Freakonomics Radio

Fareed Zakaria is left of center. You should also invite someone center or right of center: Victor Davis Hanson, Stephen Kotkin, Sarah Paine. When the US created a fairer post WWII, rules based order, the US was 40% of the world’s economy with the rest of the world destroyed; we’re now 20% of the world’s economy, our allies have benefited by the US subsidizing their national security. And the PRC, Russia, Iran, N. Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela are enemies who try to destabilize our country encouraging fake news and extreme partisan politics. With Trump in office, all the Democrats have to do is to govern to the center - not campaign to the center, then govern to the left like Obama & Biden did. Fool me once, shame on you - fool me twice, shame on me. Trump seems more to the center after Obama, Biden & Harris. The US isn’t perfect, but it’s not bad. We are still a good country & better than most. President Trump maybe an a-hole, but he’s our a-hole.

I just finished listening to the updated Feynman series and it was deeply inspiring and moving.

I absolutely love Freakonomics; Stephen Dubner does a really great job covering such an incredibly broad range of topics. His January 16 interview with Marti Macquarie was very well done, Macquarie does have valuable perspective on many challenges in Medicine. However, his comments regarding FDA’s regulation of AI in medical device software were wildly off-base and dangerously ignorant. The reality is that FDA is leagues ahead of any other regulator around the globe in embracing and developing their evaluation of AI used in medical products. In fact, prior to Trump II, FDA held an annual conference called DHAC, where the best and brightest folk working on AI medical software held days of discussion with FDA staff in an open recorded session. Apparently in his infinite wisdom, Makary has discontinued this essential forum.

Love the thorough questioning. Love data. Love the podcast. Long time listener.

David Lang was graduate student at U Iowa when I was starting & theory TA. Soon after his departure came waves & choruses of interesting works and genuine accolade. Like this podcast series, unpredictable and horizon-expanding.