields of animal communication and sexual selection. His latest book, A Taste for the Beautiful: The Evolution of Attraction, examines the ways in which animals display, enhance, and evaluate beauty in choosing mates.

Michael and Greg talk about Michael’s famous work with Túngara Frogs in Panama, as well as the mating preferences and selection habits of several other animals, from fish to birds, as well as bats and bees. They discuss beauty in the wild and how it drives natural selection. They go over some discoveries of surprising factors that enhance or decrease attraction and how adding a third choice can resolve a stalemate in preference.

Episode Quotes:

The female brain as agents of selection

10:50: The female brain, they're agents of selection because they generate selection on the males. They determine who gets to mate, who gets to pass on their genes. But they're also the target of selection because if those preferences backfire, for instance, if they mate with the wrong species, then usually they're not going to have any offspring. So then there's going to be evolution of female preference. So it becomes the target. And that is very unusual, if not unique, that one aspect of a phenotype can both generate selection and be the target of selection.

3:00: Natural selection favors traits for you to survive, but if you survive and you don't reproduce, then you're not passing your genes on to the next generation.

Is sexual selection a subset of natural selection?

01:53: Some people consider sexual selection as a subset of natural selection, a type of natural selection. And Darwin clearly proposed it as a parallel theory, but if you consider it within the realm of sexual selection, that's fine too. The important thing is that we understand that selection is acting on different functions.

Why do people in biology don’t worry about nature vs. nurture?

31:00: Most of us in biology don't worry about nature versus nurture anymore. We don't think that's conflict because we think that everything has some kind of gene-by-environment interaction. So nothing is purely nurture, and nothing is purely nature. But these genetic predispositions, even in animals that are learning, can be very important in having a genetic disposition to learn some things more easily than others.

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]]> Tue, 20 Dec 2022 01:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What can the study of animals tell us about beauty? How can the mate choices of birds or frogs give us insight into human attraction? As a part of the animal kingdom, humans share more than we think with the ways of other animals, and by studying how they assess and reward beauty, we can unlock truths about our relationship to beauty as humans, too.

Michael J. Ryan is a biologist and author of several books. He is a Senior Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and a professor of Zoology in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Michael is an expert in the fields of animal communication and sexual selection. His latest book, A Taste for the Beautiful: The Evolution of Attraction, examines the ways in which animals display, enhance, and evaluate beauty in choosing mates.

Michael and Greg talk about Michael’s famous work with Túngara Frogs in Panama, as well as the mating preferences and selection habits of several other animals, from fish to birds, as well as bats and bees. They discuss beauty in the wild and how it drives natural selection. They go over some discoveries of surprising factors that enhance or decrease attraction and how adding a third choice can resolve a stalemate in preference.

Episode Quotes:

The female brain as agents of selection

10:50: The female brain, they're agents of selection because they generate selection on the males. They determine who gets to mate, who gets to pass on their genes. But they're also the target of selection because if those preferences backfire, for instance, if they mate with the wrong species, then usually they're not going to have any offspring. So then there's going to be evolution of female preference. So it becomes the target. And that is very unusual, if not unique, that one aspect of a phenotype can both generate selection and be the target of selection.

3:00: Natural selection favors traits for you to survive, but if you survive and you don't reproduce, then you're not passing your genes on to the next generation.

Is sexual selection a subset of natural selection?

01:53: Some people consider sexual selection as a subset of natural selection, a type of natural selection. And Darwin clearly proposed it as a parallel theory, but if you consider it within the realm of sexual selection, that's fine too. The important thing is that we understand that selection is acting on different functions.

Why do people in biology don’t worry about nature vs. nurture?

31:00: Most of us in biology don't worry about nature versus nurture anymore. We don't think that's conflict because we think that everything has some kind of gene-by-environment interaction. So nothing is purely nurture, and nothing is purely nature. But these genetic predispositions, even in animals that are learning, can be very important in having a genetic disposition to learn some things more easily than others.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 226. Beauty Lessons From the Animal Kingdom feat. Michael J. Ryan Greg La Blanc 00:59:31 What can the study of animals tell us about beauty? How can the mate choices of birds or frogs give us insight into human attraction? As a part of the animal kingdom, humans share more than we think with the ways of other animals, and by studying how they assess and reward beauty, we can unlock truths about our relationship to beauty as humans, too. Michael J. Ryan is a biologist and author of several books. He is a Senior Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and a professor of Zoology in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Michael is an expert in the fields of animal communication and sexual selection. His latest book, A Taste for the Beautiful: The Evolution of Attraction, examines the ways in which animals display, enhance, and evaluate beauty in choosing mates. Michael and Greg talk about Michael’s famous work with Túngara Frogs in Panama, as well as the mating preferences and selection habits of several other animals, from fish to birds, as well as bats and bees. They discuss beauty in the wild and how it drives natural selection. They go over some discoveries of surprising factors that enhance or decrease attraction and how adding a third choice can resolve a stalemate in preference. What can the study of animals tell us about beauty? How can the mate choices of birds or frogs give us insight into human attraction? As a part of the animal kingdom, humans share more than we think with the ways of other animals, and by studying how they assess and reward beauty, we can unlock truths about our relationship to beauty as humans, too. Michael J. Ryan is a biologist and author of several books. He is a Senior Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and a professor of Zoology in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Michael is an expert in the fields of animal communication and sexual selection. His latest book, A Taste for the Beautiful: The Evolution of Attraction, examines the ways in which animals display, enhance, and evaluate beauty in choosing mates. Michael and Greg talk about Michael’s famous work with Túngara Frogs in Panama, as well as the mating preferences and selection habits of several other animals, from fish to birds, as well as bats and bees. They discuss beauty in the wild and how it drives natural selection. They go over some discoveries of surprising factors that enhance or decrease attraction and how adding a third choice can resolve a stalemate in preference. false full 226 402c2c44-d0ea-4029-a776-efa5d4992045 225. Create Your Own Luck feat. Christian Busch Imagine yourself at a dinner party filled with people you don’t know. As you head to the appetizer tray to get another snack, there’s someone already standing there. You have two options: one, you could make boring small talk by asking how they know the host or what they do for a living. But according to Christian Busch, this is also a moment where you could create a serendipitous event. You could ask that stranger what their biggest passion in life is, what kinds of challenges they are facing, and the answers might lead the two of you to create a personal, professional, or creative relationship. 

Christian Busch is the author of the books The Serendipity Mindset and Connect the Dots: The art and science of creating good luck, which outlines the psychology behind creating your own luck by opening yourself up to new experiences. Christian is a professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and also teaches at the London School of Economics.

Christian and Greg talk about how we can all create these serendipitous moments for ourselves and how the most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs embody this desire for serendipity. Christian explains how creating luck is like a muscle we need to exercise. They also discuss real world examples of organizations embracing change and instability as a way to learn and find success.

Episode Quotes:

Do you need to work hard to get more luck?

10:48: The traditional approach to luck is either luck or hard work. Or this idea that there's a tension between, if you're a hard worker, then you created that yourself, and you were in control to do that. And then luck is the thing that happens. And you know what our research shows: no, a lot of people work extremely hard to have more luck, and that's in a way in itself then a skillset. A skill set that you're able to cultivate serendipity.

02:32: Serendipity is really about smart luck. It's about the luck we create by how we react to the unexpected end, and how we can create the positive unexpected. 

Informed vs. uninformed experimentation

15:23: There's informed experimentation, where you learn from mistakes and build on it. And then there's uninformed, which is just naive, and you kind of spend money. And that's what we all want to avoid in some way or the other.

It’s not a bad thing to cultivate serendipity

07:40: The old-school leadership style tries to legitimize this illusion of control that you pretend to always be in control. You think you get power by pretending that you know everything and do everything. But the shift is essentially saying, "No, it's not bad if you cultivate serendipity."

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Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Fri, 16 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Imagine yourself at a dinner party filled with people you don’t know. As you head to the appetizer tray to get another snack, there’s someone already standing there. You have two options: one, you could make boring small talk by asking how they know the host or what they do for a living. But according to Christian Busch, this is also a moment where you could create a serendipitous event. You could ask that stranger what their biggest passion in life is, what kinds of challenges they are facing, and the answers might lead the two of you to create a personal, professional, or creative relationship. 

Christian Busch is the author of the books The Serendipity Mindset and Connect the Dots: The art and science of creating good luck, which outlines the psychology behind creating your own luck by opening yourself up to new experiences. Christian is a professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and also teaches at the London School of Economics.

Christian and Greg talk about how we can all create these serendipitous moments for ourselves and how the most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs embody this desire for serendipity. Christian explains how creating luck is like a muscle we need to exercise. They also discuss real world examples of organizations embracing change and instability as a way to learn and find success.

Episode Quotes:

Do you need to work hard to get more luck?

10:48: The traditional approach to luck is either luck or hard work. Or this idea that there's a tension between, if you're a hard worker, then you created that yourself, and you were in control to do that. And then luck is the thing that happens. And you know what our research shows: no, a lot of people work extremely hard to have more luck, and that's in a way in itself then a skillset. A skill set that you're able to cultivate serendipity.

02:32: Serendipity is really about smart luck. It's about the luck we create by how we react to the unexpected end, and how we can create the positive unexpected. 

Informed vs. uninformed experimentation

15:23: There's informed experimentation, where you learn from mistakes and build on it. And then there's uninformed, which is just naive, and you kind of spend money. And that's what we all want to avoid in some way or the other.

It’s not a bad thing to cultivate serendipity

07:40: The old-school leadership style tries to legitimize this illusion of control that you pretend to always be in control. You think you get power by pretending that you know everything and do everything. But the shift is essentially saying, "No, it's not bad if you cultivate serendipity."

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 225. Create Your Own Luck feat. Christian Busch Greg La Blanc 00:56:54 Imagine yourself at a dinner party filled with people you don’t know. As you head to the appetizer tray to get another snack, there’s someone already standing there. You have two options: one, you could make boring small talk by asking how they know the host or what they do for a living. But according to Christian Busch, this is also a moment where you could create a serendipitous event. You could ask that stranger what their biggest passion in life is, what kinds of challenges they are facing, and the answers might lead the two of you to create a personal, professional, or creative relationship. Christian Busch is the author of the books The Serendipity Mindset and Connect the Dots: The art and science of creating good luck, which outlines the psychology behind creating your own luck by opening yourself up to new experiences. Christian is a professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and also teaches at the London School of Economics. Christian and Greg talk about how we can all create these serendipitous moments for ourselves and how the most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs embody this desire for serendipity. Christian explains how creating luck is like a muscle we need to exercise. They also discuss real world examples of organizations embracing change and instability as a way to learn and find success. Imagine yourself at a dinner party filled with people you don’t know. As you head to the appetizer tray to get another snack, there’s someone already standing there. You have two options: one, you could make boring small talk by asking how they know the host or what they do for a living. But according to Christian Busch, this is also a moment where you could create a serendipitous event. You could ask that stranger what their biggest passion in life is, what kinds of challenges they are facing, and the answers might lead the two of you to create a personal, professional, or creative relationship. Christian Busch is the author of the books The Serendipity Mindset and Connect the Dots: The art and science of creating good luck, which outlines the psychology behind creating your own luck by opening yourself up to new experiences. Christian is a professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and also teaches at the London School of Economics. Christian and Greg talk about how we can all create these serendipitous moments for ourselves and how the most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs embody this desire for serendipity. Christian explains how creating luck is like a muscle we need to exercise. They also discuss real world examples of organizations embracing change and instability as a way to learn and find success. false full 225 02a6498f-1ccd-4cb9-ba08-5c352a896a5c 224. The Changing Definition of Mental Illness feat. Allan Horwitz Most people fail to realize how much the process of what we regard as normal, healthy, or sick is influenced by social, cultural, political, or financial factors.

Dr. Allan Horwitz joins Greg to talk about how the public’s perception of many common conditions, such as depression, anxiety or PTSD, has evolved over time and no longer involves the stigmatization they once had. Dr. Horwitz also shares how "psychiatry's bible," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM, consciously or unconsciously shaped the general public’s view of many conditions.

Dr. Allan Horwitz is an American sociologist who is Board of Governors Professor in the Department of Sociology and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University. 

He was trained in psychiatric epidemiology at Yale and is the author of over one hundred books, articles, and chapters in the mental health area. Dr. Allan Horwitz has studied a variety of aspects of mental health and illness, including the social response to mental illness, family caretaking for dependent populations, the impact of social roles and statuses on mental health, and the social construction of mental disorders. 

Episode Quotes:

What makes something a mental disorder? 

33:51: To be a mental disorder, any condition has to have two components, not just one. And one would be dysfunction, which is analogous to a physical disease. That is: some psychic mechanism isn't working in the way that nature designed it to work. So that's a necessary but not sufficient condition. You also have to have the cultural judgment that dysfunction negatively harms the individual. Those definitions differ tremendously from culture to culture. A mental disorder requires both some dysfunction and a negative cultural judgment.

The distinction between psychiatry and medicine

3:29: There are some distinctions between medicine and psychiatry, and in particular, for most medical conditions, there are objective tests. You have X-rays and blood tests, and there certainly are judgments that are involved, but at least there are some biological baselines you can use. Psychiatry does not have any physical test for their condition, so psychiatry is completely reliant on the diagnostic criteria. 

Is there a way that we can objectively measure mental illness?

21:04: The purported increases in conditions like anxiety and depression, and PTSD are not entirely, but for the most part, artifacts of the way that we measure them. With these symptom-based questions that ask you, "Well, have you been anxious in the last two weeks?" Or "Have you been depressed?" or so on, as the meaning of the questions changed over time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Wed, 14 Dec 2022 17:15:23 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Most people fail to realize how much the process of what we regard as normal, healthy, or sick is influenced by social, cultural, political, or financial factors.

Dr. Allan Horwitz joins Greg to talk about how the public’s perception of many common conditions, such as depression, anxiety or PTSD, has evolved over time and no longer involves the stigmatization they once had. Dr. Horwitz also shares how "psychiatry's bible," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM, consciously or unconsciously shaped the general public’s view of many conditions.

Dr. Allan Horwitz is an American sociologist who is Board of Governors Professor in the Department of Sociology and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University. 

He was trained in psychiatric epidemiology at Yale and is the author of over one hundred books, articles, and chapters in the mental health area. Dr. Allan Horwitz has studied a variety of aspects of mental health and illness, including the social response to mental illness, family caretaking for dependent populations, the impact of social roles and statuses on mental health, and the social construction of mental disorders. 

Episode Quotes:

What makes something a mental disorder? 

33:51: To be a mental disorder, any condition has to have two components, not just one. And one would be dysfunction, which is analogous to a physical disease. That is: some psychic mechanism isn't working in the way that nature designed it to work. So that's a necessary but not sufficient condition. You also have to have the cultural judgment that dysfunction negatively harms the individual. Those definitions differ tremendously from culture to culture. A mental disorder requires both some dysfunction and a negative cultural judgment.

The distinction between psychiatry and medicine

3:29: There are some distinctions between medicine and psychiatry, and in particular, for most medical conditions, there are objective tests. You have X-rays and blood tests, and there certainly are judgments that are involved, but at least there are some biological baselines you can use. Psychiatry does not have any physical test for their condition, so psychiatry is completely reliant on the diagnostic criteria. 

Is there a way that we can objectively measure mental illness?

21:04: The purported increases in conditions like anxiety and depression, and PTSD are not entirely, but for the most part, artifacts of the way that we measure them. With these symptom-based questions that ask you, "Well, have you been anxious in the last two weeks?" Or "Have you been depressed?" or so on, as the meaning of the questions changed over time.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 224. The Changing Definition of Mental Illness feat. Allan Horwitz Greg La Blanc 00:44:53 Most people fail to realize how much the process of what we regard as normal, healthy, or sick is influenced by social, cultural, political, or financial factors. Dr. Allan Horwitz joins Greg to talk about how the public’s perception of many common conditions, such as depression, anxiety or PTSD, has evolved over time and no longer involves the stigmatization they once had. Dr. Horwitz also shares how "psychiatry's bible," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM, consciously or unconsciously shaped the general public’s view of many conditions. Dr. Allan Horwitz is an American sociologist who is Board of Governors Professor in the Department of Sociology and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University. He was trained in psychiatric epidemiology at Yale and is the author of over one hundred books, articles, and chapters in the mental health area. Dr. Allan Horwitz has studied a variety of aspects of mental health and illness, including the social response to mental illness, family caretaking for dependent populations, the impact of social roles and statuses on mental health, and the social construction of mental disorders. Most people fail to realize how much the process of what we regard as normal, healthy, or sick is influenced by social, cultural, political, or financial factors. Dr. Allan Horwitz joins Greg to talk about how the public’s perception of many common conditions, such as depression, anxiety or PTSD, has evolved over time and no longer involves the stigmatization they once had. Dr. Horwitz also shares how "psychiatry's bible," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM, consciously or unconsciously shaped the general public’s view of many conditions. Dr. Allan Horwitz is an American sociologist who is Board of Governors Professor in the Department of Sociology and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University. He was trained in psychiatric epidemiology at Yale and is the author of over one hundred books, articles, and chapters in the mental health area. Dr. Allan Horwitz has studied a variety of aspects of mental health and illness, including the social response to mental illness, family caretaking for dependent populations, the impact of social roles and statuses on mental health, and the social construction of mental disorders. false full 224 c1c65fac-df0f-4961-8c35-0e79ca7a7bab 223. There Are No Magic Bullets in Economic Development feat. Stefan Dercon What does it take for a developing economy to grow and thrive? There are many obstacles that stand in the way, but they can be overcome with the knowledge of where to apply efforts for best results. To understand another country or advise their government on how to grow economies takes someone who has been to the places, spoken to the people, listened to their needs, and can communicate the challenges. 

Stefan Dercon is a professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Economics Department at Oxford University, a Fellow of Jesus College. And the Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. His newest book, Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose, deals with his research into what keeps some people and countries poor: the failures of markets, governments and politics, mainly in Africa, and how to best affect change in the different countries there.

Stefan and Greg talk all about development economics, the differences between developing economies in Africa and elsewhere, and what successes and mistakes have happened in that region so far. They discuss what pitfalls to watch out for when dealing with planning and action coming from abroad. Stefan talks about the difficulties of foreign organizations understanding the needs of these countries and the ways to use local help to make aid more effective, and help developing economies to flourish.

Episode Quotes:

Why you can’t wait until perfection in anything

16:10: You're not going to first spend all your time building good foundations because then you're totally wet, and you don't sleep ever any night. You probably build something that's not quite perfect, but actually make sure that it has a roof that doesn't fall off entirely. So now, after a bit, if you don't put in some things, you have a very weak floor. We put a few more things that you need to strengthen that floor as well. And I'm a strong believer that the more I worked on development, there is agency here and now to already do something. You can't wait until perfection in anything.

A framework that we can use for political markets

31:51: The best way to be taken seriously by the central state is by starting an armed uprising. And so, for political entrepreneurs, the only route was to create more chaos. So you want to create enough opportunities that new elites can come in as well. And that's political markets thinking about entry and exit, entry deterrence. 

Learnings from the policy space over the last 20-30 years

11:38: It doesn't help to be very ideological. You need to be pragmatic about what you're doing in your own country. Do common sense, and there are certain things we know more in economics about the things we shouldn't be doing than actually the things we should do. So we know that in a particular moment in time, a massive tax cut is probably not a good idea. In other moments, well, maybe it's okay. We don't know. And so it's like that—sensible macro policies and so on. 

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]]> Mon, 12 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does it take for a developing economy to grow and thrive? There are many obstacles that stand in the way, but they can be overcome with the knowledge of where to apply efforts for best results. To understand another country or advise their government on how to grow economies takes someone who has been to the places, spoken to the people, listened to their needs, and can communicate the challenges. 

Stefan Dercon is a professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Economics Department at Oxford University, a Fellow of Jesus College. And the Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. His newest book, Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose, deals with his research into what keeps some people and countries poor: the failures of markets, governments and politics, mainly in Africa, and how to best affect change in the different countries there.

Stefan and Greg talk all about development economics, the differences between developing economies in Africa and elsewhere, and what successes and mistakes have happened in that region so far. They discuss what pitfalls to watch out for when dealing with planning and action coming from abroad. Stefan talks about the difficulties of foreign organizations understanding the needs of these countries and the ways to use local help to make aid more effective, and help developing economies to flourish.

Episode Quotes:

Why you can’t wait until perfection in anything

16:10: You're not going to first spend all your time building good foundations because then you're totally wet, and you don't sleep ever any night. You probably build something that's not quite perfect, but actually make sure that it has a roof that doesn't fall off entirely. So now, after a bit, if you don't put in some things, you have a very weak floor. We put a few more things that you need to strengthen that floor as well. And I'm a strong believer that the more I worked on development, there is agency here and now to already do something. You can't wait until perfection in anything.

A framework that we can use for political markets

31:51: The best way to be taken seriously by the central state is by starting an armed uprising. And so, for political entrepreneurs, the only route was to create more chaos. So you want to create enough opportunities that new elites can come in as well. And that's political markets thinking about entry and exit, entry deterrence. 

Learnings from the policy space over the last 20-30 years

11:38: It doesn't help to be very ideological. You need to be pragmatic about what you're doing in your own country. Do common sense, and there are certain things we know more in economics about the things we shouldn't be doing than actually the things we should do. So we know that in a particular moment in time, a massive tax cut is probably not a good idea. In other moments, well, maybe it's okay. We don't know. And so it's like that—sensible macro policies and so on. 

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His Work:


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]]> 223. There Are No Magic Bullets in Economic Development feat. Stefan Dercon Greg La Blanc 00:52:00 What does it take for a developing economy to grow and thrive? There are many obstacles that stand in the way, but they can be overcome with the knowledge of where to apply efforts for best results. To understand another country or advise their government on how to grow economies takes someone who has been to the places, spoken to the people, listened to their needs, and can communicate the challenges. Stefan Dercon is a professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Economics Department at Oxford University, a Fellow of Jesus College. And the Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. His newest book, Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose, deals with his research into what keeps some people and countries poor: the failures of markets, governments and politics, mainly in Africa, and how to best affect change in the different countries there. Stefan and Greg talk all about development economics, the differences between developing economies in Africa and elsewhere, and what successes and mistakes have happened in that region so far. They discuss what pitfalls to watch out for when dealing with planning and action coming from abroad. Stefan talks about the difficulties of foreign organizations understanding the needs of these countries and the ways to use local help to make aid more effective, and help developing economies to flourish. What does it take for a developing economy to grow and thrive? There are many obstacles that stand in the way, but they can be overcome with the knowledge of where to apply efforts for best results. To understand another country or advise their government on how to grow economies takes someone who has been to the places, spoken to the people, listened to their needs, and can communicate the challenges. Stefan Dercon is a professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Economics Department at Oxford University, a Fellow of Jesus College. And the Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. His newest book, Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose, deals with his research into what keeps some people and countries poor: the failures of markets, governments and politics, mainly in Africa, and how to best affect change in the different countries there. Stefan and Greg talk all about development economics, the differences between developing economies in Africa and elsewhere, and what successes and mistakes have happened in that region so far. They discuss what pitfalls to watch out for when dealing with planning and action coming from abroad. Stefan talks about the difficulties of foreign organizations understanding the needs of these countries and the ways to use local help to make aid more effective, and help developing economies to flourish. false full 223 75f153e4-97df-4e56-896d-49bb4ec0beaa 222. Scrutinizing Evidence feat. Frederick Schauer We use evidence in many areas of our world: courtrooms, scientific laboratories, and legislative bodies that create policies. But the evidence in these different arenas is used in very different ways. For example, how lawyers present evidence in a courtroom varies from how historians use evidence to write about past events. 

University of Virginia law professor Frederick Schauer joins Greg to talk about the different ways we use evidence and how in some situations, we are too rigid and, in other ways, too lax when it comes to evidence. His new book, The Proof, dives into the topic of evidence and how it’s used across our society. He also shares some insights from his older book, Thinking Like A Lawyer, which lays out how people outside of the legal profession can adopt some of the mindsets lawyers do (like cross-examining ideas we already believe and questioning people we tend to automatically trust). 

Frederick Schauer is a David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. He has previously taught law at Harvard University and the University of Michigan. He’s written numerous books about the law, ranging from the topics of evidence, free speech, and how philosophy plays a role in the legal system. 

Episode Quotes:

Can the probabilities be reduced to numbers?

20:40: Can the probabilities be reduced to numbers? One view is by reducing them to numbers, you make something appear more certain than it actually is, but there's another view. And actually, there are distinguished judges on both sides of this debate that say, "Yes, it's hard to get it exactly right," but trying to translate very fuzzy terms, like "clear and convincing evidence," "balance of the probabilities," or "proof beyond the reasonable doubt," into numbers can clarify things, however uncertain the numbers might be. Maybe they're a bit more certain and a bit more clarifying than just using the fuzziness of language. 

05:59: To understand the law of evidence, you really have to understand exclusions. To understand the science of evidence, you have to understand inclusions—how everything might be relevant.

Law is heavily dependent on testimony

33:04: Law, except in very rare cases, doesn't do direct observation, doesn't do direct experimentation even when it could. So it relies even more heavily on what somebody has said. It's like history, but unlike a lot of science. It's unlike a lot of empirical inquiry. It's unlike a lot of experimentation.

The different view of the law in criminal law

15:26: One of the important issues in evaluating evidence is what turns on it. And if we have a criminal law model, what turns on it is that someone is going to go to prison for a long time or possibly even be executed. We are really worried about making a certain kind of mistake. And because of that, the law, especially in criminal law, has a different evaluation of false positives versus false negatives than other people.

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]]> Fri, 9 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We use evidence in many areas of our world: courtrooms, scientific laboratories, and legislative bodies that create policies. But the evidence in these different arenas is used in very different ways. For example, how lawyers present evidence in a courtroom varies from how historians use evidence to write about past events. 

University of Virginia law professor Frederick Schauer joins Greg to talk about the different ways we use evidence and how in some situations, we are too rigid and, in other ways, too lax when it comes to evidence. His new book, The Proof, dives into the topic of evidence and how it’s used across our society. He also shares some insights from his older book, Thinking Like A Lawyer, which lays out how people outside of the legal profession can adopt some of the mindsets lawyers do (like cross-examining ideas we already believe and questioning people we tend to automatically trust). 

Frederick Schauer is a David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. He has previously taught law at Harvard University and the University of Michigan. He’s written numerous books about the law, ranging from the topics of evidence, free speech, and how philosophy plays a role in the legal system. 

Episode Quotes:

Can the probabilities be reduced to numbers?

20:40: Can the probabilities be reduced to numbers? One view is by reducing them to numbers, you make something appear more certain than it actually is, but there's another view. And actually, there are distinguished judges on both sides of this debate that say, "Yes, it's hard to get it exactly right," but trying to translate very fuzzy terms, like "clear and convincing evidence," "balance of the probabilities," or "proof beyond the reasonable doubt," into numbers can clarify things, however uncertain the numbers might be. Maybe they're a bit more certain and a bit more clarifying than just using the fuzziness of language. 

05:59: To understand the law of evidence, you really have to understand exclusions. To understand the science of evidence, you have to understand inclusions—how everything might be relevant.

Law is heavily dependent on testimony

33:04: Law, except in very rare cases, doesn't do direct observation, doesn't do direct experimentation even when it could. So it relies even more heavily on what somebody has said. It's like history, but unlike a lot of science. It's unlike a lot of empirical inquiry. It's unlike a lot of experimentation.

The different view of the law in criminal law

15:26: One of the important issues in evaluating evidence is what turns on it. And if we have a criminal law model, what turns on it is that someone is going to go to prison for a long time or possibly even be executed. We are really worried about making a certain kind of mistake. And because of that, the law, especially in criminal law, has a different evaluation of false positives versus false negatives than other people.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 222. Scrutinizing Evidence feat. Frederick Schauer Greg La Blanc 00:50:37 We use evidence in many areas of our world: courtrooms, scientific laboratories, and legislative bodies that create policies. But the evidence in these different arenas is used in very different ways. For example, how lawyers present evidence in a courtroom varies from how historians use evidence to write about past events. University of Virginia law professor Frederick Schauer joins Greg to talk about the different ways we use evidence and how in some situations, we are too rigid and, in other ways, too lax when it comes to evidence. His new book, The Proof, dives into the topic of evidence and how it’s used across our society. He also shares some insights from his older book, Thinking Like A Lawyer, which lays out how people outside of the legal profession can adopt some of the mindsets lawyers do (like cross-examining ideas we already believe and questioning people we tend to automatically trust). Frederick Schauer is a David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. He has previously taught law at Harvard University and the University of Michigan. He’s written numerous books about the law, ranging from the topics of evidence, free speech, and how philosophy plays a role in the legal system. We use evidence in many areas of our world: courtrooms, scientific laboratories, and legislative bodies that create policies. But the evidence in these different arenas is used in very different ways. For example, how lawyers present evidence in a courtroom varies from how historians use evidence to write about past events. University of Virginia law professor Frederick Schauer joins Greg to talk about the different ways we use evidence and how in some situations, we are too rigid and, in other ways, too lax when it comes to evidence. His new book, The Proof, dives into the topic of evidence and how it’s used across our society. He also shares some insights from his older book, Thinking Like A Lawyer, which lays out how people outside of the legal profession can adopt some of the mindsets lawyers do (like cross-examining ideas we already believe and questioning people we tend to automatically trust). Frederick Schauer is a David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. He has previously taught law at Harvard University and the University of Michigan. He’s written numerous books about the law, ranging from the topics of evidence, free speech, and how philosophy plays a role in the legal system. false full 222 de7c146c-30b7-4ce3-b98a-f39d71dde6bc 221. Free Will’s Boundaries and Paradoxes feat. Alfred Mele What is free will, and how can it be both tested and defined? How do you know where the line is between what is your choice, what is compelled, and what is inevitable? What are the limits on the will, and how do you study them?

Alfred Mele is a ph professor of philosophy at Florida State University. He also served as director of the Philosophy and Science of Self-Control Project and the Big Questions in Free Will Project. Alfred has written thirteen books and over 250 articles. His latest book is Free Will: An Opinionated Guide. 

Alfred and Greg talk about the definitions of free will, and how different schools of thought define it differently. They discuss different views on the subject of determinism, the case of Martin Luther, and about the connections between free will and willpower.

Episode Quotes:

Is the problem of self-deception similar to the problem of self-control?

23:38: There is a connection between self-deception and weakness of will. And so, between self-deception and self-control, too, because weakness of will and self-control are two sides of the same coin. So in cases of weakness of will, you judge it better to A than B, but you do B instead of A because you're more strongly motivated to do that. So it's a kind of motivated irrationality. And it looks like self-deception involves motivated irrationality too.

37:10: Behavior is in general driven by the stronger desire, but the stronger desire isn't always in line with what you think is best.

12:19: If we're thinking, "Well, you're not morally responsible for doing a thing unless you do it freely," then the low bar for moral responsibility becomes a low bar for freedom too.

Different features of desire

18:14: There are desires that you have, and they have different features. They have a causal power, which is the power to cause a corresponding action, and then they have your ranking of it in terms of value or goodness.

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]]> Wed, 7 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is free will, and how can it be both tested and defined? How do you know where the line is between what is your choice, what is compelled, and what is inevitable? What are the limits on the will, and how do you study them?

Alfred Mele is a ph professor of philosophy at Florida State University. He also served as director of the Philosophy and Science of Self-Control Project and the Big Questions in Free Will Project. Alfred has written thirteen books and over 250 articles. His latest book is Free Will: An Opinionated Guide. 

Alfred and Greg talk about the definitions of free will, and how different schools of thought define it differently. They discuss different views on the subject of determinism, the case of Martin Luther, and about the connections between free will and willpower.

Episode Quotes:

Is the problem of self-deception similar to the problem of self-control?

23:38: There is a connection between self-deception and weakness of will. And so, between self-deception and self-control, too, because weakness of will and self-control are two sides of the same coin. So in cases of weakness of will, you judge it better to A than B, but you do B instead of A because you're more strongly motivated to do that. So it's a kind of motivated irrationality. And it looks like self-deception involves motivated irrationality too.

37:10: Behavior is in general driven by the stronger desire, but the stronger desire isn't always in line with what you think is best.

12:19: If we're thinking, "Well, you're not morally responsible for doing a thing unless you do it freely," then the low bar for moral responsibility becomes a low bar for freedom too.

Different features of desire

18:14: There are desires that you have, and they have different features. They have a causal power, which is the power to cause a corresponding action, and then they have your ranking of it in terms of value or goodness.

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Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 221. Free Will’s Boundaries and Paradoxes feat. Alfred Mele Greg La Blanc 00:40:43 What is free will, and how can it be both tested and defined? How do you know where the line is between what is your choice, what is compelled, and what is inevitable? What are the limits on the will, and how do you study them? Alfred Mele is a ph professor of philosophy at Florida State University. He also served as director of the Philosophy and Science of Self-Control Project and the Big Questions in Free Will Project. Alfred has written thirteen books and over 250 articles. His latest book is Free Will: An Opinionated Guide. Alfred and Greg talk about the definitions of free will, and how different schools of thought define it differently. They discuss different views on the subject of determinism, the case of Martin Luther, and about the connections between free will and willpower. What is free will, and how can it be both tested and defined? How do you know where the line is between what is your choice, what is compelled, and what is inevitable? What are the limits on the will, and how do you study them? Alfred Mele is a ph professor of philosophy at Florida State University. He also served as director of the Philosophy and Science of Self-Control Project and the Big Questions in Free Will Project. Alfred has written thirteen books and over 250 articles. His latest book is Free Will: An Opinionated Guide. Alfred and Greg talk about the definitions of free will, and how different schools of thought define it differently. They discuss different views on the subject of determinism, the case of Martin Luther, and about the connections between free will and willpower. false full 221 5c84e26b-f9e5-4326-8b91-4e72880d1ec0 220. Opting Children Out of Competition feat. Matt Feeney Does competition always make you stronger, or does it subtly shape far too much of life throughout childhood and beyond. Society is now shaping itself around newly competitive fields in school and academics while contorting students and their families in different directions to keep up in today’s environment of education.

Matt Feeney is a writer whose latest book, “Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competative Age” dissects the benefits and detriments that competition of all types has on our families and our children. He holds a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Duke University and a B.S. in English teaching from Central Michigan University. A former teacher at Duke, George Washington University, Texas A&M, and Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, his writings have also appeared in The New Yorker online, Slate, and other publications.

Matt and Greg discuss the benefits and drawbacks to putting so much emphasis on competition for children in schools and in sports. They look at ways in which families have been enlisted to raise children that suit the needs of the knowledge economy and the preferences of college administrators.

Episode Quotes:

The effect of optimizing your kid's competitive viability

31:07: There's a fair amount of anecdotal evidence that suggests that as parenting has intensified, the children of this intensified parenting are becoming more fragile and have a hard time achieving independence. It doesn't seem the healthiest way to raise your kids, basically.

17:04: Your kid is your kid. You have a job as a parent to cultivate your child's virtues and abilities. But there's a point at which optimizing that kid is an injury to spiritual integrity and autonomy.

The competitive process is actively influenced by parents

42:19: Parents are not passive agents of ideology or passive victims of ideology. They're more active agents of a competitive process that extracts and insights their competitive output. And it turns it into an elaborate kind of institutional system.

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]]> Mon, 5 Dec 2022 15:55:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Does competition always make you stronger, or does it subtly shape far too much of life throughout childhood and beyond. Society is now shaping itself around newly competitive fields in school and academics while contorting students and their families in different directions to keep up in today’s environment of education.

Matt Feeney is a writer whose latest book, “Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competative Age” dissects the benefits and detriments that competition of all types has on our families and our children. He holds a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Duke University and a B.S. in English teaching from Central Michigan University. A former teacher at Duke, George Washington University, Texas A&M, and Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, his writings have also appeared in The New Yorker online, Slate, and other publications.

Matt and Greg discuss the benefits and drawbacks to putting so much emphasis on competition for children in schools and in sports. They look at ways in which families have been enlisted to raise children that suit the needs of the knowledge economy and the preferences of college administrators.

Episode Quotes:

The effect of optimizing your kid's competitive viability

31:07: There's a fair amount of anecdotal evidence that suggests that as parenting has intensified, the children of this intensified parenting are becoming more fragile and have a hard time achieving independence. It doesn't seem the healthiest way to raise your kids, basically.

17:04: Your kid is your kid. You have a job as a parent to cultivate your child's virtues and abilities. But there's a point at which optimizing that kid is an injury to spiritual integrity and autonomy.

The competitive process is actively influenced by parents

42:19: Parents are not passive agents of ideology or passive victims of ideology. They're more active agents of a competitive process that extracts and insights their competitive output. And it turns it into an elaborate kind of institutional system.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 220. Opting Children Out of Competition feat. Matt Feeney Greg La Blanc 00:51:32 Does competition always make you stronger, or does it subtly shape far too much of life throughout childhood and beyond. Society is now shaping itself around newly competitive fields in school and academics while contorting students and their families in different directions to keep up in today’s environment of education. Matt Feeney is a writer whose latest book, “Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competative Age” dissects the benefits and detriments that competition of all types has on our families and our children. He holds a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Duke University and a B.S. in English teaching from Central Michigan University. A former teacher at Duke, George Washington University, Texas A&M, and Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, his writings have also appeared in The New Yorker online, Slate, and other publications. Matt and Greg discuss the benefits and drawbacks to putting so much emphasis on competition for children in schools and in sports. They look at ways in which families have been enlisted to raise children that suit the needs of the knowledge economy and the preferences of college administrators. Does competition always make you stronger, or does it subtly shape far too much of life throughout childhood and beyond. Society is now shaping itself around newly competitive fields in school and academics while contorting students and their families in different directions to keep up in today’s environment of education. Matt Feeney is a writer whose latest book, “Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competative Age” dissects the benefits and detriments that competition of all types has on our families and our children. He holds a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Duke University and a B.S. in English teaching from Central Michigan University. A former teacher at Duke, George Washington University, Texas A&M, and Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, his writings have also appeared in The New Yorker online, Slate, and other publications. Matt and Greg discuss the benefits and drawbacks to putting so much emphasis on competition for children in schools and in sports. They look at ways in which families have been enlisted to raise children that suit the needs of the knowledge economy and the preferences of college administrators. false full 220 1e08b065-5a68-4fa2-b918-32fde8fd52d9 219. Motivation Dos and Don’ts feat. Ayelet Fishbach How do you motivate yourself? What works in motivating others? Do you turn to the stick, the carrot, or a combination of both? These age-old questions are at the root of humans trying to turn what they need to do into what they want to do and manage complex slates of desire and obligation.

Ayelet Fishbach is a professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is an expert in the fields of motivation and decision-making and the author of Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation. Ayelet’s human motivation research has been recognized via many international awards, including the Society of Experimental Social Psychology’s Best Dissertation Award and Career Trajectory Award, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award.

Ayelet and Greg talk about motivation on all levels and from all angles. They discuss the similarities and differences between employers motivating employees, teachers motivating students, and parents motivating children. Ayelet sheds insight on what common mistakes doom the best of intentions and how to set up tasks to properly harness your natural motivational triggers and improve your self-control.

Episode Quotes:

The difference between willpower and self-control

08:33: Willpower is the power you use to motivate yourself, get yourself to do something. But they're different in the sense that we often think about willpower in the literature, as well as in lay language; self-control is overcoming yourself as doing something you don't want to do, but you can somehow get yourself to do. Self-control is required when you have a goal conflict. When there is a goal that you want to pursue, but there is something else that stands in the way that you want to do. 

What are the barriers in learning from negative feedback?

19:21: There are two specific barriers to learning from negative feedback. One is that it hurts. And the other one is that it's often hard, just cognitively, to learn from negative feedback.

What’s wrong with avoidance goals?

13:14: The problem with avoidance goals is that they make us rebels. They point to mind the things you should not do and are just not fun to pursue. To find another hobby is better than to stop obsessing on your current hobby.

One of the problems with goals

43:37: We set goals that are ambitious. We set goals that we don't know if we can reach this specific target. We don't know if we can do this much by that time. And we did that on purpose—the challenging target is better than the target we know we can achieve. But the problem is that once we fail on that target, we might give up.

On setting goals

06:21: How to best set a goal? I would say it's the same for setting a goal for others and yourself, and there are a few principles. We want the goal to be enticing, something we aspire to achieve. That seems more like a goal and less like a chore.

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]]> Fri, 2 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do you motivate yourself? What works in motivating others? Do you turn to the stick, the carrot, or a combination of both? These age-old questions are at the root of humans trying to turn what they need to do into what they want to do and manage complex slates of desire and obligation.

Ayelet Fishbach is a professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is an expert in the fields of motivation and decision-making and the author of Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation. Ayelet’s human motivation research has been recognized via many international awards, including the Society of Experimental Social Psychology’s Best Dissertation Award and Career Trajectory Award, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award.

Ayelet and Greg talk about motivation on all levels and from all angles. They discuss the similarities and differences between employers motivating employees, teachers motivating students, and parents motivating children. Ayelet sheds insight on what common mistakes doom the best of intentions and how to set up tasks to properly harness your natural motivational triggers and improve your self-control.

Episode Quotes:

The difference between willpower and self-control

08:33: Willpower is the power you use to motivate yourself, get yourself to do something. But they're different in the sense that we often think about willpower in the literature, as well as in lay language; self-control is overcoming yourself as doing something you don't want to do, but you can somehow get yourself to do. Self-control is required when you have a goal conflict. When there is a goal that you want to pursue, but there is something else that stands in the way that you want to do. 

What are the barriers in learning from negative feedback?

19:21: There are two specific barriers to learning from negative feedback. One is that it hurts. And the other one is that it's often hard, just cognitively, to learn from negative feedback.

What’s wrong with avoidance goals?

13:14: The problem with avoidance goals is that they make us rebels. They point to mind the things you should not do and are just not fun to pursue. To find another hobby is better than to stop obsessing on your current hobby.

One of the problems with goals

43:37: We set goals that are ambitious. We set goals that we don't know if we can reach this specific target. We don't know if we can do this much by that time. And we did that on purpose—the challenging target is better than the target we know we can achieve. But the problem is that once we fail on that target, we might give up.

On setting goals

06:21: How to best set a goal? I would say it's the same for setting a goal for others and yourself, and there are a few principles. We want the goal to be enticing, something we aspire to achieve. That seems more like a goal and less like a chore.

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]]> 219. Motivation Dos and Don’ts feat. Ayelet Fishbach Greg La Blanc 00:55:25 How do you motivate yourself? What works in motivating others? Do you turn to the stick, the carrot, or a combination of both? These age-old questions are at the root of humans trying to turn what they need to do into what they want to do and manage complex slates of desire and obligation. Ayelet Fishbach is a professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is an expert in the fields of motivation and decision-making and the author of Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation. Ayelet’s human motivation research has been recognized via many international awards, including the Society of Experimental Social Psychology’s Best Dissertation Award and Career Trajectory Award, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award. Ayelet and Greg talk about motivation on all levels and from all angles. They discuss the similarities and differences between employers motivating employees, teachers motivating students, and parents motivating children. Ayelet sheds insight on what common mistakes doom the best of intentions and how to set up tasks to properly harness your natural motivational triggers and improve your self-control. How do you motivate yourself? What works in motivating others? Do you turn to the stick, the carrot, or a combination of both? These age-old questions are at the root of humans trying to turn what they need to do into what they want to do and manage complex slates of desire and obligation. Ayelet Fishbach is a professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is an expert in the fields of motivation and decision-making and the author of Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation. Ayelet’s human motivation research has been recognized via many international awards, including the Society of Experimental Social Psychology’s Best Dissertation Award and Career Trajectory Award, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award. Ayelet and Greg talk about motivation on all levels and from all angles. They discuss the similarities and differences between employers motivating employees, teachers motivating students, and parents motivating children. Ayelet sheds insight on what common mistakes doom the best of intentions and how to set up tasks to properly harness your natural motivational triggers and improve your self-control. false full 219 212ffa63-c38c-45de-b5ff-99c70fa0382e 218. Strategizing for Work and Life feat. Dorie Clark The world seems to be moving faster and faster but there is always a need to plan for the longer arc of life. Having a strategy lets you set short goals while achieving progress toward your longer ones. Now more than ever people need to be intentional about the strategies they use in creating a career. Building these strategies in different areas of your life is what today’s episode is all about.

Dorie Clark is a teacher at Duke and Colombia University’s business schools, a speaker who has given lectures from Harvard Business School to Google HQ, and a prolific author of the books Stand Out, Reinventing You, Entrepreneurial You, and her newest book The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World. 

Dorie and Greg talk about playing the long game, and what that means in your business life and personal life. They also talk about what it looks like to think long term in a world where short term needs are always pressing, and how to think about time allocation for the important things in life.

Episode Quotes:

The power of stories for behavioral change

24:08: A story is a really good way to get in the side door. So that it's essentially evading people's objections because if you're telling somebody: “research says…”, "Do this or do that," there's often just a lot of backlash that people have:” I couldn't do that.” But if they're hearing a narrative, which is not, "Oh, you have to do this," but it's, "Well, here, let me tell you about somebody you know, like you, who did that thing," And they realize, it's a lot less threatening of a way to present information, and it lets it roll around in people's brains and say, "Oh, I'm not that different from that person. Maybe I could try it.’ And that can become really powerful.

02:48: There's almost no one in the world that thinks that strategy is a bad thing. It's not like there's an anti-strategy contingent arguing against it. Everybody thinks it's good. Everybody pays lip service to it. But the problem is that almost no one does it.

Why do we need a coach?

25:38: The answer is we don't always. Sometimes a book is perfectly sufficient for what you want to do. It depends on how important the issue is to you and how detailed of an instruction you require.

Overweighting our short-term thinking can be a liability

17:50: If we're investing money, if we're investing our finances, everybody understands that if your portfolio is overweight in a certain asset, that may be great while that asset is performing well, but it is extremely dangerous over the long term because there probably is going to be some reversal.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> Wed, 30 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The world seems to be moving faster and faster but there is always a need to plan for the longer arc of life. Having a strategy lets you set short goals while achieving progress toward your longer ones. Now more than ever people need to be intentional about the strategies they use in creating a career. Building these strategies in different areas of your life is what today’s episode is all about.

Dorie Clark is a teacher at Duke and Colombia University’s business schools, a speaker who has given lectures from Harvard Business School to Google HQ, and a prolific author of the books Stand Out, Reinventing You, Entrepreneurial You, and her newest book The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World. 

Dorie and Greg talk about playing the long game, and what that means in your business life and personal life. They also talk about what it looks like to think long term in a world where short term needs are always pressing, and how to think about time allocation for the important things in life.

Episode Quotes:

The power of stories for behavioral change

24:08: A story is a really good way to get in the side door. So that it's essentially evading people's objections because if you're telling somebody: “research says…”, "Do this or do that," there's often just a lot of backlash that people have:” I couldn't do that.” But if they're hearing a narrative, which is not, "Oh, you have to do this," but it's, "Well, here, let me tell you about somebody you know, like you, who did that thing," And they realize, it's a lot less threatening of a way to present information, and it lets it roll around in people's brains and say, "Oh, I'm not that different from that person. Maybe I could try it.’ And that can become really powerful.

02:48: There's almost no one in the world that thinks that strategy is a bad thing. It's not like there's an anti-strategy contingent arguing against it. Everybody thinks it's good. Everybody pays lip service to it. But the problem is that almost no one does it.

Why do we need a coach?

25:38: The answer is we don't always. Sometimes a book is perfectly sufficient for what you want to do. It depends on how important the issue is to you and how detailed of an instruction you require.

Overweighting our short-term thinking can be a liability

17:50: If we're investing money, if we're investing our finances, everybody understands that if your portfolio is overweight in a certain asset, that may be great while that asset is performing well, but it is extremely dangerous over the long term because there probably is going to be some reversal.

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 218. Strategizing for Work and Life feat. Dorie Clark Greg La Blanc 00:48:23 The world seems to be moving faster and faster but there is always a need to plan for the longer arc of life. Having a strategy lets you set short goals while achieving progress toward your longer ones. Now more than ever people need to be intentional about the strategies they use in creating a career. Building these strategies in different areas of your life is what today’s episode is all about. Dorie Clark is a teacher at Duke and Colombia University’s business schools, a speaker who has given lectures from Harvard Business School to Google HQ, and a prolific author of the books Stand Out, Reinventing You, Entrepreneurial You, and her newest book The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World. Dorie and Greg talk about playing the long game, and what that means in your business life and personal life. They also talk about what it looks like to think long term in a world where short term needs are always pressing, and how to think about time allocation for the important things in life. The world seems to be moving faster and faster but there is always a need to plan for the longer arc of life. Having a strategy lets you set short goals while achieving progress toward your longer ones. Now more than ever people need to be intentional about the strategies they use in creating a career. Building these strategies in different areas of your life is what today’s episode is all about. Dorie Clark is a teacher at Duke and Colombia University’s business schools, a speaker who has given lectures from Harvard Business School to Google HQ, and a prolific author of the books Stand Out, Reinventing You, Entrepreneurial You, and her newest book The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World. Dorie and Greg talk about playing the long game, and what that means in your business life and personal life. They also talk about what it looks like to think long term in a world where short term needs are always pressing, and how to think about time allocation for the important things in life. false full 218 a3d24ca7-d7d2-4a6e-8aab-39638ec6160f 217. Anticipating Shifting Environments in Economics feat. Paul Ormerod Economists have been harshly criticized for their response to the recent financial crisis and the pandemic. Yet, they are willing to adapt to changing environments and take on new ideas but sometimes don't do it rapidly enough.

Paul Andrew Ormerod is a British economist, best-selling author, a partner at Volterra Partners consultancy, and a founder and director of Algorithmic Economics. Additionally, he is a visiting professor at UCL’s Department of Computer Science.

Paul writes a weekly opinion column on economics and related topics for City AM, a newspaper aimed at workers in Central London.  

Since May 2020 Paul Ormerod has been Chairman of the Rochdale Development Agency (RDA), responsible for economic development in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, which is in Greater Manchester.

Greg and Paul discuss why misguided incentives can lead economists to turn a blind eye to shifting environments and fail to anticipate the chance of rare events which can be actually much bigger than predicted in economic risk models.

Episode Quotes:

Economics is not an empty box

10:02: Mainstream economics is not an empty box. It does contain powerful insights. And so, the idea that agents or decision people respond to incentives is very powerful. And in particular, I think it's often caricatured that people think incentives must mean price, but in fact it could be a whole range of factors that people respond to. And if the incentive set changes, then behavior changes.

06:44: Economics portrays a richer and more realistic portrait of how people behave –more grounded empirically, but at the macro level, it's really gone backwards.

What’s wrong with big data?

42:36: Big data, one of the problems is the way it's often used. It might be very good at fitting particular circumstances, but it may not generalize very well. That's always a problem with any form of statistical analysis.

As the pandemic unfolds, economists step out

14:23: Economists do dominate public policy discourse. Whether it's at the national, state government, or international bodies, everything is filtered through the lens of economics. And on this one, they said, "Oh well, you know we pass; we'll step out."I think initially, because most of them didn't know anything about the models the epidemiologists were using, and now that they have done it, it's starting to appear.

Show Links:

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Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Economists have been harshly criticized for their response to the recent financial crisis and the pandemic. Yet, they are willing to adapt to changing environments and take on new ideas but sometimes don't do it rapidly enough.

Paul Andrew Ormerod is a British economist, best-selling author, a partner at Volterra Partners consultancy, and a founder and director of Algorithmic Economics. Additionally, he is a visiting professor at UCL’s Department of Computer Science.

Paul writes a weekly opinion column on economics and related topics for City AM, a newspaper aimed at workers in Central London.  

Since May 2020 Paul Ormerod has been Chairman of the Rochdale Development Agency (RDA), responsible for economic development in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, which is in Greater Manchester.

Greg and Paul discuss why misguided incentives can lead economists to turn a blind eye to shifting environments and fail to anticipate the chance of rare events which can be actually much bigger than predicted in economic risk models.

Episode Quotes:

Economics is not an empty box

10:02: Mainstream economics is not an empty box. It does contain powerful insights. And so, the idea that agents or decision people respond to incentives is very powerful. And in particular, I think it's often caricatured that people think incentives must mean price, but in fact it could be a whole range of factors that people respond to. And if the incentive set changes, then behavior changes.

06:44: Economics portrays a richer and more realistic portrait of how people behave –more grounded empirically, but at the macro level, it's really gone backwards.

What’s wrong with big data?

42:36: Big data, one of the problems is the way it's often used. It might be very good at fitting particular circumstances, but it may not generalize very well. That's always a problem with any form of statistical analysis.

As the pandemic unfolds, economists step out

14:23: Economists do dominate public policy discourse. Whether it's at the national, state government, or international bodies, everything is filtered through the lens of economics. And on this one, they said, "Oh well, you know we pass; we'll step out."I think initially, because most of them didn't know anything about the models the epidemiologists were using, and now that they have done it, it's starting to appear.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 217. Anticipating Shifting Environments in Economics feat. Paul Ormerod Greg La Blanc 00:52:27 Economists have been harshly criticized for their response to the recent financial crisis and the pandemic. Yet, they are willing to adapt to changing environments and take on new ideas but sometimes don't do it rapidly enough. Paul Andrew Ormerod is a British economist, best-selling author, a partner at Volterra Partners consultancy, and a founder and director of Algorithmic Economics. Additionally, he is a visiting professor at UCL’s Department of Computer Science. Paul writes a weekly opinion column on economics and related topics for City AM, a newspaper aimed at workers in Central London. Since May 2020 Paul Ormerod has been Chairman of the Rochdale Development Agency (RDA), responsible for economic development in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, which is in Greater Manchester. Greg and Paul discuss why misguided incentives can lead economists to turn a blind eye to shifting environments and fail to anticipate the chance of rare events which can be actually much bigger than predicted in economic risk models. Economists have been harshly criticized for their response to the recent financial crisis and the pandemic. Yet, they are willing to adapt to changing environments and take on new ideas but sometimes don't do it rapidly enough. Paul Andrew Ormerod is a British economist, best-selling author, a partner at Volterra Partners consultancy, and a founder and director of Algorithmic Economics. Additionally, he is a visiting professor at UCL’s Department of Computer Science. Paul writes a weekly opinion column on economics and related topics for City AM, a newspaper aimed at workers in Central London. Since May 2020 Paul Ormerod has been Chairman of the Rochdale Development Agency (RDA), responsible for economic development in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, which is in Greater Manchester. Greg and Paul discuss why misguided incentives can lead economists to turn a blind eye to shifting environments and fail to anticipate the chance of rare events which can be actually much bigger than predicted in economic risk models. false full 217 8dd429e6-57cf-418e-9f55-aea957528179 216. Loss, Discovery, and Being Wrong feat. Kathryn Schulz The trauma of loss is inevitable, but there are things that can be done to consciously prepare for and deal with things we lose in life. They are also connected deeply to the concepts of discovery. Death and love both hold mysteries that have always captivated the mind.  

Kathryn Schulz is a writer at “The New Yorker” and is the author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error and her newest book Lost & Found: Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness was just released this year. She won a National Magazine Award and a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for “The Really Big One,” an article about seismic risk in the Pacific Northwest. Her writing can also be found in “The Best American Science and Nature Writing,” “The Best American Travel Writing,” and “The Best American Food Writing.”

Kathryn and Greg talk about losses of all sizes, from the inconsequential to the greatest loss imaginable, and how loss of life is treated across cultures and time, how humans and religion have responded to the trauma of death and loss. Likewise, they talk about the flip side of the coin in finding and discovery, both the trivial and profound - specifically finding a loved one to be one’s partners in life. 

Episode Quotes:

Having the inability to admit your mistakes can make a relationship fail

31:12: How do you make a relationship work? One way not to make it work is to be unable to admit that you're wrong. And it's hard, when you're in the midst of a fight or friction with your partner. It's very difficult to not inhabit your own in that moment, extremely narrowed field of vision, your sense of woundedness, and your narrative about what happened or whatever may be going on. But you just can't. You have to develop a kind of bifocal vision where, clearly, there are exceptions to this. People are genuinely wronged in relationships as in other things, but in a basically happy relationship where that's not the case, you have to be able to, at some point, step back and say, "Well, what's actually going on here?"

21:32: At the heart of existence, for whatever reason wildly beyond our control, is the fact that everything in our lives is wildly impermanent.

Can we learn to be better in relationships?

29:33: Your first move just has to be to pick the right person. And some of that is compatibility, but some of it is just this deep conviction that they're right for you and you love them because in stressful or difficult moments in a relationship, you have got to be grounded in this sense of this is the one.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> Fri, 25 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The trauma of loss is inevitable, but there are things that can be done to consciously prepare for and deal with things we lose in life. They are also connected deeply to the concepts of discovery. Death and love both hold mysteries that have always captivated the mind.  

Kathryn Schulz is a writer at “The New Yorker” and is the author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error and her newest book Lost & Found: Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness was just released this year. She won a National Magazine Award and a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for “The Really Big One,” an article about seismic risk in the Pacific Northwest. Her writing can also be found in “The Best American Science and Nature Writing,” “The Best American Travel Writing,” and “The Best American Food Writing.”

Kathryn and Greg talk about losses of all sizes, from the inconsequential to the greatest loss imaginable, and how loss of life is treated across cultures and time, how humans and religion have responded to the trauma of death and loss. Likewise, they talk about the flip side of the coin in finding and discovery, both the trivial and profound - specifically finding a loved one to be one’s partners in life. 

Episode Quotes:

Having the inability to admit your mistakes can make a relationship fail

31:12: How do you make a relationship work? One way not to make it work is to be unable to admit that you're wrong. And it's hard, when you're in the midst of a fight or friction with your partner. It's very difficult to not inhabit your own in that moment, extremely narrowed field of vision, your sense of woundedness, and your narrative about what happened or whatever may be going on. But you just can't. You have to develop a kind of bifocal vision where, clearly, there are exceptions to this. People are genuinely wronged in relationships as in other things, but in a basically happy relationship where that's not the case, you have to be able to, at some point, step back and say, "Well, what's actually going on here?"

21:32: At the heart of existence, for whatever reason wildly beyond our control, is the fact that everything in our lives is wildly impermanent.

Can we learn to be better in relationships?

29:33: Your first move just has to be to pick the right person. And some of that is compatibility, but some of it is just this deep conviction that they're right for you and you love them because in stressful or difficult moments in a relationship, you have got to be grounded in this sense of this is the one.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 216. Loss, Discovery, and Being Wrong feat. Kathryn Schulz Greg La Blanc 00:41:31 The trauma of loss is inevitable, but there are things that can be done to consciously prepare for and deal with things we lose in life. They are also connected deeply to the concepts of discovery. Death and love both hold mysteries that have always captivated the mind. Kathryn Schulz is a writer at “The New Yorker” and is the author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error and her newest book Lost & Found: Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness was just released this year. She won a National Magazine Award and a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for “The Really Big One,” an article about seismic risk in the Pacific Northwest. Her writing can also be found in “The Best American Science and Nature Writing,” “The Best American Travel Writing,” and “The Best American Food Writing.” Kathryn and Greg talk about losses of all sizes, from the inconsequential to the greatest loss imaginable, and how loss of life is treated across cultures and time, how humans and religion have responded to the trauma of death and loss. Likewise, they talk about the flip side of the coin in finding and discovery, both the trivial and profound - specifically finding a loved one to be one’s partners in life. The trauma of loss is inevitable, but there are things that can be done to consciously prepare for and deal with things we lose in life. They are also connected deeply to the concepts of discovery. Death and love both hold mysteries that have always captivated the mind. Kathryn Schulz is a writer at “The New Yorker” and is the author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error and her newest book Lost & Found: Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness was just released this year. She won a National Magazine Award and a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for “The Really Big One,” an article about seismic risk in the Pacific Northwest. Her writing can also be found in “The Best American Science and Nature Writing,” “The Best American Travel Writing,” and “The Best American Food Writing.” Kathryn and Greg talk about losses of all sizes, from the inconsequential to the greatest loss imaginable, and how loss of life is treated across cultures and time, how humans and religion have responded to the trauma of death and loss. Likewise, they talk about the flip side of the coin in finding and discovery, both the trivial and profound - specifically finding a loved one to be one’s partners in life. false full 216 65692e5f-1cc0-4156-97e2-deeaa470f886 215. Managing Uncertainty feat. John Kay The behavior of business practitioners is often driven by the defunct theories of economists. But to some extent all theories and models come with limitations and both the financial crisis of 2008 and the recent pandemic have made those limitations hard to ignore.

Sir John Kay is one of Britain’s leading economists. He was the first dean of Oxford’s Said Business School and has held chairs at the London School of Economics, the University of Oxford, and London Business School. 

His interests focus on the relationship between economics and business. His career has spanned the academy and think tanks, company directorships, consultancies, investment companies and media. For twenty years, he wrote a regular column for the Financial Times and has authored an astonishing number of books. He was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s 2021 Birthday Honours List for services to economics, business and finance.

Greg and John discuss how to navigate a complex environment, which we can only imperfectly understand, why we should embrace uncertainty and how to create strategies that are resilient to unpredictable events.

Episode Quotes:

On why we're not going to get predictability in economics

10:02: The world we're dealing with, in economics, business, and finance is not stationary. There are not underlying models in the way we talk about the motion of the planets, which has remained unchanged for several centuries. And not only has it remained unchanged for centuries, but actually we know what these equations are, and they're not affected by what we do or think about them; Venus does not care what we think about its equations of motion. But the people who work in organizations and financial markets do care what we think about. And that world is affected by our interaction with it.

Why you shouldn’t take models too seriously

05:01: To understand economics, to understand social science, we absolutely need models. The mistake is to think that the models we're building are true descriptions of the world. And they're not. I think models and economics are best regarded as parables; they're stories.

An observation on how people use models

14:07: You can use models to say, "This is what might happen to an unchecked pandemic." You can use a model to say, "This is an indication of the effect we might have if we introduced lockdown measures or vaccinations of the like." You can use models to illustrate scenarios and tell stories. If you think you can use models to predict, then I think you are attempting a kind of pseudoscientific position that is simply not available.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Wed, 23 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The behavior of business practitioners is often driven by the defunct theories of economists. But to some extent all theories and models come with limitations and both the financial crisis of 2008 and the recent pandemic have made those limitations hard to ignore.

Sir John Kay is one of Britain’s leading economists. He was the first dean of Oxford’s Said Business School and has held chairs at the London School of Economics, the University of Oxford, and London Business School. 

His interests focus on the relationship between economics and business. His career has spanned the academy and think tanks, company directorships, consultancies, investment companies and media. For twenty years, he wrote a regular column for the Financial Times and has authored an astonishing number of books. He was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s 2021 Birthday Honours List for services to economics, business and finance.

Greg and John discuss how to navigate a complex environment, which we can only imperfectly understand, why we should embrace uncertainty and how to create strategies that are resilient to unpredictable events.

Episode Quotes:

On why we're not going to get predictability in economics

10:02: The world we're dealing with, in economics, business, and finance is not stationary. There are not underlying models in the way we talk about the motion of the planets, which has remained unchanged for several centuries. And not only has it remained unchanged for centuries, but actually we know what these equations are, and they're not affected by what we do or think about them; Venus does not care what we think about its equations of motion. But the people who work in organizations and financial markets do care what we think about. And that world is affected by our interaction with it.

Why you shouldn’t take models too seriously

05:01: To understand economics, to understand social science, we absolutely need models. The mistake is to think that the models we're building are true descriptions of the world. And they're not. I think models and economics are best regarded as parables; they're stories.

An observation on how people use models

14:07: You can use models to say, "This is what might happen to an unchecked pandemic." You can use a model to say, "This is an indication of the effect we might have if we introduced lockdown measures or vaccinations of the like." You can use models to illustrate scenarios and tell stories. If you think you can use models to predict, then I think you are attempting a kind of pseudoscientific position that is simply not available.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 215. Managing Uncertainty feat. John Kay Greg La Blanc 00:54:47 The behavior of business practitioners is often driven by the defunct theories of economists. But to some extent all theories and models come with limitations and both the financial crisis of 2008 and the recent pandemic have made those limitations hard to ignore. Sir John Kay is one of Britain’s leading economists. He was the first dean of Oxford’s Said Business School and has held chairs at the London School of Economics, the University of Oxford, and London Business School. His interests focus on the relationship between economics and business. His career has spanned the academy and think tanks, company directorships, consultancies, investment companies and media. For twenty years, he wrote a regular column for the Financial Times and has authored an astonishing number of books. He was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s 2021 Birthday Honours List for services to economics, business and finance. Greg and John discuss how to navigate a complex environment, which we can only imperfectly understand, why we should embrace uncertainty and how to create strategies that are resilient to unpredictable events. The behavior of business practitioners is often driven by the defunct theories of economists. But to some extent all theories and models come with limitations and both the financial crisis of 2008 and the recent pandemic have made those limitations hard to ignore. Sir John Kay is one of Britain’s leading economists. He was the first dean of Oxford’s Said Business School and has held chairs at the London School of Economics, the University of Oxford, and London Business School. His interests focus on the relationship between economics and business. His career has spanned the academy and think tanks, company directorships, consultancies, investment companies and media. For twenty years, he wrote a regular column for the Financial Times and has authored an astonishing number of books. He was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s 2021 Birthday Honours List for services to economics, business and finance. Greg and John discuss how to navigate a complex environment, which we can only imperfectly understand, why we should embrace uncertainty and how to create strategies that are resilient to unpredictable events. false full 215 341556ec-0d7c-4651-be90-d80317c57521 214. Spiritual Enlightenment and Solace in an Age of Disenchantment feat. Anthony Kronman It’s remarkable,how driven we are to set goals for ourselves that we're incapable of attaining. But we're not doomed to be disenchanted; Instead, we can make some incremental and meaningful progress toward their attainment.

Anthony Kronman is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School. A former Dean of Yale Law School, Professor Kronman teaches in the areas of contracts, bankruptcy, jurisprudence, social theory, and professional responsibility.

Among his books are Education’s End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life, Max Weber, Contracts: Cases and Materials (with F. Kessler and G. Gilmore), Lost Lawyer, Confessions of a Born-Again Pagan, and After Disbelief: On Disenchantment, Disappointment, Eternity, and Joy.

Greg and Tony talk about parallels between science, philosophy and literature, the search for an understanding of the nature and amplitude of substance and how to re-enchant the world.

Episode Quotes:

What causes some people to view lawyers negatively?

45:10: People often have a pretty low opinion of lawyers because they meet lawyers when they need them, and they need them when they find themselves in the jaws of the law, and that is formidable. And many people experience it as an unpleasant, if not destructive power. And the lawyers who inhabit the precincts of the law so comfortably are just inevitably associated in people's minds with the awfulness of law itself.

Two remarkable things about humans

31:02: Here are two remarkable things about us: We set goals we can never reach, one. And two, that even though we can't reach them, we can make some incremental and meaningful progress.

On illustrating progress

34:52: Learning new things, adding to the stockpile of your knowledge or expertise. That is one familiar way of illustrating progress in an enterprise or a discipline.

Making progress in sensibility

35:51: Developing capacity to recognize and appreciate what is distinctive and worth observation and, perhaps, even close study in another human being—who you may not like all that much or feel an immediate personal rapport for, but who you can see as an individual of a striking and interesting to be able to do that more regularly, more emphatically, and with a greater investment of curiosity and patience. And even at the end of the day of fellowship or fellow feeling, that is making progress in sensibility.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Mon, 21 Nov 2022 18:34:42 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It’s remarkable,how driven we are to set goals for ourselves that we're incapable of attaining. But we're not doomed to be disenchanted; Instead, we can make some incremental and meaningful progress toward their attainment.

Anthony Kronman is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School. A former Dean of Yale Law School, Professor Kronman teaches in the areas of contracts, bankruptcy, jurisprudence, social theory, and professional responsibility.

Among his books are Education’s End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life, Max Weber, Contracts: Cases and Materials (with F. Kessler and G. Gilmore), Lost Lawyer, Confessions of a Born-Again Pagan, and After Disbelief: On Disenchantment, Disappointment, Eternity, and Joy.

Greg and Tony talk about parallels between science, philosophy and literature, the search for an understanding of the nature and amplitude of substance and how to re-enchant the world.

Episode Quotes:

What causes some people to view lawyers negatively?

45:10: People often have a pretty low opinion of lawyers because they meet lawyers when they need them, and they need them when they find themselves in the jaws of the law, and that is formidable. And many people experience it as an unpleasant, if not destructive power. And the lawyers who inhabit the precincts of the law so comfortably are just inevitably associated in people's minds with the awfulness of law itself.

Two remarkable things about humans

31:02: Here are two remarkable things about us: We set goals we can never reach, one. And two, that even though we can't reach them, we can make some incremental and meaningful progress.

On illustrating progress

34:52: Learning new things, adding to the stockpile of your knowledge or expertise. That is one familiar way of illustrating progress in an enterprise or a discipline.

Making progress in sensibility

35:51: Developing capacity to recognize and appreciate what is distinctive and worth observation and, perhaps, even close study in another human being—who you may not like all that much or feel an immediate personal rapport for, but who you can see as an individual of a striking and interesting to be able to do that more regularly, more emphatically, and with a greater investment of curiosity and patience. And even at the end of the day of fellowship or fellow feeling, that is making progress in sensibility.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> 214. Spiritual Enlightenment and Solace in an Age of Disenchantment feat. Anthony Kronman Greg La Blanc 00:57:56 It’s remarkable,how driven we are to set goals for ourselves that we're incapable of attaining. But we're not doomed to be disenchanted; Instead, we can make some incremental and meaningful progress toward their attainment. Anthony Kronman is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School. A former Dean of Yale Law School, Professor Kronman teaches in the areas of contracts, bankruptcy, jurisprudence, social theory, and professional responsibility. Among his books are Education’s End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life, Max Weber, Contracts: Cases and Materials (with F. Kessler and G. Gilmore), Lost Lawyer, Confessions of a Born-Again Pagan, and After Disbelief: On Disenchantment, Disappointment, Eternity, and Joy. Greg and Tony talk about parallels between science, philosophy and literature, the search for an understanding of the nature and amplitude of substance and how to re-enchant the world. It’s remarkable,how driven we are to set goals for ourselves that we're incapable of attaining. But we're not doomed to be disenchanted; Instead, we can make some incremental and meaningful progress toward their attainment. Anthony Kronman is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School. A former Dean of Yale Law School, Professor Kronman teaches in the areas of contracts, bankruptcy, jurisprudence, social theory, and professional responsibility. Among his books are Education’s End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life, Max Weber, Contracts: Cases and Materials (with F. Kessler and G. Gilmore), Lost Lawyer, Confessions of a Born-Again Pagan, and After Disbelief: On Disenchantment, Disappointment, Eternity, and Joy. Greg and Tony talk about parallels between science, philosophy and literature, the search for an understanding of the nature and amplitude of substance and how to re-enchant the world. false full 214 d78fe6fc-c540-4229-b629-85b780a8d1e9 213. How the Food Giants Hooked Us feat. Michael Moss It’s no secret that the nature of our food has been changed quite dramatically by big food companies in the last 50 years. This is just one of the things that has contributed to a nation of overeaters. 

Michael Moss is the author of “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,” and “Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions.” He is also a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist formerly with the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

So what has changed in those 50 years? Listen as Michael and Greg talk about the evolution of processed foods, the biological science behind addiction, how food memories develop, Lunchables, and the business of cigarettes and smoking.

Episode Quotes:

Memory as a tool in food industry

25:26: What the food companies have realized is that the more we experience something, the deeper those memory channels are. And so the easier it is for them to use what psychologists call cues to get us excited. I mean, two people driving down the road, right, see the golden arches. And they could have completely different reactions to seeing those arches depending on what their memory bank is, what their experience is from eating. t a person's been eating there a lot and has deep memory channels for McDonald's is going to get all excited and pull off the highway as soon as they can to, to go there where the other person's going to, they're not even like seeing the golden arches if they're not somebody who eats there, doesn't have that memory for it. So, besides speed, memory is hugely powerful for the food industry to us to kind of keep coming back to its products.

Speed is the hallmark of addiction

8:42: Speed is a hallmark of addiction, so the faster a substance can hit the brain, the more apt we are to lose control, react, and act compulsively to that substance. 

Educating the young about eating habits

12:21: I would love to see going back to prioritizing children, focusing on them to help them develop good eating habits before they can develop bad ones. Teaching them how to cook and schools would be a fabulous sort of thing to do, and you could do it, and you could do it in a way that's not preachy too.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Dana Small
  • Edward Slingerland episode

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Fri, 18 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It’s no secret that the nature of our food has been changed quite dramatically by big food companies in the last 50 years. This is just one of the things that has contributed to a nation of overeaters. 

Michael Moss is the author of “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,” and “Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions.” He is also a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist formerly with the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

So what has changed in those 50 years? Listen as Michael and Greg talk about the evolution of processed foods, the biological science behind addiction, how food memories develop, Lunchables, and the business of cigarettes and smoking.

Episode Quotes:

Memory as a tool in food industry

25:26: What the food companies have realized is that the more we experience something, the deeper those memory channels are. And so the easier it is for them to use what psychologists call cues to get us excited. I mean, two people driving down the road, right, see the golden arches. And they could have completely different reactions to seeing those arches depending on what their memory bank is, what their experience is from eating. t a person's been eating there a lot and has deep memory channels for McDonald's is going to get all excited and pull off the highway as soon as they can to, to go there where the other person's going to, they're not even like seeing the golden arches if they're not somebody who eats there, doesn't have that memory for it. So, besides speed, memory is hugely powerful for the food industry to us to kind of keep coming back to its products.

Speed is the hallmark of addiction

8:42: Speed is a hallmark of addiction, so the faster a substance can hit the brain, the more apt we are to lose control, react, and act compulsively to that substance. 

Educating the young about eating habits

12:21: I would love to see going back to prioritizing children, focusing on them to help them develop good eating habits before they can develop bad ones. Teaching them how to cook and schools would be a fabulous sort of thing to do, and you could do it, and you could do it in a way that's not preachy too.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Dana Small
  • Edward Slingerland episode

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 213. How the Food Giants Hooked Us feat. Michael Moss Greg La Blanc 01:03:05 It’s no secret that the nature of our food has been changed quite dramatically by big food companies in the last 50 years. This is just one of the things that has contributed to a nation of overeaters. Michael Moss is the author of “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,” and “Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions.” He is also a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist formerly with the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. So what has changed in those 50 years? Listen as Michael and Greg talk about the evolution of processed foods, the biological science behind addiction, how food memories develop, Lunchables, and the business of cigarettes and smoking. It’s no secret that the nature of our food has been changed quite dramatically by big food companies in the last 50 years. This is just one of the things that has contributed to a nation of overeaters. Michael Moss is the author of “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,” and “Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions.” He is also a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist formerly with the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. So what has changed in those 50 years? Listen as Michael and Greg talk about the evolution of processed foods, the biological science behind addiction, how food memories develop, Lunchables, and the business of cigarettes and smoking. false full 213 91524d55-c4fb-42d8-a8cc-ed7f390985eb 212. Fostering Innovation Within Organizations feat. Safi Bahcall Innovation is a crucial part for organizations to stay ahead of their competitors, adapt to changing circumstances in the environment and create long-lasting businesses. Yet, many big corporations eventually stagnate and become obsolete while a lot of groundbreaking ideas come from small companies.

Safi Bahcall is a second-generation physicist, a biotech entrepreneur, former public-company CEO and author of the highly acclaimed book “Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries”.

Safi advises CEOs and leadership teams on strategy and innovation, and has delivered keynote presentations at industry conferences, investor events, leadership retreats, medical meetings, and leading academic institutions around the world.

Greg and Safi discuss how organizations can borrow from science to implement systems and incentives that nurture innovation, risk-taking and experimenting which ultimately lead to radical breakthroughs.

Episode Quotes:

Having a chief incentive officer will help you grow your organizational scale

49:29: You have a chief revenue officer whose role is strategic, given a marketing budget. How many dollars can we make? You have a chief technology officer whose role is strategic, given a fixed technology budget. How do we ensure the optimum technology use across the organization? Why don't you have a chief incentive officer? You have a fixed compensation. You try to stick within a fixed budget of cash and options. Why aren't you trying to have someone who's focused on maximizing the return that you get from that? It's pretty obvious. Which would you rather have, a force that has the latest smartphone gadgets or a force that's the most motivated in the industry? I'd rather have the latter.

On increasing innovation

10:38: If we want to increase innovation, risk-taking, and experimenting, we can't use the same systems. We have to use an opposite system, metrics, and rewards.

Two helpful frameworks for every CEO

08:19: It's a helpful framework to keep in mind if you're a CEO that addresses real-world topics or leading a group, or even managing a small team; you need to have two phases in your mind. One, we just need to deliver stuff on time, budget and spec consistently with quality to our customers. The other, we need to think of wild, crazy, new ideas on the one we're reducing risk on the one we're increasing risk. 

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 16 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Innovation is a crucial part for organizations to stay ahead of their competitors, adapt to changing circumstances in the environment and create long-lasting businesses. Yet, many big corporations eventually stagnate and become obsolete while a lot of groundbreaking ideas come from small companies.

Safi Bahcall is a second-generation physicist, a biotech entrepreneur, former public-company CEO and author of the highly acclaimed book “Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries”.

Safi advises CEOs and leadership teams on strategy and innovation, and has delivered keynote presentations at industry conferences, investor events, leadership retreats, medical meetings, and leading academic institutions around the world.

Greg and Safi discuss how organizations can borrow from science to implement systems and incentives that nurture innovation, risk-taking and experimenting which ultimately lead to radical breakthroughs.

Episode Quotes:

Having a chief incentive officer will help you grow your organizational scale

49:29: You have a chief revenue officer whose role is strategic, given a marketing budget. How many dollars can we make? You have a chief technology officer whose role is strategic, given a fixed technology budget. How do we ensure the optimum technology use across the organization? Why don't you have a chief incentive officer? You have a fixed compensation. You try to stick within a fixed budget of cash and options. Why aren't you trying to have someone who's focused on maximizing the return that you get from that? It's pretty obvious. Which would you rather have, a force that has the latest smartphone gadgets or a force that's the most motivated in the industry? I'd rather have the latter.

On increasing innovation

10:38: If we want to increase innovation, risk-taking, and experimenting, we can't use the same systems. We have to use an opposite system, metrics, and rewards.

Two helpful frameworks for every CEO

08:19: It's a helpful framework to keep in mind if you're a CEO that addresses real-world topics or leading a group, or even managing a small team; you need to have two phases in your mind. One, we just need to deliver stuff on time, budget and spec consistently with quality to our customers. The other, we need to think of wild, crazy, new ideas on the one we're reducing risk on the one we're increasing risk. 

Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 212. Fostering Innovation Within Organizations feat. Safi Bahcall Greg La Blanc 00:50:02 Innovation is a crucial part for organizations to stay ahead of their competitors, adapt to changing circumstances in the environment and create long-lasting businesses. Yet, many big corporations eventually stagnate and become obsolete while a lot of groundbreaking ideas come from small companies. Safi Bahcall is a second-generation physicist, a biotech entrepreneur, former public-company CEO and author of the highly acclaimed book “Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries”. Safi advises CEOs and leadership teams on strategy and innovation, and has delivered keynote presentations at industry conferences, investor events, leadership retreats, medical meetings, and leading academic institutions around the world. Greg and Safi discuss how organizations can borrow from science to implement systems and incentives that nurture innovation, risk-taking and experimenting which ultimately lead to radical breakthroughs. Innovation is a crucial part for organizations to stay ahead of their competitors, adapt to changing circumstances in the environment and create long-lasting businesses. Yet, many big corporations eventually stagnate and become obsolete while a lot of groundbreaking ideas come from small companies. Safi Bahcall is a second-generation physicist, a biotech entrepreneur, former public-company CEO and author of the highly acclaimed book “Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries”. Safi advises CEOs and leadership teams on strategy and innovation, and has delivered keynote presentations at industry conferences, investor events, leadership retreats, medical meetings, and leading academic institutions around the world. Greg and Safi discuss how organizations can borrow from science to implement systems and incentives that nurture innovation, risk-taking and experimenting which ultimately lead to radical breakthroughs. false full 212 9eb1d5c1-638e-4fb5-b19a-21cf05453059 211. Corporate Influence and the Economy feat. Luigi Zingales In today’s world, corporate lobbying is everywhere. Corporations wield immense power over our economy and use their economic clout to influence policymakers, politicians and regulators in a way that can lead to corporate welfare and crony capitalism. 

Luigi Zingales is a finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of two widely-reviewed books, “Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists” and “A Capitalism for the People”. He is also a faculty research fellow for the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Center for Economic Policy Research, and a fellow of the European Governance Institute. He is also the director of the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.

Luigi Zingales' research interests span from corporate governance to financial development, from political economy to the economic effects of culture. He co-developed the Financial Trust Index, which is designed to monitor the level of trust that Americans have toward their financial system.

Luigi and Greg talk about the problematic revolving door policy of politicians and lobbyists, why the conceptual distinction between being pro-market and pro-business has dissolved, and how we can practically enforce some kind of social norm around corporate lobbying.

Episode Quotes:

How could we enforce some social norms around corporate lobbying?

46:51: My first step would be disclosure. Today, we know a little bit of the money that technically is registered as lobbying, but we don't know the donations. We don't know all the other ways in which companies spend our money. Okay. So the first one would really be some disclosure. The second is I think that these days we shame individuals for everything, even for not capitalizing the B in black, and I think that we should take a step back and focus on what is really important. 

Intellectual circles use groups and group dynamics to isolate dissenters. 

32:15: Intellectual circles use groups and group dynamics to isolate dissenters. So, what you're trying to do is if you make a criticism that is dangerous, then you are immediately labeled something that is unacceptable. 

Is there any hope for the rescue of populism? 

55:13: The biggest problem is that we don't talk to each other. And even if we don't understand each other, it is very rare to see two opponents having a spirited debate, because I'm not saying we should all agree. In fact, the fun is when we don't agree, but at least we agree to have the same set of rules and not to insult each other every three words.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Colin Mayer Episode

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 14 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In today’s world, corporate lobbying is everywhere. Corporations wield immense power over our economy and use their economic clout to influence policymakers, politicians and regulators in a way that can lead to corporate welfare and crony capitalism. 

Luigi Zingales is a finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of two widely-reviewed books, “Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists” and “A Capitalism for the People”. He is also a faculty research fellow for the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Center for Economic Policy Research, and a fellow of the European Governance Institute. He is also the director of the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.

Luigi Zingales' research interests span from corporate governance to financial development, from political economy to the economic effects of culture. He co-developed the Financial Trust Index, which is designed to monitor the level of trust that Americans have toward their financial system.

Luigi and Greg talk about the problematic revolving door policy of politicians and lobbyists, why the conceptual distinction between being pro-market and pro-business has dissolved, and how we can practically enforce some kind of social norm around corporate lobbying.

Episode Quotes:

How could we enforce some social norms around corporate lobbying?

46:51: My first step would be disclosure. Today, we know a little bit of the money that technically is registered as lobbying, but we don't know the donations. We don't know all the other ways in which companies spend our money. Okay. So the first one would really be some disclosure. The second is I think that these days we shame individuals for everything, even for not capitalizing the B in black, and I think that we should take a step back and focus on what is really important. 

Intellectual circles use groups and group dynamics to isolate dissenters. 

32:15: Intellectual circles use groups and group dynamics to isolate dissenters. So, what you're trying to do is if you make a criticism that is dangerous, then you are immediately labeled something that is unacceptable. 

Is there any hope for the rescue of populism? 

55:13: The biggest problem is that we don't talk to each other. And even if we don't understand each other, it is very rare to see two opponents having a spirited debate, because I'm not saying we should all agree. In fact, the fun is when we don't agree, but at least we agree to have the same set of rules and not to insult each other every three words.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Colin Mayer Episode

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 211. Corporate Influence and the Economy feat. Luigi Zingales Greg La Blanc 00:56:28 In today’s world, corporate lobbying is everywhere. Corporations wield immense power over our economy and use their economic clout to influence policymakers, politicians and regulators in a way that can lead to corporate welfare and crony capitalism. Luigi Zingales is a finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of two widely-reviewed books, “Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists” and “A Capitalism for the People”. He is also a faculty research fellow for the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Center for Economic Policy Research, and a fellow of the European Governance Institute. He is also the director of the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State. Luigi Zingales' research interests span from corporate governance to financial development, from political economy to the economic effects of culture. He co-developed the Financial Trust Index, which is designed to monitor the level of trust that Americans have toward their financial system. Luigi and Greg talk about the problematic revolving door policy of politicians and lobbyists, why the conceptual distinction between being pro-market and pro-business has dissolved, and how we can practically enforce some kind of social norm around corporate lobbying. In today’s world, corporate lobbying is everywhere. Corporations wield immense power over our economy and use their economic clout to influence policymakers, politicians and regulators in a way that can lead to corporate welfare and crony capitalism. Luigi Zingales is a finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of two widely-reviewed books, “Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists” and “A Capitalism for the People”. He is also a faculty research fellow for the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Center for Economic Policy Research, and a fellow of the European Governance Institute. He is also the director of the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State. Luigi Zingales' research interests span from corporate governance to financial development, from political economy to the economic effects of culture. He co-developed the Financial Trust Index, which is designed to monitor the level of trust that Americans have toward their financial system. Luigi and Greg talk about the problematic revolving door policy of politicians and lobbyists, why the conceptual distinction between being pro-market and pro-business has dissolved, and how we can practically enforce some kind of social norm around corporate lobbying. false full 211 4cfbc90c-f7d9-47ab-b7bb-fe77ab01e14b 210. Recovering Our Lost Nutritional Wisdom feat. Mark Schatzker When it comes to nutrition, conventional wisdom suggeststhat we are at the mercy of an unhinged appetite and an addiction to calories. But as science shows, we're much smarter when it comes to eating than we previously thought.

Mark Schatzker is an award-winning writer based in Toronto and author of such books as “The End of Craving, rediscovering, or Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating”. He is also a writer-in-residence at the Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center at Yale University, and a frequent contributor to The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Condé Nast Traveler, and Bloomberg Pursuits.

Mark and Greg talk about regaining our body’s lost nutritional wisdom as the secret to a healthy diet and why the way food tastes is not some frivolous pleasure disconnected from nutrition but rather an essential part of how the brain understands food, and how it guides metabolism.

Episode Quotes:

The relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity

44:48: There's a relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity. And right there, there's a material uncertainty in people's lives. And more interestingly, that connection becomes more solid when they look at actual food uncertainty when they look at whether people have difficulty paying the bills. Sometimes it looks irrational. People will think lower-income people, and it just seems so crazy. Why would you consume too much food? You can't afford it. You're giving yourself health problems. But it's a brain response that when there's times of scarcity, it's built-in by evolution, I should want more.

How did we lose sight of the idea of homeostasis concerning food?

27:50: Our brain is like a paranoid accountant. It is fixated on measurement and measures food as it comes in. That's what we experience as taste and aroma.

Pleasure as a universal currency that drives human action

17:43: The most interesting thing about pleasure is that he ( Michel Cabanac) described it as the kind of universal currency that drives human action. Whether it has to do with thirst, temperature, itchiness, all these things are driven by pleasure. It is the language through which all the body's needs and requirements are understood and mediated by the brain.

Obesity is a disease of desire

35:49 One of the most interesting things about obesity is that most people think it's an indulgence and pleasure that people with obesity lose themselves in the joy of eating. And neuroscience tells us this is, in fact, not true...(36:31)It is a disease of desire, of motivation, and this is what we see with reward prediction error with uncertainty, that you provoke a motivation response.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Fri, 11 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When it comes to nutrition, conventional wisdom suggeststhat we are at the mercy of an unhinged appetite and an addiction to calories. But as science shows, we're much smarter when it comes to eating than we previously thought.

Mark Schatzker is an award-winning writer based in Toronto and author of such books as “The End of Craving, rediscovering, or Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating”. He is also a writer-in-residence at the Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center at Yale University, and a frequent contributor to The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Condé Nast Traveler, and Bloomberg Pursuits.

Mark and Greg talk about regaining our body’s lost nutritional wisdom as the secret to a healthy diet and why the way food tastes is not some frivolous pleasure disconnected from nutrition but rather an essential part of how the brain understands food, and how it guides metabolism.

Episode Quotes:

The relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity

44:48: There's a relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity. And right there, there's a material uncertainty in people's lives. And more interestingly, that connection becomes more solid when they look at actual food uncertainty when they look at whether people have difficulty paying the bills. Sometimes it looks irrational. People will think lower-income people, and it just seems so crazy. Why would you consume too much food? You can't afford it. You're giving yourself health problems. But it's a brain response that when there's times of scarcity, it's built-in by evolution, I should want more.

How did we lose sight of the idea of homeostasis concerning food?

27:50: Our brain is like a paranoid accountant. It is fixated on measurement and measures food as it comes in. That's what we experience as taste and aroma.

Pleasure as a universal currency that drives human action

17:43: The most interesting thing about pleasure is that he ( Michel Cabanac) described it as the kind of universal currency that drives human action. Whether it has to do with thirst, temperature, itchiness, all these things are driven by pleasure. It is the language through which all the body's needs and requirements are understood and mediated by the brain.

Obesity is a disease of desire

35:49 One of the most interesting things about obesity is that most people think it's an indulgence and pleasure that people with obesity lose themselves in the joy of eating. And neuroscience tells us this is, in fact, not true...(36:31)It is a disease of desire, of motivation, and this is what we see with reward prediction error with uncertainty, that you provoke a motivation response.

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]]> 210. Recovering Our Lost Nutritional Wisdom feat. Mark Schatzker Greg La Blanc 01:09:43 When it comes to nutrition, conventional wisdom suggeststhat we are at the mercy of an unhinged appetite and an addiction to calories. But as science shows, we're much smarter when it comes to eating than we previously thought. Mark Schatzker is an award-winning writer based in Toronto and author of such books as “The End of Craving, rediscovering, or Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating”. He is also a writer-in-residence at the Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center at Yale University, and a frequent contributor to The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Condé Nast Traveler, and Bloomberg Pursuits. Mark and Greg talk about regaining our body’s lost nutritional wisdom as the secret to a healthy diet and why the way food tastes is not some frivolous pleasure disconnected from nutrition but rather an essential part of how the brain understands food, and how it guides metabolism. When it comes to nutrition, conventional wisdom suggeststhat we are at the mercy of an unhinged appetite and an addiction to calories. But as science shows, we're much smarter when it comes to eating than we previously thought. Mark Schatzker is an award-winning writer based in Toronto and author of such books as “The End of Craving, rediscovering, or Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating”. He is also a writer-in-residence at the Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center at Yale University, and a frequent contributor to The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Condé Nast Traveler, and Bloomberg Pursuits. Mark and Greg talk about regaining our body’s lost nutritional wisdom as the secret to a healthy diet and why the way food tastes is not some frivolous pleasure disconnected from nutrition but rather an essential part of how the brain understands food, and how it guides metabolism. false full 210 ee2c599e-bc54-4e73-92eb-1c4796b48f46 209. Developing Non-Violent Conflict Solutions That Last feat. Chris Blattman While wars and other violent conflicts dominate the news, it is easy to overlook that the majority of conflicts are actually resolved peacefully. In his highly acclaimed book “Why We Fight The Roots of War and The Paths to Peace”, author Chris Blattman draws on his expertise in economics, political science, and history to explain the five reasons why conflicts (rarely) turn violent and how to interrupt that deadly process.

Chris Blattman is an economist and political scientist who uses field work and statistics to study poverty, political engagement, the causes and consequences of violence, and policy in developing countries. He is a professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

Greg and Chris discuss what can be learned from the commonalities and differences of conflicts of all levels, from interpersonal disputes to street gang violence to warring states and how peacemakers can avoid emotional and strategic mistakes to develop non-violent conflict solutions that last.

Episode Quotes:

There’s no 10-step plan for peace

48:11: There's no 10-step plan for peace. I think there is a pretty simple set of ideas that can help us diagnose better, but then it's like being a doctor... (49:03) When we are asking our leaders to solve problems of development, change our cities, solve racism, or solve conflict, which is much more complex, we have this different set of expectations. We kind of want them to come to us and promise that Tylenol and radiation therapy are the answer and all we need is more of them, and all situations are alike. Tylenol and radiation therapy worked for that country, or this city, or that people. So it must work for us. And I don't know why we have that, why we accept that, and why we're like that in these two different spheres of life. And I think we just have this amazing ability to forget how hard and complex a problem is in a lot of social change.

What makes a good mediation?

12:37: Everything that helps resolve conflict or keep us from not breaking out into violence, which we avoid most of the time, is something that helps us pay attention to the costs and not go down one of these paths that made us choose this—the costly worst option, which is to try to bargain through bloodshed.

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Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Wed, 9 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast While wars and other violent conflicts dominate the news, it is easy to overlook that the majority of conflicts are actually resolved peacefully. In his highly acclaimed book “Why We Fight The Roots of War and The Paths to Peace”, author Chris Blattman draws on his expertise in economics, political science, and history to explain the five reasons why conflicts (rarely) turn violent and how to interrupt that deadly process.

Chris Blattman is an economist and political scientist who uses field work and statistics to study poverty, political engagement, the causes and consequences of violence, and policy in developing countries. He is a professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

Greg and Chris discuss what can be learned from the commonalities and differences of conflicts of all levels, from interpersonal disputes to street gang violence to warring states and how peacemakers can avoid emotional and strategic mistakes to develop non-violent conflict solutions that last.

Episode Quotes:

There’s no 10-step plan for peace

48:11: There's no 10-step plan for peace. I think there is a pretty simple set of ideas that can help us diagnose better, but then it's like being a doctor... (49:03) When we are asking our leaders to solve problems of development, change our cities, solve racism, or solve conflict, which is much more complex, we have this different set of expectations. We kind of want them to come to us and promise that Tylenol and radiation therapy are the answer and all we need is more of them, and all situations are alike. Tylenol and radiation therapy worked for that country, or this city, or that people. So it must work for us. And I don't know why we have that, why we accept that, and why we're like that in these two different spheres of life. And I think we just have this amazing ability to forget how hard and complex a problem is in a lot of social change.

What makes a good mediation?

12:37: Everything that helps resolve conflict or keep us from not breaking out into violence, which we avoid most of the time, is something that helps us pay attention to the costs and not go down one of these paths that made us choose this—the costly worst option, which is to try to bargain through bloodshed.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 209. Developing Non-Violent Conflict Solutions That Last feat. Chris Blattman Greg La Blanc 00:53:04 While wars and other violent conflicts dominate the news, it is easy to overlook that the majority of conflicts are actually resolved peacefully. In his highly acclaimed book “Why We Fight The Roots of War and The Paths to Peace”, author Chris Blattman draws on his expertise in economics, political science, and history to explain the five reasons why conflicts (rarely) turn violent and how to interrupt that deadly process. Chris Blattman is an economist and political scientist who uses field work and statistics to study poverty, political engagement, the causes and consequences of violence, and policy in developing countries. He is a professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Greg and Chris discuss what can be learned from the commonalities and differences of conflicts of all levels, from interpersonal disputes to street gang violence to warring states and how peacemakers can avoid emotional and strategic mistakes to develop non-violent conflict solutions that last. While wars and other violent conflicts dominate the news, it is easy to overlook that the majority of conflicts are actually resolved peacefully. In his highly acclaimed book “Why We Fight The Roots of War and The Paths to Peace”, author Chris Blattman draws on his expertise in economics, political science, and history to explain the five reasons why conflicts (rarely) turn violent and how to interrupt that deadly process. Chris Blattman is an economist and political scientist who uses field work and statistics to study poverty, political engagement, the causes and consequences of violence, and policy in developing countries. He is a professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Greg and Chris discuss what can be learned from the commonalities and differences of conflicts of all levels, from interpersonal disputes to street gang violence to warring states and how peacemakers can avoid emotional and strategic mistakes to develop non-violent conflict solutions that last. false full 209 50d141f8-2819-42dc-9704-8aadbf92f682 208. Psychological Safety and the Benefits of Discomfort feat. Todd Kashdan Clinical psychologists like Todd Kashdan are in many ways the philosophers of our time, digging into what it is that makes for a fulfilling and happy and comfortable life.

Awarded the 2013 Distinguished Early Career Researcher Award by the American Psychological Association, Todd Kashdan is among the world’s top experts on the psychology of well-being, psychological strengths, mental agility, and social relationships. 

As a Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, and a leading educator to the public, Todd translates state-of-the-art science for practical application to improve our everyday lives. He is well-known for his energetic and disarming communication style. 

Todd is the author of five books, including “Curious?”, “The Upside of Your Darkside,” and “Designing Positive Psychology.” In his latest book, “The Art of Insubordination,” Todd synthesizes decades of psychological research to show how we can improve the health of organizations and our society. 

He sits down with Greg in this episode to discuss the positive psychology movement, how people are getting happiness wrong, the benefits of boredom, and fostering a spirit of insubordination.

Episode Quotes:

Training yourself to be comfortable with discomfort

28: 15: There's something really powerful about training yourself so that each moment during your day when you feel discomfort, you can sit with it, take another perspective, and do something with it as opposed to trying to escape it. Because this will make you a better human being to deal with other humans, with setbacks and difficulties in your life.

Anxiety doesn't kill curiosity

14:47: The only way you get curious is if you believe that you can handle the uncertainty that you don't know what the answer is going to be. And that doesn't mean you don't feel a sting if that person looks at you for a second, shakes their head, and walks away. So you still can experience rejection, but you're willing to take a step forward despite the presence of anxiety as part and parcel of what it means to be curious in the moment.

Why people are defensive to new ideas

19:18: If there is more power and potential for you as an individual to benefit from being receptive to someone, you have a leaning toward that person's ideas. And if someone's a dissenter and they can be pigeonholed as disagreeable or disgruntled, it's harder for them to make sure that they actually get a receptive audience for their message.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Daniel Berlin 
  • Paul Sylvia
  • Nathan DeWall at University of Kentucky
  • Two Narcissists is Better Than One study

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 7 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Clinical psychologists like Todd Kashdan are in many ways the philosophers of our time, digging into what it is that makes for a fulfilling and happy and comfortable life.

Awarded the 2013 Distinguished Early Career Researcher Award by the American Psychological Association, Todd Kashdan is among the world’s top experts on the psychology of well-being, psychological strengths, mental agility, and social relationships. 

As a Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, and a leading educator to the public, Todd translates state-of-the-art science for practical application to improve our everyday lives. He is well-known for his energetic and disarming communication style. 

Todd is the author of five books, including “Curious?”, “The Upside of Your Darkside,” and “Designing Positive Psychology.” In his latest book, “The Art of Insubordination,” Todd synthesizes decades of psychological research to show how we can improve the health of organizations and our society. 

He sits down with Greg in this episode to discuss the positive psychology movement, how people are getting happiness wrong, the benefits of boredom, and fostering a spirit of insubordination.

Episode Quotes:

Training yourself to be comfortable with discomfort

28: 15: There's something really powerful about training yourself so that each moment during your day when you feel discomfort, you can sit with it, take another perspective, and do something with it as opposed to trying to escape it. Because this will make you a better human being to deal with other humans, with setbacks and difficulties in your life.

Anxiety doesn't kill curiosity

14:47: The only way you get curious is if you believe that you can handle the uncertainty that you don't know what the answer is going to be. And that doesn't mean you don't feel a sting if that person looks at you for a second, shakes their head, and walks away. So you still can experience rejection, but you're willing to take a step forward despite the presence of anxiety as part and parcel of what it means to be curious in the moment.

Why people are defensive to new ideas

19:18: If there is more power and potential for you as an individual to benefit from being receptive to someone, you have a leaning toward that person's ideas. And if someone's a dissenter and they can be pigeonholed as disagreeable or disgruntled, it's harder for them to make sure that they actually get a receptive audience for their message.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Daniel Berlin 
  • Paul Sylvia
  • Nathan DeWall at University of Kentucky
  • Two Narcissists is Better Than One study

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 208. Psychological Safety and the Benefits of Discomfort feat. Todd Kashdan Greg La Blanc 01:01:01 Clinical psychologists like Todd Kashdan are in many ways the philosophers of our time, digging into what it is that makes for a fulfilling and happy and comfortable life. Awarded the 2013 Distinguished Early Career Researcher Award by the American Psychological Association, Todd Kashdan is among the world’s top experts on the psychology of well-being, psychological strengths, mental agility, and social relationships. As a Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, and a leading educator to the public, Todd translates state-of-the-art science for practical application to improve our everyday lives. He is well-known for his energetic and disarming communication style. Todd is the author of five books, including “Curious?”, “The Upside of Your Darkside,” and “Designing Positive Psychology.” In his latest book, “The Art of Insubordination,” Todd synthesizes decades of psychological research to show how we can improve the health of organizations and our society. He sits down with Greg in this episode to discuss the positive psychology movement, how people are getting happiness wrong, the benefits of boredom, and fostering a spirit of insubordination. Clinical psychologists like Todd Kashdan are in many ways the philosophers of our time, digging into what it is that makes for a fulfilling and happy and comfortable life. Awarded the 2013 Distinguished Early Career Researcher Award by the American Psychological Association, Todd Kashdan is among the world’s top experts on the psychology of well-being, psychological strengths, mental agility, and social relationships. As a Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, and a leading educator to the public, Todd translates state-of-the-art science for practical application to improve our everyday lives. He is well-known for his energetic and disarming communication style. Todd is the author of five books, including “Curious?”, “The Upside of Your Darkside,” and “Designing Positive Psychology.” In his latest book, “The Art of Insubordination,” Todd synthesizes decades of psychological research to show how we can improve the health of organizations and our society. He sits down with Greg in this episode to discuss the positive psychology movement, how people are getting happiness wrong, the benefits of boredom, and fostering a spirit of insubordination. false full 208 17611f57-de14-4c2b-9de3-498248707cd9 207. There Are Many Ways To Raise A Child feat. Dana Suskind Recognized as a national thought leader in early language development, Dr. Dana Suskind has dedicated her research and clinical life to optimizing foundational brain development and preventing early cognitive disparities and their lifelong impact. 

She is founder and co-director of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, which aims to create a population-level shift in the knowledge and behavior of parents and caregivers to optimize the foundational brain development in children from birth to five years of age, particularly those born into poverty.

Dana is a pediatric otolaryngologist who specializes in hearing loss and cochlear implantation. She currently directs the University of Chicago Medicine's Pediatric Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implant program and is an author of a couple books as well , including “Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child's Potential Fulfilling Societies Promise,” and the controversial “Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain.”

Dana joins Greg on this episode of unSILOed to talk about how we view parenting in the west, societal support, SIDS, how child rearing tips spread, and good vs. bad early childcare and education.

Episode Quotes:

How can companies make it easier for people to be both parents and employees?

35:53: The first step is understanding that employees are also parents, and supporting them in both roles is actually good for the bottom line. And in terms of how to support parents, there are many different ways. In general, I think of them as flexibility, reliability, help with childcare, and just an acknowledgment that they are also parents.

Parents and caregivers are the guardians of our society’s future

13:49: One of the most important jobs is raising the next generation. Parents and caregivers, as I say, are the guardians of our society's future. 

The impact of poverty on children's development

16:09: All children are born with their own individual promise. But for so many, that promise is ripped away because of the vacuum of support for families, et cetera. And one of the most insidious impacts of poverty is on the developing child.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  •  Joan Luby, who wrote an article actually, who stated poverty's most insidious impact is on the developing brain

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> Fri, 4 Nov 2022 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Recognized as a national thought leader in early language development, Dr. Dana Suskind has dedicated her research and clinical life to optimizing foundational brain development and preventing early cognitive disparities and their lifelong impact. 

She is founder and co-director of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, which aims to create a population-level shift in the knowledge and behavior of parents and caregivers to optimize the foundational brain development in children from birth to five years of age, particularly those born into poverty.

Dana is a pediatric otolaryngologist who specializes in hearing loss and cochlear implantation. She currently directs the University of Chicago Medicine's Pediatric Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implant program and is an author of a couple books as well , including “Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child's Potential Fulfilling Societies Promise,” and the controversial “Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain.”

Dana joins Greg on this episode of unSILOed to talk about how we view parenting in the west, societal support, SIDS, how child rearing tips spread, and good vs. bad early childcare and education.

Episode Quotes:

How can companies make it easier for people to be both parents and employees?

35:53: The first step is understanding that employees are also parents, and supporting them in both roles is actually good for the bottom line. And in terms of how to support parents, there are many different ways. In general, I think of them as flexibility, reliability, help with childcare, and just an acknowledgment that they are also parents.

Parents and caregivers are the guardians of our society’s future

13:49: One of the most important jobs is raising the next generation. Parents and caregivers, as I say, are the guardians of our society's future. 

The impact of poverty on children's development

16:09: All children are born with their own individual promise. But for so many, that promise is ripped away because of the vacuum of support for families, et cetera. And one of the most insidious impacts of poverty is on the developing child.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  •  Joan Luby, who wrote an article actually, who stated poverty's most insidious impact is on the developing brain

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 207. There Are Many Ways To Raise A Child feat. Dana Suskind Greg La Blanc 00:43:15 Recognized as a national thought leader in early language development, Dr. Dana Suskind has dedicated her research and clinical life to optimizing foundational brain development and preventing early cognitive disparities and their lifelong impact. She is founder and co-director of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, which aims to create a population-level shift in the knowledge and behavior of parents and caregivers to optimize the foundational brain development in children from birth to five years of age, particularly those born into poverty. Dana is a pediatric otolaryngologist who specializes in hearing loss and cochlear implantation. She currently directs the University of Chicago Medicine's Pediatric Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implant program and is an author of a couple books as well , including “Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child's Potential Fulfilling Societies Promise,” and the controversial “Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain.” Dana joins Greg on this episode of unSILOed to talk about how we view parenting in the west, societal support, SIDS, how child rearing tips spread, and good vs. bad early childcare and education. Recognized as a national thought leader in early language development, Dr. Dana Suskind has dedicated her research and clinical life to optimizing foundational brain development and preventing early cognitive disparities and their lifelong impact. She is founder and co-director of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, which aims to create a population-level shift in the knowledge and behavior of parents and caregivers to optimize the foundational brain development in children from birth to five years of age, particularly those born into poverty. Dana is a pediatric otolaryngologist who specializes in hearing loss and cochlear implantation. She currently directs the University of Chicago Medicine's Pediatric Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implant program and is an author of a couple books as well , including “Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child's Potential Fulfilling Societies Promise,” and the controversial “Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain.” Dana joins Greg on this episode of unSILOed to talk about how we view parenting in the west, societal support, SIDS, how child rearing tips spread, and good vs. bad early childcare and education. false full 207 5992d534-dc20-42bd-adce-cd1e57824215 206. The Evolution of Human Exercise feat. Daniel Lieberman If exercise is so healthy, then why do many people dislike or avoid it? So much of our modern lives is sedentary, it’s more important than ever to get our bodies up and be active. 

Daniel Lieberman is a Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences at Harvard University. He is also a member of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. 

At Harvard, he teaches a variety of courses on human evolution, anatomy, and physiology, and has published several books including “The Evolution of the Human Head,” “The Story of the Human Body,” and “Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding.”

Daniel and Greg talk all about moving our human bodies today, including the evolution of running in humans, transitioning to the modern industrial world and its effects on us, and speed versus endurance.

Episode Quotes:

Developing lifelong habits through physical education

48:29: We need to look outside the medical system to make these kinds of shifts. And it's a public health issue.

It's really a political issue. It's an educational issue. It's a social issue. It's a corporate issue. And I think one of the places to focus on is schools, right? Because we also know that a lot of the habits people develop in college are the ones they keep for the rest of their life. And that's one of the reasons why universities, like mine and yours, really are doing an enormous disservice to their students by not promoting more physical education, because they're also missing out on this important window to help people develop lifelong habits.

We evolve to be physically active for two reasons

09:51: We evolve to be physically active for two reasons and two reasons only: one, it's necessary, and one, it's rewarding. 

How sports and play teaches human not to be reactively aggressive

32:29: I think that one of the ways in which humans have evolved play and sport is to help teach skills for hunting and fighting and all the other things that are really important. Cause that's obviously a key element in playing in sports, but also to help teach humans not to be reactively aggressive. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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]]> Wed, 2 Nov 2022 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast If exercise is so healthy, then why do many people dislike or avoid it? So much of our modern lives is sedentary, it’s more important than ever to get our bodies up and be active. 

Daniel Lieberman is a Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences at Harvard University. He is also a member of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. 

At Harvard, he teaches a variety of courses on human evolution, anatomy, and physiology, and has published several books including “The Evolution of the Human Head,” “The Story of the Human Body,” and “Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding.”

Daniel and Greg talk all about moving our human bodies today, including the evolution of running in humans, transitioning to the modern industrial world and its effects on us, and speed versus endurance.

Episode Quotes:

Developing lifelong habits through physical education

48:29: We need to look outside the medical system to make these kinds of shifts. And it's a public health issue.

It's really a political issue. It's an educational issue. It's a social issue. It's a corporate issue. And I think one of the places to focus on is schools, right? Because we also know that a lot of the habits people develop in college are the ones they keep for the rest of their life. And that's one of the reasons why universities, like mine and yours, really are doing an enormous disservice to their students by not promoting more physical education, because they're also missing out on this important window to help people develop lifelong habits.

We evolve to be physically active for two reasons

09:51: We evolve to be physically active for two reasons and two reasons only: one, it's necessary, and one, it's rewarding. 

How sports and play teaches human not to be reactively aggressive

32:29: I think that one of the ways in which humans have evolved play and sport is to help teach skills for hunting and fighting and all the other things that are really important. Cause that's obviously a key element in playing in sports, but also to help teach humans not to be reactively aggressive. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 206. The Evolution of Human Exercise feat. Daniel Lieberman Greg La Blanc 00:50:25 If exercise is so healthy, then why do many people dislike or avoid it? So much of our modern lives is sedentary, it’s more important than ever to get our bodies up and be active. Daniel Lieberman is a Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences at Harvard University. He is also a member of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. At Harvard, he teaches a variety of courses on human evolution, anatomy, and physiology, and has published several books including “The Evolution of the Human Head,” “The Story of the Human Body,” and “Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding.” Daniel and Greg talk all about moving our human bodies today, including the evolution of running in humans, transitioning to the modern industrial world and its effects on us, and speed versus endurance. If exercise is so healthy, then why do many people dislike or avoid it? So much of our modern lives is sedentary, it’s more important than ever to get our bodies up and be active. Daniel Lieberman is a Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences at Harvard University. He is also a member of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. At Harvard, he teaches a variety of courses on human evolution, anatomy, and physiology, and has published several books including “The Evolution of the Human Head,” “The Story of the Human Body,” and “Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding.” Daniel and Greg talk all about moving our human bodies today, including the evolution of running in humans, transitioning to the modern industrial world and its effects on us, and speed versus endurance. false full 206 5fb153ba-7dd7-4c8e-87b1-97dd85430fa2 205. Developing a Jurisprudence of Forgiveness. feat. Martha Minow Martha Minow has taught at Harvard Law School since 1981, where her courses include civil procedure, constitutional law, fairness and privacy, family law, international criminal justice, jurisprudence, law and education, nonprofit organizations, and the public law workshop. 

An expert in human rights and advocacy for members of racial and religious minorities and for women, children, and persons with disabilities, she also writes and teaches about digital communications, democracy, privatization, military justice, and ethnic and religious conflict.

She has written: “Saving the News: Why The Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve the Freedom of Speech,” “When Should Law Forgive?,” The First Global Prosecutor: Promise and Constraints,” “In Brown’s Wake: Legacies of America’s Constitutional Landmark,” and “Government by Contract.”

Martha sits down with Greg to discuss bankruptcy laws & forgiveness in the US and restorative justice.

Episode Quotes:

A need for jurisprudence of forgiveness

14:38: One of the contrasts between forgiveness and ordinary law is that law tries to be regular, predictable, have general rules announced in advance, and apply equally across people regardless of their circumstances. Forgiveness is the opposite of all of that, which is not to say that it's necessarily subject to abuse or inconsistency. So President Obama developed a set of rules and rubrics for when to give a pardon. It's very possible to develop something that looks more law-like when we talk about the exercise of forgiveness. And we need that. If you will, we need to develop a jurisprudence of forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not call for forgetting

25:11: It is striking that there are not just different words but different social practices associated with forgiveness and forgetting. To forgive is a process that has rituals, religious or otherwise. And it does not call for forgetting. It may be precisely to remember that forgiveness is possible.

Letting go of justified resentment

11:40: I don't think it's by accident that we use the word forgiveness in the context of debt, just as we do in the context of crime, as we do in the context of somebody bumping into someone else saying: Forgive me. These all fall under the general category of letting go of justified resentment. It's not forgiveness, if there isn't a justified resentment. There is a real violation. These are real. Forgiveness can, however, be built into not only human decency but also systems.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> Mon, 31 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Martha Minow has taught at Harvard Law School since 1981, where her courses include civil procedure, constitutional law, fairness and privacy, family law, international criminal justice, jurisprudence, law and education, nonprofit organizations, and the public law workshop. 

An expert in human rights and advocacy for members of racial and religious minorities and for women, children, and persons with disabilities, she also writes and teaches about digital communications, democracy, privatization, military justice, and ethnic and religious conflict.

She has written: “Saving the News: Why The Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve the Freedom of Speech,” “When Should Law Forgive?,” The First Global Prosecutor: Promise and Constraints,” “In Brown’s Wake: Legacies of America’s Constitutional Landmark,” and “Government by Contract.”

Martha sits down with Greg to discuss bankruptcy laws & forgiveness in the US and restorative justice.

Episode Quotes:

A need for jurisprudence of forgiveness

14:38: One of the contrasts between forgiveness and ordinary law is that law tries to be regular, predictable, have general rules announced in advance, and apply equally across people regardless of their circumstances. Forgiveness is the opposite of all of that, which is not to say that it's necessarily subject to abuse or inconsistency. So President Obama developed a set of rules and rubrics for when to give a pardon. It's very possible to develop something that looks more law-like when we talk about the exercise of forgiveness. And we need that. If you will, we need to develop a jurisprudence of forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not call for forgetting

25:11: It is striking that there are not just different words but different social practices associated with forgiveness and forgetting. To forgive is a process that has rituals, religious or otherwise. And it does not call for forgetting. It may be precisely to remember that forgiveness is possible.

Letting go of justified resentment

11:40: I don't think it's by accident that we use the word forgiveness in the context of debt, just as we do in the context of crime, as we do in the context of somebody bumping into someone else saying: Forgive me. These all fall under the general category of letting go of justified resentment. It's not forgiveness, if there isn't a justified resentment. There is a real violation. These are real. Forgiveness can, however, be built into not only human decency but also systems.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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]]> 205. Developing a Jurisprudence of Forgiveness. feat. Martha Minow Greg La Blanc 00:58:37 Martha Minow has taught at Harvard Law School since 1981, where her courses include civil procedure, constitutional law, fairness and privacy, family law, international criminal justice, jurisprudence, law and education, nonprofit organizations, and the public law workshop. An expert in human rights and advocacy for members of racial and religious minorities and for women, children, and persons with disabilities, she also writes and teaches about digital communications, democracy, privatization, military justice, and ethnic and religious conflict. She has written: “Saving the News: Why The Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve the Freedom of Speech,” “When Should Law Forgive?,” The First Global Prosecutor: Promise and Constraints,” “In Brown’s Wake: Legacies of America’s Constitutional Landmark,” and “Government by Contract.” Martha sits down with Greg to discuss bankruptcy laws & forgiveness in the US and restorative justice. Martha Minow has taught at Harvard Law School since 1981, where her courses include civil procedure, constitutional law, fairness and privacy, family law, international criminal justice, jurisprudence, law and education, nonprofit organizations, and the public law workshop. An expert in human rights and advocacy for members of racial and religious minorities and for women, children, and persons with disabilities, she also writes and teaches about digital communications, democracy, privatization, military justice, and ethnic and religious conflict. She has written: “Saving the News: Why The Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve the Freedom of Speech,” “When Should Law Forgive?,” The First Global Prosecutor: Promise and Constraints,” “In Brown’s Wake: Legacies of America’s Constitutional Landmark,” and “Government by Contract.” Martha sits down with Greg to discuss bankruptcy laws & forgiveness in the US and restorative justice. false full 205 c15e3e0e-f86f-477e-b919-420b962e1495 204. What Economics Is and What It Should Be feat. Diane Coyle How can you be both interdisciplinary and be a contributing specialist in your discipline in this day andage? It's a core theme of this podcast, as well as our guests' research. 

Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Diane co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity. Her latest book is “Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be” on how economics needs to change to keep pace with the twenty-first century and the digital economy.

Diane is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, an expert adviser to the National Infrastructure Commission, and Senior Independent Member of the ESRC Council. 

Diane joins Greg to discuss the shifting dynamics of economic measurement’ over and underestimating GDP’ mathiess; and why the public has such a skewed perception of what economists do.

Episode Quotes:

Why is the public's perception of economists skewed?

20:51: It's partly what they see on the news when they turn on the TV in the evening, and often it's somebody who works in the financial markets talking about the kinds of things that financial markets are trying to predict second by second. That's very dominant. I've done some work in schools over the years to try to encourage young women to go into economics because it's a very male-dominated profession. Both they and the boys in the class take away the idea that what economics is about is going to work on Wall Street or in the City here and making a lot of money. They think it's about money. And I think that's the dominant perception that people have. Money is a metric—we use it quite a lot. But it's not really what economics is about.

Data are social contracts

08:54: Data are not things that are given. They're things that are made—they’re social constructs.

How do you identify what’s happening in a market?

41:07: If you want to identify what's happening in a market, going and talking to people who participate in the market is a great way to find out about it. And you have megabytes of data. It's just text, and you can analyze that in a very systematic way. 

Diane's aspiration for economist

30:08: I would like, as us economists, to pay more attention to other insights from other disciplines from people who think differently to ourselves, that basic intellectual hygiene thing of talking to people who disagree with you so that you understand why you might be wrong. But I suppose my ultimate dream is we manage to make economics consistent with the human sciences. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much - Book by Eldar Shafir
  • Bob Schillers book on narrative
  • Paul Romer
  • Vegra Lickus (?) paper in 1994 in the American Economic Review ??

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 28 Oct 2022 13:30:31 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How can you be both interdisciplinary and be a contributing specialist in your discipline in this day andage? It's a core theme of this podcast, as well as our guests' research. 

Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Diane co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity. Her latest book is “Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be” on how economics needs to change to keep pace with the twenty-first century and the digital economy.

Diane is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, an expert adviser to the National Infrastructure Commission, and Senior Independent Member of the ESRC Council. 

Diane joins Greg to discuss the shifting dynamics of economic measurement’ over and underestimating GDP’ mathiess; and why the public has such a skewed perception of what economists do.

Episode Quotes:

Why is the public's perception of economists skewed?

20:51: It's partly what they see on the news when they turn on the TV in the evening, and often it's somebody who works in the financial markets talking about the kinds of things that financial markets are trying to predict second by second. That's very dominant. I've done some work in schools over the years to try to encourage young women to go into economics because it's a very male-dominated profession. Both they and the boys in the class take away the idea that what economics is about is going to work on Wall Street or in the City here and making a lot of money. They think it's about money. And I think that's the dominant perception that people have. Money is a metric—we use it quite a lot. But it's not really what economics is about.

Data are social contracts

08:54: Data are not things that are given. They're things that are made—they’re social constructs.

How do you identify what’s happening in a market?

41:07: If you want to identify what's happening in a market, going and talking to people who participate in the market is a great way to find out about it. And you have megabytes of data. It's just text, and you can analyze that in a very systematic way. 

Diane's aspiration for economist

30:08: I would like, as us economists, to pay more attention to other insights from other disciplines from people who think differently to ourselves, that basic intellectual hygiene thing of talking to people who disagree with you so that you understand why you might be wrong. But I suppose my ultimate dream is we manage to make economics consistent with the human sciences. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much - Book by Eldar Shafir
  • Bob Schillers book on narrative
  • Paul Romer
  • Vegra Lickus (?) paper in 1994 in the American Economic Review ??

Guest Profile:

Her Work:


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

]]> 204. What Economics Is and What It Should Be feat. Diane Coyle Greg La Blanc 00:50:25 How can you be both interdisciplinary and be a contributing specialist in your discipline in this day andage? It's a core theme of this podcast, as well as our guests' research. Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Diane co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity. Her latest book is “Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be” on how economics needs to change to keep pace with the twenty-first century and the digital economy. Diane is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, an expert adviser to the National Infrastructure Commission, and Senior Independent Member of the ESRC Council. Diane joins Greg to discuss the shifting dynamics of economic measurement’ over and underestimating GDP’ mathiess; and why the public has such a skewed perception of what economists do. How can you be both interdisciplinary and be a contributing specialist in your discipline in this day andage? It's a core theme of this podcast, as well as our guests' research. Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Diane co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity. Her latest book is “Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be” on how economics needs to change to keep pace with the twenty-first century and the digital economy. Diane is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, an expert adviser to the National Infrastructure Commission, and Senior Independent Member of the ESRC Council. Diane joins Greg to discuss the shifting dynamics of economic measurement’ over and underestimating GDP’ mathiess; and why the public has such a skewed perception of what economists do. false full 204 dbfa3b26-726a-4c9c-915c-53fe9c9fcd08 203. Upholding the Tradition of Hume for the 21st Century feat. Julian Baggini No one will accuse our next guest of doing philosophy in an isolated fashion. Julian Baggini is a writer and philosopher, and currently the Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. His latest book is titled “How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy.” 

Julian is also the co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine and has written for numerous international newspapers and magazines.  

Julian and Greg discuss the legacy of Hume in this episode, while also diving into how someone can stay a generalist in the modern philosophy world, the scarcity of common sense and the sincerity of moral arguments.

Episode Quotes:

The most objective way of seeing the world

33:16: The most objective way of seeing the world is purely through your own eyes, your own sort of words with reference to nothing else. Your view becomes more objective the more you can see the world in ways that can be shared with other people and perhaps ultimately with creatures that have very different perceptual apparatus to us and so forth.

A little critical thinking is a dangerous thing

09:22: People say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A little critical thinking is a dangerous thing if you don't do it very well.

Why is it that philosophers still disagree about everything?

15:29: So you've only got two explanations:. One is that some people are more intelligent than others. Some philosophers simply are better philosophers than others. They've got the right answer and the people who disagree with them have got the wrong answer. Or that people of equal intelligence, knowledge, and skills and all these things can make different judgments about which way to jump on something. That's the uncomfortable but honest answer.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 26 Oct 2022 12:55:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast No one will accuse our next guest of doing philosophy in an isolated fashion. Julian Baggini is a writer and philosopher, and currently the Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. His latest book is titled “How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy.” 

Julian is also the co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine and has written for numerous international newspapers and magazines.  

Julian and Greg discuss the legacy of Hume in this episode, while also diving into how someone can stay a generalist in the modern philosophy world, the scarcity of common sense and the sincerity of moral arguments.

Episode Quotes:

The most objective way of seeing the world

33:16: The most objective way of seeing the world is purely through your own eyes, your own sort of words with reference to nothing else. Your view becomes more objective the more you can see the world in ways that can be shared with other people and perhaps ultimately with creatures that have very different perceptual apparatus to us and so forth.

A little critical thinking is a dangerous thing

09:22: People say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A little critical thinking is a dangerous thing if you don't do it very well.

Why is it that philosophers still disagree about everything?

15:29: So you've only got two explanations:. One is that some people are more intelligent than others. Some philosophers simply are better philosophers than others. They've got the right answer and the people who disagree with them have got the wrong answer. Or that people of equal intelligence, knowledge, and skills and all these things can make different judgments about which way to jump on something. That's the uncomfortable but honest answer.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 203. Upholding the Tradition of Hume for the 21st Century feat. Julian Baggini Greg La Blanc 00:55:13 No one will accuse our next guest of doing philosophy in an isolated fashion. Julian Baggini is a writer and philosopher, and currently the Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. His latest book is titled “How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy.” Julian is also the co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine and has written for numerous international newspapers and magazines. Julian and Greg discuss the legacy of Hume in this episode, while also diving into how someone can stay a generalist in the modern philosophy world, the scarcity of common sense and the sincerity of moral arguments. No one will accuse our next guest of doing philosophy in an isolated fashion. Julian Baggini is a writer and philosopher, and currently the Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. His latest book is titled “How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy.” Julian is also the co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine and has written for numerous international newspapers and magazines. Julian and Greg discuss the legacy of Hume in this episode, while also diving into how someone can stay a generalist in the modern philosophy world, the scarcity of common sense and the sincerity of moral arguments. false full 203 1bb5c445-5ec7-456b-a4f0-2d6e62b765ff 202. The Business of Venture Capital feat. Mahendra Ramsinghani Since its initial publication, “The Business of Venture Capital” has been hailed as the definitive, most comprehensive book on the subject. In its upcoming third edition, this market-leading text explains the multiple facets of the business of venture capital, from raising venture funds, to structuring investments, to generating consistent returns, to evaluating exit strategies.

Mahendra Ramsinghani is the founder of Secure Octane, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, which invests in cybersecurity among other sectors. He is also the author of multiple books including “The Resilient Founder,” and “Startup Boards” co-authored with noted VC Brad Feld.

Greg and Mahendra dig into everything that makes VCs work in this episode, including what fund managers think about venture capital, betting on humans over ideas, characteristics of a good GP, and the mental health of founders. 

Episode Quotes:

The single biggest problem with venture capital

10:51: I think that's the single biggest problem in our businesses: Markets don't evolve or adopt technologies fast enough. Or if they adopt certain technologies, they don't adopt every technology. They’ll pick one, right? So you end up saying: Okay, in this scenario, I was the winner and in this scenario, I lost. And so this is a business where you're constantly being humbled and constantly being reminded that you cannot logically plan the outcomes.

What are the key characteristics of a successful venture capitalist?

39:06: The fundamental attributes that play out well are curiosity and openness to learning about new trends. And then the second, and the more important, is the ability to take risks within a shorter period of time and make our decisions quickly as opposed to trying to belabor over how the future might play out five years from now. 

Two metrics in measuring fund performance

27:03: What fund managers do, you know, people like me, are giving them the two metrics they want to look at before they start the conversation. So, your IRR, you know, is a time-based sort of metric of your performance. And then the second is your cash on cash, whether you're TVPI (Total Value to Paid In) or multiple of investor capital. So those two tend to have now become industry standards.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 24 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Since its initial publication, “The Business of Venture Capital” has been hailed as the definitive, most comprehensive book on the subject. In its upcoming third edition, this market-leading text explains the multiple facets of the business of venture capital, from raising venture funds, to structuring investments, to generating consistent returns, to evaluating exit strategies.

Mahendra Ramsinghani is the founder of Secure Octane, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, which invests in cybersecurity among other sectors. He is also the author of multiple books including “The Resilient Founder,” and “Startup Boards” co-authored with noted VC Brad Feld.

Greg and Mahendra dig into everything that makes VCs work in this episode, including what fund managers think about venture capital, betting on humans over ideas, characteristics of a good GP, and the mental health of founders. 

Episode Quotes:

The single biggest problem with venture capital

10:51: I think that's the single biggest problem in our businesses: Markets don't evolve or adopt technologies fast enough. Or if they adopt certain technologies, they don't adopt every technology. They’ll pick one, right? So you end up saying: Okay, in this scenario, I was the winner and in this scenario, I lost. And so this is a business where you're constantly being humbled and constantly being reminded that you cannot logically plan the outcomes.

What are the key characteristics of a successful venture capitalist?

39:06: The fundamental attributes that play out well are curiosity and openness to learning about new trends. And then the second, and the more important, is the ability to take risks within a shorter period of time and make our decisions quickly as opposed to trying to belabor over how the future might play out five years from now. 

Two metrics in measuring fund performance

27:03: What fund managers do, you know, people like me, are giving them the two metrics they want to look at before they start the conversation. So, your IRR, you know, is a time-based sort of metric of your performance. And then the second is your cash on cash, whether you're TVPI (Total Value to Paid In) or multiple of investor capital. So those two tend to have now become industry standards.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 202. The Business of Venture Capital feat. Mahendra Ramsinghani Greg La Blanc 01:09:21 Since its initial publication, “The Business of Venture Capital” has been hailed as the definitive, most comprehensive book on the subject. In its upcoming third edition, this market-leading text explains the multiple facets of the business of venture capital, from raising venture funds, to structuring investments, to generating consistent returns, to evaluating exit strategies. Mahendra Ramsinghani is the founder of Secure Octane, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, which invests in cybersecurity among other sectors. He is also the author of multiple books including “The Resilient Founder,” and “Startup Boards” co-authored with noted VC Brad Feld. Greg and Mahendra dig into everything that makes VCs work in this episode, including what fund managers think about venture capital, betting on humans over ideas, characteristics of a good GP, and the mental health of founders. Since its initial publication, “The Business of Venture Capital” has been hailed as the definitive, most comprehensive book on the subject. In its upcoming third edition, this market-leading text explains the multiple facets of the business of venture capital, from raising venture funds, to structuring investments, to generating consistent returns, to evaluating exit strategies. Mahendra Ramsinghani is the founder of Secure Octane, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, which invests in cybersecurity among other sectors. He is also the author of multiple books including “The Resilient Founder,” and “Startup Boards” co-authored with noted VC Brad Feld. Greg and Mahendra dig into everything that makes VCs work in this episode, including what fund managers think about venture capital, betting on humans over ideas, characteristics of a good GP, and the mental health of founders. false full 202 9561d5e9-8496-4ff2-9124-d3d30f88efbb 201. How Do We Know What People Really Want? feat. Eric Johnson Every time we make a choice, our minds go through an elaborate process most of us never even notice. We’re influenced by subtle aspects of the way the choice is presented that often make the difference between a good decision and a bad one. 

How do we overcome the common faults in our decision-making and enable better choices in any situation? This question and more are answered in our guests latest book, ​​"The Elements of Choice: Why the Way We Decide Matters."

Eric Johnson is a faculty member at the Columbia Business School at Columbia University where he is the inaugural holder of the Norman Eig Chair of Business, and Director of the Center for Decision Sciences. His research examines the interface between Behavioral Decision Research, Economics and the decisions made by consumers, managers, and their implications for public policy, markets and marketing. 

Eric and Greg analyze choice architecture from many angles in this episode, as well as touching on menu science, the problem with alphabetizing, and the impacts of good choice architecture on education. 

Episode Quotes:

How do you know whether someone's made a good decision?

53:11: One thing you can do is create the equivalent of a flight simulator. That is, we know a cockpit has a good design because you can land at SFO, you can land at Charles de Gaulle, under different conditions if you do the right thing. Now, one thing I can do is I can say: You have three kids, they go to the doctor this number of times. Can you pick the right health insurance? So I know what you should be doing in that case. And see if you can find it. I called this the decision simulator approach. So in many domains, I may not know what you exactly want, but I can tell you what you need to find and see if you can find it. And that's super helpful.

How to overcome bias

41:16: Fluency is the way you get around present bias. You make the right behavior very easy and reduce the barriers to entry.

Is education the key to regulating choice architecture?

44:07: Education helps, but it can't be the entire solution, and it's very expensive. Not just in the kinds of places that you and I teach, but even in grammar school, if you're teaching about Choice Architecture, which I think you should, you're doing less on other subjects. So there's always:Is education the most effective way of doing things? At the same time, I think the notion of defaults is a really simple thing to teach. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 21 Oct 2022 15:21:26 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Every time we make a choice, our minds go through an elaborate process most of us never even notice. We’re influenced by subtle aspects of the way the choice is presented that often make the difference between a good decision and a bad one. 

How do we overcome the common faults in our decision-making and enable better choices in any situation? This question and more are answered in our guests latest book, ​​"The Elements of Choice: Why the Way We Decide Matters."

Eric Johnson is a faculty member at the Columbia Business School at Columbia University where he is the inaugural holder of the Norman Eig Chair of Business, and Director of the Center for Decision Sciences. His research examines the interface between Behavioral Decision Research, Economics and the decisions made by consumers, managers, and their implications for public policy, markets and marketing. 

Eric and Greg analyze choice architecture from many angles in this episode, as well as touching on menu science, the problem with alphabetizing, and the impacts of good choice architecture on education. 

Episode Quotes:

How do you know whether someone's made a good decision?

53:11: One thing you can do is create the equivalent of a flight simulator. That is, we know a cockpit has a good design because you can land at SFO, you can land at Charles de Gaulle, under different conditions if you do the right thing. Now, one thing I can do is I can say: You have three kids, they go to the doctor this number of times. Can you pick the right health insurance? So I know what you should be doing in that case. And see if you can find it. I called this the decision simulator approach. So in many domains, I may not know what you exactly want, but I can tell you what you need to find and see if you can find it. And that's super helpful.

How to overcome bias

41:16: Fluency is the way you get around present bias. You make the right behavior very easy and reduce the barriers to entry.

Is education the key to regulating choice architecture?

44:07: Education helps, but it can't be the entire solution, and it's very expensive. Not just in the kinds of places that you and I teach, but even in grammar school, if you're teaching about Choice Architecture, which I think you should, you're doing less on other subjects. So there's always:Is education the most effective way of doing things? At the same time, I think the notion of defaults is a really simple thing to teach. 

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> 201. How Do We Know What People Really Want? feat. Eric Johnson Greg La Blanc 00:54:23 Every time we make a choice, our minds go through an elaborate process most of us never even notice. We’re influenced by subtle aspects of the way the choice is presented that often make the difference between a good decision and a bad one. How do we overcome the common faults in our decision-making and enable better choices in any situation? This question and more are answered in our guests latest book, ​​"The Elements of Choice: Why the Way We Decide Matters." Eric Johnson is a faculty member at the Columbia Business School at Columbia University where he is the inaugural holder of the Norman Eig Chair of Business, and Director of the Center for Decision Sciences. His research examines the interface between Behavioral Decision Research, Economics and the decisions made by consumers, managers, and their implications for public policy, markets and marketing. Eric and Greg analyze choice architecture from many angles in this episode, as well as touching on menu science, the problem with alphabetizing, and the impacts of good choice architecture on education. Every time we make a choice, our minds go through an elaborate process most of us never even notice. We’re influenced by subtle aspects of the way the choice is presented that often make the difference between a good decision and a bad one. How do we overcome the common faults in our decision-making and enable better choices in any situation? This question and more are answered in our guests latest book, ​​"The Elements of Choice: Why the Way We Decide Matters." Eric Johnson is a faculty member at the Columbia Business School at Columbia University where he is the inaugural holder of the Norman Eig Chair of Business, and Director of the Center for Decision Sciences. His research examines the interface between Behavioral Decision Research, Economics and the decisions made by consumers, managers, and their implications for public policy, markets and marketing. Eric and Greg analyze choice architecture from many angles in this episode, as well as touching on menu science, the problem with alphabetizing, and the impacts of good choice architecture on education. false full 201 eb09507d-6e7a-41d8-8f96-f124056ad679 200. The Golden Age of Persuasion feat. Robert Cialdini Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career conducting scientific research on what leads people to say “Yes” to requests and appeals. The results of his research, his ensuing articles, and New York Times bestselling books have earned him an acclaimed reputation as a respected scientist and engaging storyteller.

His books, including “Influence” and “Pre-Suasion,” have sold more than 7-million copies in 44 different languages. Robert is also the Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University.

In this episode, Robert joins Greg to talk about what's changed in the 30 years between his published books; authority & credibility; the predominance of fear in our culture; and how they each teach ethics in their business courses.

Episode Quotes:

What is the importance of social scientists observing phenomena in the field? 

6:49: I think it's crucially important for a couple of reasons. One is in the laboratory; we control or eliminate all sources that may affect our data except the ones that we are studying. That's what we try to do. Those may be the things that exist in the natural environment that could influence the effects, but we don't register their influence because we've eliminated them in the hothouse of the experimental lab. So, that's one thing. The other is we can see the power of the effects that we find in the field because if they are successful, they have overcome all of this myriad of other influences that are working on people—making decisions, making choices, in everyday situations to transcend all that ground noise that's going on, that could otherwise eliminate the effect if the effect wasn't strong enough to overpower those influences.

How can we manage the constant barrage of appeals for our attention?

26:50: There's one strategy that is the most powerful in rebalancing the scales against the larger impact that a salient argument has. And that is to consider the opposite.

Influence as a leadership tool

47:22: For leadership, you want influence in the long term. You want to create an aura that allows people to feel comfortable moving in your direction, even though they don't have to make a purchase or anything, but they're willing to go along with your preferences because you've established yourself as a credible source of authority for them.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 19 Oct 2022 20:26:35 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career conducting scientific research on what leads people to say “Yes” to requests and appeals. The results of his research, his ensuing articles, and New York Times bestselling books have earned him an acclaimed reputation as a respected scientist and engaging storyteller.

His books, including “Influence” and “Pre-Suasion,” have sold more than 7-million copies in 44 different languages. Robert is also the Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University.

In this episode, Robert joins Greg to talk about what's changed in the 30 years between his published books; authority & credibility; the predominance of fear in our culture; and how they each teach ethics in their business courses.

Episode Quotes:

What is the importance of social scientists observing phenomena in the field? 

6:49: I think it's crucially important for a couple of reasons. One is in the laboratory; we control or eliminate all sources that may affect our data except the ones that we are studying. That's what we try to do. Those may be the things that exist in the natural environment that could influence the effects, but we don't register their influence because we've eliminated them in the hothouse of the experimental lab. So, that's one thing. The other is we can see the power of the effects that we find in the field because if they are successful, they have overcome all of this myriad of other influences that are working on people—making decisions, making choices, in everyday situations to transcend all that ground noise that's going on, that could otherwise eliminate the effect if the effect wasn't strong enough to overpower those influences.

How can we manage the constant barrage of appeals for our attention?

26:50: There's one strategy that is the most powerful in rebalancing the scales against the larger impact that a salient argument has. And that is to consider the opposite.

Influence as a leadership tool

47:22: For leadership, you want influence in the long term. You want to create an aura that allows people to feel comfortable moving in your direction, even though they don't have to make a purchase or anything, but they're willing to go along with your preferences because you've established yourself as a credible source of authority for them.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> 200. The Golden Age of Persuasion feat. Robert Cialdini Greg La Blanc 00:53:03 Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career conducting scientific research on what leads people to say “Yes” to requests and appeals. The results of his research, his ensuing articles, and New York Times bestselling books have earned him an acclaimed reputation as a respected scientist and engaging storyteller. His books, including “Influence” and “Pre-Suasion,” have sold more than 7-million copies in 44 different languages. Robert is also the Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. In this episode, Robert joins Greg to talk about what's changed in the 30 years between his published books; authority & credibility; the predominance of fear in our culture; and how they each teach ethics in their business courses. Episode Quotes: What is the importance of social scientists observing phenomena in the field? 6:49: I think it's crucially important for a couple of reasons. One is in the laboratory; we control or eliminate all sources that may affect our data except the ones that we are studying. That's what we try to do. Those may be the things that exist in the natural environment that could influence the effects, but we don't register their influence because we've eliminated them in the hothouse of the experimental lab. So, that's one thing. The other is we can see the power of the effects that we find in the field because if they are successful, they have overcome all of this myriad of other influences that are working on people—making decisions, making choices, in everyday situations to transcend all that ground noise that's going on, that could otherwise eliminate the effect if the effect wasn't strong enough to overpower those influences. How can we manage the constant barrage of appeals for our attention? 26:50: There's one strategy that is the most powerful in rebalancing the scales against the larger impact that a salient argument has. And that is to consider the opposite. Influence as a leadership tool 47:22: For leadership, you want influence in the long term. You want to create an aura that allows people to feel comfortable moving in your direction, even though they don't have to make a purchase or anything, but they're willing to go along with your preferences because you've established yourself as a credible source of authority for them. Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career conducting scientific research on what leads people to say “Yes” to requests and appeals. The results of his research, his ensuing articles, and New York Times bestselling books have earned him an acclaimed reputation as a respected scientist and engaging storyteller. His books, including “Influence” and “Pre-Suasion,” have sold more than 7-million copies in 44 different languages. Robert is also the Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. In this episode, Robert joins Greg to talk about what's changed in the 30 years between his published books; authority & credibility; the predominance of fear in our culture; and how they each teach ethics in their business courses. Episode Quotes: What is the importance of social scientists observing phenomena in the field? 6:49: I think it's crucially important for a couple of reasons. One is in the laboratory; we control or eliminate all sources that may affect our data except the ones that we are studying. That's what we try to do. Those may be the things that exist in the natural environment that could influence the effects, but we don't register their influence because we've eliminated them in the hothouse of the experimental lab. So, that's one thing. The other is we can see the power of the effects that we find in the field because if they are successful, they have overcome all of this myriad of other influences that are working on people—making decisions, making choices, in everyday situations to transcend all that ground noise that's going on, that could otherwise eliminate the effect if the effect wasn't strong enough to overpower those influences. How can we manage the constant barrage of appeals for our attention? 26:50: There's one strategy that is the most powerful in rebalancing the scales against the larger impact that a salient argument has. And that is to consider the opposite. Influence as a leadership tool 47:22: For leadership, you want influence in the long term. You want to create an aura that allows people to feel comfortable moving in your direction, even though they don't have to make a purchase or anything, but they're willing to go along with your preferences because you've established yourself as a credible source of authority for them. false full 200 faa5e2c1-01f2-4e1f-9cc0-3daa16149ac6 199. At What Point Does Something Become Fake? feat. Lydia Pyne Lydia Pyne’s work may loosely be called history, but it's really a combination of the sciences and the humanities. It's a reflection on how we make sense of ourselves and our past.

