Episodes

  • Top Finance Researcher Shows Why AI’s Hidden Bill Is About to Hit Everyone

    Top Finance Researcher Shows Why AI’s Hidden Bill Is About to Hit Everyone
    Apr 24 2026
    AI may feel weightless, but Olivier Darmouni argues that its real-world costs are anything but virtual. In this episode of Breakthroughs, the HEC Paris professor explains when and where the boom in data centers could raise electricity prices in the future; and how these centers could reshape investment in power infrastructure and force Europe to think much harder about energy security. Olivier also reflects on his recent hearing at France’s National Assembly, the difference between productive finance and financial extraction, and why overcoming the financial barriers to sustainability means finding credible ways to crowd in private capital.

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    59 mins
  • Have Banks Outsourced Financial Fragility?

    Have Banks Outsourced Financial Fragility?
    Mar 26 2026

    When credit markets seize up in crisis periods, most people still blame the banks. But new research suggests the bigger pullback may come from nonbanks like those in the syndicated loan market. These have grown fast but remain fragile, cutting lending harder in times of stress – with negative consequences on employment. That shift could reshape how we think about crises, jobs and financial resilience. HEC Assistant Professor in Finance Quirin Fleckenstein explores these issues as part of his research into macro-finance, financial intermediation, and corporate finance.

    Original research paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3629232 (open source), and the published article in the prestigious Review of Financial Studies (https://academic.oup.com/rfs/article/39/4/925/8114830)

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    28 mins
  • How Oscar Nominations Influence Our Choices - SHORT PODCAST

    How Oscar Nominations Influence Our Choices - SHORT PODCAST
    Mar 11 2026
    The 98th Academy Awards are just days away, six weeks after the Academy listed the nominees. But what do Oscar nominations really do to moviegoers? According to Marketing professor Michelangelo Rossi, they don’t just guide what we watch, they can also raise expectations enough to change how much we enjoy a film. Michelangelo joins Breakthroughs to unpack his latest research, cosigned by Hi! PARIS academic Felix Schleff.

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    9 mins
  • How Platform Architecture and Oscar Nominations Influence Our Choices

    How Platform Architecture and Oscar Nominations Influence Our Choices
    Feb 17 2026
    Marketing professor Michelangelo Rossi shares with Breakthroughs the research he and Hi! Paris academic Felix Schleff published on Oscar nominations and their impact on movie-goers’ expectations. On the eve of the 98th Academy Awards, Rossi describes the overlooked downside of such quality disclosures. He also shares his latest research on the impact that Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) has had on consumers using Google Maps.

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    33 mins
  • SHORT BREAKTHROUGHS: Digital Scorecards to Improve Sustainability

    SHORT BREAKTHROUGHS: Digital Scorecards to Improve Sustainability
    Jan 22 2026
    What if we put standardized barcodes on products we buy which inform us of their sustainability, supply chain, human rights records, etc? That’s the proposal of HEC & CNRS researcher Brian Hill. In his recent policy paper, he maps out an efficient way of shifting disclosure rules from companies to products - in the name of sustainability. This is a timely exchange, coming as it does as Europe reached an agreement last month to simplify sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements. Could Brian's digital, standardized scorecard be the key to filling in information and data gaps in this drive for smart product-level disclosure Europe should be aiming for? This ten-minute compact version of our monthly podcast discusses the essential points of his breakthrough research.

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    12 mins
  • Digital Scorecards for Sustainability Disclosure

    Digital Scorecards for Sustainability Disclosure
    Dec 24 2025
    A bumper christmas edition of Breakthrough featuring Brian Hill. He's Research Director at the CNRS and HEC Professor in the Economics and Decision Sciences Department. Brian discusses his new policy paper which shifts the focus of disclosure rules from companies to products - in the name of sustainability. A timely exchange, coming as it does as Europe reaches a provisional agreement to simplify sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements. Could Brian's digital, standardized scorecard be the key to filling in information and data gaps in this drive for smart product-level disclosure Europe should be aiming for?

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    45 mins
  • PUISSANTES by HEC - Rendez-vous en janvier

    PUISSANTES by HEC - Rendez-vous en janvier
    Dec 16 2025
    Puissantes by HEC est un podcast qui révèle des entrepreneuses qui ont bâti leur propre voie. Elles transforment une idée, un désir ou un manque en un projet qui leur ressemble profondément et racontent leur parcours, leur détermination et le déclic qui les a poussées à franchir le pas, jusqu'à la fierté d'être devenues des entrepreneures. Ce podcast est porté par HEC Stand Up, le programme qui accompagne les femmes qui souhaitent se lancer dans l’entrepreneuriat, qu’importe leur âge, leur parcours, ou leur horizon social.

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    2 mins
  • SHORT BREAKTHROUGHS: Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Challenges UN Bodies and International Law

    SHORT BREAKTHROUGHS: Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Challenges UN Bodies and International Law
    Dec 4 2025

    SHORT BREAKTHROUGHS: Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Challenges UN Bodies and International Law


    While the GHF has closed its doors, could its controversial approach to humanitarian aid be a blueprint for the administrating of Gaza? Law academic Julia Emtseva analyzes this US-Israel initiative and its possible implications for a territory shattered by violence and famine. This is a condensed version of the Breakthroughs first broadcast on November 25.

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    12 mins