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Selected podcast episodes on psychology, economics, science, history and culture
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Franklin's Curiosity Unpacked with Richard Munson
4d 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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Russ Greene: the rise of Total Boomer Luxury Communism
5d ago00:47:38Tap to summarizePodcast: Razib Khan's Unsupervised Learning (LS 49 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: Russ Greene: the rise of Total Boomer Luxury CommunismPub date: 2026-05-10Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationOn this episode of Unsupervised Learning Razib talks to Russ Greene, who promoted the idea of "Total Boomer Luxury Communism." Greene currently serves as the Executive Director of the Prime Mover Institute, a public interest organization and think tank he launched to advocate for American energy dominance. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow for the Economy at the Stand Together Trust. In this role, he managed a grantmaking portfolio centered on federal regulatory affairs and strategic litigation, with a strong focus on classical liberalism and critiques of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) corporate frameworks. Greene also directed brand defense and government affairs for CrossFit Inc. He has a Bachelor of Science in International Politics from Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service. Greene and Razib talk about the fiscal insolvency of Social Security in six years, and the shift of the federal budget to focus on transfers from younger generations to older ones. Greene also talks about the fiscal situation in the developed world more generally, out of the United States, and the general issues engendered by massive pension systems. They discuss the history of past changes to benefits programs for senior citizens, and how it puts the squeeze on all other areas of the budget.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Razib Khan, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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How Rasputin helped doom the Romanovs
6d ago00:44:03Tap to summarizePodcast: HistoryExtra podcast (LS 70 · TOP 0.05% what is this?)Episode: How Rasputin helped doom the RomanovsPub date: 2026-03-16Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationThe life of Grigori Rasputin, the Siberian peasant healer who wielded influence over the family of Russia’s last tsar, has fascinated the world for more than a century. Historian Antony Beevor speaks to Danny Bird about the man behind the myth and rumour, charting Rasputin’s humble origins in Siberia, his hold over Nicholas II and Alexandra, and his dramatic assassination at the hands of the imperial couple’s own relatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Immediate, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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The inner life of the hand
1w ago01:10:17Tap to summarizePodcast: Many Minds (LS 42 · TOP 1.5% what is this?)Episode: The inner life of the handPub date: 2026-05-07Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationNewton saw in the human hand proof of the divine; Darwin saw a key to our species' success. Many others, too, have described the hand in hyperbolic terms, as a paragon of design, a cornerstone of human uniqueness, an engine of our achievements. But what makes the human hand so powerful? Is it the proportions of the fingers? Is it the opposability of the thumb? Or, could it be none of this? Could it be that the real power of our hands lies—not in the physical design—but elsewhere, out of sight? My guest today is Dr. Matt Longo. Matt is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Birkbeck, University of London. He's the author of the recent book, The Invisible Hand, a wide-ranging tour of the human hand and how it's geared into the brain. Here, Matt and I talk about the difference between the "visible hand"—that is, its physical structure—and the "invisible hand"—its representation in the brain. We consider the evolution of the visible hand and whether there really is anything truly distinctive or impressive about it. We talk about the biology of touch. We tour the invisible hand, discussing how—through cortical magnification—the hand becomes over-represented in the brain's sensory maps. We catalogue a fews ways that the hands can go awry. And we talk about whether we should feel any nostalgia for all the hand-based activities and crafts that we're losing. Along the way, we also touch on star-nosed moles and raccoons; tetrapods and the primitive archetype; hand dominance; the parallel between a horse's knee and a human's wrist; tool use, plasticity and abstraction; homunculi; the rubber-hand illusion; supernumerary fingers; the Third Thumb project; and the question of what it might unlock if dolphins had hands. Alright, friends, this is a fun one. On to my interview with Dr. Matt Longo! Notes 3:00 – For discussion of the many traits and behaviors that have been proposed as uniquely human, see our earlier audio essay. 5:00 – For an example of the "if only dolphins had hands" thought experiment, see here. 8:00 – See The Principles of Anatomy as Seen in the Hand by Frederic Wood Jones. 