Conversations with Tyler
Episodes
Eric Kaufmann on Immigration, Identity, and the Limits of Individualism
03 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Going back and forth between Canada and Japan during his childhood sparked Eric Kaufmann's interest in the question of identity. As a foreigner in an ...
Hal Varian on Taking the Academic Approach to Business
19 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Before he became the Adam Smith of Googlenomics, Hal Varian spent decades as an academic economist, writing influential papers, a popular book about ...
Russ Roberts on Life as an Economics Educator
05 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What are the virtues of forgiveness? Are we subject to being manipulated by data? Why do people struggle with prayer? What really motivates us? How ha...
Ezekiel Emanuel on the Practice of Medicine, Policy, and Life
22 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ezekiel Emanuel is a reflection of his upbringing: a doctor for a father who loved to travel, a mother interested in policy and community activism, an...
Karl Ove Knausgård on Literary Freedom
08 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is Karl Ove Knausgård's struggle, exactly? The answer is simple: achieving total freedom in his writing. "It's a space where I can be free in ev...
Margaret Atwood on Canada, Writing, and Invention (Live at Mason)
24 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Margaret Atwood defines the Canadian sense of humor as "a bit Scottish," and in this live conversation with Tyler, she loves to let her own comedic se...
Ed Boyden on Minding your Brain
10 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ed Boyden builds the tools and technologies that help researchers think about and treat the brain, an organ we still know surprisingly little about. W...
Emily Wilson on Translations and Language
27 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In a recent Twitter thread, Emily Wilson listed some of the difficulties of translating Homer into English. Among them: "There aren't enough onomatopo...
Raghuram Rajan on Understanding Community
13 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Raghuram Rajan thinks a lot about how to empower individuals, both at the community and international level. In his new book, Rajan draws upon experie...
Sam Altman on Loving Community, Hating Coworking, and the Hunt for Talent
27 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Founders aren't superheroes, says Sam Altman.They may play extreme sports, respond to emails within seconds, and start billion-dollar companies, but t...
Jordan Peterson on Mythology, Fame, and Reading People
13 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jordan Peterson joins Tyler to discuss collecting Soviet propaganda, why he's so drawn to Jung, what the Exodus story can teach us about current event...
Noel Johnson and Mark Koyama on *Persecution and Toleration*
30 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How did religious freedom emerge — and why did it arrive so late? In their forthcoming book, fellow Mason economists Noel Johnson and Mark Koyam...
Larissa MacFarquhar on Getting Inside Someone's Head
16 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As a writer of profiles, Larissa MacFarquhar is granted the privilege of listening to, learning from, and sharing the stories of extraordinary thinker...
Rebecca Kukla on Moving through and Responding to the World
02 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Before she ever studied them as an academic, Rebecca Kukla was fascinated by cities. Growing up in the middle of Toronto, she spent her days walking t...
Daniel Kahneman on Cutting Through the Noise
19 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If you enjoy Conversation with Tyler, consider making a year-end donation at ConversationsWithTyler.com/donate. All gifts will support the show's pro...
Paul Romer on the Unrivaled Joy of Scholarship
05 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout his career, Paul Romer has enjoyed sampling and sifting through an ever-growing body of knowledge. He sometimes jokingly refers to himself ...
John Nye on Revisionist Economic History and Having Too Many Hobbies
21 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is John Nye the finest polymath in the George Mason economics department? Raised in the Philippines and taught to be a well-rounded Catholic gentleman...
Eric Schmidt on the Life-Changing Magic of Systematizing, Scaling, and Saying "Thanks" (Live)
07 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The son of an economist, Eric Schmidt eschewed his father's profession, first studying architecture before settling on computer science and eventually...
Ben Thompson on Business and Tech
24 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Not only is Ben Thompson's Stratechery frequently mentioned on MR, but such is Tyler's fandom that the newsletter even made its way onto the reading l...
