Russ Roberts and Mike Munger on Wild Problems

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Library of Economics and Liberty

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4.7 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 August 2022

⏱️ 77 minutes

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Summary

Waze and Google Maps tell us the best way to get to where we're going. But no app or algorithm can tell us whether we should head there in the first place. To economist Russ Roberts, the reason is simple: Humans are dynamic and aspirational beings. When it comes to making life's big decisions, from what to study to whom to marry or whether to have a child, it's not always us doing the deciding, he argues, but rather the people we want to be. Join the host of EconTalk, the president of Shalem College, and the author of the new book Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions that Define Us, as he speaks with friend and EconTalk favorite Michael Munger about why the traditional economic models for decision making can lead us astray--and why life should be less about solving problems than embracing possibilities.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, Conversations for the Curious, part of the Library of Economics
0:07.0	and Liberty.
0:08.0	I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford University's Hoover
0:13.0	Institution.
0:14.0	Go to econtalk.org where you can subscribe, comment on this episode and find links down
0:18.6	the information related to today's conversation.
0:21.6	You'll also find our archives with every episode we've done going back to 2006.
0:26.8	Our email address is mail at econtalk.org.
0:30.3	We'd love to hear from you.
0:37.8	Today is June 29, 2022 and we're going to do something a little different today.
0:42.5	Mike Munger of Duke University is going to interview me about my new book.
0:47.0	That book is Wild Problems, a guide to the decisions that define us.
0:52.3	This is Mike's 42nd appearance on econ talk.
0:55.2	He was last year in April of 2022 talking about antitrust.
1:00.4	Mike, welcome back.
1:02.7	It's a great pleasure.
1:03.7	Thanks very much, although it is daunting to sit in the interviewer's chair.
1:08.1	Yeah, well, I appreciate you taking the risk and taking on the assignment.
1:13.6	You lasted this about my previous book on Adam Smith, a fire member correctly.
1:20.1	It was an interesting process because it also, I think, is probably a little bit odd for
1:26.6	you to answer some questions.
1:30.7	I'm hoping you'll be willing to play the author a little more this time.
	...

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