Interesting Ideas

Status isn't fixed; it's transferred and "bestowed," shaping who gets resources, attention, and opportunity. So argues author Toby Stuart of UC Berkeley in his book, Anointed. He and EconTalk's Russ Roberts explore why hierarchies persist--reducing conflict, allocating scarce resources, and curating our overwhelming choices--and how endorsements, blurbs, and brands quietly steer our judgments, from bookstores to wine shops and art galleries. At the end, Stuart reflects on imposter syndrome and how thinking deeply about the anointed changed how he sees success.

Why are Super Bowl ads so good for launching certain kinds of new products? Why do we all drive on the same side of the road? And why, despite laughing and crying together, do we often misread what others think? According to bestselling author and Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, it all comes down to common knowledge, or the phenomenon that happens when everyone knows that everyone else knows something. Hear Pinker and EconTalk's Russ Roberts explore the necessary conditions for that knowledge, and how it can be both vital and dangerous to societies, depending on how it's used. They discuss, among other things, game-theory puzzles, how laughter spreads, how totalitarian regimes exploit uncertainty about who knows what (even when they don't), and why we often don't say explicitly what we really mean to say.

Quantitative, contrarian, and nuanced: these are the hallmarks of the Freakonomics approach. Hear journalist and podcaster Stephen Dubner speak with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the 20th anniversary of the popular-economics book Dubner co-authored with Steven Levitt. They discuss how the book came to be, how the journey changed Dubner's life, and how it changed his thinking about various economics issues. The conversation includes a lengthy discussion on the role of private equity in the American economy, and Roberts's claim that Dubner and co-author Steven Levitt's treatment of incentives overlooks the role of competition and markets.

What can Ernest Hemingway teach us today about the morality of war, the eternal and transient nature of love, and how to write a masterpiece? Listen as author and teacher David Wyatt talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about Hemingway's epic For Whom the Bell Tolls. Topics include Hemingway's role in the wars of the 20th century, the book's context and themes, and its lasting influence on American literature and writing about war.

Many students graduate high school today without having read a book cover to cover. Many students struggle to learn to read at all. How did this happen? Listen as educator and author Doug Lemov talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the failed fads in reading education, the mistaken emphasis on vocabulary as a skill, and the importance of background knowledge for thinking and reading comprehension. Lemov and Roberts also discuss their love of difficult-to-read authors, the power of reading in groups, the value of keeping a reading journal, and how even basketball can be more enjoyable when we have the right terminology.

American manufacturing of aircraft during WWII dwarfed that of its enemies. By the end of the war, an American assembly line was producing a B-24 bomber in less than an hour. But that success was far from inevitable. Structural engineer and writer Brian Potter speaks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the logistical challenges of ramping up production from virtually nothing, and the incredible balance of precision and improvisation required to respond to constantly changing aircraft designs. They also discuss the limits of industrial mobilization, why early preparation proved so critical, the role of women in the production process, and what lessons this experience can offer today's debates about supply chains and defense readiness.

What if math isn't about grinding through equations, but about training your intuition and changing how your brain works? Mathematician and author David Bessis tells EconTalk's Russ Roberts that the secret of mathematics isn't logic--it's the way we learn to see. He explains why math books aren't meant to be read like novels, how great mathematicians toggle between images and formal proofs, and why we need a third mode of thought--"System 3"--that patiently retrains our intuition and the power of imagination. Bessis and Russ Roberts swap stories about the humility of great mathematicians, how Andrew Wiles "saw" the fix to his proof of Fermat's last theorem, and Ramanujan's dream-revelations that proved true.

Cold plunges. Exogenous ketones. Pu-erh tea--but hold the breakfast: it's all par for the morning routine, at least if you're entrepreneur, self-experimenter, and king of the lifehacks, Tim Ferriss. From how he manages the challenges of his celebrity to how he manages to stay in great shape; how he does--and when he doesn't--harness the power of AI; and how he preps for a podcast designed to help us live richer, fuller, and healthier lives, the bestselling 4-Hour Workweek author and billion-downloads podcaster speaks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about what it's really like to be him, and more.