Rob Wiblin interviews Tyler on *Stubborn Attachments*
16 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode, Rob Wiblin of 80,000 Hours has the super-sized conversation he wants to have with Tyler about Stubborn Attachments. In additi...
Paul Krugman on Politics, Inequality, and Following Your Curiosity
10 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After winning the Nobel, Paul Krugman found himself at the "end of ambition," with no more achievements left to unlock. That could be a depressing pla...
Bruno Maçães on the Spirit of Adventure
26 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Political scientist Bruno Maçães has built a career out of crossing the globe teaching, advising, writing, and talking to people. His recent book, b...
Michele Gelfand on Tight and Loose Cultures
12 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Michele Gelfand is professor of psychology at the University of Maryland and author of the just-released Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loo...
Claire Lehmann on Speaking Freely
29 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Claire Lehmann is the founding editor of Quillette, an online magazine dedicated to free thought and open inquiry. Founded in 2015, the magazine has a...
Michael Pollan on the Science and Sublimity of Psychedelics
15 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Pollan has long been fascinated by nature and the ways we connect and clash with it, with decades of writing covering food, farming, cooking, ...
Michelle Dawson on Autism and Atypicality
01 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps no one else in the world more appreciates the challenges facing a better understanding of autism than Michelle Dawson. An autistic herself, sh...
Vitalik Buterin on Cryptoeconomics and Markets in Everything
18 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
At the intersection of programming, economics, cryptography, distributed systems, information theory, and math, you will find Vitalik Buterin, who has...
Juan Pablo Villarino on Travel and Trust
03 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Travel writer Juan Pablo Villarino had visited 90 countries before making the trek to exotic Arlington, Virginia for this chat with Tyler. Amazingly e...
Elisa New on Poetry in America and Beyond
20 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Elisa New believes anyone can have fun reading a poem. And that if you really want to have a blast, you shouldn't limit poetry to silent, solitary rea...
David Brooks on Youth, Morality, and Loneliness (Live at Mason)
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For two hours every morning, David Brooks crawls around his living room floor, organizing piles of research. Then, the piles become paragraphs, the pa...
Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Self-Education and Doing the Math (Plus special guest Bryan Caplan)
23 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Though what Taleb was really after was a discussion with Bryan Caplan (which starts at 51:50), the philosopher, mathematician, and author most recentl...
Bryan Caplan on Learning across Disciplines (Live at Mason Econ)
09 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
"No single paper is that good", says Bryan Caplan. To really understand a topic, you need to read the entire literature in the field. And to do the ki...
Balaji Srinivasan on the Power and Promise of the Blockchain
25 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When Balaji Srinivasan sat down for his conversation with Tyler he was the CEO of Earn.com. Today he is the CTO at Coinbase, which acquired his compan...
Agnes Callard on the Theory of Everything
11 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is a written dialogue the best way to learn from philosopher Agnes Callard? If so, what does that say about philosophy? Is Plato's Symposium about lov...
Martina Navratilova on Shaping Herself (Live at Mason)
28 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Martina Navratilova is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. No one has won more matches than her thanks to an astonishing 87 percent win ra...
Chris Blattman on Development, Conflict, and Doing What's Interesting
14 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Blattman's made his career as a development economist by finding a place he likes and finding a reason to live there. Not a bad strategy conside...
Robin Hanson on Signaling and Self-Deception (Live at Mason Econ)
28 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If intros aren't about introductions, then what's this here for? Is not including one a countersignal? Either way, you'll enjoy this conversation —...
Matt Levine Live at Bloomberg HQ
14 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is Matt Levine a modern-day Horace? Like Matt, Horace has a preoccupation with wealth and the law. There's a playful humor as he segues from topic to ...
Charles C. Mann on Shaping Tomorrow's World and the Limits to Growth
31 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
At the beginning of their conversation, Tyler dubs Charles C. Mann a tlamatini, or 'he who knows things.' And oh, the things he knows, effortlessly we...
