Grappling with the Gray

How do we weigh quantifiable costs against intangible benefits? That's the question that drives the conversation when Catherine Fitzgerald , Sven Lauch , and Stewart Wiggins join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray. A recent documentary about the Blue Angels profiles the extraordinary discipline required to fly fighter jets in formation a mere 12 - 18 inches apart from one another and p...

Are the rich getting too much richer, and is there a limit to how much the poor will take? That's the question that will drive the conversation when Mark O'Brien , Jolanta Pomiotlo , and Kirsten Yurich join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic: According to a recent report, median pay packages for CEOs rose to $16.3 million through 2023, up 12.6%. Meanwhile, wages...

Are we neglecting old relationships in hope of profiting from new ones? That's the question that drives the discussion when Jennifer H. Elder, CSP, CPA, Jim Ristuccia, and Jon Strickler join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic: Recently, I had enough of Charter Communications. My monthly fees kept going up, service got worse, and AT&T came around with faster servi...

At what cost can we expect others to take responsibility for our own well being? That's the question that the ethics panel takes up when Giovanni Gallo, Nick Gallo, and Diane Helbig join me to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic: A woman posted online how she likes to bake more than she likes to eat. Although she typically shares her culinary creations with friends and family, on one occ...

Is our confusion between panic and panacea leading us into social chaos? That's the question that underlines the conversation when Christopher Bauer, PhD, CSP, CFS , 🟦 Melissa Hughes, Ph. D. , and Mary Beth Molloy join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic: Recently, Oprah Winfrey apologized for the part she played in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets. She said...

Do we prevent ourselves from getting anything by trying to get everything? That's the question that underlies the discussion when Jeff Koziatek , 🟦 Mark O'Brien , and Annette Taylor join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our scenario: On May 1st, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill prohibiting the production and sale of lab-grown meat. When I read the headline,...

When do some people's problems become everybody's problems? That's the question driving the conversation when 🟦 Jeff Ikler , Sarah Kalmeta , and S. Scott Mason join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic: “With the stroke of his pen,” said Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, “Joe Biden is attempting to saddle working Missourians with a half trillion dolla...

Is doing the wrong thing ever the right thing? That classic ethical question underscores the conversation when Kimberly Davis, Peter Winick, and K Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray. True story: An elderly Jewish man with late stage cancer was given only a few weeks to live by his doctors. His final wish was to spend his last days in Israel and be buried there, so...

What happens when we sabotage our own efforts to promote values by sending contradictory messages? That's the ethics challenge the panel takes up when Natalia Alvarez, Ph. D., JC Glick, and Lovelda Vincenzi join me to Grapple with the Gray. A teacher at the private Girls’ Day School Trust in the UK was recently ordered to apologize and subsequently told her contract would not be renewed after...

This is one of my all time favorite conversations.  Enjoy this episode from the archives! Here is our topic: About five years ago, I was driving home from Dallas, Texas, when I pulled up to a toll booth in Oklahoma. Being somewhat directionally challenged, I told the attendant that I was turning west, thereby exempting myself from the toll of $2.50. When I reached the turnoff, however, I realized...

When does fun and games become deceitful manipulation? That's the topic the ethics panel takes up when Paul Edwards , Catherine Fitzgerald , and Frank Zaccari join me to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic: A husband and wife are sitting on the couch watching TV. The wife hears her phone chirp, then realizes she left it in the kitchen. She goes to get the phone and checks to see who text...

White collar vs. blue collar criminals: Who deserves to serve more time? That's the question the ethics panel takes up when JC Glick , 🔆 Anne Nevel, CAE , and Andre van Heerden join me to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our scenario: Last week, Joseph Tyler was sentenced to eight years in state prison and ordered to pay $23,000 in restitution to older Coloradans that he defrauded in a tree-tr...

Which is worse: suspicion or gullibility? And do we actually have to choose? Those are the questions that drive my conversation with the incomparable Cy Wakeman  when she joins me to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic: In a recent op ed posted in The Hill, Disaster Avoidance Expert Gleb Tsipursky writes: “In the brave new world of hybrid work, where the lines between office and home are blur...

