Episodes
Monday Mar 25, 2024
Mark Koyama on the Economics of Dune and Science Fiction Worlds
Monday Mar 25, 2024
Monday Mar 25, 2024
Sci-fi builds alternative realities from current science, spanning space travel, AI, genetics, and quantum mechanics. Its appeal lies not only in scientific accuracy but also in the constraints it imposes on characters within these worlds. Audiences are drawn to the social questions it poses, exploring diverse societies, cultures, and interpersonal dynamics. Themes delve into human behavior, societal structures, power dynamics, and the impacts of technology. Mark will explore how social science influences sci-fi narratives and the insights they offer through a discussion of one of the most important pieces of science fiction: Dune.
Friday Feb 23, 2024
Alex Salter on the Medieval Constitution of Liberty
Friday Feb 23, 2024
Friday Feb 23, 2024
The Great Enrichment stands as one of humanity's pivotal moments, igniting in Europe during the 17th to 19th centuries, prompting countless attempts to decipher its origins. Today, Dr. Salter will delve into his latest collaborative work with Professor Andrew Young, titled "The Medieval Constitution of Liberty: Political Foundations of Liberalism in the West." In this book, they argue that Western exceptionalism traces back to the intricate and fragmented political systems of Medieval Europe. These structures, they assert, provided the fertile ground for effective governance, which in turn spurred the generation of wealth.
Sunday May 14, 2023
Anna Grzymala-Busse on the Sacred Foundations of European States
Sunday May 14, 2023
Sunday May 14, 2023
From the 11th to 14th centuries, the Roman Catholic Church was Europe’s largest and most organized institution. Unlike any other entity at the time, it had the capacity to tax, create law and administer justice. Secular authorities had to grapple with it. They competed and allied with it. But most importantly, they emulated it. Today we will be talking with Dr. Anna Grzymala-Busse about her most recent book, Sacred Foundations: The Religious and medieval roots of the European State.
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
John H. Cochrane on the Fiscal Theory of the Price Level
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
"Too much money spent chasing too few goods" is the preferred explanation that most people think about when discussing the causes of inflation. But how generally applicable is said argument to our modern economy? Today we will be talking with Dr. John Cochrane, who will speak about his most recent book, The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level, where he argues that changes in price levels depend rather on the expectations of the ability of governments to repay their debt
Sunday Mar 19, 2023
Enrico Spolaore on Political Borders and the Size of Nations
Sunday Mar 19, 2023
Sunday Mar 19, 2023
We tend to think of political borders as exogenous artifacts that are imposed in a top-down manner by governments with imperial ambitions. And while this is true in some cases, there is a more significant case to be made for the alternative, where borders and jurisdictions are endogenous to the populations that draw them. A country's size and frontiers depend on the political and economic costs and benefits of sticking together or breaking up. Today we will have Enrico Spolaore, a leading economist in this research area, who will talk about countries' optimal size and why borders are drawn the way they are.
Sunday Feb 26, 2023
Sunday Feb 26, 2023
Before the 13th Century, the low countries were a small region at the fringe of Europe. Yet, by the 17th Century, the Netherlands had transformed into the most prosperous society in the world. How did such transformation occur? Today we will be joined by Professors Praak and van Zanden, who will discuss their most recent book "Pioneers of
Capitalism" and guide us into the economic history of medieval and early modern history, telling a story about how a strong civil community and feudal institutions interacted to give birth to the first capitalist society
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
Ennio Piano on The Economics of Renaissance Art
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
As its name implies, the Renaissance is often thought of as a turning point in human history. Art is its most celebrated, long-lasting legacy. And the romanticized perception of the artist as a genius is its byproduct. But how exactly did artists become artists? Who commissioned their work? How could the patrons oversee the quality of the work they
were commissioning? We will be talking today with Ennio Piano about the economics of art markets in the Renaissance.
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Oyebola Okunogbe on Ethnic Integration in Nigeria
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Nigeria is Africa’s largest state by population size and by nominal GDP. It is a multiethnic state where more than 250 minorities coexist. Political conflict due to geographic, religious, and cultural differences has been a common theme since its independence from Britain in 1960. How can a large and diverse state like Nigeria be fully integrated into
one common Nation? Today, Dr. Okunogbe will talk to us about her recent research.
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