What happens when a liberal thinker shifts his attention from polarization to economic abundance? Ezra Klein’s new book with Derek Thompson, Abundance, argues for an agenda of increased housing, infrastructure, clean energy, and innovation. But does abundance clash with polarization—or offer a way through it? In this conversation, Ezra and Tyler discuss how the abundance agenda interacts with political polarization, whether it's is an elite-driven movement, where Ezra favors NIMBYism, the geographic distribution of US cities, an abundance-driven approach to health care, what to do about fertility decline, how the U.S. federal government might prepare for AGI, whether mass layoffs in government are justified, Ezra's recommended travel destinations, and more. Read a <a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/ezra-klein-3/">full transcript</a> enhanced with helpful links, or watch the <a href="https://youtu.be/PYzh3Fb8Ln0">full video</a>. Recorded March 7th, 2025. Help keep the show ad free by <a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=shownotes"> donating</a> today! Other ways to connect <ul> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow us on <a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos">X</a> and <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en">Instagram</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen">Tyler</a> on X</li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow <a href="https://x.com/ezraklein">Ezra</a> on X</li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Sign up for our newsletter</a></li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Join our <a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt">Discord</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Email us: <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true">cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts <a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts">here</a>.</li> </ul> Photo Credit: (c) Lucas Foglia

<description>&lt;p&gt;What happens when a liberal thinker shifts his attention from polarization to economic abundance? Ezra Klein’s new book with Derek Thompson, &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style= "mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;"&gt; Abundance&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, argues for an agenda of increased housing, infrastructure, clean energy, and innovation. But does abundance clash with polarization—or offer a way through it?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In this conversation, Ezra and Tyler discuss how the abundance agenda interacts with political polarization, whether it's is an elite-driven movement, &lt;span class="TextRun SCXW18016755 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW18016755 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle= "Normal (Web)"&gt;where Ezra favors NIMBYism&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, the geographic distribution of US cities, an abundance-driven approach to health care, what to do about fertility decline, how the U.S. federal government might prepare for AGI, whether mass layoffs in government are justified, Ezra's recommended travel destinations, and more.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read a &lt;a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/ezra-klein-3/"&gt;full transcript&lt;/a&gt; enhanced with helpful links, or watch the &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/PYzh3Fb8Ln0"&gt;full video&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Recorded March 7th, 2025&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Help keep the show ad free by &lt;a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=shownotes"&gt; donating&lt;/a&gt; today!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Other ways to connect&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow us on &lt;a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos"&gt;X&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen"&gt;Tyler&lt;/a&gt; on X&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://x.com/ezraklein"&gt;Ezra&lt;/a&gt; on X&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent"&gt;Sign up for our newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Join our &lt;a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt"&gt;Discord&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Email us: &lt;a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true"&gt;cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts &lt;a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Photo Credit: (c) Lucas Foglia&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Politics Got Weird—Can Abundance Make It Normal Again?

Ezra Klein on the Abundance Agenda

Carl Zimmer is one of the finest science communicators of our time, having spent decades writing about biology, evolution, and heredity. His latest (and 16th) book, Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe, explores something even more fundamental—how the very air around us is teeming with life, from pollen to pathogens to microbes floating miles above the Earth. He joins Tyler to discuss why it took scientists so long to accept airborne disease transmission and more, including why 19th-century doctors thought hay fever was a neurosis, why it took so long for the WHO and CDC to acknowledge COVID-19 was airborne, whether ultraviolet lamps can save us from the next pandemic, how effective masking is, the best theory on the anthrax mailings, how the U.S. military stunted aerobiology, the chance of extraterrestrial life in our solar system, what Lee Cronin’s “assembly theory” could mean for defining life itself, the use of genetic information to inform decision-making, the strangeness of the Flynn effect, what Carl learned about politics from growing up as the son of a New Jersey congressman, and much more. Read a <a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/carl-zimmer/">full transcript</a> enhanced with helpful links, or watch the <a href="https://youtu.be/D70KznMs6PI">full video</a>. Recorded January 15th, 2025. Help keep the show ad free by <a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=shownotes"> donating</a> today! Other ways to connect <ul> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow us on <a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos">X</a> and <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en">Instagram</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen">Tyler</a> on X</li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow <a href="https://x.com/carlzimmer">Carl</a> on X</li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Sign up for our newsletter</a></li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Join our <a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt">Discord</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Email us: <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true">cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts <a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts">here</a>.</li> </ul> Photo Credit: Mistina Hanscom

