#AcademicRunPlaylist - 12/13/24

Author

Ben Waber
December 13, 2024

A selfie of me in front of a swampy part of the Charles River on a clear, sunny day. I'm a bald, middle-aged, white man with a red beard flecked with white. I'm wearing black sunglasses and a black running jacket. There's a tree on the left that juts out into the water, while brown reeds stretch across the middle of the river. Bare trees line the far banks

I can't believe I thought it was cold yesterday. After some morning calls I ventured out for a decent run, and this picture is probably the only time where nearly every inch of skin wasn't covered. Still, at least I was able to take in some nice scenery while listening to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an amazing panel on automation, management, and the future of work at the LSE with Erik Hurst, Chrisanthi Avgerou, and Noam Yuchtman. Hurst leads off with examples of tractor/automated farming equipment adoption in the early 20th century to argue that many of the predictions around AI's work effects are premature. While there's a touch of AI hype here, overall it's an extremely level-headed and reasoned discussion. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlLxS9s1QM8&t=1s

Next was the National Bureau of Economic Research symposium on the US agricultural sector, with notable talks by GianCarlo Moschini (innovation, licensing, and competition in GM crops), Jordi Jaumandreau (market power and productivity in meatpacking labor/livestock), and Julian Arteaga (Mexican migration flows and US agricultural labor markets) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Box3Hi5Mvbs

Next was an engaging talk by Minna Nygren on understanding children's experiences in informal learning environments that incorporate multisensory and embodied technologies at UCLIC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtO1BcyXx7I

Next was a fascinating talk by Yohannes Haile-Selassie on the varied hominid ancestral species that were contemporaries to Australopithecus afarensis at the ASU Institute of Human Origins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22WRS0hL7rM

Next was an interesting conversation between Karthik Ramann and Anat Admati on how companies shape policies and democracy at Stanford University Graduate School of Business https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvR6vkTMXsA

Last was "A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961-2021" by Alan Blinder. If you want an accessible, inside baseball, math-peppered history of the recent macroeconomic history of the US, this is the book for you. Complete with witty commentary, Blinder methodically works through the last 6 decades of the financial side of the US national government, only touching other issues if they intersect with that focus. While this is largely positive, the downside is that there is little analysis of the broader issues with particular policies (the 2008 financial crisis is a particular blind spot here). Beyond that, Blinder has a clear affinity for the different macroeconomic policymakers he covers. Of course everyone has biases, but the avoidance of criticisms in some cases is eyebrow raising.

Overall, this is an excellent, well-researched book that I highly recommend. Also do yourself a favor and spring for the audiobook version - the reader does incredible impressions of famous political figures! https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691238388/a-monetary-and-fiscal-history-of-the-united-states-1961-2021?srsltid=AfmBOop1pTdefA371k6lVdcxcDAbbLmghUOQbuHygPugz2923g72dAP0