Introduction

Russ Roberts is one of the greatest educators alive. He hosts one of the most legendary, popular educational podcasts of all time—EconTalk, on economics, culture, politics—he’s a well-known academic, and even produces viral hip hop videos viewed millions of times about great economic debates. And at the apex of this remarkable career…he picked himself up and moved to a foreign country, Israel, where he took over as President of a college dedicated to studying great texts and asking big questions. Why?

On this episode, Ari spoke with Russ about his journey. They talked about pronatalism in Israel; the narrative thrust of the Book of Genesis; a political economy perspective on Deuteronomy; where Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek and the Bible converge; why Jewish tradition would be helpful in the era of crypto; the role of oral tradition in Russ’s creative work and society at large; and so much more.