EconTalk

Abby Smith Rumsey on Remembering, Forgetting, and When We Are No More

13 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

You might think your tweets on Twitter belong to you. But in 2010, the Library of Congress acquired the entire archive of Twitter. Why would such a ma...

Jason Zweig on Finance and the Devil's Financial Dictionary

06 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Jason Zweig of the Wall Street Journal and author of The Devil's Financial Dictionary talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about finance, financial j...

David Beckworth on Money, Monetary Policy, and the Great Recession

30 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Was the Financial Crisis of 2008 caused by a crisis in the housing market? Or did the Federal Reserve turn a garden-variety recession into the Great R...

James Bessen on Learning by Doing

23 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Are workers being left behind when the economy grows? Is technology making the human workforce obsolete? James Bessen, author of Learning by Doing, ta...

Leif Wenar on Blood Oil

16 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Should the United States allow its citizens to buy oil from countries run by bad men? Is this a case where morality trumps the usual case for free tra...

Pedro Domingos on Machine Learning and the Master Algorithm

09 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What is machine learning? How is it transforming our lives and workplaces? What might the future hold? Pedro Domingos of the University of Washington ...

Arnold Kling on Specialization and Trade

02 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Arnold Kling, economist and author, speaks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his latest book, Specialization and Trade: A Reintroduction to Econom...

Alberto Alesina on Fiscal Policy and Austerity

25 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alberto Alesina of Harvard University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his research on fiscal policy and austerity. Alesina's research show...

Gary Belsky on the Origins of Sports

18 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Gary Belsky, co-author of On the Origins of Sports and former editor-in-chief of ESPN the Magazine, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the or...

Robert Frank on Success and Luck

11 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Is your success in life your own doing? Robert Frank of Cornell University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his latest book, Success and Lu...

Richard Jones on Transhumanism

04 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Will our brains ever be uploaded into a computer? Will we live forever? Richard Jones, physicist at the University of Sheffield and author of Against ...

Jayson Lusk on Food, Technology, and Unnaturally Delicious

28 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How bad is pink slime? Are free-range chickens happier? Can robots cook? Jayson Lusk of Oklahoma State University and the author of Unnaturally Delici...

Marina Krakovsky on the Middleman Economy

21 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Why would anyone want to hire a middleman, like a wedding planner, especially if you have time to take care of the planning yourself? Marina Krakovsky...

David Autor on Trade, China, and U.S. Labor Markets

14 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

David Autor of MIT talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the fundamentals of trade and his research on the impact on workers and communities fro...

Will Davies on the Economics, Economists, and the Limits of Neoliberalism

07 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Will Davies of Goldsmith's, University of London and author of The Limits of Neoliberalism talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in hi...

Alison Wolf on Women, Inequality and the XX Factor

29 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Wolf author of The XX Factor, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the changing roles of women in the family and the workplace. Wolf arg...

Matt Ridley on the Evolution of Everything

22 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Matt Ridley talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his latest book, The Evolution of Everything. Ridley applies the lens of emergent order to a w...

Adam Cifu on Ending Medical Reversal

15 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Why do so many medical practices that begin with such promise and confidence turn out to be either ineffective at best or harmful at worst? Adam Cifu ...

Adam Ozimek on the Power of Econometrics and Data

08 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Adam Ozimek of Moody's Analytics and blogger at Forbes talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about why economists change their minds or don't. Ozimek ...

Timothy Taylor on Government vs. Business

01 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Timothy Taylor, blogger at the Conversable Economist and editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about th...

James Heckman on Facts, Evidence, and the State of Econometrics

25 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Nobel Laureate James Heckman of the University of Chicago talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the state of econometrics and the challenges of ...

Josh Luber on Sneakers, Sneakerheads, and the Second-hand Market

18 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How many pairs of sneakers do you own? Josh Luber of Campless and StockX talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the world of sneakerheads--people...

Greg Ip on Foolproof

11 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When does the pursuit of safety lead us into danger? Greg Ip, of the Wall Street Journal and author of Foolproof talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts...

Robert Frank on Dinner Table Economics

04 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How can you learn to think like an economist? One way is to think about what might be called dinner table economics--puzzles or patterns that arise in...

