Journalist and author Jonathan Rauch talks about his book The Constitution of Knowledge with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. People come up with ideas all the time. But the vast majority of these ideas aren't worthwhile. Rauch argues that the constitution of knowledge--the norms and institutions for testing the reliabili...

By Audrey Sullivan

Do murderers and criminals deserve a free education? Is there a certain level of morality that is corrupted by providing a free education to criminals? These are some of the questions that are explored in this episode of EconTalk. EconTalk host, Russ Roberts, talks with Max Kenner, founder and executive director of the...

Economist and Nobel Laureate James Heckman of the University of Chicago talks about inequality and economic mobility with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Drawing on research on inequality in Denmark with Rasmus Landersø, Heckman argues that despite the efforts of the Danish welfare state to provide equal access to educati...

Journalist and author Michael Easter talks about his book The Comfort Crisis with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Easter thinks modern life is too easy, too comfortable. To be healthy, he says, we need to move out of our comfort zones and every once in a while try to do something, especially something physically demandin...

Economist Don Boudreaux of George Mason University talks about the pandemic with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Boudreaux argues that a perfect storm of factors created a huge overreaction, including unnecessary lockdowns that accomplished little at a very high cost in physical and emotional health. Instead, Boudreaux a...

Claudia Hauer of St. John's College and the Air Force Academy talks about her book Strategic Humanism with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Topics discussed include war, rage, terrorism, and what a modern warrior might learn from Homer.

By Audrey Sullivan

What if you had the opportunity to discuss and review some of EconTalk host, Russ Roberts’ published books? Well now might be your chance!   Erik Rostad, host of the podcast Books of Titans, read all of Russ's books; his experience is the subject of this podcast. Through the duration of the podcast, Rostad...

Journalist and author Sebastian Junger talks about his book, Freedom, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. The book and conversation are based on a 400-mile walk Junger took with buddies along railroad rights-of-way, evading police, railroad security, and other wanderers. Junger discusses the ever-present tension between t...

Economist and author Anja Shortland of King's College London talks about her new book, Lost Art, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. When a famous painting disappears into the underworld of stolen art, how does it make its way back into the legitimate world of auction houses and museums? Drawing on the archives of a priva...

By Audrey Sullivan

What if where you park, and how much you do or don’t pay for it, could benefit your community it multiple ways? How can cities and communities create a sustainable way of dealing with the supply and demand of free parking or metered parking? In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts sits down with Donald Shoup, Dis...

Author and economist Donald Shoup of UCLA talks about destructive parking policies with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Shoup argues that most parking policies inflict unseen damage on the economy. He urges cities to charge for curbside parking and use the proceeds to improve the neighborhood beyond the curb. Stroup also e...

Author Ian Leslie talks about his book Conflicted with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Leslie argues that, far from being a negative thing, conflict is often the essential ingredient that helps us get to the right answer or best solution. Because some of our best thinking comes in collaboration with others, learning how t...

Economist Bruce Meyer of the University of Chicago talks about poverty with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. In recent years, a number of scholars have claimed that millions of Americans live in extreme poverty, akin to the standard of living in the poorest countries around the world. Meyer argues that these studies are b...

By Amy Willis

What is the outlook for black Americans today- is the black experience glass half full or half empty? Is racial discrimination the root of all problems in Black America? In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes the Wall Street Journal's Jason Riley, who argues the current situation has been distorted by act...

Journalist and author Jason Riley talks about race with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Riley argues that the challenges facing Black America go beyond racial discrimination and the threat of police violence. He argues that both the history of Black Americans and the current situation has been distorted by activists who be...

By Amy Willis

Do you approach the world and the challenges it imposes more like a scout or a soldier? What's the difference? Both are mindsets, and bot are appropriate in particular situations, according to guest Julia Galef. In this episode, host Russ Roberts welcomes Galef to talk about her new book, The Scout Mindset, and explore...