The Why Podcast
Every piece of academic research starts with a question to answer or puzzle to solve. Listen in as London Business School faculty describe how they set about making new discoveries on a subject they’re curious about, what their findings suggest, and discuss the current and potential future impact of their research for you and your business. A Think at London Business School podcast.
Episodes
Why do performance incentives so often lead to burnout?
Professor Jean-Pierre Benoît joins Katie Pisa on The Why Podcast to explore a surprising question: why do so many high-performing employees end up burned out?
Drawing on his latest research, Jean-Pierre explains that burnout is not simply the result of long hours or personal resilience. Instead, it can be a predictable consequence of the way organisations design incentives. Through an economist's
The Why Podcast: Why we think we'll forever
Professor David Faro joins Katie Pisa on The Why Podcast to explore a deceptively simple question: why does the way we think about how long we have left to live change how we live today?
Drawing on his latest research, David explains how life expectancy can be framed in two ways, as an age we might reach or as the time we have left. While the numbers are identical, the impact is not. Seeing life
The Why Podcast: Why we are who we are
Professor Nigel Nicholson joins Katie Pisa on The Why Podcast to explore why individuality matters more than ever in the age of AI, and why ignoring it carries serious consequences for leadership and relationships.
Drawing on his latest book, ‘Unique You: How Individuality Works and Why It Matters’, Nigel explains why each person inhabits a distinct inner world shaped by biology and experience
The Why Podcast: Why delaying student loan payments benefits everyone
Professor Francisco Gomes explains why today’s student loan systems place the greatest financial pressure on graduates exactly when they can least afford it and how a simple shift in repayment timing could transform economic wellbeing.
In this episode of The Why Podcast, Francisco outlines how early career repayment forces young adults to juggle debt with low incomes, rising living costs and maj
The Why Podcast: Why do people resist gender gap initiatives?
Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour Elinor Flynn sits down with Katie Pisa, Senior Editor of Think, to explore why many employees support equality yet still resist gender diversity initiatives. Dive into how the everyday explanations people use to make sense of persistent gender gaps shape whether they see organisational action as fair, necessary or effective.
Drawing on new research
The Why Podcast: Why companies don't always reveal employee data
Why are so many companies still struggling to achieve meaningful workforce diversity, and what does newly released data reveal about
the barriers hidden inside organisations?
In this episode of The Why Podcast, Rachel Flam uncovers what firm‑level evidence shows about representation, transparency and the forces shaping workplace equity today. The conversation highlights why disclosure matters
The Why Podcast: Why we still need human insight when hiring
Professor Isabel Fernandez-Mateo examines how generative AI is reshaping the hiring process and why organisations need to approach these changes thoughtfully. With automation increasing the number of applications employers receive, rejection rates are higher and influencing who continues to participate in the talent pipeline.
Three key themes emerge from the conversation:
Technology is res
The Why Podcast: Andrew Likierman on why AI can’t do judgement
Is AI just a tool for efficiency – or a partner in better decision-making? Sir Andrew Likierman argues it’s time for a rethink. In this sharp and timely conversation, he explains why judgement – the ability to combine knowledge, experience and human qualities – is more critical than ever in an AI-driven world.
Rather than seeing humans and machines as rivals, Likierman calls for nuance: recogn
The Why Podcast: Why freelancers want your work but not your job
Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice at London Business School, explores a seismic shift in the world of work with host Katie Pisa in this episode of The Why. Together, they discuss the rise of the freelance professional and why they might want your work but not your job.
It is time to reframe the gig economy clichés. Today’s freelancers are highly skilled, deeply experienced, and choo
The Why Podcast: Why does the office still matter?
In this episode of The Why, host Katie Pisa welcomes Bukky
Akinsanmi Oyedeji, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School, to unpack why physical work environments still hold power in a hybrid world.
Drawing on her research ‘Physical Work Environments: An
Integrative Review and Agenda for Future Research’, Bukky explores how office design affects not only employ
The Why Podcast: Highlights from season two
In this special wrap-up episode of The Why Podcast, we revisit the most powerful insights from a season that explored identity, equity, power and culture through the lens of cutting-edge research.
From Gillian Ku’s exploration of ‘social uncertainty’ and the courage it takes to be authentic at work, to Olenka Kacperczyk’s deep dive into the gender gap in entrepreneurship, the season revealed how
The Why Podcast: Why do teams fall apart – and what can we do about it?
In this episode of The Why Podcast, host Katie Pisa speaks with Professor Randall S Peterson, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, about one of the most costly, time-consuming, and universal workplace issues: team conflict.
Based on his research about conflict 4 Common Types of Team Conflict—and How to Resolve Them, Randall outlines a practical framework for diagnosing
The Why Podcast: Why does corporate culture matter to investors?
In this episode of The Why Podcast, host Katie Pisa sits down with Henri Servaes, Professor of Finance at London Business School and Richard Brealey Professor of Corporate Governance, to explore how corporate culture—particularly around gender equality and inclusion—is reshaping investment decisions and boardroom dynamics.
