Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson

Music, its Commercialization, and Politics

Activist and poet John Sinclair and Rob Johnson discuss the early days of the counterculture, Sinclair's role in MC5, and the transformation of music from art to commodity when the music industry’s commercial power blossomed in the early 1970s.

The New Climate War

Climate scientist Michael Mann discusses his new book, The New Climate War, in which he outlines the many ways in which powerful interests deflect, divide, and delay, to prevent real action that would avert the climate crisis

Indian Development History and New Horizons for Asia

Former Deputy Chairman of India's Planning Commission, Montek Ahluwalia, and Nobel Laureate Michael Spence discuss Ahluwalia's book BackStage: The Story Behind India's High Growth Years, and explore the challenges for the developing world more generally.

The Origins and Significance of "Identity Economics"

Nobel laureate George Akerlof and Duke University economist Rachel Kranton talk about their book, Identity Economics and the insights that the concept continues to provide for economic analysis.

The Future of Economics

Tiger Gao, brilliant young host of the Princeton University podcast, Policy Punchline, interviews Rob Johnson about INET's aims, the function of economics in academia, and the relationship between Silicon Valley culture and the latest technologies, among other things.

The Master Algorithm

Tim O'Reilly, the founder of O’Reilly Media and author of the book, What's the Future?, talks about how new technology can either be considered a scapegoat or a mirror and what this means for our future.

Podcasting and the Fragile Public Discourse

Tiger Gao, founder and host of the podcast “Policy Punchline” at Princeton University, talks about the potentials of podcasting for challenging the fragmented and changing media landscape.

For Benjamin: Songs of Power, Innocence and Experience

Influential music and film producer Shep Gordon (named among the 100 most influential people by Rolling Stone) discusses how he helped bring the art of cooking to public awareness, what makes for true happiness, becoming a father to Benjamin at over 70, and the importance of power and innocence. 

A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism

Mariana Mazzucato talks with Rob Johnson about her new book, The Mission Economy, and what we need to do to make innovation work for global shared prosperity.

How Digital Technology and the Pandemic will Accelerate Transformations

Economics Nobel laureate Michael Spence discusses the many changes that await us in the wake of digital technology developments and the pandemic, which are combining in unexpected ways