unSILOed with Greg LaBlanc
Episodes
651. Redefining Revolutions: From Ancient Cycles to Modern Movements with Dan Edelstein
14 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Edelstein is a professor of French, history, and political science at Stanford University. He’s also the author of several books on revolution a...
650. How ‘Nudge’ Policies Shifted the Blame From Systems to Individuals with Nick Chater
12 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How much is on us, as individuals, to fix the world’s great problems? Do initiatives like encouraging homeowners to switch to green energy really mo...
649. Bacteria to AI: Technics, Nonconscious Cognition, and Meaning in LLMs with N. Katherine Hayles
08 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
N. Katherine Hayles is a professor of English at UCLA and Emeritus Professor of Literature at Duke University. She is also the author of a number of b...
648. Civilization’s Imbalance and Restoring the Humanities: The Divided Brain with Iain McGilchrist
05 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Iain McGilchrist is a former fellow at Oxford University and the author of a few books, including Ways of Attending: How our Divided Brain Constructs ...
647. What’s Missing From the Modern Education System with Susan Wise Bauer
01 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Susan Wise Bauer is a prolific author, former instructor at the College of William and Mary, and classical education expert. Her books include, The Hi...
646. The Economics of Life & Being Human with Pablo A. Peña
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How can economic science help you decide which college to attend, or how many children to have, or even who to marry? Pablo A. Peña is an associate...
645. Making Money Work: Banks, Capital Theory, and the Fed’s Blind Spot with Steve H. Hanke
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Steve H. Hanke is a Professor of Applied Economics and Founder and Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of...
644. Reclaiming Joy from Screens and Ultra-Processed Foods with Michaeleen Doucleff
24 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if reducing screen time or eating less processed food didn’t feel like deprivation, but rather it was the key to unlocking more joy and excitem...
643. In a Good Place: How Built Environments Shape Agency, Wellbeing, and Behavior with Leidy Klotz
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How has the new understanding of broken-windows theory helped to reinforce the importance of community ownership? How do built environments also trans...
642. Roger Spitz on Future-Readiness: A Call to Adaptability
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How did working with first-principles thinking allow SpaceX to maneuver nimbly past established aerospace giants? What are the limits of prediction an...
641. How to Become an Expert in Conflict with Amy Gallo
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Even though conflict is something we all instinctively want to avoid, it’s an essential part of a healthy culture. So what can organizations do to e...
640. From Ancient Merchants to Modern Markets: Sven Beckert's History of Capitalism
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How can you trace capitalism from long-distance merchant networks (including 12th-century Aden) to a modern-day world economy? What are alternative st...
639. Understanding Stereotypes & How They Impact Us with Claude M. Steele
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Claude Steele is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the author of the landmark book, Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us an...
638. Why Nothing Works: How Progressivism’s Split Led to Today's Governance Gridlock with Marc J. Dunkelman
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How is governance dysfunction linked to declining ‘middle-ring’ community ties? Marc J. Dunkelman is a fellow at Brown University and a fellow a...
637. AI and the Human Mind: Exploring Surprising Parallels with Christopher Summerfield
03 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When AI tells us what we want to hear, is it acting in a rogue way, or is it emulating behavior that society clearly values? How does our ability to s...
636. Rediscovering Virtue the Renaissance Way with James Hankins
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It’s one of the oldest debates in political philosophy: Do good laws make good men, or do good men make good laws? Minds have been wrestling with th...
635. The Psychology of Computers with Tom Griffiths
30 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Today's AI has been designed using insights from how humans learn and think about the world. Are there certain psychological lessons we can glean from...
634. Gaming Life: The Philosophy of Play and Metrics with C. Thi Nguyen
27 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When the concept of ‘gamifying life’ comes up, scoring is transparent and portable but strips nuance, creating a gap between what’s measurable a...
633. The Case for Being Human in a Digital World with Christine Rosen
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
While philosophers have long wrestled with questions about technology’s impact on humanity, these questions have taken on a whole new level of urgen...
