Dmitry Orlov, “Social Collapse Best Practices” (MP3 audio), Longnow Foundation, 2009/02/19 October 21, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: dmitry orlov, russian, social collapse, soviet union
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What happens to live after a society collapses? We can learn from history in the former Soviet Union.
With vintage Russian black humor, Orlov described the social collapse he witnessed in Russia in the 1990s and spelled out its practical lessons for the American social collapse he sees as inevitable. The American economy in the 1990s described itself as “Goldilocks”—just the right size—when in fact is was “Tinkerbelle,” and one day the clapping stops. As in Russia, the US made itself vulnerable to the decline of crude oil, a trade deficit, military over-reach, and financial over-reach.
Russians were able to muddle through the collapse by finding ways to manage 1) food, 2) shelter, 3) transportation, and 4) security.
Russian agriculture had long been ruined by collectivization, so people had developed personal kitchen gardens, accessible by public transit. The state felt a time-honored obligation to provide bread, and no one starved. (Orlov noted that women in Russia handled collapse pragmatically, putting on their garden gloves, whereas middle-aged men dissolved into lonely drunks.) Americans are good at gardening and could shift easily to raising their own food, perhaps adopting the Cuban practice of gardens in parking lots and on roofs and balconies.
Jonathan Rauch, “The Volt, Risk, and Corporate Culture” (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2008/09/01 October 21, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: electric car, general motors, gm, rauch
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General Motors had the technology for an electric car. When it stopped working on that technology, it unfortunately stopped work on hybrid technology as well.
Jonathan Rauch, of the Brookings Institution and the Atlantic Monthly, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the evolution of the Chevy Volt, GM’s planned electric car. Due to the transparency of GM’s effort, Rauch was able to spend a great deal of time on site at GM writing a piece for the Atlantic Monthly on GM’s plans and hopes. Rauch discusses the huge risks, GM’s past failures, and GM’s hopes that the Volt might change the company’s culture. The conversation closes with a discussion of competitors and the implications for energy policy.
Rauch on the Volt, Risk, and Corporate Culture | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
Hal Varian, “On Technology” (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2008/07/28 October 21, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: economics, google, technology, varian
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In my university days, one of my textbooks was written by Hal Varian. An economist crossing over from academia to industry is an interesting case.
Hal Varian, Google’s Chief Economist and University of California at Berkeley professor, talks with Russ Roberts about Google, the role of technology in our everyday lives, the unintended paths of innovation, and the value of economics.
Varian on Technology | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
Saul Griffith, “Climate Change Recalculated” (MP3 audio), Longnow Foundation, 2009/01/16 October 21, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: climate change, saul griffith, sustainability
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Part of sustainability is conservation, but we can maintain even a minimal level of modern conveniences through conservation?
… the land area dedicated to renewable energy (”Renewistan”) would occupy a space about the size of Australia to keep the carbon dioxide level at 450 ppm. To get to Hanson’s goal of 350 ppm of carbon dioxide, fossil fuel burning would have to be cut to ZERO, which means another 3 terawatts would have to come from renewables, expanding the size of Renewistan further by 26 percent.
Meanwhile for individuals, to stay at the world’s energy budget at 16 terawatts, while many of the poorest in the world might raise their standard of living to 2,200 watts, everyone now above that level would have to drop down to it. Griffith determined that most of his energy use was coming from air travel, car travel, and the embodied energy of his stuff, along with his diet. Now he drives the speed limit (and he has passed no one in six months), seldom flies, eats meat only once a week, bikes a lot, and buys almost nothing. He’s healthier, eats better, has more time with his family, and the stuff he has he cherishes.
Robin Hanson, “Signalling” (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2008/05/26 October 4, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: behaviour, information, robin hanson, signalling
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Human beings send signals with our consumer behaviour.
Robin Hanson of George Mason University talks about the phenomenon of signalling–the ways people spend resources to convey information about ourselves to others.
It begins with Hanson revisiting his theory from an earlier podcast that we spend too much on medicine because we need to signal our concern for friends and family. The conversation then moves onto apply Hanson’s model of signalling to other areas of human behavior.
