In 2018, author Yossi Klein Halevi wanted Palestinians to understand his story of how Israel came into existence. At the same time, he wanted Palestinians...
In this episode from 2009, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomed Christopher Hitchens to talk about his book, Why Orwell Matters. The conversation begins as Roberts notes Hitchens’ claim that George Orwell was right about the three big issues of the...
As Israel turns 75, has it fulfilled the promise of its founders? Daniel Gordis of Shalem College talks about his book, Impossible Takes Longer, with EconTalk's Russ Roberts looking at the successes and failures of Israel. Topics discussed include the...
In this episode from 2009, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomed Christopher Hitchens to talk about his book, Why Orwell Matters. The conversation begins as Roberts notes Hitchens’ claim that George Orwell was right about the three big issues of the 20th century: imperialism, fascism, and Stalinism. What are some examp...
In 2018, author Yossi Klein Halevi wanted Palestinians to understand his story of how Israel came into existence. At the same time, he wanted Palestinians to tell him their personal and national stories, too, about the same land. The result was Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor, a candid, heartfelt book that engaged ...
Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky says we have no free will. That's a BIG claim. What are the implications of that??? And if we don't have free will, is there a science of showing how we're supposed to function once we accept that there's no free will? These are the sorts of (very difficult!) questions EconTalk host Russ...
Who is the greatest economist of all time? In Tyler Cowen's eclectic view, you need both breadth and depth, macro and micro. You can't have been too wrong--and you need to be mostly right. You have to have had a lasting impact, and done both theory and empirical work. If you meet all these criteria, you may just be his...
What's different about companies that accomplish amazing things? Perhaps surprisingly, says Andrew McAfee of MIT, it has nothing to do with being agile or with better technology. Instead, they've developed what he calls "geek" cultures, which emphasize intense cooperation, rapid learning curves, and a lack of hierarchy...
Who was Milton Friedman? Jennifer Burns of Stanford University finds in her biography of Friedman that the answer to that question is more complicated than she thought. Listen as she and EconTalk's Russ Roberts discuss how the now-forgotten Henry Simons shaped Friedman's thought, the degree to which Friedman had a deep...
When Alexandra Hudson took a job at the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., she found herself faced with two extremes she was not prepared for- people who seemed good and nice, but were actually ruthless and cruel. This prompted her to think about the distinction between people's inner and outer manners, whic...
Loss of taste for most foods, vision problems, loss of muscle mass and bone density. In light of these and the many unpleasant our outright dangerous effects of space travel on human physiology, science writer and cartoonist Zach Weinersmith wonders: When it comes to the dream of space expansion, what exactly do we hop...
In this episode of EconTalk from the archives, Russ Roberts hosts Rodney Brooks for a conversation on the current state of AI alongside its projections. Rodney Brooks is a professor of Robotics Emeritus at MIT. Brooks, also a robotics entrepreneur, is the co-founder of Robust AI. How soon will there be driverless cars...
Slot machines, social media, and potato chips: we humans seem to find a lot of things hard to consume in moderation. Why does "enough" seem so much harder to say than "more?" Listen as Michael Easter discusses these questions and his book, The Scarcity Brain, with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Easter shares ways that our aw...
In this episode of EconTalk, Russ Roberts hosts Robert Skidelsky for a conversation about his book, co-written with his son Edward: How Much is Enough? Money and the Good Life. Robert Skidelsky is a Member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom and an economic historian who wrote a notable biography of British ec...
How do you communicate complicated ideas, let alone persuade people to change their mind about something they think they know? Why do we have to "learn things the hard way" all the time??? These are some of the questions EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomed Adam Mastroianni back to discuss in this episode. Mastroiann...
Your mother's socio-economic status at the time of your birth. Whether your ancestors raised crops or led camels through the desert. The smell of the room you're in when you're making a decision--all of these things, says neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, combine to affect your behavior, as well as everything in between....
When Alexandra Hudson arrived in Washington, D.C., she discovered that outward behavior is not always a reflection of a person's character. Her disillusionment led to an in-depth exploration of the historical concept and practice of civility, along with a newfound appreciation for not only empathy, but also debate and...
How much do we remember of what we learn in school or from conversation? Psychologist Adam Mastroianni says: from little to nothing much. What do our brains retain? Mastroianni argues that often it's a mix of emotions, meanings, and values that end up shaping who we are, what Mastroianni calls "vibes." Listen as he and...
Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at University of Cambridge and the founder of Enlightenment Economics. Coyle is also an author, and her book, The Economics of Enough, is the topic of conversation in this episode as she and Roberts discuss the financial crisis, responsible economic action for the ...