Conversations with Tyler

A five-time World Chess Champion, Vishy became India's first grandmaster at age 18, spurring a chess revolution in the country. Now 53, he is still a world top ten player and has been India's number one ranked player for 37 years. As newer talents emerge and old ones retire, Anand's continued excellence showcases an endurance seldom seen. Tyler and Vishy sat down in Chennai to discuss his breakthrough 1991 tournament win in Reggio Emilia, his technique for defeating Kasparov in rapid play, how he approached playing the volatile but brilliant Vassily Ivanchuk at his peak, a detailed breakdown of his brilliant 2013 game against Levon Aronian, dealing with distraction during a match, how he got out of a multi-year slump, Monty Python vs. Fawlty Towers, the most underrated Queen song, how far to take chess opening preparation, which style of chess will dominate in the next ten years, how AlphaZero changes what we know about the game, the key to staying a top ten player at age 53, why he thinks he's a worse loser than Kasparov, qualities he looks for in talented young Indian chess players, picks for the best places to eat in Chennai, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded August 7th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Vishy on X Join our Discord Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Special thanks to Nabeel Qureshi for his help with the video and transcript.

When Alex Tabarrok and Tyler Cowen launched Marginal Revolution in August of 2003, they saw attracting a few thousand academic-minded readers as a runaway success. To their astonishment, the blog soon eclipsed that goal, and within a decade had become one of the most widely read economics blogs in the world. Just as remarkably, the blog maintained its relevance in its second decade, bringing in a new generation of readers without a dip in the pace or quality of the posts. As Alex and Tyler jest, only the onset of senility could possibly rein them in. To mark MR's entrance into its third decade, long-time readers Ben Casnocha, Vitalik Buterin, and Jeff Holmes joined Alex and Tyler to talk about MR's legacy, including the golden age of blogging in the mid-2000s, the decline of independent blogs and the rise of social media, why Tyler usually has a post at 1 AM, the consistent design of the site, the peak of the blogosphere in the Great Recession, the robust community—and even marriage—forged through MR, the site's most underrated feature, Alex and Tyler's favorite commenters, how MR catalyzed separate real-world pandemic responses by each of them, the cessation of book clubs, Alex and Tyler's distinct writing style, iconic MR memes, what's happened to Tyrone, whether the site's popularity has tempted them into self-censoring, why it was Alex and Tyler who paired up amongst the other Mason econ bloggers, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded August 5th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Alex on X Follow Ben on X Follow Vitalik on X Follow Jeff on X Join our Discord Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: Lathan Goumas/Office of Communications and Marketing at GMU

Tyler and Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham sat down at his home in the English countryside to discuss what areas of talent judgment his co-founder and wife Jessica Livingston is better at, whether young founders have gotten rarer, whether he still takes a dim view of solo founders, how to 2x ambition in the developed world, on the minute past which a Y Combinator interviewer is unlikely to change their mind, what YC learned after rejecting companies, how he got over his fear of flying, Florentine history, why almost all good artists are underrated, what's gone wrong in art, why new homes and neighborhoods are ugly, why he wants to visit the Dark Ages, why he's optimistic about Britain and San Fransisco, the challenges of regulating AI, whether we're underinvesting in high-cost interruption activities, walking, soundproofing, fame, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded July 15th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Paul on Twitter Join our Discord Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: Dave Thomas

Tyler sat down at Comedy Cellar with owner Noam Dworman to talk about the ever-changing stand-up comedy scene, including the perfect room temperature for stand-up, whether comedy can still shock us, the effect on YouTube and TikTok, the transformation of jokes into bits, the importance of tight seating, why he doesn't charge higher prices for his shows, the differences between the LA and NYC scenes, whether good looks are an obstacle to success, the oldest comic act he still finds funny, how comedians have changed since he started running the Comedy Cellar in 2003, and what government regulations drive him crazy. They also talk about how 9/11 got Noam into trouble, his early career in music, the most underrated guitarist, why live music is dead in NYC, and what his plans are for expansion. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded March 15th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Join our Discord Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

David Bentley Hart is an American writer, philosopher, religious scholar, critic, and theologian who has authored over 1,000 essays and 19 books, including a very well-known translation of the New Testament and several volumes of fiction. In this conversation, Tyler and David discuss ways in which Orthodox Christianity is not so millenarian, how theological patience shapes the polities of Orthodox Christian nations, how Heidegger deepened his understanding of Christian Orthodoxy, who played left field for the Baltimore Orioles in 1970, the simplest way to explain how Orthodoxy diverges from Catholicism, the future of the American Orthodox Church, what he thinks of the Book of Mormon, whether theological arguments are ultimately based on reason or faith, what he makes of reincarnation and near-death experiences, gnosticism in movies and TV, why he dislikes Sarah Ruden's translation of the New Testament, the most difficult word to translate, a tally of the 15+ languages he knows, what he'll work on next, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded March 23rd, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Join our Discord Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

In his second appearance, Reid Hoffman joined Tyler to talk everything AI: the optimal liability regime for LLMs, whether there'll be autonomous money-making bots, which agency should regulate AI, how AI will affect the media ecosystem and the communication of ideas, what percentage of the American population will eschew it, how gaming will evolve, whether AI's future will be open-source or proprietary, the binding constraint preventing the next big step in AI, which philosopher has risen in importance thanks to AI, what he'd ask a dolphin, what LLMs have taught him about friendship, how higher education will change, and more. They also discuss Sam Altman's overlooked skill, the biggest cultural problem in America, the most underrated tech scene, and what he'll do next. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Reid's podcast Possible is back this summer with a three-part miniseries called "AI and The Personal," which launched on June 21st. Featured guests use AI, hardware, software and their own creativity to better people's daily lives. Subscribe to get the series. Recorded May 9th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Reid on Twitter Join our Discord Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: David Yellen