Ross Douthat on Narrative and Religion (Live at Mason)
17 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, Tyler asked his readers "What Is the Strongest Argument for the Existence of God?" and followed up a few days later with a post outlining w...
Andy Weir on the Economics of Sci-Fi and Space
20 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Before writing a single word of his new book Artemis, Andy Weir worked out the economics of a lunar colony. Without the economics, how could the story...
Doug Irwin on US Trade Policy
29 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tyler thinks Douglas Irwin has just released the best history of American trade policy ever written. So for this conversation Tyler went easy on Doug,...
Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live)
15 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sujatha Gidla was an untouchable in India, but moved to the United States at the age of 26 and is now the first Indian woman to be employed as a condu...
Steve Teles and Brink Lindsey on *The Captured Economy*
01 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a liberal and a libertarian get together? In the case of Steve Teles and Brink Lindsey, they write a book. And then Tyler separate...
Mary Roach on Disgust, Death, and Danger (Live at Mason)
18 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Legal writing was never Mary Roach's thing. She describes that short-lived stint as an inscrutable "bringing forth of multisyllabic words." Instead, s...
Larry Summers on Macroeconomics, Mentorship, and Avoiding Complacency (Live)
20 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The economist, President Emeritus at Harvard University, and former Treasury Secretary joins Tyler to discuss innovation in higher education, Herman M...
Dave Barry on Humor, Writing, and Life as a Florida Man
16 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Though most know him first as a humor columnist, Dave Barry's career has spanned many forms of media, including books, movies, TV, and music. Driving ...
Dave Rubin on Digital Media, Crowdfunding, and Comedy (Live)
02 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Today many YouTube channels have more influence than traditional TV shows. This fact is not lost on Dave Rubin, who started his talk show career in tr...
Atul Gawande on Priorities, Big and Small
19 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The surgeon, researcher, and celebrated writer joined Tyler for a conversation on why Watson will never diagnose your illness, what George Church's na...
Ben Sasse on the Space between Nebraska and Neverland (Live at Mason)
28 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The US senator and former college president joined Tyler for a conversation on adolescence, adulthood, driving for Uber, loving Luther, hate-reading R...
Edward Luce on The Retreat of Western Liberalism (Live)
21 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Edward Luce has a new book out about the rising crisis in Western liberalism, so naturally Tyler's first question to him dealt with James II and Willi...
Jill Lepore on Traveling through Time
14 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Is time like a line, a stretched out accordion, buried silos, or a flat circle? We concoct many ways to think about the relationship between the prese...
Tyler Cowen and Steve Davies talk Theresa May, Brexit, and Europe (Live)
07 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The UK is holding a big election on June 8, so today we're bringing you some bonus audio on that topic featuring Tyler and Steve Davies of the London-...
Raj Chetty on Teachers, Social Mobility, and How to Find Answers to Big Questions
24 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A high school teacher once told Raj Chetty he'd some day serve on the Federal Reserve Board. At the the time Raj thought the comment was silly, since ...
Garry Kasparov on AI, Chess, and the Future of Creativity
10 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The chess grandmaster, political activist, and author joins Tyler for a conversation on artificial intelligence, Russia, Putin, how education must cha...
Patrick Collison has a Few Questions for Tyler (Live at Stripe)
12 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A few months ago, Tyler asked Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, to be on the show. Patrick agreed, but only under the condition that the be the one to ...
Malcolm Gladwell Wants to Make the World Safe for Mediocrity (Live at Mason)
15 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist, author, and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell joins Tyler for a conversation on Joyce Gladwell, Caribbean identity, satire as a weapon, Daniel El...
*The Complacent Class* with Katherine Mangu-Ward (Live at Mason)
13 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this bonus episode, Editor-in-chief of Reason Katherine Mangu-Ward interviews Tyler about *The Complacent Class.* Make sure to listen all the way t...
Rabbi David Wolpe on Leadership, Religion, and Identity (Live at Sixth & I)
15 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Named one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of our time, Rabbi David Wolpe joins Tyler in a conversation on flawed leaders, Jewish identity in t...
