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Economic Inequality
George Szpiro explores the philosophical ideas that explain why justice — not freedom or efficiency — may better anchor a fair society.
In this excerpt from The Wage Standard, Arindrajit Dube explains how "monopsony" gives some employers the power to set wages below competitive levels.
Handled right, AI has potential to bring back middle-skill jobs lost to the rise of computers, economists argue. Or, like the mechanized mills of the past, it could toss whole sectors out of work.
55mins
“Old systems of the past are collapsing, and new systems of the future are still to be born. I call this moment the great progression.”
From bombed reactors to inflation and blackouts, a cascade of crises is testing the Islamic Republic’s resilience like never before.
The case that a bipartisan movement structured around progress and reform may be reaching critical mass.
15mins
“This is a world in which we've essentially given ourselves the tools to stop the construction of the most important product in American lives in the places where Americans often most want to move.”
The investment advisor and host of the Talking Billions podcast explores childhood curiosity, building networks through kindness, and more.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Agentic AI pioneer Chetan Dube considers ways that everyone can be lifted by the tide of AI, not just those with the capital to leverage it.
An evidence-based policy movement is arming the fight with tools and programs that are more effective than ever before.
In 1980, Willy Brandt drew a line across the map that still influences how we think about the world.
Historian Timothy Snyder talks with Big Think about how true liberty requires both negative and positive freedoms.
Big Think guest writer Rory Stewart — former UK Secretary of State for International Development and co-host of The Rest Is Politics podcast — made a profound discovery about leadership while working with GiveDirectly.
24mins
“It’s remarkable how weak the correlation between success and intelligence is.” Here’s what skills do matter, from 3 business experts.
While the concept stretches back centuries, it has garnered significant attention in recent decades.
Consumer debt shapes American lives so thoroughly that it seems eternal and immortal, but it’s actually relatively new to the financial world.
Rich is brilliant at his job. He completes work in half the time of his coworkers. Should he have to sit at his desk just as long?
6mins
Why most billionaires aren’t geniuses and most geniuses aren’t billionaires, explained by political scientist Brian Klaas.
9mins
From hunter-gatherers to the American Dream: This is how humanity’s definition of “work” has developed over time.
To see a true cross-section of American society, head to Applebee's, Buffalo Wild Wings, IHOP, Chili’s, and Olive Garden.
We've heard this argument before.
China has always been one of the world’s wealthiest nations, but Chinese wealth looks different across the country’s eventful history.
In a world without clocks, people used common activities in place of time units. How long it took you to go to the toilet mattered.