Sometimes I make good choices. Like a few years back when I decided to reach out to economist Robert

Solo. I didn't really expect to get a reply how many 98-year-olds are still checking email.

But he wrote me back right away and we had this wonderful conversation, which first aired in June of 2023.

My guest today, Robert Solo, is an absolute giant in the field of economics.

He received the Nobel Prize in 1987 for his pioneering work on the topic of economic growth.

When I first got interested in economic questions, the whole point was that the system appeared to be broken, and it was necessary to find ways to patch it together.

Welcome to people I mostly admire with Steve Levitt.

But Robert Solo is more than just a great researcher.

He was one of the most inspiring teachers I ever had,

and he's been a legendary mentor to generations of students at MIT,

four of whom have themselves gone on to win Nobel Prizes.

And at the age of 98, still as sharp as ever,

he's a model for growing old gracefully.

So you taught me macroeconomics almost 30 years ago.

You know I'm no macroeconomist, but your class was the best class that I took at MIT.

I remember I would read these macro papers ahead of class.

I mean, I would spend hours,

and I would understand nothing about the paper. It was pure math to me, math I didn't understand,

and then you would roll into class, and you would describe these papers in the simplest terms.

You would strip away all the math and you would show what was going on with a few words, with a few equations. And I really stood in awe of you being

able to do that. That's the only way I can understand anything is to break it down into simplities.

And I'm glad you liked it.

...