Lydia is a writer and historian, interested in the history of science and material culture. She has degrees in history and anthropology and a PhD in biology (history and philosophy of science) from Arizona State University. Her field and archival work has ranged from South Africa, Ethiopia, and Uzbekistan, as well as the American Southwest.

She is currently a visiting researcher at the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and her books include “Endlings: Fables for the Anthropocene” and “Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff.”

She shares with Greg this episode how stories motivate us to actions, how nature documentaries need to include a few lies, categorizing museums, fake artifacts & art, and how the element of time can make us rethink authenticity and change. 

Episode Quotes:

How material and medium play a significant role in how we respond to authenticity

26:46: It makes me wonder how much the material and the medium drive how we respond to challenges to authenticity. We have different ways and different expectations of that, where if you were to go to, say, a science museum and see a T.Rex skeleton and to sort of say, Okay, this is conveying knowledge about the past, and this is telling me things that are true, and I’m going to take this away. I think it makes a lot of sense to have. Ookay, this is a replica. This is what we fill in and our best guess. And oh, this is a cast of the actual fossil. But we wanted to be really clear, so to me, I see that there isn’t a blanket statement that we can sort of apply to all material culture, but that it varies. Our tolerance and expectations change over time and vary depending on the medium.

20:39: I love this idea that something that starts out as fake in the early parts of its life could be made authentic and could be made real given enough time.

On defining endlings

04:49: So an endling is the last known individual of a species before the species is declared extinct. And it seems like such a straightforward definition, like, nope, it's the last one. Once this one individual dies, then the species is declared extinct. But the more I try to hone in on and to think about the last of this species, the more I realize that it's very difficult to count the last of something when the category that it is the last of is so slippery, tricky, and historically contingent, to begin with.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Johan Beringer's lying Stones
  • Beth Shapiro episode

Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Mon, 17 Oct 2022 09:25:22 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Lydia Pyne’s work may loosely be called history, but it's really a combination of the sciences and the humanities. It's a reflection on how we make sense of ourselves and our past.

Lydia is a writer and historian, interested in the history of science and material culture. She has degrees in history and anthropology and a PhD in biology (history and philosophy of science) from Arizona State University. Her field and archival work has ranged from South Africa, Ethiopia, and Uzbekistan, as well as the American Southwest.

She is currently a visiting researcher at the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and her books include “Endlings: Fables for the Anthropocene” and “Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff.”

She shares with Greg this episode how stories motivate us to actions, how nature documentaries need to include a few lies, categorizing museums, fake artifacts & art, and how the element of time can make us rethink authenticity and change. 

Episode Quotes:

How material and medium play a significant role in how we respond to authenticity

26:46: It makes me wonder how much the material and the medium drive how we respond to challenges to authenticity. We have different ways and different expectations of that, where if you were to go to, say, a science museum and see a T.Rex skeleton and to sort of say, Okay, this is conveying knowledge about the past, and this is telling me things that are true, and I’m going to take this away. I think it makes a lot of sense to have. Ookay, this is a replica. This is what we fill in and our best guess. And oh, this is a cast of the actual fossil. But we wanted to be really clear, so to me, I see that there isn’t a blanket statement that we can sort of apply to all material culture, but that it varies. Our tolerance and expectations change over time and vary depending on the medium.

20:39: I love this idea that something that starts out as fake in the early parts of its life could be made authentic and could be made real given enough time.

On defining endlings

04:49: So an endling is the last known individual of a species before the species is declared extinct. And it seems like such a straightforward definition, like, nope, it's the last one. Once this one individual dies, then the species is declared extinct. But the more I try to hone in on and to think about the last of this species, the more I realize that it's very difficult to count the last of something when the category that it is the last of is so slippery, tricky, and historically contingent, to begin with.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • Johan Beringer's lying Stones
  • Beth Shapiro episode

Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> 199. At What Point Does Something Become Fake? feat. Lydia Pyne Greg La Blanc 00:47:01 Lydia Pyne’s work may loosely be called history, but it's really a combination of the sciences and the humanities. It's a reflection on how we make sense of ourselves and our past.Lydia is a writer and historian, interested in the history of science and material culture. She has degrees in history and anthropology and a PhD in biology (history and philosophy of science) from Arizona State University. Her field and archival work has ranged from South Africa, Ethiopia, and Uzbekistan, as well as the American Southwest.She is currently a visiting researcher at the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and her books include “Endlings: Fables for the Anthropocene” and “Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff.”She shares with Greg this episode how stories motivate us to actions, how nature documentaries need to include a few lies, categorizing museums, fake artifacts & art, and how the element of time can make us rethink authenticity and change. Episode Quotes:How material and medium play a significant role in how we respond to authenticity26:46: It makes me wonder how much the material and the medium drive how we respond to challenges to authenticity. We have different ways and different expectations of that, where if you were to go to, say, a science museum and see a T.Rex skeleton and to sort of say, Okay, this is conveying knowledge about the past, and this is telling me things that are true, and I’m going to take this away. I think it makes a lot of sense to have. Ookay, this is a replica. This is what we fill in and our best guess. And oh, this is a cast of the actual fossil. But we wanted to be really clear, so to me, I see that there isn’t a blanket statement that we can sort of apply to all material culture, but that it varies. Our tolerance and expectations change over time and vary depending on the medium.20:39: I love this idea that something that starts out as fake in the early parts of its life could be made authentic and could be made real given enough time.On defining endlings04:49: So an endling is the last known individual of a species before the species is declared extinct. And it seems like such a straightforward definition, like, nope, it's the last one. Once this one individual dies, then the species is declared extinct. But the more I try to hone in on and to think about the last of this species, the more I realize that it's very difficult to count the last of something when the category that it is the last of is so slippery, tricky, and historically contingent, to begin with.Show Links:Recommended Resources:Johan Beringer's lying StonesBeth Shapiro episodeGuest Profile:Lydia Pyne’s WebsiteLydia Pyne on TwitterLydia Pyne on Talks at GoogleHer Work:Articles on JSTOR DailyArticles on GlasstireEndlings: Fables for the Anthropocene (Forerunners: Ideas First)Postcards: The Rise and Fall of the World’s First Social NetworkGenuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff (Bloomsbury Sigma)Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human FossilsBookshelf (Object Lessons)The Last Lost World: Ice Ages, Human Origins, and the Invention of the Pleistocene Lydia Pyne’s work may loosely be called history, but it's really a combination of the sciences and the humanities. It's a reflection on how we make sense of ourselves and our past.Lydia is a writer and historian, interested in the history of science and material culture. She has degrees in history and anthropology and a PhD in biology (history and philosophy of science) from Arizona State University. Her field and archival work has ranged from South Africa, Ethiopia, and Uzbekistan, as well as the American Southwest.She is currently a visiting researcher at the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and her books include “Endlings: Fables for the Anthropocene” and “Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff.”She shares with Greg this episode how stories motivate us to actions, how nature documentaries need to include a few lies, categorizing museums, fake artifacts & art, and how the element of time can make us rethink authenticity and change. Episode Quotes:How material and medium play a significant role in how we respond to authenticity26:46: It makes me wonder how much the material and the medium drive how we respond to challenges to authenticity. We have different ways and different expectations of that, where if you were to go to, say, a science museum and see a T.Rex skeleton and to sort of say, Okay, this is conveying knowledge about the past, and this is telling me things that are true, and I’m going to take this away. I think it makes a lot of sense to have. Ookay, this is a replica. This is what we fill in and our best guess. And oh, this is a cast of the actual fossil. But we wanted to be really clear, so to me, I see that there isn’t a blanket statement that we can sort of apply to all material culture, but that it varies. Our tolerance and expectations change over time and vary depending on the medium.20:39: I love this idea that something that starts out as fake in the early parts of its life could be made authentic and could be made real given enough time.On defining endlings04:49: So an endling is the last known individual of a species before the species is declared extinct. And it seems like such a straightforward definition, like, nope, it's the last one. Once this one individual dies, then the species is declared extinct. But the more I try to hone in on and to think about the last of this species, the more I realize that it's very difficult to count the last of something when the category that it is the last of is so slippery, tricky, and historically contingent, to begin with.Show Links:Recommended Resources:Johan Beringer's lying StonesBeth Shapiro episodeGuest Profile:Lydia Pyne’s WebsiteLydia Pyne on TwitterLydia Pyne on Talks at GoogleHer Work:Articles on JSTOR DailyArticles on GlasstireEndlings: Fables for the Anthropocene (Forerunners: Ideas First)Postcards: The Rise and Fall of the World’s First Social NetworkGenuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff (Bloomsbury Sigma)Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human FossilsBookshelf (Object Lessons)The Last Lost World: Ice Ages, Human Origins, and the Invention of the Pleistocene false full 199 17a3e5e7-cd23-4999-b0fb-03ea3d513097 198. The Politics of Innovation feat. Mark Zachary Taylor Innovation seems to occur at uneven rates across different countries. At a time when we’re so intimately connected in all fields and industries, its interesting that there are still such vastly different kinds of technology and innovation happening at the same time all over the world. 

Dr. Mark Zachary Taylor, formerly a solid-state physicist, now specializes in S&T politics and policy, political economy, the American presidency, and comparative politics. In his research, he tries to understand the sources of national economic competitiveness. 

In his book, “The Politics of Innovation,” he seeks to explain why some countries are better than others at science and technology. He currently studies the role of the US presidency in short-run economic performance, as well as an Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Following the ideas of Cardwell’s Law, Greg and Zach discuss the uneven distribution of innovation globally, how and why we got to this place, and the role of government investments.


Episode Quotes:

There’s a lot of politics in physics

(02:49) As a physicist, you're trained that science is all about efficiency and coming up with the right research and methods. But the deeper you got into it, you realize there was a lot of politics that went into deciding which were the right questions to answer, which were the right methodologies that you would use, and which labs got the funding or not in order to pursue these, and then which got published or not. There was a political aspect to it. And this wasn't being picked up on the sort of economic side, on the politics side.


What makes a great politician?

(49:15) I think we, as voters, should always be on the lookout for politicians who have that vision and who are skilled at politics, and are thoughtful about the policy. If you can combine those three, you've got some winners.


The importance of competition on innovation

(13:04) Whether it's for the individual scientists and engineers who are training or for the companies that they're going to wind up working for or even creating the product spaces, you've got to have that element of competition, or you're going to wind up with this protective turf building. That's going to stagnate over time.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Fri, 14 Oct 2022 20:03:09 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Innovation seems to occur at uneven rates across different countries. At a time when we’re so intimately connected in all fields and industries, its interesting that there are still such vastly different kinds of technology and innovation happening at the same time all over the world. 

Dr. Mark Zachary Taylor, formerly a solid-state physicist, now specializes in S&T politics and policy, political economy, the American presidency, and comparative politics. In his research, he tries to understand the sources of national economic competitiveness. 

In his book, “The Politics of Innovation,” he seeks to explain why some countries are better than others at science and technology. He currently studies the role of the US presidency in short-run economic performance, as well as an Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Following the ideas of Cardwell’s Law, Greg and Zach discuss the uneven distribution of innovation globally, how and why we got to this place, and the role of government investments.


Episode Quotes:

There’s a lot of politics in physics

(02:49) As a physicist, you're trained that science is all about efficiency and coming up with the right research and methods. But the deeper you got into it, you realize there was a lot of politics that went into deciding which were the right questions to answer, which were the right methodologies that you would use, and which labs got the funding or not in order to pursue these, and then which got published or not. There was a political aspect to it. And this wasn't being picked up on the sort of economic side, on the politics side.


What makes a great politician?

(49:15) I think we, as voters, should always be on the lookout for politicians who have that vision and who are skilled at politics, and are thoughtful about the policy. If you can combine those three, you've got some winners.


The importance of competition on innovation

(13:04) Whether it's for the individual scientists and engineers who are training or for the companies that they're going to wind up working for or even creating the product spaces, you've got to have that element of competition, or you're going to wind up with this protective turf building. That's going to stagnate over time.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> 198. The Politics of Innovation feat. Mark Zachary Taylor Greg La Blanc 00:50:00 Innovation seems to occur at uneven rates across different countries. At a time when we’re so intimately connected in all fields and industries, its interesting that there are still such vastly different kinds of technology and innovation happening at the same time all over the world. Dr. Mark Zachary Taylor, formerly a solid-state physicist, now specializes in S&T politics and policy, political economy, the American presidency, and comparative politics. In his research, he tries to understand the sources of national economic competitiveness. In his book, “The Politics of Innovation,” he seeks to explain why some countries are better than others at science and technology. He currently studies the role of the US presidency in short-run economic performance, as well as an Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology.Following the ideas of Cardwell’s Law, Greg and Zach discuss the uneven distribution of innovation globally, how and why we got to this place, and the role of government investments.Episode Quotes:There’s a lot of politics in physics(02:49) As a physicist, you're trained that science is all about efficiency and coming up with the right research and methods. But the deeper you got into it, you realize there was a lot of politics that went into deciding which were the right questions to answer, which were the right methodologies that you would use, and which labs got the funding or not in order to pursue these, and then which got published or not. There was a political aspect to it. And this wasn't being picked up on the sort of economic side, on the politics side.What makes a great politician?(49:15) I think we, as voters, should always be on the lookout for politicians who have that vision and who are skilled at politics, and are thoughtful about the policy. If you can combine those three, you've got some winners.The importance of competition on innovation(13:04) Whether it's for the individual scientists and engineers who are training or for the companies that they're going to wind up working for or even creating the product spaces, you've got to have that element of competition, or you're going to wind up with this protective turf building. That's going to stagnate over time.Show Links:Guest Profile:Faculty Profile at Georgia Institute of Technology Mark Zachary Taylor’s WebsiteMark Zachary Taylor on TwitterMark Zachary Taylor on LinkedInHis Work:Mark Zachary Taylor on Google ScholarThe Politics of Innovation: Why Some Countries Are Better Than Others at Science and Technology Innovation seems to occur at uneven rates across different countries. At a time when we’re so intimately connected in all fields and industries, its interesting that there are still such vastly different kinds of technology and innovation happening at the same time all over the world. Dr. Mark Zachary Taylor, formerly a solid-state physicist, now specializes in S&T politics and policy, political economy, the American presidency, and comparative politics. In his research, he tries to understand the sources of national economic competitiveness. In his book, “The Politics of Innovation,” he seeks to explain why some countries are better than others at science and technology. He currently studies the role of the US presidency in short-run economic performance, as well as an Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology.Following the ideas of Cardwell’s Law, Greg and Zach discuss the uneven distribution of innovation globally, how and why we got to this place, and the role of government investments.Episode Quotes:There’s a lot of politics in physics(02:49) As a physicist, you're trained that science is all about efficiency and coming up with the right research and methods. But the deeper you got into it, you realize there was a lot of politics that went into deciding which were the right questions to answer, which were the right methodologies that you would use, and which labs got the funding or not in order to pursue these, and then which got published or not. There was a political aspect to it. And this wasn't being picked up on the sort of economic side, on the politics side.What makes a great politician?(49:15) I think we, as voters, should always be on the lookout for politicians who have that vision and who are skilled at politics, and are thoughtful about the policy. If you can combine those three, you've got some winners.The importance of competition on innovation(13:04) Whether it's for the individual scientists and engineers who are training or for the companies that they're going to wind up working for or even creating the product spaces, you've got to have that element of competition, or you're going to wind up with this protective turf building. That's going to stagnate over time.Show Links:Guest Profile:Faculty Profile at Georgia Institute of Technology Mark Zachary Taylor’s WebsiteMark Zachary Taylor on TwitterMark Zachary Taylor on LinkedInHis Work:Mark Zachary Taylor on Google ScholarThe Politics of Innovation: Why Some Countries Are Better Than Others at Science and Technology false full 198 2f1e52cc-82df-4d57-9c72-81d07cc13246 197. Finding Fascination in the Mundane feat. Bruce Hood You may not believe it, but there is a link between our current political instability and your childhood attachment to teddy bears. There's also a reason why children in Asia are more likely to share than their western counterparts and why the poor spend more of their income on luxury goods than the rich. Or why your mother is more likely to leave her money to you than your father. What connects these things?

The answer is our need for ownership. How does our urge to acquire control our behaviour, even the way we vote? And what can we do about it?

Bruce Hood explores these questions in his latest book, “Possessed: Why We Want More Than We Need.” Bruce is currently Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society in the School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol, with a diverse range of research interests including the origins of supernatural beliefs, intuitive theory formation, object representation, spatial cognition, inhibitory control and general cognitive development.

He chats with Greg this episode about the concept of ownership, the psychological relationship we have with our possessions, Essentialism, and possessions vs experiences.

Episode Quotes:

The distinction between ownership and possession

07:08: So there's a distinction between possession and ownership, which it's important to draw because ownership is a social convention. And I would argue you don't see any evidence of ownership in the animal kingdom, but plenty of evidence of territorialism and possessions.

The principle of establishing ownership

17:23: So when people take a piece of writing, or they take a tune and modify it and say, oh, it's different, then they gotta argue, well, to what extent does that constitute an original piece of effort?

So it is actually quite nuanced even in the adult world, but the basic origin of it is yes. If you put effort into transforming, constructing, and creating something, that should default with you.

On defining the essence

21:27: Whenever we form an emotional attachment or have an emotional perspective on something, we imbue it with a metaphysical property of some unique feature which characterizes it. And that's called the essence.


The importance of control for humans

46:38: The perception of control is really important for humans to the extent that when they're uncertain or stressed, they'll look for patterns in the world to try regaining control. And that's where superstitions arise because we don't know what's controlling.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 12 Oct 2022 11:46:59 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast You may not believe it, but there is a link between our current political instability and your childhood attachment to teddy bears. There's also a reason why children in Asia are more likely to share than their western counterparts and why the poor spend more of their income on luxury goods than the rich. Or why your mother is more likely to leave her money to you than your father. What connects these things?

The answer is our need for ownership. How does our urge to acquire control our behaviour, even the way we vote? And what can we do about it?

Bruce Hood explores these questions in his latest book, “Possessed: Why We Want More Than We Need.” Bruce is currently Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society in the School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol, with a diverse range of research interests including the origins of supernatural beliefs, intuitive theory formation, object representation, spatial cognition, inhibitory control and general cognitive development.

He chats with Greg this episode about the concept of ownership, the psychological relationship we have with our possessions, Essentialism, and possessions vs experiences.

Episode Quotes:

The distinction between ownership and possession

07:08: So there's a distinction between possession and ownership, which it's important to draw because ownership is a social convention. And I would argue you don't see any evidence of ownership in the animal kingdom, but plenty of evidence of territorialism and possessions.

The principle of establishing ownership

17:23: So when people take a piece of writing, or they take a tune and modify it and say, oh, it's different, then they gotta argue, well, to what extent does that constitute an original piece of effort?

So it is actually quite nuanced even in the adult world, but the basic origin of it is yes. If you put effort into transforming, constructing, and creating something, that should default with you.

On defining the essence

21:27: Whenever we form an emotional attachment or have an emotional perspective on something, we imbue it with a metaphysical property of some unique feature which characterizes it. And that's called the essence.


The importance of control for humans

46:38: The perception of control is really important for humans to the extent that when they're uncertain or stressed, they'll look for patterns in the world to try regaining control. And that's where superstitions arise because we don't know what's controlling.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> 197. Finding Fascination in the Mundane feat. Bruce Hood Greg La Blanc 00:51:31 You may not believe it, but there is a link between our current political instability and your childhood attachment to teddy bears. There's also a reason why children in Asia are more likely to share than their western counterparts and why the poor spend more of their income on luxury goods than the rich. Or why your mother is more likely to leave her money to you than your father. What connects these things? The answer is our need for ownership. How does our urge to acquire control our behaviour, even the way we vote? And what can we do about it? Bruce Hood explores these questions in his latest book, “Possessed: Why We Want More Than We Need.” Bruce is currently Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society in the School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol, with a diverse range of research interests including the origins of supernatural beliefs, intuitive theory formation, object representation, spatial cognition, inhibitory control and general cognitive development. He chats with Greg this episode about the concept of ownership, the psychological relationship we have with our possessions, Essentialism, and possessions vs experiences. Episode Quotes: The distinction between ownership and possession 07:08: So there's a distinction between possession and ownership, which it's important to draw because ownership is a social convention. And I would argue you don't see any evidence of ownership in the animal kingdom, but plenty of evidence of territorialism and possessions. The principle of establishing ownership 17:23: So when people take a piece of writing, or they take a tune and modify it and say, oh, it's different, then they gotta argue, well, to what extent does that constitute an original piece of effort? So it is actually quite nuanced even in the adult world, but the basic origin of it is yes. If you put effort into transforming, constructing, and creating something, that should default with you. On defining the essence 21:27: Whenever we form an emotional attachment or have an emotional perspective on something, we imbue it with a metaphysical property of some unique feature which characterizes it. And that's called the essence. The importance of control for humans 46:38: The perception of control is really important for humans to the extent that when they're uncertain or stressed, they'll look for patterns in the world to try regaining control. And that's where superstitions arise because we don't know what's controlling. You may not believe it, but there is a link between our current political instability and your childhood attachment to teddy bears. There's also a reason why children in Asia are more likely to share than their western counterparts and why the poor spend more of their income on luxury goods than the rich. Or why your mother is more likely to leave her money to you than your father. What connects these things? The answer is our need for ownership. How does our urge to acquire control our behaviour, even the way we vote? And what can we do about it? Bruce Hood explores these questions in his latest book, “Possessed: Why We Want More Than We Need.” Bruce is currently Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society in the School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol, with a diverse range of research interests including the origins of supernatural beliefs, intuitive theory formation, object representation, spatial cognition, inhibitory control and general cognitive development. He chats with Greg this episode about the concept of ownership, the psychological relationship we have with our possessions, Essentialism, and possessions vs experiences. Episode Quotes: The distinction between ownership and possession 07:08: So there's a distinction between possession and ownership, which it's important to draw because ownership is a social convention. And I would argue you don't see any evidence of ownership in the animal kingdom, but plenty of evidence of territorialism and possessions. The principle of establishing ownership 17:23: So when people take a piece of writing, or they take a tune and modify it and say, oh, it's different, then they gotta argue, well, to what extent does that constitute an original piece of effort? So it is actually quite nuanced even in the adult world, but the basic origin of it is yes. If you put effort into transforming, constructing, and creating something, that should default with you. On defining the essence 21:27: Whenever we form an emotional attachment or have an emotional perspective on something, we imbue it with a metaphysical property of some unique feature which characterizes it. And that's called the essence. The importance of control for humans 46:38: The perception of control is really important for humans to the extent that when they're uncertain or stressed, they'll look for patterns in the world to try regaining control. And that's where superstitions arise because we don't know what's controlling. false full 197 84c6b8bf-4dae-4801-bf17-dc70fa871467 196. What Would A Manual For Civilization Look Like? feat. Lewis Dartnell Having a background in planetary science gives our guest an interesting perspective on the world. In his work, Lewis can tie together things like the existence of humanity, and how the human experience has been impacted or even made possible by things like the movement of the tectonic plates and the great oxidation event.

Lewis Dartnell is a research scientist, and author based in London, UK. His books include “The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch,” and “Origins: How the Earth Made Us.”

He is currently a Professor of Science Communication at the University of Westminster, after having spent some time at the UK Space Agency.

Lewis sits down with Greg to talk about building seed banks and prepping for the future, the scientific method, what a manual for civilization might look like, and how to change people's perspectives on the overwhelming weight of history of our species.


Episode Quotes:

On terraforming Mars

43:07: So when people talk about terraforming Mars or making the Martian environment much more like the earth is today. We're not really talking about creating something new, but we're basically talking about turning back the hands of time, turning back Martian history to its primordial state when it did have a much more habitable environment.


Our planet’s problem is the one we created

48:25: The problem we're finding with our planet's environments and global climate is a problem that we created as an unintended consequence of the solution we found to a previous global problem, which was energy scarcity.


Africa as a place of greatest genetic diversity

34:08: The vast majority of human evolution, human history has been in Africa. And that is where we find the greatest genetic diversity across the entire species is still in our home stomping grounds in the African continent. And there's actually very, very little genetic diversity across people living everywhere else in the world.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:



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]]> Mon, 10 Oct 2022 12:16:48 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Having a background in planetary science gives our guest an interesting perspective on the world. In his work, Lewis can tie together things like the existence of humanity, and how the human experience has been impacted or even made possible by things like the movement of the tectonic plates and the great oxidation event.

Lewis Dartnell is a research scientist, and author based in London, UK. His books include “The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch,” and “Origins: How the Earth Made Us.”

He is currently a Professor of Science Communication at the University of Westminster, after having spent some time at the UK Space Agency.

Lewis sits down with Greg to talk about building seed banks and prepping for the future, the scientific method, what a manual for civilization might look like, and how to change people's perspectives on the overwhelming weight of history of our species.


Episode Quotes:

On terraforming Mars

43:07: So when people talk about terraforming Mars or making the Martian environment much more like the earth is today. We're not really talking about creating something new, but we're basically talking about turning back the hands of time, turning back Martian history to its primordial state when it did have a much more habitable environment.


Our planet’s problem is the one we created

48:25: The problem we're finding with our planet's environments and global climate is a problem that we created as an unintended consequence of the solution we found to a previous global problem, which was energy scarcity.


Africa as a place of greatest genetic diversity

34:08: The vast majority of human evolution, human history has been in Africa. And that is where we find the greatest genetic diversity across the entire species is still in our home stomping grounds in the African continent. And there's actually very, very little genetic diversity across people living everywhere else in the world.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:



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]]> 196. What Would A Manual For Civilization Look Like? feat. Lewis Dartnell Greg La Blanc 00:53:04 Having a background in planetary science gives our guest an interesting perspective on the world. In his work, Lewis can tie together things like the existence of humanity, and how the human experience has been impacted or even made possible by things like the movement of the tectonic plates and the great oxidation event. Lewis Dartnell is a research scientist, and author based in London, UK. His books include “The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch,” and “Origins: How the Earth Made Us.” He is currently a Professor of Science Communication at the University of Westminster, after having spent some time at the UK Space Agency. Lewis sits down with Greg to talk about building seed banks and prepping for the future, the scientific method, what a manual for civilization might look like, and how to change people's perspectives on the overwhelming weight of history of our species. Episode Quotes: On terraforming Mars 43:07: So when people talk about terraforming Mars or making the Martian environment much more like the earth is today. We're not really talking about creating something new, but we're basically talking about turning back the hands of time, turning back Martian history to its primordial state when it did have a much more habitable environment. Our planet’s problem is the one we created 48:25: The problem we're finding with our planet's environments and global climate is a problem that we created as an unintended consequence of the solution we found to a previous global problem, which was energy scarcity. Africa as a place of greatest genetic diversity 34:08: The vast majority of human evolution, human history has been in Africa. And that is where we find the greatest genetic diversity across the entire species is still in our home stomping grounds in the African continent. And there's actually very, very little genetic diversity across people living everywhere else in the world. Having a background in planetary science gives our guest an interesting perspective on the world. In his work, Lewis can tie together things like the existence of humanity, and how the human experience has been impacted or even made possible by things like the movement of the tectonic plates and the great oxidation event. Lewis Dartnell is a research scientist, and author based in London, UK. His books include “The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch,” and “Origins: How the Earth Made Us.” He is currently a Professor of Science Communication at the University of Westminster, after having spent some time at the UK Space Agency. Lewis sits down with Greg to talk about building seed banks and prepping for the future, the scientific method, what a manual for civilization might look like, and how to change people's perspectives on the overwhelming weight of history of our species. Episode Quotes: On terraforming Mars 43:07: So when people talk about terraforming Mars or making the Martian environment much more like the earth is today. We're not really talking about creating something new, but we're basically talking about turning back the hands of time, turning back Martian history to its primordial state when it did have a much more habitable environment. Our planet’s problem is the one we created 48:25: The problem we're finding with our planet's environments and global climate is a problem that we created as an unintended consequence of the solution we found to a previous global problem, which was energy scarcity. Africa as a place of greatest genetic diversity 34:08: The vast majority of human evolution, human history has been in Africa. And that is where we find the greatest genetic diversity across the entire species is still in our home stomping grounds in the African continent. And there's actually very, very little genetic diversity across people living everywhere else in the world. false full 196 c8a556fc-2f50-408f-aa18-e91f82549015 195. Creating Curriculum for Leaders in Training feat. John Hennessy For a podcast called unSILOed, you really can’t think of a more perfect guest than John Hennessy. From being a founder of a company, to a scholar, to a book author and an administrator, John has straddled many a silo in his career. 

John Hennessy is an American computer scientist, academician and businessman who serves as Chairman of Alphabet Inc. Hennessy is one of the founders of MIPS Computer Systems Inc. as well as Atheros and served as the tenth President of Stanford University. A pioneer in computer architecture, Hennessy joined Stanford’s faculty in 1977 as an assistant professor of electrical engineering.

John joins Greg this episode to discuss his multifaceted resume, including the tension between undergraduate & graduate education being in the same buildings, the secret ingredient of university research, and the challenges facing deans & administrative staff in our current cultural climate. 

Episode Quotes:

John’s definition of humility

6:09: Humility was about both realizing that I was able to be successful because I stood on the shoulders of many other people who had contributed along the way, both to my education and to my opportunity to do this, but also to recognize that you're not the expert on everything and bringing in experts, people who know the field is crucial to building a team that can be successful

What academic leadership needs to learn from corporations

12:50: One of the challenges you face in academic leadership is that we do not do a particularly good job of preparing people for succession and management, and moving up the chain, unlike corporations, do a much better job in terms of preparing their leaders to take on bigger roles.

How can universities give more access to education?

49:46: Right now, we have far too many students who don't graduate college. Who start and don't graduate, not at great institutions like Berkeley or Stanford. You know, the national graduation rate for full-time students is about 55 to 60%. Well, that means you've got a lot of students who took on debt and didn't get a degree to finish it. That's a shared responsibility. It's clear that there are issues that are on the students, but it's also the institution's responsibility. And right now, we put all the burden on the student. Right? And why don't institutions have some responsibility when students default on debt?
Because most of the students who default either didn't graduate or got a degree that did not prepare them for a career. So, the institution should be taking a larger responsibility for that.



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]]> Fri, 7 Oct 2022 15:03:31 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast For a podcast called unSILOed, you really can’t think of a more perfect guest than John Hennessy. From being a founder of a company, to a scholar, to a book author and an administrator, John has straddled many a silo in his career. 

John Hennessy is an American computer scientist, academician and businessman who serves as Chairman of Alphabet Inc. Hennessy is one of the founders of MIPS Computer Systems Inc. as well as Atheros and served as the tenth President of Stanford University. A pioneer in computer architecture, Hennessy joined Stanford’s faculty in 1977 as an assistant professor of electrical engineering.

John joins Greg this episode to discuss his multifaceted resume, including the tension between undergraduate & graduate education being in the same buildings, the secret ingredient of university research, and the challenges facing deans & administrative staff in our current cultural climate. 

Episode Quotes:

John’s definition of humility

6:09: Humility was about both realizing that I was able to be successful because I stood on the shoulders of many other people who had contributed along the way, both to my education and to my opportunity to do this, but also to recognize that you're not the expert on everything and bringing in experts, people who know the field is crucial to building a team that can be successful

What academic leadership needs to learn from corporations

12:50: One of the challenges you face in academic leadership is that we do not do a particularly good job of preparing people for succession and management, and moving up the chain, unlike corporations, do a much better job in terms of preparing their leaders to take on bigger roles.

How can universities give more access to education?

49:46: Right now, we have far too many students who don't graduate college. Who start and don't graduate, not at great institutions like Berkeley or Stanford. You know, the national graduation rate for full-time students is about 55 to 60%. Well, that means you've got a lot of students who took on debt and didn't get a degree to finish it. That's a shared responsibility. It's clear that there are issues that are on the students, but it's also the institution's responsibility. And right now, we put all the burden on the student. Right? And why don't institutions have some responsibility when students default on debt?
Because most of the students who default either didn't graduate or got a degree that did not prepare them for a career. So, the institution should be taking a larger responsibility for that.



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]]> 195. Creating Curriculum for Leaders in Training feat. John Hennessy Greg La Blanc 00:53:46 For a podcast called unSILOed, you really can’t think of a more perfect guest than John Hennessy. From being a founder of a company, to a scholar, to a book author and an administrator, John has straddled many a silo in his career. John Hennessy is an American computer scientist, academician and businessman who serves as Chairman of Alphabet Inc. Hennessy is one of the founders of MIPS Computer Systems Inc. as well as Atheros and served as the tenth President of Stanford University. A pioneer in computer architecture, Hennessy joined Stanford’s faculty in 1977 as an assistant professor of electrical engineering. John joins Greg this episode to discuss his multifaceted resume, including the tension between undergraduate & graduate education being in the same buildings, the secret ingredient of university research, and the challenges facing deans & administrative staff in our current cultural climate. Episode Quotes: John’s definition of humility 6:09: Humility was about both realizing that I was able to be successful because I stood on the shoulders of many other people who had contributed along the way, both to my education and to my opportunity to do this, but also to recognize that you're not the expert on everything and bringing in experts, people who know the field is crucial to building a team that can be successful What academic leadership needs to learn from corporations 12:50: One of the challenges you face in academic leadership is that we do not do a particularly good job of preparing people for succession and management, and moving up the chain, unlike corporations, do a much better job in terms of preparing their leaders to take on bigger roles. How can universities give more access to education? 49:46: Right now, we have far too many students who don't graduate college. Who start and don't graduate, not at great institutions like Berkeley or Stanford. You know, the national graduation rate for full-time students is about 55 to 60%. Well, that means you've got a lot of students who took on debt and didn't get a degree to finish it. That's a shared responsibility. It's clear that there are issues that are on the students, but it's also the institution's responsibility. And right now, we put all the burden on the student. Right? And why don't institutions have some responsibility when students default on debt? Because most of the students who default either didn't graduate or got a degree that did not prepare them for a career. So, the institution should be taking a larger responsibility for that. For a podcast called unSILOed, you really can’t think of a more perfect guest than John Hennessy. From being a founder of a company, to a scholar, to a book author and an administrator, John has straddled many a silo in his career. John Hennessy is an American computer scientist, academician and businessman who serves as Chairman of Alphabet Inc. Hennessy is one of the founders of MIPS Computer Systems Inc. as well as Atheros and served as the tenth President of Stanford University. A pioneer in computer architecture, Hennessy joined Stanford’s faculty in 1977 as an assistant professor of electrical engineering. John joins Greg this episode to discuss his multifaceted resume, including the tension between undergraduate & graduate education being in the same buildings, the secret ingredient of university research, and the challenges facing deans & administrative staff in our current cultural climate. Episode Quotes: John’s definition of humility 6:09: Humility was about both realizing that I was able to be successful because I stood on the shoulders of many other people who had contributed along the way, both to my education and to my opportunity to do this, but also to recognize that you're not the expert on everything and bringing in experts, people who know the field is crucial to building a team that can be successful What academic leadership needs to learn from corporations 12:50: One of the challenges you face in academic leadership is that we do not do a particularly good job of preparing people for succession and management, and moving up the chain, unlike corporations, do a much better job in terms of preparing their leaders to take on bigger roles. How can universities give more access to education? 49:46: Right now, we have far too many students who don't graduate college. Who start and don't graduate, not at great institutions like Berkeley or Stanford. You know, the national graduation rate for full-time students is about 55 to 60%. Well, that means you've got a lot of students who took on debt and didn't get a degree to finish it. That's a shared responsibility. It's clear that there are issues that are on the students, but it's also the institution's responsibility. And right now, we put all the burden on the student. Right? And why don't institutions have some responsibility when students default on debt? Because most of the students who default either didn't graduate or got a degree that did not prepare them for a career. So, the institution should be taking a larger responsibility for that. false full 195 98e2f5cb-2957-4dc7-9a85-a0635af37836 194. Status and The Games We Play feat. Will Storr The minute you walk into an elevator, everybody is immediately sizing up each other to figure out who is high and low status. When you're driving down the road, you can't help but think that someone's trying to “out status” you by accelerating past you or cutting you off. Status is everywhere, even if we're not conscious of it. 

Will Storr is an author, and former photographer and journalist. His books include, “The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It: On Social Position and How We Use it,” “Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us,” and the novel “The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone: The Secret Ingredient of Unforgettable Food Is Suffering.”

He and Greg chat in this episode about all of the things we humans use to rate each other's status, including humiliation, the exploitation of status on social media, the cult of Crossfit, and the problem with relentlessly encouraging high self esteem in our children.


Episode Quotes:

Status is a psychological nutrient for our bodies 

9:36: One of the ways I think about status is it's a social nutrient. It’s like an essential nutrient that we need, but it's a psychological nutrient rather than one for our bodies. And, when we don't get that nutrient, we begin to suffer very badly.


Humiliation drives people to be cruel

10:46: Humiliation is a sudden and painful public loss of status that drives people to cruel and evil acts. And it even affects us physically.


Social media as a status generating machine

19:20: Social media has become universally so huge all over the world because it's a status-generating machine. Billions of people who live otherwise kind of relatively ordinary lives can go on social media, and they can earn status. They can show off their possessions or their political beliefs, attack other people, and play these status games. Social media has created all this status where there wasn't any kind of status beforehand.


Morality is an aspect of our shared imagination

50:05: You can't see morality under a microscope. It's not a scientific thing that exists in the world in a material way. We all decide it's the rules of our game. So what happens is that we have our own moral laws and our moral symbolic beliefs. But when another group has a different set of moral beliefs, we take that as an attack on our sense of status, like our beliefs are often our criteria for claiming status.


Guest Profile:


His Work:



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]]> Wed, 5 Oct 2022 15:13:39 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The minute you walk into an elevator, everybody is immediately sizing up each other to figure out who is high and low status. When you're driving down the road, you can't help but think that someone's trying to “out status” you by accelerating past you or cutting you off. Status is everywhere, even if we're not conscious of it. 

Will Storr is an author, and former photographer and journalist. His books include, “The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It: On Social Position and How We Use it,” “Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us,” and the novel “The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone: The Secret Ingredient of Unforgettable Food Is Suffering.”

He and Greg chat in this episode about all of the things we humans use to rate each other's status, including humiliation, the exploitation of status on social media, the cult of Crossfit, and the problem with relentlessly encouraging high self esteem in our children.


Episode Quotes:

Status is a psychological nutrient for our bodies 

9:36: One of the ways I think about status is it's a social nutrient. It’s like an essential nutrient that we need, but it's a psychological nutrient rather than one for our bodies. And, when we don't get that nutrient, we begin to suffer very badly.


Humiliation drives people to be cruel

10:46: Humiliation is a sudden and painful public loss of status that drives people to cruel and evil acts. And it even affects us physically.


Social media as a status generating machine

19:20: Social media has become universally so huge all over the world because it's a status-generating machine. Billions of people who live otherwise kind of relatively ordinary lives can go on social media, and they can earn status. They can show off their possessions or their political beliefs, attack other people, and play these status games. Social media has created all this status where there wasn't any kind of status beforehand.


Morality is an aspect of our shared imagination

50:05: You can't see morality under a microscope. It's not a scientific thing that exists in the world in a material way. We all decide it's the rules of our game. So what happens is that we have our own moral laws and our moral symbolic beliefs. But when another group has a different set of moral beliefs, we take that as an attack on our sense of status, like our beliefs are often our criteria for claiming status.


Guest Profile:


His Work:



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]]> 194. Status and The Games We Play feat. Will Storr Greg La Blanc 01:11:23 The minute you walk into an elevator, everybody is immediately sizing up each other to figure out who is high and low status. When you're driving down the road, you can't help but think that someone's trying to “out status” you by accelerating past you or cutting you off. Status is everywhere, even if we're not conscious of it. Will Storr is an author, and former photographer and journalist. His books include, “The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It: On Social Position and How We Use it,” “Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us,” and the novel “The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone: The Secret Ingredient of Unforgettable Food Is Suffering.” He and Greg chat in this episode about all of the things we humans use to rate each other's status, including humiliation, the exploitation of status on social media, the cult of Crossfit, and the problem with relentlessly encouraging high self esteem in our children. Episode Quotes: Status is a psychological nutrient for our bodies 9:36: One of the ways I think about status is it's a social nutrient. It’s like an essential nutrient that we need, but it's a psychological nutrient rather than one for our bodies. And, when we don't get that nutrient, we begin to suffer very badly. Humiliation drives people to be cruel 10:46: Humiliation is a sudden and painful public loss of status that drives people to cruel and evil acts. And it even affects us physically. Social media as a status generating machine 19:20: Social media has become universally so huge all over the world because it's a status-generating machine. Billions of people who live otherwise kind of relatively ordinary lives can go on social media, and they can earn status. They can show off their possessions or their political beliefs, attack other people, and play these status games. Social media has created all this status where there wasn't any kind of status beforehand. Morality is an aspect of our shared imagination 50:05: You can't see morality under a microscope. It's not a scientific thing that exists in the world in a material way. We all decide it's the rules of our game. So what happens is that we have our own moral laws and our moral symbolic beliefs. But when another group has a different set of moral beliefs, we take that as an attack on our sense of status, like our beliefs are often our criteria for claiming status. The minute you walk into an elevator, everybody is immediately sizing up each other to figure out who is high and low status. When you're driving down the road, you can't help but think that someone's trying to “out status” you by accelerating past you or cutting you off. Status is everywhere, even if we're not conscious of it. Will Storr is an author, and former photographer and journalist. His books include, “The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It: On Social Position and How We Use it,” “Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us,” and the novel “The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone: The Secret Ingredient of Unforgettable Food Is Suffering.” He and Greg chat in this episode about all of the things we humans use to rate each other's status, including humiliation, the exploitation of status on social media, the cult of Crossfit, and the problem with relentlessly encouraging high self esteem in our children. Episode Quotes: Status is a psychological nutrient for our bodies 9:36: One of the ways I think about status is it's a social nutrient. It’s like an essential nutrient that we need, but it's a psychological nutrient rather than one for our bodies. And, when we don't get that nutrient, we begin to suffer very badly. Humiliation drives people to be cruel 10:46: Humiliation is a sudden and painful public loss of status that drives people to cruel and evil acts. And it even affects us physically. Social media as a status generating machine 19:20: Social media has become universally so huge all over the world because it's a status-generating machine. Billions of people who live otherwise kind of relatively ordinary lives can go on social media, and they can earn status. They can show off their possessions or their political beliefs, attack other people, and play these status games. Social media has created all this status where there wasn't any kind of status beforehand. Morality is an aspect of our shared imagination 50:05: You can't see morality under a microscope. It's not a scientific thing that exists in the world in a material way. We all decide it's the rules of our game. So what happens is that we have our own moral laws and our moral symbolic beliefs. But when another group has a different set of moral beliefs, we take that as an attack on our sense of status, like our beliefs are often our criteria for claiming status. false full 194 fe3d6242-ad24-4b2e-bbe9-6813363492c3 193. Racial Disparities in Housing and Education feat. Rick Sander Well, Rick Sander has been working on questions of social and economic inequality for nearly all of his career. From being an activist in Chicago back in the day, to his published works, Rick truly understands the longstanding roots of residential segregation in the United States, and how it continues to evolve.  But there is still some confusion about the origins of segregation and how it affects us, from our neighborhoods to our universities and everywhere in between. 

Rick is a professor of law at UCLA, an economist, and an author of  “Moving Toward Integration: The Past and Future of Fair Housing,” and “Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It's Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won't Admit It.”

Greg and Rick dive deep into segregation in this episode, discussing what really draws people to certain neighborhoods, the disappearance of ethnic enclaves, trends toward greater integration efforts, and getting rid of racial and legacy preferences.

Episode Quotes:

Why do academic institutions ignore mismatch?

4:38: [Academic] mismatch is clearly a big problem. And the real frustration here is that our academic institutions have just ignored it. They're afraid to take on something that's politically sensitive.


On economic segregation

13:40: Economic segregation is a problem. But, it's wrong to think that we're gonna solve racial segregation by doing that stuff. And we tend to put a lot of political capital, as we’ll get to when we talk about affirmative action. We tend to put large amounts of political capital into strategies without thinking through in advance: Is this actually going to solve the problem we're trying to solve?

Social mismatch

37:47: There's a phenomenon we call: "social mismatch." So you might say, well, even given this academic mismatch, this is a price that we're willing to pay because we want to create these integrated campuses. And I think that's wrong for a couple of other reasons, but the key problem is that it endures social mismatch.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • “Why Poor Families Move (And Where They Go)” - study by Ross Chetti and Stephanie DeLuca
  • “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell



Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Mon, 3 Oct 2022 11:12:19 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Well, Rick Sander has been working on questions of social and economic inequality for nearly all of his career. From being an activist in Chicago back in the day, to his published works, Rick truly understands the longstanding roots of residential segregation in the United States, and how it continues to evolve.  But there is still some confusion about the origins of segregation and how it affects us, from our neighborhoods to our universities and everywhere in between. 

Rick is a professor of law at UCLA, an economist, and an author of  “Moving Toward Integration: The Past and Future of Fair Housing,” and “Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It's Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won't Admit It.”

Greg and Rick dive deep into segregation in this episode, discussing what really draws people to certain neighborhoods, the disappearance of ethnic enclaves, trends toward greater integration efforts, and getting rid of racial and legacy preferences.

Episode Quotes:

Why do academic institutions ignore mismatch?

4:38: [Academic] mismatch is clearly a big problem. And the real frustration here is that our academic institutions have just ignored it. They're afraid to take on something that's politically sensitive.


On economic segregation

13:40: Economic segregation is a problem. But, it's wrong to think that we're gonna solve racial segregation by doing that stuff. And we tend to put a lot of political capital, as we’ll get to when we talk about affirmative action. We tend to put large amounts of political capital into strategies without thinking through in advance: Is this actually going to solve the problem we're trying to solve?

Social mismatch

37:47: There's a phenomenon we call: "social mismatch." So you might say, well, even given this academic mismatch, this is a price that we're willing to pay because we want to create these integrated campuses. And I think that's wrong for a couple of other reasons, but the key problem is that it endures social mismatch.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

  • “Why Poor Families Move (And Where They Go)” - study by Ross Chetti and Stephanie DeLuca
  • “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell



Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> 193. Racial Disparities in Housing and Education feat. Rick Sander Greg La Blanc 01:08:14 Well, Rick Sander has been working on questions of social and economic inequality for nearly all of his career. From being an activist in Chicago back in the day, to his published works, Rick truly understands the longstanding roots of residential segregation in the United States, and how it continues to evolve. But there is still some confusion about the origins of segregation and how it affects us, from our neighborhoods to our universities and everywhere in between. Rick is a professor of law at UCLA, an economist, and an author of “Moving Toward Integration: The Past and Future of Fair Housing,” and “Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It's Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won't Admit It.” Greg and Rick dive deep into segregation in this episode, discussing what really draws people to certain neighborhoods, the disappearance of ethnic enclaves, trends toward greater integration efforts, and getting rid of racial and legacy preferences. Episode Quotes: Why do academic institutions ignore mismatch? 4:38: [Academic] mismatch is clearly a big problem. And the real frustration here is that our academic institutions have just ignored it. They're afraid to take on something that's politically sensitive. On economic segregation 13:40: Economic segregation is a problem. But, it's wrong to think that we're gonna solve racial segregation by doing that stuff. And we tend to put a lot of political capital, as we’ll get to when we talk about affirmative action. We tend to put large amounts of political capital into strategies without thinking through in advance: Is this actually going to solve the problem we're trying to solve? Social mismatch 37:47: There's a phenomenon we call: "social mismatch." So you might say, well, even given this academic mismatch, this is a price that we're willing to pay because we want to create these integrated campuses. And I think that's wrong for a couple of other reasons, but the key problem is that it endures social mismatch. Well, Rick Sander has been working on questions of social and economic inequality for nearly all of his career. From being an activist in Chicago back in the day, to his published works, Rick truly understands the longstanding roots of residential segregation in the United States, and how it continues to evolve. But there is still some confusion about the origins of segregation and how it affects us, from our neighborhoods to our universities and everywhere in between. Rick is a professor of law at UCLA, an economist, and an author of “Moving Toward Integration: The Past and Future of Fair Housing,” and “Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It's Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won't Admit It.” Greg and Rick dive deep into segregation in this episode, discussing what really draws people to certain neighborhoods, the disappearance of ethnic enclaves, trends toward greater integration efforts, and getting rid of racial and legacy preferences. Episode Quotes: Why do academic institutions ignore mismatch? 4:38: [Academic] mismatch is clearly a big problem. And the real frustration here is that our academic institutions have just ignored it. They're afraid to take on something that's politically sensitive. On economic segregation 13:40: Economic segregation is a problem. But, it's wrong to think that we're gonna solve racial segregation by doing that stuff. And we tend to put a lot of political capital, as we’ll get to when we talk about affirmative action. We tend to put large amounts of political capital into strategies without thinking through in advance: Is this actually going to solve the problem we're trying to solve? Social mismatch 37:47: There's a phenomenon we call: "social mismatch." So you might say, well, even given this academic mismatch, this is a price that we're willing to pay because we want to create these integrated campuses. And I think that's wrong for a couple of other reasons, but the key problem is that it endures social mismatch. false full 193 8515dbe9-a461-45da-9dec-0c219137e6ef 192. The Rise of Superbug Infections and the new therapies that might kill them feat. Steffanie Strathdee Epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee and her husband, psychologist Tom Patterson, were vacationing in Egypt when Tom came down with a stomach bug. What at first seemed like a case of food poisoning quickly turned critical, and by the time Tom had been transferred via emergency medevac to the world-class medical center at UC San Diego, where both he and Steffanie worked, blood work revealed why modern medicine was failing: Tom was fighting one of the most dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the world.

Steffanie joins Greg this episode to discuss solving her husband's medical crisis, and what she learned from this horrific experience. They also discuss how Covid has ramped these trends up, how critical phages are for our bodies, and the open mindedness of PhDs vs MDs.

Steffanie is Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Harold Simon Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins and Simon Fraser Universities. She co-directs UCSD’s new center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH), Global Health Institute and the International Core of UCSD’s Center for AIDS Research. Stefanie has co-authored her memoir all about her husbands illness titled, “The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug.”


Episode Quotes:

The need for a phage library

[30:40] What we need to do is build a phage library that maps onto a superbug library. And, of course, these are going to be constantly needing to be updated because these are organisms that are co-evolving to attack one another.


What's the future looking for the advancement of phage

[37:55] I can imagine a situation in the future, though, where, because we have, sequencers that are portable and cheaper than ever before, that you'd be able to sequence a phage and sequence a bacteria and be able to have a database to say, okay, you know, this phage will match that bacterium or to even genetically modify or synthesize a phage. So in a 3D printing model, some of my colleagues in Belgium have, you know, been working on that. So, I think that there's going to be advances that are going to help us make this work. But right now, we need phage libraries. We need more investment in clinical trials.


Pushing beyond boundaries leads to discovery

[39:49] When your back is up against the wall, whether it's you as an individual, us as a society, or a planet, we can sometimes have creative ideas to come up with solutions that we wouldn't otherwise do. And that's what I'm hoping that we'll do now because both climate change and antimicrobial resistance are colliding.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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]]> Fri, 30 Sep 2022 16:05:42 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee and her husband, psychologist Tom Patterson, were vacationing in Egypt when Tom came down with a stomach bug. What at first seemed like a case of food poisoning quickly turned critical, and by the time Tom had been transferred via emergency medevac to the world-class medical center at UC San Diego, where both he and Steffanie worked, blood work revealed why modern medicine was failing: Tom was fighting one of the most dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the world.

Steffanie joins Greg this episode to discuss solving her husband's medical crisis, and what she learned from this horrific experience. They also discuss how Covid has ramped these trends up, how critical phages are for our bodies, and the open mindedness of PhDs vs MDs.

Steffanie is Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Harold Simon Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins and Simon Fraser Universities. She co-directs UCSD’s new center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH), Global Health Institute and the International Core of UCSD’s Center for AIDS Research. Stefanie has co-authored her memoir all about her husbands illness titled, “The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug.”


Episode Quotes:

The need for a phage library

[30:40] What we need to do is build a phage library that maps onto a superbug library. And, of course, these are going to be constantly needing to be updated because these are organisms that are co-evolving to attack one another.


What's the future looking for the advancement of phage

[37:55] I can imagine a situation in the future, though, where, because we have, sequencers that are portable and cheaper than ever before, that you'd be able to sequence a phage and sequence a bacteria and be able to have a database to say, okay, you know, this phage will match that bacterium or to even genetically modify or synthesize a phage. So in a 3D printing model, some of my colleagues in Belgium have, you know, been working on that. So, I think that there's going to be advances that are going to help us make this work. But right now, we need phage libraries. We need more investment in clinical trials.


Pushing beyond boundaries leads to discovery

[39:49] When your back is up against the wall, whether it's you as an individual, us as a society, or a planet, we can sometimes have creative ideas to come up with solutions that we wouldn't otherwise do. And that's what I'm hoping that we'll do now because both climate change and antimicrobial resistance are colliding.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> 192. The Rise of Superbug Infections and the new therapies that might kill them feat. Steffanie Strathdee Greg La Blanc 00:55:46 Epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee and her husband, psychologist Tom Patterson, were vacationing in Egypt when Tom came down with a stomach bug. What at first seemed like a case of food poisoning quickly turned critical, and by the time Tom had been transferred via emergency medevac to the world-class medical center at UC San Diego, where both he and Steffanie worked, blood work revealed why modern medicine was failing: Tom was fighting one of the most dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the world. Steffanie joins Greg this episode to discuss solving her husband's medical crisis, and what she learned from this horrific experience. They also discuss how Covid has ramped these trends up, how critical phages are for our bodies, and the open mindedness of PhDs vs MDs. Steffanie is Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Harold Simon Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins and Simon Fraser Universities. She co-directs UCSD’s new center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH), Global Health Institute and the International Core of UCSD’s Center for AIDS Research. Stefanie has co-authored her memoir all about her husbands illness titled, “The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug.” Episode Quotes: The need for a phage library [30:40] What we need to do is build a phage library that maps onto a superbug library. And, of course, these are going to be constantly needing to be updated because these are organisms that are co-evolving to attack one another. What's the future looking for the advancement of phage [37:55] I can imagine a situation in the future, though, where, because we have, sequencers that are portable and cheaper than ever before, that you'd be able to sequence a phage and sequence a bacteria and be able to have a database to say, okay, you know, this phage will match that bacterium or to even genetically modify or synthesize a phage. So in a 3D printing model, some of my colleagues in Belgium have, you know, been working on that. So, I think that there's going to be advances that are going to help us make this work. But right now, we need phage libraries. We need more investment in clinical trials. Pushing beyond boundaries leads to discovery [39:49] When your back is up against the wall, whether it's you as an individual, us as a society, or a planet, we can sometimes have creative ideas to come up with solutions that we wouldn't otherwise do. And that's what I'm hoping that we'll do now because both climate change and antimicrobial resistance are colliding. Epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee and her husband, psychologist Tom Patterson, were vacationing in Egypt when Tom came down with a stomach bug. What at first seemed like a case of food poisoning quickly turned critical, and by the time Tom had been transferred via emergency medevac to the world-class medical center at UC San Diego, where both he and Steffanie worked, blood work revealed why modern medicine was failing: Tom was fighting one of the most dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the world. Steffanie joins Greg this episode to discuss solving her husband's medical crisis, and what she learned from this horrific experience. They also discuss how Covid has ramped these trends up, how critical phages are for our bodies, and the open mindedness of PhDs vs MDs. Steffanie is Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Harold Simon Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins and Simon Fraser Universities. She co-directs UCSD’s new center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH), Global Health Institute and the International Core of UCSD’s Center for AIDS Research. Stefanie has co-authored her memoir all about her husbands illness titled, “The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug.” Episode Quotes: The need for a phage library [30:40] What we need to do is build a phage library that maps onto a superbug library. And, of course, these are going to be constantly needing to be updated because these are organisms that are co-evolving to attack one another. What's the future looking for the advancement of phage [37:55] I can imagine a situation in the future, though, where, because we have, sequencers that are portable and cheaper than ever before, that you'd be able to sequence a phage and sequence a bacteria and be able to have a database to say, okay, you know, this phage will match that bacterium or to even genetically modify or synthesize a phage. So in a 3D printing model, some of my colleagues in Belgium have, you know, been working on that. So, I think that there's going to be advances that are going to help us make this work. But right now, we need phage libraries. We need more investment in clinical trials. Pushing beyond boundaries leads to discovery [39:49] When your back is up against the wall, whether it's you as an individual, us as a society, or a planet, we can sometimes have creative ideas to come up with solutions that we wouldn't otherwise do. And that's what I'm hoping that we'll do now because both climate change and antimicrobial resistance are colliding. false full 192 a6df0bb3-fb37-4401-ac46-9f6df05778c5 191. How We Form Societies feat. Mark Moffett When trying to figure out how to understand humans, we tend to look to our nearest neighbors: bonobos, chimps, and monkeys. But our guest Mark Moffett believes that in many ways, we're unlike chimps and more aligned with social insects like wasps and ants. 

Mark Moffett is known for documenting new species and behaviors during his exploration of remote places in more than a hundred countries.  He is a high school dropout who began doing research in biology in college and went on to complete a PhD at Harvard, studying under the poet-laureate of conservation, Edward O. Wilson. 

He is now a research associate at the Smithsonian Institute and an author of books like “The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall Hardcover” and “Adventures Among Ants.”

Mark & Greg discuss the complexity of ant societies, kin selection, the speciation of accents and the pros and cons of war for a society.


Episode Quotes:

What’s the commonality between humans and ants?

14:16 - I came upon this idea when I realized that ants and humans, despite being virtually alien species to each other, have this commonality. Ants use, what is equivalent to their national flag, which is a scent on their body surface and all the ants and the colony have that scent. And as long as you have that scent, you're golden. If you don't, you are attacked, or if you're a colony, that's smaller, you run away. Humans use a lot more signaling, and that's a big part of social psychology, how this signaling works. 


Defining social networks

12:49 - Social networks exclude a lot of people within societies and include those outside societies, and that's true in some other animals.


You can save a lot of mental effort in societies by allowing strangers

34:50 -  Chimpanzees and most species don't allow for strangers, and allowing for strangers was a big step in our evolution, even though it happened back in a point of time where our societies were quite small by modern standards, that was essential. When the opportunity came along for societies to grow, it had to be there already because you can add individuals to society at no cost, as long as they did the right things, behaved the right way, and so forth. We could be comfortable with societies that could grow to any size. And that's very unique to humans and a few ants. 


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> Wed, 28 Sep 2022 16:55:44 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When trying to figure out how to understand humans, we tend to look to our nearest neighbors: bonobos, chimps, and monkeys. But our guest Mark Moffett believes that in many ways, we're unlike chimps and more aligned with social insects like wasps and ants. 

Mark Moffett is known for documenting new species and behaviors during his exploration of remote places in more than a hundred countries.  He is a high school dropout who began doing research in biology in college and went on to complete a PhD at Harvard, studying under the poet-laureate of conservation, Edward O. Wilson. 

He is now a research associate at the Smithsonian Institute and an author of books like “The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall Hardcover” and “Adventures Among Ants.”

Mark & Greg discuss the complexity of ant societies, kin selection, the speciation of accents and the pros and cons of war for a society.


Episode Quotes:

What’s the commonality between humans and ants?

14:16 - I came upon this idea when I realized that ants and humans, despite being virtually alien species to each other, have this commonality. Ants use, what is equivalent to their national flag, which is a scent on their body surface and all the ants and the colony have that scent. And as long as you have that scent, you're golden. If you don't, you are attacked, or if you're a colony, that's smaller, you run away. Humans use a lot more signaling, and that's a big part of social psychology, how this signaling works. 


Defining social networks

12:49 - Social networks exclude a lot of people within societies and include those outside societies, and that's true in some other animals.


You can save a lot of mental effort in societies by allowing strangers

34:50 -  Chimpanzees and most species don't allow for strangers, and allowing for strangers was a big step in our evolution, even though it happened back in a point of time where our societies were quite small by modern standards, that was essential. When the opportunity came along for societies to grow, it had to be there already because you can add individuals to society at no cost, as long as they did the right things, behaved the right way, and so forth. We could be comfortable with societies that could grow to any size. And that's very unique to humans and a few ants. 


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

Guest Profile:

His Work:



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

]]> 191. How We Form Societies feat. Mark Moffett Greg La Blanc 01:02:48 When we're trying to figure out how to understand humans, we tend to look to our nearest neighbors: bonobos, chimps, monkeys. But our guest Mark Moffett believes that in many ways we're unlike chimps and more aligned with social insects like wasps, and ants. Mark Moffett is known for documenting new species and behaviors during his exploration of remote places in more than a hundred countries. He is a high school dropout who began doing research in biology in college and went on to complete a PhD at Harvard, studying under the poet-laureate of conservation, Edward O. Wilson. He is now a research associate at the Smithsonian Institute and an author of books like “The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall Hardcover” and “Adventures Among Ants.” Mark & Greg discuss the complexity of ant societies, kin selection, the speciation of accents and the pros and cons of war for a society. When we're trying to figure out how to understand humans, we tend to look to our nearest neighbors: bonobos, chimps, monkeys. But our guest Mark Moffett believes that in many ways we're unlike chimps and more aligned with social insects like wasps, and ants. Mark Moffett is known for documenting new species and behaviors during his exploration of remote places in more than a hundred countries. He is a high school dropout who began doing research in biology in college and went on to complete a PhD at Harvard, studying under the poet-laureate of conservation, Edward O. Wilson. He is now a research associate at the Smithsonian Institute and an author of books like “The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall Hardcover” and “Adventures Among Ants.” Mark & Greg discuss the complexity of ant societies, kin selection, the speciation of accents and the pros and cons of war for a society. false full 191 185dd66f-f502-47b5-9e39-e11c29de5d9b 190. What Animal Behavior Can Tell Us About Humans feat. Lee Dugatkin Lee Dugatkin is a professor of biology at the University of Louisville and the author of many books, including what Greg calls one of the seminal texts in the area of evolutionary biology, “Principles of Animal Behavior.”

Lee’s other books include “Power in the Wild: The Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Ways Animals Strive for Control over Others," How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog,” and “Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees.”

Lee joins Greg in this episode to cover only a few of his many areas of research, touching on how he approaches his research, the relationship between theoretical and empirical work, how animal behavior stole game theory from economics, and the cost and benefits of pursuing and holding power.

Episode Quotes:

Why animal behaviorists think like game theorists

22:22 - In the early '70s, we basically stole game theory from economics and we imported it and evolutionized it. Because people realized, what the fitness consequences of your action is depends on what others do, right? I mean, if you're aggressive, there's no inherent fitness effect of that. It depends whether or not the individual you're interacting with is aggressive or they're not, right? I mean it's a lot easier if they're not. You get the resource, and there's no threat to you. If they are, then, all of a sudden, the cost-benefit structure changes. And we need to take this into account. And so, animal behaviorists, ever since then, really do think like game theorists, in the sense of strategic behavior.

The cost of being on top 

36:29 - If you get into a lot of power struggles and you're on top, it's energetically costly. You're going to be fighting a lot more than others in your group.

A good animal behaviorist understands theories (and knows how to test them)

09:41 - It's all about work that's done in nature, in the wild. But there is as much, if not more, work done in much more controlled laboratory environments, at least for many species. I mean, you know, not for lions and chimps. Well, not for lions and that sort of thing. But there's a lot of work done in the field. There's a lot of work done in the laboratory. A lot of it is driven by theory. A lot of it is driven initially by observation, which is then tied to theory. But they're all very interconnected. You really can't be a good animal behaviorist these days without understanding theory and then how to test it.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 26 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Lee Dugatkin is a professor of biology at the University of Louisville and the author of many books, including what Greg calls one of the seminal texts in the area of evolutionary biology, “Principles of Animal Behavior.”

Lee’s other books include “Power in the Wild: The Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Ways Animals Strive for Control over Others," How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog,” and “Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees.”

Lee joins Greg in this episode to cover only a few of his many areas of research, touching on how he approaches his research, the relationship between theoretical and empirical work, how animal behavior stole game theory from economics, and the cost and benefits of pursuing and holding power.

Episode Quotes:

Why animal behaviorists think like game theorists

22:22 - In the early '70s, we basically stole game theory from economics and we imported it and evolutionized it. Because people realized, what the fitness consequences of your action is depends on what others do, right? I mean, if you're aggressive, there's no inherent fitness effect of that. It depends whether or not the individual you're interacting with is aggressive or they're not, right? I mean it's a lot easier if they're not. You get the resource, and there's no threat to you. If they are, then, all of a sudden, the cost-benefit structure changes. And we need to take this into account. And so, animal behaviorists, ever since then, really do think like game theorists, in the sense of strategic behavior.

The cost of being on top 

36:29 - If you get into a lot of power struggles and you're on top, it's energetically costly. You're going to be fighting a lot more than others in your group.

A good animal behaviorist understands theories (and knows how to test them)

09:41 - It's all about work that's done in nature, in the wild. But there is as much, if not more, work done in much more controlled laboratory environments, at least for many species. I mean, you know, not for lions and chimps. Well, not for lions and that sort of thing. But there's a lot of work done in the field. There's a lot of work done in the laboratory. A lot of it is driven by theory. A lot of it is driven initially by observation, which is then tied to theory. But they're all very interconnected. You really can't be a good animal behaviorist these days without understanding theory and then how to test it.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> 190. What Animal Behavior Can Tell Us About Humans feat. Lee Dugatkin Greg La Blanc 00:53:58 Lee Dugatkin is a professor of biology at the University of Louisville and the author of many books, including what Greg calls one of the seminal texts in the area of evolutionary biology, “Principles of Animal Behavior.” Lee’s other books include “Power in the Wild: The Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Ways Animals Strive for Control over Others," How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog,” and “Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees.” Lee joins Greg in this episode to cover only a few of his many areas of research, touching on how he approaches his research, the relationship between theoretical and empirical work, how animal behavior stole game theory from economics, and the cost and benefits of pursuing and holding power. Lee Dugatkin is a professor of biology at the University of Louisville and the author of many books, including what Greg calls one of the seminal texts in the area of evolutionary biology, “Principles of Animal Behavior.” Lee’s other books include “Power in the Wild: The Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Ways Animals Strive for Control over Others," How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog,” and “Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees.” Lee joins Greg in this episode to cover only a few of his many areas of research, touching on how he approaches his research, the relationship between theoretical and empirical work, how animal behavior stole game theory from economics, and the cost and benefits of pursuing and holding power. false full 190 f810e7b0-8e01-4e33-855b-1c95c3fea898 189. Becoming a Changemaker feat. Alex Budak When Alex Budak first started his course “Becoming a Changemaker” at UC Berkeley, he had to turn students away because it was too popular. This course was the first of its kind, providing experiential teaching that ignites the inner changemaker in students and future leaders from around the world. People are craving change. 

Alex Budak calls himself a social entrepreneur. He is also a faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and the author of the upcoming book, “Becoming a Changemaker.”

In this episode, these UC Berkeley faculty chat about how to teach people to become changemakers, getting comfortable with failure, and the elusive work-life balance.


Episode Quotes:

Why you need to experience failure

08:54 - We tend to make failure up to be a bigger thing in our head, but once we practice it, we realize that failure isnt fatal. We didn't get laughed at. And often, students come back with a new perspective. And so that's why I think doing is so important that you can't just read a book about failure. You learn so much more by actually doing it. So I want to create those experiences for students where they get to experience that.

Desire for change

14:44 - So I'm building off of this latent desire among so many people to have a sense of purpose, to have a sense of meaning, to see the world as it is and believe it can be better in some way—that I could play a role.

Different ways to consider “change”

26:08 - Now, as I think about change, it's a bit like technology. So I see technology as a value-neutral platform. Technology can be used for good and for bad. Change, as well, can be used for good and for bad.


Show Links:

Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 23 Sep 2022 16:26:26 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When Alex Budak first started his course “Becoming a Changemaker” at UC Berkeley, he had to turn students away because it was too popular. This course was the first of its kind, providing experiential teaching that ignites the inner changemaker in students and future leaders from around the world. People are craving change. 

Alex Budak calls himself a social entrepreneur. He is also a faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and the author of the upcoming book, “Becoming a Changemaker.”

In this episode, these UC Berkeley faculty chat about how to teach people to become changemakers, getting comfortable with failure, and the elusive work-life balance.


Episode Quotes:

Why you need to experience failure

08:54 - We tend to make failure up to be a bigger thing in our head, but once we practice it, we realize that failure isnt fatal. We didn't get laughed at. And often, students come back with a new perspective. And so that's why I think doing is so important that you can't just read a book about failure. You learn so much more by actually doing it. So I want to create those experiences for students where they get to experience that.

Desire for change

14:44 - So I'm building off of this latent desire among so many people to have a sense of purpose, to have a sense of meaning, to see the world as it is and believe it can be better in some way—that I could play a role.

Different ways to consider “change”

26:08 - Now, as I think about change, it's a bit like technology. So I see technology as a value-neutral platform. Technology can be used for good and for bad. Change, as well, can be used for good and for bad.


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]]> 189. Becoming a Changemaker feat. Alex Budak Greg La Blanc 00:53:22 When Alex Budak first started his course “Becoming a Changemaker” at UC Berkeley, he had to turn students away because it was too popular. This course was the first-of-its-kind, providing experiential teaching that ignites the inner changemaker in students and future leaders from around the world. People are craving change. Alex Budak calls himself a social entrepreneur. He is also a faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, as well as a speaker, and author of the upcoming book, “Becoming a Changemaker.” In this episode, these UC Berkeley faculty chat about how to teach people to become changemakers, getting comfortable with failure, the elusive work life balance. Episode Quotes: Why you need to experience failure 08:54 - We tend to make failure up to be a bigger thing in our head, but once we practice it, we realize that failure isnt fatal. We didn't get laughed at. And often, students come back with a new perspective. And so that's why I think doing is so important that you can't just read a book about failure. You learn so much more by actually doing it. So I want to create those experiences for students where they get to experience that. Desire for change 14:44 - So I'm building off of this latent desire among so many people to have a sense of purpose, to have a sense of meaning, to see the world as it is and believe it can be better in some way—that I could play a role. Different ways to consider “change” 26:08 - Now, as I think about change, it's a bit like technology. So I see technology as a value-neutral platform. Technology can be used for good and for bad. Change, as well, can be used for good and for bad. His Work: Becoming a Changemaker StartSomeGood When Alex Budak first started his course “Becoming a Changemaker” at UC Berkeley, he had to turn students away because it was too popular. This course was the first-of-its-kind, providing experiential teaching that ignites the inner changemaker in students and future leaders from around the world. People are craving change. Alex Budak calls himself a social entrepreneur. He is also a faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, as well as a speaker, and author of the upcoming book, “Becoming a Changemaker.” In this episode, these UC Berkeley faculty chat about how to teach people to become changemakers, getting comfortable with failure, the elusive work life balance. Episode Quotes: Why you need to experience failure 08:54 - We tend to make failure up to be a bigger thing in our head, but once we practice it, we realize that failure isnt fatal. We didn't get laughed at. And often, students come back with a new perspective. And so that's why I think doing is so important that you can't just read a book about failure. You learn so much more by actually doing it. So I want to create those experiences for students where they get to experience that. Desire for change 14:44 - So I'm building off of this latent desire among so many people to have a sense of purpose, to have a sense of meaning, to see the world as it is and believe it can be better in some way—that I could play a role. Different ways to consider “change” 26:08 - Now, as I think about change, it's a bit like technology. So I see technology as a value-neutral platform. Technology can be used for good and for bad. Change, as well, can be used for good and for bad. His Work: Becoming a Changemaker StartSomeGood false full 189 7b5b73ad-3bba-40d2-ae4d-73d818c556c5 188. What Happened To Liberal Arts Education? feat. Roosevelt Montas Its no surprise to anyone in academia that the liberal arts and humanities are in crisis. Liberal arts colleges are closing down, departments are closing down, and students are fleeing from majoring in the social sciences. So what happened to this once essential element of higher education?

Roosevelt Montás is Senior Lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University. There, he teaches “Introduction to Contemporary Civilization in the West,” a year-long course on primary texts in moral and political thought, as well as seminars in American Studies including “Freedom and Citizenship in the United States.” He also speaks and writes on the history, meaning, and future of liberal education and is author of “Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation.” 

He and Greg dive deep into the vanishing practice of reading great books, focusing on the history of liberal arts and the humanities in US universities, embracing liberal education in k-12 public schools, the destructive reliance on standardized testing, and normativity in academics. 

Episode Quotes:

Fighting for the humanities

We are in a moment in human history where the questions that preoccupy the humanities and liberal education have a unique urgency. That facility with the kind of introspection and rootedness in human values, that the humanities foster are absolutely essential to navigate the landscape in front of us.

I pray and I not only pray, but work towards that kind of education that equips an individual to engage the reality rooted in human values and self reflectively that that be not something that is rare and for the few, but that is as widely accessible to everyone as is absolutely possible.

On losing the humanities in real time

Liberal arts colleges are closing down. Departments are closing down. Students are fleeing from majoring in the humanities and the humanistic social sciences. Those are real empirical factors that point to us being in a moment of particular crisis in the institutional instantiation of liberal education.

On teaching humanities to high schoolers

I always say, think about what it means for a 17 year old to disagree with Aristotle. That's extraordinary that introducing them to that kind of dimension of their own mind and of their own status as intellectuals and thinkers. It’s my favorite thing I do as a teacher.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


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]]> Wed, 21 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Its no surprise to anyone in academia that the liberal arts and humanities are in crisis. Liberal arts colleges are closing down, departments are closing down, and students are fleeing from majoring in the social sciences. So what happened to this once essential element of higher education?

Roosevelt Montás is Senior Lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University. There, he teaches “Introduction to Contemporary Civilization in the West,” a year-long course on primary texts in moral and political thought, as well as seminars in American Studies including “Freedom and Citizenship in the United States.” He also speaks and writes on the history, meaning, and future of liberal education and is author of “Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation.” 

He and Greg dive deep into the vanishing practice of reading great books, focusing on the history of liberal arts and the humanities in US universities, embracing liberal education in k-12 public schools, the destructive reliance on standardized testing, and normativity in academics. 

Episode Quotes:

Fighting for the humanities

We are in a moment in human history where the questions that preoccupy the humanities and liberal education have a unique urgency. That facility with the kind of introspection and rootedness in human values, that the humanities foster are absolutely essential to navigate the landscape in front of us.

I pray and I not only pray, but work towards that kind of education that equips an individual to engage the reality rooted in human values and self reflectively that that be not something that is rare and for the few, but that is as widely accessible to everyone as is absolutely possible.

On losing the humanities in real time

Liberal arts colleges are closing down. Departments are closing down. Students are fleeing from majoring in the humanities and the humanistic social sciences. Those are real empirical factors that point to us being in a moment of particular crisis in the institutional instantiation of liberal education.

On teaching humanities to high schoolers

I always say, think about what it means for a 17 year old to disagree with Aristotle. That's extraordinary that introducing them to that kind of dimension of their own mind and of their own status as intellectuals and thinkers. It’s my favorite thing I do as a teacher.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> 188. What Happened To Liberal Arts Education? feat. Roosevelt Montas Greg La Blanc 00:55:55 Its no surprise to anyone in academia that the liberal arts and humanities are in crisis. Liberal arts colleges are closing down, departments are closing down, and students are fleeing from majoring in the social sciences. So what happened to this once essential element of higher education? Roosevelt Montás is Senior Lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University. There, he teaches “Introduction to Contemporary Civilization in the West,” a year-long course on primary texts in moral and political thought, as well as seminars in American Studies including “Freedom and Citizenship in the United States.” He also speaks and writes on the history, meaning, and future of liberal education and is author of “Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation.” He and Greg dive deep into the vanishing practice of reading great books, focusing on the history of liberal arts and the humanities in US universities, embracing liberal education in k-12 public schools, the destructive reliance on standardized testing, and normativity in academics. Its no surprise to anyone in academia that the liberal arts and humanities are in crisis. Liberal arts colleges are closing down, departments are closing down, and students are fleeing from majoring in the social sciences. So what happened to this once essential element of higher education? Roosevelt Montás is Senior Lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University. There, he teaches “Introduction to Contemporary Civilization in the West,” a year-long course on primary texts in moral and political thought, as well as seminars in American Studies including “Freedom and Citizenship in the United States.” He also speaks and writes on the history, meaning, and future of liberal education and is author of “Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation.” He and Greg dive deep into the vanishing practice of reading great books, focusing on the history of liberal arts and the humanities in US universities, embracing liberal education in k-12 public schools, the destructive reliance on standardized testing, and normativity in academics. false full 188 584b60ef-b568-4b74-821b-da006e5e9bc8 187. What Does It Mean To Be Virtuous Now? feat. Christian Miller Character is a uniquely human feature, based on questions of agency, responsibility, free will and choice. But what qualifies as good or bad character, and how do we decide where we fall in this spectrum?

Christian Miller is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, and currently the Director of the Honesty Project. His main areas of research are meta-ethics, moral psychology, moral character, action theory, and philosophy of religion. 

He is the author of over 100 academic papers as well as a number of books including “The Character Gap: How Good Are We?,” and “Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue.” 

Christian and Greg talk about moral character, a brief history of 20th century ethics, finding happiness, whether or not there is a trade off in becoming more virtuous, and consistency in our values.

Episode Quotes:

Virtue comes in degrees

So, I like to say virtue comes in degrees. There can be someone who's weakly virtuous, moderately virtuous, fully virtuous. Vice comes in degrees too. So you can be really vicious, moderately vicious, weakly vicious, and then there's a middle space in between them. And that's what I call mixed character, where your character has some good sides to it and some bad sides to it. So you're not good enough to count as virtuous to any extent. You're not bad enough to count as vicious to any extent. You're in the middle. 

What are you losing when you become more virtuous?

I think you have to accept that becoming virtuous will be at the expense of something that you might enjoy. That could be multiple things, but the easiest thing to cite would be moments of short-term pleasure. 

Unvirtuous form of motivation

What would be an unvirtuous form of motivation? That would be self-interested motivation if you're doing it to benefit yourself. So, if you only stay at the level of self-interested motivation, even though your behavior is always admirable, you'll never get to virtue.


Show Links:


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Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Mon, 19 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Character is a uniquely human feature, based on questions of agency, responsibility, free will and choice. But what qualifies as good or bad character, and how do we decide where we fall in this spectrum?

Christian Miller is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, and currently the Director of the Honesty Project. His main areas of research are meta-ethics, moral psychology, moral character, action theory, and philosophy of religion. 

He is the author of over 100 academic papers as well as a number of books including “The Character Gap: How Good Are We?,” and “Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue.” 

Christian and Greg talk about moral character, a brief history of 20th century ethics, finding happiness, whether or not there is a trade off in becoming more virtuous, and consistency in our values.

Episode Quotes:

Virtue comes in degrees

So, I like to say virtue comes in degrees. There can be someone who's weakly virtuous, moderately virtuous, fully virtuous. Vice comes in degrees too. So you can be really vicious, moderately vicious, weakly vicious, and then there's a middle space in between them. And that's what I call mixed character, where your character has some good sides to it and some bad sides to it. So you're not good enough to count as virtuous to any extent. You're not bad enough to count as vicious to any extent. You're in the middle. 

What are you losing when you become more virtuous?

I think you have to accept that becoming virtuous will be at the expense of something that you might enjoy. That could be multiple things, but the easiest thing to cite would be moments of short-term pleasure. 

Unvirtuous form of motivation

What would be an unvirtuous form of motivation? That would be self-interested motivation if you're doing it to benefit yourself. So, if you only stay at the level of self-interested motivation, even though your behavior is always admirable, you'll never get to virtue.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> 187. What Does It Mean To Be Virtuous Now? feat. Christian Miller Greg La Blanc 00:58:22 Character is a uniquely human feature, based on questions of agency, responsibility, free will and choice. But what qualifies as good or bad character, and how do we decide where we fall in this spectrum? Christian Miller is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, and currently the Director of the Honesty Project. His main areas of research are meta-ethics, moral psychology, moral character, action theory, and philosophy of religion. He is the author of over 100 academic papers as well as a number of books including “The Character Gap: How Good Are We?,” and “Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue.” Christian and Greg talk about moral character, a brief history of 20th century ethics, finding happiness, whether or not there is a trade off in becoming more virtuous, and consistency in our values. Character is a uniquely human feature, based on questions of agency, responsibility, free will and choice. But what qualifies as good or bad character, and how do we decide where we fall in this spectrum? Christian Miller is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, and currently the Director of the Honesty Project. His main areas of research are meta-ethics, moral psychology, moral character, action theory, and philosophy of religion. He is the author of over 100 academic papers as well as a number of books including “The Character Gap: How Good Are We?,” and “Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue.” Christian and Greg talk about moral character, a brief history of 20th century ethics, finding happiness, whether or not there is a trade off in becoming more virtuous, and consistency in our values. false full 187 e695a69a-abcb-4243-a7a4-b1d2b88da7a1 Against Fairness feat. Stephen Asma Its difficult to describe the work our guest Stephen Asma does, falling at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, religion, and study of the emotions. Greg calls it “Affective Neuro Philosophy.” So many different disciplines converge on what he is doing, but really it’s all about trying to understand humans.

Stephen Asma is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, where he is also Senior Fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture, and he is the author of ten books, including “The Evolution of Imagination,” “Against Fairness,” “Why We Need Religion,” and “On Monsters: an Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears.” Stephen is also a blues/jazz musician.

Stephen and Greg discuss a range of issues including utilitarian values , American nepotism, the value & contracts of kith & kin, the costs of tribalism, and the decline of standardized religion.

Episode Quotes:

On living in a culture that’s hostile to nepotism

It's one thing for people to preach to us about discounting our loyalty bonds and that we should be acting for the good of strangers. And then to find that they're hypocritically provisioning their own family first. Again, I find this more human. It sort of humanizes them, but then shut up about why we all have to just help the strangers and not our own first. I think we live in a culture that's very hostile to nepotism doesn't know what to do with nepotism and then turns around, and each one of us enacts it, practices it, benefits from it.

Neutral vs Natural bonds

I do think we're living more and more the utilitarian dream where people are in less tight bonds and more neutral attenuated bonds. And as a result of that, I believe you're finding more depression, you're finding more social problems.

We ignore nepotism, but it exists.

Nepotism is alive and well and thriving. It's just that we don't want to look at it. We don't want to acknowledge it. We don't want to have a theory about it.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Fri, 16 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Its difficult to describe the work our guest Stephen Asma does, falling at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, religion, and study of the emotions. Greg calls it “Affective Neuro Philosophy.” So many different disciplines converge on what he is doing, but really it’s all about trying to understand humans.

Stephen Asma is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, where he is also Senior Fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture, and he is the author of ten books, including “The Evolution of Imagination,” “Against Fairness,” “Why We Need Religion,” and “On Monsters: an Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears.” Stephen is also a blues/jazz musician.

Stephen and Greg discuss a range of issues including utilitarian values , American nepotism, the value & contracts of kith & kin, the costs of tribalism, and the decline of standardized religion.

Episode Quotes:

On living in a culture that’s hostile to nepotism

It's one thing for people to preach to us about discounting our loyalty bonds and that we should be acting for the good of strangers. And then to find that they're hypocritically provisioning their own family first. Again, I find this more human. It sort of humanizes them, but then shut up about why we all have to just help the strangers and not our own first. I think we live in a culture that's very hostile to nepotism doesn't know what to do with nepotism and then turns around, and each one of us enacts it, practices it, benefits from it.

Neutral vs Natural bonds

I do think we're living more and more the utilitarian dream where people are in less tight bonds and more neutral attenuated bonds. And as a result of that, I believe you're finding more depression, you're finding more social problems.

We ignore nepotism, but it exists.

Nepotism is alive and well and thriving. It's just that we don't want to look at it. We don't want to acknowledge it. We don't want to have a theory about it.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Against Fairness feat. Stephen Asma Greg La Blanc 01:09:54 Its difficult to describe the work our guest Stephen Asma does, falling at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, religion, and study of the emotions. Greg calls it “Affective Neuro Philosophy.” So many different disciplines converge on what he is doing, but really it’s all about trying to understand humans. Stephen Asma is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, where he is also Senior Fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture, and he is the author of ten books, including “The Evolution of Imagination,” “Against Fairness,” “Why We Need Religion,” and “On Monsters: an Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears.” Stephen is also a blues/jazz musician. Stephen and Greg discuss a range of issues including utilitarian values , American nepotism, the value & contracts of kith & kin, the costs of tribalism, and the decline of standardized religion. Its difficult to describe the work our guest Stephen Asma does, falling at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, religion, and study of the emotions. Greg calls it “Affective Neuro Philosophy.” So many different disciplines converge on what he is doing, but really it’s all about trying to understand humans. Stephen Asma is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, where he is also Senior Fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture, and he is the author of ten books, including “The Evolution of Imagination,” “Against Fairness,” “Why We Need Religion,” and “On Monsters: an Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears.” Stephen is also a blues/jazz musician. Stephen and Greg discuss a range of issues including utilitarian values , American nepotism, the value & contracts of kith & kin, the costs of tribalism, and the decline of standardized religion. false full 186 882c9000-88f3-4e8d-b090-bc7e5066d893 Business School and Its Relevance to Modern Society feat. Philip Delves Broughton Philip Delves Broughton was a news journalist before going to business school. And he ended up continuing his career as a writer since leaving. Now, there are not many journalists that have been to business school, giving Philip a unique perspective on this branch of academia. 

Philip is a journalist and author, now known for his business journalism. His books include “Ahead of the Curve” and “The Art of the Sale.” 

He chats with Greg about why he went to business school after being a journalist, where the ethics lie within that intersection, why people are squeamish when they hear the word, “sales,” and the importance of developing cognitive complexity.

Episode Quotes:

Learning to deal with rejections

You have to deal with being rejected, turned around, told to go, do that again. You have to deal with quarterly pressures. You have to learn not to take things personally. You have to think about what's going on in the other person's mind. You have to understand what's going on in their day, not just focus on yourself and all those things. I think you can learn in the field. You cannot learn them in a classroom, which perhaps is one of the reasons sales aren't taught to business school, because this is one area where you can learn models, you can learn processes, you can learn scripts, you can learn, you know, persuasion, but you cannot learn: 5:00 PM, 10 rejections, you're sitting in Des Moines 2000 miles from home, wishing you were back. Ah, that experience can only be experienced.

What sales should represent

Sales done properly with a proper mission, with some kind of integrity, is nothing more than a recognition of how to communicate to people. And how to understand their desires, their fears, to speak to them. And toggle them with your own. And that's not a vicious activity.

Why we see some people in careers we don't think are business oriented (like priests), getting MBAs

I think it goes to the idea that living well organized lives is not necessarily apart from leading a spiritual life. Leading a life that's successful in business is not necessarily divorced from leading a religious life.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Fri, 9 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Philip Delves Broughton was a news journalist before going to business school. And he ended up continuing his career as a writer since leaving. Now, there are not many journalists that have been to business school, giving Philip a unique perspective on this branch of academia. 

Philip is a journalist and author, now known for his business journalism. His books include “Ahead of the Curve” and “The Art of the Sale.” 

He chats with Greg about why he went to business school after being a journalist, where the ethics lie within that intersection, why people are squeamish when they hear the word, “sales,” and the importance of developing cognitive complexity.

Episode Quotes:

Learning to deal with rejections

You have to deal with being rejected, turned around, told to go, do that again. You have to deal with quarterly pressures. You have to learn not to take things personally. You have to think about what's going on in the other person's mind. You have to understand what's going on in their day, not just focus on yourself and all those things. I think you can learn in the field. You cannot learn them in a classroom, which perhaps is one of the reasons sales aren't taught to business school, because this is one area where you can learn models, you can learn processes, you can learn scripts, you can learn, you know, persuasion, but you cannot learn: 5:00 PM, 10 rejections, you're sitting in Des Moines 2000 miles from home, wishing you were back. Ah, that experience can only be experienced.

What sales should represent

Sales done properly with a proper mission, with some kind of integrity, is nothing more than a recognition of how to communicate to people. And how to understand their desires, their fears, to speak to them. And toggle them with your own. And that's not a vicious activity.

Why we see some people in careers we don't think are business oriented (like priests), getting MBAs

I think it goes to the idea that living well organized lives is not necessarily apart from leading a spiritual life. Leading a life that's successful in business is not necessarily divorced from leading a religious life.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Business School and Its Relevance to Modern Society feat. Philip Delves Broughton Greg La Blanc 00:50:56 Philip Delves Broughton was a news journalist before going to business school. And he ended up continuing his career as a writer since leaving. Now, there are not many journalists that have been to business school, giving Philip a unique perspective on this branch of academia. Philip is a journalist and author, now known for his business journalism. His books include “Ahead of the Curve” and “The Art of the Sale.” He chats with Greg about why he went to business school after being a journalist, where the ethics lie within that intersection, why people are squeamish when they hear the word, “sales,” and the importance of developing cognitive complexity. Philip Delves Broughton was a news journalist before going to business school. And he ended up continuing his career as a writer since leaving. Now, there are not many journalists that have been to business school, giving Philip a unique perspective on this branch of academia. Philip is a journalist and author, now known for his business journalism. His books include “Ahead of the Curve” and “The Art of the Sale.” He chats with Greg about why he went to business school after being a journalist, where the ethics lie within that intersection, why people are squeamish when they hear the word, “sales,” and the importance of developing cognitive complexity. false full 185 67fbe5ef-5c27-4fcd-956e-181a6705525b What Dating and Sports can Teach us About Economics feat. Paul Oyer You can apply economics to just about anything. Economics provides you with a perspective and a toolbox that enables you to see things that you wouldn't otherwise see before. This is part of our guests specialty, with books titles like “An Economist Goes to the Game: How to Throw Away $580 Million and Other Surprising Insights from the Economics of Sports,” and “Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I Learned from Online Dating.”

Paul Oyer is the Mary and Rankine Van Anda Entrepreneurial Professor and Professor of Economics, as well as the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Paul studies the economics of organizations and human resource practices. His current projects include studies of the "Gig Economy" the impact of peoples background on their entrepreneurial careers. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about talent acquisition & retention in Silicon Valley, what economics and other industries can learn from the sports world, dating markets, and the wealth of data in dating platforms.

Episode Quotes:

Dating market is just the same as employment 

So from my perspective, the dating market is no different than the employment market, except that no money changes hands. And that's what made it particularly interesting to me to write a book about, because people think, oh, economics, it's money, it's banking. It's whatever terms, they associate with economics. And as a micro economist, I don't see it that way at all. Right? Money is just a convenience by which we exchange. But you know, the world is about utility. It's not about money. So matching people in the dating market is really just the same as employment.

How are athletes and managers different?

The big difference between a baseball player or any athlete and managers in most organizations is the ability to measure their performance effectively.

Do people fail to consider the complementarities and potential they can get from their employer?

I think that people don't think enough before starting jobs, but I also think you don't know until you've started. And so, learning, figuring out on the job, just what does and doesn't work takes some time, and you sometimes have to try things before, you know, for sure. 


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


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

]]> Wed, 7 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast You can apply economics to just about anything. Economics provides you with a perspective and a toolbox that enables you to see things that you wouldn't otherwise see before. This is part of our guests specialty, with books titles like “An Economist Goes to the Game: How to Throw Away $580 Million and Other Surprising Insights from the Economics of Sports,” and “Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I Learned from Online Dating.”

Paul Oyer is the Mary and Rankine Van Anda Entrepreneurial Professor and Professor of Economics, as well as the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Paul studies the economics of organizations and human resource practices. His current projects include studies of the "Gig Economy" the impact of peoples background on their entrepreneurial careers. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about talent acquisition & retention in Silicon Valley, what economics and other industries can learn from the sports world, dating markets, and the wealth of data in dating platforms.

Episode Quotes:

Dating market is just the same as employment 

So from my perspective, the dating market is no different than the employment market, except that no money changes hands. And that's what made it particularly interesting to me to write a book about, because people think, oh, economics, it's money, it's banking. It's whatever terms, they associate with economics. And as a micro economist, I don't see it that way at all. Right? Money is just a convenience by which we exchange. But you know, the world is about utility. It's not about money. So matching people in the dating market is really just the same as employment.

How are athletes and managers different?

The big difference between a baseball player or any athlete and managers in most organizations is the ability to measure their performance effectively.

Do people fail to consider the complementarities and potential they can get from their employer?

I think that people don't think enough before starting jobs, but I also think you don't know until you've started. And so, learning, figuring out on the job, just what does and doesn't work takes some time, and you sometimes have to try things before, you know, for sure. 


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]]> What Dating and Sports can Teach us About Economics feat. Paul Oyer Greg La Blanc 01:00:38 You can apply economics to just about anything. Economics provides you with a perspective and a toolbox that enables you to see things that you wouldn't otherwise see before. This is part of our guests specialty, with books titles like “An Economist Goes to the Game: How to Throw Away $580 Million and Other Surprising Insights from the Economics of Sports,” and “Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I Learned from Online Dating.” Paul Oyer is the Mary and Rankine Van Anda Entrepreneurial Professor and Professor of Economics, as well as the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Paul studies the economics of organizations and human resource practices. His current projects include studies of the "Gig Economy" the impact of peoples background on their entrepreneurial careers. In this episode, you’ll hear about talent acquisition & retention in Silicon Valley, what economics and other industries can learn from the sports world, dating markets and the wealth of data in dating platforms. You can apply economics to just about anything. Economics provides you with a perspective and a toolbox that enables you to see things that you wouldn't otherwise see before. This is part of our guests specialty, with books titles like “An Economist Goes to the Game: How to Throw Away $580 Million and Other Surprising Insights from the Economics of Sports,” and “Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I Learned from Online Dating.” Paul Oyer is the Mary and Rankine Van Anda Entrepreneurial Professor and Professor of Economics, as well as the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Paul studies the economics of organizations and human resource practices. His current projects include studies of the "Gig Economy" the impact of peoples background on their entrepreneurial careers. In this episode, you’ll hear about talent acquisition & retention in Silicon Valley, what economics and other industries can learn from the sports world, dating markets and the wealth of data in dating platforms. false full 184 00318548-42db-4f65-bd2c-aeac7e5be5d1 Toxic Coworkers and What To Do About Them feat. Tessa West We’ve all had to deal with problematic bosses or coworkers at some point in our career journeys. But the issue is how can you deal with them in a productive way, so everyone still feels comfortable in the workplace and gets their work done.

Tessa West is a Professor of Psychology at New York University and a leading expert in the science of interpersonal communication. Her research focuses on questions such as: How can we improve communication across cultural and national divides, and what hurdles do we need to overcome to make hybrid communication work? She is also the author of “Jerks at Work” which focuses on coping with toxic colleagues.

Tessa joins Greg to talk about how toxicity can affect productivity in an office environment, maybe having some empathy for the jerks, credit stealing, and finding allies within the workplace.

Episode Quotes:

Three rules to consider before quitting your job

I have a couple rules. One is, the person who's creating these problems, you know, or the person who's in charge of the person creating these problems, are they motivated to change? Are they motivated to fix it? So, if the motivation isn't there, you're not going to get anywhere. And then the second piece of that is, assuming they're not motivated, how much flexibility do you have at all to shift over to a new team? To a new manager? If you're stuck in this kind of power dynamic, they are not motivated to change and these behaviors are deal-breakers, it's just like any relationship—you don't really have much of a choice but to exit. But I would definitely try, you know, having some of those conflict conversations. Don't kind of jump out right away because you think the grass is greener. You know, we're seeing with the great resignation, a lot of people are surprisingly wishing they had their old job back because we have very little evidence that the new place we're going to is any better. So, I'd add the kind of last piece of advice is, when you're thinking about leaving and you know where you're going to go next, you have to put them through the same kind of gauntlet that you put your old job through to make sure that those same problems, or even worse problems you've never even heard of, don't exist. And we don't interrogate new jobs in the same way that we interrogate our existing jobs. We sort of always assume it's going to be better. But you have to really interrogate them before you make that step, because if you're not careful, you're just going to have a career of a whole bunch of horizontal moves. And it's going to be very hard to climb up.

What “toxic” really means

We use the word "toxic" a lot. We throw it around. And everyone says it, but no one knows what it means. And I think it's very much in the eye of the beholder. One person's toxic coworker, or toxic boss, is another person's someone with leadership potential who knows how to get ahead here.

How smart jerks can turn your good traits into bad

So, one thing that bosses do is they try to show as much trust in teams as possible. So, there's this whole movement out there to not micromanage, to trust people. We use this kind of vague language that implies that, if we're overseeing them too much, if we're communicating with them too much, they're going to burn out, they're going to get irritated, they want autonomy, you know, all that kind of good stuff. But smart jerks at work will take advantage of cultures that are trying to sort of create that level of autonomy by sneaking in and actually taking over the reins and communicating for their boss, often, for people who are not one step beneath the boss but two steps beneath them.


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

]]> Mon, 5 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We’ve all had to deal with problematic bosses or coworkers at some point in our career journeys. But the issue is how can you deal with them in a productive way, so everyone still feels comfortable in the workplace and gets their work done.

Tessa West is a Professor of Psychology at New York University and a leading expert in the science of interpersonal communication. Her research focuses on questions such as: How can we improve communication across cultural and national divides, and what hurdles do we need to overcome to make hybrid communication work? She is also the author of “Jerks at Work” which focuses on coping with toxic colleagues.

Tessa joins Greg to talk about how toxicity can affect productivity in an office environment, maybe having some empathy for the jerks, credit stealing, and finding allies within the workplace.

Episode Quotes:

Three rules to consider before quitting your job

I have a couple rules. One is, the person who's creating these problems, you know, or the person who's in charge of the person creating these problems, are they motivated to change? Are they motivated to fix it? So, if the motivation isn't there, you're not going to get anywhere. And then the second piece of that is, assuming they're not motivated, how much flexibility do you have at all to shift over to a new team? To a new manager? If you're stuck in this kind of power dynamic, they are not motivated to change and these behaviors are deal-breakers, it's just like any relationship—you don't really have much of a choice but to exit. But I would definitely try, you know, having some of those conflict conversations. Don't kind of jump out right away because you think the grass is greener. You know, we're seeing with the great resignation, a lot of people are surprisingly wishing they had their old job back because we have very little evidence that the new place we're going to is any better. So, I'd add the kind of last piece of advice is, when you're thinking about leaving and you know where you're going to go next, you have to put them through the same kind of gauntlet that you put your old job through to make sure that those same problems, or even worse problems you've never even heard of, don't exist. And we don't interrogate new jobs in the same way that we interrogate our existing jobs. We sort of always assume it's going to be better. But you have to really interrogate them before you make that step, because if you're not careful, you're just going to have a career of a whole bunch of horizontal moves. And it's going to be very hard to climb up.

What “toxic” really means

We use the word "toxic" a lot. We throw it around. And everyone says it, but no one knows what it means. And I think it's very much in the eye of the beholder. One person's toxic coworker, or toxic boss, is another person's someone with leadership potential who knows how to get ahead here.

How smart jerks can turn your good traits into bad

So, one thing that bosses do is they try to show as much trust in teams as possible. So, there's this whole movement out there to not micromanage, to trust people. We use this kind of vague language that implies that, if we're overseeing them too much, if we're communicating with them too much, they're going to burn out, they're going to get irritated, they want autonomy, you know, all that kind of good stuff. But smart jerks at work will take advantage of cultures that are trying to sort of create that level of autonomy by sneaking in and actually taking over the reins and communicating for their boss, often, for people who are not one step beneath the boss but two steps beneath them.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Toxic Coworkers and What To Do About Them feat. Tessa West Greg La Blanc 01:01:51 We’ve all had to deal with problematic bosses or coworkers at some point in our career journeys. But the issue is how can you deal with them in a productive way, so everyone still feels comfortable in the workplace and gets their work done. Tessa West is a Professor of Psychology at New York University and a leading expert in the science of interpersonal communication. Her research focuses on questions such as: How can we improve communication across cultural and national divides, and what hurdles do we need to overcome to make hybrid communication work? She is also the author of “Jerks at Work” which focuses on coping with toxic colleagues. Tessa joins Greg to talk about how toxicity can affect productivity in an office environment, maybe having some empathy for the jerks, credit stealing, and finding allies within the workplace. We’ve all had to deal with problematic bosses or coworkers at some point in our career journeys. But the issue is how can you deal with them in a productive way, so everyone still feels comfortable in the workplace and gets their work done. Tessa West is a Professor of Psychology at New York University and a leading expert in the science of interpersonal communication. Her research focuses on questions such as: How can we improve communication across cultural and national divides, and what hurdles do we need to overcome to make hybrid communication work? She is also the author of “Jerks at Work” which focuses on coping with toxic colleagues. Tessa joins Greg to talk about how toxicity can affect productivity in an office environment, maybe having some empathy for the jerks, credit stealing, and finding allies within the workplace. false full 183 11b376a9-c05c-46cd-a509-bf0dcb5844a1 Rethinking Our Ideas Around “Success” feat. Brad Stulberg Has the idea of “peak performance” as the general public sees it, run its course? It seems like nowadays, there is much more of a focus & value placed upon rest and recuperation, rather than the unsustainable burnout culture & hustle to get ahead that we’ve seen for ages.

Brad Stulberg is a writer and fellow at the University of Michigan’s graduate school of public health. He says his work explores principles of mastery and well-being that transcend capabilities and domains, with a focus on the philosophical and psychological foundations of excellence, and the habits and practices necessary to attain it. 

He is also the author of the book “The Practice of Groundedness” and coauthor of the books “Peak Performance” and “The Passion Paradox.” 

Greg and Brad examine the human tendency  to strive for more in this episode, and when that becomes a fault. They also touch on heroic individualism, how being diagnosed with OCD changed his coaching practice, the degradation of community, and brown rice & M&Ms. 

Episode Quotes:

Looking through medical conditions through a philosophical lens.

I think that, broadly, if we spent more time in philosophy, there'd be less mental illness because we'd accept that this kind of suffering is a part of the human condition. I think a big cause of particularly depression is people having this false belief that they should never be sad. They should never experience despair. They should never question the meaning of life. When in fact, all the great arts and philosophies do just that. And I think if we can normalize that, then when people find themselves doing it, they wouldn't freak out and be so scared, which is often what causes like an anxious depressive spiral. So yeah, I think that would be good, but I think when someone's kind of in the throes of this, the medical model makes a lot of sense, but I think there's a real risk of getting stuck in the medical model. And I think the path out is to go from medical model to philosophical, thinking about these sorts of things.

Defining heroic individualism

It is the constant pursuit of more. It is the false belief that you can achieve or accomplish your way to fulfillment. And it is a phenomenon where the goalpost is always 10 yards down the field. 

Obsessive checking & workplace performance

So it used to be that you could get really caught up in how you're performing at work. And maybe 50 years ago, there was one or two promotion cycles a year, and you got really stressed and you either got the promotion or not. Then 20 years ago, there's a whole suite of dashboards that you can check every week. Now, there are real time metrics in just about every single knowledge working job that you can get obsessed with checking. 


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Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 2 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Has the idea of “peak performance” as the general public sees it, run its course? It seems like nowadays, there is much more of a focus & value placed upon rest and recuperation, rather than the unsustainable burnout culture & hustle to get ahead that we’ve seen for ages.

Brad Stulberg is a writer and fellow at the University of Michigan’s graduate school of public health. He says his work explores principles of mastery and well-being that transcend capabilities and domains, with a focus on the philosophical and psychological foundations of excellence, and the habits and practices necessary to attain it. 

He is also the author of the book “The Practice of Groundedness” and coauthor of the books “Peak Performance” and “The Passion Paradox.” 

Greg and Brad examine the human tendency  to strive for more in this episode, and when that becomes a fault. They also touch on heroic individualism, how being diagnosed with OCD changed his coaching practice, the degradation of community, and brown rice & M&Ms. 

Episode Quotes:

Looking through medical conditions through a philosophical lens.

I think that, broadly, if we spent more time in philosophy, there'd be less mental illness because we'd accept that this kind of suffering is a part of the human condition. I think a big cause of particularly depression is people having this false belief that they should never be sad. They should never experience despair. They should never question the meaning of life. When in fact, all the great arts and philosophies do just that. And I think if we can normalize that, then when people find themselves doing it, they wouldn't freak out and be so scared, which is often what causes like an anxious depressive spiral. So yeah, I think that would be good, but I think when someone's kind of in the throes of this, the medical model makes a lot of sense, but I think there's a real risk of getting stuck in the medical model. And I think the path out is to go from medical model to philosophical, thinking about these sorts of things.

Defining heroic individualism

It is the constant pursuit of more. It is the false belief that you can achieve or accomplish your way to fulfillment. And it is a phenomenon where the goalpost is always 10 yards down the field. 

Obsessive checking & workplace performance

So it used to be that you could get really caught up in how you're performing at work. And maybe 50 years ago, there was one or two promotion cycles a year, and you got really stressed and you either got the promotion or not. Then 20 years ago, there's a whole suite of dashboards that you can check every week. Now, there are real time metrics in just about every single knowledge working job that you can get obsessed with checking. 


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Rethinking Our Ideas Around “Success” feat. Brad Stulberg Greg La Blanc 00:54:10 Has the idea of “peak performance” as the general public sees it, run its course? It seems like nowadays, there is much more of a focus & value placed upon rest and recuperation, rather than the unsustainable burnout culture & hustle to get ahead that we’ve seen for ages. Brad Stulberg is a writer and fellow at the University of Michigan’s graduate school of public health. He says his work explores principles of mastery and well-being that transcend capabilities and domains, with a focus on the philosophical and psychological foundations of excellence, and the habits and practices necessary to attain it. He is also the author of the book “The Practice of Groundedness” and coauthor of the books “Peak Performance” and “The Passion Paradox.” Greg and Brad examine the human tendency to strive for more in this episode, and when that becomes a fault. They also touch on heroic individualism, how being diagnosed with OCD changed his coaching practice, the degradation of community, and brown rice & M&Ms. Has the idea of “peak performance” as the general public sees it, run its course? It seems like nowadays, there is much more of a focus & value placed upon rest and recuperation, rather than the unsustainable burnout culture & hustle to get ahead that we’ve seen for ages. Brad Stulberg is a writer and fellow at the University of Michigan’s graduate school of public health. He says his work explores principles of mastery and well-being that transcend capabilities and domains, with a focus on the philosophical and psychological foundations of excellence, and the habits and practices necessary to attain it. He is also the author of the book “The Practice of Groundedness” and coauthor of the books “Peak Performance” and “The Passion Paradox.” Greg and Brad examine the human tendency to strive for more in this episode, and when that becomes a fault. They also touch on heroic individualism, how being diagnosed with OCD changed his coaching practice, the degradation of community, and brown rice & M&Ms. false full 182 50c431d3-d2db-4e8c-b99f-73269db24e14 The Psychology of the Arts feat. Ellen Winner We don't really question the importance of studying mathematics, or the importance of studying science. We don't even question the importance of athletics! But when it comes to the arts, people don't really understand their significance. They think of them as frills, as fun and pretty, but they don't understand their deep significance for humans.

Ellen Winner's research focuses on cognition in the arts in typical and gifted children. She studies the impact of arts education on the development of thinking dispositions or habits of mind such as reflection, exploration, and observation; and experimental aesthetics. She is a Professor Emerita of Psychology at Boston College and also a senior researcher at Project Zero, which is part of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. 

Ellen is the author of more than 100 articles and four books, including “An Uneasy Guest in the Schoolhouse: Art Education from Colonial Times to a Promising Future,” “Invented Worlds: The Psychology of the Arts,” and “Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education.”

Greg and Ellen chat about the history of art education, why sports gets a pass in terms of what is valuable in our education systems, the struggle to define “art” and studying memoirs & empathy. 

Episode Quotes:

Great works of art improve our well-being

If you think about the greatest works of art in any domain, whether it's music, literature, painting, these works tend to elicit negative emotions in us. They're tragic. So why do we want to keep going back to them? Why do we want to experience these negative emotions? And one of the answers to this is that when people are looking at art that elicits negative emotions; they also feel positive emotions because, a.) For the beauty of the work and b.) They make meaning from it. And it's the meaningfulness of it that gives you a positive feeling. And so, when you're feeling very moved, you always have a mixture of negative and positive emotions. And so, I think that great works of art do improve our well-meaning because they get us to think, they get us to reflect, and they get us to grow. 

Blindspot about arts

People don't really understand the arts. They think of them as frills, fun, and pretty, but they don't understand their deep significance for humans. And I think that's why psychology has marginalized the arts.

Cognitive empathy

Cognitive empathy usually means just understanding the other person's situation. You can be very good at understanding somebody else's perspective, but not care at all about their suffering. You can be kind of Machiavellian about it. You know what the person is feeling, but you don't wanna make them better.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 31 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We don't really question the importance of studying mathematics, or the importance of studying science. We don't even question the importance of athletics! But when it comes to the arts, people don't really understand their significance. They think of them as frills, as fun and pretty, but they don't understand their deep significance for humans.

Ellen Winner's research focuses on cognition in the arts in typical and gifted children. She studies the impact of arts education on the development of thinking dispositions or habits of mind such as reflection, exploration, and observation; and experimental aesthetics. She is a Professor Emerita of Psychology at Boston College and also a senior researcher at Project Zero, which is part of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. 

Ellen is the author of more than 100 articles and four books, including “An Uneasy Guest in the Schoolhouse: Art Education from Colonial Times to a Promising Future,” “Invented Worlds: The Psychology of the Arts,” and “Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education.”

Greg and Ellen chat about the history of art education, why sports gets a pass in terms of what is valuable in our education systems, the struggle to define “art” and studying memoirs & empathy. 

Episode Quotes:

Great works of art improve our well-being

If you think about the greatest works of art in any domain, whether it's music, literature, painting, these works tend to elicit negative emotions in us. They're tragic. So why do we want to keep going back to them? Why do we want to experience these negative emotions? And one of the answers to this is that when people are looking at art that elicits negative emotions; they also feel positive emotions because, a.) For the beauty of the work and b.) They make meaning from it. And it's the meaningfulness of it that gives you a positive feeling. And so, when you're feeling very moved, you always have a mixture of negative and positive emotions. And so, I think that great works of art do improve our well-meaning because they get us to think, they get us to reflect, and they get us to grow. 

Blindspot about arts

People don't really understand the arts. They think of them as frills, fun, and pretty, but they don't understand their deep significance for humans. And I think that's why psychology has marginalized the arts.

Cognitive empathy

Cognitive empathy usually means just understanding the other person's situation. You can be very good at understanding somebody else's perspective, but not care at all about their suffering. You can be kind of Machiavellian about it. You know what the person is feeling, but you don't wanna make them better.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> The Psychology of the Arts feat. Ellen Winner Greg La Blanc 00:56:57 We don't really question the importance of studying mathematics, or the importance of studying science. We don't even question the importance of athletics! But when it comes to the arts, people don't really understand their significance. They think of them as frills, as fun and pretty, but they don't understand their deep significance for humans. Ellen Winner's research focuses on cognition in the arts in typical and gifted children. She studies the impact of arts education on the development of thinking dispositions or habits of mind such as reflection, exploration, and observation; and experimental aesthetics. She is a Professor Emerita of Psychology at Boston College and also a senior researcher at Project Zero, which is part of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. Ellen is the author of more than 100 articles and four books, including “An Uneasy Guest in the Schoolhouse: Art Education from Colonial Times to a Promising Future,” “Invented Worlds: The Psychology of the Arts,” and “Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education.” Greg and Ellen chat about the history of art education, why sports gets a pass in terms of what is valuable in our education systems, the struggle to define “art” and studying memoirs & empathy. We don't really question the importance of studying mathematics, or the importance of studying science. We don't even question the importance of athletics! But when it comes to the arts, people don't really understand their significance. They think of them as frills, as fun and pretty, but they don't understand their deep significance for humans. Ellen Winner's research focuses on cognition in the arts in typical and gifted children. She studies the impact of arts education on the development of thinking dispositions or habits of mind such as reflection, exploration, and observation; and experimental aesthetics. She is a Professor Emerita of Psychology at Boston College and also a senior researcher at Project Zero, which is part of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. Ellen is the author of more than 100 articles and four books, including “An Uneasy Guest in the Schoolhouse: Art Education from Colonial Times to a Promising Future,” “Invented Worlds: The Psychology of the Arts,” and “Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education.” Greg and Ellen chat about the history of art education, why sports gets a pass in terms of what is valuable in our education systems, the struggle to define “art” and studying memoirs & empathy. false full 181 3e9f88a0-9c16-4f97-9c73-044c8eb7eaea Why Smart Leaders Make Bad Decisions feat. Zachary Shore Can we teach leaders to become better strategic decision makers? Our guest Zach Shore says we can. 

Part of the problem he says is that people get stuck in rigid mindsets, which often involve the failure to take alternative perspectives.. In his books “Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions,” and “sense of the enemy’ he aims to create a taxonomy of blunder causing mindsets and recount examples of effective strategic empathy through historical story telling. 

Zach Shore is a historian of international conflict. He focuses on understanding the enemy. He is currently a professor of History at the Naval Postgraduate School and Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley. 

Greg and Zach discuss types of empathy, pattern breaking moments, definition of a “blunder,” an analysis of Putin, and the importance of truly understanding our enemies.

Episode Quotes:

Breaking down rigid mindsets

Part of the problem is that people get absolutely stuck in rigid mindsets. And what I tried to do in Blunder was break them down and create a topology of what those rigid mindsets were. I call them cognition traps and each chapter of the book, I tried to show how different decision-makers, over time, fell into that particular rigid mindset. Cure-all-ism was just one of them. The idea that you have a solution that works well in one situation. And then you insist that it must work well everywhere and apply it to every situation. And that's when the disasters come.

Three challenges every human faces

There are three hard challenges that humans struggle with. And one of them is the ability to think like others. Another is understanding causation and the third is attaining wisdom.

Why having data isn’t enough

Big data has a role, but it's a type of number worship. People have gotten carried away with what it can tell us. And usually, the reason is it leaves out the human factor. For example:polls. We've seen election after election, how wrong the polls are, and that's because they're dealing with humans, and they forget that humans lie. Humans lie sometimes. And sometimes not intentionally. Sometimes they lie to themselves. They convince themselves of things that are not true, that they will vote for someone they never would, or embarrassed to say whom they will vote for. Anytime you're dealing with humans and numbers, you have to be much more circumspect. And our number worship has let us astray like I mentioned in Afghanistan and Vietnam, in our elections. It's ridiculous to overvalue big data at the expense of human behavior.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 29 Aug 2022 16:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Can we teach leaders to become better strategic decision makers? Our guest Zach Shore says we can. 

Part of the problem he says is that people get stuck in rigid mindsets, which often involve the failure to take alternative perspectives.. In his books “Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions,” and “sense of the enemy’ he aims to create a taxonomy of blunder causing mindsets and recount examples of effective strategic empathy through historical story telling. 

Zach Shore is a historian of international conflict. He focuses on understanding the enemy. He is currently a professor of History at the Naval Postgraduate School and Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley. 

Greg and Zach discuss types of empathy, pattern breaking moments, definition of a “blunder,” an analysis of Putin, and the importance of truly understanding our enemies.

Episode Quotes:

Breaking down rigid mindsets

Part of the problem is that people get absolutely stuck in rigid mindsets. And what I tried to do in Blunder was break them down and create a topology of what those rigid mindsets were. I call them cognition traps and each chapter of the book, I tried to show how different decision-makers, over time, fell into that particular rigid mindset. Cure-all-ism was just one of them. The idea that you have a solution that works well in one situation. And then you insist that it must work well everywhere and apply it to every situation. And that's when the disasters come.

Three challenges every human faces

There are three hard challenges that humans struggle with. And one of them is the ability to think like others. Another is understanding causation and the third is attaining wisdom.

Why having data isn’t enough

Big data has a role, but it's a type of number worship. People have gotten carried away with what it can tell us. And usually, the reason is it leaves out the human factor. For example:polls. We've seen election after election, how wrong the polls are, and that's because they're dealing with humans, and they forget that humans lie. Humans lie sometimes. And sometimes not intentionally. Sometimes they lie to themselves. They convince themselves of things that are not true, that they will vote for someone they never would, or embarrassed to say whom they will vote for. Anytime you're dealing with humans and numbers, you have to be much more circumspect. And our number worship has let us astray like I mentioned in Afghanistan and Vietnam, in our elections. It's ridiculous to overvalue big data at the expense of human behavior.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Why Smart Leaders Make Bad Decisions feat. Zachary Shore Greg La Blanc 01:10:47 Can we teach leaders to become better strategic decision makers? Our guest Zach Shore says we can. Part of the problem he says is that people get stuck in rigid mindsets, which often involve the failure to take alternative perspectives.. In his books “Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions,” and “sense of the enemy’ he aims to create a taxonomy of blunder causing mindsets and recount examples of effective strategic empathy through historical story telling. Zach Shore is a historian of international conflict. He focuses on understanding the enemy. He is currently a professor of History at the Naval Postgraduate School and Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley. Greg and Zach discuss types of empathy, pattern breaking moments, definition of a “blunder,” an analysis of Putin, and the importance of truly understanding our enemies. Can we teach leaders to become better strategic decision makers? Our guest Zach Shore says we can. Part of the problem he says is that people get stuck in rigid mindsets, which often involve the failure to take alternative perspectives.. In his books “Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions,” and “sense of the enemy’ he aims to create a taxonomy of blunder causing mindsets and recount examples of effective strategic empathy through historical story telling. Zach Shore is a historian of international conflict. He focuses on understanding the enemy. He is currently a professor of History at the Naval Postgraduate School and Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley. Greg and Zach discuss types of empathy, pattern breaking moments, definition of a “blunder,” an analysis of Putin, and the importance of truly understanding our enemies. false full 180 ece32c86-11f3-4a67-9931-ac492234e196 Choices and Transparency in the American Healthcare System feat. Peter Ubel In our guest's latest book “Sick to Debt,” Peter Ubel theorizes whether it is a bigger insult to call someone a doctor or an economist. Well, Peter is actually both!

Peter Ubel M.D. is a physician and behavioral scientist whose research and writing explores the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness and the way our society functions.  

Ubel is the Madge and Dennis T. McLawhorn University Professor of Business, Public Policy and Medicine at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He uses the tools of psychology and behavioral economics to explore topics like informed consent, shared decision making and health care cost containment. 

His other books include “Pricing Life: Why it’s Time for Healthcare Rationing,” and “Free Market Madness: How Economics is at Odds with Human Nature—and Why It Matters,”

Greg and Peter discuss a range of health predicaments like why smoking is still legal, the possibility of free market style health care in the US, the methods behind pricing healthcare & prescriptions, and the uncertainty of costs. 

Episode Quotes:

On insurance choice

If you buy life insurance, you're really just thinking about the risk of death that you'll face in a given year and if it's worth spending for what kind of premium and whatever the payment is called. If you're buying health insurance, you're thinking about a million possible services that you might need in a given year. Some are predictable, and those you should totally factor into the choice. If you know that you have multiple sclerosis and are going to be on expensive medicines, you better figure out how well the plans cover those kinds of medicines. And you’re probably gonna want to have a higher premium, low out of pocket costs. So that should inform your choice.

Society is a reflection of your individual risk.

We, as individuals, are pretty crazy about risk understanding, right? But I think the government and the society at large are a reflection of our individual risk attitudes too. And so, we end up with some crazy policies as a result.

Healthcare system in Singapore

In Singapore, they have an interesting system. The prices aren't set by some competitive market. The government says the price. So one of the reasons they spend 4% [of GNP] is the prices are much lower, and I'm not talking about prices for drugs. That's I don't know, particularly, although I'm guessing they almost, everyone in the country has lower drug prices than we have in the United States because the governments, you know, negotiate that. But even for hospital care for physician fees, things like that are much lower prices because of government regulation. What's really interesting about their model is, they have everybody mandated. And this is, again, not quite a free market. They mandate that they have some of their pay go into a health savings account.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 26 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In our guest's latest book “Sick to Debt,” Peter Ubel theorizes whether it is a bigger insult to call someone a doctor or an economist. Well, Peter is actually both!

Peter Ubel M.D. is a physician and behavioral scientist whose research and writing explores the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness and the way our society functions.  

Ubel is the Madge and Dennis T. McLawhorn University Professor of Business, Public Policy and Medicine at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He uses the tools of psychology and behavioral economics to explore topics like informed consent, shared decision making and health care cost containment. 

His other books include “Pricing Life: Why it’s Time for Healthcare Rationing,” and “Free Market Madness: How Economics is at Odds with Human Nature—and Why It Matters,”

Greg and Peter discuss a range of health predicaments like why smoking is still legal, the possibility of free market style health care in the US, the methods behind pricing healthcare & prescriptions, and the uncertainty of costs. 

Episode Quotes:

On insurance choice

If you buy life insurance, you're really just thinking about the risk of death that you'll face in a given year and if it's worth spending for what kind of premium and whatever the payment is called. If you're buying health insurance, you're thinking about a million possible services that you might need in a given year. Some are predictable, and those you should totally factor into the choice. If you know that you have multiple sclerosis and are going to be on expensive medicines, you better figure out how well the plans cover those kinds of medicines. And you’re probably gonna want to have a higher premium, low out of pocket costs. So that should inform your choice.

Society is a reflection of your individual risk.

We, as individuals, are pretty crazy about risk understanding, right? But I think the government and the society at large are a reflection of our individual risk attitudes too. And so, we end up with some crazy policies as a result.

Healthcare system in Singapore

In Singapore, they have an interesting system. The prices aren't set by some competitive market. The government says the price. So one of the reasons they spend 4% [of GNP] is the prices are much lower, and I'm not talking about prices for drugs. That's I don't know, particularly, although I'm guessing they almost, everyone in the country has lower drug prices than we have in the United States because the governments, you know, negotiate that. But even for hospital care for physician fees, things like that are much lower prices because of government regulation. What's really interesting about their model is, they have everybody mandated. And this is, again, not quite a free market. They mandate that they have some of their pay go into a health savings account.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Choices and Transparency in the American Healthcare System feat. Peter Ubel Greg La Blanc 00:57:32 In our guest's latest book “Sick to Debt,” Peter Ubel theorizes whether it is a bigger insult to call someone a doctor or an economist. Well, Peter is actually both! Peter Ubel M.D. is a physician and behavioral scientist whose research and writing explores the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness and the way our society functions. Ubel is the Madge and Dennis T. McLawhorn University Professor of Business, Public Policy and Medicine at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He uses the tools of psychology and behavioral economics to explore topics like informed consent, shared decision making and health care cost containment. His other books include “Pricing Life: Why it’s Time for Healthcare Rationing,” and “Free Market Madness: How Economics is at Odds with Human Nature—and Why It Matters,” Greg and Peter discuss a range of health predicaments like why smoking is still legal, the possibility of free market style health care in the US, the methods behind pricing healthcare & prescriptions, and the uncertainty of costs. In our guest's latest book “Sick to Debt,” Peter Ubel theorizes whether it is a bigger insult to call someone a doctor or an economist. Well, Peter is actually both! Peter Ubel M.D. is a physician and behavioral scientist whose research and writing explores the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness and the way our society functions. Ubel is the Madge and Dennis T. McLawhorn University Professor of Business, Public Policy and Medicine at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He uses the tools of psychology and behavioral economics to explore topics like informed consent, shared decision making and health care cost containment. His other books include “Pricing Life: Why it’s Time for Healthcare Rationing,” and “Free Market Madness: How Economics is at Odds with Human Nature—and Why It Matters,” Greg and Peter discuss a range of health predicaments like why smoking is still legal, the possibility of free market style health care in the US, the methods behind pricing healthcare & prescriptions, and the uncertainty of costs. false full 179 14295458-72e1-4af1-847c-18923715757f Learning For The Sake of Learning feat. Zena Hitz When was the last time you learned something just out of curiosity? Not for school or to advance your career, with no end goal in sight. To learn something new just to learn it? 

Zena Hitz is a Tutor at St. John’s College in Annapolis and the author of “Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life.” Her book explores the meaning and the value of learning through images and stories of bookworms, philosophers, scientists, and other learners, both fictional and historical. 

She writes and speaks on the human need to learn for its own sake and what it means for educational institutions to take that need seriously. Fun fact: she tweets at @zenahitz, where she is a frequent interlocutor with the rapper-turned-philosopher, MC Hammer.

In this conversation, Zena and Greg talk about what “learning for its own sake” means, solitary learning and detaching from the world, wasting time and attention and living life on autopilot.

Episode Quotes:

How would you define learning for its own sake?

So say I'm thinking about a mathematical theorem. I'm not doing it for work. I'm not doing it to get a grade in my class. I'm just doing it because I'm interested in it. I want to know what the answer is. Now in a way I'm working towards a goal. But in another way, what I'm doing is from the outside kind of pointless. That's an example of learning for its own sake. 

Real thinking

Real thinking is a way of connecting with others. It's an engagement with someone else's thoughts. Usually, at the outset, something provokes you: a conversation, a book, a theorem, an idea, an observation, and you think about it.

How social class shapes religion

In our culture, religion is for working class, lower class people. And the higher you go, the less religion you have. The fewer commitments your religion requires of you. So, it's something I think about sometimes, it's the unspoken obstacle to diversity, which is supposed to be this thing that all the universities want.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 24 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When was the last time you learned something just out of curiosity? Not for school or to advance your career, with no end goal in sight. To learn something new just to learn it? 

Zena Hitz is a Tutor at St. John’s College in Annapolis and the author of “Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life.” Her book explores the meaning and the value of learning through images and stories of bookworms, philosophers, scientists, and other learners, both fictional and historical. 

She writes and speaks on the human need to learn for its own sake and what it means for educational institutions to take that need seriously. Fun fact: she tweets at @zenahitz, where she is a frequent interlocutor with the rapper-turned-philosopher, MC Hammer.

In this conversation, Zena and Greg talk about what “learning for its own sake” means, solitary learning and detaching from the world, wasting time and attention and living life on autopilot.

Episode Quotes:

How would you define learning for its own sake?

So say I'm thinking about a mathematical theorem. I'm not doing it for work. I'm not doing it to get a grade in my class. I'm just doing it because I'm interested in it. I want to know what the answer is. Now in a way I'm working towards a goal. But in another way, what I'm doing is from the outside kind of pointless. That's an example of learning for its own sake. 

Real thinking

Real thinking is a way of connecting with others. It's an engagement with someone else's thoughts. Usually, at the outset, something provokes you: a conversation, a book, a theorem, an idea, an observation, and you think about it.

How social class shapes religion

In our culture, religion is for working class, lower class people. And the higher you go, the less religion you have. The fewer commitments your religion requires of you. So, it's something I think about sometimes, it's the unspoken obstacle to diversity, which is supposed to be this thing that all the universities want.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Learning For The Sake of Learning feat. Zena Hitz Greg La Blanc 01:03:06 When was the last time you learned something just out of curiosity? Not for school or to advance your career, with no end goal in sight. To learn something new just to learn it? Zena Hitz is a Tutor at St. John’s College in Annapolis and the author of “Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life.” Her book explores the meaning and the value of learning through images and stories of bookworms, philosophers, scientists, and other learners, both fictional and historical. She writes and speaks on the human need to learn for its own sake and what it means for educational institutions to take that need seriously. Fun fact: she tweets at @zenahitz, where she is a frequent interlocutor with the rapper-turned-philosopher, MC Hammer. In this conversation, Zena and Greg talk about what “learning for its own sake” means, solitary learning and detaching from the world, wasting time and attention and living life on autopilot. When was the last time you learned something just out of curiosity? Not for school or to advance your career, with no end goal in sight. To learn something new just to learn it? Zena Hitz is a Tutor at St. John’s College in Annapolis and the author of “Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life.” Her book explores the meaning and the value of learning through images and stories of bookworms, philosophers, scientists, and other learners, both fictional and historical. She writes and speaks on the human need to learn for its own sake and what it means for educational institutions to take that need seriously. Fun fact: she tweets at @zenahitz, where she is a frequent interlocutor with the rapper-turned-philosopher, MC Hammer. In this conversation, Zena and Greg talk about what “learning for its own sake” means, solitary learning and detaching from the world, wasting time and attention and living life on autopilot. false full 178 00ada30a-29f3-4d9f-bf5e-515d29ac57fd The Erratic and Chaotic Worlds of Physics and Economics feat. Mark Buchanan When the general public thinks about physics, they’re usually thinking about the origins of the universe, quantum theory; other terms that have bled into pop culture. But true physics isn't elegant in the way it is seen in textbooks. Our guest says the science is much more chaotic than that and Economics has a lot to learn from physics.

Mark Buchanan is a physicist and science writer with Bloomberg, and is the author of the book "Forecast: What Physics, Meteorology and the Natural Sciences Can Teach Us About Economics."

In this episode, Mark joins Greg as they discuss physics envy, negative & positive feedback, equilibrium vs disequilibrium, the similarities between economics and weather patterns and predicting traffic flows. 

Episode Quotes:

Natural instabilities are all around us.

Storms, in the sense of weather, are the result of natural instabilities that the system churns up. The same thing as financial crises, economic crises, debt crises, all those things are natural instabilities that get churned up by the normal workings of the economy. It's just going to create those things. And, it seemed to me that economics would be well placed to put more emphasis than it does today on understanding the instabilities that create all these kinds of things so that we can understand when they're likely to occur, perhaps see how we might be able to head them off, avoid the conditions where they tend to occur. And maybe some of them are things that have to occur. Maybe there's no suppressing them. We have to live with them and try to make them as least damaging as we can.

Valuable experiments gives us systems

Some of the most valuable experiments in physics and mathematics are those things that give us systems that work in such a totally [different] way that our intuition would have never expected anything to work.

On equilibrium mindset

The equilibrium mindset makes you originally think that anything crazy that's happened or out of the norm must have been caused by something unusual, some external factor that came into the system and triggered some big offense.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 22 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When the general public thinks about physics, they’re usually thinking about the origins of the universe, quantum theory; other terms that have bled into pop culture. But true physics isn't elegant in the way it is seen in textbooks. Our guest says the science is much more chaotic than that and Economics has a lot to learn from physics.

Mark Buchanan is a physicist and science writer with Bloomberg, and is the author of the book "Forecast: What Physics, Meteorology and the Natural Sciences Can Teach Us About Economics."

In this episode, Mark joins Greg as they discuss physics envy, negative & positive feedback, equilibrium vs disequilibrium, the similarities between economics and weather patterns and predicting traffic flows. 

Episode Quotes:

Natural instabilities are all around us.

Storms, in the sense of weather, are the result of natural instabilities that the system churns up. The same thing as financial crises, economic crises, debt crises, all those things are natural instabilities that get churned up by the normal workings of the economy. It's just going to create those things. And, it seemed to me that economics would be well placed to put more emphasis than it does today on understanding the instabilities that create all these kinds of things so that we can understand when they're likely to occur, perhaps see how we might be able to head them off, avoid the conditions where they tend to occur. And maybe some of them are things that have to occur. Maybe there's no suppressing them. We have to live with them and try to make them as least damaging as we can.

Valuable experiments gives us systems

Some of the most valuable experiments in physics and mathematics are those things that give us systems that work in such a totally [different] way that our intuition would have never expected anything to work.

On equilibrium mindset

The equilibrium mindset makes you originally think that anything crazy that's happened or out of the norm must have been caused by something unusual, some external factor that came into the system and triggered some big offense.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Erratic and Chaotic Worlds of Physics and Economics feat. Mark Buchanan Greg La Blanc 01:07:54 When the general public thinks about physics, they’re usually thinking about the origins of the universe, quantum theory; other terms that have bled into pop culture. But true physics isn't elegant in the way it is seen in textbooks. Our guest says the science is much more chaotic than that and Economics has a lot to learn from physics. Mark Buchanan is a physicist and science writer with Bloomberg, and is the author of the book "Forecast: What Physics, Meteorology and the Natural Sciences Can Teach Us About Economics." In this episode, Mark joins Greg as they discuss physics envy, negative & positive feedback, equilibrium vs disequilibrium, the similarities between economics and weather patterns and predicting traffic flows. When the general public thinks about physics, they’re usually thinking about the origins of the universe, quantum theory; other terms that have bled into pop culture. But true physics isn't elegant in the way it is seen in textbooks. Our guest says the science is much more chaotic than that and Economics has a lot to learn from physics. Mark Buchanan is a physicist and science writer with Bloomberg, and is the author of the book "Forecast: What Physics, Meteorology and the Natural Sciences Can Teach Us About Economics." In this episode, Mark joins Greg as they discuss physics envy, negative & positive feedback, equilibrium vs disequilibrium, the similarities between economics and weather patterns and predicting traffic flows. false full 177 44410e19-63cd-4086-916c-9aae32cb988d The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry feat. Douglas Mock Sibling rivalry seems to exist in all families, whether human or non-human.. So why would animals want to compete, and maybe even kill their nearest relations??

This is the focus of the work of Douglas Mock. He is a Professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oklahoma and co-author of “The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry.”

Doug and Greg analyze some of our most intimate relationships in this episode, touching on scarcity mindsets, siblicide, birth order, and progeny selection.

Episode Quotes:

Why being wrong might help you find the right answers

So the advantage of being wrong is that it tells you that there's one or more variables you haven't been thinking through properly. And when you're right, you think, you pat yourself on the back and say, okay, that's wonderful. I must've understood everything perfectly. When you get answers exactly the opposite of what you expect, you realize, oh, I messed up. And that means that the entire literature that I read in preparing this prediction also was missing something, which means I have an opportunity to find out something subtle and interesting, and that everybody else has missed.

On defining siblicide

I defined it as something that involves significant amounts of overt aggression. So as opposed to just jostling or getting positioned for the next lump of food or out-consuming your rivals that are sharing limited budgets. 

Technological leap in evolutionary biology

The biggest technological leap of all that has happened in evolutionary biology has been relatedness. The DNA assays of finding out who's related to whom and, in particular, where the male gametes are ending up in the population because nobody was quite sure who the father was of all of these nestling birds.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Fri, 19 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Sibling rivalry seems to exist in all families, whether human or non-human.. So why would animals want to compete, and maybe even kill their nearest relations??

This is the focus of the work of Douglas Mock. He is a Professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oklahoma and co-author of “The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry.”

Doug and Greg analyze some of our most intimate relationships in this episode, touching on scarcity mindsets, siblicide, birth order, and progeny selection.

Episode Quotes:

Why being wrong might help you find the right answers

So the advantage of being wrong is that it tells you that there's one or more variables you haven't been thinking through properly. And when you're right, you think, you pat yourself on the back and say, okay, that's wonderful. I must've understood everything perfectly. When you get answers exactly the opposite of what you expect, you realize, oh, I messed up. And that means that the entire literature that I read in preparing this prediction also was missing something, which means I have an opportunity to find out something subtle and interesting, and that everybody else has missed.

On defining siblicide

I defined it as something that involves significant amounts of overt aggression. So as opposed to just jostling or getting positioned for the next lump of food or out-consuming your rivals that are sharing limited budgets. 

Technological leap in evolutionary biology

The biggest technological leap of all that has happened in evolutionary biology has been relatedness. The DNA assays of finding out who's related to whom and, in particular, where the male gametes are ending up in the population because nobody was quite sure who the father was of all of these nestling birds.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry feat. Douglas Mock Greg La Blanc 01:00:55 Sibling rivalry seems to exist in all families, whether human or non-human.. So why would animals want to compete, and maybe even kill their nearest relations?? This is the focus of the work of Douglas Mock. He is a Professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oklahoma and co-author of “The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry.” Doug and Greg analyze some of our most intimate relationships in this episode, touching on scarcity mindsets, siblicide, birth order, and progeny selection. Sibling rivalry seems to exist in all families, whether human or non-human.. So why would animals want to compete, and maybe even kill their nearest relations?? This is the focus of the work of Douglas Mock. He is a Professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oklahoma and co-author of “The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry.” Doug and Greg analyze some of our most intimate relationships in this episode, touching on scarcity mindsets, siblicide, birth order, and progeny selection. false full 176 e0b9dec0-c139-4946-b68b-3968b9666d13 The Constitution of Knowledge feat. Jonathan Rauch Its hard to believe that a book like The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” hasn't been written before, which surfaces the structures that we need in order to convert contention into facts and knowledge. 

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institute, and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. 

His many Brookings publications include “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” as well as “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50.” Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, gay marriage, height discrimination, and animal rights. 

Jonathan and Greg tackle a range of topics as well today, focusing on how journalism maintained a sense of professionalism purely based on voluntary norms, viewpoint diversity, American universities & cancel culture, and why people seek out difficult challenges. 

Episode Quotes:

Mainstream journalism vs. social media 

The reason mainstream journalism is still so much more reliable and grown up than social media is editors, human beings who sit there and look at stuff and ask reporters and other people, have you checked this? What have you done to check it? Let me see your notes. And then they think about, so is this story ripe? What are the effects of publishing this story right now? Does it need to be more balanced? So, those are the trade-offs we make all the time. And I think one of the strong suits of mainstream media and why it's so important to keep it financially viable.

Learning happens in a place where you can take emotional risks

Learning happens when we are forced to encounter ideas that we find offensive, wrong-headed, bigoted, sometimes hateful, and difficult. And we need to encounter them in physically safe settings, where they are stated in non-threatening ways. 

Fake news in the 19th Century:

In the 19th century, American journalism was as cesspool of hyper-partisanship and fake news, H.L. Mencken. The greatest American journalist of his era writes in his memoirs about how he and the other Baltimore reporters at the other newspapers would get together over drinks and fabricate stories for the next day's paper. And since they all reported the same thing, everyone assumed it was true. So how do we get out of that? Some people decide that enough is enough. They're starting to lose readers and credibility. The American Society of Newspaper Editors forms. First thing it does is formulate some rules and standards for journalists, things that seem obvious now, like, you know, check your facts, run corrections, be accurate, give people a chance to respond. Someone had to think of those. Meanwhile, we start to see the opening of journalism schools at universities in the early 20th century. And they start training people and inculcating those norms.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 17 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Its hard to believe that a book like The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” hasn't been written before, which surfaces the structures that we need in order to convert contention into facts and knowledge. 

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institute, and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. 

His many Brookings publications include “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” as well as “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50.” Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, gay marriage, height discrimination, and animal rights. 

Jonathan and Greg tackle a range of topics as well today, focusing on how journalism maintained a sense of professionalism purely based on voluntary norms, viewpoint diversity, American universities & cancel culture, and why people seek out difficult challenges. 

