Conversations with Tyler Conversations with Tyler 2025 Retrospective
This year-in-review highlights fascinating single-subject deep dives that captivated listeners. AI's unexpected impact on production processes is discussed, along with Tyler's reflections on notable guests and the lost Magnus Carlsen episode. Tyler shares his quirky hotel selection criteria and his unique emotional profile, noting his absence of uncontrollable laughter. The conversation also touches on the importance of peer-reviewed literature in the AI-risk dialogue and Tyler’s thoughts on 2015 pop culture. Finally, enjoy a dispatch from Muscat, praising its beauty and history!
59:32
High Episode Quality From Strong Guests
- Tyler considers most of this year's 36 episodes good to excellent, saying maybe three were not great.
- He credits the guests for the show's quality rather than himself.
Power Of Single-Subject Deep Dives
- Single-subject deep-dive episodes stood out as the best this year according to Tyler and Jeff.
- Focused prep lets the host learn more and ask richer questions across months.
Use AI To Speed Research, Not Replace It
- Use LLMs to accelerate focused prep but expect diminishing returns in production beyond prep.
- Leverage models for research, guest suggestions, and cleaning audio, not full transformation.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app 1 chevron_right 2 chevron_right 3 chevron_right 4 chevron_right 5 chevron_right 6 chevron_right 7 chevron_right 8 chevron_right 9 chevron_right 10 chevron_right 11 chevron_right 12 chevron_right 13 chevron_right 14 chevron_right 15 chevron_right 16 chevron_right 17 chevron_right 18 chevron_right 19 chevron_right 20 chevron_right 21 chevron_right 22 chevron_right 23 chevron_right 24 chevron_right 25 chevron_right 26 chevron_right 27 chevron_right 28 chevron_right 29 chevron_right 30 chevron_right 31 chevron_right 32 chevron_right 33 chevron_right 34 chevron_right
Intro
00:00 • 2min
Year-in-Review Format and Goals
01:52 • 1min
Assessment of This Year's Episodes
03:00 • 23sec
Predictions and Underrated Episodes
03:23 • 2min
Value of Single-Subject Episodes
05:33 • 39sec
What Tyler Learned from Buddhist Prep
06:12 • 3min
Late-Year Highlights and Cass Sunstein Episode
09:34 • 3min
AI Surprises and Production Changes
12:05 • 1min
AI Tools in Research and Editing
13:20 • 2min
The Lost Magnus Carlsen Episode
15:05 • 2min
Flipping the Script: Who Could Interview Tyler
16:40 • 27sec
Tyler's Hotel Selection Priorities
17:08 • 1min
Has Influence Changed Tyler's Honesty?
18:35 • 2min
What Will Change U.S. Tariff Policy
20:10 • 60sec
Making AI Risk Dialogue More Productive
21:10 • 2min
Refereeing AI Arguments with New Tools
23:35 • 2min
Neuralink Thought Experiment: Process Matters
25:14 • 1min
Why Few Copy Tyler's Interview Style
26:18 • 2min
Tyler's Lack of Uncontrollable Laughter
28:44 • 2min
Moderation Views from Marginal Revolution
31:02 • 2min
AI Emulation Test: ChatGPT as Tyler
32:50 • 2min
2015 Movies: A Poor Year
35:11 • 5min
2015 Nonfiction Book Picks
40:38 • 3min
2015 Fiction Highlights
43:21 • 2min
2015 Music and Classical Picks
44:55 • 2min
Rick Rubin Choral Project Lessons
47:09 • 51sec
Ad break
48:00 • 16sec
Coda: Tyler from Muscat, Oman
48:16 • 2min
Top Episodes of 2025
50:18 • 4min
David Commons' Surprising Popularity
53:53 • 44sec
How Tyler Spends Time on Planes and Cars
54:37 • 1min
Why Visit Oman and Local Impressions
56:01 • 1min
Donor Shout-Outs and Campaign Thanks
57:06 • 2min
Outro
59:03 • 24sec
#31016
Genghis Khan
Jack Weatherford
#12986
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
The English and Their History
A magisterial work on the English Civil War and its impact on British politics.
Robert Toombs
This book delves into the history of England, focusing on the English Civil War and its lasting impact on British politics.
It explores the key figures, events, and ideas that shaped the nation's political landscape.
The book provides insights into the constitutional and religious conflicts that defined the era, and how these conflicts continue to resonate in modern times.
It also examines the legacy of the Civil War on British identity and political culture.
The book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the historical roots of British politics.
#77487
Selling the American People
Advertising, Optimization, and the Origins of Adtech
Lee McGuigan
#74803
Mastering 'Metrics
The Path from Cause to Effect
Jörn-Steffen Pischke
Joshua Angrist
Mastering 'Metrics by Joshua D. Angrist and Jörn-Steffen Pischke presents the five core econometric methods—random assignment, regression, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs, and differences in differences—through engaging real-world examples and kung fu-themed humor.
The book demonstrates why econometrics, or 'metrics, is exciting and useful as the original data science for causal inference in human affairs.
It covers topics like the effects of health insurance with practical, vetted examples.