<description>&lt;p&gt;Carl Zimmer is one of the finest science communicators of our time, having spent decades writing about biology, evolution, and heredity. His latest (and 16&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;) book, &lt;em&gt;&lt;span style= "mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;"&gt; Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, explores something even more fundamental—how the very air around us is teeming with life, from pollen to pathogens to microbes floating miles above the Earth.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;He joins Tyler to discuss why it took scientists so long to accept airborne disease transmission and more, including why 19th-century doctors thought hay fever was a neurosis, why it took so long for the WHO and CDC to acknowledge COVID-19 was airborne, whether ultraviolet lamps can save us from the next pandemic, how effective masking is, the best theory on the anthrax mailings, how the U.S. military stunted aerobiology, the chance of extraterrestrial life in our solar system, what Lee Cronin’s “assembly theory” could mean for defining life itself, the use of genetic information to inform decision-making, the strangeness of the Flynn effect, what Carl learned about politics from growing up as the son of a New Jersey congressman, and much more.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read a &lt;a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/carl-zimmer/"&gt;full transcript&lt;/a&gt; enhanced with helpful links, or watch the &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/D70KznMs6PI"&gt;full video&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Recorded January 15th, 2025&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Help keep the show ad free by &lt;a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=shownotes"&gt; donating&lt;/a&gt; today!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Other ways to connect&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow us on &lt;a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos"&gt;X&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen"&gt;Tyler&lt;/a&gt; on X&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://x.com/carlzimmer"&gt;Carl&lt;/a&gt; on X&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent"&gt;Sign up for our newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Join our &lt;a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt"&gt;Discord&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Email us: &lt;a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true"&gt;cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts &lt;a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Photo Credit: Mistina Hanscom&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

From the mysteries of airborne disease to the search for extraterrestrial life, what are we missing about the unseen world around us?

Carl Zimmer on the Hidden Life in the Air We Breathe

How much of your life’s trajectory was set in motion centuries ago? Gregory Clark has spent decades studying social mobility, and his findings suggest that where you land in society is far more predictable than we like to think. Using historical data, surname analysis, and migration patterns, Clark argues that social mobility rates have remained largely unchanged for 300 years—even across radically different political and economic systems. He and Tyler discuss why we should care about relative mobility vs growing the size of the pie, how physical mobility does and doesn’t matter, why England was a meritocracy by 1700, how assortative mating affects economic and social progress, why India industrialized so late, a new potential explanation why Britain’s economic performance has been lukewarm since WWI, Malthusian societies then and now, whether a “hereditarian” stance favors large-scale redistribution or a free-market approach, the dynamics of assimilation within Europe and the role of negative selection in certain migrations, the challenge of accurately measuring living standards, the neighborhood-versus-family debate over what drives mobility, whether we need datasets larger than humanity itself to decode the genetics of social outcomes, and much more. Read a <a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/gregory-clark/">full transcript</a> enhanced with helpful links, or watch the <a href="https://youtu.be/gwq_WKBpYJQ">full video</a>. Recorded February 5th, 2025. Help keep the show ad free by <a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=shownotes"> donating</a> today! Other ways to connect <ul> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow us on <a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos">X</a> and <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en">Instagram</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen">Tyler</a> on X</li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow <a href="https://x.com/GregoryClarkUCD">Gregory</a> on X</li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Sign up for our newsletter</a></li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Join our <a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt">Discord</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Email us: <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true">cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts <a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts">here</a>.</li> </ul> Photo Credit: Chris Williams, Zoeica Images

<description>&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style= "mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal; mso-outline-level: 3;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"&gt;How much of your life’s trajectory was set in motion centuries ago? Gregory Clark has spent decades studying social mobility, and his findings suggest that where you land in society is far more predictable than we like to think. Using historical data, surname analysis, and migration patterns, Clark argues that social mobility rates have remained largely unchanged for 300 years—even across radically different political and economic systems.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style= "mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"&gt;He and Tyler discuss why we should care about relative mobility vs growing the size of the pie, how physical mobility does and doesn’t matter, why England was a meritocracy by 1700, how assortative mating affects economic and social progress, why India industrialized so late, a new potential explanation why Britain’s economic performance has been lukewarm since WWI, Malthusian societies then and now, whether a “hereditarian” stance favors large-scale redistribution or a free-market approach, the dynamics of assimilation within Europe and the role of negative selection in certain migrations, the challenge of accurately measuring living standards, the neighborhood-versus-family debate over what drives mobility, whether we need datasets larger than humanity itself to decode the genetics of social outcomes, and much more.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read a &lt;a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/gregory-clark/"&gt;full transcript&lt;/a&gt; enhanced with helpful links, or watch the &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/gwq_WKBpYJQ"&gt;full video&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Recorded February 5th, 2025&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Help keep the show ad free by &lt;a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=shownotes"&gt; donating&lt;/a&gt; today!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Other ways to connect&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow us on &lt;a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos"&gt;X&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen"&gt;Tyler&lt;/a&gt; on X&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://x.com/GregoryClarkUCD"&gt;Gregory&lt;/a&gt; on X&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent"&gt;Sign up for our newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Join our &lt;a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt"&gt;Discord&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Email us: &lt;a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true"&gt;cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts &lt;a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Photo Credit: Chris Williams, Zoeica Images&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

