E44: Tyler Cowen on Harvard, the GOAT Economist, and Ending Stagnation

On this episode of Upstream, Erik sits down with Tyler Cowen to discuss Harvard, AI, Javier Milei's legacy, the value of non-legibility in talent spotting, and more.

Upstream is sponsored by Shopify: https://shopify.com/torenberg for a $1/month trial period.

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RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist

Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenberg cover a major topic in history in depth -- in under an hour. This season will cover classical Greece, early America, the Vikings, medieval Islam, ancient China, the fall of the Roman Empire, and more.

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@History102-qg5oj

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We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

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SPONSOR:

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LINKS

Read Tyler's new book for free: https://econgoat.ai/

Tyler's blog: https://marginalrevolution.com

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X / TWITTER:

@tylercowen (Tyler)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@upstream__pod

@turpentinemedia

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(02:48) Tyler's new book GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?

(05:19) Javier Milei and dismantling bureaucracy

(08:50) Who is the GOAT economist?

(12:29) AI, economic growth, and fertility

(16:58) Sponsor | Shopify

(18:34) Policies for managing population decline

(28:44) Emergent Ventures & talent spotting

(31:59) The value of non-legibility

(33:25) Predictions about Harvard

(35:38) The Future of Higher Education

(37:45) How Twitter and Harvard are related

(40:22) How to think about group differences

(43:43) Bronze Age Pervert on Nietzsche and postliberalism

(46:45) Rawls's veil of ignorance

(48:19) Tyler on his career and legacy

(52:45) The future of the University of Austin

(56:58) Wrap

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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [email protected].

Producer: Sam Kaufman

Editor: Michelle Poreh

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