Erika Beras
speaker
1,065 appearances
7 recordings
2 series
first heard Jun 2026
last heard 9 Sep
Erika Beras’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 7 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 3.
Appearances
One of his most famous books came from a simple constraint.
An executive at the publishing company told him he could use no more than 225 words from a vocabulary list for first graders to help them learn to read.
Dr. Seuss picked the first two that rhymed and created the title for The Cat in the Hat.
And this concept is a hallmark of his work.
This constraints idea has been called the green eggs and ham hypothesis.
That book has just 50 words.
And the idea is when you have limits like that, you can do work that's more creative.
We asked David, if constraints are so desirable, why do we humans so often think we want unbridled freedom?
The idea of like, you know, ideas will come to you if you just kind of run through a big field or whatever and just have all the money pouring down on you.
Like, why does that like idea persist?
David says there's lots of ways to answer it, but there's one that really caught me because it's about how we're wired to want more.
You sort of have to force yourself to impose constraints in your life.
No gods, no masters, but maybe deadlines.
Listeners, we need your help.
We want to know how the economy is working for you.
Does it feel like things cost more these days, groceries, gas, going on dates?
And if it does feel that way, have you found any great life hacks that are maybe helping you get by?
We want to hear from all of you.
Send us an email at planetmoneyatnpr.org and maybe we'll call some of you up to chat.
This episode of Planet Money was produced by me with help from Sam Yellow Horse Kessler and James Sneed.
Showing 941–960 of 1,065 · page 48 of 54
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