How much does your surname predict your economic fate?

Gregory Clark on Social Mobility, Migration, and Assortative Mating (Live at Mercatus)

<a href="https://events.conversationswithtyler.com/event/e8acc3dc-8b61-4687-bcae-6ccf5827e5fa/summary"> Sign Up</a> for the Boston Listener Meet Up For Ross Douthat, phenomena like UFO sightings and the simulation hypothesis don't challenge religious belief—they demonstrate how difficult it is to escape religious questions entirely. His new book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious makes the case for religious faith in an age of apparent disenchantment. In his third appearance on Conversations with Tyler, Ross joined Tyler to discuss what getting routed by Christopher Hitchens taught him about religious debate, why the simulation hypothesis resembles ancient Gnostic religion, what Mexican folk Catholicism reveals about spiritual intermediaries, his evolving views on papal authority in the Francis era, what UFO sightings might tell us about supernatural reality, why he's less apocalyptic than Peter Thiel about the Antichrist, and why he's publishing a fantasy novel on Substack before AI potentially transforms creative writing. Read a <a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/ross-douthat-3/">full transcript</a> enhanced with helpful links, or watch the <a href="https://youtu.be/T7cDKkrp-nM">full video</a>. Recorded January 16th, 2025. Help keep the show ad free by <a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=shownotes"> donating</a> today! Other ways to connect <ul> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow us on <a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos">X</a> and <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en">Instagram</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen">Tyler</a> on X</li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow <a href="https://x.com/DouthatNYT">Ross</a> on X</li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Sign up for our newsletter</a></li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Join our <a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt">Discord</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Email us: <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true">cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts <a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts">here</a>.</li> </ul> Photo Credit: Abigail Douthat ©

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://events.conversationswithtyler.com/event/e8acc3dc-8b61-4687-bcae-6ccf5827e5fa/summary"&gt; Sign Up&lt;/a&gt; for the Boston Listener Meet Up&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="whitespace-pre-wrap"&gt;For Ross Douthat, phenomena like UFO sightings and the simulation hypothesis don't challenge religious belief—they demonstrate how difficult it is to escape religious questions entirely. His new book, &lt;em&gt;Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious&lt;/em&gt; makes the case for religious faith in an age of apparent disenchantment.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="whitespace-pre-wrap"&gt;In his third appearance on Conversations with Tyler, Ross joined Tyler to discuss what getting routed by Christopher Hitchens taught him about religious debate, why the simulation hypothesis resembles ancient Gnostic religion, what Mexican folk Catholicism reveals about spiritual intermediaries, his evolving views on papal authority in the Francis era, what UFO sightings might tell us about supernatural reality, why he's less apocalyptic than Peter Thiel about the Antichrist, and why he's publishing a fantasy novel on Substack before AI potentially transforms creative writing.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read a &lt;a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/ross-douthat-3/"&gt;full transcript&lt;/a&gt; enhanced with helpful links, or watch the &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/T7cDKkrp-nM"&gt;full video&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Recorded January 16th, 2025&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Help keep the show ad free by &lt;a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=shownotes"&gt; donating&lt;/a&gt; today!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Other ways to connect&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow us on &lt;a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos"&gt;X&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen"&gt;Tyler&lt;/a&gt; on X&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://x.com/DouthatNYT"&gt;Ross&lt;/a&gt; on X&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent"&gt;Sign up for our newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Join our &lt;a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt"&gt;Discord&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Email us: &lt;a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true"&gt;cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts &lt;a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Photo Credit: Abigail Douthat ©&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

