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Selected podcast episodes on psychology, economics, science, history and culture
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Wrong numbers and why they survive, with Aaron Brown
2d ago00:55:36Tap to summarizePodcast: Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11) (LS 45 · TOP 1% what is this?)Episode: Wrong numbers and why they survive, with Aaron BrownPub date: 2026-05-14Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationPatrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined by Aaron Brown, author of Wrong Number, to examine why institutions that produce bad statistics face so few consequences for doing so. They trace the pattern from Aaron's 1975 summer job, where two credentialed experts confidently produced opposite conclusions about whether American tractors ran on diesel or gasoline, through decades of case studies involving the NTSB, COVID-era research, and the eviction moratorium. Along the way they discuss why financial markets are unusually good at error-correction, why "wanna bet?" functions as a tax on bullshit, and what it means that every senior economist Aaron told about the tractor problem simply laughed and topped it with a worse story.–Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/aaron-brown/ –Presenting Sponsors: Mercury & GranolaComplex Systems is presented by Mercury—radically better banking for founders. Mercury offers the best wire experience anywhere: fast, reliable, and free for domestic U.S. wires, so you can stay focused on growing your business. Apply online in minutes at mercury.com.If meetings consistently leave you with hazy action items and lost context, Granola handles the transcription so you can actually participate and gives you searchable notes afterward. Try it free at granola.ai/complexsystems with code COMPLEXSYSTEMS–Links:Wrong Number (book): https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Number-Blizzard-Quantitative-Disinformation/dp/1394379781 Wrong Number with Aaron Brown (video series): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBuns9Evn1w_SLGfUY5i__wzUF5f8e7ec –Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(01:12) The agricultural demand curve discrepancy(04:06) Why experts prioritize teaching over learning(05:17) Institutional indifference to error(06:26) The brand halo of high-status institutions(08:34) Lessons from COVID-era decision making(10:19) Financial statements versus scientific rigor(14:53) Sponsors: Mercury | Granola(18:19) The difficulty of auditing and replicating research(22:12) The CDC eviction moratorium and its justification(23:34) The NTSB curbside carrier safety study(26:41) Conspiracy versus incompetence in data manipulation(30:05) Error correction in financial markets(32:52) The culture of the advantage gambler versus the academic(35:28) Betting as a tax on bullshit(38:44) Using market pricing to evaluate risks(41:04) The track record of scary predictions(43:34) Environmental success stories and technological optimism(48:21) Energy efficiency and the path to global wealth(54:10) Wrap and where to find Wrong NumberThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Patrick McKenzie, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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"We've built an economy that requires 2 million temporary migrants" – Martin Parkinson [Immigration Series]
4d ago02:18:34Tap to summarizePodcast: The Joe Walker Podcast (LS 56 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: "We've built an economy that requires 2 million temporary migrants" – Martin Parkinson [Immigration Series]Pub date: 2026-05-19Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationPart 1 of a three-part immigration series this week. Mark Cully (history) drops Thursday; Mike Pezzullo (acculturation, social cohesion, security) drops Friday. Martin Parkinson ran the Australian Treasury (2011-2014), then the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet (2015-2019). He's also thought deeply about the economics of migration policy, not just in those roles, but also in his past academic life and as chair of the Australian government's 2023 Migration Review (the most significant review of our migration system in more than three decades). We discuss the central but underappreciated issue with Australian migration policy today: we've drifted into a quasi-guest-worker system without anyone voting for it. About 2.3 million people in Australia now go to sleep here every night with work rights, but without being citizens or permanent residents. We also work through how migration affects living standards, the "Soviet-style" occupation list that governs our skilled program, how to attract true global talent, how international student fees came to subsidise roughly half of Australian university research, and what should be the upper and lower bounds for net migration. We end up in an unexpected place: how much more geopolitical weight would a larger population actually buy us? (Episode recorded on 27 February 2026.) Sponsors Eucalyptus: the Aussie startup providing digital healthcare clinics to help patients around the world take control of their quality of life. Euc is looking to hire ambitious young Aussies and Brits. You can check out their open roles at eucalyptus.health/careers. Vanta: helps businesses automate security and compliance needs. For a limited time, get one thousand dollars off Vanta at vanta.com/joe. Use the discount code "JOE". To sponsor a future episode, go to https://josephnoelwalker.com/sponsor/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Joe Walker, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Siri Hustvedt's tribute to her late husband Paul Auster