632. Knowing Yourself, Intuition vs. Reason, and the Crisis of Modern Meaning with J. Eric Oliver
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How is modern self-knowledge acquired? In what ways can ‘yoga of the mind’ help you find and explore new thoughts and thought processes, giving yo...
631. A Physicist’s View on the Inherent Risks of Financial Modeling with Emanuel Derman
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What do particle physicists and Wall Street traders have in common? How did finance become more like physics, and how is physics now becoming more lik...
630. What Evolutionary Psychology Gets Wrong About Dating and Attraction with Paul Eastwick
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Romantic relationships are something uniquely human — we form attachments and perceive compatibility in ways no other species does. So what explains...
629. Beyond Happiness: The Deep Longing to Matter with Rebecca Goldstein
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the tale of Genesis were reframed as a story of humanity’s ascent into awareness of mortality and entropy? How are both connectedness and a ...
628. The Civic Bargain: Democracy, Knowledge, and the Challenge of Scale with Josiah Ober
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A key precondition for democracy is civic trust and commitment to common goods; polarization and party identity undermine this, worsened by modern com...
627. Unlocking the Secrets of Love and Happiness with Sonja Lyubomirsky
06 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How important are relationships and the feeling of being loved to human happiness? How have the fields of happiness studies and relationship studies c...
626. Connective Labor: The Art of Human Connection in a Disconnected World with Allison J. Pugh
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How could AI shift medical value toward primary care relationships if pattern-recognition specialties are more automatable? What would people prefer i...
625. How to Not Just Face Uncertainty, But Thrive In It feat. Nathan and Susannah Furr
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We live in an age where uncertainty lurks around every corner, but what if uncertainty didn’t have to be an anxiety-inducing, uncomfortable part of ...
624. Time, Distraction, and Investing in What Matters with Cassie Holmes
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you start thinking of time as a scarce resource? What practical strategies can you use to protect it from being passively spent or h...
623. From Classroom to Boardroom: Unstoppable Entrepreneurs with Lori Rosenkopf
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What makes for a good entrepreneur in today’s start-up landscape? How do you work to scale and when is it right to go from bootstrapping to seeking ...
622. The Critical Art of Manufacturing & Why We Can’t Lose It with Tim Minshall
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s world where every imaginable product can appear at your doorstep with the click of a button, the art that goes into manufacturing those p...
621. Land, Loans, and Legacy: Real Estate's Global Influence with Mike Bird
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What is the impact of land reform on economic development? What are the implications of property law when a financial crisis hits? This episode offers...
620. The Secret to Creating ‘Good Jobs’ Where Everyone Wins with Zeynep Ton
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if a company could deliver high quality products at low cost, improving the value for customers and giving it a competitive edge, all while offer...
619. Fatherhood, Power, and History: Unpacking the Male Role in Society with Augustine Sedgewick
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When did society change from matriarchal to patriarchal, and why? What was the advice on fatherhood from Plato and Aristotle, and how did other writer...
618. Brand Global, Adapt Local: Insights with Katherine Melchior Ray
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What challenges come with taking a marketing strategy global, and what strategies can be created to account for and even take advantage of differences...
617. Navigating Leadership Challenges: Analyzing Systems with Barbara Kellerman
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How do bad leaders persist in current-day environments, and how do they use factors like fear, rewards, and the natural difficulty of uprooting entren...
616. Leading Through Learning: Lessons from Life as a CEO with Jeff Immelt
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no instruction manual for how to be a CEO, and that role has undergone massive change in recent decades. So how do the leaders of great corp...
615. Reclaim Your Life from Digital Overload with Paul Leonardi
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What are practical strategies to avoid overload and exhaustion in today’s digital world? What norms can organizations create for tool usage, and how...
614. Understanding the Great Divergence: Europe vs China from 1000 to 2000 feat. Guido Tabellini
23 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What changes happened in the histories of Europe and China to create two economies that developed so differently? How did different forms of local coo...
613. Challenging Bureaucracy: Management Insights with Gary Hamel
19 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Where did the concept of management as a profession come from, and how did it develop? Why do bureaucratic practices persist? How can companies break ...
