Rationally Speaking

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Episodes

Date Title & Description Contributors
2021-12-23

  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 Julia discuss the philosophy behind his organization (Gi...
  Rationally Speaking author
2021-12-10

  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 climate change, pandemics, and artificial intelligence....
  Rationally Speaking author
2021-11-30

  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 species. Are the risks worth the benefits?
  Rationally Speaking author
2021-11-05

  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 =  political gridlock. Questions covered include: Is polarization necessarily bad? ...
  Rationally Speaking author
2021-10-15

  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 research so controversial? And is it worth doing anyway?
  Rationally Speaking author
2021-09-14

  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 look like for different drugs like Fluvoxamine and Iver...
  Rationally Speaking author
2021-08-19

  "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 (Raymond Niles and Amihai Glazer) make the case for ...
  Rationally Speaking author
2021-06-10

  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 you read. But neither should you reject everything tha...
  Rationally Speaking author
2021-04-09

  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 questions with three guests: Louis Hyman (Cornell), Veena ...
  Rationally Speaking author
2021-03-19

  Unfair laws / Why judges should be originalists (William Baude)

Is there any justification for seemingly unjust laws like "qualified immunity," which allows cops to get away with bad behavior? William Baude, a leading scholar of constitutional law, explores how these laws came to be and why they're so hard to chang...
  Rationally Speaking author