Ideas and Lives

Though born in the UK, Chris moved to the US at age 8 and attended high school in Larchmont, NY. He entered MIT in 1963 in time to work on the early computers, learning how to program and later how to create computer compilers (translating programs using high-level languages to machine language). Chris recounts his early career at MIT and his subsequent work in gaming and supercomputers. His interview ends with a discussion about where artificial intelligence (AI) and it will be more revolutionary than other aspects of the computer revolution.

David begins by highlighting the background of his parents, how they met in Mexico, and their careers. He discusses his elementary and high school experience in San Antonio and his first national award. He describes how he chose Harvard among other schools at a time when Harvard was not a dominant brand. David provides examples of his intellectually stimulating time at Harvard and then turns to his subsequent decision to enter law school instead of medical school. His early career as an attorney contributed to his finding his wife Ellen and convincing her to marry. David makes interesting points about enjoying courtroom litigation and the jury system. The session concludes with David's innovative practice of taking each child to countries with special histories but only after the children did their homework in reading about the countries.

William Raduchel describes growing up in Houghton County, Michigan, as it evolved from a prosperous to a declining area. Starting from a local college, Michigan Tech, a school focused on engineering, on to Michigan State and then to many roles at Harvard, Bill gained a mastery of economics, computer science, and engineering. His career made fascinating transition from automating Harvard's admissions, to creating special software for economic analysis, to achieving top positions at McGraw Hill, Xeros, Sun Microsystems and AOL Time Warner. He explains why some companies grew with technology while others were unable to make technology work for their business success. Bill concludes with perspectives on the growth of Artificial Intelligence and its likely impacts. He explores these and other issues in his forthcoming book, The New Technology State.

State Senator Jim Rosapepe describes where and how he grew up, his heritage, his early interest in politics, and the beginnings of his business career and entrepreneurship. He then turns to the relationships he built in politics, business, and foreign affairs. Jim's role in the Italian support for President Bill Clinton is one of his many interesting stories. Finally, he explains his success in the legislative process in Maryland and his renewed interest in apprenticeships for America.

Eytan Sheshinski describes growing up in Haifa, Israel with parents who emigrated from Germany and Switzerland in the 1930s to a kibbutz. While initially joining a kibbutz and understanding economics from a Marxist perspective, Eytan talks of his excitement in learning modern economics first at Hebrew University under famed Israel economist Don Patinkin and later at MIT. After building a strong research record in public economics as a highly respected professor of economics, he served without pay as the head of two commissions to ensure that the Israeli public obtained its fair share of profits from oil, gas, and potash resources. Eytan discusses the challenges he faced and the ultimate satisfaction he derived from his public service.

Diane Jones describes coming from a Baltimore family of modest means, attending a state college, and becoming a community college professor as she followed her deep interest in science. Her experience at the National Science Foundation led to new programs and ultimately productive years as a Congressional staffer. In her last public position, Diane served as Deputy Secretary of Education.

Stephen Goss describes his transition from a math major in college with an interest in economics to his career as an actuary. He discusses the approach used by the Social Security Administration to estimate long-term costs and outlays for benefits based on trends in the economy and in the demographic make-up of the US.

Nathan Lewin describes his family's escape from Poland soon after the 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews through Japan to the US. He recounts how his father, an important rabbi in Poland, transitioned to become a noted writer and professor and influenced the UN resolutions on freedom of religion. We hear of Mr. Lewin's decision to attend Harvard Law school and work on the law review. He discusses how he faced explicit discrimination but ended up helping him become a clerk to Supreme Court Justice John Harlan and ultimately important positions in the Department of Justice headed by Robert F. Kennedy. Nat recalls some of his important cases, nearly 30 of which he argued in the Supreme Court.

