Nick Schulz and I talk with him in this video. Comments welcome. What can we do to make this a regular program that you look forward to every week?

The conversation raises doubts about whether the emerging trends in think tanks are positive. Toward the end of the discussion, we raise the issue of whether donors should want think tanks to be as partisan and media-driven as they have become.

As with all non-profits that purport to serve a public function, think tanks have the luxury of defining success internally. A profit-seeking business ultimately has to answer to customers, but a non-profit only has to satisfy donors. For a think tank, the customer might be policy makers, and it could be that today’s think tanks are not providing what policy makers could best use.