Geoffrey Miller – Virtue Signaling: Essays on Darwinian Politics & Free Speech

Science Salon | 2 December 2019 | 2h 04m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Geoffrey Miller about his book Virtue Signaling: Essays on Darwinian Politics & Free Speech. Discusses virtue signaling and why we all do it; how the phrase “virtue signaling” became a derogatory political meme; how virtue signaling really works and why it is not a bad thing; why evolutionary psychology is not based on “just so” story telling; how multiple traits can be selected at once; individual selection versus group selection; the role of virtue signaling in the evolution of the moral sentiments; how virtue signaling helps produce real morality (and not just fake altruism); gender differences in career preferences; neurodiversity and speech codes; cultural diversity; and why social groups tend to splinter and defenestrate members who are not sufficiently virtuous.

Zach Vertin – A Rope from the Sky

Press Conference USA | 1 March 2019 | 0h 29m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Zach Vertin about his book A Rope from the Sky: The Making and Unmaking of the World’s Newest State. Discusses the forces driving the creation of South Sudan and its subsequent collapse into civil war – drawing lessons for US foreign policy.

How Democracy Dies

Dan Snow’s History Hit | 20 July 2020 | 0h 25m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Anne Applebaum about her book Twilight of Democracy: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends. Discusses the growing authoritarian strain attacking many democracies and how it came to be embraced and celebrated by many elites around the world.

Matt Yglesias on Why the Population is Too Damn Low

Conversations with Tyler | 9 September 2020 | 1h 06m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Matt Yglesias about his book One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger. Discusses why it’s easier to grow Tokyo than New York City, the governance issues of increasing urban populations, pro-immigration arguments, how to respond to declining fertility rates, the benefits of religiosity, marriage incentives, what larger families would mean for feminism, whether the YIMBY movement will be weakened by COVID-19, how New York City will bounce back, how to attract more competent people to state and local governments, and more.

Guy Raz on Building How I Built This

The Tim Ferriss Show | 10 September 2020 | 1h 48m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Guy Raz about his book How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs. Draws out themes and insights from Raz’s many interviews with entrepreneurs. Also discusses managing mental health and the future for podcasting.

Why Western Europeans Are So WEIRD and Why That Matters

The Insight | 8 September 2020 | 0h 50m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Joseph Henrich about his book The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous. Discusses the co-evolution of culture, institutions, and psychology and the implications for the large-scale social, political, and economic forces that drive human history.

What if Your Company Had No Rules?

Freakonomics Radio | 12 September 2020 | 0h 55m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Reed Hastings about his book No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, co-authored with Erin Meyer. Backgrounds how he came to believe that corporate rules kill creativity and innovation. Advocates that for some companies the greatest risk can be taking no risks at all and that it is better to prioritise flexibility than efficiency.

See also How to Fire People, an interview with Patty McCord about the Netflix culture.

Julia Gillard: Women and Leadership

The Book Club | 9 September 2020 | 0h 38m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Julia Gillard about her book Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons, co-authored with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Draws lessons from their interviews of women who’ve reached the top roles in global institutions, from Christine Lagarde and Joyce Banda to Michelle Bachelet and Theresa May. Gillard also reflects on her own time in politics, what she’d have done differently, whether Australia is more sexist than the UK, and her notorious misogyny speech – plus, what she thinks her old sparring partner Tony Abbott has to offer the UK as a trade adviser.