Chef Mark Miller on Food as the Ultimate Intellectual Exploration
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Miller is often called the founder of modern southwestern cuisine, but his unique anthropological approach to food has led him to explore cuisine...
Jhumpa Lahiri on Writing, Translation, and Crossing Between Cultures (Live at Mason)
11 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Author, teacher, and translator Jhumpa Lahiri joins Tyler for a conversation on identity, Rhode Island, writing as problem solving, reading across lan...
Joseph Henrich on WEIRD Societies and Life Among Two Strange Tribes (Live at Mason)
14 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
To anthropologist Joseph Henrich, intelligence is overrated. Social learning, and its ability to influence biological evolution over time, is what rea...
Fuchsia Dunlop on Chinese Food, Culture, and Travel
16 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries, China has treated its cuisine with a reverence and delight that is only just starting to emerge with Western "foodie" culture. No one u...
Steven Pinker on Language, Reason, and the Future of Violence (Live at Mason)
02 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Steven Pinker has spent an entire academic career thinking deeply about language, cognition, and human nature. Driving it all, he says, is an Enlighte...
Ezra Klein on Media, Politics, and Models of the World
06 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Ezra Klein, editor-in-chief of Vox.com, joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on biases in digital media, the morality of meat-eating, how working for ...
Margalit Fox on Life, Death, and the Best Job in Journalism
24 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The stereotypical obituary is a formulaic recitation of facts — dry, boring, and without craft. But Margalit Fox has shown the genre can produce...
Michael Orthofer on Why Fiction Matters
27 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Orthofer, one of the world's most prolific book reviewers, joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on — what else? — books. Read to d...
Cass Sunstein on Judicial Minimalism, the Supreme Court, and Star Wars (Live at Mason)
22 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Cass Sunstein joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on judicial minimalism, Bob Dylan's best album, the metaphysics of nudging, Byatt's Possession, the...
Camille Paglia on her Lifestyle of Observation (Live at Mason)
25 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Camille Paglia joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on the brilliance of Bowie, lamb vindaloo, her lifestyle of observation, why writers need real job...
Jonathan Haidt on Morality, Politics, and Intellectual Diversity on Campus
24 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on morality, politics, disgust, how to maintain free speech on campus, the enr...
Nate Silver on the Supreme Court and the Underrated Stat for Finding Good Food (Live at Mason)
23 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Nate Silver joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on data, forecasting, My Bloody Valentine, the social value of gambling, Donald Trump and the preside...
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Fighting Bruce Lee, Growing Up in Harlem, and Basketball (Live at Mason)
02 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on segregation, Islam, Harlem vs. LA, Earl Manigault, jazz, fighting Bruce Lee, Kareem's cons...
Cliff Asness on Comics and Why Never to Share a Gym with Cirque du Soleil (Live at Mason)
18 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tyler and investment strategist Cliff Asness discuss momentum and value investing strategies, disagreeing with Eugene Fama, Marvel vs. DC, the inscrut...
Dani Rodrik on Premature Deindustrialization and Why the World is Second Best at Best
01 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tyler and Dani Rodrik discuss premature deindustrialization, the world's trilemmas, the political economy of John le Carré, what's so special about m...
Luigi Zingales on Italy, Google and Conglomeration, and Donald Trump (Live at Mason)
16 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In the third event of this series, Tyler and Luigi Zingales discuss Italy, Donald Trump, Antonio Gramsci, Google and conglomeration, Luchino Visconti,...
Jeffrey Sachs on Charter Cities and How to Reform Graduate Economics Education (Live at Mason)
31 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tyler Cowen and Jeffrey Sachs discuss the resource curse, why Russia failed and Poland succeeded, charter cities, Sach's China optimism, JFK, Paul Ros...
Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not to Call your Company (Live at Mason)
25 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Thiel and Tyler Cowen, both New York Times bestselling authors, are among today's top global thought leaders and influential innovators. Listen ...