What are the psychological and biological underpinnings of human violence and our collective propensity for war? How important really is leadership in wartime decision-making? Richard Overy is an honorary professor at the University of Exeter, and the author of several books. His latest are the brand new Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and the Surrender of Japan , and also Why War? , and Why the Allies Won . Greg and Richard discuss Richard’s book, Why War? , which addresses the social and psych...
Jan 31, 2025•51 min•Ep. 507
The world of decision-making is now dominated by algorithms and automation. But how much has the AI really changed? Haven’t, on some level, humans always thought in algorithmic terms? Kartik Hosanagar is a professor of technology at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. His book, A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control explores how algorithms and AI are increasingly influencing our daily decisions and society, a...
Jan 29, 2025•55 min•Ep. 506
How is market signaling tied to economic growth, and what will the introduction of AI do to the wave of economic development in the US and abroad? Will other surging economies surpass the United States as dynamics continue to change? Michael Spence is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, also the author of a number of books, including The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World and most recently, Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured Worl...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 505
How are happiness and success intertwined when it comes to business? What crucial element do you lose as a company when the boss or the culture becomes one of stress or pressure? Emma Seppälä teaches at the Yale School of Management and is a Scientific Director at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research at Stanford University. She is also the author of several books, most recently Sovereign: Reclaim Your Freedom, Energy, and Power in a Time of Distraction, Uncertainty, and Chaos . Greg a...
Jan 24, 2025•34 min•Ep. 504
How did Chile's economic experiment reshape global economic thinking, and what can it teach us about the future of neoliberalism and populism in Latin America and beyond? Sebastián Edwards is a professor of international economics at UCLA and writes about Latin American history, economics, and politics. His books include Left Behind: Latin America and the False Promise of Populism , American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold , and most recently The Chi...
Jan 22, 2025•58 min•Ep. 503
Why do our most complex systems—from financial markets to corporate behemoths—consistently produce outcomes that nobody intended, and what forgotten science might hold the key to fixing them? Dan Davies is an economist and author of the books, Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World and most recently, The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - and How The World Lost its Mind . Dan and Greg discuss the complexities of fraud in financial ...
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 502
Why have philosophers historically failed to think seriously about privacy? How do invasions of privacy really impact a person? What do we give up when we let our data be freely commoditized by Big Tech companies without being fully aware of how they’re doing it? Carissa Véliz is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI, a Fellow at Hertford College at the University of Oxford, and the author of multiple books including most recently, The Ethics of Privacy and Surve...
Jan 17, 2025•52 min•Ep. 501
What effects will generative AI have on coding and software engineering? Will it make anyone a coder? Will it just turn software engineering into copy/paste exercises? How will the top coders use AI to hack their own efficiency and productivity, and why is it so hard for the large tech companies to do the same things that the smaller ones do? Clive Thompson is a journalist for the New York Times Magazine and Wired as well as the author of multiple books, including Smarter Than You Think: How Tec...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 500
What more can be learned about a topic like the origins of economic growth that has been covered so extensively? When pulling back and looking at all the connected threads, is there an order in which things must happen to spark the change? Mark Koyama is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Research Associate at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), and Mercatus Center, Senior Scholar. He is also the co-author of two books, How the World Became Rich: The Historical ...
Jan 13, 2025•45 min•Ep. 499
We learn the skill of talking as toddlers and by the time we’re adults, most of us don’t think twice about the inner workings of a conversation. But the reality is, there’s a science and an art to conversing. And understanding that science could unlock so much potential in your professional and personal life. Alison Wood Brooks is a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of the book, Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves . She also teaches a cutting-edge c...
Jan 10, 2025•58 min•Ep. 498
Where is the line between fact and fiction in the capabilities of AI? Which predictions or promises about the future of AI are reasonable and which are the creations of hype for the benefit of the industry or the company making outsized claims? Arvind Narayanan is a professor of computer science at Princeton University, the director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, and an author. His latest book is AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell ...
Jan 08, 2025•46 min•Ep. 497
Raising boys in post-MeToo times is beyond challenging. So how do moms balance societal pressures with the desire to raise happy, healthy, and emotionally intelligent boys? Ruth Whippman is a journalist and author of the books, BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity and America the Anxious: How Our Pursuit of Happiness Is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks . In BoyMom , she weaves personal anecdotes with data and reporting to capture the complexities of raising emotion...
Jan 06, 2025•45 min•Ep. 496
What brought about the rise of cryptocurrencies, and whats the difference between tokens and money? How are some of these modern concepts of currency much older than people may think, with older and older examples being unearthed in different parts of the world? Rachel O’Dwyer is a writer and lecturer in Digital Cultures in the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She’s also the author of Tokens: The Future of Money in the Age of the Platform . It’s all about how more and more traditional...
Jan 03, 2025•48 min•Ep. 495
With more and more data available about each of us all the time, what are the consequences of rapid data-driven decision making by organizations, and what are the implications of it for democracy and social well being? William Davies teaches Politics at Goldsmiths University of London and is the author of several books, including Nervous States: Democracy and the Decline of Reason . Greg and William discuss how the ongoing crises are misunderstood by elites, and reasons behind the decline in pub...
Dec 23, 2024•53 min•Ep. 494
How is artificial intelligence reshaping social dynamics, knowledge sharing, and the workplace in the digital age? Alex “Sandy” Pentland is a fellow at Stanford University’s Human Centered AI Institute and helped create the MIT Media Lab. He’s the author of numerous books including, Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World , Social Physics: How Social Networks Can Make Us Smarter , and most recently, The Digitalist Papers: Artificial Intelligence and Democracy in America . Sandy and Greg discuss...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 493
How does the present reckon with the historical legacies of notable figures of the past? How do you contextualize the actions of people from other generations today? How do we deal with the information learned through methods that are unacceptable today? Andrew Garrett is a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall: Language, Memory, and Indigenous California . Greg and Andrew discuss the renaming of Berkeley buildings orig...
