John Cochrane on Economic Puzzles and Habits of Mind

Rebecca F. Kuang just might change the way you think about fantasy and science fiction. Known for her best-selling books Babel and The Poppy War trilogy, Kuang combines a unique blend of historical richness and imaginative storytelling. At just 27, she's already published five novels, and her compulsion to write has not abated even as she's pursued advanced degrees at Oxford, Cambridge, and now Yale. Her latest book, Yellowface, was one of Tyler's favorites in 2023. She sat down with Tyler to discuss Chinese science-fiction, which work of fantasy she hopes will still be read in fifty years, which novels use footnotes well, how she'd change book publishing, what she enjoys about book tours, what to make of which Chinese fiction is read in the West, the differences between the three volumes of The Three Body Problem, what surprised her on her recent Taiwan trip, why novels are rarely co-authored, how debate influences her writing, how she'll balance writing fiction with her academic pursuits, where she'll travel next, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Sign up for our Live Event in Miami with Peter Thiel. Recorded September 15th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Rebecca on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Image credit: John Packman

24 Tammi 20241h 3min

Few can measure the impact of a blog post they wrote, in the millions of dollars a year, but Patrick McKenzie has the receipts. His 2012 post on salary negotiation is read hundreds of thousands of times each year, and he has a Gmail folder brimming with success stories. This achievement is just of his many contributions, which include starting several businesses, advising Stripe and other software companies, and spearheading the launch of VaccinateCA. Lately he's been writing Bits about Money, a biweekly newsletter on the intersection of tech and finance. Tyler sat down with Patrick to discuss signature fields on the back of credit cards, whether bank tellers or waitstaff are more trustworthy, the gremlins behind spurious credit card declines, how debt collection and maple syrup heists should change your model of the world, Twitter's continued success as the message bus for government and civil society, crypto vs traditional money transfers, the intended desolation of bank parking lots, why he moved to Japan and how it affected his ambition, why Tether hasn't collapsed, the internet as a Great Work, how he's experiencing reverse culture shock after returning to the US, what he'll learn about next, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded October 26th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Patrick on X Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

10 Tammi 202454min

On this special year-in-review episode, Tyler and producer Jeff Holmes look back on the past year in the show and more, including the most popular and underrated episodes, the origins of the show as an occasional event series, the most difficult guests to prep for, the story behind EconGOAT.AI, Tyler's favorite podcast appearance of the year, and his evolving LLM-powered production function. They also answer listener questions and conclude with an assessment of Tyler's top pop culture recommendations from 2013 across movies, music, and books. Donate to Conversations with Tyler and help us keep the conversations going. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded December 6th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Jeff on X Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

27 Joulu 20231h 7min

In her third appearance on the show, Chinese food expert Fuchsia Dunlop joins Tyler and a group of special guests to celebrate the release of Invitation to a Banquet, her new book exploring the history, philosophy, and techniques of Chinese culinary culture. As with her previous appearance, this conversation was held over a banquet meal at Mama Chang and was hosted by Lydia Chang. As they dined, the group discussed why the diversity in Chinese cuisine is still only just being appreciated in the West, how far back our understanding of it goes, how it's represented in the Caribbean and Ireland, whether technique trumps quality of ingredients, why certain cuisines can spread internationally with higher fidelity, what we can learn from the different styles in Indian and Chinese cooking, why several dishes on the table featured Amish ingredients, the most likely mistake people will make when making a stir fry, what Lydia has learned managing an empire of Chinese restaurants, Fuchsia's trick for getting unstuck while writing, and more. Joining Tyler, Fuchsia, and Lydia around the table were Dan Wang, Rasheed Griffith, Fergus McCullough, and Sam Enright. Special thanks to Chef Peter Chang, Lydia, and all the staff at Mama Chang for the wonderful meal. Donate to Conversations with Tyler and help us keep the conversations going. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded November 9th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Fuchsia on X Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo Credit: Anna Bergkvist

