Episode · Dwarkesh Podcast · 2022-04-12
Books mentioned on Bryan Caplan - Discrimination, Poverty, & Mental Illness
I interview the economist Bryan Caplan about his new book, Labor Econ Versus the World, and many other related topics. Bryan Caplan is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a New York Times Bestselling author.
Dwarkesh Patel recommended Labor Econ Versus the World by Bryan Douglas Caplan, and discussed Coming apart by Charles A. Murray. Bryan Caplan recommended Promises I Can Keep by Kathryn Edin and others and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and discussed Hitler's Willing Executioners by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen and Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Labor Econ Versus the World
Labor Econ Versus the World by Bryan Douglas Caplan is an engaging collection of essays by a prominent economist that examines various labor market phenomena, public policy issues, and everyday economic debates through an unconventional lens.
Recommended“So, uh, today we're talking about your book, Labor, Econ Versus the World, and it's a collection of your essays throughout the years, and I highly recommend it.”
Where to get it
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Promises I Can Keep
Promises I Can Keep by Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas is a qualitative sociological investigation into the lives of low-income single mothers and the complex realities of modern relationships.
Recommended“you like there's uh one of my favorite books on poverty which is promises I can keep talks about the problems of single moms and one of the main things that it talks about is they're not happy with the fathers of their kids”
Where to get it
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Coming apart
Coming Apart by Charles A.
Discussed“So there's you know there's Charles Murray's story in coming apart which is that actually the culture isn't emphasizing these values or at least like the elites in the culture are not emphasizing these values that they live by.”
Where to get it
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Hitler's Willing Executioners
Hitler's Willing Executioners by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen is a controversial historical study examining the role of ordinary German citizens in the Holocaust and their complicity in genocide.
Discussed“I mean, by the way, this was also, I believe, the point of a pretty famous book, Hitler's Willing Executioners, which asked the question, what happened to Germans who just said, "I'm not participating in the Holocaust."”
Where to get it
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How to Win Friends and Influence People
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is a classic self-help manual focused on interpersonal communication, relationship building, and effective social influence.
Recommended“I'm a big fan of Dale Carnegy's How to Win Friends and Influence People. And a lot of what he says is, you know, for example, he says, "Give everyone a good reputation to live up to. Don't go and tell people you are a terrible late person.”
Where to get it
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Nickel and Dimed
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich is a classic piece of undercover investigative journalism documenting the grueling realities of low-wage work and poverty in America.
Discussed“you probably familiar with the book by Barbara Erin Reich, Nickel and Dime. No, which um so you basically she went and so famous journalist went undercover, did a bunch of low-skilled jobs and then wrote about her experience and how terrible it was and how hard it is to be poor in America.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“And that book again is Labor Econ Versus the World and you can get on Amazon.”