The Big Question Podcast

Americans' self-reported rates of happiness plummeted during COVID and haven't recovered since. Will they ever? Chicago Booth's Sam Peltzman talks about his research on happiness. Before 2020, Peltzman says, the US was a "reasonably happy country" for nearly 50 years. But in the past six years, everything has changed. So are we in a permanent happiness slump?

Sometimes information is freely available and would be useful, but we choose to avoid it. Why do we do that, and does it make any sense? Chicago Booth's Jane Risen talks about her research on willful ignorance. As small children most of us are permanently curious and never stop asking why, but older children are more likely to avoid certain information. Why is that, and is our ignorance helping or harming us?

Vulnerability is typically perceived as a weakness in professional settings. Chicago Booth's Christine Carpenter wants us to think of it as a strength when it comes to leadership. So when is it appropriate to be vulnerable? And how can you show vulnerability without coming across as out of your depth or incompetent?

Software as a Service has boomed in recent decades, but now it faces an existential threat from AI. Chicago Booth's Marc Knez gives us his take on the SaaS Apocalypse. Which companies will survive? Are businesses really going to stop subscribing to software applications housed in the cloud to run their businesses, and what will they do instead?

The value of the US economy is increasingly accounted for by intangibles – things like intellectual property, brands and customer relationships. How is that changing finance and business? Chicago Booth's Amir Sufi talks to us about the rise of the intangible economy. Should advance economies abandon the idea of reviving manufacturing, and instead continue to chase intangible value?

Many US cities are highly racially segregated. Explicit segregation is illegal today, but some patterns of settlement haven't fundamentally changed. So why does housing segregation persist? Chicago Booth's Milena Almagro tells us about her research on racial housing covenants. What do the racist housing rules of the 1940s tell us about housing policy today?

Much of the world's economy is informal, with transactions taking place in street markets. How does business credit operate in that environment? Chicago Booth's Rimmy Tomy talks about her research on the huge Iewduh bazaar in Shillong, the largest and oldest market in northeast India. Tomy finds that vendors often prefer not to share business metrics with lenders. So how do they get credit?

Do you ever find yourself scrolling through videos on your phone? If so, does watching the same video on repeat change the way you think about it? Chicago Booth's Kristin Donnelly talks about her research on the "replay illusion." Why does seeing video of spontaneous events more than once make them seem rehearsed or premeditated?

College-educated mothers spend about 300 more hours a year in intensive childcare than mothers with only a high school diploma, yet they enjoy it less. So what's prompting them to spend so much time with their kids? Ariel Kalil of the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy talks about her research on the parenting time gap. All parents say that childcare is emotionally rewarding, so how can we reduce the gap in how they spend their time?

Do you trust your bank? What would it take for you to lose that trust? Chicago Booth's Rimmy Tomy talks about her research on trust in the financial system. It turns out that you might lose trust in your bank even if it hasn't done anything wrong. So how should banks, regulators and customers think about the role of trust?

Private credit is in the news, with Wall St. titans including JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs president John Waldron among those expressing concerns about the sector. How worried should we be? Chicago Booth's Amir Sufi about his views on where private credit is going. Many investors want their money back, and some funds are limiting withdrawals. Are the worries justified or overblown?

We've all been in a conversation in which our goal is to prove ourselves right and someone else wrong. But even if you win the argument, how much is the other person really won over? Chicago Booth's Jane Risen about her research on dialogue and debate. When does it make sense to hear people out rather than explicitly try to win them over, and if you find yourself in a debate, how can you steer the conversation more towards dialogue?

How can we have deeper conversations, connect more with others and ultimately, be happier? This is the second episode about the book "A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection" by Chicago Booth's Nick Epley. What can we do to be more social, and what effects could it have on our happiness, wellbeing and perhaps, on society at large?

Trust in American institutions is at an all-time low. But nowhere has trust eroded more than in political institutions. Sixty years ago, 75 percent of Americans trusted the government to do what is right. Today, it's just 20 percent. What happened? Chicago Booth's Sam Peltzman discusses his research on American attitudes towards government. When did we lose faith in our political leaders, and which parts of the population are driving the decline?

Do you ever find yourself on a crowded train, surrounded by people all looking at their phones? What do you think would happen if you tried to strike up a conversation with the person next to you? Chicago Booth's Nick Epley tells us about his book, "A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection." This is the first of two podcast episodes about the book. Epley says if we chose to have that conversation, it'd be more pleasant than we expect. So why do we set up our lives to avoid talking to others?

Most of want to be seen as moral, likeable and smart. But beyond that, how does our identity share the way we interact with, manage and lead others? Chicago Booth's Chris Collins tells us about his approach to identity and leadership. What is that connection, why does it sometimes hold us back, and how can we use it to improve our work?

The Marshmallow Test famously gauges children's ability to wait for a bigger reward. A body of research suggests that the happier we are, the more likely we are to be patient. But many of those studies were undertaken in the US and Europe. So how universal is that conclusion? Chicago Booth's Oleg Urminsky, whose research examines the connection between emotions and economic decisions around the world.

Have you ever pushed so hard to make a change in your organization that you ended up damaging your own ability to make that very change? Chicago Booth's Lisa Stefanac tells us how to think about effecting change. How hard should you push, and when can you know if you've gone too far?

You can earn a fortune in private equity. But how do you get started in the PE world? Chicago Booth's Scott Meadow explains how to plan for a lucrative career as a PE professional.

Most of us have been trained to keep our emotions out of the workplace. We think emotions can cloud decision-making, lead to irrational behavior, and make others uncomfortable. But can getting in touch with your emotions actually make you a better leader? Chicago Booth's Chris Collins tells us how treating your emotions as data can help you to manage people and situations better.