It's tempting to explain Russia's invasion of Ukraine with Putin's megalomania. Economist Chris Blattman of the University of Chicago talks about his book Why We Fight with EconTalk...
When two great readers get together to talk abut books and the practice of reading, it's a roller-coaster ride of recommendations. And that's just the beginning of what you'll get from listening to this episode. EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes...
Intellectual omnivore Tyler Cowen of George Mason University and EconTalk host Russ Roberts talk about their reading habits, their favorite books, and the pile of books on their nightstands right now.
When two great readers get together to talk abut books and the practice of reading, it's a roller-coaster ride of recommendations. And that's just the beginning of what you'll get from listening to this episode. EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes Tyler Cowen back to the show for this rollicking celebration of readers ...
It's tempting to explain Russia's invasion of Ukraine with Putin's megalomania. Economist Chris Blattman of the University of Chicago talks about his book Why We Fight with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Blattman explains why only a fraction of rivalries ever erupt into violence, the five main reasons adversaries can't...
In his memoir of his time in Auschwitz, Primo Levi describes Jewish prisoners bathing in freezing water without soap--not because they thought it would make them cleaner, but because it helped them hold on to their dignity. For poet and author Dwayne Betts, Levi's description of his fellow inmates' suffering, much like...
Are tech giants such as Google, Amazon, or Facebook dangerous? Do they have too much power? Dive into the murky waters of antitrust as Michael Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about monopoly, antitrust policy, and competition in the 21st century.
Intellectual omnivore Tyler Cowen of George Mason University and EconTalk host Russ Roberts talk about their reading habits, their favorite books, and the pile of books on their nightstands right now.
What do crossing rivers and investing in stocks have in common? Real education is seeing the connection between things that seem very different. EconTalk's host Russ Roberts talks about education with Alex Aragona of the podcast, The Curious Task. Roberts argues that the ability to apply insights from one area to an...
EconTalk listeners have long known host Russ Roberts's fascination with Russian literature. In January, Richard Gunderman wrote an Econlib Feature Article, The Beef with Greed: Leo Tolstoy and Adam Smith, which- not-surprisingly- got Russ's gears turning.* In this episode, Gunderman joins Russ to continue the conversat...
Physician and careful reader Richard Gunderman of Indiana University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about how Adam Smith and Leo Tolstoy looked at greed. Drawing on Tolstoy's short story, "Master and Man," and adding some Thomas Hobbes along the way, Gunderman argues that a life well-lived requires us to rise ab...
As EconTalk listeners know, host Russ Roberts recently relocated to Jerusalem, taking on the role of president of Shalem College. We've heard a lot of Russ's thoughts on what a good education might look like, and we've been enjoying watching him put it into practice. In this episode, he welcomes a friend with a similar...
What is real education? What can colleges provide their students? Pano Kanelos, president of the new college-to-be in Austin, UATX, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the nature of education, what the Great Books can teach us, and how we should rethink college education in today's world.
Economist Robert Pindyck of MIT talks about his book, Climate Future, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Pindyck lays out what we know and do not know about climate change. He argues that because of the nature of greenhouse gases, adaptation must be part of the policy response to climate change.
Stuff it, fluff it, stitch it, dress it: Build-a-Bear Founder and former CEO Maxine Clark built a retail-entertainment empire by letting people make their own furry friends. Two hundred million of them. What's the secret to her success? Listen as she tells EconTalk's Russ Roberts how she developed a customer-focused cu...
For 2021, here are the top 10 episodes, which is actually 12. Number 10 was a three-way tie: Sebastian Junger on Freedom; Lamorna Ash on Dark, Salt, Clear; and Don Boudreaux on Buchanan. Number 9, Jason Riley on Race in America. Number 8, Tyler Cowen on the Pandemic, Revisited. Number 7, Dana Gioia on Lea...
Why has "character" become such a polarizing word in the world of education? According to Angela Duckworth, the guest in this episode, we're teaching character in schools no matter what. And that's partly why she started Character Lab a decade ago. She joins host Russ Roberts to talk about her quest to unite teachers, ...
Many people think schools are no place for teaching character. Psychologist Angela Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania and founder of Character Lab, disagrees. She talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the implicit curriculum for character, the critical role early education plays in shaping our adult values...
How much thought do you put into how you acquired the food you eat? I don't mean where did you buy it, but who grew it, found it, caught it, killed it? I admit that the answer for me is, "not much." I have a small garden patch in the summer and forage a bit in the spring and fall, but otherwise... I buy it. Washingto...
