Exercise your ears: the 25 podcasts shown below present the best ideas, information and stories from a larger group of 147 for the week, to hear while your hands and eyes are busy. Get all the files as a group here, or double (ctrl-click) individual titles to get single podcasts and explore the source. A collection of 30,000 podcasts, listed alphabetically and grouped by topic, can be downloaded piecemeal, with files A-E at this link, and the remainder here. You’ll be limited to a 4GB maximum per download at the last place, so multiple group downloads will be needed to get all files, totaling over 170GB and may take a few hours. The first entry in the collection is a text file with just titles for quicker reference. A collection of abstracts for all the podcasts is available at this link and updated quarterly. Get the discarded material, too, using a podcast aggregator loaded with this opml file of the 503 sources. And try PodcastRE from the University of Wisconsin with over 150,000 titles. Exercise your ears and relax the rest.
Beekeeping 42 mins – “Wally Thurman of North Carolina State University and PERC talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the world of bees, beekeepers, and the market for pollination. Thurman describes how farmers hire beekeepers to pollinate their crops and how that market keeps improving crop yields and producing honey. Thurman then discusses how beekeepers have responded to Colony Collapse Disorder–a not fully understood phenomenon where colonies disband, dramatically reducing the number of bees. The discussion closes with the history of bee pollination as an example of a reciprocal externality and how Coase’s insight helps understand how the pollination market works.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bitcoin 45 mins – “Nathaniel Popper of the New York Times and the author of Digital Gold talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about Bitcoin. Can Bitcoin make it? What went wrong with Mt. Gox? Why did Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, just get sentenced to life in prison? Why are venture capital firms pouring millions of dollars into companies promising easier ways to use Bitcoin? Popper discusses these questions along with the technical side of Bitcoin to help listeners understand why so many investors are excited about the potential of Bitcoin.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Constitution Interpretation 42 mins – “Richard Epstein of New York University and Stanford University’s Hoover Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the U.S. Constitution. Topics covered in this wide-ranging conversation include how the interpretation of the Constitution has changed over time, the relationship between state and federal power, judicial activism, the increasing importance of administrative agencies’ regulatory power, and political influences on the Supreme Court.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cuban Life 41 mins – “Casey Mulligan of the University of Chicago talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about life in Cuba. Mulligan, who recently returned from a trip to Cuba, discusses the economy, the standard of living and some of the peculiarities of communist control.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Electric Car Impact 45 mins – “Benedict Evans of Andreessen Horowitz talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about two important trends for the future of personal travel–the increasing number of electric cars and a world of autonomous vehicles. Evans talks about how these two trends are likely to continue and the implications for the economy, urban design, and how we live.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Electric Vehicle Discussion 58 mins – “We get so many questions about electric vehicles or EVs, that we decided to gather some EV experts and enthusiasts to tell us what their experiences are and what those of you curious about Evs should know before getting behind the wheel. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Allison Sheridan, Rod Simmons, Bodi Grimm, Howard Yermish. Link to show notes.” At the link right-click “MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Evidence-Based Medicine 42 mins – “Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Institute and the author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his book. Topics discussed include “evidence-based” medicine, the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, how medicine is currently conducted for the “average” patient, the potential of genomics to improve health care and the power of technology, generally, to transform medicine.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Food Production 42 mins – “Thousands of bears in New Jersey. Humpback whales near New York City. Acres devoted to farming stable or declining even as food production soars. Jesse Ausubel of the Rockefeller University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the return of nature. Ausubel shows how technology has reduced many of the dimensions of the human footprint even as population rises and why this trend is likely to continue into the future. The conversation concludes with Ausubel’s cautious optimism about the impact of climate change.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Free Market Economics 46 mins – “Angus Burgin of Johns Hopkins University and the author of The Great Persuasion talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the idea in his book–the return of free market economics in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Burgin describes the reaction to Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, the creation of the Mont Pelerin Society, and the increasing influence of Milton Friedman on public policy.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Government Surveillance 42 mins – “Bruce Schneier, author and security guru, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about power and the internet. Schneier argues that the internet enhances the power of the powerless but it also enhances the power of the powerful. He argues that we should be worried about both corporate and government uses of the internet to enhance their power. Recorded before news of the PRISM system and the use of Verizon’s customer information by the NSA (National Security Agency), Schneier presciently worries about government surveillance that we are not aware of and explains how governments–democratic and totalitarian–can use the internet to oppress their citizens. The conversation closes with a discussion of terrorism and the costs of the current system for reducing the probability of a terrorist attack.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Hatch-Waxman Act 44 mins – “Robin Feldman of the University of California Hastings College of Law and author of Drug Wars talks about her book with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Feldman explores the various ways that pharmaceutical companies try to reduce competition from generic drugs. The conversation includes a discussion of the Hatch-Waxman Act and the sometimes crazy world of patent protection.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Indian Economy 44 mins – “Jagdish Bhagwati of Columbia University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the economy of India based on his book with Arvind Panagariya, Why Growth Matters. Bhagwati argues that the economic reforms of 1991 ushered in a new era of growth for India that has reduced poverty and improved the overall standard of living in India. While supportive of social spending on the poor, Bhagwati argues that growth should precede higher levels of spending, providing the tax revenue for expanded spending.