What Happens Next in 6 Minutes

40 Episodes
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By: Larry Bernstein

What Happens Next offers listeners an in-depth investigation of the most pressing issues of the day. Visit https://www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/ for all the links and to subscribe www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com

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The Fall of Weil Gotshal (Corrected)
The Fall of Weil Gotshal (Corrected) episode artwork
Yesterday at 1:41 PM

Our speaker is Jeff Hammes the former Managing Partner of Kirkland and Ellis.

I want to learn about why Weil Gotshal failed. And I want to find out what Jeff’s strategy was to make Kirkland and Ellis the most profitable law firm.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


The Fall of Weil Gotshal
The Fall of Weil Gotshal episode artwork
Yesterday at 1:03 PM

Our speaker is Jeff Hammes the former Managing Partner of Kirkland and Ellis.

I want to learn about why Weil Gotschal failed. And I want to find out what Jeff’s strategy was to make Kirkland and Ellis the most profitable law firm.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


How Politics Undermines Scholarship
How Politics Undermines Scholarship episode artwork
10/24/2026

Our speaker is Ashley Rubin, a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the author of the Vanderbilt and WashU Report The Status of Scholarly Standards in Sociology.

I want to find out how the politicization of sociology has impacted what topics can be researched and what content can be taught.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


How High-Stakes Chinese College Exams Can Change Your Life
How High-Stakes Chinese College Exams Can Change Your Life episode artwork
10/17/2026

Our speaker is Stanford Economics Professor Hongbin Li who will discuss his new book The Highest Exam: How Gaokao Shapes China.

I want to find out why a high stakes exam is critical for the Chinese in their college admission as well as getting a job. I want to learn why this exam is believed to be the one thing in Chinese society that cannot be corrupted.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


AI and Human Connections
AI and Human Connections episode artwork
10/10/2026

Our first speaker is Allison Pugh who is a Professor of Sociology at John Hopkins and the author of a new book entitled The Last Human Job: Seeing Each Other in an Age of Automation.

Our second speaker is Eddie Monroe who I met on my first day of college and is a very close friend. He is working on teaching AI to love. He is the lead for building artificial intelligence for the Loving AI Research Project.

I want to learn about AI and human connections. I want to find out why Allison is...


How Your Politics Affects Your College Experience
How Your Politics Affects Your College Experience episode artwork
10/03/2026

Our speaker is Neil Gross, a Professor of Sociology at Colby who will discuss his book What Happened to College, How Politics Broke Higher Education and What We Can Do to Fix It.

I want to learn from Neil how college students’ political affiliations impact their friendships and dating, their classroom interactions with the faculty and other students, and their choice of major and career decisions.



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Why All Cities Grow Alike
Why All Cities Grow Alike episode artwork
09/26/2026

Our speaker is Shlomo Angel who is a Professor of City Planning at NYU and the author of the book entitled Planet of Cities.

I want to learn why all the world’s cities look nearly identical from space, and why we should embrace sprawl and not fight it.



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Cape Fear Won’t Die
Cape Fear Won’t Die episode artwork
09/19/2026

Our What Happens Next Culture Critic Darren Schwartz will be leading us in conversation. We also have a special guest my good friend Ethan Holland who has been a state prosecutor for the past 27 years.

This week’s episode is on Cape Fear. It started with John MacDonalds’ novel the Executioners that was written in the 1950s. The story was adapted into two movies and now a newly released Apple TV series.

The main character is Max Cady an ex-con who is pissed off at his defense attorney. Cady is played by Robert Mitchum in the...


Can Evolution Explain Our Feelings?
Can Evolution Explain Our Feelings? episode artwork
09/12/2026

Our speaker is Rob Kurzban who is the author of a new book entitled All the Feels: The Evolved Function of Every Human Emotion and Sensation.

I want to learn from Rob about how our basic sensations like hunger, pain, and sense of awe can be explained by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.



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I Love Your Accent
I Love Your Accent episode artwork
09/05/2026

Our speaker is Valerie Fridland who is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Nevada at Reno. She is the author of the new book entitled Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents.

I want to learn from Valerie why accents develop and if there are rhyme and reason for their differences. I grew up in Chicago and I don’t think I have an accent, yet I hear that the Chicago accent is the most difficult to understand. How is that even possible.



