Podcasts by EconTalk Archives, 2008
EconTalk is an award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life. Featured guests include renowned economics professors, Nobel Prize winners, and exciting speakers on all kinds of topical matters related to economic thought. Topics include health care, business cycles, economic growth, free trade, education, finance, politics, sports, book reviews, parenting, and the curiosities of everyday decision-making. Russ Roberts, of the Library of Economics and Liberty and George Mason U., draws you in with lively guests and creative repartee. Look for related readings and the complete archive of previous shows at EconTalk.org, where you can also comment on the podcasts and ask questions.
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Higgs on the Great Depression from 2008-12-15T06:30
Robert Higgs, of the Independent Institute, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the effect of World War II on the American economy. Using survey resu...
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Lipstein on Hospitals from 2008-12-08T06:30
Steven Lipstein, President and CEO of BJC HealthCare--a $3 billion hospital system in St. Louis, Missouri--talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the economics of hospitals. They discuss prici...
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Rauchway on the Great Depresson and the New Deal from 2008-12-01T06:30
Eric Rauchway of the University of California at Davis and the author of The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the 1920s and ...
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Hazlett on Telecommunications from 2008-11-24T08:30
Thomas Hazlett of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about a number of key issues in telecommunications and telecommunication policy including net neutrality, FCC policy,...
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Selgin on Free Banking from 2008-11-17T06:30
George Selgin of West Virginia University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about free banking, where government treats banks as no different from other firms in the economy. Rather than rely o...
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Kling on Credit Default Swaps, Counterparty Risk, and the Political Economy of Financial Regulation from 2008-11-10T06:30
Arnold Kling of EconLog talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the role of credit default swaps and counterparty risks in the current financial mess. The conversation opens with the logistics ...
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Richard Epstein on Happiness, Inequality, and Envy from 2008-11-03T06:30
Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the relationship between happiness and wealth, the effects of inequality on happiness, and the economics of ...
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Munger on Middlemen from 2008-10-27T08:40
Mike Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the often-vilified middleman--someone who buys cheap, sells dear and does nothing to improve the product. Munger explains ...
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Shirky on Coase, Collaboration and Here Comes Everybody from 2008-10-20T06:30
Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, talks about the economics of organizations with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. The conversation centers on S...
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Patri Friedman on Seasteading from 2008-10-13T06:30
Patri Friedman, Executive Director of the Seasteading Institute, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about seasteading, the creation of autonomous ocean communities as an alternative to existing ...
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Bernstein on Inequality from 2008-10-06T06:30
William Bernstein, author of A Splendid Exchange, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about inequality. Bernstein is worried about it; Roberts is not. Bernstein argues that inequality is damaging...
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Kling on Freddie and Fannie and the Recent History of the U.S. Housing Market from 2008-09-29T06:30
Arnold Kling of EconLog talks with host Russ Roberts about the economics of the housing market with a focus on the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The conversation closes with a postscript on t...
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Karol Boudreaux on Wildlife, Property, and Poverty in Africa from 2008-09-22T06:30
Karol Boudreaux, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about wildlife management in Africa. Their conversation focuses on c...
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Shiller on Housing and Bubbles from 2008-09-15T06:30
Robert Shiller of Yale University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the current housing mess and related financial market problems. Shiller argues that the decade-long run up in housing p...
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Ellis on American Creation and the Founding from 2008-09-08T06:30
Joseph Ellis, of Mt. Holyoke College and author of American Creation, talks about the triumphs and tragedies of the founding of the United States. His goal in the book and in this podcast is to tel...
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Rauch on the Volt, Risk, and Corporate Culture from 2008-09-01T06:30
Jonathan Rauch, of the Brookings Institution and the Atlantic Monthly, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the evolution of the Chevy Volt, GM's planned electric car. Due to the transparen...
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Roberts on the Price of Everything from 2008-08-25T06:30
Russ Roberts, host of EconTalk and author of the economics novel, The Price of Everything, talks with guest host Arnold Kling about the ideas in The Price of Everything: price gouging, the role of ...
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John Taylor on Monetary Policy from 2008-08-18T06:30
John Taylor of Stanford University talks about the Taylor Rule, his description of what the Fed ought to do and what it sometimes actually does, to keep inflation in check and the economy on a stea...
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Bueno de Mesquita on Iran and Threats to U.S. Security from 2008-08-11T06:30
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita of Stanford University's Hoover Institution and New York University talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about threats to U.S. security, particularly Iran. Bueno de Mesquita ...
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Varian on Technology from 2008-07-28T06:30
Hal Varian, Google's Chief Economist and University of California at Berkeley professor, talks with Russ Roberts about Google, the role of technology in our everyday lives, the unintended paths of ...
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Rivers on Polling from 2008-07-21T06:30
Doug Rivers of Stanford University and YouGov.com talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the world of political polling. Rivers explains why publicly provided margins of error overstate the re...
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Hanushek on Education and School Finance from 2008-07-14T06:30
Eric Hanushek of Stanford University's Hoover Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the strange evolution of school finance in the last four decades. In particular, the courts hav...
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Munger on the Political Economy of Public Transportation from 2008-07-07T06:30
Michael Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about Munger's recent trip to Chile and the changes Chile has made to Santiago's bus system. What was once a private decentra...
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Kling on Hospitals and Health Care from 2008-06-30T06:30
Arnold Kling of EconLog talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the death of his father and the lessons to be learned for how hospitals treat patients and our health care system treats hospitals.