Episode Quotes:

Mainstream journalism vs. social media 

The reason mainstream journalism is still so much more reliable and grown up than social media is editors, human beings who sit there and look at stuff and ask reporters and other people, have you checked this? What have you done to check it? Let me see your notes. And then they think about, so is this story ripe? What are the effects of publishing this story right now? Does it need to be more balanced? So, those are the trade-offs we make all the time. And I think one of the strong suits of mainstream media and why it's so important to keep it financially viable.

Learning happens in a place where you can take emotional risks

Learning happens when we are forced to encounter ideas that we find offensive, wrong-headed, bigoted, sometimes hateful, and difficult. And we need to encounter them in physically safe settings, where they are stated in non-threatening ways. 

Fake news in the 19th Century:

In the 19th century, American journalism was as cesspool of hyper-partisanship and fake news, H.L. Mencken. The greatest American journalist of his era writes in his memoirs about how he and the other Baltimore reporters at the other newspapers would get together over drinks and fabricate stories for the next day's paper. And since they all reported the same thing, everyone assumed it was true. So how do we get out of that? Some people decide that enough is enough. They're starting to lose readers and credibility. The American Society of Newspaper Editors forms. First thing it does is formulate some rules and standards for journalists, things that seem obvious now, like, you know, check your facts, run corrections, be accurate, give people a chance to respond. Someone had to think of those. Meanwhile, we start to see the opening of journalism schools at universities in the early 20th century. And they start training people and inculcating those norms.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> The Constitution of Knowledge feat. Jonathan Rauch Greg La Blanc 01:12:58 Its hard to believe that a book like The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” hasn't been written before, which surfaces the structures that we need in order to convert contention into facts and knowledge. Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institute, and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His many Brookings publications include “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” as well as “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50.” Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, gay marriage, height discrimination, and animal rights. Jonathan and Greg tackle a range of topics as well today, focusing on how journalism maintained a sense of professionalism purely based on voluntary norms, viewpoint diversity, American universities & cancel culture, and why people seek out difficult challenges. Its hard to believe that a book like The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” hasn't been written before, which surfaces the structures that we need in order to convert contention into facts and knowledge. Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institute, and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His many Brookings publications include “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” as well as “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50.” Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, gay marriage, height discrimination, and animal rights. Jonathan and Greg tackle a range of topics as well today, focusing on how journalism maintained a sense of professionalism purely based on voluntary norms, viewpoint diversity, American universities & cancel culture, and why people seek out difficult challenges. false full 175 1c5a82ad-b44f-40bc-8aaa-2afec7133e96 Hunt, Gather, Parent feat. Michaeleen Doucleff The science of parenting…isn't really a science. It's a lot of myths and advice and stories from elder generations. But let's think about where we are getting that advice. Our guest Michaeleen Doucleff wrote her New York Times bestseller “Hunt, Gather, Parent ”after traveling to three continents with her 3-year-old daughter, Rosy. 

She says Maya, Inuit, and Hadzabe families showed her how to tame tantrums, motivate kids to be helpful, and build children’s confidence and self-sufficiency. 

Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is an author and a global health correspondent for NPR’s Science Desk, where she reports about disease outbreaks and children’s health. 

Greg and Michaeleen look at modern parenting all over the globe, why it isn't valued and respected as a “job” in many cultures, the loss of the extended family, whether or not babies are actually manipulative, and the pros of alloparenting.

Episode Quotes:

The auntie/uncle network

Suzanne Gaskins told me about this. She calls it the auntie network, where she teamed up. She lives part-time in this Maya village as anthropologist, but she also raised her three boys in Chicago, and she teamed up with like two other families, and they shared the childcare and child rearing together. And so, you know, one family would pick up from school one day and another family would pick up school from the other day. And then the weekends, they would drop the kids off at other people's houses. And so you create this little mini pod. It is what we would call it now after COVID where, you know, those are the alloparents, right? These families become the aunts, the uncles, the cousins. And, so that's really all you need. So I think focusing more on like quality of these families and how they overlap with your thinking of how kids should be treated is more important than quantity. 

It doesn’t take a village to raise a child

People always say you need a village. No, you really don't. You need like two other adults that are helping. And that really care. And you work together and you can find that because people are hungry for it.

What's negative about positive parenting

My problem with positive parenting is that the families ignore half of the child's life, the negative side. It's just ignored. And so there's this kind of very disingenuine approach. Just acknowledging what the child is doing, whether it's good or bad. And, I think positive parenting is missing that side of it.


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]]> Mon, 15 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The science of parenting…isn't really a science. It's a lot of myths and advice and stories from elder generations. But let's think about where we are getting that advice. Our guest Michaeleen Doucleff wrote her New York Times bestseller “Hunt, Gather, Parent ”after traveling to three continents with her 3-year-old daughter, Rosy. 

She says Maya, Inuit, and Hadzabe families showed her how to tame tantrums, motivate kids to be helpful, and build children’s confidence and self-sufficiency. 

Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is an author and a global health correspondent for NPR’s Science Desk, where she reports about disease outbreaks and children’s health. 

Greg and Michaeleen look at modern parenting all over the globe, why it isn't valued and respected as a “job” in many cultures, the loss of the extended family, whether or not babies are actually manipulative, and the pros of alloparenting.

Episode Quotes:

The auntie/uncle network

Suzanne Gaskins told me about this. She calls it the auntie network, where she teamed up. She lives part-time in this Maya village as anthropologist, but she also raised her three boys in Chicago, and she teamed up with like two other families, and they shared the childcare and child rearing together. And so, you know, one family would pick up from school one day and another family would pick up school from the other day. And then the weekends, they would drop the kids off at other people's houses. And so you create this little mini pod. It is what we would call it now after COVID where, you know, those are the alloparents, right? These families become the aunts, the uncles, the cousins. And, so that's really all you need. So I think focusing more on like quality of these families and how they overlap with your thinking of how kids should be treated is more important than quantity. 

It doesn’t take a village to raise a child

People always say you need a village. No, you really don't. You need like two other adults that are helping. And that really care. And you work together and you can find that because people are hungry for it.

What's negative about positive parenting

My problem with positive parenting is that the families ignore half of the child's life, the negative side. It's just ignored. And so there's this kind of very disingenuine approach. Just acknowledging what the child is doing, whether it's good or bad. And, I think positive parenting is missing that side of it.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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]]> Hunt, Gather, Parent feat. Michaeleen Doucleff Greg La Blanc 01:01:03 The science of parenting…isn't really a science. It's a lot of myths and advice and stories from elder generations. But let's think about where we are getting that advice. Our guest Michaeleen Doucleff wrote her New York Times bestseller “Hunt, Gather, Parent ”after traveling to three continents with her 3-year-old daughter, Rosy. She says Maya, Inuit, and Hadzabe families showed her how to tame tantrums, motivate kids to be helpful, and build children’s confidence and self-sufficiency. Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is an author and a global health correspondent for NPR’s Science Desk, where she reports about disease outbreaks and children’s health. Greg and Michaeleen look at modern parenting all over the globe, why it isn't valued and respected as a “job” in many cultures, the loss of the extended family, whether or not babies are actually manipulative, and the pros of alloparenting. The science of parenting…isn't really a science. It's a lot of myths and advice and stories from elder generations. But let's think about where we are getting that advice. Our guest Michaeleen Doucleff wrote her New York Times bestseller “Hunt, Gather, Parent ”after traveling to three continents with her 3-year-old daughter, Rosy. She says Maya, Inuit, and Hadzabe families showed her how to tame tantrums, motivate kids to be helpful, and build children’s confidence and self-sufficiency. Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is an author and a global health correspondent for NPR’s Science Desk, where she reports about disease outbreaks and children’s health. Greg and Michaeleen look at modern parenting all over the globe, why it isn't valued and respected as a “job” in many cultures, the loss of the extended family, whether or not babies are actually manipulative, and the pros of alloparenting. false full 174 d8561a0b-1d7d-4e9e-9c02-74ae9a330c2f Beliefs Are Real For Those Who Hold Them feat. Agustín Fuentes “Belief” as a word can take on so many meanings. Most people only think about it in terms of religion. But our guest says belief plays a central role in many other critical distinctively human things, including economics, love and politics. He further defines belief as the “capacity humans have to commit wholly and fully to this mix of experience, imagination, ideology, thoughts, and ideas.”

Agustín Fuentes is a primatologist and biological anthropologist at Princeton University whose research focuses on the biosocial, delving into the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, our ancestors, and a few of the other animals with whom humanity shares close relations. From chasing monkeys in jungles and cities, to exploring the lives of our evolutionary ancestors, to examining human health, behavior, and diversity across the globe, Agustín is interested in both the big questions and the small details of what makes humans and our close relations tick. 

His written works include “Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You: Busting Myths about Human Nature,” “Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being,” and “The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional.”

Greg and Agustín dig into the world of believing, discussing how human niches differ from other organisms, tolerating heterogeneous cultural beliefs, and the physiology of our beliefs, and what we are getting wrong about human nature.

Episode Quotes:

The disconnection of empathy in academics

I think one thing that we're really lacking here in the current United States in the moment is empathy, and I think academics lack a lot of empathy frequently. You can't be in someone else's mind if you don't share those beliefs, but you can empathize with them. You can listen. You can sort of get an idea, right? Remember, the philosopher Thomas Nagel says, "You can't think yourself into the mind of a bat." You can't fully think yourself into the mind of someone who believes something radically different from you, but you can listen to them. You can empathize with them. You can try to understand where they're coming from, and that gives you, I think, as close as possible, that connection.

On human belief

When I'm talking about human belief, what I'm talking about is this ability to take life experiences, understandings, information, imaginings, possibilities, ideologies, and to put them together in such a manner that they become wholly real, fully felt, and experienced by the individual.

The complexity on human nature

They say human nature, I say human natures. There are many successful ways to be human. There's these commonalities and these patterns, we better know what they are. But actually there's more variation and more interesting complexity than most people think.


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]]> Fri, 12 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast “Belief” as a word can take on so many meanings. Most people only think about it in terms of religion. But our guest says belief plays a central role in many other critical distinctively human things, including economics, love and politics. He further defines belief as the “capacity humans have to commit wholly and fully to this mix of experience, imagination, ideology, thoughts, and ideas.”

Agustín Fuentes is a primatologist and biological anthropologist at Princeton University whose research focuses on the biosocial, delving into the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, our ancestors, and a few of the other animals with whom humanity shares close relations. From chasing monkeys in jungles and cities, to exploring the lives of our evolutionary ancestors, to examining human health, behavior, and diversity across the globe, Agustín is interested in both the big questions and the small details of what makes humans and our close relations tick. 

His written works include “Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You: Busting Myths about Human Nature,” “Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being,” and “The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional.”

Greg and Agustín dig into the world of believing, discussing how human niches differ from other organisms, tolerating heterogeneous cultural beliefs, and the physiology of our beliefs, and what we are getting wrong about human nature.

Episode Quotes:

The disconnection of empathy in academics

I think one thing that we're really lacking here in the current United States in the moment is empathy, and I think academics lack a lot of empathy frequently. You can't be in someone else's mind if you don't share those beliefs, but you can empathize with them. You can listen. You can sort of get an idea, right? Remember, the philosopher Thomas Nagel says, "You can't think yourself into the mind of a bat." You can't fully think yourself into the mind of someone who believes something radically different from you, but you can listen to them. You can empathize with them. You can try to understand where they're coming from, and that gives you, I think, as close as possible, that connection.

On human belief

When I'm talking about human belief, what I'm talking about is this ability to take life experiences, understandings, information, imaginings, possibilities, ideologies, and to put them together in such a manner that they become wholly real, fully felt, and experienced by the individual.

The complexity on human nature

They say human nature, I say human natures. There are many successful ways to be human. There's these commonalities and these patterns, we better know what they are. But actually there's more variation and more interesting complexity than most people think.


Show Links:


Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Beliefs Are Real For Those Who Hold Them feat. Agustín Fuentes Greg La Blanc 01:00:11 “Belief” as a word can take on so many meanings. Most people only think about it in terms of religion. But our guest says belief plays a central role in many other critical distinctively human things, including economics, love and politics. He further defines belief as the “capacity humans have to commit wholly and fully to this mix of experience, imagination, ideology, thoughts, and ideas.” Agustín Fuentes is a primatologist and biological anthropologist at Princeton University whose research focuses on the biosocial, delving into the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, our ancestors, and a few of the other animals with whom humanity shares close relations. From chasing monkeys in jungles and cities, to exploring the lives of our evolutionary ancestors, to examining human health, behavior, and diversity across the globe, Agustín is interested in both the big questions and the small details of what makes humans and our close relations tick. His written works include “Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You: Busting Myths about Human Nature,” “Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being,” and “The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional.” Greg and Agustín dig into the world of believing, discussing how human niches differ from other organisms, tolerating heterogeneous cultural beliefs, and the physiology of our beliefs, and what we are getting wrong about human nature. “Belief” as a word can take on so many meanings. Most people only think about it in terms of religion. But our guest says belief plays a central role in many other critical distinctively human things, including economics, love and politics. He further defines belief as the “capacity humans have to commit wholly and fully to this mix of experience, imagination, ideology, thoughts, and ideas.” Agustín Fuentes is a primatologist and biological anthropologist at Princeton University whose research focuses on the biosocial, delving into the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, our ancestors, and a few of the other animals with whom humanity shares close relations. From chasing monkeys in jungles and cities, to exploring the lives of our evolutionary ancestors, to examining human health, behavior, and diversity across the globe, Agustín is interested in both the big questions and the small details of what makes humans and our close relations tick. His written works include “Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You: Busting Myths about Human Nature,” “Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being,” and “The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional.” Greg and Agustín dig into the world of believing, discussing how human niches differ from other organisms, tolerating heterogeneous cultural beliefs, and the physiology of our beliefs, and what we are getting wrong about human nature. false full 173 19994c52-7421-4a78-9305-8c0beb785a0a Bernoulli’s Fallacy: Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern Science feat. Aubrey Clayton Greg says our guest's book, “Bernoulli’s Fallacy: Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern Science” is “a bombshell in a sense,” making some very, very bold claims. 

Aubrey Clayton is an applied mathematical researcher, lecturer, and writer. He currently teaches graduate courses in the philosophy of probability at the Harvard Extension School, and has written for publications like the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Nautilus. Additionally, Aubrey says he technically “worked on Wall Street” but only in the same sense that a hot dog vendor does. 

Greg and Aubrey dive deep into the radical ideas behind Aubrey’s book, the merits of the scientific method as a process, Bayesian Statistics, and the replication crisis in this conversation.

Episode Quotes:

Probability and information

We have to come up with a form of probability that has all the mathematical properties that we want it to have. But that also is usable in the sense of, you know, applies to all these different settings where you need to assign probabilities to things. And I think that the answer probably has to do with information.

The essence of Bernoulli’s Fallacy

It gets back to a desire to make probabilities observable and measurable in the form of frequency.

Bernoulli’s Fallacy

Bernoulli’s Fallacy is the idea that you can make good decisions about hypotheses, scientific hypotheses or statistical hypotheses, or just research theories in general, using the language of probabilities. But focusing entirely on probabilities that are oriented in the direction of: “if a hypothesis is true, then what is the probability of some observation or some data.”


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]]> Mon, 8 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Greg says our guest's book, “Bernoulli’s Fallacy: Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern Science” is “a bombshell in a sense,” making some very, very bold claims. 

Aubrey Clayton is an applied mathematical researcher, lecturer, and writer. He currently teaches graduate courses in the philosophy of probability at the Harvard Extension School, and has written for publications like the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Nautilus. Additionally, Aubrey says he technically “worked on Wall Street” but only in the same sense that a hot dog vendor does. 

Greg and Aubrey dive deep into the radical ideas behind Aubrey’s book, the merits of the scientific method as a process, Bayesian Statistics, and the replication crisis in this conversation.

Episode Quotes:

Probability and information

We have to come up with a form of probability that has all the mathematical properties that we want it to have. But that also is usable in the sense of, you know, applies to all these different settings where you need to assign probabilities to things. And I think that the answer probably has to do with information.

The essence of Bernoulli’s Fallacy

It gets back to a desire to make probabilities observable and measurable in the form of frequency.

Bernoulli’s Fallacy

Bernoulli’s Fallacy is the idea that you can make good decisions about hypotheses, scientific hypotheses or statistical hypotheses, or just research theories in general, using the language of probabilities. But focusing entirely on probabilities that are oriented in the direction of: “if a hypothesis is true, then what is the probability of some observation or some data.”


Show Links:


Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Bernoulli’s Fallacy: Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern Science feat. Aubrey Clayton Greg La Blanc 00:53:17 Greg says our guest's book, “Bernoulli’s Fallacy: Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern Science” is “a bombshell in a sense,” making some very, very bold claims. Aubrey Clayton is an applied mathematical researcher, lecturer, and writer. He currently teaches graduate courses in the philosophy of probability at the Harvard Extension School, and has written for publications like the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Nautilus. Additionally, Aubrey says he technically “worked on Wall Street” but only in the same sense that a hot dog vendor does. Greg and Aubrey dive deep into the radical ideas behind Aubrey’s book, the merits of the scientific method as a process, Bayesian Statistics, and the replication crisis in this conversation. Greg says our guest's book, “Bernoulli’s Fallacy: Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern Science” is “a bombshell in a sense,” making some very, very bold claims. Aubrey Clayton is an applied mathematical researcher, lecturer, and writer. He currently teaches graduate courses in the philosophy of probability at the Harvard Extension School, and has written for publications like the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Nautilus. Additionally, Aubrey says he technically “worked on Wall Street” but only in the same sense that a hot dog vendor does. Greg and Aubrey dive deep into the radical ideas behind Aubrey’s book, the merits of the scientific method as a process, Bayesian Statistics, and the replication crisis in this conversation. false full 172 5d37e84d-4989-45e7-9518-76da08bcb6e7 We Must Stay Curious feat. Ian Leslie The last time you had a definitive question about something: an actor in that movie, or maybe something your friend did at a party last week. Did you try to figure it out on your own and think over the answer, or head to the internet to confirm your quandaries? Are we losing our ability to be naturally curious by always having concrete answers available in mere seconds?

Ian Leslie is a writer and author of acclaimed books on human behaviour. Ian’s first career was in advertising, as a creative strategist for some of the world’s biggest brands, at ad agencies in London and New York. He now writes about psychology, culture, technology and business for the New Statesman, the Economist, the Guardian and the Financial Times. 

Some of his books include “Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It,” and “Conflicted: Why Arguments Are Tearing Us Apart and How They Can Bring Us Together.”

Ian and Greg debate the pros and cons of classic curiosity in this episode, delineate the different kinds of curiosity, as well as marriage & “good” disagreements. 

Episode Quotes:

The good effect of having conflicts

In a conflict, particularly if it's heated, you are actually learning about the other person. You are learning about what they really care about. What they really think like once the veil of politeness, which exists even in intimate relationships drops, or once the kind of veil of passivity drops, we often just avoid these things If we can. When you actually have the row, you have it out. You're seeing the inside of that person's mind and that person's heart and emotion is part of that. So if it's too kind of rational you might not see that and that ultimately brings you closer. Because as a couple, you know, you are both evolving. You think you know each other really well, but under the surface, each of you is changing and moving. 

The Value of Curiosity

One valuable thing about curiosity is that it takes you away from your specialization as well as driving you deeper into it.

Diversive Curiosity 

So diversive curiosity is this hunger for the novel, for the new, for the: Ooh! What's that? Let me see. And it gets you off the beaten path. So whatever you're doing, whatever you're thinking about, diversive curiosity will pull you off it and it's an instinct. It's something you feel almost against your will or you know, it's involuntary.


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Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Fri, 5 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The last time you had a definitive question about something: an actor in that movie, or maybe something your friend did at a party last week. Did you try to figure it out on your own and think over the answer, or head to the internet to confirm your quandaries? Are we losing our ability to be naturally curious by always having concrete answers available in mere seconds?

Ian Leslie is a writer and author of acclaimed books on human behaviour. Ian’s first career was in advertising, as a creative strategist for some of the world’s biggest brands, at ad agencies in London and New York. He now writes about psychology, culture, technology and business for the New Statesman, the Economist, the Guardian and the Financial Times. 

Some of his books include “Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It,” and “Conflicted: Why Arguments Are Tearing Us Apart and How They Can Bring Us Together.”

Ian and Greg debate the pros and cons of classic curiosity in this episode, delineate the different kinds of curiosity, as well as marriage & “good” disagreements. 

Episode Quotes:

The good effect of having conflicts

In a conflict, particularly if it's heated, you are actually learning about the other person. You are learning about what they really care about. What they really think like once the veil of politeness, which exists even in intimate relationships drops, or once the kind of veil of passivity drops, we often just avoid these things If we can. When you actually have the row, you have it out. You're seeing the inside of that person's mind and that person's heart and emotion is part of that. So if it's too kind of rational you might not see that and that ultimately brings you closer. Because as a couple, you know, you are both evolving. You think you know each other really well, but under the surface, each of you is changing and moving. 

The Value of Curiosity

One valuable thing about curiosity is that it takes you away from your specialization as well as driving you deeper into it.

Diversive Curiosity 

So diversive curiosity is this hunger for the novel, for the new, for the: Ooh! What's that? Let me see. And it gets you off the beaten path. So whatever you're doing, whatever you're thinking about, diversive curiosity will pull you off it and it's an instinct. It's something you feel almost against your will or you know, it's involuntary.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> We Must Stay Curious feat. Ian Leslie Greg La Blanc 00:56:31 The last time you had a definitive question about something: an actor in that movie, or maybe something your friend did at a party last week. Did you try to figure it out on your own and think over the answer, or head to the internet to confirm your quandaries? Are we losing our ability to be naturally curious by always having concrete answers available in mere seconds? Ian Leslie is a writer and author of acclaimed books on human behaviour. Ian’s first career was in advertising, as a creative strategist for some of the world’s biggest brands, at ad agencies in London and New York. He now writes about psychology, culture, technology and business for the New Statesman, the Economist, the Guardian and the Financial Times. Some of his books include “Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It,” and “Conflicted: Why Arguments Are Tearing Us Apart and How They Can Bring Us Together.” Ian and Greg debate the pros and cons of classic curiosity in this episode, delineate the different kinds of curiosity, as well as marriage & “good” disagreements. The last time you had a definitive question about something: an actor in that movie, or maybe something your friend did at a party last week. Did you try to figure it out on your own and think over the answer, or head to the internet to confirm your quandaries? Are we losing our ability to be naturally curious by always having concrete answers available in mere seconds? Ian Leslie is a writer and author of acclaimed books on human behaviour. Ian’s first career was in advertising, as a creative strategist for some of the world’s biggest brands, at ad agencies in London and New York. He now writes about psychology, culture, technology and business for the New Statesman, the Economist, the Guardian and the Financial Times. Some of his books include “Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It,” and “Conflicted: Why Arguments Are Tearing Us Apart and How They Can Bring Us Together.” Ian and Greg debate the pros and cons of classic curiosity in this episode, delineate the different kinds of curiosity, as well as marriage & “good” disagreements. false full 171 cd85526f-63b1-442b-a4b6-9e379a3953cf Understanding Human Creativity feat. Marcus du Sautoy As machine learning and AI mature and adapt to the humans that created them, it's important we think carefully about not only what is creativity, but what is uniquely human about creativity.

Marcus du Sautoy is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the Oxford University, a chair he holds jointly at the Department of Continuing Education and the Mathematical Institute, as well as a Professor of Mathematics and a Fellow of New College.

His many books dive deep into the world of machines and creativity, and include “Thinking Better: the Art of the Shortcut,” and “The Creativity Code.”

He sits down for this stimulating conversation with Greg covering generative adversarial networks, Ada Lovelace and machine generated music, crediting the code or the coder, and what the future holds for art & AI.

Episode Quotes:

Two kinds of algorithm we need at work:

You need a sort of two algorithms at work. One is the creator coming up with babbling new ideas. And then the second is like, oh, the judgments. No, that's no good. That doesn't work because of this. And you know in my own research, I often pair up with another mathematician and we play these two roles, the creator and the discriminator.

So, I think some of the most interesting algorithms that we're seeing that are beginning to look like they're making something genuinely new are capturing that element that we take advantage of as humans.

Machines still need humans

Machines might be able to do things at speed or at depth that a human could never achieve. But ultimately, we should credit the creativity with the human that told the machine what to do.

The Emotional Resonance to Mathematics

Ada Lovelace went to see, you know, Charles Babbage making a machine do math, but, no, it wasn't doing math. It was doing arithmetic and that's the kind of bread and butter. But mathematics is something much more creative. And, we use this word creativity as a kind of protective shield about, against why a computer can't do what we're doing, because we're making lots of leaps into the unknown, lots of choices, things we choose proofs, which kind of move us emotionally because they got “Aha” moment in them.


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]]> Wed, 3 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As machine learning and AI mature and adapt to the humans that created them, it's important we think carefully about not only what is creativity, but what is uniquely human about creativity.

Marcus du Sautoy is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the Oxford University, a chair he holds jointly at the Department of Continuing Education and the Mathematical Institute, as well as a Professor of Mathematics and a Fellow of New College.

His many books dive deep into the world of machines and creativity, and include “Thinking Better: the Art of the Shortcut,” and “The Creativity Code.”

He sits down for this stimulating conversation with Greg covering generative adversarial networks, Ada Lovelace and machine generated music, crediting the code or the coder, and what the future holds for art & AI.

Episode Quotes:

Two kinds of algorithm we need at work:

You need a sort of two algorithms at work. One is the creator coming up with babbling new ideas. And then the second is like, oh, the judgments. No, that's no good. That doesn't work because of this. And you know in my own research, I often pair up with another mathematician and we play these two roles, the creator and the discriminator.

So, I think some of the most interesting algorithms that we're seeing that are beginning to look like they're making something genuinely new are capturing that element that we take advantage of as humans.

Machines still need humans

Machines might be able to do things at speed or at depth that a human could never achieve. But ultimately, we should credit the creativity with the human that told the machine what to do.

The Emotional Resonance to Mathematics

Ada Lovelace went to see, you know, Charles Babbage making a machine do math, but, no, it wasn't doing math. It was doing arithmetic and that's the kind of bread and butter. But mathematics is something much more creative. And, we use this word creativity as a kind of protective shield about, against why a computer can't do what we're doing, because we're making lots of leaps into the unknown, lots of choices, things we choose proofs, which kind of move us emotionally because they got “Aha” moment in them.


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]]> Understanding Human Creativity feat. Marcus du Sautoy Greg La Blanc 00:55:11 As machine learning and AI mature and adapt to the humans that created them, it's important we think carefully about not only what is creativity, but what is uniquely human about creativity. Marcus du Sautoy is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the Oxford University, a chair he holds jointly at the Department of Continuing Education and the Mathematical Institute, as well as a Professor of Mathematics and a Fellow of New College. His many books dive deep into the world of machines and creativity, and include “Thinking Better: the Art of the Shortcut,” and “The Creativity Code.” He sits down for this stimulating conversation with Greg covering generative adversarial networks, Ada Lovelace and machine generated music, crediting the code or the coder, and what the future holds for art & AI. As machine learning and AI mature and adapt to the humans that created them, it's important we think carefully about not only what is creativity, but what is uniquely human about creativity. Marcus du Sautoy is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the Oxford University, a chair he holds jointly at the Department of Continuing Education and the Mathematical Institute, as well as a Professor of Mathematics and a Fellow of New College. His many books dive deep into the world of machines and creativity, and include “Thinking Better: the Art of the Shortcut,” and “The Creativity Code.” He sits down for this stimulating conversation with Greg covering generative adversarial networks, Ada Lovelace and machine generated music, crediting the code or the coder, and what the future holds for art & AI. false full 170 b463be07-cbf5-40f9-bcf2-d47fadc3fa74 It’s Never Too Late To Examine Your Philosophy of Life feat. Massimo Pigliucci When Greg found out that Massimo Pigliucci had a PhD in biology and a PhD in philosophy, he knew that this was somebody he had to get on the show.

Massimo Pigliucci has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee, and is currently the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His research interests include the philosophy of science, the nature of pseudoscience, and practical philosophies like Stoicism and New Skepticism.

At last count, Prof. Pigliucci has published 176 technical papers in science and philosophy. He is also the author or editor of 16 books, including the best selling “How to Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life,” “Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk,” and the most recent “The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders.”

Massimo and Greg dig into where morality might come from in a scientific way, the decisions that lead to our lifestyle choices, and “doing your own research.” 

Episode Quotes:

Misconceptions about philosophy

When people think about philosophy, they think about really complex, abstract process of thinking. But the choices you make on a day-to-day basis, your priorities in life, etc. will be evident to a psychologist, or a behavioral ecologist, or an economist, just by observing what you do. Right? And those choices will reflect an underlying set of values and priorities, which is what I would call a philosophy of life and everyone has it. 

Science & philosophy are interconnected

I used the word "Sci-Phi" to signify that science and philosophy need to work together to give us the best understanding of not only the world, as it is and as it works. But also how we should behave and what we should do about our lives.

There are different paths to living a good life

So what an expert can do, is to provide you with options and say, okay, so if your question is how to live a good life as a human being, how to figure out the best way to spend your life, how to figure out your priorities and things like that. There are a number of options. And I, as an expert, can present you with those options and can walk you through those options. But I can't tell you which one you should choose because they are equivalent, meaning there are different paths to living a good life.


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]]> Mon, 1 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When Greg found out that Massimo Pigliucci had a PhD in biology and a PhD in philosophy, he knew that this was somebody he had to get on the show.

Massimo Pigliucci has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee, and is currently the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His research interests include the philosophy of science, the nature of pseudoscience, and practical philosophies like Stoicism and New Skepticism.

At last count, Prof. Pigliucci has published 176 technical papers in science and philosophy. He is also the author or editor of 16 books, including the best selling “How to Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life,” “Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk,” and the most recent “The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders.”

Massimo and Greg dig into where morality might come from in a scientific way, the decisions that lead to our lifestyle choices, and “doing your own research.” 

Episode Quotes:

Misconceptions about philosophy

When people think about philosophy, they think about really complex, abstract process of thinking. But the choices you make on a day-to-day basis, your priorities in life, etc. will be evident to a psychologist, or a behavioral ecologist, or an economist, just by observing what you do. Right? And those choices will reflect an underlying set of values and priorities, which is what I would call a philosophy of life and everyone has it. 

Science & philosophy are interconnected

I used the word "Sci-Phi" to signify that science and philosophy need to work together to give us the best understanding of not only the world, as it is and as it works. But also how we should behave and what we should do about our lives.

There are different paths to living a good life

So what an expert can do, is to provide you with options and say, okay, so if your question is how to live a good life as a human being, how to figure out the best way to spend your life, how to figure out your priorities and things like that. There are a number of options. And I, as an expert, can present you with those options and can walk you through those options. But I can't tell you which one you should choose because they are equivalent, meaning there are different paths to living a good life.


Show Links:


Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> It’s Never Too Late To Examine Your Philosophy of Life feat. Massimo Pigliucci Greg La Blanc 01:13:15 When Greg found out that Massimo Pigliucci had a PhD in biology and a PhD in philosophy, he knew that this was somebody he had to get on the show. Massimo Pigliucci has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee, and is currently the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His research interests include the philosophy of science, the nature of pseudoscience, and practical philosophies like Stoicism and New Skepticism. At last count, Prof. Pigliucci has published 176 technical papers in science and philosophy. He is also the author or editor of 16 books, including the best selling “How to Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life,” “Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk,” and the most recent “The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders.” Massimo and Greg dig into where morality might come from in a scientific way, the decisions that lead to our lifestyle choices, and “doing your own research.” When Greg found out that Massimo Pigliucci had a PhD in biology and a PhD in philosophy, he knew that this was somebody he had to get on the show. Massimo Pigliucci has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee, and is currently the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His research interests include the philosophy of science, the nature of pseudoscience, and practical philosophies like Stoicism and New Skepticism. At last count, Prof. Pigliucci has published 176 technical papers in science and philosophy. He is also the author or editor of 16 books, including the best selling “How to Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life,” “Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk,” and the most recent “The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders.” Massimo and Greg dig into where morality might come from in a scientific way, the decisions that lead to our lifestyle choices, and “doing your own research.” false full 169 f018c384-73e9-4158-bc91-c65f984eeedd The Surprising History of How We Are Born feat. Tina Cassidy When Tina Cassidy set out to write her book “Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born,”in 2006, it was the first time in about 50 years an extensive work had been written on the subject, and the first by a woman. Birth is such an essential and important part of every life cycle, and all of us have been through it. Why haven't we seen more on the topic?

Tina Cassidy writes about women and culture. In addition to “Birth,” she is the author of “Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait? Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the Right to Vote,” as well as “Jackie After O: One Remarkable Year When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Defied Expectations and Rediscovered Her Dreams.” A former journalist who spent most of her career at the Boston Globe covering business, fashion and politics, Tina is also the Chief Marketing Officer of GBH. 

She sits down with Greg to discuss the medicalization of the birthing process, birthing in different cultures and the uniqueness of human birth.

Episode Quotes:

Giving Birth: From Home to Hospital

A midwife wouldn't necessarily be a professionally trained woman. It would just be, you know, someone's mother, aunt, neighbor from the village. Someone who had probably given birth herself and learned from other women who had attended births, right? And that started to change around a hundred years ago with the advent of pain relief drugs, where Queen Victoria was among the first to say that she wanted and needed this. And only a doctor could be smart enough to be able to deliver that pain relief. So that's why birth then began to move from the home to the hospital.

Childbirth is a reflection of culture

The way birth typically happens in any given culture is often a reflection of that culture.

Cultural differences in birthing around the world

The Dutch have had historically one of the highest levels of home birth anywhere in the world, even today. And if you think about the level of equality that Dutch women have in that society, it basically shows that people have faith in women giving birth. And that women have faith in themselves to give birth at home. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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]]> Fri, 29 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When Tina Cassidy set out to write her book “Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born,”in 2006, it was the first time in about 50 years an extensive work had been written on the subject, and the first by a woman. Birth is such an essential and important part of every life cycle, and all of us have been through it. Why haven't we seen more on the topic?

Tina Cassidy writes about women and culture. In addition to “Birth,” she is the author of “Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait? Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the Right to Vote,” as well as “Jackie After O: One Remarkable Year When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Defied Expectations and Rediscovered Her Dreams.” A former journalist who spent most of her career at the Boston Globe covering business, fashion and politics, Tina is also the Chief Marketing Officer of GBH. 

She sits down with Greg to discuss the medicalization of the birthing process, birthing in different cultures and the uniqueness of human birth.

Episode Quotes:

Giving Birth: From Home to Hospital

A midwife wouldn't necessarily be a professionally trained woman. It would just be, you know, someone's mother, aunt, neighbor from the village. Someone who had probably given birth herself and learned from other women who had attended births, right? And that started to change around a hundred years ago with the advent of pain relief drugs, where Queen Victoria was among the first to say that she wanted and needed this. And only a doctor could be smart enough to be able to deliver that pain relief. So that's why birth then began to move from the home to the hospital.

Childbirth is a reflection of culture

The way birth typically happens in any given culture is often a reflection of that culture.

Cultural differences in birthing around the world

The Dutch have had historically one of the highest levels of home birth anywhere in the world, even today. And if you think about the level of equality that Dutch women have in that society, it basically shows that people have faith in women giving birth. And that women have faith in themselves to give birth at home. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> The Surprising History of How We Are Born feat. Tina Cassidy Greg La Blanc 00:50:08 When Tina Cassidy set out to write her book “Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born,”in 2006, it was the first time in about 50 years an extensive work had been written on the subject, and the first by a woman. Birth is such an essential and important part of every life cycle, and all of us have been through it. Why haven't we seen more on the topic? Tina Cassidy writes about women and culture. In addition to “Birth,” she is the author of “Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait? Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the Right to Vote,” as well as “Jackie After O: One Remarkable Year When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Defied Expectations and Rediscovered Her Dreams.” A former journalist who spent most of her career at the Boston Globe covering business, fashion and politics, Tina is also the Chief Marketing Officer of GBH. She sits down with Greg to discuss the medicalization of the birthing process, birthing in different cultures and the uniqueness of human birth. When Tina Cassidy set out to write her book “Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born,”in 2006, it was the first time in about 50 years an extensive work had been written on the subject, and the first by a woman. Birth is such an essential and important part of every life cycle, and all of us have been through it. Why haven't we seen more on the topic? Tina Cassidy writes about women and culture. In addition to “Birth,” she is the author of “Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait? Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the Right to Vote,” as well as “Jackie After O: One Remarkable Year When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Defied Expectations and Rediscovered Her Dreams.” A former journalist who spent most of her career at the Boston Globe covering business, fashion and politics, Tina is also the Chief Marketing Officer of GBH. She sits down with Greg to discuss the medicalization of the birthing process, birthing in different cultures and the uniqueness of human birth. false full 168 964c5d75-ee48-4738-912c-76c9d335c589 So, ARE Corporations Really People Too? feat. Adam Winkler It was August 2011 when Mitt Romney famously told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair, "corporations are people, my friend." Corporations have had what you could call a civil rights history of their own, which has gone on in parallel to all other civil rights movements. But with so much knowledge in this field publicly available to us, how could this entire history be so poorly understood?

This is highlighted in Adam Winker’s work, and most recently his book, “We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Right.” 

Professor Adam Winkler is a specialist in American constitutional law, the Supreme Court, and gun policy, as well as the Connell Professor of law at the UCLA School of Law. He is also the author of “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America.” 

Greg and Adam discuss this question among others, while also analyzing landmark cases in the flights of Corporations including Citizens United v. FEC, Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, and Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. 

Episode Quotes:

The Supreme Court case that shaped our view on corporations

In the Dartmouth College case, the Supreme Court firmly sided with the idea that a corporation was more like a person, an individual than it was like the government. The court, in that case, could have allowed the state of New Hampshire to take over Dartmouth College and said that a corporation is really just another state agency in some form or some mild form of a state agency or government actor. But instead, the court said that the corporation was on the private side, more like the individual, and had rights against the government. And so that decision was really essential in sort of changing how we started to think about corporations and they became less and less about achieving public purposes and more and more about achieving private purposes. That is to say, making money for investors.

Corporations have racial identities

"…we don't think of corporations necessarily as being black or white or whatnot, but the law treats them in such a way. We have laws that provide, for instance, various kinds of preferences, affirmative action, if you will, for minority business enterprises. Well, what is a minority business enterprise, other than a corporation that has been deemed to have a racial identity."

Why focus on corporate issues

Corporations have not all of the same rights as you and me, but nearly all the same rights as you and me. And pretty much all of the rights that a corporation or a business person could want the corporation to have. And so, I realized that this was a story that hadn't been well told, and as I dug into it, I found that it was a much more interesting, unexpected, surprising, and fascinating history than I could have ever imagined.


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His Work:


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]]> Wed, 27 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It was August 2011 when Mitt Romney famously told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair, "corporations are people, my friend." Corporations have had what you could call a civil rights history of their own, which has gone on in parallel to all other civil rights movements. But with so much knowledge in this field publicly available to us, how could this entire history be so poorly understood?

This is highlighted in Adam Winker’s work, and most recently his book, “We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Right.” 

Professor Adam Winkler is a specialist in American constitutional law, the Supreme Court, and gun policy, as well as the Connell Professor of law at the UCLA School of Law. He is also the author of “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America.” 

Greg and Adam discuss this question among others, while also analyzing landmark cases in the flights of Corporations including Citizens United v. FEC, Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, and Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. 

Episode Quotes:

The Supreme Court case that shaped our view on corporations

In the Dartmouth College case, the Supreme Court firmly sided with the idea that a corporation was more like a person, an individual than it was like the government. The court, in that case, could have allowed the state of New Hampshire to take over Dartmouth College and said that a corporation is really just another state agency in some form or some mild form of a state agency or government actor. But instead, the court said that the corporation was on the private side, more like the individual, and had rights against the government. And so that decision was really essential in sort of changing how we started to think about corporations and they became less and less about achieving public purposes and more and more about achieving private purposes. That is to say, making money for investors.

Corporations have racial identities

"…we don't think of corporations necessarily as being black or white or whatnot, but the law treats them in such a way. We have laws that provide, for instance, various kinds of preferences, affirmative action, if you will, for minority business enterprises. Well, what is a minority business enterprise, other than a corporation that has been deemed to have a racial identity."

Why focus on corporate issues

Corporations have not all of the same rights as you and me, but nearly all the same rights as you and me. And pretty much all of the rights that a corporation or a business person could want the corporation to have. And so, I realized that this was a story that hadn't been well told, and as I dug into it, I found that it was a much more interesting, unexpected, surprising, and fascinating history than I could have ever imagined.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> So, ARE Corporations Really People Too? feat. Adam Winkler Greg La Blanc 01:02:55 It was August 2011 when Mitt Romney famously told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair, "corporations are people, my friend." Corporations have had what you could call a civil rights history of their own, which has gone on in parallel to all other civil rights movements. But with so much knowledge in this field publicly available to us, how could this entire history be so poorly understood? This is highlighted in Adam Winker’s work, and most recently his book, “We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Right.” Professor Adam Winkler is a specialist in American constitutional law, the Supreme Court, and gun policy, as well as the Connell Professor of law at the UCLA School of Law. He is also the author of “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America.” Greg and Adam discuss this question among others, while also analyzing landmark cases in the flights of Corporations including Citizens United v. FEC, Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, and Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. It was August 2011 when Mitt Romney famously told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair, "corporations are people, my friend." Corporations have had what you could call a civil rights history of their own, which has gone on in parallel to all other civil rights movements. But with so much knowledge in this field publicly available to us, how could this entire history be so poorly understood? This is highlighted in Adam Winker’s work, and most recently his book, “We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Right.” Professor Adam Winkler is a specialist in American constitutional law, the Supreme Court, and gun policy, as well as the Connell Professor of law at the UCLA School of Law. He is also the author of “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America.” Greg and Adam discuss this question among others, while also analyzing landmark cases in the flights of Corporations including Citizens United v. FEC, Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, and Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. false full 167 2e44b989-c79c-4806-8d1d-385793ab694b The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating feat. David Buss David Buss is one of the founders of the field of evolutionary psychology, currently at the University of Texas at Austin. 

His primary research focus is on strategies of human mating, and he is most well-known for his studies on mate selection, tactics of mate attraction, infidelity, tactics of mate retention, tactics of mate poaching, and the mating emotions of jealousy, lust, and love.

David has also authored several books for wide audiences, such as “The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating,” and most recently “When Men Behave Badly” and also textbooks such as “Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind.” 

This episode covers topics like freedom of sexual choice, error management in the sexual domain, jealousy, polyamory and online dating.

Episode Quotes:

Mating evolution and long-term relationships

On average, men find women to be more attractive than women find men. And we know that a lot of mating, historically, that has over evolutionary time has been hypergamous, that is women marrying up in SES (Socioeconomic status) and polygynous mating system allows that to some degree. And we know that women have evolved mate preferences for men who are high in status. And so you have, these online dating formats, women going after the top 20% of the guys. And so then there are 80% of the guys who experience few or no mating opportunities. And this is a big problem because that top 20% of the males who receive all the female sexual attention are typically unwilling to commit to a long-term mating relationship.

Function of Jealousy

One of the functions of jealousy is that it evolved to preserve paternity certainty, on the part of the investing male.

On vulnerability and moving away

So you take a young woman surrounded by close kin who function as body guards and deterring sexual aggression. And in the modern environment, ship them off a thousand miles away to a college or university, where they have no kin around and they lose also their friendship network that they previously had in their hometown. And so you stripped them of their body guards, and that makes them vulnerable.


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]]> Mon, 25 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast David Buss is one of the founders of the field of evolutionary psychology, currently at the University of Texas at Austin. 

His primary research focus is on strategies of human mating, and he is most well-known for his studies on mate selection, tactics of mate attraction, infidelity, tactics of mate retention, tactics of mate poaching, and the mating emotions of jealousy, lust, and love.

David has also authored several books for wide audiences, such as “The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating,” and most recently “When Men Behave Badly” and also textbooks such as “Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind.” 

This episode covers topics like freedom of sexual choice, error management in the sexual domain, jealousy, polyamory and online dating.

Episode Quotes:

Mating evolution and long-term relationships

On average, men find women to be more attractive than women find men. And we know that a lot of mating, historically, that has over evolutionary time has been hypergamous, that is women marrying up in SES (Socioeconomic status) and polygynous mating system allows that to some degree. And we know that women have evolved mate preferences for men who are high in status. And so you have, these online dating formats, women going after the top 20% of the guys. And so then there are 80% of the guys who experience few or no mating opportunities. And this is a big problem because that top 20% of the males who receive all the female sexual attention are typically unwilling to commit to a long-term mating relationship.

Function of Jealousy

One of the functions of jealousy is that it evolved to preserve paternity certainty, on the part of the investing male.

On vulnerability and moving away

So you take a young woman surrounded by close kin who function as body guards and deterring sexual aggression. And in the modern environment, ship them off a thousand miles away to a college or university, where they have no kin around and they lose also their friendship network that they previously had in their hometown. And so you stripped them of their body guards, and that makes them vulnerable.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating feat. David Buss Greg La Blanc 01:07:10 David Buss is one of the founders of the field of evolutionary psychology, currently at the University of Texas at Austin. His primary research focus is on strategies of human mating, and he is most well-known for his studies on mate selection, tactics of mate attraction, infidelity, tactics of mate retention, tactics of mate poaching, and the mating emotions of jealousy, lust, and love. David has also authored several books for wide audiences, such as “The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating,” and most recently “When Men Behave Badly” and also textbooks such as “Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind.” This episode covers topics like freedom of sexual choice, error management in the sexual domain, jealousy, polyamory and online dating. David Buss is one of the founders of the field of evolutionary psychology, currently at the University of Texas at Austin. His primary research focus is on strategies of human mating, and he is most well-known for his studies on mate selection, tactics of mate attraction, infidelity, tactics of mate retention, tactics of mate poaching, and the mating emotions of jealousy, lust, and love. David has also authored several books for wide audiences, such as “The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating,” and most recently “When Men Behave Badly” and also textbooks such as “Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind.” This episode covers topics like freedom of sexual choice, error management in the sexual domain, jealousy, polyamory and online dating. false full 166 a5584151-cef3-4819-bd77-0d073d815563 Overcoming Addiction with Curiosity feat. Judson Brewer Whether it's smoking cigarettes or mindlessly buying things on Amazon, breaking bad habits can be incredibly difficult. 

Judson Brewer, MD, Ph.D. or “Dr. Jud” is a New York Times best-selling author and thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery,” who blends over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training and a career in scientific research. He is passionate about understanding how our brains work, and how to use that knowledge to help people make deep, permanent change in their lives — with the goal of reducing suffering in the world at large.

He is also the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the School of Public Health and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University. 

Judson’s published works include “The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love, Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits” and the best-seller, “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind.”

Judson is both an academic and an entrepreneur. And in this episode we dive into his many projects including his app based behavior change programs, how our brains reward system works, interest, curiosity and prioritizing all of the addictions available to us in modern society.

Episode Quotes:

On addiction & quitting

The process is the same, whether it's food or social media, the process is the same. If we can see and really see what we're getting from it, then we can learn to consume in moderation without forcing ourselves to like lock our phones in our trunk when we're driving. Or go through these really extreme behavioral ways to kind of force ourselves not to do things. We don't have to do that. It really comes back to like how can we just leverage the power of our minds, which is super powerful.

Body vs. brain

So think of it this way. Our feeling body is much stronger than our thinking brain. So we can think something's bad for me, but that's not gonna help.

Interest curiosity

That craving, we can go, oh no, I have to have a cigarette. Or we can flip that with interest curiosity and go, oh, what does this craving feel like right now in my body? And so here we go to the source, like, what is it that's driving me to do this? 


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]]> Fri, 22 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Whether it's smoking cigarettes or mindlessly buying things on Amazon, breaking bad habits can be incredibly difficult. 

Judson Brewer, MD, Ph.D. or “Dr. Jud” is a New York Times best-selling author and thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery,” who blends over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training and a career in scientific research. He is passionate about understanding how our brains work, and how to use that knowledge to help people make deep, permanent change in their lives — with the goal of reducing suffering in the world at large.

He is also the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the School of Public Health and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University. 

Judson’s published works include “The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love, Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits” and the best-seller, “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind.”

Judson is both an academic and an entrepreneur. And in this episode we dive into his many projects including his app based behavior change programs, how our brains reward system works, interest, curiosity and prioritizing all of the addictions available to us in modern society.

Episode Quotes:

On addiction & quitting

The process is the same, whether it's food or social media, the process is the same. If we can see and really see what we're getting from it, then we can learn to consume in moderation without forcing ourselves to like lock our phones in our trunk when we're driving. Or go through these really extreme behavioral ways to kind of force ourselves not to do things. We don't have to do that. It really comes back to like how can we just leverage the power of our minds, which is super powerful.

Body vs. brain

So think of it this way. Our feeling body is much stronger than our thinking brain. So we can think something's bad for me, but that's not gonna help.

Interest curiosity

That craving, we can go, oh no, I have to have a cigarette. Or we can flip that with interest curiosity and go, oh, what does this craving feel like right now in my body? And so here we go to the source, like, what is it that's driving me to do this? 


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]]> Overcoming Addiction with Curiosity feat. Judson Brewer Greg La Blanc 00:58:15 Whether it's smoking cigarettes or mindlessly buying things on Amazon, breaking bad habits can be incredibly difficult. Judson Brewer, MD, Ph.D. or “Dr. Jud” is a New York Times best-selling author and thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery,” who blends over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training and a career in scientific research. He is passionate about understanding how our brains work, and how to use that knowledge to help people make deep, permanent change in their lives — with the goal of reducing suffering in the world at large. He is also the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the School of Public Health and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University. Judson’s published works include “The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love, Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits” and the best-seller, “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind.” Judson is both an academic and an entrepreneur. And in this episode we dive into his many projects including his app based behavior change programs, how our brains reward system works, interest, curiosity and prioritizing all of the addictions available to us in modern society. Whether it's smoking cigarettes or mindlessly buying things on Amazon, breaking bad habits can be incredibly difficult. Judson Brewer, MD, Ph.D. or “Dr. Jud” is a New York Times best-selling author and thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery,” who blends over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training and a career in scientific research. He is passionate about understanding how our brains work, and how to use that knowledge to help people make deep, permanent change in their lives — with the goal of reducing suffering in the world at large. He is also the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the School of Public Health and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University. Judson’s published works include “The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love, Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits” and the best-seller, “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind.” Judson is both an academic and an entrepreneur. And in this episode we dive into his many projects including his app based behavior change programs, how our brains reward system works, interest, curiosity and prioritizing all of the addictions available to us in modern society. false full 165 ec509e81-a75a-4353-8214-156a630e048d The Power Of Mathematical Thinking feat. Jordan Ellenberg Jordan Ellenberg is the first official mathematician we’ve had on the show, but his work weaves through many different domains. Afterall, whether it's something like game theory or data science, it's all built on math.

Jordan Ellenberg is at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Mathematics. His research centers on the fields of number theory and algebraic geometry, the parts of mathematics which address fundamental questions about algebraic equations and their solutions in whole numbers. 

Jordan has also been writing for a general audience about math for more than fifteen years; including “How Not To Be Wrong: The Power Of Mathematical Thinking,” “Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else,” his novel “The Grasshopper King,” and his “Do the Math” column in Slate. 

Jordan joins Greg to talk about what makes math special, how published studies might not be reliable, and, the geometry of how we relate to the world.

Episode Quotes:

Math & Intuition

Improbable things are very common. Like if you like open a book to a random page and look at it and you're like, wow, 432, what's the chance that I would've opened it to exactly the page 432, like pretty small, right? The book has a lot of pages. That's a very unlikely event. And yet something in you knows not to find that remarkable, even though it's definitely improbable. So you see how your intuition gets like a little weird and twisted around. You have to be very careful.

Math class is hard

We know that it's like one of the classes that creates a lot of stress for kids. And one reason is that it is a venue where we tell people they're wrong.

Math is fundamental

Math is like a fundamentally human activity. Every single human society that's ever existed does it. And if we sort of, slice off either our poetic side or our quantitative side, we're just like slicing off like part of our human nature. Why would we do that?


Show Links:


Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Wed, 20 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Jordan Ellenberg is the first official mathematician we’ve had on the show, but his work weaves through many different domains. Afterall, whether it's something like game theory or data science, it's all built on math.

Jordan Ellenberg is at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Mathematics. His research centers on the fields of number theory and algebraic geometry, the parts of mathematics which address fundamental questions about algebraic equations and their solutions in whole numbers. 

Jordan has also been writing for a general audience about math for more than fifteen years; including “How Not To Be Wrong: The Power Of Mathematical Thinking,” “Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else,” his novel “The Grasshopper King,” and his “Do the Math” column in Slate. 

Jordan joins Greg to talk about what makes math special, how published studies might not be reliable, and, the geometry of how we relate to the world.

Episode Quotes:

Math & Intuition

Improbable things are very common. Like if you like open a book to a random page and look at it and you're like, wow, 432, what's the chance that I would've opened it to exactly the page 432, like pretty small, right? The book has a lot of pages. That's a very unlikely event. And yet something in you knows not to find that remarkable, even though it's definitely improbable. So you see how your intuition gets like a little weird and twisted around. You have to be very careful.

Math class is hard

We know that it's like one of the classes that creates a lot of stress for kids. And one reason is that it is a venue where we tell people they're wrong.

Math is fundamental

Math is like a fundamentally human activity. Every single human society that's ever existed does it. And if we sort of, slice off either our poetic side or our quantitative side, we're just like slicing off like part of our human nature. Why would we do that?


Show Links:


Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> The Power Of Mathematical Thinking feat. Jordan Ellenberg Greg La Blanc 01:07:13 Jordan Ellenberg is the first official mathematician we’ve had on the show, but his work weaves through many different domains. Afterall, whether it's something like game theory or data science, it's all built on math. Jordan Ellenberg is at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Mathematics. His research centers on the fields of number theory and algebraic geometry, the parts of mathematics which address fundamental questions about algebraic equations and their solutions in whole numbers. Jordan has also been writing for a general audience about math for more than fifteen years; including “How Not To Be Wrong: The Power Of Mathematical Thinking,” “Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else,” his novel “The Grasshopper King,” and his “Do the Math” column in Slate. Jordan joins Greg to talk about what makes math special, how published studies might not be reliable, and, the geometry of how we relate to the world. Jordan Ellenberg is the first official mathematician we’ve had on the show, but his work weaves through many different domains. Afterall, whether it's something like game theory or data science, it's all built on math. Jordan Ellenberg is at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Mathematics. His research centers on the fields of number theory and algebraic geometry, the parts of mathematics which address fundamental questions about algebraic equations and their solutions in whole numbers. Jordan has also been writing for a general audience about math for more than fifteen years; including “How Not To Be Wrong: The Power Of Mathematical Thinking,” “Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else,” his novel “The Grasshopper King,” and his “Do the Math” column in Slate. Jordan joins Greg to talk about what makes math special, how published studies might not be reliable, and, the geometry of how we relate to the world. false full 164 2d953c5e-4f68-4518-9717-66675bcb60d4 Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World feat. Iddo Landau We've covered a lot of ground in 163 episodes of unSILOed. We’ve dug into topics like economics, psychology, biology, and many many more. So today we're going to tackle the meaning of life. It's about time, right?!

Iddo Landau, Ph.D., is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Haifa. He has written extensively on the meaning of life. His latest book is “Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World.” 

So let's dive into the meaning of life here. Within that, Greg & Iddo discuss perfectionism, subjective happiness, mediocrity as a virtue, “good enough mothers,” and finding meaning in doing the dishes.

Episode Quotes:

On the meaning of life

I think in general, we should remember that life is terrible and life is wonderful. It includes horrific things and it includes very good and wonderful things. And many people, not all people, but many people, have quite a lot of power to live their lives in ways in which there is more meaningfulness or good than meaninglessness or bad.

The business of philosophy

The business of philosophy is the pursuit of truth. So we should not try to cheat ourselves or delude ourselves.

On happiness

I think that happiness can be seen as of intrinsic value. I mean, there is good reason to be happy just for the sake of happiness. However, that does not mean that happiness and meaningfulness always come together.

On perfectionism

The general thrust of perfectionism is the view or the sensation that if things are not excellent or perfect, of extremely high quality, then they're not worth anything. It's a bit like a person who looks into the sun and then is blinded because he cannot see anything that is in regular light. 


Show Links:


Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Mon, 18 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We've covered a lot of ground in 163 episodes of unSILOed. We’ve dug into topics like economics, psychology, biology, and many many more. So today we're going to tackle the meaning of life. It's about time, right?!

Iddo Landau, Ph.D., is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Haifa. He has written extensively on the meaning of life. His latest book is “Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World.” 

So let's dive into the meaning of life here. Within that, Greg & Iddo discuss perfectionism, subjective happiness, mediocrity as a virtue, “good enough mothers,” and finding meaning in doing the dishes.

Episode Quotes:

On the meaning of life

I think in general, we should remember that life is terrible and life is wonderful. It includes horrific things and it includes very good and wonderful things. And many people, not all people, but many people, have quite a lot of power to live their lives in ways in which there is more meaningfulness or good than meaninglessness or bad.

The business of philosophy

The business of philosophy is the pursuit of truth. So we should not try to cheat ourselves or delude ourselves.

On happiness

I think that happiness can be seen as of intrinsic value. I mean, there is good reason to be happy just for the sake of happiness. However, that does not mean that happiness and meaningfulness always come together.

On perfectionism

The general thrust of perfectionism is the view or the sensation that if things are not excellent or perfect, of extremely high quality, then they're not worth anything. It's a bit like a person who looks into the sun and then is blinded because he cannot see anything that is in regular light. 


Show Links:


Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World feat. Iddo Landau Greg La Blanc 01:03:17 We've covered a lot of ground in 164 episodes of unSILOed. We’ve dug into topics like economics, psychology, biology, and many many more. So today we're going to tackle the meaning of life. It's about time, right?! Iddo Landau, Ph.D., is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Haifa. He has written extensively on the meaning of life. His latest book is “Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World.” So let's dive into the meaning of life here. Within that, Greg & Iddo discuss perfectionism, subjective happiness, mediocrity as a virtue, “good enough mothers,” and finding meaning in doing the dishes. We've covered a lot of ground in 164 episodes of unSILOed. We’ve dug into topics like economics, psychology, biology, and many many more. So today we're going to tackle the meaning of life. It's about time, right?! Iddo Landau, Ph.D., is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Haifa. He has written extensively on the meaning of life. His latest book is “Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World.” So let's dive into the meaning of life here. Within that, Greg & Iddo discuss perfectionism, subjective happiness, mediocrity as a virtue, “good enough mothers,” and finding meaning in doing the dishes. false full 163 b8515a42-16f2-4a54-9501-6ac5d47ef736 Science is Littered With Failure feat. Stuart Firestein There's a bit of a theme when it comes to Stuart Firestein’s books, with titles like “Failure: Why Science Is So Successful,” and “Ignorance: How It Drives Science.”

Stuart Firestein is Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University where he and his colleagues study the vertebrate olfactory system. He says his lab is dedicated to answering that fundamental human question: How do I smell?

In this episode, Stuart tells us about his lab, what it means to succeed in science, failure vs. error, and if there is a science of serendipity.


Episode Quotes:

On teaching science

When I go to a conference or a meeting, fellow scientists, we don't talk about what we know, we talk about what we don't know, what we'd like to know. And so I thought, well, maybe that's what we should start teaching these kids a little bit of the, what we don't know, because that's really where, the cool science is. That's really where science happens. 

Failure is interesting

I like to see experiments succeed now and again, but they're often more interesting when they don't quite succeed the way you think they would. 

On experiments & failure 

An experiment that's not replicated is often conflated with fraud, and those are two different things.


Show Links:

Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There's a bit of a theme when it comes to Stuart Firestein’s books, with titles like “Failure: Why Science Is So Successful,” and “Ignorance: How It Drives Science.”

Stuart Firestein is Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University where he and his colleagues study the vertebrate olfactory system. He says his lab is dedicated to answering that fundamental human question: How do I smell?

In this episode, Stuart tells us about his lab, what it means to succeed in science, failure vs. error, and if there is a science of serendipity.


Episode Quotes:

On teaching science

When I go to a conference or a meeting, fellow scientists, we don't talk about what we know, we talk about what we don't know, what we'd like to know. And so I thought, well, maybe that's what we should start teaching these kids a little bit of the, what we don't know, because that's really where, the cool science is. That's really where science happens. 

Failure is interesting

I like to see experiments succeed now and again, but they're often more interesting when they don't quite succeed the way you think they would. 

On experiments & failure 

An experiment that's not replicated is often conflated with fraud, and those are two different things.


Show Links:

Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Science is Littered With Failure feat. Stuart Firestein Greg La Blanc 00:53:27 There's a bit of a theme when it comes to Stuart Firestein’s books, with titles like “Failure: Why Science Is So Successful,” and “Ignorance: How It Drives Science.” Stuart Firestein is Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University where he and his colleagues study the vertebrate olfactory system. He says his lab is dedicated to answering that fundamental human question: How do I smell? In this episode, Stuart tells us about his lab, what it means to succeed in science, failure vs. error, and if there is a science of serendipity. There's a bit of a theme when it comes to Stuart Firestein’s books, with titles like “Failure: Why Science Is So Successful,” and “Ignorance: How It Drives Science.” Stuart Firestein is Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University where he and his colleagues study the vertebrate olfactory system. He says his lab is dedicated to answering that fundamental human question: How do I smell? In this episode, Stuart tells us about his lab, what it means to succeed in science, failure vs. error, and if there is a science of serendipity. false full 162 d0d0930e-9a02-4a32-9c77-0cc6915c796f Framing, Re-Framing, and Perspective Taking feat. Kenneth Cukier With all of the recent advances in machine learning, what’s left for us humans to do? Well, according to Ken Cukier, there is plenty: humans have not and may not ever be matched when it comes to thinking thru frames and models, using imagination to think through what is not in the data as much as what is in the data. 

Ken Cukier is a Senior Editor at The Economist, and host of its weekly podcast on technology. He is also an associate fellow at Said Business School at Oxford, researching artificial intelligence. His most recent book is, “Framers: Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil,” c0-authored with xxxx which is a follow up to the earlier book “Big Data: A Revolution That Transforms How We Live, Work, and Think” he co authored with Viktor Mayer-Schönberger. He is also the author of “Learning with Big Data: The Future of Education.”

Listen as Ken and Greg discuss framing, re-framing, learning by teaching, and the educated elite. 

Episode Quotes:

Fundamental difference between AI & humans

Human beings are able to visualize things that don't exist. We don't have to run the experiment, we can run it in our minds in our imaginations. The computers cannot do that. Artificial intelligence has no ability to conceptualize information that it doesn't have. It can only rely on information that it does have. That is the fundamental difference: that we are able to see things that are not there.

Liberal perspectivism

Isn't it interesting that people are bristling in 2022 of trying to adopt the position of other people to walk in their shoes, to see things through their lens. You wouldn't have expected that. 

Encouraging reframing

By the time you're in your late thirties, and you've touched a little bit of authority and responsibility and a little bit more income and business class lounges, what's the likelihood that you're going to risk that by coming up with a new idea? I mean, unless you're already in a venture backed startup, probably not. So we do such a terrible job as a society at encouraging that reframing and that fresh thinking, we need to get better at it.

Cognitively lazy people

I think some people are more primed to being more dynamic. Stand up comedians are probably the least cognitively (or good ones at least), are probably the least cognitively lazy in the world. They thrive on newness of changing their act, developing things. 


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Wed, 13 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast With all of the recent advances in machine learning, what’s left for us humans to do? Well, according to Ken Cukier, there is plenty: humans have not and may not ever be matched when it comes to thinking thru frames and models, using imagination to think through what is not in the data as much as what is in the data. 

Ken Cukier is a Senior Editor at The Economist, and host of its weekly podcast on technology. He is also an associate fellow at Said Business School at Oxford, researching artificial intelligence. His most recent book is, “Framers: Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil,” c0-authored with xxxx which is a follow up to the earlier book “Big Data: A Revolution That Transforms How We Live, Work, and Think” he co authored with Viktor Mayer-Schönberger. He is also the author of “Learning with Big Data: The Future of Education.”

Listen as Ken and Greg discuss framing, re-framing, learning by teaching, and the educated elite. 

Episode Quotes:

Fundamental difference between AI & humans

Human beings are able to visualize things that don't exist. We don't have to run the experiment, we can run it in our minds in our imaginations. The computers cannot do that. Artificial intelligence has no ability to conceptualize information that it doesn't have. It can only rely on information that it does have. That is the fundamental difference: that we are able to see things that are not there.

Liberal perspectivism

Isn't it interesting that people are bristling in 2022 of trying to adopt the position of other people to walk in their shoes, to see things through their lens. You wouldn't have expected that. 

Encouraging reframing

By the time you're in your late thirties, and you've touched a little bit of authority and responsibility and a little bit more income and business class lounges, what's the likelihood that you're going to risk that by coming up with a new idea? I mean, unless you're already in a venture backed startup, probably not. So we do such a terrible job as a society at encouraging that reframing and that fresh thinking, we need to get better at it.

Cognitively lazy people

I think some people are more primed to being more dynamic. Stand up comedians are probably the least cognitively (or good ones at least), are probably the least cognitively lazy in the world. They thrive on newness of changing their act, developing things. 


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Framing, Re-Framing, and Perspective Taking feat. Kenneth Cukier Greg La Blanc 01:10:57 With all of the recent advances in machine learning, what’s left for us humans to do? Well, according to Ken Cukier, there is plenty: humans have not and may not ever be matched when it comes to thinking thru frames and models, using imagination to think through what is not in the data as much as what is in the data. Ken Cukier is a Senior Editor at The Economist, and host of its weekly podcast on technology. He is also an associate fellow at Said Business School at Oxford, researching artificial intelligence. His most recent book is, “Framers: Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil,” c0-authored with xxxx which is a follow up to the earlier book “Big Data: A Revolution That Transforms How We Live, Work, and Think” he co authored with Viktor Mayer-Schönberger. He is also the author of “Learning with Big Data: The Future of Education.” Listen as Ken and Greg discuss framing, re-framing, learning by teaching, and the educated elite. With all of the recent advances in machine learning, what’s left for us humans to do? Well, according to Ken Cukier, there is plenty: humans have not and may not ever be matched when it comes to thinking thru frames and models, using imagination to think through what is not in the data as much as what is in the data. Ken Cukier is a Senior Editor at The Economist, and host of its weekly podcast on technology. He is also an associate fellow at Said Business School at Oxford, researching artificial intelligence. His most recent book is, “Framers: Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil,” c0-authored with xxxx which is a follow up to the earlier book “Big Data: A Revolution That Transforms How We Live, Work, and Think” he co authored with Viktor Mayer-Schönberger. He is also the author of “Learning with Big Data: The Future of Education.” Listen as Ken and Greg discuss framing, re-framing, learning by teaching, and the educated elite. false full 161 8d1ad1a0-3c61-4a5d-b352-f2d981e13463 Game Theory and the Art of Transforming Strategic Situations feat. David McAdams When it comes to game theory, the stories we tell can be incredibly powerful, because it's not enough to just analyze a situation and come up with what you think is the right thing to do. You have to convince people to make change. 

David McAdams is Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, as well as a Professor of Economics in the Economics Department. 

McAdams has broad research interests in microeconomic theory and game theory, with particular focus on the epidemiology of information, with applications to infectious disease and misinformation, and auction theory, with applications to market design. David is also the author of "Game-Changer: Game Theory and the Art of Transforming Strategic Situations." 

Greg and David discuss all things game theory in this episode: why every transaction you've ever done is a prisoner's dilemma, how familiarity with game theory can make you a better person, and war games.

Episode Quotes:

Game theory and change

You need game theory to imagine the big change. So you will never get there if you're just measuring around yourself and making little incremental things. To make big change, to dramatically make the world a better place, you need to have the vision that comes from game theory. And then going back to that storytelling, you can probably convince people, yeah, this is going to work.

Why game theory?

That's what jazzes me up the most about game theory. It just encourages you to think big and think creatively.

Game theory and storytelling

The most powerful thing you get from being a game theorist is storytelling. You become a storytelling master. And this is powerful, but it can also be powerful in some really negative ways too.


Show Links:


Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 11 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When it comes to game theory, the stories we tell can be incredibly powerful, because it's not enough to just analyze a situation and come up with what you think is the right thing to do. You have to convince people to make change. 

David McAdams is Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, as well as a Professor of Economics in the Economics Department. 

McAdams has broad research interests in microeconomic theory and game theory, with particular focus on the epidemiology of information, with applications to infectious disease and misinformation, and auction theory, with applications to market design. David is also the author of "Game-Changer: Game Theory and the Art of Transforming Strategic Situations." 

Greg and David discuss all things game theory in this episode: why every transaction you've ever done is a prisoner's dilemma, how familiarity with game theory can make you a better person, and war games.

Episode Quotes:

Game theory and change

You need game theory to imagine the big change. So you will never get there if you're just measuring around yourself and making little incremental things. To make big change, to dramatically make the world a better place, you need to have the vision that comes from game theory. And then going back to that storytelling, you can probably convince people, yeah, this is going to work.

Why game theory?

That's what jazzes me up the most about game theory. It just encourages you to think big and think creatively.

Game theory and storytelling

The most powerful thing you get from being a game theorist is storytelling. You become a storytelling master. And this is powerful, but it can also be powerful in some really negative ways too.


Show Links:


Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Game Theory and the Art of Transforming Strategic Situations feat. David McAdams Greg La Blanc 00:59:13 When it comes to game theory, the stories we tell can be incredibly powerful, because it's not enough to just analyze a situation and come up with what you think is the right thing to do. You have to convince people to make change. David McAdams is Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, as well as a Professor of Economics in the Economics Department. McAdams has broad research interests in microeconomic theory and game theory, with particular focus on the epidemiology of information, with applications to infectious disease and misinformation, and auction theory, with applications to market design. David is also the author of "Game-Changer: Game Theory and the Art of Transforming Strategic Situations." Greg and David discuss all things game theory in this episode: why every transaction you've ever done is a prisoner's dilemma, how familiarity with game theory can make you a better person, and war games. When it comes to game theory, the stories we tell can be incredibly powerful, because it's not enough to just analyze a situation and come up with what you think is the right thing to do. You have to convince people to make change. David McAdams is Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, as well as a Professor of Economics in the Economics Department. McAdams has broad research interests in microeconomic theory and game theory, with particular focus on the epidemiology of information, with applications to infectious disease and misinformation, and auction theory, with applications to market design. David is also the author of "Game-Changer: Game Theory and the Art of Transforming Strategic Situations." Greg and David discuss all things game theory in this episode: why every transaction you've ever done is a prisoner's dilemma, how familiarity with game theory can make you a better person, and war games. false full 160 22f1b16d-de28-41c7-b997-8481005bec6a In Defense of Genetic Engineering feat. Beth Shapiro There are many many opinions on how genetic engineering is affecting the future. But Beth Shapiro has an optimistic view of how humans seem to be much more conscious of the impact that they're having, and where genetic engineering fits into that impact. 

Beth Shapiro is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology r at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). She is also the director of evolutionary genomics at the UCSC Genomics Institute. Her lab's research focuses on a wide range of evolutionary and ecological questions, mostly involving the application of genomics techniques to better understand how species and populations evolve through time. 

She is also the author of a number of books including “Life as We Made It: How 50,000 Years of Human Innovation Refined―and Redefined―Nature,” and “How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction.”

Beth joins Greg to talk about how her career moved from studying bison to genetic engineering, megafaunal extinctions, and GMOs in our food.

Episode Quotes:

How science & genetics has evolved

I don't think anybody in the late 1990s or early 2000s had any idea how much we would learn by doing this. How much being able to reach directly into the past and pull genetic data directly from the past, like a snapshot into history, was going to change the way we think about foundational things like what makes a species.

On human impact

Our footprints, our fingerprints are on everything that's out there. Even the species that we're trying to protect and preserve. And I don't think that's a bad thing.

The timing of megafaunal extinctions

The timing of megafaunal extinctions around the world is different depending on which continent we're talking about. And it just so happens that that timing coincides with the archeological evidence of the first appearance of people in most parts of the world. What's difficult about this is that it also coincides in many places with really rapid and large scale climate changes. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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]]> Fri, 8 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There are many many opinions on how genetic engineering is affecting the future. But Beth Shapiro has an optimistic view of how humans seem to be much more conscious of the impact that they're having, and where genetic engineering fits into that impact. 

Beth Shapiro is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology r at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). She is also the director of evolutionary genomics at the UCSC Genomics Institute. Her lab's research focuses on a wide range of evolutionary and ecological questions, mostly involving the application of genomics techniques to better understand how species and populations evolve through time. 

She is also the author of a number of books including “Life as We Made It: How 50,000 Years of Human Innovation Refined―and Redefined―Nature,” and “How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction.”

Beth joins Greg to talk about how her career moved from studying bison to genetic engineering, megafaunal extinctions, and GMOs in our food.

Episode Quotes:

How science & genetics has evolved

I don't think anybody in the late 1990s or early 2000s had any idea how much we would learn by doing this. How much being able to reach directly into the past and pull genetic data directly from the past, like a snapshot into history, was going to change the way we think about foundational things like what makes a species.

On human impact

Our footprints, our fingerprints are on everything that's out there. Even the species that we're trying to protect and preserve. And I don't think that's a bad thing.

The timing of megafaunal extinctions

The timing of megafaunal extinctions around the world is different depending on which continent we're talking about. And it just so happens that that timing coincides with the archeological evidence of the first appearance of people in most parts of the world. What's difficult about this is that it also coincides in many places with really rapid and large scale climate changes. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> In Defense of Genetic Engineering feat. Beth Shapiro Greg La Blanc 00:41:30 There are many many opinions on how genetic engineering is affecting the future. But Beth Shapiro has an optimistic view of how humans seem to be much more conscious of the impact that they're having, and where genetic engineering fits into that impact. Beth Shapiro is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology r at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). She is also the director of evolutionary genomics at the UCSC Genomics Institute. Her lab's research focuses on a wide range of evolutionary and ecological questions, mostly involving the application of genomics techniques to better understand how species and populations evolve through time. She is also the author of a number of books including “Life as We Made It: How 50,000 Years of Human Innovation Refined―and Redefined―Nature,” and “How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction.” Beth joins Greg to talk about how her career moved from studying bison to genetic engineering, megafaunal extinctions, and GMOs in our food. There are many many opinions on how genetic engineering is affecting the future. But Beth Shapiro has an optimistic view of how humans seem to be much more conscious of the impact that they're having, and where genetic engineering fits into that impact. Beth Shapiro is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology r at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). She is also the director of evolutionary genomics at the UCSC Genomics Institute. Her lab's research focuses on a wide range of evolutionary and ecological questions, mostly involving the application of genomics techniques to better understand how species and populations evolve through time. She is also the author of a number of books including “Life as We Made It: How 50,000 Years of Human Innovation Refined―and Redefined―Nature,” and “How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction.” Beth joins Greg to talk about how her career moved from studying bison to genetic engineering, megafaunal extinctions, and GMOs in our food. false full 159 90c0a8b5-98ad-4978-b007-14ce5a6f23b2 Why Our Teeth Don't Fit in Our Mouths feat. Alex Bezzerides From bad teeth to appendix surgeries, it seems like our bodies are breaking down in modern times. So how has society and evolution changed how our bodies work?

Alex Bezzerides is a professor of biology at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, where he teaches a wide range of biology classes, from human anatomy and physiology to entomology. He is also the author of “Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't).”

In this episode, Greg and Alex cover bipedalism and its baggage, sore feet and back pain, snoring and sleep apnea and other bodily quirks. 

Episode Quotes:

Evolution and the rise of C-sections 

First, you have the bipedal issue, which did change the shape of the birth canal. That's the first piece of the difficulty of birth puzzle. And then the brain gets, triples in size, in that period of time from 5 million years to a couple of millionyears ago. And then with modern nutrition, you're able to feed that fetus in a way that it's never been fed before. So the women can develop and grow this child that is bigger than it's ever been. You put all that in the stew and mix it together and you've got a problem. 

Timeline of human speech

Somewhere around 50,000 years ago is when the modern head and neck comes into place. That means for most of the time humans have been humans, they weren't capable of the type of speech that they are now.

Why are feet are sore all the time

It used to make sense for our feet, right? When they needed to be nimble and grabbing branches, doing all these things. But now it's just a mess. You got all these bones down there that are just pounding the earth, which is not what they were made to do. And they slip and slide and sprain.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Thu, 7 Jul 2022 02:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast From bad teeth to appendix surgeries, it seems like our bodies are breaking down in modern times. So how has society and evolution changed how our bodies work?

Alex Bezzerides is a professor of biology at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, where he teaches a wide range of biology classes, from human anatomy and physiology to entomology. He is also the author of “Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't).”

In this episode, Greg and Alex cover bipedalism and its baggage, sore feet and back pain, snoring and sleep apnea and other bodily quirks. 

Episode Quotes:

Evolution and the rise of C-sections 

First, you have the bipedal issue, which did change the shape of the birth canal. That's the first piece of the difficulty of birth puzzle. And then the brain gets, triples in size, in that period of time from 5 million years to a couple of millionyears ago. And then with modern nutrition, you're able to feed that fetus in a way that it's never been fed before. So the women can develop and grow this child that is bigger than it's ever been. You put all that in the stew and mix it together and you've got a problem. 

Timeline of human speech

Somewhere around 50,000 years ago is when the modern head and neck comes into place. That means for most of the time humans have been humans, they weren't capable of the type of speech that they are now.

Why are feet are sore all the time

It used to make sense for our feet, right? When they needed to be nimble and grabbing branches, doing all these things. But now it's just a mess. You got all these bones down there that are just pounding the earth, which is not what they were made to do. And they slip and slide and sprain.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Why Our Teeth Don't Fit in Our Mouths feat. Alex Bezzerides Greg La Blanc 01:00:39 From bad teeth to appendix surgeries, it seems like our bodies are breaking down in modern times. So how has society and evolution changed how our bodies work? Alex Bezzerides is a professor of biology at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, where he teaches a wide range of biology classes, from human anatomy and physiology to entomology. He is also the author of “Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't).” In this episode, Greg and Alex cover bipedalism and its baggage, sore feet and back pain, snoring and sleep apnea and other bodily quirks. From bad teeth to appendix surgeries, it seems like our bodies are breaking down in modern times. So how has society and evolution changed how our bodies work? Alex Bezzerides is a professor of biology at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, where he teaches a wide range of biology classes, from human anatomy and physiology to entomology. He is also the author of “Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't).” In this episode, Greg and Alex cover bipedalism and its baggage, sore feet and back pain, snoring and sleep apnea and other bodily quirks. false full 158 fad847c6-b832-4d9d-a5c7-84db525f674e Science Denial and the Scientific Attitude feat. Lee McIntyre What exactly is science? It's something that philosophers have grappled with quite a bit. Well, the good news is that you don't have to have a philosophical understanding of the foundation of science to understand science. 

Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School.

He is the author of many many books, including “How to Talk to a Science Denier,” Post-Truth, and The Scientific Attitude.

He sits down with Greg to look at science from a philosophical angle. They discuss flat earthers, anti-vaxxers and disinformation on the internet, paradigm shifts, the politicization of everything and becoming a philosopher of science.

Episode Quotes:

The problem with misinformation and science denial 

It's that it polarizes us and demonizes the other side. It creates a us versus them dynamic around empirical issues, so that we literally fall into, you know, and different teams and hate the people on the other side. And that gives scientists an impossible task to do good science communication.

Science denial isn't new

Science denial has been around for as long as science has. And I don't think anybody with a straight face can say that science denial is worse now than it was in Galileo's time. 

More on science deniers

They think of themselves as being more scientific than the scientists. More open-minded and more skeptical at the same time. That they're really the rigorous thinkers and that scientists are biased.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work: 


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]]> Mon, 4 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What exactly is science? It's something that philosophers have grappled with quite a bit. Well, the good news is that you don't have to have a philosophical understanding of the foundation of science to understand science. 

Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School.

He is the author of many many books, including “How to Talk to a Science Denier,” Post-Truth, and The Scientific Attitude.

He sits down with Greg to look at science from a philosophical angle. They discuss flat earthers, anti-vaxxers and disinformation on the internet, paradigm shifts, the politicization of everything and becoming a philosopher of science.

Episode Quotes:

The problem with misinformation and science denial 

It's that it polarizes us and demonizes the other side. It creates a us versus them dynamic around empirical issues, so that we literally fall into, you know, and different teams and hate the people on the other side. And that gives scientists an impossible task to do good science communication.

Science denial isn't new

Science denial has been around for as long as science has. And I don't think anybody with a straight face can say that science denial is worse now than it was in Galileo's time. 

More on science deniers

They think of themselves as being more scientific than the scientists. More open-minded and more skeptical at the same time. That they're really the rigorous thinkers and that scientists are biased.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work: 


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

]]> Science Denial and the Scientific Attitude feat. Lee McIntyre Greg La Blanc 01:11:53 What exactly is science? It's something that philosophers have grappled with quite a bit. Well, the good news is that you don't have to have a philosophical understanding of the foundation of science to understand science. Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School. He is the author of many many books, including “How to Talk to a Science Denier,” Post-Truth, and The Scientific Attitude. He sits down with Greg to look at science from a philosophical angle. They discuss flat earthers, anti-vaxxers and disinformation on the internet, paradigm shifts, the politicization of everything and becoming a philosopher of science. What exactly is science? It's something that philosophers have grappled with quite a bit. Well, the good news is that you don't have to have a philosophical understanding of the foundation of science to understand science. Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School. He is the author of many many books, including “How to Talk to a Science Denier,” Post-Truth, and The Scientific Attitude. He sits down with Greg to look at science from a philosophical angle. They discuss flat earthers, anti-vaxxers and disinformation on the internet, paradigm shifts, the politicization of everything and becoming a philosopher of science. false full 157 4128bf7a-3b5c-43a9-872e-1a1b5efaa95c Is Aging a Disease? feat. Sue Armstrong We all know the diseases associated with aging: cancer, heart disease, dementia. But what if they are just symptoms of and the disease is aging itself? How would this view affect our approach to medical research? While the last few centuries have extended human lifespan by decades, our healthspan has not kept up. New scientific insights are pointing toward a better understanding of the causes of aging and perhaps may lead to the extension of our healthspan.

Sue Armstrong explores these topics and more in her latest book, “Borrowed Time: The Science of How and Why We Age.” She is a science writer and broadcaster. As a foreign correspondent based in Brussels and then South Africa, Sue worked for outlets such as New Scientist magazine and the BBC World Service radio.

She has worked as a consultant writer for the World Health Organization and UNAIDS for more than 25 years, and has worked extensively on reporting on HIV and other science and health topics over the years.

Sue joins Greg to discuss senescent cells, how the immune system degrades as we age, sitting as the new smoking and Alzheimers.

Episode Quotes:

Aging as a disease

So there's quite a lot of things we can do to ameliorate aging. But as long as it's seen as a completely natural process, there's no money in it. The FDA doesn't see it as a disease. It's not something that is recognized as something we should be curing. 

Extending life & the thesis of her latest book 

What I was interested in doing was exploring the biology of aging and what we could do to improve the health span while we were alive, rather than extend it into immortality. 

On working in biology

There are absolutely no quick fixes, but what's fascinating about biology is the way it does something and it'll compensate in some other way and it finds ways to run things - it's so intricate. It's just wonderful. That's what I find so exciting about writing about it. 


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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]]> Fri, 1 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We all know the diseases associated with aging: cancer, heart disease, dementia. But what if they are just symptoms of and the disease is aging itself? How would this view affect our approach to medical research? While the last few centuries have extended human lifespan by decades, our healthspan has not kept up. New scientific insights are pointing toward a better understanding of the causes of aging and perhaps may lead to the extension of our healthspan.

Sue Armstrong explores these topics and more in her latest book, “Borrowed Time: The Science of How and Why We Age.” She is a science writer and broadcaster. As a foreign correspondent based in Brussels and then South Africa, Sue worked for outlets such as New Scientist magazine and the BBC World Service radio.

She has worked as a consultant writer for the World Health Organization and UNAIDS for more than 25 years, and has worked extensively on reporting on HIV and other science and health topics over the years.

Sue joins Greg to discuss senescent cells, how the immune system degrades as we age, sitting as the new smoking and Alzheimers.

Episode Quotes:

Aging as a disease

So there's quite a lot of things we can do to ameliorate aging. But as long as it's seen as a completely natural process, there's no money in it. The FDA doesn't see it as a disease. It's not something that is recognized as something we should be curing. 

Extending life & the thesis of her latest book 

What I was interested in doing was exploring the biology of aging and what we could do to improve the health span while we were alive, rather than extend it into immortality. 

On working in biology

There are absolutely no quick fixes, but what's fascinating about biology is the way it does something and it'll compensate in some other way and it finds ways to run things - it's so intricate. It's just wonderful. That's what I find so exciting about writing about it. 


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Is Aging a Disease? feat. Sue Armstrong Greg La Blanc 00:55:25 We all know the diseases associated with aging: cancer, heart disease, dementia. But what if they are just symptoms of and the disease is aging itself? How would this view affect our approach to medical research? While the last few centuries have extended human lifespan by decades, our healthspan has not kept up. New scientific insights are pointing toward a better understanding of the causes of aging and perhaps may lead to the extension of our healthspan. Sue Armstrong explores these topics and more in her latest book, “Borrowed Time: The Science of How and Why We Age.” She is a science writer and broadcaster. As a foreign correspondent based in Brussels and then South Africa, Sue worked for outlets such as New Scientist magazine and the BBC World Service radio. She has worked as a consultant writer for the World Health Organization and UNAIDS for more than 25 years, and has worked extensively on reporting on HIV and other science and health topics over the years. Sue joins Greg to discuss senescent cells, how the immune system degrades as we age, sitting as the new smoking and Alzheimers. We all know the diseases associated with aging: cancer, heart disease, dementia. But what if they are just symptoms of and the disease is aging itself? How would this view affect our approach to medical research? While the last few centuries have extended human lifespan by decades, our healthspan has not kept up. New scientific insights are pointing toward a better understanding of the causes of aging and perhaps may lead to the extension of our healthspan. Sue Armstrong explores these topics and more in her latest book, “Borrowed Time: The Science of How and Why We Age.” She is a science writer and broadcaster. As a foreign correspondent based in Brussels and then South Africa, Sue worked for outlets such as New Scientist magazine and the BBC World Service radio. She has worked as a consultant writer for the World Health Organization and UNAIDS for more than 25 years, and has worked extensively on reporting on HIV and other science and health topics over the years. Sue joins Greg to discuss senescent cells, how the immune system degrades as we age, sitting as the new smoking and Alzheimers. false full 156 c70a56ad-97e2-45f9-ac3a-e1d7616c937e Why Religion is Natural feat. Robert McCauley Robert McCauley is the Kenan University Professor of Philosophy at Emory University with associated appointments in psychology, religion, and anthropology.

In his view, our minds are better suited to religious belief than to scientific inquiry because the explanations that religion provides make intuitive sense to us and engage our natural cognitive systems, while science involves abstract thinking and forms of reflection that require a lot of mental work. 

His books include “Hearing Voices and Other Matters of Mind,” and “Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not.”

Greg and Robert discuss a number of topics in this episode including contamination management systems, cognitive fluidity, and developing intuition.

Episode Quotes:

Religions & natural systems

Because these systems are natural, cognitively natural, because they're intuitive, because they're automatic, because they're instantaneous, it just means that folks instantly know how to manage them. They don't need to be taught that God thinks about certain things, certain ways. Or that if he thinks about certain things, certain ways that he must want certain outcomes to, you know, go in one direction as opposed to another. Those are inferences that are just automatic.

On science

Science, it seems to me is something that also has certain cognitively natural dimensions to it.

What is religion

I actually don't offer any definitions of religion. I'm really not interested in definitions of religion, I'm not worried about that. What I'm interested in is cognition and how it Impacts whole host of systems out there in the world that we call “religions.”


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 29 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Robert McCauley is the Kenan University Professor of Philosophy at Emory University with associated appointments in psychology, religion, and anthropology.

In his view, our minds are better suited to religious belief than to scientific inquiry because the explanations that religion provides make intuitive sense to us and engage our natural cognitive systems, while science involves abstract thinking and forms of reflection that require a lot of mental work. 

His books include “Hearing Voices and Other Matters of Mind,” and “Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not.”

Greg and Robert discuss a number of topics in this episode including contamination management systems, cognitive fluidity, and developing intuition.

Episode Quotes:

Religions & natural systems

Because these systems are natural, cognitively natural, because they're intuitive, because they're automatic, because they're instantaneous, it just means that folks instantly know how to manage them. They don't need to be taught that God thinks about certain things, certain ways. Or that if he thinks about certain things, certain ways that he must want certain outcomes to, you know, go in one direction as opposed to another. Those are inferences that are just automatic.

On science

Science, it seems to me is something that also has certain cognitively natural dimensions to it.

What is religion

I actually don't offer any definitions of religion. I'm really not interested in definitions of religion, I'm not worried about that. What I'm interested in is cognition and how it Impacts whole host of systems out there in the world that we call “religions.”


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Why Religion is Natural feat. Robert McCauley Greg La Blanc 01:14:01 Robert McCauley is the Kenan University Professor of Philosophy at Emory University with associated appointments in psychology, religion, and anthropology. In his view, our minds are better suited to religious belief than to scientific inquiry because the explanations that religion provides make intuitive sense to us and engage our natural cognitive systems, while science involves abstract thinking and forms of reflection that require a lot of mental work. His books include “Hearing Voices and Other Matters of Mind,” and “Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not.” Greg and Robert discuss a number of topics in this episode including contamination management systems, cognitive fluidity, and developing intuition. Robert McCauley is the Kenan University Professor of Philosophy at Emory University with associated appointments in psychology, religion, and anthropology. In his view, our minds are better suited to religious belief than to scientific inquiry because the explanations that religion provides make intuitive sense to us and engage our natural cognitive systems, while science involves abstract thinking and forms of reflection that require a lot of mental work. His books include “Hearing Voices and Other Matters of Mind,” and “Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not.” Greg and Robert discuss a number of topics in this episode including contamination management systems, cognitive fluidity, and developing intuition. false full 155 976cd37a-0844-4557-8f1e-5d005c06df7e The Political Origins of Banking Crises feat. Charles Calomiris In economics and in finance, we're always trying to tease out timeless rules of how markets work. And yet, when we look out in the world, there's a lot of politics, there's a lot of history, there's a lot of particularity.  

Our guest today emphasizes the importance of narrative, individual case analysis, and historical exploration. 

Charlie Calomiris is Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions at Columbia Business School, Director of the Business School’s Program for Financial Studies Initiative on Finance and Growth in Emerging Markets, and a professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. 

His research spans the areas of banking, corporate finance, financial history and monetary economics, and he co-authored the book “Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit” with Stephen Haber.

Today he chats with Greg about banking systems, Adam Smith, the medieval view of the corporation, bank bargains and the political origins of the subprime crisis.

Episode Quotes:

On our unstable economy

You know what I tell people, I said, you want to know why we have such an unstable economy? Look in the mirror, look in the mirror. You're the reason, you vote for these people and you do it on purpose because they've got you bamboozled.

US vs Canada

I would describe the U.S. as a Federalist constitution. And I would describe the Canadian constitution as an anti-federalist constitution.

On monopoly rents

The way that we like to get there is to say to people, look, If you're trying to create a banking system, you need people to actually contribute the capital for banks. You need the banks to be willing to lend the capital. You need people to contribute to deposits for banks too. And so when you go through those participation constraints, you quickly realize that there are two solutions.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 27 Jun 2022 17:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In economics and in finance, we're always trying to tease out timeless rules of how markets work. And yet, when we look out in the world, there's a lot of politics, there's a lot of history, there's a lot of particularity.  

Our guest today emphasizes the importance of narrative, individual case analysis, and historical exploration. 

Charlie Calomiris is Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions at Columbia Business School, Director of the Business School’s Program for Financial Studies Initiative on Finance and Growth in Emerging Markets, and a professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. 

His research spans the areas of banking, corporate finance, financial history and monetary economics, and he co-authored the book “Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit” with Stephen Haber.

Today he chats with Greg about banking systems, Adam Smith, the medieval view of the corporation, bank bargains and the political origins of the subprime crisis.

Episode Quotes:

On our unstable economy

You know what I tell people, I said, you want to know why we have such an unstable economy? Look in the mirror, look in the mirror. You're the reason, you vote for these people and you do it on purpose because they've got you bamboozled.

US vs Canada

I would describe the U.S. as a Federalist constitution. And I would describe the Canadian constitution as an anti-federalist constitution.

On monopoly rents

The way that we like to get there is to say to people, look, If you're trying to create a banking system, you need people to actually contribute the capital for banks. You need the banks to be willing to lend the capital. You need people to contribute to deposits for banks too. And so when you go through those participation constraints, you quickly realize that there are two solutions.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> The Political Origins of Banking Crises feat. Charles Calomiris Greg La Blanc 01:30:34 In economics and in finance, we're always trying to tease out timeless rules of how markets work. And yet, when we look out in the world, there's a lot of politics, there's a lot of history, there's a lot of particularity. Our guest today emphasizes the importance of narrative, individual case analysis, and historical exploration. Charlie Calomiris is Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions at Columbia Business School, Director of the Business School’s Program for Financial Studies Initiative on Finance and Growth in Emerging Markets, and a professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. His research spans the areas of banking, corporate finance, financial history and monetary economics, and he co-authored the book “Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit” with Stephen Haber. Today he chats with Greg about banking systems, Adam Smith, the medieval view of the corporation, bank bargains and the political origins of the subprime crisis. In economics and in finance, we're always trying to tease out timeless rules of how markets work. And yet, when we look out in the world, there's a lot of politics, there's a lot of history, there's a lot of particularity. Our guest today emphasizes the importance of narrative, individual case analysis, and historical exploration. Charlie Calomiris is Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions at Columbia Business School, Director of the Business School’s Program for Financial Studies Initiative on Finance and Growth in Emerging Markets, and a professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. His research spans the areas of banking, corporate finance, financial history and monetary economics, and he co-authored the book “Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit” with Stephen Haber. Today he chats with Greg about banking systems, Adam Smith, the medieval view of the corporation, bank bargains and the political origins of the subprime crisis. false full 154 9024ce21-87fc-405b-a9f5-c43e76607a4c How Finance Made Civilization Possible feat. William Goetzmann It's a bold claim. And people outside of financial history might wonder how this could possibly be true.

Will Goetzmann will elaborate on this claim in today’s episode. He is the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies and Faculty Director of the International Center for Finance at the Yale School of Management. Will’s current research focuses on alternative investing, factor investing, behavioral finance and the art market.

Will has written and co-authored a number of books, including “Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis,” “The Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations that Created Modern Capital Markets,” and most recently, “Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible.”

Will and Greg talk in this episode about jurors in Athens, slave ownership and early banks, outsourcing public administration in ancient Rome and modern times and making career a switch from art history to operations research to finance.

Episode Quotes:

Why is financial history important to know and study?

For me, I'm always interested in where do things come from and why they matter. And I try to focus on the sort of bigger picture of the implications of having these tools. And I think that that's an important thing. You can only get it through history, because it takes time for things to play out. 

On having an unconventional career path

I've always had an omnivorous curiosity. Perhaps un-controlled. And so in some sense, I followed opportunities, as opposed to having a one goal in life. So there's a whole spectrum of different kinds of people. I'm one that has done lots of different kinds of things.

Preservation of the state

One way you could break down different kinds of governments along the fault line of finance would be to look at some of the city states they emerged in Europe as a merchant driven, merchant owned, merchant controlled.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 24 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It's a bold claim. And people outside of financial history might wonder how this could possibly be true.

Will Goetzmann will elaborate on this claim in today’s episode. He is the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies and Faculty Director of the International Center for Finance at the Yale School of Management. Will’s current research focuses on alternative investing, factor investing, behavioral finance and the art market.

Will has written and co-authored a number of books, including “Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis,” “The Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations that Created Modern Capital Markets,” and most recently, “Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible.”

Will and Greg talk in this episode about jurors in Athens, slave ownership and early banks, outsourcing public administration in ancient Rome and modern times and making career a switch from art history to operations research to finance.

Episode Quotes:

Why is financial history important to know and study?

For me, I'm always interested in where do things come from and why they matter. And I try to focus on the sort of bigger picture of the implications of having these tools. And I think that that's an important thing. You can only get it through history, because it takes time for things to play out. 

On having an unconventional career path

I've always had an omnivorous curiosity. Perhaps un-controlled. And so in some sense, I followed opportunities, as opposed to having a one goal in life. So there's a whole spectrum of different kinds of people. I'm one that has done lots of different kinds of things.

Preservation of the state

One way you could break down different kinds of governments along the fault line of finance would be to look at some of the city states they emerged in Europe as a merchant driven, merchant owned, merchant controlled.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> How Finance Made Civilization Possible feat. William Goetzmann Greg La Blanc 00:53:06 It's a bold claim. And people outside of financial history might wonder how this could possibly be true. Will Goetzmann will elaborate on this claim in today’s episode. He is the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies and Faculty Director of the International Center for Finance at the Yale School of Management. Will’s current research focuses on alternative investing, factor investing, behavioral finance and the art market. Will has written and co-authored a number of books, including “Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis,” “The Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations that Created Modern Capital Markets,” and most recently, “Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible.” Will and Greg talk in this episode about jurors in Athens, slave ownership and early banks, outsourcing public administration in ancient Rome and modern times and making career a switch from art history to operations research to finance. It's a bold claim. And people outside of financial history might wonder how this could possibly be true. Will Goetzmann will elaborate on this claim in today’s episode. He is the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies and Faculty Director of the International Center for Finance at the Yale School of Management. Will’s current research focuses on alternative investing, factor investing, behavioral finance and the art market. Will has written and co-authored a number of books, including “Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis,” “The Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations that Created Modern Capital Markets,” and most recently, “Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible.” Will and Greg talk in this episode about jurors in Athens, slave ownership and early banks, outsourcing public administration in ancient Rome and modern times and making career a switch from art history to operations research to finance. false full 153 b1226b2c-8eb6-4d3c-a3eb-67cc0af907a1 The Power of the Humanities feat. Christian Madsbjerg At the core of his latest book, Christian Madsbjerg argues that business people focus too much on what we might call the “thin data” and ignore the “thick data.” That we are emphasizing too much the analytical, and ignoring the insights that can come from what some people might call the intuitive.

Christian Madsbjerg is a Professor of Applied Humanities at The New School and Co-Founder of the pioneering consultancy Red Associates, a consultancy with offices in Copenhagen and New York City. For two decades he has worked as a management consultant, mostly dealing with companies in trouble. 

Greg and Christian dive into his latest book, Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm, touching on the Silicon Valley mindset, the art of framework selection and dating apps.

Episode Quotes:

What is human observation

So that's what I mean by human observation that, you know, just shut up, you know, and, try to leave your political opinions, your preconceived notions behind for a little while. And see what's going on, you know? And that is for me phenomenology, when it's practical and applicable.

A problem with how we teach students

And I think we often take very smart, creative students and we educate them out of the possibility of using what they learn and they end up not using what they learned. 

On corporations & the humanities

What I found was that when big decisions are made in large corporations about things that touch our lives, there is an empty seat.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Wed, 22 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast At the core of his latest book, Christian Madsbjerg argues that business people focus too much on what we might call the “thin data” and ignore the “thick data.” That we are emphasizing too much the analytical, and ignoring the insights that can come from what some people might call the intuitive.

Christian Madsbjerg is a Professor of Applied Humanities at The New School and Co-Founder of the pioneering consultancy Red Associates, a consultancy with offices in Copenhagen and New York City. For two decades he has worked as a management consultant, mostly dealing with companies in trouble. 

Greg and Christian dive into his latest book, Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm, touching on the Silicon Valley mindset, the art of framework selection and dating apps.

Episode Quotes:

What is human observation

So that's what I mean by human observation that, you know, just shut up, you know, and, try to leave your political opinions, your preconceived notions behind for a little while. And see what's going on, you know? And that is for me phenomenology, when it's practical and applicable.

A problem with how we teach students

And I think we often take very smart, creative students and we educate them out of the possibility of using what they learn and they end up not using what they learned. 

On corporations & the humanities

What I found was that when big decisions are made in large corporations about things that touch our lives, there is an empty seat.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Power of the Humanities feat. Christian Madsbjerg Greg La Blanc 00:58:45 At the core of his latest book, Christian Madsbjerg argues that business people focus too much on what we might call the “thin data” and ignore the “thick data.” That we are emphasizing too much the analytical, and ignoring the insights that can come from what some people might call the intuitive. Christian Madsbjerg is a Professor of Applied Humanities at The New School and Co-Founder of the pioneering consultancy Red Associates, a consultancy with offices in Copenhagen and New York City. For two decades he has worked as a management consultant, mostly dealing with companies in trouble. Greg and Christian dive into his latest book, Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm, touching on the Silicon Valley mindset, the art of framework selection and dating apps. At the core of his latest book, Christian Madsbjerg argues that business people focus too much on what we might call the “thin data” and ignore the “thick data.” That we are emphasizing too much the analytical, and ignoring the insights that can come from what some people might call the intuitive. Christian Madsbjerg is a Professor of Applied Humanities at The New School and Co-Founder of the pioneering consultancy Red Associates, a consultancy with offices in Copenhagen and New York City. For two decades he has worked as a management consultant, mostly dealing with companies in trouble. Greg and Christian dive into his latest book, Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm, touching on the Silicon Valley mindset, the art of framework selection and dating apps. false full 152 ff3f1984-9dc3-4775-a4ed-6620fbc19e14 How to Make Creativity an Everyday Habit Inside Your Organization feat. Scott Anthony Scott Anthony says that you say that the most powerful untapped source of energy in the world right now is the innovative energy within large companies that is currently going to waste.

Scott is a Senior Partner at Innosight and a visiting professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.. Based in Singapore since 2010, he has led Innosight’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific region as well as its venture capital activities (Innosight Ventures).

In his more than a decade with Innosight, Scott has advised senior corporate leaders on the topics of growth and innovation. He has extensive experience in emerging markets, particularly in India, China, and the Philippines.

Scott is also the author of numerous publications, most recently he is the co-author of the book “Eat, Sleep, Innovate: How to Make Creativity an Everyday Habit Inside Your Organization.”

Listen as Scott & Greg discuss “the BEANS,” stimulating curiosity, Eastman Kodak, and the hallmarks of successful internal behavior change initiatives within an organization.

Episode Quotes:

Writing a failure resume

So just go and write all the things that you did that didn't work and most critically what you learned from them. And the lesson that you inevitably take when you write a failure resumé is that failure isn't fatal. That you learn something from it. And life goes on.

The characteristics of innovation

I believe everybody has an intrinsic innovator inside of them because the characteristics of innovation are characteristics of human beings as a species. 

Inertia

When you go into a living breathing organization, you have to fight a pretty insidious enemy. And that enemy is inertia. It's the way that things are currently being done.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Mon, 20 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Scott Anthony says that you say that the most powerful untapped source of energy in the world right now is the innovative energy within large companies that is currently going to waste.

Scott is a Senior Partner at Innosight and a visiting professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.. Based in Singapore since 2010, he has led Innosight’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific region as well as its venture capital activities (Innosight Ventures).

In his more than a decade with Innosight, Scott has advised senior corporate leaders on the topics of growth and innovation. He has extensive experience in emerging markets, particularly in India, China, and the Philippines.

Scott is also the author of numerous publications, most recently he is the co-author of the book “Eat, Sleep, Innovate: How to Make Creativity an Everyday Habit Inside Your Organization.”

Listen as Scott & Greg discuss “the BEANS,” stimulating curiosity, Eastman Kodak, and the hallmarks of successful internal behavior change initiatives within an organization.

Episode Quotes:

Writing a failure resume

So just go and write all the things that you did that didn't work and most critically what you learned from them. And the lesson that you inevitably take when you write a failure resumé is that failure isn't fatal. That you learn something from it. And life goes on.

The characteristics of innovation

I believe everybody has an intrinsic innovator inside of them because the characteristics of innovation are characteristics of human beings as a species. 

Inertia

When you go into a living breathing organization, you have to fight a pretty insidious enemy. And that enemy is inertia. It's the way that things are currently being done.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> How to Make Creativity an Everyday Habit Inside Your Organization feat. Scott Anthony Greg La Blanc 00:59:41 Scott Anthony says that you say that the most powerful untapped source of energy in the world right now is the innovative energy within large companies that is currently going to waste. Scott is a Senior Partner at Innosight and a visiting professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.. Based in Singapore since 2010, he has led Innosight’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific region as well as its venture capital activities (Innosight Ventures). In his more than a decade with Innosight, Scott has advised senior corporate leaders on the topics of growth and innovation. He has extensive experience in emerging markets, particularly in India, China, and the Philippines. Scott is also the author of numerous publications, most recently he is the co-author of the book “Eat, Sleep, Innovate: How to Make Creativity an Everyday Habit Inside Your Organization.” Listen as Scott & Greg discuss “the BEANS,” stimulating curiosity, Eastman Kodak, and the hallmarks of successful internal behavior change initiatives within an organization. Scott Anthony says that you say that the most powerful untapped source of energy in the world right now is the innovative energy within large companies that is currently going to waste. Scott is a Senior Partner at Innosight and a visiting professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.. Based in Singapore since 2010, he has led Innosight’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific region as well as its venture capital activities (Innosight Ventures). In his more than a decade with Innosight, Scott has advised senior corporate leaders on the topics of growth and innovation. He has extensive experience in emerging markets, particularly in India, China, and the Philippines. Scott is also the author of numerous publications, most recently he is the co-author of the book “Eat, Sleep, Innovate: How to Make Creativity an Everyday Habit Inside Your Organization.” Listen as Scott & Greg discuss “the BEANS,” stimulating curiosity, Eastman Kodak, and the hallmarks of successful internal behavior change initiatives within an organization. false full 151 06d6db98-0a75-4b2d-9e5f-65bfa7d9bc15 The Power of Disagreement & Dissent feat. Charlan Nemeth In this episode, we discuss how exposure to disagreement changes how we think. Our guest’s research highlights the perils of consensus and the value of dissent for the quality of decision making and the creativity of solutions.

Charlan Nemeth is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley. She has taught in the areas of persuasion, team decision making, scientific creativity, corporate culture and innovation. 

Her most recent book on decision-making, “In Defense of Troublemakers,” pulls together decades of research on influence processes with particular attention to raising the quality of individual and team decisions. 

Listen as Charlan and Greg talk about listening to the other side of a position, 12 Angry Men, groupthink, and diversity.

Episode Quotes:

Mission behind her work & book

I think the most important message of our work and the book is that when you hear opposing views that come from a majority, this consensus thing we're talking about, it isn't just whether or not you follow it, which is persuasion. It's how are you thinking as a result? 

On the diversity of demographic and viewpoint

The only way that diversity of demographic works is if there’s some kind of a correlation between the diversity of the demographic and diversity of viewpoint.

What does diversity really mean

So if you just look at the demographics, they're very diverse. But that doesn't get you the stimulation that you're after, because what you really want is diversity of views. The only way that that diversity of demographic works is if there's some kind of a correlation between the diversity of the demographic and diversity of viewpoint. Namely, is it the case that if I bring, say different races that I'm going to hear a different viewpoint? Not if they're all on the same page and have the same motivations and the same ideology and whatever.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 17 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In this episode, we discuss how exposure to disagreement changes how we think. Our guest’s research highlights the perils of consensus and the value of dissent for the quality of decision making and the creativity of solutions.

Charlan Nemeth is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley. She has taught in the areas of persuasion, team decision making, scientific creativity, corporate culture and innovation. 

Her most recent book on decision-making, “In Defense of Troublemakers,” pulls together decades of research on influence processes with particular attention to raising the quality of individual and team decisions. 

Listen as Charlan and Greg talk about listening to the other side of a position, 12 Angry Men, groupthink, and diversity.

Episode Quotes:

Mission behind her work & book

I think the most important message of our work and the book is that when you hear opposing views that come from a majority, this consensus thing we're talking about, it isn't just whether or not you follow it, which is persuasion. It's how are you thinking as a result? 

On the diversity of demographic and viewpoint

The only way that diversity of demographic works is if there’s some kind of a correlation between the diversity of the demographic and diversity of viewpoint.

What does diversity really mean

So if you just look at the demographics, they're very diverse. But that doesn't get you the stimulation that you're after, because what you really want is diversity of views. The only way that that diversity of demographic works is if there's some kind of a correlation between the diversity of the demographic and diversity of viewpoint. Namely, is it the case that if I bring, say different races that I'm going to hear a different viewpoint? Not if they're all on the same page and have the same motivations and the same ideology and whatever.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> The Power of Disagreement & Dissent feat. Charlan Nemeth Greg La Blanc 01:02:00 In this episode, we discuss how exposure to disagreement changes how we think. Our guest’s research highlights the perils of consensus and the value of dissent for the quality of decision making and the creativity of solutions. Charlan Nemeth is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley. She has taught in the areas of persuasion, team decision making, scientific creativity, corporate culture and innovation. Her most recent book on decision-making, “In Defense of Troublemakers,” pulls together decades of research on influence processes with particular attention to raising the quality of individual and team decisions. Listen as Charlan and Greg talk about listening to the other side of a position, 12 Angry Men, groupthink, and diversity. In this episode, we discuss how exposure to disagreement changes how we think. Our guest’s research highlights the perils of consensus and the value of dissent for the quality of decision making and the creativity of solutions. Charlan Nemeth is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley. She has taught in the areas of persuasion, team decision making, scientific creativity, corporate culture and innovation. Her most recent book on decision-making, “In Defense of Troublemakers,” pulls together decades of research on influence processes with particular attention to raising the quality of individual and team decisions. Listen as Charlan and Greg talk about listening to the other side of a position, 12 Angry Men, groupthink, and diversity. false full 150 2dbdb3a3-8478-48ea-b6fa-e9743687fe9f Behavioral Change Isn't Always Easy feat. Art Markman Cognitive science is kind of like the new philosophy. These days, the cognitive scientists are the ones that we look to figure out what the heck is going on.

And people like Art Markman are not just simply academically studying things, but they are actually offering up a lot of tools, advice and wisdom too. 

Art Markman is the Vice Provost for Continuing and Professional Education and New Education Ventures at the University of Texas at Austin. Before this role, he was a professor of psychology and marketing at the university. 

Beyond the UT Austin campus, he is probably best known as the co-host of KUT’s “Two Guys on Your Head” radio show and podcast, where he and Butler School of Music professor Bob Duke explore the human mind with a unique mix of research, humor and everyday relevance. 

Art & Greg talk in this episode about explore vs exploit tradeoffs, consciously choosing our habits, motivation and reward systems.

Episode Quotes:

The value of trying new things, like learning a new instrument:

No matter what age you start, you sound terrible at first. But realizing you can sound terrible to make those mistakes and the world doesn't end is also valuable, right? Because you realize actually you can make mistakes in all sorts of environments and the world doesn't end, you just do better the next time. And so practicing that even after you become really proficient at one thing is helpful because it reminds you: I can actually take on a new thing and yes, I'll screw it up, but it's okay.

Structuring work environments

As we begin to transition back to hybrid work environments and other things, this is a chance to think about how do I want to structure both my home and my work environments to be better able to achieve some set of goals. 

On failure:

One of the things I do is when people think about changing behavior, one of the first things you have to do is to ask yourself, where are my sources of failure? And in particular, where are the sources of failure that are a signal that something has to change? Because there are really three kinds of failures and only one of them is bad.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Guest Work:


Other Resources:


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

]]> Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Cognitive science is kind of like the new philosophy. These days, the cognitive scientists are the ones that we look to figure out what the heck is going on.

And people like Art Markman are not just simply academically studying things, but they are actually offering up a lot of tools, advice and wisdom too. 

Art Markman is the Vice Provost for Continuing and Professional Education and New Education Ventures at the University of Texas at Austin. Before this role, he was a professor of psychology and marketing at the university. 

Beyond the UT Austin campus, he is probably best known as the co-host of KUT’s “Two Guys on Your Head” radio show and podcast, where he and Butler School of Music professor Bob Duke explore the human mind with a unique mix of research, humor and everyday relevance. 

Art & Greg talk in this episode about explore vs exploit tradeoffs, consciously choosing our habits, motivation and reward systems.

Episode Quotes:

The value of trying new things, like learning a new instrument:

No matter what age you start, you sound terrible at first. But realizing you can sound terrible to make those mistakes and the world doesn't end is also valuable, right? Because you realize actually you can make mistakes in all sorts of environments and the world doesn't end, you just do better the next time. And so practicing that even after you become really proficient at one thing is helpful because it reminds you: I can actually take on a new thing and yes, I'll screw it up, but it's okay.

Structuring work environments

As we begin to transition back to hybrid work environments and other things, this is a chance to think about how do I want to structure both my home and my work environments to be better able to achieve some set of goals. 

On failure:

One of the things I do is when people think about changing behavior, one of the first things you have to do is to ask yourself, where are my sources of failure? And in particular, where are the sources of failure that are a signal that something has to change? Because there are really three kinds of failures and only one of them is bad.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Guest Work:


Other Resources:


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

]]> Behavioral Change Isn't Always Easy feat. Art Markman Greg La Blanc 01:10:00 Cognitive science is kind of like the new philosophy. These days, the cognitive scientists are the ones that we look to figure out what the heck is going on. And people like Art Markman are not just simply academically studying things, but they are actually offering up a lot of tools, advice and wisdom too. Art Markman is the Vice Provost for Continuing and Professional Education and New Education Ventures at the University of Texas at Austin. Before this role, he was a professor of psychology and marketing at the university. Beyond the UT Austin campus, he is probably best known as the co-host of KUT’s “Two Guys on Your Head” radio show and podcast, where he and Butler School of Music professor Bob Duke explore the human mind with a unique mix of research, humor and everyday relevance. Art & Greg talk in this episode about explore vs exploit tradeoffs, consciously choosing our habits, motivation and reward systems. Cognitive science is kind of like the new philosophy. These days, the cognitive scientists are the ones that we look to figure out what the heck is going on. And people like Art Markman are not just simply academically studying things, but they are actually offering up a lot of tools, advice and wisdom too. Art Markman is the Vice Provost for Continuing and Professional Education and New Education Ventures at the University of Texas at Austin. Before this role, he was a professor of psychology and marketing at the university. Beyond the UT Austin campus, he is probably best known as the co-host of KUT’s “Two Guys on Your Head” radio show and podcast, where he and Butler School of Music professor Bob Duke explore the human mind with a unique mix of research, humor and everyday relevance. Art & Greg talk in this episode about explore vs exploit tradeoffs, consciously choosing our habits, motivation and reward systems. false full 149 786d16f8-6d9b-4900-b7d6-c19f605e668c Our Emotions Are More Rational Than We Think feat. Eyal Winter Which is smarter -- your head or your gut? It's a familiar refrain: you're getting too emotional. Try and think rationally. But is it always good advice?

Eyal Winter is the Silverzweig Professor of Economics at the Hebrew University and the Andrews & Elizabeth Brunner Professor at Lancaster University, specializing in Behavioral Economics, Decision Making, Game Theory and Finance. 

A member of the Center for the Study of Rationality, Eyal Winter was awarded the Humboldt Prize for excellence in research by the German government in 2011. He is also the author of “Feeling Smart: Why Our Emotions Are More Rational Than We Think.”

Listen to Eyal and Greg talk on recognizing deception, where emotions fit in negotiation, and using your emotional inventory. 

Episode Quotes:

Remembering emotional experiences

Fortunately, evolution endowed us with a better memory for emotional experiences than for cognitive experiences. We don't remember facts well, but we remember emotional experiences very, very well. And this is a blessing for us. 

Choosing between emotional and rational decision-making

I wouldn't choose between either emotional decision-making or rational decision-making. Each of them alone is not going to operate well.

On Regret

If we do a mistake, if we made a bad decision, even at the individual level, without any interaction with anybody, we're going to feel regret. The feeling of regret will remain for much longer than the ability to remember the circumstances under which this regret has been generated. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 13 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Which is smarter -- your head or your gut? It's a familiar refrain: you're getting too emotional. Try and think rationally. But is it always good advice?

Eyal Winter is the Silverzweig Professor of Economics at the Hebrew University and the Andrews & Elizabeth Brunner Professor at Lancaster University, specializing in Behavioral Economics, Decision Making, Game Theory and Finance. 

A member of the Center for the Study of Rationality, Eyal Winter was awarded the Humboldt Prize for excellence in research by the German government in 2011. He is also the author of “Feeling Smart: Why Our Emotions Are More Rational Than We Think.”

Listen to Eyal and Greg talk on recognizing deception, where emotions fit in negotiation, and using your emotional inventory. 

Episode Quotes:

Remembering emotional experiences

Fortunately, evolution endowed us with a better memory for emotional experiences than for cognitive experiences. We don't remember facts well, but we remember emotional experiences very, very well. And this is a blessing for us. 

Choosing between emotional and rational decision-making

I wouldn't choose between either emotional decision-making or rational decision-making. Each of them alone is not going to operate well.

On Regret

If we do a mistake, if we made a bad decision, even at the individual level, without any interaction with anybody, we're going to feel regret. The feeling of regret will remain for much longer than the ability to remember the circumstances under which this regret has been generated. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Our Emotions Are More Rational Than We Think feat. Eyal Winter Greg La Blanc 01:00:23 Which is smarter -- your head or your gut? It's a familiar refrain: you're getting too emotional. Try and think rationally. But is it always good advice? Eyal Winter is the Silverzweig Professor of Economics at the Hebrew University and the Andrews & Elizabeth Brunner Professor at Lancaster University, specializing in Behavioral Economics, Decision Making, Game Theory and Finance. A member of the Center for the Study of Rationality, Eyal Winter was awarded the Humboldt Prize for excellence in research by the German government in 2011. He is also the author of “Feeling Smart: Why Our Emotions Are More Rational Than We Think.” Listen to Eyal and Greg talk on recognizing deception, where emotions fit in negotiation, and using your emotional inventory. Which is smarter -- your head or your gut? It's a familiar refrain: you're getting too emotional. Try and think rationally. But is it always good advice? Eyal Winter is the Silverzweig Professor of Economics at the Hebrew University and the Andrews & Elizabeth Brunner Professor at Lancaster University, specializing in Behavioral Economics, Decision Making, Game Theory and Finance. A member of the Center for the Study of Rationality, Eyal Winter was awarded the Humboldt Prize for excellence in research by the German government in 2011. He is also the author of “Feeling Smart: Why Our Emotions Are More Rational Than We Think.” Listen to Eyal and Greg talk on recognizing deception, where emotions fit in negotiation, and using your emotional inventory. false full 148 cd0a3a74-89ad-4451-a581-e44336aeaad5 Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment feat. Benjamin Storey The pursuit of happiness is a foundational principle of the American democratic experiment, and yet true happiness seems elusive for many Americans. Where does our notion of happiness come from and how did we become a nation of busybodies? 

Benjamin Storey is the Jane Gage Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University. He is also the Director of Furman's Tocqueville Program, an intellectual community dedicated to investigating the moral and philosophic questions at the heart of political life. With Jenna Silber Storey, he is author of "Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment."

Greg and Benjamin take a deep dive into the thought of four foundational thinkers, touching on humanism, contentment, diversion, transcendence, religion and democracy in America and the mindfulness movement in this conversation. 

Episode Quotes:

On commitment

It's only by plunking down your chips, by settling on a way of life, that you actually start to become anything. That is, when you retain yourself in a position of pure potentiality, you're not really anything. You could be lots of stuff like a stem cell, but you're not anything in particular. And so to become something, it has to be something specific. 

On Americans

Americans have a very hard time ranking the good. That is, figuring out what are the most important things that we should be pursuing.

Americans are too busy to philosophize

It's the case that everybody else around me is trying to get ahead. Which means that I don't just fail if I go backwards, I fail if I sit still. Because everybody else is advancing. And so we're constantly caught up in this dynamic of needing to advance simply in order to sit still. And that makes philosophizing incredibly hard.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Montaigne; or, the Skeptic - Ralph Waldo Emerson Article


Guest Profile:



His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 10 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The pursuit of happiness is a foundational principle of the American democratic experiment, and yet true happiness seems elusive for many Americans. Where does our notion of happiness come from and how did we become a nation of busybodies? 

Benjamin Storey is the Jane Gage Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University. He is also the Director of Furman's Tocqueville Program, an intellectual community dedicated to investigating the moral and philosophic questions at the heart of political life. With Jenna Silber Storey, he is author of "Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment."

Greg and Benjamin take a deep dive into the thought of four foundational thinkers, touching on humanism, contentment, diversion, transcendence, religion and democracy in America and the mindfulness movement in this conversation. 

Episode Quotes:

On commitment

It's only by plunking down your chips, by settling on a way of life, that you actually start to become anything. That is, when you retain yourself in a position of pure potentiality, you're not really anything. You could be lots of stuff like a stem cell, but you're not anything in particular. And so to become something, it has to be something specific. 

On Americans

Americans have a very hard time ranking the good. That is, figuring out what are the most important things that we should be pursuing.

Americans are too busy to philosophize

It's the case that everybody else around me is trying to get ahead. Which means that I don't just fail if I go backwards, I fail if I sit still. Because everybody else is advancing. And so we're constantly caught up in this dynamic of needing to advance simply in order to sit still. And that makes philosophizing incredibly hard.


Show Links:


Recommended Resources:

Montaigne; or, the Skeptic - Ralph Waldo Emerson Article


Guest Profile:



His Work:


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

]]> Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment feat. Benjamin Storey Greg La Blanc 01:04:17 The pursuit of happiness is a foundational principle of the American democratic experiment, and yet true happiness seems elusive for many Americans. Where does our notion of happiness come from and how did we become a nation of busybodies? Benjamin Storey is the Jane Gage Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University. He is also the Director of Furman's Tocqueville Program, an intellectual community dedicated to investigating the moral and philosophic questions at the heart of political life. With Jenna Silber Storey, he is author of "Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment." Greg and Benjamin take a deep dive into the thought of four foundational thinkers, touching on humanism, contentment, diversion, transcendence, religion and democracy in America and the mindfulness movement in this conversation. The pursuit of happiness is a foundational principle of the American democratic experiment, and yet true happiness seems elusive for many Americans. Where does our notion of happiness come from and how did we become a nation of busybodies? Benjamin Storey is the Jane Gage Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University. He is also the Director of Furman's Tocqueville Program, an intellectual community dedicated to investigating the moral and philosophic questions at the heart of political life. With Jenna Silber Storey, he is author of "Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment." Greg and Benjamin take a deep dive into the thought of four foundational thinkers, touching on humanism, contentment, diversion, transcendence, religion and democracy in America and the mindfulness movement in this conversation. false full 147 e3876f99-c9c3-4a81-9569-66e2809deb6a We Live in a Bacterial World feat. Martin Blaser Humans have gotten healthier and healthier over the years due to modern medicine and the power of antibiotics.. But those same antibiotics, when overused, can lead to a whole new set of ailments, most notably obesity.

Martin Blaser holds the Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome at Rutgers University, where he also serves as Professor of Medicine and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, and as Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine. Previously, he served as Chair of the Department of Medicine at New York University. 

A physician and microbiologist, Dr. Blaser has been studying the relationships we have with our persistently colonizing bacteria. He also wrote Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues.

He and Greg discuss the overuse of antibiotics, how the antibiotic marketplace is broken, the variability among prescribers and the role of antibiotics in livestock.

Episode Quotes:

The overuse of antibiotics

Recently, the CDC estimated that about a third of the antibiotics used in the United States in people are unnecessary. My own estimate is that it's about 60%. That it's more than half of all the antibiotics used are unnecessary. And so now the question is when you use a lot of antibiotics, what happens?

The crux of Martin’s work

I have two crusades. One is to do the work, to understand exactly what antibiotics are doing and how we can counteract the bad part. So we can improve our use of antibiotics. And my other crusade is to tell people about this whole issue, because most people don't understand. They don't understand that just as we're damaging our macro ecology, which we call climate change, we're damaging our micro ecology. The ecology inside us.

Misinformation about bacteria

There are plenty of bad germs. But there's been a tremendous focus on the idea that microbes are bad.”Germ” is a negative term. Kids grow up learning about germs, companies sell products fighting those bad germs. But in fact, we live in a bacterial world.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 8 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Humans have gotten healthier and healthier over the years due to modern medicine and the power of antibiotics.. But those same antibiotics, when overused, can lead to a whole new set of ailments, most notably obesity.

Martin Blaser holds the Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome at Rutgers University, where he also serves as Professor of Medicine and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, and as Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine. Previously, he served as Chair of the Department of Medicine at New York University. 

A physician and microbiologist, Dr. Blaser has been studying the relationships we have with our persistently colonizing bacteria. He also wrote Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues.

He and Greg discuss the overuse of antibiotics, how the antibiotic marketplace is broken, the variability among prescribers and the role of antibiotics in livestock.

Episode Quotes:

The overuse of antibiotics

Recently, the CDC estimated that about a third of the antibiotics used in the United States in people are unnecessary. My own estimate is that it's about 60%. That it's more than half of all the antibiotics used are unnecessary. And so now the question is when you use a lot of antibiotics, what happens?

The crux of Martin’s work

I have two crusades. One is to do the work, to understand exactly what antibiotics are doing and how we can counteract the bad part. So we can improve our use of antibiotics. And my other crusade is to tell people about this whole issue, because most people don't understand. They don't understand that just as we're damaging our macro ecology, which we call climate change, we're damaging our micro ecology. The ecology inside us.

Misinformation about bacteria

There are plenty of bad germs. But there's been a tremendous focus on the idea that microbes are bad.”Germ” is a negative term. Kids grow up learning about germs, companies sell products fighting those bad germs. But in fact, we live in a bacterial world.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> We Live in a Bacterial World feat. Martin Blaser Greg La Blanc 00:56:56 Humans have gotten healthier and healthier over the years due to modern medicine and the power of antibiotics.. But those same antibiotics, when overused, can lead to a whole new set of ailments, most notably obesity. Martin Blaser holds the Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome at Rutgers University, where he also serves as Professor of Medicine and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, and as Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine. Previously, he served as Chair of the Department of Medicine at New York University. A physician and microbiologist, Dr. Blaser has been studying the relationships we have with our persistently colonizing bacteria. He also wrote Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues. He and Greg discuss the overuse of antibiotics, how the antibiotic marketplace is broken, the variability among prescribers and the role of antibiotics in livestock. Humans have gotten healthier and healthier over the years due to modern medicine and the power of antibiotics.. But those same antibiotics, when overused, can lead to a whole new set of ailments, most notably obesity. Martin Blaser holds the Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome at Rutgers University, where he also serves as Professor of Medicine and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, and as Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine. Previously, he served as Chair of the Department of Medicine at New York University. A physician and microbiologist, Dr. Blaser has been studying the relationships we have with our persistently colonizing bacteria. He also wrote Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues. He and Greg discuss the overuse of antibiotics, how the antibiotic marketplace is broken, the variability among prescribers and the role of antibiotics in livestock. false full 146 b8420906-5ca2-4a16-9f4f-6ce57628a898 Blowing Up Best Practices feat. Geoff Tuff & Steve Goldbach Geoff Tuff is a principal of Deloitte Consulting LLP and holds various leadership positions across its Sustainability, Innovation, and Strategy practices. In the past, he led Doblin, the firm’s innovation practice, and was a senior partner at Monitor Group, serving as a member of its global Board of Directors before the company was acquired by Deloitte. He has been with some form of Monitor for close to 30 years.

Steve Goldbach is a principal at Deloitte as well, and serves as the firm’s chief strategy officer. 

Steve helps executives and their teams transform their organizations by making challenging and pragmatic strategy choices in the face of uncertainty. Over a 25+ year career, Steve has served clients across most industries, with an emphasis on industries in transition and consumer-driven sectors.

Steve and Geoff co authored “Detonate: Why - And How - Corporations Must Blow Up Best Practices” and “Provoke: How Leaders Shape the Future by Overcoming Fatal Human Flaws.”

They join Greg to discuss these books, their “provocative” work, questioning orthodoxies, balance, and shaking up the traditional career path.

Episode Quotes:

Steve Goldbach: How the traditional “career path” is changing

The problem is that if you believe that we're in a world that will require constant evolution, then that career path isn't worth the paper it's written on, because things are gonna change substantially over the next while. So I think the moral contract between organizations and their people needs to be rethought. Instead of saying it's about achieving a particular level the next X years, it's gotta be achieving a particular set of skills, akin to the kind of skills that are going to be relevant in the marketplace. 

Geoff Tuff: How did we get to a place where change is not common in a workplace?

We as human beings tend to place a higher prominence on data and information that is more readily available versus data and information that's more difficult to get. And because of that, we kind of assume that the information we have around us all the time is the right information that we need to be using to make decisions. And therefore opening up the information for challenge, we're opening up one's logic to challenge, it feels antithetical to making good efficient decisions. And that's just one example of both individual and organizational biases that we think work together as a system to prevent change.

Geoff Tuff: Best practices & orthodoxies

We are now living through, Steve and I believe, a time where we're shifting from a world that's governed primarily by linear change to one that's increasingly governed by exponential change. And with that comes a different set of operating rules, where the old playbooks just don't apply. The only way we can break the habits of operating by rote, using the playbooks, is to get people to recognize when they're being impacted by orthodoxy, meaning just the kind of conventional wisdom of the way the place operates.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


Their Works:


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

]]> Mon, 6 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Geoff Tuff is a principal of Deloitte Consulting LLP and holds various leadership positions across its Sustainability, Innovation, and Strategy practices. In the past, he led Doblin, the firm’s innovation practice, and was a senior partner at Monitor Group, serving as a member of its global Board of Directors before the company was acquired by Deloitte. He has been with some form of Monitor for close to 30 years.

Steve Goldbach is a principal at Deloitte as well, and serves as the firm’s chief strategy officer. 

Steve helps executives and their teams transform their organizations by making challenging and pragmatic strategy choices in the face of uncertainty. Over a 25+ year career, Steve has served clients across most industries, with an emphasis on industries in transition and consumer-driven sectors.

Steve and Geoff co authored “Detonate: Why - And How - Corporations Must Blow Up Best Practices” and “Provoke: How Leaders Shape the Future by Overcoming Fatal Human Flaws.”

They join Greg to discuss these books, their “provocative” work, questioning orthodoxies, balance, and shaking up the traditional career path.

Episode Quotes:

Steve Goldbach: How the traditional “career path” is changing

The problem is that if you believe that we're in a world that will require constant evolution, then that career path isn't worth the paper it's written on, because things are gonna change substantially over the next while. So I think the moral contract between organizations and their people needs to be rethought. Instead of saying it's about achieving a particular level the next X years, it's gotta be achieving a particular set of skills, akin to the kind of skills that are going to be relevant in the marketplace. 

Geoff Tuff: How did we get to a place where change is not common in a workplace?

We as human beings tend to place a higher prominence on data and information that is more readily available versus data and information that's more difficult to get. And because of that, we kind of assume that the information we have around us all the time is the right information that we need to be using to make decisions. And therefore opening up the information for challenge, we're opening up one's logic to challenge, it feels antithetical to making good efficient decisions. And that's just one example of both individual and organizational biases that we think work together as a system to prevent change.

Geoff Tuff: Best practices & orthodoxies

We are now living through, Steve and I believe, a time where we're shifting from a world that's governed primarily by linear change to one that's increasingly governed by exponential change. And with that comes a different set of operating rules, where the old playbooks just don't apply. The only way we can break the habits of operating by rote, using the playbooks, is to get people to recognize when they're being impacted by orthodoxy, meaning just the kind of conventional wisdom of the way the place operates.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


Their Works:


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

]]> Blowing Up Best Practices feat. Geoff Tuff & Steve Goldbach Greg La Blanc 00:53:06 Geoff Tuff is a principal of Deloitte Consulting LLP and holds various leadership positions across its Sustainability, Innovation, and Strategy practices. In the past, he led Doblin, the firm’s innovation practice, and was a senior partner at Monitor Group, serving as a member of its global Board of Directors before the company was acquired by Deloitte. He has been with some form of Monitor for close to 30 years. Steve Goldbach is a principal at Deloitte as well, and serves as the firm’s chief strategy officer. Steve helps executives and their teams transform their organizations by making challenging and pragmatic strategy choices in the face of uncertainty. Over a 25+ year career, Steve has served clients across most industries, with an emphasis on industries in transition and consumer-driven sectors. Steve and Geoff co authored “Detonate: Why - And How - Corporations Must Blow Up Best Practices” and “Provoke: How Leaders Shape the Future by Overcoming Fatal Human Flaws.” They join Greg to discuss these books, their “provocative” work, questioning orthodoxies, balance, and shaking up the traditional career path. Geoff Tuff is a principal of Deloitte Consulting LLP and holds various leadership positions across its Sustainability, Innovation, and Strategy practices. In the past, he led Doblin, the firm’s innovation practice, and was a senior partner at Monitor Group, serving as a member of its global Board of Directors before the company was acquired by Deloitte. He has been with some form of Monitor for close to 30 years. Steve Goldbach is a principal at Deloitte as well, and serves as the firm’s chief strategy officer. Steve helps executives and their teams transform their organizations by making challenging and pragmatic strategy choices in the face of uncertainty. Over a 25+ year career, Steve has served clients across most industries, with an emphasis on industries in transition and consumer-driven sectors. Steve and Geoff co authored “Detonate: Why - And How - Corporations Must Blow Up Best Practices” and “Provoke: How Leaders Shape the Future by Overcoming Fatal Human Flaws.” They join Greg to discuss these books, their “provocative” work, questioning orthodoxies, balance, and shaking up the traditional career path. false full 145 ba296025-9f1a-47b2-83e7-130311ac633d Why Good People Need to Understand the Rules of Power feat. Jeff Pfeffer Why are so many organizations run by ineffective or toxic leaders? Because it isn't the best leaders that succeed. Its the ones that best understand how to gain power and use power. According to Jeff Pfeffer, the leadership industry has led many prospective leaders astray, providing them with a normative framework that fails to provide an accurate account of how organizations work. 

Jeff Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University where he has taught since 1979. He is also the author or co-author of 15 books, the most recent of which is “The 7 Rules of Power’

In this episode, we’ll hear Greg & Jeff discuss values based leadership, Jeff’s course “Paths to Power,” the nature of reciprocity in the workplace and self help books.

Episode Quotes:

Values based leadership

At Stanford we talk about values based leadership and on the surface you would say, who could be opposed to values-based leadership? That you ought to lead with values, you want to lead with integrity, authenticity all of these things. But I think we have failed to ask the question: if you're going to have values-based leadership, the next thing you need to ask is how are you going to get the power and influence to actually implement those values? 

The complexities of work friends

If you and I are friends and we work in different organizations and probably even in different industries, there is a pure friendship relationship. But as soon as we work for the same place, because organizations are hierarchical, we are both competing. So it's a very mixed motive situation.

The calculated mindset of workplace thinking

It makes complete sense that in interpersonal relationships, the norm of reciprocity is quite strong. But when you get into an organization, you adopt what we call a more “calculative mindset.” In which we're thinking not just, you know did Gregory do something for me, so I need to repay it? But is Gregory going to be part of my life in the future?

What is Gregory going to be able to do for me in the future? And if he is not going to be in a position of power, or maybe he's not even going to be in the organization in the future, then as I calculate whether or not I need to repay and what I need to do for him, its much more calculative and less this automatic, normative basis.


Show Links: 


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 3 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why are so many organizations run by ineffective or toxic leaders? Because it isn't the best leaders that succeed. Its the ones that best understand how to gain power and use power. According to Jeff Pfeffer, the leadership industry has led many prospective leaders astray, providing them with a normative framework that fails to provide an accurate account of how organizations work. 

Jeff Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University where he has taught since 1979. He is also the author or co-author of 15 books, the most recent of which is “The 7 Rules of Power’

In this episode, we’ll hear Greg & Jeff discuss values based leadership, Jeff’s course “Paths to Power,” the nature of reciprocity in the workplace and self help books.

Episode Quotes:

Values based leadership

At Stanford we talk about values based leadership and on the surface you would say, who could be opposed to values-based leadership? That you ought to lead with values, you want to lead with integrity, authenticity all of these things. But I think we have failed to ask the question: if you're going to have values-based leadership, the next thing you need to ask is how are you going to get the power and influence to actually implement those values? 

The complexities of work friends

If you and I are friends and we work in different organizations and probably even in different industries, there is a pure friendship relationship. But as soon as we work for the same place, because organizations are hierarchical, we are both competing. So it's a very mixed motive situation.

The calculated mindset of workplace thinking

It makes complete sense that in interpersonal relationships, the norm of reciprocity is quite strong. But when you get into an organization, you adopt what we call a more “calculative mindset.” In which we're thinking not just, you know did Gregory do something for me, so I need to repay it? But is Gregory going to be part of my life in the future?

What is Gregory going to be able to do for me in the future? And if he is not going to be in a position of power, or maybe he's not even going to be in the organization in the future, then as I calculate whether or not I need to repay and what I need to do for him, its much more calculative and less this automatic, normative basis.


Show Links: 


Recommended Resources:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Why Good People Need to Understand the Rules of Power feat. Jeff Pfeffer Greg La Blanc 00:57:46 Why are so many organizations run by ineffective or toxic leaders? Because it isn't the best leaders that succeed. Its the ones that best understand how to gain power and use power. According to Jeff Pfeffer, the leadership industry has led many prospective leaders astray, providing them with a normative framework that fails to provide an accurate account of how organizations work. Jeff Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University where he has taught since 1979. He is also the author or co-author of 15 books, the most recent of which is “The 7 Rules of Power’ In this episode, we’ll hear Greg & Jeff discuss values based leadership, Jeff’s course “Paths to Power,” the nature of reciprocity in the workplace and self help books. Why are so many organizations run by ineffective or toxic leaders? Because it isn't the best leaders that succeed. Its the ones that best understand how to gain power and use power. According to Jeff Pfeffer, the leadership industry has led many prospective leaders astray, providing them with a normative framework that fails to provide an accurate account of how organizations work. Jeff Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University where he has taught since 1979. He is also the author or co-author of 15 books, the most recent of which is “The 7 Rules of Power’ In this episode, we’ll hear Greg & Jeff discuss values based leadership, Jeff’s course “Paths to Power,” the nature of reciprocity in the workplace and self help books. false full 144 d9d95aa7-9558-4cff-8148-12bc050aed8e Why Motivating Change is not Enough feat. Loran Nordgren When we think about ideas like selling or marketing, we usually think of getting people to buy products. But Loran Nordgren is talking about getting people to buy into new ideas. And the biggest obstacle isn't always motivation-its often friction. 

Loran Nordgren is a Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His research considers the basic psychological processes that guide how we think and act. 

The overarching goal of his work is to advance psychological theory and to use theory-driven insights to develop decision strategies, structured interventions, and policy recommendations that improve decision-making and well-being. Loran’s first book “The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance that Awaits New Ideas” spent multiple weeks on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list.

Greg and Loran discuss fuel based mindsets, crafting brand empathy, status quo bias, and how American football is socialist in this episode.

Episode Quotes: 

Fuel can be positive and negative

So we tend to think about fuel as these positive things. But the job of fuel is to simply ignite or incite our desire for change. And we often do that by dangling shiny things in front of people. So carrots, but we also use sticks. And so that kind of, yeah, the telling people, this is a limited opportunity. There's only one left. That is inciting our desire for change. It's not making it necessarily more fun, more pleasant, more intrinsically interesting. But really anything that propels, whether that's a push or a pull, we would consider fuel.

How to get people to change

So a good rule of thumb for people is anytime you're offering them one path, like you're putting one thing up in front of them, it's a good chance that the status quo is operating against you. Now, the better news is that once you see that, there are all kinds of ways that not only reduce that friction, but to take that thing and transform it in essence into fuel to make it a motivating force. 

