Reflections on the intersection of economics, history, politics, psychology and science
This episode examines the political debates around public health and public health policy. It is a perfect case study to illustrate so many of the principles covered in earlier podcasts, such as capitalism, externalities, risk, paranoia, and the dumbing down of America. Public health policy is a particularly odd political topic, because in a completely […]
Welcome to The Boiling Frog reboot! The first 26 episodes were examinations of general topics, such as understanding capitalism, how social psychology belies the principles of capitalism, and how this all shapes political dialog. The new podcasts will look at specific policies of the new administration and use those as case studies to illustrate the
A recent article in Nature reported on the results of the first (so far as I know) research into how search algorithms might encourage/promote partisanship. Turns out readers, not algorithms, are the issue. Readers, Not Algorithms, Are the Issue
Readers, Not Algorithms, Are the Issue Read More »
There was an interesting op ed in the journal Science recently, talking about how, even in something as objective as the pursuit of scientific insights, you need a high-functioning community. The common image that truth is found when a single individual (usually a guy) in a white coat shouts “Eureka!” is flat out wrong. It
The Community Is Critical Read More »
This podcast is all about labor unions – why they exist, their history in the U.S., a brief comparison with unions in other countries, the pros and cons of unions, and the larger political implications of their existence. This is a controversial topic in U.S. politics, with many voters (and most elected officials) falling squarely
Building off the prior podcast on learning from the past, this discussion is all about success and failure. We all know the common wisdom that we all learn more from failure than from success, but of course we don’t strive to fail all of the time! Defining success and failure is not as simple as
I’m embarrassed to admit that, like I suspect many White Americans, when I think about “Martin Luther King” and “speeches” I only come up with one: “I Have a Dream”. Granted, it is great, because it’s beautiful, intense, emotional and thought-provoking. But it’s not the only thing he ever delivered deserving of recognition. Jamelle Bouie,
We all spend a lot of time thinking about the past, often when we’re trying to make a decision in the present. Sometimes that reflection ends up complicating our decision-making. Why is that? And if we want to avoid repeating past mistakes while also not
24: The Toad Not Taken Read More »
What makes someone an expert? And how is expertise different from intelligence? This podcast is all about expertise, how we acquire it, how do people view others’ expertise, and the notion of expertise transference from one domain to another. We touch on
23: Polliwog Polymath Read More »
This podcast is the sequel to Greenbacks, where we discussed why we have taxes, the different types of taxes, and the pros and cons of each type. In this podcast, we delve into the evolution of the tax system and look at the debates surrounding the level
22: It’s Not Easy Paying Green Read More »