Author and psychologist Paul Bloom of the University of Toronto talks about his book, The Sweet Spot, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Bloom argues that...
It seems we've all had a rough year and a half. For some of us, the experience of the pandemic has exacerbated vulnerabilities we already have. For others, new vulnerabilities emerged. In either case, mental health awareness has been brought increasingly...
Paul Romer of New York University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about reforming cities to allow growth and human flourishing. Topics discussed include charter cities, the role of population density in city life, driverless cars, and various ways to...
Author and psychologist Paul Bloom of the University of Toronto talks about his book, The Sweet Spot, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Bloom argues that suffering is underrated--suffering is part of happiness and meaning. This is a wide-ranging discussion of popular culture, religion, and what we hope to get out of lif...
Journalist and author Rowan Jacobsen talks about his book Truffle Hound with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. This conversation has nothing to do with chocolate. It's about the strange world of underground fungi, found in the forest by specially trained dogs and used by chefs and home cooks around the world. You will learn ...
Author and journalist Sam Quinones talks about his book, The Least of Us, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Quinones focuses on the devastation caused by methamphetamine and fentanyl, the latest evolution of innovation in the supply of mind-altering drugs in the United States. The latest versions of meth, he argues, a...
It seems we've all had a rough year and a half. For some of us, the experience of the pandemic has exacerbated vulnerabilities we already have. For others, new vulnerabilities emerged. In either case, mental health awareness has been brought increasingly into focus- if only for the difficulty in finding help today. ...
Economist and author Arnold Kling talks about improving government regulation with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Kling suggests ways to improve the administrative state--the agencies and regulatory bodies that often write the regulations that they enforce. The conversation concludes with Kling's idea for holding public ...
Author and economist Noreena Hertz of University College London talks about her book, The Lonely Century, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Hertz blames social media and the individualist, pro-capitalism worldviews of leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan for the rise in loneliness in the developed world. ...
We hear a lot about the Chicago and Austrian schools of economics, but what about the UCLA school? In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes EconLog's David Henderson, who recently co-authored The Essential UCLA School of Economics with Steven Globerman. The theme of the conversation might as well be, as th...
Economist and author David Henderson talks about his book (co-authored with Steve Globerman) The Essential UCLA School of Economics with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Much of the conversation focuses on the work of Armen Alchian and Harold Demsetz, who both saw economics as a powerful tool for understanding human behavi...
Can corporate America, and Big Tech in particular, be democratized? How can we make capitalism more accountable to the people? In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes back the OCTOPEST of Microsoft, Glen Weyl. Says Roberts, "I love capitalism. Because capitalism, profit, and loss, gives firms the incentive...
Author and Microsoft executive Glen Weyl talks about radical reforms of capitalism with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Weyl is worried about the concentration of corporate power, especially in the tech sector. But rather than use the traditional tools of antitrust, he has a more radical strategy for reorganizing corporate...
Author and journalist Johann Hari talks about his book, Lost Connections: Why You Are Depressed and How to Find Hope, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Hari, who has suffered with depression as a teenager and an adult, offers a sweeping critique of the medical establishment's understanding of depression and the fre...
Why are so many people interested in ancient Rome and Greece? We often think of these societies as the foundation of our own. Historian Bret Devereaux, the guest in this episode, agrees. EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes Devereaux to explore his fascination with the ancients, whose history can still serve as a blue...
Historian Bret Devereaux of the University of North Carolina talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about our understanding of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Devereaux highlights the gap between the reality of Greece and Rome and how they're portrayed in popular culture. The conversation focuses on the diversity of anc...
Law professors Michael Heller and James Salzman talk about their book, Mine! with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Heller and Salzman argue that ownership is trickier and more complicated than it looks. While we tend to think of something as either mine or not mine, there's often ambiguity and a continuum about who owns wha...
On the surface, Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson have a lot in common. They each did pathbreaking work in economics; both won Nobel prizes. Each had a column in Newsweek on alternating weeks for eighteen years. And they were, by their own admission, each other's greatest rivals- Samuelson, the "High Priest of Keynesi...
Journalist and author Nicholas Wapshott talks about his book Samuelson Friedman with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson were two of the most influential economists of the last century. They competed for professional acclaim and had very different policy visions. The conversation includes the...