Noah Smith on Whether Economics is a Science

28 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Noah Smith of Stony Brook University and writer at Bloomberg View talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about whether economics is a science in some s...

Philip Tetlock on Superforecasting

21 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Can you predict the future? Or at least gauge the probability of political or economic events in the near future? Philip Tetlock of the University of ...

George Selgin on Monetary Policy and the Great Recession

14 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Did Ben Bernanke and the Fed save the U.S. economy from disaster in 2008 or did the Fed make things worse? Why did the Fed reward banks that kept rese...

Canice Prendergast on How Prices Can Improve a Food Fight (and Help the Poor)

07 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

If you have 250 million pounds of food to give away every year to local food banks how should you do it? Canice Prendergast of the University of Chica...

David Mindell on Our Robots, Ourselves

30 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Are we on the verge of driverless cars and other forms of autonomous robots and artificial intelligence? David Mindell of MIT and the author of Our Ro...

Michael Munger on EconTalk's 500th Episode

23 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Munger of Duke University makes his 29th appearance on the 500th episode of EconTalk alongside EconTalk host Russ Roberts. He talks about his ...

Brian Nosek on the Reproducibility Project

16 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Brian Nosek of the University of Virginia and the Center for Open Science talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the Reproducibility Project--an ...

Robert Aronowitz on Risky Medicine

09 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Should women get routine mammograms? Should men get regular PSA exams? Robert Aronowitz of the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Risky Medi...

Michael Matheson Miller on Poverty, Inc

02 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Matheson Miller of the Acton Institute and the Director of the documentary Poverty, Inc., talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his awar...

Cesar Hidalgo on Why Information Grows

26 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Cesar Hidalgo of MIT and the author of Why Information Grows talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the growth of knowledge and know-how in the m...

Yuval Harari on Sapiens

19 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Yuval Harari of Hebrew University and author of Sapiens talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the history of humanity. Topics discussed include ...

Peter Boettke on Katrina, Ten Years After

12 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Pete Boettke of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the political and economic lessons he has learned as program direc...

Tim O'Reilly on Technology and Work

05 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his career in technology and media and the challenges facing low-wage worke...

Pete Geddes on the American Prairie Reserve

28 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When Lewis and Clark crossed through Montana, they encountered an extraordinary cornucopia of wildlife. Most of that ecosystem and the animals that on...

Tina Rosenberg on the Kidney Market in Iran

21 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

There is only one country in the world where a person can sell a kidney to another citizen who buys it. That country is Iran. Tina Rosenberg of The Ne...

Mitch Weiss on the Business of Broadway

14 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at a Broadway show? This week's EconTalk lifts the curtain on the magical world of Broadway: Mitch Weiss, c...

William MacAskill on Effective Altruism and Doing Good Better

07 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How much care do you take when you make a donation to a charity? What careers make the biggest difference when it comes to helping others? William Mac...

Paul Robinson on Cooperation, Punishment and the Criminal Justice System

31 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Are human beings naturally cooperative or selfish? Can people thrive without government law? Paul Robinson of the University of Pennsylvania and autho...

Jesse Ausubel on Agriculture, Technology, and the Return of Nature

24 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of bears in New Jersey. Humpback whales near New York City. Acres devoted to farming stable or declining even as food production soars. Jess...

Rachel Laudan on the History of Food and Cuisine

17 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Laudan, visiting scholar at the University of Texas and author of Cuisine and Empire, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the history o...

Summer Brennan on Wilderness, Politics and the Oyster War

10 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Summer Brennan, author of The Oyster War, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about her book and the fight between the Drakes Bay Oyster Company and...

Roger Berkowitz on Fish, Food, and Legal Sea Foods

03 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Seafood is highly perishable and supply is often uncertain. Roger Berkowitz, CEO of Legal Sea Foods talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ch...

Eric Hanushek on the Education, Skills, and the Millennium Development Goals

27 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How important are basic skills for economic success and growth? Eric Hanushek of Stanford University's Hoover Institution talks with EconTalk host Rus...

Wences Casares on Bitcoin and Xapo

20 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Wences Casares, bitcoin evangelist and founder and CEO of Xapo, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about how bitcoin works, the genius of bitcoin's...

