EconTalk
Russ Roberts
EconTalk: Conversations for the Curious is an award-winning weekly podcast hosted by Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford's Hoover Institution. The eclectic guest list includes authors, doctors, psychologists, historians, philosophers, economists, and more. Learn how the health care system really works, the serenity that comes from humility, the challenge of interpreting data, how potato chips are made, what it's like to run an upscale Manhattan restaurant, what caused the 2008 financial crisis, the nature of consciousness, and more. EconTalk has been taking the Monday out of Mondays since 2006. All 900+ episodes are available in the archive. Go to EconTalk.org for transcripts, related resources, and comments.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 2, 2007 • 1h 2min
Mike Munger on the Division of Labor
Mike Munger of Duke University and EconTalk host Russ Roberts talk about specialization, the role of technology in aiding specialization and how the division of labor creates wealth.
Mar 26, 2007 • 1h 10min
Kevin Kelly on the Future of the Web and Everything Else
Author Kevin Kelly talks about the role of technology in our lives, the future of the web, how to time travel, the wisdom of the hive, the economics of reputation, the convergence of the biological and the mechanical, and his impact on the movies The Matrix and Minority Report.
Mar 19, 2007 • 58min
David Leonhardt on the Media
David Leonhardt of the New York Times talks with Russ Roberts about media bias, competition between old and new media, global warming, and the role of information as an incentive to provide better health care.
Mar 12, 2007 • 56min
Tyler Cowen on Liberty, Art, Food and Everything Else in Between
Tyler Cowen, co-blogger (with Alex Tabarrok) at MarginalRevolution.com, talks about liberty, global warming, using the courts vs. regulation to protect people, the challenges of leading a country out of poverty, the political economy of cuisine, and a quick overview of the Washington, DC. art museum scene.
Mar 5, 2007 • 55min
Gregg Easterbrook on the American Standard of Living
Author Gregg Easterbrook talks about the ideas in his latest book, The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse. How has life changed in America over the last century? Is the average person getting ahead or are the rich taking all the gains? Easterbrook argues that life is better for the average American in almost every dimension. The paradox is that despite those gains, we don't seem much happier.
Feb 26, 2007 • 55min
Viviana Zelizer on Money and Intimacy
Viviana Zelizer, Princeton University sociologist, talks about the ideas in her new book, The Purchase of Intimacy. Does money ruin intimacy? Does intimacy ruin our commercial transactions? Zelizer and host Russ Roberts have a lively conversation on the sometimes contentious border between economics and sociology.
6 snips
Feb 19, 2007 • 1h 6min
Richard Epstein on Property Rights and Drug Patents
Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago and Stanford University's Hoover Institution talks about property rights, drug patents, the FDA, and the ideas in his latest book, Overdose: How Excessive Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation from Yale University Press.
Feb 12, 2007 • 1h 7min
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita on Democracies and Dictatorships
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Professor of Politics at NYU and Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, discusses the incentives facing dictators and democratic leaders. He applies his insights to foreign aid, the Middle East, Venezuela, China's potential for evolution to a democratic system, and Cuba. He emphasizes the importance of freedom of assembly and freedom of the press for true democracy.
Feb 5, 2007 • 48min
Bob Lucas on Growth, Poverty and Business Cycles
Bob Lucas, Nobel Laureate and professor of economics at the University of Chicago talks about wealth and poverty, what affects living standards around the world and over time, the causes of business cycles and the role of the money in our economy. Along the way, he talks about Jane Jacobs, immigration, and Milton Friedman's influence on his career.
Jan 29, 2007 • 1h 16min
Michael Lewis on the Hidden Economics of Baseball and Football
Michael Lewis talks about the economics of sports--the financial and decision-making side of baseball and football--using the insights from his bestselling books on baseball and football: Moneyball and The Blind Side. Along the way he discusses the implications of Moneyball for the movie business and other industries, the peculiar ways that Moneyball influenced the strategies of baseball teams, the corruption of college football, and the challenge and tragedy of kids who live on the streets with little education or prospects for success.