5d ago00:26:16Tap to summarizePodcast: Nine To NoonEpisode: Siri Hustvedt's tribute to her late husband Paul AusterPub date: 2026-05-11Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationWhen Paul Auster died his wife Siri - herself an acclaimed novelist and essayist - was haunted by his loss and her latest work is a memoir called Ghost Stories, that weaves together the various pieces of their lives.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from RNZ, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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The Case Against the AI Job Apocalypse
6d ago00:54:07Tap to summarizePodcast: Plain English with Derek Thompson (LS 62 · TOP 0.1% what is this?)Episode: The Case Against the AI Job ApocalypsePub date: 2026-05-12Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationFor the past few years, Silicon Valley executives and economists have warned that artificial intelligence could wipe out millions of jobs. Some companies have even blamed AI for layoffs. But what if the AI job apocalypse isn’t actually happening? Today, Derek talks to economist Alex Imas about the growing gap between the rhetoric around AI-related job loss and the facts. Despite widespread fears of mass unemployment, surveys show most executives expect AI to create jobs or have little impact on hiring. Even employment in software engineering (one of the fields thought to be most vulnerable to AI) continues to grow. Derek and Alex discuss why automation fears persist despite contradictory evidence, the history of technological disruption, and why AI may not be destroying work as much as it is simply redirecting us toward entirely new industries and opportunities. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Alex Imas Producer: Devon Baroldi Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Visit https://www.uber.com/safety to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Ringer, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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A View From the East: China, Japan, and the Other Paths to Prosperity ~ Debin Ma
6d ago00:46:39Tap to summarizePodcast: On Humans (LS 41 · TOP 1.5% what is this?)Episode: A View From the East: China, Japan, and the Other Paths to Prosperity ~ Debin MaPub date: 2026-05-07Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationThe tech gap between China and the West is closing fast. But why did the land that invented paper and gunpowder ever fall behind? Debin Ma is the world’s leading economic historian of East Asia. In this fourth episode of our Great Divergence series, he approaches the making of the modern world from an eastern perspective. We discuss why China fell behind, why Japan modernised early, and why East Asia has experienced so many economic miracles. We also discuss China’s recent transformation – a transformation that Ma has witnessed firsthand. LINKS AND REFERENCESDo you prefer reading to listening? You can find a summarised essay of this conversation, with a bibliography, at our series page: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/news/podcasts/GREAT DIVERGENCE: THE MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLDThis episode is part of a series produced by Warwick University’s CAGE Research Centre in collaboration with On Humans, searching for explanations to why Western Europe and North America emerged as the most affluent and technologically advanced regions of the modern world. Guided by six expert guests, including a winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in economics, we approach this topic with balance and breadth, exploring everything from colonialism and fossil fuels to science and technology. 1 | Why the West? Colonies, fossil fuels, and lessons from China (Kenneth Pomeranz)2 | Why did so many inventions come from Europe? (Joel Mokyr)3 | Why did the Industrial Revolution happen in Britain? (Robert Allen) 4 | A view from the East: China, Japan, and the other paths to prosperity (Debin Ma)5 | The big picture: Measuring the origins of the modern world (Bishnupriya Gupta and Stephen Broadberry)NAMES MENTIONEDJoseph Needham | Kenneth Pomeranz | Joel Mokyr | Robert Allen | Francis Fukuyama | Jared Rubin | Yin Weiwen | Kaiser Kuo | Deng Xiaoping | Yasheng Huang KEYWORDSEconomics | History | Global Economic History | Industrial Revolution | Chinese history | Japanese history | Developmental Economics | Needham Puzzle | Needham Question | Qianlong Emperor | Macartney embassy | Meiji Japan | Iwakura mission | Age heaping | Comparative development | State capacity | Modern fiscal state | History of taxation | Industrial Policy | History of Technology | Human capitalINFOGuest: Debin Ma (Fudan University and All Souls College, University of Oxford) Host: Ilari Mäkelä (On Humans)Contact: greatdivergencepod@gmail.comThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ilari Mäkelä, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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353 | Alvin Roth on the Economics of Morally Contested Markets
