By Amy Willis

Have you been dreaming of driverless cars like EconTalk host Russ Roberts? Well, author Matthew Crawford might turn your dreams into nightmares. Crawford joins Roberts in this episode to discuss his book, Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road. Crawford is a devotee of serendipity, and finds the open road- ...

***** TAKE THE 2020 ECONTALK SURVEY: https://tinyurl.com/y6tzqvg6. VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE EPISODES OF THE YEAR! ***** Economist and author Don Boudreaux of George Mason University discusses the life and work of the economist James Buchanan with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Buchanan received the Nobel Prize in 1986 ...

***** TAKE THE 2020 ECONTALK SURVEY: https://tinyurl.com/y6tzqvg6. VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE EPISODES OF THE YEAR! ***** Author Matthew Crawford talks about his book Why We Drive with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. The conversation is about driving but also much more: how human beings interact with technology and what w...

By Amy Willis

Has the Nobel prize committee been ignoring the "Big Questions" in awarding the economics prize? What are these big questions, and why does it seem the discipline at large ignores them as well? These questions form the basis of this conversation between EconTalk host Russ Roberts and returning guest Branko Milanovic. ...

Author Michael Blastland talks about his book The Hidden Half with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Blastland argues that the deeper you delve into science, medicine, astrophysics--pick a topic--the more you realize there is a lot we don't understand. Things we can't explain. Blastland believes we would all do well to admit...

Economist and physician Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University talks about the pandemic with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Bhattacharya, along with Sunetra Gupta of the University of Oxford and Martin Kulldorff of Harvard University, authored The Great Barrington Declaration, which advocates a very different approach to...

Why is affordable housing in such short supply? Author and political scientist Katherine Levine Einstein of Boston University talks about her book Neighborhood Defenders with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Einstein focuses on the ability of local residents to use the zoning and permit process to prevent development of hou...

Author and economist Branko Milanovic of CUNY talks about the big questions in economics with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Milanovic argues that the Nobel Prize Committee is missing an opportunity to encourage more ambitious work by awarding the prize to economists tackling questions like the rise of China's economy and...

By Amy Willis

The COVID pandemic has disrupted our lives in innumerable ways. For those with children, the disruption to schooling is likely at the top of the list. In this episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes back economist (and parenting guru!) Emily Oster to talk about the pandemic's effects on schools. Oster and team ...

Economist and author Emily Oster of Brown University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the challenge of reopening schools in a pandemic. Oster has been collecting data from K-12 schools around the country. Her preliminary analysis finds little evidence that schools are super-spreaders of COVID. She argues tha...

By Amy Willis

We've heard these words so many times: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. The idea of happiness plays a central role in our personal and pu...

Philosopher and author Daniel Haybron of St. Louis University talks about his book, Happiness, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Happiness turns out to be a little more complicated than it sounds. Haybron discusses the good life and different philosophical perspectives on how to achieve happiness.

By Amy Willis

Are you a crafter? If you weren't before, maybe the pandemic has started you on a "maker" kick. I have lots of friends who've taken up knitting, woodworking, gardening, and a variety of other hobbies. Maybe you're not crafty at all, but interested in exploring the human condition throughout history. Or maybe you're jus...

Author and journalist Virginia Postrel talks about her book The Fabric of Civilization and How Textiles Made the World with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Postrel tells the fascinating story behind the clothes we wear and everything that goes into producing them throughout history. The history of textiles, Postrel argues,...

Author and economist Steven Levitt is the William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and host of the podcast "People I (Mostly) Admire." He is best known as the co-author, with Stephen Dubner, of Freakonomics. The book, published in 2005, became a phenomenon, selling more...

Rob Wiblin, host of the 80,000 Hours podcast, interviews EconTalk host Russ Roberts about charity, the reliability of data to inform decision-making, and utilitarianism.