Is tribalism destroying democracy? According to cultural psychologist Michael Morris of Columbia University, just the opposite may be the case. As he explains in his new book, Tribal, our tribal instincts can also be the source of our success–in politics, society, business, and even professional sports. Listen as Morris and EconTalk’s Russ Roberts discuss real examples of […] The post Reclaiming Tribalism (with Michael Morris) appeared first on Econlib.

Bruno Leoni (1913-1967) Friedrich Hayek credited Bruno Leoni with shaping his ideas on laws and legislation. James Buchanan said that Leoni identified problems that led to his own work on public choice. How is it possible, then, that so few of us know of the groundbreaking Italian political philosopher? Listen as Duke economist Michael Munger talks with […] The post The Underrated Bruno Leoni (with Michael Munger) appeared first on Econlib.

An owl will eat a rabbit whole, but owls can’t digest the fur or the bones. So how do they survive? Why do their eyes face forward rather than to the side? Long-eared Owls don’t have ears, so what’s up with the name and how do they hear? How can dogs help us track owls–that […] The post The Mysterious World of Owls (with Jennifer Ackerman) appeared first on Econlib.

Johns Hopkins surgeon Dr. Marty Makary talks about his book Blind Spots with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts. Makary argues that the medical establishment too often makes unsupported recommendations for treatment while condemning treatments and approaches that can make us healthier. This is a sobering and informative exploration of a number of key findings in medicine that […] The post What Modern Medicine Gets Wrong (with Marty Makary) appeared first on Econlib.

British Army major and Sandhurst lecturer Andrew Fox recently spent a week with the Israel Defense Forces including a day inside Gaza. He was struck by the IDF’s control of Gazan territory and shocked by the level of physical devastation. Listen as Fox and EconTalk’s Russ Roberts discuss Fox’s analysis of Israel’s performance in the Gazan war, why Fox believes […] The post Is Israel Winning the War in Gaza? (with Andrew Fox) appeared first on Econlib.

Many boys and men in America are doing worse than girls and women in education while struggling with a culture that struggles to define what masculinity is in the 21st century. Is this a problem? Richard Reeves thinks so which is why he started the American Institute for Boys and Men. Listen as Reeves discusses […] The post The Problems of Boys and Men in Today’s America (with Richard Reeves) appeared first on Econlib.

Physicist J. Doyne Farmer wants a new kind of economics that takes account of what we’ve learned from chaos theory and that builds more accurate models of how humans actually behave. Listen as he makes the case for complexity economics with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts. Farmer argues that complexity economics makes better predictions than standard economic theory and […] The post Chaos and Complexity Economics (with J. Doyne Farmer) appeared first on Econlib.

Physician Adam Cifu keeps a binder of every patient of his who has passed away. Every once in a while, he opens it and remembers the lives of his past patients. Morbid? Maybe a little. But it’s just one of the ways Cifu tries to make his practice of medicine more mindful. In this conversation with […] The post What’s Happening Inside Your Doctor’s Head and Heart (with Adam Cifu) appeared first on Econlib.

A soldier goes off to war. Damaged in combat, he returns home, forever changed. Master sculptor Sabin Howard captures this tragic and powerful journey in bronze, for the new World War I Memorial that will be unveiled in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 2024. Howard talks about his craft with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts as they discuss […] The post How Do You Capture the Tragedy of War? (with Sabin Howard) appeared first on Econlib.

The universe, points out economist Noah Smith, is always trying to kill us, whether through asteroids hurtling through space or our every-few-hours hunger pains. Why, then, should we expect anything but a gravitational pull toward poverty? Listen as Smith explains to EconTalk’s Russ Roberts why he believes that poverty will always be our “elemental foe,” […] The post The Ever-Present Challenge of Escaping Poverty (with Noah Smith) appeared first on Econlib.