And what UFOs might tell us about supernatural reality

Ross Douthat on Why Religion Makes More Sense Than You Think

<a href="https://events.conversationswithtyler.com/event/e8acc3dc-8b61-4687-bcae-6ccf5827e5fa/summary"> Sign Up</a> for the Boston Listener Meet Up Joe Boyd was there when Dylan went electric, when Pink Floyd was born, and when Paul Simon brought Graceland to the world. But far from being just another music industry insider, Boyd has spent decades exploring how the world's musical traditions connect and transform each other. His new book And the Roots of Rhythm Remain, is seventeen years in the making, and is in Tyler’s words “the most substantive, complete, thorough, and well-informed book on world music ever written.” From producing Albanian folk recordings to discovering the hidden links between Mississippi Delta blues and Indian classical music, Boyd's journey reveals how musical innovation often emerges when traditions collide. He joins Tyler to discuss why Zulu music became politically charged in South Africa, what makes Albanian choral music distinct from Bulgarian polyphony, what it was like producing Toots and the Maytals, his role in the famous "Dueling Banjos" scene in Deliverance, his work with Stanley Kubrick on A Clockwork Orange, his experiences with Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd, how he shaped R.E.M.'s sound on Fables of the Reconstruction, what really happened when Dylan went electric at Newport, how the Beatles integrated Indian music, what makes the Kinshasa guitar sound impossible to replicate, and how he maintains his collection of 6,000 vinyl LPs and 30,000 CDs, what he’ll do next, and more. Read a <a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/joe-boyd/">full transcript</a> enhanced with helpful links, or watch the <a href="https://youtu.be/KhdgihzE1MA">full video</a>. Recorded December 27th, 2024. Help keep the show ad free by <a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=shownotes"> donating</a> today! Other ways to connect <ul> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow us on <a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos">X</a> and <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en">Instagram</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen">Tyler</a> on X</li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Sign up for our newsletter</a></li> <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Join our <a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt">Discord</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Email us: <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true">cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu</a></li> <li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts <a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts">here</a>.</li> </ul>

<description>&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://events.conversationswithtyler.com/event/e8acc3dc-8b61-4687-bcae-6ccf5827e5fa/summary"&gt; Sign Up&lt;/a&gt; for the Boston Listener Meet Up&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Joe Boyd was there when Dylan went electric, when Pink Floyd was born, and when Paul Simon brought Graceland to the world. But far from being just another music industry insider, Boyd has spent decades exploring how the world's musical traditions connect and transform each other. His new book &lt;em&gt;And the Roots of Rhythm Remain&lt;/em&gt;, is seventeen years in the making, and is in Tyler’s words “the most substantive, complete, thorough, and well-informed book on world music ever written.” From producing Albanian folk recordings to discovering the hidden links between Mississippi Delta blues and Indian classical music, Boyd's journey reveals how musical innovation often emerges when traditions collide.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="whitespace-pre-wrap"&gt;He joins Tyler to discuss why Zulu music became politically charged in South Africa, what makes Albanian choral music distinct from Bulgarian polyphony, what it was like producing Toots and the Maytals, his role in the famous "Dueling Banjos" scene in &lt;em&gt;Deliverance&lt;/em&gt;, his work with Stanley Kubrick on &lt;em&gt;A Clockwork Orange&lt;/em&gt;, his experiences with Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd, how he shaped R.E.M.'s sound on Fables of the Reconstruction, what really happened when Dylan went electric at Newport, how the Beatles integrated Indian music, what makes the Kinshasa guitar sound impossible to replicate, and how he maintains his collection of 6,000 vinyl LPs and 30,000 CDs, what he’ll do next, and more.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read a &lt;a href= "https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/joe-boyd/"&gt;full transcript&lt;/a&gt; enhanced with helpful links, or watch the &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/KhdgihzE1MA"&gt;full video&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Recorded December 27th, 2024&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Help keep the show ad free by &lt;a href= "https://mercatus.donorsupport.co/page/podcastgift?utm_source=cwt+podcast&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=shownotes"&gt; donating&lt;/a&gt; today!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Other ways to connect&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow us on &lt;a href= "https://twitter.com/cowenconvos"&gt;X&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href= "https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos/?hl=en"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/tylercowen"&gt;Tyler&lt;/a&gt; on X&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;a class="c-link" href="https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931" target="_blank" rel= "noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.tfaforms.com/5060931" data-sk="tooltip_parent"&gt;Sign up for our newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Join our &lt;a href= "https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt"&gt;Discord&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Email us: &lt;a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-remove-tab-index= "true"&gt;cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li class="p1" style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;span style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts &lt;a href= "https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt;</description>

When your synthesizer breaks the phone system (and other tales from a life in music)

Joe Boyd on the Birth of Rock, World Music, and Being There for Everything

Tyler Cowen engages today’s deepest thinkers in wide-ranging explorations of their work, the world, and everything in between. New conversations every other Wednesday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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