#AcademicRunPlaylist - 6/13/25

This pic is from before my cruelly extended drive back to Boston, and while I wasn't smiling as much upon arrival at least I was able to listen to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was a great talk by Barry Eichengreen on the history of state-issued public debt at the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn95TPZQWR4

Next was an engaging discussion on measuring government debt and its implications with Paul Kazarian and Jared Bernstein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVeeTAkot1o

Next was a thought-provoking conversation on the political economy of sovereign debt with Jerome Roos at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8BPh2nhmBw

Next was a fantastic talk by Ugo Panizza on improving models of sovereign debt, the issue of borrowing in foreign currency, and more at The Economist's Society - UCL. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRsZimpsQc

Next was "The Bhagavad Gita," with translation and analysis by Eknath Easwaran. Easwaran provides fantastic context and analysis of this classic text, with a broad and personal introduction combined with analyses that appear before each chapter. These analyses draw analogies to other religious texts, provide background from other Indian religious texts, and summarizes modern interpretations of the concepts introduced throughout the Gita. There are even notes on the translation and word choice, which I really appreciated. Highly recommend https://www.biblio.com/9781586380199

Last was "In Defense of Public Debt" by Barry Eichengreen, Asmaa El-Ganainy, Rui Esteves, and Kris Mitchener. If like me you are a neophyte in the public debt space, you can't do better than picking up this engrossing book on the history and dynamics of public debt. Combining detailed economic analysis with insightful historical context to look at the invention and evolution of public debt throughout the centuries, the authors provide much needed scientific rigor and nuance to a misunderstood topic. Understanding the complexity of sovereign debt, the use of deficits, and its contextual utility is arguably more urgent today than ever. Highly recommend https://academic.oup.com/book/44055