Beyond Unprecedented: The Post-Pandemic Economy—Season 2

From Columbia Law School and the Millstein Center, the popular podcast returns for a second season to examine the pandemic’s lingering economic effects on workers, investors, and corporations. Co-hosts Professor Eric Talley and Research Fellow Kate Waldock ’23 are joined by experts who have a knack for explaining the complex economic phenomena unfolding in a world changed by COVID-19. All episodes now available.

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Line drawings of Kate Waldock and Professor Eric Talley

Reintroducing ‘Beyond Unprecedented’

As we head into the third calendar year of the pandemic, the unprecedented has led to the unpredictable. The co-hosts kick off the season with NPR’s Stacey Vanek Smith to discuss what constitutes the new normal in the current economy.

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Line drawing of Professor Kate Andrias

Episode 1: You Can’t Hire Me, I Quit

Do Americans want to go back to work? And on what terms? Professor Kate Andrias joins our co-hosts to talk about labor shortages, strikes, and the future of work.

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Line drawing of Professor Joshua Mitts on green background

Episode 2: Meme Stock Mania

With a stock trading app on their phones and a lot of time on their hands, individual investors flooded into the market during the pandemic. Professor Joshua Mitts discusses what it means for market regulation.

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Line drawing of alumna Anne Robinson with blue background

Episode 3: The Rise—and Results—of Shareholder Activism

The pandemic has unfolded alongside two other crises: climate change and racial justice. As shareholder activists try to force corporations to act, Vanguard General Counsel Anne E. Robinson ’94 talks about the priorities of institutional investors when ESG questions are put to a vote.

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Line drawing of Professor Talia Gillis on red background

Episode 4: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

The high-risk, high-reward venture capital industry is also highly white and highly male. Professor Talia Gillis and Act One Ventures co-founder Alejandro Guerrero discuss how to build racial and gender equity into V.C. deals.

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Professor Eric Talley

About the Hosts

Eric Talley, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law, writes and researches at the intersection of corporate law, governance, and finance. As a co-director of the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership, Talley shapes research and programs focused on the future of corporate governance and performance. Talley is a frequent commentator in the national media, and he speaks regularly to corporate boards and regulators on issues pertaining to fiduciary duties, governance, and finance. He is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, and he earned a J.D. and a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University. Talley also hosted the first season of Beyond Unprecedented.

Kate Waldock

Kate Waldock ’23 is a research fellow at the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership and is the first student to take part in the Academic Scholars Program at Columbia Law School, where she is pursuing a J.D. She was previously an assistant professor of finance at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. From 2017 to 2020, Waldock served as the co-host, with Luigi Zingales, of the economics podcast Capitalisn’t. On the last season of Beyond Unprecedented, she was a featured guest on the episode “A New Chapter for Bankruptcy?” Waldock’s research interests include bankruptcy, corporations, and banking. Waldock has a B.A. in economics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in finance from New York University.

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About the Series
Beyond Unprecedented is brought to you by Columbia Law School and the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership and is produced by the Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs at Columbia Law School. The first season was recognized as a 2021 Webby Awards honoree by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences.

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