EconTalk

John Horgan talks about his book, Mind-Body Problems, with host Russ Roberts. He interviewed an array of scientists, philosophers, and others who have worked on consciousness, free-will, and what it means to be human. He argues that no single solution to the problems in these areas is likely to be established by science and that our perspective on these questions is inevitably colored by our personal experiences rather than by scientific evidence...

Peter Berkowitz talks with host Russ Roberts about the origins of liberalism and the importance of John Locke. He defends the liberal project of individual rights and liberty and argues that critics of Locke mischaracterize his thought. The conversation closes with an evaluation of the Enlightenment.

Maeve Cohen talks with host Russ Roberts about her organization, Rethinking Economics, and its efforts to change economics education. She argues for a more human-centered approach to economics that would be less confident in its policy prescriptions and more honest about the significance of its underlying assumptions.

Anat Admati talks with host Russ Roberts about the financial crisis of 2008, the lessons she has learned, and how it has changed her view of economics, finance, and her career.

A. J. Jacobs talks about his book, Thanks a Thousand, with host Russ Roberts. Jacobs thanked a thousand different people who contributed to his morning coffee. He talks about the power of gratitude and different ways we can express it. He and Roberts also explore the unintended web of cooperation that underlies almost every product we encounter in a modern economy.

Science writer Julia Belluz talks to host Russ Roberts about the state of epidemiology, nutrition, and the relationship between obesity and metabolism.

Alan Lightman talks about his book Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine with host Russ Roberts. This is a wide-ranging conversation on religion, science, transcendence, consciousness, impermanence, and whether matter is all that matters.

Michael Munger talks about his book, Tomorrow 3.0, with host Russ Roberts. He analyzes the rise of companies like Uber and AirBnB as an example of how technology lowers transactions costs. Users and providers can find each other more easily through their smartphones, increasing opportunity. Munger expects these costs to fall elsewhere and predicts an expansion of the sharing economy to a wide array of items in our daily lives.

Ran Abramitzky talks about his book, The Mystery of the Kibbutz, with host Russ Roberts. He traces the evolution of the kibbutz movement in Israel and how the kibbutz structure changed to cope with the economy's modernization and development. The conversation includes a discussion of how the history of the kibbutz might help us to understand the appeal and challenges of the socialism and freedom.

Kevin McKenna talks with host Russ Roberts about the characters, plot, and themes of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's masterpiece, In the First Circle. This is the second episode of the EconTalk book club discussing the book. The first episode--a discussion of Solzhenitsyn's life and times--is available on EconTalk.