Is Business Broken?

Why and how did CEO paychecks become so massive and divisive? Who decides what leaders are worth? And what’s the ripple effect on companies, workers, and the economy?

Host Curt Nickisch unpacks these issues and more with Charles Tharp, Professor of the Practice at the Questrom School of Business and former CEO and founding member of the Center On Executive Compensation in Washington D.C.

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How do we reconcile the protection of free speech with the need to prevent harmful misinformation from spreading online? Is it even possible to strike a balance?

Host Curt Nickisch speaks to Marshall Van Alstyne, the Allen and Kelli Questrom Professor in Information Systems at Boston University Questrom School of Business; Nadine Strossen, Professor of Law at New York Law School and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union; and Michael Masnik, CEO and Founder of Copia Institute and its publication Techdirt.

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From political lies to viral conspiracy theories, misinformation has reshaped our digital landscape—creating confusion, influencing public perception, and altering national debates.

Just how widespread has misinformation become? What are the roles that social media platforms play, and what are some potential solutions?

Host Curt Nickisch speaks to Marshall Van Alstyne, the Allen and Kelly Questrom Professor in Information Systems at Boston University Questrom School of Business and Gordon Pennycook, Associate Professor of Psychology and Himan Brown Faculty Fellow at Cornell University

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Last week's episode features the first part of a panel centered around the Business Round Table's pledge five years ago to redefine the purpose of a corporation, by create value for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Today, we continue where we left off, and look into the future. How should boards operate now? What should they taking into account differently in the coming years?

Host Curt Nickisch speaks to Lynn Paine, Professor at Harvard Business School, Om Prakash Bhatt, the former chair and CEO of the State Bank of India, Anthony Allott, former chair and CEO of Silgan Holdings, and James Orlikoff, president of Orlikoff & Associates Inc.

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Five years ago, the Business Roundtable made a bold move and redefined the purpose of a corporation. 181 CEOs signed a pledge to create value for all stakeholders in a corporation, instead of just shareholders. What, if anything, has changed since that declaration five years ago? Host Curt Nickisch speaks to Lynn Paine, Professor at Harvard Business School, Om Prakash Bhatt, the former chair and CEO of the State Bank of India, Anthony Allott, former chair and CEO of Silgan Holdings, and James Orlikoff, president of Orlikoff & Associates Inc.

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Last week's episode introduced the promises and challenges brought forth by Cell and Gene Therapies. Today's show dives deeper into this topic with BU Questrom Professor Rena Conti, an expert on the financing and regulation of the biopharmaceutical market.

She and host Curt Nickisch discuss why these treatments are so expensive, challenges for insurance companies, and potential solutions to ensure fair access.

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Sometimes called “living drugs,” Cell and Gene Therapies have the potential to cure an individual of a rare disease by modifying that person’s genes. But due to the labor-intensive, individualized treatment, these drugs are expensive, to the tune of millions of dollars per patient.

Rena Conti, BU Questrom associate professor of markets, public policy, and law; U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.); Michael Sherman, RA Capital Management venture partner; and Andrew Obenshain, biotech company Bluebird Bio CEO, discuss how to ensure continued innovation and access to gene and cell therapy without breaking the bank.

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The future of ESG, or Environmental Social Governance, depends on how we approach our current moment, according to today's show guests. Host Curt Nickisch talks with Bob Eccles, Visiting Professor of Management Practice at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and Madison Condon, Associate Professor at Boston University School of Law, to discuss where ESG is going. How will today’s political battles play out? How might emerging technology affect the field? And what is the evolving role of the shareholder in this?

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What do the conversations around ESG, or Environmental Social Governance, look like today? How are businesses addressing E, S, and G factors in what they do? This episode explores how ESG looks on the ground. Host Curt Nickisch talks with Mindy Lubber, CEO of Ceres, a nonprofit dedicated to integrating sustainability into businesses, and Peter Fox-Penner, Chief Impact Officer at Energy Impact Partners, a firm that invests in the clean energy transition.

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ESG, or Environmental Social Governance, isn't the first time business has attempted addressing public concerns regarding the social impact of business. In this episode, Host Curt Nickisch invites John Streur, former Chair CEO of Calvert Research and Management, and Eddie Riedl, the John F. Smith Jr. Professor in Accounting at BU Questrom, to explore the history of this influence and the traditions of corporate reporting. How did we get to the system we use today? And what are the consequences of that?

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