Soloists and emotional arias

Great. Then depressed. Then great again. Stephen Dubner gets the full story from David Lang; we also hear from some fans, and the New York Philharmonic’s president. The math and the aftermath of wealth of nations. (Part two of a series.)

• SOURCES:
  • David Lang, composer and professor at the Yale School of Music.
  • Matías Tarnopolsky, president and C.E.O. of the New York Philharmonic.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Finally, an Opera About Economics," by Stacey Vanek Smith (Bloomberg, 2026).
  • "The Little Match Girl Passion," by David Lang (2023).
  • The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith (1776).

• EXTRAS:
  • "David Lang’s the wealth of nations," series by Freakonomics Radio (2026).
  • "In Search of the Real Adam Smith," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.