Originally published on February 20, 2019 (Episode 99)
Introduction
Russ Roberts is well-known as the host of EconTalk, one of the most respected long-form podcasts in economics. But his voice is valuable not only as an economist—he is also a model of intellectual humility, willing to admit what he doesn’t know, change his mind, and hold conversations where truth emerges through dialogue rather than assertion.
In this conversation we revisit his essay Gambling With Other People’s Money: How Perverse Incentives Caused the Financial Crisis (Hoover Institution Press, 2019), written after the 2008 financial crisis, and his reflections ten years later. We discuss the crisis itself, what humility looks like in economic reasoning, and how far one can change one’s mind without abandoning every past conviction. Along the way, we reflect on trade, NAFTA, and what it means to answer questions honestly when the evidence resists certainty.
About the Guest
Russ Roberts is President of Shalem College in Jerusalem and the John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the creator and longtime host of EconTalk. Through his podcast and writing, he has become one of the foremost public intellectuals working to bring economic thinking into everyday conversation.
For Further Investigation
Russ Roberts, Gambling With Other People’s Money: How Perverse Incentives Caused the Financial Crisis (Hoover Institution Press, 2019)
—, How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness (Portfolio, 2015)
“Nina Munk on Poverty, Development, and the Idealist”, EconTalk, Jan 27, 2014
“Jeffrey Sachs on the Millennium Villages Project,” EconTalk, Mar 17, 2024
Russ Roberts, “Postmortem on the Sachs Episode” (EconTalk)
Listen & Discuss
Can humility make economics more trustworthy?
What does it mean to answer a question honestly when the evidence is incomplete?
How did the financial crisis change not only institutions but the people studying them?
If you know someone still debating the lessons of 2008, send them this conversation.
