By Alice Temnick

Are you a reader who can socialize with dead people? One who engages in the form of reading that enables interaction with people who have been dead a long time? In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts and philosopher Agnes Callard consider the state of humanities education, the lifelong benefits of the study of phi...

By Alice Temnick

Why don’t we wonder enough about the marvels of markets? How do markets enable peaceful, productive, global cooperation?   In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts introduces and reads his poetic tribute to the rich idea of spontaneous order, “It's a Wonderful Loaf”. The poem and its animated video ...

Physician and author Vivian Lee talks about her book The Long Fix with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Lee argues that we can transform health care in the United States, though it may take a while. She argues that the current fee-for-service system incentivizes doctors to provide services rather than keep patients healthy ...

Philosopher and author Agnes Callard talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the state of philosophy, the power of philosophy, and the search for wisdom and truth. This is a wide-ranging conversation related to the question of how we learn, how to behave ethically, and the role of religion and philosophy in encoura...

By Amy Willis

In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts talks with historian Diane Ravitch about her new book, Slaying Goliath. Ravitch, a former proponent of charter schools, now bemoans what she sees as their broken promise to American students. Charters promised to be R&D centers for best educational practices, which...

Author and historian Diane Ravitch of New York University talks about her book, Slaying Goliath, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Ravitch argues that the charter school movement is a failure and that it drains needed money from public schools.

By Amy Willis

What's wrong with the way capitalism is now? What problems should we try to fix, and how? In this episode of EconTalk, Rebecca Henderson joins host Russ Roberts to discuss her book, Reimagining Capitalism. Henderson argues that the current incarnation of capitalism has become imbalanced.   How should we...

Author and economist Rebecca Henderson of the Harvard Business School talks about her book Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Henderson argues that the focus on shareholder value threatens to destroy capitalism from within. Henderson argues that business leaders need to manage th...

By Amy Willis

About a decade ago, education journalist Sarah Carr noted a dearth of "on the ground" writing on schools. Deciding to rectify that, Carr followed a student, a teacher, and a principal at three different schools in post-Katrina New Orleans for a year. In this EconTalk episode, Carr discussed what she learned in her book...

Journalist and author Sarah Carr talks about her book Hope Against Hope with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Carr looked at three schools in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and chronicled their successes, failures, and the challenges facing educational reform in the poorest parts of America.

By Amy Willis

The recent episode of EconTalk with Martin Gurri was one of the most jarring in my memory, simply because of the timing of its release. The episode was recorded prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Gurri himself asked on twitter, "Before the pandemic crisis, there was a revolt of the public. What are the odd...

Author Martin Gurri, Visiting Fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, talks about his book The Revolt of the Public with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Gurri argues that a digital tsunami--the increase in information that the web provides--has destabilized authority and many institutions. He talks about the a...

By Amy Willis

K12 education has long been an EconTalk theme, and in this episode, host Russ Roberts welcomed author, teacher, ad education reformer Robert Pondiscio. Pondiscio shared his experience both as a second-career inner city teacher and a year spent in one of the (in)famous Success Academy charter schools in New York City. ...

  Author and teacher Robert Pondiscio of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute talks about his book How the Other Half Learns with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Pondiscio shares his experience of being embedded in a Success Academy Charter School in New York City for a year--lessons about teaching, education policy, an...

By Alice Temnick

In this episode, Nobel laureate Paul Romer argues that we need to look beyond both mitigation and suppression strategies for a sustainable alternative that is a lot less costly. This is needed to avoid further devastating effects of economic shut-down, living with fear, and Romer’s and host Russ Roberts’ greatest c...

In this Bonus Episode of EconTalk, economist and Nobel Laureate Paul Romer discusses the coronavirus pandemic with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Romer argues that the status quo of shutdown and fear of infection is unsustainable. Returning to normal requires an inexpensive, quick, and relatively painless test. Such tests...