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Innovation and Invention 47 mins – “What’s the difference between invention and innovation? Could it be that innovation–the process of making a breakthrough invention available, affordable, and reliable–is actually the hard part? In this week’s EconTalk episode, author Matt Ridley talks about his book How Innovation Works with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Ridley argues that we give too much credit to inventors and not enough to innovators–those who refine and improve an invention to make it valuable to users. Along the way, he emphasizes the power of trial and error and the importance of permissionless innovation.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Monetary Policy 43 mins – “David Laidler of the University of Western Ontario talks about money and monetary policy with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Laidler sketches the monetarist approach to the Great Depression and the Great Recession. He defends the Federal Reserve’s performance in the recent crisis against the critics. He argues that the Fed’s monetary policies have not been unconventional nor impotent as some critics have suggested. The conversation closes with a discussion of the state of macroeconomics and monetary economics.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Narconomics 48 mins – “When fighting the war on drugs, governments typically devote enormous resources trying to reduce the supply. But is this effective? Journalist and author Tom Wainwright of the Economist and author of Narconomics talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ways that the drug cartels respond to government attempts to reduce the availability of drugs. Like any business trying to maintain profitability, cartels look for ways to cut costs and maintain or grow revenue. Wainwright uses extensive on-the-ground interviews and reporting to understand the behavior of the cartels and argues that reducing demand would be a much more effective strategy for reducing drug use.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Organ Donations 40 mins – “Sally Satel, psychiatrist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the challenges of increasing the supply of donated organs for transplantation and ways that public policy might increase the supply. Satel, who has received two kidney donations, suggests a federal tax credit as a way to increase the supply of organs while saving the federal government money. She also discusses the ethical issues surrounding various forms of compensation for organ donors.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Pandemic Control 54 mins – “Economist and physician Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University talks about the pandemic with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Bhattacharya, along with Sunetra Gupta of the University of Oxford and Martin Kulldorff of Harvard University, authored The Great Barrington Declaration, which advocates a very different approach to fighting the pandemic than current policy and practice. Bhattacharya and his colleagues argue the best way to reduce overall harm is to focus protection efforts on those most at risk, while allowing low-risk populations to return to a more normal way of life. Bhattacharya argues that we have greatly neglected the costs of lockdown and self-quarantine.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Police Killings 42 mins – “Franklin Zimring’s 2017 book, When Police Kill, starts with an alarming statistic: Roughly 1,000 Americans die each year at the hands of police. Zimring, criminologist and law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, talks about his book with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Zimring argues that better policing practices can reduce the number of citizens killed by the police. He also discusses the barriers that stand in the way of more effective and safer policing.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Schools and the Pandemic 43 mins – “Economist and author Emily Oster of Brown University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the challenge of reopening schools in a pandemic. Oster has been collecting data from K-12 schools around the country. Her preliminary analysis finds little evidence that schools are super-spreaders of COVID. She argues that closing schools comes at a high cost for the students with little benefit in reducing the spread of the disease. The conversation ends with a discussion of parenting.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Second Machine Age 40 mins – “Erik Brynjolfsson of MIT and co-author of The Second Machine Age talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in the book, co-authored with Andrew McAfee. He argues we are entering a new age of economic activity dominated by smart machines and computers. Neither dystopian or utopian, Brynjolfsson sees this new age as one of possibility and challenge. He is optimistic that with the right choices and policy responses, the future will have much to celebrate.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sweatshops 52 mins – “If you were a poor person in a poor country, would you prefer steady work in a factory or to be your own boss, buying and selling in the local market? Economist Chris Blattman of the University of Chicago talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about experimental evidence on how poor people choose in the labor market and the consequences for their income, health, and satisfaction.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Urban Growth 42 mins – “Paul Romer of New York University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about reforming cities to allow growth and human flourishing. Topics discussed include charter cities, the role of population density in city life, driverless cars, and various ways to help the poorest people in the world.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
US Transportation System 41 mins – “Cliff Winston of the Brookings Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his recent article in the Journal of Economic Literature on the U.S. transportation system. Winston argues that the while the United States has a very good transportation system overall, it is extremely expensive and poorly organized. What is needed, Winston argues, is not more money, but to spend the money already allocated more wisely. He discusses the evolution of the U.S. transportation system, government’s role in transportation, dramatic innovations that might transform aviation and driving, and the potential for privatizing airports and roads.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Vaccine Success and Failures 16 mins – “The continuing spread of SARS-CoV-2 remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. What physicians need to know about transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of Covid-19 is the subject of ongoing updates from infectious disease experts at the Journal. In this audio interview conducted on April 14, 2021, the editors discuss the current state of Covid-19 vaccination, including the rare occurrence of thrombotic thrombocytopenia in recipients of the ChadOx1 nCoV-19 and Ad26.COV2.S vaccines.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Water Management 40 mins – “David Zetland of Leiden University College in the Netherlands and author of Living with Water Scarcity talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the challenges of water management. Issues covered include the sustainability of water supplies, the affordability of water for the poor, the incentives water companies face, and the management of water systems in the poorest countries. Also discussed are the diamond and water paradox, campaigns to reduce water usage, and the role of prices in managing a water system.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Media Mining Digest 