The Chicago Booth Review Podcast is the audio companion to CBR's coverage of the latest academic research in business, policy, and markets. Each week we dig into CBR articles and videos to examine a different topic in depth, from inflation to artificial intelligence. Join host and CBR editor-in-chief Hal Weitzman for groundbreaking research, explained in a clear and straightforward way.
Latest episodes
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29 min
Can We Stop People Watching Porn?
One of the top things that people do online is look at pornography. Pornhub is among the world's most popular websites, but not in 25 US states including Florida, Texas, and Virgin…
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22 min
How "hidden" features shape shopping habits
When companies sell products, they only put some of the features front and center and hide others. How do they know if they're highlighting the right things? Chicago Booth's Giovan…
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28 min
Why AI won't take over the sales department
Selling to customers drives all companies, but it's very different for a startup versus a big established corporation. So what are those differences? Chicago Booth's Michael Alter…
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29 min
What is the Cost of Authenticity?
Leaders are often told to be their authentic selves, but what does that actually mean? Chicago Booth's Samantha Coleman thinks that authenticity is a choice. How do we make that ch…
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23 min
How measuring "vibe" can explain consumer choices
How much do consumers care about shoppers' reviews and product photos? And can economists capture that information and turn it into data? Chicago Booth's Giovanni Compiani talks ab…
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30 min
Why sales skills are life skills
How good are you at selling? Or do you think that you don't need to be? Our guest today would like you to think again. Chicago Booth's Michael Alter wants us to think about sales a…
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27 min
How some "small business" owners profit from politics
People with a net worth at least $5m are heavily overrepresented in politics. That enables them to bend the law to benefit themselves. Many tend to be business owners, and some hav…
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28 min
Who are the multi-millionaires among us?
When you think of someone who's rich, who comes to mind? The billionaires of Silicon Valley, AI entrepreneurs or the titans of Wall St? But what about toilet paper and toothbrush m…
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22 min
Does your brain think accurately about time?
Imagine it's 1 o'clock. Would you rather wait for 30 minutes or until 1:30? They're the same, but research suggests that people tend to feel that 30 minutes will take longer. What…
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28 min
How can we have more meaningful conversations with our kids?
How was school today? What did you have for lunch? Any parent who's asked these questions consistently has probably been met with a single-word response or even just a grunt. How d…
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26 min
How can technical leaders improve their people skills?
The Peter Principle observes that employee tend to rise to their level of incompetence. It's a sarcastic take on corporate culture, but many of us have seen technically brilliant p…
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23 min
Can Anduril disrupt the US defense industry?
For many decades, the Pentagon has bought most of its equipment from five big defense contractors: Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and General Dynamics. Is all that…
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28 min
Do better accountants improve productivity?
Do accountants merely measure company activity, or do they actually make it better? Chicago Booth's Mike Minnis talks about his research on auditing and productivity. Do audits mak…
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25 min
Why do buses run empty?
Americans use buses and trains much less than their European counterparts. Yet while they sit in their cars, they are subsidizing buses that run mostly empty. Could the system be t…
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21 min
Will we recover from the "happiness crash"?
Americans' self-reported rates of happiness plummeted during COVID and haven't recovered since. Will they ever? Chicago Booth's Sam Peltzman talks about his research on happiness.…
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28 min
When should you choose to be ignorant?
Sometimes information is freely available and would be useful, but we choose to avoid it. Why do we do that, and does it make any sense? Chicago Booth's Jane Risen talks about her…
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21 min
Why leaders should show vulnerability
Vulnerability is typically perceived as a weakness in professional settings. Chicago Booth's Christine Carpenter wants us to think of it as a strength when it comes to leadership.…
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31 min
Will Salesforce and Adobe survive the SaaS Apocalypse?
Software as a Service has boomed in recent decades, but now it faces an existential threat from AI. Chicago Booth's Marc Knez gives us his take on the SaaS Apocalypse. Which compan…
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24 min
Why the economy is now intangible
The value of the US economy is increasingly accounted for by intangibles – things like intellectual property, brands and customer relationships. How is that changing finance and bu…
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31 min
Why is housing so segregated?
Many US cities are highly racially segregated. Explicit segregation is illegal today, but some patterns of settlement haven't fundamentally changed. So why does housing segregation…