Robert Moses

Dwarkesh Patel

I talked to Dwarkesh Patel of the Lunar Society Podcast about many topics. We talked about:   Why do AI researchers and rationalists disagree about existential risk?  What would happen if Robert Moses ran San Francisco?  Is localism overrated?  What does Effective Altruism get right and wrong?  Which politicians would he like to interview    ---   Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I talked to <a href="https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp" rel="noopener noreferer nofollow" target="_blank">Dwarkesh Patel</a> of the Lunar Society Podcast about many topics. We talked about: <ul> <li>Why do AI researchers and rationalists disagree about existential risk? </li> <li>What would happen if Robert Moses ran San Francisco? </li> <li>Is localism overrated? </li> <li>What does Effective Altruism get right and wrong? </li> <li>Which politicians would he like to interview </li> </ul> --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 49: Dwarkesh Patel - podcasting, Robert Moses, Effective Altruism and AI xrisk

I spoke to Trevor Chow about existential risks from AI and techniques to align artificial intelligence with human goals. Specifically we talked about  An introduction to existential risk from Artificial Intelligence Existing methods for alignment of AI models Why RLHF might fail in large language models Whether interpretability research might scale? New methods being developed to make larger models safer Regulatory frameworks for the future of AI--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to <a href="https://twitter.com/tmychow" rel="noopener noreferer nofollow" target="_blank">Trevor Chow</a> about existential risks from AI and techniques to align artificial intelligence with human goals. Specifically we talked about <ul> <li>An introduction to existential risk from Artificial Intelligence</li> <li>Existing methods for alignment of AI models</li> <li>Why RLHF might fail in large language models</li> <li>Whether interpretability research might scale?</li> <li>New methods being developed to make larger models safer</li> <li>Regulatory frameworks for the future of AI</li></ul>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 48: An Introduction to AI Alignment with Trevor Chow

I talked to Faris Abdurrachman about Indonesia and it's nickel boom. We talked specifically about  Why Indonesia banned exports of raw nickel Who gets the value from nickel exports Indonesia's new sovereign wealth fund    ---   Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I talked to <a href="https://twitter.com/faris_sina" rel="noopener noreferer nofollow" target="_blank">Faris Abdurrachman</a> about Indonesia and it's nickel boom. We talked specifically about <ul> <li>Why Indonesia banned exports of raw nickel</li> <li>Who gets the value from nickel exports</li> <li>Indonesia's new sovereign wealth fund</li> </ul> --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep. 47: The World's Biggest Invisible Country: Indonesia

I spoke to Kartik Akileswaran who runs Growth Teams - an initiative which helps build state capacity for economic growth in developing countries. We talked about  - Why implementation is a binding constraint for economic policy - How industrial policy helps reduce information constraints for investors - Underrated growth reforms    ---   Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to Kartik Akileswaran who runs <a href="https://www.growth-teams.org/" rel="noopener noreferer nofollow" target="_blank">Growth Teams</a> - an initiative which helps build state capacity for economic growth in developing countries. We talked about - Why implementation is a binding constraint for economic policy - How industrial policy helps reduce information constraints for investors - Underrated growth reforms --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 46: Growth teams with Kartik Akileswaran

I spoke to Matt Korda who works at the Federation of American Scientists on nuclear weapon policy. We have an exciting discussion about the role of nuclear weapons, their growth and the dangerous arms races that are starting  Some highlights of the show:  The advent of “exotic” nuclear weapon systems China’s nuclear strategy has changed dramatically! Why nuclear experts are most worried about South Asia The new game theory of a multipolar nuclear world    ---   Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to <a href="https://twitter.com/mattkorda" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Matt Korda</a> who works at the Federation of American Scientists on nuclear weapon policy. We have an exciting discussion about the role of nuclear weapons, their growth and the dangerous arms races that are starting Some highlights of the show: <ul> <li>The advent of “exotic” nuclear weapon systems</li> <li>China’s nuclear strategy has changed dramatically!</li> <li>Why nuclear experts are most worried about South Asia</li> <li>The new game theory of a multipolar nuclear world </li> </ul> --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 45: What's going on with nuclear weapons?

