This Week in Business

What happens when the systems designed to keep our food safe start to break down?

Corinne Low, Wharton Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, argues that food safety is a public good—one that individuals and families simply can't provide for themselves.

She explains how reduced staffing, weakened inspections and changes to disease surveillance can leave consumers more vulnerable to foodborne illness.
Low also examines what happens when that responsibility gets pushed onto parents, and why trusting companies to regulate themselves isn't enough.
The result is a larger question about government, business and the basic protections consumers should be able to count on.

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AI is advancing rapidly—but who is responsible when the risks become too big to ignore?

Peter Conti-Brown, Professor at the Wharton School, explores whether the banking system offers a useful model for supervising powerful AI companies.
Rather than relying solely on rules written years in advance, bank supervision involves ongoing conversations between public officials and private institutions to identify and manage emerging risks.

Conti-Brown discusses how AI stress tests could work, what might happen if powerful models are hijacked or misused, and why consumers could ultimately end up holding the bag when things go wrong.

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Why are more young Americans turning to entrepreneurship, and what role will AI play?

Lori Rosenkopf, Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School, explores how Gen Z’s shifting expectations, a tougher entry-level job market, and the desire for flexibility are reshaping career paths. She also examines how AI tools are making it easier to turn ideas into products while intensifying competition, and what venture capital, failure, the creator economy, and programs like VentureLab can teach aspiring founders.
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As AI becomes more powerful, who should be responsible for governing it?

Kevin Werbach, Wharton Professor and Chair of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, explores the growing challenges of AI governance, from accountability and safety to the difficulty of creating effective regulations across countries. He explains why AI companies can't be expected to regulate themselves and why governments need to play a more constructive role in managing the risks of increasingly powerful AI.

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What happens to your 401(k) if the stock market drops 25%, and would the government step in to help?

Nikolai Roussanov, finance professor at the Wharton School, explains the real risks behind modern retirement investing and why volatility is built into the system.
From the 1987 crash to COVID-19, he breaks down how markets recover, why long term investors tend to win, and why bailouts are more likely to support companies, not individual portfolios. If you’re relying on a 401(k), this episode will reshape how you think about risk, recovery, and protection.

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