Drawing on his recent research, Sexism, Culture, and Firm Value: Evidence
The Why Podcast: Why is there a gender gap in entrepreneurship?
In the latest episode of The Why podcast, host Katie Pisa met with Professor Olenka Kacperczyk, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School, to discuss her research on the gender gap in entrepreneurship. The two discuss this important question: Where are all the missing female entrepreneurs?
Olenka sheds light on her research findings, the reasons are behind this gap and
The Why Podcast: Why can’t we all be ourselves at work?
In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, Katie Pisa met with Gillian Ku, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, and Chair of the Organisational Behaviour Faculty at London Business School to discuss her recently published paper on how Black employees can feel more comfortable expressing their racial identity at work and how social uncertainty is a key factor that discourages Black employees from
The Why Podcast: Why lowering corporate taxes can boost productivity
In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, Katie Pisa met with Paolo Surico, Professor of Economics at London Business School, and Joseba Martinez, Assistant Professor of Economics at London Business School to discuss their research titled “Corporate taxes, innovation and productivity”.
Their findings offer valuable insights into how tax policies can be leveraged to promote innovation and drive eco
The Why Podcast: Why algorithms are crucial to cleaning up the world’s mess
Have you heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s one of five giant gyres in our oceans, where massive circular currents trap floating plastic. It’s three times the size of France, two times the size of Texas and it contains roughly 80,000 tonnes of waste that is polluting our oceans. The oldest bits in this gyre date back to the 1960s.
In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, London Busin
The Why Podcast: Why being kind and acting sustainably can pay off
The saying “nice guys finish last” is not always true, according to research. In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, Katie Pisa met with Jonathan Berman, Associate Professor of Marketing at London Business School, to talk about his research findings on prosocial behaviour and when doing good leads to looking good.
“When do you hear about good deeds from someone and think better of them, and wh
The Why Podcast: Why some consumers feel impostor syndrome from luxury shopping?
How does buying luxury items make you feel? Do you love them or do they hang in your wardrobe for that special occasion, collecting dust? In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, Katie Pisa met with Dafna Goor, Assistant Professor of Marketing at London Business School, to talk about her research findings on imposter syndrome from luxury consumption.
Buying luxury items can be a double-edged swor
The Why Podcast: Why leaders should allow time for deep work to make happier and healthier employees
How do you manage tension at work and better manage your time? In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, Katie Pisa met with Dan Cable, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, to talk about his research findings on this.
How do you not get caught up in the urgent daily tasks and lose sight of the big picture? Dan shares tips and findings from his research on how to help r
The Why Podcast: Why sometimes we should borrow from our future-self (and enjoy the present more)?
How do you think of your future financial self? In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, Katie Pisa met with Simona Botti, Professor of Marketing, and David Faro, Associate Professor of Marketing at London Business School, to discuss what makes someone decide how they spend money now based on a future income.
Some people borrow money from their richer future selves in order to live a more comfort
The Why Podcast: Why are movies with male leads perceived more highly than female leads?
In the latest episode of the Why podcast, Bryan Stroube discusses his findings on his latest research about how viewers evaluate films based on lead actors’ gender. His research experimented with AI-Generated movie plots and analysed nearly 400 million filmgoer ratings screened between 1992 and 2018. Bryan’s research sheds light on gender disparities -- with women only holding 28% of the leading r
The Why Podcast: Can taxes make businesses more sustainable?
In this episode of the Why podcast, London Business School’s Marcel Olbert discusses the role of taxation in companies and governments with Alenka Turnsek of EY.
While there isn’t one global system of holding companies accountable for their sustainability efforts, there are several different country-wide efforts ongoing.
Tax incentives seem to be working, for example, in the US where the Inflati
The Why Podcast: Why should firms experiment more when it comes to their marketing activity?
In this episode of the Why podcast, London Business School’s Anja Lambrecht and Xu Zhang discuss their recent research into how TV ads influence online sales for a major travel website, exploring how their findings challenge conventional views about their value. The research suggests that spikes in sales following an advert are not necessarily incremental sales, but instead an acceleration of sale
The Why Podcast: Why should public and private business work together to increase innovation in oncology drug development?
How can public and private work together to increase innovation in oncology drug development?
In this episode of the Why podcast, Sukhun Kang, an award-winning PhD student at London Business School, discusses his research into oncology drug development, a research project sponsored by the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. He explains how innovation in this field could be transformed
The Why Podcast: Why do people believe what they do?
Economists are interested in people’s beliefs because they drive their behaviour, which in turn impacts on the economy. In this episode of The Why Podcast, Jean-Pierre Benoît, Professor of Economics at London Business School, discusses research into how what people believe about themselves affects the choices they make. In the experiment he describes here, he investigated subjects’ self-confidence
The Why Podcast: Why would an investor back a failed entrepreneur?