I talked to Anupam Manur, a professor of economics about India's trade policy before 1991. We talked about:  The scarcity mindset about foreign exchange reserves The controversial 1966 devaluation How did the pre-1991 import licensing system work? “The financial account was almost non existent” “Hindustan Motors and Toyota were set up at the same time but in 15 years Toyota sold 280 times the cars” “Productivity growth was almost absent before 1991”--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I talked to <a href="https://twitter.com/anupammanur" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anupam Manur</a>, a professor of economics about India's trade policy before 1991. We talked about: <ul> <li>The scarcity mindset about foreign exchange reserves</li> <li>The controversial 1966 devaluation</li> <li>How did the pre-1991 import licensing system work?</li> <li>“The financial account was almost non existent”</li> <li>“Hindustan Motors and Toyota were set up at the same time but in 15 years Toyota sold 280 times the cars”</li> <li>“Productivity growth was almost absent before 1991”</li></ul>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 44: Trade Policy Tragedy in India

I spoke to Professor Richard Jones, about how science funding in the UK could improve. Some interesting questions we talked about are  “Penny wise, pound foolish” in science funding Creating markets for technological advances How he’d invest a billion £ to accelerate scientific innovation?    ---   Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to Professor <a href="http://www.softmachines.org/wordpress/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Richard Jones</a>, about how science funding in the UK could improve. Some interesting questions we talked about are <ul> <li>“Penny wise, pound foolish” in science funding</li> <li>Creating markets for technological advances</li> <li>How he’d invest a billion £ to accelerate scientific innovation?</li> </ul> --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 43: Funding Science and Innovation in the UK

I talked to Tiago Santos, a diplomat, about his book Why Not Parliamentarism. Tiago and I explore some questions here  What makes parliamentary democracies superior to presidential ones? The creeping presidentialisation of parliamentary democracies The optimal rate of constitutional amendments--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I talked to <a href="https://twitter.com/tribsantos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tiago Santos</a>, a diplomat, about his book <a href="https://whynotparliamentarism.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Why Not Parliamentarism</a>. Tiago and I explore some questions here <ul> <li>What makes parliamentary democracies superior to presidential ones?</li> <li>The creeping presidentialisation of parliamentary democracies</li> <li>The optimal rate of constitutional amendments</li></ul>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 42: Parliamentarism

I talked to Amit Varma who runs one of my favourite podcasts - The Seen and the Unseen about politics, economics and public policy. We talked about  Libertarianism within the Indian canon Cultivating your audience  Being a public intellectual The differences between generations --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I talked to <a href="https://twitter.com/amitvarma" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amit Varma</a> who runs one of my favourite podcasts - <a href="https://seenunseen.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Seen and the Unseen</a> about politics, economics and public policy. We talked about <ul> <li>Libertarianism within the Indian canon</li> <li>Cultivating your audience </li> <li>Being a public intellectual</li> <li>The differences between generations </li></ul>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 41: Libertarianism and podcasting with Amit Varma 

I spoke to Jason Crawford of The Roots of Progress about the new movement of Progress Studies. We talked about   Building a culture of economic progress Why are developed countries more averse to progress? Is there a tradeoff between economic progress and existential risk? What is the main constraint for the movement today?   ---   Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to <a href="https://twitter.com/jasoncrawford" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jason Crawford</a> of <a href="https://rootsofprogress.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Roots of Progress</a> about the new movement of Progress Studies. We talked about <ul> <li>Building a culture of economic progress</li> <li>Why are developed countries more averse to progress?</li> <li>Is there a tradeoff between economic progress and existential risk?</li> <li>What is the main constraint for the movement today?</li> </ul> --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 40: Progress Studies 

I talk to the most interesting people about economic growth

I talked with Mayank Seksaria of Liberty Mutual Investments about investing on macroeconomic views. We talked about   Translating macro views into investing allocations A bottom up view of the macroeconomy Evaluating macro talent Why does institutional research cost so much?    ---   Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I talked with <a href="https://twitter.com/MayankSeksaria" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mayank Seksaria</a> of Liberty Mutual Investments about investing on macroeconomic views. We talked about <ul> <li>Translating macro views into investing allocations</li> <li>A bottom up view of the macroeconomy</li> <li>Evaluating macro talent</li> <li>Why does institutional research cost so much?</li> </ul> --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 39: Macro Investing 