This is a wide-ranging discussion covering not just medicine, but real estate transactions, the wooing of a spouse, the role of education in the job market, parenting, the economics of self-deception, and Robin’s argument that we spend too much time on admirable activities.
Hanson on Signalling | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
Chris Anderson, “Free” (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2008/05/12 October 4, 2009
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Economics tends to think about price on a continuous line or curve, but the jump from “not free” to “free” means that business models have to change.
Chris Anderson talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his next book project based on the idea that many delightful things in the world are increasingly free–internet-based email with infinite storage, on-line encyclopedias and even podcasts, to name just a few.
Why is this trend happening? Is it restricted to the internet? Is there really any such thing as a free lunch? Is free a penny cheaper than a penny or a lot cheaper than that?
The conversation also covers whether economics has anything to say about free.
Chris Anderson on Free | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
John Nye, “Wine, War and Trade” (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2008/05/05 October 4, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: corn laws, free trade, john nye, taxes, wine, wool
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The idea of pure competitive trade is a myth.
John Nye of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his book, War, Wine, and Taxes.
The conversation covers the history of Britain and France’s trade policy, why the British drink beer and why Ricardo’s example of Britain trading wool for Portuguese wine is bizarre.
Nye turns the traditional story on its head–he argues that France was more of a free trader than Britain and that the repeal of the Corn Laws was not the dividing line between Britain’s protectionist past and free trade future.
At the end of the discussion, Nye emphasizes the importance of domestic free trade for economic growth.
Nye on Wine, War and Trade | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
Bill Burger, “Copyright in a New Light” (MP3 audio), O’Reilly Media Tools of Change Conference, 2008/02/11 October 4, 2009
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Information technologies have changed the way that words are reproduced and distributed.
The increasing pace of technology and business innovation has resulted in a proliferation of content in a variety of new forms such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, Encyclopedia of Life, Newser, and many more. Participation and collaboration are the values of a new creative class, one Samuel Johnson, writing only when paid to write something, would never have understood. Bill Burger describes the clash of cultures between these new models and the traditional world of publishing and the resultant suing by fearful authors and publishers.
He outlines the historical context of what has happened in publishing from the days of monks copying texts when one copy was more valuable than the content, on through the invention of the printing press, the Industrial Revolution and the technology revolution. Burger lays out the truth of what people value today in terms of content and its distribution and what the publishing industry needs to do in order to stay relevant.
IT Conversations | O’Reilly Media Tools of Change Conference | Bill Burger (Free Podcast)
William Bernstein, “The History of Trade” (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2008/04/28 October 4, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: history, trade, william bernstein
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Trade goes back to the dawn of man.
Drawing on the insights from his recent book, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, Bernstein talks about the magic of spices, how trade in sugar explain why Jews ended up in Manhattan, the real political economy of the Boston Tea Party and the demise of the Corn Laws in England.
The discussion closes with the political economy of trade today and the interaction between trade and income inequality.
Bernstein on the History of Trade | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
Michael Pollan, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Searching for the Perfect Meal in a Fast-Food World” (MP3 audio), Colorado College, 2007/02/12 October 4, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: michael pollan, omnivore's dilemma
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We don’t often think about the impact — both positive and negative — of the industrialization of agriculture.
All creatures are defined ecologically by how they fit into a food chain. For humans, food industrialization has obscured this once-plain fact; most Americans are only dimly aware that their food represents their most profound engagement with the natural world.
Michael Pollan, author of “The Botany of Desire” and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” both New York Times best sellers, conducted a series of personal explorations of the food chain: growing a genetically modified potato, tracing an organic TV dinner from grocery freezer to farm and buying and following a steer from insemination to steak.
Pollan will tell these stories to tease out conclusions about what’s gone wrong with the industrial food system and its implications for our health. He’ll also explore healthier alternatives to industrial food.
Karl Ryser, Jr., “All Media Guide” (MP3 audio), AfterTv, 2007/01/31 October 4, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: all media guide, all music
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While traditional mass media production has been challenged by the emergence of digital content, the information about media provides new opportunities for business.