Fuel based thinking

We have this reflexive idea that the way you get someone to say yes is to elevate appeal, magnetism, attraction. And we intuitively think that if people are rejecting our offering, it's because that fuel is insufficient. And we refer to that reflex as thinking in fuel or a fuel based mindset.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 1 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When we think about ideas like selling or marketing, we usually think of getting people to buy products. But Loran Nordgren is talking about getting people to buy into new ideas. And the biggest obstacle isn't always motivation-its often friction. 

Loran Nordgren is a Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His research considers the basic psychological processes that guide how we think and act. 

The overarching goal of his work is to advance psychological theory and to use theory-driven insights to develop decision strategies, structured interventions, and policy recommendations that improve decision-making and well-being. Loran’s first book “The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance that Awaits New Ideas” spent multiple weeks on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list.

Greg and Loran discuss fuel based mindsets, crafting brand empathy, status quo bias, and how American football is socialist in this episode.

Episode Quotes: 

Fuel can be positive and negative

So we tend to think about fuel as these positive things. But the job of fuel is to simply ignite or incite our desire for change. And we often do that by dangling shiny things in front of people. So carrots, but we also use sticks. And so that kind of, yeah, the telling people, this is a limited opportunity. There's only one left. That is inciting our desire for change. It's not making it necessarily more fun, more pleasant, more intrinsically interesting. But really anything that propels, whether that's a push or a pull, we would consider fuel.

How to get people to change

So a good rule of thumb for people is anytime you're offering them one path, like you're putting one thing up in front of them, it's a good chance that the status quo is operating against you. Now, the better news is that once you see that, there are all kinds of ways that not only reduce that friction, but to take that thing and transform it in essence into fuel to make it a motivating force. 

Fuel based thinking

We have this reflexive idea that the way you get someone to say yes is to elevate appeal, magnetism, attraction. And we intuitively think that if people are rejecting our offering, it's because that fuel is insufficient. And we refer to that reflex as thinking in fuel or a fuel based mindset.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Why Motivating Change is not Enough feat. Loran Nordgren Greg La Blanc 01:01:55 When we think about ideas like selling or marketing, we usually think of getting people to buy products. But Loran Nordgren is talking about getting people to buy into new ideas. And the biggest obstacle isn't always motivation-its often friction. Loran Nordgren is a Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His research considers the basic psychological processes that guide how we think and act. The overarching goal of his work is to advance psychological theory and to use theory-driven insights to develop decision strategies, structured interventions, and policy recommendations that improve decision-making and well-being. Loran’s first book “The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance that Awaits New Ideas” spent multiple weeks on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list. Greg and Loran discuss fuel based mindsets, crafting brand empathy, status quo bias, and how American football is socialist in this episode. When we think about ideas like selling or marketing, we usually think of getting people to buy products. But Loran Nordgren is talking about getting people to buy into new ideas. And the biggest obstacle isn't always motivation-its often friction. Loran Nordgren is a Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His research considers the basic psychological processes that guide how we think and act. The overarching goal of his work is to advance psychological theory and to use theory-driven insights to develop decision strategies, structured interventions, and policy recommendations that improve decision-making and well-being. Loran’s first book “The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance that Awaits New Ideas” spent multiple weeks on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list. Greg and Loran discuss fuel based mindsets, crafting brand empathy, status quo bias, and how American football is socialist in this episode. false full 143 ea8ebd66-b288-4660-9961-0152bbeff6f7 Who is Interested in HR? feat. John Boudreau Certainly not most academics, and probably not the business students they teach. The common perception around HR is that its focus is getting everyone their benefits and making sure sexual harassment trainings are completed. But there is so much more to this field. 

Dr. John Boudreau is a professor emeritus of management and organization and a senior research scientist with the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. With his research on the bridge between work human capital development, leadership, and sustainable competitive advantage, Dr. Boudreau’s interests are in the future of work and organization. 

His latest books on HR include “Work without Jobs: How to Reboot Your Organization’s Work Operating System (Management on the Cutting Edge)” and Reinventing Jobs: a 4 step Approach for Applying Automation to Work.

He joins Greg to talk about how “work” is not synonymous with a “job,” trust when it comes to change, dealing with inevitable automation, and iphone upgrades as a metaphor for the changing workplace.

Episode Quotes:

The evolution of tasks & jobs

Can I give you a bonus for being a bus boy and coming over here and helping out with the wait staff? You know, and how long is it that you do that before you say, you know what? I'm getting paid at the bus boy, but 30% of my time I'm over here helping out highly paid waiters and waitresses. You know, if you're not, don’t I get to get paid in the tips? and so - oh, wait a minute. Do we have a system that can pay you that way? Can we give you credit for the skills that you're using over there?

So what is the evolution? So, basically that is kind of, this is not a dig on HR. These systems exist for everybody and they exist for a reason, but they require rethinking. 

Trust in changing workplaces

If we're going to be in a relationship like a worker and their leaders, or a worker in their company, there needs to be some trust that the other party isn't out to get you. Or that the other party hasn't left aside your considerations in the interest of their own.

Building community in new work environments

I think COVID has helped us to understand that there are new ways to build community. That said, it's also helped us understand that that traditional system was so embedded, that those alternative ways of being remote or being fluid are difficult. Much more difficult than just taking a job.


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]]> Mon, 30 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Certainly not most academics, and probably not the business students they teach. The common perception around HR is that its focus is getting everyone their benefits and making sure sexual harassment trainings are completed. But there is so much more to this field. 

Dr. John Boudreau is a professor emeritus of management and organization and a senior research scientist with the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. With his research on the bridge between work human capital development, leadership, and sustainable competitive advantage, Dr. Boudreau’s interests are in the future of work and organization. 

His latest books on HR include “Work without Jobs: How to Reboot Your Organization’s Work Operating System (Management on the Cutting Edge)” and Reinventing Jobs: a 4 step Approach for Applying Automation to Work.

He joins Greg to talk about how “work” is not synonymous with a “job,” trust when it comes to change, dealing with inevitable automation, and iphone upgrades as a metaphor for the changing workplace.

Episode Quotes:

The evolution of tasks & jobs

Can I give you a bonus for being a bus boy and coming over here and helping out with the wait staff? You know, and how long is it that you do that before you say, you know what? I'm getting paid at the bus boy, but 30% of my time I'm over here helping out highly paid waiters and waitresses. You know, if you're not, don’t I get to get paid in the tips? and so - oh, wait a minute. Do we have a system that can pay you that way? Can we give you credit for the skills that you're using over there?

So what is the evolution? So, basically that is kind of, this is not a dig on HR. These systems exist for everybody and they exist for a reason, but they require rethinking. 

Trust in changing workplaces

If we're going to be in a relationship like a worker and their leaders, or a worker in their company, there needs to be some trust that the other party isn't out to get you. Or that the other party hasn't left aside your considerations in the interest of their own.

Building community in new work environments

I think COVID has helped us to understand that there are new ways to build community. That said, it's also helped us understand that that traditional system was so embedded, that those alternative ways of being remote or being fluid are difficult. Much more difficult than just taking a job.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Who is Interested in HR? feat. John Boudreau Greg La Blanc 01:11:50 Certainly not most academics, and probably not the business students they teach. The common perception around HR is that its focus is getting everyone their benefits and making sure sexual harassment trainings are completed. But there is so much more to this field. Dr. John Boudreau is a professor emeritus of management and organization and a senior research scientist with the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. With his research on the bridge between work human capital development, leadership, and sustainable competitive advantage, Dr. Boudreau’s interests are in the future of work and organization. His latest books on HR include “Work without Jobs: How to Reboot Your Organization’s Work Operating System (Management on the Cutting Edge)” and Reinventing Jobs: a 4 step Approach for Applying Automation to Work. He joins Greg to talk about how “work” is not synonymous with a “job,” trust when it comes to change, dealing with inevitable automation, and iphone upgrades as a metaphor for the changing workplace. Certainly not most academics, and probably not the business students they teach. The common perception around HR is that its focus is getting everyone their benefits and making sure sexual harassment trainings are completed. But there is so much more to this field. Dr. John Boudreau is a professor emeritus of management and organization and a senior research scientist with the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. With his research on the bridge between work human capital development, leadership, and sustainable competitive advantage, Dr. Boudreau’s interests are in the future of work and organization. His latest books on HR include “Work without Jobs: How to Reboot Your Organization’s Work Operating System (Management on the Cutting Edge)” and Reinventing Jobs: a 4 step Approach for Applying Automation to Work. He joins Greg to talk about how “work” is not synonymous with a “job,” trust when it comes to change, dealing with inevitable automation, and iphone upgrades as a metaphor for the changing workplace. false full 142 b724533f-2528-4d17-8f59-d7df15bbae67 Computer Science is Not A Value Neutral Enterprise feat. Rob Reich Our guest today says that the profession of programmer or coder is the most important occupation to have in the 21st century, and yet computer science is developmentally speaking, still a very young field and discipline.

Rob Reich is professor of political science and, by courtesy, professor of philosophy and Education, at Stanford University. He is the director of the Center for Ethics in Society and co-director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and associate director of the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. 

His books include “System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot,” and “Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better.”

Listen as Greg and Rob talk about computer science, the ethics of engineering, echo chambers and how social media is changing communication systems.

Episode Quotes:

Is democracy in opposition to big tech?

When the optimization mindset becomes a kind of life outlook, rather than a particular methodological approach to a domain of technical problems, I think the engineer is led to believe that there's no particular reason to be attached to democratic decision-making as such, because democracy is so suboptimal.

We need a social system, a political system that optimizes. And democracies are designed as a fair process for refereeing, contesting preferences and values amongst citizens while cohabiting together in the same social order. 

How social media is changing communication systems 

In a world of social media, the people who are signaling to us what counts as quality information are our peers, are our friends on the social graph, rather than some gatekeeper expert.

And so we have what we call horizontal trust rather than vertical trust to an expert. And that has led to the spread of misinformation and disinformation that no expert has, as it were, weighed in on and tried to filter for us. 

Ethics & computer science

I think while personal ethics of course is fine to have, maybe necessary, there's no such thing as a university course that will fix the human temptation to fudge the corners or to get ahead in various unethical ways. And I think the far more interesting challenge is this one to unearth the implicit value frameworks that guide our way implicitly or explicitly through moral complexity. 


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]]> Fri, 27 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Our guest today says that the profession of programmer or coder is the most important occupation to have in the 21st century, and yet computer science is developmentally speaking, still a very young field and discipline.

Rob Reich is professor of political science and, by courtesy, professor of philosophy and Education, at Stanford University. He is the director of the Center for Ethics in Society and co-director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and associate director of the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. 

His books include “System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot,” and “Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better.”

Listen as Greg and Rob talk about computer science, the ethics of engineering, echo chambers and how social media is changing communication systems.

Episode Quotes:

Is democracy in opposition to big tech?

When the optimization mindset becomes a kind of life outlook, rather than a particular methodological approach to a domain of technical problems, I think the engineer is led to believe that there's no particular reason to be attached to democratic decision-making as such, because democracy is so suboptimal.

We need a social system, a political system that optimizes. And democracies are designed as a fair process for refereeing, contesting preferences and values amongst citizens while cohabiting together in the same social order. 

How social media is changing communication systems 

In a world of social media, the people who are signaling to us what counts as quality information are our peers, are our friends on the social graph, rather than some gatekeeper expert.

And so we have what we call horizontal trust rather than vertical trust to an expert. And that has led to the spread of misinformation and disinformation that no expert has, as it were, weighed in on and tried to filter for us. 

Ethics & computer science

I think while personal ethics of course is fine to have, maybe necessary, there's no such thing as a university course that will fix the human temptation to fudge the corners or to get ahead in various unethical ways. And I think the far more interesting challenge is this one to unearth the implicit value frameworks that guide our way implicitly or explicitly through moral complexity. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> Computer Science is Not A Value Neutral Enterprise feat. Rob Reich Greg La Blanc 01:00:34 Our guest today says that the profession of programmer or coder is the most important occupation to have in the 21st century, and yet computer science is developmentally speaking, still a very young field and discipline. Rob Reich is professor of political science and, by courtesy, professor of philosophy and Education, at Stanford University. He is the director of the Center for Ethics in Society and co-director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and associate director of the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. His books include “System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot,” and “Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better.” Listen as Greg and Rob talk about computer science, the ethics of engineering, echo chambers and how social media is changing communication systems. Our guest today says that the profession of programmer or coder is the most important occupation to have in the 21st century, and yet computer science is developmentally speaking, still a very young field and discipline. Rob Reich is professor of political science and, by courtesy, professor of philosophy and Education, at Stanford University. He is the director of the Center for Ethics in Society and co-director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and associate director of the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. His books include “System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot,” and “Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better.” Listen as Greg and Rob talk about computer science, the ethics of engineering, echo chambers and how social media is changing communication systems. false full 141 ca4790d4-c3f3-4488-a919-99c538d2814b The Art of Subtraction feat. Leidy Klotz Leidy Klotz describes himself as an “academic trespasser.” Investigating underexplored intersections between engineering and behavioral science, Leidy is in pursuit of more sustainable systems. 

A professor at the University of Virginia, Leidy has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles in venues that include top academic journals in built environment engineering, engineering education, and design, as well as both Science and Nature. His most recent book is “Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less.”

Nationally recognized as one of 40-under-40 professors who inspire, Klotz has received multiple institution-level teaching awards for his classes and close work with undergraduates.

Leidy joins Greg to discuss biases and heuristics,minimalist writing styles, modifying mental models to accommodate the new information, time famine, and hoarding.

Episode Quotes:

How can we give ourselves reminders in the moment of making decisions to get better at subtracting?

I would say that listening to this podcast is certainly a reminder, you know, reading my book is a reminder. But also just taking some time to say, okay, where do I make important decisions? And how do I bake in a reminder for myself to consider subtracting? So it's like when you're doing your to-do list for the week, that you also consider some “stop doings.” When you're deciding, maybe it's every time you buy something off of Amazon, you also think of something to take out of your house to keep the balance.

Doing less can be difficult

Perhaps the most important point from the research and the book is that it's more work. If you want to create a whittled down skyscraper, that's more work. It's more steps to get to that. And it's the exact same thing cognitively, right? It's more steps.the easy thing to do is to add. And it's not that we can't subtract, but we have to think more. And I think that's where design thinking helps.

Subtracting can be difficult to start

My friend Ben who was a coauthor on the research and thinks about this more than anybody, probably other than me, came to me bragging about, “oh, I said no to a department meeting, I’m taking our research to heart!” And it's like, well, that's great Ben, but you didn't actually subtract something, you just didn't add.


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]]> Wed, 25 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Leidy Klotz describes himself as an “academic trespasser.” Investigating underexplored intersections between engineering and behavioral science, Leidy is in pursuit of more sustainable systems. 

A professor at the University of Virginia, Leidy has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles in venues that include top academic journals in built environment engineering, engineering education, and design, as well as both Science and Nature. His most recent book is “Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less.”

Nationally recognized as one of 40-under-40 professors who inspire, Klotz has received multiple institution-level teaching awards for his classes and close work with undergraduates.

Leidy joins Greg to discuss biases and heuristics,minimalist writing styles, modifying mental models to accommodate the new information, time famine, and hoarding.

Episode Quotes:

How can we give ourselves reminders in the moment of making decisions to get better at subtracting?

I would say that listening to this podcast is certainly a reminder, you know, reading my book is a reminder. But also just taking some time to say, okay, where do I make important decisions? And how do I bake in a reminder for myself to consider subtracting? So it's like when you're doing your to-do list for the week, that you also consider some “stop doings.” When you're deciding, maybe it's every time you buy something off of Amazon, you also think of something to take out of your house to keep the balance.

Doing less can be difficult

Perhaps the most important point from the research and the book is that it's more work. If you want to create a whittled down skyscraper, that's more work. It's more steps to get to that. And it's the exact same thing cognitively, right? It's more steps.the easy thing to do is to add. And it's not that we can't subtract, but we have to think more. And I think that's where design thinking helps.

Subtracting can be difficult to start

My friend Ben who was a coauthor on the research and thinks about this more than anybody, probably other than me, came to me bragging about, “oh, I said no to a department meeting, I’m taking our research to heart!” And it's like, well, that's great Ben, but you didn't actually subtract something, you just didn't add.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> The Art of Subtraction feat. Leidy Klotz Greg La Blanc 00:49:31 Leidy Klotz describes himself as an “academic trespasser.” Investigating underexplored intersections between engineering and behavioral science, Leidy is in pursuit of more sustainable systems. A professor at the University of Virginia, Leidy has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles in venues that include top academic journals in built environment engineering, engineering education, and design, as well as both Science and Nature. His most recent book is “Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less.” Nationally recognized as one of 40-under-40 professors who inspire, Klotz has received multiple institution-level teaching awards for his classes and close work with undergraduates. Leidy joins Greg to discuss biases and heuristics,minimalist writing styles, modifying mental models to accommodate the new information, time famine, and hoarding. Leidy Klotz describes himself as an “academic trespasser.” Investigating underexplored intersections between engineering and behavioral science, Leidy is in pursuit of more sustainable systems. A professor at the University of Virginia, Leidy has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles in venues that include top academic journals in built environment engineering, engineering education, and design, as well as both Science and Nature. His most recent book is “Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less.” Nationally recognized as one of 40-under-40 professors who inspire, Klotz has received multiple institution-level teaching awards for his classes and close work with undergraduates. Leidy joins Greg to discuss biases and heuristics,minimalist writing styles, modifying mental models to accommodate the new information, time famine, and hoarding. false full 140 5edfcf89-dd31-4022-85af-ccdc7d0a3c1d The Science of Self Awareness feat. Steve Fleming The notion of self awareness has been at the heart of philosophy for millenia. Now it’s the subject of research by neuroscientists, and is the focus of research at Steven Fleming’s lab, where he asks: what supports the remarkable capacity for human self-awareness? 

To address this question, Steve and his team combine experimental and theoretical approaches to understanding how people become self-aware of aspects of their cognition and behaviour, and why such awareness is often impaired by psychiatric and neurological disorders. 

Steve Fleming is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sir Henry Dale Wellcome Trust/Royal Society Fellow at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Principal Investigator at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, and Group Leader at the Max Planck-UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research. His latest book is devoted to this work, titled “Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness.”

He joins Greg for an episode on metacognition. They discuss mind reading, optimal self-awareness, confidence in your own knowledge, and learning to develop metacognition.

Episode Quotes:

Sports coaches aren't usually the best players, but that's not their role anyway

The coach then can provide the external perspective. So it's not necessarily the coach needs to have good metacognition themselves, although that might well be true as well. It's more that they are in a sense, providing this surrogate, external self-awareness for the players performance.

Confidence & knowledge

Confidence is aligned with some objective notion of accuracy. But if I walk around thinking I know everything about the economy, I don't need to read the newspaper to find out how that works and so on. Then I've got a strong confidence in my model of how the economy works and maybe I then don't go and seek out information and I try and spout my views to everybody who will listen. And that's a case where my confidence has been decoupled from the underlying knowledge base, the accuracy. And that might happen for various reasons, but we do think, and we've done some experiments on this showing that confidence acts as this metacontroller to weigh how sensitive you are to new evidence. 

The emerging study of metacognition

There's this long intellectual tradition, but it was only relatively recently that there seems to be the tools starting to emerge in psychology labs that could gain an empirical foothold on how to measure and study self-awareness in simple tasks. And that's what psychologists often referred to as metacognition or thinking about thinking.


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]]> Mon, 23 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The notion of self awareness has been at the heart of philosophy for millenia. Now it’s the subject of research by neuroscientists, and is the focus of research at Steven Fleming’s lab, where he asks: what supports the remarkable capacity for human self-awareness? 

To address this question, Steve and his team combine experimental and theoretical approaches to understanding how people become self-aware of aspects of their cognition and behaviour, and why such awareness is often impaired by psychiatric and neurological disorders. 

Steve Fleming is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sir Henry Dale Wellcome Trust/Royal Society Fellow at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Principal Investigator at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, and Group Leader at the Max Planck-UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research. His latest book is devoted to this work, titled “Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness.”

He joins Greg for an episode on metacognition. They discuss mind reading, optimal self-awareness, confidence in your own knowledge, and learning to develop metacognition.

Episode Quotes:

Sports coaches aren't usually the best players, but that's not their role anyway

The coach then can provide the external perspective. So it's not necessarily the coach needs to have good metacognition themselves, although that might well be true as well. It's more that they are in a sense, providing this surrogate, external self-awareness for the players performance.

Confidence & knowledge

Confidence is aligned with some objective notion of accuracy. But if I walk around thinking I know everything about the economy, I don't need to read the newspaper to find out how that works and so on. Then I've got a strong confidence in my model of how the economy works and maybe I then don't go and seek out information and I try and spout my views to everybody who will listen. And that's a case where my confidence has been decoupled from the underlying knowledge base, the accuracy. And that might happen for various reasons, but we do think, and we've done some experiments on this showing that confidence acts as this metacontroller to weigh how sensitive you are to new evidence. 

The emerging study of metacognition

There's this long intellectual tradition, but it was only relatively recently that there seems to be the tools starting to emerge in psychology labs that could gain an empirical foothold on how to measure and study self-awareness in simple tasks. And that's what psychologists often referred to as metacognition or thinking about thinking.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> The Science of Self Awareness feat. Steve Fleming Greg La Blanc 00:49:30 The notion of self awareness has been at the heart of philosophy for millenia. Now it’s the subject of research by neuroscientists, and is the focus of research at Steven Fleming’s lab, where he asks: what supports the remarkable capacity for human self-awareness? To address this question, Steve and his team combine experimental and theoretical approaches to understanding how people become self-aware of aspects of their cognition and behaviour, and why such awareness is often impaired by psychiatric and neurological disorders. Steve Fleming is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sir Henry Dale Wellcome Trust/Royal Society Fellow at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Principal Investigator at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, and Group Leader at the Max Planck-UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research. His latest book is devoted to this work, titled “Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness.” He joins Greg for an episode on metacognition. They discuss mind reading, optimal self-awareness, confidence in your own knowledge, and learning to develop metacognition. The notion of self awareness has been at the heart of philosophy for millenia. Now it’s the subject of research by neuroscientists, and is the focus of research at Steven Fleming’s lab, where he asks: what supports the remarkable capacity for human self-awareness? To address this question, Steve and his team combine experimental and theoretical approaches to understanding how people become self-aware of aspects of their cognition and behaviour, and why such awareness is often impaired by psychiatric and neurological disorders. Steve Fleming is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sir Henry Dale Wellcome Trust/Royal Society Fellow at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Principal Investigator at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, and Group Leader at the Max Planck-UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research. His latest book is devoted to this work, titled “Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness.” He joins Greg for an episode on metacognition. They discuss mind reading, optimal self-awareness, confidence in your own knowledge, and learning to develop metacognition. false full 139 c975a455-cdda-4d69-88a3-cbdc6b042901 Reflection in the Midst of Hustle Culture feat. Joseph Badarocco When we say “reflection,” what comes to mind? Is it sitting in meditation, in a meadow or a sacred space?. Or is it sitting at your desk, taking a second to look back at your life or career? Either way, its something that no one has time for these days, right?

Joseph Badarocco is the John Shad Professor of Business Ethics at Harvard Business School. He has taught courses on business ethics, strategy, and management in the School's MBA and executive programs. He is also the faculty chair of the Nomura School of Advanced Management in Tokyo.

Joseph’s current research focuses on what counts as sound reflection for busy men and women who have serious responsibilities and face hard, practical problems. His books include Step Back, Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose between Right and Right, and Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing.

Greg and Joe talk about cultivating character in leaders, what counts as reflection, different kinds of attentional states, and having multiple role models.

Episode Quotes:

How people react to talking about “reflection”

I ultimately interviewed about a hundred people, managers at all levels of organizations, some of them twice, it was about 150 interviews. And asked them, what do you think reflection is? And do you do it? And if so, when and how? An interesting reaction I got from a lot of them initially was along the lines of what you just said. They said, I'm sorry, but I'm really the wrong person. I don't have any time to reflect. I said, well, let's just talk a little bit further. And what became clear to me after a while was they had a image of reflection, which is a sort of a quiet, solitary, go up to the mountain sort of experience. 

The everyday work of managers

I think we often demean the everyday work of managers and a lot of other people by saying what really matters in a company is what we're doing in our communities, the breakthrough technologies. Those things of course are important. But what you do day by day, building a stronger company, stronger organization, good jobs for people developing their skills, pride in working together and accomplishing something. You're never going to be on the cover of a business magazine, ( not that they exist anymore), but it still matters. 

Reflection isn't always done alone

Another thing that a lot of people mentioned to me, these are very busy people, is it for them reflection wasn't solitary. So going up to the mountain is, thats a solitary image. But there were a couple people, either in their lives or often people at work, that they talked with fairly often, sometimes just briefly, but the sort of tone of the conversation was different. They were revealing a little more of what was on their minds.


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]]> Fri, 20 May 2022 16:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When we say “reflection,” what comes to mind? Is it sitting in meditation, in a meadow or a sacred space?. Or is it sitting at your desk, taking a second to look back at your life or career? Either way, its something that no one has time for these days, right?

Joseph Badarocco is the John Shad Professor of Business Ethics at Harvard Business School. He has taught courses on business ethics, strategy, and management in the School's MBA and executive programs. He is also the faculty chair of the Nomura School of Advanced Management in Tokyo.

Joseph’s current research focuses on what counts as sound reflection for busy men and women who have serious responsibilities and face hard, practical problems. His books include Step Back, Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose between Right and Right, and Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing.

Greg and Joe talk about cultivating character in leaders, what counts as reflection, different kinds of attentional states, and having multiple role models.

Episode Quotes:

How people react to talking about “reflection”

I ultimately interviewed about a hundred people, managers at all levels of organizations, some of them twice, it was about 150 interviews. And asked them, what do you think reflection is? And do you do it? And if so, when and how? An interesting reaction I got from a lot of them initially was along the lines of what you just said. They said, I'm sorry, but I'm really the wrong person. I don't have any time to reflect. I said, well, let's just talk a little bit further. And what became clear to me after a while was they had a image of reflection, which is a sort of a quiet, solitary, go up to the mountain sort of experience. 

The everyday work of managers

I think we often demean the everyday work of managers and a lot of other people by saying what really matters in a company is what we're doing in our communities, the breakthrough technologies. Those things of course are important. But what you do day by day, building a stronger company, stronger organization, good jobs for people developing their skills, pride in working together and accomplishing something. You're never going to be on the cover of a business magazine, ( not that they exist anymore), but it still matters. 

Reflection isn't always done alone

Another thing that a lot of people mentioned to me, these are very busy people, is it for them reflection wasn't solitary. So going up to the mountain is, thats a solitary image. But there were a couple people, either in their lives or often people at work, that they talked with fairly often, sometimes just briefly, but the sort of tone of the conversation was different. They were revealing a little more of what was on their minds.


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]]> Reflection in the Midst of Hustle Culture feat. Joseph Badarocco Greg La Blanc 00:58:28 When we say “reflection,” what comes to mind? Is it sitting in meditation, in a meadow or a sacred space?. Or is it sitting at your desk, taking a second to look back at your life or career? Either way, its something that no one has time for these days, right? Joseph Badarocco is the John Shad Professor of Business Ethics at Harvard Business School. He has taught courses on business ethics, strategy, and management in the School's MBA and executive programs. He is also the faculty chair of the Nomura School of Advanced Management in Tokyo. Joseph’s current research focuses on what counts as sound reflection for busy men and women who have serious responsibilities and face hard, practical problems. His books include Step Back, Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose between Right and Right, and Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing. Greg and Joe talk about cultivating character in leaders, what counts as reflection, different kinds of attentional states, and having multiple role models. When we say “reflection,” what comes to mind? Is it sitting in meditation, in a meadow or a sacred space?. Or is it sitting at your desk, taking a second to look back at your life or career? Either way, its something that no one has time for these days, right? Joseph Badarocco is the John Shad Professor of Business Ethics at Harvard Business School. He has taught courses on business ethics, strategy, and management in the School's MBA and executive programs. He is also the faculty chair of the Nomura School of Advanced Management in Tokyo. Joseph’s current research focuses on what counts as sound reflection for busy men and women who have serious responsibilities and face hard, practical problems. His books include Step Back, Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose between Right and Right, and Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing. Greg and Joe talk about cultivating character in leaders, what counts as reflection, different kinds of attentional states, and having multiple role models. false full 138 e810929b-302c-46ff-b743-374b8b07a9bf The Growing Field of Bullshit Studies feat. Carl Bergstrom Every generation reaches a point where they claim that discourse has gone to hell. But that doesn't mean we’re going to miss out on our chance to complain about it as well.

Carl Bergstrom is a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. Though trained in evolutionary biology and mathematical population genetics, Carl is perhaps best known for working across disciplines and integrating ideas across natural and social sciences. 

Recently, Carl teamed up with Jevin West to launch the Calling Bullshit project, developing a website and course materials for teaching quantitative reasoning and information literacy. That project then grew into Carl’s latest book, “Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World.”

Carl and Greg sit down and talk about critical thinking, identifying misinformation in a world where it flows so freely, the psychology of debunking and teaching bullshit detection.

Episode Quotes:

What does the future of calling bullshit look like

We do need to catch up to the realities of the environment that we live in and we need to adapt the way that our education system works to the way that our culture is changing. And I think absolutely we need to teach some media literacy that involves thinking about social media. We need to be deliberate in teaching critical thinking. We need to teach concepts like lateral reading so that people know how to look into that. 

Data driven bullshit

So much of the bullshit is data-driven today because the world is so intensely quantified both through the prevalence of all kinds of sensing in the world that we live in, ambient sensors and everything else being recorded and monitored, but also because of this intensely online nature of our lives. That generates a tremendous amount of data about what we're interested in, what we want to buy, where we want to go, who we want to date.

Who can we trust for news now?

Even if you know, I pick up my iPhone and hit the news app in the morning and I have a couple of intelligent analyses from various places. But, you know, as we talk about, somebody got a lip job, and then there's nine cats that look like Disney princesses, and they’re all head to head. And as good of a person as I try to be, you got to see those cats. This kind of is a race to the bottom if you will.


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]]> Wed, 18 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Every generation reaches a point where they claim that discourse has gone to hell. But that doesn't mean we’re going to miss out on our chance to complain about it as well.

Carl Bergstrom is a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. Though trained in evolutionary biology and mathematical population genetics, Carl is perhaps best known for working across disciplines and integrating ideas across natural and social sciences. 

Recently, Carl teamed up with Jevin West to launch the Calling Bullshit project, developing a website and course materials for teaching quantitative reasoning and information literacy. That project then grew into Carl’s latest book, “Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World.”

Carl and Greg sit down and talk about critical thinking, identifying misinformation in a world where it flows so freely, the psychology of debunking and teaching bullshit detection.

Episode Quotes:

What does the future of calling bullshit look like

We do need to catch up to the realities of the environment that we live in and we need to adapt the way that our education system works to the way that our culture is changing. And I think absolutely we need to teach some media literacy that involves thinking about social media. We need to be deliberate in teaching critical thinking. We need to teach concepts like lateral reading so that people know how to look into that. 

Data driven bullshit

So much of the bullshit is data-driven today because the world is so intensely quantified both through the prevalence of all kinds of sensing in the world that we live in, ambient sensors and everything else being recorded and monitored, but also because of this intensely online nature of our lives. That generates a tremendous amount of data about what we're interested in, what we want to buy, where we want to go, who we want to date.

Who can we trust for news now?

Even if you know, I pick up my iPhone and hit the news app in the morning and I have a couple of intelligent analyses from various places. But, you know, as we talk about, somebody got a lip job, and then there's nine cats that look like Disney princesses, and they’re all head to head. And as good of a person as I try to be, you got to see those cats. This kind of is a race to the bottom if you will.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Growing Field of Bullshit Studies feat. Carl Bergstrom Greg La Blanc 00:51:23 Every generation reaches a point where they claim that discourse has gone to hell. But that doesn't mean we’re going to miss out on our chance to complain about it as well. Carl Bergstrom is a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. Though trained in evolutionary biology and mathematical population genetics, Carl is perhaps best known for working across disciplines and integrating ideas across natural and social sciences. Recently, Carl teamed up with Jevin West to launch the Calling Bullshit project, developing a website and course materials for teaching quantitative reasoning and information literacy. That project then grew into Carl’s latest book, “Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World.” Carl and Greg sit down and talk about critical thinking, identifying misinformation in a world where it flows so freely, the psychology of debunking and teaching bullshit detection. Every generation reaches a point where they claim that discourse has gone to hell. But that doesn't mean we’re going to miss out on our chance to complain about it as well. Carl Bergstrom is a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. Though trained in evolutionary biology and mathematical population genetics, Carl is perhaps best known for working across disciplines and integrating ideas across natural and social sciences. Recently, Carl teamed up with Jevin West to launch the Calling Bullshit project, developing a website and course materials for teaching quantitative reasoning and information literacy. That project then grew into Carl’s latest book, “Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World.” Carl and Greg sit down and talk about critical thinking, identifying misinformation in a world where it flows so freely, the psychology of debunking and teaching bullshit detection. false full 137 8631a7f9-8532-45e9-93e3-23ba15b8441a What’s Wrong with Banking feat. Anat Admati Before the coronavirus pandemic, one of the biggest crises of our time was the global financial crisis. And even though that crisis passed, the underlying issues which gave rise to it have not been resolved. 

Anat Admati is the George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a director of the Corporations and Society Initiative, and a senior fellow at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. 

She has written extensively on information dissemination in financial markets, portfolio management, financial contracting, corporate governance, and banking. Anat also co-authored the book “The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong With Banking and What to Do About It” with Martin Hellwig.

In this episode we’re diving into the world of finance, with a focus on housing subsidies in the United States, corporate finance education, and whether or not the private sector will solve our global problems. 

Episode Quotes:

Money influences every sector 

So money speaks everywhere, including nonprofits and universities are not immune from that actually. Their donors, especially of business schools, are from the private sector and you don't want to annoy them. That's why the only way you're going to talk about society is to make everybody feel good about themselves and do impact investing in philanthropy and all of that. So that's sort of the winner takes all charade of changing the world sort of part of it. So academics are not immune.

Change is difficult in academia

So change is difficult also in academia and business schools especially. In the eighties there started being this mantra with Ronald Reagan, the government is always a problem, the government is corrupt and incompetent, etc. And therefore you have all these heroic CEOs, that they will take care of us because the government can't. To which my response is if the government can't, why is that? And did you have anything to do with it, with your own actions to corrupt the government basically? To weaken the government to rob it of resources in every clever way you can. And now we're all paying the price.

The lack of education of corporate finance

When I started looking into banking as a corporate finance and corporate governance expert right after the financial crisis, I was shocked. I mean, you really actually have academics writing textbooks and it's as if like the civilization of corporate finance and what we understand about the basics of corporate finance just hasn't made it there. They just have a whole other set of words that they use. And they just seem to refuse to accept it's really in the sort of domain of willful blindness. 

Funding & debt

We just rely too much on debt. And the debt often becomes predatory in bad terms, payday loans, and other things, and even student loans. In other words, what is it you want to fund? And how is it you want to do it? We do way too much funding by debt in general.


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

]]> Mon, 16 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Before the coronavirus pandemic, one of the biggest crises of our time was the global financial crisis. And even though that crisis passed, the underlying issues which gave rise to it have not been resolved. 

Anat Admati is the George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a director of the Corporations and Society Initiative, and a senior fellow at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. 

She has written extensively on information dissemination in financial markets, portfolio management, financial contracting, corporate governance, and banking. Anat also co-authored the book “The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong With Banking and What to Do About It” with Martin Hellwig.

In this episode we’re diving into the world of finance, with a focus on housing subsidies in the United States, corporate finance education, and whether or not the private sector will solve our global problems. 

Episode Quotes:

Money influences every sector 

So money speaks everywhere, including nonprofits and universities are not immune from that actually. Their donors, especially of business schools, are from the private sector and you don't want to annoy them. That's why the only way you're going to talk about society is to make everybody feel good about themselves and do impact investing in philanthropy and all of that. So that's sort of the winner takes all charade of changing the world sort of part of it. So academics are not immune.

Change is difficult in academia

So change is difficult also in academia and business schools especially. In the eighties there started being this mantra with Ronald Reagan, the government is always a problem, the government is corrupt and incompetent, etc. And therefore you have all these heroic CEOs, that they will take care of us because the government can't. To which my response is if the government can't, why is that? And did you have anything to do with it, with your own actions to corrupt the government basically? To weaken the government to rob it of resources in every clever way you can. And now we're all paying the price.

The lack of education of corporate finance

When I started looking into banking as a corporate finance and corporate governance expert right after the financial crisis, I was shocked. I mean, you really actually have academics writing textbooks and it's as if like the civilization of corporate finance and what we understand about the basics of corporate finance just hasn't made it there. They just have a whole other set of words that they use. And they just seem to refuse to accept it's really in the sort of domain of willful blindness. 

Funding & debt

We just rely too much on debt. And the debt often becomes predatory in bad terms, payday loans, and other things, and even student loans. In other words, what is it you want to fund? And how is it you want to do it? We do way too much funding by debt in general.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> What’s Wrong with Banking feat. Anat Admati Greg La Blanc 00:56:50 Before the coronavirus pandemic, one of the biggest crises of our time was the global financial crisis. And even though that crisis passed, the underlying issues which gave rise to it have not been resolved. Anat Admati is the George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a director of the Corporations and Society Initiative, and a senior fellow at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. She has written extensively on information dissemination in financial markets, portfolio management, financial contracting, corporate governance, and banking. Anat also co-authored the book “The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong With Banking and What to Do About It” with Martin Hellwig. In this episode we’re diving into the world of finance, with a focus on housing subsidies in the United States, corporate finance education, and whether or not the private sector will solve our global problems. Before the coronavirus pandemic, one of the biggest crises of our time was the global financial crisis. And even though that crisis passed, the underlying issues which gave rise to it have not been resolved. Anat Admati is the George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a director of the Corporations and Society Initiative, and a senior fellow at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. She has written extensively on information dissemination in financial markets, portfolio management, financial contracting, corporate governance, and banking. Anat also co-authored the book “The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong With Banking and What to Do About It” with Martin Hellwig. In this episode we’re diving into the world of finance, with a focus on housing subsidies in the United States, corporate finance education, and whether or not the private sector will solve our global problems. false full 136 a4fc2520-4509-4a1e-8691-3561f35e205f New Ways of Working feat. Lynda Gratton Work used to have a rigid structure. You would punch in and out of the factory, leave your work behind at the office and go home. But as the lines between work and home blur, and all hours can easily become working hours, how can we find balance?

Lynda Gratton is a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School where she directs the program ‘Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Companies’ – considered the world’s leading program on human resources. 

Her elective on the Future of Work is one of the school’s most popular and in 2016 she received the school’s ‘Excellence in Teaching’ award. For over ten years she has led the Future of Work Consortium which has brought executives from more than 60 companies together both virtually and on a bespoke collaborative platform.

She joins Greg to talk about new digital tools that bring the workplace anywhere, what drives productivity, serendipity and the future of work post pandemic. 

Episode Quotes:

What's the point of heading back to the office?

Let me give you an example. I was talking to a senior investment banker in New York last week and she said, you know, Lynda, I've just commuted one and a half hours from Connecticut to come into Manhattan and I'm going to commute one and a half hours back. And all I've done all day, you know the answer to this Greg, she said, I've been sitting on zoom meetings. I don't know why I'm here. So if we want people back in the office. And I think most companies do for at least some of the time we have to make it a very attractive proposition. 

Can we recreate workplace interactions with an algorithm?

The fact is that it is really great and innovative and creative to bump into people who are different from you. I mean, we know that from network theory, don't we? That those diversity ideas is what makes for innovation.

So the question I think is twofold. As we go back to the office, in a physical way, how do we create more serendipity? And secondly, the point you raise Greg, which is, is the more that we can do virtually to create serendipity. And I think the answer to both of those is we can, it takes intentional design.

Seeing trends in workplace culture & environment

I felt that about now, and I'm speaking April / May of 2022, people would begin to say, you know I think we could just go back to how we were. And I thought it was really important that all of us together said, no, we were not going to go back. There were many things wrong with how we worked. 


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]]> Fri, 13 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Work used to have a rigid structure. You would punch in and out of the factory, leave your work behind at the office and go home. But as the lines between work and home blur, and all hours can easily become working hours, how can we find balance?

Lynda Gratton is a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School where she directs the program ‘Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Companies’ – considered the world’s leading program on human resources. 

Her elective on the Future of Work is one of the school’s most popular and in 2016 she received the school’s ‘Excellence in Teaching’ award. For over ten years she has led the Future of Work Consortium which has brought executives from more than 60 companies together both virtually and on a bespoke collaborative platform.

She joins Greg to talk about new digital tools that bring the workplace anywhere, what drives productivity, serendipity and the future of work post pandemic. 

Episode Quotes:

What's the point of heading back to the office?

Let me give you an example. I was talking to a senior investment banker in New York last week and she said, you know, Lynda, I've just commuted one and a half hours from Connecticut to come into Manhattan and I'm going to commute one and a half hours back. And all I've done all day, you know the answer to this Greg, she said, I've been sitting on zoom meetings. I don't know why I'm here. So if we want people back in the office. And I think most companies do for at least some of the time we have to make it a very attractive proposition. 

Can we recreate workplace interactions with an algorithm?

The fact is that it is really great and innovative and creative to bump into people who are different from you. I mean, we know that from network theory, don't we? That those diversity ideas is what makes for innovation.

So the question I think is twofold. As we go back to the office, in a physical way, how do we create more serendipity? And secondly, the point you raise Greg, which is, is the more that we can do virtually to create serendipity. And I think the answer to both of those is we can, it takes intentional design.

Seeing trends in workplace culture & environment

I felt that about now, and I'm speaking April / May of 2022, people would begin to say, you know I think we could just go back to how we were. And I thought it was really important that all of us together said, no, we were not going to go back. There were many things wrong with how we worked. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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]]> New Ways of Working feat. Lynda Gratton Greg La Blanc 00:56:03 Work used to have a rigid structure. You would punch in and out of the factory, leave your work behind at the office and go home. But as the lines between work and home blur, and all hours can easily become working hours, how can we find balance? Lynda Gratton is a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School where she directs the program ‘Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Companies’ – considered the world’s leading program on human resources. Her elective on the Future of Work is one of the school’s most popular and in 2016 she received the school’s ‘Excellence in Teaching’ award. For over ten years she has led the Future of Work Consortium which has brought executives from more than 60 companies together both virtually and on a bespoke collaborative platform. She joins Greg to talk about new digital tools that bring the workplace anywhere, what drives productivity, serendipity and the future of work post pandemic. Work used to have a rigid structure. You would punch in and out of the factory, leave your work behind at the office and go home. But as the lines between work and home blur, and all hours can easily become working hours, how can we find balance? Lynda Gratton is a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School where she directs the program ‘Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Companies’ – considered the world’s leading program on human resources. Her elective on the Future of Work is one of the school’s most popular and in 2016 she received the school’s ‘Excellence in Teaching’ award. For over ten years she has led the Future of Work Consortium which has brought executives from more than 60 companies together both virtually and on a bespoke collaborative platform. She joins Greg to talk about new digital tools that bring the workplace anywhere, what drives productivity, serendipity and the future of work post pandemic. false full 135 534138b0-eaba-4d10-a96e-4cb86d707394 The Importance of Discomfort feat. Aidan McCullen Sharing fresh information to empower new thinking. That's the north star behind Aiden McCullen’s podcast The Innovation Show. This podcast is actually what inspired Greg to create unSILOed! 

Aidan McCullen is a former Ireland national rugby player and current change consultant, working with organizations to improve how they collaborate and create the environment for change. 

He has developed and delivers a module on Emerging Technology Trends in Trinity College Business School, ranked as one of the top Business Schools in the world, and wrote the book, “Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organizations and Life” 

He joins Greg to chat about reinventing himself from being a professional athlete to a successful businessperson, the importance of discomfort, how he sources guests for his own podcast to promote learning, and when to let go. 

Episode Quotes:

Don't box yourself into one field

I think to your point of not being an expert, I think we're moving away from the expert. The world still needs experts, don't get me wrong. We still all need a core competency. But with the speed of change of information and theories being disproved so quickly and new information being uncovered, we need to be just wary that when we get to the top of the ladder, the wall is getting higher. Or when we get to the top of the ladder that we may sometimes realize we're against the wrong wall. We don't like what we've got to the top of. And that's a shame to be stuck there because you're like, I have nowhere else to go. 

Discomfort is good

You don't get a gain unless you get pain. I need the weights to be heavy enough to cause discomfort, to break down the muscle and then I need to feed it and nurture it in order for it to grow again. It's the same with any kind of learning or any kind of organization. So we talked about disruption in organizations. If there's no extrinsic pressure for me to change, I won't. Because, ultimately the brain is an energy saving machine, always looking for shortcuts. And it will create atrophies wherever it can, including in an organization. 

When your job becomes your identity

We cling to that persona wondering, oh, what if I don't make it if I let go. I'd rather be a prisoner to this history, this record of my past, rather than take a chance on a vision for my future. And in American football for example, so many players cling to that Jersey they become the jersey. Instead of letting go and going look, I've loads of transferable skills. I can apply them elsewhere and I can achieve elsewhere and enjoy another series of decades, series of personas because life can offer you that. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 11 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Sharing fresh information to empower new thinking. That's the north star behind Aiden McCullen’s podcast The Innovation Show. This podcast is actually what inspired Greg to create unSILOed! 

Aidan McCullen is a former Ireland national rugby player and current change consultant, working with organizations to improve how they collaborate and create the environment for change. 

He has developed and delivers a module on Emerging Technology Trends in Trinity College Business School, ranked as one of the top Business Schools in the world, and wrote the book, “Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organizations and Life” 

He joins Greg to chat about reinventing himself from being a professional athlete to a successful businessperson, the importance of discomfort, how he sources guests for his own podcast to promote learning, and when to let go. 

Episode Quotes:

Don't box yourself into one field

I think to your point of not being an expert, I think we're moving away from the expert. The world still needs experts, don't get me wrong. We still all need a core competency. But with the speed of change of information and theories being disproved so quickly and new information being uncovered, we need to be just wary that when we get to the top of the ladder, the wall is getting higher. Or when we get to the top of the ladder that we may sometimes realize we're against the wrong wall. We don't like what we've got to the top of. And that's a shame to be stuck there because you're like, I have nowhere else to go. 

Discomfort is good

You don't get a gain unless you get pain. I need the weights to be heavy enough to cause discomfort, to break down the muscle and then I need to feed it and nurture it in order for it to grow again. It's the same with any kind of learning or any kind of organization. So we talked about disruption in organizations. If there's no extrinsic pressure for me to change, I won't. Because, ultimately the brain is an energy saving machine, always looking for shortcuts. And it will create atrophies wherever it can, including in an organization. 

When your job becomes your identity

We cling to that persona wondering, oh, what if I don't make it if I let go. I'd rather be a prisoner to this history, this record of my past, rather than take a chance on a vision for my future. And in American football for example, so many players cling to that Jersey they become the jersey. Instead of letting go and going look, I've loads of transferable skills. I can apply them elsewhere and I can achieve elsewhere and enjoy another series of decades, series of personas because life can offer you that. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Importance of Discomfort feat. Aidan McCullen Greg La Blanc 01:02:54 Sharing fresh information to empower new thinking. That's the north star behind Aiden McCullen’s podcast The Innovation Show. This podcast is actually what inspired Greg to create unSILOed! Aidan McCullen is a former Ireland national rugby player and current change consultant, working with organizations to improve how they collaborate and create the environment for change. He has developed and delivers a module on Emerging Technology Trends in Trinity College Business School, ranked as one of the top Business Schools in the world, and wrote the book, “Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organizations and Life” He joins Greg to chat about reinventing himself from being a professional athlete to a successful businessperson, the importance of discomfort, how he sources guests for his own podcast to promote learning, and when to let go. Sharing fresh information to empower new thinking. That's the north star behind Aiden McCullen’s podcast The Innovation Show. This podcast is actually what inspired Greg to create unSILOed! Aidan McCullen is a former Ireland national rugby player and current change consultant, working with organizations to improve how they collaborate and create the environment for change. He has developed and delivers a module on Emerging Technology Trends in Trinity College Business School, ranked as one of the top Business Schools in the world, and wrote the book, “Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organizations and Life” He joins Greg to chat about reinventing himself from being a professional athlete to a successful businessperson, the importance of discomfort, how he sources guests for his own podcast to promote learning, and when to let go. false full 134 f7910aae-0b7a-45e3-8ed2-981de22cef8f Why Startups Fail feat. Tom Eisenmann Some philosophers of science would say that, if you can't fail, you can't learn. If you've got a theory of how the world's going to work, and the world works that way, you haven't learned anything new. And this idea of emphasizing and embracing failure is important in the business world as well. 

Tom Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.

Here, Tom heads up many entrepreneurial initiatives, teaches the MBA elective Entrepreneurial Failure, and the MS/MBA core courses Technology Venture Immersion and Launch Lab. In recent years, he has also served as Chair of Harvard's MBA Elective Curriculum, and as course head of The Entrepreneurial Manager. His latest book is “Why Startups Fail: A New Roadmap for Entrepreneurial Success.”

This episode covers entrepreneurship and startups and what failure can teach us about success.Greg and Tom discuss false starts, Dropbox, scaling too fast and balancing confidence with humility.

Episode Quotes:

What happens after failure

So you want to find that middle where you can actually, understand the failure, your role in it, and that just takes some emotional distance. It usually takes a matter of weeks or months of - when you're alternating between rumination and distraction. If it's a hundred percent rumination, you're going to make yourself crazy, perhaps clinically depressed.

And no one wants that. If it's a hundred percent distraction, so to go side projects or do yoga, whatever it is, you never going to make sense of what happened. So you have to alternate between the two and let the emotions subside, find your role in the failure, and crucially be able to explain it to people.

Helping students find jobs

Pick the one that most lights you up at this point, because basically this is a long game. And if you're going to succeed as an entrepreneur, you need to master management challenges at every step. And they're very different at every step and in no single job where you're going to learn everything you need to know.

Entrepreneurship & management

[Entrepreneurship] It's a way of managing when resources are constrained and when you're doing something fundamentally new. And that's a pretty good description of a challenge that almost any manager in any kind of organization is going to face at some stage, whether it be a government agency, a not-for-profit, a big corporation.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 9 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Some philosophers of science would say that, if you can't fail, you can't learn. If you've got a theory of how the world's going to work, and the world works that way, you haven't learned anything new. And this idea of emphasizing and embracing failure is important in the business world as well. 

Tom Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.

Here, Tom heads up many entrepreneurial initiatives, teaches the MBA elective Entrepreneurial Failure, and the MS/MBA core courses Technology Venture Immersion and Launch Lab. In recent years, he has also served as Chair of Harvard's MBA Elective Curriculum, and as course head of The Entrepreneurial Manager. His latest book is “Why Startups Fail: A New Roadmap for Entrepreneurial Success.”

This episode covers entrepreneurship and startups and what failure can teach us about success.Greg and Tom discuss false starts, Dropbox, scaling too fast and balancing confidence with humility.

Episode Quotes:

What happens after failure

So you want to find that middle where you can actually, understand the failure, your role in it, and that just takes some emotional distance. It usually takes a matter of weeks or months of - when you're alternating between rumination and distraction. If it's a hundred percent rumination, you're going to make yourself crazy, perhaps clinically depressed.

And no one wants that. If it's a hundred percent distraction, so to go side projects or do yoga, whatever it is, you never going to make sense of what happened. So you have to alternate between the two and let the emotions subside, find your role in the failure, and crucially be able to explain it to people.

Helping students find jobs

Pick the one that most lights you up at this point, because basically this is a long game. And if you're going to succeed as an entrepreneur, you need to master management challenges at every step. And they're very different at every step and in no single job where you're going to learn everything you need to know.

Entrepreneurship & management

[Entrepreneurship] It's a way of managing when resources are constrained and when you're doing something fundamentally new. And that's a pretty good description of a challenge that almost any manager in any kind of organization is going to face at some stage, whether it be a government agency, a not-for-profit, a big corporation.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Why Startups Fail feat. Tom Eisenmann Greg La Blanc 00:48:35 Some philosophers of science would say that, if you can't fail, you can't learn. If you've got a theory of how the world's going to work, and the world works that way, you haven't learned anything new. And this idea of emphasizing and embracing failure is important in the business world as well. Tom Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. Here, Tom heads up many entrepreneurial initiatives, teaches the MBA elective Entrepreneurial Failure, and the MS/MBA core courses Technology Venture Immersion and Launch Lab. In recent years, he has also served as Chair of Harvard's MBA Elective Curriculum, and as course head of The Entrepreneurial Manager. His latest book is “Why Startups Fail: A New Roadmap for Entrepreneurial Success.” This episode covers entrepreneurship and startups and what failure can teach us about success.Greg and Tom discuss false starts, Dropbox, scaling too fast and balancing confidence with humility. Some philosophers of science would say that, if you can't fail, you can't learn. If you've got a theory of how the world's going to work, and the world works that way, you haven't learned anything new. And this idea of emphasizing and embracing failure is important in the business world as well. Tom Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. Here, Tom heads up many entrepreneurial initiatives, teaches the MBA elective Entrepreneurial Failure, and the MS/MBA core courses Technology Venture Immersion and Launch Lab. In recent years, he has also served as Chair of Harvard's MBA Elective Curriculum, and as course head of The Entrepreneurial Manager. His latest book is “Why Startups Fail: A New Roadmap for Entrepreneurial Success.” This episode covers entrepreneurship and startups and what failure can teach us about success.Greg and Tom discuss false starts, Dropbox, scaling too fast and balancing confidence with humility. false full 133 66da8188-7874-44e5-b8db-53bdc49e5662 Recommendation Engines & Trust feat. Michael Schrage It was not too long ago when the first recommendation engines were created, originally to help researchers keep track of articles and information. Now, you probably consult one every single day.

Michael Schrage is a Visiting Fellow in the Imperial College Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at MIT, where he examines the various roles of models, prototypes, and simulations as collaborative media for innovation risk management.

He has served as an advisor on innovation issues and investments to major firms, including Mars, Procter & Gamble, Google, Intel, BT, Siemens, NASDAQ, IBM, and Alcoa. In addition, Michael has advised segments of the national security community on cyberconflict and cybersecurity issues, and has written a number of books, the most recent being “Recommendation Engines.”

Michael joins Greg to talk about continuity and patterns, the “search” for advice, trust & exploitation and cat videos.

Episode Quotes:

Where are you getting your best advice from these days?

Who should I trust giving me advice, my best friend, my wife, or these algorithms? That used to be a joke question. Who would you trust advice for a movie or a Netflix series from, your friends or the algorithm? I've literally been at dinners where people say you really got to see so-and-so and said, yeah, Netflix just recommended that two days ago. So you're getting your best advice on restaurants, on travel, on books, on videos from an algorithm, not your friends. What happens to human relationships when your best advice comes from your devices? Not your people.

How did Michael get into this work

What sucked me in to recommender systems, to recommendation engines and the way that they were designed, the way they were architected, the way they were experienced was instead of getting the best answer, I'm getting the best choices. And to me, the real shock is if you're just getting the best answer, then the issue is you need to comply with the best answer. 

What are recommendation engines? 

Recommendation engines are just, they're about the past, present and future of advice. They're the past, present and future of self discovery. I find that fascinating. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 4 May 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It was not too long ago when the first recommendation engines were created, originally to help researchers keep track of articles and information. Now, you probably consult one every single day.

Michael Schrage is a Visiting Fellow in the Imperial College Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at MIT, where he examines the various roles of models, prototypes, and simulations as collaborative media for innovation risk management.

He has served as an advisor on innovation issues and investments to major firms, including Mars, Procter & Gamble, Google, Intel, BT, Siemens, NASDAQ, IBM, and Alcoa. In addition, Michael has advised segments of the national security community on cyberconflict and cybersecurity issues, and has written a number of books, the most recent being “Recommendation Engines.”

Michael joins Greg to talk about continuity and patterns, the “search” for advice, trust & exploitation and cat videos.

Episode Quotes:

Where are you getting your best advice from these days?

Who should I trust giving me advice, my best friend, my wife, or these algorithms? That used to be a joke question. Who would you trust advice for a movie or a Netflix series from, your friends or the algorithm? I've literally been at dinners where people say you really got to see so-and-so and said, yeah, Netflix just recommended that two days ago. So you're getting your best advice on restaurants, on travel, on books, on videos from an algorithm, not your friends. What happens to human relationships when your best advice comes from your devices? Not your people.

How did Michael get into this work

What sucked me in to recommender systems, to recommendation engines and the way that they were designed, the way they were architected, the way they were experienced was instead of getting the best answer, I'm getting the best choices. And to me, the real shock is if you're just getting the best answer, then the issue is you need to comply with the best answer. 

What are recommendation engines? 

Recommendation engines are just, they're about the past, present and future of advice. They're the past, present and future of self discovery. I find that fascinating. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Recommendation Engines & Trust feat. Michael Schrage Greg La Blanc 01:01:58 It was not too long ago when the first recommendation engines were created, originally to help researchers keep track of articles and information. Now, you probably consult one every single day. Michael Schrage is a Visiting Fellow in the Imperial College Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at MIT, where he examines the various roles of models, prototypes, and simulations as collaborative media for innovation risk management. He has served as an advisor on innovation issues and investments to major firms, including Mars, Procter & Gamble, Google, Intel, BT, Siemens, NASDAQ, IBM, and Alcoa. In addition, Michael has advised segments of the national security community on cyberconflict and cybersecurity issues, and has written a number of books, the most recent being “Recommendation Engines.” Michael joins Greg to talk about continuity and patterns, the “search” for advice, trust & exploitation and cat videos. It was not too long ago when the first recommendation engines were created, originally to help researchers keep track of articles and information. Now, you probably consult one every single day. Michael Schrage is a Visiting Fellow in the Imperial College Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at MIT, where he examines the various roles of models, prototypes, and simulations as collaborative media for innovation risk management. He has served as an advisor on innovation issues and investments to major firms, including Mars, Procter & Gamble, Google, Intel, BT, Siemens, NASDAQ, IBM, and Alcoa. In addition, Michael has advised segments of the national security community on cyberconflict and cybersecurity issues, and has written a number of books, the most recent being “Recommendation Engines.” Michael joins Greg to talk about continuity and patterns, the “search” for advice, trust & exploitation and cat videos. false full 132 abb443e4-3432-43d3-aa85-f3aaef46cd1c The Tyranny of Metrics feat. Jerry Muller Our obsession with metrics is causing damage across the board, from education and medicine, to the police, military, and foreign aid. But our guest says we can at least begin to fix the problem.

Jerry Muller is professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he is a professor of history. He is the author of five books, including “Capitalism and the Jews”, “The Tyranny of Metrics,” and “The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in European Thought.” 

His current work focuses on the border between history, social science, philosophy, and public policy. 

He chats with Greg in this episode about measurability bias, metric fixation, how metrics have made baseball more boring, and surgical report cards.

Episode Quotes:

On metric fixation

So one of the problems with what I call metric fixation is the belief that since you are measuring in a standardized way, you are engaged in an objective scientific activity. And therefore it tends to militate against humility. That is to say, it gives you too much confidence in the metrics. Because after all you're doing science, and the other guy or gal, she's just working on her, gut or on her intuition around her so-called judgment. But I've got hard numbers and hard numbers are, that's what sent people into space. So they're going to help me figure out if this product that I have is going to work in the marketplace.

Standardized metrics: 

Again, I can't say it often enough, standardized metrics do have a positive role. They mitigate against various kinds of prejudice and against some kinds of biases. But when you put those metrics together with reward and punishment and transparency, you often get all kinds of dysfunctions.

Multifactor metrics & judgment:

The more metrics you have, the more employee and management time is being put into measuring as opposed to doing. And especially since good metrics require input from the practitioners themselves, because they're actually more likely to know what's important and what's not. So it's good to have their input, but again that takes some of their time. So there's a real tension between doing and measuring and coming up with the metrics and then producing the metrics and then analyzing the metrics. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 2 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Our obsession with metrics is causing damage across the board, from education and medicine, to the police, military, and foreign aid. But our guest says we can at least begin to fix the problem.

Jerry Muller is professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he is a professor of history. He is the author of five books, including “Capitalism and the Jews”, “The Tyranny of Metrics,” and “The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in European Thought.” 

His current work focuses on the border between history, social science, philosophy, and public policy. 

He chats with Greg in this episode about measurability bias, metric fixation, how metrics have made baseball more boring, and surgical report cards.

Episode Quotes:

On metric fixation

So one of the problems with what I call metric fixation is the belief that since you are measuring in a standardized way, you are engaged in an objective scientific activity. And therefore it tends to militate against humility. That is to say, it gives you too much confidence in the metrics. Because after all you're doing science, and the other guy or gal, she's just working on her, gut or on her intuition around her so-called judgment. But I've got hard numbers and hard numbers are, that's what sent people into space. So they're going to help me figure out if this product that I have is going to work in the marketplace.

Standardized metrics: 

Again, I can't say it often enough, standardized metrics do have a positive role. They mitigate against various kinds of prejudice and against some kinds of biases. But when you put those metrics together with reward and punishment and transparency, you often get all kinds of dysfunctions.

Multifactor metrics & judgment:

The more metrics you have, the more employee and management time is being put into measuring as opposed to doing. And especially since good metrics require input from the practitioners themselves, because they're actually more likely to know what's important and what's not. So it's good to have their input, but again that takes some of their time. So there's a real tension between doing and measuring and coming up with the metrics and then producing the metrics and then analyzing the metrics. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Tyranny of Metrics feat. Jerry Muller Greg La Blanc 01:01:00 Our obsession with metrics is causing damage across the board, from education and medicine, to the police, military, and foreign aid. But our guest says we can at least begin to fix the problem. Jerry Muller is professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he is a professor of history. He is the author of five books, including “Capitalism and the Jews”, “The Tyranny of Metrics,” and “The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in European Thought.” His current work focuses on the border between history, social science, philosophy, and public policy. He chats with Greg in this episode about measurability bias, metric fixation, how metrics have made baseball more boring, and surgical report cards. Our obsession with metrics is causing damage across the board, from education and medicine, to the police, military, and foreign aid. But our guest says we can at least begin to fix the problem. Jerry Muller is professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he is a professor of history. He is the author of five books, including “Capitalism and the Jews”, “The Tyranny of Metrics,” and “The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in European Thought.” His current work focuses on the border between history, social science, philosophy, and public policy. He chats with Greg in this episode about measurability bias, metric fixation, how metrics have made baseball more boring, and surgical report cards. false full 131 82f78d39-e466-4d40-9533-6ac2b1ad9282 Reversing The Epidemic of Food Allergies feat. Kari Nadeau Gluten free or dairy free may just seem like menu options to some, But in fact, food allergies have become a major epidemic. They aren’t restricted by socioeconomics, age, or gender and are increasingly becoming globally pervasive.

Dr. Kari Nadeau is one of the nation’s foremost experts in adult and pediatric allergy and asthma. She is the Director of the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University and is an endowed professor under the Naddisy Family Foundation. 

She also co-authored the book “The End of Food Allergy: The First Program To Prevent and Reverse a 21st Century Epidemic.”

In this conversation we talk about the difference between food allergies & intolerances, the trends in longitudinal data of food allergies, and educating our immune systems. 

Episode Quotes:

Changing public view on how disruptive food allergies can be:

I think the world is changing. I think after having people see what people went through with COVID. I think, my food allergy patients had been living that kind of life for a long time - not going out on airplanes, not going out to restaurants, being fearful of anything that you touch that could be contaminated with a food that could hurt you in the same analogy, not perfectly analogous, but that's what happened three years ago. Well, actually two years ago with COVID, right? That we were so worried. And so people could hopefully live the life of someone with food allergies a little bit more easily. 

Educating our immune systems with eating more diverse foods

It's probably better for a non food allergic child and adult to eat those diverse foods in your diet, all those beautiful proteins…let's not see them as foreign. And how do we do that? Well, we have to educate. Our immune system needs education. So does your brain, it needs to be educated. So that diversity of diet early and often with complementary feeding, with breastfeeding, it all works.

Modern living & eating

We can't all live on farms. We have urban living. We have modern living now that has helped a lot of people, but we do need to find a balance of the environment and making sure that we help our health. Because our health is an active state. It's not just a passive state. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Fri, 29 Apr 2022 16:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Gluten free or dairy free may just seem like menu options to some, But in fact, food allergies have become a major epidemic. They aren’t restricted by socioeconomics, age, or gender and are increasingly becoming globally pervasive.

Dr. Kari Nadeau is one of the nation’s foremost experts in adult and pediatric allergy and asthma. She is the Director of the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University and is an endowed professor under the Naddisy Family Foundation. 

She also co-authored the book “The End of Food Allergy: The First Program To Prevent and Reverse a 21st Century Epidemic.”

In this conversation we talk about the difference between food allergies & intolerances, the trends in longitudinal data of food allergies, and educating our immune systems. 

Episode Quotes:

Changing public view on how disruptive food allergies can be:

I think the world is changing. I think after having people see what people went through with COVID. I think, my food allergy patients had been living that kind of life for a long time - not going out on airplanes, not going out to restaurants, being fearful of anything that you touch that could be contaminated with a food that could hurt you in the same analogy, not perfectly analogous, but that's what happened three years ago. Well, actually two years ago with COVID, right? That we were so worried. And so people could hopefully live the life of someone with food allergies a little bit more easily. 

Educating our immune systems with eating more diverse foods

It's probably better for a non food allergic child and adult to eat those diverse foods in your diet, all those beautiful proteins…let's not see them as foreign. And how do we do that? Well, we have to educate. Our immune system needs education. So does your brain, it needs to be educated. So that diversity of diet early and often with complementary feeding, with breastfeeding, it all works.

Modern living & eating

We can't all live on farms. We have urban living. We have modern living now that has helped a lot of people, but we do need to find a balance of the environment and making sure that we help our health. Because our health is an active state. It's not just a passive state. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Reversing The Epidemic of Food Allergies feat. Kari Nadeau Greg La Blanc 00:48:00 Gluten free or dairy free may just seem like menu options to some, But in fact, food allergies have become a major epidemic. They aren’t restricted by socioeconomics, age, or gender and are increasingly becoming globally pervasive. Dr. Kari Nadeau is one of the nation’s foremost experts in adult and pediatric allergy and asthma. She is the Director of the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University and is an endowed professor under the Naddisy Family Foundation. She also co-authored the book “The End of Food Allergy: The First Program To Prevent and Reverse a 21st Century Epidemic.” In this conversation we talk about the difference between food allergies & intolerances, the trends in longitudinal data of food allergies, and educating our immune systems. Gluten free or dairy free may just seem like menu options to some, But in fact, food allergies have become a major epidemic. They aren’t restricted by socioeconomics, age, or gender and are increasingly becoming globally pervasive. Dr. Kari Nadeau is one of the nation’s foremost experts in adult and pediatric allergy and asthma. She is the Director of the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University and is an endowed professor under the Naddisy Family Foundation. She also co-authored the book “The End of Food Allergy: The First Program To Prevent and Reverse a 21st Century Epidemic.” In this conversation we talk about the difference between food allergies & intolerances, the trends in longitudinal data of food allergies, and educating our immune systems. false full 130 412453a3-82ad-4022-abe1-e2c326d4b159 Collaboration Overload feat. Rob Cross As collaboration tools and apps become more commonplace in the digital workplace, how can we balance their pros (team mindset, connection) with their cons (burnout, inefficiency)? Our guest tackles this issue in his latest book “Beyond Collaboration Overload: How to Work Smarter, Get Ahead, and Restore Your Well-Being.”

For more than 20 years, Rob Cross has studied the underlying networks of effective organizations and the collaborative practices of high performers. Through research and writing, speaking and consulting, and courses and tools, Rob’s network strategies are transforming the way people lead, work and live in a hyper-connected world.

Rob is currently the Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Leadership at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and the co-founder and director of the Connected Commons, a consortium of over 150 leading organizations accelerating network research and practice.

This episode covers communication analytics, cultivating managerial talent, burnout and changing the norms of workplace communications & interactions.

Episode Quotes:

Creating office guidelines to communication

So I found an incredibly easy thing to do that yields far more time. People are surprised by this all the time - is you get a blank piece of paper, you draw three columns down it. Or put it up on a virtual space, so you can get your team together if that's how you're doing things today.

And you list in the first column, here are all the ways we're collaborating. So it's, email, it's instant messaging, it's the teamspace, its zoom calls, whatever it may be. Then the second column is identify as a group, writefour or five things we want to do, like positive norms we want to follow against each of these things.

And then the third column is four or five things you don't want to do, the things you want to stop, it takes no more than an hour to do. You have consensus in it, and you get efficiencies back really quickly.

How the pandemic has shifted time & work schedules

Part of the problems with the pandemic right now, we're going through is, pre-pandemic we had, let's say eight one hour meetings, and then somebody through the pandemic got a great idea, let's just do them 30 minutes. That sounded great for a minute until we suddenly have 16, 30 minute meetings in that same day, and it's exhausting, right? You're more intense in that moment. The switching costs are harder for us mentally, and we end the day with a to-do list based, not on eight meetings but 16, and it doesn't work.

The real culprit of overwhelm

Probably the one that surprised me the most that I didn't see coming was the degree to which we're our own worst enemy is way more than I thought in this game. So when I started all these interviews, I was absolutely convinced that overload, the enemy was out there. It was emails, time-zones nasty bosses, demanding clients.

And I came out the other end, completely convinced that we create our own problems and it's actually not what we think sometimes.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 27 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As collaboration tools and apps become more commonplace in the digital workplace, how can we balance their pros (team mindset, connection) with their cons (burnout, inefficiency)? Our guest tackles this issue in his latest book “Beyond Collaboration Overload: How to Work Smarter, Get Ahead, and Restore Your Well-Being.”

For more than 20 years, Rob Cross has studied the underlying networks of effective organizations and the collaborative practices of high performers. Through research and writing, speaking and consulting, and courses and tools, Rob’s network strategies are transforming the way people lead, work and live in a hyper-connected world.

Rob is currently the Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Leadership at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and the co-founder and director of the Connected Commons, a consortium of over 150 leading organizations accelerating network research and practice.

This episode covers communication analytics, cultivating managerial talent, burnout and changing the norms of workplace communications & interactions.

Episode Quotes:

Creating office guidelines to communication

So I found an incredibly easy thing to do that yields far more time. People are surprised by this all the time - is you get a blank piece of paper, you draw three columns down it. Or put it up on a virtual space, so you can get your team together if that's how you're doing things today.

And you list in the first column, here are all the ways we're collaborating. So it's, email, it's instant messaging, it's the teamspace, its zoom calls, whatever it may be. Then the second column is identify as a group, writefour or five things we want to do, like positive norms we want to follow against each of these things.

And then the third column is four or five things you don't want to do, the things you want to stop, it takes no more than an hour to do. You have consensus in it, and you get efficiencies back really quickly.

How the pandemic has shifted time & work schedules

Part of the problems with the pandemic right now, we're going through is, pre-pandemic we had, let's say eight one hour meetings, and then somebody through the pandemic got a great idea, let's just do them 30 minutes. That sounded great for a minute until we suddenly have 16, 30 minute meetings in that same day, and it's exhausting, right? You're more intense in that moment. The switching costs are harder for us mentally, and we end the day with a to-do list based, not on eight meetings but 16, and it doesn't work.

The real culprit of overwhelm

Probably the one that surprised me the most that I didn't see coming was the degree to which we're our own worst enemy is way more than I thought in this game. So when I started all these interviews, I was absolutely convinced that overload, the enemy was out there. It was emails, time-zones nasty bosses, demanding clients.

And I came out the other end, completely convinced that we create our own problems and it's actually not what we think sometimes.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Collaboration Overload feat. Rob Cross Greg La Blanc 00:51:46 As collaboration tools and apps become more commonplace in the digital workplace, how can we balance their pros (team mindset, connection) with their cons (burnout, inefficiency)? Our guest tackles this issue in his latest book “Beyond Collaboration Overload: How to Work Smarter, Get Ahead, and Restore Your Well-Being.” For more than 20 years, Rob Cross has studied the underlying networks of effective organizations and the collaborative practices of high performers. Through research and writing, speaking and consulting, and courses and tools, Rob’s network strategies are transforming the way people lead, work and live in a hyper-connected world. Rob is currently the Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Leadership at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and the co-founder and director of the Connected Commons, a consortium of over 150 leading organizations accelerating network research and practice. This episode covers communication analytics, cultivating managerial talent, burnout and changing the norms of workplace communications & interactions. As collaboration tools and apps become more commonplace in the digital workplace, how can we balance their pros (team mindset, connection) with their cons (burnout, inefficiency)? Our guest tackles this issue in his latest book “Beyond Collaboration Overload: How to Work Smarter, Get Ahead, and Restore Your Well-Being.” For more than 20 years, Rob Cross has studied the underlying networks of effective organizations and the collaborative practices of high performers. Through research and writing, speaking and consulting, and courses and tools, Rob’s network strategies are transforming the way people lead, work and live in a hyper-connected world. Rob is currently the Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Leadership at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and the co-founder and director of the Connected Commons, a consortium of over 150 leading organizations accelerating network research and practice. This episode covers communication analytics, cultivating managerial talent, burnout and changing the norms of workplace communications & interactions. false full 129 24a1fce9-5c1d-4d14-bef5-9de37ec01335 How To Be Happy feat. Raj Raghunathan A lot of the smart and successful people in the business world are very good at achieving extrinsic goals of success, fame, money and power. But those types of people are not necessarily very good at the intrinsic goals of happiness, building great relationships, having a sense of ease about life and pursuing meaning.

Raj Raghunathan is a Zale Centennial Professor of Business at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He is interested in exploring the impact that people’s judgments and decisions have on their happiness and fulfillment, and writes about his views on happiness, creativity, and leadership on his popular Psychology Today blog Sapient Nature. 

His six-week long Coursera course on happiness called A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment currently has over 350,000 registered students from 196 countries. He has also written a book called “If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?”

In this episode, hear Greg and Raj talk about the substitution of intermediate metrics for final metrics, the abundance mindset, and whether or not givers are more likely to succeed.

Episode Quotes:

Can you be happy if you don't reach your goals / find a sense of belonging? 

I do think that you can. And I think a lot of it involves gaining this, what I call the Abundance Mindset at the end of the book. And basically it is to focus on the part of the glass that's half full basically.

So everyone's life has problems. Everyone's life has also good things going on. And which of these two things do we predominantly focus on? Are we constantly focusing on the problems and trying to tackle them and address them? Or are we also taking some time to be thankful for all the things that are going positively in our lives? And the argument here is that the more you are focusing on the things that are going well in your life, or at least taking some time every day to appreciate the good things in your life, the less desperate you're going to be for many things.

Happiness can help you achieve your goals

There is a relationship between being happy and those conventional yardsticks of fame, money, power, et cetera in that happier people are more likely to achieve those goals anyway. And so it's a win-win strategy to prioritize happiness because not only do you get to increase the goal that everyone is ultimately after, but it also ends up enhancing your chances of achieving those goals that you thought would lead to happiness.

What makes people happy?

That level of authentic seeking of the truth to what really is the determinant of happiness, as opposed to the fake determinants of happiness I think is a very important starting point. And in a way I think that in this grand dance, we have come to a situation in which a lot of the things that we assumed would make us happier - namely, more comfort, more ability to travel and living in richer homes and et cetera - I think a higher number of people than was ever the case in the past are discovering it as a personally experienced truth that more of those things don't make me happier. And so we have more of the authentic seekers I feel now than used to be the case.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 25 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast A lot of the smart and successful people in the business world are very good at achieving extrinsic goals of success, fame, money and power. But those types of people are not necessarily very good at the intrinsic goals of happiness, building great relationships, having a sense of ease about life and pursuing meaning.

Raj Raghunathan is a Zale Centennial Professor of Business at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He is interested in exploring the impact that people’s judgments and decisions have on their happiness and fulfillment, and writes about his views on happiness, creativity, and leadership on his popular Psychology Today blog Sapient Nature. 

His six-week long Coursera course on happiness called A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment currently has over 350,000 registered students from 196 countries. He has also written a book called “If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?”

In this episode, hear Greg and Raj talk about the substitution of intermediate metrics for final metrics, the abundance mindset, and whether or not givers are more likely to succeed.

Episode Quotes:

Can you be happy if you don't reach your goals / find a sense of belonging? 

I do think that you can. And I think a lot of it involves gaining this, what I call the Abundance Mindset at the end of the book. And basically it is to focus on the part of the glass that's half full basically.

So everyone's life has problems. Everyone's life has also good things going on. And which of these two things do we predominantly focus on? Are we constantly focusing on the problems and trying to tackle them and address them? Or are we also taking some time to be thankful for all the things that are going positively in our lives? And the argument here is that the more you are focusing on the things that are going well in your life, or at least taking some time every day to appreciate the good things in your life, the less desperate you're going to be for many things.

Happiness can help you achieve your goals

There is a relationship between being happy and those conventional yardsticks of fame, money, power, et cetera in that happier people are more likely to achieve those goals anyway. And so it's a win-win strategy to prioritize happiness because not only do you get to increase the goal that everyone is ultimately after, but it also ends up enhancing your chances of achieving those goals that you thought would lead to happiness.

What makes people happy?

That level of authentic seeking of the truth to what really is the determinant of happiness, as opposed to the fake determinants of happiness I think is a very important starting point. And in a way I think that in this grand dance, we have come to a situation in which a lot of the things that we assumed would make us happier - namely, more comfort, more ability to travel and living in richer homes and et cetera - I think a higher number of people than was ever the case in the past are discovering it as a personally experienced truth that more of those things don't make me happier. And so we have more of the authentic seekers I feel now than used to be the case.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> How To Be Happy feat. Raj Raghunathan Greg La Blanc 00:52:55 A lot of the smart and successful people in the business world are very good at achieving extrinsic goals of success, fame, money and power. But those types of people are not necessarily very good at the intrinsic goals of happiness, building great relationships, having a sense of ease about life and pursuing meaning. Raj Raghunathan is a Zale Centennial Professor of Business at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He is interested in exploring the impact that people’s judgments and decisions have on their happiness and fulfillment, and writes about his views on happiness, creativity, and leadership on his popular Psychology Today blog Sapient Nature. His six-week long Coursera course on happiness called A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment currently has over 350,000 registered students from 196 countries. He has also written a book called “If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?” In this episode, hear Greg and Raj talk about the substitution of intermediate metrics for final metrics, the abundance mindset, and whether or not givers are more likely to succeed. A lot of the smart and successful people in the business world are very good at achieving extrinsic goals of success, fame, money and power. But those types of people are not necessarily very good at the intrinsic goals of happiness, building great relationships, having a sense of ease about life and pursuing meaning. Raj Raghunathan is a Zale Centennial Professor of Business at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He is interested in exploring the impact that people’s judgments and decisions have on their happiness and fulfillment, and writes about his views on happiness, creativity, and leadership on his popular Psychology Today blog Sapient Nature. His six-week long Coursera course on happiness called A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment currently has over 350,000 registered students from 196 countries. He has also written a book called “If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?” In this episode, hear Greg and Raj talk about the substitution of intermediate metrics for final metrics, the abundance mindset, and whether or not givers are more likely to succeed. false full 128 810144f4-4e6e-4ea5-b3ef-607aae18d71d Where Economics Meets Evolutionary Biology feat. Dario Maestripieri Dario Maestripieri is a Professor in Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago, and is also affiliated with the Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge. His books include “Games Primates Play,” “Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World” and “Animal Personalities: Behavior, Physiology and Evolution.”

His work currently focuses on the evolution of human behavior and 20th century European literature.

In this episode he and Greg discuss the idea of dominance, nepotism & hierarchies in academia and the wild, and the nature of power and advancement within organizations.

Episode Quotes:

The relationship between dominance and fighting

Fighting has costs. There is risk of injury, death and damage to valuable relationships. So dominance is a mechanism that has evolved in species that are highly competitive, very social, potentially aggressive, to reduce the costs of fighting.

Evolution of human love

So one theory about the evolution of love is that this feeling has evolved. And in my opinion, is unique to humans. In my opinion, other animals don't have any type of feeling that closely resembles human love. This emotion has evolved to motivate people to stay together. So people who like each other, who are mutually sexually attracted, who have many interests in common, who even from a rational point of view they see the benefits of forming a joint partnership. 

What makes a good leader

A good leader has to be a good observer of behavior, but also a good psychologist. So you really need to understand what drives a person's behavior, their emotions, their motivation, their moral principles, their rational calculations. A lot has to do with our personality. I recommend to any leader of any organization to study personality and try to understand the personalities of the individuals on your team, because that's a predictor of the motives that people use to engage in particular behaviors.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 22 Apr 2022 16:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Dario Maestripieri is a Professor in Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago, and is also affiliated with the Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge. His books include “Games Primates Play,” “Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World” and “Animal Personalities: Behavior, Physiology and Evolution.”

His work currently focuses on the evolution of human behavior and 20th century European literature.

In this episode he and Greg discuss the idea of dominance, nepotism & hierarchies in academia and the wild, and the nature of power and advancement within organizations.

Episode Quotes:

The relationship between dominance and fighting

Fighting has costs. There is risk of injury, death and damage to valuable relationships. So dominance is a mechanism that has evolved in species that are highly competitive, very social, potentially aggressive, to reduce the costs of fighting.

Evolution of human love

So one theory about the evolution of love is that this feeling has evolved. And in my opinion, is unique to humans. In my opinion, other animals don't have any type of feeling that closely resembles human love. This emotion has evolved to motivate people to stay together. So people who like each other, who are mutually sexually attracted, who have many interests in common, who even from a rational point of view they see the benefits of forming a joint partnership. 

What makes a good leader

A good leader has to be a good observer of behavior, but also a good psychologist. So you really need to understand what drives a person's behavior, their emotions, their motivation, their moral principles, their rational calculations. A lot has to do with our personality. I recommend to any leader of any organization to study personality and try to understand the personalities of the individuals on your team, because that's a predictor of the motives that people use to engage in particular behaviors.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Where Economics Meets Evolutionary Biology feat. Dario Maestripieri Greg La Blanc 01:01:41 Dario Maestripieri is a Professor in Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago, and is also affiliated with the Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge. His books include “Games Primates Play,” “Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World” and “Animal Personalities: Behavior, Physiology and Evolution.” His work currently focuses on the evolution of human behavior and 20th century European literature. In this episode he and Greg discuss the idea of dominance, nepotism & hierarchies in academia and the wild, and the nature of power and advancement within organizations. Dario Maestripieri is a Professor in Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago, and is also affiliated with the Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge. His books include “Games Primates Play,” “Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World” and “Animal Personalities: Behavior, Physiology and Evolution.” His work currently focuses on the evolution of human behavior and 20th century European literature. In this episode he and Greg discuss the idea of dominance, nepotism & hierarchies in academia and the wild, and the nature of power and advancement within organizations. false full 127 8115d1ce-5955-4d5d-8782-64f660148a2e From the Evolution of Plants to Humor feat. Jonathan Silvertown Good jokes, bad jokes, clever jokes, dad jokes — the desire to laugh is universal. But why do we find some gags hilarious, whilst others fall flat? 

Jonathan Silvertown attempts to answer this question and more in his most recent work “The Comedy of Error: Why Evolution Made Us Laugh.” Jonathan is a Professor of Evolutionary Ecology and Chair in Technology-Enhanced Science Education in Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. 

He has also written a number of other books including The Long and the Short of It: The Science of Life Span and Aging, and Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution.

He talks about his jump from writing about the evolution of plants to the evolution of humor, the essence of humor, why laughter is infectious and the 3 types of smiles.

Episode Quotes:

Why play is important

Play is about learning to socialize. Play is fun, but you might say, why is it fun? Why do we enjoy it? Well, it's actually a reward for learning and a really important thing that affects your future survival and reproductive opportunities. In a social species like our own, if you can't get along with others, you aren't going to find a mate and you aren't going to survive.

The essence of humor

While there are jokes that put people down, it's not the essence of a joke. The jokes that put people down are an instance of humor, but they're not the essence of humor. To give you the punchline, the essence of humor is incongruity. It's the difference between what you're expecting and what you get.

Evolutionary advantage to humor 

There is an evolutionary advantage to humor and expressing humor. And it's basically like the peacock’s train. It's an advertisement for what matters in human mating, which is intelligence. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 20 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Good jokes, bad jokes, clever jokes, dad jokes — the desire to laugh is universal. But why do we find some gags hilarious, whilst others fall flat? 

Jonathan Silvertown attempts to answer this question and more in his most recent work “The Comedy of Error: Why Evolution Made Us Laugh.” Jonathan is a Professor of Evolutionary Ecology and Chair in Technology-Enhanced Science Education in Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. 

He has also written a number of other books including The Long and the Short of It: The Science of Life Span and Aging, and Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution.

He talks about his jump from writing about the evolution of plants to the evolution of humor, the essence of humor, why laughter is infectious and the 3 types of smiles.

Episode Quotes:

Why play is important

Play is about learning to socialize. Play is fun, but you might say, why is it fun? Why do we enjoy it? Well, it's actually a reward for learning and a really important thing that affects your future survival and reproductive opportunities. In a social species like our own, if you can't get along with others, you aren't going to find a mate and you aren't going to survive.

The essence of humor

While there are jokes that put people down, it's not the essence of a joke. The jokes that put people down are an instance of humor, but they're not the essence of humor. To give you the punchline, the essence of humor is incongruity. It's the difference between what you're expecting and what you get.

Evolutionary advantage to humor 

There is an evolutionary advantage to humor and expressing humor. And it's basically like the peacock’s train. It's an advertisement for what matters in human mating, which is intelligence. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> From the Evolution of Plants to Humor feat. Jonathan Silvertown Greg La Blanc 00:43:21 Good jokes, bad jokes, clever jokes, dad jokes — the desire to laugh is universal. But why do we find some gags hilarious, whilst others fall flat? Jonathan Silvertown attempts to answer this question and more in his most recent work “The Comedy of Error: Why Evolution Made Us Laugh.” Jonathan is a Professor of Evolutionary Ecology and Chair in Technology-Enhanced Science Education in Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. He has also written a number of other books including The Long and the Short of It: The Science of Life Span and Aging, and Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution. He talks about his jump from writing about the evolution of plants to the evolution of humor, the essence of humor, why laughter is infectious and the 3 types of smiles. Good jokes, bad jokes, clever jokes, dad jokes — the desire to laugh is universal. But why do we find some gags hilarious, whilst others fall flat? Jonathan Silvertown attempts to answer this question and more in his most recent work “The Comedy of Error: Why Evolution Made Us Laugh.” Jonathan is a Professor of Evolutionary Ecology and Chair in Technology-Enhanced Science Education in Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. He has also written a number of other books including The Long and the Short of It: The Science of Life Span and Aging, and Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution. He talks about his jump from writing about the evolution of plants to the evolution of humor, the essence of humor, why laughter is infectious and the 3 types of smiles. false full 126 19a1dd33-7009-4a13-bff4-a7ad720f6be6 The Importance of Data Literacy feat. Bill Franks Data literacy is now a baseline benchmark for being an intelligent manager.

​​Bill Franks is the Director of the Center for Statistics and Analytical Research within the School of Data Science and Analytics at Kennesaw State University. In this role, he helps companies and governmental agencies pair with faculty and student resources to further research in the area of analytics and data science. 

He is also Chief Analytics Officer for ​The International Institute For Analytics (IIA) and serves on the advisory board of ActiveGraf, Aspirent, DataPrime, DataSeers, and Kavi Global.

​Franks is also the author of the books: Winning The Room, 97 Things About Ethics Everyone In Data Science Should Know, Taming The Big Data Tidal Wave, and The Analytics Revolution. 

Greg and Bill explore in this episode data literacy, AI tools in the data space, and why you might want to hire a Chief Data Officer. 

Episode Quotes:

 What “bias” really means

People think of bias always being about, it has to be race or economic. It can just be bias towards factors that are important from a business perspective that no one else would care about. But if it's biased towards, I'm going to have more errors in my large size than my small size, that could be a problem if my large size has a cost model that's much higher than my small size. I either want no bias or, or I want a bias that biases towards more errors on the small side.

Data officers are important now

I think the cool thing today in many companies, we actually have analytics, data science oriented people at that table now. And that's what I think this whole trend of the Chief Analytics, Chief Data Officer represents. It’s recognizing that it deserves a seat at the table.

Data ethics & biases

That's where the ethics has to become proactive where you're not only thinking of it on the frontend, but you're also doing diagnostics on the backend to make sure is there a bias inherent in this on the backend that we could not have predicted? Or is it working in a way that appears correct and is wrong?


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Mon, 18 Apr 2022 20:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Data literacy is now a baseline benchmark for being an intelligent manager.

​​Bill Franks is the Director of the Center for Statistics and Analytical Research within the School of Data Science and Analytics at Kennesaw State University. In this role, he helps companies and governmental agencies pair with faculty and student resources to further research in the area of analytics and data science. 

He is also Chief Analytics Officer for ​The International Institute For Analytics (IIA) and serves on the advisory board of ActiveGraf, Aspirent, DataPrime, DataSeers, and Kavi Global.

​Franks is also the author of the books: Winning The Room, 97 Things About Ethics Everyone In Data Science Should Know, Taming The Big Data Tidal Wave, and The Analytics Revolution. 

Greg and Bill explore in this episode data literacy, AI tools in the data space, and why you might want to hire a Chief Data Officer. 

Episode Quotes:

 What “bias” really means

People think of bias always being about, it has to be race or economic. It can just be bias towards factors that are important from a business perspective that no one else would care about. But if it's biased towards, I'm going to have more errors in my large size than my small size, that could be a problem if my large size has a cost model that's much higher than my small size. I either want no bias or, or I want a bias that biases towards more errors on the small side.

Data officers are important now

I think the cool thing today in many companies, we actually have analytics, data science oriented people at that table now. And that's what I think this whole trend of the Chief Analytics, Chief Data Officer represents. It’s recognizing that it deserves a seat at the table.

Data ethics & biases

That's where the ethics has to become proactive where you're not only thinking of it on the frontend, but you're also doing diagnostics on the backend to make sure is there a bias inherent in this on the backend that we could not have predicted? Or is it working in a way that appears correct and is wrong?


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Importance of Data Literacy feat. Bill Franks Greg La Blanc 00:55:28 Data literacy is now a baseline benchmark for being an intelligent manager. ​​Bill Franks is the Director of the Center for Statistics and Analytical Research within the School of Data Science and Analytics at Kennesaw State University. In this role, he helps companies and governmental agencies pair with faculty and student resources to further research in the area of analytics and data science. He is also Chief Analytics Officer for ​The International Institute For Analytics (IIA) and serves on the advisory board of ActiveGraf, Aspirent, DataPrime, DataSeers, and Kavi Global. ​Franks is also the author of the books: Winning The Room, 97 Things About Ethics Everyone In Data Science Should Know, Taming The Big Data Tidal Wave, and The Analytics Revolution. Greg and Bill explore in this episode data literacy, AI tools in the data space, and why you might want to hire a Chief Data Officer. Data literacy is now a baseline benchmark for being an intelligent manager. ​​Bill Franks is the Director of the Center for Statistics and Analytical Research within the School of Data Science and Analytics at Kennesaw State University. In this role, he helps companies and governmental agencies pair with faculty and student resources to further research in the area of analytics and data science. He is also Chief Analytics Officer for ​The International Institute For Analytics (IIA) and serves on the advisory board of ActiveGraf, Aspirent, DataPrime, DataSeers, and Kavi Global. ​Franks is also the author of the books: Winning The Room, 97 Things About Ethics Everyone In Data Science Should Know, Taming The Big Data Tidal Wave, and The Analytics Revolution. Greg and Bill explore in this episode data literacy, AI tools in the data space, and why you might want to hire a Chief Data Officer. false full 125 2765cf4b-46a5-4221-8ea5-35829f71f282 The Physical vs. Digital Divide Isn't Always Old vs. Young feat. Robert Siegel How do you develop products differently in the future? How do you organize your companies differently? What are the skill sets required of the leaders who will be taking organizations forward? 

According to Robert Siegel, digitization is like breathing, every company is going to have to increasingly integrate it in everything they do. 

Robert Siegel is a lecturer at Stanford GSB also a venture capitalist with Piva and Xseed Ventures, and also the author of “The Brains and Brawn Company: How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical.”

This episode covers physical v digital companies, information flows, Tesla, Warby Parker, and training the next great systems leaders. 

Episode Quotes:

Consumer trust & data usage:

I remember talking to Walt Bettinger, he's the CEO of Schwab. In the 90 minutes I interviewed him the first time, he must've used the word “trust” 180 times in those 90 minutes, and talking about the importance of that. And one example that they give, is that if a Schwab customer logs into their Schwab account and clicks on “life events'' and then clicks on “divorce.” Schwab may know at a moment in time what's happening with that customer and might even know before the spouse does. And one of the things that Schwab asked themselves, or the first thing they ask themselves is through the client's eyes, what would our customers want us to do with this data? 

So it's not just that you have data and that you gather data and collect data, but do you use it intelligently and in a way that your customers are pleased and that they will say, I trust this company, I want to continue to engage with them and continue to work with them.

Great systems leaders:

You have to be able to operate both globally and locally. You have to know how to build platforms that can scale and operate globally, but how your platforms can be customized for local markets.

Training future leaders:

I hope that we at the business schools are doing a better job of training them not just in finance and marketing and digitization and strategy and all the things that you and I teach them, product management. But also to be thinking more broadly about issues around - what are the implications of these new services and products that we create? What does that mean to communities? What does it mean to their countries? What does it mean to international global conflict? And being aware of these kinds of issues.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 15 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do you develop products differently in the future? How do you organize your companies differently? What are the skill sets required of the leaders who will be taking organizations forward? 

According to Robert Siegel, digitization is like breathing, every company is going to have to increasingly integrate it in everything they do. 

Robert Siegel is a lecturer at Stanford GSB also a venture capitalist with Piva and Xseed Ventures, and also the author of “The Brains and Brawn Company: How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical.”

This episode covers physical v digital companies, information flows, Tesla, Warby Parker, and training the next great systems leaders. 

Episode Quotes:

Consumer trust & data usage:

I remember talking to Walt Bettinger, he's the CEO of Schwab. In the 90 minutes I interviewed him the first time, he must've used the word “trust” 180 times in those 90 minutes, and talking about the importance of that. And one example that they give, is that if a Schwab customer logs into their Schwab account and clicks on “life events'' and then clicks on “divorce.” Schwab may know at a moment in time what's happening with that customer and might even know before the spouse does. And one of the things that Schwab asked themselves, or the first thing they ask themselves is through the client's eyes, what would our customers want us to do with this data? 

So it's not just that you have data and that you gather data and collect data, but do you use it intelligently and in a way that your customers are pleased and that they will say, I trust this company, I want to continue to engage with them and continue to work with them.

Great systems leaders:

You have to be able to operate both globally and locally. You have to know how to build platforms that can scale and operate globally, but how your platforms can be customized for local markets.

Training future leaders:

I hope that we at the business schools are doing a better job of training them not just in finance and marketing and digitization and strategy and all the things that you and I teach them, product management. But also to be thinking more broadly about issues around - what are the implications of these new services and products that we create? What does that mean to communities? What does it mean to their countries? What does it mean to international global conflict? And being aware of these kinds of issues.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Physical vs. Digital Divide Isn't Always Old vs. Young feat. Robert Siegel Greg La Blanc 00:55:35 How do you develop products differently in the future? How do you organize your companies differently? What are the skill sets required of the leaders who will be taking organizations forward? According to Robert Siegel, digitization is like breathing, every company is going to have to increasingly integrate it in everything they do. Robert Siegel is a lecturer at Stanford GSB also a venture capitalist with Piva and Xseed Ventures, and also the author of “The Brains and Brawn Company: How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical.” This episode covers physical v digital companies, information flows, Tesla, Warby Parker, and training the next great systems leaders. How do you develop products differently in the future? How do you organize your companies differently? What are the skill sets required of the leaders who will be taking organizations forward? According to Robert Siegel, digitization is like breathing, every company is going to have to increasingly integrate it in everything they do. Robert Siegel is a lecturer at Stanford GSB also a venture capitalist with Piva and Xseed Ventures, and also the author of “The Brains and Brawn Company: How Leading Organizations Blend the Best of Digital and Physical.” This episode covers physical v digital companies, information flows, Tesla, Warby Parker, and training the next great systems leaders. false full 124 499a9904-32e8-4a14-ab9d-2f85339ff527 Game Theory, Negotiation Strategy and Fairness feat. Barry Nalebuff If you're going to succeed in negotiation, It's about arguing with a reason. And what game theory and logic does is allow you to frame the negotiation correctly and figure out the arguments for why you should get more.

Barry Nalebuff is a Milton Steinbach Professor at Yale SOM, where for thirty years he has taught negotiation, innovation, strategy, and game theory. He is the co-author of seven books and an online course. 

His most recent book is “Split the Pie,” which is based on his negotiation course at Yale.

In this episode, Greg and Barry weigh different approaches to fairness, discuss making presumptions about rationality, and conflicting views of information in negotiations.

Episode Quotes:

Negotiation tactics:

What I argue is that when you figure out what the other side wants, you should give it to them. And most times when somebody asks for something, it's like, well, if they want it, I can't give it to them. But actually if I can give them what they want, guess what? I can get what I want.

2 parts to negotiations:

There's two parts of negotiation. There's the Spock and there's the Kirk. There's the logic and there's the emotion. And I'm a big fan of emotions. I understand that aspect. But I'd say there's a missing element of logic. 

Sunk cost fallacy:

It's a question of okay, it's sunk. It’s sunk whether or not we do this deal. And so, I'm either going to lose that and get nothing for it. Or I'm going to lose and get nothing for it, but something else because of the pie. You have to train yourself to think about the fact that, why are we having this deal? It's not to recover the sunk costs, they’re sunk. It's to make this new thing happen.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 13 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast If you're going to succeed in negotiation, It's about arguing with a reason. And what game theory and logic does is allow you to frame the negotiation correctly and figure out the arguments for why you should get more.

Barry Nalebuff is a Milton Steinbach Professor at Yale SOM, where for thirty years he has taught negotiation, innovation, strategy, and game theory. He is the co-author of seven books and an online course. 

His most recent book is “Split the Pie,” which is based on his negotiation course at Yale.

In this episode, Greg and Barry weigh different approaches to fairness, discuss making presumptions about rationality, and conflicting views of information in negotiations.

Episode Quotes:

Negotiation tactics:

What I argue is that when you figure out what the other side wants, you should give it to them. And most times when somebody asks for something, it's like, well, if they want it, I can't give it to them. But actually if I can give them what they want, guess what? I can get what I want.

2 parts to negotiations:

There's two parts of negotiation. There's the Spock and there's the Kirk. There's the logic and there's the emotion. And I'm a big fan of emotions. I understand that aspect. But I'd say there's a missing element of logic. 

Sunk cost fallacy:

It's a question of okay, it's sunk. It’s sunk whether or not we do this deal. And so, I'm either going to lose that and get nothing for it. Or I'm going to lose and get nothing for it, but something else because of the pie. You have to train yourself to think about the fact that, why are we having this deal? It's not to recover the sunk costs, they’re sunk. It's to make this new thing happen.


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]]> Game Theory, Negotiation Strategy and Fairness feat. Barry Nalebuff Greg La Blanc 01:05:00 If you're going to succeed in negotiation, It's about arguing with a reason. And what game theory and logic does is allow you to frame the negotiation correctly and figure out the arguments for why you should get more. Barry Nalebuff is a Milton Steinbach Professor at Yale SOM, where for thirty years he has taught negotiation, innovation, strategy, and game theory. He is the co-author of seven books and an online course. His most recent book is “Split the Pie,” which is based on his negotiation course at Yale. In this episode, Greg and Barry weigh different approaches to fairness, discuss making presumptions about rationality, and conflicting views of information in negotiations. If you're going to succeed in negotiation, It's about arguing with a reason. And what game theory and logic does is allow you to frame the negotiation correctly and figure out the arguments for why you should get more. Barry Nalebuff is a Milton Steinbach Professor at Yale SOM, where for thirty years he has taught negotiation, innovation, strategy, and game theory. He is the co-author of seven books and an online course. His most recent book is “Split the Pie,” which is based on his negotiation course at Yale. In this episode, Greg and Barry weigh different approaches to fairness, discuss making presumptions about rationality, and conflicting views of information in negotiations. false full 123 c27cf6f5-a381-4b94-9875-4c5e06c795fd Game Theory and Market Design feat. Al Roth Economists are no longer simply describing and understanding markets, but are often playing the role of “economic engineer”, improving existing markets and sometimes, designing market mechanisms from scratch. 

Al Roth is a professor of economics at Stanford University and the author of “Who Gets What ― and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design.” And although this book came out about seven years ago, it is still so, so fresh. 

He and Greg talk about the growing field of market design, liquidity in modern day markets, game theory and stable matching.

Episode Quotes:

How speed & technology have changed trading & markets:

So right now a lot of trading engines are co-located with exchange servers in the same buildings, because the speed of light is bound on how fast you can find these trades. Majority of trades these days are algorithmic trades and they make very little money on each trade, but they make many, many trades.

And it's not clear that that's helping price discovery or efficiency, because people who are making markets or offering bids and asks, have to take wider spreads in order to defend themselves against having traded on a stale bid or ask when someone who's a little faster than they gets new information from one of the markets.

The growth of game theory & economics: 

I think a little bit that's the way economics developed. For a long time we took markets as things that happened and our job was to study them. But one of the things you can study and particularly with the advent of game theory in the 20th century, one of the things you can study is the details of how markets work. What is their design? And once you start studying their design, you can start talking about maybe helping to alter it and fix it.

How Al got his start:

It turned out the future of game theory was in economics. And so my claim when I speak to [Operations Research] audiences these days is that I didn't change my field, I stood my ground and the disciplinary boundaries moved around me. So I'm an economist because game theory is about economics. But increasingly it's coming back to operations research because market design is about the operations of certain kinds of companies that run markets.


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]]> Mon, 11 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Economists are no longer simply describing and understanding markets, but are often playing the role of “economic engineer”, improving existing markets and sometimes, designing market mechanisms from scratch. 

Al Roth is a professor of economics at Stanford University and the author of “Who Gets What ― and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design.” And although this book came out about seven years ago, it is still so, so fresh. 

He and Greg talk about the growing field of market design, liquidity in modern day markets, game theory and stable matching.

Episode Quotes:

How speed & technology have changed trading & markets:

So right now a lot of trading engines are co-located with exchange servers in the same buildings, because the speed of light is bound on how fast you can find these trades. Majority of trades these days are algorithmic trades and they make very little money on each trade, but they make many, many trades.

And it's not clear that that's helping price discovery or efficiency, because people who are making markets or offering bids and asks, have to take wider spreads in order to defend themselves against having traded on a stale bid or ask when someone who's a little faster than they gets new information from one of the markets.

The growth of game theory & economics: 

I think a little bit that's the way economics developed. For a long time we took markets as things that happened and our job was to study them. But one of the things you can study and particularly with the advent of game theory in the 20th century, one of the things you can study is the details of how markets work. What is their design? And once you start studying their design, you can start talking about maybe helping to alter it and fix it.

How Al got his start:

It turned out the future of game theory was in economics. And so my claim when I speak to [Operations Research] audiences these days is that I didn't change my field, I stood my ground and the disciplinary boundaries moved around me. So I'm an economist because game theory is about economics. But increasingly it's coming back to operations research because market design is about the operations of certain kinds of companies that run markets.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Game Theory and Market Design feat. Al Roth Greg La Blanc 00:48:45 Economists are no longer simply describing and understanding markets, but are often playing the role of “economic engineer”, improving existing markets and sometimes, designing market mechanisms from scratch. Al Roth is a professor of economics at Stanford University and the author of “Who Gets What ― and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design.” And although this book came out about seven years ago, it is still so, so fresh. He and Greg talk about the growing field of market design, liquidity in modern day markets, game theory and stable matching. Economists are no longer simply describing and understanding markets, but are often playing the role of “economic engineer”, improving existing markets and sometimes, designing market mechanisms from scratch. Al Roth is a professor of economics at Stanford University and the author of “Who Gets What ― and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design.” And although this book came out about seven years ago, it is still so, so fresh. He and Greg talk about the growing field of market design, liquidity in modern day markets, game theory and stable matching. false full 122 f41471ab-66d7-45b2-ad9b-d28f26d48604 Can Evolution Explain Everything? feat. Douglas Kenrick Douglas Kenrick is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. His research interests include integrating models from evolutionary biology and cognitive science to study the effects of fundamental social motivations on basic cognitive processes. 

Among Kenrick's many publications are the books "Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life" and "Social Psychology," a textbook coauthored with Steven Neuberg and Robert Cialdini. 

We’re talking about dating and mating in this episode, touching on topics like the divide between natural and social sciences, micro theories, loss aversion and the history of dating ads.

Episode Quotes

Stimulus control:

I think by understanding that we're designed in a way that doesn't match the modern world, we can basically engage in what behaviorists used to call stimulus control. If I take the stimulus away, it's a lot easier. 

Achieving goals: 

Of course we're not designed to be happy, right? We're designed to do things that will promote the replication of our genes. And so as soon as we reach one goal, BOOM! Our brain says, all right, what's next? 

Dating apps possibly changing the way we mate:

So you're still seeing in those apps, you're still seeing the regular old stuff play out. But it might be that, yes, they're changing our adaptation level. They're changing this, our expectation of what we can get, that we start to want everything and we're unhappy with our options.


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]]> Sat, 9 Apr 2022 02:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Douglas Kenrick is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. His research interests include integrating models from evolutionary biology and cognitive science to study the effects of fundamental social motivations on basic cognitive processes. 

Among Kenrick's many publications are the books "Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life" and "Social Psychology," a textbook coauthored with Steven Neuberg and Robert Cialdini. 

We’re talking about dating and mating in this episode, touching on topics like the divide between natural and social sciences, micro theories, loss aversion and the history of dating ads.

Episode Quotes

Stimulus control:

I think by understanding that we're designed in a way that doesn't match the modern world, we can basically engage in what behaviorists used to call stimulus control. If I take the stimulus away, it's a lot easier. 

Achieving goals: 

Of course we're not designed to be happy, right? We're designed to do things that will promote the replication of our genes. And so as soon as we reach one goal, BOOM! Our brain says, all right, what's next? 

Dating apps possibly changing the way we mate:

So you're still seeing in those apps, you're still seeing the regular old stuff play out. But it might be that, yes, they're changing our adaptation level. They're changing this, our expectation of what we can get, that we start to want everything and we're unhappy with our options.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:

His work:


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

]]> Can Evolution Explain Everything? feat. Douglas Kenrick Greg La Blanc 01:04:31 Douglas Kenrick is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. His research interests include integrating models from evolutionary biology and cognitive science to study the effects of fundamental social motivations on basic cognitive processes. Among Kenrick's many publications are the books "Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life" and "Social Psychology," a textbook coauthored with Steven Neuberg and Robert Cialdini. We’re talking about dating and mating in this episode, touching on topics like the divide between natural and social sciences, micro theories, loss aversion and the history of dating ads. Douglas Kenrick is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. His research interests include integrating models from evolutionary biology and cognitive science to study the effects of fundamental social motivations on basic cognitive processes. Among Kenrick's many publications are the books "Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life" and "Social Psychology," a textbook coauthored with Steven Neuberg and Robert Cialdini. We’re talking about dating and mating in this episode, touching on topics like the divide between natural and social sciences, micro theories, loss aversion and the history of dating ads. false full 121 ffd5b0e8-cae4-4713-898b-2e05e5302030 The Rise of the Economists feat. Binyamin Appelbaum Binyamin Appelbaum on the editorial board of the New York Times as well as a reporter there. He is also the author of “The Economists' Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society.”

In this book & his work, Binyamin traces the rise of the economists, first in the United States and then around the globe, as their ideas reshaped the modern world, curbing government, unleashing corporations and hastening globalization.

This episode focuses on economic consensus around positive vs normative approaches, whether political beliefs shape the intellectual inquiry or vice versa, the origins of the anti draft movement and the evolution of antitrust enforcement.

Episode Quotes

The end of the economists hour:

That degree of veneration, of deference, of trust in economists, I think, is not going to be recovered at least while living memory of those events is with us. And I think that is what I mean by the end of the economist's hour. Is this period of growing and ultimately unquestioned influence over the direction of economic policy really reaches its endpoint with the global financial crisis.

Antitrust enforcement: 

It's not just the influence of economists. It's an economic idea being seized upon by corporate interests and their political allies carried into practice in a very particular way with a very particular set of outcomes. That's the world we live in today, is a world in which, for all intents and purposes, antitrust enforcement is a dead letter in the United States.

Political beliefs in economics:

Friedman used to say that the work of a good economist, you shouldn't be able to tell their political beliefs by looking at their work. And his wife used to say that he was being ridiculous. And I'm on his wife's side. She was absolutely right. If you show me the work of an economist, I can tell you a great deal about their political beliefs with a high degree of accuracy. And there's a reason for that.

Placing value on things:

The things that couldn't be valued would be ignored in policymaking, if you couldn't put a price tag on it, it wasn't going to have a seat at the table. And I think to this day, that remains true. And the dominant response in economics has been to try to assign values to more and more things. The value of lost time, the value of a view that is no longer available, the value of a sunny day. and not to grapple with the question of, well aren't there some things that we're never going to value properly. And how do we include those in a rational decision-making process?


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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]]> Wed, 6 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Binyamin Appelbaum on the editorial board of the New York Times as well as a reporter there. He is also the author of “The Economists' Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society.”

In this book & his work, Binyamin traces the rise of the economists, first in the United States and then around the globe, as their ideas reshaped the modern world, curbing government, unleashing corporations and hastening globalization.

This episode focuses on economic consensus around positive vs normative approaches, whether political beliefs shape the intellectual inquiry or vice versa, the origins of the anti draft movement and the evolution of antitrust enforcement.

Episode Quotes

The end of the economists hour:

That degree of veneration, of deference, of trust in economists, I think, is not going to be recovered at least while living memory of those events is with us. And I think that is what I mean by the end of the economist's hour. Is this period of growing and ultimately unquestioned influence over the direction of economic policy really reaches its endpoint with the global financial crisis.

Antitrust enforcement: 

It's not just the influence of economists. It's an economic idea being seized upon by corporate interests and their political allies carried into practice in a very particular way with a very particular set of outcomes. That's the world we live in today, is a world in which, for all intents and purposes, antitrust enforcement is a dead letter in the United States.

Political beliefs in economics:

Friedman used to say that the work of a good economist, you shouldn't be able to tell their political beliefs by looking at their work. And his wife used to say that he was being ridiculous. And I'm on his wife's side. She was absolutely right. If you show me the work of an economist, I can tell you a great deal about their political beliefs with a high degree of accuracy. And there's a reason for that.

Placing value on things:

The things that couldn't be valued would be ignored in policymaking, if you couldn't put a price tag on it, it wasn't going to have a seat at the table. And I think to this day, that remains true. And the dominant response in economics has been to try to assign values to more and more things. The value of lost time, the value of a view that is no longer available, the value of a sunny day. and not to grapple with the question of, well aren't there some things that we're never going to value properly. And how do we include those in a rational decision-making process?


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> The Rise of the Economists feat. Binyamin Appelbaum Greg La Blanc 00:53:38 Binyamin Appelbaum on the editorial board of the New York Times as well as a reporter there. He is also the author of “The Economists' Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society.” In this book & his work, Binyamin traces the rise of the economists, first in the United States and then around the globe, as their ideas reshaped the modern world, curbing government, unleashing corporations and hastening globalization. This episode focuses on economic consensus around positive vs normative approaches, whether political beliefs shape the intellectual inquiry or vice versa, the origins of the anti draft movement and the evolution of antitrust enforcement. Binyamin Appelbaum on the editorial board of the New York Times as well as a reporter there. He is also the author of “The Economists' Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society.” In this book & his work, Binyamin traces the rise of the economists, first in the United States and then around the globe, as their ideas reshaped the modern world, curbing government, unleashing corporations and hastening globalization. This episode focuses on economic consensus around positive vs normative approaches, whether political beliefs shape the intellectual inquiry or vice versa, the origins of the anti draft movement and the evolution of antitrust enforcement. false full 120 bf648f92-350f-4745-bf49-f63b7bfc043f We Are An Experiment That Is Still Unraveling Itself feat. Ian Tattersall Today's episode is diving into anthropology, paleontology, archeology, and all of these related disciplines with Ian Tattersall.

He is the curator emeritus with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and also the author of a wide range of books, both by himself and with his co-author Rob DeSalle. 

The most recent book is “The Accidental Homo Sapiens: Genetics, Behavior, and Free Will,”, which builds on a lot of their previous work, including “Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins.”

Nicaraguan deaf school children, the origins of vocal language, molecular anthropology, and “bean bag genetics.”

Episode Quotes

Why is “bean bag genetics” so popular?:

Our minds are reductionist, we want to understand the world and we want to understand it in terms that we can readily relate to. And the idea that a gene is responsible for something in a one-to-one correspondence gives us an easy way to explain it to ourselves. It doesn't have anything to do with reality. 

On human nature:

Unintentionally, I don't think we are going out to make any species extinct, but we are just having that effect. And the only iron clad rule of human nature really is, it’s a rule of unintended consequences. And that's just the effect that we have. 

On the emergence & evolution of language:

And that's what makes language peculiar. And language maps so closely on to thought for us, that I'm sure that it was the invention of language, vocal language in this case because there were no vocal languages, that is what stimulated the sort of feedback system in the brain that gave rise to symbolic thought.

And that's something I just can't see happening over a long, long, long period of time, which is the way that most people look at it.

Functional evolution:

Basically, the thing that we really have to understand is that you can't do something new unless you already have the capacity to do it. So the structure has to be there before you can start behaving in a different way. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Mon, 4 Apr 2022 16:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Today's episode is diving into anthropology, paleontology, archeology, and all of these related disciplines with Ian Tattersall.

He is the curator emeritus with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and also the author of a wide range of books, both by himself and with his co-author Rob DeSalle. 

The most recent book is “The Accidental Homo Sapiens: Genetics, Behavior, and Free Will,”, which builds on a lot of their previous work, including “Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins.”

Nicaraguan deaf school children, the origins of vocal language, molecular anthropology, and “bean bag genetics.”

Episode Quotes

Why is “bean bag genetics” so popular?:

Our minds are reductionist, we want to understand the world and we want to understand it in terms that we can readily relate to. And the idea that a gene is responsible for something in a one-to-one correspondence gives us an easy way to explain it to ourselves. It doesn't have anything to do with reality. 

On human nature:

Unintentionally, I don't think we are going out to make any species extinct, but we are just having that effect. And the only iron clad rule of human nature really is, it’s a rule of unintended consequences. And that's just the effect that we have. 

On the emergence & evolution of language:

And that's what makes language peculiar. And language maps so closely on to thought for us, that I'm sure that it was the invention of language, vocal language in this case because there were no vocal languages, that is what stimulated the sort of feedback system in the brain that gave rise to symbolic thought.

And that's something I just can't see happening over a long, long, long period of time, which is the way that most people look at it.

Functional evolution:

Basically, the thing that we really have to understand is that you can't do something new unless you already have the capacity to do it. So the structure has to be there before you can start behaving in a different way. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> We Are An Experiment That Is Still Unraveling Itself feat. Ian Tattersall Greg La Blanc 00:48:01 Today's episode is diving into anthropology, paleontology, archeology, and all of these related disciplines with Ian Tattersall. He is the curator emeritus with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and also the author of a wide range of books, both by himself and with his co-author Rob DeSalle. The most recent book is “The Accidental Homo Sapiens: Genetics, Behavior, and Free Will,”, which builds on a lot of their previous work, including “Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins.” Nicaraguan deaf school children, the origins of vocal language, molecular anthropology, and “bean bag genetics.” Today's episode is diving into anthropology, paleontology, archeology, and all of these related disciplines with Ian Tattersall. He is the curator emeritus with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and also the author of a wide range of books, both by himself and with his co-author Rob DeSalle. The most recent book is “The Accidental Homo Sapiens: Genetics, Behavior, and Free Will,”, which builds on a lot of their previous work, including “Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins.” Nicaraguan deaf school children, the origins of vocal language, molecular anthropology, and “bean bag genetics.” false full 119 17786d94-c7af-4d94-90aa-8b5dfe788e4b Teachers Teach the Way They Were Taught feat. Tony Wagner The traditional notion is that schools are failing and they need “reforming.” But our guest believes that our education system is obsolete and needs re-imaging. Why? Because our education systems were created at the Dawn of the Industrial Era, and we no longer live in the Industrial Era. 

Tony Wagner is at the Learning Policy Institute, and he’s also been at Harvard University and a number of other institutions. He also published a memoir last year called “Learning by Heart: An Unconventional Education.”

In this episode we look at the modern education system from all angles;, how can we teach teachers, the future of microcredentials and how can parents embrace education at home.

Episode Quotes

Is learning content the most important thing anymore?:

In the 21st century, content knowledge still matters. In a world where Google knows everything, it's a different kind of content that matters. Skills matter more, I argue in the innovation era, and motivation matters most.

How creativity gets squashed out of kids:

What happens in school, fewer and fewer think of themselves as creative in any way. It's something that happens off there in the corner, in a niche for just a few kids. And kids become obsessed with getting the right answer rather than asking their own questions. You don't have to take a creativity test to see this, you see it every day in classrooms, Greg. Kids aren't asking questions. They don't have time, they're not encouraged. If it's a question, it’s -“ will this be on the test?” or “how much does this count towards my grade?”, which is what we're teaching in school.

How will we change the current education system?:

The challenge is, if we're going to get shaken out of our usual way of doing things at any of these levels, there has to be a sense of urgency. And that has to be created by leaders. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Wed, 30 Mar 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The traditional notion is that schools are failing and they need “reforming.” But our guest believes that our education system is obsolete and needs re-imaging. Why? Because our education systems were created at the Dawn of the Industrial Era, and we no longer live in the Industrial Era. 

Tony Wagner is at the Learning Policy Institute, and he’s also been at Harvard University and a number of other institutions. He also published a memoir last year called “Learning by Heart: An Unconventional Education.”

In this episode we look at the modern education system from all angles;, how can we teach teachers, the future of microcredentials and how can parents embrace education at home.

Episode Quotes

Is learning content the most important thing anymore?:

In the 21st century, content knowledge still matters. In a world where Google knows everything, it's a different kind of content that matters. Skills matter more, I argue in the innovation era, and motivation matters most.

How creativity gets squashed out of kids:

What happens in school, fewer and fewer think of themselves as creative in any way. It's something that happens off there in the corner, in a niche for just a few kids. And kids become obsessed with getting the right answer rather than asking their own questions. You don't have to take a creativity test to see this, you see it every day in classrooms, Greg. Kids aren't asking questions. They don't have time, they're not encouraged. If it's a question, it’s -“ will this be on the test?” or “how much does this count towards my grade?”, which is what we're teaching in school.

How will we change the current education system?:

The challenge is, if we're going to get shaken out of our usual way of doing things at any of these levels, there has to be a sense of urgency. And that has to be created by leaders. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Teachers Teach the Way They Were Taught feat. Tony Wagner Greg La Blanc 00:48:08 The traditional notion is that schools are failing and they need “reforming.” But our guest believes that our education system is obsolete and needs re-imaging. Why? Because our education systems were created at the Dawn of the Industrial Era, and we no longer live in the Industrial Era. Tony Wagner is at the Learning Policy Institute, and he’s also been at Harvard University and a number of other institutions. He also published a memoir last year called “Learning by Heart: An Unconventional Education.” In this episode we look at the modern education system from all angles;, how can we teach teachers, the future of microcredentials and how can parents embrace education at home. The traditional notion is that schools are failing and they need “reforming.” But our guest believes that our education system is obsolete and needs re-imaging. Why? Because our education systems were created at the Dawn of the Industrial Era, and we no longer live in the Industrial Era. Tony Wagner is at the Learning Policy Institute, and he’s also been at Harvard University and a number of other institutions. He also published a memoir last year called “Learning by Heart: An Unconventional Education.” In this episode we look at the modern education system from all angles;, how can we teach teachers, the future of microcredentials and how can parents embrace education at home. false full 118 3f2aede1-0636-42a9-bdfd-95243b69d540 Everyone Wants a Silicon Valley feat. Dan Breznitz Would you believe Cleveland used to be a hub for innovation? Now the Bay Area is the height of start ups and global technology. 

It seems like everybody, no matter where they are around the world, is trying to create a Silicon valley back in their country or “Silicon hyphens.” 

Dan Breznitz is the Munk Chair of Innovation Studies at the Munk School of Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He's also the co-director of their Innovation Policy Lab, as well as an author. His books include “Run of the Red Queen: Government, Innovation, Globalization,” and “Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World.”

Listen as Dan & Greg talk about the global fragmentation of production, innovation vs. invention, luxury shoes, and what's wrong with the intellectual property system that we have today.

Episode Quotes

Problems with patents in the US:

To get the patents, apart from this being really original, another problem of our current patent system, you have to describe it in such a way that anyone with common technical skills in that area would immediately know how to produce it. Because the other thing that you want to do with innovation, if you care about economic growth, is that it's extremely rapid. And that's a dilemma that has not been solved very well. 

Effects from COVID:

If we don't change the system, what I think COVID has shown us [North America], Is that in a time of crisis, we cannot produce and innovate on the things we want.

Even if we were the first to innovate them, like the N95 masks, like ventilators. And that our obsession, what I called “techno fetishism”, our idealization of the new - has cost us greatly and made us unbelievably vulnerable. 

Thoughts on politicians in the tech spaces:

There's my cynical rule of, if it arrived to a politician and they're really keen about a new industry, it's about seven years too late. Because seven years ago were the people who were really smart started to develop it. Around five years later, it was successful, it got to the media. And two years after it got the media, politicians say it's a safe thing to talk about. 


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]]> Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Would you believe Cleveland used to be a hub for innovation? Now the Bay Area is the height of start ups and global technology. 

It seems like everybody, no matter where they are around the world, is trying to create a Silicon valley back in their country or “Silicon hyphens.” 

Dan Breznitz is the Munk Chair of Innovation Studies at the Munk School of Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He's also the co-director of their Innovation Policy Lab, as well as an author. His books include “Run of the Red Queen: Government, Innovation, Globalization,” and “Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World.”

Listen as Dan & Greg talk about the global fragmentation of production, innovation vs. invention, luxury shoes, and what's wrong with the intellectual property system that we have today.

Episode Quotes

Problems with patents in the US:

To get the patents, apart from this being really original, another problem of our current patent system, you have to describe it in such a way that anyone with common technical skills in that area would immediately know how to produce it. Because the other thing that you want to do with innovation, if you care about economic growth, is that it's extremely rapid. And that's a dilemma that has not been solved very well. 

Effects from COVID:

If we don't change the system, what I think COVID has shown us [North America], Is that in a time of crisis, we cannot produce and innovate on the things we want.

Even if we were the first to innovate them, like the N95 masks, like ventilators. And that our obsession, what I called “techno fetishism”, our idealization of the new - has cost us greatly and made us unbelievably vulnerable. 

Thoughts on politicians in the tech spaces:

There's my cynical rule of, if it arrived to a politician and they're really keen about a new industry, it's about seven years too late. Because seven years ago were the people who were really smart started to develop it. Around five years later, it was successful, it got to the media. And two years after it got the media, politicians say it's a safe thing to talk about. 


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]]> Everyone Wants a Silicon Valley feat. Dan Breznitz Greg La Blanc 00:59:09 Would you believe Cleveland used to be a hub for innovation? Now the Bay Area is the height of start ups and global technology. It seems like everybody, no matter where they are around the world, is trying to create a Silicon valley back in their country or “Silicon hyphens.” Dan Breznitz is the Munk Chair of Innovation Studies at the Munk School of Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He's also the co-director of their Innovation Policy Lab, as well as an author. His books include “Run of the Red Queen: Government, Innovation, Globalization,” and “Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World.” Listen as Dan & Greg talk about the global fragmentation of production, innovation vs. invention, luxury shoes, and what's wrong with the intellectual property system that we have today. Would you believe Cleveland used to be a hub for innovation? Now the Bay Area is the height of start ups and global technology. It seems like everybody, no matter where they are around the world, is trying to create a Silicon valley back in their country or “Silicon hyphens.” Dan Breznitz is the Munk Chair of Innovation Studies at the Munk School of Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He's also the co-director of their Innovation Policy Lab, as well as an author. His books include “Run of the Red Queen: Government, Innovation, Globalization,” and “Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World.” Listen as Dan & Greg talk about the global fragmentation of production, innovation vs. invention, luxury shoes, and what's wrong with the intellectual property system that we have today. false full 117 cabf9871-a1a4-4cdc-9a08-907a53743885 Helpful or Harmful: The Inner Voice feat. Ethan Kross Ethan Kross says the human ability to be introspective is a super power. We can time travel in our heads. We can be excited about planning the future, and look back on our lives in nostalgia. 

But what happens when that time machine gets stuck? And you're only focused the negative. Here is where the ability to harness that inner voice becomes key. 

Ethan is a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, and the author of “Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It.”

In this episode he shares some tips on wrangling negative thoughts, some benefits of not being in the moment, paralysis by analysis, and zooming in vs zooming out.

Episode Quotes

The cost of depression in the workplace:

The World Health Organization recently put a price tag on this, for the US global economy. They looked at what the cost to the economy is of anxiety and depression in the workplace. And we know that chatter fuels those conditions. The number was $1 trillion for, I think it was 2020. And that's a number that was predicted to rise exponentially over the next 10 years. 

Benefits of the inner voice:

It allows you to do many different things. It's a really flexible tool. It lets you keep information active in your head. You go to the grocery store, you forgot what to buy, you remind yourself, what's on your list in your head: ketchup, tomato sauce, pasta. You can use your inner voice to simulate and plan, like before presentations I'll go over the talking points, what I'm going to say. I do that in my head. You can use your voice to control yourselves. Like when you're working out: “come on four more sets and then I get to take a break.” And this is one of my favorite features just because I think it's so cool. We use our inner voice to create stories that give shape to our sense of who we are.

Being in the moment:

The human mind was not designed to be in the moment at all times. And that's okay, actually. The ability to travel in time in our mind is another one of these amazing capacities that we possess. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


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

]]> Fri, 25 Mar 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Ethan Kross says the human ability to be introspective is a super power. We can time travel in our heads. We can be excited about planning the future, and look back on our lives in nostalgia. 

But what happens when that time machine gets stuck? And you're only focused the negative. Here is where the ability to harness that inner voice becomes key. 

Ethan is a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, and the author of “Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It.”

In this episode he shares some tips on wrangling negative thoughts, some benefits of not being in the moment, paralysis by analysis, and zooming in vs zooming out.

Episode Quotes

The cost of depression in the workplace:

The World Health Organization recently put a price tag on this, for the US global economy. They looked at what the cost to the economy is of anxiety and depression in the workplace. And we know that chatter fuels those conditions. The number was $1 trillion for, I think it was 2020. And that's a number that was predicted to rise exponentially over the next 10 years. 

Benefits of the inner voice:

It allows you to do many different things. It's a really flexible tool. It lets you keep information active in your head. You go to the grocery store, you forgot what to buy, you remind yourself, what's on your list in your head: ketchup, tomato sauce, pasta. You can use your inner voice to simulate and plan, like before presentations I'll go over the talking points, what I'm going to say. I do that in my head. You can use your voice to control yourselves. Like when you're working out: “come on four more sets and then I get to take a break.” And this is one of my favorite features just because I think it's so cool. We use our inner voice to create stories that give shape to our sense of who we are.

Being in the moment:

The human mind was not designed to be in the moment at all times. And that's okay, actually. The ability to travel in time in our mind is another one of these amazing capacities that we possess. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Helpful or Harmful: The Inner Voice feat. Ethan Kross Greg La Blanc 00:59:39 Ethan Kross says the human ability to be introspective is a super power. We can time travel in our heads. We can be excited about planning the future, and look back on our lives in nostalgia. But what happens when that time machine gets stuck? And you're only focused the negative. Here is where the ability to harness that inner voice becomes key. Ethan is a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, and the author of “Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It.” In this episode he shares some tips on wrangling negative thoughts, some benefits of not being in the moment, paralysis by analysis, and zooming in vs zooming out. Ethan Kross says the human ability to be introspective is a super power. We can time travel in our heads. We can be excited about planning the future, and look back on our lives in nostalgia. But what happens when that time machine gets stuck? And you're only focused the negative. Here is where the ability to harness that inner voice becomes key. Ethan is a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, and the author of “Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It.” In this episode he shares some tips on wrangling negative thoughts, some benefits of not being in the moment, paralysis by analysis, and zooming in vs zooming out. false full 116 d4cfbcb4-5b55-4cf1-a82e-d40383819112 Modern Philosophy and The Role of The Philosopher feat. Justin E. H. Smith What does it mean to be a philosopher? What does it mean to DO Philosophy? What are the boundaries of philosophy as a discipline? These are just some of the themes that have pervaded the work of Justin Smith. 

Justin Smith is a professor of philosophy in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Paris, and he has written several books, including the upcoming “The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning” out March 22nd 2022.

Justin and Greg dive deep into Justin's 2016 book “The Philosopher: A History in Six Types,” what it means to be a modern philosopher, the “bookshelf classification” problem, and how philosophy can address the modern economy of attention. 

Episode Quotes:

On social media:

And rather than social media being truly subjected to democratic oversight, things are going to continue to get worse. In terms of the topsy turvy social upheaval of social mobbing that is, in a sense, ruining everything. You can't do anything in the way you could have expected to do it 10 years ago.

And in terms of the universal surveillance that these new technologies are affording, these things are just going to keep getting worse and worse until there's real democratic oversight. And that's going to be extremely hard. And I think that it's only going to come after a period of worsening of the conditions of our social life together up to a point where people just won't take it anymore.

Philosophy as an academic discipline:

Now, I think philosophy as an academic discipline has failed tremendously to discover interesting things about how we think. Because what it in fact ends up doing is reflecting on the way “we,” not Qua* human beings, but “we, Qua* WEIRD, 21st century wealthy, educated Americans take things to be.

The importance of philosophy:

One thing is that we live in a world where we're side by side, neighbor by neighbor, with people we don't understand. People who are strangers to us and of whom we’re extremely suspicious and this leads to constant conflict. And one thing about this approach that I am promoting is that it enables a kind of humility.

Once you start to realize all of the delirious range of ways people have made sense of the world around them and still somehow managed to thrive, even though these ways are totally foreign from the way we make sense of the world. 

Modern philosophy:

So there's this new demand to find philosophy where we weren't detecting it before. That's coming down almost as a kind of administrative pressure - like philosophers, at least in the United States are under pressure to do this. And ironically for me, it's making them open, but also somewhat inconsistent because even though they're becoming more open about what can count as philosophy, they're still pretending, there is somewhere, a well-defined demarcation such that such that John Locke is a philosopher and Lawrence Stern is not, right?


Show Links:


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]]> Mon, 21 Mar 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What does it mean to be a philosopher? What does it mean to DO Philosophy? What are the boundaries of philosophy as a discipline? These are just some of the themes that have pervaded the work of Justin Smith. 

Justin Smith is a professor of philosophy in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Paris, and he has written several books, including the upcoming “The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning” out March 22nd 2022.

Justin and Greg dive deep into Justin's 2016 book “The Philosopher: A History in Six Types,” what it means to be a modern philosopher, the “bookshelf classification” problem, and how philosophy can address the modern economy of attention. 

Episode Quotes:

On social media:

And rather than social media being truly subjected to democratic oversight, things are going to continue to get worse. In terms of the topsy turvy social upheaval of social mobbing that is, in a sense, ruining everything. You can't do anything in the way you could have expected to do it 10 years ago.

And in terms of the universal surveillance that these new technologies are affording, these things are just going to keep getting worse and worse until there's real democratic oversight. And that's going to be extremely hard. And I think that it's only going to come after a period of worsening of the conditions of our social life together up to a point where people just won't take it anymore.

Philosophy as an academic discipline:

Now, I think philosophy as an academic discipline has failed tremendously to discover interesting things about how we think. Because what it in fact ends up doing is reflecting on the way “we,” not Qua* human beings, but “we, Qua* WEIRD, 21st century wealthy, educated Americans take things to be.

The importance of philosophy:

One thing is that we live in a world where we're side by side, neighbor by neighbor, with people we don't understand. People who are strangers to us and of whom we’re extremely suspicious and this leads to constant conflict. And one thing about this approach that I am promoting is that it enables a kind of humility.

Once you start to realize all of the delirious range of ways people have made sense of the world around them and still somehow managed to thrive, even though these ways are totally foreign from the way we make sense of the world. 

Modern philosophy:

So there's this new demand to find philosophy where we weren't detecting it before. That's coming down almost as a kind of administrative pressure - like philosophers, at least in the United States are under pressure to do this. And ironically for me, it's making them open, but also somewhat inconsistent because even though they're becoming more open about what can count as philosophy, they're still pretending, there is somewhere, a well-defined demarcation such that such that John Locke is a philosopher and Lawrence Stern is not, right?


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Modern Philosophy and The Role of The Philosopher feat. Justin E. H. Smith Greg La Blanc 01:11:38 What does it mean to be a philosopher? What does it mean to DO Philosophy? What are the boundaries of philosophy as a discipline? These are just some of the themes that have pervaded the work of Justin Smith. Justin Smith is a professor of philosophy in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Paris, and he has written several books, including the upcoming “The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning” out March 22nd 2022. Justin and Greg dive deep into Justin's 2016 book “The Philosopher: A History in Six Types,” what it means to be a modern philosopher, the “bookshelf classification” problem, and how philosophy can address the modern economy of attention. What does it mean to be a philosopher? What does it mean to DO Philosophy? What are the boundaries of philosophy as a discipline? These are just some of the themes that have pervaded the work of Justin Smith. Justin Smith is a professor of philosophy in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Paris, and he has written several books, including the upcoming “The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning” out March 22nd 2022. Justin and Greg dive deep into Justin's 2016 book “The Philosopher: A History in Six Types,” what it means to be a modern philosopher, the “bookshelf classification” problem, and how philosophy can address the modern economy of attention. false full 115 54b91735-f0e2-4c77-9919-b5a4333e5b4b What Big Data Can't Do feat. Edward Tenner We like to think that technology makes the world a better place and that progress moves forward in a fairly linear fashion. And yet, there are plenty of signs that show well-being does not necessarily increase along with the sophistication of technology. 

This idea is explored in Edward Tenner’s books, the most recent being The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do. A sequel to his previous book, Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences.

He also just wrapped up a stint at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University and is currently a scholar at the Smithsonian.

In this episode, Edward and Greg run through a number of scenarios based on revenge effects, risk associated with metrics, while factoring for human responses and serendipity.

Episode Quotes:

On his latest book, The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do:

One of the arguments of my newest book, The Efficiency Paradox, is that too much efficiency in the short run makes us less efficient in the long run. And there is case after case of that, but the point of it is that very often it is the top managers who don't really take a holistic view of their enterprise and who don't understand that sometimes you really need to have more failures in order to have long-term success.

The single minded pursuit of efficiency:

If you focus too much on short-term metrics and short-term results, you're overlooking the needs for experimentation and failures and losses that will lead to greater long-term benefits. It’s really as simple as that. 

Why we might want to hesitate on using metrics, in this case in publishing:

For example, Moby Dick was really considered a failure. It got bad reviews at first. If there was like, an AI that was supposed to evaluate the prospects for books, it probably would have been turned down. Harry Potter was turned down by 20 publishers.

And the reason for that is that a lot of extremely successful things, a lot of best-selling works are initially a little bit strange. They’re different. And so people who are using experience, people who are consulting their databases will really be unable to pick up on that. Sometimes you have to put something out there and see if it works or not.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Fri, 18 Mar 2022 22:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We like to think that technology makes the world a better place and that progress moves forward in a fairly linear fashion. And yet, there are plenty of signs that show well-being does not necessarily increase along with the sophistication of technology. 

This idea is explored in Edward Tenner’s books, the most recent being The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do. A sequel to his previous book, Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences.

He also just wrapped up a stint at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University and is currently a scholar at the Smithsonian.

In this episode, Edward and Greg run through a number of scenarios based on revenge effects, risk associated with metrics, while factoring for human responses and serendipity.

Episode Quotes:

On his latest book, The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do:

One of the arguments of my newest book, The Efficiency Paradox, is that too much efficiency in the short run makes us less efficient in the long run. And there is case after case of that, but the point of it is that very often it is the top managers who don't really take a holistic view of their enterprise and who don't understand that sometimes you really need to have more failures in order to have long-term success.

The single minded pursuit of efficiency:

If you focus too much on short-term metrics and short-term results, you're overlooking the needs for experimentation and failures and losses that will lead to greater long-term benefits. It’s really as simple as that. 

Why we might want to hesitate on using metrics, in this case in publishing:

For example, Moby Dick was really considered a failure. It got bad reviews at first. If there was like, an AI that was supposed to evaluate the prospects for books, it probably would have been turned down. Harry Potter was turned down by 20 publishers.

And the reason for that is that a lot of extremely successful things, a lot of best-selling works are initially a little bit strange. They’re different. And so people who are using experience, people who are consulting their databases will really be unable to pick up on that. Sometimes you have to put something out there and see if it works or not.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> What Big Data Can't Do feat. Edward Tenner Greg La Blanc 01:04:39 We like to think that technology makes the world a better place and that progress moves forward in a fairly linear fashion. And yet, there are plenty of signs that show well-being does not necessarily increase along with the sophistication of technology. This idea is explored in Edward Tenner’s books, the most recent being The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do. A sequel to his previous book, Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences. He also just wrapped up a stint at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University and is currently a scholar at the Smithsonian. In this episode, Edward and Greg run through a number of scenarios based on revenge effects, risk associated with metrics, while factoring for human responses and serendipity. We like to think that technology makes the world a better place and that progress moves forward in a fairly linear fashion. And yet, there are plenty of signs that show well-being does not necessarily increase along with the sophistication of technology. This idea is explored in Edward Tenner’s books, the most recent being The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can't Do. A sequel to his previous book, Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences. He also just wrapped up a stint at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University and is currently a scholar at the Smithsonian. In this episode, Edward and Greg run through a number of scenarios based on revenge effects, risk associated with metrics, while factoring for human responses and serendipity. false full 114 7a9de946-e3ae-4459-af28-90d51b5491b2 The Crisis in Journalism feat. Will Slauter Major layoffs, fake news and misinformation, as well as social media wars against the media & journalists have been hot topics in the last few years when it comes to what we consider “news,” especially in the United States. 

Will Slauter consider the problems of our modern day news production, by taking a look at the past, and the history of news media that brought us to this place. 

Will is a professor of history and American studies at Sorbonne Université in Paris. His research interests include the history of publishing, the history of news and journalism, and the history of copyright law in the United States and the United Kingdom. He also wrote the book “Who Owns the News?: A History of Copyright.”

This episode covers a wide range of issues from the history of news including: The origins of content curation, The AP vs. INS - a critical legal case on intellectual property, and the role of the post office in disseminating information.

Episode Quotes:

AP vs. INS legal case:

The legal principle that we're talking about is this idea of a quasi property. The court said well, any newspaper reader or anybody out there, as soon as they learn the news would be free to repeat it, would be free to discuss it and so on. But it's not right for direct competitors, another press agency, and newspapers that own presses to free ride on the labor of the Associated Press. And so what they got was this misappropriation that basically says for as long as the news has commercial value no direct competitors may republish it.

Facebook algorithms and news curation:

When it's done by an algorithm, it raises all sorts of other questions. And there's the algorithm - we know it is very personalized and is trying to elicit certain kinds of responses from us and to target advertising that will go along with it and so on. And so I think actually that makes it all the more valuable to look at the history of compilation, look at the history of news aggregation as something that goes back. And think about what is lost when you lose that human element. 

