Best Stanford GSB Podcasts (2025)

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S8E2: Leena Nair Refuses to Be the Last 59:28

5d ago59:28

59:28

Leena Nair doesn’t just talk about leadership — she redefines it. In a wide-ranging conversation with Ayesha Karnik, MBA ’25, Nair reflects on her journey from a factory floor in India to the corporate office in London, and ultimately, to Chanel’s C-suite. With humor and heart, Nair describes how she approaches leading a global luxury brand, shares…

1
Ep60 “A Trade Deficit? More Like a Capital Surplus” with John Cochrane 28:17

5d ago28:17

28:17

What exactly is a trade deficit? And why are so many policymakers fixated on it? Lately, the trade deficit in the U.S. is taking the bulk of the blame for the economic situation we’re in and it’s one of the reasons the Trump administration is pushing for sweeping tariffs. But tariffs are likely not the answer, and a trade deficit might be better re…

1
Could Financial Literacy Change the World? 27:40

12d ago27:40

27:40

Only a third of the global population is financially literate. Why? Because most of us don’t learn the basics of personal finance in school — or elsewhere. Treating financial literacy as an afterthought can have serious consequences, from personal calamities to economic crises, according to Annamaria Lusardi, a professor of finance and the director…

1
S8E1: Roelof Botha Doesn’t Believe in “the Top” 1:00:09

19d ago1:00:09

1:00:09

In a candid conversation with Kailash Sundaram, MBA ’25, Roelof Botha, MBA ’00 — leader of one of the most influential venture capital firms in the world — reflects on his journey from South Africa to Sequoia Capital. From meeting his wife and partner Huifen Chan, MBA '00, at Stanford Graduate School of Business, to lessons about ambition and failu…

1
Ep59 “Why Tariffs Are Not The Ultimate Trade Weapon” with Dani Rodrik 32:16

19d ago32:16

32:16

With President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, and other countries now in full swing, what consequences from an economic standpoint could the U.S. be facing? And what was the path that led us here? Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen put the tariffs question to economist and author Dani Rodrik. Rodrik is t…

1
Adapting To Massive Technological Change 25:15

26d ago25:15

25:15

Susan Athey, the Economics of Technology Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and founding director of the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab, studies the impact of technological innovations on workers, businesses, and society. Will the world’s economies successfully adapt to a future defined by artificial intelligence? On this episode, A…

1
Ep58 How Rich Are The Ivy League Universities, Really? University Endowments Explained 24:36

1M ago24:36

24:36

The recent crackdown on federal spending has universities sweating despite the fact that many of them boast huge billion-dollar endowments. So what gives? Why would less money from the federal government be a cause for concern? Where does all that money go? And could there be more to this budget picture than meets the eye? In this episode, hosts an…

1
Think You Know Yourself? Think Again. 26:09

1M ago26:09

26:09

Brian Lowery, the Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business and the author of Selfless: The Social Creation of You, argues that identity is about much more than external characteristics, family history, or the collection of experiences that compose the chronology of our lives. In fact, Lo…

1
Rerun: Ep36 “Institutional Neutrality: Open Debate and Moral Stands” with John Etchemendy 25:04

2M ago25:04

25:04

All Else Equal is taking a little spring break, so on this episode we’re revisiting a fascinating conversation on what happens when universities step off the sidelines and take a stance on contentious issues. Are they boarding a roller coaster that they can’t ever get off? Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen chat wit…

1
How Taxes Influence Innovation 25:06

2M ago25:06

25:06

What’s one of the most powerful forces behind technological breakthroughs, business strategy, and job creation? The tax code. Rebecca Lester, an associate professor of accounting and one of three inaugural Botha-Chan Faculty Scholars at Stanford Graduate School of Business, studies how subtle tax incentives can trigger monumental business decisions…

1
Ep57 “Effective Communication: Trump vs. Reagan” with Peter Robinson 36:40

2M ago36:40

36:40

One key to effective negotiation is to keep your opponent guessing by randomizing your strategy. And right now, there might not be a more prolific example of this kind of strategy than President Donald Trump’s communication style. In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by Peter Robinson, a re…

1
Dollar Diplomacy: The Hidden Power of Geoeconomics 26:17

2M ago26:17

26:17

The pen may be mightier than the sword — but the dollar beats them both. Economic leverage has long shaped the world order, and today global powers use financial networks, trade policies, and sanctions as tools of persuasion — or coercion. In this episode, Matteo Maggiori, the Moghadam Family Professor of Finance at Stanford Graduate School of Busi…

