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Conversations with Tyler

Mercatus Center at George Mason Universitywww.conversationswithtyler.com
Tyler Cowen engages today's deepest thinkers in wide-ranging explorations of their work, the world, and everything in between. New conversations every other Wednesday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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Episodes

*The Complacent Class* with Katherine Mangu-Ward (Live at Mason)

In this bonus episode, Editor-in-chief of Reason Katherine Mangu-Ward interviews Tyler about *The Complacent Class.* Make sure to listen all the way to the end for an answer Katherine describes as #PeakTyler . Follow Katherine on Twitter Follow Tyler on Twitter More CWT goodness: Facebook Twitter Instagram Email...

Mar 13, 201756 min

Rabbi David Wolpe on Leadership, Religion, and Identity (Live at Sixth & I)

Named one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of our time, Rabbi David Wolpe joins Tyler in a conversation on flawed leaders, Jewish identity in the modern world, the many portrayals of David, what's missing in rabbinical training, playing chess on the Sabbath, Srugim, Hasidic philosophy, living in Israel and of course, the durability of creation. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow David ...

Feb 15, 20171 hr 20 minEp. 19

Chef Mark Miller on Food as the Ultimate Intellectual Exploration

Mark Miller is often called the founder of modern southwestern cuisine, but his unique anthropological approach to food has led him to explore cuisines in over 100 countries around the world. He joins Tyler for a conversation on all that he's learned along the way, including his pick for the most underrated chili pepper, palate coaching, the best food cities in Asia, Mexico, and Europe, the problems with sous-vide, mezcal versus tequila, the decline of food brands, why Michelin guide is overrate...

Jan 25, 20171 hr 16 minEp. 18

Jhumpa Lahiri on Writing, Translation, and Crossing Between Cultures (Live at Mason)

Author, teacher, and translator Jhumpa Lahiri joins Tyler for a conversation on identity, Rhode Island, writing as problem solving, reading across languages, the badness of book covers, Elena Ferrante, Bengali culture, the magic of Calcutta, Italian authors, Indian classical music, architectural influences, 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: cowenco...

Jan 11, 20171 hr 27 minEp. 17

Joseph Henrich on WEIRD Societies and Life Among Two Strange Tribes (Live at Mason)

To anthropologist Joseph Henrich, intelligence is overrated. Social learning, and its ability to influence biological evolution over time, is what really sets our species apart. He joined Tyler for a conversation on his work on cultural evolution, as well as his life among different tribes (academic and otherwise), Star Trek, big gods, small gods, China's missing industrial revolution, the merits of coconut milk, the Flynn effect, American exceptionalism, and why he wants to travel in time to 6t...

Dec 14, 20161 hr 25 minEp. 16

Fuchsia Dunlop on Chinese Food, Culture, and Travel

For centuries, China has treated its cuisine with a reverence and delight that is only just starting to emerge with Western "foodie" culture. No one understands this better than Fuchsia Dunlop, who has spent her career learning about the fantastic diversity in Chinese food, and who is one of Tyler's favorite writers on any subject. She joined Tyler over dinner at one of his favorite restaurants in DC to talk about all aspects of how to truly enjoy Chinese food, including where to visit, how to o...

Nov 16, 20161 hr 15 minEp. 15

Steven Pinker on Language, Reason, and the Future of Violence (Live at Mason)

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, 20161 hr 27 minEp. 14

Ezra Klein on Media, Politics, and Models of the World

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, 20161 hr 17 minEp. 13

Margalit Fox on Life, Death, and the Best Job in Journalism

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, 201648 minEp. 12

Michael Orthofer on Why Fiction Matters

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, 201657 minEp. 11

Cass Sunstein on Judicial Minimalism, the Supreme Court, and Star Wars (Live at Mason)

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, 20161 hr 17 minEp. 10

Camille Paglia on her Lifestyle of Observation (Live at Mason)

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: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at ...

Apr 25, 20161 hr 27 minEp. 9

Jonathan Haidt on Morality, Politics, and Intellectual Diversity on Campus

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: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the l...

Mar 24, 20161 hr 9 minEp. 8

Nate Silver on the Supreme Court and the Underrated Stat for Finding Good Food (Live at Mason)

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: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu ...

Feb 23, 20161 hr 21 minEp. 7

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Fighting Bruce Lee, Growing Up in Harlem, and Basketball (Live at Mason)

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: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the ...

Feb 02, 20161 hr 22 minEp. 6

Cliff Asness on Comics and Why Never to Share a Gym with Cirque du Soleil (Live at Mason)

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: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our n...

Nov 18, 20151 hr 23 minEp. 5

Dani Rodrik on Premature Deindustrialization and Why the World is Second Best at Best

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: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Con...

Oct 01, 20151 hr 25 minEp. 4

Luigi Zingales on Italy, Google and Conglomeration, and Donald Trump (Live at Mason)

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: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news s...

Sep 16, 20151 hr 17 minEp. 3

Jeffrey Sachs on Charter Cities and How to Reform Graduate Economics Education (Live at Mason)

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, 20151 hr 32 minEp. 2

Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not to Call your Company (Live at Mason)

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, 20151 hr 21 minEp. 1
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