Noam Chomsky joins Tyler to discuss why Noam and Wilhelm von Humboldt have similar views on language and liberty, good and bad evolutionary approaches to language, what he thinks Stephen Wolfram gets wrong about LLMs, whether he's optimistic about the future, what he thinks of Thomas Schelling, the legacy of the 1960s-era left libertarians, the development trajectories of Nicaragua and Cuba, why he still answers every email, what he's been most wrong about, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded February 27th, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Join our Discord Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: Duncan Rawlinson - Duncan.co

Peter Singer is one of the world's most influential living philosophers, whose ideas have motivated millions of people to change how they eat, how they give, and how they interact with each other and the natural world. Peter joined Tyler to discuss whether utilitarianism is only tractable at the margin, how Peter thinks about the meat-eater problem, why he might side with aliens over humans, at what margins he would police nature, the utilitarian approach to secularism and abortion, what he's learned producing the Journal of Controversial Ideas, what he'd change about the current Effective Altruism movement, where Derek Parfit went wrong, to what extent we should respect the wishes of the dead, why professional philosophy is so boring, his advice on how to enjoy our lives, what he'll be doing after retiring from teaching, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded May 25th, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Peter on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek

On good days, Seth Godin thinks about all the progress we're making on climate change. On bad days, he thinks about the problem of racing bibs. Though pieces of paper safety-pinned to runners' chests seem obviously outdated, the bibs persist, highlighting how difficult it can be to change a culture for the better. And yet Seth also persists to improve the culture around marketing and work, giving hundreds of talks, writing daily blog posts, and publishing 21 best-sellers. His latest, The Song of Significance, explains why workplace culture has gotten so bad and what leaders can do to make it better. Seth joined Tyler to discuss why direct marketing works at all, the marketing success of Trader Joe's vs Whole Foods, why you can't reverse engineer Taylor Swift's success, how Seth would fix baseball, the brilliant marketing in ChatGPT's design, the most underrated American visual artist, the problem with online education, approaching public talks as a team process, what makes him a good cook, his updated advice for aspiring young authors, how growing up in Buffalo shaped him, what he'll work on next, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded May 23rd, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Seth on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: Darius Bashar and Archangel

What's more intense than leading the IMF during a financial crisis? For Simon Johnson, it was co-authoring a book with fellow economist (and past guest) Daron Acemoglu. Written in six months, their book Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity, argues that widespread prosperity is not the natural consequence of technological progress, but instead only happens when there is a conscious effort to bend the direction and gains from technological advances away from the elite. Tyler and Simon discuss the ideas in the book and on Simon's earlier work on finance and banking, including at what size a US bank is small enough to fail, the future of deposit insurance, when we'll see a central bank digital currency, his top proposal for reforming the IMF, how quickly the Industrial Revolution led to widespread prosperity, whether AI will boost wages, how he changed his mind on the Middle Ages, the key difference in outlook between him and Daron, how he thinks institutions affect growth, how to fix northern England's economic climate, whether the UK should join NAFTA, improving science policy, the Simon Johnson production function, whether MBAs are overrated, the importance of communication, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded March 21st, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Simon on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: MIT

As the founding executive editor of Wired magazine and the author of several acclaimed books on technology and culture, Kevin Kelly has long been known for his visionary ideas and insights. But his latest work, Excellent Advice for Living takes a different approach, drawing on his own experience and wisdom to offer practical tips and advice for navigating life's challenges. Naturally then, Kevin and Tyler start this conversation on advice: what kinds of advice Kevin was afraid to give, his worst advice, how to get better at following advice, and whether people who ask for advice really want it in the first place. Then they move on to the best places to see traditional cultures in Asia, the one thing in Kevin's travel kit he can't be without, his favorite part of India, why he's so excited about brain-computer interfaces, how AI will change religion, what the Amish can teach us about tech adoption, the most underrated documentary, his initial entry point into tech, why he's impressed by the way Jeff Bezos handles power, the last thing he's changed his mind about, how growing up in Westfield, New Jersey affected him, his next project called the Hundred Year Desirable Future, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded April 27th, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Kevin on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

Anna Keay is a historian who specializes in the cultural heritage of Great Britain. As the director of the Landmark Trust, she has overseen the restoration of numerous historical buildings and monuments, while also serving as a prolific author and commentator on the country's architectural and artistic traditions. Her book, The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown, was one of Tyler's top picks for 2022. Tyler sat down with Anna to discuss the most plausible scenario where England could've remained a republic in the 17th century, what Robert Boyle learned from Sir William Petty, why some monarchs build palaces and others don't, how renting from the Landmark Trust compares to Airbnb, how her job changes her views on wealth taxes, why neighborhood architecture has declined, how she'd handle the UK's housing shortage, why giving back the Koh-i-Noor would cause more problems than it solves, why British houses have so little storage, the hardest part about living in an 800-year-old house, her favorite John Fowles book, why we should do more to preserve the Scottish Enlightenment, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded February 23rd, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Anna on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

Jessica Wade is a physicist at Imperial College London who, while spending her day working on special carbon-based materials that can be used as semiconductors, has spent her nights writing nearly 2,000 Wikipedia entries about underrepresented figures in science. That, along with numerous other forms of public engagement—including writing a children's book about nanotechnology—is all in an effort to actually do something productive to correct gender and racial biases in STEM. She joined Tyler to discuss if there are any useful gender stereotypes in science, distinguishing between productive and unproductive ways to encourage women in science, whether science Twitter is biased toward men, how AI will affect gender participation gaps, how Wikipedia should be improved, how she judges the effectiveness of her Wikipedia articles, how she'd improve science funding, her work on chiral materials and its near-term applications, whether writing a kid's science book should be rewarded in academia, what she learned spending a year studying art in Florence, what she'll do next, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded February 21st, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Jess on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

