EconTalk - Episode Summaries EconTalk Summaries

Russ Roberts is the host of EconTalk, where he talks with guests on topics that spark economic curiosity. In this podcast, he interviews Julia Galef, who has just published her first book, The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't, where she explains that it is better to think like a military scout than a soldier. The Scout Mindset is open and motivated to learn, while the Soldier Mindset is defensive and rationalizing.

Podcast host Russ Roberts interviews behavioral scientist and author Katy Milkman about her book How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. This podcast was originally recorded on April 16, 2021.

Host Russ Roberts interviews Iranian American author Roya Hakakian about her life, which is the backstory to her book, A Beginner’s Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious. This podcast was originally recorded on March 23, 2021.

Host Russ Roberts interviews economist, blogger, podcaster, and author Tyler Cowen of George Mason University about the COVID-19 pandemic. Cowen says the pandemic has taught people that speed really matters. The countries that dealt with it the best reacted immediately, and those that did not caused needless suffering, GDP losses, and death. For the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved rapid tests too late, and that is one of the things that slowed the containment of the virus. Additionally, getting research funding for people working on COVID-19, and virtually every needed area except for the vaccine itself, could have been much quicker. This podcast was originally recorded on March 15, 2021.

Podcast host Russ Roberts interviews Max Kenner, founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative, which enrolls prisoners in academic programs that culminate in degrees from Bard College in New York State. Kenner talks about the origins of the program, the student experience, and injustice in the education and criminal system in the United States. This podcast was originally recorded on March 11, 2021.

Economist Russ Roberts interviews business journalist Megan McArdle about the pandemic and whether we are prepared to avoid repeating history and prevent a new crisis. McArdle believes that after every crisis, people tend to look back for things that should have been done differently. This hindsight helps people learn from the mistakes that were made. But there is also an issue with hindsight bias, which refers to the human tendency to believe that some events are more predictable than they actually are. This is because humans like to think they are in control. This podcast was originally recorded on March 5, 2021.