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All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions

All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions

The Lauder Institute 103 Episodes Aug 13, 2026

Join Stanford GSB finance professor Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen of The Wharton School in a conversation with prominent business leaders about common flaws in the decision making process and what to do about them. Learn more at AllElseEqualPodcast.com. All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Podcast is a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business and is produced by University FM.

Episodes

Rerun: Ep73 “The Dangers of Group Think on Decision Making” with Adi Sunderam
Rerun: Ep73 “The Dangers of Group Think on Decision Making” with Adi Sunderam Aug 13, 2026 00:33:58 All Else Equal is taking a short break over the summer and will be revisiting some of our favorite conversations from last season. The show will be back with new episodes soon.  Whether it be in politics, public health, or corporate finance, why are people more likely to interpret facts or data in a way that fits their preconceived notions about the world as opposed to searching for the fundamenta
Rerun: Ep69 “The Science Behind Why We Don’t Just Say What We Mean” with Psychologist Steven Pinker - Part 2
Rerun: Ep69 “The Science Behind Why We Don’t Just Say What We Mean” with Psychologist Steven Pinker - Part 2 Jul 29, 2026 00:24:05 All Else Equal is taking a short break over the summer and will be revisiting some of our favorite conversations from last season. The show will be back with new episodes soon. In the final part of this two-part interview, Steven Pinker, an experimental psychologist and Harvard professor, again joins hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen to discuss his new book When E
Rerun: Ep69 “The Science Behind Why We Don’t Just Say What We Mean” with Psychologist Steven Pinker - Part 1
Rerun: Ep69 “The Science Behind Why We Don’t Just Say What We Mean” with Psychologist Steven Pinker - Part 1 Jul 15, 2026 00:23:30 All Else Equal is taking a short break over the summer and will be revisiting some of our favorite conversations from last season. The show will be back with new episodes soon.  Everyday, we participate in seemingly arbitrary but essential choices for society to function. We all agree on what side of the road to drive on, to use paper currency, or to speak the same language. These kinds of choices
Rerun: Ep68 “Is It Better to Overestimate or Underestimate Your Enemies?” with H.R. McMaster
Rerun: Ep68 “Is It Better to Overestimate or Underestimate Your Enemies?” with H.R. McMaster Jul 1, 2026 00:34:17 All Else Equal is taking a short break over the summer and will be revisiting some of our favorite conversations from last season. The show will be back with new episodes soon.  Historically, the U.S. has had a habit of overestimating the capabilities of its enemies. Why? Is this an intentional security strategy? Or does the U.S. need to change the way it gathers enemy intelligence?  Former Nation
Ep78 “What’s Wrong With Taxing Billionaires More?” with Joshua Rauh
Ep78 “What’s Wrong With Taxing Billionaires More?” with Joshua Rauh Jun 18, 2026 00:35:41 A proposed constitutional amendment on the ballots in California this November will impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires. Proponents of the amendment say it will bring upwards of $100 billion to California’s revenue, but how did they get to that number and what other side effects of this wealth tax could be looming in the wings? Will this tax actually raise more revenue?  Hosts and fina
Rerun: Ep65 "Will Future AI Systems Operate Like The Human Brain? It’s Complicated” with Jeff Hawkins
Rerun: Ep65 "Will Future AI Systems Operate Like The Human Brain? It’s Complicated” with Jeff Hawkins Jun 3, 2026 00:32:40 This episode originally aired previously and is being re-shared due to its continued relevance. Enjoy this conversation with Jeff Hawkins on intelligence, neuroscience, and the future of AI. With growing concerns over whether or not AI will take away jobs and eventually become superior to human intelligence, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at the human brain and discover how AI will always h
Ep77 The Academic Journal System is Broken, Here’s How to Fix It
Ep77 The Academic Journal System is Broken, Here’s How to Fix It May 13, 2026 00:29:00  How should academic discourse take place? Is it time to update the antiquated journal system?  In the season finale, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen tackle the problems present in the current system for disseminating academic research, including how digital distribution has eliminated effective curation while peer review remains slow, incentive-misaligned, and
Rerun: Ep46 "May Contain Lies" with Alex Edmans
Rerun: Ep46 "May Contain Lies" with Alex Edmans Apr 29, 2026 00:29:04 This week, we’re revisiting our ever-timely and fascinating conversation around misinformation with London Business School professor Alex Edmans. All Else Equal will be back with a new episode in two weeks.  What is the real problem with misinformation? Are our biases so ingrained in us that we are unable to think critically about the world and the systems around us? What happens when large instit
Ep76 “How Should You Deal with Uncertainty in Today's World?” with Nick Bloom
Ep76 “How Should You Deal with Uncertainty in Today's World?” with Nick Bloom Apr 15, 2026 00:33:50 What do measures of uncertainty tell us about the state of the economy and how should firms and households use those measurements to inform decision-making? Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by returning guest Nick Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University, whose research on the causes and consequences of uncertainty helped build the Economic
Ep75 The Misleading Truth Behind IRR
Ep75 The Misleading Truth Behind IRR Apr 2, 2026 00:26:08 Despite it being widely taught in business schools and practiced in the industry, you should think twice before using the internal rate of return as a criteria for making an investment decision. Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are back to discuss why using the internal rate of return (IRR) as an investment decision rule is fundamentally flawed compared with the
Ep74 Is The Financial Sector Good for Society?
Ep74 Is The Financial Sector Good for Society? Mar 18, 2026 00:18:51 What value does a financial sector add to society? How would society function without a financial sector?  In this episode, hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen make the case that a competitive market financial sector is crucial to economic growth and the betterment of society.  Jonathan and Jules contend with the critiques they hear most often when it comes to free
Rerun: Ep29 “How Do You Become CEO?” with Dirk Jenter
Rerun: Ep29 “How Do You Become CEO?” with Dirk Jenter Mar 4, 2026 00:33:31 All Else Equal is on Spring Break this week, so we’re revisiting one of our most popular episodes dealing with the question: How does one become a CEO? We’ll be back with new episodes in two weeks.  A lot has been written and said about CEOs and their compensation, but who are they really and how did they get there? According to the data, what are the most likely paths to become one? In this episo

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