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McKenzie on Prices from 2008-06-23T06:30
Richard McKenzie of the University California, Irvine and the author of Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies and Other Pricing Puzzles, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about a wide range o...
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Don Boudreaux on Energy Prices from 2008-06-16T06:30
Don Boudreaux of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the recent surge in energy prices. They talk about why prices have risen, the implications for America's standar...
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Cole on the Market for New Cars from 2008-06-09T06:30
Steve Cole, the Sales Manager at Ourisman Honda of Laurel in Laurel, Maryland talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the strange world of new car pricing. They talk about dealer markup, the ro...
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Gene Epstein on Gold, the Fed, and Money from 2008-06-02T06:30
Gene Epstein, Barron's economics editor, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the virtues of the gold standard relative to fiat money. Epstein argues that privately issued money, backed by gol...
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Hanson on Signalling from 2008-05-26T06:30
Robin Hanson of George Mason University talks about the phenomenon of signalling--the ways people spend resources to convey information about ourselves to others. It begins with Hanson revisiting h...
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Meltzer on the Fed, Money, and Gold from 2008-05-19T06:30
Allan Meltzer of Carnegie Mellon University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about what the Fed really does and the political pressures facing the Chair of the Fed. He describes and analyzes s...
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Chris Anderson on Free from 2008-05-12T06:30
Chris Anderson talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his next book project based on the idea that many delightful things in the world are increasingly free--internet-based email with infinite...
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Nye on Wine, War and Trade from 2008-05-05T06:30
John Nye of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his book, War, Wine, and Taxes. The conversation covers the history of Britain and France's trade policy, why the Bri...
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Bernstein on the History of Trade from 2008-04-28T06:30
William Bernstein talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the history of trade. Drawing on the insights from his recent book, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, Bernstein talks ab...
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Roberts on the Least Pleasant Jobs from 2008-04-21T06:30
EconTalk host Russ Roberts talks about the claim that for capitalism to succeed there have to be people at the bottom to do the unpleasant tasks and that the rich thrive because of the suffering of...
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Coyle on the Soulful Science from 2008-04-14T06:45
Diane Coyle talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in her new book, The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why it Matters. The discussions starts with the issue of growth...
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Coyne on Exporting Democracy after War from 2008-04-07T06:30
Christopher Coyne of West Virginia University and George Mason University's Mercatus Center talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his book, After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democ...
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McCloskey on Capitalism and the Bourgeois Virtues from 2008-03-31T06:30
Deirdre McCloskey of the University of Illinois at Chicago and the author of The Bourgeois Virtues talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about capitalism and whether markets make people more ethica...
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Munger on Subsidies and Externalities from 2008-03-24T07:00
Mike Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the economics of subsidies. What is the economic argument for subsidies? What is the history of the economic argument and ...
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Cowen on Monetary Policy from 2008-03-17T06:30
Tyler Cowen of George Mason University and Marginal Revolution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about money, inflation, the Federal Reserve and the gold standard. Cowen argues that alternative...
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Marglin on Markets and Community from 2008-03-10T06:30
Stephen Marglin of Harvard University and author of The Dismal Science: How Thinking Like an Economist Undermines Community talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the markets and community. Ma...
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Vernon Smith on Rationality in Economics from 2008-03-03T06:00
Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith of Chapman University and George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his new book, Rationality in Economics: Constructivist and Eco...
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Sowell on Economic Facts and Fallacies from 2008-02-25T06:00
Thomas Sowell of Stanford University's Hoover Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his new book, Economic Facts and Fallacies. He discusses the misleading nature of ...
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Brook on Vermeer's Hat and the Dawn of Global Trade from 2008-02-19T16:00
Timothy Brook, professor of history at the University of British Columbia and author of Vermeer's Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World, talks with EconTalk host Russ Robert...
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Easterly on Growth, Poverty, and Aid from 2008-02-11T06:30
William Easterly of NYU talks about why some nations escape poverty while others do not, why aid almost always fails to create growth, and what can realistically be done to help the poorest people ...
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Dan Klein on Coordination and Cooperation from 2008-02-04T06:15
Dan Klein of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the marvel of economic coordination that takes place without a coordinator--the sequence of complex tasks done by in...
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Collier on the Bottom Billion from 2008-01-28T06:15
Paul Collier of Oxford University talks about the ideas in his recent book, The Bottom Billion, an analysis of why the poorest countries in the world fail to grow. He talks about conflict, natural ...
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Don Boudreaux on Globalization and Trade Deficits from 2008-01-21T06:15
Don Boudreaux, of George Mason University, talks about the ideas in his book, Globalization. He discusses comparative advantage, the winners and losers from trade, trade deficits, and inequality wi...
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Munger on the Nature of the Firm from 2008-01-14T06:15
Mike Munger, of Duke University, talks about why firms exist. If prices and markets work so well (and they do) in steering economic resources, then why does so much economic activity take place wit...
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Edward Castronova on the Exodus to the Virtual World from 2008-01-07T07:30
Edward Castronova, of Indiana University and author of Exodus to the Virtual World, talks about his provocative thesis that a growing number of people around the world will be spending more and mor...
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Edward Castronova on the Exodus to the Virtual World from 2008-01-07T07:30
Edward Castronova, of Indiana University and author of Exodus to the Virtual World, talks about his provocative thesis that a growing number of people around the world will be spending more and mor...
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Edward Castronova on the Exodus to the Virtual World from 2008-01-07T07:30
Edward Castronova, of Indiana University and author of Exodus to the Virtual World, talks about his provocative thesis that a growing number of people around the world will be spending more and mor...
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