#AcademicRunPlaylist - 4/6/25

It was raining a little bit, but I figured I'd enjoy a walk outside before we vaporize the market tomorrow and listen to some books for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was "Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative" by Jennifer Burns. Burns delivers a compelling, rigorous review of Milton Friedman's life and work. I don't normally read biographies, but the significant insight into both economics, politics, and policy that's included here make this a must read. As one of the most important economics thinkers of the last 100 years, understanding how the world economy got to its current point mandates understanding Friedman and his work.

Even after reading this book, I think that Friedman is the embodiment of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." It's also clear that Burns has an affection for Friedman and his politics, which I was she stated up front. Calling LBJ "unscrupulous" and positing that the New Deal and Great Society were failures (this is clearly refuted by pretty much all economic research from the last decade plus) clearly tip her hand, as does glossing over the corrosive and demonstrably negative societal effects of Friedman and his brand of free market idealism. Importantly this advocacy was totally divorced from his actual expertise and research, which isn't highlighted here.

If one goes into the book knowing that bias, I think it'll be much easier to enjoy. Overall it's still an important work of history. Highly recommend https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374601140/miltonfriedman/

Last was "Unmasking Autism" by Devon Price. This is an excellent look at the vast range of experiences of autistic people and the masking behaviors people engage in to appear neurotypical to the world. Price examines the costs of this masking and describes strategies for both individual and systemic unmasking strategies. There's also great analysis of the medicalization of autism and the problems with "treatments" such as ABA. Highly recommend https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688819/unmasking-autism-by-devon-price-phd/