Episodes

How do networks influence our decision-making?As the Human Risk podcast approached its 100th episode, I thought I’d invite back two guests whose previous appearances have been amongst the most downloaded. And I’m glad I did. Because what Rory...

On the face of it, the creative industry ought to be very good at adapting it's thinking. After all, people who can think creatively, ought to be able to adapt the way they do things. But, as we've seen during the pandemic, the creative industries...

When things go wrong in companies, it's usually accompanied by a sense of surprise on the part of senior management. Given we know that employing people will result in some form of Human Risk, wouldn't it be better if we could find a way to ensure...

How can we prevent poor decision-making at a time of stress, when human action can make a real difference? That's what my guest on this episode, Trisha Ferguson, helps to deliver. She's the CEO of Interaction Research Company (IRC), a firm that...

What can learn from the study of Behavioural Science? Like many people in the field, I fell into BeSci long after finishing my academic studies. Back then, it wasn't an option that one could study in any case. But now you can, which is why I thought...

What's the difference between Risk and Uncertainty? That's what my guest on this episode, Dr Colin Lawrence, helps me to explore. He's spent his entire career looking at risk and has been a Chief Risk Officer, Regulator, Risk Adviser and Academic....

What happens when employees have little or no respect for their organization's Compliance Program? It's obviously bad, but how bad? That's what my guest on this episode Professor David Hess has researched. And the answer is 'really bad'; far from it...

What can we learn from Behavioural Interventions that fail? That's what my guest on this episode, Dr Magda Osman set out to discover in some recent research. We often hear about 'nudges' that work well to change behaviour, but what about those that...

What can we learn from religion about ethics? After all, religions have had rules about what people should and shouldn't be doing since well before the advent of Compliance & Ethics functions. And they're also familiar with the fact that codified...

What are kleptocracies and how do they operate? How is dirty money laundered and why is it increasingly a global problem? These are the questions, my guest on this episode, Tom Burgis, sets out to answer in his book Kleptopia: How Dirty Money Is...

How can we get people to be more honest? That's what my guest on this episode, Dr Benny Cheung, set out to discover. He was commissioned to do so research for the UK's Insurance Fraud Bureau and ran some experiments to see if it would be possible to...

What is prejudice, why does it exist and why is it such a bad thing? That's what Economist Paul Donovan seeks to answer in his new book Profit & Prejudice. He explores it from an economic perspective, but prejudice is just as bad from a Human Risk...

Why is it so hard for us to admit mistakes? That's what my guest Stefan Gaillard & I explore in this episode. Stefan is the Editor of The Journal of Trial & Error, a project that seeks to promote the discussion of mistakes. Unlike traditional...

What can the military teach business? Much as companies often talk about 'wars' (most obviously when it comes to talent) and 'battles' (usually for market share), it's not obvious that the two have much in common. Yet, from personal experience, there...

If you were looking for a sector that had lots of examples of Human Risk, then you'd probably pick banking? And if you were trying to understand why some of the senior people within banking hadn't been prevented from taking bad decisions, you'd...

What is ergodicity? If it's a new term to you, then listen to my guest Luca Dellanna explain why ergodic thinking is often at the heart of much of our flawed decision-making. This is Luca's second appearance on the show; in February he talked to me...

We often think of our body and our mind as being somehow distinct, yet there is a strong linkage between mental health and physical wellbeing. That's what I explore with my guest Leanne Spencer on this episode. Leanne is the founder of Bodyshot...

On this episode, I'm exploring an industry whose product we all sample daily, but probably don't fully understand: music. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, my guest, Dr Glenn Medeiros, was a global pop star with several hit records, including...

We all understand the idea of Confidence and that having it can help us succeed. Equally, not having it can also paralyse us into inaction. So what is the optimal level of confidence?That's what my guest on this episode, Professor Don Moore, is...

We all instinctively know the impact negative reviews have on individuals and organizations; whether TripAdvisor ratings or publicly administered regulatory sanctions. It's not good. Yet there are many people and organisations thriving on precisely...

What is Human Risk? What does 'Bringing Behavioural Science to Ethics & Compliance' mean in practice? On this episode, I'm cross-casting an episode of the Ethical Experts podcast that explores Human Risk.The Ethics Experts...

How can organizations ensure they are ethical? We all understand the principle, but what does it mean in practice? As Ethics becomes a more significant factor in how employees, customers and regulators view companies, there is an increasing need to...

What, if anything, have we learned about human behaviour from COVID? That's what I'm exploring in this episode. Six months ago, my friend Mark Heywood invited me onto the first episode of Behind The Spine (BTS); a brand new podcast for writers that...

Why are there so many entirely preventable financial disasters? And why don't the people behind the companies that suffer them, prevent them from happening?That's what my guest Jérôme Tagger and I explore on this episode. He's the CEO of...