10:30 – Dr. Longo's book, The Invisible Hand, is available open access here. 16:00 – For discussion of how—in horses and other species—the five digits have been reduced or otherwise tweaked over evolution, see here. For an image showing examples of homology between the human forelimb and the forelimbs of other creatures, see here. 19:00 – For a brief discussion of "thumb opposability" see here. For an influential discussion of hand morphology and human hand grips, see work by Mary Marzke here. 30:00 – For our earlier episode on the brain's many maps, see here. 34:00 – For a discussion of Penfield's work and the idea of a "homunculus" in the brain, see here. 42:00 – For an illustration of a "homunculus" with big lips and hands, see here. 44:30 – For more on the star-nosed mole and its distinctive appendage, see here. 49:00 – For the report that first coined the term "numbsense," see here. For recent work on "anarchic hand," see here. For more on phantom limbs, see here. For a classic study of the "rubber hand illusion" see here. 59:30 – For a discussion of hand-dominance across primate species, see here. 1:03:00 – More on the "Third Thumb" project. 1:06:00 – A classic case of "motor equivalance" is seen in handwriting. Recommendations Marco Catani, 'A little man of some importance' Tracy Kivell, 'Evidence in hand: Recent discoveries and the early evolution of human manual manipulation' Hands, by John Napier Many Minds is a project of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, which is made possible by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation to Indiana University. The show is hosted and produced by Kensy Cooperrider, with help from Assistant Producer Urte Laukaityte and with creative support from DISI Directors Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster. Our artwork is by Ben Oldroyd. Subscribe to Many Minds on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also now subscribe to the Many Minds newsletter here! We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Feel free to email us at: manymindspodcast@gmail.com. For updates about the show, visit our website or follow us on Bluesky (@manymindspod.bsky.social).The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Kensy Cooperrider – Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Why Did the Industrial Revolution Happen in Britain? ~ Robert Allen
1w ago00:58:36Tap to summarizePodcast: On Humans (LS 41 · TOP 1.5% what is this?)Episode: Why Did the Industrial Revolution Happen in Britain? ~ Robert AllenPub date: 2026-04-29Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationWhy was industrial modernity born in Europe and not, say, China? This is one of the most consequential questions about the origins of the modern world. Yet asking “why Europe” can mislead. The Industrial Revolution was not a European event. It was a British event.So why was the steam engine invented in Britain, and not France or Italy?Oxford professor Robert Allen has worked for decades trying to understand this question. Allen believes that to understand the path to modernity, we must forget grand generalisations about the West. Instead, he asks us to zoom in on two very specific dynamics that shaped the British economy in the 1700s: cheap fuel and expensive workers. Together, they jolted Britain into a path where ever more work was streamlined with the help of machines and fossil fuels — a path that we are still walking on, with AI and robotics simply the latest sightings on this long march of modernity.In this episode, we discuss the surprising revelations that led Allen to his theory. We discuss the reasons that British wages were high, and we discuss recent scholarship suggesting that this wasn’t the case–or at least, was not the cause for the Industrial Revolution. We also discuss the more humane side of wages, tracing the history of worker wellbeing from the Black Death to today. As always in this series, we finish with our guests’ reflections on the future.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/EPISODE INFOGuest: Robert C. Allen (Nuffield College, University of Oxford and NYU Abu Dhabi) Host: Ilari Mäkelä (On Humans)Contact: greatdivergencepod@gmail.comGREAT 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. The series searches for explanations to why Western Europe and North America overtook China and India as the richest 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 | Did science and the Enlightenment give Europe the edge? (Joel Mokyr) 3 | Why did the Industrial Revolution happen in Britain? (Robert Allen) 4 | What happened in the East? China, Japan, and the other path to prosperity (Debin Ma)5 | The big picture: Measuring the origins of the modern world (Bishnupriya Gupta and Stephen Broadberry)NAMES MENTIONEDJames E. Thorold Rogers | Kenneth Pomeranz | Joel Mokyr | Jane Humphries | Daniel Defoe | Bradford J. (Brad) DeLong | Branko Milanovic | Daron Acemogly | Oded GalorKEYWORDSEconomics | History | Global Economic History | Industrial Revolution | Age of Inventions | Steam engine| European Miracle | British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective | Wage history | History of labour | Social history | Comparative development | Meiji Japan | Spinning Jenny | Industrial Policy | History of Technology | History of Inventions The 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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Stephen B. Young ed., "Adam Smith and Modern Economics: Reclaiming the Moral High Ground" (de Gruyter, 2026)
