Brad DeLong on Intellectual and Technical Progress

Conversations with Tyler | 2 February 2023 | 0h 47m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Brad DeLong about his book Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century. Discusses what can really be gleaned from the fragmentary economics statistics of the late 19th century, the remarkable changes that occurred from 1870–1920, the astonishing flourishing of German universities in the 19th century, why investment banking allowed America and Germany to pull ahead of Britain economically, what enabled the Royal Society to become a force for progress, what Keynes got wrong, what Hayek got right, whether the middle-income trap persists, and more.

 

Posted on by

Katherine Rundell on the Art of Words

Conversations with Tyler | 11 January 2023 | 0h 53m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Katherine Rundell about her book Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne. Discusses how she became obsessed with John Donne, the power of memorizing poetry, the political implications of suicide in the 17th century, the new evidence of Donne’s faith, the contagious intensity of thought in 17th-century British life, the effect of the plague on the national consciousness, the brutality of boys’ schooling, and more.

Posted on by

Byron Auguste On Rewiring the U.S Labor Market

Conversations with Tyler | 21 September 2022 | 0h 54m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Byron Auguste making the case that too many job seekers are screened out based on shallow signals like a bachelor’s degree, and too few ‘screened in’ by directly demonstrating the skills needed for the job at hand. Discusses workforce training in the digital economy, re-evaluating college degree requirements in recruitment, why IQ is overrated and conscientiousness is underrated, the major opportunity gap in on-the-job training, what people miss about the German apprenticeship model, and more.

Posted on by

Leopoldo López on Activism Under Autocratic Regimes

Conversations with Tyler | 27 July 2022 | 0h 49m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Leopoldo López discussing Venezuela’s recent political and economic history, the effectiveness of sanctions, his experiences in politics and activism, how happiness is about finding purpose, how he organized a protest from prison, the ideal daily routine of a political prisoner, how extreme sports prepared him for prison, his work to improve the lives of the Venezuelan people, and more.

Posted on by

Matthew Ball on the Metaverse and Gaming

Conversations with Tyler | 13 July 2022 | 0h 55m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Matthew Ball about his book The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything. Discusses the eventual widespan transition of the population to the metaverse, the exciting implications of this interconnected network of 3D worlds for education, how the metaverse will improve dating and its impacts on sex, the happiness and career satisfaction of professional gamers, his favourite type of entrepreneur, and more.

Posted on by

Tyler and Daniel Gross Talk Talent

Conversations with Tyler | 18 May 2022 | 0h 48m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross discuss the ideas in their book Talent about how to spot talent better. Covers interview questions (including why to ask about conspiracy theories), predicting creativity and ambition, the differences between competitiveness and obsessiveness the hiring strategy that set SpaceX apart, what you can learn from discussing drama, the underrated genius of game designers, the importance of value hierarchies, and more.

Posted on by

Roy Foster on Ireland’s Many Unmade Futures

Conversations with Tyler | 6 April 2022 | 0h 59m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Roy Foster discussing the history of Ireland: the truths and misconceptions about Ireland as a policy laboratory for the British government; why spoken Irish faded more rapidly than Welsh; how the Battle of the Somme and the 1916 Easter Rising cemented the rift between the Northeast and the rest of the country; what went wrong with Irish trade policies between the 1920s and 1970s, the power of Irish education, why the re-emergence of The Troubles in the 1960s may not have been inevitable; the reasons for Ireland’s openness to foreigners; and more.

Posted on by

Sebastian Mallaby on Venture Capital

Conversations with Tyler | 9 February 2022 | 0h 56m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Sebastian Mallaby about his book The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future. Discusses why venture capital skills aren’t more replicable, the promise of biotech despite increased regulations, why venture capital remains concentrated in the Bay area even after the pandemic, the differences in risk-taking between East and West coast finance, the Darwinian evolution of good hedge fund strategy, and more.

Posted on by