The Better Way? Podcast
by Culture. Data. Ethics. | CDE Advisors
This is a curiosity podcast. For those who find themselves asking: “There has to be a better way, right? There just has to be.” Join Hui Chen and Zach Coseglia as they explore the worlds of organizational culture, data, and ethics—and search for new ways to tackle long-standing challenges.
Episodes
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Ep.36: Follow the Influence
In a world where public trust in institutions continues to erode, organizations face a growing credibility challenge. Employees, customers, investors, and communities are increasingly skeptical of whether decisions are being made fairly, independently, and in the interests of the organization...
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Ep.35: Risk People in a Risk-Taking World
The future of compliance and HR is "wide open," but getting there may require a different way of thinking. Ethico Co-CEO Nick Gallo joins Zach and Hui for a candid conversation about influence, culture, measurement, and the opportunity for both functions to move beyond activities and become more...
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Ep.34: The Seduction of Good News
What is the purpose of board and executive reporting? In this episode, Zach and Hui take aim at the traditional compliance report: the familiar mix of enforcement headlines, activity metrics, and reassuring conclusions that suggest everything is under control. They argue that too many reports are...
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Ep.33: Curiosity Isn’t Dead (but your culture might be stifling it)
Nearly everyone believes they're curious, yet far fewer feel empowered to ask questions, challenge assumptions, or explore new ideas at work. In this episode, Katie Miserany, Chief Communications Officer and Global Head of Marketing at SurveyMonkey, joins Zach and Hui to discuss the company's…
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Ep.32: Halfway There: Reflections on the Year So Far
At the halfway point of the year, Zach and Hui pause to reflect on the ideas that have defined recent conversations in compliance, ethics, and culture. From the role of curiosity as a professional superpower to the growing push toward outcome-based reporting, they unpack why critical thinking—and...
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Ep.31: The Nine Circles of Corporate Hell
What really drives corporate scandals? In this episode, Zach and Hui sit down with Professor Guido Palazzo, co-author of The Dark Pattern, to explore how organizational environments shape behavior in ways that go far beyond individual intent or values. Drawing on cases like Wells Fargo, Theranos,...
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Ep.30: Meetings Don’t Have to Suck!?
We all complain about meetings—in fact, they just might be one of the biggest unmanaged investments in your organization. Is there a better way? In this episode, Zach and Hui sit down with Dr. Steven Rogelberg, one of the world’s leading experts on the science of meetings, to unpack why meetings…
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Ep.29: Putting Compliance on Trial?
In this episode of The Better Way, Zach shares reflections from an unusual professional crossover: serving on a criminal jury in a high‑stakes, multi‑week trial. What he experienced in the courtroom and the jury room—confusion caused by complexity, the absence of a coherent story, opaque...
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Ep.28: An Illusion of Certainty: DOJ’s Corp. Enforcement Policy
When the DOJ sneezes, the compliance community has a habit of mad dashing to the emergency room. And that’s pretty much what happened when the Department of Justice rolled out its “new” Corporate Enforcement Policy last month. And so, in this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui—somewhat...
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Ep.27: Compliance and Legal are Different . . . Right?
In this episode, Zach and Hui trace how corporate compliance evolved from early antitrust enforcement to today’s legal‑dominated structures, showing how scandals, regulation, and enforcement—not a desire to “do the right thing”—shaped the function’s modern form. They also unpack why compliance so...
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Ep.26: The Metrics Not Enough of Us Track
In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui shine a light on some of the compliance metrics that rarely get used but matter most—from behavioral signals and free‑text insights to knowledge‑acquisition and retention and early risk indicators buried inside culture surveys and HR systems. They...
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Ep.25: Bystander Intervention: People Taking Care of People
In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui sit down with Emily May, President and Co‑Founder of Right To Be, whose work has transformed global understanding of harassment and bystander intervention. Emily shares the origins of her movement; breaks down the powerful 5Ds framework to…
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Ep.24: Moments that Made Us
In this reflective episode, Zach and Hui open up about pivotal moments that shaped how they think about ethics, culture, and compliance—from unexpected lessons in empathy and communication to the realities of navigating risk, culture, and power inside global organizations. Their stories reveal…
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Ep.23: The Psychology of Compliance Training
In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui sit down with Dr. Leann Pereira to explore the psychology behind compliance training—why meaningful learning isn’t about entertainment, quizzes, or catchy trends, but about context, behavior, and relevance. Leann breaks down how bias shows up in...
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Ep.22: The Art and Discipline of Investigations
Investigations can be rigid, legalistic exercises—but as Zach and Hui remind us, they’re fundamentally human. In this episode, they unpack the viral “Coldplay Kiss Cam” incident as a case study in why rushing to judgment is so dangerous, especially in ethics and compliance. From the purpose of...
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Ep.21: Critical Thinking: An Underused Superpower?
Critical thinking sounds simple—but in practice, it’s one of the most overlooked skills in compliance and culture work. In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui dive deep into what critical thinking really means: objective analysis, bias awareness, and evidence-based decision-making. They...
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Ep.20: End of Year Review
It’s the last episode of the year, and Zach Coseglia and Hui Chen are taking a step back to reflect on what made 2025 so memorable. From a new presidential administration and major regulatory and enforcement changes to questions about the rule of law and the future of DEI— they talk through what...
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Ep.19: The Fifty-Ring Circus
In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui unpack the complexities of corruption with Professors Oguzhan Dincer and Michael Johnston, authors of Corruption in America: A Fifty-Ring Circus. They explore why corruption is not a simple crime—but instead, a deeply entrenched phenomenon with...