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Unsafe at MIT
Unsafe at MIT episode artwork
08/29/2026

Our speaker is Yossi Sheffi who is a Professor of Engineering at MIT and is a leading scholar in supply chain management. He is the author of a new book entitled Unsafe at MIT: A Chronicle of a Campus War on the Jews.

I want to hear from Yossi about MIT’s failure to protect its Jewish and Israeli students from violence. I want to learn why MIT’s Administration managed the situation so poorly, and why MIT’s disregard for its own rules and regulations resulted in chaos.



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Appreciating George Orwell
Appreciating George Orwell episode artwork
08/22/2026

Our speaker is Robert Colls who is the author of the Orwell biography entitled George Orwell: Life and Legacy.

You know his novels 1984 and Animal Farm but there is so much more to enjoy. I look forward to discussing with Robert about Orwell’s other major novels as well as his essays like Shooting an Elephant and a Hanging.



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Is Nolan’s Odyssey a Masterpiece?
Is Nolan’s Odyssey a Masterpiece? episode artwork
08/15/2026

This episode is -- Is Nolan’s Odyssey a Masterpiece?

Our speakers are Scott Turow the author of Presumed Innocent and Darren Schwartz the What Happens Next Culture Critic.



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Would You Have Been a Loyalist or a Patriot?
Would You Have Been a Loyalist or a Patriot? episode artwork
08/08/2026

Our speaker to day is Patrick Allitt who is a Professor of History at Emory where he teaches courses in the American Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. Patrick also lectures for the Teaching Company with the Great Courses. I have taken six of Patrick’s courses and they are absolutely fabulous that are available on their website.

I want to learn from Patrick about why the British government demanded that American colonies pay their fair for their own defense, and why the Crown chose war instead of reconciliation. Americans learn in school why the patriots fought against ta...


Why George Washington was the Unanimous Choice
Why George Washington was the Unanimous Choice episode artwork
08/01/2026

Our speaker is H.W. Brands who is a Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of the biography American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington.

I want to learn from Hal about why Washington was chosen to be commander in chief of the revolutionary forces, the head of the constitutional congress, and our first president.

I want to hear about Washington’s leadership style and why it was appropriate for his times. I also want to learn about what happened in the Room Where it Happened.



Rocky at 50
Rocky at 50 episode artwork
07/25/2026

The original Rocky film was released 50 years ago, and today we are going to review the entire Rocky series. Our discussion will be led by the What Happens Next Culture Critic Darren Schwartz with us is a special guest Scott Holstein who is one of my oldest friends.

My objective of this podcast is to discuss why Rocky won best picture and why you need to rewatch it. This series is a Stallone production: He wrote it, directed several of the films, and acted in it. He is the real hero that made this franchise successful, and...


A Breakthrough in Restoring Memory
A Breakthrough in Restoring Memory episode artwork
07/18/2026

Our speaker is Michael Kahana who is one of the world’s leading experts on memory. He is a former Professor of Psychology at Penn, and he is now the founder of Nia Therapeutics which is a company seeking to bring a medical device to patients that can radically improve memory for individuals with a brain injury, dementia, or Alzheimer’s.

I want to hear from Michael about how memory function works and how a medical device can improve human memory retrieval to improve cognitive abilities.



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Predicting the Midterms
Predicting the Midterms episode artwork
07/11/2026

Our speaker is Patrick Ruffini is a pollster and the author of his own Substack entitled The Intersection that includes frequent analysis on topics like gerrymandering, realignment, and polling errors.  He is also the author of a book Party of the People.

I want to learn from Patrick about who will win the midterms in the House and Senate.  My plan is to get into the weeds and find out what the issues will be, what the state of play looks like now, and who will win the close races.



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The End of Meat
The End of Meat episode artwork
07/04/2026

Our speaker is Paul Rozin who is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

This discussion was held at a conference that I hosted in Philadelphia so the questions will be asked by me as well as my friends.

I want to learn from Paul about why our future may have substantially less meat because of cost, health and moral reasons despite the fact that many of us find it delicious.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


Containing the New Axis Powers: China, Russia and Iran
Containing the New Axis Powers: China, Russia and Iran episode artwork
06/27/2026

Our speaker is Seth Cropsey is the President of the Yorktown Institute and the author of a new book entitled Breaking the New Axis: A US Grand Strategy for Eurasia.

