This blog post is part of AEI’s Best Podcasts of 2019 series. Click here to see other AEI podcast hosts’ favorite episodes of the year.
On Political Economy, I speak to a variety of smart people every Wednesday about economic history and policy, often with a special emphasis on technological progress and innovation. This year, the show had plenty of variety, digging into topics ranging from the effect of AI on the labor market to the US-China trade war to the economics of space exploration. A policy podcast for optimists and the intellectually curious!
Below are my five
favorite episodes of the year. Thanks for listening.
1. Adrienne Mayor on ancient visions of the future — Ep. #144, August 22nd
Phenomenal. Mayor was such an interesting guest — she brought deep insight about how the Ancient Greeks imagined technological advances in their own time, which she had explored in her recent book, Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology. As it turns out, they may have been less worried by technology in 800 BCE than it seems we are now.
2. Matt Weinzierl on the economics of space — Ep. #147, September 18th
Space travel is becoming less of a government-led effort and more of a commercial enterprise. Weinzierl outlined this fascinating process, discussing the potential that businesses see in space exploration and the possible industries — ranging from asteroid mining to space settlements — that might open up. We also explored how traditional economic concepts like property rights and externalities might work on this final frontier.
3. Margaret O’Mara on Silicon Valley’s past, present, and future — Ep. #148, September 25th
How did Silicon Valley happen? Was it the result of a perfectly-executed design from government planners? Or was it a laissez-faire utopia, forged by the smartest minds in the private sector? In my discussion with O’Mara, it became clear that it was a virtuous mix of the two. As she explains in her engrossing new history of Silicon Valley, The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America, Cold War-era defense spending combined with America’s entrepreneurial spirit to create a region that now sits at the forefront of innovation.
4. Scott Lincicome on the trade war — Ep. #151, October 16th
I’ve wanted to chat about the trade war with Lincicome for such a long time. When we finally met to discuss it, the wait was well worth it. He did an excellent job explaining how the current trade conflict between the United States and China has been a misguided policy, while also providing a nuanced evaluation of whether the pre-Trump status quo of low tariffs, big trade deficits, and Chinese expansion was sustainable.
5. Carl Benedikt Frey on the technology trap — Ep. #154, November 6th
Technology eliminates jobs in the short term, but it also creates new, better jobs in the long term, while boosting economic productivity. Carl Benedikt Frey’s new book, The Technology Trap: Capital, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation, details the history of this process, from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the looming threat (and blessing!) of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics.
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