Conversations with Tyler

For centuries, China has treated its cuisine with a reverence and delight that is only just starting to emerge with Western “foodie” culture. No one understands this better than Fuchsia Dunlop, who has spent her career learning about the fantastic diversity in Chinese food, and who is one of Tyler’s favorite writers on any subject. She joined Tyler over dinner at one of his favorite restaurants in DC to talk about all aspects of how to truly enjoy Chinese food, including where to visit, how to order, the few key ingredients to keep in your pantry, her favorite Chinese dishes, what Chinese chefs think about Western food, and why you should really learn to love sea cucumbers. For this conversation, Tyler was also joined by Ezra Klein, past CWT guest and editor-in-chief of Vox.com, chef and super-taster Mark Miller, journalist Megan McArdle, and Eva Summer, a graduate student from Shandong province. Their comments can be found in the Q&A near the end of the chat. Watch the peppercorn tasting here: https://youtu.be/qj41dFKLnuE Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/fuchsia-dunlop-sichuan-cuisine-every-grain-of-rice-e13922e8a784 Please help others find the podcast: subscribe, share, star and review! Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Steven Pinker has spent an entire academic career thinking deeply about language, cognition, and human nature. Driving it all, he says, is an Enlightenment belief that the world is intelligible, science can progress, and through rational inquiry we can better understand ourselves.  He recently joined Tyler for a conversation not only on the power of reason, but also the economics of irrational verbs, whether violence will continue to decline, behavioral economics, existential threats, the merits of aerobic exercise, photography, group selection, Fermi’s paradox, Noam Chomsky, universal grammar, free will, the Ed Sullivan show, and why people underrate the passive (or so it is thought). Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/steven-pinker-language-instinct-evolutionary-psychology-darwin-chomsky-linguistics-b792d7cd2a05 Follow Steven Pinker: https://twitter.com/sapinker Please help others find the podcast: subscribe, share, star and review! Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Ezra Klein, editor-in-chief of Vox.com, joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on biases in digital media, the morality of meat-eating, how working for large organizations has changed his worldview, the psychographics of CEOs, what’s missing in public discourse, the most underrated member of the Obama administration, and why you should never follow his lead on what’s good culture. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/ezra-klein-tyler-cowen-vox-healthcare-journalism-bias-396196082c31 Follow Ezra Klein: https://twitter.com/ezraklein Note: This podcast is also being released to listeners of The Ezra Klein Show. We encourage CWT listeners to check out his show if you haven’t already. Special thanks also to Panoply for lending us production help for this podcast. Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