Thoughts on when the postal services subsidized newspapers:

You can see that this is an early republic. They're all very aware of the fact that this [the United States] is a vast territory, that there are going to be regional differences. There already are with questions like slavery. And that in order for democracy to function on such a wide geographic scale, the post office is going to be crucial and it's by ascending newspapers through the mail that we could have the possibility of facilitating the circulation of information.

Looking back at the Fairness Doctrine:

And people in recent years have often looked back with perhaps a bit too much nostalgia at the Fairness Doctrine. At least in principle it seems like something that we could use now. Some people have said, well it didn't actually always work out that well, it didn't always really lead to both sides given equal treatment.

But on the other hand, it was a principle and it was something that was there and it was attached to the license. It was something that was potentially where the state could intervene. 


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Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Wed, 16 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Major layoffs, fake news and misinformation, as well as social media wars against the media & journalists have been hot topics in the last few years when it comes to what we consider “news,” especially in the United States. 

Will Slauter consider the problems of our modern day news production, by taking a look at the past, and the history of news media that brought us to this place. 

Will is a professor of history and American studies at Sorbonne Université in Paris. His research interests include the history of publishing, the history of news and journalism, and the history of copyright law in the United States and the United Kingdom. He also wrote the book “Who Owns the News?: A History of Copyright.”

This episode covers a wide range of issues from the history of news including: The origins of content curation, The AP vs. INS - a critical legal case on intellectual property, and the role of the post office in disseminating information.

Episode Quotes:

AP vs. INS legal case:

The legal principle that we're talking about is this idea of a quasi property. The court said well, any newspaper reader or anybody out there, as soon as they learn the news would be free to repeat it, would be free to discuss it and so on. But it's not right for direct competitors, another press agency, and newspapers that own presses to free ride on the labor of the Associated Press. And so what they got was this misappropriation that basically says for as long as the news has commercial value no direct competitors may republish it.

Facebook algorithms and news curation:

When it's done by an algorithm, it raises all sorts of other questions. And there's the algorithm - we know it is very personalized and is trying to elicit certain kinds of responses from us and to target advertising that will go along with it and so on. And so I think actually that makes it all the more valuable to look at the history of compilation, look at the history of news aggregation as something that goes back. And think about what is lost when you lose that human element. 

Thoughts on when the postal services subsidized newspapers:

You can see that this is an early republic. They're all very aware of the fact that this [the United States] is a vast territory, that there are going to be regional differences. There already are with questions like slavery. And that in order for democracy to function on such a wide geographic scale, the post office is going to be crucial and it's by ascending newspapers through the mail that we could have the possibility of facilitating the circulation of information.

Looking back at the Fairness Doctrine:

And people in recent years have often looked back with perhaps a bit too much nostalgia at the Fairness Doctrine. At least in principle it seems like something that we could use now. Some people have said, well it didn't actually always work out that well, it didn't always really lead to both sides given equal treatment.

But on the other hand, it was a principle and it was something that was there and it was attached to the license. It was something that was potentially where the state could intervene. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> The Crisis in Journalism feat. Will Slauter Greg La Blanc 00:46:00 Major layoffs, fake news and misinformation, as well as social media wars against the media & journalists have been hot topics in the last few years when it comes to what we consider “news,” especially in the United States. Will Slauter consider the problems of our modern day news production, by taking a look at the past, and the history of news media that brought us to this place. Will is a professor of history and American studies at Sorbonne Université in Paris. His research interests include the history of publishing, the history of news and journalism, and the history of copyright law in the United States and the United Kingdom. He also wrote the book “Who Owns the News?: A History of Copyright.” This episode covers a wide range of issues from the history of news including: The origins of content curation, The AP vs. INS - a critical legal case on intellectual property, and the role of the post office in disseminating information. Major layoffs, fake news and misinformation, as well as social media wars against the media & journalists have been hot topics in the last few years when it comes to what we consider “news,” especially in the United States. Will Slauter consider the problems of our modern day news production, by taking a look at the past, and the history of news media that brought us to this place. Will is a professor of history and American studies at Sorbonne Université in Paris. His research interests include the history of publishing, the history of news and journalism, and the history of copyright law in the United States and the United Kingdom. He also wrote the book “Who Owns the News?: A History of Copyright.” This episode covers a wide range of issues from the history of news including: The origins of content curation, The AP vs. INS - a critical legal case on intellectual property, and the role of the post office in disseminating information. false full 113 72aa1cc0-9253-4222-932b-834f89375f78 You Should Always Be Talking About Strategy feat. Jesper B. Sørensen Making strategy requires undertaking major―often irreversible―decisions aimed at long-term success in an uncertain future. Are you looking to think more clearly and build transparent, functional teams that work in a better, streamlined way?

Jesper Sørensen is joining us to help you out. He is a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford GSB, and the author of “Making Great Strategy: Arguing for Organizational Advantage.”

Listen as Greg and Jesper touch on consequential assumptions, the process of pivoting, constructive argumentation and discuss why do people dread those annual strategy meetings.

Episode Quotes:

The dreaded strategy meeting:

So I think that's one part of it, stop thinking about strategy as something you only do once a year. You should always be talking about strategy. Like you should always be thinking about events that happen and things that work and that don't work in terms of the strategy. But in so many organizations strategy is this thing that happens once a year, it happens in the C-suite right? And a consulting firm comes in and tells me what the strategy is.

Power and politics within organizations:

Politics is a positive thing when done well, right? Cause it's about balancing different agendas and that's what organizations are, they’re constellations of people with different goals and you're trying to get them all to march in the same direction. 

But I think It's much more likely to succeed if there is a broader kind of understanding, it's okay, whatever we're going to do, our minimum criteria is it has to make sense. And we have a standard for whether it makes sense which is I can see the logic of it and I can see it in the logic of being coherent.

Jesper’s mantra:

JESPER: My favorite kind of slogan that I came up with during the process of doing this was this idea of - in the process of strategy formulation, really the mantra should be “Validity Today, Soundness Tomorrow.” Which means - 

GREG: I really like that 

JESPER: Yeah, strategy formulation, right, is about an uncertain future. You can't know the truth of all of your assumptions. And at least if you are certain of the truth of all your assumptions, then it's probably not a very exciting strategy because there's no risk and therefore less reward.


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]]> Mon, 14 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Making strategy requires undertaking major―often irreversible―decisions aimed at long-term success in an uncertain future. Are you looking to think more clearly and build transparent, functional teams that work in a better, streamlined way?

Jesper Sørensen is joining us to help you out. He is a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford GSB, and the author of “Making Great Strategy: Arguing for Organizational Advantage.”

Listen as Greg and Jesper touch on consequential assumptions, the process of pivoting, constructive argumentation and discuss why do people dread those annual strategy meetings.

Episode Quotes:

The dreaded strategy meeting:

So I think that's one part of it, stop thinking about strategy as something you only do once a year. You should always be talking about strategy. Like you should always be thinking about events that happen and things that work and that don't work in terms of the strategy. But in so many organizations strategy is this thing that happens once a year, it happens in the C-suite right? And a consulting firm comes in and tells me what the strategy is.

Power and politics within organizations:

Politics is a positive thing when done well, right? Cause it's about balancing different agendas and that's what organizations are, they’re constellations of people with different goals and you're trying to get them all to march in the same direction. 

But I think It's much more likely to succeed if there is a broader kind of understanding, it's okay, whatever we're going to do, our minimum criteria is it has to make sense. And we have a standard for whether it makes sense which is I can see the logic of it and I can see it in the logic of being coherent.

Jesper’s mantra:

JESPER: My favorite kind of slogan that I came up with during the process of doing this was this idea of - in the process of strategy formulation, really the mantra should be “Validity Today, Soundness Tomorrow.” Which means - 

GREG: I really like that 

JESPER: Yeah, strategy formulation, right, is about an uncertain future. You can't know the truth of all of your assumptions. And at least if you are certain of the truth of all your assumptions, then it's probably not a very exciting strategy because there's no risk and therefore less reward.


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]]> You Should Always Be Talking About Strategy feat. Jesper B. Sørensen Greg La Blanc 00:52:47 Making strategy requires undertaking major―often irreversible―decisions aimed at long-term success in an uncertain future. Are you looking to think more clearly and build transparent, functional teams that work in a better, streamlined way? Jesper Sørensen is joining us to help you out. He is a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford GSB, and the author of “Making Great Strategy: Arguing for Organizational Advantage.” Listen as Greg and Jesper touch on consequential assumptions, the process of pivoting, constructive argumentation and discuss why do people dread those annual strategy meetings. Making strategy requires undertaking major―often irreversible―decisions aimed at long-term success in an uncertain future. Are you looking to think more clearly and build transparent, functional teams that work in a better, streamlined way? Jesper Sørensen is joining us to help you out. He is a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford GSB, and the author of “Making Great Strategy: Arguing for Organizational Advantage.” Listen as Greg and Jesper touch on consequential assumptions, the process of pivoting, constructive argumentation and discuss why do people dread those annual strategy meetings. false full 112 dcec3b49-b3b0-4369-8044-b042263e15b2 Criminal Law, Moral Philosophy, and the Theory of Social Choice feat. Leo Katz Leo Katz’s work focuses on criminal law and legal theory. By connecting criminal law, moral philosophy, and the theory of social choice, he tries to shed light on some of the most basic building block notions of the law.

He is a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of numerous articles and books including “Ill-Gotten Gains: Evasion, Blackmail, Fraud, and Kindred Puzzles of the Law,” “Bad Acts and Guilty Minds: Conundrums of the Criminal Law,” and of course, “Why the Law Is So Perverse”.

If you never went to law school, this episode will give you a glimpse of what its like. Leo and Greg run through a number of hypothetical cases and legal theories covering black mail, irrational preference ordering, loopholes, consent, and pain as punishment.

Episode Quotes:

Gray solutions:

When people decide not to go to court, it's often because they realize there's a 50% chance it'll go one way, 50% chance it'll go the other way, so we'll settle on 50% of the damage award. But then you wonder, so why doesn't the law do that? I mean, it's an in-between case, so wouldn't the sensible outcome be an in-between verdict? Wouldn't that correspond to the justice of the situation? But it's not what the law does. Although an increasing number of people believe it should and have argued for that.

Consent problems: 

You've got different kinds of consent problems. One is you can't trade it at all. And then others, you just can't give it in advance. it has to be contemporaneous consent, but if it has to be contemporaneous consent, I mean, that often un-does the point of the bargain as in the case of these contracts for performance over service.

Duress Defense:

The way the law deals with dilemmas is not the way the economist or the consequentialist initially thinks is a sensible way, but instead by accepting intransitivity. And dealing with dilemmas by accepting intransitivity means we're kind of in a different world than that of ordinary consequentialist rationality. We're not in the world of irrationality, but we're in a world that actually pretty much tracks deontological morality.

The trolley problem:

In most such situations, the trolley problem being this case of this trolley, that heads down a track and if we just let it go, it's going to run over five people. But if we divert it to the side it's going to kill one person, then we will have saved the five. And then there are many other situations of more controversial nature where we can save many at the cost of killing one. And from the consequentialist point of view, putting to the side sort of certain systemic difficulties if this becomes known, they would say everything else being equal, that's what we ought to do. It's a dilemma in the sense that it's unfortunate that someone has to die, but it's not really a dilemma for decision-making. In that it's kind of clear what makes sense. Now what's so striking about the law is that it tends not to do that. In many cases it forbids this sort of trade off.


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]]> Fri, 11 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Leo Katz’s work focuses on criminal law and legal theory. By connecting criminal law, moral philosophy, and the theory of social choice, he tries to shed light on some of the most basic building block notions of the law.

He is a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of numerous articles and books including “Ill-Gotten Gains: Evasion, Blackmail, Fraud, and Kindred Puzzles of the Law,” “Bad Acts and Guilty Minds: Conundrums of the Criminal Law,” and of course, “Why the Law Is So Perverse”.

If you never went to law school, this episode will give you a glimpse of what its like. Leo and Greg run through a number of hypothetical cases and legal theories covering black mail, irrational preference ordering, loopholes, consent, and pain as punishment.

Episode Quotes:

Gray solutions:

When people decide not to go to court, it's often because they realize there's a 50% chance it'll go one way, 50% chance it'll go the other way, so we'll settle on 50% of the damage award. But then you wonder, so why doesn't the law do that? I mean, it's an in-between case, so wouldn't the sensible outcome be an in-between verdict? Wouldn't that correspond to the justice of the situation? But it's not what the law does. Although an increasing number of people believe it should and have argued for that.

Consent problems: 

You've got different kinds of consent problems. One is you can't trade it at all. And then others, you just can't give it in advance. it has to be contemporaneous consent, but if it has to be contemporaneous consent, I mean, that often un-does the point of the bargain as in the case of these contracts for performance over service.

Duress Defense:

The way the law deals with dilemmas is not the way the economist or the consequentialist initially thinks is a sensible way, but instead by accepting intransitivity. And dealing with dilemmas by accepting intransitivity means we're kind of in a different world than that of ordinary consequentialist rationality. We're not in the world of irrationality, but we're in a world that actually pretty much tracks deontological morality.

The trolley problem:

In most such situations, the trolley problem being this case of this trolley, that heads down a track and if we just let it go, it's going to run over five people. But if we divert it to the side it's going to kill one person, then we will have saved the five. And then there are many other situations of more controversial nature where we can save many at the cost of killing one. And from the consequentialist point of view, putting to the side sort of certain systemic difficulties if this becomes known, they would say everything else being equal, that's what we ought to do. It's a dilemma in the sense that it's unfortunate that someone has to die, but it's not really a dilemma for decision-making. In that it's kind of clear what makes sense. Now what's so striking about the law is that it tends not to do that. In many cases it forbids this sort of trade off.


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]]> Criminal Law, Moral Philosophy, and the Theory of Social Choice feat. Leo Katz Greg La Blanc 01:02:15 Leo Katz’s work focuses on criminal law and legal theory. By connecting criminal law, moral philosophy, and the theory of social choice, he tries to shed light on some of the most basic building block notions of the law. He is a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of numerous articles and books including “Ill-Gotten Gains: Evasion, Blackmail, Fraud, and Kindred Puzzles of the Law,” “Bad Acts and Guilty Minds: Conundrums of the Criminal Law,” and of course, “Why the Law Is So Perverse”. If you never went to law school, this episode will give you a glimpse of what its like. Leo and Greg run through a number of hypothetical cases and legal theories covering black mail, irrational preference ordering, loopholes, consent, and pain as punishment. Leo Katz’s work focuses on criminal law and legal theory. By connecting criminal law, moral philosophy, and the theory of social choice, he tries to shed light on some of the most basic building block notions of the law. He is a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of numerous articles and books including “Ill-Gotten Gains: Evasion, Blackmail, Fraud, and Kindred Puzzles of the Law,” “Bad Acts and Guilty Minds: Conundrums of the Criminal Law,” and of course, “Why the Law Is So Perverse”. If you never went to law school, this episode will give you a glimpse of what its like. Leo and Greg run through a number of hypothetical cases and legal theories covering black mail, irrational preference ordering, loopholes, consent, and pain as punishment. false full 111 89b93466-ece6-4b60-95fe-ff2fddc83820 Distinguishing Cultural Learning from Social Learning feat. Cecilia Heyes Most people agree that nearly everything human is a mixture of both genetic inputs and cultural inputs. The question is about where the dividing line lies.

Cecilia Heyes is a senior research fellow in theoretical life sciences and a professor of psychology at All Souls College at the University of Oxford. She also authored the book “Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking.”

Cecilia and Greg talk in depth about theory of mind from early childhood development to how it is interpreted across different cultures, and dive into the debate between nature and culture that's been around since the pre-Socratics.

Episode Quotes:

Theory of the mind in different cultures: 

We tend to call it theory of mind or mind reading, wherever in the world we find it. In fact, mind reading or theory of mind is our way of predicting behavior. Other cultures have ways of predicting and explaining each other's behavior which depend much less on the ascription of thoughts and feelings.

Imitation and caregivers:

So there is some evidence that people who when they were infants, their mothers were depressed, show a weaker capacity to imitate facial expressions and so on. A depressed person is less emotionally reactive to others.

So whereas typically parents will mirror the facial expressions of their infant. Inadvertently, they're giving the infant the opportunity to see what they, the infant looked like when they do something that feels like this. And that's the capacity which is crucial for imitation. You've gotta be able to map the feel onto the sight. And a parent mirroring back facial expressions is crucial to learning that. And depressed mothers quite understandably are doing less of that mirroring.

Learning imitation:

Dancers in particular, those wall mirrors which are very often in dance studios, mean that every move you make in that room, you feel yourself doing it as it were, you've got the internal feedback from the performance.

You can feel the muscles stretching and so on. And that is being correlated with the sight of yourself doing it from the outside. And it's that kind of experience, that kind of sensory motor correlation, which is building your capacity to imitate.


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]]> Wed, 9 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Most people agree that nearly everything human is a mixture of both genetic inputs and cultural inputs. The question is about where the dividing line lies.

Cecilia Heyes is a senior research fellow in theoretical life sciences and a professor of psychology at All Souls College at the University of Oxford. She also authored the book “Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking.”

Cecilia and Greg talk in depth about theory of mind from early childhood development to how it is interpreted across different cultures, and dive into the debate between nature and culture that's been around since the pre-Socratics.

Episode Quotes:

Theory of the mind in different cultures: 

We tend to call it theory of mind or mind reading, wherever in the world we find it. In fact, mind reading or theory of mind is our way of predicting behavior. Other cultures have ways of predicting and explaining each other's behavior which depend much less on the ascription of thoughts and feelings.

Imitation and caregivers:

So there is some evidence that people who when they were infants, their mothers were depressed, show a weaker capacity to imitate facial expressions and so on. A depressed person is less emotionally reactive to others.

So whereas typically parents will mirror the facial expressions of their infant. Inadvertently, they're giving the infant the opportunity to see what they, the infant looked like when they do something that feels like this. And that's the capacity which is crucial for imitation. You've gotta be able to map the feel onto the sight. And a parent mirroring back facial expressions is crucial to learning that. And depressed mothers quite understandably are doing less of that mirroring.

Learning imitation:

Dancers in particular, those wall mirrors which are very often in dance studios, mean that every move you make in that room, you feel yourself doing it as it were, you've got the internal feedback from the performance.

You can feel the muscles stretching and so on. And that is being correlated with the sight of yourself doing it from the outside. And it's that kind of experience, that kind of sensory motor correlation, which is building your capacity to imitate.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her work:


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]]> Distinguishing Cultural Learning from Social Learning feat. Cecilia Heyes Greg La Blanc 00:51:12 Most people agree that nearly everything human is a mixture of both genetic inputs and cultural inputs. The question is about where the dividing line lies. Cecilia Heyes is a senior research fellow in theoretical life sciences and a professor of psychology at All Souls College at the University of Oxford. She also authored the book “Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking.” Cecilia and Greg talk in depth about theory of mind from early childhood development to how it is interpreted across different cultures, and dive into the debate between nature and culture that's been around since the pre-Socratics. Most people agree that nearly everything human is a mixture of both genetic inputs and cultural inputs. The question is about where the dividing line lies. Cecilia Heyes is a senior research fellow in theoretical life sciences and a professor of psychology at All Souls College at the University of Oxford. She also authored the book “Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking.” Cecilia and Greg talk in depth about theory of mind from early childhood development to how it is interpreted across different cultures, and dive into the debate between nature and culture that's been around since the pre-Socratics. false full 110 563e1693-2e45-4071-87ab-471d5344a4da Your Brain’s Models are Never Accurate feat. Michael Graziano Brains arrive at the conclusion that they have an internal, subjective experience of things — an experience that is non-physical and inexplicable. How can such a thing be studied scientifically?

That is just part of the mission behind Michael Graziano’s lab. He is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Princeton University, and the author of  “The Intelligent Movement Machine: An Ethological Perspective on the Primate Motor System”, “God Soul Mind Brain: A Neuroscientist's Reflections on the Spirit World”, and “Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience”, to name a few. 

Michael and Greg dive into consciousness, what we mean when we talk about schemas, how we inhabit our bodies, and the sophisticated attention that makes humans what we are. 

Episode Quotes:

Theory of preserving bodies in the future:

It is kind of assumed in the futurism world, assumed that technology is forever and the human body is fragile. And so what you want to do is upload yourself into a machine or put your body into a robot and then you'll live forever or whatever the fantasy is. It is true that the exact opposite is what actually happens. That a human body, if taken care of properly lives 90 to 100 years. And your typical machine lasts 10 years. So actually the approach to technology would have to change also. If you want this kind of longevity that people are looking for. Because the machine world is actually not a long lived world. Machines break a lot faster than biological bodies break, at least right now they do.

Question of consciousness:

I think I'm a little unusual. Because most people think the question of consciousness is a question of philosophy. And it is that partly. I think it's a question of technology and the immediate near term future of technology. That's what the question of consciousness really is right now. 

Humans & theory of mind:

[00:36:16] There are different views on this, here's what I think. Humans are hyper social. Our success as a species, our world dominance, rests entirely on our amazing, intuitive ability to guess what someone else is thinking. So theory of mind or building models of other people's minds. Without that, we're nothing, we're just separate animals. With that, we’re civilization.

How the brain constructs models:

The brain constructs models that are useful. It does not construct models that are literally accurate. Like that's not the point. Evolution does not give us models that are literally accurate to edify us with scientific accuracy, no. Evolution shapes, models that are useful.


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]]> Mon, 7 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Brains arrive at the conclusion that they have an internal, subjective experience of things — an experience that is non-physical and inexplicable. How can such a thing be studied scientifically?

That is just part of the mission behind Michael Graziano’s lab. He is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Princeton University, and the author of  “The Intelligent Movement Machine: An Ethological Perspective on the Primate Motor System”, “God Soul Mind Brain: A Neuroscientist's Reflections on the Spirit World”, and “Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience”, to name a few. 

Michael and Greg dive into consciousness, what we mean when we talk about schemas, how we inhabit our bodies, and the sophisticated attention that makes humans what we are. 

Episode Quotes:

Theory of preserving bodies in the future:

It is kind of assumed in the futurism world, assumed that technology is forever and the human body is fragile. And so what you want to do is upload yourself into a machine or put your body into a robot and then you'll live forever or whatever the fantasy is. It is true that the exact opposite is what actually happens. That a human body, if taken care of properly lives 90 to 100 years. And your typical machine lasts 10 years. So actually the approach to technology would have to change also. If you want this kind of longevity that people are looking for. Because the machine world is actually not a long lived world. Machines break a lot faster than biological bodies break, at least right now they do.

Question of consciousness:

I think I'm a little unusual. Because most people think the question of consciousness is a question of philosophy. And it is that partly. I think it's a question of technology and the immediate near term future of technology. That's what the question of consciousness really is right now. 

Humans & theory of mind:

[00:36:16] There are different views on this, here's what I think. Humans are hyper social. Our success as a species, our world dominance, rests entirely on our amazing, intuitive ability to guess what someone else is thinking. So theory of mind or building models of other people's minds. Without that, we're nothing, we're just separate animals. With that, we’re civilization.

How the brain constructs models:

The brain constructs models that are useful. It does not construct models that are literally accurate. Like that's not the point. Evolution does not give us models that are literally accurate to edify us with scientific accuracy, no. Evolution shapes, models that are useful.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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]]> Your Brain’s Models are Never Accurate feat. Michael Graziano Greg La Blanc 01:03:43 Brains arrive at the conclusion that they have an internal, subjective experience of things — an experience that is non-physical and inexplicable. How can such a thing be studied scientifically? That is just part of the mission behind Michael Graziano’s lab. He is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Princeton University, and the author of “The Intelligent Movement Machine: An Ethological Perspective on the Primate Motor System”, “God Soul Mind Brain: A Neuroscientist's Reflections on the Spirit World”, and “Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience”, to name a few. Michael and Greg dive into consciousness, what we mean when we talk about schemas, how we inhabit our bodies, and the sophisticated attention that makes humans what we are. Brains arrive at the conclusion that they have an internal, subjective experience of things — an experience that is non-physical and inexplicable. How can such a thing be studied scientifically? That is just part of the mission behind Michael Graziano’s lab. He is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Princeton University, and the author of “The Intelligent Movement Machine: An Ethological Perspective on the Primate Motor System”, “God Soul Mind Brain: A Neuroscientist's Reflections on the Spirit World”, and “Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience”, to name a few. Michael and Greg dive into consciousness, what we mean when we talk about schemas, how we inhabit our bodies, and the sophisticated attention that makes humans what we are. false full 109 e71a4a56-329e-4ab9-8677-669b6706a54f Seeking Virtue in Finance feat. JC de Swaan How can finance professionals balance self-interest, client service, and the greater good? While finance is often portrayed as an occupation that is fraught with self-dealing and unethical behavior, it can also be an arena for promoting good and even a path to a life of virtue. 

JC de Swaan argues for this idea in his latest book “Seeking Virtue in Finance: Contributing to Society in a Conflicted Industry,” de Swaan teaches at Princeton University, and is also a partner at Cornwall Capital. 

How do you prevent the norms of the industry from changing who you are? Greg and JC discuss this idea, as well as Robinhood, ethical career choice, saying no to a client, and teaching Ethics in Finance.

Episode Quotes:

On ethics & finance:

I think my entry point into this topic of ethics and finance is this idea that finance tends to be played as a complex game with its own rules. And as long as you play within well-defined, narrowly defined rules, then it's a force for good. And finance professionals by and large tend to be a little unquestioning, as to the fact that what is good for them is good for their clients and what is good for their clients is good for them. And then as a result, it's good for society, but we know that that's not the case.

What kind of student he likes to teach:

I generally want that diversity of views. I want like half of the students who are going to be, those who since they were 12, they woke up early to watch CNBC and they're trading their own portfolio, and they're really gung ho by then, and they know the language and all that. And I want the students who are super distrustful of the industry and don't believe that it's a force for good.

Trading with care:

And the way I think about it is that as you think of your professional mandate, and to your point, it's not just giving to clients anything they want, but it's also promoting the kind of products that you would suggest to members of your family. Or members of your tribe, the people that you actually cared about. Right? And so this idea that if you are promoting a product that you would never want your children to buy, for instance, or your mother, or whoever you really cared about, then that's a red flag. 


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]]> Fri, 4 Mar 2022 18:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How can finance professionals balance self-interest, client service, and the greater good? While finance is often portrayed as an occupation that is fraught with self-dealing and unethical behavior, it can also be an arena for promoting good and even a path to a life of virtue. 

JC de Swaan argues for this idea in his latest book “Seeking Virtue in Finance: Contributing to Society in a Conflicted Industry,” de Swaan teaches at Princeton University, and is also a partner at Cornwall Capital. 

How do you prevent the norms of the industry from changing who you are? Greg and JC discuss this idea, as well as Robinhood, ethical career choice, saying no to a client, and teaching Ethics in Finance.

Episode Quotes:

On ethics & finance:

I think my entry point into this topic of ethics and finance is this idea that finance tends to be played as a complex game with its own rules. And as long as you play within well-defined, narrowly defined rules, then it's a force for good. And finance professionals by and large tend to be a little unquestioning, as to the fact that what is good for them is good for their clients and what is good for their clients is good for them. And then as a result, it's good for society, but we know that that's not the case.

What kind of student he likes to teach:

I generally want that diversity of views. I want like half of the students who are going to be, those who since they were 12, they woke up early to watch CNBC and they're trading their own portfolio, and they're really gung ho by then, and they know the language and all that. And I want the students who are super distrustful of the industry and don't believe that it's a force for good.

Trading with care:

And the way I think about it is that as you think of your professional mandate, and to your point, it's not just giving to clients anything they want, but it's also promoting the kind of products that you would suggest to members of your family. Or members of your tribe, the people that you actually cared about. Right? And so this idea that if you are promoting a product that you would never want your children to buy, for instance, or your mother, or whoever you really cared about, then that's a red flag. 


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]]> Seeking Virtue in Finance feat. JC de Swaan Greg La Blanc 00:52:33 How can finance professionals balance self-interest, client service, and the greater good? While finance is often portrayed as an occupation that is fraught with self-dealing and unethical behavior, it can also be an arena for promoting good and even a path to a life of virtue. JC de Swaan argues for this idea in his latest book “Seeking Virtue in Finance: Contributing to Society in a Conflicted Industry,” de Swaan teaches at Princeton University, and is also a partner at Cornwall Capital. How do you prevent the norms of the industry from changing who you are? Greg and JC discuss this idea, as well as Robinhood, ethical career choice, saying no to a client, and teaching Ethics in Finance. How can finance professionals balance self-interest, client service, and the greater good? While finance is often portrayed as an occupation that is fraught with self-dealing and unethical behavior, it can also be an arena for promoting good and even a path to a life of virtue. JC de Swaan argues for this idea in his latest book “Seeking Virtue in Finance: Contributing to Society in a Conflicted Industry,” de Swaan teaches at Princeton University, and is also a partner at Cornwall Capital. How do you prevent the norms of the industry from changing who you are? Greg and JC discuss this idea, as well as Robinhood, ethical career choice, saying no to a client, and teaching Ethics in Finance. false full 108 0d6d27ca-39dd-4507-88ad-e606769e311a Digital Transformation: Past, Present & Future feat. Didier Bonnet 87% of digital transformation initiatives fail to meet expectations. Do we raise expectations too high or is it really a problem of a failure to implement or execute the transformation?

Didier Bonnet joins us today to sort this out. He is a former executive vice president at the consulting firm Capgemini and currently a professor of strategy and digital transformation at IMD Business School. He also co-authored “Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation”  and the more recent “Hacking Digital: Best Practices to Implement and Accelerate Your Business Transformation''.

Didier and Greg discuss what the right questions are to ask your executive team, fashionistas, the role of the Chief Digital Officer, as well as digital governance.

Episode Quotes:

What does the future of this work look like:

We're still organizing in pretty traditional ways. And in fact, I really believe, and we're not there yet but that the next wave of digital transformation will probably be much more about organizational innovation than digital innovation. And the reason I'm saying that is because of course the flow of technology will continue to happen.

Engineers and inventors are doing their job of inventing stuff and they're doing a great job. So we'll see this continuous flow of amazing technology coming. But unless we start adapting our organization, it's going to become very hard to work efficiently.

Why do so many transformations fail to meet expectations:

I think one of the problems there is people, the minute they make the investment in the technology, they think the job's done. And they tend to really underestimate the transformation part. So everybody focuses on the digital rather than on the transformation and, and for anybody who was done, or looked at business transformation in an organization, it's always the people in the organizational side that's the most difficult to crack.

What does digital transformation look like in modern times:

I mean, today, pretty much every executive I meet, you know, within five seconds, you're talking about digital transformation.

And I think as you mentioned earlier, it's got to the point where, you know, is it actually meaningful? Because you have people who provide cloud software services claiming to be doing digital transformation, you have automation companies claiming to do digital transformation. So everyone is doing digital transformation to the point where I think it's lost a little bit of it's meaning to some extent. So I think I'm always arguing for going back to first principles to say, okay what, what do you actually do on Monday morning?


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]]> Wed, 2 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast 87% of digital transformation initiatives fail to meet expectations. Do we raise expectations too high or is it really a problem of a failure to implement or execute the transformation?

Didier Bonnet joins us today to sort this out. He is a former executive vice president at the consulting firm Capgemini and currently a professor of strategy and digital transformation at IMD Business School. He also co-authored “Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation”  and the more recent “Hacking Digital: Best Practices to Implement and Accelerate Your Business Transformation''.

Didier and Greg discuss what the right questions are to ask your executive team, fashionistas, the role of the Chief Digital Officer, as well as digital governance.

Episode Quotes:

What does the future of this work look like:

We're still organizing in pretty traditional ways. And in fact, I really believe, and we're not there yet but that the next wave of digital transformation will probably be much more about organizational innovation than digital innovation. And the reason I'm saying that is because of course the flow of technology will continue to happen.

Engineers and inventors are doing their job of inventing stuff and they're doing a great job. So we'll see this continuous flow of amazing technology coming. But unless we start adapting our organization, it's going to become very hard to work efficiently.

Why do so many transformations fail to meet expectations:

I think one of the problems there is people, the minute they make the investment in the technology, they think the job's done. And they tend to really underestimate the transformation part. So everybody focuses on the digital rather than on the transformation and, and for anybody who was done, or looked at business transformation in an organization, it's always the people in the organizational side that's the most difficult to crack.

What does digital transformation look like in modern times:

I mean, today, pretty much every executive I meet, you know, within five seconds, you're talking about digital transformation.

And I think as you mentioned earlier, it's got to the point where, you know, is it actually meaningful? Because you have people who provide cloud software services claiming to be doing digital transformation, you have automation companies claiming to do digital transformation. So everyone is doing digital transformation to the point where I think it's lost a little bit of it's meaning to some extent. So I think I'm always arguing for going back to first principles to say, okay what, what do you actually do on Monday morning?


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]]> Digital Transformation: Past, Present & Future feat. Didier Bonnet Greg La Blanc 00:58:18 87% of digital transformation initiatives fail to meet expectations. Do we raise expectations too high or is it really a problem of a failure to implement or execute the transformation? Didier Bonnet joins us today to sort this out. He is a former executive vice president at the consulting firm Capgemini and currently a professor of strategy and digital transformation at IMD Business School. He also co-authored “Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation” and the more recent “Hacking Digital: Best Practices to Implement and Accelerate Your Business Transformation''. Didier and Greg discuss what the right questions are to ask your executive team, fashionistas, the role of the Chief Digital Officer, as well as digital governance. 87% of digital transformation initiatives fail to meet expectations. Do we raise expectations too high or is it really a problem of a failure to implement or execute the transformation? Didier Bonnet joins us today to sort this out. He is a former executive vice president at the consulting firm Capgemini and currently a professor of strategy and digital transformation at IMD Business School. He also co-authored “Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation” and the more recent “Hacking Digital: Best Practices to Implement and Accelerate Your Business Transformation''. Didier and Greg discuss what the right questions are to ask your executive team, fashionistas, the role of the Chief Digital Officer, as well as digital governance. false full 107 8cc73492-122c-448a-848d-1521dd1ecb0c Will Every Business Become a Platform Business? feat. Geoff Parker Platforms are eating the world! While not every business is becoming a platform business in the strictest sense, every company needs to re-examine its business model and consider adopting platform elements if they are to survive in the new ecosystem oriented economy.

Geoff Parker is a professor of engineering at Dartmouth College, as well as a visiting scholar and research fellow at MIT. He is also the coauthor of “Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You.”

Greg and Geoff cover thinking of companies as pipelines, the case of McCormick Spices, pitfalls companies make when trying to launch platforms, and governance issues. 

Episode Quotes:

Platform governance issues:

Geoff: So the way that I think about platform governance is, do they have rules essentially to ensure fair treatment of users?

Greg: This is like, it's almost like due process. 

Geoff: Exactly Is there due process and do they have the ability to actually credibly deliver that? So if you have a dispute, is there a resolution mechanism? If they said they're going to charge 10% or whatever, did they or did they charge 50%? If they said they weren't going to basically replicate your technology and, sort of destroying your particular app or business, did they adhere to that in a credible way?

How do you retroactively take something that was built in a more appliance like format converted into a modular system?:

Some things actually just need to do a single thing and do it really well. And then other things can be built in this more modular format. So I think it's being intentional about where you need to be delivering basic electricity and just do it at scale, basic compute, do it at scale. Versus, okay, now I've got to have this mix and match or usability, and that's where I'm going to invest in making that possible.

What are some pitfalls people make when trying to launch platforms:

The ones that I think are really deadly are where they try to capture value before they create it for users. That's a cautionary tale, I think, especially for incumbents who are pipeline firms. Then they analyze, they dream up some total addressable market and they get starry-eyed and get all excited about that.

How do you first brainstorm a platform idea for an existing company:

So, essentially I think the way to think about it is how do I find different sources of value that my users, and the users can be on the supply side or on the demand side, can take advantage of that will make it stickier.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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]]> Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Platforms are eating the world! While not every business is becoming a platform business in the strictest sense, every company needs to re-examine its business model and consider adopting platform elements if they are to survive in the new ecosystem oriented economy.

Geoff Parker is a professor of engineering at Dartmouth College, as well as a visiting scholar and research fellow at MIT. He is also the coauthor of “Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You.”

Greg and Geoff cover thinking of companies as pipelines, the case of McCormick Spices, pitfalls companies make when trying to launch platforms, and governance issues. 

Episode Quotes:

Platform governance issues:

Geoff: So the way that I think about platform governance is, do they have rules essentially to ensure fair treatment of users?

Greg: This is like, it's almost like due process. 

Geoff: Exactly Is there due process and do they have the ability to actually credibly deliver that? So if you have a dispute, is there a resolution mechanism? If they said they're going to charge 10% or whatever, did they or did they charge 50%? If they said they weren't going to basically replicate your technology and, sort of destroying your particular app or business, did they adhere to that in a credible way?

How do you retroactively take something that was built in a more appliance like format converted into a modular system?:

Some things actually just need to do a single thing and do it really well. And then other things can be built in this more modular format. So I think it's being intentional about where you need to be delivering basic electricity and just do it at scale, basic compute, do it at scale. Versus, okay, now I've got to have this mix and match or usability, and that's where I'm going to invest in making that possible.

What are some pitfalls people make when trying to launch platforms:

The ones that I think are really deadly are where they try to capture value before they create it for users. That's a cautionary tale, I think, especially for incumbents who are pipeline firms. Then they analyze, they dream up some total addressable market and they get starry-eyed and get all excited about that.

How do you first brainstorm a platform idea for an existing company:

So, essentially I think the way to think about it is how do I find different sources of value that my users, and the users can be on the supply side or on the demand side, can take advantage of that will make it stickier.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Will Every Business Become a Platform Business? feat. Geoff Parker Greg La Blanc 00:58:45 Platforms are eating the world! While not every business is becoming a platform business in the strictest sense, every company needs to re-examine its business model and consider adopting platform elements if they are to survive in the new ecosystem oriented economy. Geoff Parker is a professor of engineering at Dartmouth College, as well as a visiting scholar and research fellow at MIT. He is also the coauthor of “Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You.” Greg and Geoff cover thinking of companies as pipelines, the case of McCormick Spices, pitfalls companies make when trying to launch platforms, and governance issues. Platforms are eating the world! While not every business is becoming a platform business in the strictest sense, every company needs to re-examine its business model and consider adopting platform elements if they are to survive in the new ecosystem oriented economy. Geoff Parker is a professor of engineering at Dartmouth College, as well as a visiting scholar and research fellow at MIT. He is also the coauthor of “Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You.” Greg and Geoff cover thinking of companies as pipelines, the case of McCormick Spices, pitfalls companies make when trying to launch platforms, and governance issues. false full 106 1968d045-97d7-48d4-b2b3-ef5070ac4deb Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation and Power feat. David Yoffie David Yoffie has been a professor at Harvard Business School for 40 years where he has authored hundreds of cases, and a number of books, the most recent being “The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation and Power.”

He has been writing about technology and digital for a long time, and has served on the boards of numerous companies that are at the heart of this digital explosion over the last couple of decades. 

But it's only recently that we have formulated an understanding of what we now call platforms. So what is it about platforms that make them unique?

Listen as David and Greg discuss network effects and strategy, the distinction between a transaction platform and an innovation platform, and the age old question: can you teach an old dog new tricks? 

Episode Quotes:

How the internet changed platforms:

The internet enabled a much broader range of activity to take place where you could connect two sides of a market together. And it accelerated the opportunities to drive revenue. It accelerated the opportunity to build network effects. And so it led to an explosion of platforms that wouldn't have been possible in the absence of something like the internet.

On Markets: 

The single biggest problem for any platform is which side of the market is the profit making side, and which side is the loss-making side, and how do you make that equation work? And it seems like it should be obvious, but it turns out to be incredibly difficult. 

Intermediating & circumventing apps:

It's a constant problem. Again, what does the platform do? It connects two independent parties. Well, now the question is why do I need the platform in the middle once I've been connected? 

Should platforms be curating?:

If you are a forward-thinking platform today, with significant market presence and market power, you should be curating, you should be making the investment to clean your platform. And if you don't, the consequences are much more likely to be detrimental to the long-term health of your business.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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]]> Fri, 25 Feb 2022 12:26:58 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast David Yoffie has been a professor at Harvard Business School for 40 years where he has authored hundreds of cases, and a number of books, the most recent being “The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation and Power.”

He has been writing about technology and digital for a long time, and has served on the boards of numerous companies that are at the heart of this digital explosion over the last couple of decades. 

But it's only recently that we have formulated an understanding of what we now call platforms. So what is it about platforms that make them unique?

Listen as David and Greg discuss network effects and strategy, the distinction between a transaction platform and an innovation platform, and the age old question: can you teach an old dog new tricks? 

Episode Quotes:

How the internet changed platforms:

The internet enabled a much broader range of activity to take place where you could connect two sides of a market together. And it accelerated the opportunities to drive revenue. It accelerated the opportunity to build network effects. And so it led to an explosion of platforms that wouldn't have been possible in the absence of something like the internet.

On Markets: 

The single biggest problem for any platform is which side of the market is the profit making side, and which side is the loss-making side, and how do you make that equation work? And it seems like it should be obvious, but it turns out to be incredibly difficult. 

Intermediating & circumventing apps:

It's a constant problem. Again, what does the platform do? It connects two independent parties. Well, now the question is why do I need the platform in the middle once I've been connected? 

Should platforms be curating?:

If you are a forward-thinking platform today, with significant market presence and market power, you should be curating, you should be making the investment to clean your platform. And if you don't, the consequences are much more likely to be detrimental to the long-term health of your business.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation and Power feat. David Yoffie Greg La Blanc 00:57:30 David Yoffie has been a professor at Harvard Business School for 40 years where he has authored hundreds of cases, and a number of books, the most recent being “The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation and Power.” He has been writing about technology and digital for a long time, and has served on the boards of numerous companies that are at the heart of this digital explosion over the last couple of decades. But it's only recently that we have formulated an understanding of what we now call platforms. So what is it about platforms that make them unique? Listen as David and Greg discuss network effects and strategy, the distinction between a transaction platform and an innovation platform, and the age old question: can you teach an old dog new tricks? David Yoffie has been a professor at Harvard Business School for 40 years where he has authored hundreds of cases, and a number of books, the most recent being “The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation and Power.” He has been writing about technology and digital for a long time, and has served on the boards of numerous companies that are at the heart of this digital explosion over the last couple of decades. But it's only recently that we have formulated an understanding of what we now call platforms. So what is it about platforms that make them unique? Listen as David and Greg discuss network effects and strategy, the distinction between a transaction platform and an innovation platform, and the age old question: can you teach an old dog new tricks? false full 105 5975c861-aafd-474a-9155-fdb718816f01 Knowledge vs. Know-How feat. César Hidalgo César Hidalgo is the director of the Center for Collective Learning at the University of Toulouse, known for his contributions to economic complexity, data visualization, and applied artificial intelligence. 

His books include “How Humans Judge Machines,” and “Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies.”

César joins Greg to discuss knowledge vs know how, Services vs products, backlash against algorithmic bias and keeping entropy at bay.

Episode Quotes:

Judging humans vs machines:

We find that there is something more, that people use a different moral philosophy to judge humans and to judge machines. We judge humans with a moral philosophy that is based on what the person was trying to do, it's about intention, motivation. And we judge machines with a moral philosophy that is consequentialist. What is the outcome of the scenario? We don't care if the machine was trying to do the right thing, or was trying to rescue the people, or was trying to avoid the accident.

The gist of his work as a physicist:

That's one of the things that I think as a physicist, I help bring maybe through the book to a more general audience which is, people tend to think of information as something that is non physical. But in some way, everything has to have some sort of physical embodiment.

Transferring knowledge:

As our society becomes more of a knowledge society, even the forces of inequality become larger because few people can create things that are so scalable, so productive, that they can be exported to everywhere with very small transportation cost. 

Products vs. services:

Products are not just one thing here or there in the economy. They are actually something that is really key. It's very different from a service because it has that scalable property of being able to endow others with the practical uses of knowledge that otherwise would be trapped in a small team.

​​Thoughts on his career path:

I like to say life is too short to have one career. And it sounds counterintuitive but since life is short, you want to try a lot of things because you get only one life. And in that context, I've loved exploring different things and going deep into different topics at different stages in my life.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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]]> Wed, 23 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast César Hidalgo is the director of the Center for Collective Learning at the University of Toulouse, known for his contributions to economic complexity, data visualization, and applied artificial intelligence. 

His books include “How Humans Judge Machines,” and “Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies.”

César joins Greg to discuss knowledge vs know how, Services vs products, backlash against algorithmic bias and keeping entropy at bay.

Episode Quotes:

Judging humans vs machines:

We find that there is something more, that people use a different moral philosophy to judge humans and to judge machines. We judge humans with a moral philosophy that is based on what the person was trying to do, it's about intention, motivation. And we judge machines with a moral philosophy that is consequentialist. What is the outcome of the scenario? We don't care if the machine was trying to do the right thing, or was trying to rescue the people, or was trying to avoid the accident.

The gist of his work as a physicist:

That's one of the things that I think as a physicist, I help bring maybe through the book to a more general audience which is, people tend to think of information as something that is non physical. But in some way, everything has to have some sort of physical embodiment.

Transferring knowledge:

As our society becomes more of a knowledge society, even the forces of inequality become larger because few people can create things that are so scalable, so productive, that they can be exported to everywhere with very small transportation cost. 

Products vs. services:

Products are not just one thing here or there in the economy. They are actually something that is really key. It's very different from a service because it has that scalable property of being able to endow others with the practical uses of knowledge that otherwise would be trapped in a small team.

​​Thoughts on his career path:

I like to say life is too short to have one career. And it sounds counterintuitive but since life is short, you want to try a lot of things because you get only one life. And in that context, I've loved exploring different things and going deep into different topics at different stages in my life.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Knowledge vs. Know-How feat. César Hidalgo Greg La Blanc 00:57:22 César Hidalgo is the director of the Center for Collective Learning at the University of Toulouse, known for his contributions to economic complexity, data visualization, and applied artificial intelligence. His books include “How Humans Judge Machines,” and “Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies.” César joins Greg to discuss knowledge vs know how, Services vs products, backlash against algorithmic bias and keeping entropy at bay. César Hidalgo is the director of the Center for Collective Learning at the University of Toulouse, known for his contributions to economic complexity, data visualization, and applied artificial intelligence. His books include “How Humans Judge Machines,” and “Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies.” César joins Greg to discuss knowledge vs know how, Services vs products, backlash against algorithmic bias and keeping entropy at bay. false full 104 4339d537-4707-4e47-86e5-52842994c198 Is Drinking Alcohol an Evolutionary Mistake? feat. Edward Slingerland The short answer is no. According to Edward Slingerland our taste for alcohol is a practice found in nearly every culture, meaning that its consumption must offer benefits which outweigh its obvious costs.

Edward Slingerland is a professor of philosophy at The University of British Columbia up in Vancouver, and is also the author of multiple books. His most recent being “Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization.”

So today we are looking at alcohol from a historical perspective: the origins of alcohol production, why humans allocate so many resources to it,and how it helps with the downregulation of certain aspects of human cognition. Many of the themes build on another of Edward’s books, Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity.

Episode Quotes:

What we spend on alcohol:

People report spending 1/3 of what they spend on food on alcohol. That's a pretty big chunk of your income. And it's almost certainly an under-report because in large parts of the world intoxicants are black market. So you don't really get accurate reports of that. 

Using alcohol to relax:

But it occurred to me at one point that alcohol might be a technology that cultures have stumbled upon to get you around the paradox of trying not to try, because what you can do with alcohol is just take a substance that will reach in directly to your brain and turn the PFC down a few notches.

The role of alcohol consumption in commerce:

Edward: And so if it's a relatively simple thing, like I'm contracting you to deliver me some paper clips   

Greg: I'm gonna download an app on my phone. I don't need to have a drink with the company that makes it. 

Edward: Yeah, it probably is okay. But if I'm engaged in a really long-term complex undertaking with you where there's lots of lee- there's always leeway, right? That's what I'm going to get on a plane and fly to Shanghai and get drunk with you before I sign the contract.

Alcohol for camaraderie:

Some companies have replaced the annual office party with heavy drinking with laser tag outings or rock climbing. And it's probable that that's doing some of the same stuff. So with extreme exercise or getting absorbed in some kind of game, you can get some of that same downregulation of the PFC effect. So there are other ways to do it. It's just, alcohol is really efficient and a pleasurable way to do it. 

What if we ban alcohol:

Maybe if we ban alcohol we'll eliminate drunk driving, we'll lower liver damage. We’ll lower our cancer rates, domestic violence will probably go down. There'll be a lot of great benefits. But we'll be losing stuff. We'll be losing creativity. We'll be losing innovation. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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]]> Tue, 22 Feb 2022 05:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The short answer is no. According to Edward Slingerland our taste for alcohol is a practice found in nearly every culture, meaning that its consumption must offer benefits which outweigh its obvious costs.

Edward Slingerland is a professor of philosophy at The University of British Columbia up in Vancouver, and is also the author of multiple books. His most recent being “Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization.”

So today we are looking at alcohol from a historical perspective: the origins of alcohol production, why humans allocate so many resources to it,and how it helps with the downregulation of certain aspects of human cognition. Many of the themes build on another of Edward’s books, Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity.

Episode Quotes:

What we spend on alcohol:

People report spending 1/3 of what they spend on food on alcohol. That's a pretty big chunk of your income. And it's almost certainly an under-report because in large parts of the world intoxicants are black market. So you don't really get accurate reports of that. 

Using alcohol to relax:

But it occurred to me at one point that alcohol might be a technology that cultures have stumbled upon to get you around the paradox of trying not to try, because what you can do with alcohol is just take a substance that will reach in directly to your brain and turn the PFC down a few notches.

The role of alcohol consumption in commerce:

Edward: And so if it's a relatively simple thing, like I'm contracting you to deliver me some paper clips   

Greg: I'm gonna download an app on my phone. I don't need to have a drink with the company that makes it. 

Edward: Yeah, it probably is okay. But if I'm engaged in a really long-term complex undertaking with you where there's lots of lee- there's always leeway, right? That's what I'm going to get on a plane and fly to Shanghai and get drunk with you before I sign the contract.

Alcohol for camaraderie:

Some companies have replaced the annual office party with heavy drinking with laser tag outings or rock climbing. And it's probable that that's doing some of the same stuff. So with extreme exercise or getting absorbed in some kind of game, you can get some of that same downregulation of the PFC effect. So there are other ways to do it. It's just, alcohol is really efficient and a pleasurable way to do it. 

What if we ban alcohol:

Maybe if we ban alcohol we'll eliminate drunk driving, we'll lower liver damage. We’ll lower our cancer rates, domestic violence will probably go down. There'll be a lot of great benefits. But we'll be losing stuff. We'll be losing creativity. We'll be losing innovation. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Is Drinking Alcohol an Evolutionary Mistake? feat. Edward Slingerland Greg La Blanc 01:02:37 The short answer is no. According to Edward Slingerland our taste for alcohol is a practice found in nearly every culture, meaning that its consumption must offer benefits which outweigh its obvious costs. Edward Slingerland is a professor of philosophy at The University of British Columbia up in Vancouver, and is also the author of multiple books. His most recent being “Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization.” So today we are looking at alcohol from a historical perspective: the origins of alcohol production, why humans allocate so many resources to it,and how it helps with the downregulation of certain aspects of human cognition. Many of the themes build on another of Edward’s books, Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity. The short answer is no. According to Edward Slingerland our taste for alcohol is a practice found in nearly every culture, meaning that its consumption must offer benefits which outweigh its obvious costs. Edward Slingerland is a professor of philosophy at The University of British Columbia up in Vancouver, and is also the author of multiple books. His most recent being “Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization.” So today we are looking at alcohol from a historical perspective: the origins of alcohol production, why humans allocate so many resources to it,and how it helps with the downregulation of certain aspects of human cognition. Many of the themes build on another of Edward’s books, Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity. false full 103 fe9a1f79-4dc4-47d5-8efb-03df8f0c6298 It’s Almost Impossible To Undo A Bad Idea feat. John List Why do some great business and policy ideas make it big while others fail to take off? That's the big question behind John List’s most recent book The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale.

John List is an economist at the University of Chicago, as well as chief economist at Lyft. He is also the author of The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life. Having worked for a number of governments & tech companies, he has dipped his toes in a lot of different waters. 

Hear how growing up going to baseball card auctions prepared John for his career as an economist studying, critical thinking and biases, thinking on the margin, and proper experimental design. 

Episode Quotes:

If your studies don't scale or if they are not representative, then you're going to go down wrong path:

The first step is actually generating or obtaining data that can inform your decision-making process. Now that's a great step, but it's also a step that can be very seductive in the sense that you think you're making the right decision. And it can actually be counterproductive to what you're trying to do.

We need more replication in social science studies:

If somebody is actually reading your work and trying to replicate it, you should take that is a compliment and you should be rewarded when people replicate your work. That doesn't happen in the social sciences. We need to think about the reward system on both the demand side and the supply side to replications and make sure that changes.

Thinking on the margin:

While people learn to think on the margin, it's really hard for the human mind to apply that concept to their state of play. Whether it's the white house or the boardroom or wherever, it's not an easy concept to say I'm going to use marginal thinking. And then how does marginal thinking suggest I should think through this problem, that's a part that we tend not to teach.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why do some great business and policy ideas make it big while others fail to take off? That's the big question behind John List’s most recent book The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale.

John List is an economist at the University of Chicago, as well as chief economist at Lyft. He is also the author of The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life. Having worked for a number of governments & tech companies, he has dipped his toes in a lot of different waters. 

Hear how growing up going to baseball card auctions prepared John for his career as an economist studying, critical thinking and biases, thinking on the margin, and proper experimental design. 

Episode Quotes:

If your studies don't scale or if they are not representative, then you're going to go down wrong path:

The first step is actually generating or obtaining data that can inform your decision-making process. Now that's a great step, but it's also a step that can be very seductive in the sense that you think you're making the right decision. And it can actually be counterproductive to what you're trying to do.

We need more replication in social science studies:

If somebody is actually reading your work and trying to replicate it, you should take that is a compliment and you should be rewarded when people replicate your work. That doesn't happen in the social sciences. We need to think about the reward system on both the demand side and the supply side to replications and make sure that changes.

Thinking on the margin:

While people learn to think on the margin, it's really hard for the human mind to apply that concept to their state of play. Whether it's the white house or the boardroom or wherever, it's not an easy concept to say I'm going to use marginal thinking. And then how does marginal thinking suggest I should think through this problem, that's a part that we tend not to teach.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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]]> It’s Almost Impossible To Undo A Bad Idea feat. John List Greg La Blanc 01:06:59 Why do some great business and policy ideas make it big while others fail to take off? That's the big question behind John List’s most recent book The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale. John List is an economist at the University of Chicago, as well as chief economist at Lyft. He is also the author of The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life. Having worked for a number of governments & tech companies, he has dipped his toes in a lot of different waters. Hear how growing up going to baseball card auctions prepared John for his career as an economist studying, critical thinking and biases, thinking on the margin, and proper experimental design. Why do some great business and policy ideas make it big while others fail to take off? That's the big question behind John List’s most recent book The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale. John List is an economist at the University of Chicago, as well as chief economist at Lyft. He is also the author of The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life. Having worked for a number of governments & tech companies, he has dipped his toes in a lot of different waters. Hear how growing up going to baseball card auctions prepared John for his career as an economist studying, critical thinking and biases, thinking on the margin, and proper experimental design. false full 102 0925ac77-6e04-4ae1-9f7b-0d8ca71caf44 Friendship Can Be A Template For All Other Relationships feat. Lydia Denworth When we first started to study the social brain as a species, friendship was considered a luxury, it didn't aid us in survival. But now studies show that friendship is vital to not only your mental health and happiness, but your immune system, your cognitive health and your overall longevity. So today we dig into the science behind friendship, with Lydia Denworth

Lydia Denworth is a contributing editor at Scientific American, and also the author of I Can Hear You Whisper: An Intimate Journey Through the Science of Sound and Language and most recently Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond.

We’ll hear all about loneliness, making friendship a priority, honing the skill of friendship, and quality vs quantity in our relationships. 

Episode Quotes:

What is Friendship: 

I think that this science of friendship that I explored, it does two things. It clarifies the definition of what a friend really is, but it also blurs the lines between the categories you're talking about. Between family relatives and romantic partners and friends. And what I mean by that is that, um, you know, beyond the, the distinction I just gave of the, you know, these legal and biological differences with friendship, it turns out that the friendship, when we think about friendship as a biological and evolutionary relationship, what it really signifies is a high-quality bond between two individuals.

The difference between loneliness and isolation:

It's important to understand the difference between loneliness and social isolation, which was the thing that we pretty much all experienced during the pandemic. One is subjective. So loneliness is the mismatch between the amount of social connection you want and the amount that you have. And isolation, social isolation is more objective. It's an actual count of your social interactions and the number of people in your social circle. And it can be unhealthy for you too. To have a very limited amount of connection. But the way you feel about it, that subjective feeling, is where the real harm seems to come in with your health and wellbeing.

Spouses as friends:

So if we describe our spouse as our best friend or our sibling as a best friend, we're doing it to add something to the description. So it's a category. If I tell you, my husband is a friend. You know he's my husband, that means that we got married and we're connected that way. But when I tell you that he's my best friend, I'm telling you something about the quality of our relationship.

Loneliness is a health issue:

What we've now found is that that same response in the body that we get from loneliness, is a response in different kinds of adversity. So it's not unique to loneliness. What it's telling us is loneliness is right up there with huge trauma and poverty and other things. And that is the thing that nobody really appreciated until recently.

Friendship takes time:

So if you're an adult and you move to a new city and you're trying to make some new friends, you can get frustrated quickly. But you have to recognize that if you count up, say, I need 50 hours before this person is gonna feel like a friend. Then I think you might look at it differently. You might realize you have to just keep going back a bit more.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her work:


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

]]> Wed, 16 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When we first started to study the social brain as a species, friendship was considered a luxury, it didn't aid us in survival. But now studies show that friendship is vital to not only your mental health and happiness, but your immune system, your cognitive health and your overall longevity. So today we dig into the science behind friendship, with Lydia Denworth

Lydia Denworth is a contributing editor at Scientific American, and also the author of I Can Hear You Whisper: An Intimate Journey Through the Science of Sound and Language and most recently Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond.

We’ll hear all about loneliness, making friendship a priority, honing the skill of friendship, and quality vs quantity in our relationships. 

Episode Quotes:

What is Friendship: 

I think that this science of friendship that I explored, it does two things. It clarifies the definition of what a friend really is, but it also blurs the lines between the categories you're talking about. Between family relatives and romantic partners and friends. And what I mean by that is that, um, you know, beyond the, the distinction I just gave of the, you know, these legal and biological differences with friendship, it turns out that the friendship, when we think about friendship as a biological and evolutionary relationship, what it really signifies is a high-quality bond between two individuals.

The difference between loneliness and isolation:

It's important to understand the difference between loneliness and social isolation, which was the thing that we pretty much all experienced during the pandemic. One is subjective. So loneliness is the mismatch between the amount of social connection you want and the amount that you have. And isolation, social isolation is more objective. It's an actual count of your social interactions and the number of people in your social circle. And it can be unhealthy for you too. To have a very limited amount of connection. But the way you feel about it, that subjective feeling, is where the real harm seems to come in with your health and wellbeing.

Spouses as friends:

So if we describe our spouse as our best friend or our sibling as a best friend, we're doing it to add something to the description. So it's a category. If I tell you, my husband is a friend. You know he's my husband, that means that we got married and we're connected that way. But when I tell you that he's my best friend, I'm telling you something about the quality of our relationship.

Loneliness is a health issue:

What we've now found is that that same response in the body that we get from loneliness, is a response in different kinds of adversity. So it's not unique to loneliness. What it's telling us is loneliness is right up there with huge trauma and poverty and other things. And that is the thing that nobody really appreciated until recently.

Friendship takes time:

So if you're an adult and you move to a new city and you're trying to make some new friends, you can get frustrated quickly. But you have to recognize that if you count up, say, I need 50 hours before this person is gonna feel like a friend. Then I think you might look at it differently. You might realize you have to just keep going back a bit more.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her work:


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

]]> Friendship Can Be A Template For All Other Relationships feat. Lydia Denworth Greg La Blanc 00:51:21 When we first started to study the social brain as a species, friendship was considered a luxury, it didn't aid us in survival. But now studies show that friendship is vital to not only your mental health and happiness, but your immune system, your cognitive health and your overall longevity. So today we dig into the science behind friendship, with Lydia Denworth Lydia Denworth is a contributing editor at Scientific American, and also the author of I Can Hear You Whisper: An Intimate Journey Through the Science of Sound and Language and most recently Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond. We’ll hear all about loneliness, making friendship a priority, honing the skill of friendship, and quality vs quantity in our relationships. When we first started to study the social brain as a species, friendship was considered a luxury, it didn't aid us in survival. But now studies show that friendship is vital to not only your mental health and happiness, but your immune system, your cognitive health and your overall longevity. So today we dig into the science behind friendship, with Lydia Denworth Lydia Denworth is a contributing editor at Scientific American, and also the author of I Can Hear You Whisper: An Intimate Journey Through the Science of Sound and Language and most recently Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond. We’ll hear all about loneliness, making friendship a priority, honing the skill of friendship, and quality vs quantity in our relationships. false full 101 9e288062-8cc0-49a0-9d0f-5a677795315b Dark Data: Why What You Don’t Know Matters feat. David Hand We like to think we have everything we need to make decisions based on the numbers we are presented in a data set. But any large data set is bound to have problems. And it's often the data that we are missing that can lead us off course unexpectedly. 

David Hand has written many books, including The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day and the more recent, Dark Data: Why What You Don’t Know Matters. He is also emeritus professor of math at Imperial College.

David and Greg talk today about bias in statistics, interpreting data sets, and whether or not we are just more aware of global events happening than we were in the past, and how that affects stats?

Episode Quotes:

Interpreting data sets:

You need an element of caution, skepticism about the data because let's face it. Any large data set is likely to have some problems, measurement, error problems, duplications and missing values. In time, missing records, it's likely to have some problems. So, a skeptical attitude I think is a healthy attitude.

Observational data:

I think observational data is particularly risky and it has to be said that the data science revolution we are currently living through is in large part driven by big observational administrative data sets. Data sets which arise in the normal practice of everyday life. Running a credit card or a retail operation, for example or a transport company, a hospital or whatever. You're just observing what happens. You're not manipulating or intervening. And in that case, I think the opportunities for distortions are very severe. Now, whether those distortions will impact your conclusions depends on what question you're asking, but there is a great risk.

Misconceptions of big data sets:

People have this belief that big data, massive data sets, billions of data points - no need to worry, the size of the data or wash all the problems away. What I say is that big data has all the problems of small data and extra problems of their own because I think they have more opportunities for glitches to occur and problems to arise.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Fri, 11 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast We like to think we have everything we need to make decisions based on the numbers we are presented in a data set. But any large data set is bound to have problems. And it's often the data that we are missing that can lead us off course unexpectedly. 

David Hand has written many books, including The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day and the more recent, Dark Data: Why What You Don’t Know Matters. He is also emeritus professor of math at Imperial College.

David and Greg talk today about bias in statistics, interpreting data sets, and whether or not we are just more aware of global events happening than we were in the past, and how that affects stats?

Episode Quotes:

Interpreting data sets:

You need an element of caution, skepticism about the data because let's face it. Any large data set is likely to have some problems, measurement, error problems, duplications and missing values. In time, missing records, it's likely to have some problems. So, a skeptical attitude I think is a healthy attitude.

Observational data:

I think observational data is particularly risky and it has to be said that the data science revolution we are currently living through is in large part driven by big observational administrative data sets. Data sets which arise in the normal practice of everyday life. Running a credit card or a retail operation, for example or a transport company, a hospital or whatever. You're just observing what happens. You're not manipulating or intervening. And in that case, I think the opportunities for distortions are very severe. Now, whether those distortions will impact your conclusions depends on what question you're asking, but there is a great risk.

Misconceptions of big data sets:

People have this belief that big data, massive data sets, billions of data points - no need to worry, the size of the data or wash all the problems away. What I say is that big data has all the problems of small data and extra problems of their own because I think they have more opportunities for glitches to occur and problems to arise.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Dark Data: Why What You Don’t Know Matters feat. David Hand Greg La Blanc 00:41:58 We like to think we have everything we need to make decisions based on the numbers we are presented in a data set. But any large data set is bound to have problems. And it's often the data that we are missing that can lead us off course unexpectedly. David Hand has written many books, including The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day and the more recent, Dark Data: Why What You Don’t Know Matters. He is also emeritus professor of math at Imperial College. David and Greg talk today about bias in statistics, interpreting data sets, and whether or not we are just more aware of global events happening than we were in the past, and how that affects stats? We like to think we have everything we need to make decisions based on the numbers we are presented in a data set. But any large data set is bound to have problems. And it's often the data that we are missing that can lead us off course unexpectedly. David Hand has written many books, including The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day and the more recent, Dark Data: Why What You Don’t Know Matters. He is also emeritus professor of math at Imperial College. David and Greg talk today about bias in statistics, interpreting data sets, and whether or not we are just more aware of global events happening than we were in the past, and how that affects stats? false full 100 6800fad1-4ff9-4e3f-a22e-5b3cdd9af678 The Human Brain Is Far From Perfect feat. Dean Buonomano Dean Buonomano is a professor of psychology and neurobiology at UCLA, and the author of Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives, as well as the newer, Your Brain is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time. He says it's impossible to overstate how important associations are for cognition, behavior learning and decisions.

We’ll learn in this episode about memory capacity, creating and breaking those important associations, reward learning, and why we think about the brain as a computer.

Episode Quotes:

Breaking associations:

It's not forgetting. I think maybe, maybe a hundred years ago, it was thought that extinction was a type of forgetting, but it's best seen as a different type of learning and suppressing a previously existing learned response.

Comparing human memory with harddrive data:

When we retrieve information from our computer hard drive, it doesn't alter that. Nor does it store that information that it was retrieved. But in the case of the human brain, every time we retrieve information, we're also sort of rewriting it or reconsolidating it. And again, this makes sense in the sense that every time you see your nephew every six months or every year, you're not only recalling your niece or nephew - his or her face. But you're rewriting it as well. So you're continuously updating it. So the process of writing information down and recalling it is not independent, but interacting in the case of the brain, which is very different in the case of the computer.

Memory and Capacity:

I do take the position that one of the reasons we forget, and one of the reasons that our memories are not perfect is because there is a capacity issue. Now it's extremely hard to quantify. you said some people have a better memory, some people don't and it seems, like, well, how can you reconcile that?


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Wed, 9 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Dean Buonomano is a professor of psychology and neurobiology at UCLA, and the author of Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives, as well as the newer, Your Brain is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time. He says it's impossible to overstate how important associations are for cognition, behavior learning and decisions.

We’ll learn in this episode about memory capacity, creating and breaking those important associations, reward learning, and why we think about the brain as a computer.

Episode Quotes:

Breaking associations:

It's not forgetting. I think maybe, maybe a hundred years ago, it was thought that extinction was a type of forgetting, but it's best seen as a different type of learning and suppressing a previously existing learned response.

Comparing human memory with harddrive data:

When we retrieve information from our computer hard drive, it doesn't alter that. Nor does it store that information that it was retrieved. But in the case of the human brain, every time we retrieve information, we're also sort of rewriting it or reconsolidating it. And again, this makes sense in the sense that every time you see your nephew every six months or every year, you're not only recalling your niece or nephew - his or her face. But you're rewriting it as well. So you're continuously updating it. So the process of writing information down and recalling it is not independent, but interacting in the case of the brain, which is very different in the case of the computer.

Memory and Capacity:

I do take the position that one of the reasons we forget, and one of the reasons that our memories are not perfect is because there is a capacity issue. Now it's extremely hard to quantify. you said some people have a better memory, some people don't and it seems, like, well, how can you reconcile that?


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> The Human Brain Is Far From Perfect feat. Dean Buonomano Greg La Blanc 00:57:12 Dean Buonomano is a professor of psychology and neurobiology at UCLA, and the author of Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives, as well as the newer, Your Brain is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time. He says it's impossible to overstate how important associations are for cognition, behavior learning and decisions. We’ll learn in this episode about memory capacity, creating and breaking those important associations, reward learning, and why we think about the brain as a computer. Dean Buonomano is a professor of psychology and neurobiology at UCLA, and the author of Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives, as well as the newer, Your Brain is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time. He says it's impossible to overstate how important associations are for cognition, behavior learning and decisions. We’ll learn in this episode about memory capacity, creating and breaking those important associations, reward learning, and why we think about the brain as a computer. false full 99 00db3c70-3a15-45da-9e7b-6f872e0be7e4 What Makes Us Unique? feat. David Linden You can have genetically identical siblings. They have the same genome. They lay right next to each other in the womb. They're born, and at the moment they're born, they're already different. Before any experience has accrued at all. Why shouldn't they be just the same?

This question and more are discussed in today’s episode on individuality, variability, heritability and epigenetics. 

Our guest is David Linden. He is a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. He is also at the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute. His most recent book is Unique: The New Science of Human Individuality.

Episode Quotes:

On Variability:

“The other thing that's important to realize is sometimes it's a lot easier to kind of break a process than it is to make a process function to a greater degree.”

On memory:

A lot of our memory has to do with things that we can't recall. Like when you practice a sport and you get better at it. You can recall maybe your tennis lessons, but you don't really recall how to hit the ball better. It is a subconscious experience. Likewise, you may have been traumatized as a child by an aggressive dog. And now as an adult, every time you see a dog, your heart races. And it's not like you necessarily remember the experience as a child, but that reaction, that association, that fear learning is there at a subconscious level. All these things form us as individuals.

On OkCupid traits and preferences:

If you really like to eat lutefisk, that probably came because you grew up liking it because there's just about no other way to like it. It doesn't seem to be genetic related and it doesn't seem to have to do with what taste or smell receptor variants you have. It’s something that's socially encoded in your experience. Likewise, if you were to say, well, I've always been an early bird all my life. Well, that is heavily genetically infected. That's a highly heritable trait and we know a lot about the genes that contribute to people who like to rise earlier or rise late.

On food preference:

Generally speaking, food preference has some heritable things that we can trace mostly to your odorant receptors and a few of them to your taste receptors. But most of it is socially determined. You go to Thailand, it's pretty hard to find someone who doesn't like chili peppers. Whereas, if you're walking around Baltimore, you'll find plenty of people that don't like chili peppers.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Mon, 7 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast You can have genetically identical siblings. They have the same genome. They lay right next to each other in the womb. They're born, and at the moment they're born, they're already different. Before any experience has accrued at all. Why shouldn't they be just the same?

This question and more are discussed in today’s episode on individuality, variability, heritability and epigenetics. 

Our guest is David Linden. He is a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. He is also at the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute. His most recent book is Unique: The New Science of Human Individuality.

Episode Quotes:

On Variability:

“The other thing that's important to realize is sometimes it's a lot easier to kind of break a process than it is to make a process function to a greater degree.”

On memory:

A lot of our memory has to do with things that we can't recall. Like when you practice a sport and you get better at it. You can recall maybe your tennis lessons, but you don't really recall how to hit the ball better. It is a subconscious experience. Likewise, you may have been traumatized as a child by an aggressive dog. And now as an adult, every time you see a dog, your heart races. And it's not like you necessarily remember the experience as a child, but that reaction, that association, that fear learning is there at a subconscious level. All these things form us as individuals.

On OkCupid traits and preferences:

If you really like to eat lutefisk, that probably came because you grew up liking it because there's just about no other way to like it. It doesn't seem to be genetic related and it doesn't seem to have to do with what taste or smell receptor variants you have. It’s something that's socially encoded in your experience. Likewise, if you were to say, well, I've always been an early bird all my life. Well, that is heavily genetically infected. That's a highly heritable trait and we know a lot about the genes that contribute to people who like to rise earlier or rise late.

On food preference:

Generally speaking, food preference has some heritable things that we can trace mostly to your odorant receptors and a few of them to your taste receptors. But most of it is socially determined. You go to Thailand, it's pretty hard to find someone who doesn't like chili peppers. Whereas, if you're walking around Baltimore, you'll find plenty of people that don't like chili peppers.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> What Makes Us Unique? feat. David Linden Greg La Blanc 00:55:19 You can have genetically identical siblings. They have the same genome. They lay right next to each other in the womb. They're born, and at the moment they're born, they're already different. Before any experience has accrued at all. Why shouldn't they be just the same? This question and more are discussed in today’s episode on individuality, variability, heritability and epigenetics. Our guest is David Linden. He is a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. He is also at the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute. His most recent book is Unique: The New Science of Human Individuality. You can have genetically identical siblings. They have the same genome. They lay right next to each other in the womb. They're born, and at the moment they're born, they're already different. Before any experience has accrued at all. Why shouldn't they be just the same? This question and more are discussed in today’s episode on individuality, variability, heritability and epigenetics. Our guest is David Linden. He is a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. He is also at the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute. His most recent book is Unique: The New Science of Human Individuality. false full 98 0113055c-40d3-405b-b2c9-8d5e772e1a82 The Journey Beyond Fear feat. John Hagel Intensifying competition, accelerating change, extreme disruptive events. A combination of these elements are leading to a global shift to living in constant fear and uncertainty. 

But John Hagel says you can cultivate emotions that motivate you to move beyond this fear. John is a leading strategy thinker who has worked at McKinsey, and was most recently at Deloitte where he founded and is now emeritus chair of The Center for the Edge.

In addition to his very generous blog posts, John is also the author of many, many books, including The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion, The Only Sustainable Edge: Why Business Strategy Depends On Productive Friction And Dynamic Specialization and his most recent and most personal book The Journey Beyond Fear: Leverage the Three Pillars of Positivity to Build Your Success.

John joins Greg to discuss the evolution of his insights, fear and uncertainty, personal narratives, and cultivating passionate explorers.

Episode Quotes:

What are some reasons for the “big shift”:

One of the key elements of this big shift is what I described as mounting performance pressure on all of us. As individuals and as institutions. The pressure takes many different forms. Some of it is intensifying competition on a global scale. Competitions intensifying, not just for companies, but for individuals. I mean, more and more people I talk to are worried that their jobs are going to be taken by robots. They're competing with technology, or they're competing with people from lower income countries who could do their job. So there's a lot of intensifying competition. 

What are the damaging effects of this fear?:

One impact of fear is it shrinks our time horizon. If we're really afraid, all we can do is focus on the moment. We can't spend time looking ahead, that's a distraction. If we just shrink our time horizons, we end up in a win/lose view of the world. If it's just about today, the resources are a given.

The only question is who's going to get them, me or you, win/lose. There's no win-win here. And it leads to erosion of trust. Because you may seem like a nice person, but at the end of the day I know only one of us is going to get these resources so I can't afford to trust you. And you become more risk averse.

How can we use personal narratives to grow?:

When you talk to psychologists about personal narratives, what they mean is what's the story of your life? Look back, and how did you get to where you are today? And it stops with today.

My view of personal narratives is that it's about the future, not about the past. When you look ahead, what is really the biggest motivator for you? Is it a threat or an opportunity? And if it's one or the other, what kind of threat or what kind of opportunity? And then step back and reflect is this really what's gonna motivate me to accomplish as much as I could. And so it's looking ahead and articulating, expressing that narrative.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Fri, 4 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Intensifying competition, accelerating change, extreme disruptive events. A combination of these elements are leading to a global shift to living in constant fear and uncertainty. 

But John Hagel says you can cultivate emotions that motivate you to move beyond this fear. John is a leading strategy thinker who has worked at McKinsey, and was most recently at Deloitte where he founded and is now emeritus chair of The Center for the Edge.

In addition to his very generous blog posts, John is also the author of many, many books, including The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion, The Only Sustainable Edge: Why Business Strategy Depends On Productive Friction And Dynamic Specialization and his most recent and most personal book The Journey Beyond Fear: Leverage the Three Pillars of Positivity to Build Your Success.

John joins Greg to discuss the evolution of his insights, fear and uncertainty, personal narratives, and cultivating passionate explorers.

Episode Quotes:

What are some reasons for the “big shift”:

One of the key elements of this big shift is what I described as mounting performance pressure on all of us. As individuals and as institutions. The pressure takes many different forms. Some of it is intensifying competition on a global scale. Competitions intensifying, not just for companies, but for individuals. I mean, more and more people I talk to are worried that their jobs are going to be taken by robots. They're competing with technology, or they're competing with people from lower income countries who could do their job. So there's a lot of intensifying competition. 

What are the damaging effects of this fear?:

One impact of fear is it shrinks our time horizon. If we're really afraid, all we can do is focus on the moment. We can't spend time looking ahead, that's a distraction. If we just shrink our time horizons, we end up in a win/lose view of the world. If it's just about today, the resources are a given.

The only question is who's going to get them, me or you, win/lose. There's no win-win here. And it leads to erosion of trust. Because you may seem like a nice person, but at the end of the day I know only one of us is going to get these resources so I can't afford to trust you. And you become more risk averse.

How can we use personal narratives to grow?:

When you talk to psychologists about personal narratives, what they mean is what's the story of your life? Look back, and how did you get to where you are today? And it stops with today.

My view of personal narratives is that it's about the future, not about the past. When you look ahead, what is really the biggest motivator for you? Is it a threat or an opportunity? And if it's one or the other, what kind of threat or what kind of opportunity? And then step back and reflect is this really what's gonna motivate me to accomplish as much as I could. And so it's looking ahead and articulating, expressing that narrative.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> The Journey Beyond Fear feat. John Hagel Greg La Blanc 00:54:48 Intensifying competition, accelerating change, extreme disruptive events. A combination of these elements are leading to a global shift to living in constant fear and uncertainty. But John Hagel says you can cultivate emotions that motivate you to move beyond this fear. John is a leading strategy thinker who has worked at McKinsey, and was most recently at Deloitte where he founded and is now emeritus chair of The Center for the Edge. In addition to his very generous blog posts, John is also the author of many, many books, including The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion, The Only Sustainable Edge: Why Business Strategy Depends On Productive Friction And Dynamic Specialization and his most recent and most personal book The Journey Beyond Fear: Leverage the Three Pillars of Positivity to Build Your Success. John joins Greg to discuss the evolution of his insights, fear and uncertainty, personal narratives, and cultivating passionate explorers. Intensifying competition, accelerating change, extreme disruptive events. A combination of these elements are leading to a global shift to living in constant fear and uncertainty. But John Hagel says you can cultivate emotions that motivate you to move beyond this fear. John is a leading strategy thinker who has worked at McKinsey, and was most recently at Deloitte where he founded and is now emeritus chair of The Center for the Edge. In addition to his very generous blog posts, John is also the author of many, many books, including The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion, The Only Sustainable Edge: Why Business Strategy Depends On Productive Friction And Dynamic Specialization and his most recent and most personal book The Journey Beyond Fear: Leverage the Three Pillars of Positivity to Build Your Success. John joins Greg to discuss the evolution of his insights, fear and uncertainty, personal narratives, and cultivating passionate explorers. false full 97 a07da306-3293-4497-af6f-aae23da4e837 Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong feat. Andrew Shtulman Humans are born to create theories about the world -- unfortunately, we're often wrong and our intuitive theories keep us from understanding science and the world as it really is.

Andrew Shtulman is a cognitive developmental psychologist who studies conceptual development and conceptual change, particularly as they relate to science education, and does this work at Occidental College, where he is currently a professor of psychology.

He has also written a book, Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong

Andrew joins Greg in this episode to talk about conceptual development, intuitive theories, anti science folks, and the subconscious act of suppression.

Episode Quotes:

Perceptual inputs as a learning tool:

The only way that you can really wrap your mind around a parabolic path is to let go of impetus. It's a fiction, it doesn't exist, that the way an object falls is a function of its velocity in combination with gravity. And that's it. There's no force acting on the object other than gravity. There has to be some additional intellectual work that goes on, in addition to these kinds of firsthand experiences, to make the firsthand experiences meaningful.

Should educators be trying to sidestep these intuitive beliefs, or create a bridge from these intuitive beliefs to the scientific understanding?:

The problem is just that you can't have an orthodoxy about the matter where you say science is all intuitive. We just have to show how it's intuitive. Or vice versa, science is all counter-intuitive. We have to break students of their pre instructional ideas and teach them a whole new set of ideas. The mapping is piecemeal and you have to figure it out as a scientist doing experiments, which mappings work and which mappings don't work.

Why city kids are at a disadvantage compared to rural kids:

The human species is moving towards the cities and away from rural areas. And that means contact with nature is going to be rarer. And that kind of contact has educational benefits. It enriches our folk theories of biology or provides a database upon which our theories can be built. That's going to be absent if your only experience with nature is through a television screen or at the zoo.


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]]> Wed, 2 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Humans are born to create theories about the world -- unfortunately, we're often wrong and our intuitive theories keep us from understanding science and the world as it really is.

Andrew Shtulman is a cognitive developmental psychologist who studies conceptual development and conceptual change, particularly as they relate to science education, and does this work at Occidental College, where he is currently a professor of psychology.

He has also written a book, Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong

Andrew joins Greg in this episode to talk about conceptual development, intuitive theories, anti science folks, and the subconscious act of suppression.

Episode Quotes:

Perceptual inputs as a learning tool:

The only way that you can really wrap your mind around a parabolic path is to let go of impetus. It's a fiction, it doesn't exist, that the way an object falls is a function of its velocity in combination with gravity. And that's it. There's no force acting on the object other than gravity. There has to be some additional intellectual work that goes on, in addition to these kinds of firsthand experiences, to make the firsthand experiences meaningful.

Should educators be trying to sidestep these intuitive beliefs, or create a bridge from these intuitive beliefs to the scientific understanding?:

The problem is just that you can't have an orthodoxy about the matter where you say science is all intuitive. We just have to show how it's intuitive. Or vice versa, science is all counter-intuitive. We have to break students of their pre instructional ideas and teach them a whole new set of ideas. The mapping is piecemeal and you have to figure it out as a scientist doing experiments, which mappings work and which mappings don't work.

Why city kids are at a disadvantage compared to rural kids:

The human species is moving towards the cities and away from rural areas. And that means contact with nature is going to be rarer. And that kind of contact has educational benefits. It enriches our folk theories of biology or provides a database upon which our theories can be built. That's going to be absent if your only experience with nature is through a television screen or at the zoo.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong feat. Andrew Shtulman Greg La Blanc 00:48:57 Humans are born to create theories about the world -- unfortunately, we're often wrong and our intuitive theories keep us from understanding science and the world as it really is. Andrew Shtulman is a cognitive developmental psychologist who studies conceptual development and conceptual change, particularly as they relate to science education, and does this work at Occidental College, where he is currently a professor of psychology. He has also written a book, Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong Andrew joins Greg in this episode to talk about conceptual development, intuitive theories, anti science folks, and the subconscious act of suppression. Humans are born to create theories about the world -- unfortunately, we're often wrong and our intuitive theories keep us from understanding science and the world as it really is. Andrew Shtulman is a cognitive developmental psychologist who studies conceptual development and conceptual change, particularly as they relate to science education, and does this work at Occidental College, where he is currently a professor of psychology. He has also written a book, Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong Andrew joins Greg in this episode to talk about conceptual development, intuitive theories, anti science folks, and the subconscious act of suppression. false full 96 65e3d9e9-2ff4-473e-89c3-08e8966467d5 Ownership: What It Is, and What It Isn't feat. Michael Heller When it comes to ownership, the same few simple stories are used from the playground to the courtroom. And the problem lies here, that we still have this very old, physical notion of ownership that no longer works in a digital world.

Michael Heller is a professor of law at Columbia University and co-author of the classic The Gridlock Economy, and the more recent Mine! How The Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives. 

In this episode we’ll dig into the merits of copyright and property law, why law is extremely overrated as a mechanism for resolving ownership disputes, what that “buy now” purchase button really means, and what we lose when we don't own physical things. 

Episode Quotes:

How social norms play a role in our thoughts on ownership:

So for example, say you're in a grocery store and you have a shopping cart full of groceries. If someone were to lean over and say oh, look, you got some eggs. Those are great. Take the eggs, lean in again, there's some milk, take the milk out. You would be furious with them.

There'd be a fight. You would say, how is that possible? Those are mine. But if you stop for a second and think it's like, actually they're not yours. You don't own the groceries in your shopping cart. But people don't lean in and take them out of each other's carts because of the power of this norm or custom of possession.

That possession it's very deeply rooted. It goes back to our animal and territorial instincts. It's something that kids become masters at from a very young age. It's a language that we all speak as grownups. And it's a language that basically gets us through the day.

Why moving towards fewer property rights is better:

The goal, from my point of view, is always: What is the absolute minimum we can give to get some level of innovation that we're looking for. And it turns out that the answer is much less legal protection than lawyers in particular and innovators lobby for. So innovators, the fashion industry for example, or, the Apples, the Amazons, the music industry, they're always lobbying for more properties. But I think that's mostly social welfare reducing, not increasing. And I think we have too much copyright in this country and too many patents in this country.

Ownership & body parts:

This is a really fraught area for ownership because it traces back in this country so directly to slavery, to the ownership of African American bodies and then the sort of end of that horror. And the question now is, now that we have new medical technologies that make the ownership of pieces of our bodies possible, do we say no you shouldn't be able for example, to sell your kidney or your eggs or rent out your womb if you're a woman to gestate somebody else's child. Do we say no to that? 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Mon, 31 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When it comes to ownership, the same few simple stories are used from the playground to the courtroom. And the problem lies here, that we still have this very old, physical notion of ownership that no longer works in a digital world.

Michael Heller is a professor of law at Columbia University and co-author of the classic The Gridlock Economy, and the more recent Mine! How The Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives. 

In this episode we’ll dig into the merits of copyright and property law, why law is extremely overrated as a mechanism for resolving ownership disputes, what that “buy now” purchase button really means, and what we lose when we don't own physical things. 

Episode Quotes:

How social norms play a role in our thoughts on ownership:

So for example, say you're in a grocery store and you have a shopping cart full of groceries. If someone were to lean over and say oh, look, you got some eggs. Those are great. Take the eggs, lean in again, there's some milk, take the milk out. You would be furious with them.

There'd be a fight. You would say, how is that possible? Those are mine. But if you stop for a second and think it's like, actually they're not yours. You don't own the groceries in your shopping cart. But people don't lean in and take them out of each other's carts because of the power of this norm or custom of possession.

That possession it's very deeply rooted. It goes back to our animal and territorial instincts. It's something that kids become masters at from a very young age. It's a language that we all speak as grownups. And it's a language that basically gets us through the day.

Why moving towards fewer property rights is better:

The goal, from my point of view, is always: What is the absolute minimum we can give to get some level of innovation that we're looking for. And it turns out that the answer is much less legal protection than lawyers in particular and innovators lobby for. So innovators, the fashion industry for example, or, the Apples, the Amazons, the music industry, they're always lobbying for more properties. But I think that's mostly social welfare reducing, not increasing. And I think we have too much copyright in this country and too many patents in this country.

Ownership & body parts:

This is a really fraught area for ownership because it traces back in this country so directly to slavery, to the ownership of African American bodies and then the sort of end of that horror. And the question now is, now that we have new medical technologies that make the ownership of pieces of our bodies possible, do we say no you shouldn't be able for example, to sell your kidney or your eggs or rent out your womb if you're a woman to gestate somebody else's child. Do we say no to that? 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Ownership: What It Is, and What It Isn't feat. Michael Heller Greg La Blanc 00:56:09 When it comes to ownership, the same few simple stories are used from the playground to the courtroom. And the problem lies here, that we still have this very old, physical notion of ownership that no longer works in a digital world. Michael Heller is a professor of law at Columbia University and co-author of the classic The Gridlock Economy, and the more recent Mine! How The Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives. In this episode we’ll dig into the merits of copyright and property law, why law is extremely overrated as a mechanism for resolving ownership disputes, what that “buy now” purchase button really means, and what we lose when we don't own physical things. When it comes to ownership, the same few simple stories are used from the playground to the courtroom. And the problem lies here, that we still have this very old, physical notion of ownership that no longer works in a digital world. Michael Heller is a professor of law at Columbia University and co-author of the classic The Gridlock Economy, and the more recent Mine! How The Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives. In this episode we’ll dig into the merits of copyright and property law, why law is extremely overrated as a mechanism for resolving ownership disputes, what that “buy now” purchase button really means, and what we lose when we don't own physical things. false full 95 40b956d0-0749-448f-8040-3dfde6c74b77 You’re Probably Not Heading Back To The Office feat. David Burkus As we head into year 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic, most knowledge workers are still working from home. You may be listening to this from your home office or kitchen table desk. 

But before working from home became semi mandatory for health and safety reasons, many companies were very resistant to the idea of distributed and remote work. 

David Burkus is an associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University and an author. His many books include Friend of a Friend: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career, Pick A Fight: How Great Teams Find A Purpose Worth Rallying Around, and the very timely Leading From Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams.

In this opportune episode, Greg & David discuss how productivity changes while working from home, the science behind meetings, building boundaries in your new work schedule and creating a shared sense of purpose within teams, even when they are not in person.

Episode Quotes:

Measuring productivity in knowledge work:

It is really hard to measure performance in knowledge work, especially day to day. It's really hard to know all of those people sitting at their desks, on the computer, are they being productive or not? And in the absence of that, a lot of managers, the lazier ones if we're being honest, will just flip and say, okay, well, when did they come in? When did they leave this? This person's gotta be productive because they're always staying late to get extra work done.

On remote leadership:

Hopefully now we've realized that presence doesn't equal productivity. There's better work to be done to measure and track that. But I really feel like there's a lot of people that even 14 months into this really just feel like it's still the truth and can't wait to get back. And I feel sorry for those people, because a lot of their most talented people do not agree with them. 

The question I'm asked most often over the last year is when are we going back to the office? And the answer I give them is, we're not. At least not all of us and not all of the time. And so you better get ready to lead in that context. 

Creating a rule book for communication:

Start with a working agreement, social contract. When I'm feeling particularly feisty, I sometimes refer to it as the declaration of interdependence for your team. We have to work together, so we're going to have to find a way to work together, right? And breaking down what is asynchronous versus synchronous communication is a part of that, but it's broader. It's all of those little unanswered questions. Where a lot of friction and where a lot of conflict on a team happens is when somebody assumes a norm that isn't actually what other people assume. It's when somebody sends an email and no one responds in the first 12 hours, and then they get angry when everybody else is going “well, I have a day. Like you sent me it via email, therefore I have 24 to 48 hours to respond”. Right? Those are things we actually need to flesh out. So what I encourage a lot of team leaders to do is make that list of questions about stuff we haven't resolved.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Fri, 28 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As we head into year 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic, most knowledge workers are still working from home. You may be listening to this from your home office or kitchen table desk. 

But before working from home became semi mandatory for health and safety reasons, many companies were very resistant to the idea of distributed and remote work. 

David Burkus is an associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University and an author. His many books include Friend of a Friend: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career, Pick A Fight: How Great Teams Find A Purpose Worth Rallying Around, and the very timely Leading From Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams.

In this opportune episode, Greg & David discuss how productivity changes while working from home, the science behind meetings, building boundaries in your new work schedule and creating a shared sense of purpose within teams, even when they are not in person.

Episode Quotes:

Measuring productivity in knowledge work:

It is really hard to measure performance in knowledge work, especially day to day. It's really hard to know all of those people sitting at their desks, on the computer, are they being productive or not? And in the absence of that, a lot of managers, the lazier ones if we're being honest, will just flip and say, okay, well, when did they come in? When did they leave this? This person's gotta be productive because they're always staying late to get extra work done.

On remote leadership:

Hopefully now we've realized that presence doesn't equal productivity. There's better work to be done to measure and track that. But I really feel like there's a lot of people that even 14 months into this really just feel like it's still the truth and can't wait to get back. And I feel sorry for those people, because a lot of their most talented people do not agree with them. 

The question I'm asked most often over the last year is when are we going back to the office? And the answer I give them is, we're not. At least not all of us and not all of the time. And so you better get ready to lead in that context. 

Creating a rule book for communication:

Start with a working agreement, social contract. When I'm feeling particularly feisty, I sometimes refer to it as the declaration of interdependence for your team. We have to work together, so we're going to have to find a way to work together, right? And breaking down what is asynchronous versus synchronous communication is a part of that, but it's broader. It's all of those little unanswered questions. Where a lot of friction and where a lot of conflict on a team happens is when somebody assumes a norm that isn't actually what other people assume. It's when somebody sends an email and no one responds in the first 12 hours, and then they get angry when everybody else is going “well, I have a day. Like you sent me it via email, therefore I have 24 to 48 hours to respond”. Right? Those are things we actually need to flesh out. So what I encourage a lot of team leaders to do is make that list of questions about stuff we haven't resolved.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> You’re Probably Not Heading Back To The Office feat. David Burkus Greg La Blanc 01:01:20 As we head into year 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic, most knowledge workers are still working from home. You may be listening to this from your home office or kitchen table desk. But before working from home became semi mandatory for health and safety reasons, many companies were very resistant to the idea of distributed and remote work. David Burkus is an associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University and an author. His many books include Friend of a Friend: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career, Pick A Fight: How Great Teams Find A Purpose Worth Rallying Around, and the very timely Leading From Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams. In this opportune episode, Greg & David discuss how productivity changes while working from home, the science behind meetings, building boundaries in your new work schedule and creating a shared sense of purpose within teams, even when they are not in person. As we head into year 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic, most knowledge workers are still working from home. You may be listening to this from your home office or kitchen table desk. But before working from home became semi mandatory for health and safety reasons, many companies were very resistant to the idea of distributed and remote work. David Burkus is an associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University and an author. His many books include Friend of a Friend: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career, Pick A Fight: How Great Teams Find A Purpose Worth Rallying Around, and the very timely Leading From Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams. In this opportune episode, Greg & David discuss how productivity changes while working from home, the science behind meetings, building boundaries in your new work schedule and creating a shared sense of purpose within teams, even when they are not in person. false full 94 16f471fa-243d-4967-86ad-e680e6c0c995 Stress Begins Earlier Than You May Think feat. Daniel Keating There is no doubt that we are in a stress epidemic in our fast paced and modern world. But Daniel Keating says this may seem pretty paltry in comparison to what's coming. He predicts a full stress pandemic on the horizon, where everything needs immediate fixing or else it's perceived as an existential threat.

Daniel Keating is a Professor at the University of Michigan in the departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Pediatrics. And he wrote a couple of books, the most recent being Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact Of Early Life Adversity And How To Break The Cycle.

In that book, Daniel looks into early childhood and prenatal experience and how experiences here shape our stress response as adults. We hear more about that groundbreaking research in this episode, as well as the importance of resiliency, the precariousness of the modern workplace, and possible policy interventions to reduce stress in early childhood and pregnancy.

Episode Quotes:

What accounts for our current stress epidemic: 

I think what we need to recognize is that people can feel stress not just about material insufficiency or the fear of it. Precarity is the new term, that their circumstances are precarious enough that they might experience material insufficiency at any time. And so there's that, but then there's also the whole status component to it. Where do you stand within your group, amongst other people? And those are psychologically very real threats. So if you feel like you're sliding down the social ladder and that you could wind up on the dreaded “welfare” word, or that you could lose your home and your family would be homeless. Those may not be immediate material insufficiency things, but they're certainly status threat kinds of things to our psychology, our identity.

High SES parents are desperate for kids to maintain social status:

That also puts a huge amount of pressure on those kids. You have got to succeed, right? You absolutely have to succeed. If you don't succeed, it gets to the point where it feels, although it almost surely in reality is not, it feels like an existential threat. You're going to lose your status. Our status. So we need you to do everything. If you don't get into one of the ivys or the big 20 top rated schools or whatever, all is lost. Despite the fact that there's no evidence to support that.

The future of stress:

At some point, if you ramp the stressors up enough, nobody's going to have the capacity to withstand it. I don't care how much supposed grit you've got, it's going to overwhelm you. And the more you increase the vulnerability. The less the stressors have to be to overwhelm you. When you're increasing both, which I think we are, I think the vulnerabilities increasing partly because of this kind of whole epigenetic shift that's going on. 

And, at the same time, we're very rapidly ramping up the stressors out of the societal structure and societal practices. And I think that's just such a really bad mix.  


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Wed, 26 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There is no doubt that we are in a stress epidemic in our fast paced and modern world. But Daniel Keating says this may seem pretty paltry in comparison to what's coming. He predicts a full stress pandemic on the horizon, where everything needs immediate fixing or else it's perceived as an existential threat.

Daniel Keating is a Professor at the University of Michigan in the departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Pediatrics. And he wrote a couple of books, the most recent being Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact Of Early Life Adversity And How To Break The Cycle.

In that book, Daniel looks into early childhood and prenatal experience and how experiences here shape our stress response as adults. We hear more about that groundbreaking research in this episode, as well as the importance of resiliency, the precariousness of the modern workplace, and possible policy interventions to reduce stress in early childhood and pregnancy.

Episode Quotes:

What accounts for our current stress epidemic: 

I think what we need to recognize is that people can feel stress not just about material insufficiency or the fear of it. Precarity is the new term, that their circumstances are precarious enough that they might experience material insufficiency at any time. And so there's that, but then there's also the whole status component to it. Where do you stand within your group, amongst other people? And those are psychologically very real threats. So if you feel like you're sliding down the social ladder and that you could wind up on the dreaded “welfare” word, or that you could lose your home and your family would be homeless. Those may not be immediate material insufficiency things, but they're certainly status threat kinds of things to our psychology, our identity.

High SES parents are desperate for kids to maintain social status:

That also puts a huge amount of pressure on those kids. You have got to succeed, right? You absolutely have to succeed. If you don't succeed, it gets to the point where it feels, although it almost surely in reality is not, it feels like an existential threat. You're going to lose your status. Our status. So we need you to do everything. If you don't get into one of the ivys or the big 20 top rated schools or whatever, all is lost. Despite the fact that there's no evidence to support that.

The future of stress:

At some point, if you ramp the stressors up enough, nobody's going to have the capacity to withstand it. I don't care how much supposed grit you've got, it's going to overwhelm you. And the more you increase the vulnerability. The less the stressors have to be to overwhelm you. When you're increasing both, which I think we are, I think the vulnerabilities increasing partly because of this kind of whole epigenetic shift that's going on. 

And, at the same time, we're very rapidly ramping up the stressors out of the societal structure and societal practices. And I think that's just such a really bad mix.  


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Stress Begins Earlier Than You May Think feat. Daniel Keating Greg La Blanc 01:11:29 There is no doubt that we are in a stress epidemic in our fast paced and modern world. But Daniel Keating says this may seem pretty paltry in comparison to what's coming. He predicts a full stress pandemic on the horizon, where everything needs immediate fixing or else it's perceived as an existential threat. Daniel Keating is a Professor at the University of Michigan in the departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Pediatrics. And he wrote a couple of books, the most recent being Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact Of Early Life Adversity And How To Break The Cycle. In that book, Daniel looks into early childhood and prenatal experience and how experiences here shape our stress response as adults. We hear more about that groundbreaking research in this episode, as well as the importance of resiliency, the precariousness of the modern workplace, and possible policy interventions to reduce stress in early childhood and pregnancy. There is no doubt that we are in a stress epidemic in our fast paced and modern world. But Daniel Keating says this may seem pretty paltry in comparison to what's coming. He predicts a full stress pandemic on the horizon, where everything needs immediate fixing or else it's perceived as an existential threat. Daniel Keating is a Professor at the University of Michigan in the departments of Psychology, Psychiatry and Pediatrics. And he wrote a couple of books, the most recent being Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact Of Early Life Adversity And How To Break The Cycle. In that book, Daniel looks into early childhood and prenatal experience and how experiences here shape our stress response as adults. We hear more about that groundbreaking research in this episode, as well as the importance of resiliency, the precariousness of the modern workplace, and possible policy interventions to reduce stress in early childhood and pregnancy. false full 93 28c1a194-d162-4919-817d-b7f0712791ff The Price We Pay For Pleasure feat. Anna Lembke Anna Lembke says we are becoming a nation of addicts. She makes that pretty clear in her books with titles like Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance In The Age Of Indulgence and Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, And Why It's So Hard To Stop.

Her argument is in a world where we’re constantly chasing pleasure, it's not just that we're using up our dopamine and then we go back to baseline. It's that there's a price to pay for every pleasure. 

Anna Lembke is a Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, and joins Greg today to talk about what being an addict in our modern, digital world really means; touching on America is a nation of pain, opioids, identity in illness narratives, and the balance of pain, pleasure and homeostasis.

Episode Quotes:

A bit on Dopamine Nation:

Almost everything has become drugified. It's not just that medications are incredibly potent. it's that everything's become more potent or novel, more accessible. Large to even infinite quantities. So it's not just that we're all vulnerable to addiction because of pharmaceuticals, we're vulnerable to addiction because investing money has become gamified and addictive. Playing games has become addictive. Reading - the combination of the formula of storytelling, plus the technology of e-readers has made reading potentially a drug. So the point really is that we're surrounded by feel good drugs and behaviors. 

The pursuit of pleasure can destroy our capacity for it:

Dopamine is like money in the bank. And if you spend all that money, and then you want to keep going, you have to borrow money. And then you go into debt and that's that dopamine deficit state. And you can only do that for so long before people won't lend you money anymore. And then you're really in trouble. So it's this idea that, it's not just that we're using up the dopamine and then we go back to baseline. It's that there's a price to pay for every pleasure. 

How can we minimize the likelihood of addiction?:

I think we have to go out into the world today with an appreciation that almost everything has been engineered to be addictive. And to have us consume more of it than is actually healthy for us. Desire is healthy. So this is not to say that we should never use intoxicants or that we should never play video games or never use pornography, but we need to go into those endeavors with a full on awareness that they are inherently addictive, that they were made to be that way. And that really anybody is vulnerable. 


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Guest Profile:


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]]> Mon, 24 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Anna Lembke says we are becoming a nation of addicts. She makes that pretty clear in her books with titles like Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance In The Age Of Indulgence and Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, And Why It's So Hard To Stop.

Her argument is in a world where we’re constantly chasing pleasure, it's not just that we're using up our dopamine and then we go back to baseline. It's that there's a price to pay for every pleasure. 

Anna Lembke is a Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, and joins Greg today to talk about what being an addict in our modern, digital world really means; touching on America is a nation of pain, opioids, identity in illness narratives, and the balance of pain, pleasure and homeostasis.

Episode Quotes:

A bit on Dopamine Nation:

Almost everything has become drugified. It's not just that medications are incredibly potent. it's that everything's become more potent or novel, more accessible. Large to even infinite quantities. So it's not just that we're all vulnerable to addiction because of pharmaceuticals, we're vulnerable to addiction because investing money has become gamified and addictive. Playing games has become addictive. Reading - the combination of the formula of storytelling, plus the technology of e-readers has made reading potentially a drug. So the point really is that we're surrounded by feel good drugs and behaviors. 

The pursuit of pleasure can destroy our capacity for it:

Dopamine is like money in the bank. And if you spend all that money, and then you want to keep going, you have to borrow money. And then you go into debt and that's that dopamine deficit state. And you can only do that for so long before people won't lend you money anymore. And then you're really in trouble. So it's this idea that, it's not just that we're using up the dopamine and then we go back to baseline. It's that there's a price to pay for every pleasure. 

How can we minimize the likelihood of addiction?:

I think we have to go out into the world today with an appreciation that almost everything has been engineered to be addictive. And to have us consume more of it than is actually healthy for us. Desire is healthy. So this is not to say that we should never use intoxicants or that we should never play video games or never use pornography, but we need to go into those endeavors with a full on awareness that they are inherently addictive, that they were made to be that way. And that really anybody is vulnerable. 


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]]> The Price We Pay For Pleasure feat. Anna Lembke Greg La Blanc 00:59:05 Anna Lembke says we are becoming a nation of addicts. She makes that pretty clear in her books with titles like Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance In The Age Of Indulgence and Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, And Why It's So Hard To Stop. Her argument is in a world where we’re constantly chasing pleasure, it's not just that we're using up our dopamine and then we go back to baseline. It's that there's a price to pay for every pleasure. Anna Lembke is a Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, and joins Greg today to talk about what being an addict in our modern, digital world really means; touching on America is a nation of pain, opioids, identity in illness narratives, and the balance of pain, pleasure and homeostasis. Anna Lembke says we are becoming a nation of addicts. She makes that pretty clear in her books with titles like Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance In The Age Of Indulgence and Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, And Why It's So Hard To Stop. Her argument is in a world where we’re constantly chasing pleasure, it's not just that we're using up our dopamine and then we go back to baseline. It's that there's a price to pay for every pleasure. Anna Lembke is a Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, and joins Greg today to talk about what being an addict in our modern, digital world really means; touching on America is a nation of pain, opioids, identity in illness narratives, and the balance of pain, pleasure and homeostasis. false full 92 f170e98b-2e70-49e8-b6e1-dbde2bd9613c Where Humans Fit in a Robotic Future feat. Frank Pasquale The robots will steal our jobs. That's how many people see the future of labor in the United States. But what do we stand to lose when humans aren’t doing the work they've done for decades?

Frank Pasquale is a Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. And also the author of New Laws Of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise In The Age Of A.I. and The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money And Information.

We often overestimate what AI can do, even as it gains ground all around us. Listen as Greg and Frank discuss how AI should complement human labor, not replace it, augmented vs artificial intelligence and the delicate balance algorithms and individual discretion.

Episode Quotes:

Possible problems with algorithms becoming the norm over human insight:

My worry is that the cost cutting pressure in many of these areas is so high that we're going to see this pressure to repeatedly get rid of the professional, or make people jump through a hundred hoops that are automated, like a phone tree before they get to the professional. So the game becomes, how do I present my symptoms so I can finally get it to a doctor? I'm very worried about that sort of future.

How do we police the algorithms for flaws:

Ideally it's in the owners of these systems interest to invite criticism and to invite feedback and to get people involved in improving them. And in a way that could be a good business strategy. If you get more people invested in improving what you're doing, then you have this sort of group that becomes a community that can also enjoy being committed to investing in some way in one's own services.

Where automation is happening now:

Okay everyone who's really thinking about AI - they're looking for the self-driving car, they're looking for The Jetsons sort of scenario. And it's like, don't look there. Look to high-frequency trading and finance. And look to your newsfeed. Right? Cause that's where you've got total automation.


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]]> Fri, 21 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The robots will steal our jobs. That's how many people see the future of labor in the United States. But what do we stand to lose when humans aren’t doing the work they've done for decades?

Frank Pasquale is a Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. And also the author of New Laws Of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise In The Age Of A.I. and The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money And Information.

We often overestimate what AI can do, even as it gains ground all around us. Listen as Greg and Frank discuss how AI should complement human labor, not replace it, augmented vs artificial intelligence and the delicate balance algorithms and individual discretion.

Episode Quotes:

Possible problems with algorithms becoming the norm over human insight:

My worry is that the cost cutting pressure in many of these areas is so high that we're going to see this pressure to repeatedly get rid of the professional, or make people jump through a hundred hoops that are automated, like a phone tree before they get to the professional. So the game becomes, how do I present my symptoms so I can finally get it to a doctor? I'm very worried about that sort of future.

How do we police the algorithms for flaws:

Ideally it's in the owners of these systems interest to invite criticism and to invite feedback and to get people involved in improving them. And in a way that could be a good business strategy. If you get more people invested in improving what you're doing, then you have this sort of group that becomes a community that can also enjoy being committed to investing in some way in one's own services.

Where automation is happening now:

Okay everyone who's really thinking about AI - they're looking for the self-driving car, they're looking for The Jetsons sort of scenario. And it's like, don't look there. Look to high-frequency trading and finance. And look to your newsfeed. Right? Cause that's where you've got total automation.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Where Humans Fit in a Robotic Future feat. Frank Pasquale Greg La Blanc 00:48:29 The robots will steal our jobs. That's how many people see the future of labor in the United States. But what do we stand to lose when humans aren’t doing the work they've done for decades? Frank Pasquale is a Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. And also the author of New Laws Of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise In The Age Of A.I. and The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money And Information. We often overestimate what AI can do, even as it gains ground all around us. Listen as Greg and Frank discuss how AI should complement human labor, not replace it, augmented vs artificial intelligence and the delicate balance algorithms and individual discretion. The robots will steal our jobs. That's how many people see the future of labor in the United States. But what do we stand to lose when humans aren’t doing the work they've done for decades? Frank Pasquale is a Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. And also the author of New Laws Of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise In The Age Of A.I. and The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money And Information. We often overestimate what AI can do, even as it gains ground all around us. Listen as Greg and Frank discuss how AI should complement human labor, not replace it, augmented vs artificial intelligence and the delicate balance algorithms and individual discretion. false full 91 40282140-67b5-4a2d-b13a-188b76b31d8b How Working Less Could Improve Your Productivity feat. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang In a world where the hustle and the grind are glamorized, it can be almost radical to consider the importance of rest. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang wants to reinvent work so that we can shorten working hours, and even whole working weeks, in order to promote productivity.

Alex is the founder of Strategy And Rest, a company that advises others on how to instill more productivity and creativity in their workforce by providing an environment that facilitates better rest. He is also a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and author of "Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less―Here's How”, as well as “Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less”

Does it sound too good to be true? Think you could slow down and rest more? Well, listen as we discuss how the work of the mind can't always fit into a structured schedule, the valorization of overwork and why this balance is NOT too good to be true.

Episode Quotes:

How we got to a place of forgoing rest:

With creative work, unlike, being in the factory or in the field. At the end of the day, we don't have a bucket of widgets or a certain field that's been plowed. And so as a result, the amount of time that we spend working becomes a proxy for how well we are working. And then there are more recent cultural examples that have reinforced this idea, within the tech industry and finance. They have helped undermine the idea that success is a story of steady growth from the mailroom to the corner office. It's now something that happens super quickly in a few years, where you work titanically long hours in between economic slumps and you make your fortune before either you burn out or the next downturn happens.

Work as identity:

In all of these professions, how you work is an expression, not just of social identity, but of personal identity. And it is really easy to think that the more you work the more committed you seem to your colleagues, the more committed you feel yourself.

Who responds well building their own schedule: 

The people who do well by which I mean, people who both perform well with their jobs and also don't burn out at them after 10 years, tend to be people who are really protective of their free time. They're good about leaving work behind on nights and weekends. They take vacations, they have hobbies, they've got other things in their life than work that keeps them from obsessing about it when they're off the clock. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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]]> Wed, 19 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In a world where the hustle and the grind are glamorized, it can be almost radical to consider the importance of rest. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang wants to reinvent work so that we can shorten working hours, and even whole working weeks, in order to promote productivity.

Alex is the founder of Strategy And Rest, a company that advises others on how to instill more productivity and creativity in their workforce by providing an environment that facilitates better rest. He is also a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and author of "Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less―Here's How”, as well as “Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less”

Does it sound too good to be true? Think you could slow down and rest more? Well, listen as we discuss how the work of the mind can't always fit into a structured schedule, the valorization of overwork and why this balance is NOT too good to be true.

Episode Quotes:

How we got to a place of forgoing rest:

With creative work, unlike, being in the factory or in the field. At the end of the day, we don't have a bucket of widgets or a certain field that's been plowed. And so as a result, the amount of time that we spend working becomes a proxy for how well we are working. And then there are more recent cultural examples that have reinforced this idea, within the tech industry and finance. They have helped undermine the idea that success is a story of steady growth from the mailroom to the corner office. It's now something that happens super quickly in a few years, where you work titanically long hours in between economic slumps and you make your fortune before either you burn out or the next downturn happens.

Work as identity:

In all of these professions, how you work is an expression, not just of social identity, but of personal identity. And it is really easy to think that the more you work the more committed you seem to your colleagues, the more committed you feel yourself.

Who responds well building their own schedule: 

The people who do well by which I mean, people who both perform well with their jobs and also don't burn out at them after 10 years, tend to be people who are really protective of their free time. They're good about leaving work behind on nights and weekends. They take vacations, they have hobbies, they've got other things in their life than work that keeps them from obsessing about it when they're off the clock. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> How Working Less Could Improve Your Productivity feat. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang Greg La Blanc 01:06:26 In a world where the hustle and the grind are glamorized, it can be almost radical to consider the importance of rest. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang wants to reinvent work so that we can shorten working hours, and even whole working weeks, in order to promote productivity. Alex is the founder of Strategy And Rest, a company that advises others on how to instill more productivity and creativity in their workforce by providing an environment that facilitates better rest. He is also a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and author of "Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less―Here's How”, as well as “Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less” Does it sound too good to be true? Think you could slow down and rest more? Well, listen as we discuss how the work of the mind can't always fit into a structured schedule, the valorization of overwork and why this balance is NOT too good to be true. In a world where the hustle and the grind are glamorized, it can be almost radical to consider the importance of rest. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang wants to reinvent work so that we can shorten working hours, and even whole working weeks, in order to promote productivity. Alex is the founder of Strategy And Rest, a company that advises others on how to instill more productivity and creativity in their workforce by providing an environment that facilitates better rest. He is also a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and author of "Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less―Here's How”, as well as “Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less” Does it sound too good to be true? Think you could slow down and rest more? Well, listen as we discuss how the work of the mind can't always fit into a structured schedule, the valorization of overwork and why this balance is NOT too good to be true. false full 90 5cfe8daa-10f7-49d4-bbc5-94daafc62c39 Entrepreneurship and Nietzsche feat. Brad Feld Today we’re talking philosophy. And we know you may be thinking, somebody creating an app that entertains people or automates some routine office work can’t be compared to the great philosophers or great artists. But there’s more of an overlap than you may think. 

Brad Feld is a co-founder of the Foundry Group, Mobius VC, and Techstars, the famous accelerator. He is also known as the author of a bunch of books, including Venture Deals, Startup Communities, and the most recent, The Entrepreneur's Weekly Nietzsche: A Book For Disruptors.

In this episode we’ll hear all about Brad’s early startup life, “authenticity and vulnerability,” his thoughts on certain entrepreneurship cliches, and mental health in the space.

Episode Quotes:

How Brad and his co-author got the idea for their latest book:

There's so much depth in Nietzsche. And when you start to unwind pieces of it and think about them in whatever the context is, an awful lot of the things, the quotes, stimulate thinking about different aspects of entrepreneurship.

And that was really what captured both of us. It's not that, you say, okay, well, Nietzsche's philosophy applies to entrepreneurship and therefore you should do these things. That's not it at all. It's almost the inverse of it. It's - here's a very provocative quote of his. Think about it, ponder it, play around with it. Apply it to your own experience. And there were so many of those that resonated against the backdrop of all the different things that happen in entrepreneurship.

Mental health and entrepreneurship:

The stigma associated with mental health is incredibly toxic. It is a huge burden on many leaders and significantly inhibits many people's ability to accomplish things and have really successful lives. It's not the mental health challenge, it's the stigma associated with it. Because the mental health challenge is a challenge. Diabetes is a health challenge. You break your arm, you break your arm. If you have bipolar disorder or you have borderline personality disorder, or you have obsessive compulsive disorder, you have chronic anxiety, these are things that you can work on. 

But if you're in a place where you're afraid to even acknowledge it. Because leaders don't acknowledge those things, leaders don't do that kind of work. It's not my problem, it's your problem. I think most people that think about it for more than a couple of minutes, know many very powerful people that have extraordinary mental health issues.

Importance of sleep and self care:

There's nothing wrong with working one hundred hours a week. If you work many hours, whatever that many hours is if you are not, then taking care of yourself in the hours you are not working (which by the way includes sleep) but also include what you put into your body, how you spend your time with other people, how you spend your time by yourself. It's not healthily sustainable over a long period of time. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Mon, 17 Jan 2022 17:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Today we’re talking philosophy. And we know you may be thinking, somebody creating an app that entertains people or automates some routine office work can’t be compared to the great philosophers or great artists. But there’s more of an overlap than you may think. 

Brad Feld is a co-founder of the Foundry Group, Mobius VC, and Techstars, the famous accelerator. He is also known as the author of a bunch of books, including Venture Deals, Startup Communities, and the most recent, The Entrepreneur's Weekly Nietzsche: A Book For Disruptors.

In this episode we’ll hear all about Brad’s early startup life, “authenticity and vulnerability,” his thoughts on certain entrepreneurship cliches, and mental health in the space.

Episode Quotes:

How Brad and his co-author got the idea for their latest book:

There's so much depth in Nietzsche. And when you start to unwind pieces of it and think about them in whatever the context is, an awful lot of the things, the quotes, stimulate thinking about different aspects of entrepreneurship.

And that was really what captured both of us. It's not that, you say, okay, well, Nietzsche's philosophy applies to entrepreneurship and therefore you should do these things. That's not it at all. It's almost the inverse of it. It's - here's a very provocative quote of his. Think about it, ponder it, play around with it. Apply it to your own experience. And there were so many of those that resonated against the backdrop of all the different things that happen in entrepreneurship.

Mental health and entrepreneurship:

The stigma associated with mental health is incredibly toxic. It is a huge burden on many leaders and significantly inhibits many people's ability to accomplish things and have really successful lives. It's not the mental health challenge, it's the stigma associated with it. Because the mental health challenge is a challenge. Diabetes is a health challenge. You break your arm, you break your arm. If you have bipolar disorder or you have borderline personality disorder, or you have obsessive compulsive disorder, you have chronic anxiety, these are things that you can work on. 

But if you're in a place where you're afraid to even acknowledge it. Because leaders don't acknowledge those things, leaders don't do that kind of work. It's not my problem, it's your problem. I think most people that think about it for more than a couple of minutes, know many very powerful people that have extraordinary mental health issues.

Importance of sleep and self care:

There's nothing wrong with working one hundred hours a week. If you work many hours, whatever that many hours is if you are not, then taking care of yourself in the hours you are not working (which by the way includes sleep) but also include what you put into your body, how you spend your time with other people, how you spend your time by yourself. It's not healthily sustainable over a long period of time. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Entrepreneurship and Nietzsche feat. Brad Feld Greg La Blanc 01:10:46 Today we’re talking philosophy. And we know you may be thinking, somebody creating an app that entertains people or automates some routine office work can’t be compared to the great philosophers or great artists. But there’s more of an overlap than you may think. Brad Feld is a co-founder of the Foundry Group, Mobius VC, and Techstars, the famous accelerator. He is also known as the author of a bunch of books, including Venture Deals, Startup Communities, and the most recent, The Entrepreneur's Weekly Nietzsche: A Book For Disruptors. In this episode we’ll hear all about Brad’s early startup life, “authenticity and vulnerability,” his thoughts on certain entrepreneurship cliches, and mental health in the space. Today we’re talking philosophy. And we know you may be thinking, somebody creating an app that entertains people or automates some routine office work can’t be compared to the great philosophers or great artists. But there’s more of an overlap than you may think. Brad Feld is a co-founder of the Foundry Group, Mobius VC, and Techstars, the famous accelerator. He is also known as the author of a bunch of books, including Venture Deals, Startup Communities, and the most recent, The Entrepreneur's Weekly Nietzsche: A Book For Disruptors. In this episode we’ll hear all about Brad’s early startup life, “authenticity and vulnerability,” his thoughts on certain entrepreneurship cliches, and mental health in the space. false full 89 07bebfb4-2171-4de8-8a76-63f0cb7b510b The Mind is Flat: The Illusion of Mental Depth and The Improvised Mind feat. Nick Chater When asked about what superpower they could have if possible, people often respond with mind reading. As humans, many of us are constantly thinking about what other people are thinking about us. Does their brain work the same way as mine? What's going on in their inner world? Well, what if I told you there is actually no inner world of thought?

That is the basis of Nick Chater’s work. We all like to think we have a hidden inner life. Psychologists and psychiatrists have struggled to discover what lies below our mental surface. And Nick wants to flip that idea on its head.

Nick Chater is author of The Mind is Flat: The Illusion of Mental Depth and The Improvised Mind, as well as a Professor of Behavioral Science at Warwick Business School.

Greg and Nick tackle a number of theories of the inner brain, including maintaining consistencies between the external and internal worlds, parallel vs serial processing, taking a break to refresh in creative pursuits, and sleeping on a big decision.

Episode Quotes:

Maintaining consistencies:

The external world is consistent. And the illusion we have is, well, the inner world, it's a world after all, it must be consistent too. It's not. So then the intuition we have is that any inconsistencies I come up with must be some kind of reading error. I'm looking in my mind, I'm making a few mistakes. And that, of course, that's the way psychologists have normally seen it.

Life as improv:

I have some guidelines. I have some expectations about how I'm gonna behave and how I'm gonna feel, but I don't really know. And going back to the point that we're improvisers, it's kind of impossible to know cause I'm inventing it now. So I hadn't made it up before. And so to know what I was going to do would be to sort of do all the thinking of one's entire life and do it upfront.

On the myth of productive multitasking:

If you're trying to pay close attention to a particular process or a particular way things are done. And that may be, in some cases, really important, but if you're doing that, you're going to miss stuff.

And if you're trying not to miss other stuff, that might be unexpected, you're going to miss some of the meticulous stuff. There's just an inevitable trade off. You can't do both perfectly. And that's fine. What's miraculous about the human mind is it's so unbelievably good at coping with the complex world, even with these limitations.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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]]> Fri, 14 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast When asked about what superpower they could have if possible, people often respond with mind reading. As humans, many of us are constantly thinking about what other people are thinking about us. Does their brain work the same way as mine? What's going on in their inner world? Well, what if I told you there is actually no inner world of thought?

That is the basis of Nick Chater’s work. We all like to think we have a hidden inner life. Psychologists and psychiatrists have struggled to discover what lies below our mental surface. And Nick wants to flip that idea on its head.

Nick Chater is author of The Mind is Flat: The Illusion of Mental Depth and The Improvised Mind, as well as a Professor of Behavioral Science at Warwick Business School.

Greg and Nick tackle a number of theories of the inner brain, including maintaining consistencies between the external and internal worlds, parallel vs serial processing, taking a break to refresh in creative pursuits, and sleeping on a big decision.

Episode Quotes:

Maintaining consistencies:

The external world is consistent. And the illusion we have is, well, the inner world, it's a world after all, it must be consistent too. It's not. So then the intuition we have is that any inconsistencies I come up with must be some kind of reading error. I'm looking in my mind, I'm making a few mistakes. And that, of course, that's the way psychologists have normally seen it.

Life as improv:

I have some guidelines. I have some expectations about how I'm gonna behave and how I'm gonna feel, but I don't really know. And going back to the point that we're improvisers, it's kind of impossible to know cause I'm inventing it now. So I hadn't made it up before. And so to know what I was going to do would be to sort of do all the thinking of one's entire life and do it upfront.

On the myth of productive multitasking:

If you're trying to pay close attention to a particular process or a particular way things are done. And that may be, in some cases, really important, but if you're doing that, you're going to miss stuff.

And if you're trying not to miss other stuff, that might be unexpected, you're going to miss some of the meticulous stuff. There's just an inevitable trade off. You can't do both perfectly. And that's fine. What's miraculous about the human mind is it's so unbelievably good at coping with the complex world, even with these limitations.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> The Mind is Flat: The Illusion of Mental Depth and The Improvised Mind feat. Nick Chater Greg La Blanc 01:02:04 When asked about what superpower they could have if possible, people often respond with mind reading. As humans, many of us are constantly thinking about what other people are thinking about us. Does their brain work the same way as mine? What's going on in their inner world? Well, what if I told you there is actually no inner world of thought? That is the basis of Nick Chater’s work. We all like to think we have a hidden inner life. Psychologists and psychiatrists have struggled to discover what lies below our mental surface. And Nick wants to flip that idea on its head. Nick Chater is author of The Mind is Flat: The Illusion of Mental Depth and The Improvised Mind, as well as a Professor of Behavioral Science at Warwick Business School. Greg and Nick tackle a number of theories of the inner brain, including maintaining consistencies between the external and internal worlds, parallel vs serial processing, taking a break to refresh in creative pursuits, and sleeping on a big decision. When asked about what superpower they could have if possible, people often respond with mind reading. As humans, many of us are constantly thinking about what other people are thinking about us. Does their brain work the same way as mine? What's going on in their inner world? Well, what if I told you there is actually no inner world of thought? That is the basis of Nick Chater’s work. We all like to think we have a hidden inner life. Psychologists and psychiatrists have struggled to discover what lies below our mental surface. And Nick wants to flip that idea on its head. Nick Chater is author of The Mind is Flat: The Illusion of Mental Depth and The Improvised Mind, as well as a Professor of Behavioral Science at Warwick Business School. Greg and Nick tackle a number of theories of the inner brain, including maintaining consistencies between the external and internal worlds, parallel vs serial processing, taking a break to refresh in creative pursuits, and sleeping on a big decision. false full 88 60072f4e-d524-45de-8f24-37034f89297e 2021: This Is The Best Time To Be Alive feat. Gregg Easterbrook Open any newspaper or website, and there are tons of people decrying the end of this or the decline of that. And even with the pandemic just now falling into our recent rearview mirror, it's actually hard to think of a better time for humanity. So why does Gregg Easterbrook think this is such a great time to be alive?

Gregg is a prolific journalist and author who has written a number of books. Including It's Better Than It Looks: Reasons For Optimism In An Age Of Fear, Sonic Boom: Globalization At Mach Speed, and the most recent, The Blue Age. You might also remember his ESPN column, the Tuesday Morning Quarterback.

We dive into the chaos of the 2016 election, the “golden age of journalism,” claiming membership in the victimhood club and football's place in American culture. 

Episode Quotes:

Isn't some negativity just human nature? Or a part of aging?:

Plato was 2,600 years ago. And Plato wrote that the world was "sweetly ordered in his youth, but now it was going to hell in a handbasket. " I can't remember the Greek word for handbasket, but that was his view a long time ago. And, of course by every objective measure, everyone throughout the world lives better than Plato did. Yet he thought things were headed downhill. So some of it is aging.

Why is the news so negative:

I've written for the Atlantic monthly for 40 years now. I think it's the best general interest publication ever from anybody. It has become so alarmist, the issue almost shakes in your hand. Everything's about how horrible everything is. And the reason is, that's what the customer wants. You give the reader what he wants. The Atlantic, the New York Times, the New Yorker have stabilized their financial situations very nicely by going all negative all the time. That's what people are willing to buy. And I guess if it's a free market, if that's what people want to buy, I'm not going to stop them.

Why are we nostalgic for coal mines and farm labor:

Oh boy, those were the good old days. Everybody would nod their heads as if there was some kind of wise command. And the Chinese had taken away this wonderful ability to work in a hot, dangerous steel mill, and to die young when something fell on you. Oh, when the Chinese took that away from us. Its abundance denial. People have torn emotions about all the privileges they enjoy. And rather than saying, yeah I'm living a great life and I want to do things that will help this great life be extended to other people all around the world. No, and they go in for abundance denial and they romanticize coal mines. Farm labor is backbreaking. If you've ever done farm labor, even for one harvest season, you know how hard it is. That stuff should be done by machines, not people. 


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]]> Wed, 12 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Open any newspaper or website, and there are tons of people decrying the end of this or the decline of that. And even with the pandemic just now falling into our recent rearview mirror, it's actually hard to think of a better time for humanity. So why does Gregg Easterbrook think this is such a great time to be alive?

Gregg is a prolific journalist and author who has written a number of books. Including It's Better Than It Looks: Reasons For Optimism In An Age Of Fear, Sonic Boom: Globalization At Mach Speed, and the most recent, The Blue Age. You might also remember his ESPN column, the Tuesday Morning Quarterback.

We dive into the chaos of the 2016 election, the “golden age of journalism,” claiming membership in the victimhood club and football's place in American culture. 

Episode Quotes:

Isn't some negativity just human nature? Or a part of aging?:

Plato was 2,600 years ago. And Plato wrote that the world was "sweetly ordered in his youth, but now it was going to hell in a handbasket. " I can't remember the Greek word for handbasket, but that was his view a long time ago. And, of course by every objective measure, everyone throughout the world lives better than Plato did. Yet he thought things were headed downhill. So some of it is aging.

Why is the news so negative:

I've written for the Atlantic monthly for 40 years now. I think it's the best general interest publication ever from anybody. It has become so alarmist, the issue almost shakes in your hand. Everything's about how horrible everything is. And the reason is, that's what the customer wants. You give the reader what he wants. The Atlantic, the New York Times, the New Yorker have stabilized their financial situations very nicely by going all negative all the time. That's what people are willing to buy. And I guess if it's a free market, if that's what people want to buy, I'm not going to stop them.

Why are we nostalgic for coal mines and farm labor:

Oh boy, those were the good old days. Everybody would nod their heads as if there was some kind of wise command. And the Chinese had taken away this wonderful ability to work in a hot, dangerous steel mill, and to die young when something fell on you. Oh, when the Chinese took that away from us. Its abundance denial. People have torn emotions about all the privileges they enjoy. And rather than saying, yeah I'm living a great life and I want to do things that will help this great life be extended to other people all around the world. No, and they go in for abundance denial and they romanticize coal mines. Farm labor is backbreaking. If you've ever done farm labor, even for one harvest season, you know how hard it is. That stuff should be done by machines, not people. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> 2021: This Is The Best Time To Be Alive feat. Gregg Easterbrook Greg La Blanc 00:56:00 Open any newspaper or website, and there are tons of people decrying the end of this or the decline of that. And even with the pandemic just now falling into our recent rearview mirror, it's actually hard to think of a better time for humanity. So why does Gregg Easterbrook think this is such a great time to be alive? Gregg is a prolific journalist and author who has written a number of books. Including It's Better Than It Looks: Reasons For Optimism In An Age Of Fear, Sonic Boom: Globalization At Mach Speed, and the most recent, The Blue Age. You might also remember his ESPN column, the Tuesday Morning Quarterback. We dive into the chaos of the 2016 election, the “golden age of journalism,” claiming membership in the victimhood club and football's place in American culture. Open any newspaper or website, and there are tons of people decrying the end of this or the decline of that. And even with the pandemic just now falling into our recent rearview mirror, it's actually hard to think of a better time for humanity. So why does Gregg Easterbrook think this is such a great time to be alive? Gregg is a prolific journalist and author who has written a number of books. Including It's Better Than It Looks: Reasons For Optimism In An Age Of Fear, Sonic Boom: Globalization At Mach Speed, and the most recent, The Blue Age. You might also remember his ESPN column, the Tuesday Morning Quarterback. We dive into the chaos of the 2016 election, the “golden age of journalism,” claiming membership in the victimhood club and football's place in American culture. false full 87 8648da9c-0cf0-4f74-bd04-d2fc0e83567c What It Means When The Rich Give To The Poor feat. William Easterly Sending economic assistance from western, developed countries to poorer, developing countries has always been a virtuous and noble pursuit. But the ethics behind foreign aid can get messy. 

Bill Easterly has built an entire career analyzing the pros and cons within the field of development economics. He is a professor of economics at NYU, and also the co-director of their Development Research Institute.

Bill has written a number of books on the topic as well, including The Tyranny Of Experts, The Forgotten Rights Of The Poor, and The White Man's Burden.

Greg and Bill dive into the nuances of development in this episode, including using GDP to measure development objectively, development economics as its own discipline, and facing the colonial roots of the development field and growing from that history.

Episode Quotes:

Generalized trust vs. trust within a group:

Trust within the ethnic group is better than no trust at all. But not as good as generalized trust. At least having trust within the ethnic group makes possible a lot of transactions within the ethnic group.

And that at least allows you to build trading networks and investment networks within the ethnic group, which is certainly better than nothing. But it still does prevent you from expanding your network to the whole population and choosing perfect strangers as partners, which is what becomes more possible when you have more generalized trust.

Is this work for the developers or “rules” or those who receive the aid:

The rulers are often gonna be attached to some kind of prestige measure that shows how wonderful they are as rulers.They will like the high GDP per capita numbers. They will like the prestige projects of big dams and giant interstate roads that are financed by donors that they can open with elaborate ribbon cutting ceremonies, but are often not really consulting the citizens on whether that's really what they wanted or not.

Idealism vs. Cynicism with your development economists:

I think it's more a function of the fact that we start off with a set of things that we think are sort of easy answers to development, easy answers to poverty. And then over time we realized the answers are not so easy, that's the way in which we become wise.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


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

]]> Mon, 10 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Sending economic assistance from western, developed countries to poorer, developing countries has always been a virtuous and noble pursuit. But the ethics behind foreign aid can get messy. 

Bill Easterly has built an entire career analyzing the pros and cons within the field of development economics. He is a professor of economics at NYU, and also the co-director of their Development Research Institute.

Bill has written a number of books on the topic as well, including The Tyranny Of Experts, The Forgotten Rights Of The Poor, and The White Man's Burden.

Greg and Bill dive into the nuances of development in this episode, including using GDP to measure development objectively, development economics as its own discipline, and facing the colonial roots of the development field and growing from that history.

Episode Quotes:

Generalized trust vs. trust within a group:

Trust within the ethnic group is better than no trust at all. But not as good as generalized trust. At least having trust within the ethnic group makes possible a lot of transactions within the ethnic group.

And that at least allows you to build trading networks and investment networks within the ethnic group, which is certainly better than nothing. But it still does prevent you from expanding your network to the whole population and choosing perfect strangers as partners, which is what becomes more possible when you have more generalized trust.

Is this work for the developers or “rules” or those who receive the aid:

The rulers are often gonna be attached to some kind of prestige measure that shows how wonderful they are as rulers.They will like the high GDP per capita numbers. They will like the prestige projects of big dams and giant interstate roads that are financed by donors that they can open with elaborate ribbon cutting ceremonies, but are often not really consulting the citizens on whether that's really what they wanted or not.

Idealism vs. Cynicism with your development economists:

I think it's more a function of the fact that we start off with a set of things that we think are sort of easy answers to development, easy answers to poverty. And then over time we realized the answers are not so easy, that's the way in which we become wise.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> What It Means When The Rich Give To The Poor feat. William Easterly Greg La Blanc 00:52:02 Sending economic assistance from western, developed countries to poorer, developing countries has always been a virtuous and noble pursuit. But the ethics behind foreign aid can get messy. Bill Easterly has built an entire career analyzing the pros and cons within the field of development economics. He is a professor of economics at NYU, and also the co-director of their Development Research Institute. Bill has written a number of books on the topic as well, including The Tyranny Of Experts, The Forgotten Rights Of The Poor, and The White Man's Burden. Greg and Bill dive into the nuances of development in this episode, including using GDP to measure development objectively, development economics as its own discipline, and facing the colonial roots of the development field and growing from that history. Sending economic assistance from western, developed countries to poorer, developing countries has always been a virtuous and noble pursuit. But the ethics behind foreign aid can get messy. Bill Easterly has built an entire career analyzing the pros and cons within the field of development economics. He is a professor of economics at NYU, and also the co-director of their Development Research Institute. Bill has written a number of books on the topic as well, including The Tyranny Of Experts, The Forgotten Rights Of The Poor, and The White Man's Burden. Greg and Bill dive into the nuances of development in this episode, including using GDP to measure development objectively, development economics as its own discipline, and facing the colonial roots of the development field and growing from that history. false full 86 a66b3ad6-0d8f-4aa3-8cd0-ca05ecbc6c69 The Value We Place On A Life feat. Howard Friedman The intersection of public health and data science can be controversial. How much do we value human life? Can we ever put a dollar sign on it, and what factors into that sum? These questions and more are tackled in today's episode with Howard Friedman.

Howard Friedman teaches at Columbia University at the School of Public Health and The Data Science Institute. He is also the author of Ultimate Price: The Value We Place On Life.

Listen as he and Greg discuss the morality of cases like the 9/11 compensation fund, OJ Simpson,5 and the tradeoffs that lead to these difficult decisions.

Episode Quotes:

What a monetary value on human life says:

Some human beings, as it turns out, are valued at nothing. Whereas others, many, many millions. And you'll see this in the corporate world as well. The incredible range of compensation, depending on who was the victim. 

How do we get these numbers, value of a life:

They're trying to simulate a world in which that person is no longer there and trying to estimate what is the economic impact on the family. And that's why they look at things like income. They do look at this question of dependents and you know, how many people were relying on that person's income.

And then you start seeing the dotted-line calculation between that and how people start to think about life insurance. And the reason why is when you look into your life insurance, you start thinking about what is my value, what is my replacement value? If I’m not around, how much money will my family need in order to have the lifestyle they expect or simply to replace the income I'm earning.

How the media adds value to certain lives:

This is very much the case. And this is the America that we have to understand we live in. And the implications of it really are that some lives are more valued and more protected than others. They go hand in hand. That level of interest that comes from the media and the public, as a result, drives the allocation of resources. So these are true examples and measures.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 7 Jan 2022 17:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The intersection of public health and data science can be controversial. How much do we value human life? Can we ever put a dollar sign on it, and what factors into that sum? These questions and more are tackled in today's episode with Howard Friedman.

Howard Friedman teaches at Columbia University at the School of Public Health and The Data Science Institute. He is also the author of Ultimate Price: The Value We Place On Life.

Listen as he and Greg discuss the morality of cases like the 9/11 compensation fund, OJ Simpson,5 and the tradeoffs that lead to these difficult decisions.

Episode Quotes:

What a monetary value on human life says:

Some human beings, as it turns out, are valued at nothing. Whereas others, many, many millions. And you'll see this in the corporate world as well. The incredible range of compensation, depending on who was the victim. 

How do we get these numbers, value of a life:

They're trying to simulate a world in which that person is no longer there and trying to estimate what is the economic impact on the family. And that's why they look at things like income. They do look at this question of dependents and you know, how many people were relying on that person's income.

And then you start seeing the dotted-line calculation between that and how people start to think about life insurance. And the reason why is when you look into your life insurance, you start thinking about what is my value, what is my replacement value? If I’m not around, how much money will my family need in order to have the lifestyle they expect or simply to replace the income I'm earning.

How the media adds value to certain lives:

This is very much the case. And this is the America that we have to understand we live in. And the implications of it really are that some lives are more valued and more protected than others. They go hand in hand. That level of interest that comes from the media and the public, as a result, drives the allocation of resources. So these are true examples and measures.


Show Links:

Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> The Value We Place On A Life feat. Howard Friedman Greg La Blanc 00:55:33 The intersection of public health and data science can be controversial. How much do we value human life? Can we ever put a dollar sign on it, and what factors into that sum? These questions and more are tackled in today's episode with Howard Friedman. Howard Friedman teaches at Columbia University at the School of Public Health and The Data Science Institute. He is also the author of Ultimate Price: The Value We Place On Life. Listen as he and Greg discuss the morality of cases like the 9/11 compensation fund, OJ Simpson,5 and the tradeoffs that lead to these difficult decisions. The intersection of public health and data science can be controversial. How much do we value human life? Can we ever put a dollar sign on it, and what factors into that sum? These questions and more are tackled in today's episode with Howard Friedman. Howard Friedman teaches at Columbia University at the School of Public Health and The Data Science Institute. He is also the author of Ultimate Price: The Value We Place On Life. Listen as he and Greg discuss the morality of cases like the 9/11 compensation fund, OJ Simpson,5 and the tradeoffs that lead to these difficult decisions. false full 85 41b217f6-7ab9-4c12-bfc1-170beaf3e400 Using Behavioral Economics to Change the World for the Better feat. Kristen Berman One of the key insights of behavioral economics is that people don't do what they know they should do;. That information by itself is just not enough to move the needle. But Kristen Berman is trying to change that, by doing what Greg calls “Pracademics” - putting academics into practice.

Kristen Berman is the co-founder of Irrational Labs with Dan Ariely, the co-founder of the Common Sense Labs for Financial Wellness at Duke University, and was also involved in founding Google's Behavioral Science Lab.

Today, she and Greg talk about whether the move to relying on data is a technological or cultural shift, the importance of mental models managing friction, and visible norm-setting.

Episode Quotes:

Information by itself is just not enough to move the needle / intention action gap:

So I tell you about compound interest, that does not mean you'll actually invest money. Now, this does not mean we're stupid. We can learn. So if I tell you about compound interest, you will learn about compound interest. The gap here is the doing, right? The gap here is not learning. And so that's really where behavioral science comes in. It says there's an intention action gap. We may know something about diet and exercise or investing money, but actually doing it is a problem. 