In this conversation, Tyler uses ChatGPT to interview Jonathan Swift about his views on religion, politics, economics, and literature. GPT Swift discusses his support for the Church of Ireland, his shift from the Whigs to the Tories, and his opposition to William Wood's copper coinage in Ireland. He also talks about his works, including Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal, and his skepticism of moral and intellectual progress. Swift addresses rumors about his relationship with Esther Johnson and his fascination with scatological themes in his works. He also discusses his early life in England, his intellectual mentor Sir William Temple, and his jovial attitude towards death. Special thanks to our Mercatus Center colleague Robin Currie for giving voice to Jonathan GPT Swift. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded March 23rd, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

Historian Tom Holland joined Tyler to discuss in what ways his Christianity is influenced by Lord Byron, how the Book of Revelation precipitated a revolutionary tradition, which book of the Bible is most foundational for Western liberalism, the political differences between Paul and Jesus, why America is more pro-technology than Europe, why Herodotus is his favorite writer, why the Greeks and Persians didn't industrialize despite having advanced technology, how he feels about devolution in the United Kingdom and the potential of Irish unification, what existential problem the Church of England faces, how the music of Ennio Morricone helps him write for a popular audience, why Jurassic Park is his favorite movie, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded February 1st, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Tom on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: Sadie Holland

Yasheng Huang has written two of Tyler's favorite books on China: Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics, which contrasts an entrepreneurial rural China and a state-controlled urban China, and The Rise and Fall of the EAST, which argues that Keju—China's civil service exam system—played a key role in the growth and expanding power of the Chinese state. Yasheng joined Tyler to discuss China's lackluster technological innovation, why declining foreign investment is more of a concern than a declining population, why Chinese literacy stagnated in the 19th century, how he believes the imperial exam system deprived China of a thriving civil society, why Chinese succession has been so stable, why the Six Dynasties is his favorite period in Chinese history, why there were so few female emperors, why Chinese and Chinese Americans have done less well becoming top CEOs of American companies compared to Indians and Indian Americans, where he'd send someone on a two week trip to China, what he learned from János Kornai, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded January 17th, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Yasheng on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: MIT Sloan School

Brad DeLong, professor of economics at UC Berkley, OG econ blogger, and Tyler's Harvard classmate, joins the show to discuss Slouching Towards Utopia, an economic history of the 20th century that's been nearly thirty years in the making. Tyler and Brad discuss 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, his favorite movie and novel, blogging vs. Substack, the Slouching Towards Utopia director's cut, and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded November 11th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Brad on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

Economist and public intellectual Glenn Loury joined Tyler to discuss the soundtrack of Glenn's life, Glenn's early career in theoretical economics, his favorite Thomas Schelling story, the best place to raise a family in the US, the seeming worsening mental health issues among undergraduates, what he learned about himself while writing his memoir, what his right-wing fans most misunderstand about race, the key difference he has with John McWhorter, his evolving relationship with Christianity, the lasting influence of his late wife, his favorite novels and movies, how well he thinks he will face death, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded January 11th, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Glenn on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

Paul Salopek is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and National Geographic fellow who, at the age of 50, set out on foot to retrace the steps of the first human migrations out of Africa. The project, dubbed the "Out of Eden Walk," began in Ethiopia in 2012 and will eventually take him to Tierra Del Fuego, a distance of some 24,000 miles. Calling in just as he was about to arrive in Xi'an, he and Tyler discussed his very localized supply chain, why women make for better walking partners, the key to crossing deserts, the most difficult terrain to traverse, what he does for exercise, his information prep for each new region, how he's kept the project funded, which cuisines he's found most and least palatable, what he learned working the crime beat in Roswell, New Mexico, how this project challenges conventional journalism, his thoughts on the changing understanding of early human migration, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded October 13th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Paul on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: Matthieu Chazal

Rick Rubin has been behind some of the most iconic and successful albums in music history, and his unique approach to production and artist development has made him one of the most respected figures in the industry. He joined Tyler to discuss how to listen (to music and people), which artistic movement has influenced him most, what Sherlock Holmes taught him about creativity, how streaming is affecting music, whether AI will write good songs, what he likes about satellite radio, why pro wrestling is the most accurate representation of life, why growing up in Long Island was a "miracle," his 'do no harm' approach to working with artist, what makes for a great live album, why Jimi Hendrix owed his success to embracing technology, what made Brian Eno and Brian Wilson great producers, what albums he's currently producing, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded January 13th, 2023 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Rick on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

Katherine Rundell is, in a word, enthusiastic. She's enthusiastic about John Donne. She's enthusiastic about walking along rooftops. She's enthusiastic about words, and stories, and food. She has often started her morning with a cartwheel and is currently learning to fly a small plane. A prolific writer, her many children's books aim to instill the sense of discovery she still remembers from her own unruly childhood adventures—and remind adults of the astonishment that still awaits them. She joined Tyler to discuss 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 national consciousness, the brutality of boys' schooling, the thrills and dangers of rooftop walking, why children should be more mischievous, why she'd like to lower the voting age to 16, her favorite UK bookshop, the wonderful weirdness of Diana Wynne Jones, why she has at least one joke about Belgium in every book, what T.S. Eliot missed about John Donne, what it's like to eat tarantula, the Kafka book she gives to toddlers, why The Book of Common Prayer is underrated, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded September 2nd, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo credit: Nina Subin