Lee Ohanian, Arnold Kling, and John Cochrane on the Future of Freedom, Democracy, and Prosperity

13 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Lee Ohanian, Arnold Kling, and John Cochrane talk with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the future of freedom, democracy, and prosperity. Recorded in ...

Alvin Roth on Matching Markets

06 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Nobel Laureate Alvin Roth of Stanford University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his work on matching markets. Examples include marriage, ...

Matt Ridley on Climate Change

29 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Science writer and author Matt Ridley discusses climate change with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Based on his reading of the scientific evidence, Ridle...

Morten Jerven on African Economic Growth

22 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Morten Jerven of Simon Frasier University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his new book, Africa: Why Economists Get It Wrong. Jerven, who w...

Adam Davidson on Hollywood and the Future of Work

15 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What's it like to hang out with Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Steve Carell for two months? Adam Davidson, who writes for the New York T...

Nathaniel Popper on Bitcoin and Digital Gold

08 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Nathaniel Popper of the New York Times and the author of Digital Gold talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about Bitcoin. Can Bitcoin make it? What w...

Martin Weitzman on Climate Change

01 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Is climate change the ultimate Black Swan? Martin Weitzman of Harvard University and co-author of Climate Shock talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts ...

Bent Flyvbjerg on Megaprojects

25 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Bent Flyvbjerg of Oxford University speaks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the political economy of megaprojects--massive investments of a billi...

Nicholas Vincent on the Magna Carta

18 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Did an 800-year old piece of parchment really change the world? Nicholas Vincent of the University of East Anglia talks with EconTalk host Russ Robert...

Eric Topol on the Power of Patients in a Digital World

11 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We're in the middle of a healthcare revolution but it's about more than marvelous life-saving and life-enhancing apps on our smartphone. Eric Topol of...

Michael O'Hare on Art Museums

04 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Michael O'Hare of the University of California, Berkeley talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the management of art museums. O'Hare suggests a ...

Leonard Wong on Honesty and Ethics in the Military

27 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Leonard Wong of the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about honesty in the military. Base...

Scott Sumner on Interest Rates

20 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Sumner, of Bentley University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about interest rates. Sumner suggests that professional economists sometimes...

Phil Rosenzweig on Leadership, Decisions, and Behavioral Economics

13 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Phil Rosenzweig, professor of strategy and international business at IMD in Switzerland and author of the book Left Brain, Right Stuff: How Leaders Ma...

Vernon Smith and James Otteson on Adam Smith

06 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Vernon Smith and James Otteson talk with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about Adam Smith in front of a live audience at Ball State University. Topics disc...

David Skarbek on Prison Gangs and the Social Order of the Underworld

30 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

David Skarbek of King's College London and author of The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern The American Penal System talks with ...

Campbell Harvey on Randomness, Skill, and Investment Strategies

23 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Campbell Harvey of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his research evaluating various investment and trading strategies and t...

Paul Romer on Urban Growth

16 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Romer of New York University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about reforming cities to allow growth and human flourishing. Topics discussed...

Lawrence H. White on Monetary Constitutions

09 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Lawrence H. White of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the possibility of a monetary constitution. Based on a new bo...

David Zetland on Water

02 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

David Zetland of Leiden University College in the Netherlands and author of Living with Water Scarcity talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the...

Michael Munger on Choosing in Groups

23 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his latest book (co-authored with Kevin Munger), Choosing in Groups. Mun...

Benn Steil on the Battle of Bretton Woods

16 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Benn Steil of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Battle of Bretton Woods: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White, and the Making of a...

Daniel Sumner on the Political Economy of Agriculture

09 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel Sumner of the University of California talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about agricultural subsidies in the United States, the winners and...

Luigi Zingales on the Costs and Benefits of the Financial Sector

02 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Luigi Zingales of the University of Chicago talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts on whether the financial sector is good for society and about the ga...

Alex Tabarrok on Private Cities

26 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Tabarrok of George Mason University talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about a recent paper Tabarrok co-authored with Shruti Rajagopalan on Gurg...

