Episodes

  • Why AI Is Good for Humans (with Reid Hoffman)
    Jan 27 2025

    Should we worry about the human future in a world of AI? Reid Hoffman is unafraid and even optimistic. He argues that the brave new world that awaits is going to be great for humanity. Listen as he talks about his book Superagency with EconTalk's Russ Roberts and argues that the future is bright not just for AI, but for the people who remake the world using it.

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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Weep, Shudder, Die: The Secret of Opera Revealed (with Dana Gioia)
    Jan 20 2025

    How can opera, with words we rarely understand, make us cry? Why does opera, filled with melodrama, move us? Listen as poet and librettist Dana Gioia explains to EconTalk's Russ Roberts why words matter more than we think, in both opera and on Broadway.

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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • Will DOGE and Musk Make a Difference? (with Michael Munger)
    Jan 13 2025

    Can Musk use DOGE to reduce the size and power of the bureaucracy and big government? Michael Munger of Duke University thinks not, but EconTalk's Russ Roberts isn't so sure. Listen as they discuss the risks of empowering bureaucrats to rein in other bureaucrats and whether change can really happen given the power of the political forces operating below the surface.

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Understanding the Settler Colonialism Movement (with Adam Kirsch)
    Jan 6 2025

    Under settler colonialism, you're either a settler or indigenous and the sin of the founding of America, Australia, and Israel, for example, is not just a past injustice but a perpetuating mistake that explains the present. Listen as poet, author, and literary critic Adam Kirsch explains how an academic theory helps us understand the protests against Israel on America's college campuses, the phenomenon of land acknowledgments, and more.

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    59 mins
  • The Power of Nuance: Lessons for Public Health (with Emily Oster)
    Dec 30 2024

    Public health officials should tell the truth, even when it's complicated. Even when some people might misunderstand. Otherwise, says economist Emily Oster of Brown University, the public will come to distrust the people we need to trust if we are to make good decisions both personally and publicly. Listen as Oster talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about vaccines, fluoride, raw milk, and the lessons learned and yet-to-be learned from the Covid pandemic.

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    56 mins
  • Fixing Sick Cities (with Alain Bertaud)
    Dec 23 2024

    Why are European cities charming and American cities often so charmless? Simple, says urbanist Alain Bertaud: most American cities are zoned for single-family housing. The result is not enough customers within walking distance of a business, and not enough parking for the customers who drive. Why American cities are zoned that way is related to culture and history. Hear Bertaud and EconTalk's Russ Roberts talk about urban problems and how to solve them--not through urban design or planning, but by respecting what makes each place unique.

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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Is This War With Lebanon Different? (with Matti Friedman)
    Dec 16 2024

    Is Israel's war with Lebanon going to end differently from past attempts to secure Israel's northern border? Journalist Matti Friedman, who recounted his experience as a soldier in Lebanon in his book Pumpkinflowers, reflects on that experience in light of current events and looks to the future in this conversation with EconTalk's Russ Roberts.

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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Why Industrial Policy Is (Almost) Always a Bad Idea (with Scott Sumner)
    Dec 9 2024

    Tariffs are in the air. Will they help or hurt Americans? Listen as economist Scott Sumner makes the case against tariffs and various other forms of government intervention that go by the name of industrial policy. Along the way he looks at some of the history of worrying about the economic and military dangers posed by foreign countries.

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    1 hr and 29 mins