I spoke to Mary Childs who is the author of the exceptional book The Bond King. We talked about  How finance became an interesting profession How do you build institutions that succeed at investing? Can we automate the Fed? Financial history being undervalued--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to Mary Childs who is the author of the exceptional book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bond-King-Market-Built-Empire-ebook/dp/B08QGKKYX1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Bond King</a>. We talked about <ul> <li>How finance became an interesting profession</li> <li>How do you build institutions that succeed at investing?</li> <li>Can we automate the Fed?</li> <li>Financial history being undervalued</li></ul>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 38: The Bond King

I spoke to Steven Hamilton professor of Economics at George Washington University about Australian economic policy, and their upcoming elections. We talk about  Why was Australian COVID policy so strict? Australia as a nation of prison guards Economic issues of the Australian election “Australia is a mine with a parliament” Dutch disease in Australia Swimming, intermittent fasting and other personal habits--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to <a href="https://twitter.com/SHamiltonian" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Steven Hamilton</a> professor of Economics at George Washington University about Australian economic policy, and their upcoming elections. We talk about <ul> <li>Why was Australian COVID policy so strict?</li> <li>Australia as a nation of prison guards</li> <li>Economic issues of the Australian election</li> <li>“Australia is a mine with a parliament”</li> <li>Dutch disease in Australia</li> <li>Swimming, intermittent fasting and other personal habits</li></ul>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 37: Australia: A Mine with a Parliament?

What is the labour market like? What are the largest barriers in the labour market? Nathan Young and I spoke to economist Bryan Caplan about his new book Labor Econ Versus The World. We also talk about  Censorship and dictatorships Bets he is willing to take Malengo and international migration DALLE-2 and writing graphic novels The literature on education Why he is not an experimental economist The effect of AI on jobs  Bets Bryan is willing to take  No important disruption to the politics of countries where Ukrainian refugees immigrate Poland will gain over 3x of the GDP Ukraine loses with regards to immigration Less than 20% chance of humanity ending by 2100 Less than 60% chance that he will consider misaligned AI to be a problem in 20 years If &gt;5% of people immigrate to a developed nation there will be no civil wars Upper bounds on religious fundamentalism in the EU What are the odds that mainstream psychiatry accepts his view of mental illness?  Papers referenced in the podcast  Mankiw, Romer and Weil Where has all the Education gone? Eric Hanusheck on test scores and GDP--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

What is the labour market like? What are the largest barriers in the labour market? <a href="https://twitter.com/NathanpmYoung" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nathan Young </a>and I spoke to economist <a href="https://twitter.com/bryan_caplan" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bryan Caplan</a> about his new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Labor-Econ-Versus-World-Greatest/dp/B09QF44HHG" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Labor Econ Versus The World</a>. We also talk about <ul> <li>Censorship and dictatorships</li> <li>Bets he is willing to take</li> <li><a href="https://malengo.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Malengo</a> and international migration</li> <li>DALLE-2 and writing graphic novels</li> <li>The literature on education</li> <li>Why he is not an experimental economist</li> <li>The effect of AI on jobs</li> </ul> Bets Bryan is willing to take <ul> <li>No important disruption to the politics of countries where Ukrainian refugees immigrate</li> <li>Poland will gain over 3x of the GDP Ukraine loses with regards to immigration</li> <li>Less than 20% chance of humanity ending by 2100</li> <li>Less than 60% chance that he will consider misaligned AI to be a problem in 20 years</li> <li>If &gt;5% of people immigrate to a developed nation there will be no civil wars</li> <li>Upper bounds on religious fundamentalism in the EU</li> <li>What are the odds that mainstream psychiatry accepts his view of mental illness?</li> </ul> <h2>Papers referenced in the podcast</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://eml.berkeley.edu/~dromer/papers/MRW_QJE1992.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mankiw, Romer and Weil</a></li> <li><a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/17434" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Where has all the Education gone?</a></li> <li><a href="http://hanushek.stanford.edu/publications/higher-grades-higher-gdp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eric Hanusheck on test scores and GDP</a></li></ul>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 36: Labour Economics Versus the World

