This episode examines the political debates around public health and public health policy. It is a perfect case study to illustrate so many of the principles covered in earlier podcasts, such as capitalism, externalities, risk, paranoia, and the dumbing down of America. Public health policy is a particularly odd political topic, because in a completely […] The post 28: Frognosis first appeared on The Boiling Frog.| The Boiling Frog
Welcome to The Boiling Frog reboot! The first 26 episodes were examinations of general topics, such as understanding capitalism, how social psychology belies the principles of capitalism, and how this all shapes political dialog. The new podcasts will look at specific policies of the new administration and use those as case studies to illustrate the […] The post 27: Trade Wart first appeared on The Boiling Frog.| The Boiling Frog
A recent article in Nature reported on the results of the first (so far as I know) research into how search algorithms might encourage/promote partisanship. Turns out readers, not algorithms, are the issue. Readers, Not Algorithms, Are the Issue The post Readers, Not Algorithms, Are the Issue first appeared on The Boiling Frog.| The Boiling Frog
There was an interesting op ed in the journal Science recently, talking about how, even in something as objective as the pursuit of scientific insights, you need a high-functioning community. The common image that truth is found when a single individual (usually a guy) in a white coat shouts “Eureka!” is flat out wrong. It […] The post The Community Is Critical first appeared on The Boiling Frog.| The Boiling Frog
This podcast is all about labor unions – why they exist, their history in the U.S., a brief comparison with unions in other countries, the pros and cons of unions, and the larger political implications of their existence. This is a controversial topic in U.S. politics, with many voters (and most elected officials) falling squarely […] The post 26: Jimmy Hoppa first appeared on The Boiling Frog.| The Boiling Frog
Building off the prior podcast on learning from the past, this discussion is all about success and failure. We all know the common wisdom that we all learn more from failure than from success, but of course we don’t strive to fail all of the time! Defining success and failure is not as simple as […] The post 25: Jump for Joy first appeared on The Boiling Frog.| The Boiling Frog
I’m embarrassed to admit that, like I suspect many White Americans, when I think about “Martin Luther King” and “speeches” I only come up with one: “I Have a Dream”. Granted, it is great, because it’s beautiful, intense, emotional and thought-provoking. But it’s not the only thing he ever delivered deserving of recognition. Jamelle Bouie, […] The post Honoring MLK first appeared on The Boiling Frog.| The Boiling Frog
We all spend a lot of time thinking about the past, often when we're trying to make a decision in the present. Sometimes that reflection ends up complicating our decision-making. Why is that? And if we want to avoid repeating past mistakes while also not The post 24: The Toad Not Taken first appeared on The Boiling Frog.| The Boiling Frog
What makes someone an expert? And how is expertise different from intelligence? This podcast is all about expertise, how we acquire it, how do people view others’ expertise, and the notion of expertise transference from one domain to another. We touch on The post 23: Polliwog Polymath first appeared on The Boiling Frog.| The Boiling Frog
This podcast is the sequel to Greenbacks, where we discussed why we have taxes, the different types of taxes, and the pros and cons of each type. In this podcast, we delve into the evolution of the tax system and look at the debates surrounding the level| The Boiling Frog - Reflections on the intersection of economics, history, pol...
Reflections on the intersection of economics, history, politics, psychology and science| The Boiling Frog - Reflections on the intersection of economics, history, pol...
The boiling frog is a parable that illustrates an important lesson on how people, events, and a whole society can, by changing slowly over time, transform into something unrecognizable and previously inconceivable. The fable goes like this: if you put a frog directly into boiling water, it will jump right out of the pot…but if| The Boiling Frog - Reflections on the intersection of economics, history, pol...
