According to neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris, rationality is the key to safeguarding everything we cherish, and its only true enemy is dogmatic inflexibility. Harris speaks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the views that have mad

How to Avoid Lying With Statistics (with Jeremy Weber)

Mar 4th, 2024 1h 12m

There's often a gap between the textbook treatment of statistics and the cookbook treatment--how to cook up the numbers when you're in the kitchen of the real world. Jeremy Weber of the University of Pittsburgh and the author of Statistics for

Tyler Cowen on the GOAT of Economics

Nov 27th, 2023 1h 34m

Who is the greatest economist of all time? In Tyler Cowen's eclectic view, you need both breadth and depth, macro and micro. You can't have been too wrong--and you need to be mostly right. You have to have had a lasting impact, and done both th

Roland Fryer on Race, Diversity, and Affirmative Action

Sep 4th, 2023 1h 7m

Can economics and better measurement help us understand racial disparities and suggest how to reduce or eliminate them? Economist Roland Fryer of Harvard University believes deeply in the power of data to help us understand how the world works

Daron Acemoglu on Innovation and Shared Prosperity

Jul 31st, 2023 1h 6m

Economist and author Daron Acemoglu of MIT discusses his book Power and Progress with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Acemoglu argues that the productivity and prosperity that results from innovation is not always shared widely across the populatio

Tyler Cowen on the Risks and Impact of Artificial Intelligence

May 15th, 2023 1h

Economist Tyler Cowen of George Mason University talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence. Cowen argues that the worriers--those who think that artificial intelligence will destroy mankind--ne

Judge Glock on Zoning and Local Government

Dec 26th, 2022 1h

Economic historian Judge Glock talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about zoning and the housing market. Glock argues the impact on zoning on housing affordability is small and that we should learn to love property taxes as long as they're admin

Will MacAskill on Longtermism and What We Owe the Future

Sep 5th, 2022 1h 16m

Philosopher William MacAskill of the University of Oxford and a founder of the effective altruism movement talks about his book What We Owe the Future with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. MacAskill advocates "longtermism," giving great attention to

Paul Bloom on Happiness, Suffering, and the Sweet Spot

Oct 25th, 2021 1h 9m

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

Nassim Nicholas Taleb on the Pandemic

1 Jul 27th, 2020 1h 7m

Nassim Nicholas Taleb talks about the pandemic with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Topics discussed include how to handle the rest of this pandemic and the next one, the power of the mask, geronticide, and soul in the game.

Tyler Cowen on the COVID-19 Pandemic

1 Mar 19th, 2020 1h 19m

Economist and infovore Tyler Cowen of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the political, social, and economic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Megan McArdle on Belonging, Home, and National Identity

Dec 27th, 2021 1h 20m

After being stranded with a bunch of Brits for eight hours at a German airport in 2016, journalist Megan McArdle felt that Brexit was going to happen. The giveaway? Not the concerns over economics or politics. Rather, it was about something far

Michael Munger on Constitutions

Dec 20th, 2021 1h 6m

More than we need rules, argues Michael Munger, we need rules about the rules. So does the United States need a new Constitution? Listen as the Duke University economist and political scientist talks to host Russ Roberts about public choice, co

Jennifer Frey on Education, Philosophy, and the University

Nov 1st, 2021 1h 5m

Philosopher Jennifer Frey of the University of South Carolina talks about the state of the university in American education. Frey urges a stronger focus on virtue and human flourishing and a reduced focus on career preparation. Roberts, despite

Bret Devereaux on Ancient Greece and Rome

Aug 30th, 2021 1h 16m

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 por

When Prediction Is Not Enough (with Teppo Felin)

4 days ago 1h 7m

If the Wright Brothers could have used AI to guide their decision making, it's almost certain they would never have gotten off the ground. That's because, points out Teppo Felin of Utah State University and Oxford, all the evidence said human f

Rituals Without Religion (with Michael Norton)

11 days ago 1h

While religion may play less of a role in many people's lives, rituals--the lifeblood of religion--remain central to the human experience. Listen as Michael Norton of the Harvard Business School explains how and why rituals remain at the center

A User's Guide to Our Emotional Thermostat (with Adam Mastroianni)

18 days ago 1h 3m

Can you be too happy? Psychologist Adam Mastroianni talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about our emotional control systems, which seem to work at bringing both sadness and happiness back to a steady baseline. Too much happiness is--perhaps surp

What Does "Unbiased" Mean in the Digital World? (with Megan McArdle)

25 days ago 1h 12m

Listen as Megan McArdle and EconTalk's Russ Roberts use Google's new AI entrant Gemini as the starting point for a discussion about the future of our culture in the shadow of AI bias. They also discuss the tension between rules and discretion i

Voices from Gaza (with Ahmed Alkhatib)

Mar 18th, 2024 1h 12m

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib spent much of his childhood in Gaza before becoming an American citizen. He has lost dozens of family members and both his childhood homes in Israel's war in Gaza. But he hasn't lost hope for peace and the future of the Pal

Living with Exponential Change (with Azeem Azhar)

Mar 11th, 2024 1h 14m

The world of today would seem alien to someone living 30 years ago: people seduced by their screens in private and public and now AI blurring the lines between humans and the machine. Author and technologist Azeem Azhar chronicles the pace of c

The Secrets of Great Conversation (with Charles Duhigg)

Feb 26th, 2024 1h 23m

When EconTalk's Russ Roberts sat down with Charles Duhigg to talk about his new book on the art of conversation, Supercommunicators, Roberts tried to apply some of its lessons to his conversation with the author. The result is this special conv

A Lively Debate on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (with Robert Wright)

Feb 19th, 2024 1h 46m

Journalist and author Robert Wright invited EconTalk's Russ Roberts to his podcast, NonZero, to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, knowing that there would be plenty to disagree about. The two then agreed to release their back-and-forth

Year Zero of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (with Hillel Cohen)

Feb 12th, 2024 1h 8m

How far back should you go to understand the current moment in the relationship between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors and the attack of October 7? Some would say 2005, or 1967, or maybe 1948 when the State of Israel was founded. But for

Should Israel Depend on the US? (with Michael Oren)

Feb 5th, 2024 1h 13m

For decades, American aid to Israel has sent a strategic message: the greatest superpower in the world stands behind the Jewish state. But does it really? Historian and former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren tells EconTalk's Russ Ro