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Ep.18: Getting to the Root
Root cause analysis isn’t just a box to check—it’s the difference between fixing symptoms and solving real problems. In this episode, Zach and Hui unpack why so many organizations stop short of the true root causes, settling for easy answers like “more training” or “rogue employee.” They explore...
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Ep.17: From Elves to Ethics
What do Icelandic elves, Chilean political ads, and Uruguayan tea rituals have to do with ethics and compliance? More than you’d think. In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui take you on a global journey—literally—sharing travel stories that spark fresh insights into culture, data, and...
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Ep.16: Keeping Up with the Benchmarkers
It’s human nature to be curious about what other people are doing. But is it helpful. And is benchmarking just a modern day, corporate version of our naturally human instinct to "keep up with the Joneses?” In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui dive deep into the widely used, yet often...
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Ep.15: Curious About Boards
In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui welcome investigative journalist Anna (A) Bianca Roach for a conversation about the intersection of corporate strategy, ethics, and global risk—and the evolving priorities for today’s corporate boards. Drawing from experience reporting for Agenda…
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Ep.14: Outcomes Over Output
It’s easy to measure output. How many trainings. How many policies. How many messages. All "the things" we did to protect the company and shape a culture of ethics and integrity. But did any of those things work? And what does it even mean for something to “work"? In this episode of The Better...
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Ep.13: LinkedIn or Linked Out?
In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui welcome back Alison Taylor (NYU professor, ethics expert, and celebrated author of Higher Ground) for a candid conversation about LinkedIn. Yes, you read that right! We're dedicating an episode to LinkedIn. What starts as a lighthearted look at...
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Ep.12: Ethics vs. Compliance
There’s a difference between doing “what’s required” and doing “what’s right.” And if you’ve been paying attention, you know that we’ve also done whole episodes on the shortcomings of “do the right thing” language. So, in this episode of The Better Way?, Hui and Zach thought it was time to give...
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Ep.11: Pressure Meets Purpose
We often hear people in our world say that they’ve spent their day “putting out fires.” Yeah? Well, we thought, why not talk to someone who has spent his career putting out actual fires—and who leads one of the most dynamic fire departments in the United States? In this episode of The Better…
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Ep.10: From Sex to Workplace Safety
Shaping culture can be a daunting task. Because change doesn’t happen overnight. But our world is filled with examples of shifting norms in both the social and organizational contexts. Just think about how much has changed in the last fifty years—or even, the last five! In this episode of The...
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Ep.9: Mission First, People Always
Leadership is a recurring theme on the pod. So, as they’re wont to do, Hui and Zach sought out an important voice to dive deep into leadership and leadership development: Dr. Tom Kolditz, a retired Brigadier General (U.S. Army), psychologist, author, educator, and leadership coach. In this…
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Ep.8: Out of the Echo Chamber
This series is all about curiosity in the search for “better ways.” And that search has taken us to some unexpected places: we’ve talked to an award winning actress; data scientists; AI ethicists; behavioral scientists; psychologists; lawyers; an auditor; and many others. We’ve also drawn...
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Ep.7: Analyze This
Psychology is increasingly a topic of interest to practitioners in organizational ethics, compliance, and culture (as it should be!). But do you know who we don’t hear from enough on the topic? Actual psychologists. Call it a “better way,” or just common sense, Zach and Hui decided to address…
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Ep.6: The Call Is Coming from Inside the Company
We are always urging people to "Speak Up": and we have policies, procedures, and hotlines to facilitate "speaking up". But what motivates people to do it? What inhibits speak up? Who are the one's speaking up? And why? In this episode of The Better Way?, Zach and Hui are curious to learn more…
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Ep.5: Hard World, Hard Work
The role (and importance) of organizational culture seems to be well understood—in driving business performance, attracting and retaining the best talent, and as a force-field protecting against unethical decision-making and other forms of misconduct. But does all the talk live up to the hype,...
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Ep.4: The Death of Oversight?
Corporate monitorships have been in the news a lot lately. From the Department of Justice’s decision to terminate the Glencore monitorship early; to months of headlines about a proposed monitorship associated with Boeing’s guilty plea in the 737 Max criminal case. And so, in this episode of The...
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Ep.3: The Human Cost of AI
Finally, our first guest in the new era of The Better Way? podcast! In this episode, Hui and Zach are joined by Jutta Williams, an experienced compliance, privacy, and information security officer—and a noted responsible AI evangelist. Jutta shares her deep knowledge of this curious—and...
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Ep.2: Our Origin Story
We always try to start with “why.” And over the last ten or so months, we’ve been asked “why?” a lot—why we’ve been on hiatus for so long and why we left our prior firm. In this episode of The Better Way?, we do our best to answer those questions, while also (and more importantly) sharing the...
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Ep.1: An Obligatory Word on the FCPA Pause
It’s many been months since our last episode, but The Better Way? Podcast is back! In this (our sort of first episode), Zach and Hui return with a special—and timely—discussion about the implications of President Trump’s Executive Order pausing FCPA enforcement. They address the role FCPA...
About this show
This is a curiosity podcast. For those who find themselves asking: “There has to be a better way, right? There just has to be.” Join Hui Chen and Zach Coseglia as they explore the worlds of organizational culture, data, and ethics—and search for new ways to tackle long-standing challenges.
Hosted by
Culture. Data. Ethics. | CDE Advisors
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