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Conversations with Tyler
Economist and polymath Tyler Cowen engages today’s deepest thinkers in wide-ranging explorations of their work, the world, and everything in between. Produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. This dedicated channel was launched in June 2025--older episodes can be found on the Mercatus Center channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS8aEHTqDvpInY9kslUOOK8Qj_-B91o_W
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Bob Spitz on the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and the Art of Biography
Tyler Cowen interviews Bob Spitz, the acclaimed biographer whose new book The Rolling Stones The Biography joins his extensive catalog of cultural biographies. Spitz has written definitive works on th…
Craig Newmark on Institutional Maintenance, Giving Away Control, and the Internet We Were Promised (Live at 92NY)
Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, joins Tyler Cowen to discuss web design philosophy, online trust, and philanthropic strategy. Newmark relinquished management control of Craigslist in 2000 to Jim…
Kim Bowes on the Economic Lives of Rome's Ninety Percent
Tyler Cowen interviews Kim Bowes, an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Surviving Rome The Economic Lives of the 90%. Bowes specializes in the history of Christianity, relig…
Arthur Brooks on Reinvention, Religion, and the Science of Happiness
Tyler Cowen opens by announcing his new book The Marginal Revolution, Rise and Decline and the Pending AI Revolution, which includes a final chapter on how AI will transform science and society. The b…
Paul Gillingham on Why Mexico Stays Together
Tyler Cowen interviews Paul Gillingham, author of the new book Mexico A 500-Year History, which Cowen calls 'the single best introduction to the history of Mexico' and predicts will be one of the best…
Harvey Mansfield on Machiavelli, Straussianism, and the Character of Liberal Democracy
Tyler Cowen interviews Harvey Mansfield, professor emeritus at Harvard University and author of the new book The Rise and Fall of Rational Control. Mansfield is a leading Straussian scholar known for …
Henry Oliver on Measure for Measure, Late Bloomers, and the Smartest Writers in English
Tyler Cowen interviews Henry Oliver, research fellow at Mercatus and author of Second Act about late bloomers. Oliver also writes a substack and co-authors another with Rebecca Lowe on liberalism. The…
Joe Studwell on Africa, Asia, and What Development Actually Requires
Tyler Cowen interviews Joe Studwell, a distinguished journalist and author best known for How Asia Works, which gained major recognition for analyzing successful Asian development strategies. Studwell…
Andrew Ross Sorkin on Market Bubbles, Banking Rules, and the Real Lessons of 1929
Tyler Cowen interviews Andrew Ross Sorkin, award-winning New York Times journalist, CNBC Squawk Box co-anchor, and founder of DealBook. Sorkin is the bestselling author of Too Big to Fail, co-producer…
Diarmaid MacCulloch on Christianity, Sex, and Unsettling Settled Facts
Tyler Cowen interviews Diarmaid MacCulloch, Emeritus Professor of Church History at Oxford and author of the new book Lower than the Angels A History of Sex and Christianity. MacCulloch is recognized …
Brendan Foody on Teaching AI and the Future of Knowledge Work
Tyler Cowen interviews Brendan Fudi, 22-year-old CEO and co-founder of Mercor, an AI company founded in early 2023. Fudi is reportedly the youngest unicorn founder ever, leading what may be the fastes…
Conversations with Tyler 2025 Retrospective
This retrospective episode features Tyler Cowen, economist and host of Conversations with Tyler, joined by lead producer Jeff Holmes. They review the show's most productive year yet, having released 3…
Alison Gopnik on Childhood Learning, AI as a Cultural Technology, and Rethinking Nature vs. Nurture
Tyler Cowen interviews Alison Gopnik, professor of psychology and philosophy at UC Berkeley and renowned expert in human learning and child developmental psychology. Gopnik has written extensively for…
Gaurav Kapadia on New York City, Investing, and Contemporary Art
Tyler Cowen interviews Gaurav Kapadia, founder of investment firm XN, whom Cowen describes as 'one of our generation's Warren Buffetts' despite being notably publicity-shy. Kapadia grew up in Flushing…
Dan Wang on What China and America Can Learn from Each Other
Tyler Cowen interviews Dan Wang, author of the bestselling Breakneck China's Quest to Engineer the Future, in the Mercatus Center studio. Wang, a technology analyst who has lived extensively in China,…
Cass Sunstein on Liberalism and Rights in the Age of AI
Tyler Cowen interviews Cass Sunstein, the most widely cited legal scholar of all time, at Harvard Law School. Sunstein has released five books in 2024, including On Liberalism In Defense of Freedom, M…
Blake Scholl on Supersonic Flight and Fixing Broken Infrastructure - Live at the Progress Conference
Tyler Cowen interviews Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic in Colorado, the company leading civilian supersonic transport development. Scholl previously worked at Amazon and Groupon, brin…
Donald S. Lopez Jr. on Buddhism
Tyler Cowen interviews Donald S. Lopez Jr., professor at the University of Michigan and widely regarded as the West's leading expert on Buddhism. Lopez is author of many books on Buddhism, co-editor o…
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