The Gray Area with Sean Illing
Society & Culture:Philosophy
Sean Illing talks with economic historian Brad DeLong about his new book Slouching Towards Utopia. In it, DeLong claims that the "long twentieth century" was the most consequential period in human history, during which the institutions of rapid technological growth and globalization were created, setting humanity on a path towards improving life, defeating scarcity, and enabling real freedom. But... this ran into some problems. Sean and Brad talk about the power of markets, how the New Deal led to something approaching real social democracy, and why the Great Recession of 2008 and its aftermath signified the end of this momentous era.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: J. Bradford DeLong (@delong), author; professor of economics, U.C. Berkeley
References:
Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
This episode was made by:
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How to be wrong less often
The complicated history of wildlife conservation
How to replace everything in the industrialized world
Patricia Lockwood's big, beautiful internet brain
Who is the real George Soros?
Introducing Unexplainable
The border, explained by someone who knows it intimately
"Wintering," wisdom, and weathering life's darkest times
Reframing America's race problem
Who owns the Western?
A Watchmen writer on race, TV, and tech giants
Uncovering the history of psychedelics in Christianity
Biden's immigration architect on racism, reform, and the Obama legacy
The Capitol Siege and American Revolution
Why fascism in Post-Trump America isn't going away
The Joe Biden experience
What it means to be a "good" rich person
Peter Kafka and Kevin Roose on big tech's power and responsibility
Sam Sanders and Olivia Nuzzi on President Trump’s last days
Best of: We don’t just feel emotions. We make them.
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Today, Explained
Re/Code Decode
The Vergecast
Shutdown Fullcast
The Impact