Tyler Cowen

Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian who has made a career out of explaining Germany to the world—and, just as importantly, to Germans themselves. Born in East Germany in 1985 and now based in Britain, she has written acclaimed histories of the German Empire, the GDR, and most recently the Weimar Republic. Tyler and Katja discuss why communism made East Germans more loyal to the system while it bred dissidents in Poland and Hungary, how happy or unhappy life in the GDR actually was, Tyler's own bleak day-trip to East Berlin in 1984, the underrated literature of the GDR (Christa Wolf, Brigitte Reimann), whether Good Bye, Lenin! got the era right, why it's no coincidence that Richter and Polke came from the East, the strange coexistence of communist prudishness and Germany's nudist culture, what Merkel's East German background did and didn't give her as a chancellor, why East Germans remain dramatically underrepresented in leadership positions today, what makes Weimar the cultural and spiritual heart of Germany, why relatively few Jews ever settled there, how much the citizens of Weimar knew about Buchenwald, what actually killed the Weimar Constitution, how she'd rewrite the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler's citizenship problem, underrated German thinkers, the complacency behind Germany's current economic decline, which side of the Weißwurstäquator she'd choose to live on, and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded March 30th, 2026 . Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Katja on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here .</

Wyatt Thomson of OpenAI speaks with economists Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok about AI, labor markets, and the future of economic growth. The conversation explores one of the most common fears surrounding AI: that increasingly capable systems will eliminate jobs. Cowen and Tabarrok argue instead that economic growth remains the key variable. Throughout history, productivity-enhancing technologies have transformed work, created new industries, and expanded living standards, even as they disrupted existing jobs and institutions. They discuss automation, comparative advantage, inequality, education, healthcare, energy, and the kinds of work that may become more valuable in an...

Join renowned economist Tyler Cowen for a live taping of his hit podcast Conversations with Tyler , featuring special guest Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. Together, they'll explore trust, cybersecurity, and the building blocks of resilient civic institutions. Newmark has become a deeply consequential civic leader of the internet age. Best known for creating Craigslist—a platform celebrated for its radical simplicity and user-first ethos—he has spent the last two decades supporting philanthropy that strengthens democracy. His work spans cybersecurity ("cyber civil defense"), veterans and military families, trustworthy journalism, and combating misinformation. In an era of growing polarization and distrust, Newmark's approach is guided by one pragmatic question: what actually works? Returning to the stage at 92NY after two sold-out programs, Cowen will talk with Newmark about the pivotal choices behind Craigslist and the lessons he has drawn from years of public-interest work, exploring how to safeguard civic trust and apply solutions-driven principles in today's digital world.

Toby Wilkinson is one of the world's leading Egyptologists, whose books have ranged across the full sweep of pharaonic history. His latest, The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra , covers the 300-year Ptolemaic period — stranger and more modern-feeling than the Egypt of the pyramids, built around commerce and cosmopolitanism rather than divine kingship, and home to the greatest concentration of scientific talent the ancient world ever saw. Tyler and Toby cover how Alexander took over the empire almost without a fight, why Alexandria became the Manhattan of the ancient world, whether the era was as philosophically fertile as it was scientifically, whether your ancient doctor's visit had positive expected value, what Egypt was actually exporting and selling, whether living standards rose above subsistence or stayed Malthusian, how the ethnic divide between Greek rulers and Egyptian subjects shaped society, what constrained the Ptolemaic Empire from becoming the next Rome, whether Cleopatra has been overhyped, what Julius Caesar was really thinking when he sided with her over her brother, the new frontiers in archeology, whether Herodotus can be trusted, what ancient Egypt knew about Israel and India, when Egyptian jewelry peaked and why, what triggered the sudden emergence of civilization across the ancient world, why a six-year-old Tyler knew King Tut better than Napoleon, and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded March 23rd, 2026 . Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here . Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro <

Bob Spitz has written major biographies of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and now the Rolling Stones — but also, somehow, Ronald Reagan and Julia Child. In rock, his credentials were hard won: he started out hustling gigs for an unknown Bruce Springsteen for six years, moved on to handling Elton John's American business, and spent long enough in the world to find himself jamming with Paul McCartney and chatting with Bob Dylan on a stoop in the Village. The Reagan and Julia Child books are harder to explain, and perhaps that's the point—Spitz seems to do his best work when he has no business writing the book at all. Tyler and Bob discuss how the Stones became so great so quickly, what they added to the blues, how their melodies stack up against the Beatles', whether Exile on Main Street deserves its canonical status, which songs are most underrated, what Charlie Watts actually got out of playing in a rock band, the rise and fall of Brian Jones, how the Stones outlasted nearly everyone, the influence of Mick's London School of Economics training, why popular music has lost its cultural influence, what we should still be asking Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, whether the Beatles' breakup was good for the world, how senile Reagan really was in his second term and whether he was ever truly a communist, how good a cook Julia Child actually was, his next book on Lennon's second act, and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded April 28th, 2026 . Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Bob on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more