On this special year-in-review episode, Tyler and producer Jeff Holmes talk about the past year on the show, including which guests he'd like to have on in 2023, what stands out to him now about his conversation with Sam Bankman-Fried in light of the collapse of FTX, the most popular and most underrated episodes of the year, what makes a guest authentic, why he hasn't asked the "production function" question much this year, his essay on Marginal Revolution on the New Right, and what he's working on next. They also evaluate Tyler's pop culture picks from 2012 and answer listener questions from Twitter. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Support Conversations with Tyler by making a donation during this holiday season! Recorded December 14th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Jeff on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Is classical music dying? For John Adams the answer is an emphatic no. Considered by Tyler to be America's greatest living composer, he may well be one of the people responsible for keeping it alive. John's contemporary classical music is some of the most regularly performed and he is well-known for his historically themed operas such as Nixon in China, Doctor Atomic, and most recently Antony and Cleopatra. He is also a conductor and author of, in Tyler's words, a "thoughtful and substantive" autobiography. He joined Tyler to discuss why architects have it easier than opera composers, what drew him to the story of Antony and Cleopatra, why he prefers great popular music to the classical tradition, the "memory spaces" he uses to compose, the role of Christianity in his work, the anxiety of influence, the unusual life of Charles Ives, the relationship between the availability and appreciation of music, how contemporary music got a bad rap, his favorite Bob Dylan album, why he doesn't think San Francisco was crucial to his success, why he doesn't believe classical music is dead or even dying, his fascination with Oppenheimer, the problem with film composing, his letter to Leonard Bernstein, what he's doing next, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded September 14th, 2022 Support the podcast by making a donation during this holiday season! Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

When it comes to fighting climate change Jeremy Grantham is optimistic about technology – but worried about timing. Known widely for his acuity in identifying bubbles, the British investor contends that the one created by our dependence on fossil fuels is about to pop. He's on a mission to make green energy cheaper, faster and is well on his way. After a lifetime spent thinking about resources, he's using his to power the development of green technology. The Grantham Foundation has invested into 45 early-stage green projects, such as improving the efficiency of lithium extraction. He joined Tyler to discuss the most binding constraint on the green transition, why we need an alternative to lithium, the important message sent by Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, the marginal cost basis of green energy, the topsoil crisis in the Midwest, why estimates of the cost of global warming vastly underestimate its effects, why he distrusts economists, the overpricing concentrated in the US stock market, the consequences of Brexit, the revolutionary tactics of Margaret Thatcher, how his grandparents shaped his worldview, why he's optimistic about American venture capital, the secret to Boston's success in asset management, how COVID changed his media diet, the political difficulty of passing carbon taxes, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded September 1st, 2022 Check out our new Conversations with Tyler merch here at mercatusmerch.com, and use the promo code UNDERRATED for 10% off! Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

When it comes to history—particularly American history—nothing is ever definitive, says documentarian Ken Burns. Much of his work has focused on capturing that history in film, but in his new book, Our America: A Photographic History, his goal is to share the complexity of his country as well as honor those roots in still images. From the very first photograph, a self-portrait, to our modern inundation with selfies, he tells "the story of us" – a story of darkness and light, just as in the photographic process itself. Ken joined Tyler to discuss how facial expressions in photos have changed over time, where in the American past he'd like to visit most, the courage of staying in place, how he feels about intellectual property law, the ethical considerations of displaying violent imagery, why women were so prominent in the early history of American photography, the mysteries in his quilt collection, the most underrated American painter, why crossword puzzles are akin to a cup of coffee, why baseball won't die out, the future of documentary-making, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded November 1st, 2022 Check out our new Conversations with Tyler merch here at mercatusmerch.com, and use the promo code UNDERRATED for 10% off! Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Ken on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox. Photo credit: Michael Avedon

Mary Gaitskill's knack for writing about the social and physical world with unapologetic clarity has led to her style being described both as "cold and brutal" and "tender and compassionate." Tyler considers her works The Mare, Veronica, and Lost Cat to be some of the best and most insightful American fiction in recent times. And lately she's taken to writing essays on Substack, where she frankly analyzes "subjects that are vexing everybody," including incels, Depp v. Heard, and political fiction. She joined Tyler to discuss the reasons some people seem to choose to be unhappy, why she writes about oddballs, the fragility of personality, how she's developed her natural knack for describing the physical world, why we're better off just accepting that people are horrible, her advice for troubled teenagers, why she wouldn't clone a lost cat, the benefits and drawbacks of writing online, what she's learned from writing a Substack, what gets lost in Kubrick's adaptation of Lolita, the not-so-subtle eroticism of Victorian novels, the ground rules for writing about other people, how creative writing programs are harming (some) writers, what she learned about men when working as a stripper, how her views of sexual permissiveness have changed since the '90s, how college students have changed over time, what she learned working at The Strand bookstore, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded September 26th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Reza Aslan doesn't mind being called a pantheist. In his own "roundabout spiritual journey" and study of the world's religions, which has led him to write books on Islam, the life of Jesus Christ, God, and most recently an American martyr in Persia, he has come to believe the Sufi notion that religion is just a shell one must break through to truly understand God—and that if God is anything at all, then all is God. He joined Tyler to discuss Shi'a and Christian notions of martyrdom, the heroism of Howard Baskerville, the differences between Sunni and Shi'a Islam, esoteric vs. exoteric expressions of religion, how mystical movements arise more organically than religion, the conflicts over Imams in the Islamic world, how his upbringing as an Iranian immigrant shaped his view of religion, his roundabout spiritual journey, the synthesis of Spinoza and Sufism, the origins of Wahhabism, the relationship (or lackthereof) between religion and political philosophy, the sad repetition of history in Iran, his favorite Iranian movie, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded October 12th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Reza on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