1
Ep56 “When Should We Lie for the Greater Good?” with John Ioannidis 34:10

2M ago34:10

34:10

Is it acceptable for doctors to lie to their patients, or withhold some of the truth, if it’s in the patient’s best interest? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome back John Ioannidis, professor of medicine at Stanford University, to discuss the ethical implications of concealing the truth in t…

1
Broken Systems, Broken Trust: Why We Need New Rules 25:10

3M ago25:10

25:10

“The ultimate price of a bad system falls on the public,” says Anat Admati, the George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of The Bankers’ New Clothes. “The Constitution did a lot to constrain the government, but the government has failed to constrain institutions in the private sector.”…

1
Is Work Killing Us? 27:25

3M ago27:25

27:25

Is burnout simply the cost of doing business? What responsibility do employers have for the health and well-being of their workers? Jeffrey Pfeffer, the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of Dying for a Paycheck and 7 Rules of Power, says that the connection between workplace str…

1
Ep55 “The Future Of The MBA: From 3 Top Business Schools” with Madhav Rajan 32:03

3M ago32:03

32:03

As more and more universities move away from full-time MBA programs, what does the future of business education look like? How should it look? In this episode, hear perspectives from three of the top business schools in the U.S.: Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Booth School of Busi…

1
Ep54 “The Rise And Fall of Great Societies: Lessons from History” with Victor Davis Hanson 29:55

3M ago29:55

29:55

History shows that as societies rise to greatness, the scales eventually tip back and those societies fall. But what leads to that fall and are we heading toward one? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with historian Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution who specialize…

1
Introducing If/Then: Season Two 1:52

3M ago1:52

1:52

Can the workplace be as harmful as smoking? Is it possible for governments and corporations to rebuild trust once they’ve lost it? How are nations wielding financial power to shape global politics? On Season Two of If/Then, Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty tackle big questions about business, leadership, and society, providing innovativ…

1
Rerun: Ep48 “Why CEOs are Underpaid” with Dirk Jenter 29:09

4M ago29:09

29:09

As we ring in the new year, we’re bringing back one of our favorite episodes! Handpicked by Jules and Jonathan, this previous conversation is perfect for starting your year with thought-provoking insights. Are CEOs overpaid? It’s easy to see million-dollar (or even billion-dollar) salaries and jump to conclusions. But those figures might not captur…

1
View From The Top: “Jensen Huang on How to Use First-Principles Thinking to Drive Decisions” 57:44

4M ago57:44

57:44

Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA, believes leadership is about more than making decisions—it’s about empowering others to reason through ambiguity and drive transformative change. In this bonus episode of If/Then, Huang sits down with Stanford GSB student Shantam Jain, MBA ’24, on Stanford GSB’s View From The Top podcast, to discuss his j…

1
Ep53 “The Truth About Inflation and Price Caps: Learn From Argentina” with Veronica Rappoport 26:10

4M ago26:10

26:10

During the 2024 U.S. presidential election, inflation was one of the most talked about issues, and there was one policy idea to get inflation under control that kept coming up: price caps. But history has shown time and time again that price caps do anything but reduce inflation. So why do policymakers still want to try it? In this episode, hosts a…

1
Ep52 “Should Legacy Admissions at Universities Be Illegal?” with Patrick Awuah 26:49

5M ago26:49

26:49

Should legacy admissions at colleges and universities be banned? What are the benefits and tradeoffs of admitting students based on their legacy status? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with guest Patrick Awuah, president of Ashesi University, about the Ghanaian university’s unique economic …

1
From the Classroom: Lessons in Failure, Strategy and the Power of Connection 13:01

5M ago13:01

13:01

Behind every lesson lies a journey of discovery. In this special episode of If/Then, we step into the classrooms of Stanford Graduate School of Business to uncover the human stories driving extraordinary insights. Christian Wheeler, professor of marketing at Stanford GSB, challenges our fear of failure, reframing it as the sharp edge where growth t…

1
Pfeffer on Power: “Acting With Power and Using Your Influence with Deborah Gruenfeld” 30:04

5M ago30:04

30:04

As leaders rise and hierarchies shift, Stanford GSB organizational behavior professor Deborah Gruenfeld, guest in season one of If/Then, reminds us that power is not just about authority—it’s about presence. In this special feed drop from Pfeffer on Power, Gruenfeld, author of Acting With Power, revisits topics featured in her If/Then episode, expl…

