#AcademicRunPlaylist - 12/7/25

My youngest wanted to hit the slopes this weekend, and on the drive I got to listen to talks and books for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was the second day of the National Bureau of Economic Research Innovation Information Initiative group meeting. I particularly liked the talks by Sam Arts (reliance on scientific ideas in patenting) and Guilherme Junqueira (measuring innovation in US food markets) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z9Re-7Ygwo

Next was "American Colossus" by H.W. Brands. This book is both a triumph of qualitative historical analysis and less than the sum of its parts. Each chapter, covering a different aspect of the 1865-1900 period, is deeply researched and insightful, albeit with far less quantitative support than I'd like. Unfortunately each chapter barely interacts with the others, failing to advance any of the many hypotheses peppered across the book. It's still a great history, but probably more useful as a reference for specific topics. Highly recommend https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/17601/american-colossus-by-h-w-brands/

Last was "Maritime History and Archaeology of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands" by Toni L. Carrell, Scott Russell, Omaira Brunal-Perry, Marjorie Driver, Dirk HR Spennemann, Mark Ombrello, and Don A. Farrell. It's extremely challenging to find academic, digitally-accessible, English-language books on the US's colonial possessions in the Pacific, but this book does a good job providing some of that historical background, with a particular focus on the Northern Mariana Islands. I especially liked the chapter on the Japanese Mandate period, which spends time analyzing the economic, social, and political aspects of this era https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353466954_Maritime_History_and_Archaeology_of_the_CNMI_2009_Carrell_ed