I want to learn from Seth about why the Eurasian land mass is critical to American security.  In addition, I want to hear about why the lack of ideological coherence of our adversaries is a weakness that we can exploit.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


Following the Terrorist’s Money
Following the Terrorist’s Money episode artwork
06/20/2026

Our two speakers are Eyal Azoulay and Ellie who are the founders of an Israeli Not-for-profit called ColEven. Terrorists successfully move money from their Western supporters to the Middle East to fund their nefarious affairs. This happens despite the best efforts of American and European banks who spend billions of dollars trying to stop it.

ColEven uses the latest technologies in coordination with a staff of former Israeli intelligence professionals who inform the banks that bad actors are using their institutions.

I was introduced to Coleven at the Miami Beach Impact Forum. This organization has...


Encouraging Competing Viewpoints Among College Students
Encouraging Competing Viewpoints Among College Students episode artwork
06/13/2026

Our speaker is Daniel Diermeier who is the Chancelor of Vanderbilt.  I want to hear from Daniel about how the administration can build a culture of political neutrality on campus. I want to learn about creating a university culture that encourages free speech and allows for debate without shaming the opposing perspective.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


Curing the New Ebola Virus
Curing the New Ebola Virus episode artwork
06/06/2026

Our speaker is Ari Ciment. Ari ran the Covid Ward at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach and is the former president of the hospital’s medical staff.  He is probably best known for being my doctor.



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How AI Will Change Law Schools, Law Firms, and Users of Legal Services
How AI Will Change Law Schools, Law Firms, and Users of Legal Services episode artwork
06/04/2026

Our speaker is Polk Wagner, who's the deputy dean of Penn Law School, who has been charged with figuring out how to adapt the law school curriculum to the AI revolution. I want to hear from Polk about how law schools will adapt as their graduate's jobs will no longer focus on document creation, but instead more complex legal analysis.

This podcast was taped at a conference that I hosted so many of the questions will be asked by my friends. And in the audience was David Stellings, who's the managing partner of law firm Leif Cabreze...


Fixing Our Healthcare System
Fixing Our Healthcare System episode artwork
05/30/2026

Our speaker is Josh Gottlieb who is a professor of Economics at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Health and Co-Director of the Becker Friedman Institute’s Health Economics Initiative.

I want to learn from Josh about what the barriers are to getting more doctors and what we can do to solve seemingly intractable problems to increase the quality and productivity of our healthcare.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


Can Anyone Predict What Happens Next?
Can Anyone Predict What Happens Next? episode artwork
05/23/2026

This podcast was taped at a conference where I hosted several Penn Professors on a variety of topics. The audience included my friends who will join me in asking questions.

Our speaker is Phil Tetlock who is a Professor at Wharton and the author of a book entitled Superforecasting. Often, we get our news and analysis from experts who make predictions that are terribly wrong. Phil has analyzed methods of forecasting and has found individuals and groups who are fantastic predictors of politics, war, and sports.

I want to learn how AI and superforecasters working...


Objects of Desire
Objects of Desire episode artwork
05/21/2026

This podcast was taped at a conference where I hosted several Penn Professors on a variety of topics. The audience included my friends who will join me in asking questions.

Our speaker is Karl Ulrich who is a Professor at Penn specializing in Industrial Design and has written a book entitled Product Design and Development.

Karl will speak about designing an ice cream scooper that is beautiful, sexy, and more useful than any that had been manufactured before.



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Using Peptides for Medical Breakthroughs
Using Peptides for Medical Breakthroughs episode artwork
05/16/2026

This podcast was taped at a conference where I hosted several Penn Professors on various topics. The audience included my friends who will join me in asking questions.

Our speaker is Cesar de la Fuente is the Director of Penn’s Machine Biology Group. His team uses AI with biology to create new antibiotics that hopefully can save millions of lives.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


Why We Crave Stories
Why We Crave Stories episode artwork
05/13/2026

This podcast was taped at a conference where I hosted several Penn Professors on various topics. The audience included my friends who will join me in asking questions.

Fritz Breithaupt is the speaker, and he is a humanities scholar as well as a cognitive scientist at UPenn where he is studying the relationship between narratives and empathy. Fritz is the author of a new book entitled The Narrative Brain: The Stories Our Neurons Tell.

I want Fritz to talk about how we experience fictional stories in our daydreams to achieve personal growth.



...