1
Ep51 Celebrating 50 Episodes: The Biggest All Else Equal Mistakes 27:24

5M ago27:24

27:24

The All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions podcast has officially done 50 episodes! To commemorate the milestone, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen look back on some of the major all else equal mistakes they’ve covered on the show. With highlights from past guests like Google CFO Ruth Porat and former SEC chair Ja…

1
The Science Behind Our Everyday Decisions with Think Fast, Talk Smart 13:51

6M ago13:51

13:51

In this episode of If/Then, we're diving into insights from three GSB experts featured on Think Fast, Talk Smart. Join us as professor of organizational behavior Michele Gelfand explains her "tight and loose" cultural framework, revealing how societal structures impact everything from crime rates to creativity. We also hear from marketing professor…

1
Ep50 “Is Proxy Advising a Catch-22?” with Chester Spatt 24:16

6M ago24:16

24:16

If the purpose of a proxy advisory firm is to gather information and advise shareholders on how to vote, then how do the firms handle the many different goals and incentives each shareholder brings to the table? Where do the proxy advisory firms’ interests truly lie? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsberg…

1
Ep49 “Making Regulation Work” with Jay Clayton 27:24

6M ago27:24

27:24

Regulation is meant to fix problems in the market, but as more and more regulation is introduced, those issues have a tendency to evolve into new ones. So is all this regulation even accomplishing what it set out to do? And how do you even measure the success of regulation to begin with? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk a…

1
How AI-Driven Misinformation Could Undermine Democracy 16:25

6M ago16:25

16:25

Artificial intelligence could fundamentally transform democracy for better or worse. In this bonus episode of If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society, Professor Andrew B. Hall of Stanford Graduate School of Business explores AI's potential to disrupt our electoral system. With the 2024 presidential election approaching, Hall warns that AI-generated …

1
The Future of Everything: “Kuang Xu: How to Make (and Keep) Genetic Data Private” 28:21

7M ago28:21

28:21

One underappreciated fact about the explosion in genetic databases, like consumer sites that provide information about ancestry and health, is that they unlock valuable insights not only into an individual’s past and future, but also for that individual’s entire family. This raises serious concerns about privacy for people who have never submitted …

1
Ep48 “Are CEOs Underpaid?” with Dirk Jenter 28:45

7M ago28:45

28:45

Are CEOs overpaid? It’s easy to see million-dollar (or even billion-dollar) salaries and jump to conclusions. But those figures might not capture the full picture. So, what really goes into deciding CEO compensation? In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen welcome back Dirk Jenter, Professor of Finance a…

1
Why I Research: Findings Fueled by the Head and the Heart 9:22

7M ago9:22

9:22

This special episode of If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society explores the personal stories behind Stanford GSB faculty's groundbreaking research. Discover how individual experiences shape scholarly inquiry. Baba Shiv, professor of marketing, examines decision-making and the brain's liking and wanting systems. His self-proclaimed "irrational" natu…

1
Ep47 “Is the US National Debt Sustainable?” with Mohamed El-Erian 35:36

7M ago35:36

35:36

What is the best way to measure National Debt Sustainability, and how does the US do on those metrics compared to other countries? In the first episode of the new season, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen speak with guest Mohamed El-Erian about the intricacies of the national debt, different measures of sustainabil…

1
Rerun: Ep12 Corporations as Job Security Providers 20:36

8M ago20:36

20:36

This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! Corporations are often characterized as evil entities that exploit workers. But in fact they enable firms to provide job security and thus serve the im…

1
S7E8: Hemant Taneja on Balancing Profit and Purpose 58:20

8M ago58:20

58:20

"If there are two things that have been foundational to my journey, it's been learning, and it's been the importance of taking risk." Hemant Taneja, managing partner and CEO of General Catalyst, shares his insights on leadership, innovation, and the evolving role of venture capital in this episode of View From The Top, the podcast. In his conversat…

1
Leading in Turbulent Times: How to Develop a Risk-Tolerant Mindset 30:30

8M ago30:30

30:30

Behavioral economist and Professor of Marketing Baba Shiv works with entrepreneurs on how to build a risk-tolerant mindset. A mindset, Shiv believes, that is crucial in times of crisis. While we take a break and prepare for season two of If/Then, we're sharing an episode of Grit & Growth, a podcast from our partners at Stanford Seed. Here, Baba exp…

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Rerun: Ep1 "Making a Business Decision" with Ruth Porat 24:52

8M ago24:52

24:52

This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! When the scientific method began to be applied widely hundreds of years ago, innovation bloomed. Today, those same principles inform business leaders w…

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Rerun: Ep17 "Can the Free Market Discourage Fraud?" with Marc Cohodes 27:01