612. Cracking the Code of Effective Meetings with Rebecca Hinds
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When are meetings the best way to coordinate and make decisions and when do they make things worse?? How do you use the two-pizza rule to hold effecti...
611. Finding a Strategy for Life, Business, and Everything in Between feat. Geoffrey A. Moore
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Whether in markets, organizations, or the universe itself, today’s guest is a master at navigating complex systems where existing models have stoppe...
610. Shaping Spaces: Architecture, Design, and Urban Planning with Witold Rybczynski
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What is the real importance of understanding architectural history, and how is its teaching different from the histories of other disciplines? How can...
609. The Evolution of Science: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Understanding feat. Peter Dear
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What was the role of experimentation in early science? How did past scientific paradigms continue to influence current scientific discourse? What is t...
608. Why Imperfection Is Core to Being Human feat. Laurence D. Hurst
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
While evolution is often thought to be conducive to perfect adaptation, there are plenty of reasons why we never get there. Laurence D. Hurst is a pr...
607. Navigating Gender Equality and Patriarchy in the Modern Workplace feat. Cordelia Fine
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How can organizations make more equitable changes to their internal norms and structures, to promote fairness over merely seeking profit? What are alt...
606. The Great Myth of The New Deal & Its Lingering Economic Impact feat. George Selgin
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Despite its long-held place in history as the lynchpin of America’s recovery from the Great Depression, what if the New Deal did more to hinder the ...
605. The Intersection of Children’s Rights and Our Legal System’s Flaws feat. Adam Benforado
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does our legal system treat children today, and how do policies affecting their parents and communities cascade down to shape their lives? What fo...
604. The Intersection of Philosophy and Suffering: From the Stoics to Modernity feat. Scott Samuelson
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the point of life to minimize suffering, or to understand and embrace it on some level? How do different belief structures view the ideal human res...
603. How to Engineer Serendipity in Your Life, Your Organization and Your Community feat. David Cleevely
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What are the nuances of organizational design and risk-taking? What are the roles of both curiosity and trust in fostering an environment ripe for inn...
602. Books: The Original Hardware for Knowledge feat. Joel J. Miller
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If ideas and knowledge are the software, then books have always been the longest-running hardware.Author and former publishing executive Joel J. Mille...
601. King Dollar: The Enduring Dominance of the US Currency feat. Paul Blustein
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How did the US Dollar become the dominant currency internationally? What keeps other currencies, fiat or crypto, from displacing the dollar's role? Do...
600. The Intersection of Business Theory and Practice feat. Jay Barney
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike some other academic fields, the study of business has always had the challenging task of striking a balance between theory and practice. How ca...
599. Why Authenticity Might Not Be the Answer feat. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why might ‘bring your whole self to work’ be terrible professional advice, and what should we be thinking about instead? Why does authenticity com...
598. Becoming an Evangelist feat. Guy Kawasaki
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do evangelism and business go hand in hand? Well, for today’s guest, evangelism is the purest form of sales. Guy Kawasaki is the Chief Evangeli...
597. Transforming Work Culture: From Firefighting to Strategic Flow feat. Donald C. Kieffer
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What practical advice could leaders and managers implement right now in their organizations to increase productivity and decrease friction between dis...
596. The Rules of Life’s Everyday Markets & How to Get Them to Work in Your Favor feat. Judd Kessler
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if you could find a strategy for gaming the systems all around to work more in your favor? If you did, then things like coveted restaurant reserv...
595. Beyond Logic: Unlocking Human Potential Through Story Science feat. Angus Fletcher
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What strange thing happens when a neuron is left alone? Are there ways to moderate stress and anxiety, and even channel them into productive and helpf...
594. Rational Choice Theory and Practical Wisdom: Analyzing Decision Making with Barry Schwartz
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How has rational choice theory come to dominate both our understanding of the world and our view of good judgment, and why is that a problem? What are...
593. The Myth of the Bossless Company feat. Nicolai J. Foss
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For organizations that are tempted to throw out the classic organizational management handbook in favor of a structure with no managers – think agai...