Nassim Nicholas Taleb on the Precautionary Principle and Genetically Modified Organisms

19 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of Antifragile, Black Swan, and Fooled by Randomness, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about a recent co-authored p...

Greg Page on Food, Agriculture, and Cargill

12 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Greg Page, former CEO of Cargill, the largest privately-held company in America, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the global food supply and ...

Joshua Greene on Moral Tribes, Moral Dilemmas, and Utilitarianism

05 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Joshua Greene, of Harvard University and author of Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them, talks with EconTalk host Russ Rober...

James Tooley on Private Schools for the Poor and the Beautiful Tree

29 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

James Tooley, Professor of Education at Newcastle University, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about low-cost for-profit private schools in the slu...

Joshua Angrist on Econometrics and Causation

22 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Joshua Angrist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the craft of econometrics--how to use economic t...

Gary Marcus on the Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Brain

15 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Gary Marcus of New York University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the future of artificial intelligence (AI). While Marcus is concerned a...

James Otteson on the End of Socialism

08 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

James Otteson of Wake Forest University talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his new book, The End of Socialism. Otteson argues that socialism (i...

Nick Bostrom on Superintelligence

01 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Nick Bostrom of the University of Oxford talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Bostrom ...

Emily Oster on Infant Mortality

24 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Emily Oster of the University of Chicago talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about why U.S. infant mortality is twice that in Finland and high relat...

Vernon Smith on Adam Smith and the Human Enterprise

17 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith of Chapman University talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about how Adam Smith's book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments h...

Becky Liddicoat Yamarik on Palliative Care and End-of-Life Medical Issues

10 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Becky Liddicoat Yamarik, Hospice Palliative Care Physician, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the joys and challenges of providing care for te...

Daron Acemoglu on Inequality, Institutions, and Piketty

03 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Daron Acemoglu, the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about hi...

Robert Solow on Growth and the State of Economics

27 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Robert Solow, Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nobel Laureate, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his hugely i...

Luigi Zingales on Incentives and the Potential Capture of Economists by Special Interests

20 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Luigi Zingales of the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about Zingales's essay, "Preventing ...

Russ Roberts and Michael Munger on How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

13 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

EconTalk host Russ Roberts is interviewed by long-time EconTalk guest Michael Munger about Russ's new book, How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Un...

David Autor on the Future of Work and Polanyi's Paradox

06 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the future of work and the role that automation a...

Martha Nussbaum on Creating Capabilities and GDP

29 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Martha Nussbaum of the University of Chicago and author of Creating Capabilities talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about an alternative to GDP for...

Thomas Piketty on Inequality and Capital in the 21st Century

22 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics and author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century talks to Econtalk host Russ Roberts about the book. ...

Elizabeth Green on Education and Building a Better Teacher

15 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Elizabeth Green, author of the new book Building a Better Teacher: How Teaching Works (and How to Teach it to Anyone), talks with EconTalk host Russ R...

Paul Pfleiderer on the Misuse of Economic Models

08 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Pfleiderer, C.O.G. Miller Distinguished Professor of Finance at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, talks with EconTalk host ...

Nathan Blecharczyk on Airbnb and the Sharing Economy

01 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder and chief technology officer of Airbnb, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about Airbnb, one of the earliest compani...

Daphne Koller on Education, Coursera, and MOOCs

25 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Daphne Koller of Coursera talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about online educational website Coursera and the future of education both online and ...

Terry Anderson on the Environment and Property Rights

18 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Terry Anderson, Distinguished Fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, talks to Econ...

Barry Weingast on Law

11 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Barry Weingast, professor of political science at Stanford University and senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, talks with EconTalk host Rus...

Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha on LinkedIn and The Alliance

04 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Reid Hoffman, co-founder of professional networking site LinkedIn, and Ben Casnocha, former Chief-of-Staff of LinkedIn, talk to EconTalk host Russ Rob...

Sam Altman on Start-ups, Venture Capital, and the Y Combinator

28 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Altman, president of startup accelerating firm Y Combinator, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about Y Combinator's innovative strategy for disc...

Chris Blattman on Cash, Poverty, and Development

21 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Blattman of Columbia University talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about a radical approach to fighting poverty in desperately poor countries: ...