Delayed reinforcement isn't effective:

The worst offenders of this are employee wellness plans. Employee wellness plans basically ask you to do something, and then at the end of the quarter, they may give you a $50 gift card to Starbucks. And lo and behold employee wellness plans have failed, with lots of money put towards them, to actually change any health outcomes. Some of that is self-selection where people who are already healthy are self-selecting into the employee wellness plan. And some of this is just bad design where I do something today, and in a year, in a quarter, my employer will tell me thank you.

Using social proof to change behaviors:

If I could do a crazy experiment, I would probably pay people to exercise outside in a community that has a higher likelihood of obesity. Visible norm setting is very important. If you're in a community that you don't see something happening, either because it's invisible like savings or because people just aren't doing it like working out, we really have an opportunity to figure out how we can get that social norm to be more visible. So paying people to run outside, you can imagine you see somebody running outside, you're like okay maybe I'll try it. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Wed, 5 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast One of the key insights of behavioral economics is that people don't do what they know they should do;. That information by itself is just not enough to move the needle. But Kristen Berman is trying to change that, by doing what Greg calls “Pracademics” - putting academics into practice.

Kristen Berman is the co-founder of Irrational Labs with Dan Ariely, the co-founder of the Common Sense Labs for Financial Wellness at Duke University, and was also involved in founding Google's Behavioral Science Lab.

Today, she and Greg talk about whether the move to relying on data is a technological or cultural shift, the importance of mental models managing friction, and visible norm-setting.

Episode Quotes:

Information by itself is just not enough to move the needle / intention action gap:

So I tell you about compound interest, that does not mean you'll actually invest money. Now, this does not mean we're stupid. We can learn. So if I tell you about compound interest, you will learn about compound interest. The gap here is the doing, right? The gap here is not learning. And so that's really where behavioral science comes in. It says there's an intention action gap. We may know something about diet and exercise or investing money, but actually doing it is a problem. 

Delayed reinforcement isn't effective:

The worst offenders of this are employee wellness plans. Employee wellness plans basically ask you to do something, and then at the end of the quarter, they may give you a $50 gift card to Starbucks. And lo and behold employee wellness plans have failed, with lots of money put towards them, to actually change any health outcomes. Some of that is self-selection where people who are already healthy are self-selecting into the employee wellness plan. And some of this is just bad design where I do something today, and in a year, in a quarter, my employer will tell me thank you.

Using social proof to change behaviors:

If I could do a crazy experiment, I would probably pay people to exercise outside in a community that has a higher likelihood of obesity. Visible norm setting is very important. If you're in a community that you don't see something happening, either because it's invisible like savings or because people just aren't doing it like working out, we really have an opportunity to figure out how we can get that social norm to be more visible. So paying people to run outside, you can imagine you see somebody running outside, you're like okay maybe I'll try it. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her Work:


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

]]> Using Behavioral Economics to Change the World for the Better feat. Kristen Berman Greg La Blanc 00:45:50 One of the key insights of behavioral economics is that people don't do what they know they should do;. That information by itself is just not enough to move the needle. But Kristen Berman is trying to change that, by doing what Greg calls “Pracademics” - putting academics into practice. Kristen Berman is the co-founder of Irrational Labs with Dan Ariely, the co-founder of the Common Sense Labs for Financial Wellness at Duke University, and was also involved in founding Google's Behavioral Science Lab. Today, she and Greg talk about whether the move to relying on data is a technological or cultural shift, the importance of mental models managing friction, and visible norm-setting. One of the key insights of behavioral economics is that people don't do what they know they should do;. That information by itself is just not enough to move the needle. But Kristen Berman is trying to change that, by doing what Greg calls “Pracademics” - putting academics into practice. Kristen Berman is the co-founder of Irrational Labs with Dan Ariely, the co-founder of the Common Sense Labs for Financial Wellness at Duke University, and was also involved in founding Google's Behavioral Science Lab. Today, she and Greg talk about whether the move to relying on data is a technological or cultural shift, the importance of mental models managing friction, and visible norm-setting. false full 84 6054650d-d6f6-4bf6-8f54-77191ec9989f When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession with Economic Efficiency feat. Roger Martin Economists, policy makers, and business decision makers all agree on efficiency as a goal, with more better than less and who could object? Well, it all depends, of course on how the objectives are formulated and what you are missing. That's the idea behind Roger Martin’s latest book When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession With Economic Efficiency.

Roger Martin is the former dean and current emeritus professor of strategy at the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, and the author of numerous other books, including Creating Great Choices, Getting Beyond Better And Playing To Win.

Listen in as Greg and Roger chat about resiliency, acknowledging tradeoffs, overinvesting in exploitation, and how focusing too much on data analytics is malpractice.

Episode Quotes:

When efficiency becomes unproductive:

If you push it past a point, you stop thinking about things that don't lend themselves easily to a measurement of efficiency but help make a system work better, whatever system you're looking at. Your company, your country, your town, your household. If you try to make every relationship with your partner, your children, your dog as efficient as possible, at a point it would become a miserable place, right? And it might actually fall apart because you aren't paying attention to, is this a resilient family or resilient household or resilient town.

How to think about knowledge:

The right way I would argue to think about knowledge is we don't build knowledge. We subtract to get knowledge. When something is a mystery, you don't even know how to think about it. So you've got to think about everything in all possibilities.

Why is the business world siloed?:

The reason for dividing the business world into silos is in some sense for exploitation, right? It's to understand a narrow field, as we've defined it better and better. Not to do things like explore how that field may relate to other fields, how that field maybe not a good definition of a field, or any of those things. It's exploitation, oriented in for convenience exploitation. 


 

Show Links:


 

Guest Profile:


 

His Work:


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

]]> Fri, 31 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Economists, policy makers, and business decision makers all agree on efficiency as a goal, with more better than less and who could object? Well, it all depends, of course on how the objectives are formulated and what you are missing. That's the idea behind Roger Martin’s latest book When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession With Economic Efficiency.

Roger Martin is the former dean and current emeritus professor of strategy at the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, and the author of numerous other books, including Creating Great Choices, Getting Beyond Better And Playing To Win.

Listen in as Greg and Roger chat about resiliency, acknowledging tradeoffs, overinvesting in exploitation, and how focusing too much on data analytics is malpractice.

Episode Quotes:

When efficiency becomes unproductive:

If you push it past a point, you stop thinking about things that don't lend themselves easily to a measurement of efficiency but help make a system work better, whatever system you're looking at. Your company, your country, your town, your household. If you try to make every relationship with your partner, your children, your dog as efficient as possible, at a point it would become a miserable place, right? And it might actually fall apart because you aren't paying attention to, is this a resilient family or resilient household or resilient town.

How to think about knowledge:

The right way I would argue to think about knowledge is we don't build knowledge. We subtract to get knowledge. When something is a mystery, you don't even know how to think about it. So you've got to think about everything in all possibilities.

Why is the business world siloed?:

The reason for dividing the business world into silos is in some sense for exploitation, right? It's to understand a narrow field, as we've defined it better and better. Not to do things like explore how that field may relate to other fields, how that field maybe not a good definition of a field, or any of those things. It's exploitation, oriented in for convenience exploitation. 


 

Show Links:


 

Guest Profile:


 

His Work:


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

]]> When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession with Economic Efficiency feat. Roger Martin Greg La Blanc 01:01:11 Economists, policy makers, and business decision makers all agree on efficiency as a goal, with more better than less and who could object? Well, it all depends, of course on how the objectives are formulated and what you are missing. That's the idea behind Roger Martin’s latest book When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession With Economic Efficiency. Roger Martin is the former dean and current emeritus professor of strategy at the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, and the author of numerous other books, including Creating Great Choices, Getting Beyond Better And Playing To win. Listen in as Greg and Roger chat about resiliency, acknowledging tradeoffs, over investing in exploitation, and how focusing too much on data analytics is malpractice. Economists, policy makers, and business decision makers all agree on efficiency as a goal, with more better than less and who could object? Well, it all depends, of course on how the objectives are formulated and what you are missing. That's the idea behind Roger Martin’s latest book When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession With Economic Efficiency. Roger Martin is the former dean and current emeritus professor of strategy at the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, and the author of numerous other books, including Creating Great Choices, Getting Beyond Better And Playing To win. Listen in as Greg and Roger chat about resiliency, acknowledging tradeoffs, over investing in exploitation, and how focusing too much on data analytics is malpractice. false full 83 1d9ae2ca-1945-46eb-96ba-9e1cd315d8b1 What Does It Mean To Be A Compassionate Leader? feat. Scott Shute Workers have more rights than maybe they've ever harnessed as a collective, and it's shaping the way leaders lead. We're starting to see the research bear out that when we move away from leading by power, into leading with emotional intelligence, that this is actually a way to build a more successful company, a more successful team, and it's a way to be more successful as a person.

Scott Shute is the Head of the Compassion and Mindfulness Programs at LinkedIn, and the author of The Full Body Yes: Change Your Work And Your World From The Inside Out.

This episode focuses on mindfulness and compassion, Scott’s upbringing in rural Kansas, work as religion, and why haven't we been talking about this stuff all along.

Episode Quotes:

How do you define compassion:

The first part is having an awareness for the other person. The second part is having a mindset of kindness towards them, or a mindset of wishing the best for them. And then the third part is the courage to take action on their behalf. Now this works for our employees, it also works for our customers. 

What has changed about labor to bring us to this moment:

We've evolved in consciousness and our labor markets have changed. The two things have fit together. By being a good person, I can actually deliver better results for my company and be personally more fulfilled, but also help other people be personally more fulfilled. So it's a little bit of a golden age in work. 

The importance of feedback:

One of the beauties of getting older is that we see all the mistakes and we've been through enough cycles to see what went well and what didn't go well. And as a leader, that's super helpful because then we can help guide people that are younger or have less cycles of experience. In terms of getting feedback, when we are more comfortable in our own skin, we're not so worried about what everybody else says. It's interesting because then it allows us to be more vulnerable. And in that vulnerability, it allows us to take on feedback to say, I can really hear what you're saying without getting so triggered.


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]]> Mon, 27 Dec 2021 18:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Workers have more rights than maybe they've ever harnessed as a collective, and it's shaping the way leaders lead. We're starting to see the research bear out that when we move away from leading by power, into leading with emotional intelligence, that this is actually a way to build a more successful company, a more successful team, and it's a way to be more successful as a person.

Scott Shute is the Head of the Compassion and Mindfulness Programs at LinkedIn, and the author of The Full Body Yes: Change Your Work And Your World From The Inside Out.

This episode focuses on mindfulness and compassion, Scott’s upbringing in rural Kansas, work as religion, and why haven't we been talking about this stuff all along.

Episode Quotes:

How do you define compassion:

The first part is having an awareness for the other person. The second part is having a mindset of kindness towards them, or a mindset of wishing the best for them. And then the third part is the courage to take action on their behalf. Now this works for our employees, it also works for our customers. 

What has changed about labor to bring us to this moment:

We've evolved in consciousness and our labor markets have changed. The two things have fit together. By being a good person, I can actually deliver better results for my company and be personally more fulfilled, but also help other people be personally more fulfilled. So it's a little bit of a golden age in work. 

The importance of feedback:

One of the beauties of getting older is that we see all the mistakes and we've been through enough cycles to see what went well and what didn't go well. And as a leader, that's super helpful because then we can help guide people that are younger or have less cycles of experience. In terms of getting feedback, when we are more comfortable in our own skin, we're not so worried about what everybody else says. It's interesting because then it allows us to be more vulnerable. And in that vulnerability, it allows us to take on feedback to say, I can really hear what you're saying without getting so triggered.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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]]> What Does It Mean To Be A Compassionate Leader? feat. Scott Shute Greg La Blanc 00:51:19 Workers have more rights than maybe they've ever harnessed as a collective, and it's shaping the way leaders lead. We're starting to see the research bear out that when we move away from leading by power, into leading with emotional intelligence, that this is actually a way to build a more successful company, a more successful team, and it's a way to be more successful as a person. Scott Shute is the Head of the Compassion and Mindfulness Programs at LinkedIn, and the author of The Full Body Yes: Change Your Work And Your World From The Inside Out. This episode focuses on mindfulness and compassion, Scott’s upbringing in rural Kansas, work as religion, and why haven't we been talking about this stuff all along. Workers have more rights than maybe they've ever harnessed as a collective, and it's shaping the way leaders lead. We're starting to see the research bear out that when we move away from leading by power, into leading with emotional intelligence, that this is actually a way to build a more successful company, a more successful team, and it's a way to be more successful as a person. Scott Shute is the Head of the Compassion and Mindfulness Programs at LinkedIn, and the author of The Full Body Yes: Change Your Work And Your World From The Inside Out. This episode focuses on mindfulness and compassion, Scott’s upbringing in rural Kansas, work as religion, and why haven't we been talking about this stuff all along. false full 82 d43a4949-e3b5-4444-aefe-d51eda985dfb Your Friends Have More Influence Over You Than You Think feat. Matthew Jackson Think of a big decision you've made lately. The final call was most likely yours, but how did external factors weigh in? Did you talk it over with a spouse or a close friend, think about your upbringing, your economic status, or how the final outcome might affect your future and your community? So much about our social networks affects our decision making process. 

Matthew Jackson is a professor of economics at Stanford University, and he also wrote the book The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, And Behaviors.

Matthew and Greg sit down to talk about what Matthew calls Social Economics, how social context could help solve structural problems, the friendship paradox, and borrowing contagion models from epidemiology to track how ideas travel through social networks.

Episode Quotes:

Why social aspects are important in economics:

As we know, people don't act fully rationally. They don't have unlimited capacity for calculating and making decisions and processing information. And moreover, we're embedded in our social structures. Our networks, we listen to our friends, our acquaintances, our family. These are the people that help us make decisions.

These are the people that give us information. They give us opportunities, they give us access to things. They control our norms. And if we don't have that context, we miss about 80 to 90% of what influences people's decision-making. And so bringing that social structure in, makes a huge difference in understanding why people end up making what we would think of as economists, as suboptimal decisions.

What is the Friendship Paradox:

If somebody has 10 friends and somebody else has one friend, then that person who has 10 friends has 10 times the influence. They get noticed a lot more by people than the person who has fewer friends. And on average, when you look at a society, that means that these people who are very, very popular are people that are influencing many more people, and that means that we end up with distorted views. 

How letting one person become too influential can change the future of an industry:

In settings where we know that somebody is going to begin to influence prices and the forward development of an industry, we have to pay attention to that person. And that makes it feedback in a positive way.

I mean, “positive” in quotes, right? Because now he can shake the industry up and down. So it's positive in some ways and negative in others. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:

Faculty Profile at Stanford University

Professional Profile at Coursera

Matthew Jackson on Twitter


His work:

Matthew Jackson on Google Scholar

The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, and Behaviors

Social and Economic Networks


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

]]> Wed, 15 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Think of a big decision you've made lately. The final call was most likely yours, but how did external factors weigh in? Did you talk it over with a spouse or a close friend, think about your upbringing, your economic status, or how the final outcome might affect your future and your community? So much about our social networks affects our decision making process. 

Matthew Jackson is a professor of economics at Stanford University, and he also wrote the book The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, And Behaviors.

Matthew and Greg sit down to talk about what Matthew calls Social Economics, how social context could help solve structural problems, the friendship paradox, and borrowing contagion models from epidemiology to track how ideas travel through social networks.

Episode Quotes:

Why social aspects are important in economics:

As we know, people don't act fully rationally. They don't have unlimited capacity for calculating and making decisions and processing information. And moreover, we're embedded in our social structures. Our networks, we listen to our friends, our acquaintances, our family. These are the people that help us make decisions.

These are the people that give us information. They give us opportunities, they give us access to things. They control our norms. And if we don't have that context, we miss about 80 to 90% of what influences people's decision-making. And so bringing that social structure in, makes a huge difference in understanding why people end up making what we would think of as economists, as suboptimal decisions.

What is the Friendship Paradox:

If somebody has 10 friends and somebody else has one friend, then that person who has 10 friends has 10 times the influence. They get noticed a lot more by people than the person who has fewer friends. And on average, when you look at a society, that means that these people who are very, very popular are people that are influencing many more people, and that means that we end up with distorted views. 

How letting one person become too influential can change the future of an industry:

In settings where we know that somebody is going to begin to influence prices and the forward development of an industry, we have to pay attention to that person. And that makes it feedback in a positive way.

I mean, “positive” in quotes, right? Because now he can shake the industry up and down. So it's positive in some ways and negative in others. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:

Faculty Profile at Stanford University

Professional Profile at Coursera

Matthew Jackson on Twitter


His work:

Matthew Jackson on Google Scholar

The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, and Behaviors

Social and Economic Networks


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

]]> Your Friends Have More Influence Over You Than You Think feat. Matthew Jackson Greg La Blanc 01:02:17 Think of a big decision you've made lately. The final call was most likely yours, but how did external factors weigh in? Did you talk it over with a spouse or a close friend, think about your upbringing, your economic status, or how the final outcome might affect your future and your community? So much about our social networks affects our decision making process. Matthew Jackson is a professor of economics at Stanford University, and he also wrote the book The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, And Behaviors. Matthew and Greg sit down to talk about what Matthew calls Social Economics, how social context could help solve structural problems, the friendship paradox, and borrowing contagion models from epidemiology to track how ideas travel through social networks. Think of a big decision you've made lately. The final call was most likely yours, but how did external factors weigh in? Did you talk it over with a spouse or a close friend, think about your upbringing, your economic status, or how the final outcome might affect your future and your community? So much about our social networks affects our decision making process. Matthew Jackson is a professor of economics at Stanford University, and he also wrote the book The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, And Behaviors. Matthew and Greg sit down to talk about what Matthew calls Social Economics, how social context could help solve structural problems, the friendship paradox, and borrowing contagion models from epidemiology to track how ideas travel through social networks. false full 81 86fd9830-c835-443e-8c96-31fc9b3bfff8 Can We Teach AI Systems Human Values? feat. Brian Christian AI & machine learning have been at the center of moral debate for decades now. Scientists and lay people alike know, or assume, that there will come a day where machines will not just figure out how to accomplish goals, but will also figure out what those goals are. That is the central question of our guests latest book, The Alignment Problem.

Brian Christian is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley working with human compatible AI and the Citrus Foundation. He is also known for co-authoring Algorithms To Live By: The Computer Science Of Human Decisions.

How do we make sure that our training dataset is representative? How do we make sure learning systems are learning the right things? And how can we make statistical classifiers more accurate when it comes to using algorithms for issues like probation and parole? These questions and more are all tackled in this episode.

Episode Quotes:

How can we aim to avoid unconscious bias in datasets?

I think there's a lot of work to be done both in terms of thinking about what are the data sets that we're really using, how do they generalize to the populations of people that are really going to be affected by a technology?

And also how do we articulate what we are truly trying to get this system to do? If certain mistakes are many orders of magnitude more costly than others, we have to find some way of expressing that or else by default, we're going to get a system that doesn't do anything close to what we want. 

Issues with statistical classifiers to think about probation, parole in US:

But what you did see in terms of the difference between black and white defendants was a difference in the actual kinds of errors that it was making.

So, if you look specifically at the defendants that were mispredicted, misclassified, you find that black defendants relative to white defendants are about two to one more likely to be misclassified as high-risk. White defendants, the other way around, two to one more likely to have been misclassified as lower risk than they really were.

Encouraging research on the future of machine learning:

My personal favorite is a paper between open AI and deep mind, where they were able to get a system to learn how to perform a backflip in this virtual world. Merely by showing users pairs of video clips of it moving randomly and saying which of these is slightly more like a backflip.

And by showing people 900 such video clips and just saying which of these is slightly more like a backflip, the system was able to infer a representation of what a backflip was. That was good enough for it to then learn how to execute these beautiful gymnastically, perfect backflips, sticking the landing, et cetera.

 And I think that to me frankly, it's about as hopeful as I have felt about this problem space in many years, because I think there is this promise that we can develop a methodology for extracting, somehow , the norms, the preferences that we have in our head. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:

Brian Christian Website

Brian Christian on Twitter

Academic Profile at Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley


His work:

The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions

GameMaker Programming By Example

The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive


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

]]> Mon, 13 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast AI & machine learning have been at the center of moral debate for decades now. Scientists and lay people alike know, or assume, that there will come a day where machines will not just figure out how to accomplish goals, but will also figure out what those goals are. That is the central question of our guests latest book, The Alignment Problem.

Brian Christian is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley working with human compatible AI and the Citrus Foundation. He is also known for co-authoring Algorithms To Live By: The Computer Science Of Human Decisions.

How do we make sure that our training dataset is representative? How do we make sure learning systems are learning the right things? And how can we make statistical classifiers more accurate when it comes to using algorithms for issues like probation and parole? These questions and more are all tackled in this episode.

Episode Quotes:

How can we aim to avoid unconscious bias in datasets?

I think there's a lot of work to be done both in terms of thinking about what are the data sets that we're really using, how do they generalize to the populations of people that are really going to be affected by a technology?

And also how do we articulate what we are truly trying to get this system to do? If certain mistakes are many orders of magnitude more costly than others, we have to find some way of expressing that or else by default, we're going to get a system that doesn't do anything close to what we want. 

Issues with statistical classifiers to think about probation, parole in US:

But what you did see in terms of the difference between black and white defendants was a difference in the actual kinds of errors that it was making.

So, if you look specifically at the defendants that were mispredicted, misclassified, you find that black defendants relative to white defendants are about two to one more likely to be misclassified as high-risk. White defendants, the other way around, two to one more likely to have been misclassified as lower risk than they really were.

Encouraging research on the future of machine learning:

My personal favorite is a paper between open AI and deep mind, where they were able to get a system to learn how to perform a backflip in this virtual world. Merely by showing users pairs of video clips of it moving randomly and saying which of these is slightly more like a backflip.

And by showing people 900 such video clips and just saying which of these is slightly more like a backflip, the system was able to infer a representation of what a backflip was. That was good enough for it to then learn how to execute these beautiful gymnastically, perfect backflips, sticking the landing, et cetera.

 And I think that to me frankly, it's about as hopeful as I have felt about this problem space in many years, because I think there is this promise that we can develop a methodology for extracting, somehow , the norms, the preferences that we have in our head. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile:

Brian Christian Website

Brian Christian on Twitter

Academic Profile at Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley


His work:

The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions

GameMaker Programming By Example

The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive


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

]]> Can We Teach AI Systems Human Values? feat. Brian Christian Greg La Blanc 01:07:33 AI & machine learning have been at the center of moral debate for decades now. Scientists and lay people alike know, or assume, that there will come a day where machines will not just figure out how to accomplish goals, but will also figure out what those goals are. That is the central question of our guests latest book, The Alignment Problem. Brian Christian is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley working with human compatible AI and the Citrus Foundation. He is also known for co-authoring Algorithms To Live By: The Computer Science Of Human Decisions. How do we make sure that our training dataset is representative? How do we make sure learning systems are learning the right things? And how can we make statistical classifiers more accurate when it comes to using algorithms for issues like probation and parole? These questions and more are all tackled in this episode. AI & machine learning have been at the center of moral debate for decades now. Scientists and lay people alike know, or assume, that there will come a day where machines will not just figure out how to accomplish goals, but will also figure out what those goals are. That is the central question of our guests latest book, The Alignment Problem. Brian Christian is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley working with human compatible AI and the Citrus Foundation. He is also known for co-authoring Algorithms To Live By: The Computer Science Of Human Decisions. How do we make sure that our training dataset is representative? How do we make sure learning systems are learning the right things? And how can we make statistical classifiers more accurate when it comes to using algorithms for issues like probation and parole? These questions and more are all tackled in this episode. false full 80 211054f1-7c64-458c-83a0-a35ae6bdf10f The Power of Creative Destruction: Economic Upheaval and the Wealth of Nations feat. Philippe Aghion While many on the left are calling for radical change and the fall of capitalism, Philippe Aghion says the answer is to create better capitalism by understanding and to harness the power of creative destruction.

That's the focus of his latest book, The Power Of Creative Destruction: Economic Upheaval And The Wealth Of Nations.

Philippe is a French economist who is a Professor at College de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics.

Listen as we dive into the theories behind The Power of Creative Destruction, different types of competition, legacy firms vs. small innovative firms, and the case of Korea in the 90s.

Episode Quotes:

2 ways competition effects innovation:

More competition will make us innovate so that I can do better than you. That's the thought whereby competition spurs innovation. On the other hand, there is a discouraging effect of competition. If I am behind you and there is more competition, I have less incentive to catch up. You see, you have these two effects and that's why the relationship between competition and innovation in the aggregate, is that kind of interrupted your relationship.

COVID and creative destruction in France:

COVID made it clear for example, to countries like France, that much more of what we need to put in place an innovation ecosystem from basic research, all the way to industrialization, to regain control of a huge change in various sectors, where we lost this control. And it will happen a lot through creative destruction, through new firms coming in and replacing old activities.

Not because you will bring back old firms that have plants in China back to France. That's not the way it will happen. It will happen very much through creative destruction.

In frontier economics - even the unskilled labor gets paid more than in places where you have less sophisticated technology:

They [innovative firms] in fact provide more what we call “good jobs.” You have two kinds of skills. You have the hard skills that you learn at school. But you have what we call the sub skills which are, the ability to interact with other employees of the firm or the, how you get the synergies that you have with the other assets of the firm.

And those are what we call subsidiary liability. Your ability to interact, and to understand how to play as a team player. All those things are not things you learn at school. They are things that we call sub skills. Some of them you have them, or you don't have them. Some of them you acquire through training.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> Fri, 10 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast While many on the left are calling for radical change and the fall of capitalism, Philippe Aghion says the answer is to create better capitalism by understanding and to harness the power of creative destruction.

That's the focus of his latest book, The Power Of Creative Destruction: Economic Upheaval And The Wealth Of Nations.

Philippe is a French economist who is a Professor at College de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics.

Listen as we dive into the theories behind The Power of Creative Destruction, different types of competition, legacy firms vs. small innovative firms, and the case of Korea in the 90s.

Episode Quotes:

2 ways competition effects innovation:

More competition will make us innovate so that I can do better than you. That's the thought whereby competition spurs innovation. On the other hand, there is a discouraging effect of competition. If I am behind you and there is more competition, I have less incentive to catch up. You see, you have these two effects and that's why the relationship between competition and innovation in the aggregate, is that kind of interrupted your relationship.

COVID and creative destruction in France:

COVID made it clear for example, to countries like France, that much more of what we need to put in place an innovation ecosystem from basic research, all the way to industrialization, to regain control of a huge change in various sectors, where we lost this control. And it will happen a lot through creative destruction, through new firms coming in and replacing old activities.

Not because you will bring back old firms that have plants in China back to France. That's not the way it will happen. It will happen very much through creative destruction.

In frontier economics - even the unskilled labor gets paid more than in places where you have less sophisticated technology:

They [innovative firms] in fact provide more what we call “good jobs.” You have two kinds of skills. You have the hard skills that you learn at school. But you have what we call the sub skills which are, the ability to interact with other employees of the firm or the, how you get the synergies that you have with the other assets of the firm.

And those are what we call subsidiary liability. Your ability to interact, and to understand how to play as a team player. All those things are not things you learn at school. They are things that we call sub skills. Some of them you have them, or you don't have them. Some of them you acquire through training.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His work:


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

]]> The Power of Creative Destruction: Economic Upheaval and the Wealth of Nations feat. Philippe Aghion Greg La Blanc 00:46:20 While many on the left are calling for radical change and the fall of capitalism, Philippe Aghion says the answer is to create better capitalism by understanding and to harness the power of creative destruction. That's the focus of his latest book, The Power Of Creative Destruction: Economic Upheaval And The Wealth Of Nations. Philippe is a French economist who is a Professor at College de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics. Listen as we dive into the theories behind The Power of Creative Destruction, different types of competition, legacy firms vs. small innovative firms, and the case of Korea in the 90s. While many on the left are calling for radical change and the fall of capitalism, Philippe Aghion says the answer is to create better capitalism by understanding and to harness the power of creative destruction. That's the focus of his latest book, The Power Of Creative Destruction: Economic Upheaval And The Wealth Of Nations. Philippe is a French economist who is a Professor at College de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics. Listen as we dive into the theories behind The Power of Creative Destruction, different types of competition, legacy firms vs. small innovative firms, and the case of Korea in the 90s. false full 79 d67e4bb5-3dde-4fc2-8aba-afcd96449c64 Influence, Power, and Harnessing Your Place in The Social Hierarchy feat. Vanessa Bohns You may not be a hot shot Instagram influencer, but you probably have more power to influence other people's decisions than you think. But on the flip side, some people wrestling with social anxieties and nerves, are overestimating how much other people think about their actions and judge them.

So why are people so unaware of their actual place in other people’s worlds, and how can we find the sweet spot in which to interact with the people around us?

Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist, professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, and the author of You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power Of Persuasion, And Why It Matters.

Today’s episode covers this core question of over vs. under confidence, where popularity fits in the persuasion mix, the invisibility cloak illusion, and the results of her library book vandalism study.

Episode Quotes:

Influence is more than just changing people's minds:

It's also the time we ask people for things throughout the day. It's all the ways we model behavior that other people follow along and copy. It's the way we run meetings and either create space or don't. So it's all the little ways that social psychologists have studied influence for a really long time. But I think that when we're thinking of the psychological definition of influence, it's a lot broader and more subtle.

Why saying no is often harder than saying yes when someone asks you to do something:

Part of it is that we think saying no is the default when we go to ask someone for something. But saying no is the hard thing; saying yes is the easier thing. Yes is just yes. You might be a little annoyed, but saying no, you need to come up with the words. You risk the potential for a confrontation. Often we want to make an excuse, so we don't make the person feel bad, so we have to come up with that, what that excuse might be. And we tend to forget how hard it is to come up with a no. 

Why some people shout and get aggressive in arguments:

Under confidence can lead you to sort of push too hard. Because you're expecting pushback or you think you're sort of shouting into the void, right? Like we also underestimate how many people are paying attention to our social media posts and things like that, so we think we can just put whatever out there.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her work:


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

]]> Wed, 8 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast You may not be a hot shot Instagram influencer, but you probably have more power to influence other people's decisions than you think. But on the flip side, some people wrestling with social anxieties and nerves, are overestimating how much other people think about their actions and judge them.

So why are people so unaware of their actual place in other people’s worlds, and how can we find the sweet spot in which to interact with the people around us?

Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist, professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, and the author of You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power Of Persuasion, And Why It Matters.

Today’s episode covers this core question of over vs. under confidence, where popularity fits in the persuasion mix, the invisibility cloak illusion, and the results of her library book vandalism study.

Episode Quotes:

Influence is more than just changing people's minds:

It's also the time we ask people for things throughout the day. It's all the ways we model behavior that other people follow along and copy. It's the way we run meetings and either create space or don't. So it's all the little ways that social psychologists have studied influence for a really long time. But I think that when we're thinking of the psychological definition of influence, it's a lot broader and more subtle.

Why saying no is often harder than saying yes when someone asks you to do something:

Part of it is that we think saying no is the default when we go to ask someone for something. But saying no is the hard thing; saying yes is the easier thing. Yes is just yes. You might be a little annoyed, but saying no, you need to come up with the words. You risk the potential for a confrontation. Often we want to make an excuse, so we don't make the person feel bad, so we have to come up with that, what that excuse might be. And we tend to forget how hard it is to come up with a no. 

Why some people shout and get aggressive in arguments:

Under confidence can lead you to sort of push too hard. Because you're expecting pushback or you think you're sort of shouting into the void, right? Like we also underestimate how many people are paying attention to our social media posts and things like that, so we think we can just put whatever out there.


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


Her work:


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

]]> Influence, Power, and Harnessing Your Place in The Social Hierarchy feat. Vanessa Bohns Greg La Blanc 00:51:36 You may not be a hot shot Instagram influencer, but you probably have more power to influence other people's decisions than you think. But on the flip side, some people wrestling with social anxieties and nerves, are overestimating how much other people think about their actions and judge them. So why are people so unaware of their actual place in other people’s worlds, and how can we find the sweet spot in which to interact with the people around us Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist, professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, and the author of You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power Of Persuasion, And Why It Matters. Today’s episode covers this core question of over vs. under confidence, where popularity fits in the persuasion mix, the invisibility cloak illusion, and the results of her library book vandalism study. You may not be a hot shot Instagram influencer, but you probably have more power to influence other people's decisions than you think. But on the flip side, some people wrestling with social anxieties and nerves, are overestimating how much other people think about their actions and judge them. So why are people so unaware of their actual place in other people’s worlds, and how can we find the sweet spot in which to interact with the people around us Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist, professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, and the author of You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power Of Persuasion, And Why It Matters. Today’s episode covers this core question of over vs. under confidence, where popularity fits in the persuasion mix, the invisibility cloak illusion, and the results of her library book vandalism study. false full 78 a3dd943e-f8c1-4e51-9125-7e7c1c3ed69f The Power of the Corporation feat. Colin Mayer It's been said that the most important invention of modern times is the corporation. And Colin Mayer agrees, saying the corporation is a “remarkable invention for bringing together the capacity and capability of mankind to work together to create phenomenal outcomes.”

Colin is a professor at the Saïd School at the University of Oxford, and was also the Dean between 2006 and 2011, helping to get the school off the ground. 

Colin sits down with Greg to discuss why the history of the corporation is so understudied, balancing shareholders and managers within a corporation, and the benefits of family firms.

Episode Quotes:

Striking balance within a corporation

But then it's still very important that the company gets that balance between having the ability to control things centrally, but ensuring that that entrepreneurship, that innovation is not lost by delegating decision taking down the organization so that people have the legitimacy to pursue that innovation as well. 

Why some of Milton Freeman's theories about corporations don't work in modern times

Because it basically says that the company should do whatever it can to generate profits, irrespective of the impact that it has on its employees, its societies, its environment. So long as in the process of doing that, it doesn't violate laws or it doesn't lose its reputation.

And the consequence of that has been exactly what we've observed over the last 60 years as the movement towards profit gathered pace. And that is that the corporation has created a huge amount of wealth for some and in the process, intensified levels of inequality and social exclusion immensely, and had a devastating consequence on the environment.

And that is exactly what you would expect from a notion of what the purpose of a business is. It will do whatever it can to generate profit, irrespective of the impact it has on others, including the natural world.

Are family firms more risk averse?

There's certainly evidence that,, family businesses follow a conservative approach in terms of the extent to which they are willing to sacrifice the reputation of the penny and the family., And that element in terms of being interested in the reputation of the family is potentially a source of inhibiting innovation, entrepreneurship, and experimentation. But it's equally well a mechanism for ensuring responsibility on the part of the owners of a company.

So one of the interesting elements of the pandemic was, to what extent did different organizations respond by supporting those who are most vulnerable, during the onset of the pandemic and in particular, to what extent were they willing to support their employees? Well, One form of that conservatism that was demonstrated by family businesses was a strong willingness to recognize the importance of supporting their employees during that period, and really incorporating them as part of the wider family, in the organization.


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]]> Mon, 6 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast It's been said that the most important invention of modern times is the corporation. And Colin Mayer agrees, saying the corporation is a “remarkable invention for bringing together the capacity and capability of mankind to work together to create phenomenal outcomes.”

Colin is a professor at the Saïd School at the University of Oxford, and was also the Dean between 2006 and 2011, helping to get the school off the ground. 

Colin sits down with Greg to discuss why the history of the corporation is so understudied, balancing shareholders and managers within a corporation, and the benefits of family firms.

Episode Quotes:

Striking balance within a corporation

But then it's still very important that the company gets that balance between having the ability to control things centrally, but ensuring that that entrepreneurship, that innovation is not lost by delegating decision taking down the organization so that people have the legitimacy to pursue that innovation as well. 

Why some of Milton Freeman's theories about corporations don't work in modern times

Because it basically says that the company should do whatever it can to generate profits, irrespective of the impact that it has on its employees, its societies, its environment. So long as in the process of doing that, it doesn't violate laws or it doesn't lose its reputation.

And the consequence of that has been exactly what we've observed over the last 60 years as the movement towards profit gathered pace. And that is that the corporation has created a huge amount of wealth for some and in the process, intensified levels of inequality and social exclusion immensely, and had a devastating consequence on the environment.

And that is exactly what you would expect from a notion of what the purpose of a business is. It will do whatever it can to generate profit, irrespective of the impact it has on others, including the natural world.

Are family firms more risk averse?

There's certainly evidence that,, family businesses follow a conservative approach in terms of the extent to which they are willing to sacrifice the reputation of the penny and the family., And that element in terms of being interested in the reputation of the family is potentially a source of inhibiting innovation, entrepreneurship, and experimentation. But it's equally well a mechanism for ensuring responsibility on the part of the owners of a company.

So one of the interesting elements of the pandemic was, to what extent did different organizations respond by supporting those who are most vulnerable, during the onset of the pandemic and in particular, to what extent were they willing to support their employees? Well, One form of that conservatism that was demonstrated by family businesses was a strong willingness to recognize the importance of supporting their employees during that period, and really incorporating them as part of the wider family, in the organization.


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]]> The Power of the Corporation feat. Colin Mayer Greg La Blanc 01:01:20 It's been said that the most important invention of modern times is the corporation. And Colin Mayer agrees, saying the corporation is a “remarkable invention for bringing together the capacity and capability of mankind to work together to create phenomenal outcomes.” Colin is a professor at the Saïd School at the University of Oxford, and was also the Dean between 2006 and 2011, helping to get the school off the ground. Colin sits down with Greg to discuss why the history of the corporation is so understudied, balancing shareholders and managers within a corporation, and the benefits of family firms. It's been said that the most important invention of modern times is the corporation. And Colin Mayer agrees, saying the corporation is a “remarkable invention for bringing together the capacity and capability of mankind to work together to create phenomenal outcomes.” Colin is a professor at the Saïd School at the University of Oxford, and was also the Dean between 2006 and 2011, helping to get the school off the ground. Colin sits down with Greg to discuss why the history of the corporation is so understudied, balancing shareholders and managers within a corporation, and the benefits of family firms. false full 77 82319b9f-1179-4b10-90ee-4a313d5bdfcf Think Like an Engineer feat. Guru Madhavan A combination of structure, constraints and trade, those are the essential ingredients of an engineering mindset. But those traits have benefits and applications to many other scenarios outside the world of engineering. So why aren't they being used?

Guru Madhavan is the Senior Scholar and Director of Programs at the National Academy of Engineering, as well as the author of Applied Minds: How Engineers Think, and the upcoming Making Better Choices.

Listen as Guru and Greg discuss what makes the engineering way of thinking so distinctive, the crossover between invention and innovation, and break down modular systems thinking.

Episode Quotes:

Why learning from and sharing information with other domains is so important 

There are so many examples where engineers have found themselves in frustrating circumstances where they are expected to do one thing and not allowed to contribute beyond what they're capable of. And the exact opposite, where they expect engineers to contribute a more vibrant, acceptable solution. And then you get a point solution that's useless and probably even backfires. So I think, how do you seamlessly transfer some of the generic ideas across the context is the challenge that we all as professionals have to face.

When a complex system becomes maladaptive

How organizations have achieved a level of refinement, specification justification, legitimacy in their functions, to the point that they're not able to relate to one another. And whatever action one might take, squarely conflicts with another. And therefore you have an ultimate maladaptation, maladaptive system from each of these individual adaptive systems.

Why aren't there more engineers in politics?

Being so outcome oriented, good or bad, sometimes could be lethal and a bit threatening for the social fabric. And I think, to be in politics you have to oppose this - it's a generic point that I'm making - you have to be smooth around the edges, not be so fixed. That's why I think it's a complicated phenomenon where engineers are professionally so astute at making sacrificial judgements when it comes to certain forms of design, but not when it comes to civic matters. That's an open puzzle.


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]]> Fri, 3 Dec 2021 23:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast A combination of structure, constraints and trade, those are the essential ingredients of an engineering mindset. But those traits have benefits and applications to many other scenarios outside the world of engineering. So why aren't they being used?

Guru Madhavan is the Senior Scholar and Director of Programs at the National Academy of Engineering, as well as the author of Applied Minds: How Engineers Think, and the upcoming Making Better Choices.

Listen as Guru and Greg discuss what makes the engineering way of thinking so distinctive, the crossover between invention and innovation, and break down modular systems thinking.

Episode Quotes:

Why learning from and sharing information with other domains is so important 

There are so many examples where engineers have found themselves in frustrating circumstances where they are expected to do one thing and not allowed to contribute beyond what they're capable of. And the exact opposite, where they expect engineers to contribute a more vibrant, acceptable solution. And then you get a point solution that's useless and probably even backfires. So I think, how do you seamlessly transfer some of the generic ideas across the context is the challenge that we all as professionals have to face.

When a complex system becomes maladaptive

How organizations have achieved a level of refinement, specification justification, legitimacy in their functions, to the point that they're not able to relate to one another. And whatever action one might take, squarely conflicts with another. And therefore you have an ultimate maladaptation, maladaptive system from each of these individual adaptive systems.

Why aren't there more engineers in politics?

Being so outcome oriented, good or bad, sometimes could be lethal and a bit threatening for the social fabric. And I think, to be in politics you have to oppose this - it's a generic point that I'm making - you have to be smooth around the edges, not be so fixed. That's why I think it's a complicated phenomenon where engineers are professionally so astute at making sacrificial judgements when it comes to certain forms of design, but not when it comes to civic matters. That's an open puzzle.


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]]> Think Like an Engineer feat. Guru Madhavan Greg La Blanc 00:48:38 A combination of structure, constraints and trade, those are the essential ingredients of an engineering mindset. But those traits have benefits and applications to many other scenarios outside the world of engineering. So why aren't they being used? Guru Madhavan is the Senior Scholar and Director of Programs at the National Academy of Engineering, as well as the author of Applied Minds: How Engineers Think, and the upcoming Making Better Choices. Listen as Guru and Greg discuss what makes the engineering way of thinking so distinctive, the crossover between invention and innovation, and break down modular systems thinking. A combination of structure, constraints and trade, those are the essential ingredients of an engineering mindset. But those traits have benefits and applications to many other scenarios outside the world of engineering. So why aren't they being used? Guru Madhavan is the Senior Scholar and Director of Programs at the National Academy of Engineering, as well as the author of Applied Minds: How Engineers Think, and the upcoming Making Better Choices. Listen as Guru and Greg discuss what makes the engineering way of thinking so distinctive, the crossover between invention and innovation, and break down modular systems thinking. false full 76 c867f4ae-6027-4b71-b586-4df4de4b7aa9 Physical Intelligence: The Relationship Between Mind and Body feat. Scott Grafton Physical intelligence is the most primitive and essential form of cognition. We rely on it to perform basic actions (changing a light bulb) to complicated activities (navigating unknown terrain). Renowned neuroscientist, author, and mountaineer, Scott Grafton brilliantly describes the action-oriented brain's design and workings through the lens of behavioral neurology and cognitive neuroscience, demonstrating how physical intelligence is inherent in all of us.

His book of the same name explains the science behind our most overlooked ability and explains the powerful connections between mind and body that help us optimize our physical potentials. 

This conversation offers us a clear and illuminating insight into the relationship between the mind and the body as they engage (or don't engage) in all manner of physical activity.

Episode Quotes:

What experience sparked your interest in studying surfaces and movements?

One of the most profound experiences I had as a kid was one of my mentors who was teaching me how to do all this, he was teaching a high school class, and he made everybody hike alone for half an hour. For most people, that's the first time they'd actually ever been alone outside of, let's say, their bedroom or something like that. So they’re in the middle of nowhere, middle of the wild now going alone. Right? 

And it's just pure existential reality. This is how people lived, for most of evolution, just being that skilled, just moving through terrain by yourself and gaining confidence in that is really profound. And not enough of us experience that. I mean, everybody should spend just 10 minutes walking off-trail, just go to Point Reyes or wherever, whatever national park you like, just go off-trail for a bit. It's a totally different experience. 

Threat in the wilderness helps develop focus and attention.

Just think of anybody who has to be situationally aware in a really dynamic environment of everything around them and how they train themselves to open up to that experience and certainly being in the wild by yourself kind of triggers you into that mode because it's just like, what's going on around me. Right? You just naturally kind of become vigilant to just a huge space around you. And I don't think there's any special trick to doing it, other than just doing a lot of it and being in situations where it's a natural outcome of what you're trying to do.

Which sense aids in identifying the position of one's body parts in space?

The sixth sense is really a tool to help you figure out your body's schema. Your body's schema is your sense of where your three-dimensional body is in space, right? It's not being able to name your finger, or telling an elbow from a wrist. It's, where am I in space? And I'm moving, so I got to keep up with that. And the sixth sense is more information coming in to help you track that and is primarily muscle. When your muscles contract, that's a big tell that my body schema is now moving, where I am in three-dimensional space, where I am is updating. 


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]]> Wed, 1 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Physical intelligence is the most primitive and essential form of cognition. We rely on it to perform basic actions (changing a light bulb) to complicated activities (navigating unknown terrain). Renowned neuroscientist, author, and mountaineer, Scott Grafton brilliantly describes the action-oriented brain's design and workings through the lens of behavioral neurology and cognitive neuroscience, demonstrating how physical intelligence is inherent in all of us.

His book of the same name explains the science behind our most overlooked ability and explains the powerful connections between mind and body that help us optimize our physical potentials. 

This conversation offers us a clear and illuminating insight into the relationship between the mind and the body as they engage (or don't engage) in all manner of physical activity.

Episode Quotes:

What experience sparked your interest in studying surfaces and movements?

One of the most profound experiences I had as a kid was one of my mentors who was teaching me how to do all this, he was teaching a high school class, and he made everybody hike alone for half an hour. For most people, that's the first time they'd actually ever been alone outside of, let's say, their bedroom or something like that. So they’re in the middle of nowhere, middle of the wild now going alone. Right? 

And it's just pure existential reality. This is how people lived, for most of evolution, just being that skilled, just moving through terrain by yourself and gaining confidence in that is really profound. And not enough of us experience that. I mean, everybody should spend just 10 minutes walking off-trail, just go to Point Reyes or wherever, whatever national park you like, just go off-trail for a bit. It's a totally different experience. 

Threat in the wilderness helps develop focus and attention.

Just think of anybody who has to be situationally aware in a really dynamic environment of everything around them and how they train themselves to open up to that experience and certainly being in the wild by yourself kind of triggers you into that mode because it's just like, what's going on around me. Right? You just naturally kind of become vigilant to just a huge space around you. And I don't think there's any special trick to doing it, other than just doing a lot of it and being in situations where it's a natural outcome of what you're trying to do.

Which sense aids in identifying the position of one's body parts in space?

The sixth sense is really a tool to help you figure out your body's schema. Your body's schema is your sense of where your three-dimensional body is in space, right? It's not being able to name your finger, or telling an elbow from a wrist. It's, where am I in space? And I'm moving, so I got to keep up with that. And the sixth sense is more information coming in to help you track that and is primarily muscle. When your muscles contract, that's a big tell that my body schema is now moving, where I am in three-dimensional space, where I am is updating. 


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Physical Intelligence: The Relationship Between Mind and Body feat. Scott Grafton Greg La Blanc 00:47:22 Physical intelligence is the most primitive and essential form of cognition. We rely on it to perform basic actions (changing a light bulb) to complicated activities (navigating unknown terrain). Renowned neuroscientist, author, and mountaineer, Scott Grafton brilliantly describes the action-oriented brain's design and workings through the lens of behavioral neurology and cognitive neuroscience, demonstrating how physical intelligence is inherent in all of us. His book of the same name explains the science behind our most overlooked ability and explains the powerful connections between mind and body that help us optimize our physical potentials. This conversation offers us a clear and illuminating insight into the relationship between the mind and the body as they engage (or don't engage) in all manner of physical activity. Physical intelligence is the most primitive and essential form of cognition. We rely on it to perform basic actions (changing a light bulb) to complicated activities (navigating unknown terrain). Renowned neuroscientist, author, and mountaineer, Scott Grafton brilliantly describes the action-oriented brain's design and workings through the lens of behavioral neurology and cognitive neuroscience, demonstrating how physical intelligence is inherent in all of us. His book of the same name explains the science behind our most overlooked ability and explains the powerful connections between mind and body that help us optimize our physical potentials. This conversation offers us a clear and illuminating insight into the relationship between the mind and the body as they engage (or don't engage) in all manner of physical activity. false full 75 48c3f05e-2a28-45fa-92cc-be76cce9c171 The Innovation Economy: Concepts Shaping Financial Markets feat. Bill Janeway The innovation economy begins with discovery and culminates in speculation. For the last 250 years, economic growth has been driven by a consistent process of trial and error. Drawing on his theorist-practitioner experience, Bill Janeway provides an accessible platform to discuss the dynamics of the innovation economy. 

In this episode, he shares some of his personal reflections from his forty years in venture capital, laying out what he calls the “Three-Player Game” concept, saying this is necessary to fuel innovation: the state, financial capitalism, and the market economy. Find out how the three-player concept is shaping financial innovations. Listen as he discusses his book Doing Capitalism In The Innovation Economy.

Episode Quotes:

Thoughts on how people make decisions in financial markets beyond correlation

I think economics is going through a generation long. Pretty fundamental reconsideration that goes with two things. One, a major observable shift from theoretical to empirical work. Second, the existence and the learning by doing of how to deal with data at the scale, the pervasiveness, the scope, of what's now available. I think one of the most interesting things is something that economists can now not as imperialists of the rational choice theoretic. But as practitioners of data analysis with the other social sciences that are also inundated with data, the movement toward causal explanation, getting beyond correlation, recognizing that the more data you have, the greater the propensity to generate false correlation.

Is the thought of financial markets being separate from the real market a completely implausible idea?

You can ignore the financial markets if you do two things. One, you think of money as a veil, which simply is a kind of numéraire for indexing real transactions. Second, you assume that the market always prices financial assets in line with real economic fundamentals. The net present value of their future cash flows, and that the real-world economy’s investment decisions and real assets reflect exactly that same calculation. If you do that, make that gigantic, in my view, a self-destructive and absurd leap of faith, then you can say the financial markets don't matter. The body of empirical evidence against either of those propositions is so overwhelming.

Why do the amounts invested in venture capital gets bigger and bigger even if the returns are not as big, especially even after the dot com bubble?

The world of the bubble of the late 1990s was unique. People made tons of money from investing in things that had no plausible business model, no path towards positive cash flow from operations, we can come back to that mantra. You then had this ten year death of venture capital, where the buyout boom took off again. But, whereas the buyout boom which had shown the same kind of both, skew and persistence of returns. Persistence has disappeared over the last 20 years because all buyout deals are run through auctions, Winner's curse dominated. But remember that first statistical stylized fact that venture capital enormous skew in returns, it goes with persistence.

How do current situations and the role of the government in investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs will shape innovation?

The great thing about climate change is that it offers the potential for effective political entrepreneurs to fashion a legitimizing mission for massive investment in the next generation, the next revolutions for infrastructure jobs.

Thoughts on creative destruction prompting the original growth model

At the macro level, unused resources because of austerity, because of paralysis of the state in responding to inadequate aggregate demand is utter waste, with no redeeming feature, which actually feeds back to reduce productivity.


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]]> Mon, 29 Nov 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The innovation economy begins with discovery and culminates in speculation. For the last 250 years, economic growth has been driven by a consistent process of trial and error. Drawing on his theorist-practitioner experience, Bill Janeway provides an accessible platform to discuss the dynamics of the innovation economy. 

In this episode, he shares some of his personal reflections from his forty years in venture capital, laying out what he calls the “Three-Player Game” concept, saying this is necessary to fuel innovation: the state, financial capitalism, and the market economy. Find out how the three-player concept is shaping financial innovations. Listen as he discusses his book Doing Capitalism In The Innovation Economy.

Episode Quotes:

Thoughts on how people make decisions in financial markets beyond correlation

I think economics is going through a generation long. Pretty fundamental reconsideration that goes with two things. One, a major observable shift from theoretical to empirical work. Second, the existence and the learning by doing of how to deal with data at the scale, the pervasiveness, the scope, of what's now available. I think one of the most interesting things is something that economists can now not as imperialists of the rational choice theoretic. But as practitioners of data analysis with the other social sciences that are also inundated with data, the movement toward causal explanation, getting beyond correlation, recognizing that the more data you have, the greater the propensity to generate false correlation.

Is the thought of financial markets being separate from the real market a completely implausible idea?

You can ignore the financial markets if you do two things. One, you think of money as a veil, which simply is a kind of numéraire for indexing real transactions. Second, you assume that the market always prices financial assets in line with real economic fundamentals. The net present value of their future cash flows, and that the real-world economy’s investment decisions and real assets reflect exactly that same calculation. If you do that, make that gigantic, in my view, a self-destructive and absurd leap of faith, then you can say the financial markets don't matter. The body of empirical evidence against either of those propositions is so overwhelming.

Why do the amounts invested in venture capital gets bigger and bigger even if the returns are not as big, especially even after the dot com bubble?

The world of the bubble of the late 1990s was unique. People made tons of money from investing in things that had no plausible business model, no path towards positive cash flow from operations, we can come back to that mantra. You then had this ten year death of venture capital, where the buyout boom took off again. But, whereas the buyout boom which had shown the same kind of both, skew and persistence of returns. Persistence has disappeared over the last 20 years because all buyout deals are run through auctions, Winner's curse dominated. But remember that first statistical stylized fact that venture capital enormous skew in returns, it goes with persistence.

How do current situations and the role of the government in investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs will shape innovation?

The great thing about climate change is that it offers the potential for effective political entrepreneurs to fashion a legitimizing mission for massive investment in the next generation, the next revolutions for infrastructure jobs.

Thoughts on creative destruction prompting the original growth model

At the macro level, unused resources because of austerity, because of paralysis of the state in responding to inadequate aggregate demand is utter waste, with no redeeming feature, which actually feeds back to reduce productivity.


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Guest Profile:


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]]> The Innovation Economy: Concepts Shaping Financial Markets feat. Bill Janeway Greg La Blanc 01:17:46 The innovation economy begins with discovery and culminates in speculation. For the last 250 years, economic growth has been driven by a consistent process of trial and error. Drawing on his theorist-practitioner experience, Bill Janeway provides an accessible platform to discuss the dynamics of the innovation economy. In this episode, he shares some of his personal reflections from his forty years in venture capital, laying out what he calls the “Three-Player Game” concept, saying this is necessary to fuel innovation: the state, financial capitalism, and the market economy. Find out how the three-player concept is shaping financial innovations. Listen as he discusses his book Doing Capitalism In The Innovation Economy. The innovation economy begins with discovery and culminates in speculation. For the last 250 years, economic growth has been driven by a consistent process of trial and error. Drawing on his theorist-practitioner experience, Bill Janeway provides an accessible platform to discuss the dynamics of the innovation economy. In this episode, he shares some of his personal reflections from his forty years in venture capital, laying out what he calls the “Three-Player Game” concept, saying this is necessary to fuel innovation: the state, financial capitalism, and the market economy. Find out how the three-player concept is shaping financial innovations. Listen as he discusses his book Doing Capitalism In The Innovation Economy. false full 74 2e8b5c22-9592-4dcb-9ec4-d23f16cdb419 Changes & Contagions: Spreading New Ideas and Behaviors to Make Great Things Happen feat. Damon Centola New social movements, beliefs, behaviors, and technologies often struggle to gain traction. Some diseases, such as Covid-19, spread quickly and created a world-changing pandemic. Could the idea of viral diseases be applied in spreading innovations and beneficial behaviors? Damon Centola talks about his best-selling books How Behavior Spreads and Change: How to Make Big Things Happen.

In this episode, he shares the findings of over a decade's worth of original research on social networks and societal behaviors. Damon talks about what drives change— influence, propagation of new ideas, and transmitting beliefs and behaviors from person to person. Listen as he and Greg talk about factors that led to the success of the Black Lives Matter movement, the fall of Google+, and the rise of political polarization. 

Episode Quotes:

How influencers may not have much influence when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine

So, the people who are maybe feeling like, “Oh, it's inconvenient, I get the idea.” But then they see an influencer, and like alright, that gets them over the hump. But the people who are feeling distrustful of the message itself about vaccination, seeing an influencer only makes them suspicious of that influence. It doesn’t change their fundamental receptiveness. 

Why should influencers be cautious about sharing messages?

An influencer can't just do whatever they want. They have to be sensitive to the audience they're speaking to. And this is where the bias in a community plays such an important role. The emphasis on influencers is misguided because it overlooks the fact that influencers are really only influential when they're reinforcing our existing biases, which is another way of saying they're spreading simple contagions.

How did World War one recruitment initiatives succeed in leveraging local ties to get more people to join the effort?

By mobilizing campaigns that basically said, “You can fight with your buddies, the people that you know in your hometown”. Then hometowns actually got behind the war effort, and people mobilized together and generated the largest volunteer army that Britain had seen to date.


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]]> Fri, 26 Nov 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast New social movements, beliefs, behaviors, and technologies often struggle to gain traction. Some diseases, such as Covid-19, spread quickly and created a world-changing pandemic. Could the idea of viral diseases be applied in spreading innovations and beneficial behaviors? Damon Centola talks about his best-selling books How Behavior Spreads and Change: How to Make Big Things Happen.

In this episode, he shares the findings of over a decade's worth of original research on social networks and societal behaviors. Damon talks about what drives change— influence, propagation of new ideas, and transmitting beliefs and behaviors from person to person. Listen as he and Greg talk about factors that led to the success of the Black Lives Matter movement, the fall of Google+, and the rise of political polarization. 

Episode Quotes:

How influencers may not have much influence when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine

So, the people who are maybe feeling like, “Oh, it's inconvenient, I get the idea.” But then they see an influencer, and like alright, that gets them over the hump. But the people who are feeling distrustful of the message itself about vaccination, seeing an influencer only makes them suspicious of that influence. It doesn’t change their fundamental receptiveness. 

Why should influencers be cautious about sharing messages?

An influencer can't just do whatever they want. They have to be sensitive to the audience they're speaking to. And this is where the bias in a community plays such an important role. The emphasis on influencers is misguided because it overlooks the fact that influencers are really only influential when they're reinforcing our existing biases, which is another way of saying they're spreading simple contagions.

How did World War one recruitment initiatives succeed in leveraging local ties to get more people to join the effort?

By mobilizing campaigns that basically said, “You can fight with your buddies, the people that you know in your hometown”. Then hometowns actually got behind the war effort, and people mobilized together and generated the largest volunteer army that Britain had seen to date.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


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]]> Changes & Contagions: Spreading New Ideas and Behaviors to Make Great Things Happen feat. Damon Centola Greg La Blanc 00:55:40 New social movements, beliefs, behaviors, and technologies often struggle to gain traction. Some diseases, such as Covid-19, spread quickly and created a world-changing pandemic. Could the idea of viral diseases be applied in spreading innovations and beneficial behaviors? Damon Centola talks about his best-selling books How Behavior Spreads and Change: How to Make Big Things Happen. In this episode, he shares the findings of over a decade's worth of original research on social networks and societal behaviors. Damon talks about what drives change— influence, propagation of new ideas, and transmitting beliefs and behaviors from person to person. Listen as he and Greg talk about factors that led to the success of the Black Lives Matter movement, the fall of Google+, and the rise of political polarization. New social movements, beliefs, behaviors, and technologies often struggle to gain traction. Some diseases, such as Covid-19, spread quickly and created a world-changing pandemic. Could the idea of viral diseases be applied in spreading innovations and beneficial behaviors? Damon Centola talks about his best-selling books How Behavior Spreads and Change: How to Make Big Things Happen. In this episode, he shares the findings of over a decade's worth of original research on social networks and societal behaviors. Damon talks about what drives change— influence, propagation of new ideas, and transmitting beliefs and behaviors from person to person. Listen as he and Greg talk about factors that led to the success of the Black Lives Matter movement, the fall of Google+, and the rise of political polarization. false full 73 44ce0ab2-92b9-4037-a8c9-aefebec55b18 The Genius Makers: The People that Shaped Neural Networks in A.I. feat. Cade Metz The same technology that lets your daughter call up her favorite songs in Alexa is also used for government surveillance, racial profiling, and the creation of deep fake YouTube videos from troll farms. While neural networks make our lives easier, they also create ethical tangles and questions. New York Times Silicon Valley reporter, Cade Metz tackles these moral disparities through hundreds of exclusive interviews in his book, Genius Makers.

In this episode, Cade talks about factors that shaped the A.I. technology fueling the biggest tech companies: Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and OpenAI, a new lab founded by Elon Musk. Listen as Greg and Cade discuss the fierce conflict between national interests, shareholder value, the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the very human concerns about privacy, security, and prejudice. 

Episode Quotes:

Why are open-source companies like Geoffrey Hinton's DNN research considered valuable when people already have access to their information?

It's an idea that dated back to the fifties, but by 2012, when Geoff is essentially auctioning himself off, there are few people on Earth who know how that idea works. Because most of the world thought it would never work. And that's the dynamic there. To this day, it's the talent that is valuable. We needed a lot of stuff for this to work. You need the data, and you need the computer processing power needed to analyze that data. But you need the people to make that work. Getting a neural network to work, some people described it as a dark art or black magic. It's about sort of coaxing something out of this data. These systems literally learn by analyzing the data, and it's more data than you and I could ever wrap our heads around. So, it's about coaxing those machines to learn on their own. They do take off in ways that are beyond us, but you need these people to guide them. And that's really what happened

Thoughts on institutional frictions that shaped game-changing ideas and progress on neural networks

You have these battles between academics and people like Marvin Minsky ended up having the upper hand, right? Sometimes, it's about who has the loudest voice and who can convince the Department of Defense to give them the money for their particular project.

And you see the whole industry shift to what you call good old-fashioned AI, that symbolic AI. Where you're basically putting engineers in a room, and they define how the technology's going to work— rule by rule, line of code by line of code. That became what people had the most hope for. That would be the future and not these systems that could learn on their own from data.

Thoughts on pursuing ideas and harnessing curiosity to overcome dead ends

I love that you mentioned this theme of his own lab at the University of Toronto. It was old ideas are new. What that meant was, it didn't matter how old the idea was, what mattered was, had you proven that it wouldn't work? If you had not proven that, then you should keep working on it. No matter how much time went by. If you got to that point where you proved it was wrong, then you could put it aside. But until then, you keep working.

How did persistence help Geoffrey succeed in finding the missing piece in the neural network?

Most of the world at that point had discarded the idea of a neural network. Even his own thesis adviser had abandoned this idea and had recently moved on to that symbolic method you talked about. Yet, Geoff still grabbed hold of that idea and did not let go for decades. So, he had this fundamental belief and that is what drove him.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Wed, 24 Nov 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The same technology that lets your daughter call up her favorite songs in Alexa is also used for government surveillance, racial profiling, and the creation of deep fake YouTube videos from troll farms. While neural networks make our lives easier, they also create ethical tangles and questions. New York Times Silicon Valley reporter, Cade Metz tackles these moral disparities through hundreds of exclusive interviews in his book, Genius Makers.

In this episode, Cade talks about factors that shaped the A.I. technology fueling the biggest tech companies: Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and OpenAI, a new lab founded by Elon Musk. Listen as Greg and Cade discuss the fierce conflict between national interests, shareholder value, the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the very human concerns about privacy, security, and prejudice. 

Episode Quotes:

Why are open-source companies like Geoffrey Hinton's DNN research considered valuable when people already have access to their information?

It's an idea that dated back to the fifties, but by 2012, when Geoff is essentially auctioning himself off, there are few people on Earth who know how that idea works. Because most of the world thought it would never work. And that's the dynamic there. To this day, it's the talent that is valuable. We needed a lot of stuff for this to work. You need the data, and you need the computer processing power needed to analyze that data. But you need the people to make that work. Getting a neural network to work, some people described it as a dark art or black magic. It's about sort of coaxing something out of this data. These systems literally learn by analyzing the data, and it's more data than you and I could ever wrap our heads around. So, it's about coaxing those machines to learn on their own. They do take off in ways that are beyond us, but you need these people to guide them. And that's really what happened

Thoughts on institutional frictions that shaped game-changing ideas and progress on neural networks

You have these battles between academics and people like Marvin Minsky ended up having the upper hand, right? Sometimes, it's about who has the loudest voice and who can convince the Department of Defense to give them the money for their particular project.

And you see the whole industry shift to what you call good old-fashioned AI, that symbolic AI. Where you're basically putting engineers in a room, and they define how the technology's going to work— rule by rule, line of code by line of code. That became what people had the most hope for. That would be the future and not these systems that could learn on their own from data.

Thoughts on pursuing ideas and harnessing curiosity to overcome dead ends

I love that you mentioned this theme of his own lab at the University of Toronto. It was old ideas are new. What that meant was, it didn't matter how old the idea was, what mattered was, had you proven that it wouldn't work? If you had not proven that, then you should keep working on it. No matter how much time went by. If you got to that point where you proved it was wrong, then you could put it aside. But until then, you keep working.

How did persistence help Geoffrey succeed in finding the missing piece in the neural network?

Most of the world at that point had discarded the idea of a neural network. Even his own thesis adviser had abandoned this idea and had recently moved on to that symbolic method you talked about. Yet, Geoff still grabbed hold of that idea and did not let go for decades. So, he had this fundamental belief and that is what drove him.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The Genius Makers: The People that Shaped Neural Networks in A.I. feat. Cade Metz Greg La Blanc 00:45:01 The same technology that lets your daughter call up her favorite songs in Alexa is also used for government surveillance, racial profiling, and the creation of deep fake YouTube videos from troll farms. While neural networks make our lives easier, they also create ethical tangles and questions. New York Times Silicon Valley reporter, Cade Metz tackles these moral disparities through hundreds of exclusive interviews in his book, Genius Makers. In this episode, Cade talks about factors that shaped the A.I. technology fueling the biggest tech companies: Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and OpenAI, a new lab founded by Elon Musk. Listen as Greg and Cade discuss the fierce conflict between national interests, shareholder value, the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the very human concerns about privacy, security, and prejudice. The same technology that lets your daughter call up her favorite songs in Alexa is also used for government surveillance, racial profiling, and the creation of deep fake YouTube videos from troll farms. While neural networks make our lives easier, they also create ethical tangles and questions. New York Times Silicon Valley reporter, Cade Metz tackles these moral disparities through hundreds of exclusive interviews in his book, Genius Makers. In this episode, Cade talks about factors that shaped the A.I. technology fueling the biggest tech companies: Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and OpenAI, a new lab founded by Elon Musk. Listen as Greg and Cade discuss the fierce conflict between national interests, shareholder value, the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the very human concerns about privacy, security, and prejudice. false full 72 a7790d75-0511-4814-93ce-8da4aee94205 The First 90 Days: Planning Your Success feat. Michael Watkins A determined leader is often motivated by the desire to take risks and move forward. Michael D. Watkins, the transition guru and author stresses the importance of succeeding in your next career change. Success during the adjustment phase will propel you to more challenging roles. Failure will irreparably harm your career and organization. These are the main points of his best-selling books The First 90 Days and Master Your Next Move. 

Michael emphasizes the factors that affect an executive’s transition to a new organization— identifying the different kinds of changes that will be crucial to a leader’s career, from promotion to making an international move, or even to turning around a business in crisis. Join us and get to hear why companies prefer to hire external talents, the psychological barriers that hold back CEOs, and overcoming the “corporate immune system” for effective cultural changes. 

Episode Quotes:

Why do most companies look for talents outside instead of promoting internally?

Companies now have a big incentive to get people up to speed quickly, right? No question. Which is wonderful for me and the work I do. It's terrific. They have a pretty big incentive to provide those people with the tools they need to do that job. They have virtually no incentive in developing those people for future roles. Because the odds are very good, you've been eloquent about it, that they're not going to stay in that company. Why would you do that?

Thoughts about undervaluing internal talent

I do think that it's easy to undervalue your internal talent. It’s almost a version of familiarity breeds contempt or under appreciation, right? The shiny object on the outside can look a lot more attractive, even if you're paying more for it, and even if you have to bring that person up to speed. I'm not saying, there aren’t real cases sometimes for bringing in talent externally, but I don't think there's sufficient appreciation often of the internal talent. That feeds that cycle you're describing. People say, “Okay, I'm not going to be appreciated. I better go someplace else”.

Relating the eight kinds transitions to Marshall Goldsmith’s What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and Peter Principle 

Marshall Goldsmith's What Got You Here Won't Get You There —that's just so accurate because as you move up through an organization, it is indeed absolutely true, right? The skills that got you to a certain level are not necessarily the ones that are going to get you further. That's the root of the Peter Principle. You got promoted to your level of incompetence because you don't adapt. You continued doing what you've done in the past. And at some point, that's not just not good enough anymore.

Does today’s pace of change require accelerated leadership development?

By the nature of the speed of what's going on, the generational shift, the complexity of the issues people are facing—we need people to get up to that level of capabilities much sooner than they did before. And that presents some real risks. People just don't have the decades to season themselves as leaders, to do what they need to do today.

Culture and transformation in the workplace 

You're not prepared to change your culture, you're not going to succeed in all the other kinds of transformations that you want to be pursuing. Whether it's digital transformation, new business models or new ways of working.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Mon, 22 Nov 2021 17:30:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast A determined leader is often motivated by the desire to take risks and move forward. Michael D. Watkins, the transition guru and author stresses the importance of succeeding in your next career change. Success during the adjustment phase will propel you to more challenging roles. Failure will irreparably harm your career and organization. These are the main points of his best-selling books The First 90 Days and Master Your Next Move. 

Michael emphasizes the factors that affect an executive’s transition to a new organization— identifying the different kinds of changes that will be crucial to a leader’s career, from promotion to making an international move, or even to turning around a business in crisis. Join us and get to hear why companies prefer to hire external talents, the psychological barriers that hold back CEOs, and overcoming the “corporate immune system” for effective cultural changes. 

Episode Quotes:

Why do most companies look for talents outside instead of promoting internally?

Companies now have a big incentive to get people up to speed quickly, right? No question. Which is wonderful for me and the work I do. It's terrific. They have a pretty big incentive to provide those people with the tools they need to do that job. They have virtually no incentive in developing those people for future roles. Because the odds are very good, you've been eloquent about it, that they're not going to stay in that company. Why would you do that?

Thoughts about undervaluing internal talent

I do think that it's easy to undervalue your internal talent. It’s almost a version of familiarity breeds contempt or under appreciation, right? The shiny object on the outside can look a lot more attractive, even if you're paying more for it, and even if you have to bring that person up to speed. I'm not saying, there aren’t real cases sometimes for bringing in talent externally, but I don't think there's sufficient appreciation often of the internal talent. That feeds that cycle you're describing. People say, “Okay, I'm not going to be appreciated. I better go someplace else”.

Relating the eight kinds transitions to Marshall Goldsmith’s What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and Peter Principle 

Marshall Goldsmith's What Got You Here Won't Get You There —that's just so accurate because as you move up through an organization, it is indeed absolutely true, right? The skills that got you to a certain level are not necessarily the ones that are going to get you further. That's the root of the Peter Principle. You got promoted to your level of incompetence because you don't adapt. You continued doing what you've done in the past. And at some point, that's not just not good enough anymore.

Does today’s pace of change require accelerated leadership development?

By the nature of the speed of what's going on, the generational shift, the complexity of the issues people are facing—we need people to get up to that level of capabilities much sooner than they did before. And that presents some real risks. People just don't have the decades to season themselves as leaders, to do what they need to do today.

Culture and transformation in the workplace 

You're not prepared to change your culture, you're not going to succeed in all the other kinds of transformations that you want to be pursuing. Whether it's digital transformation, new business models or new ways of working.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The First 90 Days: Planning Your Success feat. Michael Watkins Greg La Blanc 01:02:15 A determined leader is often motivated by the desire to take risks and move forward. Michael D. Watkins, the transition guru and author stresses the importance of succeeding in your next career change. Success during the adjustment phase will propel you to more challenging roles. Failure will irreparably harm your career and organization. These are the main points of his best-selling books The First 90 Days and Master Your Next Move. Michael emphasizes the factors that affect an executive’s transition to a new organization— identifying the different kinds of changes that will be crucial to a leader’s career, from promotion to making an international move, or even to turning around a business in crisis. Join us and get to hear why companies prefer to hire external talents, the psychological barriers that hold back CEOs, and overcoming the “corporate immune system” for effective cultural changes. A determined leader is often motivated by the desire to take risks and move forward. Michael D. Watkins, the transition guru and author stresses the importance of succeeding in your next career change. Success during the adjustment phase will propel you to more challenging roles. Failure will irreparably harm your career and organization. These are the main points of his best-selling books The First 90 Days and Master Your Next Move. Michael emphasizes the factors that affect an executive’s transition to a new organization— identifying the different kinds of changes that will be crucial to a leader’s career, from promotion to making an international move, or even to turning around a business in crisis. Join us and get to hear why companies prefer to hire external talents, the psychological barriers that hold back CEOs, and overcoming the “corporate immune system” for effective cultural changes. false full 71 c83be8b4-b8a6-40ac-8fdc-1dfa81914d9e Lost & Founder: Truths About StartUps feat. Rand Fishkin Entrepreneurs are drawn to stories of successful start-ups, but in reality, creating a business from scratch is more grueling than they anticipate. Today, Rand Fishkin tackles the mythology surrounding tech start-ups, exposing the ups and downs of start-up life and shares his hard-won lessons. Rand is the co-founder and CEO of audience research software start-up, SparkToro. 

His book Lost & Founder openly discusses frustrations and low points as an entrepreneur, ultimately leading to a transparent and thorough celebration of his lessons and accomplishments. 

Gain a fresh perspective on the most crucial role of a business leader and what a start-up founder would like to see improve in the venture capital ecosystem.

Episode Quotes:

Criticisms on the Venture Capital world.

There are three outcomes that I really dislike from the venture-backed world. This is in no order particularly, but the first one is biasing entrepreneurs and founders and people who want to join startups and participate in that ecosystem, just as employees or as customers even, that there's one correct way to build a company. Right? And that way is to raise a seed round, and a series A and a series B and a series C and a series D and go public, or get acquired for something north of $500 million or a billion dollars. And become a unicorn or to make that attempt and die trying. And I don't mean die personally, but to sacrifice much of your time, energy, attention, the rest of your life in pursuit of trying to become one of those, because that is the only worthwhile goal. I disagree fundamentally with both sides of that equation.

The second outcome I really dislike is the massive way in which it furthers income inequality. Right? I mean that a little bit less in the way that it's often brought up in politics where it's sort of individual income inequality, and a little bit more in the way that macro economists might look at it in business outcomes. Right? So essentially, Google and Facebook and Amazon exist because they were able to, yes, create a lot of value, but also suck a ton of the wind and oxygen out of the room in terms of small and medium businesses that previously existed. And even multiple large companies that existed were competitive in a market.

And then the third one of course is who gets funding and it is Gregory. You notice almost exclusively people who look like you and I. 

And it is brutal. I mean, we are talking about more funding going to men named John over the last 20 years than all women combined. We are talking about less than 1% of all venture funding going to any founding team with a black team member.

Thoughts on productivity.

There's this mythology that is driven by, again, that same element of Silicon Valley culture that I despise, which is that your whole life must be consumed by your work and your business. That is not only untrue, it's also counterproductive. The emerging research on this is that in fact, putting 30 or 40 hours of very thoughtful, high quality work a week into a project, into a company, is both more sustainable and more likely to be successful than 80 hour weeks.

What is the main role of a start-up leader?

To me, that is to make great decisions. It's not about, did I write the best blog post, or was this email perfectly composed? Or did I reply to all my emails within five minutes or less? Or, I don't know, send a bunch of tweets or write the most code? No. It's did I make the best decisions on who to hire and let go of? Where to contract things? What direction to take the strategy of the product? What to do in marketing and not?— that's the really crucial part of a leader's job.

What have you learned from switching roles with your customer?

The big takeaway that I talk about in Lost and Founder is empathy for your customer. I got to sit with Sears’ team for a full week, build a bunch of relationships with people who lived and breathed the work that they were doing with our product, and seeing a lot of gaps between what we should be doing and what we were not doing and seeing why their consultants were at the time already switching to different products in the market. And that was a very eye-opening experience.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Fri, 19 Nov 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Entrepreneurs are drawn to stories of successful start-ups, but in reality, creating a business from scratch is more grueling than they anticipate. Today, Rand Fishkin tackles the mythology surrounding tech start-ups, exposing the ups and downs of start-up life and shares his hard-won lessons. Rand is the co-founder and CEO of audience research software start-up, SparkToro. 

His book Lost & Founder openly discusses frustrations and low points as an entrepreneur, ultimately leading to a transparent and thorough celebration of his lessons and accomplishments. 

Gain a fresh perspective on the most crucial role of a business leader and what a start-up founder would like to see improve in the venture capital ecosystem.

Episode Quotes:

Criticisms on the Venture Capital world.

There are three outcomes that I really dislike from the venture-backed world. This is in no order particularly, but the first one is biasing entrepreneurs and founders and people who want to join startups and participate in that ecosystem, just as employees or as customers even, that there's one correct way to build a company. Right? And that way is to raise a seed round, and a series A and a series B and a series C and a series D and go public, or get acquired for something north of $500 million or a billion dollars. And become a unicorn or to make that attempt and die trying. And I don't mean die personally, but to sacrifice much of your time, energy, attention, the rest of your life in pursuit of trying to become one of those, because that is the only worthwhile goal. I disagree fundamentally with both sides of that equation.

The second outcome I really dislike is the massive way in which it furthers income inequality. Right? I mean that a little bit less in the way that it's often brought up in politics where it's sort of individual income inequality, and a little bit more in the way that macro economists might look at it in business outcomes. Right? So essentially, Google and Facebook and Amazon exist because they were able to, yes, create a lot of value, but also suck a ton of the wind and oxygen out of the room in terms of small and medium businesses that previously existed. And even multiple large companies that existed were competitive in a market.

And then the third one of course is who gets funding and it is Gregory. You notice almost exclusively people who look like you and I. 

And it is brutal. I mean, we are talking about more funding going to men named John over the last 20 years than all women combined. We are talking about less than 1% of all venture funding going to any founding team with a black team member.

Thoughts on productivity.

There's this mythology that is driven by, again, that same element of Silicon Valley culture that I despise, which is that your whole life must be consumed by your work and your business. That is not only untrue, it's also counterproductive. The emerging research on this is that in fact, putting 30 or 40 hours of very thoughtful, high quality work a week into a project, into a company, is both more sustainable and more likely to be successful than 80 hour weeks.

What is the main role of a start-up leader?

To me, that is to make great decisions. It's not about, did I write the best blog post, or was this email perfectly composed? Or did I reply to all my emails within five minutes or less? Or, I don't know, send a bunch of tweets or write the most code? No. It's did I make the best decisions on who to hire and let go of? Where to contract things? What direction to take the strategy of the product? What to do in marketing and not?— that's the really crucial part of a leader's job.

What have you learned from switching roles with your customer?

The big takeaway that I talk about in Lost and Founder is empathy for your customer. I got to sit with Sears’ team for a full week, build a bunch of relationships with people who lived and breathed the work that they were doing with our product, and seeing a lot of gaps between what we should be doing and what we were not doing and seeing why their consultants were at the time already switching to different products in the market. And that was a very eye-opening experience.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Lost & Founder: Truths About StartUps feat. Rand Fishkin Greg La Blanc 00:48:47 Entrepreneurs are drawn to stories of successful start-ups, but in reality, creating a business from scratch is more grueling than they anticipate. Today, Rand Fishkin tackles the mythology surrounding tech start-ups, exposing the ups and downs of start-up life and shares his hard-won lessons. Rand is the co-founder and CEO of audience research software start-up, SparkToro. His book Lost & Founder openly discusses frustrations and low points as an entrepreneur, ultimately leading to a transparent and thorough celebration of his lessons and accomplishments. Gain a fresh perspective on the most crucial role of a business leader and what a start-up founder would like to see improve in the venture capital ecosystem. Entrepreneurs are drawn to stories of successful start-ups, but in reality, creating a business from scratch is more grueling than they anticipate. Today, Rand Fishkin tackles the mythology surrounding tech start-ups, exposing the ups and downs of start-up life and shares his hard-won lessons. Rand is the co-founder and CEO of audience research software start-up, SparkToro. His book Lost & Founder openly discusses frustrations and low points as an entrepreneur, ultimately leading to a transparent and thorough celebration of his lessons and accomplishments. Gain a fresh perspective on the most crucial role of a business leader and what a start-up founder would like to see improve in the venture capital ecosystem. false full 70 e299b591-4dd9-4c6d-a2e2-fb3f002e50a5 Narratives and Numbers: Understanding The Value of Stories in Business feat. Aswath Damodaran Can a company with no profits be valued at a multibillion-dollar level? Why do some start-ups receive large investments while others do not? Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor, and experienced investor, argues that corporate value comes from the power of stories, enticing even cautious investors to take risks. He emphasizes the importance of integrating compelling narratives with strong data-driven models and accounts to deliver and sustain value. 

Aswath talks about case studies like Uber, Lyft, and Amazon, describing how storytellers can better incorporate and share the stories behind the numbers. Listen as he reveals the benefits, challenges, and pitfalls of weaving narratives around the numbers and how one can best test a story's plausibility.

Episode Quotes:

How did you realize that you had these other latent capabilities, which you had to consciously cultivate?

Now we think of valuations as numbers in a spreadsheet, but ultimately valuations tell a story. And I discovered that without being able to tell the story, all I had were a collection of numbers in a spreadsheet. The other half forced me to think about how can I become a better storyteller, was the need to be able to tell stories that backed up my valuations. So on both fronts, both the teaching front and when I was teaching valuation, I was kind of forced to deal with the fact that storytelling was my weaker link. The nice thing is, you can learn to tell stories, and that's what I've discovered over my lifetime. Even if you start off, not as a very good storyteller, you can end up as a pretty decent storyteller.

Do stories as something that get in the way of data? 

So, I respect data. I work with data all the time. But I also realize how easy it is to bend data, to reflect your biases. And I actually think stories are a great way to make sure you're not bending the data. That's why you need both.

At a time when we're drowning in data, why is it critical to tell stories that allow you to search for information with focus?

Data does not become information until it goes through a processing. We're drowning in data. We're actually not getting information from that data. And one of the reasons I tell stories is it allows me to look for the data that I want at that point in time.

Thoughts on having to experience value business to fully understand how to value business

But I think, sometimes, we think that listening to CEOs of large companies is how we understand business. I learned more about business from my Uber driver and my hot dog stand vendor than I do from CEOs of companies. Because it forces you to think about basics, which is, you know, if you want to sell more, what do you have to do? You’ve got to cut prices, or you've got to somehow create this special extra that allows you that pricing power. 

How can other disciplines like humanities and social sciences help build critical thinking?

I think we need to be multidisciplinary in every one of our classes. So, when I teach my valuation class, I have a lot of psychology in there. I have a lot of storytelling. A lot of strategy. I have a lot of statistics because they're all part of what I'm trying to convey when I do a valuation. And I hope and pray it sticks better because it's always in context.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Wed, 17 Nov 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Can a company with no profits be valued at a multibillion-dollar level? Why do some start-ups receive large investments while others do not? Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor, and experienced investor, argues that corporate value comes from the power of stories, enticing even cautious investors to take risks. He emphasizes the importance of integrating compelling narratives with strong data-driven models and accounts to deliver and sustain value. 

Aswath talks about case studies like Uber, Lyft, and Amazon, describing how storytellers can better incorporate and share the stories behind the numbers. Listen as he reveals the benefits, challenges, and pitfalls of weaving narratives around the numbers and how one can best test a story's plausibility.

Episode Quotes:

How did you realize that you had these other latent capabilities, which you had to consciously cultivate?

Now we think of valuations as numbers in a spreadsheet, but ultimately valuations tell a story. And I discovered that without being able to tell the story, all I had were a collection of numbers in a spreadsheet. The other half forced me to think about how can I become a better storyteller, was the need to be able to tell stories that backed up my valuations. So on both fronts, both the teaching front and when I was teaching valuation, I was kind of forced to deal with the fact that storytelling was my weaker link. The nice thing is, you can learn to tell stories, and that's what I've discovered over my lifetime. Even if you start off, not as a very good storyteller, you can end up as a pretty decent storyteller.

Do stories as something that get in the way of data? 

So, I respect data. I work with data all the time. But I also realize how easy it is to bend data, to reflect your biases. And I actually think stories are a great way to make sure you're not bending the data. That's why you need both.

At a time when we're drowning in data, why is it critical to tell stories that allow you to search for information with focus?

Data does not become information until it goes through a processing. We're drowning in data. We're actually not getting information from that data. And one of the reasons I tell stories is it allows me to look for the data that I want at that point in time.

Thoughts on having to experience value business to fully understand how to value business

But I think, sometimes, we think that listening to CEOs of large companies is how we understand business. I learned more about business from my Uber driver and my hot dog stand vendor than I do from CEOs of companies. Because it forces you to think about basics, which is, you know, if you want to sell more, what do you have to do? You’ve got to cut prices, or you've got to somehow create this special extra that allows you that pricing power. 

How can other disciplines like humanities and social sciences help build critical thinking?

I think we need to be multidisciplinary in every one of our classes. So, when I teach my valuation class, I have a lot of psychology in there. I have a lot of storytelling. A lot of strategy. I have a lot of statistics because they're all part of what I'm trying to convey when I do a valuation. And I hope and pray it sticks better because it's always in context.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Narratives and Numbers: Understanding The Value of Stories in Business feat. Aswath Damodaran Greg La Blanc 00:51:35 Can a company with no profits be valued at a multibillion-dollar level? Why do some start-ups receive large investments while others do not? Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor, and experienced investor, argues that corporate value comes from the power of stories, enticing even cautious investors to take risks. He emphasizes the importance of integrating compelling narratives with strong data-driven models and accounts to deliver and sustain value. Aswath talks about case studies like Uber, Lyft, and Amazon, describing how storytellers can better incorporate and share the stories behind the numbers. Listen as he reveals the benefits, challenges, and pitfalls of weaving narratives around the numbers and how one can best test a story's plausibility. Can a company with no profits be valued at a multibillion-dollar level? Why do some start-ups receive large investments while others do not? Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor, and experienced investor, argues that corporate value comes from the power of stories, enticing even cautious investors to take risks. He emphasizes the importance of integrating compelling narratives with strong data-driven models and accounts to deliver and sustain value. Aswath talks about case studies like Uber, Lyft, and Amazon, describing how storytellers can better incorporate and share the stories behind the numbers. Listen as he reveals the benefits, challenges, and pitfalls of weaving narratives around the numbers and how one can best test a story's plausibility. false full 69 77d8147b-1b4d-48c4-a8e5-94a0d1d3c92f Smellosophy: Understanding How Scents Affect Your Sensibilities feat. Ann-Sophie Barwich Certain smells can repel or attract, bring to mind emotionally charged memories or guide our behavior unconsciously. While some find the smell of some cheeses revolting, others will appreciate its creamy and delicious taste. So just how does the olfactory system work, and can the loss of sense of smell assist in diagnosing diseases?

In this episode, cognitive scientist and empirical philosopher Ann Barwich shares what she has learned from experts in neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and perfumery when it comes to smells. Ann says that scents, unlike visual images, can be unpredictable and limitless. 

Learn how our olfactory system works not only as a map but also as a measuring device, detecting and analyzing both simple and complex odors.

Episode Quotes:

Do you think that the boundaries between the sciences and the humanities are ripe for disruption?

Absolutely. In fact, I really think these silos need to be torn down. I'm not the first one saying that, of course. My hero is Patricia Churchland who is a philosopher and actually is one of the most neuroscientifically informed philosophers there is. I took a lot of my inspiration from her because what she's been doing is absolutely radical. So, she said, instead of treating philosophy as timeless, thinking about the mind just through the mind itself, we have a revolution in neuroscience. The 20th century has revealed things about the brain and how the brain creates mind that should prompt us to rethink our initial categories for psychology.

What are the differences between the visual and scent palette ranges? 

And this is why smell is so fascinating. With colors, you've got a visible range of electromagnetic wavelengths, but you don't have any new colors. So, there's a biological timeline of what we can see. With smells, we can actually synthesize new molecules with novel odors. Molecules that have never existed on Earth, which we still can smell. We don't have to evolve new receptors. Plus, they might have qualities that are not known in nature, that might not smell like anything known in nature. So, this is why perfumers play almost with an unlimited pallet. The question is, how does the mind know what these chemical features mean? Well, that's the prize question at the moment. 

Do people experience odor blindness, the same way we experience color blindness?

[Ann] One of my favorite examples is the aroma of corked wine. And that's caused by a molecule called TCA. There are some people who are anosmic, so they can't perceive that particular molecule. They never have a bad bottle of wine in their life! 

[Greg] I should save the corked ones for when I have them over, right?

How does the nasal pathway explain how we lose our sense of smell and taste when we contract Covid-19?

First, when you sniff, you inhale. You've got this air stream coming up your nose. That's what we usually think smelling is. But we also have retro-nasal smell where you chew molecules, the aromas, hey travel basically through the back of your throat, up to your nose. That's retro-nasal smell, and it's not quite the same. There are some interesting differences. My favorite one is the fact that coffee smells great, tastes kind of disappointing. I mean, it's bitter and not as great. Nobody says, “Wake up to the taste of coffee”. 

How did the pandemic affect the way we smell? 

The more and more we go online and everything becomes a digital presence, we're losing that connection. I noticed how much I was missing during the pandemic. When I went finally out in the summer, everything hit me. Every smell. Like you suddenly have some roasted coffee, you have some trees. The world felt richer. It felt enriching compared to just sitting in your flat where everything your nose is habituating to your surroundings.


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

]]> Mon, 15 Nov 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Certain smells can repel or attract, bring to mind emotionally charged memories or guide our behavior unconsciously. While some find the smell of some cheeses revolting, others will appreciate its creamy and delicious taste. So just how does the olfactory system work, and can the loss of sense of smell assist in diagnosing diseases?

In this episode, cognitive scientist and empirical philosopher Ann Barwich shares what she has learned from experts in neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and perfumery when it comes to smells. Ann says that scents, unlike visual images, can be unpredictable and limitless. 

Learn how our olfactory system works not only as a map but also as a measuring device, detecting and analyzing both simple and complex odors.

Episode Quotes:

Do you think that the boundaries between the sciences and the humanities are ripe for disruption?

Absolutely. In fact, I really think these silos need to be torn down. I'm not the first one saying that, of course. My hero is Patricia Churchland who is a philosopher and actually is one of the most neuroscientifically informed philosophers there is. I took a lot of my inspiration from her because what she's been doing is absolutely radical. So, she said, instead of treating philosophy as timeless, thinking about the mind just through the mind itself, we have a revolution in neuroscience. The 20th century has revealed things about the brain and how the brain creates mind that should prompt us to rethink our initial categories for psychology.

What are the differences between the visual and scent palette ranges? 

And this is why smell is so fascinating. With colors, you've got a visible range of electromagnetic wavelengths, but you don't have any new colors. So, there's a biological timeline of what we can see. With smells, we can actually synthesize new molecules with novel odors. Molecules that have never existed on Earth, which we still can smell. We don't have to evolve new receptors. Plus, they might have qualities that are not known in nature, that might not smell like anything known in nature. So, this is why perfumers play almost with an unlimited pallet. The question is, how does the mind know what these chemical features mean? Well, that's the prize question at the moment. 

Do people experience odor blindness, the same way we experience color blindness?

[Ann] One of my favorite examples is the aroma of corked wine. And that's caused by a molecule called TCA. There are some people who are anosmic, so they can't perceive that particular molecule. They never have a bad bottle of wine in their life! 

[Greg] I should save the corked ones for when I have them over, right?

How does the nasal pathway explain how we lose our sense of smell and taste when we contract Covid-19?

First, when you sniff, you inhale. You've got this air stream coming up your nose. That's what we usually think smelling is. But we also have retro-nasal smell where you chew molecules, the aromas, hey travel basically through the back of your throat, up to your nose. That's retro-nasal smell, and it's not quite the same. There are some interesting differences. My favorite one is the fact that coffee smells great, tastes kind of disappointing. I mean, it's bitter and not as great. Nobody says, “Wake up to the taste of coffee”. 

How did the pandemic affect the way we smell? 

The more and more we go online and everything becomes a digital presence, we're losing that connection. I noticed how much I was missing during the pandemic. When I went finally out in the summer, everything hit me. Every smell. Like you suddenly have some roasted coffee, you have some trees. The world felt richer. It felt enriching compared to just sitting in your flat where everything your nose is habituating to your surroundings.


Show Links:


Guest Profile

Her Work


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

]]> Smellosophy: Understanding How Scents Affect Your Sensibilities feat. Ann-Sophie Barwich Greg La Blanc 01:02:01 Certain smells can repel or attract, bring to mind emotionally charged memories or guide our behavior unconsciously. While some find the smell of some cheeses revolting, others will appreciate its creamy and delicious taste. So just how does the olfactory system work, and can the loss of sense of smell assist in diagnosing diseases? In this episode, cognitive scientist and empirical philosopher Ann Barwich shares what she has learned from experts in neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and perfumery when it comes to smells. Ann says that scents, unlike visual images, can be unpredictable and limitless. Learn how our olfactory system works not only as a map but also as a measuring device, detecting and analyzing both simple and complex odors. Certain smells can repel or attract, bring to mind emotionally charged memories or guide our behavior unconsciously. While some find the smell of some cheeses revolting, others will appreciate its creamy and delicious taste. So just how does the olfactory system work, and can the loss of sense of smell assist in diagnosing diseases? In this episode, cognitive scientist and empirical philosopher Ann Barwich shares what she has learned from experts in neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and perfumery when it comes to smells. Ann says that scents, unlike visual images, can be unpredictable and limitless. Learn how our olfactory system works not only as a map but also as a measuring device, detecting and analyzing both simple and complex odors. false full 68 a6d20434-496d-45db-8197-86c149408448 The Three-Box Solution for Corporate Innovation feat. Vijay Govindarajan Innovation demands different skill sets, methods, and leadership approaches from business owners. The challenge for leaders is to find the balance between three innovation areas: preservation, destruction, and creation. These concepts are central to the innovation framework designed by business strategy coach Vijay Govindarajan.

In his book The Three-Box Solution, Vijay teaches a framework for allocating energy, time, and resources for driving innovation while delivering current goals. We will also hear about the importance of embracing change to build the future.

Episode Quotes:

An overview of the Three-Box Solution

I always ask companies to put whatever they do into three boxes. How many of their activities are in Box 1? And Box 1 is about managing the present, which is about improving the efficiency of your current business model. Box 2 is about selectively forgetting the past, and Box 3 is about creating the future. Manage the person Box 1, selectively abandon the past Box 2, and create the future Box 3. And working with organizations, what I found is they all are focused on Box 1. While Box 1 is terribly important, strategy has to include all three boxes. 

Why is it difficult for companies to integrate the strategy of forgetting into their innovation plan?

The challenge for companies in Box 3 is how are you going to create your future in the year 2030? If you want to create your future in the year 2030, then you have a job to do in Box 2. Mainly you have to selectively forget. And I find of my three boxes; Box 2 is the most challenging, and it is one that has not been recognized by academics and practitioners, to the extent they should.

If you can't forget, you can't learn as simple as that. Think about how many books are written about learning organizations. We haven't written a single book on forgetting organizations. The reason why Box 2 is such a big problem is Box 2 is your current strength then lays your future weakness. That is why it is very difficult to forget because when you forget, you're forgetting your current strength.

On Hindu beliefs that influenced the Three-Box Solution.

As a circle, the beauty is that there is no beginning and no end to a circle. Everything that is born in this universe will be preserved. That is the job of Vishnu, that is Box 1, manage the person. Everything that is preserved, will be ultimately destroyed, that is the job of Shiva. That is Box 2; destroy the past. And everything that is destroyed will get regenerated. That is the job of Brahma, that is Box 3. 

This notion of preservation, destruction, and regeneration as a rhythmic, continuous cycle is how humanity has sustained. I have simply taken something that was written in Hindu spirituality 3000 years ago, packaged it, and presented it to companies, and said 'If General Motors wants to remain in business forever, you must also master these three processes.

How can leaders effectively innovate for the future while implementing present processes?

I think that is the art of the leader. The CEO should never say Box 1 is a dinosaur and Box 3 is the future. I think the CEO has to message creating the future requires a role for both the performance gap, which is what Box 1 is and the possibility gap, which is what Box 3 is. Without focus on both, we are never going to achieve our future. 

What is the biggest challenge faced by companies as they innovate?

I say the biggest problem in companies is not lack of ideas; it is a lack of capacity to execute the ideas. Therefore, the biggest challenge is in the execution. That includes changing mindsets, changing structures, changing capabilities, changing processes, changing people. All of them are hard. And mindsets you can change by changing people. Because you can't change mindset directly.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Fri, 12 Nov 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Innovation demands different skill sets, methods, and leadership approaches from business owners. The challenge for leaders is to find the balance between three innovation areas: preservation, destruction, and creation. These concepts are central to the innovation framework designed by business strategy coach Vijay Govindarajan.

In his book The Three-Box Solution, Vijay teaches a framework for allocating energy, time, and resources for driving innovation while delivering current goals. We will also hear about the importance of embracing change to build the future.

Episode Quotes:

An overview of the Three-Box Solution

I always ask companies to put whatever they do into three boxes. How many of their activities are in Box 1? And Box 1 is about managing the present, which is about improving the efficiency of your current business model. Box 2 is about selectively forgetting the past, and Box 3 is about creating the future. Manage the person Box 1, selectively abandon the past Box 2, and create the future Box 3. And working with organizations, what I found is they all are focused on Box 1. While Box 1 is terribly important, strategy has to include all three boxes. 

Why is it difficult for companies to integrate the strategy of forgetting into their innovation plan?

The challenge for companies in Box 3 is how are you going to create your future in the year 2030? If you want to create your future in the year 2030, then you have a job to do in Box 2. Mainly you have to selectively forget. And I find of my three boxes; Box 2 is the most challenging, and it is one that has not been recognized by academics and practitioners, to the extent they should.

If you can't forget, you can't learn as simple as that. Think about how many books are written about learning organizations. We haven't written a single book on forgetting organizations. The reason why Box 2 is such a big problem is Box 2 is your current strength then lays your future weakness. That is why it is very difficult to forget because when you forget, you're forgetting your current strength.

On Hindu beliefs that influenced the Three-Box Solution.

As a circle, the beauty is that there is no beginning and no end to a circle. Everything that is born in this universe will be preserved. That is the job of Vishnu, that is Box 1, manage the person. Everything that is preserved, will be ultimately destroyed, that is the job of Shiva. That is Box 2; destroy the past. And everything that is destroyed will get regenerated. That is the job of Brahma, that is Box 3. 

This notion of preservation, destruction, and regeneration as a rhythmic, continuous cycle is how humanity has sustained. I have simply taken something that was written in Hindu spirituality 3000 years ago, packaged it, and presented it to companies, and said 'If General Motors wants to remain in business forever, you must also master these three processes.

How can leaders effectively innovate for the future while implementing present processes?

I think that is the art of the leader. The CEO should never say Box 1 is a dinosaur and Box 3 is the future. I think the CEO has to message creating the future requires a role for both the performance gap, which is what Box 1 is and the possibility gap, which is what Box 3 is. Without focus on both, we are never going to achieve our future. 

What is the biggest challenge faced by companies as they innovate?

I say the biggest problem in companies is not lack of ideas; it is a lack of capacity to execute the ideas. Therefore, the biggest challenge is in the execution. That includes changing mindsets, changing structures, changing capabilities, changing processes, changing people. All of them are hard. And mindsets you can change by changing people. Because you can't change mindset directly.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The Three-Box Solution for Corporate Innovation feat. Vijay Govindarajan Greg La Blanc 00:54:50 Innovation demands different skill sets, methods, and leadership approaches from business owners. The challenge for leaders is to find the balance between three innovation areas: preservation, destruction, and creation. These concepts are central to the innovation framework designed by business strategy coach Vijay Govindarajan. In his book The Three-Box Solution, Vijay teaches a framework for allocating energy, time, and resources for driving innovation while delivering current goals. We will also hear about the importance of embracing change to build the future. Innovation demands different skill sets, methods, and leadership approaches from business owners. The challenge for leaders is to find the balance between three innovation areas: preservation, destruction, and creation. These concepts are central to the innovation framework designed by business strategy coach Vijay Govindarajan. In his book The Three-Box Solution, Vijay teaches a framework for allocating energy, time, and resources for driving innovation while delivering current goals. We will also hear about the importance of embracing change to build the future. false full 67 d334c7ce-e744-4172-b67b-0a0aab3a2512 Let’s Be Reasonable: The Role of Liberal Arts Education in Shaping Society feat. Jonathan Marks Colleges and universities used to be among the nation's most prestigious institutions. Recently, parents, as well as the public, have become more concerned about whether or not college is even worth the expense. Are universities still the true bastions of open inquiry? Have liberal arts become obsolete in the 21st century? 

According to conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks, liberal education is the antidote to this crisis. In this episode, he explains that the true purpose of college is to encourage people to be reasonable. Ultimately, he says the liberally educated person should consider reason more than just a tool for scoring political points.

Jonathan and Greg discuss his book Let's Be Reasonable, the future of liberal arts education, free speech, and the role of higher education in advocating for democracy.

Episode Quotes:

Is the best defense of liberal education based on its practical utility?

[00:05:23] It seems to me that the language I used to attempt to justify liberal education was practical. You need comprehensive enlargement of mind. Not to be well-rounded, not to be refined, but to avoid doing stupid things. So, our narrowness prevents us from being good judges in our chosen field of work.

Are universities marketing themselves to prospective students fairly?

[00:12:32] I think that there's a real problem there. That is to say that colleges and universities do often market themselves as producing great changes. So, you might go out into the world and say, “Well, I'm offering a transformational experience”. But without talking too much about what the costs of that might be, what the difficulties might be.

How can universities encourage the collective pursuit of knowledge and reasonableness?

[00:18:28] We've taught some of it in C.I.E., the common intellectual experience, which is our first-year seminar here at Ursinus College. It focuses mainly on spotting fallacies. About the avoidance of error, which, I think, is important. It talks much less about what good judgment is, in a more positive way. I do think that's important probably for psychologists working in decision-making and also for universities. What provisional standards do we have for trying to distinguish good judgments from bad judgments? Maybe a little clearer in the natural sciences and the humanities. But what provisional standards do we have available to us? And then, what qualities of character and mind might be conducive to making good judgments? What are the intellectual virtues? 

Time Code Guide:

00:00:39 Why it's hard to find people who are standing up for liberal education in a world where everyone wants to know what it's for?

00:07:45 Are we underemphasizing the idea that we need to learn how to pick apart our own argument

00:22:10 Do cancel culture and safe spaces mean students promote coddling and protecting them from ideas that are different from theirs?

00:27:51 Repeating history and mistakes of the past by worrying unnecessarily about the youth of today?

00:32:35 Thoughts on sensationalism and a cognitive bias towards an opposing belief

00:40:12 Why do people who consider themselves as conservatives lean towards the preservation of liberal education?

00:47:50 If the universities are not for the promotion of justice, then what are they here for?

00:53:27 Is the most significant danger to our production of reasonable people the gradual marginalization of the humanities as a field of study


Show Links:


Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 10 Nov 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Colleges and universities used to be among the nation's most prestigious institutions. Recently, parents, as well as the public, have become more concerned about whether or not college is even worth the expense. Are universities still the true bastions of open inquiry? Have liberal arts become obsolete in the 21st century? 

According to conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks, liberal education is the antidote to this crisis. In this episode, he explains that the true purpose of college is to encourage people to be reasonable. Ultimately, he says the liberally educated person should consider reason more than just a tool for scoring political points.

Jonathan and Greg discuss his book Let's Be Reasonable, the future of liberal arts education, free speech, and the role of higher education in advocating for democracy.

Episode Quotes:

Is the best defense of liberal education based on its practical utility?

[00:05:23] It seems to me that the language I used to attempt to justify liberal education was practical. You need comprehensive enlargement of mind. Not to be well-rounded, not to be refined, but to avoid doing stupid things. So, our narrowness prevents us from being good judges in our chosen field of work.

Are universities marketing themselves to prospective students fairly?

[00:12:32] I think that there's a real problem there. That is to say that colleges and universities do often market themselves as producing great changes. So, you might go out into the world and say, “Well, I'm offering a transformational experience”. But without talking too much about what the costs of that might be, what the difficulties might be.

How can universities encourage the collective pursuit of knowledge and reasonableness?

[00:18:28] We've taught some of it in C.I.E., the common intellectual experience, which is our first-year seminar here at Ursinus College. It focuses mainly on spotting fallacies. About the avoidance of error, which, I think, is important. It talks much less about what good judgment is, in a more positive way. I do think that's important probably for psychologists working in decision-making and also for universities. What provisional standards do we have for trying to distinguish good judgments from bad judgments? Maybe a little clearer in the natural sciences and the humanities. But what provisional standards do we have available to us? And then, what qualities of character and mind might be conducive to making good judgments? What are the intellectual virtues? 

Time Code Guide:

00:00:39 Why it's hard to find people who are standing up for liberal education in a world where everyone wants to know what it's for?

00:07:45 Are we underemphasizing the idea that we need to learn how to pick apart our own argument

00:22:10 Do cancel culture and safe spaces mean students promote coddling and protecting them from ideas that are different from theirs?

00:27:51 Repeating history and mistakes of the past by worrying unnecessarily about the youth of today?

00:32:35 Thoughts on sensationalism and a cognitive bias towards an opposing belief

00:40:12 Why do people who consider themselves as conservatives lean towards the preservation of liberal education?

00:47:50 If the universities are not for the promotion of justice, then what are they here for?

00:53:27 Is the most significant danger to our production of reasonable people the gradual marginalization of the humanities as a field of study


Show Links:


Guest Profile:

His Work:


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

]]> Let’s Be Reasonable: The Role of Liberal Arts Education in Shaping Society feat. Jonathan Marks Greg La Blanc 01:02:45 Colleges and universities used to be among the nation's most prestigious institutions. Recently, parents, as well as the public, have become more concerned about whether or not college is even worth the expense. Are universities still the true bastions of open inquiry? Have liberal arts become obsolete in the 21st century? According to conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks, liberal education is the antidote to this crisis. In this episode, he explains that the true purpose of college is to encourage people to be reasonable. Ultimately, he says the liberally educated person should consider reason more than just a tool for scoring political points. Jonathan and Greg discuss his book Let's Be Reasonable, the future of liberal arts education, free speech, and the role of higher education in advocating for democracy. Colleges and universities used to be among the nation's most prestigious institutions. Recently, parents, as well as the public, have become more concerned about whether or not college is even worth the expense. Are universities still the true bastions of open inquiry? Have liberal arts become obsolete in the 21st century? According to conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks, liberal education is the antidote to this crisis. In this episode, he explains that the true purpose of college is to encourage people to be reasonable. Ultimately, he says the liberally educated person should consider reason more than just a tool for scoring political points. Jonathan and Greg discuss his book Let's Be Reasonable, the future of liberal arts education, free speech, and the role of higher education in advocating for democracy. false full 66 8e576b87-12b4-43d8-8f3b-81539dc22b5f Understanding Noise: What Affects Human Judgement feat. Olivier Sibony Researchers and academics tend to focus on what people have in common, instead of looking at individual differences and nuances, which often drive decisions and judgements. In his latest book, Olivier Sibony, professor of strategy and award-winning author, showed the detrimental effects of noise in many fields, like judicial systems, hospitals, recruitment, human resource departments, and machine learning. 

Olivier emphasizes that wherever there is judgement, there is noise. Yet, individuals and organizations are generally unaware of it. In this episode, learn how we can reduce both noise and bias, so we can make better decisions.

Episode Quotes:

How do noise and biases affect errors in decision-making?

Having no bias is better than having a bias, but noise and bias are completely separate, independent sources of error, and you actually need to reduce both.

How difficult is it to detect and eliminate noise when making decisions?

It is very hard to see noise. But in a system — in anything that makes repeated decisions— in—say the judicial system or the insurance company that prices a lot of insurance policies. Or in a hiring organization that makes a lot of hiring decisions. It is actually difficult to establish the presence of bias because you need to know where the truth is, as you pointed out. But it's actually quite easy to do a test of noise, what we call a noise audit. Which means to give the same case to a number of different judges, a number of different people, and to check how different their judgements are. Whenever you do that, in our experience, you find that, of course, there is a difference.

What if idiosyncratic biases and extraneous factors are applied in decision-making?

Our minds are instruments of judgements. Those instruments are not completely stable. They are not completely consistent. We're not completely consistent with ourselves all the time. We think we are, especially when we're making only one judgement. We can't imagine that at a different time, in a different mood, in a different temperature, or if our favorite football team had lost the game yesterday instead of winning it, we would make a different decision. Yet, all those things are true.


Time Code Guide:


00:02:44 Why does noise in data receive such little attention in most fields, except for data science?

00:06:29 Do biases cancel each other out and ultimately cause you to make bad decisions?

00:16:45 Different kinds of noise, an earlier version of auditing noise and sentencing guidelines

00:24:16 How can individuals learn and improve how to avoid bias?

00:30:34 Structuring decisions using a reflectively designed framework and how it applies to companies and individuals

00:34:40 Thoughts on algorithmic decision-making, leaving human judgment out, and understanding essential characteristics of judgment

00:44:56 Elimination of noise, equal protection, and consideration of individual idiosyncrasies in the judicial system

00:51:02 Auditing noise and cleaning out processes that doesn't help eliminate noise


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Wed, 3 Nov 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Researchers and academics tend to focus on what people have in common, instead of looking at individual differences and nuances, which often drive decisions and judgements. In his latest book, Olivier Sibony, professor of strategy and award-winning author, showed the detrimental effects of noise in many fields, like judicial systems, hospitals, recruitment, human resource departments, and machine learning. 

Olivier emphasizes that wherever there is judgement, there is noise. Yet, individuals and organizations are generally unaware of it. In this episode, learn how we can reduce both noise and bias, so we can make better decisions.

Episode Quotes:

How do noise and biases affect errors in decision-making?

Having no bias is better than having a bias, but noise and bias are completely separate, independent sources of error, and you actually need to reduce both.

How difficult is it to detect and eliminate noise when making decisions?

It is very hard to see noise. But in a system — in anything that makes repeated decisions— in—say the judicial system or the insurance company that prices a lot of insurance policies. Or in a hiring organization that makes a lot of hiring decisions. It is actually difficult to establish the presence of bias because you need to know where the truth is, as you pointed out. But it's actually quite easy to do a test of noise, what we call a noise audit. Which means to give the same case to a number of different judges, a number of different people, and to check how different their judgements are. Whenever you do that, in our experience, you find that, of course, there is a difference.

What if idiosyncratic biases and extraneous factors are applied in decision-making?

Our minds are instruments of judgements. Those instruments are not completely stable. They are not completely consistent. We're not completely consistent with ourselves all the time. We think we are, especially when we're making only one judgement. We can't imagine that at a different time, in a different mood, in a different temperature, or if our favorite football team had lost the game yesterday instead of winning it, we would make a different decision. Yet, all those things are true.


Time Code Guide:


00:02:44 Why does noise in data receive such little attention in most fields, except for data science?

00:06:29 Do biases cancel each other out and ultimately cause you to make bad decisions?

00:16:45 Different kinds of noise, an earlier version of auditing noise and sentencing guidelines

00:24:16 How can individuals learn and improve how to avoid bias?

00:30:34 Structuring decisions using a reflectively designed framework and how it applies to companies and individuals

00:34:40 Thoughts on algorithmic decision-making, leaving human judgment out, and understanding essential characteristics of judgment

00:44:56 Elimination of noise, equal protection, and consideration of individual idiosyncrasies in the judicial system

00:51:02 Auditing noise and cleaning out processes that doesn't help eliminate noise


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Understanding Noise: What Affects Human Judgement feat. Olivier Sibony Greg La Blanc 00:54:20 Researchers and academics tend to focus on what people have in common, instead of looking at individual differences and nuances, which often drive decisions and judgements. In his latest book, Olivier Sibony, professor of strategy and award-winning author, showed the detrimental effects of noise in many fields, like judicial systems, hospitals, recruitment, human resource departments, and machine learning. Olivier emphasizes that wherever there is judgement, there is noise. Yet, individuals and organizations are generally unaware of it. In this episode, learn how we can reduce both noise and bias, so we can make better decisions. Researchers and academics tend to focus on what people have in common, instead of looking at individual differences and nuances, which often drive decisions and judgements. In his latest book, Olivier Sibony, professor of strategy and award-winning author, showed the detrimental effects of noise in many fields, like judicial systems, hospitals, recruitment, human resource departments, and machine learning. Olivier emphasizes that wherever there is judgement, there is noise. Yet, individuals and organizations are generally unaware of it. In this episode, learn how we can reduce both noise and bias, so we can make better decisions. false full 65 33c571fe-bfd1-4404-ad34-79e85a31574f Mining the Imagination: Sparking New Ideas to Create Your Company’s Future feat. Martin Reeves Although knowledge is valuable, it is limited. In contrast, our imagination is limitless, allowing us to rethink problems and create solutions. Our imagination plays a critical role in finding new opportunities, rethinking our businesses, and finding growth pathways. However, many companies are losing the ability to imagine. How can organizations harness this skill and keep it alive? 

Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, draws on the experience and insights of CEOs from different industries. In this episode, he talks about the process of sparking ideas and bringing them to life. He summarizes the imagination machine process to these six steps:

  • The Seduction: opening yourself to surprises
  • The Idea: how to generate one
  • The Collision: rethinking your idea based on real-world feedback
  • The Epidemic: spreading an evolving idea to others
  • The New Ordinary: turning your novel idea into an accepted reality
  • The Encore: repeating the process—over, and over again

Listen as he defines the difference between an incremental change and pivots essential to transformation—especially during a crisis.

Episode Quotes:

Is the book Imagination Machine an exercise designed to help readers identify opportunities systematically, and then exploit those opportunities according to a formula?

So this new book, the Imagination Machine, double clicks on visionary strategy, the creative element of strategy. Which is also the remarkable property of companies to imagine something that doesn't exist, which all founders of companies did. And then to cause that to become a new everyday reality.

How can you be intentional with your imaginative process and strategy for acquiring information?

Imagination is triggered by the contact with otherness, things that don't fit our current mental models, our current ways of doing things. And some organizations explicitly seek out that otherness.

How can you achieve the Renaissance perspective as a team?

Hire the diversity of skills that you're going to need, not just to run a business, but to reinvent a business. They can make sure that they have ambidextrous top teams. They may not be able to be always able to give good prescriptions in fast-changing businesses, but they can have very good questions.


Time Code Guide


00:01:29 Understanding the paradox of the book’s title

00:03:14 Explaining general ideas about the book: Your Strategy Needs a Strategy

00:05:21 Ambidextrous organizations, allocation of resources for innovation, and classic mix of portfolio

00:08:40 Defining imaginative and counterfactual thinking

00:11:03 Mental models for exploitation and exploration

00:13:10 Incremental and Transformative Innovation

00:15:24 The first step to imaginative thinking: surprise

00:18:48 Being selective in acquiring data to guide your decision-making

00:24:13 Controlled hallucination as a mental model

00:29:14 Putting aside time for reflection and counterfactual thinking

00:31:01 How can stress get in the way of creative thinking

00:34:38 How to conduct interviews to help you hire people that'll fit your team's imaginative process

00:36:33 How can legacy organizations encourage and incentivize people on the team that maybe resistant to learning?

00:43:36 How do you cascade cognitive diversity to the human resources department when recruiting?

00:45:17 Designing a corporate script that embodies counterfactual and ambidextrous thinking


Show Links


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Fri, 29 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Although knowledge is valuable, it is limited. In contrast, our imagination is limitless, allowing us to rethink problems and create solutions. Our imagination plays a critical role in finding new opportunities, rethinking our businesses, and finding growth pathways. However, many companies are losing the ability to imagine. How can organizations harness this skill and keep it alive? 

Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, draws on the experience and insights of CEOs from different industries. In this episode, he talks about the process of sparking ideas and bringing them to life. He summarizes the imagination machine process to these six steps:

  • The Seduction: opening yourself to surprises
  • The Idea: how to generate one
  • The Collision: rethinking your idea based on real-world feedback
  • The Epidemic: spreading an evolving idea to others
  • The New Ordinary: turning your novel idea into an accepted reality
  • The Encore: repeating the process—over, and over again

Listen as he defines the difference between an incremental change and pivots essential to transformation—especially during a crisis.

Episode Quotes:

Is the book Imagination Machine an exercise designed to help readers identify opportunities systematically, and then exploit those opportunities according to a formula?

So this new book, the Imagination Machine, double clicks on visionary strategy, the creative element of strategy. Which is also the remarkable property of companies to imagine something that doesn't exist, which all founders of companies did. And then to cause that to become a new everyday reality.

How can you be intentional with your imaginative process and strategy for acquiring information?

Imagination is triggered by the contact with otherness, things that don't fit our current mental models, our current ways of doing things. And some organizations explicitly seek out that otherness.

How can you achieve the Renaissance perspective as a team?

Hire the diversity of skills that you're going to need, not just to run a business, but to reinvent a business. They can make sure that they have ambidextrous top teams. They may not be able to be always able to give good prescriptions in fast-changing businesses, but they can have very good questions.


Time Code Guide


00:01:29 Understanding the paradox of the book’s title

00:03:14 Explaining general ideas about the book: Your Strategy Needs a Strategy

00:05:21 Ambidextrous organizations, allocation of resources for innovation, and classic mix of portfolio

00:08:40 Defining imaginative and counterfactual thinking

00:11:03 Mental models for exploitation and exploration

00:13:10 Incremental and Transformative Innovation

00:15:24 The first step to imaginative thinking: surprise

00:18:48 Being selective in acquiring data to guide your decision-making

00:24:13 Controlled hallucination as a mental model

00:29:14 Putting aside time for reflection and counterfactual thinking

00:31:01 How can stress get in the way of creative thinking

00:34:38 How to conduct interviews to help you hire people that'll fit your team's imaginative process

00:36:33 How can legacy organizations encourage and incentivize people on the team that maybe resistant to learning?

00:43:36 How do you cascade cognitive diversity to the human resources department when recruiting?

00:45:17 Designing a corporate script that embodies counterfactual and ambidextrous thinking


Show Links


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Mining the Imagination: Sparking New Ideas to Create Your Company’s Future feat. Martin Reeves Greg La Blanc 00:49:50 Although knowledge is valuable, it is limited. In contrast, our imagination is limitless, allowing us to rethink problems and create solutions. Our imagination plays a critical role in finding new opportunities, rethinking our businesses, and finding growth pathways. However, many companies are losing the ability to imagine. How can organizations harness this skill and keep it alive? Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, draws on the experience and insights of CEOs from different industries. In this episode, he talks about the process of sparking ideas and bringing them to life. He summarizes the imagination machine process to these six steps: The Seduction: opening yourself to surprises The Idea: how to generate one The Collision: rethinking your idea based on real-world feedback The Epidemic: spreading an evolving idea to others The New Ordinary: turning your novel idea into an accepted reality The Encore: repeating the process—over, and over again Listen as he defines the difference between an incremental change and pivots essential to transformation—especially during a crisis. Although knowledge is valuable, it is limited. In contrast, our imagination is limitless, allowing us to rethink problems and create solutions. Our imagination plays a critical role in finding new opportunities, rethinking our businesses, and finding growth pathways. However, many companies are losing the ability to imagine. How can organizations harness this skill and keep it alive? Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, draws on the experience and insights of CEOs from different industries. In this episode, he talks about the process of sparking ideas and bringing them to life. He summarizes the imagination machine process to these six steps: The Seduction: opening yourself to surprises The Idea: how to generate one The Collision: rethinking your idea based on real-world feedback The Epidemic: spreading an evolving idea to others The New Ordinary: turning your novel idea into an accepted reality The Encore: repeating the process—over, and over again Listen as he defines the difference between an incremental change and pivots essential to transformation—especially during a crisis. false full 64 45f3f155-57a1-4a8d-8a66-52df5b822198 Ten Type of Innovation Principles For Meaningful and Sustainable Growth feat. Larry Keeley Innovation is all about shifting focus. Most successful companies usually begin innovating by looking within--finding stale patterns of operating and new ways to streamlining operations. Using a list of more than 2,000 successful companies and organizations, world-renowned speaker and innovation scientist, Larry Keeley used a proprietary algorithm to determine ten meaningful categories of innovation. His book Ten Types Of Innovation shows us data, insights, and patterns on innovation to help companies find opportunities and understand their performance against competitors. 

In this episode, Larry shares details on how you can use these innovation principles to bring about meaningful and sustainable growth within your organization. Find out how the Ten Types of Innovation concept has influenced thousands of decision-makers and companies around the world, plus get the insider look on how to actually implement it.

Episode Quotes:

Is the definition of innovation too abstract for people in the field? And how do people doing the leg work experience innovation?

I've talked to a gazillion engineers and trained some of the best ones. And they are the first to say, “I really don't mind if I have a lot of failures if my handful of successes are so wildly successful that it pays for all my sins”. 

What do venture capitalists look for when reviewing a startup’s innovation capability?

In a venture capital firm, they listen for the opposite. They don't listen for the low-hanging fruit. They listen for the hardest bit you have to get right. And then they're relentless and driven about trying to determine whether that hard bit you have to get right is, in fact, going to be cracked by this team or not. If it will not be cracked by this team, the first thing they do is they change the team. And if they can't find a team that can crack it, then they kill it. And that is great. That's how you focus on something that's a true breakthrough.

What are the comparative advantages between large companies and startups, and are there specific types of innovation for which they are better suited?

[Larry] You tell me. You teach an awful lot of talented graduate students. If I said, “How many of you think big companies are more innovative than little companies”? What percentage of the hands would go up? [Greg] Oh none! [Larry] And if I said, “How many of you think little companies are more innovative than big companies? [Greg] Oh, that, they'd all raised their hand. [Larry] Okay, so here's the right answer. Again, this is so important, Greg. This is why I like to call myself an innovation scientist. These kinds of bullshit answers to bullshit questions need to be rooted out and understood with greater precision. The right answer, the technically correct answer, is that it's an unfair question. 

Why do you think big design firms are unstable, and why it's important to invest in innovation during a recession?

This is the time to innovate. When everybody around you is losing their head and scared and all the resources are effervescing away. For God's sake, think about how to reinvent your category. It's the perfect time to do it.


Time Code Guide


00:02:02 What is an innovation scientist and understanding it as an interdisciplinary science

00:04:49 Is the way we talk about innovation too abstract and unrealistic to be really understood by practitioners on the ground?

00:11:47 Startups: the importance of rigor and setting up systems

00:23:14 Is there a way to lessen the risks of testing a hypothesis?

00:26:42 Are there industries where velocity is not as important when testing and innovating?

00:29:48 Is there a way that you can learn both an organization and as an individual so that your capacity for learning continues to get better and better?

00:36:08 Do you think universities are really teaching students to be innovative?

00:43:29 How do you overcome silos without giving up the reason they exist, in the first place?

00:49:36 Role of outsourced consultants when it comes to innovating

00:55:37 Taking advantage of the pandemic and grabbing the opportunity to innovate


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Wed, 27 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Innovation is all about shifting focus. Most successful companies usually begin innovating by looking within--finding stale patterns of operating and new ways to streamlining operations. Using a list of more than 2,000 successful companies and organizations, world-renowned speaker and innovation scientist, Larry Keeley used a proprietary algorithm to determine ten meaningful categories of innovation. His book Ten Types Of Innovation shows us data, insights, and patterns on innovation to help companies find opportunities and understand their performance against competitors. 

In this episode, Larry shares details on how you can use these innovation principles to bring about meaningful and sustainable growth within your organization. Find out how the Ten Types of Innovation concept has influenced thousands of decision-makers and companies around the world, plus get the insider look on how to actually implement it.

Episode Quotes:

Is the definition of innovation too abstract for people in the field? And how do people doing the leg work experience innovation?

I've talked to a gazillion engineers and trained some of the best ones. And they are the first to say, “I really don't mind if I have a lot of failures if my handful of successes are so wildly successful that it pays for all my sins”. 

What do venture capitalists look for when reviewing a startup’s innovation capability?

In a venture capital firm, they listen for the opposite. They don't listen for the low-hanging fruit. They listen for the hardest bit you have to get right. And then they're relentless and driven about trying to determine whether that hard bit you have to get right is, in fact, going to be cracked by this team or not. If it will not be cracked by this team, the first thing they do is they change the team. And if they can't find a team that can crack it, then they kill it. And that is great. That's how you focus on something that's a true breakthrough.

What are the comparative advantages between large companies and startups, and are there specific types of innovation for which they are better suited?

[Larry] You tell me. You teach an awful lot of talented graduate students. If I said, “How many of you think big companies are more innovative than little companies”? What percentage of the hands would go up? [Greg] Oh none! [Larry] And if I said, “How many of you think little companies are more innovative than big companies? [Greg] Oh, that, they'd all raised their hand. [Larry] Okay, so here's the right answer. Again, this is so important, Greg. This is why I like to call myself an innovation scientist. These kinds of bullshit answers to bullshit questions need to be rooted out and understood with greater precision. The right answer, the technically correct answer, is that it's an unfair question. 

Why do you think big design firms are unstable, and why it's important to invest in innovation during a recession?

This is the time to innovate. When everybody around you is losing their head and scared and all the resources are effervescing away. For God's sake, think about how to reinvent your category. It's the perfect time to do it.


Time Code Guide


00:02:02 What is an innovation scientist and understanding it as an interdisciplinary science

00:04:49 Is the way we talk about innovation too abstract and unrealistic to be really understood by practitioners on the ground?

00:11:47 Startups: the importance of rigor and setting up systems

00:23:14 Is there a way to lessen the risks of testing a hypothesis?

00:26:42 Are there industries where velocity is not as important when testing and innovating?

00:29:48 Is there a way that you can learn both an organization and as an individual so that your capacity for learning continues to get better and better?

00:36:08 Do you think universities are really teaching students to be innovative?

00:43:29 How do you overcome silos without giving up the reason they exist, in the first place?

00:49:36 Role of outsourced consultants when it comes to innovating

00:55:37 Taking advantage of the pandemic and grabbing the opportunity to innovate


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Ten Type of Innovation Principles For Meaningful and Sustainable Growth feat. Larry Keeley Greg La Blanc 01:11:53 Innovation is all about shifting focus. Most successful companies usually begin innovating by looking within--finding stale patterns of operating and new ways to streamlining operations. Using a list of more than 2,000 successful companies and organizations, world-renowned speaker and innovation scientist, Larry Keeley used a proprietary algorithm to determine ten meaningful categories of innovation. His book Ten Types Of Innovation shows us data, insights, and patterns on innovation to help companies find opportunities and understand their performance against competitors. In this episode, Larry shares details on how you can use these innovation principles to bring about meaningful and sustainable growth within your organization. Find out how the Ten Types of Innovation concept has influenced thousands of decision-makers and companies around the world, plus get the insider look on how to actually implement it. Innovation is all about shifting focus. Most successful companies usually begin innovating by looking within--finding stale patterns of operating and new ways to streamlining operations. Using a list of more than 2,000 successful companies and organizations, world-renowned speaker and innovation scientist, Larry Keeley used a proprietary algorithm to determine ten meaningful categories of innovation. His book Ten Types Of Innovation shows us data, insights, and patterns on innovation to help companies find opportunities and understand their performance against competitors. In this episode, Larry shares details on how you can use these innovation principles to bring about meaningful and sustainable growth within your organization. Find out how the Ten Types of Innovation concept has influenced thousands of decision-makers and companies around the world, plus get the insider look on how to actually implement it. false full 63 624d1b56-6fac-4316-9e97-723bf1db2385 Tracing Textile History and Threads That Connect Cultures feat. Virginia Postrel Textiles have played a significant role in our history and culture, starting with the Stone Age and continuing to the present. As award-winning journalist Virginia Postrel tells us, thread and fabric played are catalysts in revolutionizing human labor and innovations that economic historians often overlook. 

The Fabric Of Civilization is Virginia's book on textile history that stitches our aesthetics, history, and cultural identity. It focuses on textiles as among the oldest, most essential, and most pervasive of human inventions.

In this episode, Virginia reminds us that people around the world are all woven together through our shared experiences, from using a string to hunting food to making clothes with artistic patterns. 

Episode Quotes:

What is the significance of a string to man during the Stone Age?

Lots and lots of things become possible because of string. One of which, as you alluded to is you can take your stone, weapons or whatever, your stone knives, and you can attach them to a stick and make a spear or an arrow. Those sorts of things become possible. So it's a critical, very early technology.

Why do scholars often overlook the contributions and importance of textile in human history?

There was a paper published where people had identified Neanderthal strings that were 50,000 years old, really old strings. So it's very important technology, but string rots and stones don't so that people didn't really think about looking for string and or later on, 10,000 years, rather than 50, looking for textiles. Our minds are shaped by what is left and what is left is the hard stuff.

How did spinning machines affect the economy of weavers in the late 18th century?

Before the spinning machines, weavers had often been idle because they couldn't get enough thread to weave. Once the spinning machines came in, there was an expansion of demand for weavers and weavers made good money for the day. And it was what one historian calls a golden heyday for them, but that lasted about a generation.

Why did the group of Luddites resist the use of power looms despite improving the productivity of weavers?

They were not ideologues. They were not people who had some cultural distaste for technology or something like that. They were just guys who didn't want to lose their jobs, at a time when losing your job could mean starving. This is serious business. But they smashed looms and the government said you can't do that. Few people were executed, actually because of violent actions. A lot of people were deported to Australia. But the looms continued and we had this enormous expansion of productivity.

On weaving as the birthplace of computing.

Weaving is the original binary operation. Because you either are lifting a thread or you're not lifting. You're going over or under, you've got this one or zero intrinsic process. And so, people have been figuring out ways to record and remember those patterns for thousands and thousands of years. In the 19th century, Jacquard came up with a way of mechanizing or automating really some of the most complicated kinds of weaving, which had been done on what are cultural looms.

How can traditional textile artisans around the world preserve their art?

The thing that I think is important is that for these crafts to survive in ways that don't condemn people to eternal poverty is they have to be luxurious. They have to be things that are special.


Time Code Guide:


00:02:19 The String Age

00:04:42 Archeologist’s work on prehistoric textile

00:08:15 The Development of Spinning Machine in the Industrial Revolution

00:10:47 The labor-intensive process of making thread for Viking sail

00:11:43 The Women-dominated Thread industry

00:14:49 Silk weaving before the Industrial Revolution that produced economic ecosystem

00:17:31 Industrial espionage in the Silk Weaving Technology

00:20:00 Resistance movements against production and technological advancement in textile

0:23:00 Metaphors of weaving in English language

00:25:18 Weaving as the original binary operation

00:28:27 Creating patterns through weaving

00:30:55 Mathematical concepts in weaving

00:33:54 The European Cloth Trade

00:36:58 Stinky fabric dyes from snail glands

00:42:09 Global production of indigo dye

00:44:14 Aesthetic expression in historic textiles

00:45:01 The human value of aesthetics

00:48:56 The art of expressing identity through clothing styles

00:52:57 Meanings of clothing styles evolve over time


Show Links:


Guest Profile


Her Work


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

]]> Mon, 25 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Textiles have played a significant role in our history and culture, starting with the Stone Age and continuing to the present. As award-winning journalist Virginia Postrel tells us, thread and fabric played are catalysts in revolutionizing human labor and innovations that economic historians often overlook. 

The Fabric Of Civilization is Virginia's book on textile history that stitches our aesthetics, history, and cultural identity. It focuses on textiles as among the oldest, most essential, and most pervasive of human inventions.

In this episode, Virginia reminds us that people around the world are all woven together through our shared experiences, from using a string to hunting food to making clothes with artistic patterns. 

Episode Quotes:

What is the significance of a string to man during the Stone Age?

Lots and lots of things become possible because of string. One of which, as you alluded to is you can take your stone, weapons or whatever, your stone knives, and you can attach them to a stick and make a spear or an arrow. Those sorts of things become possible. So it's a critical, very early technology.

Why do scholars often overlook the contributions and importance of textile in human history?

There was a paper published where people had identified Neanderthal strings that were 50,000 years old, really old strings. So it's very important technology, but string rots and stones don't so that people didn't really think about looking for string and or later on, 10,000 years, rather than 50, looking for textiles. Our minds are shaped by what is left and what is left is the hard stuff.

How did spinning machines affect the economy of weavers in the late 18th century?

Before the spinning machines, weavers had often been idle because they couldn't get enough thread to weave. Once the spinning machines came in, there was an expansion of demand for weavers and weavers made good money for the day. And it was what one historian calls a golden heyday for them, but that lasted about a generation.

Why did the group of Luddites resist the use of power looms despite improving the productivity of weavers?

They were not ideologues. They were not people who had some cultural distaste for technology or something like that. They were just guys who didn't want to lose their jobs, at a time when losing your job could mean starving. This is serious business. But they smashed looms and the government said you can't do that. Few people were executed, actually because of violent actions. A lot of people were deported to Australia. But the looms continued and we had this enormous expansion of productivity.

On weaving as the birthplace of computing.

Weaving is the original binary operation. Because you either are lifting a thread or you're not lifting. You're going over or under, you've got this one or zero intrinsic process. And so, people have been figuring out ways to record and remember those patterns for thousands and thousands of years. In the 19th century, Jacquard came up with a way of mechanizing or automating really some of the most complicated kinds of weaving, which had been done on what are cultural looms.

How can traditional textile artisans around the world preserve their art?

The thing that I think is important is that for these crafts to survive in ways that don't condemn people to eternal poverty is they have to be luxurious. They have to be things that are special.


Time Code Guide:


00:02:19 The String Age

00:04:42 Archeologist’s work on prehistoric textile

00:08:15 The Development of Spinning Machine in the Industrial Revolution

00:10:47 The labor-intensive process of making thread for Viking sail

00:11:43 The Women-dominated Thread industry

00:14:49 Silk weaving before the Industrial Revolution that produced economic ecosystem

00:17:31 Industrial espionage in the Silk Weaving Technology

00:20:00 Resistance movements against production and technological advancement in textile

0:23:00 Metaphors of weaving in English language

00:25:18 Weaving as the original binary operation

00:28:27 Creating patterns through weaving

00:30:55 Mathematical concepts in weaving

00:33:54 The European Cloth Trade

00:36:58 Stinky fabric dyes from snail glands

00:42:09 Global production of indigo dye

00:44:14 Aesthetic expression in historic textiles

00:45:01 The human value of aesthetics

00:48:56 The art of expressing identity through clothing styles

00:52:57 Meanings of clothing styles evolve over time


Show Links:


Guest Profile


Her Work


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

]]> Tracing Textile History and Threads That Connect Cultures feat. Virginia Postrel Greg La Blanc 01:00:45 Textiles have played a significant role in our history and culture, starting with the Stone Age and continuing to the present. As award-winning journalist Virginia Postrel tells us, thread and fabric played are catalysts in revolutionizing human labor and innovations that economic historians often overlook. The Fabric Of Civilization is Virginia's book on textile history that stitches our aesthetics, history, and cultural identity. It focuses on textiles as among the oldest, most essential, and most pervasive of human inventions. In this episode, Virginia reminds us that people around the world are all woven together through our shared experiences, from using a string to hunting food to making clothes with artistic patterns. Textiles have played a significant role in our history and culture, starting with the Stone Age and continuing to the present. As award-winning journalist Virginia Postrel tells us, thread and fabric played are catalysts in revolutionizing human labor and innovations that economic historians often overlook. The Fabric Of Civilization is Virginia's book on textile history that stitches our aesthetics, history, and cultural identity. It focuses on textiles as among the oldest, most essential, and most pervasive of human inventions. In this episode, Virginia reminds us that people around the world are all woven together through our shared experiences, from using a string to hunting food to making clothes with artistic patterns. false full 62 fa351471-05b2-47bf-86c3-516d0e202536 How Alien Thinking Can Help You With Breakthrough Ideas feat. Michael Wade For the past decade, Michael Wade, professor of innovation and strategy at IMD Business School, and his co-authors studied the thought process of inventors, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, and artists. The product of this collaboration is the book A.L.I.E.N. Thinking: The Unconventional Path To Breakthrough Ideas. Wade and his colleagues learned that these people’s out-of-the-world ideas helped them to make leaps and bounds in discovering game-changing solutions. 

In this episode, Michael talks about the five patterns of thinking that distinguish these innovators from the rest of us. He shares how Attention, Levitation, Imagination, Experimentation, and Navigation—make for a fresh and flexible approach to problem-solving. Find out how to free your imagination and detect hard-to-observe patterns. 

Episode Quotes:

Was this book intended to be more general, since most of your books are about digital transformation? Throughout your career as a professor and researcher, do you see yourself becoming more generalist in your approach?

I think probably Greg it's the opposite with me. I had a very traditional academic career path. I was a professor in the MIS area. Way back when I was really interested in digital things before it was called digital. But I did find, I have to tell you, that I felt a little bit constrained in a traditional university environment. Where, you know, you're pigeonholed into a department, and my department was the MIS department. So if I wanted to do marketing, strategy, or leadership, I was locked out to a certain extent.

How can keeping people outside their comfort zone help them become motivated to learn and energized?

And that's one of the reasons we chose the metaphor of the alien because you can imagine Greg, an alien comes down to earth. That alien sees everything for the first time. And so, everything's new. But we lose that. We completely lose that. So, you know, the expression 'déjà vu'? So, déjà vu is, you look at something, you think I've seen that before. I'm sure I've seen that before. You get that sense of déjà vu. We want people to have the opposite of that.

Thoughts on rest, levitating and taking time off to reflect

The L is a fun one. It's also a bit counterintuitive. This idea of levitating and levitating is all about —you talked about zoom in, zoom out before — it's about timeout and time off. We just do not give our minds enough time to disengage. I'll ask a question, an open question. How many of you take your phones into the toilet with you? It's probably a shockingly high number. You don't; we don't even give ourselves those two and a half minutes of time for our mind just to reflect.

How do we lose our ability to exercise our imagination and creativity? 

You know, all kids are imaginative. They have great imaginations. But you know, life tends to beat it out of us. School beats it out of us. Our careers beat it out of us. And eventually, there's not much left. I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said, “We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”


Time Code Guide:


00:02:30 Experience at IMD: Thoughts on not having core interests and not being caged within a department

00:03:51 Do you think that working with real executives and companies rather than startups help shape your thinking to see real obstacles and become an alien thinker?

00:07:32 How the book can help readers who just joined immersive work experiences stay motivated and energized?

00:10:52 Paying attention to situations, zooming in and out, and changing perspective

00:13:17 Hypothesis-driven inquiry vs. data-driven discovery

00:17:45 How to be intentional on doing nothing and plotting rest in the calendar

00:20:23 Remote work not being conducive for levitation

00:23:41 What happens when you yourselves in pigeonholes and when you become 

fixated on your function?

00:27:43 Using your imagination to innovate and enhance customer experiences in restaurants using online and digital tools

00:30:31 How to improve brainstorming process?

00:33:03 How do you stick to scientific methods without confirmation bias kicking-in?

00:36:43 Understanding the scientific method: how the human brain can learn naturally and how we learn from machines

00:39:08 How preferring negative feedback, anticipating blockers and welcoming challenges help you churn out innovative ideas

00:42:14 How manual drawings help architects solve problems better

00:44:34 How to open more organizations to creativity and idea generation

00:46:39 Becoming an expert but learning other things from different areas and practices to bridge gaps in the organization


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Fri, 22 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast For the past decade, Michael Wade, professor of innovation and strategy at IMD Business School, and his co-authors studied the thought process of inventors, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, and artists. The product of this collaboration is the book A.L.I.E.N. Thinking: The Unconventional Path To Breakthrough Ideas. Wade and his colleagues learned that these people’s out-of-the-world ideas helped them to make leaps and bounds in discovering game-changing solutions. 

