693. What’s Our Job as Humans Anymore?
30 October - 57 minsIt may just be being human. Stephen Dubner interviews A.I. performer Tilly Norwood to find out if we are as replaceable as we fear. (Part two of a two-part series.)
SOURCES:Sean Astin, actor, president of SAG-AFTRA.Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired.Ethan Mollick, associate professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.Tilly Norwood, A.I. performer.Eline Van der Velden, founder and C.E.O. of Particle6.Joel Waldfogel, economist at the University of Minnesota.
RESOURCES:"Quiet, My Exoself," by Kevin Kelly (KK, 2026)."How Large Language Models Are Reshaping the Book Market," by Imke Reimers and Joel Waldfogel (NBER, 2026)."Intellectual Property and Creative...
Series Episodes
692. What Will A.I. Do to (and for) Human Creativity?
Writers, designers, actors, coders, musicians, thinkers — they’re all worried about being replaced by machines. But what if the A.I.s are actually here to help? (Part one of a two-part series.)
59 mins
23 October Finished
Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy? (Update)
They say they make companies more efficient through savvy management. Critics say they bend the rules to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and employees. Can they both be right? (Probably not.)
48 mins
20 October Finished
691. Is This What a “Good Billionaire” Looks Like?
David Rubenstein, a product of the old bipartisan D.C., made his fortune in private equity. He’s been spending it on “patriotic philanthropy” and institutions like the Kennedy Center, where Trump fired him as chairman. Now he wonders if the center can hold.
43 mins
16 October Finished
690. It’s Show Business, Baby!
Podcasting started as a niche-nerd pursuit. Now it’s a $9 billion industry. Is that a lot? The strange economics of this thing we do.
1 hour 1 min
9 October Finished
689. Here’s Why Your Hamburger Just Got So Pricey
An economist calls America’s beef industry a “miracle.” An antitrust scholar calls it “broken.” Maybe they’re both right?
49 mins
2 October Finished
