The In-House Ethicist

The In-House Ethicist provides you new ways of thinking about the moral dilemmas we face when we're at work, out in society, or in the privacy of our own homes. Host John Paul Rollert doesn't give you feel good, cookie-cutter answers or bullet point to-do lists. You're already on LinkedIn. Instead, He takes the "Great Books" approach the University of Chicago is famous for, drawing on lessons from history, literature, philosophy, and political economy as well as popular politics, contemporary culture, and the modern business experience. If you want to be challenged to think a little harder and learn something completely new, then you're in the right place. A Chicago Booth Review podcast.

The Fallacy of the Valedictorian 08/14/2025

The Fallacy of the Valedictorian Being at the head of the class has many benefits, but we all know that academic success isn't a one way ticket to the C-Suite. What the classroom rewards and what professional success requires are not one and the same thing – a lesson that some Valedictorians among us seem to learn the hard way. In this episode of the In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert reflects on what Valedictorian-types should think about as they transition to the real world if they hope to achieve the same elite level of success in their professional lives as they did on standardized tests. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/37626835

The Many Faces of Capitalism 03/27/2025

The Many Faces of Capitalism When people think about capitalism, they don’t think of abstract ideas at the heart of an economic system. They think about the things that system produces: the products, the companies, and perhaps most notably, the people. Just as capitalism has changed with technology and culture over time, so have the people most associated with it, from Benjamin Franklin to the suspendered stockbrokers of the 1980s to the tech titans of today. In this episode of The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert asks the question who will be the next face of capitalism? /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/35854175

Customers Gone Wild 02/20/2025

Customers Gone Wild Is the customer always right? In a world in which all sales are final, some buyers are bound to get duped. But if the customer’s always right, what can retailers do about unreasonable customers? In this episode of The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert looks for a balance between honoring customers and indulging them. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34419025

You think you're frugal but maybe you're just cheap 02/13/2025

You think you're frugal but maybe you're just cheap Why is being frugal a virtue? And where exactly do we draw the line between being “frugal” and being “cheap”? In this episode of The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert traces the history of frugality from the 18th century to today, explaining why it continues to be relevant as a moral yardstick. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34418990

must you loose your morals on wall st? 02/06/2025

must you loose your morals on wall st? Michael Lewis’s Liar’s Poker is a frank and ugly behind-the-scenes account of life as a young associate in the world of Wall St finance. The book is 35 years old, but the basic dilemma at its heart – whether follow your conscience or your bank balance—remains pertinent. In this episode of The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert reflects on what the book tells us about ourselves and our professional choices. How long can you stay in a poisonous environment before you become part of it? /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34418920

American Psycho Revisited 01/30/2025

American Psycho Revisited Stakeholder capitalism is the idea that business should be about more than just making money. That seems a world away from the brash financial types of Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel ‘American Psycho,’ or the 1987 movie ‘Wall Street.’ But in this episode of the The In-House Ethicist, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert asks how much we have really moved on, and reflects on the continuing relevance of Easton Ellis’s novel. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34418870

Handouts? Hold On! 01/23/2025

Handouts? Hold On! Some people say that you don’t help the poor by giving them money, but by giving them opportunities to earn money. This is behind the periodic campaigns to limit welfare benefits in order to encourage work. But is a handout necessarily different from a hand-up? In this episode of The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert reflects on how we think about helping the poor and charitable giving. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34418825

The kids are alright 01/16/2025

The kids are alright What is within the power of free markets? What can capitalism do for society, what can’t it do, and what should it do? On this episode of the The In-House Ethicist, Booth’s John Paul Rollert explores how many people came to have an unshakeable faith in capitalism’s broad ability to solve nearly any problem, while the experience of others has left them skeptical. In the era after “the end of history,” capitalism’s defenders need to reckon earnestly with a series of questions about what the system may leave unresolved, he says. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34418760

Hey Jeff Bezos. How About You give a 100 Billion to the Humanities 01/09/2025

Hey Jeff Bezos. How About You give a 100 Billion to the Humanities What should the uber wealthy do with their money? How can they leave a lasting legacy? And what responsibilities do they have to society at large? On this episode of the The In-House Ethicist, Booth’s John Paul Rollert reflects on the role of those at the very top of the 1 percent. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34418675

Is Being a Selfish Jerk Really in Your Self Interest? 01/02/2025

Is Being a Selfish Jerk Really in Your Self Interest? Individuals acting in their own self-interest are, according to classical economics, an important part of a productive, efficient economy. And yet, selfishness is among the personality traits best known for impeding healthy human relationships. How do we separate the two concepts? On this episode of The In-House Ethicist, explores how we define the line between them, and why that line matters. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34418630

Chick-Fil-A and Activist Capitalism 12/26/2024

Chick-Fil-A and Activist Capitalism When a business’s customers object to its conduct, they generally have two options: exit (vote with their wallets and cut ties with the company) and voice (boycott, protest, or otherwise raise awareness of their complaint). Social media has changed the calculus behind this choice for both individuals and companies. On this episode of the The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert considers the impact of this change and how the relative appeal of exit and voice have evolved over time. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34417870

The Rotten Apples of Steve Jobs 12/19/2024

The Rotten Apples of Steve Jobs Streaming services love a good tech startup business story, preferably one featuring a quirky CEO devoid of self-awareness, with an oversized ego and grandiose sense of ambition and purpose, and one finger always resting on the self-destruct button. Hence Super Pumped, the story of Travis Kalanick and Uber, The Dropout, about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, and WeCrashed, the tale of Adam Neumann and WeWork. In this episode of The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert reads his 2023 essay that saw one common thread between the three series: the echoes of the legendary Steve Jobs. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34417370

Boardroom Bullies 12/13/2024

Boardroom Bullies Many of us have seen bullying behavior at work. And though we might not like to admit it, many of us have failed to do anything about it. That can reflect the difficult trade-offs that come with calling out bullying: subjecting ourselves and others to scrutiny, completely changing the dynamic between colleagues, and potentially damaging your own career. In this episode of The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert reflects on “the precarious relationship between ethics and expediency” when it comes to blowing the whistle on workplace bullying. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/34417325

Does It Matter If You Sell Out? 11/21/2024

Does It Matter If You Sell Out? What does it mean to sell out? What should we make of the tradeoffs we accept between our personal aspirations and professional successes? At what point do such tradeoffs become ethically problematic? On this episode of The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert considers what makes someone a sellout—and whether being one really matters. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/33821698

Clean your own toilet for a change. 11/14/2024

Clean your own toilet for a change. One of the byproducts of growing inequality is that many wealthier people grow up, live, and work without ever knowing someone who is poor or struggling financially. On this episode of The In-House Ethicist, John Paul Rollert explores if the wealthy have an obligation to know what life is like for those on the lower end of the income spectrum? /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/33935287

Buck Passing and Buck Raking 11/07/2024

Buck Passing and Buck Raking Thanks to the growth of index funds, more and more of us own passive investments. To what extent are we responsible for what goes into those index funds? In this episode of the In-House Ethicist, Chicago Booth’s John Paul Rollert asks if there really is such a thing as a truly “passive” investment. /episode/index/show/264792dc-6ffc-45f1-be63-0532dc33dc52/id/33585802

The In-House Ethicist

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