Rationally Speaking Podcast
1) Rationally Speaking #237 - Andy Przybylski on "Is screen time bad for you?"
It's common wisdom that spending a lot of time on your smartphone, or checking social media like Facebook and Twitter, takes a psychological toll. It makes us depressed, insecure, anxious, and isolate...Show More
2) Is cash the best way to help the poor? (Michael Faye)
The idea of giving poor people cash, no strings attached, is "very unappealing" for most donors, admits economist Michael Faye -- but it's still one of the best ways to help the poor. Michael and Juli...Show More
3) Humanity on the precipice (Toby Ord)
Humanity could thrive for millions of years -- unless our future is cut short by an existential catastrophe. Oxford philosopher Toby Ord explains the possible existential risks we face, including clim...Show More
4) Dangerous biological research - is it worth it? (Kevin Esvelt)
Kevin Esvelt, a scientist at MIT, argues that research intended to prevent pandemics is actually putting us in a lot more danger. Also discussed: Kevin's own research on engineering wild animal specie...Show More
5) Why we're polarized (Ezra Klein)
Ezra Klein explains how Republican and Democrats in the US became so different from each other, ideologically and demographically, and why that trend + our institutions =Â political gridlock. Question...Show More
6) The genetic lottery (Kathryn Paige Harden)
Kathryn Paige Harden, author of “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality” explains what scientists have learned about how our genes affect our educational success. Why is this researc...Show More
7) How to reason about COVID, and other hard things (Kelsey Piper)
Journalist Kelsey Piper (Future Perfect / Vox) discusses lessons learned from covering COVID: What has she been wrong about, and why? How much can we trust the CDC's advice? What does the evidence loo...Show More
8) "Price gouging" in emergencies
Every time there’s an emergency, the prices of certain goods skyrocket -- like masks and hand sanitizer during COVID -- and the public gets angry about price gouging. In this episode, two economists ...Show More
9) How to be a data detective (Tim Harford)
When you see a statistic reported in the news, like "10% of University of California Berkeley students were homeless this year," how do you evaluate it? You shouldn't blindly accept every statistic yo...Show More
10) Are Uber and Lyft drivers being exploited?
How much do Uber and Lyft drivers really earn, after expenses? Are they getting a raw deal by being classified as 'independent contractors' instead of employees? I explore the debate over these questi...Show More