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Stanford Graduate School Of Business
Artificial Intelligence
Leadership
Power Dynamics
Innovation
Organizational Behavior
Economics
Trust
Decision Making
Financial Literacy
Motivation
Workplace Stress
Accountability
Signal Awards
Accounting
Personal Finance
Purdue Pharma
Oxycontin
Digital Currency
Mental Health

How do we lead with purpose, make better decisions, and navigate an uncertain future? On If/Then, Stanford GSB faculty break down cutting-edge research on leadership, strategy, and more, exploring enduring questions and the forces reshaping business and society today, from AI to geopolitics. Hosted by senior editor Kevin Cool.

PublishesMonthlyEpisodes59Founded3 years ago
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ManagementBusinessScienceSocial Sciences

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Artwork for If/Then

Latest Episodes

When Demis Hassabis pitched DeepMind to a few venture capitalists back in 2010, the business plan was almost comically audacious. “Step one: Solve intelligence. Step two: Use it to solve everything else,” he recalls in a conversation at Stanford Grad... more

What if purpose is what drives us to act, but meaning comes from how those actions affect other people?

This week on If/Then, we’re sharing a conversation between two Stanford GSB colleagues: Think Fast, Talk Smart host Matt Abrahams and organizatio... more

How do you engage effectively across deep disagreement without shutting down the conversation?

This week on If/Then, we’re sharing an episode from our colleagues at Stanford Legal, the podcast from Stanford Law School that looks at the cases, questi... more

“Humans manage to do so much with surprisingly little,” says Douglas Guilbeault, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “Whereas AI, by comparison, is doing relatively little, but with so much power... more

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Recent Guests

Demis Hassabis
CEO and co-founder of Google DeepMind
Google DeepMind
Episode: An AI@GSB Special: Demis Hassabis Thinks We’re in the ‘Foothills of the Singularity’
Brian Lowery
GSB Professor, returning guest (four-time guest)
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Episode: Think Fast Talk Smart: "What Other People Teach You About Your Communication"
Rob MacCoun
Jameson Patricia Cowell Professor of Law, Stanford Law School; co-author of Third Millennium Thinking
Stanford Law School; Psychology Department, Stanford University
Episode: Stanford Legal: "The Importance of Critical Thinking and Civil Discourse in Today's Polarized World"
John Campbell
Co-author of Third Millennium Thinking; psychologist
unknown from transcript
Episode: Stanford Legal: "The Importance of Critical Thinking and Civil Discourse in Today's Polarized World"
Douglas Guilbeault
Assistant professor of organizational behavior at Stanford GSB
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Episode: What AI Can’t Do — And Why
Chad Jones
Professor of Economics at Stanford GSB
Stanford GSB
Episode: Our AI Future: From Abundance to Apocalypse
Huggy Rao
Professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stanford GSB
Episode: The Art of Friction
Christian Wheeler
Professor of Marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stanford GSB
Episode: Why Who You Are Affects How You Think
Steve Callander
Professor of Public and Private Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Episode: What We Actually Learn From Experience

Host

Kevin Cool
Host of If/Then

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 63 ratings
  • Great material yet partially delivered by a half-robotic voice or Agent. Hard to be excited by it

    See above

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    Impoxtssibxo
    United Kingdom6 months ago
  • Great listen for Data/AI Enthusiast College Students

    Referred by the Me, Myself, and AI podcast team! Loved the connection. Thank you guys

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Mika_Montonen
    United States3 years ago
  • Nice one

    Podcast Addict
    5
    elegantblend
    3 years ago
  • Thought provoking

    Fascinating concepts and interesting ways of pointing out how research applies to many facets of the business world. Great music

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Jenny Luna
    United States3 years ago
  • Applicable insights, refreshingly grounded in research

    This podcast elegantly shares insights and implications drawn from the hard work of building new knowledge from the often-less-than-flashy world of tested research. This is a breath of fresh air to someone eager to be reminded of our capacity to study complexity and discover insights that transcend catchy narratives and myopic agendas. Such a fun listen!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    J Hankes
    United States3 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners praise the evidence-based, research-driven insights and practical relevance.
Some critique production quality, noting occasional robotic narration.
Guests and topics are consistently rigorous and academically grounded.
Audiences value interdisciplinary perspectives and real-world applicability of research.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

An AI@GSB Special: Demis Hassabis Thinks We’re in the ‘Foothills of the Singularity’
Q: What lessons from AlphaGo informed your approach to science and industry applications?
The breakthrough demonstrated that AI can surpass human strategies in complex domains, reinforcing the idea that similar methodologies can be applied to protein folding, drug discovery, and other scientific challenges with high impact.
An AI@GSB Special: Demis Hassabis Thinks We’re in the ‘Foothills of the Singularity’
Q: Why did you choose to release AlphaFold openly, and what downstream impact do you anticipate?
Open release accelerates biological research globally, enabling drug discovery and disease understanding; the collective benefit from public data is far greater than proprietary advances, and collaboration accelerates progress for health and science.
An AI@GSB Special: Demis Hassabis Thinks We’re in the ‘Foothills of the Singularity’
Q: What do you mean by being in the foothills of the singularity, and why does that matter now?
The near-term presence of usable, agent-enabled AI tools suggests we are entering an era where AI becomes deeply integrated into workflows, driving productivity while also presenting profound societal questions about control, safety, and governance.
What AI Can’t Do — And Why
Q: What is the ceiling or upper limit for AI understanding of human behavior?
The discussion suggests there might be a fundamental limit to how well optimization and brute-force data-driven approaches can capture the nuances of human behavior, especially transitional dynamics and sudden leaps in understanding that are not easily predicted by statistical models.
What AI Can’t Do — And Why
Q: Why is understanding how humans learn essential for AI development?
Understanding human learning highlights the limitations of purely optimization-based AI and points to qualitative aspects like intuition, creativity, and social learning that AI lacks, suggesting a need for approaches that account for how humans actually process and adapt to information.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About If/Then

What is If/Then about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Thoughtful conversations at the intersection of science, leadership, and public discourse, with a focus on how rigorous research, probabilistic thinking, and practical tools can improve decision-making in business and society. Episodes frequently feature Stanford GSB faculty and external experts discussing AI, economics, organizational design, and signaling, often tying academic insights to real-world applications and policy implications. A standout is the steady emphasis on civil dialogue, epistemic humility, and the role of experts in democratic processes, making it useful for listeners aiming to apply evidence-based thinking to complex problems.

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Which podcasts are similar to If/Then?

These podcasts share a similar audience with If/Then:

1. Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques
2. HBR IdeaCast
3. Masters of Scale
4. Cold Call
5. HBS Managing the Future of Work

How many episodes of If/Then are there?

If/Then launched 3 years ago and published 59 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact If/Then?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

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What guests have appeared on If/Then?

Recent guests on If/Then include:

1. Demis Hassabis
2. Brian Lowery
3. Rob MacCoun
4. John Campbell
5. Douglas Guilbeault
6. Chad Jones
7. Huggy Rao
8. Christian Wheeler

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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