Table Stakes

Hosted by Marcy Twete

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Jun 2026

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About the show

In today's business landscape, responsibility and sustainability are no longer optional or "nice to have." Modern stakeholders don't just expect an environmental, social and governance (ESG) focus, they demand it. Being a good corporate citizen today is "table stakes." Simultaneously, many of the corporate social responsibility departments companies launched in the last 30 years aren't thinking enough about innovation, growth, business-focused results and resilience. Table Stakes discusses the issues of sustainability with forward-thinking leaders to forecast the future of responsible business. Being ethical, human and sustainable is no longer optional – it's table stakes.

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40 recent

June 17, 202653 min

38. Read Responsibly with Christine Bader - The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist

What does it mean to be a corporate idealist when the company you believed in becomes the company behind one of the worst environmental disasters in American history? Christine Bader spent years doing innovative work on human rights inside BP — and then Deepwater Horizon happened. In this episode of the Read Responsibly Book Series, host Marcy Twete sits down with Christine, author of The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: When Girl Meets Oil, to talk about what the book still gets right twelve years later, what she'd write differently now, and what it looks like when a hyper-global career gives way to a hyper-local life as a school board member, business school faculty, and head coach of a high school girls rugby team in McMinnville, Oregon. A deeply honest conversation about idealism, accountability, and where impact actually comes from.

June 10, 202656 min

37. Pride Month Read Responsibly Books and Authors Series with Ellie Roscher

What does it mean for a body to belong — in sports, in the workplace, in the world? In this Pride Month episode of Table Stakes, host Marcy Twete sits down with Minneapolis author, educator, and former two-sport college athlete Ellie Roscher to discuss Fair Game: Trans Athletes and the Future of Sports, co-authored with Dr. Anna Baeth. They dig into the myths driving anti-trans sports legislation, the stories of the 20 trans athletes interviewed for the book, and why the fight over who gets to play is really a fight over who gets to belong — in locker rooms, in boardrooms, and everywhere in between. Plus: what embodied leadership looks like, why psychological safety is a structural problem before it's a personal one, and the book Ellie is working through with a group of women in commercial real estate right now.

June 2, 202629 min

36. Read Responsibly Book Series Conversation 1: 21st Century Corporate Citizenship

What does it actually take to build a responsible company? Mot just a company with a sustainability department, but one where corporate citizenship is woven into strategy, operations, and culture? That's the question Dave Stangis and Katherine Valvoda Smith set out to answer nearly a decade ago, and it's the question at the heart of this conversation.Dave and Katherine join Marcy for the first episode of Table Stakes' "Read Responsibly" book series to talk about 21st Century Corporate Citizenship: A Practical Guide to Delivering Value to Society and Your Business — what inspired it, how it's held up across a decade of political and cultural turbulence, and what they'd add if they wrote it today. They also dig into the war over ESG terminology, the quiet disappearance of the word "ethics" from corporate vocabulary, and why the money in publishing a book is never actually in the book.

May 27, 20264 min

Trailer: The Table Stakes Books and Authors Series

Host Marcy Twete, CEO of Veerless and author of the annual Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Book List, returns to announce a season unlike anything the podcast has done before. In the second half of 2026, Table Stakes is dedicating itself entirely to the authors behind some of the most important books in corporate responsibility and sustainability — books that have appeared on Marcy's list over the past seven years and shaped how thousands of leaders think about their work.In this trailer, Marcy shares why this moment feels different: she's approaching her 10th annual book list, she's writing her own book, and she has a question she can't stop thinking about — what does it actually take for a book to change how someone leads?Subscribe now so you don't miss a single conversation.

May 19, 20209 min

The Who and Why of The Table Stakes Podcast

Table Stakes is debuting June 1, 2020! Here's a sneak peek into your host, Marcy Twete, and the "why" of Table Stakes. Share your thoughts and ideas with us at www.tablestakespodcast.com.

June 24, 202049 min

4. So You Want to Work in Corporate Responsibility

Jobs in corporate responsibility, social impact and ESG are notoriously difficult to find, and even more difficult to "get." If you're interested in a role in this field, today you'll learn from host Marcy Twete and guests Margaret Skrmetti (Morton Salt) and Elizabeth Okey (Wintrust) on their paths to roles in this field. We tackle the possible paths to a role, the issues with finding a role, and the ways our industry can become more inclusive and open to new ideas and new people.

June 21, 202428 min

30. Standalone DEI Reports - Pros and Cons, Yay or Nay

In honor of Pride Month, we're tackling a difficult "should we or shouldn't we" topic in the world of corporate reporting – whether or not to produce a standalone DEI Report. In today's podcast, we outline the pros and cons of a standalone report and a clear litmus test for whether or not your company is ready for a DEI Report.

August 6, 202436 min

32. The Rise of the EcoAthlete: Using A Sports Platform for Climate Advocacy

As the 2024 Summer Olympics continue in Paris, Table Stakes is continuing our series on sustainability and sports. Joining us today is the Founder of EcoAthletes, Lew Blaustein. This summer, EcoAthletes has 18 Olympians competing in Paris. Together, they've engaged in advocacy, communications, personal sustainability actions, and more in their time in Paris, before and after.

June 12, 202021 min

2. Responsibility and Ethics During Uncertainty and Crisis

In May, I was delighted to host a Coffee & Connections Event with the Executives Club of Chicago on responsibility and ethics in COVID-19. Today's solocast is a replica of that presentation, highlighting two major trends in ethics and responsibility affecting business during COVID-19 and the dos and don'ts of operating and communicating during a time of uncertainty and crisis.

July 8, 202059 min

6. Navigating the Issues of Employment and Change Management During COVID-19 (in Partnership with Office Baggage Podcast)

Today's episode is a special "crossover" between Table Stakes Podcast and Office Baggage Podcast. In the environment of COVID-19, the issues surrounding employment and change management are affecting everyone whether through layoffs, furloughs, working from home, or training and safety for essential employees. All of us are dealing with both macro and micro economic issues as we consider a return to work and continued change and transformation in our work. CEO of the Prinz Law Firm, Kristen Prinz, and The Parker Avery Group's Kathi Toll join us with expert commentary.