1w ago01:11:44Tap to summarizePodcast: Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas (LS 69 · TOP 0.05% what is this?)Episode: 353 | Alvin Roth on the Economics of Morally Contested MarketsPub date: 2026-05-11Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationEconomic markets are efficient ways of deciding fair prices, at least in ideal circumstances of perfect competition, information, and choice. But there is more to life than fair prices. Two people might decide on a fair price to carry out a contract killing, but society generally frowns on the idea. Many examples of morally contestable markets feature less consensus than that one: sex work, drugs, selling organs, adopting children. In his new book Moral Economics, economist Alvin Roth investigates how we should reason through such tricky cases, and what we can learn from them. Get twenty percent off your first purchase at Fast Growing Trees when using the code MINDSCAPE at checkout. Mindscape listeners get free shipping and 365-day returns on clothing from Quince. Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/05/11/353-alvin-roth-on-the-economics-of-morally-contested-markets/ Support Mindscape on Patreon. Alvin Roth received his Ph.D. in operations research from Stanford University. He is currently the Craig and Susan McCaw Professor of Economics at Stanford University and the Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration Emeritus at Harvard. He was President of the American Economic Association in 2017. He and Lloyd Shapley shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economics for "the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design." Stanford web page Google Scholar publications Amazon author page Wikipedia The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sean Carroll, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Thinking Inside the Box (with David Epstein)
1w ago01:10:49Tap to summarizePodcast: EconTalk (LS 69 · TOP 0.05% what is this?)Episode: Thinking Inside the Box (with David Epstein)Pub date: 2026-05-11Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationWhat do the inventor of the periodic table, the novelist Isabel Allende, and the almost-creators of the iPhone have in common? Join author David Epstein and EconTalk's Russ Roberts to explore a counterintuitive idea: that boundaries, and not unlimited freedom, often make us more creative, productive, and fulfilled.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Russ Roberts, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Her Life’s Work Became a Scapegoat. Now What?
1w ago00:28:38Tap to summarizePodcast: What Next | Daily News and Analysis (LS 62 · TOP 0.1% what is this?)Episode: Her Life’s Work Became a Scapegoat. Now What?Pub date: 2026-05-05Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarization“Intersectionality” was one of those “DEI terms” that the Trump administration and Project 2025 were eager to do away with once they got back into power. But to understand what just happened to the Voting Rights Act, a little critical race theory would go a long way. Guest: Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, civil rights advocate, co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum (AAPF), law professor at UCLA and Columbia, and author of many books including Backtalker: An American Memoir.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate Podcasts, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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David Reich – Why the Bronze Age was an inflection point in human evolution
1w ago02:13:20Tap to summarizePodcast: Dwarkesh Podcast (LS 56 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: David Reich – Why the Bronze Age was an inflection point in human evolutionPub date: 2026-05-08Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationDavid Reich is back.He and collaborator Ali Akbari just published a paper that overturns a long-standing consensus about human evolution — that natural selection has been dormant in our species since the agricultural revolution.By scaling ancient DNA sequencing and developing a new statistical method, they found that selection has actually sped up.Selection went especially bonkers during the Bronze Age (around 3,000 years ago).That’s when gene frequencies for everything from immune function to body fat to intelligence were most in flux.Over the last 10,000 years, selection pushed the genetic predictor of cognitive performance up by roughly a full standard deviation — most of it between 4,000 and 2,000 years ago.After we finished recording, David sketched out on a whiteboard his new heretical model about who the Neanderthals really were. Luckily, I took out my iPhone and managed to record it.He thinks the standard story (that Neanderthals are some separate archaic lineage we interbred with a little) just doesn’t fit the evidence. Instead, he proposes that Neanderthals are