Do psychologists know anything? Psychologist Paul Bloom says yes–but not the things that you might think. Bloom discusses his book Psych with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts and what the field of psychology can teach us about human intelligence, consciousness, and unhelpful instincts. They also discuss just how far psychology is from a true understanding of the human […] The post Can Artificial Intelligence Be Moral? (with Paul Bloom) appeared first on Econlib.

Israeli journalist Haviv Rettig Gur takes us on a deep dive into the origins of Israel–how European Jew-hatred gave birth to Zionism and the founding of the Jewish state in 1948. He then turns to the rise of Palestinian terrorism and explains why the Palestinian experience and the Israeli experience are so incompatible. Along the way, […] The post An Extraordinary Introduction to the Birth of Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (with Haviv Rettig Gur) appeared first on Econlib.

How can we create a radically different atmosphere at American universities? Easy, says historian Niall Ferguson of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution–have meaningful rules about free speech, and ensure that they’re upheld. As with humans, as with institutions: It’s all about incentives. Ferguson discusses the current state of free speech on American campuses and how the […] The post Niall Ferguson on Free Speech and Kissinger’s Role in the Middle East appeared first on Econlib.

In 2018, author Yossi Klein Halevi wanted Palestinians to understand his story of how Israel came into existence. At the same time, he wanted Palestinians to tell him their personal and national stories, too, about the same land. The result was Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor, a candid, heartfelt book that engaged Jews and Arabs around […] The post Yossi Klein Halevi on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict appeared first on Econlib.

Who is the greatest economist of all time? In Tyler Cowen‘s eclectic view, you need both breadth and depth, macro and micro. You can’t have been too wrong–and you need to be mostly right. You have to have had a lasting impact, and done both theory and empirical work. If you meet all these criteria, […] The post Tyler Cowen on the GOAT of Economics appeared first on Econlib.

What’s different about companies that accomplish amazing things? Perhaps surprisingly, says Andrew McAfee of MIT, it has nothing to do with being agile or with better technology. Instead, they’ve developed what he calls “geek” cultures, which emphasize intense cooperation, rapid learning curves, and a lack of hierarchy. Listen as McAfee talks about his book The […] The post Andrew McAfee on the Geek Way appeared first on Econlib.

Who was Milton Friedman? Jennifer Burns of Stanford University finds in her biography of Friedman that the answer to that question is more complicated than she thought. Listen as she and EconTalk’s Russ Roberts discuss how the now-forgotten Henry Simons shaped Friedman’s thought, the degree to which Friedman had a deep understanding and belief in […] The post Jennifer Burns on Milton Friedman appeared first on Econlib.

Loss of taste for most foods, vision problems, loss of muscle mass and bone density. In light of these and the many unpleasant our outright dangerous effects of space travel on human physiology, science writer and cartoonist Zach Weinersmith wonders: When it comes to the dream of space expansion, what exactly do we hope to […] The post Zach Weinersmith on Space Settlement and A City on Mars appeared first on Econlib.

Slot machines, social media, and potato chips: we humans seem to find a lot of things hard to consume in moderation. Why does “enough” seem so much harder to say than “more?” Listen as Michael Easter discusses these questions and his book, The Scarcity Brain, with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts. Easter shares ways that our awareness […] The post Michael Easter on Excess, Moderation, and the Scarcity Brain appeared first on Econlib.

Your mother’s socio-economic status at the time of your birth. Whether your ancestors raised crops or led camels through the desert. The smell of the room you’re in when you’re making a decision–all of these things, says neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, combine to affect your behavior, as well as everything in between. And if you’re wondering […] The post Robert Sapolsky on Determinism, Free Will, and Responsibility appeared first on Econlib.