A leading expert in foreign policy, Walter Russell Mead believes his lack of a PhD—and interest in actually going places—has helped him avoid academic silos and institutional groupthink that's rendered the field ineffective for decades. Mead's latest book, which explores the American-Israeli relationship, is characteristically wide-ranging and multidisciplinary, resulting in "less a history of U.S.-Israel policy than a sweeping and masterfully told history of U.S. foreign policy in general", according to a New York Times review. He joined Tyler to discuss how the decline of American religiosity has influenced US foreign policy, which American presidents best and least understood the Middle East, the shrewd reasons Stalin supported Israel, the Saudi secret to political stability, the fate of Pakistan, the most likely scenario for China moving on Taiwan, the gun pointed at the head of German business, the US's "murderous fetishization of ideology over reality" in Sub-Saharan Africa, the inherent weakness in having a foreign policy establishment dominated by academics, what he learned from attending the Groton School, and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded August 31st, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Walter on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

When looking at the U.S. labor market, Byron Auguste sees too many job seekers 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. To close those opportunity gaps in the American workforce, Byron co-founded and runs Opportunity@Work, which played a key role in Maryland's decision in early 2022 to drop four-year degree requirements for thousands of state jobs in favor of recruiting from those identified as being Skilled Through Alternate Routes, or STARs. He joined Tyler to discuss 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, the best novel about finding a job, what's gone wrong with American men, why we need signal pluralism for higher education admission, why he's wary of AI for predicting labor outcomes, what happened when Maryland rolled back degree requirements for state jobs, the incentive problems in higher education, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded September 6th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Byron on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Vaughn Smith is fluent in eight languages but with a beginner's grasp of at least thirty-six (and counting). His talents are so remarkable that the Washington Post did a feature story on him and neuroscientists at MIT requested he do a brain scan for them. But for Vaughn his language skills aren't about attracting attention or monetary gain. "Language is a key to someone's culture, to someone's world," he explains. Whether it's watching a client's face light up when he speaks to them in their native tongue or showing Indigenous children in rural Mexico that their language is valuable and worth preserving, Vaughn views his gifts as a way of connecting with other people. He joined Tyler to discuss how he began learning languages, the best languages for expressing humor, why he curses in Slovak, why he considers Finnish more romantic than Portugese, what makes Hungarian so difficult to learn, the best way to teach people new languages, how to combat language loss, why he'd like rural Mexicans to have more pride in their culture and way of life, his time as a roadie for a punk rock van, the most rewarding job he's had, why he wants to visit Finland, how enjoying films from different eras is similar to learning new languages, the future of English, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded May 26th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

How can one identify and predict talent? On a search to answer this question and others like it, Tyler Cowen joined venture capitalist and entrepreneur Daniel Gross to explore the art and science of finding talent in their new book Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World. In a panel discussion hosted by Shruti Rajagopalan, Cowen and Gross discuss the applications of their new book, particularly how lifestyle characteristics can indicate an individual is capable of great creativity and talent. Daniel and Tyler also discuss undervalued talents and skills, what talents they look for in the start-up and investment world, why there is no good chocolate ice cream to be found in San Francisco, what their exercise preferences indicate about their personalities, how they approach identifying talent in different countries and industries, how immigration impacts entrepreneurialism, the short-comings to Zoom interviews, what a messy desk reveals about a person, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded June 29th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Daniel on Twitter Follow Shruti on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox. Photo credit: Drew Bird Photo

As a little girl, Cynthia Haven loved reading classic works of literature. At sixteen, she began her career as a reporter. And years later, those two interests converged as they led her to interview and write books about three writers and thinkers whom she also came to call mentors: René Girard, Czeslaw Milosz, and Joseph Brodsky. Cynthia joined Tyler to discuss what she's gleaned from each of the three, including what traits they have in common, why her biography of Girard had to come from outside academia, Milosz's reaction to the Berkley Free Speech Movement, Girard's greatest talent—and flaw—as a thinker, whether Brodsky will fall down the memory hole, why he was so terrible on Ukraine, why Cynthia's early career was much like The Devil Wears Prada, the failings of Twitter, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded May 18th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Cynthia on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

When Tyler is reviewing grants for Emergent Ventures, he is struck by how the ideas of effective altruism have so clearly influenced many of the smartest applicants, particularly the younger ones. And William MacAskill, whom Tyler considers one of the world's most influential philosophers, is a leading light of the community. William joined Tyler to discuss why the movement has gained so much traction and more, including his favorite inefficient charity, what form of utilitarianism should apply to the care of animals, the limits of expected value, whether effective altruists should be anti-abortion, whether he would side with aliens over humans, whether he should give up having kids, why donating to a university isn't so bad, whether we are living in "hingey" times, why buildering is overrated, the sociology of the effective altruism movement, why cultural innovation matters, and whether starting a new university might be next on his slate. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded July 7th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Will on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