592. Deconstructing the Left: Social Justice and Political Realities feat. Fredrik deBoer
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How have politics changed from the Bill Clinton era to that of Donald Trump? How have identity politics diverted attention from economic issues, a...
591. From Platforms to Engines: Harnessing AI's Transformational Power feat. Sangeet Paul Choudary
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How will AI change the size, shape, and structure of companies? Where will we see new leverage points in the AI economy? How does AI move beyond task ...
590. Bridging Humanities and Technology: The Evolution of Code and Knowledge feat. Samuel Arbesman
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does code, like language, shape the way we see the world? How can we rediscover enchantment in our technology?? How can we determine the half-life...
589. Reenvisioning The Study of Ancient History feat. Walter Scheidel
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is it time to overhaul the way we study and teach ancient history? Are we limiting our ability to understand fully how the past informs the present in...
588. The Evolution of the West and Western Identity feat. Georgios Varouxakis
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to the concept of The West, its scope and principles have been criticized both contemporarily and historically. How did the West emerge ...
587. History's Long Arc: Equality, Genius, and Happiness Explored feat. Darrin M. McMahon
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is historical context so important when looking at topics from the past? What role does a broader appreciation of the humanities play in understan...
586. Living Liberalism: Ethics, Society, and Personal Virtue feat. Alexandre Lefebvre
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There is a misconception that liberalism lacks a vision of ‘the good life,’ but liberalism is more ingrained in society than often recognized. It ...
585. Epic Disruptions and the Evolution of Business Strategies feat. Scott D. Anthony
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Business leaders need to be versatile, critical thinkers capable of questioning the status quo while integrating actionable frameworks to drive innova...
584. Examining School Closure Policies During the Pandemic: Untested Models vs. Empirical Evidence feat. David Zweig
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How did political and social pressures affect public health decisions during the pandemic, and how did media reporting amplify those effects? What is ...
583. Reflections on Literature's Enduring Role in Human Experience feat. Arnold Weinstein
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does literature enrich our understanding of ourselves and of others, in ways that STEM fields and other forms of knowledge cannot? What is contain...
582. Our Ancestral Eves: How the Female Body Shaped Human Evolution feat. Cat Bohannon
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does the female body itself contribute to the story of human survival and development, and how does it differ from other animals and specifically...
581. The Power of Status: Examining the Matthew Effect feat. Toby E. Stuart
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does status infiltrate all of our decisions, and how is status allocated in a networked society?Toby E. Stuart is a professor at the Haas School a...
580. Creating Masterpieces: A New Vision of Leadership feat. Charles Spinosa
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many business leaders craft successful companies but only a few elevate that to the level of a masterpiece. What is it about some companies and leader...
579. Dissecting Capitalism's Critics From the Industrial Revolution to AI feat. John Cassidy
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s not hard to find critics of capitalism in the current moment but this has always been true: as long as we have had capitalism we have had criti...
578. Rethinking Government Digital Transformation feat. Jennifer Pahlka
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How can lawmakers and public servants design policies which benefit from continuous learning?? How will government offices that learn and adopt agile ...
577. Debunking the Myths: What Science Is and Isn't feat. James C. Zimring
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to ‘know’ something, and what does it mean specifically when stated by a scientist? What is the role of debate in driving scient...
576. The Cost of Staying Put: America’s Mobility Crisis with Yoni Appelbaum
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For much of America’s history, the promise of greater economic opportunities in new places was an intrinsic idea to the country’s identity. But in...
575. The Rise and Repair of the Intangible Economy feat. Jonathan Haskel
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The evolving economic landscape makes institutional reforms in areas like finance, planning, and public infrastructure, a necessity. AI is capable of ...
574. In COVID's Wake: Analyzing the Efficacy and Consequences of Pandemic Policies feat. Stephen Macedo
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What can be gained from looking back now at the pandemic response during COVID? What would a “postmortem” tell us about how policies were designed...
573. Exploring Populism and Demagoguery in Politics feat. Eric A. Posner
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What historical forces have led to the rise of demagogues in the past and how to they compare to the increasing power of populism today? What are the ...
