What makes some groups thrive while others crash and burn? According to organizational-behavior scholar Colin Fisher, the real villains are rarely individuals, but dysfunctional teams...
Can a zoning meeting help rush hour traffic? According to Alain Bertaud, urban building regulations can indeed have a major impact on the flow of city traffic. On this episode of EconTalk, Russ Roberts is joined by urbanist Alain Bertaud...
Is it possible for a leader to be both humble and confident? At what point does confidence become arrogance, and perhaps dangerous? In a very unique conversation, this episode is the result of a very thoughtful email Russ received from an avid listener, David...
Can a zoning meeting help rush hour traffic? According to Alain Bertaud, urban building regulations can indeed have a major impact on the flow of city traffic. On this episode of EconTalk, Russ Roberts is joined by urbanist Alain Bertaud where they discuss designing cities and the effects that regulation, culture,...
What makes some groups thrive while others crash and burn? According to organizational-behavior scholar Colin Fisher, the real villains are rarely individuals, but dysfunctional teams and organizations. Listen as he and EconTalk's Russ Roberts discuss the reasons for the free-rider problem and the importance of meaning...
Are humans the most intelligent species, or just the most arrogant? NYU primatologist Christine Webb, author of The Arrogant Ape, believes that human exceptionalism is a myth that does more harm than good. Listen as she speaks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about how research has skewed our understanding of a...
We've long been told that if there's one issue economists agree on... it's free trade. Maybe economists still agree, but protectionism is all the rage in the policy world today. What gives? In this episode of EconTalk, Russ Roberts brings back trade historian Douglas Irwin for a rich, illuminating discussion on tariff...
What can Ernest Hemingway teach us today about the morality of war, the eternal and transient nature of love, and how to write a masterpiece? Listen as author and teacher David Wyatt talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about Hemingway's epic For Whom the Bell Tolls. Topics include Hemingway's role in the wars of ...
Cold plunges. Exogenous ketones. Pu-erh tea--but hold the breakfast: it's all par for the morning routine, at least if you're entrepreneur, self-experimenter, and king of the lifehacks, Tim Ferriss. From how he manages the challenges of his celebrity to how he manages to stay in great shape; how he does--and when he do...
Former submarine commander David Marquet joins EconTalk's Russ Roberts to explore how distancing--thinking like someone else, somewhere else, or sometime else--can unlock better choices in business and life. They talk about leadership without giving orders, how to empower teams, and what it means to see yourself as ...
What do we lose when every moment is recorded, every action scrutinized, and every past mistake preserved? Philosopher and author Lowry Pressly joins EconTalk's Russ Roberts to discuss why privacy isn't just about secrets or information control, the necessity of spontaneity, the importance of moral growth, and what we ...
Many students graduate high school today without having read a book cover to cover. Many students struggle to learn to read at all. How did this happen? Listen as educator and author Doug Lemov talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the failed fads in reading education, the mistaken emphasis on vocabulary as a skill...
In this episode of EconTalk from January, Russ Roberts chatted with everyone's favorite guest, Duke University’s Michael Munger about Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) and the hope—or hype—behind delegating government slim-downs to big tech. As we've watched the DOGE drama unfold ...
Is long form reading a dying pastime? Journalist and cultural critic James Marriott joins EconTalk's Russ Roberts to defend the increasingly quaint act of reading a book in our scrolling-obsessed, AI-summarized age. He urges juggling a paper book and a Kindle, recounts ditching his smartphone to rescue his attention, a...
In this episode of EconTalk, host Russ Roberts welcomes back philosopher and professor Leon Kass, to delve into the complex thoughts of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It’s more than a discussion about Rousseau’s profound influence on Western philosophy. It is an opportunity to witness the art of deep reading as these two c...
Skip the Mona Lisa when you visit Paris. Don't tour the Coliseum in Rome. Walk, don’t hurry. Chris Arnade speaks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about a different way to travel. Listen as Arnade shares what he learned from Istanbul's small community mosques and how Avignon's Congolese-neighborhood cathedrals pr...
What is capitalism, really? Drawing on Adam Smith, Douglass North, and his own experience as a teacher and economist, economist Michael Munger of Duke University discusses three stages of economic development with EconTalk's Russ Roberts: voluntary exchange, markets, and capitalism. Along the way, the conversation exp...
How can the state of Colorado have nearly 700 sides? Why is a country's coastline as long as you want it to be? And how is it that your UPS driver has more routes to choose from than there are stars in the universe? Listen as mathematician Paulina Rowinska talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the mathematical trick...
What if we could delay--or even prevent--Alzheimer's, cancer, and heart disease? What if much of what you know about aging is wrong? Listen as cardiologist and author Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Institute talks about his new book Super Agers with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. They discuss why your genes matter less t...