Remaking Capitalism

On this show, we had the chance to sit down with Professor Kenneth Mack -- a professor at Harvard Law School, and a member of the faculty for nearly 20 years. Professor Mack has had a storied career studying and teaching civil rights history, American capitalism and everything in between. We talk in detail about systemic racism and how a new Presidential administration might begin to move the needle. 

In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking with HBS Professor and author of "Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire," Rebecca Henderson. Our conversation started with a discussion about the history capitalism, and then we talked about the relationship between American capitalism and systemic racism. Rebecca addressed conservative narratives emerging from Milton Friedman and President Reagan, and what COVID-19 should teach us about ways capitalism must be reimagined and remade.

This episode, co-hosted by my friend Tomas Rosales (HBS 2021), was an interview with professor Matt Weinzierl who currently is the course head for the Business, Government, and International Economy course (BGIE) at HBS. We explored government trust and the relationship between the public and private sectors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Arthur Brooks, Professor at HBS and HKS and former President of the AEI, stopped by the podcast to share his views on capitalism, on what a world with "morals before markets" might look like, and how we might have more effective conversations with people in a a different  "tribe." 

In this episode, I had a conversation with Joelle Gamble. Joelle is currently a principal with the reimagining capitalism at the Omidyar Network, where she focuses on topics related to building the power of working people and shaping a new economic paradigm.   

In this episode, I connected with Brian Trelstad, a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Businsess School who is well known for teaching an elective course on Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He is also a Partner at Bridges Fund Management, a leading global impact investing fund, and was a former CIO at Acumen.  We cover a number of topics, starting with whether or not capitalism is broken and moving into case studies of impact investing done well. He touches on the critiques of the space, and provides some thoughtful responses. We touch a little bit on philosophy towards the end too.

In this episode, I had a conversation with my current Professor of Leadership & Accountability, Christina Wing. Christina is an alum of HBS; she teaches classes in the Technology and Operations Management unit as well as the Leadership & Corporate Accountability. In class, we talk a lot about what stakeholder capitalism might look like. It was fun to expand on it during the courser of our conversation.

In this episode, I had a conversation with my former Professor from Dartmouth College, Charles Wheelan. Wheelan has had an illustrious career as an academic and and as an author, having written best-sellers Naked Economics & Naked Statistics. We talk about economics, government and everything in between. 

In this episode, I had a conversation with Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17) who represents the Silicon Valley in the United States House of Representatives. Our conversation spanned a variety of topics -- starting with where he grew up and ending with his tenure in Congress to date. Disclaimer: I've served as Ro's Senior Political Advisor for the last five years -- I'm not an impartial listener. I hope you enjoy the conversation!  

In this episode, I sat down with Professor George Serafeim of Harvard Business School and Rob Zochowski, the Director of Impact Weighted Accounts Research at HBS. We talked about conventional accounting, novel ways of accounting for social good, and what it might take to move society to think in unconventional ways about conventional topics.   

Dean Nitin Nohria serves as the Dean of Harvard Business School. He offered his perspective on the promise and perils of our market system, touching on the obligations of corporate and public actors in today's times. 

Welcome to Remaking Capitalism, a podcast brought to you by the Harbus. On this show, we'll be asking questions on what it might take to make our market system work for all, not just the privileged few. Markets, when done right, tap into the ingenuity and potential of the human spirit in a way that’s indiscriminate to our differences, no matter what gender, caste or creed we come from.  But that’s not what is happening right now. Median incomes in America, when adjusted for inflation, have remained flat for decades. The sky-rocketing price of private health care has bankrupted families. And our generation is the first that has dimmer economic prospects than our parents’ generation. So where we do go? I'm not sure, but I am sure that there are a lot of people that may have interesting ideas. Join me on this journey of learning and introspection, and reach out at remakingcapitalism@gmail.com if you want to get involved.