Growth is good. Through history, economic growth, in particular, has alleviated human misery, improved human happiness and opportunity, and lengthened human lives. Wealthier societies are more stable, offer better living standards, produce better medicines, and ensure greater autonomy, greater fulfillment, and more sources of fun. If we want to continue on our trends of growth and the overwhelmingly positive outcomes for societies that come with it, every individual must become more concerned with the welfare of those around us and in the world at large and most of all, our descendants in the future. So, how do we proceed? Tyler Cowen, in a culmination of 20 years of thinking and research, provides a road map for moving forward. In this new audiobook, Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals , Cowen argues that our reason and common sense can help free us of the faulty ideas that hold us back as people and as a society. Stubborn Attachments , at its heart, makes the contemporary moral case for economic growth and delivers a great dose of inspiration and optimism about our future possibilities. The episode summarises Tyler Cowen’s book, which argues that a great society is built upon the pillars of economic growth , individual liberty , and long-term accountability . Cowen suggests that prioritising wealth creation and innovation is the most effective way to eradicate poverty and enhance global living standards over time. The author advocates for a moral framework that values the well-being of future generations just as much as our own, requiring us to look beyond immediate gratification. Furthermore, the text explores how to navigate social disagreements , the limitations of wealth redistribution , and the necessity of making firm decisions despite future uncertainty . Ultimately, the work encourages readers to adopt a sustainable perspective to ensure a prosperous and ethical future for all. #stubbornattachments #TylerCowen #productivityhacks #personaldevelopment #successstrategies #businessinsights #leadershipskills #leadership #ambitiousprofessionals #businesstips #self help #scaling business #businesstactics #professionaldevelopment #startupgrowth #entrepreneurship #businessmindset #growthstrategies

Craig Newmark's career, in retrospect, looks like a series of deliberate subtractions: he kept Craigslist plain, stepped aside as CEO early on, gave his equity to his foundation, and now funds people and gets out of their way. His theory, arrived at gradually, is that recognizing your limitations and relying on your network is how you get more done. Tyler and Craig discuss why webpage design has gotten worse for 30 years, what Craig's "obsessive customer service disorder" taught him about human nature, why trusting people and maintaining a nine-second rule for scams aren't as contradictory as they sound, why roommate ads are a better way to find love, why Craigslist never added seller evaluations, why Leonard Cohen speaks to him more than Bob Dylan, what William Gibson's Neuromancer got right about the internet, why Jackson Lamb is now one of his role models, why large foundations lose accountability, what two painful Ivy League grants taught him philanthropy, what he gets from rescuing pigeons, the hard lesson he learned about confronting people who lie for a living, his favorite TV shows and movies, the one genuine luxury he can't go without, what he still needs to learn, and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded April 14th, 2026 . Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Craig on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts <a hre

Kim Bowes is an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania whose book, Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent , Tyler calls perhaps his favorite economics book of 2025. By sifting through the material remains of Roman life — shoes, bricks, ceramics, and the like — she uncovers a picture of ordinary Romans who could evidently afford to buy multiple sets of colorful clothes, use gold coins for daily transactions, and eat peppercorns sourced from thousands of miles away. This vast web of commerce, she argues, both bound the empire together and provided the tax base that kept it running — and when it unraveled, Rome unraveled with it. Tyler and Kim discuss what would surprise a modern visitor to a Roman elite home, what early Roman Christianity actually looked like on the ground, why Romans never developed formal economic reasoning, what decentralized money-lending reveals about the Roman state, whether there were anything like forward markets, why Romans continued to use coins even as the empire debased them, the economics of Roman slavery, whether Roman recipes taste any good, the Romans as hyper-scalers rather than inventors, what Rome made of China and Egypt, why Kim's not a fan of the Vesuvius challenge, the practicalities of landscape archaeology, how a vast belt of factories along the Tiber Valley went undiscovered until twenty years ago, where to go on a three-week tour of the Roman Empire, what she thinks is ultimately behind Rome's unraveling, and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded February 2nd, 2026 . Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "mailto:cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu" tar

