Bryan Caplan is Professor of Economics at George Mason University and the author of Open Borders, The Myth of the Rational Voter, The Case Against Education, and Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids. In our interview, we discuss: Causes of poverty Charter cities The case for open borders Democracy — is it overrated? Why do voters keep choosing bad policies? Do democracies last longer, grow faster, and go to war less? Stable global totalitarianism Should longtermists care more about having more children? Is the cost of subsidising a new life competitive with the cost of saving a life? What the philosopher Michael Huemer gets right How many kids is Bryan counterfactually responsible for? Life lessons from Hairspray and The Room You can read more about the topics we cover this episode's write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/bryan. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website. Consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this — it's the best free way to support the show. If you want to support the show more directly, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!

Ben Todd is the CEO & founder of 80,000 Hours, and helped to start the effective altruism movement. 80,000 Hours is a non-profit that provides free research and support to help people find careers that effectively tackle the world’s most pressing problems. In our interview, we discuss: Why your choice of career could be the most important ethical decision you ever get to make; 80K’s ‘problem, solution, personal fit’ framework for choosing a career; Whether longtermism should be considered a research project or a social movement; The idea of using leverage to multiply the difference you're able to make. Note that if you don't need to hear an introduction to the key ideas of 80,000 Hours, you can skip to about the 34-minute mark. You can read more about the topics we cover this episode's write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/ben. Key links mentioned in the interview: The 80,000 Hours website A (free) weekly career planning course for positive impact The 80,000 Hours 'Key Ideas' series The 80,000 Hours job board The 80,000 Hours Podcast with Rob Wiblin If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website. Consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this — it's the best free way to support the show. If you want to support the show more directly, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!

Anders Sandberg is a researcher, futurist, transhumanist and author. He holds a PhD in computational neuroscience from Stockholm University, and is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford. His research covers the ethics of human enhancement, estimating the capabilities of future technologies, and very long-range futures. In this episode, we talk about The Fermi Paradox: if the universe is so big, where are all the aliens? What is 'transhumanism'? The case for ending ageing The 'reversal test' for eliminating status quo bias Online communities and movement growth You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/anders. There you'll find links to all the videos and articles Anders mentions, plus further reading. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website. Consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this. And if you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!

Professor Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and author of many bestselling books. In this episode, we talk about The need to reform the international financial system; The role of mitigating global catastrophic risk in sustainable development; The importance of expert advice and political leadership. You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/sachs. There you'll find links to all the videos and articles Sachs mentions, plus further reading. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like some of our other interviews: Eva Vivalt on evidence-based policy; Armond Cohen on climate change; Luke Freeman on Giving What We Can. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website. Consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this. And if you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!

Matt Ives is a Senior Research Associate in Complex Systems Economic Modelling at the University of Oxford. We discuss the reasons behind the astonishing decline in costs of renewable technologies, especially solar power, and the implications this has for fighting climate change. We also touch on modelling energy systems, financial discolour of climate/transition risks, and complexity economics. You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/matt. There you'll find links to all the videos and books Matt mentions, plus further reading. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website or by using the star rating form on each episode page. Please also consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this. If you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!

Armond Cohen is the executive director of the Clean Air Task Force. CATF has been rated as the most cost-effective climate change charity, including by organisations such as Founder's Pledge, SoGive, and Giving Green. You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/armond. There you'll find links to all the videos and books Armond mentions, plus further reading. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website or by using the star rating form on each episode page. Please also consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this. If you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!

Isabelle Boemeke is a model, digital fashion designer, and the world's first (and only) nuclear power influencer. She makes educational videos as Isodope. You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/isabelle. There you'll find links to all the videos and books Isabelle mentions, plus further reading. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website or by using the star rating form on each episode page. Please also consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this. If you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!

Phil Trammell is a research associate at Oxford's Global Priorities Institute, where he is working at the intersection of economic theory and moral philosophy. In this episode, we discuss his latest working paper about the different ways through which AI might transform the global economy. You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/phil. It's more than just a transcript! If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website or by using the star rating form on each episode page. Please also consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this. If you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!

Anna Alexandrova is a Reader in Philosophy of Science at University of Cambridge. She studies the philosophy of social sciences, focusing on the use (and abuse) of formal models, and the measurement of well-being. Anna is the author of A Philosophy for the Science of Well-Being (2017). You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/anna. It's not a transcript! If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website or by using the star rating form on each episode page. Please also consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this. If you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!

Eva Vivalt is an Assistant Professor in Economics at the University of Toronto. Her work is focused on reducing barriers to evidence-based decision-making, global priorities research, and cash transfers. You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/eva. It's not a transcript! If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website or by using the star rating form on each episode page. Please also consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this. If you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip. Thanks for listening!