572. The Court of Public Opinion: Cancel Culture and Legal Education feat. Ilya L. Shapiro
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How has the landscape of legal education shifted, and what ramifications has that already started having? How do politics factor into judicial appoint...
571. The Power of Diverse Models in Decision Making feat. Scott E. Page
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if there was a system that could decide who to consult for a decision in real time? How would the diversity of the available sources affect the i...
570. Exploring the History of Liberalism as a Word and Concept feat. Helena Rosenblatt
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Liberalism is a term that has been adopted and adapted in different ways over the centuries of its use. How do we need to rethink and communicate the ...
569. Exploring Tech as the Modern Religion feat. Greg M. Epstein
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Technology is now involved in all industries, and there is a need for a critical and ethical approach to technology's development and integration into...
568. Accessing Your Socrates Within feat. Ward Farnsworth
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is the relationship between philosophy, rhetoric and law? What can we still learn from ancient Greek and Roman philosophers like Socrates and the...
567. The Making of Timeless, Classic Art feat. Rochelle Gurstein
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Before the Mona Lisa became one of the most famous and beloved paintings in the world, it sat in obscurity for hundreds of years away from the public ...
566. Why We Got Hooked On ‘Like’ feat. Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a button most people these days don’t think twice about before clicking online: the like button. But there's no argument that the button has ...
565. Hacking Life Through Economics feat. Daryl Fairweather
11 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It makes sense that economic principles could be a useful guide in deciding what career to pursue, but what if they’re also the key to deciding whet...
564. Philosophy Beyond Books: Food For Thought feat. Julian Baggini
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How can you make philosophy accessible to everyone without stripping it of essential depth and complexity? Where can philosophy take hold in diet and ...
563. How the Container Changed the World feat. Marc Levinson
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It may be not much to look at, but the unassuming shipping container has had a massive impact on the global economy since its invention in the 1950s. ...
562. Decoding Digital Transformation Then and Now feat. David Rogers
04 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It might sound counterintuitive but digital transformation is not about technology. So, what does it mean for companies to keep up in an ever-evolving...
561. Exploring The Human Drive to Explore feat. Alex Hutchinson
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What drives humans to seek and discover the previously unknown? Does the wanderlust that so many of us share in common have a scientific explanation? ...
560. Mastering Distraction at Work and in Life with Nir Eyal
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Being easily distracted by the latest technologies has been a consistent feature of the human race since the time of Plato. But is the technology to b...
559. Modeling Persuasion and Connectivity: From Pandemics to Finance feat. Adam Kucharski
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There is a shift happening in the complex world of proof. Simulation and probabilistic approaches are increasingly accepted as ‘good enough’ in ar...
558. The Psychology Behind Morality and Empathy feat. Kurt Gray
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do individuals navigate moral typecasting? What is the dual nature of empathy in the context of human pain and suffering? When is there a disconne...
557. Beyond The Myth of Silicon Valley’s Origins feat. Margaret O’Mara
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You know what they say — Silicon Valley wasn’t built in a day, nor was it built by just a small group of tech gurus. In fact, the origin story of ...
556. Rewriting Your Personality and Overcoming Anxiety feat. Olga Khazan
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are there ways to change your personality? What traits are easier to change than others? How does environment and life events tend to influence the Bi...
555. Happiness As Evolution’s Best Tool feat. William Von Hippel
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Could the key to a happier life be found with our most ancient ancestors and the way they depended on community over autonomy? In a modern world built...
554. Trading at Light Speed: The Impact of Ultra-Fast Algorithms on Financial Markets feat. Donald MacKenzie
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens to the speed of trading as technology advances? How do we move from automated button pressing machines to ultra-fast algorithms? What sur...
553. Systems Leadership: Balancing the Cross Pressures in Modern Business feat. Robert Siegel
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How are effective leadership practices evolving to keep up in a continually changing world? What can be learned from the leaders of companies like Sti...
552. Memory: The Perfectly Imperfect Archive of Our Lives feat. Ciara M. Greene
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What are the effects of stress on memory? How does age change the nature of this vital piece of human cognition? What are the limitations of memory, a...