In the interview, economists weren’t always at the levers of public policy in America. The New York Times’ Binyamin Appelbaum tracked the profession’s post-war movement into power, and how the laissez-faire philosophy economists (by and large) brought with them has failed us. Appelbaum is the author of The Economists' Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society.
In the Spiel, hurricanes and global warming.
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Sociable, lively, outgoing people are highly valued in certain cultures - think of the stereotype of the hyper-confident American. And there’s even evidence that extroverts all over the world tend to be happier. But are the positive qualities that quieter types can bring to society being ignored or underappreciated? And couldn’t introverts be just as happy as extroverts, if only they lived in a more accepting culture?
These are controversial areas of personality psychology into which CrowdScience strayed earlier this year when exploring the question “Why am I shy?” It prompted a whole bunch of other questions from our listeners which we tackle in this follow-up programme, with the help of psychologist and shyness expert Professor Jonathan Cheek. We probe the links between happiness, personality and culture, and find out what makes introverts happy.
Amanda Holmes reads Wislawa Szymborska’s poem, “Any Case,” translated from the Polish by Grazyna Drabik and Sharon Olds. Have a suggestion for a poem? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you’ll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman.
This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch.
How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in past decades? Tacita and Charlie are in their mid twenties. They live near Brighton on the south coast and are desperate to move in together. But buying somewhere in that part of the country is out of their reach. They believe earlier generations had it easier than they do. In the third of five programmes, Tacita and Charlie travel back to 1988. Unemployment was high, the result of the deep recession that had hit manufacturing businesses so hard, but credit was easier to come by than ever before; deregulation was full steam ahead. And house prices, in London and the South East, were climbing fast. Would a young couple, back then, have faced the same sort of difficulties Tacita and Charlie do today? The experts who guide our couple through 1988 are economist Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor Sharon Collard from the University of Bristol and Professor Claire Langhamer from the University of Sussex.
Producers: Paul Kerley and Rosamund Jones
How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in previous decades? Tacita and Charlie are in their mid twenties. They live near Brighton on the south coast and are desperate to move in together. But buying somewhere in that part of the country is out of their reach. They believe that earlier generations had it easier than they do. In the second of five programmes, Tacita and Charlie travel back to 1979. Inflation rates were soaring and mortgage payments were likely to take up more of your income than ever before. Industrial unrest was commonplace, but the gap between top and low earners much less than in other decades. So how much difficulty would a young couple, trying to get on the housing ladder back then, have faced?
The experts who guide our couple through 1979 are economist Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor Sharon Collard from the University of Bristol and Professor Claire Langhamer from the University of Sussex.
Producers: Rosamund Jones and Paul Kerley
What to know today about Hurricane Dorian's impact on the Carolinas, and new details about a mysterious illness linked to vaping.
Plus: the Facebook Dating feature is here (we'll tell you how it works), Google has a new way to find your favorite TV show, and plant-based shrimp is becoming a thing.
Those stories and many more in less than 10 minutes!
Award-winning broadcast journalist and former TV news reporter Erica Mandy breaks it all down for you.
Head to www.theNewsWorthy.com to read more about any of the stories mentioned under the section titled 'Episodes' or see sources below...
Today we feature an interview our colleague Kelsey Bolar did with Virginia Walden Ford, a mom of three whose activism brought school choice to the kids of Washington, D.C. Now her story is being made into a major movie, “Miss Virginia,” which will be released Oct. 18.
We also cover these stories:
• The Education Department is fining Michigan State University $4.5 million over its handling of sexual misconduct.
• The Labor Department reinstated a political appointee who had resigned over a sarcastic Facebook post that a reporter suggested was anti-Semitic.
• Walgreens is now following the trend set by other big retail chains in asking customers to no longer open carry firearms in their stores.
The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at letters@dailysignal.com. Enjoy the show!
