Much has been written recently about the perilous position brick and mortar retail is in. Yet, it still commands about 9 out of every ten shopping dollars. So, what is the future of stores versus on-line shopping and, in particular, are malls a wave of the past? We also look at the well documented struggles …
During the 2016 campaign, then candidate, Donald Trump, made a clear and convincing case that our nation’s infrastructure was crumbling. From his vantage point in New York City, he saw a Penn Station terminal at its breaking point, a LaGuardia Airport which looks ‘third world’ and highways that defy conventional movement, strewn with potholes and …
Is there any going back to the norms and conventions of political campaigns prior to 2016 when just about every rule was broken? Will we accept conventional candidates or look for the outsider? Will political advertising, relegated to a bit role, re-emerge as a powerful force? Will social media techniques take hold from here? We’re …
Michael Puett is the ‘it’ professor at Harvard University these days. His ability to take Chinese philosophy, centuries back, and distill it into a guidepost for the students of the 21st century has created an incredible stir on campus–and off. So how does Chinese thought translate into better ways to approach life today? Why, you …
His name is on the lips of every American these days–Vladimir Putin. How has he reclaimed the international spotlight as the leader of a country that by most objective measures has barely functioning economy? His bravura, unusual methods for attacking political systems and military adventurism which results in few casualties or critics are key elements …
Is one of the greatest technological achievements of the 20th century about to show itself not to be up to the task in the 21st? I’m speaking of the electrical grid and its many quirks. While it’s given us incredible reliability–99.7%–more frequent outages demonstrates it may not be up to the task of handling new …
In his now stunning best seller, J.D. Vance, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author and former resident of what he considers a hillbilly culture provides a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis–that of poor, white Americans. While the disintegration of this group has been reported on before, it has never been written about with …
If you believe the U.S. Surgeon General, social isolation is a greater factor in the early demise of Americans than cancer, diabetes or obesity. How did we all start ‘Bowling Alone’? That book by Robert Putnam years back gave us the first insight into this trend. And Billy Baker’s writing in ‘The Boston Globe’ recently …
It’s becoming a more relevant question by the day as we are able to unlock the genetic code one person at a time. But, how much do you really want to know and what will you do with the information? Bonnie Rochman, author of ‘The Gene Machine’, answers all of the questions we thought …
The business professor and consultant, Clayton Christensen, first coined the term ‘disruptive innovation’ and now extends that concept to frame the theory of ‘jobs to be done’ to describe a product and its benefit to customers. Karen Dillon, a protégé, and co-author his latest book, ‘Competing Against Luck’ describes in this podcast.