Tag: Progress Studies

The Great Slowdown and Why It’s Good, with Danny Dorling

Intelligence Squared | 5 May 2020 | 0h 59m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Danny Dorling about his book Slowdown: The End of the Great Acceleration―and Why It’s Good for the Planet, the Economy, and Our Lives. Argues that fertility rates, growth in GDP per person, and even technological progress have all steadily declined since the 1970s. Rather than lament this turn of events, Dorling says we should embrace it as a moment of promise and a move toward stability.

Jared Rubin: Christianity and Capitalism

Razib Khan’s Unsupervised Learning | 19 August 2021 | 1h 02m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Jared Rubin about his book Rulers, Religion, and Riches: Why the West Got Rich and the Middle East Did Not. Argues that the ideological content of Western Christianity mattered to the development of capitalism and liberal institutions. Discusses the role of legitimating ideology and why Islam managed to check the rise of the capitalist class notwithstanding that Muhammad was a merchant.

The Industrial Revolution: History, Causes and Consequences

The Economic History Podcast | 21 April 2021 | 1h 08m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Nicholas Crafts about how thinking on the Industrial Revolution has evolved over recent decades. Discusses the more sober interpretation of the productivity performance of the British economy during the first Industrial Revolution; prominent theories of the root causes of the Industrial Revolution; and the potential “disadvantages” of being the first country to experience modern economic growth. Draws on his book Forging Ahead, Falling Behind and Fighting Back.

Thomas Eiden – Atomic Alchemy

The Meb Faber Show | 30 July 2021 | 1h 01m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Thomas Eiden, founder of Atomic Alchemy, a company dedicated to building a nuclear reactor to produce radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine. Backgrounds the shortage of manmade radioactive materials and the startups changing the landscape of nuclear waste; debunks arguments against nuclear power; and discusses the use case for nuclear medicine, the size of the nuclear medicine market, and his startup journey so far.

Matt Clancy on Innovation, Progress Studies and Remote Work

Ben Yeoh Chats | 15 July 2021 | 2h 05m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Matt Clancy discussing progress; the importance of moral and social progress as well as technological progress; whether small or large teams are better for invention; agglomeration effects and how a declining agglomeration impact might make the case for remote work stronger; the role of innovation prizes and patents for incentivising innovation and if copyright is too long; innovation agencies; differences between UK and US university systems and advice for young people; and remote work.

Marc Andreessen – Making the Future

Invest Like the Best | 29 June 2021 | 1h 19m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Marc Andreessen. Explores how software is making the world better, while highly regulated sectors like education, healthcare, and housing are eating the economy. References Mark Perry’s Chart of the Century.

Leopold Aschenbrenner on Existential Risk & German Culture

Ben Yeoh Chats | 23 June 2021 | 1h 47m | Listen Later | iTunes
Wide-ranging interview with Leopold Aschenbrenner that captures the perspectives of a fine young mind. Discusses existential risk; whether nuclear or biological warfare risk is a bigger threat than climate change; how growth matters; the problem of falling global birth rates; German culture and whether he’d swap German infrastructure for the American entrepreneurial spirit; insights from starting university at 15; the merits of elite universities; and much more. Draws on his paper Existential Risk and Growth.

Fully Automated Luxury Communism

TyskySour | 12 June 2021 | 1h 24m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Aaron Bastani about his book Fully Automated Luxury Communism. Predicts a future where technological advances have reduced the cost of commodities to near zero, made renewable energy plentiful, and prolonged human lives. Argues that the resulting replacement of human labour provides the preconditions for a communist nirvana of liberty, luxury and happiness.