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My colleague Bryan Caplan has some comments on the topic, here is also Robin Hanson here and here.  I think both are trying to fit the Covid battle too much into a framework of equating marginal benefit and marginal cost.  While that MB = MC condition is true tautologically for my views as well, I […] The post The non-linearity of Covid-19 response appeared...

Despite the conventional wisdom that Trump would surely nominate a judge to secure a conservative majority that would ultimately overturn Roe v. Wade, getting that judge successfully confirmed would diminish Trump’s reelection prospects (by energizing the Democratic base to vote for leaders who would pack the court or ratify PR and DC as states). But […] The post The game theory of SCOTUS nominations...

Here is the transcript and audio, here is the opening summary: Annie joined Tyler to explore how payoffs aren’t always monetary, the benefits and costs of probabilistic thinking, the “magical thinking” behind why people buy fire insurance but usually don’t get prenups, the psychology behind betting on shark migrations, how her most famous linguistics paper […] The post My Conversation with Annie Duke appeared...

The clock has hit midnight in Las Vegas! Here’s the crowd waiting to get into @theDlasvegas in #DTLV. 🎰 pic.twitter.com/sp6gNwsVPz — FOX5 Las Vegas (@FOX5Vegas) June 4, 2020 What might be some alternate (if possibly slightly unfair) titles?  How about “A Swede by Any Other Name” or “America > Sweden”? “Refuting Friedman-Savage, convexity all over” […] The post Solve for the equilibrium appeared first...

With all those fools going to bars and concerts, or running marathons, it is evident we still need to solve the problem of entertainment, as I argue in my new Bloomberg column. It is instructive to look back to the days of World War II. The U.S. government played a critical role in encouraging Hollywood to make […] The post Robert Browning and Ingmar Bergman in...

Here is the transcript and audio, here is part of the summary: Tim joined Tyler to discuss the role of popular economics in a politicized world, the puzzling polarization behind Brexit, why good feedback is necessary (and rare), the limits of fact-checking, the “tremendously British” encouragement he received from Prince Charles, playing poker with Steve […] The post My Conversation with Tim Harford appeared...

This one is better than the other available conversations with Reid, here is the transcript and audio.  Here is part of the CWTeam summary: Reid joined Tyler to talk about all these leverage points and more, including the Silicon Valley cultural meme he most disagrees with, how Wittgenstein influenced the design of LinkedIn, mystical atheism, […] The post My Conversation with the excellent Reid...

The Duke of Cambridge has spoken of his “sadness” at the broken bond with his brother and voiced sorrow that the royal family is no longer a “team”. As the Queen called emergency peace talks tomorrow at Sandringham to end the Windsors’ civil war, The Sunday Times can reveal that Prince William has said he […] The post The culture that is Buckingham: what...

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column: Just hours after Iran’s missile strike this week on U.S.-Iraqi bases in Iraq, the Iranian government made an incredible claim: The attack, it said, had killed 80 Americans and wounded about 200, all of whom were immediately removed from the site by helicopter. U.S. officials, meanwhile, said […] The post How fake news will alter foreign...

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one excerpt: Maybe Trump’s threat to attack cultural sites was not meant literally, but rather as a brash reminder that his retaliatory actions will not be constrained by world opinion, international law or the views of American elites. If so, such a signal, to be effective, […] The post How to retaliate against foreign adversaries...

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one key excerpt: A second factor, however, pushes in the opposite direction. If Trump is viewed as too corrupt, too poisonous or too unreliable by swing voters, some of these senators also run the risk of losing their jobs. These senators therefore wish to […] The post The McConnell-Trump impeachment game appeared first...

Boris Johnson is planning to force a new Brexit deal through parliament in just 10 days — including holding late-night and weekend sittings — in a further sign of Downing Street’s determination to negotiate an orderly exit from the EU. According to Number 10 officials, Mr Johnson’s team has drawn up detailed plans under which […] The post Brexit update (POTMR) appeared first on...

The betting markets have stayed in the 48-55 range for Brexit by year’s end, even after the suspension announcement.  That to me does not sound like “hard Brexit hell or high water.” I would sooner think that Boris Johnson wishes to see through a relabeled version of the Teresa May deal, perhaps with an extra […] The post Boris Johnson’s suspension of Parliament appeared...