13 Joulu 20231h 42min

John Gray is a philosopher and writer renowned for his critical examination of liberalism, atheism, and the human condition. His unique perspective is shaped over a decades-long career, during which he has authored influential books on topics ranging from political theory to what we can learn from cats about on how to live a good life. His latest book, The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism, delivers a provocative examination of the 2020s' political landscape, challenges liberal triumphalism with a realistic critique of ongoing global crises and the persistent allure of human delusions. Tyler and John sat down to discuss his latest book, including who he thinks will carry on his work, what young people should learn if liberalism is dead, whether modern physics allows for true atheism, what in Eastern Orthodoxy attracts him, the benefits of pessimism, what philanthropic cause he'd invest a billion dollars in, under what circumstances he'd sacrifice his life, what he makes of UFOs, the current renaissance in film and books, whether Monty Python is still funny, how Herman Melville influenced him, who first spotted his talent, his most unusual work habit, what he'll do next, and more. Donate to Conversations with Tyler and help us keep the conversations going. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded October 24th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

29 Marras 20231h 1min

Jennifer Burns is a professor of history at Stanford who works at the intersection of intellectual, political, and cultural history. She's written two biographies Tyler highly recommends: her 2009 book, Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right and her latest, Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative, provides a nuanced look into the influential economist and public intellectual. Tyler and Jennifer start by discussing how her new portrait of Friedman caused her to reassess him, his lasting impact in statistics, whether he was too dogmatic, his shift from academic to public intellectual, the problem with Two Lucky People, what Friedman's courtship of Rose Friedman was like, how Milton's family influenced him, why Friedman opposed Hayek's courtesy appointment at the University of Chicago, Friedman's attitudes toward friendship, his relationship to fiction and the arts, and the prospects for his intellectual legacy. Next, they discuss Jennifer's previous work on Ayn Rand, including whether Rand was a good screenwriter, which is the best of her novels, what to make of the sex scenes in Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, how Rand and Mises got along, and why there's so few successful businesswomen depicted in American fiction. They also delve into why fiction seems so much more important for the American left than it is for the right, what's driving the decline of the American conservative intellectual condition, what she will do next, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded August 30th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Jennifer on X Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

15 Marras 202359min

Brian Koppelman is a writer, director, and producer known for his work on films like Rounders and Solitary Man, the hit TV show Billions, and his podcast The Moment, which explores pivotal moments in creative careers. Tyler and Brian sat down to discuss why TV wasn't good for so long, whether he wants viewers to binge his shows, how he'd redesign movie theaters, why some smart people appreciate film and others don't, which Spielberg movie and Murakami book is under appreciated, a surprising fact about poker, whether Jalen Brunson is overrated or underrated, Manhattan food tips, who he'd want to go on a three-day retreat with, whether movies are too long, how happy people are in show business, his unmade dream projects, the next thing he'll learn about, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded August 22nd, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Brian on X Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

8 Marras 20231h 1min

As a follow-up to the episode featuring Stephen Jennings, we're releasing two bonus conversations showing the daily life, culture, and politics of Nairobi and Kenya at large. This second installment features Githae Githinji, a Kikuyu elder and businessman working in Tatu City, a massive mixed-used development spearheaded by Jennings. Born in 1958 and raised in a rural village, he relocated to seek opportunities in the Nairobi area where he built up a successful transportation company over decades. As a respected chairman of the local Kikuyu councils, Githae resolves disputes through mediation and seeks to pass on traditions to the youth. In his conversation with Tyler, Githae discusses his work as a businessman in the transport industry and what he looks for when hiring drivers, the reasons he moved from his rural hometown to the city and his perspectives on urban vs rural living, Kikuyu cultural practices, his role as a community elder resolving disputes through both discussion and social pressure, the challenges Kenya faces, his call for more foreign investment to create local jobs, how generational attitudes differ, the role of religion and Githae's Catholic faith, perspectives on Chinese involvement in Kenya and openness to foreigners, thoughts on the devolution of power to Kenyan counties, his favorite wildlife, why he's optimistic about Kenya's future despite current difficulties, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded June 12th, 2023. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.

2 Marras 202345min