Cryptocurrency’s future, fossil fuels and alternate energy sources, the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, a new university devoted to academic freedom emerging deep in the heart of Texas, plus ethnic food as the gateway to a better understanding of economics and immigration: all are part of a multicourse intellectual feast featuring Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane, with their guest, George Mason University economist/blogger/podcaster/foodie Tyler Cowen.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a massive spike in uncertainty. This column uses data from panel surveys of US and UK business executives to document how uncertainty over own-firm sales growth rates over the year ahead roughly doubled in reaction to the shock. 

Co-Authors: Philip Bunn, David E. Altig, Lena Anayi, Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, Brent Meyer, Emil Mihaylov, Paul Mizen, Gregory Thwaites

Author and economist Emily Oster of Brown University talks about her book, The Family Firm, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Oster argues that running your family life the way you'd run your own business makes for a better family in today's crazy world. And where possible, the myriad of decisions you make should be based on hard data, at least when it's available.

In this interview, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie discusses chapters of his life, including giving us his view of the Bridgegate scandal, and what it was like to be on the debate stage with Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primary race. But it’s not all politics: we also cover the governor’s views on China, COVID policy, and domestic economic policy. Finally, while he doesn’t make any announcement about his future plans, Christie does describe why he might be the best choice to run—and win—in the 2024 presidential election.