Losing weight should be simple: eat less, exercise more. But according to author and health journalist Julia Belluz, it's complicated. Listen as Belluz talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about her new book, Food Intelligence. Belluz argues that a calorie is pretty much a calorie whether it's carbs or fat. Keeping calories under control is often harder than it sounds. The message isn't blame; it's agency with compassion: understand your body's feedback loops, redesign the choices around you, and choose a sustainable way to enjoy food. At the end of the conversation, Belluz makes the case for government intervention of various kinds to help us make what she sees as better food choices; Roberts pushes back.

What drives the seeming relentless dynamism of Tokyo? Is there something special about Japanese culture? Joe McReynolds, co-author of Emergent Tokyo, argues that the secret to Tokyo's energy and attractiveness as a place to live and visit comes from policies that allow Tokyo to emerge from the bottom up. Post-war black markets evolved into today's yokocho--dense clusters of micro-venues that turn over, specialize, and innovate nightly--while vertical zakkyo buildings stack dozens of tiny bars, eateries, and shops floor by floor, pulling street life upward. The engine? Friction-light rules: permissive mixed-use zoning, minimal licensing, and no minimum unit sizes let entrepreneurs launch fast and pivot faster. And surrounding this emergent urban landscape there's plenty of new housing with excellent transportation infrastructure to let ever-more people enjoy Tokyo's magic.

What do we lose when every moment is recorded, every action scrutinized, and every past mistake preserved? Philosopher and author Lowry Pressly joins EconTalk's Russ Roberts to discuss why privacy isn't just about secrets or information control, the necessity of spontaneity, the importance of moral growth, and what we need to become fully human. From photography to forgetting, surveillance to selfhood, this episode challenges our assumptions about what it means to be seen--and unseen--in a data-driven world.

What makes some groups thrive while others crash and burn? According to organizational-behavior scholar Colin Fisher, the real villains are rarely individuals, but dysfunctional teams and organizations. Listen as he and EconTalk's Russ Roberts discuss the reasons for the free-rider problem and the importance of meaningful, well-defined tasks to incentivize synergy. They speak about why most team-building exercises are usually a waste of time, and why the best way to build trust is simply to do the work. Finally, they explore the role of great leaders from Steve Jobs to Bill Belichick in elevating groups into teams, and offer lessons from history's great projects for increasing productivity.

Former submarine commander David Marquet joins EconTalk's Russ Roberts to explore how distancing--thinking like someone else, somewhere else, or sometime else--can unlock better choices in business and life. They talk about leadership without giving orders, how to empower teams, and what it means to see yourself as a coach rather than a boss. Along the way, they discuss Jeff Bezos's leap to start Amazon, Steve Jobs' unique vision, and how a simple mindset shift can transform a struggling crew--or your career. A conversation about thinking clearly under pressure, avoiding regret, and becoming the kind of leader who creates other leaders instead of followers.

Are humans the most intelligent species, or just the most arrogant? NYU primatologist Christine Webb, author of The Arrogant Ape, believes that human exceptionalism is a myth that does more harm than good. Listen as she speaks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about how research has skewed our understanding of animals' capabilities, the surprising inner lives of animals, and how a shift from dominance toward connection with the larger living world can help humanity.

What do Shakespeare, Hollywood storytelling, and military special operations have in common? They all excel at inventing new plans, or improvising when we're facing radical uncertainty. Listen as professor of story science Angus Fletcher tells EconTalk's Russ Roberts how we've misdefined intelligence, equating it with data--driven reasoning in place of what he calls "primal intelligence"--the uniquely human ability to think and plan in situations with incomplete information. Drawing on years of work in Hollywood and working with elite military operators, Fletcher shows how narratives aren't just entertainment--they're the foundation of human intelligence. He reveals why military special operations personnel need to create new plans on the fly, why Shakespeare remains profoundly relevant to modern problem-solving, and why reading challenging literature literally rewires your brain for greater adaptability.