Annie Duke is angry that quitting gets such a bad rap. Instead of our relentless focus on grit and "going for it," the former professional...
What prompts a young scholar to leave the academy...and open a distillery? If you're Sonat Birnecker-Hart and her husband, it seemed clear. Thus, Koval was born. In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes Hart to talk about her journey....
How important is grit relative to talent? Can grit be taught? Angela Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania and author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance talks with with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the nature of success...
What prompts a young scholar to leave the academy...and open a distillery? If you're Sonat Birnecker-Hart and her husband, it seemed clear. Thus, Koval was born. In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes Hart to talk about her journey. And yes, he brings out the economics in the story, too! The couple...
Annie Duke is angry that quitting gets such a bad rap. Instead of our relentless focus on grit and "going for it," the former professional poker player, decision strategist, and author of Quit wants us to recognize the costs associated with sticking to a losing outcome. Listen as she explains to EconTalk host Russ Rob...
When the 20-year-old overachiever Johnathan Bi's first startup crashed and burned, he headed to a Zen retreat in the Catskills to "debug himself." He discovered René Girard and his mimetic theory--the idea that imitation is a key and often unconscious driver of human behavior. Listen as entrepreneur and philosopher Bi...
For Russ Roberts’ long-running EconTalk podcast fans, here is a chance to hear the tables turned as Russ responds to outstanding questions from another expert “OG” interviewer. Sam Harris delivers by taking this lengthy conversation on this Making Sense podcast in many interesting directions. Harris opens...
Suppose all of humanity was infected by a virus that left us all infertile--no one will come along after us. How would you react to such a world? Agnes Callard of the University of Chicago says she would be filled with despair. But why does this seem worse than our own inevitable deaths? Callard speaks with EconTalk ho...
When everyone is carrying a camera in their pocket, what raises the act of taking pictures to the level of fine art photography? Jessica Todd Harper, the award-winning portrait photographer, says that it's equal parts mindset and technique--and lots of setting the stage to seize that perfect light. Listen as Harper spe...
What do people have in mind when they talk about industrial policy today? And why do politicians of all stripes clamor for industrial policies? In this episode, EconTalk Russ Roberts welcomes back perennial favorite guest Mike Munger to discuss. Roberts and Munger agree that people often don't like what the profit-a...
Economist and political scientist Michael Munger of Duke University talks about industrial policy with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Munger argues that in a democracy, the default outcome for industrial policy is crony capitalism--attempts to improve on that outcome either by appointing experts or eliminating cronyism ...
Temperance….The Polish of Life (Cicero) Prolific New York Times Bestselling author and philosopher Ryan Holiday is amidst a series of books on the four cardinal virtues. He discusses the latest, Discipline is Destiny, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts in this episode. Holiday has written on courage, and he wi...
Author Ryan Holiday talks about his book, Discipline Is Destiny, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Holiday discusses the mentor who taught him discipline, the self-control of Queen Elizabeth, the world-champion boxer who counseled the man who defeated him in the ring, and the forgotten Roman emperor who helped make Marc...
Devon Zuegel talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the crazy world of money and finance in Argentina. When inflation is often high and unpredictable, people look for unusual ways to hold their savings. And when banks are unreliable because of public policy, people look for unusual ways to keep their savings safe ...
Economist Roland Fryer worried about the fate of students in America's inner-city schools, and he had a crazy idea- could monetary incentives affect student, teacher, and parent behavior? A natural enough question to be posed by an economist, but Fryer was shocked at how many people found financial incentives in educat...
The good news about educational reform, says Harvard economist Roland Fryer, is that we know what it takes to turn a school around. The bad news is that it's hard work--and implementing it won't win you any popularity contests. Listen as the MacArthur Genius Award Winner and John Bates Clark medalist speaks with EconTa...
Scholar and distiller Sonat Birnecker Hart of the Koval Distillery talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about her career move from academia to whiskey-making. She explains that the heart is the key to great flavor--when making whiskey, and when making the right choices in life.
Neuroscientist Erik Hoel talks about why he is not an "effective altruist" with EconTalk host, Russ Roberts. Hoel argues that the utilitarianism that underlies effective altruism--a movement co-founded by Will MacAskill and Peter Singer--is a poison that inevitably leads to repugnant conclusions and thereby weakens the...
John Stuart Mill's midlife crisis came at 20 when he realized that if he got what he desired he still wouldn't be happy. Art and poetry (and maybe love) saved the day for him. In this week's episode, philosopher Kieran Setiya of MIT talks about his book Midlife with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Setiya argues we can lear...