1w ago00:03:45Tap to summarizePodcast: New Books in Economics (LS 37 · TOP 2.5% what is this?)Episode: Stephen B. Young ed., "Adam Smith and Modern Economics: Reclaiming the Moral High Ground" (de Gruyter, 2026)Pub date: 2026-04-29Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationFor more than two centuries, economists and researchers have struggled with the conundrum of reconciling Adam Smith’s views on economics and ethics. While some held that Smith’s capitalism and free markets institutionalized selfishness, greed, inequality and injustice, others focused on his theory of the moral nature of all human persons and the application of conscience and self-restraint in capitalist activities. Adam Smith and Modern Economics: Reclaiming the Moral High Ground (de Gruyter, 2026) suggests that neither of these two conventional understandings alone is accurate and conducive to human flourishing. Smith put markets in the context of morality, observing that markets serve best when our moral sentiments are followed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economicsThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Marshall Poe, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Q&A: Historian & Biographer Robert Caro
1w ago01:03:24Tap to summarizePodcast: C-SPAN Bookshelf (LS 36 · TOP 2.5% what is this?)Episode: Q&A: Historian & Biographer Robert CaroPub date: 2026-05-04Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationThis week on Q&A, it's a rare interview with one of America's leading historians. We tour the New York City office and home library of Pulitzer Prize-winning bestselling biographer Robert Caro, who is currently working on the final volume of his 5-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson. During the tour, Mr. Caro talks about his research and writing process on the LBJ series, and the impact of "The Power Broker," his bestselling 1974 biography of NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from C-SPAN, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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The Secret to Out-Innovating the Competition: Inside the Tesla Playbook
2w ago00:26:26Tap to summarizePodcast: Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing (LS 67 · TOP 0.05% what is this?)Episode: The Secret to Out-Innovating the Competition: Inside the Tesla PlaybookPub date: 2026-04-05Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationWhat’s the secret to out-innovating the competition? Former Tesla President Jon McNeill joins the show to discuss his new book, The Algorithm: The Hypergrowth Formula that Transformed Tesla, Lululemon, General Motors and SpaceX. Motley Fool analyst Rachel Warren talks with McNeill about the five-step formula for achieving hypergrowth, the hidden metric every investor should track, and the AI revolution. Host: Rachel Warren Guest: Jon McNeill Producer: Bart Shannon, Mac Greer Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, "TMF") do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We’re committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Motley Fool, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Saloni Dattani - The Hidden Bottleneck Holding Back the Future of Medicine (Ep. 312)
2w ago01:25:54Tap to summarizePodcast: Infinite Loops (LS 48 · TOP 1% what is this?)Episode: Saloni Dattani - The Hidden Bottleneck Holding Back the Future of Medicine (Ep. 312)Pub date: 2026-04-30Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationSaloni Dattani, author of the Scientific Discovery Substack and founding editor of Works in Progress magazine, joins Infinite Loops to discuss why medical innovation is often much slower than it needs to be. We explore why so much research still begins in animal models, how poor data distorts our understanding of disease, why clinical trials are one of the biggest bottlenecks in medicine, and how better systems could help promising treatments reach patients faster. Important Links: Read more from Saloni here: https://worksinprogress.co/our-authors/saloni-dattani And here: https://substack.com/@salonium And listen to Saloni's podcast "Hard Drugs" here: https://harddrugs.worksinprogress.co/ The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jim O'Shaughnessy, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Why Too Much Freedom Is the Enemy of Success
2w ago00:49:46Tap to summarizePodcast: Plain English with Derek Thompson (LS 62 · TOP 0.1% what is this?)Episode: Why Too Much Freedom Is the Enemy of SuccessPub date: 2026-05-01Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationFreedom is one of the few ideas everyone agrees on. Surely more choice and autonomy is a good thing, right? But what if our endless pursuit of freedom is actually making us more anxious, less creative, and holding us back from reaching our full potential?Today, Derek Thompson talks with bestselling author David Epstein about the surprising upside of constraints. After arguing for breadth in 'Range,' Epstein’s new book, 'Inside the Box,' makes the opposite case: that limits and rules can actually unlock creativity and satisfaction. They explore why more options don’t always make us happier, and how too many possibilities can lead to paralysis.As Søren Kierkegaard warned, anxiety may be the price of too much freedom. It’s the dizziness that comes from keeping every option open. So in a world obsessed with maximizing choice and opening doors, this episode makes the case for something radical: closing some. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: Plain English with Derek Thompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: David Epstein Producer: Devon Baroldi Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman 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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