Most ventures fail – so what happens when an entrepreneur goes to investors seeking backing for their next new business? In this episode of The Why Podcast, Gary Dushnitsky describes how he set out to discover, in the context of equity crowdfunding, whether investors would shy away from failed entrepreneurs, or if they would take additional information into account when they considered whether to
The Why Podcast: Why should we be thinking of ESG as something niche?
In this episode of The Why Podcast, Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School, discusses his recent paper ‘The end of ESG’. Its title was deliberately provocative and caused a stir – but the point he was making was that a fundamental part of understanding a company and its operations is understanding its impact on the environment and the world. ESG has been politicised and linked
The Why Podcast: Why is hybrid work here to stay?
Giving people autonomy over when and how they work has its advantages but it also brings challenges – from finding new ways to measure productivity to managing boundaries to avoid burnout. In this episode of The Why Podcast, bestselling author and future-of-work expert Lynda Gratton explores how flexible working might pan out, and suggests what leaders need to consider in order to get the best out
The Why Podcast: Why do entrepreneurs break the rules?
Entrepreneurs behave differently from the average businessperson – and, according to John Mullins, these behaviours can be learnt. In this episode of The Why Podcast, he explains the thinking and research behind his new book, Break the Rules! The 6 Counter-Conventional Mindsets of Entrepreneurs – and suggests that forgetting some established behaviours could make all of us more entrepreneurial.
Jo
The Why Podcast: Why don’t people report abuses sooner?
When some horrific abuses came to light in religious care homes in the US, a lot of people wondered why nobody had spoken up earlier. What was at play here, and how could such situations be prevented? In this episode of The Why Podcast, Aharon Cohen Mohliver tells us how he embarked on a deep-dive statistical analysis and discovered that having a system in place is no guarantee of anything when hu
The Why Podcast: Why should I care about who I’m negotiating with?
Negotiating situations can be tense. It’s often assumed you need to wield power, grab what you can and then get out. But it doesn’t have to be so: if you can build trust and work out what the other person cares about, you’re more likely to get a result that’s good for both parties.
Empathy takes practice – and, before the other person even opens their mouth, you’ll have made a snap judgement about
The Why Podcast: Why has my boss become so blinkered?
When the pandemic hit, managers reacted by becoming more inward-looking and task-focused. Relationships suffered and development opportunities withered. But there’s good news too. In this episode of The Why Podcast, Julian Birkinshaw investigates how managers’ behaviour changed and how they can reskill to lead effectively now. You can read his paper here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…812562
The Why Podcast: Why does it matter how you phrase your mission statement?
If your mission statement is worded the wrong way, it’s unlikely you’ll end up with the kind of company culture you’re hoping for. In this episode of The Why Podcast, Dana Kanze explains how the power of language comes into play in workplace discrimination. Her full research paper, including the dictionary she mentions, is here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl…49597818301092
Dana Kanze is Ass
The Why Podcast: Why not fight ageing itself, not just its ailments?
A lot of resources go into combatting age-related diseases, but should we be focusing more on slowing down the actual process of ageing? In this episode of The Why Podcast, Andrew Scott explores the economics of ageing using four different models and suggests a new way forward. His full research paper is here: www.nature.com/articles/s43587-021-00080-0
Andrew Scott is Professor of Economics at Lon
The Why Podcast: Why is it so hard to spot misconduct?
What happens in between someone making an allegation and it being deemed misconduct? In this episode of The Why Podcast, Bryan Stroube delves into data from the Chicago Police Department to show how psychology and culture affect how wrongdoings are reported and dealt with.
Bryan Stroube is Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. Kathy Brewis is Senior Managi
The Why Podcast: Why is that person being so nice to them?
‘If I scratch your back, someone else will scratch mine…’
In this episode of The Why Podcast, Ena Inesi talks us through her research into how indirect reciprocity works within power hierarchies. It turns out that the judgements we make when we see someone performing an act of kindness affect how we behave towards them, which also influences the flow of resources in social groups.
Ena is Associate
The Why Podcast: Why doesn’t everyone make an Advanced Care Plan?
It’s straightforward to make your end-of-life treatment preferences known, yet few of us do. Simona Botti is intrigued by the decisions we make as healthcare consumers, so she set out to look into what was going on here – and what this might tell us about ourselves.
Simona Botti is Professor of Marketing at London Business School. Kathy Brewis is Senior Managing Editor of Think at London Business
The Why Podcast: Why is our board so dysfunctional?
Boards failures are shocking and often scandalous – yet, says Randall S Peterson, they aren’t inevitable. In this episode of The Why Podcast, he talks us though the six types of dysfunctional board he has identified in his new book and suggests what to look out for to preempt disaster.
Randall S Peterson is Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Academic Director of the Leadership Institute at
The Why Podcast: Why are you answering that email right now?
When you get an email from your boss after hours, it can feel like there’s a pressure to respond straight away – which adds stress to our lives. In this episode of The Why Podcast, Laura Giurge explores the psychology around this and suggests ways we can foster healthier emailing habits for happier minds. Laura Giurge is a Research Associate of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School an
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