This Week in Business

Hosted by The Wharton School

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1484

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Bringing together top leaders, innovators and renowned faculty from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania discussing topics that matter to consumers and the business world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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October 23, 202615 min

Social Security Is Running Out of Time

Social Security faces a looming funding shortfall that could force significant benefit cuts within the next decade. Can policymakers save the program before it's too late? Kent Smetters, Faculty Director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, joins the conversation to explain the financial challenges facing Social Security and the reform proposals under consideration. The discussion explores tax increases, benefit reductions, raising the retirement age, and the economic tradeoffs behind each approach. Smetters also explains why government accounting practices may be obscuring the true scale of the problem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October 21, 202612 min

Why AI Is Forcing Companies to Rethink How Work Gets Done

AI is changing how companies operate, but adopting new technology is only the beginning. Businesses must rethink how work gets done to turn AI investments into meaningful results. Prasanna (Sonny) Tambe, professor of operations, information and decisions at the Wharton School, joins us to discuss the latest research on AI adoption and workforce transformation. The conversation explores AI agents, accountability, job growth, entry level hiring, the growing need to verify AI generated content, and why companies must redesign workflows to get the most from their AI investments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October 16, 202612 min

The Business of Signing a Superstar Athlete

What happens when a superstar athlete joins a new team? The impact goes far beyond the basketball court. Kenneth Shropshire, Professor Emeritus of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School, examines the expectations surrounding LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers. From ticket sales and team culture to community engagement and special treatment for star players, Shropshire explains the business opportunities and challenges that come with signing a superstar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October 14, 202613 min

Why Gen Z Is Choosing Sports Betting Over Retirement Savings

Why are young people putting money meant for retirement into sports betting? The answer may lie in how our brains respond to risk, excitement, and the promise of a big win. Michael Platt, Professor of Marketing, Psychology & Neuroscience at The Wharton School, explains the psychology behind the sports betting boom. He explores how dopamine, social influence, and the illusion of control draw people into betting, how mobile platforms make gambling harder to resist, and why the trend could threaten younger generations’ financial futures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October 9, 202612 min

Who Controls a Company’s Values After It Is Sold?

What happens when a company’s social mission clashes with the priorities of its corporate owner? The legal battle involving Ben and Jerry’s raises important questions about who gets to control a brand’s values after a sale. Maurice Schweitzer, Wharton Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions, joins the conversation to examine the dispute between Ben and Jerry’s and its parent companies. Schweitzer explains the challenges of maintaining an independent board, why founders can struggle to preserve their influence, and what businesses can learn about governance, competing priorities and the uncertainty of future conflicts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October 7, 202612 min

AI Safety Has Reached a Critical Point

AI safety concerns are no longer just hypothetical. As AI systems become increasingly capable, the risks involving cybersecurity, biosecurity and unintended behavior are becoming harder to ignore. Kevin Werbach, Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School, explains the different categories of AI risk and why companies alone may not be able to manage them. Werbach argues that governments need to establish standards and safeguards for frontier AI, drawing comparisons to the way financial institutions are regulated to protect against systemic risks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October 2, 202612 min

The Hidden Cost of Competition in the Workplace

Competition can bring out the best in individuals, but can it actually make an entire team worse? New research suggests that rivalry may come with an unexpected cost. Henning Piezunka, Associate Professor of Management at the Wharton School, joins the show to discuss his research examining rivalry and performance through the lens of professional basketball. Using examples like Larry Bird versus Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant versus Michael Jordan, Piezunka explains why players facing individual rivals may score more while making their teams less effective. He also explores what these findings mean for workplace competition, employee incentives, and managers trying to build successful teams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 30, 202615 min

The Surveillance Challenge Facing Prediction Markets

Prediction markets are exploding beyond elections into sports, geopolitics and major cultural events. But as these markets grow, so does the challenge of detecting insider trading and manipulation. Daniel Taylor, Wharton Finance Professor and Director of the Forensic Analytics Lab, explains how prediction markets have evolved and why their different types of contracts require different approaches to surveillance. The conversation explores sports betting, geopolitical markets, insider information, market manipulation and the role regulators should play in making prediction markets work over the long term. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 25, 202615 min

What Strong Growth Means for the Fed and Markets

The economy remains strong, but inflation and higher energy prices could keep the Federal Reserve on alert. Jeremy Siegel, Wharton Emeritus Professor of Finance, discusses the Fed's latest rate increase and why additional hikes may still be ahead. He explores strong GDP and wage data, the effect of rising oil and diesel prices on inflation, and what the bond market is signaling about monetary policy. Siegel also examines U.S.-China trade negotiations, the potential market impact of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and why continued investment in AI could shape corporate earnings and market performance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 23, 202611 min

Why Retailers Are Rethinking Risk

Retailers face a fundamental problem: they often have to bet on what consumers will want before they actually buy it. Could changing who takes that risk transform the industry? John Zhang, Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, explains why the traditional merchant model puts so much risk on retailers and how the store in store model changes that equation. Zhang discusses how manufacturers can take ownership of inventory, why this model has been widely used in Asia, and how platforms such as Amazon and Alibaba have adapted similar approaches. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.