Sam Bowles

Join Sam Bowles, a behavioral economist at the Santa Fe Institute, and Richard Thaler, Nobel Prize-winning professor at the University of Chicago, as they unpack the quirks of human economic behavior. They discuss the surprising acts of altruism during the COVID-19 pandemic and challenge traditional economic models that assume selfishness. From hoarding to community support, they explore why people often act against their self-interest and the implications this has for policy and societal values. It's a deep dive into the messy reality of economic decision-making!

Turn on the news, and you'll be bombarded with stories of people who lie, cheat, and kill. Most of our public and economic policies take aim at these sorts of people — the wrongdoers and the profiteers. But is there a hidden cost to the rest of us when we put bad actors at the center of our thinking? Do the measures we put in place to curtail the selfish inadvertently hurt our capacity to do right by others? In the latest in our "Mind Reading 2.0" series, we revisit a 2020 episode with behavioral economist Sam Bowles. He argues that laws written to govern the lawless end up changing the behavior of the lawful — for the worse. If you like the show, don't forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Every week, we'll bring you interesting research on human behavior, along with a brain teaser and a moment of joy.