The stereotypical obituary is a formulaic recitation of facts — dry, boring, and without craft. But Margalit Fox has shown the genre can produce some of the most memorable and moving stories in journalism. Exploiting its “pure narrative arc,” Fox has penned over 1,200 obituaries, covering well-known and obscure subjects with equal aplomb. In her conversation with Tyler Cowen, Fox reveals not only the process for writing an obituary, but her thoughts on life, death, storytelling, puzzle-solving, her favorite cellist, and how it came to be that an economist sang opera 86 times at the Met. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/margalit-fox-obituary-writer-new-york-times-f4169ede40 Follow Margalit Fox: https://twitter.com/margalitfox Please help others find the podcast: subscribe, share, star and review! Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Michael Orthofer, one of the world’s most prolific book reviewers, joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on — what else? — books. Read to discover why Michael believes everyone should read more fiction, how we should choose books, why American popular literature is overrated, what he thinks about authors like Herman Melville, Fyoder Dostoevsky, Goethe, J.K. Rowling, Arno Schmidt, and many others, his recommendations for the best sites for readers, why studying literature at college was such a big disappointment, how much book covers matter, and why his opinion will never be the final word. Transcript: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/michael-orthofer-complete-review-fiction-literary-saloon-b028a1ca2620 Reader Q&A Video: https://youtu.be/6U90WqmRwMA Strand shopping video: https://youtu.be/GyI0KBcHY4g Follow Michael Orthofer: https://twitter.com/MAOrthofer Please subscribe, share, star and review! Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Cass Sunstein joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on judicial minimalism, Bob Dylan’s best album, the metaphysics of nudging, Byatt's Possession, the ideal size of the Supreme Court, Hayek, why people should choose their own path, the benefits of a banned products store, James Joyce, and, oh yeah, Star Wars. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/cass-sunstein-star-wars-nudge-a7c874f3ce8c Follow Cass Sunstein: https://twitter.com/CassSunstein Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Camille Paglia joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on the brilliance of Bowie, lamb vindaloo, her lifestyle of observation, why writers need real jobs, Star Wars, Harold Bloom, Amelia Earhart, Edmund Spenser, Brazil, why she is most definitely not a cultural conservative, and much more. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/a-conversation-with-camille-paglia-a842db2f3c6#.wvdaz2zi2 Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on morality, politics, disgust, how to maintain free speech on campus, the enriching effects of LSD, antiparsimonialism, and why economists set all the interesting variables to zero. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/a-conversation-with-jonathan-haidt-35f76604464a Follow Jonathan Haidt: https://twitter.com/JonHaidt Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Nate Silver joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on data, forecasting, My Bloody Valentine, the social value of gambling, Donald Trump and the presidential field, vacation advice, Supreme Court picks, the wisdom of Björk, and the most underrated statistic for finding good food. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/nate-silver-conversations-with-tyler-1bdafe685d77#.6slxqosjy Follow Nate Silver: https://twitter.com/NateSilver538 Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on segregation, Islam, Harlem vs. LA, Earl Manigault, jazz, fighting Bruce Lee, Kareem’s conservatism, dancing with Thelonious Monk, and why no one today can shoot a skyhook. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/kareem-abdul-jabbar-conversations-with-tyler-13b6d4719883#.bmkgezjxw Follow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: https://twitter.com/kaj33 Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Tyler and investment strategist Cliff Asness discuss momentum and value investing strategies, disagreeing with Eugene Fama, Marvel vs. DC, the inscrutability of risk, high frequency trading, the economics of Ayn Rand, bubble logic, and why never to share a gym with Cirque du Soleil. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/cliff-asness-986ba8e92b4f Follow Cliff Asness: https://twitter.com/CliffordAsness Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Tyler and Dani Rodrik discuss premature deindustrialization, the world’s trilemmas, the political economy of John le Carré, what’s so special about manufacturing, Orhan Pamuk, RCTs, and why the world is second best at best. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/a-conversation-with-dani-rodrik-e02cf8784b9d Follow Dani Rodrik: https://twitter.com/rodrikdani Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

In the third event of this series, Tyler and Luigi Zingales discuss Italy, Donald Trump, Antonio Gramsci, Google and conglomeration, Luchino Visconti, Starbucks, and the surprisingly high productivity of Italian cafés. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/watch-a-conversation-with-luigi-zingales-c5ed3601a8f0 Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos

Tyler is hosting three more top thinkers this fall. Seats are limited, so don’t miss your chance to catch each conversation in person! RSVP: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/upcoming-conversations-with-tyler-f125d8d56ae3 Luigi Zingales on the Future of Capitalism September 9, 2015 Dani Rodrik on the Future of Globalization September 24, 2015 Cliff Asness on the Future of Money November 11, 2015 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/mercatuscenter?sub_confirmation=1 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/conversations-with-tyler/id983795625?mt=2

Tyler Cowen and Jeffrey Sachs discuss the resource curse, why Russia failed and Poland succeeded, charter cities, Sach's China optimism, JFK, Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, whether Africa will be able to overcome the middle income trap, Paul Krugman, Sach's favorite novel, premature deindustrialization, and how to reform graduate economics education. Transcript and links: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/jeffrey-sachs-on-the-future-of-economic-development-2650c27b2776 Follow Jeffrey Sachs: https://twitter.com/JeffDSachs Follow us on social: FB: www.facebook.com/cowenconvos Twitter: twitter.com/cowenconvos