In this episode, Michael talks about the five patterns of thinking that distinguish these innovators from the rest of us. He shares how Attention, Levitation, Imagination, Experimentation, and Navigation—make for a fresh and flexible approach to problem-solving. Find out how to free your imagination and detect hard-to-observe patterns. 

Episode Quotes:

Was this book intended to be more general, since most of your books are about digital transformation? Throughout your career as a professor and researcher, do you see yourself becoming more generalist in your approach?

I think probably Greg it's the opposite with me. I had a very traditional academic career path. I was a professor in the MIS area. Way back when I was really interested in digital things before it was called digital. But I did find, I have to tell you, that I felt a little bit constrained in a traditional university environment. Where, you know, you're pigeonholed into a department, and my department was the MIS department. So if I wanted to do marketing, strategy, or leadership, I was locked out to a certain extent.

How can keeping people outside their comfort zone help them become motivated to learn and energized?

And that's one of the reasons we chose the metaphor of the alien because you can imagine Greg, an alien comes down to earth. That alien sees everything for the first time. And so, everything's new. But we lose that. We completely lose that. So, you know, the expression 'déjà vu'? So, déjà vu is, you look at something, you think I've seen that before. I'm sure I've seen that before. You get that sense of déjà vu. We want people to have the opposite of that.

Thoughts on rest, levitating and taking time off to reflect

The L is a fun one. It's also a bit counterintuitive. This idea of levitating and levitating is all about —you talked about zoom in, zoom out before — it's about timeout and time off. We just do not give our minds enough time to disengage. I'll ask a question, an open question. How many of you take your phones into the toilet with you? It's probably a shockingly high number. You don't; we don't even give ourselves those two and a half minutes of time for our mind just to reflect.

How do we lose our ability to exercise our imagination and creativity? 

You know, all kids are imaginative. They have great imaginations. But you know, life tends to beat it out of us. School beats it out of us. Our careers beat it out of us. And eventually, there's not much left. I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said, “We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”


Time Code Guide:


00:02:30 Experience at IMD: Thoughts on not having core interests and not being caged within a department

00:03:51 Do you think that working with real executives and companies rather than startups help shape your thinking to see real obstacles and become an alien thinker?

00:07:32 How the book can help readers who just joined immersive work experiences stay motivated and energized?

00:10:52 Paying attention to situations, zooming in and out, and changing perspective

00:13:17 Hypothesis-driven inquiry vs. data-driven discovery

00:17:45 How to be intentional on doing nothing and plotting rest in the calendar

00:20:23 Remote work not being conducive for levitation

00:23:41 What happens when you yourselves in pigeonholes and when you become 

fixated on your function?

00:27:43 Using your imagination to innovate and enhance customer experiences in restaurants using online and digital tools

00:30:31 How to improve brainstorming process?

00:33:03 How do you stick to scientific methods without confirmation bias kicking-in?

00:36:43 Understanding the scientific method: how the human brain can learn naturally and how we learn from machines

00:39:08 How preferring negative feedback, anticipating blockers and welcoming challenges help you churn out innovative ideas

00:42:14 How manual drawings help architects solve problems better

00:44:34 How to open more organizations to creativity and idea generation

00:46:39 Becoming an expert but learning other things from different areas and practices to bridge gaps in the organization


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> How Alien Thinking Can Help You With Breakthrough Ideas feat. Michael Wade Greg La Blanc 00:49:36 For the past decade, Michael Wade, professor of innovation and strategy at IMD Business School, and his co-authors studied the thought process of inventors, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, and artists. The product of this collaboration is the book A.L.I.E.N. Thinking: The Unconventional Path To Breakthrough Ideas. Wade and his colleagues learned that these people’s out-of-the-world ideas helped them to make leaps and bounds in discovering game-changing solutions. In this episode, Michael talks about the five patterns of thinking that distinguish these innovators from the rest of us. He shares how Attention, Levitation, Imagination, Experimentation, and Navigation—make for a fresh and flexible approach to problem-solving. Find out how to free your imagination and detect hard-to-observe patterns. For the past decade, Michael Wade, professor of innovation and strategy at IMD Business School, and his co-authors studied the thought process of inventors, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, and artists. The product of this collaboration is the book A.L.I.E.N. Thinking: The Unconventional Path To Breakthrough Ideas. Wade and his colleagues learned that these people’s out-of-the-world ideas helped them to make leaps and bounds in discovering game-changing solutions. In this episode, Michael talks about the five patterns of thinking that distinguish these innovators from the rest of us. He shares how Attention, Levitation, Imagination, Experimentation, and Navigation—make for a fresh and flexible approach to problem-solving. Find out how to free your imagination and detect hard-to-observe patterns. false full 61 72355ced-7302-4a0b-a80e-78e5bf3ec770 Randomistas and Radical Research: Uncovering What Works and What Doesn’t feat. Andrew Leigh Experimental research has been a perennial practice in the natural sciences, but social scientists have taken it up in recent decades as well. Randomized trials have been used to design policies aimed at increasing educational attainment, lowering crime rates, enhancing employment rates, and improving living standards among the poor. In his book, Randomistas, Andrew Leigh, an economist turned politician, tells the stories of radical researchers who uncovered what works and what doesn’t using experiments. 

From finding a cure for scurvy to improving social policies, Andrew talks about how randomistas are changing the world. In this episode, he shares fascinating accounts of randomized trials and studies from across the globe, and the challenges of gaining acceptance for their findings. 

Learn from Andrew and Greg as they draw out key lessons from the book and their thoughts on applying these principles to real-life trials.

Episode Quotes:

Why does measuring the effects of social programs help address our society’s problems?

I don't take any sense of pessimism about our ability to change the world. Well, I think we ought to regard tackling problems such as long-term joblessness. As being as difficult as tackling health challenges like cancer, HIV. And we need to approach them not with blind ideology, but with scientific rigor. Discarding theories but not losing any of our passion for solving these big social problems.

How do randomistas use data from randomized trials?

So, I think the best randomistas are now moving away from whether a particular tweak works or not, to how do we understand the world? And the great thing about randomized trials, unlike natural experiments, is that you can design the experiment very precisely to test the theory.

What can companies and organizations learn from Toms Shoes in terms of having a scientific method for its CSR programs, and do people support causes that take this approach?

One of the firms that's most impressive in that space is Toms Shoes. Toms was founded with the notion that if you bought a pair of shoes in an advanced country, somebody in a poor country would get a pair of shoes as well. So, this wasn't corporate philanthropy bolted on, it was part of the model. And then, after that had been going for about a decade, they asked a team of researchers led by Bruce Wydick to evaluate using a randomized trial. What happened when a community received Toms shoes? And they found that, in general, those getting the shoes had other shoes beforehand. So, they were upgrading the shoes rather than getting their first pair of shoes. It didn't improve school attendance, and that it did increase the sense of dependency on outsiders. And Bruce has a lovely response to it where he says, “Many companies would have looked to bury that result, but Toms didn't.” They saw the result; they adapted, they moved from loafers to sneakers. They looked at ways of giving the shoes through the parents and the community and as incentives for school attendance, looking to improve their program rather than attack the researchers. If Tom's can do that for an evaluation which really struck hard at the very heart of their model, then I think anybody else should be able to do the same with the result that makes them uncomfortable.

What have you learned from Obama’s campaign in terms of connecting better with your constituents?

There are all kinds of little ways in which you can just tweak what you're doing. And for me, that's a part of staying fresh. We should always be looking to learn. I'm always asking colleagues about their ideas on better connecting with constituents because we're in this world, Greg, of declining trust in politicians. And so, it's incumbent on all of us in elected office to be thinking about, how do we do better at connecting with the people who we represent? What are the platforms we can reach out through? What are the ways in which we can connect with people?

Thoughts on experimentation, conversations, and reducing political conflicts

There are good amounts of evidence that encouraging people to have those cross-party conversations can make a difference. I'm surprised as to how many people think they're engaging in politics when they're speaking only to people who voted the same way as they did in the last election. If you want to change the next election result, you've got to find someone who voted one way from the last election and persuade them to do something different. That involves having a conversation with someone who might have different views than you. And guess what? That's the best way in which we've always done politics.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:19 How did he become interested in field experiments

00:02:30 Thoughts on progress, discrediting bad policies and ideas, and discovery of new impactful policies

00:04:40 Resistance to the use of experimentation in policies

00:08:26 Why narrowly focusing on what works and what doesn't means missing opportunities to discover underlying mechanisms

00:09:45 The Highest Paid Person’s Opinion (H.I.P.P.O. Effect)

00:10:33 Why testing something obvious is still important

00:12:31 In randomized trials, where have we seen the biggest improvements in scenario policy?

00:14:37 How do you respond to people who are not comfortable becoming experimental subjects?

00:16:53 The cost of randomizing and not randomizing studies

00:19:49 Thoughts on governments and universities having a centralized or explicit approach to experimentation

00:21:39 When trying something new, should our existing practices and protocols be forced to go through a test as well?

00:24:05 What have you learned in the areas of education and crime prevention that helped form your approach to making policies?

00:26:13 Philosophical approach as one of the most effective approaches to policymaking

00:27:11 Passion-driven in comparison to data, and result-driven policies

00:28:50 Development as an area where a lot of this experimentation is happening

00:35:03 High standards in politics and resistance to greater use of experimentation in the world of policymaking


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Mon, 18 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Experimental research has been a perennial practice in the natural sciences, but social scientists have taken it up in recent decades as well. Randomized trials have been used to design policies aimed at increasing educational attainment, lowering crime rates, enhancing employment rates, and improving living standards among the poor. In his book, Randomistas, Andrew Leigh, an economist turned politician, tells the stories of radical researchers who uncovered what works and what doesn’t using experiments. 

From finding a cure for scurvy to improving social policies, Andrew talks about how randomistas are changing the world. In this episode, he shares fascinating accounts of randomized trials and studies from across the globe, and the challenges of gaining acceptance for their findings. 

Learn from Andrew and Greg as they draw out key lessons from the book and their thoughts on applying these principles to real-life trials.

Episode Quotes:

Why does measuring the effects of social programs help address our society’s problems?

I don't take any sense of pessimism about our ability to change the world. Well, I think we ought to regard tackling problems such as long-term joblessness. As being as difficult as tackling health challenges like cancer, HIV. And we need to approach them not with blind ideology, but with scientific rigor. Discarding theories but not losing any of our passion for solving these big social problems.

How do randomistas use data from randomized trials?

So, I think the best randomistas are now moving away from whether a particular tweak works or not, to how do we understand the world? And the great thing about randomized trials, unlike natural experiments, is that you can design the experiment very precisely to test the theory.

What can companies and organizations learn from Toms Shoes in terms of having a scientific method for its CSR programs, and do people support causes that take this approach?

One of the firms that's most impressive in that space is Toms Shoes. Toms was founded with the notion that if you bought a pair of shoes in an advanced country, somebody in a poor country would get a pair of shoes as well. So, this wasn't corporate philanthropy bolted on, it was part of the model. And then, after that had been going for about a decade, they asked a team of researchers led by Bruce Wydick to evaluate using a randomized trial. What happened when a community received Toms shoes? And they found that, in general, those getting the shoes had other shoes beforehand. So, they were upgrading the shoes rather than getting their first pair of shoes. It didn't improve school attendance, and that it did increase the sense of dependency on outsiders. And Bruce has a lovely response to it where he says, “Many companies would have looked to bury that result, but Toms didn't.” They saw the result; they adapted, they moved from loafers to sneakers. They looked at ways of giving the shoes through the parents and the community and as incentives for school attendance, looking to improve their program rather than attack the researchers. If Tom's can do that for an evaluation which really struck hard at the very heart of their model, then I think anybody else should be able to do the same with the result that makes them uncomfortable.

What have you learned from Obama’s campaign in terms of connecting better with your constituents?

There are all kinds of little ways in which you can just tweak what you're doing. And for me, that's a part of staying fresh. We should always be looking to learn. I'm always asking colleagues about their ideas on better connecting with constituents because we're in this world, Greg, of declining trust in politicians. And so, it's incumbent on all of us in elected office to be thinking about, how do we do better at connecting with the people who we represent? What are the platforms we can reach out through? What are the ways in which we can connect with people?

Thoughts on experimentation, conversations, and reducing political conflicts

There are good amounts of evidence that encouraging people to have those cross-party conversations can make a difference. I'm surprised as to how many people think they're engaging in politics when they're speaking only to people who voted the same way as they did in the last election. If you want to change the next election result, you've got to find someone who voted one way from the last election and persuade them to do something different. That involves having a conversation with someone who might have different views than you. And guess what? That's the best way in which we've always done politics.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:19 How did he become interested in field experiments

00:02:30 Thoughts on progress, discrediting bad policies and ideas, and discovery of new impactful policies

00:04:40 Resistance to the use of experimentation in policies

00:08:26 Why narrowly focusing on what works and what doesn't means missing opportunities to discover underlying mechanisms

00:09:45 The Highest Paid Person’s Opinion (H.I.P.P.O. Effect)

00:10:33 Why testing something obvious is still important

00:12:31 In randomized trials, where have we seen the biggest improvements in scenario policy?

00:14:37 How do you respond to people who are not comfortable becoming experimental subjects?

00:16:53 The cost of randomizing and not randomizing studies

00:19:49 Thoughts on governments and universities having a centralized or explicit approach to experimentation

00:21:39 When trying something new, should our existing practices and protocols be forced to go through a test as well?

00:24:05 What have you learned in the areas of education and crime prevention that helped form your approach to making policies?

00:26:13 Philosophical approach as one of the most effective approaches to policymaking

00:27:11 Passion-driven in comparison to data, and result-driven policies

00:28:50 Development as an area where a lot of this experimentation is happening

00:35:03 High standards in politics and resistance to greater use of experimentation in the world of policymaking


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Randomistas and Radical Research: Uncovering What Works and What Doesn’t feat. Andrew Leigh Greg La Blanc 00:39:35 Experimental research has been a perennial practice in the natural sciences, but social scientists have taken it up in recent decades as well. Randomized trials have been used to design policies aimed at increasing educational attainment, lowering crime rates, enhancing employment rates, and improving living standards among the poor. In his book, Randomistas, Andrew Leigh, an economist turned politician, tells the stories of radical researchers who uncovered what works and what doesn’t using experiments. From finding a cure for scurvy to improving social policies, Andrew talks about how randomistas are changing the world. In this episode, he shares fascinating accounts of randomized trials and studies from across the globe, and the challenges of gaining acceptance for their findings. Learn from Andrew and Greg as they draw out key lessons from the book and their thoughts on applying these principles to real-life trials. Experimental research has been a perennial practice in the natural sciences, but social scientists have taken it up in recent decades as well. Randomized trials have been used to design policies aimed at increasing educational attainment, lowering crime rates, enhancing employment rates, and improving living standards among the poor. In his book, Randomistas, Andrew Leigh, an economist turned politician, tells the stories of radical researchers who uncovered what works and what doesn’t using experiments. From finding a cure for scurvy to improving social policies, Andrew talks about how randomistas are changing the world. In this episode, he shares fascinating accounts of randomized trials and studies from across the globe, and the challenges of gaining acceptance for their findings. Learn from Andrew and Greg as they draw out key lessons from the book and their thoughts on applying these principles to real-life trials. false full 60 df20a4f7-ef9c-4032-9372-864eaf98b234 Narratives of Human Resiliency in Extreme Economies feat. Richard Davies To understand how humans react and adapt to economic change, we need to study how these people who live in harsh environments survived these conditions. From war zones to natural disasters and failed states, to aging societies and those who are challenged by technological advancement. In his book, Extreme Economies, economist, and journalist Richard Davies features stories of communities that experienced seismic shock or have been violently changed in some way. 

In this episode, he gives an account of how people living in these odd and marginal places are often ignored by number crunching economists and politicians alike. His timely and revealing insights shed light on how markets recover from catastrophic events. Listen as Greg and Richard talk about humans living in extreme situations, and of the financial infrastructure they create.

Episode Quotes:

What motivated you to study the places featured in your book Extreme Economies?

I started out at university, actually as a medical student, and I switched to philosophy and economics after a year of that. And one of the interesting things from the sciences is that there are these landmark cases. One that I mentioned is this English physician, William Patti, and his discovery of human circulation. One that will be more famous, I think, to listen to in the States —is the case of a patient called Phineas Gage, who was a Canadian railway man, who was shot through the head —this gruesome injury which separated his brain. And the point is that these one offs, this case allowed medics because the person survived. Because the person was resilient to find out something really important about how human anatomy works —the general human anatomy for the rest of us.

The first idea of looking at extremes I had been that one which is, ‘Can I find places where something radical has happened and yet, their economies survived?’

Is entrepreneurship a natural human tendency?

There is something innately human about entrepreneurialism. I’m convinced of that now. And why is that? Because if you take people, and you strip them of everything, so they're left with just the basic assets that they have— their time, some skills, some kind of natural source, they will start to trade. 

In what ways do the reconstruction of tenements in Glasgow provide insight into the social capital, which is not represented in public housing data?

There are hundreds of stories across Glasgow that become more or less popular in the social sciences. But I think we would call it social capital— the norms, traditions, non-market based ways of interacting and providing for one another. When the tenements were destroyed, they built these high-rise buildings with external developments. But they didn't build a single shop, pub or communal area because they just didn't think of that. And again, that’s my point about data. You need to look at all the data. They just looked at the other housing. Is the house bigger? Yes. Is it better? Is it cleaner? Yes. But they didn't look at all the other things that make a neighborhood. And that's one of the reasons, I think, talking to people, those places did so badly and made Glasgow sink from one of the best cities to the most troubled city in Europe by the mid-1960s to early '70s.


Time Code Guide:


00:06:04 Places with Extreme Economies

00:07:21 Entrepreneurship created from necessity

00:16:52 Beyond physical needs

00:17:41 The urban decline of Glasgow

00:21:07 Thriving economy through social capital

00:24:19 Social capital’s non-mainstream definition

00:26:35 Ineffective government intervention

00:28:01 The Network of Trust

00:31:48 Building back disrupted markets

00:38:56 The economic malfunction in Kinshasa

00:43:52 Informal privatization of a collapsing civil service

00:50:55 Inequality in Santiago

01:11:11 The Economic Observatory


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Works


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

]]> Fri, 15 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast To understand how humans react and adapt to economic change, we need to study how these people who live in harsh environments survived these conditions. From war zones to natural disasters and failed states, to aging societies and those who are challenged by technological advancement. In his book, Extreme Economies, economist, and journalist Richard Davies features stories of communities that experienced seismic shock or have been violently changed in some way. 

In this episode, he gives an account of how people living in these odd and marginal places are often ignored by number crunching economists and politicians alike. His timely and revealing insights shed light on how markets recover from catastrophic events. Listen as Greg and Richard talk about humans living in extreme situations, and of the financial infrastructure they create.

Episode Quotes:

What motivated you to study the places featured in your book Extreme Economies?

I started out at university, actually as a medical student, and I switched to philosophy and economics after a year of that. And one of the interesting things from the sciences is that there are these landmark cases. One that I mentioned is this English physician, William Patti, and his discovery of human circulation. One that will be more famous, I think, to listen to in the States —is the case of a patient called Phineas Gage, who was a Canadian railway man, who was shot through the head —this gruesome injury which separated his brain. And the point is that these one offs, this case allowed medics because the person survived. Because the person was resilient to find out something really important about how human anatomy works —the general human anatomy for the rest of us.

The first idea of looking at extremes I had been that one which is, ‘Can I find places where something radical has happened and yet, their economies survived?’

Is entrepreneurship a natural human tendency?

There is something innately human about entrepreneurialism. I’m convinced of that now. And why is that? Because if you take people, and you strip them of everything, so they're left with just the basic assets that they have— their time, some skills, some kind of natural source, they will start to trade. 

In what ways do the reconstruction of tenements in Glasgow provide insight into the social capital, which is not represented in public housing data?

There are hundreds of stories across Glasgow that become more or less popular in the social sciences. But I think we would call it social capital— the norms, traditions, non-market based ways of interacting and providing for one another. When the tenements were destroyed, they built these high-rise buildings with external developments. But they didn't build a single shop, pub or communal area because they just didn't think of that. And again, that’s my point about data. You need to look at all the data. They just looked at the other housing. Is the house bigger? Yes. Is it better? Is it cleaner? Yes. But they didn't look at all the other things that make a neighborhood. And that's one of the reasons, I think, talking to people, those places did so badly and made Glasgow sink from one of the best cities to the most troubled city in Europe by the mid-1960s to early '70s.


Time Code Guide:


00:06:04 Places with Extreme Economies

00:07:21 Entrepreneurship created from necessity

00:16:52 Beyond physical needs

00:17:41 The urban decline of Glasgow

00:21:07 Thriving economy through social capital

00:24:19 Social capital’s non-mainstream definition

00:26:35 Ineffective government intervention

00:28:01 The Network of Trust

00:31:48 Building back disrupted markets

00:38:56 The economic malfunction in Kinshasa

00:43:52 Informal privatization of a collapsing civil service

00:50:55 Inequality in Santiago

01:11:11 The Economic Observatory


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Works


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

]]> Narratives of Human Resiliency in Extreme Economies feat. Richard Davies Greg La Blanc 01:04:06 To understand how humans react and adapt to economic change, we need to study how these people who live in harsh environments survived these conditions. From war zones to natural disasters and failed states, to aging societies and those who are challenged by technological advancement. In his book, Extreme Economies, economist, and journalist Richard Davies features stories of communities that experienced seismic shock or have been violently changed in some way. In this episode, he gives an account of how people living in these odd and marginal places are often ignored by number crunching economists and politicians alike. His timely and revealing insights shed light on how markets recover from catastrophic events. Listen as Greg and Richard talk about humans living in extreme situations, and of the financial infrastructure they create. To understand how humans react and adapt to economic change, we need to study how these people who live in harsh environments survived these conditions. From war zones to natural disasters and failed states, to aging societies and those who are challenged by technological advancement. In his book, Extreme Economies, economist, and journalist Richard Davies features stories of communities that experienced seismic shock or have been violently changed in some way. In this episode, he gives an account of how people living in these odd and marginal places are often ignored by number crunching economists and politicians alike. His timely and revealing insights shed light on how markets recover from catastrophic events. Listen as Greg and Richard talk about humans living in extreme situations, and of the financial infrastructure they create. false full 59 4b51f87d-647f-4202-a2e2-e7fe3851aa37 Super Founders: Analyzing and Understanding the Data Behind Billion-Dollar Startups feat. Ali Tamaseb Most billion-dollar startups are founded by non-technical individuals— one of the many insights that Ali Tamaseb notes in his recent book. Ali spent countless hours manually collecting what may be the biggest data set ever on startups — comparing billion-dollar startups with those that failed to succeed. 

In his book Super Founders, Ali brings together 30,000 data points on nearly every factor that influences a new business: number of competitors, market size, the founder's age, academic performance, quality of investors, timelines of fundraising, and others. 

In this episode, Ali shares stories from the early days of billion-dollar startups, and talks about the founders and investors of Dropbox, Coinbase, and Facebook. Tune in as Ali busts some myths on entrepreneurship and startups by sharing key findings from his book.

Episode Quotes:

Should founders look outside their domains for problems to solve, or should they focus on solving the problems that they themselves have encountered?

I think that's another thing that gets talked about. Solve your own problem, be your own customer. And that seems like perfect advice. But that's why we have so many valet parking and grocery delivery app companies. It's nobody's problem — climate change is nobody's specific problem. Agriculture, food, security, water scarcity— these are not anyone's specific problems. But these are hundreds of times larger problems by economics, by the scope, than grocery delivery, or valet parking, or any other consumer thing that you may be a customer of. So, when I looked at these billion-dollar companies, in a lot of these cases, they were not solving their own problems. They deliberately went on to find the right idea.

Thoughts on why repeat founders to succeed more than first-time founders

So, practice does make perfect. It's the experience of generating value, building something, selling it, and generating some revenue. Whatever that is. It doesn't matter how much it is. It's that experience that you learn.

Thoughts on maximizing the likelihood of success for the early stages of fundraising

But, I think the thing about founders is that things are a little bit more obvious to VCs. Or that hot deals are hot deals for a reason. These are some of the hot deals that become obvious to VCs. And, it's the VCs who are fighting for those deals. It tends to be that these companies are more likely to become the billion-dollar companies at the end of the day as well. But it's important that as a new fund, you can get yourself into the right 40%. And as a new founder, which is not a super founder or doesn't have a big degree, you can become part of that 40% that gets to the billion-dollar outcomes.

Do you think that we'll ever be able to use machine learning for at least some parts of the venture process?

My goal with the book is the reverse of that, how we can use data to decrease biases. To put aside, things that don't matter. Because right now, a lot of VCs, a lot of people create these scoring things, like a lot of these judged competitions and stuff. Like, people have the scores. Okay, I'm going to give five scores to this element and five scores to this element. And you see, the scoring system is wrong. The book that I'm trying to do is, 'Okay, just throw away that scoring system because half of it is the wrong elements you're looking at. You're looking at the domain expertise of the founder, five scores. It turns out that's not correlated with success. What are you scoring? So, a big part of this book is putting aside things that don't matter. Age, gender, race. Things that don't matter should be set aside. And then, how can we use data to better source founders and source companies? I think something that's becoming more and more useful.


Time Code Guide:


00:00:53 How Ali gathered data for his book

00:02:04 Motivation for writing the book

00:04:38 The different kinds of VCs

00:06:02 The extent of work the author had to go through to collect the 30,000 dataset

00:07:39 The extent of work the author had to go through to collect the 30,000 data sets

00:11:02 Archetypes, stereotypes and how each dataset relates to one another

00:13:58 Patterns on the data about founders

00:16:26 Importance of having technical and non-technical founders onboard

00:18:27 Data on VCs funding family members and relationships between founders

00:25:48 Were you able to find data indicating any biases from VCS when it comes to funding startups

00:30:11 Were you able to find data indicating any biases from VCS when it comes to funding startups

00:35:18 The relationship between defensibility and scale

00:44:03 Should startups immediately to get into an accelerator program and start grabbing seed money as soon as possible?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Wed, 13 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Most billion-dollar startups are founded by non-technical individuals— one of the many insights that Ali Tamaseb notes in his recent book. Ali spent countless hours manually collecting what may be the biggest data set ever on startups — comparing billion-dollar startups with those that failed to succeed. 

In his book Super Founders, Ali brings together 30,000 data points on nearly every factor that influences a new business: number of competitors, market size, the founder's age, academic performance, quality of investors, timelines of fundraising, and others. 

In this episode, Ali shares stories from the early days of billion-dollar startups, and talks about the founders and investors of Dropbox, Coinbase, and Facebook. Tune in as Ali busts some myths on entrepreneurship and startups by sharing key findings from his book.

Episode Quotes:

Should founders look outside their domains for problems to solve, or should they focus on solving the problems that they themselves have encountered?

I think that's another thing that gets talked about. Solve your own problem, be your own customer. And that seems like perfect advice. But that's why we have so many valet parking and grocery delivery app companies. It's nobody's problem — climate change is nobody's specific problem. Agriculture, food, security, water scarcity— these are not anyone's specific problems. But these are hundreds of times larger problems by economics, by the scope, than grocery delivery, or valet parking, or any other consumer thing that you may be a customer of. So, when I looked at these billion-dollar companies, in a lot of these cases, they were not solving their own problems. They deliberately went on to find the right idea.

Thoughts on why repeat founders to succeed more than first-time founders

So, practice does make perfect. It's the experience of generating value, building something, selling it, and generating some revenue. Whatever that is. It doesn't matter how much it is. It's that experience that you learn.

Thoughts on maximizing the likelihood of success for the early stages of fundraising

But, I think the thing about founders is that things are a little bit more obvious to VCs. Or that hot deals are hot deals for a reason. These are some of the hot deals that become obvious to VCs. And, it's the VCs who are fighting for those deals. It tends to be that these companies are more likely to become the billion-dollar companies at the end of the day as well. But it's important that as a new fund, you can get yourself into the right 40%. And as a new founder, which is not a super founder or doesn't have a big degree, you can become part of that 40% that gets to the billion-dollar outcomes.

Do you think that we'll ever be able to use machine learning for at least some parts of the venture process?

My goal with the book is the reverse of that, how we can use data to decrease biases. To put aside, things that don't matter. Because right now, a lot of VCs, a lot of people create these scoring things, like a lot of these judged competitions and stuff. Like, people have the scores. Okay, I'm going to give five scores to this element and five scores to this element. And you see, the scoring system is wrong. The book that I'm trying to do is, 'Okay, just throw away that scoring system because half of it is the wrong elements you're looking at. You're looking at the domain expertise of the founder, five scores. It turns out that's not correlated with success. What are you scoring? So, a big part of this book is putting aside things that don't matter. Age, gender, race. Things that don't matter should be set aside. And then, how can we use data to better source founders and source companies? I think something that's becoming more and more useful.


Time Code Guide:


00:00:53 How Ali gathered data for his book

00:02:04 Motivation for writing the book

00:04:38 The different kinds of VCs

00:06:02 The extent of work the author had to go through to collect the 30,000 dataset

00:07:39 The extent of work the author had to go through to collect the 30,000 data sets

00:11:02 Archetypes, stereotypes and how each dataset relates to one another

00:13:58 Patterns on the data about founders

00:16:26 Importance of having technical and non-technical founders onboard

00:18:27 Data on VCs funding family members and relationships between founders

00:25:48 Were you able to find data indicating any biases from VCS when it comes to funding startups

00:30:11 Were you able to find data indicating any biases from VCS when it comes to funding startups

00:35:18 The relationship between defensibility and scale

00:44:03 Should startups immediately to get into an accelerator program and start grabbing seed money as soon as possible?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Super Founders: Analyzing and Understanding the Data Behind Billion-Dollar Startups feat. Ali Tamaseb Greg La Blanc 00:51:11 Most billion-dollar startups are founded by non-technical individuals— one of the many insights that Ali Tamaseb notes in his recent book. Ali spent countless hours manually collecting what may be the biggest data set ever on startups — comparing billion-dollar startups with those that failed to succeed. In his book Super Founders, Ali brings together 30,000 data points on nearly every factor that influences a new business: number of competitors, market size, the founder's age, academic performance, quality of investors, timelines of fundraising, and others. In this episode, Ali shares stories from the early days of billion-dollar startups, and talks about the founders and investors of Dropbox, Coinbase, and Facebook. Tune in as Ali busts some myths on entrepreneurship and startups by sharing key findings from his book. Most billion-dollar startups are founded by non-technical individuals— one of the many insights that Ali Tamaseb notes in his recent book. Ali spent countless hours manually collecting what may be the biggest data set ever on startups — comparing billion-dollar startups with those that failed to succeed. In his book Super Founders, Ali brings together 30,000 data points on nearly every factor that influences a new business: number of competitors, market size, the founder's age, academic performance, quality of investors, timelines of fundraising, and others. In this episode, Ali shares stories from the early days of billion-dollar startups, and talks about the founders and investors of Dropbox, Coinbase, and Facebook. Tune in as Ali busts some myths on entrepreneurship and startups by sharing key findings from his book. false full 58 139f18c9-6423-45da-b12c-858da3d9fcc3 The Plague Cycle: Better Healthcare, Battling Epidemics, and Building Economies feat. Charles Kenny Our collective ability to deal with infections has impacted human development for over 5,000 years. Through unprecedented advancements in hygiene and medicine, humanity has been able to break free of epidemic cycles, which has resulted in a world that is urbanized, globalized, and unimaginably wealthy. Global trade, however, made us more vulnerable to newly emerging diseases. Today, there is a strong demand from the whole world to work together on sustainable health programs, such as the global effort to produce Covid-19 vaccine, which poses a risk to millions of lives and trillions of dollars of global output.

In this episode, Charles Kenny talks about his timely book, The Plague Cycle, which examines the relationship between civilization, globalization, prosperity, and infectious disease over the last 5,000 years.  

Listen as Charles and Greg discuss the causes and vectors of epidemics, the human toll of deaths and suffering, and our progress in battling communicable diseases.

Episode Quotes:

What are the main things that we can be proud of when it comes to human development?

If you look at global trends, even in income, but even more in health, worldwide the average life expectancy a century ago was around 30 years. Now, it's up around 70. If you look at education, that was the reserve of a small minority a century ago. And now, even in the poorest countries, we're seeing 80- 90% of people in primary school at least. There is a long way to go but they’re at least in school for some time. Sometimes even learning!

 If you look at global trends in violence, at least in warfare, they've been on the decline at least sort of since the middle of the last century, at least since the second world war. Democracy, if you go back a century, obviously most of the world we're living in. Now we've seen backsliding, in democracy over the last ten years. If I were to update the book today, I'd be a little less confident on democracy than I was ten years ago. But still, huge progress over the last century.

How closely tied are our health outcomes to expenditures and investment in healthcare?

The best way to keep populations healthy is not to have them get sick in the first place. So, it is things like vaccines, bed nets. It’s things like clean water, and sanitation. These technologies have really created a global health revolution, and they're not terribly expensive, most of them. There are sanitation systems can get up there. Building a sewage network in a large city is a multi-billion dollar operation, but still, comparatively, they're pretty cheap.

Thought on putting monetary and statistical value on human life?

And it's interesting, the way we come up with a statistical value of life, you know? To use in calculations about how much are we willing to pay to rid the risk of death in various ways. We do it by looking at human behavior. How much people are willing to pay in their everyday life to reduce their risk of dying. We take their decisions, and add them up, and we say, ‘that's the value of life we're going to use’. The problem with it is, that richer people are willing to spend more on saving their lives than poorer people. So, if you follow that approach to the end of the line, you get values of life in developing countries that are a fraction of the value of life in rich countries. And frankly, you get values of lives of poor people in rich countries that are fractions of values of life of rich people.

Why do you think pestilence and disease as fields of history were never really given a lot of attention? Why are we only paying attention to it now?

I think maybe it's been historically ignored because it was just such a given. You know, it was such a background of everyday life and pretty much was an inevitability. Most people were dying of infectious diseases for most of history. Every year, year in, year out. And the pandemic strikes an interest because, you know, eight times as many are dying of infectious diseases in a single year. But, the sort of background deaths from smallpox and measles and so on go unnoticed because it's the way the world is. And that's why, if you look for historical sources, writing anguished reports on smallpox deaths. You won't really find very many of them, and it's because, well, you know, of course, it's God's will. It is the way things are. Unlike battles, regicides, or the kind of thing that fills your average history book. Those were noted at the time and reported on at length, and infectious disease wasn't. It was just part of the life of the household, if you will.

Do you think that people from the 20th century had an overly optimistic view of the potential of science and were able to become completely oblivious to epidemics that have been eradicated, like measles? At least until the onset of Ebola and HIV?

The combination of improved sanitation and better housing and so on, followed by vaccines and antibiotics, made infection a bit of a distant force in people's lives for much of the 20th century. And frankly, I think that was one of the reasons that the anti-vaxxer movement gained steam. It was quite easy to worry about the risk of vaccinations when for most people, they'd never seen a case of measles, certainly never seen smallpox. So, you know, the very success that we've had against infection made it seem like a bit of a distant threat. The advantage, if you will, for public health professionals worried about that kind of thing is that infection has been such a major part of human evolution. That we actually have a bunch of evolved responses to worry about it. Even in the period pre-Covid, we had periodic mass hysteria almost, about the risk of infection. I mean, the extent to which the market for antibacterial goods expand that, you could get antibacterial everything in 2000s, when we were going through one of the latest spikes of infection.


Time Code Guide:


00:05:04 Why do international agencies focus so much on market economy, output indicators? Are there other better metrics on the indicators of the quality of life?

00:07:47 Thoughts on the intellectual history of how developed countries inject capital in developing nations and improving life condition

00:14:55 The relationship between income and health

00:29:33 Aren't we going to return to an era where pathogens and microbes are going to be much more, dangerous?

00:32:19 Other inexpensive ways communities can improvise and solve diseases

00:34:49 How can medical information and materials can be made more accessible

00:38:26 Disparity on the impact of coronavirus in highly developed countries and less developed countries

00:41:41 Institutional architecture of society imprinted in history

00:45:32 Plague as disease of trade and product of Globalization

00:47:43 How other countries around the world responded to SARS

00:52:55 Will the current pandemic and vaccine development affect education and literacy

00:56:37 What inspired the author to write a kids’ book


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Mon, 11 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Our collective ability to deal with infections has impacted human development for over 5,000 years. Through unprecedented advancements in hygiene and medicine, humanity has been able to break free of epidemic cycles, which has resulted in a world that is urbanized, globalized, and unimaginably wealthy. Global trade, however, made us more vulnerable to newly emerging diseases. Today, there is a strong demand from the whole world to work together on sustainable health programs, such as the global effort to produce Covid-19 vaccine, which poses a risk to millions of lives and trillions of dollars of global output.

In this episode, Charles Kenny talks about his timely book, The Plague Cycle, which examines the relationship between civilization, globalization, prosperity, and infectious disease over the last 5,000 years.  

Listen as Charles and Greg discuss the causes and vectors of epidemics, the human toll of deaths and suffering, and our progress in battling communicable diseases.

Episode Quotes:

What are the main things that we can be proud of when it comes to human development?

If you look at global trends, even in income, but even more in health, worldwide the average life expectancy a century ago was around 30 years. Now, it's up around 70. If you look at education, that was the reserve of a small minority a century ago. And now, even in the poorest countries, we're seeing 80- 90% of people in primary school at least. There is a long way to go but they’re at least in school for some time. Sometimes even learning!

 If you look at global trends in violence, at least in warfare, they've been on the decline at least sort of since the middle of the last century, at least since the second world war. Democracy, if you go back a century, obviously most of the world we're living in. Now we've seen backsliding, in democracy over the last ten years. If I were to update the book today, I'd be a little less confident on democracy than I was ten years ago. But still, huge progress over the last century.

How closely tied are our health outcomes to expenditures and investment in healthcare?

The best way to keep populations healthy is not to have them get sick in the first place. So, it is things like vaccines, bed nets. It’s things like clean water, and sanitation. These technologies have really created a global health revolution, and they're not terribly expensive, most of them. There are sanitation systems can get up there. Building a sewage network in a large city is a multi-billion dollar operation, but still, comparatively, they're pretty cheap.

Thought on putting monetary and statistical value on human life?

And it's interesting, the way we come up with a statistical value of life, you know? To use in calculations about how much are we willing to pay to rid the risk of death in various ways. We do it by looking at human behavior. How much people are willing to pay in their everyday life to reduce their risk of dying. We take their decisions, and add them up, and we say, ‘that's the value of life we're going to use’. The problem with it is, that richer people are willing to spend more on saving their lives than poorer people. So, if you follow that approach to the end of the line, you get values of life in developing countries that are a fraction of the value of life in rich countries. And frankly, you get values of lives of poor people in rich countries that are fractions of values of life of rich people.

Why do you think pestilence and disease as fields of history were never really given a lot of attention? Why are we only paying attention to it now?

I think maybe it's been historically ignored because it was just such a given. You know, it was such a background of everyday life and pretty much was an inevitability. Most people were dying of infectious diseases for most of history. Every year, year in, year out. And the pandemic strikes an interest because, you know, eight times as many are dying of infectious diseases in a single year. But, the sort of background deaths from smallpox and measles and so on go unnoticed because it's the way the world is. And that's why, if you look for historical sources, writing anguished reports on smallpox deaths. You won't really find very many of them, and it's because, well, you know, of course, it's God's will. It is the way things are. Unlike battles, regicides, or the kind of thing that fills your average history book. Those were noted at the time and reported on at length, and infectious disease wasn't. It was just part of the life of the household, if you will.

Do you think that people from the 20th century had an overly optimistic view of the potential of science and were able to become completely oblivious to epidemics that have been eradicated, like measles? At least until the onset of Ebola and HIV?

The combination of improved sanitation and better housing and so on, followed by vaccines and antibiotics, made infection a bit of a distant force in people's lives for much of the 20th century. And frankly, I think that was one of the reasons that the anti-vaxxer movement gained steam. It was quite easy to worry about the risk of vaccinations when for most people, they'd never seen a case of measles, certainly never seen smallpox. So, you know, the very success that we've had against infection made it seem like a bit of a distant threat. The advantage, if you will, for public health professionals worried about that kind of thing is that infection has been such a major part of human evolution. That we actually have a bunch of evolved responses to worry about it. Even in the period pre-Covid, we had periodic mass hysteria almost, about the risk of infection. I mean, the extent to which the market for antibacterial goods expand that, you could get antibacterial everything in 2000s, when we were going through one of the latest spikes of infection.


Time Code Guide:


00:05:04 Why do international agencies focus so much on market economy, output indicators? Are there other better metrics on the indicators of the quality of life?

00:07:47 Thoughts on the intellectual history of how developed countries inject capital in developing nations and improving life condition

00:14:55 The relationship between income and health

00:29:33 Aren't we going to return to an era where pathogens and microbes are going to be much more, dangerous?

00:32:19 Other inexpensive ways communities can improvise and solve diseases

00:34:49 How can medical information and materials can be made more accessible

00:38:26 Disparity on the impact of coronavirus in highly developed countries and less developed countries

00:41:41 Institutional architecture of society imprinted in history

00:45:32 Plague as disease of trade and product of Globalization

00:47:43 How other countries around the world responded to SARS

00:52:55 Will the current pandemic and vaccine development affect education and literacy

00:56:37 What inspired the author to write a kids’ book


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The Plague Cycle: Better Healthcare, Battling Epidemics, and Building Economies feat. Charles Kenny Greg La Blanc 00:59:12 Our collective ability to deal with infections has impacted human development for over 5,000 years. Through unprecedented advancements in hygiene and medicine, humanity has been able to break free of epidemic cycles, which has resulted in a world that is urbanized, globalized, and unimaginably wealthy. Global trade, however, made us more vulnerable to newly emerging diseases. Today, there is a strong demand from the whole world to work together on sustainable health programs, such as the global effort to produce Covid-19 vaccine, which poses a risk to millions of lives and trillions of dollars of global output. In this episode, Charles Kenny talks about his timely book, The Plague Cycle, which examines the relationship between civilization, globalization, prosperity, and infectious disease over the last 5,000 years. Listen as Charles and Greg discuss the causes and vectors of epidemics, the human toll of deaths and suffering, and our progress in battling communicable diseases. Our collective ability to deal with infections has impacted human development for over 5,000 years. Through unprecedented advancements in hygiene and medicine, humanity has been able to break free of epidemic cycles, which has resulted in a world that is urbanized, globalized, and unimaginably wealthy. Global trade, however, made us more vulnerable to newly emerging diseases. Today, there is a strong demand from the whole world to work together on sustainable health programs, such as the global effort to produce Covid-19 vaccine, which poses a risk to millions of lives and trillions of dollars of global output. In this episode, Charles Kenny talks about his timely book, The Plague Cycle, which examines the relationship between civilization, globalization, prosperity, and infectious disease over the last 5,000 years. Listen as Charles and Greg discuss the causes and vectors of epidemics, the human toll of deaths and suffering, and our progress in battling communicable diseases. false full 57 33c6da6d-54f1-4e1d-a629-d50155450974 Creative Construction: Innovation Strategies for Large Organizations feat. Gary Pisano For many established companies, enormous resources and risky decisions stand in the way of innovation. There are ample opportunities for innovation in large companies, both in terms of technology and business models. But often, a plateau happens when the mindset becomes stagnant. Striking the balance between short-term needs and committing resources to bold innovation is critical.

Gary Pisano, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development at the Harvard Business School, advises business leaders to pursue transformative actions creatively. His intensive research in his book, Creative Constructions, suggests injecting innovation capacity through the right strategy, systematic changes, and reframing culture.

Tune in to this episode as Greg and Gary tackle crucial innovation questions and how large companies can overcome them for sustained profitability.

Episode Quotes:

What factors affect the innovation capabilities of a company?

As organizations get larger, they get more complex. There are more interconnected pieces. And when there are more interconnected pieces, any change gets harder to make because it involves other pieces. It can get exponentially more complex to engage in certain things. I think the other thing that happens is organizations build up capabilities, skills, and complementary assets like distribution and brand that become very powerful. But then they become an anchor. They feel like they have to continue to exploit those, they look for ways to exploit those, but it narrows down their focus. The other thing is culturally they, don't attract the right people, they don’t attract people who are creative or risk-taking. They attract people who want the safety of a large company and sometimes a large bureaucracy.

How to best analyze a company strategy?

Ultimately, strategy comes down to, I think, in the book strategy is where you spend your money. So don’t tell me what your strategy is, tell me where you're spending your money, and I'll tell you what your strategy really is. But, you know, strategy is a pattern of commitment to a pattern of behavior, and you don’t always do the same thing. 

Can financial analysis become a systematic way to measure the results of a strategy and help business leaders set a framework for innovation? 

So you think about analytic as a process for structuring your thinking in a logical way, and a rigorous way to invite discussion and to invite exploration that is going to help the senior leaders make a better judgment. And at the end of the day, it's judgment. And that's all these things do, and that's what leaders do. They make judgment calls. But they want to make good judgment calls, and they want to make sure that they're not being biased. They want to make sure they're asking all the right questions.

How can we eliminate silos that create impermeable boundaries inside an organization?

You actually need people who can really bridge gaps, and you need talented people to do it. Technically talented people who become architects if you will, of the vision of a technology and who could say, 'Aha, this insight from field A and this insight is from the very different field B. It is something really powerful that nobody's thought about.' I mean, it's intellectual arbitrage of bringing an idea from one field over to another or combining ideas. I think that's what innovation is. And going back to Schumpeter, he talked about innovation as recombinations, and it's that, I think, is huge. But to get that to happen, again, you need some mechanisms inside the organization to bring those ideas together, and you actually need people who do it. And they really do have to be intellectual like an architect who can see all the pieces.

Which aspect of the corporate culture tends to be the hardest one to implement for leaders who pursue innovation?

I think innovative cultures are really tough on people. They're not necessarily the most pleasant places to be. I think, as an organization and as a leader, your job is to make sure that the organization is prepared for this. It's not a walk in the park. It's more like climbing Mount Everest. The view's great when you get there, but there's hell to pay along the way.


Time Code Guide:


00:02:25 Why do large companies have lesser innovation capacity

00:05:16 What makes Innovation unique from other businesses decisions

00:07:59 Identifying the purpose of Innovation

00:10:09 The Innovation Strategy

00:12:06 Financial Analysis as a Framework

00:16:11 Innovation leads to dematurity of industries

00:24:02 Allocating resources to develop new capabilities

00:25:36 The Value Chain of Innovation: From Search to Synthesis to Selection

00:28:49 Active ideation

00:35:07 Onboard people with intellectual arbitrage

00:38:16 Constructing mechanisms for cross-connections

00:40:50 Building teams outside the silos

00:45:26 Strategy, System, and Corporate Cultures


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Works


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

]]> Fri, 8 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast For many established companies, enormous resources and risky decisions stand in the way of innovation. There are ample opportunities for innovation in large companies, both in terms of technology and business models. But often, a plateau happens when the mindset becomes stagnant. Striking the balance between short-term needs and committing resources to bold innovation is critical.

Gary Pisano, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development at the Harvard Business School, advises business leaders to pursue transformative actions creatively. His intensive research in his book, Creative Constructions, suggests injecting innovation capacity through the right strategy, systematic changes, and reframing culture.

Tune in to this episode as Greg and Gary tackle crucial innovation questions and how large companies can overcome them for sustained profitability.

Episode Quotes:

What factors affect the innovation capabilities of a company?

As organizations get larger, they get more complex. There are more interconnected pieces. And when there are more interconnected pieces, any change gets harder to make because it involves other pieces. It can get exponentially more complex to engage in certain things. I think the other thing that happens is organizations build up capabilities, skills, and complementary assets like distribution and brand that become very powerful. But then they become an anchor. They feel like they have to continue to exploit those, they look for ways to exploit those, but it narrows down their focus. The other thing is culturally they, don't attract the right people, they don’t attract people who are creative or risk-taking. They attract people who want the safety of a large company and sometimes a large bureaucracy.

How to best analyze a company strategy?

Ultimately, strategy comes down to, I think, in the book strategy is where you spend your money. So don’t tell me what your strategy is, tell me where you're spending your money, and I'll tell you what your strategy really is. But, you know, strategy is a pattern of commitment to a pattern of behavior, and you don’t always do the same thing. 

Can financial analysis become a systematic way to measure the results of a strategy and help business leaders set a framework for innovation? 

So you think about analytic as a process for structuring your thinking in a logical way, and a rigorous way to invite discussion and to invite exploration that is going to help the senior leaders make a better judgment. And at the end of the day, it's judgment. And that's all these things do, and that's what leaders do. They make judgment calls. But they want to make good judgment calls, and they want to make sure that they're not being biased. They want to make sure they're asking all the right questions.

How can we eliminate silos that create impermeable boundaries inside an organization?

You actually need people who can really bridge gaps, and you need talented people to do it. Technically talented people who become architects if you will, of the vision of a technology and who could say, 'Aha, this insight from field A and this insight is from the very different field B. It is something really powerful that nobody's thought about.' I mean, it's intellectual arbitrage of bringing an idea from one field over to another or combining ideas. I think that's what innovation is. And going back to Schumpeter, he talked about innovation as recombinations, and it's that, I think, is huge. But to get that to happen, again, you need some mechanisms inside the organization to bring those ideas together, and you actually need people who do it. And they really do have to be intellectual like an architect who can see all the pieces.

Which aspect of the corporate culture tends to be the hardest one to implement for leaders who pursue innovation?

I think innovative cultures are really tough on people. They're not necessarily the most pleasant places to be. I think, as an organization and as a leader, your job is to make sure that the organization is prepared for this. It's not a walk in the park. It's more like climbing Mount Everest. The view's great when you get there, but there's hell to pay along the way.


Time Code Guide:


00:02:25 Why do large companies have lesser innovation capacity

00:05:16 What makes Innovation unique from other businesses decisions

00:07:59 Identifying the purpose of Innovation

00:10:09 The Innovation Strategy

00:12:06 Financial Analysis as a Framework

00:16:11 Innovation leads to dematurity of industries

00:24:02 Allocating resources to develop new capabilities

00:25:36 The Value Chain of Innovation: From Search to Synthesis to Selection

00:28:49 Active ideation

00:35:07 Onboard people with intellectual arbitrage

00:38:16 Constructing mechanisms for cross-connections

00:40:50 Building teams outside the silos

00:45:26 Strategy, System, and Corporate Cultures


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Works


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

]]> Creative Construction: Innovation Strategies for Large Organizations feat. Gary Pisano Greg La Blanc 00:52:13 For many established companies, enormous resources and risky decisions stand in the way of innovation. There are ample opportunities for innovation in large companies, both in terms of technology and business models. But often, a plateau happens when the mindset becomes stagnant. Striking the balance between short-term needs and committing resources to bold innovation is critical. Gary Pisano, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development at the Harvard Business School, advises business leaders to pursue transformative actions creatively. His intensive research in his book, Creative Constructions, suggests injecting innovation capacity through the right strategy, systematic changes, and reframing culture. Tune in to this episode as Greg and Gary tackle crucial innovation questions and how large companies can overcome them for sustained profitability. For many established companies, enormous resources and risky decisions stand in the way of innovation. There are ample opportunities for innovation in large companies, both in terms of technology and business models. But often, a plateau happens when the mindset becomes stagnant. Striking the balance between short-term needs and committing resources to bold innovation is critical. Gary Pisano, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development at the Harvard Business School, advises business leaders to pursue transformative actions creatively. His intensive research in his book, Creative Constructions, suggests injecting innovation capacity through the right strategy, systematic changes, and reframing culture. Tune in to this episode as Greg and Gary tackle crucial innovation questions and how large companies can overcome them for sustained profitability. false full 56 39c5eb20-424f-4aef-918f-f49bf342daed The Illusion of Explanatory Depth feat. Steven Sloman According to today’s guest, the human mind is both genius and pathetic, brilliant and idiotic. As a species, we have learned to control fire, established democratic institutions, walked on the moon, and sequenced our genome. Our societies and technologies are extremely complex, but most of us do not really know how a pen or a toilet works. How have we achieved so much despite understanding so little? 

In his book, The Knowledge Illusion, cognitive scientist Steven Sloman points out that the key to our intelligence lies in the people and things around us. We’re constantly drawing on information and expertise stored outside our heads: our environment and the community with which we interact—without realizing it.

In this episode, Steven and Greg unpack how collaborative minds enable humans to do amazing things. Join us as we learn why and how our true genius can be found in the ways we create intelligence using our communities.

Episode Quotes:

How did cognitive science change over the years, especially the theories about the brain being like a computer?

So, you're absolutely right that cognitive science originated with the idea that the mind was effectively a computer. What's often called a von Neumann computer or a Turing machine type computer. One that processes information serially, one step at a time, in the way that most modern computers do. And I think that that view has largely been abandoned for multiple reasons. One of them is that it turns out that you can show that the brain doesn't operate in that serial fashion, but rather operates through massive parallel processing. The best models of memory and reasoning and perception, and problem-solving all have this character — that rather than processing information step-by-step — what people seem to do is to take huge amounts of information and figure out how they constrain the solution that we're looking for.

Why do people often need stories or narratives to make sense of causal mechanisms?

I mean, if you're telling a story, you're generally describing a chronology of events. But you're doing so by having a bunch of characters, and those characters have motivations, right? What are motivations? They're causes of behavior, and the characters take actions in order to change the world in some way that has consequences. And the consequence is a causal effect. So, narratives are very human, understandable ways to understand the causal processes that govern the world.

How humans depend on each other to understand the environment around them

What has really changed my world and my understanding of thought is this observation: that we don't think inside our skull, but rather we depend on other people to think, that we live in a community of knowledge. And the mind really exists in that community. So, the reason I think we experienced this knowledge illusion, this sense that we understand things better than we do, is because other people understand things. And we inherit the knowledge that's sitting in other people's heads. And as we go through life, we're constantly making use of other people's knowledge without being aware that we're doing so.

Do you think companies in Silicon Valley are starting to lean towards people with generalist knowledge when hiring?

One thing we discussed in the book is, some venture capital firms that aren't willing to fund ideas. But rather, they fund teams because they know that it's the quality of the team that matters. And there are people in business schools who are studying this. There's a fair amount of evidence now that if you want to predict the effectiveness of a team, you just can't do it by looking at the horsepower of the individuals, right? The IQ of the individuals is just not a good predictor of how well the team's going to do. But things, like how often they take conversational turns, turns out to be a better predictor.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:52 Is the intention to write a book that tackles cognitive science, anthropology and as a response to those, who are perplexed with how people think?

00:03:48 The illusion of explanatory depth by Leon Rosenfeld and Frank Kyle

00:05:27 Applying the illusion of explanatory depth in political contexts

00:06:59 When interviewing people, did you find personality differences? Are there people 

more willing to acknowledge or learn the limits of their knowledge than the others?

00:08:41 Correlation of preference of chocolate with instant and delayed gratification

00:12:57 How do the heuristics in computer and processing unlocking new ways of doing things?

00:15:03 Causal reasoning in contrast to computational view

00:20:21 Why certain types of narrative archetypes do a better job of leaving an impact compared to other kinds of stories?

00:22:10 Current innovation in machine learning and cognitive science

00:26:29 Our very limited capacity to process information that’s out there

00:29:24 Understanding the demand for specialists and the role of generalists

00:35:26 Intentionality and animals working towards common goals as a unit

00:37:28 Do the lack of proximity during the pandemic impair our ability to infer intentionality?

00:38:34 To what extent is wisdom of the crowd susceptible to lack of sensible and critical thinking?

00:41:31 Relying on experts and the possible problems of doing this

00:43:30 What are the key skills that people should have, given we rely so much on the knowledge generated by others and on technology to do most of the memory storage and processing for us?

00:47:11 Do you see your career as an embodiment of this jigsaw theory of knowledge?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Wed, 6 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast According to today’s guest, the human mind is both genius and pathetic, brilliant and idiotic. As a species, we have learned to control fire, established democratic institutions, walked on the moon, and sequenced our genome. Our societies and technologies are extremely complex, but most of us do not really know how a pen or a toilet works. How have we achieved so much despite understanding so little? 

In his book, The Knowledge Illusion, cognitive scientist Steven Sloman points out that the key to our intelligence lies in the people and things around us. We’re constantly drawing on information and expertise stored outside our heads: our environment and the community with which we interact—without realizing it.

In this episode, Steven and Greg unpack how collaborative minds enable humans to do amazing things. Join us as we learn why and how our true genius can be found in the ways we create intelligence using our communities.

Episode Quotes:

How did cognitive science change over the years, especially the theories about the brain being like a computer?

So, you're absolutely right that cognitive science originated with the idea that the mind was effectively a computer. What's often called a von Neumann computer or a Turing machine type computer. One that processes information serially, one step at a time, in the way that most modern computers do. And I think that that view has largely been abandoned for multiple reasons. One of them is that it turns out that you can show that the brain doesn't operate in that serial fashion, but rather operates through massive parallel processing. The best models of memory and reasoning and perception, and problem-solving all have this character — that rather than processing information step-by-step — what people seem to do is to take huge amounts of information and figure out how they constrain the solution that we're looking for.

Why do people often need stories or narratives to make sense of causal mechanisms?

I mean, if you're telling a story, you're generally describing a chronology of events. But you're doing so by having a bunch of characters, and those characters have motivations, right? What are motivations? They're causes of behavior, and the characters take actions in order to change the world in some way that has consequences. And the consequence is a causal effect. So, narratives are very human, understandable ways to understand the causal processes that govern the world.

How humans depend on each other to understand the environment around them

What has really changed my world and my understanding of thought is this observation: that we don't think inside our skull, but rather we depend on other people to think, that we live in a community of knowledge. And the mind really exists in that community. So, the reason I think we experienced this knowledge illusion, this sense that we understand things better than we do, is because other people understand things. And we inherit the knowledge that's sitting in other people's heads. And as we go through life, we're constantly making use of other people's knowledge without being aware that we're doing so.

Do you think companies in Silicon Valley are starting to lean towards people with generalist knowledge when hiring?

One thing we discussed in the book is, some venture capital firms that aren't willing to fund ideas. But rather, they fund teams because they know that it's the quality of the team that matters. And there are people in business schools who are studying this. There's a fair amount of evidence now that if you want to predict the effectiveness of a team, you just can't do it by looking at the horsepower of the individuals, right? The IQ of the individuals is just not a good predictor of how well the team's going to do. But things, like how often they take conversational turns, turns out to be a better predictor.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:52 Is the intention to write a book that tackles cognitive science, anthropology and as a response to those, who are perplexed with how people think?

00:03:48 The illusion of explanatory depth by Leon Rosenfeld and Frank Kyle

00:05:27 Applying the illusion of explanatory depth in political contexts

00:06:59 When interviewing people, did you find personality differences? Are there people 

more willing to acknowledge or learn the limits of their knowledge than the others?

00:08:41 Correlation of preference of chocolate with instant and delayed gratification

00:12:57 How do the heuristics in computer and processing unlocking new ways of doing things?

00:15:03 Causal reasoning in contrast to computational view

00:20:21 Why certain types of narrative archetypes do a better job of leaving an impact compared to other kinds of stories?

00:22:10 Current innovation in machine learning and cognitive science

00:26:29 Our very limited capacity to process information that’s out there

00:29:24 Understanding the demand for specialists and the role of generalists

00:35:26 Intentionality and animals working towards common goals as a unit

00:37:28 Do the lack of proximity during the pandemic impair our ability to infer intentionality?

00:38:34 To what extent is wisdom of the crowd susceptible to lack of sensible and critical thinking?

00:41:31 Relying on experts and the possible problems of doing this

00:43:30 What are the key skills that people should have, given we rely so much on the knowledge generated by others and on technology to do most of the memory storage and processing for us?

00:47:11 Do you see your career as an embodiment of this jigsaw theory of knowledge?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The Illusion of Explanatory Depth feat. Steven Sloman Greg La Blanc 00:49:38 According to today’s guest, the human mind is both genius and pathetic, brilliant and idiotic. As a species, we have learned to control fire, established democratic institutions, walked on the moon, and sequenced our genome. Our societies and technologies are extremely complex, but most of us do not really know how a pen or a toilet works. How have we achieved so much despite understanding so little? In his book, The Knowledge Illusion, cognitive scientist Steven Sloman points out that the key to our intelligence lies in the people and things around us. We’re constantly drawing on information and expertise stored outside our heads: our environment and the community with which we interact—without realizing it. In this episode, Steven and Greg unpack how collaborative minds enable humans to do amazing things. Join us as we learn why and how our true genius can be found in the ways we create intelligence using our communities. According to today’s guest, the human mind is both genius and pathetic, brilliant and idiotic. As a species, we have learned to control fire, established democratic institutions, walked on the moon, and sequenced our genome. Our societies and technologies are extremely complex, but most of us do not really know how a pen or a toilet works. How have we achieved so much despite understanding so little? In his book, The Knowledge Illusion, cognitive scientist Steven Sloman points out that the key to our intelligence lies in the people and things around us. We’re constantly drawing on information and expertise stored outside our heads: our environment and the community with which we interact—without realizing it. In this episode, Steven and Greg unpack how collaborative minds enable humans to do amazing things. Join us as we learn why and how our true genius can be found in the ways we create intelligence using our communities. false full 55 0dea6233-d671-4eef-b0aa-829a1b8ec628 Natural History of Economic Life: How Evolution Shaped Social Trust feat. Paul Seabright The Company Of Strangers by renowned economist Paul Seabright illustrates how fragile everyday life can be. In this episode, he talks about the book and describes how our ability to reason abstractly has enabled institutions such as money, markets, and banking systems to lay the foundation for the social trust we rely on daily.

How did trust shift from smaller communities and family units to larger institutions like governments, states, and large companies? You won't want to miss out on Paul's insight into how disciplines like anthropology and biology explain how humans developed the ability to trust total strangers.

Episode Quotes:

What drew you to these other disciplines, biology, and anthropology, and see it as something adjacent to economics?

I guess there are two answers to that. One is that I hung around with many biologists and anthropologists, and people in my youth. I met Richard Dawkins. I've been advised by a tutor in philosophy to read up some socio-biology, which was the stuff that was happening at the time. He put me in touch with Richard a very long time ago, when Richard had just become famous as the author of The Selfish Gene. And then I spent quite a lot of time with anthropologists. For me, it was just a natural way of thinking about the world. I almost felt that I had to put on a special uniform to be an economist. In contrast, I felt comfortable with just thinking about human beings as this kind of population that you could study, pretty much like the nature movies that I watched.

On costly signaling and how brands are utilizing it to earn and build our trust as consumers:

If it's somebody wearing the uniform of Amazon from which I'd buy a dishwasher, then I do it very, very quickly. If it's a uniform, but not one I've ever seen before, you know, I might stop, and I would think. And then I would sort of figure out, 'Okay, what kind of company has that uniform?' So, there is implicitly a complex model in which I have the whole human resources department of that company in mind. And thinking about what are their incentives to do background checks on people. When you have innovations in a corporate organization like Uber, people start to ask themselves these questions. I think lots of people hadn't asked themselves why it might be important that it was so difficult to get a taxi license until Uber came along. And people realized that actually, in a world in which it's much easier to become an Uber driver than to get a taxi license, there may be hidden dangers.. Uber itself started to implement new policies and to make a lot of fuss about that. I often think that when you get innovation in a corporate form that suddenly you realize, all of these influences that are going in your head under the radar of consciousness have to be brought up into consciousness and inspected.

Thoughts on how women fit into a male dominated-narrative of trust in the 20th century?

Now there's a whole set of questions about the 20th-century roles on, about where do women fit into the story? In the traditional conquering, killing, and slaying the dragon myth, the damsel is waiting for the hero, and she falls into his arms. She's not engaged in a similar kind of heroic myth or heroic narrative herself. And clearly, something had to give in the way firms were organized. They had to give a role to the working woman. And not just say that it's the woman's job to be there for when the man returns from his quest.

How loyalty and trust is evolving in the workplace?

But of course, then the other thing was when, you realize that more and more, there are demands from modern life for people to be flexible. People who are going to be Uber drivers, many of them want flexibility. But what flexibility doesn't deliver is a narrative about your place in the wider whole. You may, at some period in your young life, be thrilled to be an Uber driver because you can fit it in around looking after your kids or, doing a second job, or doing a more lucrative job, which you can't do all the time. I think Uber is great in lots of ways, but it doesn't offer people this sense of belonging that those big firms used to.


Time Code:


00:01:23 What drew you to biology and anthropology, disciplines that are adjacent to economics?

00:04:34 What are the unique organizational, social and reproductive strategies of humans compared to gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos?

00:08:14 Trusting at two levels; trusting kin and strangers

00:11:48 Why is the notion of reciprocity hardwired and how did this become mutation-resistant?

00:18:19 Violence inflicted between people because of fears

00:20:36 How do we take face-to-face signaling models and turn them into these larger institutional signals

00:23:52 How did trust shift from smaller communities and family units to larger institutions like governments, states, and large companies

00:32:27 Can we still rely on churches for sense of community and belongingness?

00:40:02 Sexual and gender relations of humans in comparison to other animals

00:46:41 Signaling in human males and females

00:49:49 Treating colleagues in a gender-neutral way

00:52:54 The importance of narratives in building trust

00:56:44 How strong and weak among women in marketplaces affect their careers

01:00:16 How can educational institutions encourage more exposure to thoughts outside of our main discipline?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Fri, 1 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The Company Of Strangers by renowned economist Paul Seabright illustrates how fragile everyday life can be. In this episode, he talks about the book and describes how our ability to reason abstractly has enabled institutions such as money, markets, and banking systems to lay the foundation for the social trust we rely on daily.

How did trust shift from smaller communities and family units to larger institutions like governments, states, and large companies? You won't want to miss out on Paul's insight into how disciplines like anthropology and biology explain how humans developed the ability to trust total strangers.

Episode Quotes:

What drew you to these other disciplines, biology, and anthropology, and see it as something adjacent to economics?

I guess there are two answers to that. One is that I hung around with many biologists and anthropologists, and people in my youth. I met Richard Dawkins. I've been advised by a tutor in philosophy to read up some socio-biology, which was the stuff that was happening at the time. He put me in touch with Richard a very long time ago, when Richard had just become famous as the author of The Selfish Gene. And then I spent quite a lot of time with anthropologists. For me, it was just a natural way of thinking about the world. I almost felt that I had to put on a special uniform to be an economist. In contrast, I felt comfortable with just thinking about human beings as this kind of population that you could study, pretty much like the nature movies that I watched.

On costly signaling and how brands are utilizing it to earn and build our trust as consumers:

If it's somebody wearing the uniform of Amazon from which I'd buy a dishwasher, then I do it very, very quickly. If it's a uniform, but not one I've ever seen before, you know, I might stop, and I would think. And then I would sort of figure out, 'Okay, what kind of company has that uniform?' So, there is implicitly a complex model in which I have the whole human resources department of that company in mind. And thinking about what are their incentives to do background checks on people. When you have innovations in a corporate organization like Uber, people start to ask themselves these questions. I think lots of people hadn't asked themselves why it might be important that it was so difficult to get a taxi license until Uber came along. And people realized that actually, in a world in which it's much easier to become an Uber driver than to get a taxi license, there may be hidden dangers.. Uber itself started to implement new policies and to make a lot of fuss about that. I often think that when you get innovation in a corporate form that suddenly you realize, all of these influences that are going in your head under the radar of consciousness have to be brought up into consciousness and inspected.

Thoughts on how women fit into a male dominated-narrative of trust in the 20th century?

Now there's a whole set of questions about the 20th-century roles on, about where do women fit into the story? In the traditional conquering, killing, and slaying the dragon myth, the damsel is waiting for the hero, and she falls into his arms. She's not engaged in a similar kind of heroic myth or heroic narrative herself. And clearly, something had to give in the way firms were organized. They had to give a role to the working woman. And not just say that it's the woman's job to be there for when the man returns from his quest.

How loyalty and trust is evolving in the workplace?

But of course, then the other thing was when, you realize that more and more, there are demands from modern life for people to be flexible. People who are going to be Uber drivers, many of them want flexibility. But what flexibility doesn't deliver is a narrative about your place in the wider whole. You may, at some period in your young life, be thrilled to be an Uber driver because you can fit it in around looking after your kids or, doing a second job, or doing a more lucrative job, which you can't do all the time. I think Uber is great in lots of ways, but it doesn't offer people this sense of belonging that those big firms used to.


Time Code:


00:01:23 What drew you to biology and anthropology, disciplines that are adjacent to economics?

00:04:34 What are the unique organizational, social and reproductive strategies of humans compared to gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos?

00:08:14 Trusting at two levels; trusting kin and strangers

00:11:48 Why is the notion of reciprocity hardwired and how did this become mutation-resistant?

00:18:19 Violence inflicted between people because of fears

00:20:36 How do we take face-to-face signaling models and turn them into these larger institutional signals

00:23:52 How did trust shift from smaller communities and family units to larger institutions like governments, states, and large companies

00:32:27 Can we still rely on churches for sense of community and belongingness?

00:40:02 Sexual and gender relations of humans in comparison to other animals

00:46:41 Signaling in human males and females

00:49:49 Treating colleagues in a gender-neutral way

00:52:54 The importance of narratives in building trust

00:56:44 How strong and weak among women in marketplaces affect their careers

01:00:16 How can educational institutions encourage more exposure to thoughts outside of our main discipline?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Natural History of Economic Life: How Evolution Shaped Social Trust feat. Paul Seabright Greg La Blanc 01:07:49 The Company Of Strangers by renowned economist Paul Seabright illustrates how fragile everyday life can be. In this episode, he talks about the book and describes how our ability to reason abstractly has enabled institutions such as money, markets, and banking systems to lay the foundation for the social trust we rely on daily. How did trust shift from smaller communities and family units to larger institutions like governments, states, and large companies? You won't want to miss out on Paul's insight into how disciplines like anthropology and biology explain how humans developed the ability to trust total strangers. The Company Of Strangers by renowned economist Paul Seabright illustrates how fragile everyday life can be. In this episode, he talks about the book and describes how our ability to reason abstractly has enabled institutions such as money, markets, and banking systems to lay the foundation for the social trust we rely on daily. How did trust shift from smaller communities and family units to larger institutions like governments, states, and large companies? You won't want to miss out on Paul's insight into how disciplines like anthropology and biology explain how humans developed the ability to trust total strangers. false full 54 1cfee1eb-ad34-4819-9046-e69e1bc17f04 People Analytics and Humanizing Networks: How Teams Can Work Better feat. Ben Waber Measuring informal interactions can improve the chances of a major project's success. Ben Waber, CEO and co-founder of Humanyze, stresses the importance of these hidden social levers and networks within your teams to facilitate better communication. He points out that organizations can improve workplace performance with the right employee analytics tools.  

In this episode, he shares stories from his book, People Analytics. Learn how managers and human resources teams can use network metrics to look at the big picture, identify communication gaps, and improve teamwork. 

Episode Quotes:

What is a big, fundamental change happening in the workplace that helps companies understand their teams better?

The bulk of how work happens is, that these more informal networks, these collaboration patterns, and these changes. And that not just in the digital world, but also the physical world with more sensors, with other things that can help us understand face-to-face interaction. We can just understand at an unprecedented level of detail what's going on. What that means is not just that we have a better idea about what's happening, but that we can also start to test the decisions we make. And we can, of course, ideally make better decisions. But we’re still, I'd say, very much in the early phases of that, where there's still just this only growing awareness that this is possible.

How can companies use people analytics to bring real value to organizations and management science?

So, imagine a factory floor because people bring that up: ‘Hey, that’s a quantified environment. It should matter how you spend time’. And it does. But now imagine that you’re a factory floor worker and that I want you to produce ten widgets an hour. Now, maybe you figured out a better way to produce those widgets so that you can do 11 widgets an hour. Now, if you spent an hour of your day helping your coworkers learn that new method, your individual performance will go down, right? So, you would go to nine. And so, a dumb algorithm, which lots of companies are doing this exact thing, would say, ‘Hey, your productivity is down, you’re fired.’ Versus what they care about. What do they care about? Well, actually spending that hour dramatically improves the performance of everybody at the company. So, you want that. And this is why I really think that this individual focus of a lot of these technologies are fundamentally misguided. Because really, the value of organizations, again, its people coming together to do things they couldn’t do themselves.

Why is it important to consider duration of data gathering and qualitative, and subjective analysis when reviewing team performance?

It’s that these numbers alone certainly help focus your attention on things, but you’re invariably not going to get the whole picture even understanding this real, massive depth of insight into how work is happening. What you can do now, is say, ‘hey, here’s some team that is super overworked.’ Or, then again, we talk about the remote work environment today. These are the teams that appear to be most impacted in terms of how they collaborate. But it doesn’t tell you why those are happening. And so, that’s where the subjective, qualitative side comes in and says, okay well, it turns out that we’ve got some huge supply chain issues. So, this team is doing something super differently than they were before. It totally makes sense. This team, it actually is concerning because they should be doing the same thing. No algorithm is ever going to figure that out.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:25 The big fundamental change happening in the workplace that helps companies understand their teams better

00:05:25 How did data capture in social science changed and how did this flow back to management science?

00:10:46 Using sports team that use analytics to extract the best performance from a team

00:13:03 How the pandemic help advanced the data-driven model in improving work

00:15:22 How science networks helped us to rethink how people work

00:20:12 The importance of cohesion in the context of network

00:24:34 Understanding how density of interaction affects the depth of the network connection

00:29:36 Will aggregating enough data on software and development enable large companies to spot the network patterns predictive of bugs or defect downstream?

00:32:42 How do walls and cubicles affect how we work

00:34:47 Virtual happy hours and new creative ways to promote nonwork interactions

00:36:45 The challenges of remote work

00:41:47 Infectious disease models as model of transmission of ideas and information

00:49:07 Measuring the impact of specialists and generalists in terms of breaking silos

00:54:20 How can the HR team rethink its role in terms of facilitating optimal information flow in the organization

00:59:12 The configuration of physical space and how it’s shaping information flow


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> Wed, 29 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Measuring informal interactions can improve the chances of a major project's success. Ben Waber, CEO and co-founder of Humanyze, stresses the importance of these hidden social levers and networks within your teams to facilitate better communication. He points out that organizations can improve workplace performance with the right employee analytics tools.  

In this episode, he shares stories from his book, People Analytics. Learn how managers and human resources teams can use network metrics to look at the big picture, identify communication gaps, and improve teamwork. 

Episode Quotes:

What is a big, fundamental change happening in the workplace that helps companies understand their teams better?

The bulk of how work happens is, that these more informal networks, these collaboration patterns, and these changes. And that not just in the digital world, but also the physical world with more sensors, with other things that can help us understand face-to-face interaction. We can just understand at an unprecedented level of detail what's going on. What that means is not just that we have a better idea about what's happening, but that we can also start to test the decisions we make. And we can, of course, ideally make better decisions. But we’re still, I'd say, very much in the early phases of that, where there's still just this only growing awareness that this is possible.

How can companies use people analytics to bring real value to organizations and management science?

So, imagine a factory floor because people bring that up: ‘Hey, that’s a quantified environment. It should matter how you spend time’. And it does. But now imagine that you’re a factory floor worker and that I want you to produce ten widgets an hour. Now, maybe you figured out a better way to produce those widgets so that you can do 11 widgets an hour. Now, if you spent an hour of your day helping your coworkers learn that new method, your individual performance will go down, right? So, you would go to nine. And so, a dumb algorithm, which lots of companies are doing this exact thing, would say, ‘Hey, your productivity is down, you’re fired.’ Versus what they care about. What do they care about? Well, actually spending that hour dramatically improves the performance of everybody at the company. So, you want that. And this is why I really think that this individual focus of a lot of these technologies are fundamentally misguided. Because really, the value of organizations, again, its people coming together to do things they couldn’t do themselves.

Why is it important to consider duration of data gathering and qualitative, and subjective analysis when reviewing team performance?

It’s that these numbers alone certainly help focus your attention on things, but you’re invariably not going to get the whole picture even understanding this real, massive depth of insight into how work is happening. What you can do now, is say, ‘hey, here’s some team that is super overworked.’ Or, then again, we talk about the remote work environment today. These are the teams that appear to be most impacted in terms of how they collaborate. But it doesn’t tell you why those are happening. And so, that’s where the subjective, qualitative side comes in and says, okay well, it turns out that we’ve got some huge supply chain issues. So, this team is doing something super differently than they were before. It totally makes sense. This team, it actually is concerning because they should be doing the same thing. No algorithm is ever going to figure that out.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:25 The big fundamental change happening in the workplace that helps companies understand their teams better

00:05:25 How did data capture in social science changed and how did this flow back to management science?

00:10:46 Using sports team that use analytics to extract the best performance from a team

00:13:03 How the pandemic help advanced the data-driven model in improving work

00:15:22 How science networks helped us to rethink how people work

00:20:12 The importance of cohesion in the context of network

00:24:34 Understanding how density of interaction affects the depth of the network connection

00:29:36 Will aggregating enough data on software and development enable large companies to spot the network patterns predictive of bugs or defect downstream?

00:32:42 How do walls and cubicles affect how we work

00:34:47 Virtual happy hours and new creative ways to promote nonwork interactions

00:36:45 The challenges of remote work

00:41:47 Infectious disease models as model of transmission of ideas and information

00:49:07 Measuring the impact of specialists and generalists in terms of breaking silos

00:54:20 How can the HR team rethink its role in terms of facilitating optimal information flow in the organization

00:59:12 The configuration of physical space and how it’s shaping information flow


Show Links:


Guest Profile:


His Work:


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

]]> People Analytics and Humanizing Networks: How Teams Can Work Better feat. Ben Waber Greg La Blanc 01:02:40 Measuring informal interactions can improve the chances of a major project's success. Ben Waber, CEO and co-founder of Humanyze, stresses the importance of these hidden social levers and networks within your teams to facilitate better communication. He points out that organizations can improve workplace performance with the right employee analytics tools. In this episode, he shares stories from his book, People Analytics. Learn how managers and human resources teams can use network metrics to look at the big picture, identify communication gaps, and improve teamwork. Measuring informal interactions can improve the chances of a major project's success. Ben Waber, CEO and co-founder of Humanyze, stresses the importance of these hidden social levers and networks within your teams to facilitate better communication. He points out that organizations can improve workplace performance with the right employee analytics tools. In this episode, he shares stories from his book, People Analytics. Learn how managers and human resources teams can use network metrics to look at the big picture, identify communication gaps, and improve teamwork. false full 53 dbb88139-2a2e-48da-8814-49088794a8b1 Practicing Zen and Mindful Leadership: Overcoming Stress in Business feat. Marc Lesser As modern leaders, we are challenged by the pace and complexity of change, the need for collaboration, and the push to align teams. Developing mindful leadership capabilities is a vital skill for leaders today to overcome stress, burnout, anxiety, and overwhelm.  

In this episode, best-selling author and executive coach, Marc Lesser, shares his proven seven-step method to mindful leadership. He talks about his experiences running his kitchen at a Zen Monastery and best practices from tech giants like Google and Facebook. 

Discover how the concept of compassionate accountability, nervous apes, and self-compassion can help align your intentions and actions. 

Episode Quotes:

How did you manage to practice Zen as a chef, where stress levels are already so high?

In the summer, where it was hot, a hundred degrees, we were expected to produce these gourmet-quality vegetarian meals for 80 overnight guests, three meals a day. When the bell rings, the food's supposed to be ready. I think the fact that we were so immersed in the context of mindfulness practice and service — we were aspiring to enter a state of selflessness and timelessness and playing with effort and effortlessness. To me, all of those things are so relevant, whether you're a surgeon, or a teacher, or a software engineer, or whatever you're doing. We all aspire to bring out the best of ourselves in our work and produce this kind of combination of high-quality products or services.

Business as a Form of Service to Others

When you are working in the kitchen, you are there to practice, and you are there to serve the guests, and you are there to create great, great food. People often forget that businesses are primarily about caring for people, whether we're helping people with their finances or creating products. I think we should aspire to create goodness or create some sense of wealth in a way. But, the primary aim is around, 'How can we take care of others?' 

Thoughts About Compassionate Accountability

An expression that I find I'm using a lot these days in the work world is compassionate accountability. This kind of interesting dichotomy of bringing humanity in, but at the same time: results matter. You know, workplaces are not families. I describe them more like sports teams. You know, I was completely blissing out watching the warriors last night, and there's such a great sense of humanity and joy and love. And, when players are not performing well they get traded. And, that's just kind of the way it is. It's the same in the business world. If we find another team that is making us a better offer, sometimes we leave the team that we're on, and that's the world of work. But there is this sense of developing both great compassion and caring and humanity, and at the same time to develop a great sense of holding — holding oneself, and holding each other accountable for results.


Time Code Guide:


00:07:05 Secrets to his Business Success and Practices Ignored by Business Schools

00:09:04 Difference from what you're learning and what the traditional way of leadership and running a business

00:10:40 Finding the right work-life balance: is work supposed to be separate from the rest of your life?

00:16:29 Are companies' stress management programs just window dressing to mask themselves as concerned about employees' welfare?

00:25:14 Mindfulness and its similarities to existentialism and other philosophical traditions

00:27:29 What can we learn from consciously seeking discomfort, addressing it, and focusing on how we react to things which would normally make us nervous

00:31:05 Listening and responding to feedback

00:32:51 Self-compassion, imposter syndrome and acceptance

00:34:59 How do you cultivate a mindset of continual curiosity?

00:38:28 Awareness on choices we make, and moving from small mindset to big mindset

00:40:00 Does businesses become more demanding when they demand high standards in treating their employees and customers?

00:42:47 What does it mean for leaders to hold space?

00:44:36 How do we balance making conscious choices and accepting accountability?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Mon, 27 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast As modern leaders, we are challenged by the pace and complexity of change, the need for collaboration, and the push to align teams. Developing mindful leadership capabilities is a vital skill for leaders today to overcome stress, burnout, anxiety, and overwhelm.  

In this episode, best-selling author and executive coach, Marc Lesser, shares his proven seven-step method to mindful leadership. He talks about his experiences running his kitchen at a Zen Monastery and best practices from tech giants like Google and Facebook. 

Discover how the concept of compassionate accountability, nervous apes, and self-compassion can help align your intentions and actions. 

Episode Quotes:

How did you manage to practice Zen as a chef, where stress levels are already so high?

In the summer, where it was hot, a hundred degrees, we were expected to produce these gourmet-quality vegetarian meals for 80 overnight guests, three meals a day. When the bell rings, the food's supposed to be ready. I think the fact that we were so immersed in the context of mindfulness practice and service — we were aspiring to enter a state of selflessness and timelessness and playing with effort and effortlessness. To me, all of those things are so relevant, whether you're a surgeon, or a teacher, or a software engineer, or whatever you're doing. We all aspire to bring out the best of ourselves in our work and produce this kind of combination of high-quality products or services.

Business as a Form of Service to Others

When you are working in the kitchen, you are there to practice, and you are there to serve the guests, and you are there to create great, great food. People often forget that businesses are primarily about caring for people, whether we're helping people with their finances or creating products. I think we should aspire to create goodness or create some sense of wealth in a way. But, the primary aim is around, 'How can we take care of others?' 

Thoughts About Compassionate Accountability

An expression that I find I'm using a lot these days in the work world is compassionate accountability. This kind of interesting dichotomy of bringing humanity in, but at the same time: results matter. You know, workplaces are not families. I describe them more like sports teams. You know, I was completely blissing out watching the warriors last night, and there's such a great sense of humanity and joy and love. And, when players are not performing well they get traded. And, that's just kind of the way it is. It's the same in the business world. If we find another team that is making us a better offer, sometimes we leave the team that we're on, and that's the world of work. But there is this sense of developing both great compassion and caring and humanity, and at the same time to develop a great sense of holding — holding oneself, and holding each other accountable for results.


Time Code Guide:


00:07:05 Secrets to his Business Success and Practices Ignored by Business Schools

00:09:04 Difference from what you're learning and what the traditional way of leadership and running a business

00:10:40 Finding the right work-life balance: is work supposed to be separate from the rest of your life?

00:16:29 Are companies' stress management programs just window dressing to mask themselves as concerned about employees' welfare?

00:25:14 Mindfulness and its similarities to existentialism and other philosophical traditions

00:27:29 What can we learn from consciously seeking discomfort, addressing it, and focusing on how we react to things which would normally make us nervous

00:31:05 Listening and responding to feedback

00:32:51 Self-compassion, imposter syndrome and acceptance

00:34:59 How do you cultivate a mindset of continual curiosity?

00:38:28 Awareness on choices we make, and moving from small mindset to big mindset

00:40:00 Does businesses become more demanding when they demand high standards in treating their employees and customers?

00:42:47 What does it mean for leaders to hold space?

00:44:36 How do we balance making conscious choices and accepting accountability?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Practicing Zen and Mindful Leadership: Overcoming Stress in Business feat. Marc Lesser Greg La Blanc 00:48:39 As modern leaders, we are challenged by the pace and complexity of change, the need for collaboration, and the push to align teams. Developing mindful leadership capabilities is a vital skill for leaders today to overcome stress, burnout, anxiety, and overwhelm. In this episode, best-selling author and executive coach, Marc Lesser, shares his proven seven-step method to mindful leadership. He talks about his experiences running his kitchen at a Zen Monastery and best practices from tech giants like Google and Facebook. Discover how the concept of compassionate accountability, nervous apes, and self-compassion can help align your intentions and actions. As modern leaders, we are challenged by the pace and complexity of change, the need for collaboration, and the push to align teams. Developing mindful leadership capabilities is a vital skill for leaders today to overcome stress, burnout, anxiety, and overwhelm. In this episode, best-selling author and executive coach, Marc Lesser, shares his proven seven-step method to mindful leadership. He talks about his experiences running his kitchen at a Zen Monastery and best practices from tech giants like Google and Facebook. Discover how the concept of compassionate accountability, nervous apes, and self-compassion can help align your intentions and actions. false full 52 f191044e-4f1c-4bd0-8acd-6d36e27fc5a5 A Simplified Strategy for Increased Profitability feat. Felix Oberholzer-Gee Award-winning Harvard Business School professor Felix Obelholzer-Gee says that data about the rate of change in companies is no faster today than in previous years. Hence, long-term strategies make more sense for businesses today, despite our rapidly changing world. His book Better, Simpler Strategy discusses the three modes of value creation-- value for customers, suppliers, and employees. This strategy promotes working on fewer initiatives with more significant impact, substituting the traditional complex frameworks.

Listen to Greg and Felix as rundown strategies that leaves exceptional impact, allowing companies to capture customers who are willing to pay, attracting the right employees, and choosing the best suppliers for their business.

Episode Quotes:

Does the role of strategy in business change consider the disruptive and highly technological environment we have today?

If you look at the competitive advantage of firms. And we all know that competitive advantage tends to decline over time, but that decline is actually no faster today than it was in previous times. And there's much more sophisticated research than just looking at the rate of decline where essentially you can't really see hyper-competition; you can't really say that today it doesn't make sense to plan for the long-term because who knows what the long term will bring? And we see it even in the most lively spaces. Microsoft has been among the 10 most valuable companies for the past 20 years. Through ups and downs, and they missed mobile, and then they did a bunch of things right, and yet, you see that they remained very competitive and very successful. So I start with this notion saying that planning for the long term makes as much sense as it did in the early 20th century or 1780.

How do strategies create value for customers, employees, and suppliers contribute to a company's profitability?

I think it comes from this place where if you truly know that you're creating value for someone in a way that is differentiated from the competition today, it's really added value to the economy, then there's almost no way you're not going to be financially successful. I like this shift, think value first and then profitability will follow.

If you increase the customer's willingness to pay for the product or the service, or in the case of employees and suppliers, if you decrease the willingness to sell, of employees and suppliers. And so there's real value creation in a monetary sense. The pie that is available for everyone has been increased. And then you can be relaxed about monetization opportunities. Once you have made that first step successfully.

How can businesses differentiate themselves if the customers care more about the price points?

Your experience is that customers think about price a lot, that it's their number one criteria. And that's the pressure on the business. But the pressure is created by strategic choices of the business, namely that you have a value proposition that is largely undifferentiated relative to everyone else.

Would it be wise to treat suppliers and employees more like customers if it works for most companies to create value for parties that businesses transact with?

I shy away from calling everyone a customer because I think it sometimes gets businesses into trouble because they confuse customers and value creation opportunities with the entity that pays them. 


Time Code Guide:


00:00:56 The values of strategy for hyper-competitive companies

00:07:20 The Value Stick

00:13:27 Think value first and profitability will follow

00:15:57 Will somebody miss the business if it disappeared

00:18:02 How can a business differentiate itself from competitors

00:20:56 Increasing the customer’s willingness to pay

00:23:26 How to spot opportunities for value creation

00:26:47 Think of the final user as the customer

00:28:03 Value creation as the key metric for success

00:29:59 The Near Customers

00:33:51 Joint value creation with conflicting interests

00:35:43 Business substitutes and compliments

00:44:05 Value Maps

00:47:34 About After Hours podcast


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Works


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

]]> Fri, 24 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Award-winning Harvard Business School professor Felix Obelholzer-Gee says that data about the rate of change in companies is no faster today than in previous years. Hence, long-term strategies make more sense for businesses today, despite our rapidly changing world. His book Better, Simpler Strategy discusses the three modes of value creation-- value for customers, suppliers, and employees. This strategy promotes working on fewer initiatives with more significant impact, substituting the traditional complex frameworks.

Listen to Greg and Felix as rundown strategies that leaves exceptional impact, allowing companies to capture customers who are willing to pay, attracting the right employees, and choosing the best suppliers for their business.

Episode Quotes:

Does the role of strategy in business change consider the disruptive and highly technological environment we have today?

If you look at the competitive advantage of firms. And we all know that competitive advantage tends to decline over time, but that decline is actually no faster today than it was in previous times. And there's much more sophisticated research than just looking at the rate of decline where essentially you can't really see hyper-competition; you can't really say that today it doesn't make sense to plan for the long-term because who knows what the long term will bring? And we see it even in the most lively spaces. Microsoft has been among the 10 most valuable companies for the past 20 years. Through ups and downs, and they missed mobile, and then they did a bunch of things right, and yet, you see that they remained very competitive and very successful. So I start with this notion saying that planning for the long term makes as much sense as it did in the early 20th century or 1780.

How do strategies create value for customers, employees, and suppliers contribute to a company's profitability?

I think it comes from this place where if you truly know that you're creating value for someone in a way that is differentiated from the competition today, it's really added value to the economy, then there's almost no way you're not going to be financially successful. I like this shift, think value first and then profitability will follow.

If you increase the customer's willingness to pay for the product or the service, or in the case of employees and suppliers, if you decrease the willingness to sell, of employees and suppliers. And so there's real value creation in a monetary sense. The pie that is available for everyone has been increased. And then you can be relaxed about monetization opportunities. Once you have made that first step successfully.

How can businesses differentiate themselves if the customers care more about the price points?

Your experience is that customers think about price a lot, that it's their number one criteria. And that's the pressure on the business. But the pressure is created by strategic choices of the business, namely that you have a value proposition that is largely undifferentiated relative to everyone else.

Would it be wise to treat suppliers and employees more like customers if it works for most companies to create value for parties that businesses transact with?

I shy away from calling everyone a customer because I think it sometimes gets businesses into trouble because they confuse customers and value creation opportunities with the entity that pays them. 


Time Code Guide:


00:00:56 The values of strategy for hyper-competitive companies

00:07:20 The Value Stick

00:13:27 Think value first and profitability will follow

00:15:57 Will somebody miss the business if it disappeared

00:18:02 How can a business differentiate itself from competitors

00:20:56 Increasing the customer’s willingness to pay

00:23:26 How to spot opportunities for value creation

00:26:47 Think of the final user as the customer

00:28:03 Value creation as the key metric for success

00:29:59 The Near Customers

00:33:51 Joint value creation with conflicting interests

00:35:43 Business substitutes and compliments

00:44:05 Value Maps

00:47:34 About After Hours podcast


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Works


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

]]> A Simplified Strategy for Increased Profitability feat. Felix Oberholzer-Gee Greg La Blanc 00:53:00 Award-winning Harvard Business School professor Felix Obelholzer-Gee says that data about the rate of change in companies is no faster today than in previous years. Hence, long-term strategies make more sense for businesses today, despite our rapidly changing world. His book Better, Simpler Strategy discusses the three modes of value creation-- value for customers, suppliers, and employees. This strategy promotes working on fewer initiatives with more significant impact, substituting the traditional complex frameworks. Listen to Greg and Felix as rundown strategies that leaves exceptional impact, allowing companies to capture customers who are willing to pay, attracting the right employees, and choosing the best suppliers for their business. Award-winning Harvard Business School professor Felix Obelholzer-Gee says that data about the rate of change in companies is no faster today than in previous years. Hence, long-term strategies make more sense for businesses today, despite our rapidly changing world. His book Better, Simpler Strategy discusses the three modes of value creation-- value for customers, suppliers, and employees. This strategy promotes working on fewer initiatives with more significant impact, substituting the traditional complex frameworks. Listen to Greg and Felix as rundown strategies that leaves exceptional impact, allowing companies to capture customers who are willing to pay, attracting the right employees, and choosing the best suppliers for their business. false full 51 0dd5d523-19d8-4add-aacc-b20206e01c52 Social Mobility and the Industrial Revolution: What Can We Learn from History feat. Gregory Clark The first half of the episode discusses distinguished professor Gregory Clark's book, A Farewell To Alms. During the eighteenth century, England underwent a period of rapid industrialization and economic growth. Clark explains why industrialization made the whole world rich but not equally rich.

The episode ends with Prof. Clark and Greg exchanging views on how much our fate is affected by our family status. Clark provides an insider's view into his latest book, The Son Also Rises, demonstrating how little has changed since the 1300s in terms of social mobility.  

Listen to Gregory Clark as he shares how history, ancestry, and marriage patterns shape current economics outcomes.

Episode Quotes:

How England's static society eventually lead to fantastic economic opportunities

Another feature of English history is that between even 1300 and 1800, it was a static society in terms of living standards, life expectancy. A lot of the institutions are not changing that much. But there was significant change occurring economically. And the most dramatic of these changes, is that the prevailing interest rate on the most safe loans in medieval England was 10%— real return that you could get. Now, hedge funds would go wild if they could guarantee without risk a 10% real return. That was available to every person in medieval England. And you could buy land in half acre lots, and you know, a half acre would only cost something like two weeks wages for someone. And so, everyone in medieval England had access to transforming their economic condition in the course of their lifetime. It's a land of fantastic economic opportunities.

Difference in time spent doing work between pre- and post-industrial world

And then, another feature of the pre-industrial world is that over the long run, people seem to actually start working much more. We can actually observe very good records of England right about 1800. One of them actually comes from the criminal courts where witnesses describe what they were doing at the time they saw the crime, or they heard the window break or whatever. And from these type of diaries, you can actually observe how much time people are spending at work. And people are working about 10 hours a day, six days a week in this world. That's a very high rate of labor input compared to our hunter-gatherer societies. So, again, it's a puzzle about why do people work so much, right? One of the amazing mysteries of the modern world, is that people are still— once you count things like commuting time or home food preparation, other things like that— they still spend— compared to most creatures in the animal kingdom, a surprisingly high amount of time at work.

Human Nature and its Relationship to Capitalism

I think the more interesting, aspect is that we have adapted to capitalism, and we've actually adapted biologically to capitalism. That is going to be part of any story about the delay in the industrial revolution and also the location of the industrial revolution. And that, in the centuries, that preceded the thousands of years of settled agrarian society, there was some kind of interplay going on between human nature and capitalism.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:53 How did you come up with the explanation on the divergence between highly industrialized and less industrialized countries

00:04:54 Examples of differences in wages in India and Argentina

00:07:46 What are the economist's thoughts on industrial revolution

00:10:21 How literacy rates affect the community's economic development and social mobility

00:12:35 The rewards of industrial revolution

00:21:03 Protestantism and the industrial revolution

00:25:23 Is there something unique about the way you assemble resources in these market economy?

00:29:15 Mortality rate and wealth

00:32:24 What drew you to this idea of tracking social mobility and using the data sets that you used?

00:42:23 Why social mobility was greater during the Medieval England than modern England?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Wed, 22 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The first half of the episode discusses distinguished professor Gregory Clark's book, A Farewell To Alms. During the eighteenth century, England underwent a period of rapid industrialization and economic growth. Clark explains why industrialization made the whole world rich but not equally rich.

The episode ends with Prof. Clark and Greg exchanging views on how much our fate is affected by our family status. Clark provides an insider's view into his latest book, The Son Also Rises, demonstrating how little has changed since the 1300s in terms of social mobility.  

Listen to Gregory Clark as he shares how history, ancestry, and marriage patterns shape current economics outcomes.

Episode Quotes:

How England's static society eventually lead to fantastic economic opportunities

Another feature of English history is that between even 1300 and 1800, it was a static society in terms of living standards, life expectancy. A lot of the institutions are not changing that much. But there was significant change occurring economically. And the most dramatic of these changes, is that the prevailing interest rate on the most safe loans in medieval England was 10%— real return that you could get. Now, hedge funds would go wild if they could guarantee without risk a 10% real return. That was available to every person in medieval England. And you could buy land in half acre lots, and you know, a half acre would only cost something like two weeks wages for someone. And so, everyone in medieval England had access to transforming their economic condition in the course of their lifetime. It's a land of fantastic economic opportunities.

Difference in time spent doing work between pre- and post-industrial world

And then, another feature of the pre-industrial world is that over the long run, people seem to actually start working much more. We can actually observe very good records of England right about 1800. One of them actually comes from the criminal courts where witnesses describe what they were doing at the time they saw the crime, or they heard the window break or whatever. And from these type of diaries, you can actually observe how much time people are spending at work. And people are working about 10 hours a day, six days a week in this world. That's a very high rate of labor input compared to our hunter-gatherer societies. So, again, it's a puzzle about why do people work so much, right? One of the amazing mysteries of the modern world, is that people are still— once you count things like commuting time or home food preparation, other things like that— they still spend— compared to most creatures in the animal kingdom, a surprisingly high amount of time at work.

Human Nature and its Relationship to Capitalism

I think the more interesting, aspect is that we have adapted to capitalism, and we've actually adapted biologically to capitalism. That is going to be part of any story about the delay in the industrial revolution and also the location of the industrial revolution. And that, in the centuries, that preceded the thousands of years of settled agrarian society, there was some kind of interplay going on between human nature and capitalism.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:53 How did you come up with the explanation on the divergence between highly industrialized and less industrialized countries

00:04:54 Examples of differences in wages in India and Argentina

00:07:46 What are the economist's thoughts on industrial revolution

00:10:21 How literacy rates affect the community's economic development and social mobility

00:12:35 The rewards of industrial revolution

00:21:03 Protestantism and the industrial revolution

00:25:23 Is there something unique about the way you assemble resources in these market economy?

00:29:15 Mortality rate and wealth

00:32:24 What drew you to this idea of tracking social mobility and using the data sets that you used?

00:42:23 Why social mobility was greater during the Medieval England than modern England?


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Social Mobility and the Industrial Revolution: What Can We Learn from History feat. Gregory Clark Greg La Blanc 00:58:39 The first half of the episode discusses distinguished professor Gregory Clark's book, A Farewell To Alms. During the eighteenth century, England underwent a period of rapid industrialization and economic growth. Clark explains why industrialization made the whole world rich but not equally rich. The episode ends with Prof. Clark and Greg exchanging views on how much our fate is affected by our family status. Clark provides an insider's view into his latest book, The Son Also Rises, demonstrating how little has changed since the 1300s in terms of social mobility. Listen to Gregory Clark as he shares how history, ancestry, and marriage patterns shape current economics outcomes. The first half of the episode discusses distinguished professor Gregory Clark's book, A Farewell To Alms. During the eighteenth century, England underwent a period of rapid industrialization and economic growth. Clark explains why industrialization made the whole world rich but not equally rich. The episode ends with Prof. Clark and Greg exchanging views on how much our fate is affected by our family status. Clark provides an insider's view into his latest book, The Son Also Rises, demonstrating how little has changed since the 1300s in terms of social mobility. Listen to Gregory Clark as he shares how history, ancestry, and marriage patterns shape current economics outcomes. false full 50 b860eece-af78-4a97-ad17-3455417ff113 The Quest for the Master Algorithm and the Ultimate Learning Machine feat. Pedro Domingos For a while now, machines have been inseparably tied to our lives. The algorithms on Google, Netflix, Amazon, Xbox, and Tinder have run your life unwittingly. Machines are digesting data that you willingly share with them. Artificial intelligence has also impacted healthcare, from the development of vaccines to the search for a cure for cancer. Machine learning is transforming every aspect of our lives, but what is AI's ultimate foundation?

Author and AI expert Pedro Domingos discusses machine learning's five tribes in his book Master Algorithm. During this episode, Pedro shares how the ultimate algorithm can derive knowledge about the past, the present, and the future from data. Listen as he and Greg tackle why such an algorithm should exist and compelling arguments from neuroscience, evolution, physics, statistics, and other branches of computer science.

Episode Quotes:

Are computer scientists the new age philosophers?

I don't think scientists could have supplanted the psychologists and philosophers, and so on. I do think, however, that computer science and machine learning, in particular, changes the way we do everything in a very profound way. If you look at science, more than anything else, its progress is determined by the tools that are available. Galileo was Galileo because he had the telescope. No telescope, no Galileo, and the examples go on. And the thing is that computers are the most extraordinary tool for science, among other things. But for science in particular that we have ever created, they magnify our ability to do things in a way that was —I think — hard to imagine, even 50 years ago.

Is machine learning just a bunch of different tools, all trying different approaches to solve the same problems?

At the end of the day, the best algorithm is almost never any existing one. What a machine learning algorithm does, it's not magic. It's incorporating knowledge, and knowledge will be different in different domains. There are broad classes of domains where the same knowledge is relevant, and indeed different paradigms tend to do well in different problems. So, deep learning does very well at perceptual problems because, again, you know, these things were inspired by the neurology of the visual system, and et cetera, et cetera.

Is the evolutionary model applicable and aligned with what's happening in AI and will there be obstacles in pursuing this line of thinking?

There's more to be discovered about how evolution learns. And by the way, there's more to be discovered for the purposes of AI and also for the purposes of understanding evolution. I actually think that if someone really had a supercomputer, that could simulate evolution over a billion years. With the model of evolution that we have today, it would fail. It wouldn't get there. There are some mechanisms that also evolved. But again, this is this interesting series of stages, right? Even within evolution, there are levels of how evolution works. And I think there's a lot of that, that we still don't understand. But we will at some point, and I think that will be beneficial both for biology and for AI.


Time Code Guide:


00:03:06 How A.I. is revolutionizing the way we think

00:04:31 Tycho Brahe stage

00:06:44 Is the unified field theory of machine learning the same as the general approach to learning?

00:09:11 Computers represent the fourth stage of learning and transmission of 

knowledge, do you think it's a discontinuity from the first three stages, which all seems to be natural phenomenon?

00:10:21 The emergence of AI, life, evolution of the nervous system, and cultures

00:12:01 The speed at which computers communicate and facilitate the transfer of Knowledge

00:13:10 Possibilities and ways you can play with the computer's processing capacity

00:14:29 How did we leap from the AI winter to the AI boom that we have today?

00:17:25 Learning machines and self-driving cars

00:18:48 AI and Linguistics

00:19:33 Do each AI ‘tribe’ have a singular view of pursuing a particular approach in AI without acknowledging that it can have limitations later on?

00:24:54 One paradigm in AI and Master Algorithm

00:27:13 The Rise of the Connectionist

00:28:00 What’s next for AI?

00:33:37 Is it possible to automate the trial and error process and have an algorithm where we learn how to learn?

00:37:49 Is the evolutionary model doing anything for AI, and what are the obstacles in this line of thinking?

00:41:53 How do we know whether a school of ideas is dead or simply dormant?

00:43:01 How do you advance interdisciplinary learning within the different school of thoughts in AI?

00:44:24 Thoughts on Geoff Hinton's work and back propagation

00:46:22 Is there a guidebook to creating a unified theory?

00:48:11 AGI, AI and humans

00:51:01 Automating the Scientific Process

00:52:26 Thoughts on the Future of AI


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Mon, 20 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast For a while now, machines have been inseparably tied to our lives. The algorithms on Google, Netflix, Amazon, Xbox, and Tinder have run your life unwittingly. Machines are digesting data that you willingly share with them. Artificial intelligence has also impacted healthcare, from the development of vaccines to the search for a cure for cancer. Machine learning is transforming every aspect of our lives, but what is AI's ultimate foundation?

Author and AI expert Pedro Domingos discusses machine learning's five tribes in his book Master Algorithm. During this episode, Pedro shares how the ultimate algorithm can derive knowledge about the past, the present, and the future from data. Listen as he and Greg tackle why such an algorithm should exist and compelling arguments from neuroscience, evolution, physics, statistics, and other branches of computer science.

Episode Quotes:

Are computer scientists the new age philosophers?

I don't think scientists could have supplanted the psychologists and philosophers, and so on. I do think, however, that computer science and machine learning, in particular, changes the way we do everything in a very profound way. If you look at science, more than anything else, its progress is determined by the tools that are available. Galileo was Galileo because he had the telescope. No telescope, no Galileo, and the examples go on. And the thing is that computers are the most extraordinary tool for science, among other things. But for science in particular that we have ever created, they magnify our ability to do things in a way that was —I think — hard to imagine, even 50 years ago.

Is machine learning just a bunch of different tools, all trying different approaches to solve the same problems?

At the end of the day, the best algorithm is almost never any existing one. What a machine learning algorithm does, it's not magic. It's incorporating knowledge, and knowledge will be different in different domains. There are broad classes of domains where the same knowledge is relevant, and indeed different paradigms tend to do well in different problems. So, deep learning does very well at perceptual problems because, again, you know, these things were inspired by the neurology of the visual system, and et cetera, et cetera.

Is the evolutionary model applicable and aligned with what's happening in AI and will there be obstacles in pursuing this line of thinking?

There's more to be discovered about how evolution learns. And by the way, there's more to be discovered for the purposes of AI and also for the purposes of understanding evolution. I actually think that if someone really had a supercomputer, that could simulate evolution over a billion years. With the model of evolution that we have today, it would fail. It wouldn't get there. There are some mechanisms that also evolved. But again, this is this interesting series of stages, right? Even within evolution, there are levels of how evolution works. And I think there's a lot of that, that we still don't understand. But we will at some point, and I think that will be beneficial both for biology and for AI.


Time Code Guide:


00:03:06 How A.I. is revolutionizing the way we think

00:04:31 Tycho Brahe stage

00:06:44 Is the unified field theory of machine learning the same as the general approach to learning?

00:09:11 Computers represent the fourth stage of learning and transmission of 

knowledge, do you think it's a discontinuity from the first three stages, which all seems to be natural phenomenon?

00:10:21 The emergence of AI, life, evolution of the nervous system, and cultures

00:12:01 The speed at which computers communicate and facilitate the transfer of Knowledge

00:13:10 Possibilities and ways you can play with the computer's processing capacity

00:14:29 How did we leap from the AI winter to the AI boom that we have today?

00:17:25 Learning machines and self-driving cars

00:18:48 AI and Linguistics

00:19:33 Do each AI ‘tribe’ have a singular view of pursuing a particular approach in AI without acknowledging that it can have limitations later on?

00:24:54 One paradigm in AI and Master Algorithm

00:27:13 The Rise of the Connectionist

00:28:00 What’s next for AI?

00:33:37 Is it possible to automate the trial and error process and have an algorithm where we learn how to learn?

00:37:49 Is the evolutionary model doing anything for AI, and what are the obstacles in this line of thinking?

00:41:53 How do we know whether a school of ideas is dead or simply dormant?

00:43:01 How do you advance interdisciplinary learning within the different school of thoughts in AI?

00:44:24 Thoughts on Geoff Hinton's work and back propagation

00:46:22 Is there a guidebook to creating a unified theory?

00:48:11 AGI, AI and humans

00:51:01 Automating the Scientific Process

00:52:26 Thoughts on the Future of AI


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The Quest for the Master Algorithm and the Ultimate Learning Machine feat. Pedro Domingos Greg La Blanc 00:57:49 For a while now, machines have been inseparably tied to our lives. The algorithms on Google, Netflix, Amazon, Xbox, and Tinder have run your life unwittingly. Machines are digesting data that you willingly share with them. Artificial intelligence has also impacted healthcare, from the development of vaccines to the search for a cure for cancer. Machine learning is transforming every aspect of our lives, but what is AI's ultimate foundation? Author and AI expert Pedro Domingos discusses machine learning's five tribes in his book Master Algorithm. During this episode, Pedro shares how the ultimate algorithm can derive knowledge about the past, the present, and the future from data. Listen as he and Greg tackle why such an algorithm should exist and compelling arguments from neuroscience, evolution, physics, statistics, and other branches of computer science. For a while now, machines have been inseparably tied to our lives. The algorithms on Google, Netflix, Amazon, Xbox, and Tinder have run your life unwittingly. Machines are digesting data that you willingly share with them. Artificial intelligence has also impacted healthcare, from the development of vaccines to the search for a cure for cancer. Machine learning is transforming every aspect of our lives, but what is AI's ultimate foundation? Author and AI expert Pedro Domingos discusses machine learning's five tribes in his book Master Algorithm. During this episode, Pedro shares how the ultimate algorithm can derive knowledge about the past, the present, and the future from data. Listen as he and Greg tackle why such an algorithm should exist and compelling arguments from neuroscience, evolution, physics, statistics, and other branches of computer science. false full 49 aa961e81-0e5b-4547-bb8c-7b4dbeb9c4ff Understanding Food Science: The Role of Evolution and Nature in our Diet feat. Rob Dunn Traditionally, biologists and ecologists study microbes and hosts separately. And, it’s only recently that 'Hologenomics' emerged as a discipline with a holistic perspective. Rob Dunn's work in this field influenced his three best-selling books, Delicious, The Wildlife Of Our Bodies, and Never Home Alone.

In this episode, Rob takes us on a scientific taste adventure. In his use of “hologenomics” perspectives, he explains why humans crave flavors that cannot be explained by their nutritional needs, and how they may have been influenced by evolutionary development. 

Tune in to hear Greg and Rob talk about anthropology, history, and evolutionary biology, including the extinction of megafauna and the influence of plants and animals on the human palate.

Episode Quotes:

How Hologenomics combines different fields of sciences in its applications

Historically people who studied microbes, so things that are invisible without a microscope and people who studied animals, were in different departments. And even if they were studying the same interaction, they would study it from totally different perspectives. And so, if I studied skin microbes, I'd focus on them. And if you studied skin, you would focus on the human. And so, Hologenomics is an approach where you study all of that at the same time. And so, a human and its microbes, a goat and its microbes, a Gobi fish and its microbes. And this is made possible partly because the tools are now the same tools. I can study your genes and your microbes' genes at the same time. And so, it's a field that recognizes the value of whole-ism, but at the same time, reflects changes in how we study things.

Thoughts on co-evolutionary process of plants and animals

So, some species— well, some parts of species like fruits, they have evolved to have chemicals that appeal to the taste and the smell of the specific animals they want to eat them. And then, by the flip side of that is that, many sorts of the leaves of plants, very often, produce chemicals that relate to bad tastes in the animals they don't want to eat them. And so, there's this kind of culinary dance between plants and animals and between lots of organisms. That’s super fascinating and hinges on that bite, you know, that we all do that, animals do.

Why do you think science hasn't really paid a lot of attention to things like taste?

Because we're just still so early in science, but I think the second thing is that often we don't have the right tool yet. I think taste receptors are like that. That, for a long time, it was really hard. Even if you knew what the gene might be for a taste receptor, to then compare that from one species to another, it was expensive. Maybe if you'd looked at sweet taste receptors in humans, you could also look at them in rats, and then your Ph.D. was over. Now, that's cheap and easy. Easy is too strong. It's cheap and feasible. And so that's the other part, is that the technology that you need is sometimes lagging. And I think with tastes, that's been one of the pieces. Now we have genetic technologies that allow us not only this study tastes in humans, But also to compare it.


Time Code Guide:


00:00:57 What is hologenomics?

00:02:13 Hologenomics and ecology as fields that help us understand the world better

00:03:47 Rob Dunn’s early work as an intern

00:07:12 What's so different about the book Delicious and did you take unique approaches to animal behavioral science?

00:11:45 Why bacteria in cadavers secrete weird odors

00:13:00 How our taste palette’s affected by our evolution

00:15:00 Stoichiometry, taste palettes and signaling what the body needs

00:21:24 Bias on technology and detecting existing conditions only

00:23:09 Gap between studying known conditions vs. studying different aspects of biology to add context on these known diseases

00:24:25 Will exposing doctors to evolutionary theories or studies create a different framework for looking at the human body?

00:26:33 Understanding Covid-19 and why looking at any bacteria, as bad bacteria may not be the best perspective

00:31:31 Wildlife of our bodies and fecal transplants

00:34:00 Fermented foods and garden of microbes

00:35:39 Evolution of fruit trees and the animals that consume them

00:37:53 Flavor of plants and animals and how they serve as chemical defense

00:39:34 Spices, microbial components, human, and plant evolution

00:40:19 Why do humans have to learn how to like certain tastes?

00:47:44 How do you fix what's wrong with science and thoughts on rigorous testing

00:53:51 Rob Dunn’s next book


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Wed, 15 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Traditionally, biologists and ecologists study microbes and hosts separately. And, it’s only recently that 'Hologenomics' emerged as a discipline with a holistic perspective. Rob Dunn's work in this field influenced his three best-selling books, Delicious, The Wildlife Of Our Bodies, and Never Home Alone.

In this episode, Rob takes us on a scientific taste adventure. In his use of “hologenomics” perspectives, he explains why humans crave flavors that cannot be explained by their nutritional needs, and how they may have been influenced by evolutionary development. 

Tune in to hear Greg and Rob talk about anthropology, history, and evolutionary biology, including the extinction of megafauna and the influence of plants and animals on the human palate.

Episode Quotes:

How Hologenomics combines different fields of sciences in its applications

Historically people who studied microbes, so things that are invisible without a microscope and people who studied animals, were in different departments. And even if they were studying the same interaction, they would study it from totally different perspectives. And so, if I studied skin microbes, I'd focus on them. And if you studied skin, you would focus on the human. And so, Hologenomics is an approach where you study all of that at the same time. And so, a human and its microbes, a goat and its microbes, a Gobi fish and its microbes. And this is made possible partly because the tools are now the same tools. I can study your genes and your microbes' genes at the same time. And so, it's a field that recognizes the value of whole-ism, but at the same time, reflects changes in how we study things.

Thoughts on co-evolutionary process of plants and animals

So, some species— well, some parts of species like fruits, they have evolved to have chemicals that appeal to the taste and the smell of the specific animals they want to eat them. And then, by the flip side of that is that, many sorts of the leaves of plants, very often, produce chemicals that relate to bad tastes in the animals they don't want to eat them. And so, there's this kind of culinary dance between plants and animals and between lots of organisms. That’s super fascinating and hinges on that bite, you know, that we all do that, animals do.

Why do you think science hasn't really paid a lot of attention to things like taste?

Because we're just still so early in science, but I think the second thing is that often we don't have the right tool yet. I think taste receptors are like that. That, for a long time, it was really hard. Even if you knew what the gene might be for a taste receptor, to then compare that from one species to another, it was expensive. Maybe if you'd looked at sweet taste receptors in humans, you could also look at them in rats, and then your Ph.D. was over. Now, that's cheap and easy. Easy is too strong. It's cheap and feasible. And so that's the other part, is that the technology that you need is sometimes lagging. And I think with tastes, that's been one of the pieces. Now we have genetic technologies that allow us not only this study tastes in humans, But also to compare it.


Time Code Guide:


00:00:57 What is hologenomics?

00:02:13 Hologenomics and ecology as fields that help us understand the world better

00:03:47 Rob Dunn’s early work as an intern

00:07:12 What's so different about the book Delicious and did you take unique approaches to animal behavioral science?

00:11:45 Why bacteria in cadavers secrete weird odors

00:13:00 How our taste palette’s affected by our evolution

00:15:00 Stoichiometry, taste palettes and signaling what the body needs

00:21:24 Bias on technology and detecting existing conditions only

00:23:09 Gap between studying known conditions vs. studying different aspects of biology to add context on these known diseases

00:24:25 Will exposing doctors to evolutionary theories or studies create a different framework for looking at the human body?

00:26:33 Understanding Covid-19 and why looking at any bacteria, as bad bacteria may not be the best perspective

00:31:31 Wildlife of our bodies and fecal transplants

00:34:00 Fermented foods and garden of microbes

00:35:39 Evolution of fruit trees and the animals that consume them

00:37:53 Flavor of plants and animals and how they serve as chemical defense

00:39:34 Spices, microbial components, human, and plant evolution

00:40:19 Why do humans have to learn how to like certain tastes?

00:47:44 How do you fix what's wrong with science and thoughts on rigorous testing

00:53:51 Rob Dunn’s next book


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Understanding Food Science: The Role of Evolution and Nature in our Diet feat. Rob Dunn Greg La Blanc 00:54:49 Traditionally, biologists and ecologists study microbes and hosts separately. And, it’s only recently that 'Hologenomics' emerged as a discipline with a holistic perspective. Rob Dunn's work in this field influenced his three best-selling books, Delicious, The Wildlife Of Our Bodies, and Never Home Alone. In this episode, Rob takes us on a scientific taste adventure. In his use of “hologenomics” perspectives, he explains why humans crave flavors that cannot be explained by their nutritional needs, and how they may have been influenced by evolutionary development. Tune in to hear Greg and Rob talk about anthropology, history, and evolutionary biology, including the extinction of megafauna and the influence of plants and animals on the human palate. Traditionally, biologists and ecologists study microbes and hosts separately. And, it’s only recently that 'Hologenomics' emerged as a discipline with a holistic perspective. Rob Dunn's work in this field influenced his three best-selling books, Delicious, The Wildlife Of Our Bodies, and Never Home Alone. In this episode, Rob takes us on a scientific taste adventure. In his use of “hologenomics” perspectives, he explains why humans crave flavors that cannot be explained by their nutritional needs, and how they may have been influenced by evolutionary development. Tune in to hear Greg and Rob talk about anthropology, history, and evolutionary biology, including the extinction of megafauna and the influence of plants and animals on the human palate. false full 48 c7faecb3-ef9c-4606-bff5-6a971e955798 The Future of Capitalism: The Growing Gaps and Social Anxieties in Developed Nations feat. Paul Collier Developed nations like the United Kingdom and the United States are experiencing growing radical oppositions and deep divisions between rural communities and bustling urban centers. A severe lack of opportunities plagues poorer communities. Young people have little to look forward to except a bleak job market, while older workers are marginalized as their skills lose value. One of the world's most influential development economists, Paul Collier, tackles these issues in his recent book, The Future Of Capitalism.

In this episode, Paul and Greg talk nationalism vs. patriotism, how personal and national identities have evolved and delve into Paul’s diagnosis of capitalism's failures and ideas for how we can reform it.

Episode Quotes:

What motivated you to shift the focus of your work to the problems of developed countries like Britain and U.S.?

Both the geographic divide of living in this hyper prosperous place of Oxford, and seeing this catastrophe in my town, but also being on this rising ladder of fancy education and then off you go, versus all my relatives who invested in manual skills, the skills of steelworkers. And all their skills evaporated. The pride that they took in their work disappeared. Work disappeared. One of my relatives ended up earning a living cleaning toilets. And so, this astonishing divergence in my life—brought me around to realizing that something needed to be done about that. And it wasn't that it was just happening to a few people/. In both Britain and America, those divergences, the spatial divergence between booming metropolises and broken provincial towns and cities. And that divergence between a hyper educators' success with fancy skills on top, versus manual skills that became worthless. That divide became true of our entire societies in America and Britain. And not just America and Britain, but especially America and Britain.

How can we have more inclusive economic policies and avoid faulty economic models?

We can have mutual respect. It can be a threshold level. Here is the behavior, that is, as long as you're over that threshold of behavior, everybody in the group can respect everybody else. Here is what we're trying to achieve, some common purpose. In order to achieve that common purpose, here's the action we need to do. And those of us who do that action, went over the threshold. We've earned the respect of the community. And being able to do that at grand scale, is at its best what a patriotic society does.

What do people in poor areas really need?

What people in poor places want is not just consumption. They want the dignity of the opportunities to be productive. And for that, we need to transfer not just money, but the opportunities for productivity. And that is good jobs and skills. That is the agenda that actually levels the country spatially.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:00 What motivated you to shift the focus of your work to the problems of developed countries like Britain and U.S.?

00:05:26 Thoughts on the gap between the urban elite and rural residents

00:07:24 Is the breakdown of national identity driving the underinvestment in public goods that we see in our countries?

00:09:47 How the Danes saved the country from being hit dramatically by Covid-19

00:12:05 Do you think people's attitudes towards Covid-19 were really more about signaling self-expression than concerned for the public good?

00:15:01 Why and how is it that economists are often blamed for leading us into this impasse where we need to argue for more inclusive economics?

00:20:00 How come the Marxist model that aims to be positive have had negative effect on the people?

00:28:11 ICI, how their mission shifted from being about chemicals to shareholder gains

00:30:05 How the monitored incentive structure changed the way we work

00:32:23 Why can't ethnicity be a foundation for building a community with mutual obligations and sense of belongingness?

00:36:33 John Rawls and his views on human rights and individual rights

00:40:33 The common purpose that most Britons agree on: drastically narrowing down the differences of opportunities in the society

00:43:04 How can the system create more opportunities and better access in the rural areas?

00:46:23 How can you utilize the insights that you've learned from the failures of development policy to design a workable policy for these poor areas within our developed economy?

00:52:10 Lessons learned from Pittsburgh


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Mon, 13 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Developed nations like the United Kingdom and the United States are experiencing growing radical oppositions and deep divisions between rural communities and bustling urban centers. A severe lack of opportunities plagues poorer communities. Young people have little to look forward to except a bleak job market, while older workers are marginalized as their skills lose value. One of the world's most influential development economists, Paul Collier, tackles these issues in his recent book, The Future Of Capitalism.

In this episode, Paul and Greg talk nationalism vs. patriotism, how personal and national identities have evolved and delve into Paul’s diagnosis of capitalism's failures and ideas for how we can reform it.

Episode Quotes:

What motivated you to shift the focus of your work to the problems of developed countries like Britain and U.S.?

Both the geographic divide of living in this hyper prosperous place of Oxford, and seeing this catastrophe in my town, but also being on this rising ladder of fancy education and then off you go, versus all my relatives who invested in manual skills, the skills of steelworkers. And all their skills evaporated. The pride that they took in their work disappeared. Work disappeared. One of my relatives ended up earning a living cleaning toilets. And so, this astonishing divergence in my life—brought me around to realizing that something needed to be done about that. And it wasn't that it was just happening to a few people/. In both Britain and America, those divergences, the spatial divergence between booming metropolises and broken provincial towns and cities. And that divergence between a hyper educators' success with fancy skills on top, versus manual skills that became worthless. That divide became true of our entire societies in America and Britain. And not just America and Britain, but especially America and Britain.

How can we have more inclusive economic policies and avoid faulty economic models?

We can have mutual respect. It can be a threshold level. Here is the behavior, that is, as long as you're over that threshold of behavior, everybody in the group can respect everybody else. Here is what we're trying to achieve, some common purpose. In order to achieve that common purpose, here's the action we need to do. And those of us who do that action, went over the threshold. We've earned the respect of the community. And being able to do that at grand scale, is at its best what a patriotic society does.

What do people in poor areas really need?

What people in poor places want is not just consumption. They want the dignity of the opportunities to be productive. And for that, we need to transfer not just money, but the opportunities for productivity. And that is good jobs and skills. That is the agenda that actually levels the country spatially.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:00 What motivated you to shift the focus of your work to the problems of developed countries like Britain and U.S.?

00:05:26 Thoughts on the gap between the urban elite and rural residents

00:07:24 Is the breakdown of national identity driving the underinvestment in public goods that we see in our countries?

00:09:47 How the Danes saved the country from being hit dramatically by Covid-19

00:12:05 Do you think people's attitudes towards Covid-19 were really more about signaling self-expression than concerned for the public good?

00:15:01 Why and how is it that economists are often blamed for leading us into this impasse where we need to argue for more inclusive economics?

00:20:00 How come the Marxist model that aims to be positive have had negative effect on the people?

00:28:11 ICI, how their mission shifted from being about chemicals to shareholder gains

00:30:05 How the monitored incentive structure changed the way we work

00:32:23 Why can't ethnicity be a foundation for building a community with mutual obligations and sense of belongingness?

00:36:33 John Rawls and his views on human rights and individual rights

00:40:33 The common purpose that most Britons agree on: drastically narrowing down the differences of opportunities in the society

00:43:04 How can the system create more opportunities and better access in the rural areas?

00:46:23 How can you utilize the insights that you've learned from the failures of development policy to design a workable policy for these poor areas within our developed economy?

00:52:10 Lessons learned from Pittsburgh


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The Future of Capitalism: The Growing Gaps and Social Anxieties in Developed Nations feat. Paul Collier Greg La Blanc 00:55:35 Developed nations like the United Kingdom and the United States are experiencing growing radical oppositions and deep divisions between rural communities and bustling urban centers. A severe lack of opportunities plagues poorer communities. Young people have little to look forward to except a bleak job market, while older workers are marginalized as their skills lose value. One of the world's most influential development economists, Paul Collier, tackles these issues in his recent book, The Future Of Capitalism. In this episode, Paul and Greg talk nationalism vs. patriotism, how personal and national identities have evolved and delve into Paul’s diagnosis of capitalism's failures and ideas for how we can reform it. Developed nations like the United Kingdom and the United States are experiencing growing radical oppositions and deep divisions between rural communities and bustling urban centers. A severe lack of opportunities plagues poorer communities. Young people have little to look forward to except a bleak job market, while older workers are marginalized as their skills lose value. One of the world's most influential development economists, Paul Collier, tackles these issues in his recent book, The Future Of Capitalism. In this episode, Paul and Greg talk nationalism vs. patriotism, how personal and national identities have evolved and delve into Paul’s diagnosis of capitalism's failures and ideas for how we can reform it. false full 47 dc4089ce-4254-4417-ae5a-fdf11576a495 Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World's Smells feat. Harold McGee Did you know that all humans go through a period, during late infancy or early childhood, when their sense of smell judgement is almost completely blank? That's the reason babies put anything and everything in their mouths. It turns out disgust and displeasure for particular tastes and odors are learned. 

Renowned food and cooking scientist and James Beard award-winning author Harold McGee takes us on a sensory journey in this episode. We learn about the importance of smells, what McGee calls a ‘smell renaissance’, and more on the particles we breathe in —the molecules that trigger our perceptions of certain scents, such as flowers, food, and even tin cans. 

Listen in as Greg and Harold give us an insider's view of McGee's latest book, Nose Dive: A Field Guide To The World's Smells.

Episode Quotes:

How does knowledge of food science affect our dining experience?

It just seems to me that it adds a dimension. It adds a layer of appreciation. When I eat something, even knowing the compounds, it's not the compounds that I first encounter. It's my experience. It's the taste and the smell and so on. And if it's interesting enough, I've always wanted them to understand more about it. Why does this thing have this wonderful flavor? Why did the grouse have that effect on me? And so learning about what underlies that experience, it seems to me, if you're drawn to the experience in the first place, it just adds a dimension of appreciation that you wouldn't have otherwise.

How are different disciplines such as history and humanities intersecting with food science?

So, it started in the late 1970s, around that same time that I had discovered food science as an academic discipline. But, I still have trouble understanding why it is that something so fundamental to human existence wasn't a respectable academic subject. I know many people who proposed thesis projects on food, history, sociology, and philosophy and were told by their advisors, 'No, you can't do that.’ Now, it's very different. Now, there are food studies programs all over the place and all kinds of exciting work being done. I think there just had to be this kind of shift in attitude in the academy that then helped make the study of food not only fun and fascinating, but respectable.

Why do humans camouflage smells that are reminiscent of their animal nature? 

We're living in more crowded conditions than we did way, way back. And so, we're in contact with each other more intimately, more often. And we're— generally speaking —shut up indoors. You know, we don't spend that much of our lives outdoors where the air is fresh. So, we have to create this illusion of freshness indoors, which has led to the dominance of citrusy, piney kinds of smells, becoming the sort of smell clichés for “nice” indoors. And we are reluctant to impose our personal smells on other people. Or to have other people's personal smells imposed on us because there's no escaping them if they're there. So, I think that's a big part of it.circumstances in which we live have changed over the centuries. And that has led to this kind of deodorization of our daily lives.

Why do humans have such sensitive noses?

I think the general point would be that smell is a chemical sense. It tells us what molecules are in our neighborhood. And, that's been important to life from the very beginnings of life. The first single cells needed to know what direction they needed to float in, or propel themselves in, to get food or to avoid toxins. So, it's just absolutely fundamental to life. And, in mammals, we now have a sense that has been developed, for us, in particular, with our noses up off the ground. A sense that has developed to answer the needs of our particular biological and ecological situation.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:09 The Author’s Background

00:04:36 How the discipline of Food Science evolved in the last 30 years

00:20:38 Can our smell map be enhanced through cultivation and exposure?

00:23:16 Can people in business be trained in using their smell, the same way that body builders are trained?

00:24:07 How smell training help people who lost their sense of smell because of Covid

00:28:12 How our body decides what kind of smells we will like or repulse

00:30:19 Understanding rotten cheese smell

00:32:12 Why is there a trend for fermented and funky smelling food globally?

00:33:30 Integrating smell in the fake meat manufacturing process

00:34:25 How our diet affects the way we smell and our biological make-up

00:37:23 Animal signals and smell

00:42:48 Bio-alchemy and fermentation

00:46:57 The Renaissance of smell in all aspects of life


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Wed, 8 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Did you know that all humans go through a period, during late infancy or early childhood, when their sense of smell judgement is almost completely blank? That's the reason babies put anything and everything in their mouths. It turns out disgust and displeasure for particular tastes and odors are learned. 

Renowned food and cooking scientist and James Beard award-winning author Harold McGee takes us on a sensory journey in this episode. We learn about the importance of smells, what McGee calls a ‘smell renaissance’, and more on the particles we breathe in —the molecules that trigger our perceptions of certain scents, such as flowers, food, and even tin cans. 

Listen in as Greg and Harold give us an insider's view of McGee's latest book, Nose Dive: A Field Guide To The World's Smells.

Episode Quotes:

How does knowledge of food science affect our dining experience?

It just seems to me that it adds a dimension. It adds a layer of appreciation. When I eat something, even knowing the compounds, it's not the compounds that I first encounter. It's my experience. It's the taste and the smell and so on. And if it's interesting enough, I've always wanted them to understand more about it. Why does this thing have this wonderful flavor? Why did the grouse have that effect on me? And so learning about what underlies that experience, it seems to me, if you're drawn to the experience in the first place, it just adds a dimension of appreciation that you wouldn't have otherwise.

How are different disciplines such as history and humanities intersecting with food science?

So, it started in the late 1970s, around that same time that I had discovered food science as an academic discipline. But, I still have trouble understanding why it is that something so fundamental to human existence wasn't a respectable academic subject. I know many people who proposed thesis projects on food, history, sociology, and philosophy and were told by their advisors, 'No, you can't do that.’ Now, it's very different. Now, there are food studies programs all over the place and all kinds of exciting work being done. I think there just had to be this kind of shift in attitude in the academy that then helped make the study of food not only fun and fascinating, but respectable.

Why do humans camouflage smells that are reminiscent of their animal nature? 

We're living in more crowded conditions than we did way, way back. And so, we're in contact with each other more intimately, more often. And we're— generally speaking —shut up indoors. You know, we don't spend that much of our lives outdoors where the air is fresh. So, we have to create this illusion of freshness indoors, which has led to the dominance of citrusy, piney kinds of smells, becoming the sort of smell clichés for “nice” indoors. And we are reluctant to impose our personal smells on other people. Or to have other people's personal smells imposed on us because there's no escaping them if they're there. So, I think that's a big part of it.circumstances in which we live have changed over the centuries. And that has led to this kind of deodorization of our daily lives.

Why do humans have such sensitive noses?

I think the general point would be that smell is a chemical sense. It tells us what molecules are in our neighborhood. And, that's been important to life from the very beginnings of life. The first single cells needed to know what direction they needed to float in, or propel themselves in, to get food or to avoid toxins. So, it's just absolutely fundamental to life. And, in mammals, we now have a sense that has been developed, for us, in particular, with our noses up off the ground. A sense that has developed to answer the needs of our particular biological and ecological situation.


Time Code Guide:


00:01:09 The Author’s Background

00:04:36 How the discipline of Food Science evolved in the last 30 years

00:20:38 Can our smell map be enhanced through cultivation and exposure?

00:23:16 Can people in business be trained in using their smell, the same way that body builders are trained?

00:24:07 How smell training help people who lost their sense of smell because of Covid

00:28:12 How our body decides what kind of smells we will like or repulse

00:30:19 Understanding rotten cheese smell

00:32:12 Why is there a trend for fermented and funky smelling food globally?

00:33:30 Integrating smell in the fake meat manufacturing process

00:34:25 How our diet affects the way we smell and our biological make-up

00:37:23 Animal signals and smell

00:42:48 Bio-alchemy and fermentation

00:46:57 The Renaissance of smell in all aspects of life


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World's Smells feat. Harold McGee Greg La Blanc 00:48:39 Did you know that all humans go through a period, during late infancy or early childhood, when their sense of smell judgement is almost completely blank? That's the reason babies put anything and everything in their mouths. It turns out disgust and displeasure for particular tastes and odors are learned. Renowned food and cooking scientist and James Beard award-winning author Harold McGee takes us on a sensory journey in this episode. We learn about the importance of smells, what McGee calls a ‘smell renaissance’, and more on the particles we breathe in —the molecules that trigger our perceptions of certain scents, such as flowers, food, and even tin cans. Listen in as Greg and Harold give us an insider's view of McGee's latest book, Nose Dive: A Field Guide To The World's Smells. Did you know that all humans go through a period, during late infancy or early childhood, when their sense of smell judgement is almost completely blank? That's the reason babies put anything and everything in their mouths. It turns out disgust and displeasure for particular tastes and odors are learned. Renowned food and cooking scientist and James Beard award-winning author Harold McGee takes us on a sensory journey in this episode. We learn about the importance of smells, what McGee calls a ‘smell renaissance’, and more on the particles we breathe in —the molecules that trigger our perceptions of certain scents, such as flowers, food, and even tin cans. Listen in as Greg and Harold give us an insider's view of McGee's latest book, Nose Dive: A Field Guide To The World's Smells. false full 46 24121e6c-1747-45e7-bf14-e0cac4307650 Is it Good to Feel Bad? How Evolution and Pain Affects Our Mental Health feat. Randy Nesse Why do we feel bad after losing a loved one? What causes people to people panic and worry?? How can people pursue happiness even after heartbreaks? Understanding our bad feelings gives us real power. In his new book, Good Reasons For Feeling Bad, Dr. Randolph Randy? Nesse, a pioneer in evolutionary medicine, transforms our understanding of mental disorders. 

As opposed to asking why some people suffer from mental illnesses, Dr. Randy asks why natural selection has left us with fragile minds. Listen as Dr. Randy and Greg explore the deeper evolutionary questions of why our minds can be so vulnerable to mental illness.

Episode Quotes:

When can panic attacks be seen as beneficial?

One of them is that panic attacks are not just abnormal things that come out of a bad brain. They are a flight or fight response that can be life-saving if you're in the face of some predator or other life-threatening danger. And I had spent the last ten years in this anxiety clinic telling patients, no, it's not just your worries. It's a brain abnormality, and do what we say. With taking drugs and behavior therapy, you'll get better. They didn't believe me. They said, well, I know it's my heart, I know it's my brain. But once I started explaining to them, 'I said, listen, what you're experiencing is a useful response, but it's a false alarm.' That fast breathing, those tight muscles? Perfect for getting you out of danger. That wish to get out of whatever small room you're in? Perfect. That fear of open spaces? Open spaces were dangerous for us when we only had wooden spears. And all of a sudden, my patients' attitudes towards their disorders changed dramatically.

Thoughts on the profound implication of evolutionary medicine for everyday medical practice

I think the most profound implication of evolutionary medicine for everyday medical practice is how to use medications to relieve suffering correctly. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, it’s okay. It's not going to hurt somebody. For instance, if you have fever and malaise when you have a cold, can you take some Tylenol to make it better? Yes, you can. Is it going to make you get better? Probably not. There are so many other mechanisms apart from the fever itself fighting the virus or bacteria that are causing your problems. On the other hand, there are times when it is not very sensible. 

Are experts doing a good job of debating implied normativity of negative moods experienced in the aftermath of a negative experience?

A bunch of excellent psychologists began studying positive emotions, but there is a strong tendency that we should feel positive emotions, and we should strive for positive emotions. There are easy ways that they suggest where you can feel better about your life, and simply writing every day some things you're grateful for, and connecting with people you care about can improve life. On the other hand, I also see people striving for happiness as a goal. And probably my deepest insight about low mood, the one that my residents tell me helps them more than anything else I've ever taught them, is it pursuing an unreachable goal? That's what sets off a normal, low mood. Because low mood is trying to make you stop doing stuff that's wasteful and hopeless. And if you keep on trying to accomplish something where you're not making any progress, then the ordinary low mood escalates up into a bad depression.


Time Code Guide:


00:00:51 What drove Dr. Nesse to this Discipline

00:03:29 Why it’s equally important to know what’s causing the problem, and not just how to fix it

00:05:15 How can biologists, psychiatrists, and evolutionary experts, and doctors work together to find out causes of mental health problems

00:06:26 Concepts from the book Why We Get Sick

00:07:22 Why are fevers good for the body

00:11:16 Work and research on anxiety

00:12:21 Signal Detection Theory

00:13:46 Thoughts on viewing disease as an adaptation

00:16:26 Covid, anxiety, and depression

00:17:13 How the body is sending false alarms on survival during stressful situations

00:18:52 Why do pointing at proximate mechanism can be problematic when dealing with mental illness

00:27:15 Mood and model foraging theory

00:29:35 Mental health not being about positive emotions, but rather well-calibrated responses appropriate for the signals from the environment

00:32:31 How social groups and environment affect our mental health

00:34:48 Thoughts on how the mismatch between the environment we’re and the one we’ve adapted to

00:41:24 Misconceptions on hard-wired behavior and environmental contingent

00:45:06 Reframing question about human wellness


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Mon, 6 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why do we feel bad after losing a loved one? What causes people to people panic and worry?? How can people pursue happiness even after heartbreaks? Understanding our bad feelings gives us real power. In his new book, Good Reasons For Feeling Bad, Dr. Randolph Randy? Nesse, a pioneer in evolutionary medicine, transforms our understanding of mental disorders. 

As opposed to asking why some people suffer from mental illnesses, Dr. Randy asks why natural selection has left us with fragile minds. Listen as Dr. Randy and Greg explore the deeper evolutionary questions of why our minds can be so vulnerable to mental illness.

Episode Quotes:

When can panic attacks be seen as beneficial?

One of them is that panic attacks are not just abnormal things that come out of a bad brain. They are a flight or fight response that can be life-saving if you're in the face of some predator or other life-threatening danger. And I had spent the last ten years in this anxiety clinic telling patients, no, it's not just your worries. It's a brain abnormality, and do what we say. With taking drugs and behavior therapy, you'll get better. They didn't believe me. They said, well, I know it's my heart, I know it's my brain. But once I started explaining to them, 'I said, listen, what you're experiencing is a useful response, but it's a false alarm.' That fast breathing, those tight muscles? Perfect for getting you out of danger. That wish to get out of whatever small room you're in? Perfect. That fear of open spaces? Open spaces were dangerous for us when we only had wooden spears. And all of a sudden, my patients' attitudes towards their disorders changed dramatically.

