EconTalk
Russ Roberts
EconTalk: Conversations for the Curious is an award-winning weekly podcast hosted by Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford's Hoover Institution. The eclectic guest list includes authors, doctors, psychologists, historians, philosophers, economists, and more. Learn how the health care system really works, the serenity that comes from humility, the challenge of interpreting data, how potato chips are made, what it's like to run an upscale Manhattan restaurant, what caused the 2008 financial crisis, the nature of consciousness, the conflicts and history of the Middle East, and more. EconTalk has been taking the Monday out of Mondays since 2006. All 1000+ episodes are available in the archive. Go to EconTalk.org for transcripts, related resources, and comments.
Episodes
Mentioned books
8 snips
Feb 12, 2007 • 1h 7min
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita on Democracies and Dictatorships
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Professor of Politics at NYU and Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, discusses the incentives facing dictators and democratic leaders. He applies his insights to foreign aid, the Middle East, Venezuela, China's potential for evolution to a democratic system, and Cuba. He emphasizes the importance of freedom of assembly and freedom of the press for true democracy.
22 snips
Feb 5, 2007 • 48min
Bob Lucas on Growth, Poverty and Business Cycles
Robert Lucas, Nobel-winning economist and UChicago professor known for macro theory, explains global income gaps, why capital and skills did not simply flow to poor countries, and how human capital and cities drive sustained growth. He discusses technology diffusion puzzles, migration’s role in opportunity, and the interplay of money, inflation, and macro stability.
Jan 29, 2007 • 1h 16min
Michael Lewis on the Hidden Economics of Baseball and Football
Michael Lewis talks about the economics of sports--the financial and decision-making side of baseball and football--using the insights from his bestselling books on baseball and football: Moneyball and The Blind Side. Along the way he discusses the implications of Moneyball for the movie business and other industries, the peculiar ways that Moneyball influenced the strategies of baseball teams, the corruption of college football, and the challenge and tragedy of kids who live on the streets with little education or prospects for success.
22 snips
Jan 22, 2007 • 1h
Greg Mankiw on Gasoline Taxes, Keynes and Macroeconomics
Greg Mankiw, Harvard economist and former White House adviser, explains modern macro debates and contrasts Keynesian and classical views. He defends a gasoline tax to address pollution and congestion and discusses using that revenue to lower other taxes. He also covers tax reform, entitlement tweaks like raising retirement ages, and tradeoffs between incentives and redistribution.
20 snips
Jan 15, 2007 • 1h 9min
Bruce Yandle on Bootleggers and Baptists
Bruce Yandle, economist and Clemson dean emeritus known for the 'Bootleggers and Baptists' idea, explains why strange political alliances form. He describes coalitions of moral crusaders and profit-seekers. He explores historical regulatory twists, technology mandates that favor incumbents, the Clean Air Act quirks, and the tobacco settlement's market effects.
22 snips
Jan 8, 2007 • 1h
Michael Munger on Price Gouging
Michael Munger, Duke professor of economics and political science, shares firsthand hurricane stories and how markets reacted. He recounts power loss, surging demand for ice and generators, and the controversial $12-a-bag sellers. The conversation focuses on anti-gouging laws, how price signals mobilize supply, and why higher pay can attract needed goods and labor after disasters.
Dec 18, 2006 • 1h 15min
Peter Boettke on Katrina and the Economics of Disaster
Pete Boettke of George Mason University talks about the role of government and voluntary efforts in relieving suffering during and after a crisis such as Katrina. Drawing on field research he is directing into the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Boettke highlights the role of what he calls "civil society"--the informal, voluntary associations we make as individuals with each other to create community.
18 snips
Dec 11, 2006 • 1h 13min
Don Boudreaux on Law and Legislation
Don Boudreaux, economist and chair at George Mason University known for Hayekian ideas, talks about spontaneous order and the difference between emergent law and sovereign legislation. He explores how markets create unplanned coordination, how judges uncover social expectations, and historical examples like lex mercatoria that show law arising from practice rather than design.
18 snips
Dec 4, 2006 • 58min
Bryan Caplan on Discrimination and Labor Markets
Bryan Caplan, George Mason economics professor known for work on labor markets and public policy, joins to debate discrimination, profit incentives, and how market forces can punish bias. They explore how regulation sometimes entrenches inequality, why European labor rules raise unemployment, and whether money or employment matters more for happiness.
Nov 27, 2006 • 59min
Virginia Postrel on Style
Author and journalist Virginia Postrel talks about how business competes for customers using style and beauty, going beyond price and the standard measures of quality. She looks at the role of appearance in our daily lives and the change from earlier times when style and beauty were luxuries accessible only to the wealthy. She also talks about her donation of a kidney to a friend and how that affected the intensity of her feelings about the policies surrounding organ donations.