As an inquisitive reader, books were a cherished commodity for Leopoldo López when he was a political prisoner in his home country of Venezuela. His prison guards eventually observed the strength and focus López gained from reading. In an attempt to stifle his spirit, the guards confiscated his books and locked them in a neighboring cell where he could see but not access them. But López didn't let this stop him from writing or discourage his resolve to fight for freedom. A Venezuelan opposition leader and freedom activist, today López works to research and resist oppressive autocratic regimes globally. López joined Tyler to discuss 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. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded May 10th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Leopoldo on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Fighting fires meant a lot of downtime for Matthew Ball. Stationed at a forward operating base in the woods for two weeks at a time, he spent long hours amongst fellow firefighters with whom he shared little in common except for their love of the outdoors. The skills he gained working towards mutual goals with those he had little else in common with has translated well to his career as a strategist and venture capitalist in the digital media and gaming industries. Ball is a managing partner of EpyllionCo, venture partner at Makers Fund, and author of the anticipated The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything. Ball joined Tyler to discuss 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 predictions for Tyler's most frequent uses of the metaverse, his favorite type of entrepreneur, why he has thousands of tabs open on his computer at any given moment, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded July 6th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Matthew on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Growing up, Barkha Dutt was totally rootless. She spoke English, not her parent's Punjabi. She devoured Enid Blyton and studied English literature during college, but read few Indian novelists. She didn't even know her caste. This has opened her up to criticism as being a progressive elite who is out of touch with her heritage, and challenged her to be especially thoughtful in the way she examines the many overlapping values in Indian society. A successful broadcast journalist and columnist, she currently runs the YouTube-based news channel MoJo Story and recently published a new book, ​​Humans of COVID: To Hell and Back. Barkha joined Tyler to discuss how Westerners can gain a more complete picture of India, the misogyny still embedded in Indian society, why family law should be agnostic of religious belief, the causes of declining fertility in India, why relations between Hindus and Muslims seem to be worsening, how caste has persisted so strongly in India, the success of India's subsidized institutes of higher education, the best city for Indian food, the power of Amar Chitra Katha's comics, the influence of her English liberal arts education, the future of Anglo-American liberalism in India, the best ways to use Twitter, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded May 5th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Barkha on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Like the frontier characters from Deadwood, his favorite TV show, Marc Andreessen has discovered that the real challenge to building in new territory is not in the practicalities of learning a trade, but in developing a savviness for what makes people tick. Without understanding the deep patterns of human behavior, how can you know what to build, or who should build it, or how? For Marc, that means reading deeply in the humanities: "I spent the first 25 years of my life trying to understand how machines work," Marc says. "Then I spent the second 25 years, so far, trying to figure out how people work. It turns out people are a lot more complicated." Marc joined Tyler to discuss his ever-growing appreciation for the humanities and more, including why he didn't go to a better school, his contrarian take on Robert Heinlein, how Tom Wolfe helped Marc understand his own archetype, who he'd choose to be in Renaissance Florence, which books he's reread the most, Twitter as an X-ray machine on public figures, where in the past he'd most like to time-travel, his favorite tech product that no longer exists, whether Web will improve podcasting, the civilization-level changes made possible by remote work, Peter Thiel's secret to attracting talent, which data he thinks would be most helpful for finding good founders, how he'd organize his own bookstore, the kinds of people he admires most, and why Deadwood is equal to Shakespeare. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded April 14th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Marc on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

What does it mean to uphold disability rights, or the right to economic liberty? What framework should be used when rights appear to conflict? Constitutional law expert Jamal Greene contends that the way Americans view rights—as fundamental, inflexible, and universal—is at odds with how the rest of the world conceives of them, and even with how our own founders envisaged them. In his new book, How Rights Went Wrong, he lays out his vision for reimagining rights as the products of political negotiation. The goal of judges, he says, should be to manage disagreement in a way that leads to social harmony and social cohesion—and by doing so, foster the ultimate goal of peaceful pluralism. Jamal and Tyler discuss what he'd change about America's legal education system, the utility of having non-judges or even non-lawyers on the Supreme Court, how America's racial history influences our conception of rights, the potential unintended consequences of implementing his vision of rights for America, how the law should view economic liberty, the ideal moral framework for adjudicating conflicts, whether social media companies should consider interdependencies when moderating content on their platforms, how growing up in different parts of New York City shaped his views on pluralism, the qualities that make some law students stand out, and more. To register for the Talking Talent with Tyler Cowen event, please visit the link below: https://www.mercatus.org/events/talking-talent-tyler-cowen Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded April 5th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Jamal on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

If Tyler and Daniel's latest book can be boiled down into a single message, it would be that the world is currently failing at identifying talent, and that getting better at it would have enormous benefits for organizations, individuals, and the world at large. In this special episode of Conversations with Tyler, Daniel joined Tyler to discuss the ideas in their book on how to spot talent better, including the best questions to ask in interviews, predicting creativity and ambition, and the differences between competitiveness and obsessiveness. They also explore the question of why so many high achievers love Diet Coke, why you should ask candidates if they have any good conspiracy theories, how to spot effective dark horses early, the hiring strategy that set SpaceX apart, what to look for in a talent identifier, what you can learn from discussing drama, the underrated genius of game designers, why Tyler has begun to value parents more and IQ less, conscientiousness as a mixed blessing, the importance of value hierarchies, how to become more charismatic, the allure of endurance sports for highly successful people, what they disagree on most, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded February 24th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Daniel on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

What causes war? Many scholars have spent their careers attempting to study the psychology of leaders to understand what incentivizes them to undertake the human and financial costs of conflict, but economist and political scientist Chris Blattman takes a different approach to understanding interstate violence. He returns for his second appearance on Conversations with Tyler to discuss his research into the political and institutional causes of conflict, the topic of his new book ​​Why We Fight: The Roots of War and The Path to Peace. Chris and Tyler also cover why he doesn't think demographics are a good predictor of a country's willingness to go to war, the informal norms that restrain nations, the dangers of responding to cyberattacks, the breakdown of elite bargains in Ethiopia, the relationship between high state capacity and war, the greatest threats to peace in Ireland, why political speech isn't usually a reliable indicator of future action, Vladimir Putin's centralized motives for invading Ukraine, why he's long on Colombia democratically – but not economically, why more money won't necessarily help the Mexican government curb cartel violence, the single-mindedness necessary for bouldering, how Harold Innis's insights about commodities led Chris to start studying war, how the University of Chicago has maintained a culture of free inquiry, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded March 1st, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Chris on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