essentially genetically-swamped modern humans.A small population somewhere around the Caucasus invented Middle Stone Age technology roughly 300,000 years ago and expanded outward. The ones that moved into Europe interbred with local archaic humans, got genetically swamped, and became Neanderthals. The same expansion went into Africa, met much more diverged archaic Africans, and that mixture became us.This means Neanderthals and modern humans share the same cultural ancestry — the only difference is which archaic humans they mixed with afterward.David is a brilliant and rigorous scholar. It was a real delight to learn from him again.Watch on YouTube; read the transcript.Sponsors* Cursor was super useful as I prepped for this episode. Whenever I had a question, I’d have Cursor kick off a few different models simultaneously and then compare their responses. I found that this led to better results than I could get out of any individual LLM. If you’ve only used Cursor for coding, you should try using it for research. Check it out at cursor.com/dwarkesh* Jane Street uses an internal currency called “hive bucks” to allocate compute through a real-time auction – and anyone can change anyone else’s bids or even kill their jobs! Everyone just trusts each other to act in the firm’s best interest, which is what lets the system work in the first place. If this weird and high-trust culture sounds like your kind of thing, Jane Street’s hiring at janestreet.com/dwarkesh* Crusoe’s ML infra team built fastokens, an open-source tokenizer that delivers a ~9x speedup over Hugging Face and up to 40% faster time-to-first token – on real production workloads! Crusoe achieved these results by parallelizing things and using some clever engineering to handle duplicates without cross-thread coordination. Learn more at crusoe.ai/dwarkeshTimestamps(00:00:00) – Ancient DNA suggests strong selection over last 10,000 years(00:15:45) – Natural selection intensified during the Bronze Age(00:35:02) – Why didn’t evolution max out intelligence?(00:57:21) – Evolution is limited by time, not population size(01:09:02) – Why no farming before the Ice Age?(01:17:13) – The Neanderthal puzzle David can’t stop thinking about(01:54:10) – The methodology behind this breakthrough Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at www.dwarkesh.com/subscribeThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dwarkesh Patel, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Franklin's Curiosity Unpacked with Richard Munson
2w ago00:22:48Tap to summarizePodcast: AMSEcastEpisode: Franklin's Curiosity Unpacked with Richard MunsonPub date: 2025-11-26Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationAlan Lowe talks with Richard Munson about his book Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist. Munson's book aims to highlight Franklin's often overlooked scientific achievements. He describes Franklin's rise from a penniless runaway to a successful printer whose curiosity fueled his scientific breakthroughs. Franklin's experiments helped define core electrical concepts and led to inventions like the lightning rod, reflecting his Enlightenment commitment to reason and inquiry. His scientific fame later boosted his diplomatic mission in France, where his celebrity status helped secure essential support for American independence. Episode Highlights (1:18) How Benjamin Franklin's printing success allowed him to pursue science (4:59) The role of Poor Richard's Almanac in Franklin's life (7:27) What was known about electricity before his experiments and how he advanced it (9:35) Benjamin Franklin's invention of the lightning rod (11:22) What motivated Franklin to be constantly active (16:55) His role in America's future alliance with France (17:45) Why so many biographers have pushed Benjamin Franklin's scientific work to the side (19:40) What Richard Munson is working on now Guest Biography Richard Munson is an award-winning author and longtime leader in environmental and clean-energy innovation. His career spans influential roles in nonprofits, academia, business, and on Capitol Hill, including serving as a director at the Environmental Defense Fund. A prolific writer, Munson explores the intersection of technology, sustainability, and public policy in works such as Tech to Table: 25 Innovators Reimagining Food. His latest book, Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist, examines the scientific curiosity and innovations of one of America's most iconic founders. Munson returns to AMSEcast to share fresh insights into Franklin's legacy and the power of science-driven problem-solving. Links Referenced Tech to Table: 25 Innovators Reimagining Food: https://www.amazon.com/Tech-Table-Innovators-Reimagining-Food/dp/1642831905 Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist: https://www.amazon.com/Ingenious-Biography-Benjamin-Franklin-Scientist-ebook/dp/B0CTXNJL6Y Power Corrupts: Cleaning Up America's Biggest Industry: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Corrupts-Cleaning-Americas-Industry/dp/1538199394 The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from American Museum of Science and Energy, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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