Poets & Thinkers
Poets & Thinkers explores the humanistic future of business leadership through deep, unscripted conversations with visionary minds – from best-selling authors and inspiring artists to leading academic experts and seasoned executives.
Hosted by tech executive, advisor, and Princeton entrepreneurship & design fellow Ben Lehnert, this podcast challenges conventional MBA wisdom, blending creative leadership, liberal arts, and innovation to reimagine what it means to lead in the AI era.
If you believe leadership is both an art and a responsibility, this is your space to listen, reflect, and evolve.
Episodes
8 episodes
Rewriting All Layers Of The Stack – Leading with agency when everyone is uncomfortable with Meg Bear
What if the discomfort leaders feel right now, at the beginning of the AI age, isn’t a problem to solve, but the exact place where transformation happens? In this episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore the future of organizational leadersh...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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41:35
Slot Machine Creativity: On the value of friction to create meaningful works of art with Nando Costa
What if the struggle and friction in the creative process is actually what makes art meaningful – and what we’re at risk of losing in our rush toward AI efficiency? In this deeply reflective episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore the inter...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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48:03
The Optimization Lie: Will AI finally give us the freedom “new work” promised us? – with journalist and author Markus Albers
Digitalization promised us a brave “new work” world. But instead we ended up with more meetings and “fake work”. What’s next and how do we transform our obsession with productivity tools and endless meetings into meaningful work and real innova...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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42:46
Beyond “Popcorn Innovation”: Human-First leadership from IBM to the United Nations with Frances West
What if the key to navigating our AI-driven future isn’t about becoming more technological, but rather more authentically human? In this inspiring episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore the intersection of technology, leadership, and human...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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51:35
The other “F” Word: Embracing failure to elevate human ingenuity in the AI era with professor and author John Danner
What if our fixation on avoiding failure is the very thing blocking us from building organizations that maximize human ingenuity? And why is this business critical in the AI age? In this episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore t...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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39:40
Do You Breathe When You Scroll? The Art of Digital Mindfulness with conceptual artist Hojin Kang
What if the very technology that distracts us could be transformed into a mirror reflecting our deepest human connections? In this fascinating episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore the intersection of tradition, technology, and mindfulnes...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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39:59
AI Policy-Making in Service of Humanity: From Davos and Washington DC to Riyadh with Manail Anis Ahmed
What if our approach to AI and technology development is overlooking the most fundamental human value – dignity? In this thought-provoking episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore the intersection of artificial intelligence, global policy, a...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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41:36
The Myth of Greatness and Ethics in Business with author and writer Avram Alpert
What if our obsession with being the best is actually holding us back? In this inaugural episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore the myth of greatness with Avram Alpert. He is a writer and teaches at Princeton University. Avi ch...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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44:23