9M ago27:01

27:01

This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! There’s a negative connotation associated with short selling – the act of betting against a stock to perform well. But is this trading practice truly a…

1
All Else Equal: “Disentangling Causation and Correlation” with Guido Imbens 29:02

9M ago29:02

29:02

It can be tempting to think one thing causes another because they happen in succession, but there’s a lot to unwrap in the idea of causality. This week, If/Then is featuring an episode from the podcast All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions. Listen as hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen explain the difference betwee…

1
If/Then: Why Research Matters 16:51

9M ago16:51

16:51

To wrap up the first season of If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society, we invited Senior Associate Dean Jesper B. Sørensen into the studio to talk about the importance of research at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He shares insights on what motivates faculty to study what they do and how it impacts practitioners across industries. “One of th…

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Rerun: Ep8 “Why Capitalism Works" with John Cochrane 31:58

9M ago31:58

31:58

This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! Competitive markets don’t produce the same level of prosperity for everyone. But economist John Cochrane thinks they give us something essential — ince…

1
S7E6: Tara VanDerveer on Being a Coach, Teammate, and Trailblazer 47:04

10M ago47:04

47:04

1,216. That’s the total number of NCAA games won by Tara VanDerveer, making her the all-time winning coach in college basketball history. In addition to coaching for 38 years at Stanford, she led the U.S. Women’s team to Olympic gold in 1996 – finishing with a flawless 16-0 record. “Coaching is teaching. It’s really trying to help people go to plac…

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S7E7: Daniella Pierson: Why Failure is the Measure of Success 59:36

10M ago59:36

59:36

“It wasn’t luck. I worked every single second of the day – I was obsessed with it. I wanted independence for myself, for my family, and I didn’t want to go back to Jacksonville.” In 2022, Daniella Pierson was named the youngest, wealthiest, self-made BIPOC woman in the world by Forbes. The 28-year-old grew her first company, The Newsette, to a $200…

1
Rerun: Ep7 Can Investors Effect Social Change? 25:49

10M ago25:49

25:49

This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! How can investors play a part in accomplishing social change? In this episode of All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions, hosts Jules van Binsbergen an…

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Rerun: Ep6 "Can (and Should) Corporations Be Taxed?" with Larry Summers 27:37

10M ago27:37

27:37

This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! In this episode, hosts Jules van Binsbergen and Jonathan Berk discuss the complexities of the corporate income tax with former Treasury Secretary Larry…

1
Who Wants to Run? Incentivizing Better Participation in Politics, with Andrew B. Hall 29:37

10M ago29:37

29:37

Getting to elect our leaders is certainly a privilege. Yet, even in a representative democracy, the choice that citizens have is often only as good as the candidates they have to choose from. That’s why Professor Andrew B. Hall, The Davies Family Professor of Political Economy, wonders: How do we get society’s best and brightest to participate in p…

1
Rerun: Ep4 "Making Bad Investments Profitable" with Pete Briger 27:50

11M ago27:50

27:50

This summer break, we'll be taking a pause from uploading new episodes. However, Jules and Jonathan have handpicked some favorite past episodes for new listeners to enjoy and subscribers to revisit! When it comes to investments, value sometimes resides in unlikely places. Pete Briger, CEO of Fortress Investment Group, specializes in buying bad debt…

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Invisible Matchmakers: How Algorithms Pair People with Opportunities, with Daniela Saban 23:32

11M ago23:32

23:32

If we want to get fair outcomes, then we need to build fairness into algorithms. Whether you’re looking for a job, a house, or a romantic partner, there’s an app for that. But as people increasingly turn to digital platforms in search of opportunity, Daniela Saban says it’s time we took a critical look at the role of algorithms, the invisible match…

1
Ep46 "May Contain Lies" with Alex Edmans 29:04

11M ago29:04

29:04

What is the real problem with misinformation? Are our biases so ingrained in us that we are unable to think critically about the world and the systems around us? What happens when large institutions attempt to push a heterodox narrative? Do we simply need more education to overcome misinformation, or do we need something much deeper—to learn to thi…

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Money Talks: Understanding the Language of Business, with Ed deHaan 26:43

11M ago26:43

26:43

Unless you’re a CPA or own a large business, it might be hard to see the relevance of accounting. While it’s true that the average person doesn’t necessarily need to be able to read a corporate balance sheet, Professor Ed deHaan says a deeper understanding of accounting — a greater fluency in the “language of business” — can help everyone get a gri…

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Stanford GSB Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen