IF THE MBA IS THE GOLD STANDARD, WHY ARE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS DROPPING DRAMATICALLY?

A master’s degree in business administration.  Just a few years back, colleges began seeing this as a cash cow.  Anyone who wanted to climb the corporate ladder felt it was a prerequisite to that end.  So these programs sprung up everywhere trying to satisfy the demand for it. These programs were customized to meet the needs of those just out of college, as well as those already in business.  Most recently, the bottom seems to have dropped out of this market. There are many reasons for this. Chiefly among them are the improving economy and more desirable programs in technical fields of business, like data science and supply-chain management. We explore this dramatic trend with David Cadden, professor emeritus of business at Quinnipiac University.

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FAREWELL TO CONGRESS FROM REPRESENTATIVE OF SANDY HOOK DISTRICT

An effective, consensus building Congresswoman from Connecticut, Elizabeth Esty, left Congress before the 2019 session, deciding not to run for again as decisions she made about a sexual abuse issue in her office forced her early departure.  While the #MeToo issue is touched on, she does a valedictory on the way our politics play out for a problem solver, more intent on passing legislation, than scoring points. In her last speech on the U.S. House floor, she said ‘Congress was not my dream, but making a difference was’.  And, she did. She invited Larry Rifkin to join her in recording an interview for StoryCorps. Larry was honored to do so. We thank StoryCorps for their permission in using this conversation. We encourage you to support their mission to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share and preserve the stories of our lives (storycorps.org).  This conversation will be housed at the Library of Congress. It was recorded and facilitated by Camila Kerwin of StoryCorps at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in October, 2018.

https://elizabethesty.com/home/

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Dr. Paul Zeitz, author of ‘Waging Justice’, has clearly defined the role of the doctor as to take on the public health issues that affect each person around the globe.  His memoir discusses how he spearheaded a global charge against AIDS and climate change. His journey includes a personal transformation which led to global activism and is a blueprint for our times.  He feels that those in his profession, and all of us really, must make a choice: to ‘see’ injustices before us and seeks solutions. Or not. In the process, we explore the great public health challenges in the period ahead. It’s a clarion call to action in this episode.

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How many times have we heard that America took out the third in command of Al Qaeda in Iraq and yet nothing seems to change on the ground as it relates to terrorism(except, of course, for that slain terrorist).  Perhaps, America’s vision of how we destroy the command and control of these groups is out of sync with the ways in which they operate. Katherine Zimmerman, of the American Enterprise Institute, explains the disconnect between how the Salafi-Jihadi movement has shifted its priorities to local control over global objectives. Our analysts wrongly have perceived this change as a weakening of these groups.  And as attacks in the West have diminished in the recent period, our counter terrorism efforts against a dynamic enemy have been to maintain an irrelevant and outdated strategy. Please listen to this episode to update your own thinking on this important topic.

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If your faith in a higher being isn’t shaken today by the earthly frailties of those leading some major religious institutions, at least some level of doubt and uncertainty about God is the essence of the human condition.  Passions run hot when it comes to this subject, both among believers and non-believers. And then there are those who honestly don’t know what to make of the concept of God and others who go back and forth about the existence of a higher being.  For these reasons, and just the mystery of it all, a philosopher, like Dr. William Irwin, who writes a book entitled ‘God Is a Question, Not an Answer’ may have said it all in that one phrase. As you can imagine, there’s much more to discuss on this, the ultimate topic, and that’s what we do on this episode.

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For so many people in our society, their future rests on jobs which may, or may not, exist going forward.  Questions abound on many levels and pertain to technology displacement, corporate disruption, skills acquisition and longevity gains imagined which will increase the time spent in the workforce.  All of this presents great challenges in trying to plan a career path. Dr. Tracey Wilen in her latest book, ‘Career Confusion: 21st Century Career Management in a Disrupted World’ sets about to provide approaches to determine where you fit and how you prepare for the turbulence ahead.  She offers strategies to help you get unstuck, if the dilemmas described earlier are already affecting you, and how to plan for the imagined careers of the future. It’s a must listen, particularly for younger folks.

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What Is The Value Of A Good Question In Success And Innovation?

Thoughtful questioning is really an art form and critical to advancing our decision-making, creativity, leadership and relationships.  So, I ask you, who better to discuss this with than America’s unquestioned leading questionologist, Warren Berger? His latest book, ‘The Book of Beautiful Questions’, continues to blaze a path in determining how the right questions(often starting with ‘why’)can provide new ways of unlocking ideas that change the way we live and do business. New companies and technologies often share the same genesis: a good question.  Science even points to four year old girls whose innocent and honest search for a reason might be a model for all of us. Oh, we had lots of questions as we turned the tables on Mr. Berger in this episode.

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We all have been touched by cancer.  And while our family and friends still die from its many forms, seemingly resistant to a cure, at the same time we read many stories about the potential for a cure, using personalized gene therapy, as opposed to the crude tools of chemotherapy and radiation.  So, what are we to believe? As laymen, we are not alone. In his book, ‘Cancerland’, Dr. David Scadden, professor of Medicine at Harvard University, ponders the question “when the rewards are so elusive, how do you know whether you are engaged in something meaningful or caught up in folly’?

The frustrations about cancer are shared by our entire society, including sensitive practitioner, like Dr. Scadden, but are we doing enough to slay this medical beast? Find out on this episode.

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