Uncommon Knowledge with guest Thomas Sowell
May 9, 2012 | Recorded on March 15, 2012
Thomas Sowell on the second edition of Intellectuals and Society
On the occasion of the publication of a new edition of his book Intellectuals and Society, Thomas Sowell returns to Uncommon Knowledge for a wide-ranging interview. (52:37)
“It gives them a much bigger role in the world. I mean if you believe in free markets, what about all these people who want to have social justice. People just go out there; they make whatever deals they can with each other, work things out and then go on their way. Here is all this unused brilliance standing on the sideline watching with impotent rage.”
October 31, 2011 | Recorded on October 18, 2011
Thomas Sowell
In this wide-ranging interview marking the publication of his new book, The Thomas Sowell Reader, Thomas Sowell, the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, discusses, with Hoover research fellow Peter Robinson, his life, Barack Obama, class warfare, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and the influence of Milton Friedman. (46:52)
May 19, 2011 | Recorded on April 19, 2011
Thomas Sowell—Economic Facts and Fallacies
Thomas Sowell has studied and taught economics, intellectual history, and social policy at institutions that include Cornell University, UCLA, and Amherst College. Now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Sowell has published more than a dozen books, the latest of which is a revised and expanded second edition of Economic Facts and Fallacies.
January 3, 2011 | Recorded on December 14, 2010
Thomas Sowell – Basic Economics
Thomas Sowell has studied and taught economics, intellectual history, and social policy at institutions that include Cornell University, UCLA, and Amherst College. Now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Sowell has published more than a dozen books, the latest of which is a revised and updated edition of his classic volume, Basic Economics.
August 16, 2010 | Recorded on August 6, 2010
Thomas Sowell – Dismantling America
Thomas Sowell has studied and taught economics, intellectual history, and social policy at institutions that include Cornell University, UCLA, and Amherst College. Now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Sowell has published more than a dozen books, the latest of which is Dismantling America.
January 5, 2010 | Recorded on December 11, 2009
Thomas Sowell discusses his new book Intellectuals and Society
Thomas Sowell introduces his new book Intellectuals and Society and expounds on what he calls “the fatal misstep of intellectuals” — the assumption that superior ability within a particular realm can be generalized as superior wisdom or morality overall.
July 6, 2009 | Recorded on June 29, 2009
Housing with Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell analyzes the recent housing boom and bust, beginning with the underlying economic causes that artificially inflated housing costs in certain markets.
October 27, 2008 | Recorded on October 21, 2008
Thomas Sowell and a Conflict of Visions
Sowell describes the critical differences between interests and visions. Interests, he says, are articulated by people who know what their interests are and what they want to do about them. Visions, however, are the implicit assumptions by which people operate. In politics, visions are either “constrained” or “unconstrained.” A closer look at the statements of both McCain and Obama reveals which “vision” motivates their policy positions, particularly as they pertain to the war, the law, and economics. (37:38) Video transcript
February 25, 2008 | Recorded on February 5, 2008
Peter Robinson speaks with Thomas Sowell about his new book Economic Facts and Fallacies
Peter Robinson speaks with Thomas Sowell about his new book Economic Facts and Fallacies in which Sowell exposes some of the most popular fallacies about economic issues. Sowell takes on the conventional thinking on a wide swath of America’s economic life, from male-female economic differences to income stagnation, executive pay, and social mobility to economics of higher education. In all cases he demonstrates how economics relates to the social issues that deeply affect our country. (33:21) Video transcript
May 3, 2004 | Recorded on May 3, 2004
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 WAYS: Affirmative Action around the World
In the United States, affirmative action policies, first implemented to address the historical grievances of black Americans, have long been controversial. But the debate over affirmative action has generally ignored such action as practiced by other countries around the world. Has affirmative action proven to be more or less effective in other countries? What common patterns do these programs share? How can the study of these programs help our understanding of affirmative action in America?