#59433
The Midas Paradox
Scott Sumner
The Midas Paradox explores the causes of the Great Depression through the lens of monetary economics, challenging traditional views by emphasizing the gold standard's role in causing deflation and how labor regulations exacerbated unemployment.
Scott Sumner argues that sticky wages and prices created a paradoxical situation where commodity prices rose despite overall deflation, prolonging the crisis.
Drawing on historical data and monetary theory, the book advocates for better monetary regimes to prevent such disasters.
#8031
• Mentioned in 5 episodes
Margaret Thatcher
The Autobiography
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher's autobiography offers a firsthand account of her remarkable life, from her upbringing in Grantham to her rise as Britain's first female Prime Minister.
The book covers significant events during her premiership, including the Falklands War, the miners' strike, and her economic reforms known as Thatcherism.
It provides a compelling narrative of her political career and personal life.
#134
• Mentioned in 131 episodes
Elon Musk
Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Ashlee Vance
This book is an authorized biography that delves into the life of Elon Musk, from his tumultuous childhood in South Africa to his rise as a visionary entrepreneur in Silicon Valley.
Ashlee Vance captures Musk's journey through his various ventures, including PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity.
The book examines Musk's unique personality, his insatiable drive, and his ability to thrive through hardship.
It also explores the broader context of American innovation and the challenges of global competition, positioning Musk as a contemporary amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Steve Jobs.
#3016
• Mentioned in 13 episodes
Submission
Michel Houellebecq
In 'Submission', Michel Houellebecq presents a dystopian vision of France in 2022 where an Islamic party, led by the moderate Ben Abbas, comes to power in an alliance with the Socialists.
The novel follows François, a middle-aged literature professor at the New Sorbonne University, who is an expert on J.K.
Huysmans.
As Islamic law is instituted, François is offered academic advancement on the condition that he converts to Islam.
The book delves into themes of personal decadence, the decline of Western civilization, and the complexities of human happiness through submission.
It is a darkly comic masterpiece that blends realism and fantasy, prompting reflections on the current cultural climate of the West and the validity of its liberal, atheistic project.
#12747
• Mentioned in 4 episodes
Hive Mind
Garett Jones
#70336
The Seventh Day
Yu Hua
The Seventh Day by Yu Hua is a vivid and urgent novel that explores the contrasts between life and death in modern China.
The story follows Yang Fei, who, after an untimely death, roams the afterlife for seven days, encountering various souls and reflecting on his life and the societal changes in China.
The novel critiques the effects of rapid industrialization and consumerism on Chinese society.
#2103
• Mentioned in 18 episodes
Misbehaving
The Making of Behavioral Economics
Richard H. Thaler
In 'Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics,' Richard H. Thaler recounts his journey in challenging traditional economic theories that assume humans are rational actors.
The book chronicles the evolution of behavioral economics, a field that integrates psychology and economics to understand how people actually make decisions.
Thaler discusses various behavioral concepts such as endowment effects, mental accounting, and self-control issues, using anecdotes and empirical studies to illustrate these points.
The book also delves into Thaler's personal struggles and successes in establishing behavioral economics as a recognized field, including his work with institutions like the British tax collection agency and his battles with traditional economic thinking.
#28574
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Economics Rules
Dani Rodrik
In 'Economics Rules,' Dani Rodrik offers a nuanced critique and defense of economics as a discipline.
He argues that economics is not a unified theory but a toolbox of many valid, often contradictory models, each applicable under specific conditions.
Rodrik emphasizes the importance of selecting the right model for the problem at hand and cautions against mistaking any single model for the universal truth.
Drawing on historical examples, including the financial crisis and development economics, he shows how economics can positively influence policy when applied with humility and care.
The book advocates for a more modest but effective economic science that embraces complexity and the limits of universal laws.
Help us keep the conversations going in 2026. Donate to Conversations with Tyler today.
On this special year-in-review episode, Tyler and producer Jeff Holmes look back on the past year on CWT and more, including covering the most popular and underrated episodes, why single-subject deep dives made for some of the best conversations this year, the biggest AI surprises and how LLMs changed the show's production function, what happened with the Magnus Carlsen episode, listener questions on everything from hotel selection to AI x-risk discourse, Tyler's serene acknowledgment that uncontrollable laughter is something he has neither experienced nor desires, reviewing his pop culture picks from 2015, and a dispatch from Muscat, Oman.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel.
Recorded November 5th and December 15th, 2025.
Other ways to connect
- Follow us on X and Instagram
- Follow Tyler on X
- Follow Jeff on X
- Sign up for our newsletter
- Join our Discord
- Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
- Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.
Timestamps
00:00:00 - Favorite episodes of the year
00:12:08 - AI's impact on the show
00:15:05 - The lost Magnus episode
00:17:13 - Tyler's #1 hotel amenity
00:18:40 - Tyler's growing influence and thoughts on tariffs
00:21:15 - AI x-risk discourse
00:26:22 – Copying Tyler's interview style
00:28:50 - Tyler's lack of joy
00:32:55 - How well ChatGPT answers as Tyler
00:35:15 - Tyler's 2015 movie picks
00:40:44 - Tyler's 2015 book picks
00:45:00 - Tyler's 2015 music picks
00:48:16 - Most popular episodes and thoughts on Oman
Photo Credit: Kevin Trimmer