Culture Links, 8/20/2026
Lyman Stone and Peter Foreshaw Brooks on social contagion; Simon Maass on the Beat Generation; Moses Sternstein on status competition; Patrick Collison on sources of Silicon Valley ideas
In My Tribe
improving social epistemology, rewarding reasoned discourse
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Education Links, 8/19/2026
Andrew Hartz and Eric Kaufmann on research funding; Austin Scholar on writing; Matt Continetti on Michigan's pass-fail semester; Ashley Rubin on sociology
Beyond Language Models
Problems in the physical world are complex. Social world problems reach a higher level of complexity.
Economics Links, 8/17/2026
Leighton Woodhouse on substack and journalism; Richard Audoly and others on labor's income share; Scott Sumner on monetarism; The Urban Institute on young adults living with parents
WWII military history
continuing the 20th century American history lecture series
World War II, part one
continuing the lecture series
Hard Times and Escapes in the 1930s
another lecture composed by Claude
Clash of Civilization Links, 8/13/2026
Dan Burmawi on transnational Islam; Aaron Shuster on learning from France; Scott McKay on lunatics in power; Ed West on mass migration
Radio and Movies in the 1930s
continuing the history lecture series
Economic Policy in the 1930s
the next lecture in the series
What Caused the Great Depression?
My own take
The Great Depression, 1930-1940
Moving along in my 20th century American history series
The Wrapper Model
Have academic economists fallen for a scam?
The artificially intelligent dog
A metaphor for AI?
Political Psychology Links, 8/6/2026
Dan Williams on collective delusions; Ilana Redstone on disputes we cannot resolve; Virginia Postrel on America nurturing ambition; Helen Andrews on our race problem
Economics Links
Johann Kurtz on millennial complaints; Michael Magoon contra Joel Mokyr; Joseph Politano on America's housing stock; Tyler Cowen on AI investment
Political Economy Links, 8/4/2026
Aaron Renn on populism receding; Robin Hanson on support for world government; Bo Winegard on political beliefs as tribal signals; Daron Acemoglu on economic equality and democracy
The 1990s Web vs. today's AI
I was more engaged with the former
AI Links, 8/2/2026
Veera M. Rajagopal on using AI to pick content; Jerry Kaplan vs. doomerism; John Cochrane on the AI letter; Timor Kosters and others on an experiment with agents and humans
Education Links, 8/1/2026
Robert Pondiscio questions Alpha School; Frank Furedi on Woke socialization; Aaron Renn on Vanderbilt; Hollis Robbins on learning outcomes
Progressive Economics in One Lesson
a narrative of good vs. evil
Is AI Progress Stalling?
Or is it me?
Arts and Ideas of the 1920s
the last lecture in the series on this period in American history