David Manheim

I spoke to David Manehim who works on reducing existential threats to humanity at the Technion. We talked about  The biggest threats to humanity Preventing all future pandemics Is working on X-risk even tractable? How you can work on reducing existential risk  Very fun on an underrated topic!--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to <a href="https://twitter.com/davidmanheim" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">David Manehim</a> who works on reducing existential threats to humanity at the Technion. We talked about <ul> <li>The biggest threats to humanity</li> <li>Preventing all future pandemics</li> <li>Is working on X-risk even tractable?</li> <li>How you can work on reducing existential risk</li> </ul> Very fun on an underrated topic!--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Working on Existential Risks with David Manheim

I spoke to the very very talented Trevor Chow about the history of long run growth. Topics include  Wishlist of economic history topics Getting over vetocracy Qualities of the best economic blogs Why more economics graduates should join a VC firm! Meme theory of money  Highly highly recommended--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to the very very talented <a href="http://tmychow.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Trevor Chow</a> about the history of long run growth. Topics include <ul> <li>Wishlist of economic history topics</li> <li>Getting over vetocracy</li> <li>Qualities of the best economic blogs</li> <li>Why more economics graduates should join a VC firm!</li> <li>Meme theory of money</li> </ul> Highly highly recommended--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 34: Long Run Growth with Trevor Chow

Jamie Catherwood

I spoke with Jamie Catherwood who writes and teaches financial history at Investor Amnesia. We had a lot of fun talking about   The relevance of financial history Formation of bubbles Investing during a war Surprising stories behind the 1907 financial panic The influence of Twitter--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke with Jamie Catherwood who writes and teaches financial history at <a href="https://investoramnesia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Investor Amnesia</a>. We had a lot of fun talking about  <ul> <li>The relevance of financial history</li> <li>Formation of bubbles</li> <li>Investing during a war</li> <li>Surprising stories behind the 1907 financial panic</li> <li>The influence of Twitter</li></ul>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 33: Jumping Through Financial History with Jamie Catherwood

I talked to Puja Mehra, a journalist and author of the book The Lost Decade about India's economic history of the years 2008-2018. We talked about The reasons for India's jobs crisis Should the Finance Ministry be split into two? The farming crisis Has India's Big Government really receded? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I talked to Puja Mehra, a journalist and author of the book The Lost Decade about India's economic history of the years 2008-2018. We talked about The reasons for India's jobs crisis Should the Finance Ministry be split into two? The farming crisis Has India's Big Government really receded?  --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

The Indian Economy

I spoke to Michael Norris, a commentator on Chinese technology industries and research manager at AgencyChina. We talked about Understanding the motivations of Chinese antitrust enforcement The 'low hanging fruit' of antitrust  The false dilemma of hard tech and software Chinese tech companies he is bullish on English language news sources for China tech--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I spoke to Michael Norris, a commentator on Chinese technology industries and research manager at AgencyChina. We talked about Understanding the motivations of Chinese antitrust enforcement The 'low hanging fruit' of antitrust  The false dilemma of hard tech and software Chinese tech companies he is bullish on English language news sources for China tech --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Chinese Tech Antitrust

I talked to Jamie Powell who is a financial journalist at the Financial Times. We had lots of fun talking about:   The economics of short selling Can bubbles be good for the economy? Issues with Web3 The story around tesla  Highly recommended!  ---   Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message

I talked to Jamie Powell who is a financial journalist at the Financial Times. We had lots of fun talking about: <ul> <li>The economics of short selling</li> <li>Can bubbles be good for the economy?</li> <li>Issues with Web3</li> <li>The story around tesla</li> </ul> Highly recommended! --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pradyumna-sp/message</a>

Ep 30: Finance and scams with Jamie Powell

Bretton Goods 

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