When it comes to the enormous reduction of income inequality during the 20th century, Thomas Piketty sees politics everywhere. In his new book, A Brief History of Equality, he argues the rising equality during the 19th and 20th centuries has its roots not in deterministic economic forces but in the movements to end aristocratic and colonial societies starting at the end of the 18th century. Drawing this line forward, Piketty also contends we must rectify past injustices before attempting to create new institutions. He joined Tyler to discuss just how egalitarian France actually is, the beginning of the end of aristocratic society, where he places himself within French intellectual history, why he's skeptical of data from before the late 18th century, how public education drives economic development, why Georgism isn't sufficient to address wealth inequality, the relationship between wealth and cultural capital, his proposal for a minimum inheritance, why he turned down the Legion of Honor, why France should give reparations to Haiti despite the logistical difficulties of doing so, his vision for European federalism, why more immigration won't be a panacea for inequality, his thoughts on Michel Houellebecq's Submission, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded March 8th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Thomas on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

"The best history," says Roy Foster, "is written when we realize that people acted in expectation of a future that was never going to happen." While this is the case for many countries, it's especially true of Ireland—the land of The Troubles, of colonization, of revolution and reforms. This sympathy within his scholarship sets Foster's work apart. Not content to simply document the facts of what did happen, he's undertaken the role of reconstructing the motivations that animated the Irish people throughout its storied history--without which we cannot truly understand the Ireland of today. Roy joined Tyler to discuss why the Scots got off easier than the Irish under English rule, the truths and misconceptions about Ireland as a policy laboratory for the British government, why spoken Irish faded more rapidly than Welsh, the single question that drove a great flowering of Irish economic thought, how Foster's Quaker education shaped his view of Irish history, 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 as inevitable as many people believe, the cultural effects of Ireland's pro-Allied neutrality in World War II, how Irish visual art is beginning to be looked at in a similar way to Irish literature, the social and economic changes of the 1970s that began to radically reshape Irish society, the reasons for Ireland's openness to foreigners, what Irish Americans misunderstand, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded February 22nd, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

A prolific translator, author, and former professor of creative writing, Lydia Davis's motivation for her life's work is jarringly simple: she just loves language. She loves short, sparkling sentences. She loves that in English we have Anglo-Saxon words like "underground" or Latinate alternatives like "subterranean." She loves reading books in foreign languages, discovering not only their content but a different culture and a different history at the same time. Despite describing her creative process as "chaotic" and herself as "not ambitious," she is among America's best-known short story writers and a celebrated essayist. Lydia joined Tyler to discuss how the form of short stories shapes their content, how to persuade an ant to leave your house, the difference between poetry and very short stories, Proust's underrated sense of humor, why she likes Proust despite being averse to long books, the appeal of Josep Pla's The Gray Notebook, why Proust is funnier in French or German than in English, the hidden wit of Franz Kafka, the economics of poorly translated film subtitles, her love of Velázquez and early Flemish landscape paintings, how Bach and Schubert captured her early imagination, why she doesn't like the Harry Potter novels—but appreciates their effects on young readers, whether she'll ever publish her diaries, how her work has evolved over time, how to spot talent in a young writer, her method (or lack thereof) for teaching writing, what she learned about words that begin with "wr," how her translations of Proust and Flaubert differ from others, what she's most interested in translating now, what we can expect from her next, and more. Check out Ideas of India. Subscribe to Ideas of India on your favorite podcast app. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded February 3rd, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Whether it's scaling an arbitrage opportunity or launching an ambitious philanthropic project, Sam Bankman-Fried has set himself apart. In just a few years, he's not only made billions trading crypto, but also become a leading practitioner of effective altruism, with the specific aim of making lots of money in order to donate most of it to high-impact causes. He joined Tyler to discuss the Sam Bankman-Fried production function, the secret to his trading success, how games like Magic: The Gathering have shaped his approach to business, why a legal mind is crucial when thinking about cryptocurrencies, the most important thing he's learned about managing, what Bill Belichick can teach us about being a good leader, the real constraints in the effective altruism space, why he's not very compelled by life extension research, challenges to his Benthamite utilitarianism, whether it's possible to coherently regulate stablecoins, the implicit leverage in DeFi, Elon Musk's greatest product, why he thinks Ethereum is overrated, where in the world has the best French fries, why he's bullish on the Bahamas, and more. Check out Macro Musings. Follow Macro Musings on Twitter. Subscribe to Macro Musings on your favorite podcast app. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded January 6th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Sam on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

