#AcademicRunPlaylist - 4/14/25

Water levels are a wee bit high, but while platforming through the forest to avoid the water I was still able to listen to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an interesting talk by Claire Wyart on the neural basis of body language at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly0KD1qwQ7k

Next was an intriguing talk by Jiayuan Mao on neuro-symbolic concepts for robotics at UW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kQmyUafFu4

Next was "A History of America in Ten Strikes" by Erik Loomis. Very few American histories focus on labor, but this book does an excellent job reviewing major events in US labor history and connecting them with the larger arc of worker power and economic/political development. This is a very left wing book, and is often extremely contradictory - criticizing companies opening factories in Mexico while bemoaning discrimination against Mexican immigrants within US borders. Still, overall this is a meaningful addition to the US historical canon. Highly recommend https://thenewpress.com/books/history-of-america-ten-strikes

Last was "The Chile Project" by Sebastian Edwards. The University of Chicago's engagement with Chile during the Pinochet regime has become more well known over time, but this book dives into that history to provide an incredibly well researched look into this period, its effects, and its legacy. What emerges is an economically-focused history of the different players and policies that led to the introduction of many neoliberal policies in Chile, potentially laying the groundwork for later economic growth.

Edwards is an involved participant in the events of this book, and while he does a decent job at trying to play a neutral author his belief in the positive nature of neoliberalism bleeds through. While constantly lauding Chile's economic growth under some neoliberal policies, he fails to meaningfully consider alternative explanations or compare with much more successful models outside of Latin America (South Korea in particular comes to mind). Beyond that, the moral question of whether collaborating and supporting a despicable regime isn't meaningfully grappled with.

Despite these limitations, this book is an exceptional work of scholarship and demands to be read by folks interested not just in history or economics but also in academia's responsibility to society. Highly recommend https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691208626/the-chile-project