Curated author interviews on economics, history, science, psychology, and culture
Cambridge, New Zealand
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Podcast with Alexander Lee about his book The First Ghetto. Traces the 1516 creation of the Venetian Ghetto, born of the need for Jewish moneylenders yet fear of religious contamination, and how it evolved into a vibrant diaspora hub.
@HistoryExtra
thepodcastbrowser.com/alexan…
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Podcast with Ben Kiernan tracing how the Vietnam War fuelled the rise of the Khmer Rouge, the horror of their reign over Cambodia, and their eventual downfall in 1979. Draws from his books How Pol Pot Came to Power and The Pol Pot Regime.
@HistoryHit
thepodcastbrowser.com/ben-ki…
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Podcast with Robin Wigglesworth about his book A Fabulous Debt. Explores how the bond market evolved from medieval Venice to modern junk bonds and ETFs, shaping global power, economics, and democracy.
@toptraderslive
@RobinWigg thepodcastbrowser.com/robin-…
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Podcast with Kyle Harper about his book The Last Animal. Explains how human social cooperation, fire, domestication, and land use have simplified ecosystems for millennia. Advocates for intentional stewardship to preserve Earth's biosphere.
@seanmcarroll
thepodcastbrowser.com/kyle-h…
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Podcast with Liaquat Ahamed about his book 1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World. Discusses the 1873 deflationary crisis that barely dented global growth but poisoned politics for a generation.
@cowenconvos
thepodcastbrowser.com/liaqua…
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Podcast with Patrick Wyman about his book Lost Worlds. Discusses how human prehistory was driven by continuous experimentation, environmental adaptation, and frequent societal collapses rather than linear progress.
@newhistorybooks
@Patrick_Wyman
thepodcastbrowser.com/patric…
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Podcast with Richard Holmes about his book The Boundless Deep. Discusses Alfred Tennyson’s early years against the backdrop of science, faith & poetic ambition. Explores biography, belief, & how a poet faced the emerging challenges of his time.
@fourpoems thepodcastbrowser.com/richar…
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Podcast with Jesús Fernández-Villaverde about his paper Terra Incognita. Discusses the drivers of global fertility falling below replacement levels.
@EconTalker
@JesusFerna7026 thepodcastbrowser.com/jesus-…
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Podcast with Daniel Cox about his book Generation Uncoupled. Considers how and why men and women in America are growing apart, rising safety concerns among young women, and the widening political divide on gender lines.
thepodcastbrowser.com/daniel…
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Podcast with Adam Grant about his book Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World. Discusses loneliness & friendship myths; categorises relationships into pals, allies, & companions; & promotes intentional hosting to rebuild community.
thepodcastbrowser.com/adam-g…
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Podcast with Jonathan Alpert about his book Therapy Nation. Discusses psychiatric overdiagnosis, the rise of therapy culture, the benefits and dangers of mental health labels, and why therapy can sometimes backfire.
@HumanProgress
@JonathanAlpert thepodcastbrowser.com/jonath…
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Podcast with Martin Seligman about his book Agency: The Psychological History of Human Progress. Uses AI to demonstrate that human agency – built on efficacy, optimism, & imagination – drives societal progress & technological innovation.
@NextBigIdeaClub
thepodcastbrowser.com/martin…
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Podcast with Lyndal Roper about her book Summer of Fire and Blood. Explains how the 1524–1525 German Peasants’ War, driven by serfdom grievances & Reformation concepts, ended in brutal suppression & reshaped the Reformation.
@HistoryExtra thepodcastbrowser.com/lyndal…
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Podcast with Logan Wright about his book Broken China. Argues China faces structural economic decay from an overextended property sector & weak domestic demand, forcing an export push that grants Western nations strategic leverage.
@jordanschneider thepodcastbrowser.com/logan-…
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Podcast with Andrew Leon Hanna about his book 25 Million Sparks. Explains that refugees start businesses at 2–3 times higher rates, driven by displacement, discrimination, & no safety nets, & that adversity builds resourcefulness, empathy, & resilience.
thepodcastbrowser.com/andrew…
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Podcast with Matthew Sweet about his book The Great Dictator. Discusses the life and work of novelist Barbara Cartland, why she was so often dismissed by literary critics, her appeal to women. and the political side of her life.
thepodcastbrowser.com/matthe…
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Podcast with Jason Brennan about his book Why It's OK to Want to Be Rich. Argues that wanting wealth is morally acceptable. Wealth provides freedom, buffers against misery, and market cooperation drives broad societal prosperity.
thepodcastbrowser.com/jason-…
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Podcast with Kevin Roose about his book The AGI Chronicles. Discusses the characters of Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, & Demis Hassabis showing how rivalries accelerate their race to superintelligence.
@DKThomp
@kevinroose
thepodcastbrowser.com/kevin-…
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Podcast with Eric T Jennings about his book Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean. Traces how vanilla evolved from an exotic, labor-intensive luxury, via manual pollination & synthesis, to a mass-market flavor & synonym for plainness.
@HistoryExtra thepodcastbrowser.com/eric-t…
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Podcast with Jonathan Loh about his book Life Story. Draws parallels between biological and cultural evolution, showing how milestones like DNA, language, agriculture and AI revolve around capturing energy and storing digital information.
@on_humans_pod
thepodcastbrowser.com/jonath…
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