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
30 snips
Nov 21, 2006 • 1h 11min
Stanley Engerman on Slavery
Stanley Engerman, economist and co-author of Time on the Cross, offers deep historical perspective on slavery worldwide. He traces how people became enslaved, legal codes and incentives used to manage labor, manumission practices, and the economic value and profitability of slavery before the Civil War. The conversation also covers methodology, regional persistence into the 19th century, and the war’s connections to slave wealth.
22 snips
Nov 13, 2006 • 54min
Sam Peltzman on Regulation
Sam Peltzman, University of Chicago economist known for empirical work on regulation and safety. He discusses how safety rules can produce unintended consequences, his landmark automobile safety findings, trade-offs from FDA drug-efficacy rules, delays and innovation costs, and how politics, industry incentives, and activism shape regulatory outcomes.
27 snips
Nov 6, 2006 • 1h 3min
Richard Thaler on Libertarian Paternalism
Richard Thaler of the U. of Chicago Graduate School of Business defends the idea of libertarian paternalism--how government might use the insights of behavioral economics to help citizens make better choices. Host Russ Roberts accepts the premise that individuals make imperfect choices but challenges Thaler on the likelihood that government, in practice, will improve matters. Along the way they discuss the design of Sweden's social security system, organ donations and whether professors at Cornell University are more or less like you and me.
11 snips
Oct 31, 2006 • 56min
Clint Bolick Defends Judicial Activism
Clint Bolick, co-founder of the Institute for Justice and president of the Alliance for School Choice, is a legal advocate who has argued major Supreme Court cases. He defends robust judicial review, debates originalism, and recounts fights over school choice, wine shipping, Kelo eminent domain, occupational licensing, and regulatory takings. Short, sharp conversations on courts, commerce, and economic liberty.
Oct 23, 2006 • 1h 1min
Skip Sauer on the Economics of Moneyball
Skip Sauer of Clemson University and Russ Roberts discuss the economics of Michael Lewis's Moneyball. Lewis claims that the Oakland As found an undervalued asset--the ability of a baseball player to draw a walk--and used that insight to succeed while spending less money than their rivals. Is it true? Sauer and Roberts try to answer that and other questions. How competitive is the baseball industry? Why do some baseball skills get more attention than others? Plus, new feature: Mailbag!
Oct 16, 2006 • 1h 3min
Walter Williams on Life, Liberty and Economics
Professor, Radio Host, and Syndicated Columnist Walter Williams of George Mason University talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about his early days as an economist, his controversial view of the Civil War, the insights of Adam Smith and Friedrich Hayek, and some deep but simple economic principles.
Oct 9, 2006 • 1h 8min
Larry Iannaccone on the Economics of Religion
Larry Iannaccone of George Mason University talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the economics of religion. Iannaccone explains why Americans are more religious than Europeans, why Americans became more religious after the colonies became the United States and why it can be rational and rewarding to make religious sacrifices. Join us for a fascinating exploration of the human side of religion.
Oct 3, 2006 • 52min
Michael Munger on Private vs. Public Risk-Taking
Mike Munger and Russ Roberts discuss the differences between public and private risk-taking. Their conversation includes the history of Honda, the Apple computer and even the use of turkey carcasses as an energy source. They also try to understand why the public is skeptical of good new ideas but often embraces bad new ideas.
Sep 25, 2006 • 47min
Darius Lakdawalla on the Economics of Obesity
Russ Roberts talks with Darius Lakdawalla of Rand and the National Bureau of Economic Research on the economics of obesity, how much fatter are Americans and why. How much is due to the spread of fast food vs. the falling price of food and the change in the U.S. workplace?
Sep 18, 2006 • 44min
Ed Glaeser on the Economics of Paternalism
Economist Ed Glaeser of Harvard University talks with host Russ Roberts about the dangers of soft paternalism--various forms of government regulation that fall short of outright bans or taxes but that are meant to correct alleged flaws in the choices we make. Glaeser argues that while individuals do inevitably make mistakes, so do politicians, and the concentration of power in the hands of the few makes government "benevolence" particularly dangerous.
