There’s a kind of academic corruption that most people have never considered. Not plagiarism. Not cheating on an exam. This is the kind of corruption that occurs when corporations and industry lobbying groups pay academics for expert testimony before Congress. Even the perception that such payments have occurred will result is an erosion of public confidence in scholarly research and the impartiality of the academy. And the people most vulnerable to this ethical trap are those who believe they are doing good. As Furman professor of law Lawrence Lessig explains in this podcast, “doing good can make you bad."

Introducing: Ask a Harvard Professor – a new podcast from Harvard Magazine. Each episode, our managing editor Jonathan Shaw will sit down with some of the world’s most thoughtful scholars to discuss everything from academic ethics – to hip hop music and medical marijuana. Our first season begins this September.