Sean Illing speaks with Matthew Jones, historian of science and technology, and co-author (with data scientist Chris Wiggins) of the new book How Data Happened. They discuss the surprisingly long history of data from the 18th century to today, in service of explaining how we wound up in a world where our personal information is mined by giant corporations fo ... Show More
Yesterday
American democracy's structural flaw
Back in 2015, before President Donald Trump, before January 6, before all the craziness of the last decade, Matt Yglesias made a blunt prediction: American democracy is doomed. Guest host Zack Beauchamp talks with Matt about what that argument got right, what it missed, and why t ... Show More
38m 41s
May 2023
Documentary #16: The Myth of Freedom Under Capitalism
Although its intellectual handmaidens love to insist otherwise — capitalism is not a system that truly embodies freedom. We all feel it, of course — that nagging sense that we lack any agency over the choices that shape our lives, the frustration we feel at our bosses, the tensio ... Show More
1h 39m
Oct 2020
Fake news and data lies: how to win an election
<p>Fake news, conspiracy theories, and weaponising data to influence elections are all aspects of contemporary politics. But Amol Rajan explores their historical roots with two eminent historians, Jill Lepore and Sir Richard Evans.</p><p>Decades before Silicon Valley tech compani ... Show More
42m 11s
Dec 2019
Les Murdoch, tabloïds et grandes oreilles
<p><strong>Dans « Succession », la série à succès produite par HBO, la richissime famille Logan, l’une des plus puissantes des Etats-Unis, est à la fois cimentée et déchirée par l’argent.</strong> Impossible de nier que l’histoire de ce clan de milliardaires est inspirée de la ré ... Show More
17m 59s
Mar 2023
How Data Happened: Professors Chris Wiggins and Matthew L. Jones on the History of Data
<p>Chris Wiggins and Matthew Jones, authors of the new book <em>How Data Happened: A History from the Age of Reason to the Age of Algorithms</em>, join Patrick to discuss the history of data, why enumerating things isn't a neutral act, and the ethics of building a world on the fo ... Show More
59m 16s
May 2020
#96 – Stephen Schwarzman: Going Big in Business, Investing, and AI
Stephen Schwarzman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms with over 530 billion dollars of assets under management. He is one of the most successful business leaders in history, all from humble beginnings back in Philly. I recommend h ... Show More
1h 10m
<p>It’s hard to know whether the benefits of hiring a celebrity are worth the risk. We dig into one gruesome story of an endorsement gone wrong, and find a surprising result.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://economics.cornell.edu/john-cawley">J ... Show More
