with Julia Galef
July 22, 2019 Over the last two decades, the prices of consumer goods like toys and electronics have gone way down, but the prices of health care and education have gone up roughly 200%. Why? In this episode, economist Alex Tabarrok discusses his latest book, co-authored with Eric Heller, “Why are the Prices So D*mn High?,” which blames rising … Read more
June 24, 2019 We typically think of violence as being caused by a lack of control, or by selfish motives. But what if, more often than not, violence is intended to be morally righteous? That’s the thesis of the book “Virtuous Violence: Hurting and Killing to Create, Sustain, End, and Honor Social Relationships.” Author Tage Rai debates his book’s … Read more
May 27, 2019 The global poverty rate has fallen significantly over the last few decades. But there’s a heated debate between people like psychologist Steven Pinker and anthropologist Jason Hickel, over how to view that fact. Is it a triumph for capitalism? Should we celebrate it, or lament the fact that rich countries aren’t doing … Read more
May 13, 2019 Technology writer Clive Thompson discusses his latest book, “Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World”. Topics Clive and Julia cover include: Why coders love efficiency so much Are there downsides to efficiency? Do coders have particular blindspots when it comes to human nature? What is a “10x Coder,” and … Read more