Thoughts on the profound implication of evolutionary medicine for everyday medical practice

I think the most profound implication of evolutionary medicine for everyday medical practice is how to use medications to relieve suffering correctly. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, it’s okay. It's not going to hurt somebody. For instance, if you have fever and malaise when you have a cold, can you take some Tylenol to make it better? Yes, you can. Is it going to make you get better? Probably not. There are so many other mechanisms apart from the fever itself fighting the virus or bacteria that are causing your problems. On the other hand, there are times when it is not very sensible. 

Are experts doing a good job of debating implied normativity of negative moods experienced in the aftermath of a negative experience?

A bunch of excellent psychologists began studying positive emotions, but there is a strong tendency that we should feel positive emotions, and we should strive for positive emotions. There are easy ways that they suggest where you can feel better about your life, and simply writing every day some things you're grateful for, and connecting with people you care about can improve life. On the other hand, I also see people striving for happiness as a goal. And probably my deepest insight about low mood, the one that my residents tell me helps them more than anything else I've ever taught them, is it pursuing an unreachable goal? That's what sets off a normal, low mood. Because low mood is trying to make you stop doing stuff that's wasteful and hopeless. And if you keep on trying to accomplish something where you're not making any progress, then the ordinary low mood escalates up into a bad depression.


Time Code Guide:


00:00:51 What drove Dr. Nesse to this Discipline

00:03:29 Why it’s equally important to know what’s causing the problem, and not just how to fix it

00:05:15 How can biologists, psychiatrists, and evolutionary experts, and doctors work together to find out causes of mental health problems

00:06:26 Concepts from the book Why We Get Sick

00:07:22 Why are fevers good for the body

00:11:16 Work and research on anxiety

00:12:21 Signal Detection Theory

00:13:46 Thoughts on viewing disease as an adaptation

00:16:26 Covid, anxiety, and depression

00:17:13 How the body is sending false alarms on survival during stressful situations

00:18:52 Why do pointing at proximate mechanism can be problematic when dealing with mental illness

00:27:15 Mood and model foraging theory

00:29:35 Mental health not being about positive emotions, but rather well-calibrated responses appropriate for the signals from the environment

00:32:31 How social groups and environment affect our mental health

00:34:48 Thoughts on how the mismatch between the environment we’re and the one we’ve adapted to

00:41:24 Misconceptions on hard-wired behavior and environmental contingent

00:45:06 Reframing question about human wellness


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Is it Good to Feel Bad? How Evolution and Pain Affects Our Mental Health feat. Randy Nesse Greg La Blanc 00:57:02 Why do we feel bad after losing a loved one? What causes people to people panic and worry?? How can people pursue happiness even after heartbreaks? Understanding our bad feelings gives us real power. In his new book, Good Reasons For Feeling Bad, Dr. Randolph Randy? Nesse, a pioneer in evolutionary medicine, transforms our understanding of mental disorders. As opposed to asking why some people suffer from mental illnesses, Dr. Randy asks why natural selection has left us with fragile minds. Listen as Dr. Randy and Greg explore the deeper evolutionary questions of why our minds can be so vulnerable to mental illness. Why do we feel bad after losing a loved one? What causes people to people panic and worry?? How can people pursue happiness even after heartbreaks? Understanding our bad feelings gives us real power. In his new book, Good Reasons For Feeling Bad, Dr. Randolph Randy? Nesse, a pioneer in evolutionary medicine, transforms our understanding of mental disorders. As opposed to asking why some people suffer from mental illnesses, Dr. Randy asks why natural selection has left us with fragile minds. Listen as Dr. Randy and Greg explore the deeper evolutionary questions of why our minds can be so vulnerable to mental illness. false full 45 21d2be55-1f19-497f-8040-7e97d8c65d85 Engineering Environments for an Optimized Sensory Experience feat. Charles Spence Could plants and nature sounds make you happier at work? What kind of scent should you wear on your first date? Can a simple hug make grandma and grandpa healthier? Charles Spence, sensory science and experiential psychology expert, tells us how our senses alter how we feel and think, in his groundbreaking book, Sensehacking. He describes how hacking our senses and stimulating them in nature, at home, at work, and at play makes our lives richer. 

Greg and Charles talk about how the impact of our senses affect our minds and bodies, thoughts and feelings.

Episode Quotes:

In your opinion, do you think sensory therapy will be an occupation where we will be able to engineer a sensory environment that is optimized?

[00:17:28] That is perceptual engineering to optimize stimulation. Perhaps matching it to the kinds of environments that we have evolved in. And that might involve bringing in greenery, water, the sounds of the birds and the animals. This was one of the amazing things that popped out of the book. Researchers have studied indoor temperatures— homes in North America, from Alaska to Texas. From the warmest to the coldest states, they find that everyone seems to set their central heating and air conditioning at 23 degrees centigrade. And, at a humidity level, that, if you compare that to the climate in every region on earth—it turns out it provides the closest match for the Ethiopian Highlands where we evolved.

How older people in care homes are experiencing sensory underload because of Covid-19

[00:25:12] On the one hand, now there's an increase in touch hunger because people can't touch anymore. Care home residents in the UK said they could occasionally see their relatives through the glass. And they can speak to them through the Intercom, but they're not allowed to touch in person for fear of transmitting the disease. And these are heartbreaking stories of these elderly individuals saying, 'All I want to do is just give my family a hug.' What clearer message could you have about the benefits of touching? The increasing hunger that we're faced with.

Thoughts about hospitals in integrating and optimizing the sensory experience for patients

[00:39:38] So, the health care provision was a realization that needs to go beyond just the machines or, what they can do, the doctors and surgeons. Actually think about, delivering, designing environments that are conducive to recovery, to the reduction of stress. That can be everything from the scent. I mean, just think about, when you go to the dentist, and you get the smell of eugenol or the cloves or the smell of filling. For most of us, that can make us pretty tense. That's not an intrinsic stressful smell. It's just when we associate that smell with what's going to happen, the pain and the drilling. I think it's probably the same thing for hospitals, that scent maybe makes them feel stressed.


Time Code Guide:

00:01:57: How and when Charles wrote the book

00:04:50: How Charles convinced Oxford’s Psychology department to allow him to take on a generalist approach rather than to focus on a specialization

00:07:08: Sensory congruence and how senses work together

00:10:09: Is there a divergent point between sense hacking for good and sense hacking for profit

00:13:07: Sensory overload, underload and its use in therapy

00:15:30: Why older people are suffering sensory underload during COVID-19

00:17:28: Engineering environment to optimize the sensory experience

00:19:35: Biophilic designs and trend on British offices

00:20:20: Evolutionary psychology

00:22:32: Sensory congruence in biophilic design

00:24:10: COVID-19’s effect on the variety of environments we’re exposed to and our relationships, and interactions

00:26:50: How Charles used the book in designing his home

00:30:26: Open office design, workplace setup and its effects on employee performance

00:31:22: How offices and employees will be like after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted

00:34:42: Do architects need to relearn integrating sensory experience in their designs

00:43:00: Rise of online dating and the radical impact of visuals on other senses related to building relationships 

00:45:00: The things we lost from the lack of sensory stimulation during COVID-19


Show Links

Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Fri, 3 Sep 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Could plants and nature sounds make you happier at work? What kind of scent should you wear on your first date? Can a simple hug make grandma and grandpa healthier? Charles Spence, sensory science and experiential psychology expert, tells us how our senses alter how we feel and think, in his groundbreaking book, Sensehacking. He describes how hacking our senses and stimulating them in nature, at home, at work, and at play makes our lives richer. 

Greg and Charles talk about how the impact of our senses affect our minds and bodies, thoughts and feelings.

Episode Quotes:

In your opinion, do you think sensory therapy will be an occupation where we will be able to engineer a sensory environment that is optimized?

[00:17:28] That is perceptual engineering to optimize stimulation. Perhaps matching it to the kinds of environments that we have evolved in. And that might involve bringing in greenery, water, the sounds of the birds and the animals. This was one of the amazing things that popped out of the book. Researchers have studied indoor temperatures— homes in North America, from Alaska to Texas. From the warmest to the coldest states, they find that everyone seems to set their central heating and air conditioning at 23 degrees centigrade. And, at a humidity level, that, if you compare that to the climate in every region on earth—it turns out it provides the closest match for the Ethiopian Highlands where we evolved.

How older people in care homes are experiencing sensory underload because of Covid-19

[00:25:12] On the one hand, now there's an increase in touch hunger because people can't touch anymore. Care home residents in the UK said they could occasionally see their relatives through the glass. And they can speak to them through the Intercom, but they're not allowed to touch in person for fear of transmitting the disease. And these are heartbreaking stories of these elderly individuals saying, 'All I want to do is just give my family a hug.' What clearer message could you have about the benefits of touching? The increasing hunger that we're faced with.

Thoughts about hospitals in integrating and optimizing the sensory experience for patients

[00:39:38] So, the health care provision was a realization that needs to go beyond just the machines or, what they can do, the doctors and surgeons. Actually think about, delivering, designing environments that are conducive to recovery, to the reduction of stress. That can be everything from the scent. I mean, just think about, when you go to the dentist, and you get the smell of eugenol or the cloves or the smell of filling. For most of us, that can make us pretty tense. That's not an intrinsic stressful smell. It's just when we associate that smell with what's going to happen, the pain and the drilling. I think it's probably the same thing for hospitals, that scent maybe makes them feel stressed.


Time Code Guide:

00:01:57: How and when Charles wrote the book

00:04:50: How Charles convinced Oxford’s Psychology department to allow him to take on a generalist approach rather than to focus on a specialization

00:07:08: Sensory congruence and how senses work together

00:10:09: Is there a divergent point between sense hacking for good and sense hacking for profit

00:13:07: Sensory overload, underload and its use in therapy

00:15:30: Why older people are suffering sensory underload during COVID-19

00:17:28: Engineering environment to optimize the sensory experience

00:19:35: Biophilic designs and trend on British offices

00:20:20: Evolutionary psychology

00:22:32: Sensory congruence in biophilic design

00:24:10: COVID-19’s effect on the variety of environments we’re exposed to and our relationships, and interactions

00:26:50: How Charles used the book in designing his home

00:30:26: Open office design, workplace setup and its effects on employee performance

00:31:22: How offices and employees will be like after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted

00:34:42: Do architects need to relearn integrating sensory experience in their designs

00:43:00: Rise of online dating and the radical impact of visuals on other senses related to building relationships 

00:45:00: The things we lost from the lack of sensory stimulation during COVID-19


Show Links

Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Engineering Environments for an Optimized Sensory Experience feat. Charles Spence Greg La Blanc 00:49:07 Could plants and nature sounds make you happier at work? What kind of scent should you wear on your first date? Can a simple hug make grandma and grandpa healthier? Charles Spence, sensory science and experiential psychology expert, tells us how our senses alter how we feel and think, in his groundbreaking book, Sensehacking. He describes how hacking our senses and stimulating them in nature, at home, at work, and at play makes our lives richer. Greg and Charles talk about how the impact of our senses affect our minds and bodies, thoughts and feelings. Could plants and nature sounds make you happier at work? What kind of scent should you wear on your first date? Can a simple hug make grandma and grandpa healthier? Charles Spence, sensory science and experiential psychology expert, tells us how our senses alter how we feel and think, in his groundbreaking book, Sensehacking. He describes how hacking our senses and stimulating them in nature, at home, at work, and at play makes our lives richer. Greg and Charles talk about how the impact of our senses affect our minds and bodies, thoughts and feelings. false full 44 8ddd9fe7-2eba-4976-b898-cd0149c90357 Risks and Uncertainty: Understanding Data and Making Rational Decisions feat. Gerd Gigerenzer Machine learning and big data are becoming increasingly important, and some say they can make predictions more accurate than ever before. But as risk expert Gerd Gigerenzer explained in his book Risk Savvy, the surprising truth is that we often get better results by using simple rules and considering less information in the real world.

In this episode, Gerd reveals concepts behind Risk Savvy and how misunderstanding statistics leaves us misinformed and vulnerable to exploitation. He explains how to make better decisions for our health, finances, and family, without the aid of an expert or supercomputer. Join him and Greg as they tackle the Turkey Illusion, Illusion of Certainty, and his other books Simple Heuristic and Ecological Rationality.

Episode Quotes:

Why do you believe that cultures with a positive attitude toward failure will have much better ways of making decisions than those who have a negative view of failure?

Positive error culture assumes that errors can happen. If an error happens, it is taken as a piece of information to find out what's going wrong. A negative error culture assumes that errors must never happen. If an error happens, the idea is to cover it up. Or, if that doesn't work, blame someone to find who is guilty. 

Will processed data help doctors share more accurate information with the public?

It would work if doctors understood the result. But the problem is, if you don't understand the number that it spits out, you're lost. We have now COVID-19, and then we learned that a particular vaccine has 90% efficacy. Another one has 70%; what does it mean? Nobody knows what that means. In my observation, most people misunderstand that. And the misunderstanding started a long time ago, last year. So, this was before the vaccine. Dr. Fauci still hoped that it might be 50% efficient. And then there was an NPR program where someone explained what that means. He said it means that out of a hundred people who get vaccinated, 50% won't get the disease. By implication, the others will. That's exactly what it doesn't mean. It's a reduction of those who are not vaccinated and get the disease to those who are vaccinated and get the disease. 

What are the incentives for news media to provide valuable information? Or does a desire for better ratings override the need for accurate information?

Half the primary goal is to increase attention, which is the case for many. Then they will try to not just provide bad news or good news, alarmists, less alarmist, but also use numbers that frightened people. One example is the use of additive risk increases as opposed to absolute risk increases.

How can you teach young people statistics in a fun and playful way, in ways that can be applied in real-life?

For instance, teach them easy, simple things like what a 30% chance of rain tomorrow means. They will find out that the parents probably don't know what the reference class is. Is it 30% of the time tomorrow, or the region, or maybe three meteorologists think it will rain and seven not? And so, that's something where young people can get their expertise and learn. They can do something better than maybe many adults.


Time code Guide:


00:01:42 Judgement and decision-making

00:02:58 Benefits and complexities of machine learning

00:06:54 Thoughts on lack of computational resources and cognitive limitations

00:12:26 Human heuristics and machine learning application

00:14:00 How the environment impacts decision-making

00:15:00 The Turkey Illusion

00:20:11 Investing and some concepts from the book Ecological Rationality

00:22:51 Positive error culture

00:25:57 Illusion of Certainty

00:28:54 Basing inference, conditional probabilities, understanding confusion, matrices,

false positives and false negatives

00:32:29 How can experts like doctors process data better

00:34:22 Additive risk increases and absolute risk increases

00:36:28 Striking a balance between people thinking for themselves and trusting experts

00:42:37 How can young people learn statistics in fun and applicable ways


Show Links


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Machine learning and big data are becoming increasingly important, and some say they can make predictions more accurate than ever before. But as risk expert Gerd Gigerenzer explained in his book Risk Savvy, the surprising truth is that we often get better results by using simple rules and considering less information in the real world.

In this episode, Gerd reveals concepts behind Risk Savvy and how misunderstanding statistics leaves us misinformed and vulnerable to exploitation. He explains how to make better decisions for our health, finances, and family, without the aid of an expert or supercomputer. Join him and Greg as they tackle the Turkey Illusion, Illusion of Certainty, and his other books Simple Heuristic and Ecological Rationality.

Episode Quotes:

Why do you believe that cultures with a positive attitude toward failure will have much better ways of making decisions than those who have a negative view of failure?

Positive error culture assumes that errors can happen. If an error happens, it is taken as a piece of information to find out what's going wrong. A negative error culture assumes that errors must never happen. If an error happens, the idea is to cover it up. Or, if that doesn't work, blame someone to find who is guilty. 

Will processed data help doctors share more accurate information with the public?

It would work if doctors understood the result. But the problem is, if you don't understand the number that it spits out, you're lost. We have now COVID-19, and then we learned that a particular vaccine has 90% efficacy. Another one has 70%; what does it mean? Nobody knows what that means. In my observation, most people misunderstand that. And the misunderstanding started a long time ago, last year. So, this was before the vaccine. Dr. Fauci still hoped that it might be 50% efficient. And then there was an NPR program where someone explained what that means. He said it means that out of a hundred people who get vaccinated, 50% won't get the disease. By implication, the others will. That's exactly what it doesn't mean. It's a reduction of those who are not vaccinated and get the disease to those who are vaccinated and get the disease. 

What are the incentives for news media to provide valuable information? Or does a desire for better ratings override the need for accurate information?

Half the primary goal is to increase attention, which is the case for many. Then they will try to not just provide bad news or good news, alarmists, less alarmist, but also use numbers that frightened people. One example is the use of additive risk increases as opposed to absolute risk increases.

How can you teach young people statistics in a fun and playful way, in ways that can be applied in real-life?

For instance, teach them easy, simple things like what a 30% chance of rain tomorrow means. They will find out that the parents probably don't know what the reference class is. Is it 30% of the time tomorrow, or the region, or maybe three meteorologists think it will rain and seven not? And so, that's something where young people can get their expertise and learn. They can do something better than maybe many adults.


Time code Guide:


00:01:42 Judgement and decision-making

00:02:58 Benefits and complexities of machine learning

00:06:54 Thoughts on lack of computational resources and cognitive limitations

00:12:26 Human heuristics and machine learning application

00:14:00 How the environment impacts decision-making

00:15:00 The Turkey Illusion

00:20:11 Investing and some concepts from the book Ecological Rationality

00:22:51 Positive error culture

00:25:57 Illusion of Certainty

00:28:54 Basing inference, conditional probabilities, understanding confusion, matrices,

false positives and false negatives

00:32:29 How can experts like doctors process data better

00:34:22 Additive risk increases and absolute risk increases

00:36:28 Striking a balance between people thinking for themselves and trusting experts

00:42:37 How can young people learn statistics in fun and applicable ways


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]]> Risks and Uncertainty: Understanding Data and Making Rational Decisions feat. Gerd Gigerenzer Greg La Blanc 00:45:41 Machine learning and big data are becoming increasingly important, and some say they can make predictions more accurate than ever before. But as risk expert Gerd Gigerenzer explained in his book Risk Savvy, the surprising truth is that we often get better results by using simple rules and considering less information in the real world. In this episode, Gerd reveals concepts behind Risk Savvy and how misunderstanding statistics leaves us misinformed and vulnerable to exploitation. He explains how to make better decisions for our health, finances, and family, without the aid of an expert or supercomputer. Join him and Greg as they tackle the Turkey Illusion, Illusion of Certainty, and his other books Simple Heuristic and Ecological Rationality. Machine learning and big data are becoming increasingly important, and some say they can make predictions more accurate than ever before. But as risk expert Gerd Gigerenzer explained in his book Risk Savvy, the surprising truth is that we often get better results by using simple rules and considering less information in the real world. In this episode, Gerd reveals concepts behind Risk Savvy and how misunderstanding statistics leaves us misinformed and vulnerable to exploitation. He explains how to make better decisions for our health, finances, and family, without the aid of an expert or supercomputer. Join him and Greg as they tackle the Turkey Illusion, Illusion of Certainty, and his other books Simple Heuristic and Ecological Rationality. false full 43 249823de-a431-4e3b-9bbd-cd4ee79f8b20 The Sharing Economy and Crowd-Based Capitalism: Challenges in Regulating Platform-Driven Markets feat. Arun Sundararajan Finding a ride, booking an overnight stay, running errands for someone— these amenities have been around for a while. But peer to peer platforms that offer these services have dominated the market in recent years. In his book, The Sharing Economy, professor of technology and economic expert Arun Sundararajan unpacks the concept of crowd-based capitalism. He breaks down his extensive research and presents numerous real-world examples, including Airbnb, Uber, Etsy, and more.

As the line between personal and professional blur in commercial exchange, how do these changes affect government regulation, the job market, and our overall social fabric?

Episode Quotes:

Why did you use ‘The Sharing Economy’ as a title for your book, as opposed to the on-demand economy? And why do you think that these underlying principles are still applicable six years after it's been published?

I am still convinced six years later that the future of capitalism in the United States is going to be what I described as crowd-based capitalism— where we create platforms of increasing influence — that sits somewhere between that 18th-century marketplace and that 20th century. The visible hand of Alfred Chandler’s traditional organization will be the new template for organizing the economic activity of the 21st century.

Are sharing platforms leading to a shift away from mass markets toward community-based markets, or even a mix of community-driven markets and trust-based mass markets?

I think it's an aspirational part of my argument. I'll explain what I mean. In my reading of economic history, a lot of the connection, the human connection, was stripped out of commercial interaction. As we invented mass production distribution and the organization of the 20th Century, we made commerce more faceless and impersonal, as opposed to being connected. And this is one of the things that drew me to the sharing economy when I started participating in it. You know, you'd have a conversation with your BlaBlaCar driver in Europe. With your Lyft driver, you'd sit in the front seat. You'd fist bump, and you'd chat with your Airbnb host.

The role of the GPS technology in making the shared economy work and flourish

At the foundation of our ability to utilize the capacity of assets more effectively is the rise of sophisticated personal technology, like PCs everywhere or more importantly, the smartphone. A significant fraction of the world's consumers now have the extremely powerful general-purpose GPS-enabled device that they carry around. The fact that your consumer has that powerful device that can run software that can track their location, allows you to start to think about business models that may not have worked in the absence of this widespread consumer technology.

Thoughts on how the shared economy is challenging and changing the employee-employer relationship globally, and how government regulations on workers are affected?

We seem to have tied it in many countries across the world to this one arrangement of work. Which is, I provide all of my labor and talent to you, you pay me a salary, and therefore you are the natural party. The employer also provides me with the safety net dimensions that the government has decided that the private sector will provide, rather than the government providing it themselves. And that's where we run into trouble in a platform world. Because the nature of the relationship between the individual and institution is fundamentally different here. It's not as tightly coupled, and it's not as exclusive as General Motors' relationship with its factory workers. You know, I think a lot of people idealize the idea of employment as being sort of the best way to organize work.


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]]> Fri, 27 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Finding a ride, booking an overnight stay, running errands for someone— these amenities have been around for a while. But peer to peer platforms that offer these services have dominated the market in recent years. In his book, The Sharing Economy, professor of technology and economic expert Arun Sundararajan unpacks the concept of crowd-based capitalism. He breaks down his extensive research and presents numerous real-world examples, including Airbnb, Uber, Etsy, and more.

As the line between personal and professional blur in commercial exchange, how do these changes affect government regulation, the job market, and our overall social fabric?

Episode Quotes:

Why did you use ‘The Sharing Economy’ as a title for your book, as opposed to the on-demand economy? And why do you think that these underlying principles are still applicable six years after it's been published?

I am still convinced six years later that the future of capitalism in the United States is going to be what I described as crowd-based capitalism— where we create platforms of increasing influence — that sits somewhere between that 18th-century marketplace and that 20th century. The visible hand of Alfred Chandler’s traditional organization will be the new template for organizing the economic activity of the 21st century.

Are sharing platforms leading to a shift away from mass markets toward community-based markets, or even a mix of community-driven markets and trust-based mass markets?

I think it's an aspirational part of my argument. I'll explain what I mean. In my reading of economic history, a lot of the connection, the human connection, was stripped out of commercial interaction. As we invented mass production distribution and the organization of the 20th Century, we made commerce more faceless and impersonal, as opposed to being connected. And this is one of the things that drew me to the sharing economy when I started participating in it. You know, you'd have a conversation with your BlaBlaCar driver in Europe. With your Lyft driver, you'd sit in the front seat. You'd fist bump, and you'd chat with your Airbnb host.

The role of the GPS technology in making the shared economy work and flourish

At the foundation of our ability to utilize the capacity of assets more effectively is the rise of sophisticated personal technology, like PCs everywhere or more importantly, the smartphone. A significant fraction of the world's consumers now have the extremely powerful general-purpose GPS-enabled device that they carry around. The fact that your consumer has that powerful device that can run software that can track their location, allows you to start to think about business models that may not have worked in the absence of this widespread consumer technology.

Thoughts on how the shared economy is challenging and changing the employee-employer relationship globally, and how government regulations on workers are affected?

We seem to have tied it in many countries across the world to this one arrangement of work. Which is, I provide all of my labor and talent to you, you pay me a salary, and therefore you are the natural party. The employer also provides me with the safety net dimensions that the government has decided that the private sector will provide, rather than the government providing it themselves. And that's where we run into trouble in a platform world. Because the nature of the relationship between the individual and institution is fundamentally different here. It's not as tightly coupled, and it's not as exclusive as General Motors' relationship with its factory workers. You know, I think a lot of people idealize the idea of employment as being sort of the best way to organize work.


Show Links


Guest Profile

His Work


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

]]> The Sharing Economy and Crowd-Based Capitalism: Challenges in Regulating Platform-Driven Markets feat. Arun Sundararajan Greg La Blanc 01:00:53 Finding a ride, booking an overnight stay, running errands for someone— these amenities have been around for a while. But peer to peer platforms that offer these services have dominated the market in recent years. In his book, The Sharing Economy, professor of technology and economic expert Arun Sundararajan unpacks the concept of crowd-based capitalism. He breaks down his extensive research and presents numerous real-world examples, including Airbnb, Uber, Etsy, and more. As the line between personal and professional blur in commercial exchange, how do these changes affect government regulation, the job market, and our overall social fabric? Finding a ride, booking an overnight stay, running errands for someone— these amenities have been around for a while. But peer to peer platforms that offer these services have dominated the market in recent years. In his book, The Sharing Economy, professor of technology and economic expert Arun Sundararajan unpacks the concept of crowd-based capitalism. He breaks down his extensive research and presents numerous real-world examples, including Airbnb, Uber, Etsy, and more. As the line between personal and professional blur in commercial exchange, how do these changes affect government regulation, the job market, and our overall social fabric? false full 42 fca1f35b-634a-4f4a-900b-479f637e314c Truths and Crisis: Understanding the Hedge Fund Mirage and Why Bonds Won’t Last Forever feat. Simon Lack Following the success of his first three books, best-selling author and licensed chartered financial analyst Simon Lack examined how the steady growth in debt and financial services will affect future returns. In Bonds Are Not Forever, he explores the reasons behind the steady decline in interest rates over the last few decades, how these fueled a dramatic rise in government and private borrowing, and the resulting risk of inflation.

We will also get an insider's view on the data behind Simon's other best-selling book, THE HEDGE FUND MIRAGE, which chronicles the massive rise of the hedge fund industry along with it's the disappointing returns.

Tune in for an in-depth look at how returns and risks are skewed in favor of hedge funds, and how investors and allocators can reconcile the imbalance.

Episode Quotes:

If fixed income is such a poor performer, what accounts for its popularity?

[00:15:40] I think the most important question in investing today is why are long-term interest rates so low around the world because that's driving everything. Stocks are expensive compared with bonds. And that's the whole idea of stock; it's the equity risk premium. I think that there's no complete answer for this, but I think part of it is there's an awful lot of money in bonds that have an inflexible mandate. There's an awful lot of investors who have to have some fixed income. And pension funds would be in that category, right? They are not return-sensitive. They have to have 40%, 30% in fixed income, regardless of the returns. They don't have the flexibility to be able to say,'bonds are just return-free risk in effect.

Who is affected by negative real rates and financial repression? Who are the winners and losers in this scenario?

[00:21:29] Well, the losers are the savers. The investors, they're fine. So, pension fund beneficiaries, sovereign wealth funds, and foreign central banks— all that we don't care about —but domestically, everybody who's invested through a pension or anybody who owns a fixed income is a loser. It's a prolonged transfer of wealth from savers to borrowers. The beneficiaries are, well, the federal government. And to some degree, every taxpayer, but generally wealthier people— it's a populist approach, right? Because wealthier people are going to be net savers, they're going to be net investors. Their benefit from the government funding itself at a negative rate is going to be dwarfed by their loss through the negative real return they own on their assets. But if you are, if you have a negative net worth or very low net worth, then you're probably better off from that. So, it is a form of wealth transfer, actually a distribution of wealth down the income spectrum, which is why it's so popular.

Thoughts on inflation and accounting for the quality improvements and adjustments

[00:25:11] In other words, what would it cost for you to buy what you bought 10 years ago? Now, what this misses is that living standards rise every year. So if you keep your income rising at the CPI over 10 years, you'll be able to buy the standard of living that you had 10 years ago, but your neighbors will have moved ahead. In fact, if you want to preserve your living standard the way most people think of it -they want to keep up with their neighbors, right? You've actually got to keep up with something like per capita, nominal GDP, or median, household income, a nominal number, which increases that inflation plus productivity.


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]]> Wed, 25 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Following the success of his first three books, best-selling author and licensed chartered financial analyst Simon Lack examined how the steady growth in debt and financial services will affect future returns. In Bonds Are Not Forever, he explores the reasons behind the steady decline in interest rates over the last few decades, how these fueled a dramatic rise in government and private borrowing, and the resulting risk of inflation.

We will also get an insider's view on the data behind Simon's other best-selling book, THE HEDGE FUND MIRAGE, which chronicles the massive rise of the hedge fund industry along with it's the disappointing returns.

Tune in for an in-depth look at how returns and risks are skewed in favor of hedge funds, and how investors and allocators can reconcile the imbalance.

Episode Quotes:

If fixed income is such a poor performer, what accounts for its popularity?

[00:15:40] I think the most important question in investing today is why are long-term interest rates so low around the world because that's driving everything. Stocks are expensive compared with bonds. And that's the whole idea of stock; it's the equity risk premium. I think that there's no complete answer for this, but I think part of it is there's an awful lot of money in bonds that have an inflexible mandate. There's an awful lot of investors who have to have some fixed income. And pension funds would be in that category, right? They are not return-sensitive. They have to have 40%, 30% in fixed income, regardless of the returns. They don't have the flexibility to be able to say,'bonds are just return-free risk in effect.

Who is affected by negative real rates and financial repression? Who are the winners and losers in this scenario?

[00:21:29] Well, the losers are the savers. The investors, they're fine. So, pension fund beneficiaries, sovereign wealth funds, and foreign central banks— all that we don't care about —but domestically, everybody who's invested through a pension or anybody who owns a fixed income is a loser. It's a prolonged transfer of wealth from savers to borrowers. The beneficiaries are, well, the federal government. And to some degree, every taxpayer, but generally wealthier people— it's a populist approach, right? Because wealthier people are going to be net savers, they're going to be net investors. Their benefit from the government funding itself at a negative rate is going to be dwarfed by their loss through the negative real return they own on their assets. But if you are, if you have a negative net worth or very low net worth, then you're probably better off from that. So, it is a form of wealth transfer, actually a distribution of wealth down the income spectrum, which is why it's so popular.

Thoughts on inflation and accounting for the quality improvements and adjustments

[00:25:11] In other words, what would it cost for you to buy what you bought 10 years ago? Now, what this misses is that living standards rise every year. So if you keep your income rising at the CPI over 10 years, you'll be able to buy the standard of living that you had 10 years ago, but your neighbors will have moved ahead. In fact, if you want to preserve your living standard the way most people think of it -they want to keep up with their neighbors, right? You've actually got to keep up with something like per capita, nominal GDP, or median, household income, a nominal number, which increases that inflation plus productivity.


Show Links


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Truths and Crisis: Understanding the Hedge Fund Mirage and Why Bonds Won’t Last Forever feat. Simon Lack Greg La Blanc 00:55:40 Following the success of his first three books, best-selling author and licensed chartered financial analyst Simon Lack examined how the steady growth in debt and financial services will affect future returns. In Bonds Are Not Forever, he explores the reasons behind the steady decline in interest rates over the last few decades, how these fueled a dramatic rise in government and private borrowing, and the resulting risk of inflation. We will also get an insider's view on the data behind Simon's other best-selling book, THE HEDGE FUND MIRAGE, which chronicles the massive rise of the hedge fund industry along with it's the disappointing returns. Tune in for an in-depth look at how returns and risks are skewed in favor of hedge funds, and how investors and allocators can reconcile the imbalance. Following the success of his first three books, best-selling author and licensed chartered financial analyst Simon Lack examined how the steady growth in debt and financial services will affect future returns. In Bonds Are Not Forever, he explores the reasons behind the steady decline in interest rates over the last few decades, how these fueled a dramatic rise in government and private borrowing, and the resulting risk of inflation. We will also get an insider's view on the data behind Simon's other best-selling book, THE HEDGE FUND MIRAGE, which chronicles the massive rise of the hedge fund industry along with it's the disappointing returns. Tune in for an in-depth look at how returns and risks are skewed in favor of hedge funds, and how investors and allocators can reconcile the imbalance. false full 41 0c6e397c-0322-405e-b17d-a2511eed8fd6 Deep Dive into AI: Ethics, Design, and Human Compatibility feat. Stuart Russell Popular culture often portrays artificial intelligence (AI) as a super-powerful, ominous threat to jobs, lives, and ultimately humanity. As AI is moving out of the lab into the real world, how can we harness its potential for good? In this episode, Stuart Russell talks about how to avoid this impending problem, a topic he covers in his book Human Compatible.

Listen as he takes us on a deep dive into the history of AI and how a new foundation can be used to develop machines that are sensitive to human preferences.

Episode Quotes:

Should computer science students be seriously concerned about ethics?

Computer science students do need to understand more than their technical discipline. And that's what one would expect for a discipline that starts to impact the real world. I think there's more to it. Because you know, the products of civil engineering, for example, the bridges, don't think and participate and act in our democracy the way some AI systems may be starting to do. So, in the long run, if we are making things that function as if they were minds — I'm not going to say that they are minds, but functioning as if they were minds — then you're going to bring in all the considerations.

How long ago was it that experts began seriously thinking about AI's practical applications, from the time the first computer was invented by Charles Babbage?

So, the real impetus for AI was the development of the computer in the second world war, which arose from Turing's mathematical work in his 1936 paper. And Turing himself, as soon as he figured out that you could actually start computing, and he understood this idea of universal computation, he wanted to build intelligent machines.

Misconceptions about A.I. as a practice

AI is a problem, not a technology. So, it can't fail. Right? It can just take longer to solve, you know? And you wouldn't say physics failed because of confusion. So people have always had this strange idea, in the outside world and the media, that AI is a technology. So, nowadays, people often confuse deep learning and AI.

What happens every time there’s a new discovery in A.I.?

Every time there's a small gain in function in one branch of AI, because of the generality of these techniques, there's a big explosion in economic interest. As long as people see all kinds of things in the real world that they can apply them to, that will continue to happen. Deep learning is just one step. There'll be another half dozen such steps. And each of those will probably increase the scope of applications by a factor of 10.


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]]> Mon, 23 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Popular culture often portrays artificial intelligence (AI) as a super-powerful, ominous threat to jobs, lives, and ultimately humanity. As AI is moving out of the lab into the real world, how can we harness its potential for good? In this episode, Stuart Russell talks about how to avoid this impending problem, a topic he covers in his book Human Compatible.

Listen as he takes us on a deep dive into the history of AI and how a new foundation can be used to develop machines that are sensitive to human preferences.

Episode Quotes:

Should computer science students be seriously concerned about ethics?

Computer science students do need to understand more than their technical discipline. And that's what one would expect for a discipline that starts to impact the real world. I think there's more to it. Because you know, the products of civil engineering, for example, the bridges, don't think and participate and act in our democracy the way some AI systems may be starting to do. So, in the long run, if we are making things that function as if they were minds — I'm not going to say that they are minds, but functioning as if they were minds — then you're going to bring in all the considerations.

How long ago was it that experts began seriously thinking about AI's practical applications, from the time the first computer was invented by Charles Babbage?

So, the real impetus for AI was the development of the computer in the second world war, which arose from Turing's mathematical work in his 1936 paper. And Turing himself, as soon as he figured out that you could actually start computing, and he understood this idea of universal computation, he wanted to build intelligent machines.

Misconceptions about A.I. as a practice

AI is a problem, not a technology. So, it can't fail. Right? It can just take longer to solve, you know? And you wouldn't say physics failed because of confusion. So people have always had this strange idea, in the outside world and the media, that AI is a technology. So, nowadays, people often confuse deep learning and AI.

What happens every time there’s a new discovery in A.I.?

Every time there's a small gain in function in one branch of AI, because of the generality of these techniques, there's a big explosion in economic interest. As long as people see all kinds of things in the real world that they can apply them to, that will continue to happen. Deep learning is just one step. There'll be another half dozen such steps. And each of those will probably increase the scope of applications by a factor of 10.


Show Links


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Deep Dive into AI: Ethics, Design, and Human Compatibility feat. Stuart Russell Greg La Blanc 00:51:01 Popular culture often portrays artificial intelligence (AI) as a super-powerful, ominous threat to jobs, lives, and ultimately humanity. As AI is moving out of the lab into the real world, how can we harness its potential for good? In this episode, Stuart Russell talks about how to avoid this impending problem, a topic he covers in his book Human Compatible. Listen as he takes us on a deep dive into the history of AI and how a new foundation can be used to develop machines that are sensitive to human preferences. Popular culture often portrays artificial intelligence (AI) as a super-powerful, ominous threat to jobs, lives, and ultimately humanity. As AI is moving out of the lab into the real world, how can we harness its potential for good? In this episode, Stuart Russell talks about how to avoid this impending problem, a topic he covers in his book Human Compatible. Listen as he takes us on a deep dive into the history of AI and how a new foundation can be used to develop machines that are sensitive to human preferences. false full 40 cac686a2-fb64-40ee-9efa-74d79943bcc6 Human Jaws, Hidden Epidemics and the Dying Environment feat. Paul Ehrlich Why do so many kids in wealthy countries have braces? Our jaws and teeth are growing smaller, causing aesthetic challenges as well as breathing difficulties. Modern orthodontics convinced us that braces and oral devices could resolve these issues. In this episode, Paul Ehrlich, a world-renowned evolutionist, talks about his latest book, Jaws: The Story Of A Hidden Epidemic. He discusses biological, dietary, and cultural changes that have led us to face this major health challenge, and why our policies focus on repairing considerable health, environmental, economic, and political problems rather than preventive measures. 

Join Paul and Greg as they tackle controversial topics on greenwashing, environmental and economic policies, and flaws in the educational system.

Episode Quotes:

Having written many books on evolution, what attracted you to focus on human jaws in your latest work?

Why do virtually all the kids in wealthy countries have braces in their mouth? What's wrong with their mouths? This seems very mysterious, but the main answer to why it's happening is very simple. And that is, we have brought our Stone Age genes into a McDonald's world. And this is something that characterizes many of our problems in society.

Common misconception about genetics, DNA, and the role of evolution and the environment in some medical problems

The phrase that, 'that's genetic' is meaningless in biology. There is no such thing as just genetic. Every characteristic you have has been worked on both by the DNA encoded in yourself. Sometimes it's changed by the environment, and even the things that seem most controlled by the genes, have big environmental components to them.

In what ways are humans responsible for reducing biodiversity on our planet, and what is the biggest issue?

First of all, we are part of biodiversity. And one of the things that are not taught enough in our educational system is that we are part of nature. We are not separate from nature, and we depend utterly on nature. For our lives, we could not exist without biodiversity.


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]]> Wed, 18 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why do so many kids in wealthy countries have braces? Our jaws and teeth are growing smaller, causing aesthetic challenges as well as breathing difficulties. Modern orthodontics convinced us that braces and oral devices could resolve these issues. In this episode, Paul Ehrlich, a world-renowned evolutionist, talks about his latest book, Jaws: The Story Of A Hidden Epidemic. He discusses biological, dietary, and cultural changes that have led us to face this major health challenge, and why our policies focus on repairing considerable health, environmental, economic, and political problems rather than preventive measures. 

Join Paul and Greg as they tackle controversial topics on greenwashing, environmental and economic policies, and flaws in the educational system.

Episode Quotes:

Having written many books on evolution, what attracted you to focus on human jaws in your latest work?

Why do virtually all the kids in wealthy countries have braces in their mouth? What's wrong with their mouths? This seems very mysterious, but the main answer to why it's happening is very simple. And that is, we have brought our Stone Age genes into a McDonald's world. And this is something that characterizes many of our problems in society.

Common misconception about genetics, DNA, and the role of evolution and the environment in some medical problems

The phrase that, 'that's genetic' is meaningless in biology. There is no such thing as just genetic. Every characteristic you have has been worked on both by the DNA encoded in yourself. Sometimes it's changed by the environment, and even the things that seem most controlled by the genes, have big environmental components to them.

In what ways are humans responsible for reducing biodiversity on our planet, and what is the biggest issue?

First of all, we are part of biodiversity. And one of the things that are not taught enough in our educational system is that we are part of nature. We are not separate from nature, and we depend utterly on nature. For our lives, we could not exist without biodiversity.


Show Links


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Human Jaws, Hidden Epidemics and the Dying Environment feat. Paul Ehrlich Greg La Blanc 00:46:44 Why do so many kids in wealthy countries have braces? Our jaws and teeth are growing smaller, causing aesthetic challenges as well as breathing difficulties. Modern orthodontics convinced us that braces and oral devices could resolve these issues. In this episode, Paul Ehrlich, a world-renowned evolutionist, talks about his latest book, Jaws: The Story Of A Hidden Epidemic. He discusses biological, dietary, and cultural changes that have led us to face this major health challenge, and why our policies focus on repairing considerable health, environmental, economic, and political problems rather than preventive measures. Join Paul and Greg as they tackle controversial topics on greenwashing, environmental and economic policies, and flaws in the educational system. Why do so many kids in wealthy countries have braces? Our jaws and teeth are growing smaller, causing aesthetic challenges as well as breathing difficulties. Modern orthodontics convinced us that braces and oral devices could resolve these issues. In this episode, Paul Ehrlich, a world-renowned evolutionist, talks about his latest book, Jaws: The Story Of A Hidden Epidemic. He discusses biological, dietary, and cultural changes that have led us to face this major health challenge, and why our policies focus on repairing considerable health, environmental, economic, and political problems rather than preventive measures. Join Paul and Greg as they tackle controversial topics on greenwashing, environmental and economic policies, and flaws in the educational system. false full 39 6b3d22d9-2d26-4956-b4b3-dfeca1314779 Reinvent the Wheel: What to Do When Your Management Model is Outdated feat. Frederic Laloux Are you considering a new way of working? Is it possible to give people the freedom to lead projects they are great at and to collaborate regardless of hierarchy? It might be time to consider self-management. In this episode, Frederic Laloux, best-selling author and former Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company, discusses these ideas as well as his book Reinventing Organizations.

Greg & Frederic discuss new models of self-management management, as well as myths and misconceptions surrounding teal organizations and self-management.

Episode Quotes:

Why management education has remained the same for the past 15 to 20 years

15, 20 years ago, there was still faith in our management systems. Like at the time, it was G.E. and Jack Welch. That was the kind of hero we have, and G.E. had to figure out how management works. And I don't know anybody who says that management works today. Like all the business leaders I talk to —will behind closed doors —admit that everything is too slow. People aren't motivated, it's not innovative enough, and it's all too bureaucratic.

What is a teal organization?

This is not a model that I cooked up. This is not a theoretical thing. This is me observing stuff emerging everywhere and just studying organizations whose leaders were discontent with the existing model and who went out to create something entirely different— just an entirely different way of managing their organizations. Often by a lot of trial and error and stumbling upon something powerful, that worked extraordinarily well. And they often thought that they were the only crazy fools doing that. And, at some point, when I found 1, 2, 3, 4, or 12 of them, I noticed that there was this pattern.

The biggest misconception about self-management

The problem with self-management is that as soon as you say it, a lot of us, including me, got all these wrong ideas when I started researching this. “Oh, self-management means everybody is the same. Everybody's equal”. No, it's everybody is as powerful as they can be. We actually want hierarchy. We just want organic hierarchies. We don't want to be fixed in boxes, in reporting lines.


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]]> Fri, 6 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Are you considering a new way of working? Is it possible to give people the freedom to lead projects they are great at and to collaborate regardless of hierarchy? It might be time to consider self-management. In this episode, Frederic Laloux, best-selling author and former Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company, discusses these ideas as well as his book Reinventing Organizations.

Greg & Frederic discuss new models of self-management management, as well as myths and misconceptions surrounding teal organizations and self-management.

Episode Quotes:

Why management education has remained the same for the past 15 to 20 years

15, 20 years ago, there was still faith in our management systems. Like at the time, it was G.E. and Jack Welch. That was the kind of hero we have, and G.E. had to figure out how management works. And I don't know anybody who says that management works today. Like all the business leaders I talk to —will behind closed doors —admit that everything is too slow. People aren't motivated, it's not innovative enough, and it's all too bureaucratic.

What is a teal organization?

This is not a model that I cooked up. This is not a theoretical thing. This is me observing stuff emerging everywhere and just studying organizations whose leaders were discontent with the existing model and who went out to create something entirely different— just an entirely different way of managing their organizations. Often by a lot of trial and error and stumbling upon something powerful, that worked extraordinarily well. And they often thought that they were the only crazy fools doing that. And, at some point, when I found 1, 2, 3, 4, or 12 of them, I noticed that there was this pattern.

The biggest misconception about self-management

The problem with self-management is that as soon as you say it, a lot of us, including me, got all these wrong ideas when I started researching this. “Oh, self-management means everybody is the same. Everybody's equal”. No, it's everybody is as powerful as they can be. We actually want hierarchy. We just want organic hierarchies. We don't want to be fixed in boxes, in reporting lines.


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]]> Reinvent the Wheel: What to Do When Your Management Model is Outdated feat. Frederic Laloux Greg La Blanc 00:53:55 Are you considering a new way of working? Is it possible to give people the freedom to lead projects they are great at and to collaborate regardless of hierarchy? It might be time to consider self-management. In this episode, Frederic Laloux, best-selling author and former Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company, discusses these ideas as well as his book Reinventing Organizations. Greg & Frederic discuss new models of self-management management, as well as myths and misconceptions surrounding teal organizations and self-management. Are you considering a new way of working? Is it possible to give people the freedom to lead projects they are great at and to collaborate regardless of hierarchy? It might be time to consider self-management. In this episode, Frederic Laloux, best-selling author and former Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company, discusses these ideas as well as his book Reinventing Organizations. Greg & Frederic discuss new models of self-management management, as well as myths and misconceptions surrounding teal organizations and self-management. false full 38 bb2f3135-3902-46d9-80ff-476359ffd6e1 The Man from Gobi Desert: Stories of Survival, Deals, Breaking Barriers and Building Trust feat. Weijian Shan Hard work and luck. That's the key to success, according to Weijian Shan. And he knows a thing or two about success. Shan is the founder and head of Hong Kong-based private equity group PAG, a former professor at the Wharton School, and the lead on one of the most successful buyout deals ever: the acquisition and turnaround of what used to be Korea's largest bank.

That is the focus of his latest book, Money Games, where he gets deep into the details of closing that deal.

Join us as he and Greg talk about the history of the banking system in Korea, the importance of real-world experience in academia, the current state of China banking, and how spending years doing forced labor in the Gobi Desert prepped Shan for the life he has now.

Episode Quotes:

What lessons did you learn from your years of suffering in the Gobi Desert that helped you succeed later in life?

Once you have experienced the hardship, you appreciate whatever you have […] I think that you also learn that nothing can be tougher. And therefore, even though the negotiation process, as I described in the book, 一 was tough, and there were many setbacks, there were many frustrations. You learn to be patient. You learn to persevere. You learn never to give up.

How did you build relationships and overcome hesitations when you come in and invest in these Asian companies?

In a country where information is not instantly available and you don't know enough about your counterparties, of course, relationships would help you navigate the marketplace. You do business with people who you know. But, when you deal with the government, it's not so much of the relationship that mattered at the time. It was a trust that you needed to build. Of course, the Koreans were very skeptical of foreign investors who came in during the financial crisis, and they were very much afraid, justifiably so. Then the foreign ambassadors would take advantage of the situation and get too good a deal from the government. So, they were very careful when negotiating with us. And that was why it took so long; there was so much back and forth between the two parties.

What role does humility and listening to others play during negotiations?

When you become arrogant, then inevitably, you will fall. It is crucial to be able to listen to different opinions and different views. And to be humble. To understand it's not just you. There's luck, and there are other points of view. So, I think that's very important. If you're not able to accept different perspectives, then it's very easy to fail.


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]]> Wed, 4 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Hard work and luck. That's the key to success, according to Weijian Shan. And he knows a thing or two about success. Shan is the founder and head of Hong Kong-based private equity group PAG, a former professor at the Wharton School, and the lead on one of the most successful buyout deals ever: the acquisition and turnaround of what used to be Korea's largest bank.

That is the focus of his latest book, Money Games, where he gets deep into the details of closing that deal.

Join us as he and Greg talk about the history of the banking system in Korea, the importance of real-world experience in academia, the current state of China banking, and how spending years doing forced labor in the Gobi Desert prepped Shan for the life he has now.

Episode Quotes:

What lessons did you learn from your years of suffering in the Gobi Desert that helped you succeed later in life?

Once you have experienced the hardship, you appreciate whatever you have […] I think that you also learn that nothing can be tougher. And therefore, even though the negotiation process, as I described in the book, 一 was tough, and there were many setbacks, there were many frustrations. You learn to be patient. You learn to persevere. You learn never to give up.

How did you build relationships and overcome hesitations when you come in and invest in these Asian companies?

In a country where information is not instantly available and you don't know enough about your counterparties, of course, relationships would help you navigate the marketplace. You do business with people who you know. But, when you deal with the government, it's not so much of the relationship that mattered at the time. It was a trust that you needed to build. Of course, the Koreans were very skeptical of foreign investors who came in during the financial crisis, and they were very much afraid, justifiably so. Then the foreign ambassadors would take advantage of the situation and get too good a deal from the government. So, they were very careful when negotiating with us. And that was why it took so long; there was so much back and forth between the two parties.

What role does humility and listening to others play during negotiations?

When you become arrogant, then inevitably, you will fall. It is crucial to be able to listen to different opinions and different views. And to be humble. To understand it's not just you. There's luck, and there are other points of view. So, I think that's very important. If you're not able to accept different perspectives, then it's very easy to fail.


Show Links


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The Man from Gobi Desert: Stories of Survival, Deals, Breaking Barriers and Building Trust feat. Weijian Shan Greg La Blanc 00:53:34 Hard work and luck. That's the key to success, according to Weijian Shan. And he knows a thing or two about success. Shan is the founder and head of Hong Kong-based private equity group PAG, a former professor at the Wharton School, and the lead on one of the most successful buyout deals ever: the acquisition and turnaround of what used to be Korea's largest bank. That is the focus of his latest book, Money Games, where he gets deep into the details of closing that deal. Join us as he and Greg talk about the history of the banking system in Korea, the importance of real-world experience in academia, the current state of China banking, and how spending years doing forced labor in the Gobi Desert prepped Shan for the life he has now. Hard work and luck. That's the key to success, according to Weijian Shan. And he knows a thing or two about success. Shan is the founder and head of Hong Kong-based private equity group PAG, a former professor at the Wharton School, and the lead on one of the most successful buyout deals ever: the acquisition and turnaround of what used to be Korea's largest bank. That is the focus of his latest book, Money Games, where he gets deep into the details of closing that deal. Join us as he and Greg talk about the history of the banking system in Korea, the importance of real-world experience in academia, the current state of China banking, and how spending years doing forced labor in the Gobi Desert prepped Shan for the life he has now. false full 37 e5b1fb72-228c-471b-b0c3-ffa79acf7a86 The A.I. Advantage: Using it For Strategic Advancement and Success feat. Tom Davenport The buzz surrounding A.I. cognitive strategy, technology, data, and analytics has many companies excited, but what does a business do with the information available? In his book, The A.I. Advantage, Thomas Davenport offers a guide to using artificial intelligence in business. 

Tom and Greg discuss how companies can leverage available technologies for their competitive advantage. Check out their discussion on IBM's Watson’s attempts to cure cancer, and learn how legacy companies integrate AI despite layers of approval and current processes.

You won't want to miss Tom's backstory, as he shares his journey from being a sociologist to an analyst. Finally, make sure to take notes on his views on A.I. ethics, including how to set up systems with human decision-makers and how academics can improve courses with A.I. tools, data, and analytics.

Episode Quotes:

Which is easier, teaching business skills to technical people or technical skills to business people?

I don't think that either of them is particularly hard to teach. If the motivation is there, I think that's the key element. You run across many data scientists who couldn't care less about what business they're working in. What motivates them is fooling around with algorithms and finding the best fitting one, and so on. But, most of those algorithms are not going to get deployed successfully. Certainly, you have way too many business people who don't want to learn enough about technology. Now. I think every business succeeds based on its use of technology. Neither of them is that hard to learn. You gotta want it.”

How do you get the best data, and how do you make the most out of it?

When I first got into this consulting firm, there was a strong focus on using data to make decisions. But in general, it became a very technical field, and people were only worried about what type of data warehouse to use and what software to use. And there was very little about what difference it made to the business. I think in general, and we're finding this a lot in AI and analytics, it's the people who can connect the numbers to the business —the analytics outcomes that are driving the success.

Is there a way that business schools can reinvent themselves in terms of using data in their business model like admissions and curriculum?

I have a book that I recently got called Big Data on Campus. Full of examples of schools that are starting to use analytics for things like admissions and fundraising. It works well for keeping students from leaving and identifying potential traders. Educationally, I think we probably need a new business model in business schools and maybe in general. Universities have gotten way too expensive for many people. And this idea that you learn everything you need to know in four years and then never have to go back to school is totally nutty.


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

]]> Mon, 2 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast The buzz surrounding A.I. cognitive strategy, technology, data, and analytics has many companies excited, but what does a business do with the information available? In his book, The A.I. Advantage, Thomas Davenport offers a guide to using artificial intelligence in business. 

Tom and Greg discuss how companies can leverage available technologies for their competitive advantage. Check out their discussion on IBM's Watson’s attempts to cure cancer, and learn how legacy companies integrate AI despite layers of approval and current processes.

You won't want to miss Tom's backstory, as he shares his journey from being a sociologist to an analyst. Finally, make sure to take notes on his views on A.I. ethics, including how to set up systems with human decision-makers and how academics can improve courses with A.I. tools, data, and analytics.

Episode Quotes:

Which is easier, teaching business skills to technical people or technical skills to business people?

I don't think that either of them is particularly hard to teach. If the motivation is there, I think that's the key element. You run across many data scientists who couldn't care less about what business they're working in. What motivates them is fooling around with algorithms and finding the best fitting one, and so on. But, most of those algorithms are not going to get deployed successfully. Certainly, you have way too many business people who don't want to learn enough about technology. Now. I think every business succeeds based on its use of technology. Neither of them is that hard to learn. You gotta want it.”

How do you get the best data, and how do you make the most out of it?

When I first got into this consulting firm, there was a strong focus on using data to make decisions. But in general, it became a very technical field, and people were only worried about what type of data warehouse to use and what software to use. And there was very little about what difference it made to the business. I think in general, and we're finding this a lot in AI and analytics, it's the people who can connect the numbers to the business —the analytics outcomes that are driving the success.

Is there a way that business schools can reinvent themselves in terms of using data in their business model like admissions and curriculum?

I have a book that I recently got called Big Data on Campus. Full of examples of schools that are starting to use analytics for things like admissions and fundraising. It works well for keeping students from leaving and identifying potential traders. Educationally, I think we probably need a new business model in business schools and maybe in general. Universities have gotten way too expensive for many people. And this idea that you learn everything you need to know in four years and then never have to go back to school is totally nutty.


Show Links


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The A.I. Advantage: Using it For Strategic Advancement and Success feat. Tom Davenport Greg La Blanc 00:44:45 The buzz surrounding A.I. cognitive strategy, technology, data, and analytics has many companies excited, but what does a business do with the information available? In his book, The A.I. Advantage, Thomas Davenport offers a guide to using artificial intelligence in business. Tom and Greg discuss how companies can leverage available technologies for their competitive advantage. Check out their discussion on IBM's Watson’s attempts to cure cancer, and learn how legacy companies integrate AI despite layers of approval and current processes. You won't want to miss Tom's backstory, as he shares his journey from being a sociologist to an analyst. Finally, make sure to take notes on his views on A.I. ethics, including how to set up systems with human decision-makers and how academics can improve courses with A.I. tools, data, and analytics. The buzz surrounding A.I. cognitive strategy, technology, data, and analytics has many companies excited, but what does a business do with the information available? In his book, The A.I. Advantage, Thomas Davenport offers a guide to using artificial intelligence in business. Tom and Greg discuss how companies can leverage available technologies for their competitive advantage. Check out their discussion on IBM's Watson’s attempts to cure cancer, and learn how legacy companies integrate AI despite layers of approval and current processes. You won't want to miss Tom's backstory, as he shares his journey from being a sociologist to an analyst. Finally, make sure to take notes on his views on A.I. ethics, including how to set up systems with human decision-makers and how academics can improve courses with A.I. tools, data, and analytics. false full 36 869058dd-4acf-4e1b-808f-0d2b55e7a39b Why People Spend: Expressive and Emotional Benefits of Spending and Investing feat. Liam Vaughan Why do you buy a lottery ticket when the odds of winning are one out 200 million? In this episode, Meir Statman, Professor of Finance at St. Clara University, talks about his book Finance For Normal People. Listen as he talks about what drives our hope for wealth, financial security, the need to provide for the family, and the need to give back to our society. 

Greg and Meir talk about financial facts and human behavior, including overconfidence, hindsight, unrealistic hopes, and exaggerated fear, and we’ll get Meir’s advice on avoiding ignorance, gaining financial knowledge, and better ways to achieve what we want financially. 

We’ll also get some strategies on investing and his thoughts on ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) for organizations.

Episode Quotes:

Is the ESG Investing Movement a function of people viewing investing more and more as a form of expressing their values and beliefs?

It was called SRI (Socially Responsible Investing). I started doing that sometime in the eighties because this, to me, was the perfect example of those utilitarian, expressive and emotional benefits. When I talked about it with standard finance people, I said, “Look, people care about risk. People care about expected returns, but they also care about being true to their values.” And you cannot easily squeeze that fidelity to values into either a risk or a return box. 

Thoughts on Donating Money for Tax Cuts or Personal Gains

What I'm saying is that hypocrisy is not something to be admired. So, if someone is in it to feel that warm glow of “I'm doing good for people who can use that money better than I can, who are poorer than me. I am helping clean the environment or whatever it is.” Once you have that and think, “I'm going to be making a ton of money out of it.” It just feels wrong.

Could you give one piece of advice to the people trying to figure out how to optimize their utility in each of these buckets of happiness?

What good is it if you have a ton of money, and because you are so stingy, your children and spouse are estranged from you? Lots of fights in the family, and so on. I say, you know, what have you gained? Now, you're going to be dead, and you're going to be buried with those sacks of money. So think about it in units of wellbeing and think about what matters in wellbeing. Of course, money underlies all of it. With no money, it's tough to feed the family. But there are other things. There's health. There's mental and physical health. And so, you'll have to look at all of these elements, including being true to your values and so on. And see that money is necessary for all of them.


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Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Fri, 30 Jul 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Why do you buy a lottery ticket when the odds of winning are one out 200 million? In this episode, Meir Statman, Professor of Finance at St. Clara University, talks about his book Finance For Normal People. Listen as he talks about what drives our hope for wealth, financial security, the need to provide for the family, and the need to give back to our society. 

Greg and Meir talk about financial facts and human behavior, including overconfidence, hindsight, unrealistic hopes, and exaggerated fear, and we’ll get Meir’s advice on avoiding ignorance, gaining financial knowledge, and better ways to achieve what we want financially. 

We’ll also get some strategies on investing and his thoughts on ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) for organizations.

Episode Quotes:

Is the ESG Investing Movement a function of people viewing investing more and more as a form of expressing their values and beliefs?

It was called SRI (Socially Responsible Investing). I started doing that sometime in the eighties because this, to me, was the perfect example of those utilitarian, expressive and emotional benefits. When I talked about it with standard finance people, I said, “Look, people care about risk. People care about expected returns, but they also care about being true to their values.” And you cannot easily squeeze that fidelity to values into either a risk or a return box. 

Thoughts on Donating Money for Tax Cuts or Personal Gains

What I'm saying is that hypocrisy is not something to be admired. So, if someone is in it to feel that warm glow of “I'm doing good for people who can use that money better than I can, who are poorer than me. I am helping clean the environment or whatever it is.” Once you have that and think, “I'm going to be making a ton of money out of it.” It just feels wrong.

Could you give one piece of advice to the people trying to figure out how to optimize their utility in each of these buckets of happiness?

What good is it if you have a ton of money, and because you are so stingy, your children and spouse are estranged from you? Lots of fights in the family, and so on. I say, you know, what have you gained? Now, you're going to be dead, and you're going to be buried with those sacks of money. So think about it in units of wellbeing and think about what matters in wellbeing. Of course, money underlies all of it. With no money, it's tough to feed the family. But there are other things. There's health. There's mental and physical health. And so, you'll have to look at all of these elements, including being true to your values and so on. And see that money is necessary for all of them.


Show Links


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Why People Spend: Expressive and Emotional Benefits of Spending and Investing feat. Liam Vaughan Greg La Blanc 00:47:15 Why do you buy a lottery ticket when the odds of winning are one out 200 million? In this episode, Meir Statman, Professor of Finance at St. Clara University, talks about his book Finance For Normal People. Listen as he talks about what drives our hope for wealth, financial security, the need to provide for the family, and the need to give back to our society. Greg and Meir talk about financial facts and human behavior, including overconfidence, hindsight, unrealistic hopes, and exaggerated fear, and we’ll get Meir’s advice on avoiding ignorance, gaining financial knowledge, and better ways to achieve what we want financially. We’ll also get some strategies on investing and his thoughts on ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) for organizations.Episode Quotes:Is the ESG Investing Movement a function of people viewing investing more and more as a form of expressing their values and beliefs?It was called SRI (Socially Responsible Investing). I started doing that sometime in the eighties because this, to me, was the perfect example of those utilitarian, expressive and emotional benefits. When I talked about it with standard finance people, I said, “Look, people care about risk. People care about expected returns, but they also care about being true to their values.” And you cannot easily squeeze that fidelity to values into either a risk or a return box. Thoughts on Donating Money for Tax Cuts or Personal GainsWhat I'm saying is that hypocrisy is not something to be admired. So, if someone is in it to feel that warm glow of “I'm doing good for people who can use that money better than I can, who are poorer than me. I am helping clean the environment or whatever it is.” Once you have that and think, “I'm going to be making a ton of money out of it.” It just feels wrong.Could you give one piece of advice to the people trying to figure out how to optimize their utility in each of these buckets of happiness?What good is it if you have a ton of money, and because you are so stingy, your children and spouse are estranged from you? Lots of fights in the family, and so on. I say, you know, what have you gained? Now, you're going to be dead, and you're going to be buried with those sacks of money. So think about it in units of wellbeing and think about what matters in wellbeing. Of course, money underlies all of it. With no money, it's tough to feed the family. But there are other things. There's health. There's mental and physical health. And so, you'll have to look at all of these elements, including being true to your values and so on. And see that money is necessary for all of them.Show LinksGuest ProfileMeir Statman’s Profile at Santa Clara UniversityMeir Statman’s Official WebsiteMeir Statman on LinkedInMeir Statman on TwitterHis WorkMeir Statman on Google ScholarBehavioral Finance: The Second GenerationFinance for Normal People: How Investors and Markets BehaveWhat Investors Really Want: Know What Drives Investor Behavior and Make Smarter Financial Decisions Why do you buy a lottery ticket when the odds of winning are one out 200 million? In this episode, Meir Statman, Professor of Finance at St. Clara University, talks about his book Finance For Normal People. Listen as he talks about what drives our hope for wealth, financial security, the need to provide for the family, and the need to give back to our society. Greg and Meir talk about financial facts and human behavior, including overconfidence, hindsight, unrealistic hopes, and exaggerated fear, and we’ll get Meir’s advice on avoiding ignorance, gaining financial knowledge, and better ways to achieve what we want financially. We’ll also get some strategies on investing and his thoughts on ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) for organizations.Episode Quotes:Is the ESG Investing Movement a function of people viewing investing more and more as a form of expressing their values and beliefs?It was called SRI (Socially Responsible Investing). I started doing that sometime in the eighties because this, to me, was the perfect example of those utilitarian, expressive and emotional benefits. When I talked about it with standard finance people, I said, “Look, people care about risk. People care about expected returns, but they also care about being true to their values.” And you cannot easily squeeze that fidelity to values into either a risk or a return box. Thoughts on Donating Money for Tax Cuts or Personal GainsWhat I'm saying is that hypocrisy is not something to be admired. So, if someone is in it to feel that warm glow of “I'm doing good for people who can use that money better than I can, who are poorer than me. I am helping clean the environment or whatever it is.” Once you have that and think, “I'm going to be making a ton of money out of it.” It just feels wrong.Could you give one piece of advice to the people trying to figure out how to optimize their utility in each of these buckets of happiness?What good is it if you have a ton of money, and because you are so stingy, your children and spouse are estranged from you? Lots of fights in the family, and so on. I say, you know, what have you gained? Now, you're going to be dead, and you're going to be buried with those sacks of money. So think about it in units of wellbeing and think about what matters in wellbeing. Of course, money underlies all of it. With no money, it's tough to feed the family. But there are other things. There's health. There's mental and physical health. And so, you'll have to look at all of these elements, including being true to your values and so on. And see that money is necessary for all of them.Show LinksGuest ProfileMeir Statman’s Profile at Santa Clara UniversityMeir Statman’s Official WebsiteMeir Statman on LinkedInMeir Statman on TwitterHis WorkMeir Statman on Google ScholarBehavioral Finance: The Second GenerationFinance for Normal People: How Investors and Markets BehaveWhat Investors Really Want: Know What Drives Investor Behavior and Make Smarter Financial Decisions false full 35 27e52098-89cf-4c1b-8b85-c0249e437197 Heroes and Villains: Stories Behind the Flash Crash feat. Liam Vaughan On May 6, 2010, the global financial markets went into a tailspin suddenly and simultaneously. The event was known as the “Flash Crash,” the fastest drop in stock market history. Reports document a loss of a trillion dollars in valuation that occurred in just five minutes. Liam Vaughan, an investigative reporter with Bloomberg and Businessweek magazine in London, talks about this in his book Flash Crash.

Listen as Liam and Greg talk about Navinder “Nav” Singh Sarao, the bedroom day trader who would make and lose millions during this time. Get to know this gifted trader who played the markets like a computer game. We’ll also learn about Jesus Alejandro Garcia Alvarez, the Mexican businessman claiming to have extensive property holdings in South America. Take notes on the parallels to Tom Hayes and Bernie Madoff, and don’t miss out on Liam’s thoughts about the role of regulators in preventing and solving these financial crises.

Episode Quotes:

What motivated you to write the book?

So, I was working as a beat reporter at Bloomberg Finance in London when the Flash Crash happened. There wasn't even a Bloomberg yet. I think I joined in 2011. It was an event that I was aware of as a financial reporter, but didn't pay a huge amount of attention to it at the time. Five years later, in 2015 when there was an arrest. The idea that this guy 一 on his own could potentially cause this global financial crash just seems surprising perplexing. And then gradually, over time, information about who he was started to emerge. This was a guy who was operating out of his childhood bedroom at his parent's house underneath the flight path of Heathrow Airport. He never really worked at a major financial institution. He taught himself to trade, wore a tracksuit, and swore like a sailor. And yet, when they arrested him, he was worth $70 million.

In context to what happened with the Robinhood App, why is this narrative of little guys going up against the big hedge funds so appealing to people? 

There are some on that Reddit forum that made a lot of money and lots of people that didn't make any money. Maybe they're quite sophisticated. The people who made a lot of money, like the main guy, I believe he's like a sort of investment professional. Or, hedge fund players were either jumping on the back of or exacerbating the moves and made more money than the Robin Hood traders did at all… What I find fascinating is how the government and the regulators will be able to grapple with this because it seems like what we were talking about earlier. The manipulation rules might not be fit for purpose.

Why was there so much support for #FreeNav? In this story, how does the narrative of David vs. Goliath come into play?

The thing about Nav's story, it just was so rich because he always argued that the system was unfair. When he was arrested, he was socially after the Michael Lewis book talking about the HFT techniques and the idea that the markets were rigged. But that wasn't superimposed after the event. He genuinely believed that he was fighting against this kind of corrupt system.


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]]> Wed, 28 Jul 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast On May 6, 2010, the global financial markets went into a tailspin suddenly and simultaneously. The event was known as the “Flash Crash,” the fastest drop in stock market history. Reports document a loss of a trillion dollars in valuation that occurred in just five minutes. Liam Vaughan, an investigative reporter with Bloomberg and Businessweek magazine in London, talks about this in his book Flash Crash.

Listen as Liam and Greg talk about Navinder “Nav” Singh Sarao, the bedroom day trader who would make and lose millions during this time. Get to know this gifted trader who played the markets like a computer game. We’ll also learn about Jesus Alejandro Garcia Alvarez, the Mexican businessman claiming to have extensive property holdings in South America. Take notes on the parallels to Tom Hayes and Bernie Madoff, and don’t miss out on Liam’s thoughts about the role of regulators in preventing and solving these financial crises.

Episode Quotes:

What motivated you to write the book?

So, I was working as a beat reporter at Bloomberg Finance in London when the Flash Crash happened. There wasn't even a Bloomberg yet. I think I joined in 2011. It was an event that I was aware of as a financial reporter, but didn't pay a huge amount of attention to it at the time. Five years later, in 2015 when there was an arrest. The idea that this guy 一 on his own could potentially cause this global financial crash just seems surprising perplexing. And then gradually, over time, information about who he was started to emerge. This was a guy who was operating out of his childhood bedroom at his parent's house underneath the flight path of Heathrow Airport. He never really worked at a major financial institution. He taught himself to trade, wore a tracksuit, and swore like a sailor. And yet, when they arrested him, he was worth $70 million.

In context to what happened with the Robinhood App, why is this narrative of little guys going up against the big hedge funds so appealing to people? 

There are some on that Reddit forum that made a lot of money and lots of people that didn't make any money. Maybe they're quite sophisticated. The people who made a lot of money, like the main guy, I believe he's like a sort of investment professional. Or, hedge fund players were either jumping on the back of or exacerbating the moves and made more money than the Robin Hood traders did at all… What I find fascinating is how the government and the regulators will be able to grapple with this because it seems like what we were talking about earlier. The manipulation rules might not be fit for purpose.

Why was there so much support for #FreeNav? In this story, how does the narrative of David vs. Goliath come into play?

The thing about Nav's story, it just was so rich because he always argued that the system was unfair. When he was arrested, he was socially after the Michael Lewis book talking about the HFT techniques and the idea that the markets were rigged. But that wasn't superimposed after the event. He genuinely believed that he was fighting against this kind of corrupt system.


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]]> Heroes and Villains: Stories Behind the Flash Crash feat. Liam Vaughan Greg La Blanc 00:47:22 On May 6, 2010, the global financial markets went into a tailspin suddenly and simultaneously. The event was known as the “Flash Crash,” the fastest drop in stock market history. Reports document a loss of a trillion dollars in valuation that occurred in just five minutes. Liam Vaughan, an investigative reporter with Bloomberg and Businessweek magazine in London, talks about this in his book Flash Crash. Listen as Liam and Greg talk about Navinder “Nav” Singh Sarao, the bedroom day trader who would make and lose millions during this time. Get to know this gifted trader who played the markets like a computer game. We’ll also learn about Jesus Alejandro Garcia Alvarez, the Mexican businessman claiming to have extensive property holdings in South America. Take notes on the parallels to Tom Hayes and Bernie Madoff, and don’t miss out on Liam’s thoughts about the role of regulators in preventing and solving these financial crises. On May 6, 2010, the global financial markets went into a tailspin suddenly and simultaneously. The event was known as the “Flash Crash,” the fastest drop in stock market history. Reports document a loss of a trillion dollars in valuation that occurred in just five minutes. Liam Vaughan, an investigative reporter with Bloomberg and Businessweek magazine in London, talks about this in his book Flash Crash. Listen as Liam and Greg talk about Navinder “Nav” Singh Sarao, the bedroom day trader who would make and lose millions during this time. Get to know this gifted trader who played the markets like a computer game. We’ll also learn about Jesus Alejandro Garcia Alvarez, the Mexican businessman claiming to have extensive property holdings in South America. Take notes on the parallels to Tom Hayes and Bernie Madoff, and don’t miss out on Liam’s thoughts about the role of regulators in preventing and solving these financial crises. false full 34 217b2018-f90c-4219-bdee-eb3f637ab1c3 Money: The True Story feat. Jacob Goldstein There is a saying that money makes the world go round. But Jacob Goldstein, journalist, author, and co-host of NPR’s Planet Money, suggests that money only works when we all believe in it. In this episode, he talks about his book, Money: The Story Of A Made-Up Thing. Jacob explains how money became a helpful fiction that shaped societies for thousands of years. 

Listen from the beginning till the end to learn about how world leaders and fringe thinkers have changed our perceptions about money. Goldstein and host Greg La Blanc touch on stories about the Lehman Brothers and the 2008 Economic Collapse, Irving Fisher, Nicholas Biddle, and John Law —a professional gambler and convicted murderer who brought modern money to France— eventually destroying the country’s economy. He shares an interesting parallel on Isaac Le Maire and the Game Stop fiasco.

Listen to his exciting thoughts on digital money —cypherpunks, a group of radical libertarian computer programmers, paved the way for bitcoin. Finally, listen to his story about the history and theory of light, how it affects money planning and productivity.

Episode Quotes:

What do you think about the U.S. becoming a goldsmith to the world and enjoying the profits of the money-making?

Literally, we sell pieces of paper to people for a hundred dollars. Like it's a good business. The fact that the dollar is the reserve currency for the world, it's the money everybody wants. It means everybody wants to buy our treasury bonds. Everybody wants dollars, essentially. It's the tailwind that we have for the economy […] Like nobody's going to want anything else. I mean, they're not going to want Euros anytime soon. And the other obvious one would be the Yuan, right? The Chinese currency, the Renminbi. But, China has pretty significant capital controls, making it hard to move money freely in and out of China.

Talk about the idea of digital cash as you described in your book. Is paper money vanishing, and how did the Coronavirus affect the movement of paper money? 

Digital currency, to a significant degree, happened so that they could do what people have done for a long time with paper money —which is to move it around without anybody knowing about it. Right? So whether the crime is just tax evasion or moving drug money, paper money is really good. One of the things that happened after the book came out, as California was going into lockdown; there was this series of DEA raids in the spring last year, where they seized millions and millions of dollars. Just because the drug dealers suddenly couldn't launder them. 

What do you think the next source of instability will be?

The spreads between high-risk debt and safe debt were relatively small, which is a classic sign of the credit boom going on and on. So, that's sort of a traditional thing, making an economic downturn worse. Although not necessarily a financial crisis, right? The financial crisis classically comes from runnable debt. So, is there somebody out there besides money market mutual funds, which we know about, who is taking something like deposits? Letting people borrow short and lend long? Like the classic bank behavior where people come and ask for their money back. Whoever. Is it the FinTech, the intermediator saying, “Oh, sorry, I don't have your money”? That is the financial crisis moment. And so, I don't know who's the next sort of financial intermediary creating some money like deposit. I don't know who that is.


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]]> Mon, 26 Jul 2021 22:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast There is a saying that money makes the world go round. But Jacob Goldstein, journalist, author, and co-host of NPR’s Planet Money, suggests that money only works when we all believe in it. In this episode, he talks about his book, Money: The Story Of A Made-Up Thing. Jacob explains how money became a helpful fiction that shaped societies for thousands of years. 

Listen from the beginning till the end to learn about how world leaders and fringe thinkers have changed our perceptions about money. Goldstein and host Greg La Blanc touch on stories about the Lehman Brothers and the 2008 Economic Collapse, Irving Fisher, Nicholas Biddle, and John Law —a professional gambler and convicted murderer who brought modern money to France— eventually destroying the country’s economy. He shares an interesting parallel on Isaac Le Maire and the Game Stop fiasco.

Listen to his exciting thoughts on digital money —cypherpunks, a group of radical libertarian computer programmers, paved the way for bitcoin. Finally, listen to his story about the history and theory of light, how it affects money planning and productivity.

Episode Quotes:

What do you think about the U.S. becoming a goldsmith to the world and enjoying the profits of the money-making?

Literally, we sell pieces of paper to people for a hundred dollars. Like it's a good business. The fact that the dollar is the reserve currency for the world, it's the money everybody wants. It means everybody wants to buy our treasury bonds. Everybody wants dollars, essentially. It's the tailwind that we have for the economy […] Like nobody's going to want anything else. I mean, they're not going to want Euros anytime soon. And the other obvious one would be the Yuan, right? The Chinese currency, the Renminbi. But, China has pretty significant capital controls, making it hard to move money freely in and out of China.

Talk about the idea of digital cash as you described in your book. Is paper money vanishing, and how did the Coronavirus affect the movement of paper money? 

Digital currency, to a significant degree, happened so that they could do what people have done for a long time with paper money —which is to move it around without anybody knowing about it. Right? So whether the crime is just tax evasion or moving drug money, paper money is really good. One of the things that happened after the book came out, as California was going into lockdown; there was this series of DEA raids in the spring last year, where they seized millions and millions of dollars. Just because the drug dealers suddenly couldn't launder them. 

What do you think the next source of instability will be?

The spreads between high-risk debt and safe debt were relatively small, which is a classic sign of the credit boom going on and on. So, that's sort of a traditional thing, making an economic downturn worse. Although not necessarily a financial crisis, right? The financial crisis classically comes from runnable debt. So, is there somebody out there besides money market mutual funds, which we know about, who is taking something like deposits? Letting people borrow short and lend long? Like the classic bank behavior where people come and ask for their money back. Whoever. Is it the FinTech, the intermediator saying, “Oh, sorry, I don't have your money”? That is the financial crisis moment. And so, I don't know who's the next sort of financial intermediary creating some money like deposit. I don't know who that is.


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]]> Money: The True Story feat. Jacob Goldstein Greg La Blanc 00:48:51 There is a saying that money makes the world go round. But Jacob Goldstein, journalist, author, and co-host of NPR’s Planet Money, suggests that money only works when we all believe in it. In this episode, he talks about his book, Money: The Story Of A Made-Up Thing. Jacob explains how money became a helpful fiction that shaped societies for thousands of years. Listen from the beginning till the end to learn about how world leaders and fringe thinkers have changed our perceptions about money. Goldstein and host Greg La Blanc touch on stories about the Lehman Brothers and the 2008 Economic Collapse, Irving Fisher, Nicholas Biddle, and John Law —a professional gambler and convicted murderer who brought modern money to France— eventually destroying the country’s economy. He shares an interesting parallel on Isaac Le Maire and the Game Stop fiasco. Listen to his exciting thoughts on digital money —cypherpunks, a group of radical libertarian computer programmers, paved the way for bitcoin. Finally, listen to his story about the history and theory of light, how it affects money planning and productivity. There is a saying that money makes the world go round. But Jacob Goldstein, journalist, author, and co-host of NPR’s Planet Money, suggests that money only works when we all believe in it. In this episode, he talks about his book, Money: The Story Of A Made-Up Thing. Jacob explains how money became a helpful fiction that shaped societies for thousands of years. Listen from the beginning till the end to learn about how world leaders and fringe thinkers have changed our perceptions about money. Goldstein and host Greg La Blanc touch on stories about the Lehman Brothers and the 2008 Economic Collapse, Irving Fisher, Nicholas Biddle, and John Law —a professional gambler and convicted murderer who brought modern money to France— eventually destroying the country’s economy. He shares an interesting parallel on Isaac Le Maire and the Game Stop fiasco. Listen to his exciting thoughts on digital money —cypherpunks, a group of radical libertarian computer programmers, paved the way for bitcoin. Finally, listen to his story about the history and theory of light, how it affects money planning and productivity. false full 33 23b3bcdf-1a14-4a9f-999b-7f66588cdd45 Becoming Better: How to Achieve Maximum, Sustainable Goodness feat. Max Bazerman In a world of hundreds of decisions every day, how do you reconcile your ethics and biases? Max Bazerman, award-winning author, distinguished educator, and Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, discusses his book, Better, Not Perfect. He shares how to become aware, honest, efficient, and smart about the decisions we make while not seeking the unrealistic standard of perfection. The framework he made outlines how to reach sustainability and maximum goodness. 

During this conversation, he and host Greg La Blanc discuss Bazerman’s take on ethical and moral decision-making and corruption. He also talked about how rationality obstructs us from having a utilitarian point of view.

Do not miss his discussion on loyalty and how it prevents us from doing good. Finally, take notes as he discusses how universities create value in shaping these decision-making skills.

Episode Quotes:

Thoughts on whether you can guide and change a person's decision-making process

We've done an amazing job of identifying when people make mistakes, the systematic and predictable ways we'll make mistakes. But we've made very little in terms of fixing human intuition… The core idea is that we make most of our decisions intuitively, deliberately, meaning thinking more systematically.

It means asking smart friends. It means crowdsourcing. It means using artificial intelligence. So, we have lots of ways of endangering our more deliberate thought processes. And when we do, we are less f****d. So, we both have people out of system one to system two, to an individual level and at a more systemic level as ways to improve our decision-making —even if we can't improve our underlying intuition.

In what ways do you make emphatic decisions at the same time have a larger impact? 

What I want to do is provide a very, very different model. So, how do you create the balance? I don't know, I think there’s no one simple answer to that. But, here are just my simple predictions. My guess is, if you could audit your lines and identify various weights —where you sacrificed both your time and your money. You could create more good. That seems like a really good start.

Thoughts on corruption on university admissions and people being willfully blind

I think that most of us, we're not going to perpetuate the next newspaper-worthy scandal, but we may well be around and see. And too often, we do too little to stop it. So, view it as my obligation and my moral obligation as a professor to speak up against the policy of legacy admissions in giving favorites — the children of alumni, of donors, of faculty. I think giving special consideration to people who are already part of our fairly small moral tribe means that we ended up discriminating against lots of other people who aren't in that circle.

Why do people choose not to act for the greater good? Are they lacking empathy or understanding of their utility?

There was a movement that argues that once you want to give your available dollars locally, or once you want to give it to your group —your own religious group ﹘ probably limited how effective you can be in terms of your charitable dollars. Since in many cases, your charitable dollars can have a much greater impact in some organization that's more distant from you. So, as soon as we had a trial we're putting up barriers, How much good can we do as soon as we're selfish? We're putting up a barrier to doing as much good as we can do as soon we're limiting how much good we can do.


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]]> Sat, 24 Jul 2021 07:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In a world of hundreds of decisions every day, how do you reconcile your ethics and biases? Max Bazerman, award-winning author, distinguished educator, and Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, discusses his book, Better, Not Perfect. He shares how to become aware, honest, efficient, and smart about the decisions we make while not seeking the unrealistic standard of perfection. The framework he made outlines how to reach sustainability and maximum goodness. 

During this conversation, he and host Greg La Blanc discuss Bazerman’s take on ethical and moral decision-making and corruption. He also talked about how rationality obstructs us from having a utilitarian point of view.

Do not miss his discussion on loyalty and how it prevents us from doing good. Finally, take notes as he discusses how universities create value in shaping these decision-making skills.

Episode Quotes:

Thoughts on whether you can guide and change a person's decision-making process

We've done an amazing job of identifying when people make mistakes, the systematic and predictable ways we'll make mistakes. But we've made very little in terms of fixing human intuition… The core idea is that we make most of our decisions intuitively, deliberately, meaning thinking more systematically.

It means asking smart friends. It means crowdsourcing. It means using artificial intelligence. So, we have lots of ways of endangering our more deliberate thought processes. And when we do, we are less f****d. So, we both have people out of system one to system two, to an individual level and at a more systemic level as ways to improve our decision-making —even if we can't improve our underlying intuition.

In what ways do you make emphatic decisions at the same time have a larger impact? 

What I want to do is provide a very, very different model. So, how do you create the balance? I don't know, I think there’s no one simple answer to that. But, here are just my simple predictions. My guess is, if you could audit your lines and identify various weights —where you sacrificed both your time and your money. You could create more good. That seems like a really good start.

Thoughts on corruption on university admissions and people being willfully blind

I think that most of us, we're not going to perpetuate the next newspaper-worthy scandal, but we may well be around and see. And too often, we do too little to stop it. So, view it as my obligation and my moral obligation as a professor to speak up against the policy of legacy admissions in giving favorites — the children of alumni, of donors, of faculty. I think giving special consideration to people who are already part of our fairly small moral tribe means that we ended up discriminating against lots of other people who aren't in that circle.

Why do people choose not to act for the greater good? Are they lacking empathy or understanding of their utility?

There was a movement that argues that once you want to give your available dollars locally, or once you want to give it to your group —your own religious group ﹘ probably limited how effective you can be in terms of your charitable dollars. Since in many cases, your charitable dollars can have a much greater impact in some organization that's more distant from you. So, as soon as we had a trial we're putting up barriers, How much good can we do as soon as we're selfish? We're putting up a barrier to doing as much good as we can do as soon we're limiting how much good we can do.


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Guest Profile


His Work


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]]> Becoming Better: How to Achieve Maximum, Sustainable Goodness feat. Max Bazerman Greg La Blanc 00:45:37 In a world of hundreds of decisions every day, how do you reconcile your ethics and biases? Max Bazerman, award-winning author, distinguished educator, and Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, discusses his book, Better, Not Perfect. He shares how to become aware, honest, efficient, and smart about the decisions we make while not seeking the unrealistic standard of perfection. The framework he made outlines how to reach sustainability and maximum goodness. During this conversation, he and host Greg La Blanc discuss Bazerman’s take on ethical and moral decision-making and corruption. He also talked about how rationality obstructs us from having a utilitarian point of view. Do not miss his discussion on loyalty and how it prevents us from doing good. Finally, take notes as he discusses how universities create value in shaping these decision-making skills. In a world of hundreds of decisions every day, how do you reconcile your ethics and biases? Max Bazerman, award-winning author, distinguished educator, and Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, discusses his book, Better, Not Perfect. He shares how to become aware, honest, efficient, and smart about the decisions we make while not seeking the unrealistic standard of perfection. The framework he made outlines how to reach sustainability and maximum goodness. During this conversation, he and host Greg La Blanc discuss Bazerman’s take on ethical and moral decision-making and corruption. He also talked about how rationality obstructs us from having a utilitarian point of view. Do not miss his discussion on loyalty and how it prevents us from doing good. Finally, take notes as he discusses how universities create value in shaping these decision-making skills. false full 32 d52ea9af-4c03-47a4-a330-abc105f07e75 Coherence: Closing the Gap Between Strategy and Execution feat. Paul Leinwand Two-thirds of executives say their organizations are incapable of supporting their strategies. In this episode, Paul Leinwand, Adjunct Professor of Strategy at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and PWC Global Managing Director, talks about his book Strategy That Works. The author shed light on how successful companies like Lego and Ikea bridged the gap between strategy and execution. 

Join Paul and Greg as they discuss how these ideas permeate actual execution within the company's culture. Paul shares with us how to apply this strategic perspective to an organization. Rather than working against the company culture, Paul shared how companies should shape it to suit their team’s needs. He talked about why and how a Chief Coherent Officer can help companies implement a consistent and accountable strategy across the organization.

Episode Quotes:

What is the concept of coherence, and how does it differ from the capabilities approach?

"Coherence is really the link between what you state to the world that your purpose is, what value you're going to create, and the capabilities you're building that deliver that value. 

If you say I'm going to deliver at low prices, you might need some procurement capabilities and logistics capabilities that drive low cost. Then, the third element is your portfolio. So if I've got a set of products and services that don't really matter to that promise to the world, that's going to drive incoherence. Whereas if these three things are working together or regenerate a lot of coherence. So, if these things work well together —if I've got a clear value equation, if I've got a few capabilities —I can drive a lot of economic scale behind those capabilities and bring that scale to all the portfolios."

Do you think this trend towards creating mission statements is a healthy one? Can formulating one help companies figure out a strategy?

"Employees alone, right, require an understanding of why they are there. How is my job connected to what this organization is doing, and what is this organization doing? If the organization can't define what it's doing, it's actually hard to bring that to me. But, people who go to work every day want to know how they're contributing. It doesn't necessarily mean it has to be a lofty goal. It just has to be tangible. I think too many organizations lack that, lacking an understanding of purpose. It isn't just a problem for the strategy. It's a problem when all the people who are required to transform the organization don't understand why they're there."

Doing so many things at once runs the risk of losing coherence, what can you do to avoid that?

"We do see lots of organizations that have expanded in so many directions. And by the way, this is true for nonprofits, right? I mean, nonprofits, they're coherent. It's usually about, you know, “Do they have a clear mission?” But then are they delivering all their services? Or, what are they doing against that mission? Or, do they have donors, maybe that are pulling them in lots of different ways? Maybe great things, but that does not really core to what the purpose is all about." 

How do you close the gap between strategy and execution? 

"This division between strategy and execution has a lot to do with how we think about those topics. As much as it is related to the people who are maybe doing the work —if we think about these as different topics, in other words —strategies about the future, about the direction and making choices. Execution is taking this strategy somehow and putting it in place. The strategy has to encompass not just direction, but what will it take to actually get that done?"

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]]> Wed, 21 Jul 2021 22:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Two-thirds of executives say their organizations are incapable of supporting their strategies. In this episode, Paul Leinwand, Adjunct Professor of Strategy at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and PWC Global Managing Director, talks about his book Strategy That Works. The author shed light on how successful companies like Lego and Ikea bridged the gap between strategy and execution. 

Join Paul and Greg as they discuss how these ideas permeate actual execution within the company's culture. Paul shares with us how to apply this strategic perspective to an organization. Rather than working against the company culture, Paul shared how companies should shape it to suit their team’s needs. He talked about why and how a Chief Coherent Officer can help companies implement a consistent and accountable strategy across the organization.

Episode Quotes:

What is the concept of coherence, and how does it differ from the capabilities approach?

"Coherence is really the link between what you state to the world that your purpose is, what value you're going to create, and the capabilities you're building that deliver that value. 

If you say I'm going to deliver at low prices, you might need some procurement capabilities and logistics capabilities that drive low cost. Then, the third element is your portfolio. So if I've got a set of products and services that don't really matter to that promise to the world, that's going to drive incoherence. Whereas if these three things are working together or regenerate a lot of coherence. So, if these things work well together —if I've got a clear value equation, if I've got a few capabilities —I can drive a lot of economic scale behind those capabilities and bring that scale to all the portfolios."

Do you think this trend towards creating mission statements is a healthy one? Can formulating one help companies figure out a strategy?

"Employees alone, right, require an understanding of why they are there. How is my job connected to what this organization is doing, and what is this organization doing? If the organization can't define what it's doing, it's actually hard to bring that to me. But, people who go to work every day want to know how they're contributing. It doesn't necessarily mean it has to be a lofty goal. It just has to be tangible. I think too many organizations lack that, lacking an understanding of purpose. It isn't just a problem for the strategy. It's a problem when all the people who are required to transform the organization don't understand why they're there."

Doing so many things at once runs the risk of losing coherence, what can you do to avoid that?

"We do see lots of organizations that have expanded in so many directions. And by the way, this is true for nonprofits, right? I mean, nonprofits, they're coherent. It's usually about, you know, “Do they have a clear mission?” But then are they delivering all their services? Or, what are they doing against that mission? Or, do they have donors, maybe that are pulling them in lots of different ways? Maybe great things, but that does not really core to what the purpose is all about." 

How do you close the gap between strategy and execution? 

"This division between strategy and execution has a lot to do with how we think about those topics. As much as it is related to the people who are maybe doing the work —if we think about these as different topics, in other words —strategies about the future, about the direction and making choices. Execution is taking this strategy somehow and putting it in place. The strategy has to encompass not just direction, but what will it take to actually get that done?"

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]]> Coherence: Closing the Gap Between Strategy and Execution feat. Paul Leinwand Greg La Blanc 00:42:51 Two-thirds of executives say their organizations are incapable of supporting their strategies. In this episode, Paul Leinwand, Adjunct Professor of Strategy at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and PWC Global Managing Director, talks about his book Strategy That Works. The author shed light on how successful companies like Lego and Ikea bridged the gap between strategy and execution. Join Paul and Greg as they discuss how these ideas permeate actual execution within the company's culture. Paul shares with us how to apply this strategic perspective to an organization. Rather than working against the company culture, Paul shared how companies should shape it to suit their team’s needs. He talked about why and how a Chief Coherent Officer can help companies implement a consistent and accountable strategy across the organization. Two-thirds of executives say their organizations are incapable of supporting their strategies. In this episode, Paul Leinwand, Adjunct Professor of Strategy at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and PWC Global Managing Director, talks about his book Strategy That Works. The author shed light on how successful companies like Lego and Ikea bridged the gap between strategy and execution. Join Paul and Greg as they discuss how these ideas permeate actual execution within the company's culture. Paul shares with us how to apply this strategic perspective to an organization. Rather than working against the company culture, Paul shared how companies should shape it to suit their team’s needs. He talked about why and how a Chief Coherent Officer can help companies implement a consistent and accountable strategy across the organization. false full 31 41c7dfe8-3f65-4060-9569-666adcc64d8c Designology: Integrating Environment, Sensory Experiences, and Lifestyle feat. Sally Augustin What is it about the color blue that appeals to people around the world? Why is yellow and green disliked so much? According to Sally Augustin, Ph.D., author and environmental design psychologist, sensory experiences affect the way people think about spaces. This episode highlights the ways she integrated science-based insights into the design of work and living spaces.

Sally and Greg discuss insights to help listeners understand what people want from their homes and workplaces. She touched on how human nature, evolution, and survival shape our perception of our world. Dr. Augustin discusses her take on office design trends such as open office plans and activity-based office layouts. She discussed how smells, textures, and other factors in your home affect your mood and productivity.

In this podcast, we are enlightened about biophilia and how it integrates into our homes and offices. Discover why there are fewer studies on physical design based on experiments. Tune in until the end of this episode for practical advice and real-world examples that will help make your home a happier place to be.

Episode Quotes:

Can you talk about environmental design as a field and discipline?

“I think that the first time somebody put a space to live together, where they wanted to feel comfortable, they started to think about the kinds of topics that are relevant to environmental psychology. The first time somebody set up a little stand beside a path somewhere to sell something, they were interested in how the space they put together will influence sales, all that kind of thing. So, I think, people have actually been thinking about how the physical environment influences, how humans think and behave. But as a field, environmental psych started to get going in the fifties. It was really whirring along by the sixties. And in the fifties and sixties, we were called architecture. Psychologists, which was actually a pretty good name for what we did, thinking about how aspects of the physical environment influence what goes on in people's heads. And then, in the seventies or so, people realize that environmental psychology was being applied, not just to design places, but also to design objects. So then, the people in the architectural psych world decided, they needed a new name. So, they called themselves environmental psychologists, which has led to a lot of confusion in future years because, classic environmental psychologists, such as me, we are into conserving the physical environment.”

What is it that people want from their living space?

“Well, I think humans today like to believe we are really very different from our ancestors, but you know, really we're not so much. I hate to break it to anybody out there who was thinking, they made some progress. But our sensory systems are much the same today as they were, when we were just starting to develop tools. So, you think about like a chipmunk, for example, and think about what it wants from a space. That's really not so different from what a modern human is. Chipmunks are relatively social animals linked to people. A chipmunk wants to be able to interact with others of its kind when it chooses to do so. But it's very concerned about its safety because a chipmunk really doesn't have much going for it safety-wise, besides staying alert and moving. And when we were a young species, that's how we survived as well. So, that's why we're really interested in things like prospect and refuge. You don't have to think about something approaching you from the rear. You have a secure view of the world around you, and you can feel really comfortable at a fundamental level. Our sensory systems from many, many generations ago actually are why we're so concerned about today in the environments that surround ourselves. Something that, you know, we had to do all the time when we were a young species was we had to continually look around the world in which we found ourselves to make sure that nothing who thought we were tasty was approaching.”

How do visual clutter and complexity affects us psychologically?

“When your environment is visually cluttered, all that is around, it takes a lot more effort. It's a lot harder. It makes you feel stressed, so it's like just cognitive load, visual load. Visual load matters. Because it leads to cognitive load, as you're talking about, you have to curate the environment in which you find yourself. Particularly, in this time when we're not really going anywhere besides, you know, from one space in our house to another space in our house. So, you really have to think about what's surrounding you. Just as you don't want an environment that takes a lot of effort to scan, that really increases your cognitive load. You also don't want a space that's too stark. That really freaks us out too. That isn't where our sensory systems developed. They didn't come into being in a white box, with one chair in it, etcetera. So, we really are, best from a psychological perspective, in a space that has moderate visual complexity.”

Why we as humans need to isolate from an open space 

"We're also like animals. We need time out of the view of the others of our type every so often - visually, acoustically out of range - to make sense of what's going on in our lives and things like that. We have a fundamental need for privacy. It's a little different from being distraction-free in these really open spaces; there's no place for people to go. Sometimes you find people in their cars at lunch, pretending to be asleep in their car in the parking lot."


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]]> Mon, 19 Jul 2021 22:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast What is it about the color blue that appeals to people around the world? Why is yellow and green disliked so much? According to Sally Augustin, Ph.D., author and environmental design psychologist, sensory experiences affect the way people think about spaces. This episode highlights the ways she integrated science-based insights into the design of work and living spaces.

Sally and Greg discuss insights to help listeners understand what people want from their homes and workplaces. She touched on how human nature, evolution, and survival shape our perception of our world. Dr. Augustin discusses her take on office design trends such as open office plans and activity-based office layouts. She discussed how smells, textures, and other factors in your home affect your mood and productivity.

In this podcast, we are enlightened about biophilia and how it integrates into our homes and offices. Discover why there are fewer studies on physical design based on experiments. Tune in until the end of this episode for practical advice and real-world examples that will help make your home a happier place to be.

Episode Quotes:

Can you talk about environmental design as a field and discipline?

“I think that the first time somebody put a space to live together, where they wanted to feel comfortable, they started to think about the kinds of topics that are relevant to environmental psychology. The first time somebody set up a little stand beside a path somewhere to sell something, they were interested in how the space they put together will influence sales, all that kind of thing. So, I think, people have actually been thinking about how the physical environment influences, how humans think and behave. But as a field, environmental psych started to get going in the fifties. It was really whirring along by the sixties. And in the fifties and sixties, we were called architecture. Psychologists, which was actually a pretty good name for what we did, thinking about how aspects of the physical environment influence what goes on in people's heads. And then, in the seventies or so, people realize that environmental psychology was being applied, not just to design places, but also to design objects. So then, the people in the architectural psych world decided, they needed a new name. So, they called themselves environmental psychologists, which has led to a lot of confusion in future years because, classic environmental psychologists, such as me, we are into conserving the physical environment.”

What is it that people want from their living space?

“Well, I think humans today like to believe we are really very different from our ancestors, but you know, really we're not so much. I hate to break it to anybody out there who was thinking, they made some progress. But our sensory systems are much the same today as they were, when we were just starting to develop tools. So, you think about like a chipmunk, for example, and think about what it wants from a space. That's really not so different from what a modern human is. Chipmunks are relatively social animals linked to people. A chipmunk wants to be able to interact with others of its kind when it chooses to do so. But it's very concerned about its safety because a chipmunk really doesn't have much going for it safety-wise, besides staying alert and moving. And when we were a young species, that's how we survived as well. So, that's why we're really interested in things like prospect and refuge. You don't have to think about something approaching you from the rear. You have a secure view of the world around you, and you can feel really comfortable at a fundamental level. Our sensory systems from many, many generations ago actually are why we're so concerned about today in the environments that surround ourselves. Something that, you know, we had to do all the time when we were a young species was we had to continually look around the world in which we found ourselves to make sure that nothing who thought we were tasty was approaching.”

How do visual clutter and complexity affects us psychologically?

“When your environment is visually cluttered, all that is around, it takes a lot more effort. It's a lot harder. It makes you feel stressed, so it's like just cognitive load, visual load. Visual load matters. Because it leads to cognitive load, as you're talking about, you have to curate the environment in which you find yourself. Particularly, in this time when we're not really going anywhere besides, you know, from one space in our house to another space in our house. So, you really have to think about what's surrounding you. Just as you don't want an environment that takes a lot of effort to scan, that really increases your cognitive load. You also don't want a space that's too stark. That really freaks us out too. That isn't where our sensory systems developed. They didn't come into being in a white box, with one chair in it, etcetera. So, we really are, best from a psychological perspective, in a space that has moderate visual complexity.”

Why we as humans need to isolate from an open space 

"We're also like animals. We need time out of the view of the others of our type every so often - visually, acoustically out of range - to make sense of what's going on in our lives and things like that. We have a fundamental need for privacy. It's a little different from being distraction-free in these really open spaces; there's no place for people to go. Sometimes you find people in their cars at lunch, pretending to be asleep in their car in the parking lot."


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

]]> Designology: Integrating Environment, Sensory Experiences, and Lifestyle feat. Sally Augustin Greg La Blanc 00:47:15 What is it about the color blue that appeals to people around the world? Why is yellow and green disliked so much? According to Sally Augustin, Ph.D., author and environmental design psychologist, sensory experiences affect the way people think about spaces. This episode highlights the ways she integrated science-based insights into the design of work and living spaces. Sally and Greg discuss insights to help listeners understand what people want from their homes and workplaces. She touched on how human nature, evolution, and survival shape our perception of our world. Dr. Augustin discusses her take on office design trends such as open office plans and activity-based office layouts. She discussed how smells, textures, and other factors in your home affect your mood and productivity. In this podcast, we are enlightened about biophilia and how it integrates into our homes and offices. Discover why there are fewer studies on physical design based on experiments. Tune in until the end of this episode for practical advice and real-world examples that will help make your home a happier place to be. What is it about the color blue that appeals to people around the world? Why is yellow and green disliked so much? According to Sally Augustin, Ph.D., author and environmental design psychologist, sensory experiences affect the way people think about spaces. This episode highlights the ways she integrated science-based insights into the design of work and living spaces. Sally and Greg discuss insights to help listeners understand what people want from their homes and workplaces. She touched on how human nature, evolution, and survival shape our perception of our world. Dr. Augustin discusses her take on office design trends such as open office plans and activity-based office layouts. She discussed how smells, textures, and other factors in your home affect your mood and productivity. In this podcast, we are enlightened about biophilia and how it integrates into our homes and offices. Discover why there are fewer studies on physical design based on experiments. Tune in until the end of this episode for practical advice and real-world examples that will help make your home a happier place to be. false full 30 85b3f923-be4c-4fc8-a01b-921eac5f0843 The Paradox of Success in Commitments and Flexibility in Taking Risks feat. Michael Raynor Strategies that have the greatest likelihood of success are also the most likely to fail. In his best-selling and critically acclaimed book, The Strategy Paradox, Deloitte Managing Director Michael Raynor stresses the need to redefine strategy and confront uncertainty to resolve this paradox. In this episode, Michael and host Greg La Blanc discuss his views on strategic commitments, weighing risks, diversification, and assumptions.

Listen to his insight on the division of labor within the organization, which considers time horizons according to their roles. Do not miss his take on Clay Christensen's Disruptive Innovation.

Be all ears as he talks about climate change. Take note of his emphasis on how the individual choices we make on our purchases and everyday lives impact how the market responds to this crisis. Hang on till the end as he talks about the crucial roles companies and organizations play in reducing their contribution to their carbon footprint.

Episode Quotes:

Can you explain Clay Christiansen's Disruption of Innovation in light of recent disruptions we have witnessed and experienced?

Disruptive Innovation, on the other hand, is to overturn an established system with a superior solution, right? So that's the outcome of successful, disruptive innovation. You can introduce revolutionary breakthrough innovations into a market space and have a tremendously positive impact. It's not the only one by any means, and there is no ex-ante reason to have any religious fervor for one over the other. That one's not deontologically better than another. They're just different. And, which one you pursue is going to be a function of the technology. You have the business model you're pursuing and the market conditions. My concern has been that the enormous success of Clay's framework in the marketplace for ideas has essentially diluted and blurred the sharp edges of the theory that Clay developed.

And as a consequence, it's used in all sorts of contexts where it's not appropriate and undermines the power of the theory and the probability of success. You know it's become used for all sorts of things that it wasn't intended for. And that's too bad because the distinctions that it produces are powerful. I think they are predictive. I think it's enormously useful, but it is not the theory of everything.

On the organizational structure and the importance of division of labor within the organization concerning time horizons

I'm simplifying for the purpose of conversation, but if you're at the top of the house at the board, you're thinking ten years. If it's the executive management and you're thinking five to 10 years, you get this overlap with the board. Of course, you go further and further down; you've got people who are dealing with quarterly sales targets. In Jake's view and his theoretical development, and it’s, a well-functioning organization respects those kinds of divisions in the time horizons and the decisions related to each. It's just the nature of the uncertainties that you're grappling with and being clear about that. So if you're thinking about ten years from now, you've got a much different uncertainty quotient than if you're dealing with three months from now. So it was that that led me to the conclusion that is separating who's managing uncertainty, who's creating options, versus who's delivering on commitments that have been made. That is, it's very powerful to separate those. That's not an unreasonable separation of responsibilities. It seems to me, one of them is creating options. The other is exercising options based on the conditions on the field at a given point.

Many managers mistake the absence of volatility for the absence of risk. Should we view climate risk as an overhang?

When people talk about the existential nature of the threat, I believe that that is literally the case. I mean, if all we were dealing with were flood and famine and disease, we'd cope with that just fine. We'd be able to deal with that kind of standing on our heads. I mean, enormous human suffering doesn't make any mistakes, but in terms of, kind of the long-run survival of the human species, like water off a duck's back, we'll be fine. I don't think that's the case. Mass extinctions in the history of complex multicellular life on the planet have been caused in almost every case by carbon pollution, like pulses of carbon pollution. So, we are polluting the atmosphere close to four times. The rate that wiped out 96% of all species on the planet should terrify you. Certainly, it terrifies me. I look at this and say that we are changing atmospheric carbon concentrations 200,000 times faster than it has ever been changed before in the planet's history. So what do you think is that a small thing or a big thing that strikes me as a big thing? And the downside is the destruction of complex multicellular life on earth, not just disruptions in your supply chain. And that happens, by the way, on a timeframe that is now measured in decades and centuries, not tens of millennia.


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

]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2021 22:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Strategies that have the greatest likelihood of success are also the most likely to fail. In his best-selling and critically acclaimed book, The Strategy Paradox, Deloitte Managing Director Michael Raynor stresses the need to redefine strategy and confront uncertainty to resolve this paradox. In this episode, Michael and host Greg La Blanc discuss his views on strategic commitments, weighing risks, diversification, and assumptions.

Listen to his insight on the division of labor within the organization, which considers time horizons according to their roles. Do not miss his take on Clay Christensen's Disruptive Innovation.

Be all ears as he talks about climate change. Take note of his emphasis on how the individual choices we make on our purchases and everyday lives impact how the market responds to this crisis. Hang on till the end as he talks about the crucial roles companies and organizations play in reducing their contribution to their carbon footprint.

Episode Quotes:

Can you explain Clay Christiansen's Disruption of Innovation in light of recent disruptions we have witnessed and experienced?

Disruptive Innovation, on the other hand, is to overturn an established system with a superior solution, right? So that's the outcome of successful, disruptive innovation. You can introduce revolutionary breakthrough innovations into a market space and have a tremendously positive impact. It's not the only one by any means, and there is no ex-ante reason to have any religious fervor for one over the other. That one's not deontologically better than another. They're just different. And, which one you pursue is going to be a function of the technology. You have the business model you're pursuing and the market conditions. My concern has been that the enormous success of Clay's framework in the marketplace for ideas has essentially diluted and blurred the sharp edges of the theory that Clay developed.

And as a consequence, it's used in all sorts of contexts where it's not appropriate and undermines the power of the theory and the probability of success. You know it's become used for all sorts of things that it wasn't intended for. And that's too bad because the distinctions that it produces are powerful. I think they are predictive. I think it's enormously useful, but it is not the theory of everything.

On the organizational structure and the importance of division of labor within the organization concerning time horizons

I'm simplifying for the purpose of conversation, but if you're at the top of the house at the board, you're thinking ten years. If it's the executive management and you're thinking five to 10 years, you get this overlap with the board. Of course, you go further and further down; you've got people who are dealing with quarterly sales targets. In Jake's view and his theoretical development, and it’s, a well-functioning organization respects those kinds of divisions in the time horizons and the decisions related to each. It's just the nature of the uncertainties that you're grappling with and being clear about that. So if you're thinking about ten years from now, you've got a much different uncertainty quotient than if you're dealing with three months from now. So it was that that led me to the conclusion that is separating who's managing uncertainty, who's creating options, versus who's delivering on commitments that have been made. That is, it's very powerful to separate those. That's not an unreasonable separation of responsibilities. It seems to me, one of them is creating options. The other is exercising options based on the conditions on the field at a given point.

Many managers mistake the absence of volatility for the absence of risk. Should we view climate risk as an overhang?

When people talk about the existential nature of the threat, I believe that that is literally the case. I mean, if all we were dealing with were flood and famine and disease, we'd cope with that just fine. We'd be able to deal with that kind of standing on our heads. I mean, enormous human suffering doesn't make any mistakes, but in terms of, kind of the long-run survival of the human species, like water off a duck's back, we'll be fine. I don't think that's the case. Mass extinctions in the history of complex multicellular life on the planet have been caused in almost every case by carbon pollution, like pulses of carbon pollution. So, we are polluting the atmosphere close to four times. The rate that wiped out 96% of all species on the planet should terrify you. Certainly, it terrifies me. I look at this and say that we are changing atmospheric carbon concentrations 200,000 times faster than it has ever been changed before in the planet's history. So what do you think is that a small thing or a big thing that strikes me as a big thing? And the downside is the destruction of complex multicellular life on earth, not just disruptions in your supply chain. And that happens, by the way, on a timeframe that is now measured in decades and centuries, not tens of millennia.


Show Links:


Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> The Paradox of Success in Commitments and Flexibility in Taking Risks feat. Michael Raynor Greg La Blanc 00:51:33 Strategies that have the greatest likelihood of success are also the most likely to fail. In his best-selling and critically acclaimed book, The Strategy Paradox, Deloitte Managing Director Michael Raynor stresses the need to redefine strategy and confront uncertainty to resolve this paradox. In this episode, Michael and host Greg La Blanc discuss his views on strategic commitments, weighing risks, diversification, and assumptions. Listen to his insight on the division of labor within the organization, which considers time horizons according to their roles. Do not miss his take on Clay Christensen's Disruptive Innovation. Be all ears as he talks about climate change. Take note of his emphasis on how the individual choices we make on our purchases and everyday lives impact how the market responds to this crisis. Hang on till the end as he talks about the crucial roles companies and organizations play in reducing their contribution to their carbon footprint. Strategies that have the greatest likelihood of success are also the most likely to fail. In his best-selling and critically acclaimed book, The Strategy Paradox, Deloitte Managing Director Michael Raynor stresses the need to redefine strategy and confront uncertainty to resolve this paradox. In this episode, Michael and host Greg La Blanc discuss his views on strategic commitments, weighing risks, diversification, and assumptions. Listen to his insight on the division of labor within the organization, which considers time horizons according to their roles. Do not miss his take on Clay Christensen's Disruptive Innovation. Be all ears as he talks about climate change. Take note of his emphasis on how the individual choices we make on our purchases and everyday lives impact how the market responds to this crisis. Hang on till the end as he talks about the crucial roles companies and organizations play in reducing their contribution to their carbon footprint. false full 29 c9bc6852-1a6c-468a-8670-c70d5b34136c Financial Behavior and Psychological Biases: Lessons from the Accidental Economist feat. Terry Odean Do individual traders and institutional investors suffer from psychological bias? This episode features an interview with Terry Odean, Rudd Family Foundation Professor and Chair of the Finance Group at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. 

He shares his journey from dropping out of a seminary to hitchhiking in Afghanistan, driving a cab in the 1970s, to starting his own statistical software company. Discover what Nobel economics laureate, Daniel Kahneman, has to do with career change and ending up in behavioral finance. 

Terrance shares his findings on the difference in buying and investing behaviors between institutional and individual investors. Together with host Greg La Blanc, he unpacks the investment data he gathered from Taiwan. He offers well-founded insights into investing data before, during, and after the war and through the dot com bubble in 1998-2000.  

Tune in till the end as he briefly touches on some of his work related to the disposition effect and a recent paper he wrote about the Robinhood app and the GameStop fiasco in 2020.

Episode Quotes:

What drew you to study individual investors?

"I thought institutional investors, most of them are human. They have human biases. However, they've had more opportunities to learn. And, I didn't know how much learning had or hadn't taken place, but I thought, well, individuals are. Far less likely to have had the opportunity to learn that they are behaving suboptimally, that their biases are causing them to make mistakes. The other reason that I wanted to look at individual investors? The other reason that I wanted to look at individual investors? This is because I initially wanted to avoid conflating behavioral biases and agency issues. And what I mean by that is those individual investors, especially at discount brokerage firms. And I got my initial data sets from a discount. Brokerage firms are making decisions for themselves at the time. This firm did not provide financial advisors and advice that's changed. But when I got my data set, individuals made their own decisions. It was relatively straightforward to say this is a person making a financial decision that will directly affect their wealth."

What drives the market upwards?

"Another thing that drives markets up is when more and more people put their money in the market. And one of the things that cause people to put their money in the market is that the market is going up...It has probably be tied to a story or something. And then it tends to snowball a little bit, as they say, use of margin, the use of margin was way up in 1999. I believe probably high at the moment. The use of margin by individual investors, the willingness to borrow money. So it's to buy more stock. The stock market is a secondary market. It's generally people trading stocks that already exist. If you want to buy it, a stock, you have to offer someone who already owns it enough money. They're willing to sell it. If they're the one who wants to sell, they have to sell it to you at a price where you're willing to buy. If there are a lot of people who want to buy and the people who currently own are content, then that starts to drive the price up because the buyers have to bid up the price to get the people who want it to sell."

Thoughts on taking risks and stock markets as a substitute for risk-taking and lottery:  

"And you're right in the study that I mentioned before where we looked at all Taiwanese investors. We had a little, almost an aside in that paper. We took a look at when Taiwan instituted a national lottery. And that's not to say that you couldn't gamble in Taiwan before the national lottery. There were ways to gamble, but they instituted the national lottery. And we have a little model of expected, trading on the Taiwanese stock exchange and trading fell 25% when the lottery came in. And what we thought was going on is a lot of these people are trading, and turnover was very high. The individual investor turnover would be three, four, or 500%. That means that every stock gets bought. Say if it's 500%, every stock gets bought and sold. Every share of every stock, on average, gets bought and sold five times a year. So there is clearly a lot of speculation going on, and we thought, well, a bunch of people just said, oh, this week, this month, I'm going to try the lottery instead of gambling on the stock market."

People at all levels are susceptible to psychological biases to some degree, and will it be helpful to do a psychological hygiene process on a regular basis to alert themselves to any of the biases that they may be succumbing to?

"Professional investors, they're also human. And they have many of the same biases. I think they have had more learning opportunities. So as you say, hedge fund managers consciously try to recognize and deal with their own biases, be aware of them, and watch out for them. And certainly, that helps. So knowing that you have these biases is useful, but it doesn't instantly stop you from being influenced by them. I think institutional investors sometimes come up with checks, balances, protocols. For example, there's something called the disposition effect. And that was for the tendency of people to hold onto their losses and sell their winning investments. So things they had done well."


Show Links

Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Sat, 10 Jul 2021 07:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast Do individual traders and institutional investors suffer from psychological bias? This episode features an interview with Terry Odean, Rudd Family Foundation Professor and Chair of the Finance Group at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. 

He shares his journey from dropping out of a seminary to hitchhiking in Afghanistan, driving a cab in the 1970s, to starting his own statistical software company. Discover what Nobel economics laureate, Daniel Kahneman, has to do with career change and ending up in behavioral finance. 

Terrance shares his findings on the difference in buying and investing behaviors between institutional and individual investors. Together with host Greg La Blanc, he unpacks the investment data he gathered from Taiwan. He offers well-founded insights into investing data before, during, and after the war and through the dot com bubble in 1998-2000.  

Tune in till the end as he briefly touches on some of his work related to the disposition effect and a recent paper he wrote about the Robinhood app and the GameStop fiasco in 2020.

Episode Quotes:

What drew you to study individual investors?

"I thought institutional investors, most of them are human. They have human biases. However, they've had more opportunities to learn. And, I didn't know how much learning had or hadn't taken place, but I thought, well, individuals are. Far less likely to have had the opportunity to learn that they are behaving suboptimally, that their biases are causing them to make mistakes. The other reason that I wanted to look at individual investors? The other reason that I wanted to look at individual investors? This is because I initially wanted to avoid conflating behavioral biases and agency issues. And what I mean by that is those individual investors, especially at discount brokerage firms. And I got my initial data sets from a discount. Brokerage firms are making decisions for themselves at the time. This firm did not provide financial advisors and advice that's changed. But when I got my data set, individuals made their own decisions. It was relatively straightforward to say this is a person making a financial decision that will directly affect their wealth."

What drives the market upwards?

"Another thing that drives markets up is when more and more people put their money in the market. And one of the things that cause people to put their money in the market is that the market is going up...It has probably be tied to a story or something. And then it tends to snowball a little bit, as they say, use of margin, the use of margin was way up in 1999. I believe probably high at the moment. The use of margin by individual investors, the willingness to borrow money. So it's to buy more stock. The stock market is a secondary market. It's generally people trading stocks that already exist. If you want to buy it, a stock, you have to offer someone who already owns it enough money. They're willing to sell it. If they're the one who wants to sell, they have to sell it to you at a price where you're willing to buy. If there are a lot of people who want to buy and the people who currently own are content, then that starts to drive the price up because the buyers have to bid up the price to get the people who want it to sell."

Thoughts on taking risks and stock markets as a substitute for risk-taking and lottery:  

"And you're right in the study that I mentioned before where we looked at all Taiwanese investors. We had a little, almost an aside in that paper. We took a look at when Taiwan instituted a national lottery. And that's not to say that you couldn't gamble in Taiwan before the national lottery. There were ways to gamble, but they instituted the national lottery. And we have a little model of expected, trading on the Taiwanese stock exchange and trading fell 25% when the lottery came in. And what we thought was going on is a lot of these people are trading, and turnover was very high. The individual investor turnover would be three, four, or 500%. That means that every stock gets bought. Say if it's 500%, every stock gets bought and sold. Every share of every stock, on average, gets bought and sold five times a year. So there is clearly a lot of speculation going on, and we thought, well, a bunch of people just said, oh, this week, this month, I'm going to try the lottery instead of gambling on the stock market."

People at all levels are susceptible to psychological biases to some degree, and will it be helpful to do a psychological hygiene process on a regular basis to alert themselves to any of the biases that they may be succumbing to?

"Professional investors, they're also human. And they have many of the same biases. I think they have had more learning opportunities. So as you say, hedge fund managers consciously try to recognize and deal with their own biases, be aware of them, and watch out for them. And certainly, that helps. So knowing that you have these biases is useful, but it doesn't instantly stop you from being influenced by them. I think institutional investors sometimes come up with checks, balances, protocols. For example, there's something called the disposition effect. And that was for the tendency of people to hold onto their losses and sell their winning investments. So things they had done well."


Show Links

Guest Profile


His Work


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

]]> Financial Behavior and Psychological Biases: Lessons from the Accidental Economist feat. Terry Odean Greg La Blanc 00:48:49 Do individual traders and institutional investors suffer from psychological bias? This episode features an interview with Terry Odean, Rudd Family Foundation Professor and Chair of the Finance Group at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He shares his journey from dropping out of a seminary to hitchhiking in Afghanistan, driving a cab in the 1970s, to starting his own statistical software company. Discover what Nobel economics laureate, Daniel Kahneman, has to do with career change and ending up in behavioral finance. Terrance shares his findings on the difference in buying and investing behaviors between institutional and individual investors. Together with host Greg La Blanc, he unpacks the investment data he gathered from Taiwan. He offers well-founded insights into investing data before, during, and after the war and through the dot com bubble in 1998-2000. Tune in till the end as he briefly touches on some of his work related to the disposition effect and a recent paper he wrote about the Robinhood app and the GameStop fiasco in 2020. Do individual traders and institutional investors suffer from psychological bias? This episode features an interview with Terry Odean, Rudd Family Foundation Professor and Chair of the Finance Group at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He shares his journey from dropping out of a seminary to hitchhiking in Afghanistan, driving a cab in the 1970s, to starting his own statistical software company. Discover what Nobel economics laureate, Daniel Kahneman, has to do with career change and ending up in behavioral finance. Terrance shares his findings on the difference in buying and investing behaviors between institutional and individual investors. Together with host Greg La Blanc, he unpacks the investment data he gathered from Taiwan. He offers well-founded insights into investing data before, during, and after the war and through the dot com bubble in 1998-2000. Tune in till the end as he briefly touches on some of his work related to the disposition effect and a recent paper he wrote about the Robinhood app and the GameStop fiasco in 2020. false full 28 94d624ba-8dba-497b-8b38-92c1ad086fbf T.R.I.C.K. to Raising Successful People feat. Esther Wojcicki How do you raise successful children? T.R.I.C.K. them! No, it's not what you think. Esther Wojcicki, Woj to her friends, wrote about the T.R.I.C.K. technique in her book How To Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons For Radical Results. If you want to know what it stands for, you'll have to listen to the full episode.

Don't miss the parenting tips the journalist and educator shares from her own experience raising three daughters and grandchildren. One of which is Youtube's C.E.O., Susan Wojcicki. Pick up lessons from Esther and Greg's discussion on trusting kids, collaborating with them to create rules, instilling responsibility and accountability, and building independence.

Listen to the interesting discussions about how raising children affects how they perform at work. The two have compelling discussions about how schools can improve systems to encourage creativity and measure progress differently. They also discussed how odd jobs and chores are crucial to teaching kids the importance of education and money.

Episode Quotes:

If parenting is so important and we all have to do it, why do you think that this is something that doesn't need any kind of formal training? 

"We have billions of people on the planet, so clearly, we're doing something right. Although I think you have to ask the question, are those billions of people happy? And are they productive? And are they leading lives that they want to lead? So that's where the new role of parenting comes in. Because what we're trying to do now, which we weren't trying to do, I thought a hundred years ago, is to really see how productive our children can be when they enter the adult world and how happy they can also be. So happiness has become something that people are pursuing."

What's the number one thing that we seem to get wrong about the role of the teachers and the role of parents?

"I think the requirements in the 21st century are different than the requirements for the 20th century. The role of the teacher in the 20th century was to teach people to obey, to follow the rules, and to read... As a matter of fact, the majority of the population couldn't read. So the goal was to have everybody be literate and have some math skills. And I think we succeeded in the 20th century... And now, in the 21st century, we want people to think. We want people to be creative and entrepreneurial. And so what the established rules for the 20th century, the established way of teaching for the 20th century does not work for the 21st century. And you don't get creative when you're teaching people to obey. We have 12 years of doing that. And the students that are the most recognized and most successful are the ones that obey the most. They historically are also the least creative; they're less willing to take a risk and do something different."

On how the childcare situation has changed and affected parenting over the last 30 years or so:

"The parents are losing their free time, and the kids are losing their independence, and it's over the top today because now we have electronic devices where we can monitor our kids. We can monitor their every move. I think we need to remember that when you want to have happy self-reliant kids, you have to give them independence. And instead of coming up with rules that you personally come up with, why don't you collaborate with them and come up with the rules? You'd be surprised at how good they are at coming up with rules that work for both of you."

Thoughts on how education and child-rearing being too competitive:

"This is not a pet show. Your child is not out there competing with other pets. This is a human being. You have to stop competing, and it starts with toilet training. I'm not kidding. So how old is your kid? Oh, you mean he's already toilet trained? And you go home, and you start beating yourself up. No, we're all different. I've said this in some of my talks too. No one ever asks you how old you were when you were toilet trained. Ever! No one cares, or how old were you when you learned to sleep through the night. And all this competition starts early, and then it intensifies."

Is kindness a characteristic that you can teach? And is it really the role and responsibility of the teacher to teach this? Or is this really exclusively the domain of the parent?

"I personally think you can teach kindness. And not only that, I think it's really important in our world to teach people to be kind, to have compassion and empathy. I think it starts at home, and all parents hopefully are teaching this, but some parents are not. You teach it by modeling it. You teach it by treating your children with kindness, by understanding their frustrations, by being compassionate and empathetic. And one thing. That I think is again, really important is to carry this through to the school. So the school, the teacher, and parents are also working together."


Show Links


Guest Profile


Her Work


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

]]> Wed, 7 Jul 2021 16:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast How do you raise successful children? T.R.I.C.K. them! No, it's not what you think. Esther Wojcicki, Woj to her friends, wrote about the T.R.I.C.K. technique in her book How To Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons For Radical Results. If you want to know what it stands for, you'll have to listen to the full episode.

Don't miss the parenting tips the journalist and educator shares from her own experience raising three daughters and grandchildren. One of which is Youtube's C.E.O., Susan Wojcicki. Pick up lessons from Esther and Greg's discussion on trusting kids, collaborating with them to create rules, instilling responsibility and accountability, and building independence.

Listen to the interesting discussions about how raising children affects how they perform at work. The two have compelling discussions about how schools can improve systems to encourage creativity and measure progress differently. They also discussed how odd jobs and chores are crucial to teaching kids the importance of education and money.

Episode Quotes:

If parenting is so important and we all have to do it, why do you think that this is something that doesn't need any kind of formal training? 

"We have billions of people on the planet, so clearly, we're doing something right. Although I think you have to ask the question, are those billions of people happy? And are they productive? And are they leading lives that they want to lead? So that's where the new role of parenting comes in. Because what we're trying to do now, which we weren't trying to do, I thought a hundred years ago, is to really see how productive our children can be when they enter the adult world and how happy they can also be. So happiness has become something that people are pursuing."

What's the number one thing that we seem to get wrong about the role of the teachers and the role of parents?

"I think the requirements in the 21st century are different than the requirements for the 20th century. The role of the teacher in the 20th century was to teach people to obey, to follow the rules, and to read... As a matter of fact, the majority of the population couldn't read. So the goal was to have everybody be literate and have some math skills. And I think we succeeded in the 20th century... And now, in the 21st century, we want people to think. We want people to be creative and entrepreneurial. And so what the established rules for the 20th century, the established way of teaching for the 20th century does not work for the 21st century. And you don't get creative when you're teaching people to obey. We have 12 years of doing that. And the students that are the most recognized and most successful are the ones that obey the most. They historically are also the least creative; they're less willing to take a risk and do something different."

On how the childcare situation has changed and affected parenting over the last 30 years or so:

"The parents are losing their free time, and the kids are losing their independence, and it's over the top today because now we have electronic devices where we can monitor our kids. We can monitor their every move. I think we need to remember that when you want to have happy self-reliant kids, you have to give them independence. And instead of coming up with rules that you personally come up with, why don't you collaborate with them and come up with the rules? You'd be surprised at how good they are at coming up with rules that work for both of you."

Thoughts on how education and child-rearing being too competitive:

"This is not a pet show. Your child is not out there competing with other pets. This is a human being. You have to stop competing, and it starts with toilet training. I'm not kidding. So how old is your kid? Oh, you mean he's already toilet trained? And you go home, and you start beating yourself up. No, we're all different. I've said this in some of my talks too. No one ever asks you how old you were when you were toilet trained. Ever! No one cares, or how old were you when you learned to sleep through the night. And all this competition starts early, and then it intensifies."

Is kindness a characteristic that you can teach? And is it really the role and responsibility of the teacher to teach this? Or is this really exclusively the domain of the parent?

"I personally think you can teach kindness. And not only that, I think it's really important in our world to teach people to be kind, to have compassion and empathy. I think it starts at home, and all parents hopefully are teaching this, but some parents are not. You teach it by modeling it. You teach it by treating your children with kindness, by understanding their frustrations, by being compassionate and empathetic. And one thing. That I think is again, really important is to carry this through to the school. So the school, the teacher, and parents are also working together."


Show Links


Guest Profile


Her Work


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

]]> T.R.I.C.K. to Raising Successful People feat. Esther Wojcicki Greg La Blanc 00:55:25 How do you raise successful children? T.R.I.C.K. them! No, it's not what you think. Esther Wojcicki, Woj to her friends, wrote about the T.R.I.C.K. technique in her book How To Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons For Radical Results. If you want to know what it stands for, you'll have to listen to the full episode. Don't miss the parenting tips the journalist and educator shares from her own experience raising three daughters and grandchildren. One of which is Youtube's C.E.O., Susan Wojcicki. Pick up lessons from Esther and Greg's discussion on trusting kids, collaborating with them to create rules, instilling responsibility and accountability, and building independence. Listen to the interesting discussions about how raising children affects how they perform at work. The two have compelling discussions about how schools can improve systems to encourage creativity and measure progress differently. They also discussed how odd jobs and chores are crucial to teaching kids the importance of education and money. How do you raise successful children? T.R.I.C.K. them! No, it's not what you think. Esther Wojcicki, Woj to her friends, wrote about the T.R.I.C.K. technique in her book How To Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons For Radical Results. If you want to know what it stands for, you'll have to listen to the full episode. Don't miss the parenting tips the journalist and educator shares from her own experience raising three daughters and grandchildren. One of which is Youtube's C.E.O., Susan Wojcicki. Pick up lessons from Esther and Greg's discussion on trusting kids, collaborating with them to create rules, instilling responsibility and accountability, and building independence. Listen to the interesting discussions about how raising children affects how they perform at work. The two have compelling discussions about how schools can improve systems to encourage creativity and measure progress differently. They also discussed how odd jobs and chores are crucial to teaching kids the importance of education and money. false full 27 b69f7bcb-fd0e-4118-8f48-50c7bc3de829 Adaptive Spaces: Creating Agile Teams and Maximizing Social Capitals feat. Michael Arena In today's business world, where everything happens at super speed, how does a company survive these accelerated changes? Author of the book Adaptive Space and Amazon Web Services Vice President for talent and Development, Michael Arena, discusses how creating Adaptive Spaces in the workplace can help build agile teams. Over the years, agility has been one of the keys that help companies survive the rapidly changing market.

Listen to his conversation with host Greg LaBlanc about finding the right balance between exploration and exploitation in the organization. The third space, the adaptive space, should provide an environment where team members can explore new ideas within the company's processes and structure. 

Michael explains to us the various roles people play in creating these adaptive spaces. He and Greg discuss how brokers, connectors, energizers, and challengers work together to build products that uncover new growth opportunities for businesses. Take note of how AWS applies the Two-Pizza team approach, helping them to become versatile and ready to respond to changes quickly and effectively. 

Learn from the case studies and best practices of companies like General Motors, G.E., and leaders like Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison!

Episode Quotes:

Defining the Adaptive Space: 

"It's really a relational and emotional, and sometimes physical space that you create inside of organizations for ideas to flow freely. And for people to have the degree of freedom to really drive adaptation inside of the organization. So, there are times where it's about physical space, but in today's world, that's less and less true. It's much more about the space to be able to connect with people inside your team or across teams. You know, really, it's the safety necessary or the degree of freedom necessary for people to explore new concepts and new ideas."

Why are so many organizations designed to shut down ideas before they get off the ground?

“So what happens is, you know, bureaucracy, hierarchy, rigor, standardization, all those things begin to set in across time and it makes it harder and harder for us to accept new ideas. Virtually everything that's built up is to drive and scale the success of the core handful of things. So the introduction of a new thing is noise. The introduction of a new thing adds risk, you know, to the core thing that you're trying to do. And it's the, it's the innovator's dilemma. You know, that Clayton Christensen's talked about for years and research for years. That's what happens is I call them the antibodies, but the antibodies begin to kick in and they prematurely stifle ideas, before they can bear new fruit.”

How do you maintain the separation between exploitation and exploration? Can you be in the same places with the same people to do both? Or, is it important to kind of keep these things apart?

"So what happens is, you know, bureaucracy, hierarchy, rigor, standardization, all those things begin to set in across time, and it makes it harder and harder for us to accept new ideas. Virtually everything that's built up is to drive and scale the success of the core handful of things. So the introduction of a new thing is noise. The introduction of a new thing adds risk, you know, to the core thing that you're trying to do. And it's the, and it's the innovator's dilemma. You know, that Clayton Christensen's talked about for years and research for years. That's what happens is I call them the antibodies, but the antibodies begin to kick in, and they prematurely stifle ideas before they can bear new fruit."

When matching flow orders can be automated, why is there a need for humans to be at the center of these processes?

"Even the creative processes could be automated. I guess there are two ways I would think about this. I think of technology as an enabler for this process. I don't think it can supplement it. And I think part of that is because of who we are as human creatures. Can it probably someday? Well, I don't know. I think like we are by nature; we create by nature, we build by nature. We want to connect. We are social beings at our core, and we want to connect with other people. Serendipity flows across those connections. At the end of the day, individuals have to interact with individuals. And I think we're seeing a lot of that in a virtual world right now we can talk about virtual. It feels to me like we fast-forwarded the future work five to 10 years in this last year. And I think what we learned a lot about is the importance of human connection and the essential nature of us to connect in different ways to continue to create and value and build things."  

How can companies encourage individuals to contribute? How can companies foster an inside-out, instead of a top-to-bottom culture and approach to innovation?

"I do think that there's this opportunity to do this in a very emergent manner. I think that can happen naturally if leaders set some tone or provide some degree of freedom, you know, to enable it at the top. That's how I tend to think about it is, you know, go to the odds, find a friend, follow the energy. And then eventually, whenever you really start to be convinced about this thing, and you build it and hopefully prototype something so that it's not just a figment of your imagination, but it's a real live prototype. Then you go try to pressure, test it and bring it to a lead. Try to get it resourced and supported. And if you're lucky, your network begins to do some of that work for you because it's now not just your idea. It's our collective idea. And it's much easier to influence and drive change adoption around the new concept. If you've got critical mass or at least some larger group of people invested in it with you."


Show Links


Guest Profile


Michael Arena’s Work


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

]]> Mon, 5 Jul 2021 22:00:00 +0000 Greg La Blanc https://redcircle.com/shows/unsiloedpodcast In today's business world, where everything happens at super speed, how does a company survive these accelerated changes? Author of the book Adaptive Space and Amazon Web Services Vice President for talent and Development, Michael Arena, discusses how creating Adaptive Spaces in the workplace can help build agile teams. Over the years, agility has been one of the keys that help companies survive the rapidly changing market.

Listen to his conversation with host Greg LaBlanc about finding the right balance between exploration and exploitation in the organization. The third space, the adaptive space, should provide an environment where team members can explore new ideas within the company's processes and structure. 

Michael explains to us the various roles people play in creating these adaptive spaces. He and Greg discuss how brokers, connectors, energizers, and challengers work together to build products that uncover new growth opportunities for businesses. Take note of how AWS applies the Two-Pizza team approach, helping them to become versatile and ready to respond to changes quickly and effectively. 

Learn from the case studies and best practices of companies like General Motors, G.E., and leaders like Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison!

Episode Quotes:

Defining the Adaptive Space: 

"It's really a relational and emotional, and sometimes physical space that you create inside of organizations for ideas to flow freely. And for people to have the degree of freedom to really drive adaptation inside of the organization. So, there are times where it's about physical space, but in today's world, that's less and less true. It's much more about the space to be able to connect with people inside your team or across teams. You know, really, it's the safety necessary or the degree of freedom necessary for people to explore new concepts and new ideas."

Why are so many organizations designed to shut down ideas before they get off the ground?

“So what happens is, you know, bureaucracy, hierarchy, rigor, standardization, all those things begin to set in across time and it makes it harder and harder for us to accept new ideas. Virtually everything that's built up is to drive and scale the success of the core handful of things. So the introduction of a new thing is noise. The introduction of a new thing adds risk, you know, to the core thing that you're trying to do. And it's the, it's the innovator's dilemma. You know, that Clayton Christensen's talked about for years and research for years. That's what happens is I call them the antibodies, but the antibodies begin to kick in and they prematurely stifle ideas, before they can bear new fruit.”

How do you maintain the separation between exploitation and exploration? Can you be in the same places with the same people to do both? Or, is it important to kind of keep these things apart?

"So what happens is, you know, bureaucracy, hierarchy, rigor, standardization, all those things begin to set in across time, and it makes it harder and harder for us to accept new ideas. Virtually everything that's built up is to drive and scale the success of the core handful of things. So the introduction of a new thing is noise. The introduction of a new thing adds risk, you know, to the core thing that you're trying to do. And it's the, and it's the innovator's dilemma. You know, that Clayton Christensen's talked about for years and research for years. That's what happens is I call them the antibodies, but the antibodies begin to kick in, and they prematurely stifle ideas before they can bear new fruit."

When matching flow orders can be automated, why is there a need for humans to be at the center of these processes?

"Even the creative processes could be automated. I guess there are two ways I would think about this. I think of technology as an enabler for this process. I don't think it can supplement it. And I think part of that is because of who we are as human creatures. Can it probably someday? Well, I don't know. I think like we are by nature; we create by nature, we build by nature. We want to connect. We are social beings at our core, and we want to connect with other people. Serendipity flows across those connections. At the end of the day, individuals have to interact with individuals. And I think we're seeing a lot of that in a virtual world right now we can talk about virtual. It feels to me like we fast-forwarded the future work five to 10 years in this last year. And I think what we learned a lot about is the importance of human connection and the essential nature of us to connect in different ways to continue to create and value and build things."  

How can companies encourage individuals to contribute? How can companies foster an inside-out, instead of a top-to-bottom culture and approach to innovation?

"I do think that there's this opportunity to do this in a very emergent manner. I think that can happen naturally if leaders set some tone or provide some degree of freedom, you know, to enable it at the top. That's how I tend to think about it is, you know, go to the odds, find a friend, follow the energy. And then eventually, whenever you really start to be convinced about this thing, and you build it and hopefully prototype something so that it's not just a figment of your imagination, but it's a real live prototype. Then you go try to pressure, test it and bring it to a lead. Try to get it resourced and supported. And if you're lucky, your network begins to do some of that work for you because it's now not just your idea. It's our collective idea. And it's much easier to influence and drive change adoption around the new concept. If you've got critical mass or at least some larger group of people invested in it with you."


Show Links


Guest Profile


Michael Arena’s Work


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

]]> Adaptive Spaces: Creating Agile Teams and Maximizing Social Capitals feat. Michael Arena Greg La Blanc 00:53:28 In today's business world, where everything happens at super speed, how does a company survive these accelerated changes? Author of the book Adaptive Space and Amazon Web Services Vice President for talent and Development, Michael Arena, discusses how creating Adaptive Spaces in the workplace can help build agile teams. Over the years, agility has been one of the keys that help companies survive the rapidly changing market. Listen to his conversation with host Greg LaBlanc about finding the right balance between exploration and exploitation in the organization. The third space, the adaptive space, should provide an environment where team members can explore new ideas within the company's processes and structure. Michael explains to us the various roles people play in creating these adaptive spaces. He and Greg discuss how brokers, connectors, energizers, and challengers work together to build products that uncover new growth opportunities for businesses. Take note of how AWS applies the Two-Pizza team approach, helping them to become versatile and ready to respond to changes quickly and effectively. Learn from the case studies and best practices of companies like General Motors, G.E., and leaders like Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison! In today's business world, where everything happens at super speed, how does a company survive these accelerated changes? Author of the book Adaptive Space and Amazon Web Services Vice President for talent and Development, Michael Arena, discusses how creating Adaptive Spaces in the workplace can help build agile teams. Over the years, agility has been one of the keys that help companies survive the rapidly changing market. Listen to his conversation with host Greg LaBlanc about finding the right balance between exploration and exploitation in the organization. The third space, the adaptive space, should provide an environment where team members can explore new ideas within the company's processes and structure. Michael explains to us the various roles people play in creating these adaptive spaces. He and Greg discuss how brokers, connectors, energizers, and challengers work together to build products that uncover new growth opportunities for businesses. Take note of how AWS applies the Two-Pizza team approach, helping them to become versatile and ready to respond to changes quickly and effectively. Learn from the case studies and best practices of companies like General Motors, G.E., and leaders like Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison! false full 26