Passion is a good thing. Except, perhaps, when it's not. How can we tell where to draw the line? That's the question the ethics panel takes up when Toni McLelland MSc FRSA , Cathleen O’Sullivan , and Colin D Smith join me for a special transatlantic episode of Grappling with the Gray. Here is our topic: With Taylor Swift’s current Eras tour the most successful in history, it’s inevitable...

Along with gun rights, border protection, and trans-athletes, one of our most contentious issues is Daylight Savings Time. That's the issue the ethics panel takes up when Jennifer H. Elder, CSP, CPA , Diane Helbig , and 🟦 Mark O'Brien join me to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic: It’s almost that time again. Get ready to set your clocks forward an hour. Or is it back an hour? Som...

If life isn't fair, should we stop trying? That question underlies this episode's topic as Deb Coviello The Drop In CEO™ , 🟦 Melissa Hughes, Ph. D. , and John E. McGlothlin join the the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our challenge: Since the topic of transgender rights has become widespread, the debate over biological men competing in women’s sports has become heated, to...

Can ethical standards be too high? That's the question the ethics panel takes up when Marcus Aurelius Anderson, David Marlow, and Jason Todd join me to Grapple with the Gray. Please join us live! Here is our topic: I was getting off a plane after a trip to the east coast, when a neighbor on the same flight offered me a ride home. I heard him call his son-in-law, whom he told to meet us at dep...

How far can we ethically stretch the letter of the law in an effort to fulfil the spirit of the law? That's the question the panel takes up on this episode of Grappling with the Gray. Here is our topic: Last week, Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for her role in her 15 year old son Ethan’s murder of four classmates in a November 2021 shooting. Etha...

Are we making ourselves more cynical? If so, what is the cost? Those are the questions the ethics panel takes up on this episode of Grappling with the Gray. Here is our scenario: The rapper known as Killer Mike walked out of the Grammy Awards in handcuffs earlier this week. Reportedly, he was charged with misdemeanor assault and released on zero bail. The choice of LAPD to arrest him as he was lea...

Bruce Wayne tells Rachel Dawes that revenge and justice can be the same. Rachel replies: "No, they're never the same, Bruce. Justice is about harmony. Revenge is about you making yourself feel better." Is there ever an exception? That's the question the ethics panel takes up on this episode of Grappling with the Gray. The following is a quote from ABC news online: Three days af...

Does the appearance of chaos promote chaos? That's the question the ethics panel takes up this episode of Grappling with the Gray. Here is our topic: The recent disappearance of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from the White House chain of command sent tremors through Washington and the country. On January 2, shortly after returning home from an apparently successful procedure, the secretary e...

Is doing something half-right better than not doing it at all? Or can selectively excluding good not only negate but overpower the benefit of what's included? That's the dilemma the ethics panel takes up when Christopher Bauer, Catherine Fitzgerald, and Scott Mason join me to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic: The following is taken from the About page on the Hostage Aid Worldwide...

Is there ever such a thing as too much transparency, too much disclosure, or too much open information? That's the subject the ethics panel takes up when Sam Ardery and Jennifer Elder join me to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our ethics challenge: As of January 1, a new Florida law requires city officials to report their assets, liabilities, sources of income and net worth, the same disclosur...

🥷You've learned about the horrors of Auschwitz. 🥷You've read about the atrocities of October 7. 🥷You've watched the recent rise of Anti-Semitism in the US and around the world. You want to do something. But what can you do? After all you're just one person. And maybe you're not even Jewish. That's why you don't want to miss my conversation with 🟦 Melissa Hugh...

Is saying "I'm sorry" sometimes not enough? Should we say we're sorry when we're not? What if we're not sorry when we should be? These are some of the questions the ethics panel will take up this Wednesday at 5:00 pm ET when Mark Brown, CSP , Deb Coviello , and Kimberly Davis join me to Grapple with the Gray. Here is our topic? Days after a highly charged appearance b...