There are few companies better positioned to understand the online media ecosystem as All Media Guide (AMG). This is the company that provides the professionally created content about media for many leading websites including iTunes, Yahoo,Sony PS3, Amazon and AOL.
Music fans know AMG through their incomparable All Music Guide, movie buffs rely on All Movie Guide and gamers are becoming familiar with All Game Guide.
AMG’s CEO is Karl Ryser Jr and he has some provocative ideas on the value of professional content, the real significance of the Long Tail and the future of the music business.
Jeff Howe, “Crowdsourcing” (MP3 audio), Principled Innovation Podcast, 2008/09/22 October 4, 2009
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The web has opened up new ways of collaboration, in democratization of production.
Jeff Howe’s groundbreaking article on “crowdsourcing” appeared in Wired Magazine and the rest, as they say, is history. Some two years (and a blog on the topic) later, Jeff has published a book about the phenomenon that he named. [....]
Jeff’s book, Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving The Future of Business, is a superb journalistic exploration of the evolution of crowdsourcing, its current state and its likely future. The book includes the stories of many crowdsourcing exemplars, including InnoCentive, Threadless.com and Wikipedia. For association leaders, perhaps the most meaningful and compelling example of crowdsourcing discussed in the book, the video and in our podcast is iStockphoto.com, a global community of content creators that has irrevocably changed the stock photography business.
Crowdsourcing is a powerful democratizing force that is re-shaping the way organizations co-create value with customers. With association leaders seeking to design new opportunities for deeper member engagement as part of on-going business model innovation, this book is certain to be an invaluable learning resource going forward.
Principled Innovation LLC » P.I. Podcast: Interview with Jeff Howe
Peter Boettke, “Katrina and the Economics of Disaster” (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2006/12/18 August 2, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: disaster, government, voluntereism
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In disaster, how much should we rely on voluntary efforts, and how much should we look to the government?
Pete Boettke of George Mason University talks about the role of government and voluntary efforts in relieving suffering during and after a crisis such as Katrina.
Drawing on field research he is directing into the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Boettke highlights the role of what he calls “civil society”–the informal, voluntary associations we make as individuals with each other to create community.
Boettke on Katrina and the Economics of Disaster | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
Timothy Chou, “The End of Software” (MP3 audio), Podtech, 2007/01/22 August 2, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: saas, software, software-as-a-service
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Business assumes that the price of computer hardware continually falls, but what about the price of software? The rising costs of maintaining software had driven consideration of alternative ways.
I think for the first time there has been an economic shift in the software business. I think that has clearly been a transformative effect in the hardware business, the example I always use is that, well, Intel once upon a time was a little baby hardware company, no one cared much about. Today, right now, since every market process — every processor in every server is an Intel processor, how did that happen, right? Well, that revolution was a revolution of economics, simply, right? They were able to take cost and take it down, down, down; function up, up, up and by virtue of staying on that relentless path in essence re-evolve the entire industry.
This movement to quote software as a service or software On Demand is no different, it’s fundamentally an economic shift, right. We are changing the fundamental economics of the software business, which is why the old traditional software world will end, has ended, and a new one will emerge.
Andrew Keen, “The Cult of the Amateur” (MP3 audio), Total Picture Radio, 2007/07/18 August 2, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: amateur, expertise, social media
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Professional writers and journalists live in a world where blogging and social media are on the rise. Non-professional contributing content have both upsides and downsides.
In the introduction to The Cult of the Amateur, Andrew writes. “In today’s self-broadcasting culture, where amateurism is celebrated and anyone with an opinion, however ill-informed, can publish a blog, post a video on YouTube, or change an entry on Wikipedia, the distinction between trained expert and uninformed amateur becomes dangerously blurred. When anonymous bloggers and videographers, unconstrained by professional standards or editorial filters, can alter the public debate and manipulate public opinion, truth becomes a commodity to be bought sold, packaged and reinvented.”
Andrew Keen, The Cult of the Amateur | TotalPicture Radio – Career Services & Development Podcast
MP3 audio
Paul R. Ehrlich, “The Dominant Animal” (MP3 audio), Tech Nation, 2008/08/18 August 2, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: human, sustainability
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Human beings impact the world, but are not outside nature. Can human beings help but be human?
Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Stanford Professor Paul Ehrlich about his latest book, “The Dominant Animal,” which looks at human evolution and the environment.
IT Conversations | Tech Nation | Paul Ehrlich (Free Podcast)
Thomas Sowell, “Economic Facts and Fallacies” (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2008/02/25 August 2, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: income inequality
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The idea of what might be “fair” in economics is complicated when income (re-)distribution is involved.
Thomas Sowell of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his new book, Economic Facts and Fallacies.
He discusses the misleading nature of measured income inequality, CEO pay, why nations grow or stay poor, the role of intellectuals and experts in designing public policy, and immigration.
Sowell on Economic Facts and Fallacies | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
MP3 audio
Drew Endy vs. Jim Thomas, “Synthetic Biology Debate” (MP3 audio), Longnow Foundation, 2008/11/17 August 2, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: biobrick, open source, synthetic biology
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Can biology be componentized in the way that information technologies have been?
“I want to develop tools that make biology easy to engineer,” Drew Endy began. The first purpose is better understanding fundamental biological mechanisms through “learning by building.” The toolkit of Synthetic Biology starts with DNA construction and ascends through DNA parts, to devices, to standardized systems. [....] So far 3,500 standard “BioBrick” parts have been developed for free distribution, and the number is growing geometrically. The number of amateur and student bioengineers also is growing geometicallly.
[....]
Jim Thomas asked Endy how he would defend against commercial interests locking up Synthetic Biology with patents? Endy said the best hope is building an open-source community that grows faster than businesses and out-innovates them.
Thomas began his statement by pointing out that it usually takes a whole generation to understand a new technology, so he urges moving slowly and cautiously, but Synthetic Biology is advancing at breakneck speed, and the window of opportunity to have effective public discussion and control is closing.
He cited the history of synthetic chemicals, which began in mid-19th century. [....]
There’s so much novelty coming so fast from Synthetic Biology, no predictive models or regulatory models can hold them. He recommends these new tools be strictly contained so there is no release of new life forms into the biosphere, and there should be no commercialization of the technology at all.
Endy asked Thomas if it’s okay to make anything in a bioreactor vat? Thomas said, “Yes, beer.”
For different reasons, both debaters wanted to see Synthetic Biology kept from domination by commercial patents. For Thomas, it would lead to unjust monopoly answering only to profit. For Endy, it would paralyze open-ended research.
The Long Now Blog » Blog Archive » Drew Endy & Jim Thomas “Synthetic Biology Debate”
Evan Prodromou, “Identi.ca” (MP3 audio), Technometria with Phil Windley, 2008/08/18 August 2, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: microblogging, open source
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I microblog on Twitter, but have wondered about alternatives. Not only is there an open source alternative in Identi.ca, but it’s also architected in a decentralized way.
Identi.ca is an open microblogging service. Users can post short messages about themselves to Identi.ca, which are then broadcast to friends in their social network using instant messages (IM), RSS feeds, and the Web. The product’s developer, Evan Prodromou, joins Phil and Scott to discuss the project, including its open source license.
Identi.ca is similar to existing microblogging sites such as Twitter, Jaiku, or Pownce. Unlike those services, Identi.ca’s underlying software is available under an Open Source license. Identi.ca is also the first service to support OpenMicroBlogging, a standard for exchanging short messages between microblogging sites. Identi.ca also makes public user data available under a Creative Commons license in standard formats.
IT Conversations | Technometria with Phil Windley | Evan Prodromou (Free Podcast)
Peter Boettke, “Austrian Economics” (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2007/10/12 August 2, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: austrian, economics, economists
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Since I’m immersed in the systems sciences for the past decade, I’ve found some challenges synthesizing this body of knowledge with my prior training in economics. The mention of Kenneth Boulding in this interview piqued my interest in exploring the Austrian school of economics more.
Pete Boettke, of George Mason University, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the origins and tenets of Austrian economics. This is a wonderful introduction to how the so-called Austrian economists look at the world and how they continue to influence economics today.
Boettke on Austrian Economics | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