Returning Science Education to Medical Schools
Returning Science Education to Medical Schools episode artwork
05/10/2026

This podcast was taped at a conference where I hosted several Penn Professors on various topics.

The audience included my friends who will join me in asking questions. Our speaker is Stan Goldfarb who was previously the Dean at UPenn responsible for the medical school curriculum.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


How Academics Shaped the CIA
How Academics Shaped the CIA episode artwork
05/02/2026

Our speaker is Peter Grace who is a New Zealand based academic who has a recent book entitled The Intelligence Intellectuals: Social Scientists and the Making of the CIA.

I want to learn from Peter about how just after World War 2 and at the height of the Cold War, American academics worked inside the CIA’s research and analysis department to forecast enemy activity, and how they set up methods and processes that have been applied by the CIA ever since.



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Why Did We Attack Iran Now
Why Did We Attack Iran Now episode artwork
04/25/2026

Our speaker is Eitan Shamir who is a Political Science Professor at Bar Ilan University, and he previously the head of the National Security Doctrine Department at the Office of Israel’s Prime Minister.

I want to find out from Eitan why we attacked Iran and have we achieved are primary war aims.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


Closing Small Colleges
Closing Small Colleges episode artwork
04/21/2026

Our first speaker is Geoff Baird who is a very close family friend. Geoff recently co-wrote a book entitled The Signal Solution: How Smart Colleges Stop Chasing Applications and Start Converting Students.

Geoff is a consultant working with higher ed institutions to help them persuade accepted student applicants to attend their school. Geoff is particularly excited about using AI to figure out who the admissions committee should focus on in their marketing efforts.

Our second speaker is Bob Zemsky who is a Professor of Education at UPenn and the university’s chief planning officer. He is...


Why Does the Press Think We Lost the War in Iran?
Why Does the Press Think We Lost the War in Iran? episode artwork
04/18/2026

Our speaker is Mark Penn who was a senior advisor to President Clinton and was Hillary’s chief strategist for her senate and presidential campaigns. Mark is now the CEO of Stagwell which is a advertising and marketing company.

I want to learn from Mark why the press thinks that the military campaign in Iran is failing and why the Democrats are not supporting arm sales to their Israeli allies at this critical juncture.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


Can Congress fix the Trump tariff refund problem?
Can Congress fix the Trump tariff refund problem? episode artwork
04/11/2026

I’m joined by John McGinnis, a constitutional law professor at Northwestern.

The Court has decided that about $165 billion will be refunded to importers—money that, in many cases, could be seen as a windfall. I think there may be room here for a bipartisan solution, and John helps us think through what Congress can—and can’t—do.



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Iran’s Rope-a-Dope Strategy
Iran’s Rope-a-Dope Strategy episode artwork
04/04/2026

Today’s topic is Iran’s Rope-a-Dope Strategy.

Our speaker is Anthony King who is a Professor of War at Exeter University in the UK.



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How the Rich Improve Our Democracy
How the Rich Improve Our Democracy episode artwork
03/29/2026

Today’s topic is How the Rich Improve Our Democracy.

Our speaker is John McGinnis who is a constitutional law professor at Northwestern Law School.



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Allies Fighting Together
Allies Fighting Together episode artwork
03/21/2026

Today’s topic is Allies Fighting Together. Our speaker is Yaakov Katz the former Editor in Chief of the Jerusalem Post and the author of While Israel Slept about the 10/7 massacre.

I want to learn from Yaakov about how the US and Israel are fighting together and how it is significantly different from our previous wars.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe


What will Success and Failure be in the Iran War
What will Success and Failure be in the Iran War episode artwork
03/17/2026

Our speaker is Hal Brands who is a Professor of Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins and former Special Assistant to the Secretary of War for Strategic Planning.

I want to find out from Hal what are our objectives in the war in Iran, how effective American and Israel’s military has been in destroying its adversaries, and what we should expect Iran to do to try to do to improve its negotiating position.



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Opening the Strait of Hormuz
Opening the Strait of Hormuz episode artwork
03/14/2026

Our speaker is James Holmes who is a Professor of Maritime Strategy at the US Naval War College. He is also the author of the book Red Star over the Pacific.

I want to learn from James about what strategies the US Navy has to open up the Strait of Hormuz including the use of convoys, area defense, tactical offense, and arming the tankers to beat back the influx of drones.



Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe