Category: Interviews

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Mike opens the show with some brief comments on Joe Biden choosing Kamala Harris, the USPS and the 2020 election, and the agreement between the UAE and Israel. After that is his interview with political scientists Jacob Hacker (Yale) and Paul Pierson (Berkeley) about their new book, Let Them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality. Following the interview, Jay joins Mike for some conservative commentary.

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Mike talks with economist Jeffrey Sachs, University Professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. Dr. Sachs is  also director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and has been advisor to three UN secretaries-general. In addition to being one of the world’s leading experts on poverty and economic development, he is the author of many influential, best-selling books, including The Age of Sustainable Development, The Price of Civilization, Building the New American Economy, and, most recently, The Ages of  Globalization, which they discuss on the show.

Topics discussed include:
– globalization over the course of human history
– the long historical dominance of China
– why China declined as a world power
– keys to sustainable development in the 21st century
– whether a non-democratic China is a threat
– prospects for development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Jeffrey Sachs on Twitter

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Mike talks with Lane Kenworthy, a Professor of Sociology at UC San Diego.  They discuss his latest book, Social Democratic Capitalism.

Topics discussed include:
– what social democratic capitalism is
– if social democratic capitalism is only possible in rich countries
– economic growth and dynamism
– the Nordic example, and whether it can be applied elsewhere
– how the United States stacks up to other wealthy countries
– whether the United States can – or should – move toward social democratic capitalism

Lane Kenworthy Online

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Mike talks with economist Branko Milanovic. Dr. Milanovic is  Visiting Presidential Professor at the Stone Center of Socio-Economic Inequality at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He was formerly Lead Economist in the World Bank’s research department. He’s also the author of a number of books, including Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World, which they discuss on this episode.

Topics covered include:
– the benefits of capitalism
– the different forms of capitalism
– the liberal meritocratic capitalism of the United States
– rising economy inequality since the 1980s
– sustainable growth under current models of capitalism
– capitalism and corruption in China
– the future of capitalism

Branko Milanovic on Twitter

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Mike talks with A’shanti Gholar, creator and host of The Brown Girls Guide to Politics podcast. Topics they discuss include:

• COVID-19’s disproportionate effects on minorities
• whether President Trump is racist, and if it matters
• demographic representation in Congress
• why the Democratic Party is so much more diverse than the GOP
• what Republicans can to do attract more minorities, without abandoning their core principles & beliefs
• Joe Biden’s potential VP choices
• what women & minorities can reasonably expect from a Biden administration
• what four more years of a Trump administration might mean for women & minorities
• what white males most often misunderstand about women & minorities in politics

The Brown Girls Guide to Politics on Twitter

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Robin DiAngelo

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Mike talks with Thomas Philippon, a Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University. Professor Philippon is a member of the Monetary Policy Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the author of the recently released book, The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up On Free Markets, which they discuss on this episode.

Topics discussed include:

• the many benefits of competition
• how and why the US became much less competitive over the last two decades
• how, in many ways, Europe is actually much more competitive than the US
• how lobbying and campaign finance contribute to the problem
• the ‘revolving door’ between government and the private sector
• the decline of competition in finance, health care, and the tech sector
• what can be done to increase competition

Thomas Philippon on Twitter

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Trey talks with Allan Lichtman, a Distinguished Professor of History at American University and author of many books including on impeaching Trump and on the keys to the White House. In this episode they discuss Allan’s latest book Repeal the Second Amendment: The Case for a Safer America

Topics Trey and Allan Discuss include:

• What compelled him to write such a provocative book (and provocative title)
• What the framers actually meant by the second amendment
• The likelihood of truly repealing the second amendment
• The usefulness of repeal in making actual gun policy
• The power of the NRA over gun policy
• The shift in the meaning of the second amendment
• An open invitation to debate the NRA on the second amendment
• Data on gun violence and gun control
• What kind of gun control may help society

Allan Lichtman on Twitter

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Mike talks with Bryan Caplan, a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a blogger for EconLog. Professor Caplan is the author of multiple books, including two he and I have previously discussed on the show – The Myth of the Rational Voter, and The Case Against Education. On this episode, they discussing Bryan’s latest book, Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration.

Topics Mike & Bryan discuss include:

• ‘a world of global apartheid’
• immigration and economic inequality
• the moral presumption in favor of immigration
• why Nobel Laureate Milton Freedom was wrong about immigration
• how open borders could easily double world GDP
• the cultural effects of open borders
• immigration, crime, and terrorism
• the partisan political calculus of immigration policy
• open borders and global brain drain
• a Burkean approach to immigration
• and lots more!

Bryan Caplan on Twitter

Today’s show is sponsored by SaneBox – email management for any inbox. For a free two-week trial and $25 credit, go to sanebox.com/politicsguys.

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Mike talks with Richard Robb, a professor of professional practice in international and public affairs at Columbia University and CEO of the investment firm Christofferson, Robb & Company, which he co-founded in 2001. They discuss his recent book Willful: How We Choose What We Do.

After the interview, Kristin joins Mike for a conservative perspective.

Topics Richard and Mike cover include:

• the rational choice paradigm
• behavioral economics
• purposeful, ‘for itself’ action
• how and why we pick beliefs that appeal to us
• the four-step process of belief formulation
• Pareto efficiency and public policy
• if policymakers have enough skin in the game
• choosing over time
• the critical need for authentic challenges with real stakes and uncertain outcomes

Today’s show is sponsored by SaneBox – email management for any inbox. For a free two-week trial and $25 credit, go to sanebox.com/politicsguys.

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Mike talks with Binyamin Appelbaum, who writes about economics and business for the editorial page of the New York Times. From 2010 – 2019 he was a Washington correspondent for the Times, covering economic policy in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis. They discuss his recently released book: The Economists’ Hour.

After the interview, Jay joins Mike to provide a conservative perspective.

Topics Mike & Binyamin discuss include:

• why markets are wonderful
• Keynesianism, monetarism, and supply side economics
• the massive influence of Milton Friedman
• fine-tuning the economic machine
• balancing unemployment and inflation
• the shifting value of a human life
• why we shouldn’t reinstate 20th century financial regulations
• President Trump’s ‘turtle shell nationalism’
• defending Alan Greenspan
• and lots more!

Binyamin Appelbaum’s NYT Columns

Binyamin Appelbaum on Twitter

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