Click here to find Tyler's new generative book, The Marginal Revolution: Rise and Decline, and the Pending AI Revolution ! Arthur Brooks reckons he's on the fourth leg of a spiral-shaped career: French horn player, economist, president of the American Enterprise Institute, and now Harvard professor and evangelist for the science of happiness. His new book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness , argues that happiness isn't a feeling but a combination of enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning — the macronutrients of happiness, he calls them — and that most of us are gorging on the wrong ones. Tyler, naturally, wants to know: what's the marginal value of a book on happiness, and what does spiral number five look like? Along the way, Tyler and Arthur cover how scarcity makes savoring possible and why knowing you'll die young sharpens the mind, what twin studies tell us about the genetics of well-being and why that's not actually depressing, the four habits of the genuinely happy, the placebo theory of happiness books, curiosity as an evolved positive emotion, the optimal degree of self-deception, why Arthur chose Catholicism rather than Orthodoxy, what the research says about accepting death, how he became an economist via correspondence school, AI's effect on think tanks, the future of classical music, whether Trumpism or Reaganism is the equilibrium state of American conservatism, whether his views on immigration have changed, what he and Oprah actually agree on, which president from his lifetime he most admires, Barcelona versus Madrid, what 60-year-olds are especially good at, why he's reading Josef Pieper, how he'll face death, and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded March 19th, 2026 . This episode was made possible through the support of the John Templeton Foundation. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Arthur on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us:

Tyler Cowen is bullish on the integration of AI into higher education. He's also not worried about its effects on the future workplace. Listen as Cowen speaks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the reasons for his optimism, and argues that college classes should devote significant time to learning how to use AI. They discuss the future of writing (and thinking) in an academic context, and Cowen's solution to dealing with worries about cheating. Cowen also shares how he personally has adapted to AI, and whether he thinks there's value to a college education designed not to ensure mastery of a subject, but instead to help students become the kind of people they want to be.

This week, Tyler Cowen joins the show. A true polymath, he answers everything on Coleman Hughes’s mind about our world and its future. In this rapid-fire exchange, Tyler weighs in on whether AI is a bubble, the minimum wage, Mexican wokeness, and the Donald Trump administration’s approach to foreign aid. He also touches on travel, new religions, the UN, and even his three favorite films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this provocative finale, Tyler Cowen makes the case that marginalism—the dominant framework in economics for over a century—is approaching its own decline. What will replace it? How will artificial intelligence reshape economic research and the role of economists? This episode connects the historical arc of the Marginal Revolution to our present moment, asking what economists should do in an age when AI can perform many traditional economic tasks. Key topics: The future of economics, AI and research, what comes after marginalism

Economics as a rigorous science arrived surprisingly late in human history. This episode investigates the historical, intellectual, and institutional barriers that delayed the development of economic science from Adam Smith to the Marginal Revolution. What conditions finally allowed marginalism to flourish? And what does this delayed emergence tell us about the nature of scientific progress itself? Key topics: History of economic thought, scientific progress, why good ideas take time

Meet William Stanley Jevons—the brilliant but contradictory figure who both built up and tore down marginalist economics. This episode explores the life and work of this Victorian polymath who helped launch the Marginal Revolution in the 1870s, only to later question its foundations. Why did Jevons simultaneously advance and undermine the very framework he helped create? What does his intellectual journey reveal about the tensions within economic science? Key topics: William Stanley Jevons, Victorian economics, the paradox of building and destroying ideas

In this opening episode, economist Tyler Cowen introduces the Marginal Revolution—the most important transformation in economic thought that made modern economics possible. What does it mean to think "at the margin"? Why do groundbreaking ideas sometimes disappear for generations before being rediscovered? And what can the history of marginalism teach us about how human knowledge develops? This episode sets the stage for a journey through economic history that ultimately points toward our AI-driven future. Key topics: Marginal thinking, the evolution of economic ideas, why insights get lost and rediscovered

A sneak peek at the four-part podcast series exploring the most important transformation in economic thought. Economist Tyler Cowen's new book traces the rise of marginalism, its contradictory founding figures, its surprisingly late arrival, and its uncertain future in the age of AI. Subscribe now to hear the full series.

Buy tickets for the live Conversations with Tyler recording with Craig Newmark at 92NY! Tyler calls Paul Gillingham's new book, Mexico: A 500-Year History , the single best introduction to the country's past—and one of the best nonfiction books of 2026. Paul brings both an outsider's eye and ground-level knowledge to Mexican history, having grown up in Cork — a place he'd argue gave him an instinctive feel for fierce local autonomy and land hunger —earning his doctorate on the Mexican Revolution under Alan Knight at Oxford, and doing his fieldwork in the pueblos of Guerrero. He and Tyler range across five centuries of Mexican history, from why Mexico held together after independence when every other post-colonial superstate collapsed, to why Yucatán is now one of the safest places on earth, what two leaders from Oaxaca tell us about Mexican politics, how Mexico avoided the military coups that plagued the rest of Latin America, what Cárdenas's land reform actually achieved versus what it promised, whether the ejido system held Mexico back, why Mexico worried too much about land and not enough about human capital, how Mexico's fertility rate fell below America's, why Guerrero has been violent for two centuries, why the new judicial reforms are a disaster, where to find the best food in Mexico and Manhattan, what a cache of illicit Mexican silver sitting on a ship in the English Channel has to do with his next book, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full vi deo on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded February 27th, 2026 . Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Sign up for our newsletter <li style= "font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, s

