#AcademicRunPlaylist - 10/26/25

I had a relaxing but chilly weekend, and while staying warm inside I listened to talks and read books for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an amazing talk by Oliver Binz on the fourth-quarter earnings effect at Mohamed Elsalkh's seminar. Binz demonstrates how firms systematically underperform fourth quarter earnings estimates likely due to underinvestment in accounting oversight in earlier quarters. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQgfOHjZ7nM

Next was "The Barbarous Years" by Bernard Bailyn. This book is a mix of detailed, fascinating analysis of the regional European roots of different North American colonist groups, their ways of life after immigrating, and different governance structures. Particularly fascinating are the sections on farming techniques. However, and the title should've been a red flag for me, the book is rife with racism, the degree to which I often had to double check what I just read. Specifically, the complete marginalization and shocking verbiage around Native Americans. If this book were written in the 80s, this would be just as inexcusable but more understandable. That it was published in 2012, and that no editor called out at least the word choice, is pretty much unforgivable. I would welcome an edited version with an introduction criticizing the original edition https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/7309/the-barbarous-years-by-bernard-bailyn/

Last was "Chop Suey, USA" by Yong Chen. This book takes a historical and qualitative view of how Chinese food gained popularity in the US in marked contrast to other cuisines despite having a much smaller immigrant population than other groups. For me, by far the most interesting chapters were on the restaurant industry and how the tours of China town as a kind of theme park in the mid 20th century helped introduce them to a wider clientele and spread the appeal of Chinese restaurants across the country. I would've liked much more quantitative analysis here - Chen almost never brings in macro economic numbers and even metrics about the proliferation of different dishes are done through a perusal of a few modern local restaurants. Still, the distributed nature of the industry and its phenomenal success makes this topic even more important, and beyond being intellectually interesting the recipes scattered throughout are sure to appeal to your culinary side. Given the publisher I recommend finding at a library. Highly recommend https://archive.org/details/chopsueyusastory0000chen_r8x2