Dec 18, 2024•47 min•Ep. 492
When did the gaps in wealth distribution across the globe significantly widen? What is the role of human capital investment?Was the Industrial Revolution to blame? Or can the roots of economic inequality be traced back even further in human history? Oded Galor is a professor of economics at Brown University, the founder of the Unified Growth Theory, and author of the book, The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality . His work covers the history of economic development througho...
Dec 16, 2024•47 min•Ep. 491
Ever considered how something as simple as a notebook could shape history? Roland Allen from Thames & Hudson chronicles the substantial history of a humble tool in The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper which traces the roots of jotting things down all the way back to medieval Florence and beyond. Roland and Greg chat about the earliest forms of notetaking on things like papyrus and wax tablets, the great thinkers in history who were prolific notetakers, and the enduring importance of ...
Dec 13, 2024•51 min•Ep. 490
If meaning is made with our minds, what role does the body play in shaping meaning? How do the studies of philosophy and cognitive science intersect? Mark Johnson is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Oregon and one of the key thought leaders on the co-evolution of philosophy and science in the 20th century. His books like, Metaphors We Live By and Philosophy in the Flesh: the Embodied Mind & its Challenge to Western Thought explore the relationship between philosophy a...
Dec 11, 2024•53 min•Ep. 489
For many job seekers today, the first eyes on their application are most likely not human. Companies and recruiters are turning to AI more and more to streamline the hiring process. But is AI actually fairer than its human counterparts? Or is it bringing in new biases and discriminatory practices when looking at a job applicant’s qualifications? Hilke Schellmann is a professor of journalism at New York University and the author of The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted...
Dec 09, 2024•53 min•Ep. 488
In the last five years, artificial intelligence has exploded but there are a lot of holes in how it works, what it is and is not capable of, and what a realistic future of AI looks like. Gary Marcus is an emeritus professor of psychology and neural science at NYU and an expert in AI. His books like Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us and Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust explore the limitations and challenges of contemporary AI. Gary and Greg d...
Dec 06, 2024•48 min•Ep. 487
Technology changes have always meant business changes, but with technology changing this fast, how long can businesses keep up? How can businesses work with technology to increase their own yields exponentially? Azeem Azhar is the founder of Exponential View, a platform that features podcasts, newsletters, and video content. Azeem is also the author of the book The Exponential Age: How Accelerating Technology is Transforming Business, Politics and Society . Greg and Azeem discuss the rapid techn...
Dec 04, 2024•55 min•Ep. 486
How has economic thought evolved throughout the years along with the development of the other modern science disciplines? What is the role of human agency, and what are the philosophical underpinnings of economic thought? Margaret Schabas is a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia, and also the author of several books. Her latest work is A Philosopher's Economist: Hume and the Rise of Capitalism . Greg and Margaret discuss how economics evolved from natural philosophy. Th...
Dec 02, 2024•52 min•Ep. 485
What are the ethical responsibilities of designers today and what long-term impacts do they need to consider as they design? Who does the label of ‘designer’ actually apply to? Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter are designers, writers, and educators. Scott is the Creative Director and Carissa is the Academic Director and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s d.school. They are also co-authors of the new book Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future from the Stanford d.sc...
Nov 28, 2024•48 min•Ep. 484
As the world searches for impactful solutions to global warming and energy independence, how important is it for policymakers to understand some level of physics? For today’s guest – it’s important enough to write a whole book on it. Richard Muller is a professor of physics at UC Berkeley and the author of numerous books including, Now: The Physics of Time and Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines . Through his books aimed at general audiences, Richard is bringing physi...
Nov 25, 2024•49 min•Ep. 483
While many species in the world make music, humans have a unique musical ability. In some ways, music might even define what it means to be human. But how did we become so musical? And what is it about humans that sets our music apart from the music found in nature? Michael Spitzer is a professor of music at the University of Liverpool and the author of the book, The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth, which explores mankind’s ability to synthesize rhythm, melody, and culture throughout h...
Nov 21, 2024•45 min•Ep. 482
How do economics play into solving major global issues like pandemics, climate change, or inequality? Erik Angner is a professor of philosophy at Stockholm University and the author of How Economics Can Save the World: Simple Ideas to Solve Our Biggest Problems . He’s a rare kind of philosopher of science – while most focus on natural sciences, Erik studies social sciences like economics. In this episode, Erik and Greg discuss why philosophers have not given more attention to social sciences, ho...
Nov 18, 2024•53 min•Ep. 481
What are the true natures of intelligence and wisdom, and how do they play off each other in sometimes surprising ways? What are the best ways to mitigate our many biases, and what factors create the placebo and nocebo effects? David Robson is a prolific journalist, a former editor at New Scientist, and the author of the books The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network , The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World , and The Intelligence ...
Nov 14, 2024•55 min•Ep. 480
At what point did the concept of civilization and civilizations emerge? In what ways do we know that societies were mingling and exchanging ideas and objects with each other? How were the Crusades responsible for our culture’s current sugar obsession? Josephine Quinn is a Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford, and the author of several books, including her latest work How the World Made the West: A 4,000 Year History and also In Search of the Phoenicians . Greg and Josephine d...
Nov 11, 2024•53 min•Ep. 479
What does the sense of self give humans over other animals, and how do our storytelling instincts set us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom? What can be learned about humans and animals by training a dog to allow humans to scan its brain with an MRI machine? Gregory Berns is a neuroscientist at Emory University and the author of several books, including Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently , The Self Delusion: The New Neuroscience of How We Invent—and Reinvent—Our...
Nov 07, 2024•52 min•Ep. 478
