Neurologist and author Robert Burton talks about his book, On Being Certain, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Burton explores our need for certainty and the challenge of being skeptical about what our brain tells us must be true. Where does what Burton calls "the feeling of knowing" come from? Why can memory lead us as...

By Amy Willis

What's wrong with what we believe about poverty? What are some of the mistakes we make when we think about it? Social entrepreneur and guest on this week's EconTalk episode Mauricio Miller has a time-tested answer to these questions. Miller, the founder of the Family Independence Initiative, argues that everything we t...

Poverty activist, social entrepreneur and author, Mauricio Miller, talks about his book The Alternative with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Miller, a MacArthur genius grant recipient, argues that we have made poverty tolerable when we should be trying to make it more escapable. This is possible, he argues, if we invest in...

By Amy Willis

It seems parenting has become an ever-greater challenge in our age of anxiety. We have more information than ever, but this seems to render decision-making harder than ever. In this week's episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes back Emily Oster to talk about her new book, Cribsheet. Oster hopes her deep dive into...

Economist and author Emily Oster of Brown University talks about her book Cribsheet with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Oster explores what the data and evidence can tell us about parenting in areas such as breastfeeding, sleep habits, discipline, vaccination, and food allergies. Oster often finds that commonly held views...

By Amy Willis

In this week's episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomed back new Nobel laureate in economics, Paul Romer. A fascinating discussion ensued, the big focus of which was on the methodology of economics. The pair also discussed Romer's brief tenure at the World Bank, as well as Romer's work on charter cities. What ro...

Nobel Laureate Paul Romer of New York University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the nature of growth, the role of cities in the economy, and the state of economics. Romer also reflects on his time at the World Bank and why he left his position there as Chief Economist.

By Amy Willis

Did you learn your US history the same way your parents did? Will your children read the same kind of textbooks? What stories will their books include, and perhaps more importantly, what will they leave out? In this week's episode, historian Jill Lepore joins EconTalk host Russ Roberts to discuss her latest book and a ...

Historian and author Jill Lepore talks about nationalism, populism, and the state of America with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Lepore argues that we need a new Americanism, a common story we share and tell ourselves. Along the way, topics in the conversation include populism, the rise of globalization, and the challenge...

Law professor and author Robin Feldman of UC Hastings College of the Law talks about her book Drugs, Money, and Secret Handshakes with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Feldman argues that the legal and regulatory environment for drug companies encourages those companies to seek drugs that extend their monopoly through the p...

By Amy Willis

How many medical treatments have you endured that may have been ineffective- or even done you more harm than good? How often are the negative side effects of medical intervention greater than the benefit they provide? In this week's episode, EconTalk host Russ Roberts may have met his skeptical- er, nihilist- match. Ph...

Philosopher and author Jacob Stegenga of the University of Cambridge talks about his book Medical Nihilism with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Stegenga argues that many medical treatments either fail to achieve their intended goals or achieve those goals with many negative side effects. Stegenga argues that the approval p...

By Amy Willis

When someone asks you how you are, what's your standard reply? Are you "fine?" "I'm really busy?" What does your reply say about the way in which you regard your most precious resource, your time? That's the subject of this week's episode, in which EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomes labor economist Daniel Hamermesh t...

Economist and author Daniel Hamermesh of Barnard College and the Institute for the Study of Labor talks about his latest book, Spending Time, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Hamermesh explores how we treat time relative to money, how much we work and how that has changed over time, and the ways economists look at time...

By Amy Willis

In this week's episode, Obstetrician and Gynecologist Amy Tuteur asks us to consider, "Why do good mothers feel so badly about themselves?" Tuteur, a mom of four herself, tells EconTalk host Russ Roberts that the natural parenting movement deserves much of the blame. How many of the decisions mothers make during pregna...

Obstetrician gynecologist Amy Tuteur and author of Push Back, talks about the book with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Tuteur argues that natural parenting--the encouragement to women to give birth without epidurals or caesarians and to breastfeed--is bad for women's health and has little or no benefit for their children.