Steven Pinker has spent an entire academic career thinking deeply about language, cognition, and human nature. Driving it all, he says, is an Enlightenment belief that the world is intelligible, science can progress, and through rational inquiry we can better understand ourselves. He recently joined Tyler for a conversation not only on the power of reason, but also the economics of irrational verbs, whether violence will continue to decline, behavioral economics, existential threats, the merits ...
Nov 02, 2016•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 14
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 large organizations has changed his worldview, the psychographics of CEOs, what’s missing in public discourse, the most underrated member of the Obama administration, and why you should never follow his lead on what’s good culture. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Ty...
Oct 06, 2016•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 13
The stereotypical obituary is a formulaic recitation of facts — dry, boring, and without craft. But Margalit Fox has shown the genre can produce some of the most memorable and moving stories in journalism. Exploiting its “pure narrative arc,” Fox has penned over 1,200 obituaries, covering well-known and obscure subjects with equal aplomb. In her conversation with Tyler Cowen, Fox reveals not only the process for writing an obituary, but her thoughts on life, death, storytelling, puzzle-solving, ...
Aug 24, 2016•48 min•Ep. 12
Michael Orthofer, one of the world’s most prolific book reviewers, joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on — what else? — books. Read to discover why Michael believes everyone should read more fiction, how we should choose books, why American popular literature is overrated, what he thinks about authors like Herman Melville, Fyoder Dostoevsky, Goethe, J.K. Rowling, Arno Schmidt, and many others, his recommendations for the best sites for readers, why studying literature at college was such a big...
Jul 27, 2016•57 min•Ep. 11
Cass Sunstein joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on judicial minimalism, Bob Dylan’s best album, the metaphysics of nudging, Byatt's Possession, the ideal size of the Supreme Court, Hayek, why people should choose their own path, the benefits of a banned products store, James Joyce, and, oh yeah, Star Wars. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video . Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Cass on Twitter Email u...
Jun 22, 2016•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 10
Camille Paglia joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on the brilliance of Bowie, lamb vindaloo, her lifestyle of observation, why writers need real jobs, Star Wars, Harold Bloom, Amelia Earhart, Edmund Spenser, Brazil, why she is most definitely not a cultural conservative, and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video . Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at ...
Apr 25, 2016•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 9
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on morality, politics, disgust, how to maintain free speech on campus, the enriching effects of LSD, antiparsimonialism, and why economists set all the interesting variables to zero. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Jonathan on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the l...
Mar 24, 2016•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 8
Nate Silver joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on data, forecasting, My Bloody Valentine, the social value of gambling, Donald Trump and the presidential field, vacation advice, Supreme Court picks, the wisdom of Björk, and the most underrated statistic for finding good food. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video . Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Nate on Twitter Email us: [email protected] ...
Feb 23, 2016•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 7
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on segregation, Islam, Harlem vs. LA, Earl Manigault, jazz, fighting Bruce Lee, Kareem’s conservatism, dancing with Thelonious Monk, and why no one today can shoot a skyhook. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video . Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Kareem on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the ...
Feb 02, 2016•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 6
Tyler and investment strategist Cliff Asness discuss momentum and value investing strategies, disagreeing with Eugene Fama, Marvel vs. DC, the inscrutability of risk, high frequency trading, the economics of Ayn Rand, bubble logic, and why never to share a gym with Cirque du Soleil. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video . Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our n...
Nov 18, 2015•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 5
Tyler and Dani Rodrik discuss premature deindustrialization, the world’s trilemmas, the political economy of John le Carré, what’s so special about manufacturing, Orhan Pamuk, RCTs, and why the world is second best at best. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video . Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Dani on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Con...
Oct 01, 2015•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 4
In the third event of this series, Tyler and Luigi Zingales discuss Italy, Donald Trump, Antonio Gramsci, Google and conglomeration, Luchino Visconti, Starbucks, and the surprisingly high productivity of Italian cafés. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video . Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news s...
Sep 16, 2015•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 3
Tyler Cowen and Jeffrey Sachs discuss the resource curse, why Russia failed and Poland succeeded, charter cities, Sach's China optimism, JFK, Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, whether Africa will be able to overcome the middle income trap, Paul Krugman, Sach's favorite novel, premature deindustrialization, and how to reform graduate economics education. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video . Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twit...
Mar 31, 2015•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 2
Peter Thiel and Tyler Cowen, both New York Times bestselling authors, are among today’s top global thought leaders and influential innovators. Listen as these two engage in a serious dialogue on the ideas and policies that will shape the future of innovation and progress in the coming years and decades. Peter Thiel is among the most impressive innovators of the past two decades. As co-founder of Paypal and seed-funder for Facebook, Thiel has been instrumental in the conception and growth of some...
Mar 25, 2015•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 1