How do you go about writing a book on an era that is, for many, recent history? When Chuck Klosterman set out to write his new book, The Nineties, he wasn't interested in representing it as a misremembered era or forcing a retrospective view into modern ideology. Rather than finding overlooked signposts that signaled events to come, he says, he wanted to capture what it actually felt like to experience that time – the anxiety and excitement around scientific and technological progress, what it was like to be limited to a few cassette tapes or CDs at a time, the physical media and musical subcultures that would later evaporate with the advent of the internet. Though easier to research than more ancient history, complications arose when he pondered the bifurcation of his audience between those for whom the release of Nevermind is a personal memory and those for whom it's as distant as the moon landing. Would he have to explain to readers what a compact disc is? Chuck joined Tyler to discuss the challenges of writing about recent history, the "slow cancellation of the future" that began in the aughts, how the internet widened cultural knowledge but removed its depth, why the context of Seinfeld was in some ways more important than its content, what Jurassic Park illustrates about public feelings around scientific progress in the '90s, why the '90s was the last era of physical mass subcultures, why it's uncommon to be shocked by modern music, how his limited access to art when growing up made him a better critic, why Spin Magazine became irrelevant with the advent of online streaming, what made Grantland so special, what he learned from teaching in East Germany, the impact of politics on the legacies of Eric Clapton and Van Morrison, how sports often rewards obnoxious personalities, why Wilt Chamberlain is still underrated, how the self-awareness of the Portland Trail Blazers undermined them, how the design of the NFL makes sports rivalries nearly impossible, how pro-level compensation prevents sports gambling from corrupting players, why so many people are interested in e-sports, the unteachable element of writing, why he didn't make a great editor on his school paper, what he'd say to a room filled with ex-lovers, the question he'd most like to ask his parents, his impressions of cryptocurrency, why he's trying to focus on what he has in the current moment rather than think too much about future plans, the power of charisma, and more. Check out Ideas of India. Subscribe to Ideas of India on your favorite podcast app. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded January 18th, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Chuck on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Venture capital powered the tech revolution, but what powers venture capital? With his in-depth knowledge and coverage of the sector you'd be forgiven for thinking Sebastian Mallaby is a veteran of the Silicon Valley scene. The author of several books on finance and economics, Sebastian takes pride in understanding his subjects intimately (perhaps too intimately, if you ask his critics). His latest book, Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, sheds light on the small but mighty industry. Sebastian joined Tyler to discuss 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 secret to Mike Moritz's success as an investor, how Peter Thiel's understanding of the power law set him apart, why he isn't interested in becoming a venture capitalist himself, his predictions for the European tech ecosystem over the next ten years, the original sin of "too big to fail," the major failure of Alan Greenspan during his tenure at the Fed, the Darwinian evolution of good hedge fund strategy, what Ray Dalio got right with Bridgewater, the finance topics he feels are undercovered, what it takes to be a good Substack writer, why he's bullish on The Information, reasons to be optimistic about the innovative and entrepreneurial trajectories of Japan, the greatest living British historians, the future of the World Bank once China stops borrowing from it, what's causing the decline in popularity of liberal capitalism, the zany appeal of The Grand Budapest Hotel, and more. Check out Macro Musings. Follow Macro Musings on Twitter. Subscribe to Macro Musings on your favorite podcast app. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded January 31st, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Sebastian on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

From psychedelics to cyberculture, hippie communes to commercial startups, and the Whole Earth Catalog to the Long Now Foundation, Stewart Brand has not only been a part of many movements—he was there at the start. Now 83, he says he doesn't understand why older people let their curiosity fade, when in many ways it's the best time to set off on new intellectual pursuits. Tyler and Stewart discuss what drives his curiosity, including the ways in which he's a product of the Cold War, how he became a Darwinian decentralist, the effects of pre-industrial America on his thought, the subcultural convergences between hippies and younger American Indians, why he doesn't think humans will be going to the stars, his two-minded approach to unexplained phenomena, how L.L. Bean inspired the Whole Earth Catalog, why Silicon Valley entrepreneurs don't seem interested in the visual arts, why L.A. could not have been the home of hippie culture and digital innovation, what libertarians don't understand about government, why we should bring back woolly mammoths, why he's now focused on maintenance and institutions, and more. Check out Ideas of India. Subscribe to Ideas of India on your favorite podcast app. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded January 3rd, 2022 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Stewart on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

In this special crossover special with EconTalk, Tyler interviews Russ Roberts about his new life in Israel as president of Shalem College. They discuss why there are so few new universities, managing teams in the face of linguistic and cultural barriers, how Israeli society could adapt to the loss of universal military service, why Israeli TV is so good, what American Jews don't understand about life in Israel, what his next leadership challenge will be, and much more. Check out Macro Musings. Follow Macro Musings on Twitter. Subscribe to Macro Musings on your favorite podcast app. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded December 23rd, 2021 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Russ on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Is genius born or made? For Croatian-born classical guitarist Ana Vidović the answer is both. Born into a musical family, she began playing guitar at five and was quickly considered a prodigy. But she's seen first-hand how that label can trap young talents into complacency, stifling their full development. She's also had to navigate changing business models and new technologies, learning for instance how to balance an online presence with her love of performing for live audiences. She joined Tyler to discuss that transition from prodigy to touring musician and more, including how Bach challenges her to become a better musician, the most difficult piece in guitar repertoire, the composers she wish had written for classical guitar, the Beatles songs she'd most like to transcribe, why it's important to study a score before touching the guitar, the reason she won't practice more than seven hours per day, how she prevents mistakes during performances, what she looks for in young classical guitarists, why she doesn't have much music on streaming services, how the pandemic has changed audiences, why she stopped doing competitions early on, what she'd change about conservatory education for classical guitarists, her favorite electric guitarists, her love of Croatian pop music, the benefits and drawbacks of YouTube for young musicians, and what she'll do next. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Recorded December 27th, 2021 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Want to support the show? Visit donate.mercatus.org/podcasts. On this special year-in-review episode, Tyler and producer Jeff Holmes talk about the past year on the show, including one episode's appearance on Ancient Aliens, Tyler's picks for most underrated guests, how his 2021 predictions fared from last year's retrospective, further reflections on the most downloaded—and most polarizing—episode of the year, how David Deutsch influenced Tyler's opinions of Karl Popper, why he thinks his interviews with women tend to be better, and more. They also evaluate Tyler's pop culture picks from 2011, play "Name that Production Function," and answer listener questions from Twitter. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded December 8th, 2021 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: [email protected] Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.