In this bonus episode of Our Long Walk, host Johan Fourie welcomes Tyler Cowen for a live interview recorded on 13 March at Stellenbosch University, in front of an audience of students and faculty. Tyler Cowen holds the Holbert Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University, where he chairs and directs the Mercatus Center; he is the author of more than 20 books, co-founder of the blog Marginal Revolution and its companion online platform Marginal Revolution University, host of the podcast Conversations with Tyler, and founder of Emergent Ventures, a fellowship and grant program for social entrepreneurs. The conversation opens with what South Africa can learn from Adam Smith on the 250th anniversary of The Wealth of Nations (from cutting red tape to start a business, to adopting a steady-growth "Denmark model" rather than chasing China-style booms), moves through Tyler's case that South Africa is safer and more culturally vibrant than international headlines suggest, and then turns to the role of AI in universities, the future of coding jobs, progress studies as a curriculum, how economists communicate ideas to the public, the social value of wine and declining alcohol consumption, and how Tyler now spots talent by asking candidates about their last few AI prompts rather than their open browser tabs. For more information about the episode and to subscribe to Johan’s newsletter, visit ourlongwalk.com.

Buy tickets for the live Conversations with Tyler recording with Craig Newmark at 92NY! Few living scholars can claim to have shaped how we read Machiavelli as decisively as Harvey Mansfield. His new book, The Rise and Fall of Rational Control , argues that Machiavelli didn't just write about politics—he invented the intellectual machinery of the modern world, starting with the concept of "effectual truth," which Mansfield credits as the seed of modern empiricism. At 93, after 61 years of teaching at Harvard, Mansfield remains cheerfully unimpressed by most of contemporary philosophy, convinced that the great books are self-sustaining, and that irony is what separates serious philosophy from the rest. Tyler and Harvey discuss how Machiavelli's concept of fact was brand new, why his longest chapter is a how-to guide for conspiracy, whether America's 20th-century wars refute the conspiratorial worldview, Trump as a Shakespearean vulgarian who is in some ways more democratic than the rest of us, why Bronze Age Pervert should not be taken as a model for Straussianism, the time he tried to introduce Nietzsche to Quine, why Rawls needed more Locke, what it was like to hear Churchill speak at Margate in 1953, whether great books are still being written, how his students have and haven't changed over 61 years of teaching, the eclipse rather than decline of manliness, and what Aristotle got right about old age and much more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full vi deo on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded January 22nd, 2026 . This episode was made possible through the support of the John Templeton Foundation. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Disco

Tyler Cowen believes we are woefully unprepared for the next 25 years. In the first episode of Forecast 2050 with Nebular General Partner, Finn Murphy, we discuss the real reason behind falling birthrates, what the last human job might be in an AI-dominated economy, how conflict and war could evolve in the next 25 years, whether we will have a "viagra for the mind," why we are experiencing the fastest technological revolution in human history, why humans love stasis and hate change, and why we need faith in long-term thinking. Extended Show Notes: https://finnmurphyirl.substack.com/p/humans-love-stasis-and-hate-change Transcript (with helpful links!): https://substack.com/home/post/p-189726563 Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:03 The real reason behind low birthrates 04:50 Transitioning to a majority-old society 07:49 The future of worldwide immigration 14:55 The 2050 economy will be healthcare dominated 19:23 Corporations have never been so powerful 26:25 There is life on the moons of Saturn 27:07 Elon is wrong: We won't settle other planets 30:00 AIs Will Take Over Society By Trick 30:58 We need faith for long term thinking 32:47 There will be many, many fake jobs 36:29 The future of the UN and global conflicts 40:56 The AIs will build their own superintelligent institutions 45:18 Tyler's greatest concern 47:50 The last profession standing in the AI era Tyler Cowen is an economist, author, and professor known for his work on growth, innovation, and the future of technology. Tyler on X: https://x.com/tylercowen Tyler's Blog: https://marginalrevolution.com/ Forecast 2050 is a series about the next 25 years—and the builders, thinkers, and leaders shaping what comes next. Finn on X: https://x.com/FinnMurphy12 Finn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finn-murphy-16160465/ Nebular is an early stage venture capital firm based in New York City. Head to nebular.vc for more info.