Don Ezra describes growing up in Calcutta with a Bhagdadi Jewish heritage. He is grateful for the Catholic school he attended, especially how the teachers pushed students to investigate issues deeply. He naturally followed this approach, asking why and then asking why again. Don's education moved quickly, earning a BA by 18, studying economics and math at Cambridge University. He highlights the role of luck in helping him become an actuary, transferring to Canada, and leading a major practice at Russell Investments. Don discusses a range of his innovations analyzing and writing about the assets and liabilities sides of defined benefit pensions. As the interview concludes, Don talks about his post-full-time work activities in what he calls Life 2. His website, donezra.com, offers a wealth of material for the public on retirement planning, from dealing with longevity and inflation risks to improving sleep patterns.

Paula Hogan describes her early experience with finance, growing up with a father who pioneered concepts of variable annuities. After graduating college, Paula thought she would enter a health policy field, but came to begin financial advising while living in Texas. Learn how Paula chose to embrace ideas developed by co-host Zvi Bodie, how she built her own personal financial advising practice and ultimately sold the practice while continuing to provide financial advice to clients. Her publications and her efforts to promote fiduciary responsibilities of advisers have contributed to improving the financial futures of Americans.

Theo Kocken describes how his upbringing in a large family encouraged his independence. He drew on that experience to rethink the nature of risks by banks and pension funds. He discusses how he came to start Cardano Development in response to the need to account for scenarios that generate serious risks. He points out how his company built models that use derivatives to hedge long-term risks in pension funds. Theo highlights his work with banks, many of which become far more interested in risk management in the aftermath of the financial crisis. He has combined theory with practice, publishing a number of scholarly articles while working on the practical problems faced by pension funds and more recently with development banks helping developing countries.

Professor Friedman describes his upbringing in Louisville, Kentucky, including the influences of his father and the family business as well as a special English teacher's contributions to his ability to write well. He recounts his introduction to economics as a Harvard graduate, his gravitating toward economics at Cambridge University, and his early and continuing interest in macroeconomics. He discusses the changing controversies relating to monetary and fiscal policy. Professor Friedman highlights how his early experiences at Morgan Stanley influenced his understanding of the bond market's role in the macroeconomy. Recognizing the limited literature on why economic growth is important, Professor Friedman decided to write The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth. His latest book is Religion and the Rise of Capitalism.

Bob Lerman describes how his parents and upbringing in a family of nine brothers and one sister influenced his path in life. After growing up in South Bend, Indiana with a focus on sports and music, he became attracted to the world of ideas at Brandeis University and subsequently at MIT. His career spanned jobs at four universities, a Congressional committee, a research institute in Israel, and now Urban Institute, a policy research organization. Bob discusses some of his ideas and policy proposals for helping people avoid poverty, for family cohesion, and for building skills for a rewarding career. He explains why he became a strong advocate for scaling apprenticeship in the US and gives brief impressions of the current political landscape.

Zvi Bodie describes his lifelong interest in ideas and learning. From his birth and high school in Brooklyn and his evolution from a socialist/Zionist and kibbutz life to becoming a noted financial economist, Zvi recalls how his thinking evolved and how he luckily encountered much help from teachers and friends. Zvi explains the importance of finance and of financial innovation that drives much of the world economy.

Hear about Rabbi Tzvi Marx's fascinating upbringing, career, and ideas. Rabbi Marx describes his development from his birth in occupied France to his schooling and university experience in New York, to his role in building the Sholem Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and to his leadership of an institute for Jewish learning in the Netherlands. Along the way, Rabbi Marx explains how he came to confront key questions, such as how the modern state of Israel is recasting the Jewish experience.

Alair Townsend describes her journey from growing in Elmira and attending Elmira College, the London School of Economics, and the University of Wisconsin to a career at the highest level of public service. She describes her role as staff director of the Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy and how it produced the first set of studies of the combined cash and in-kind welfare programs in the US. Alair tells stories of subsequent leadership positions at the first House Budget Committee and then as Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. This was only the beginning. Hired as the budget director of New York City, she explains how she was determined to keep the budget in balance. Asked to become Deputy Mayor for finance and economic development by Mayor Ed Koch, Alair led the effort to retain jobs in the city and to reach the outer boroughs. She capped her career by becoming publisher of Crain's Business Daily and now serves on many boards of directors.

William Sharpe describes how he became interested in economics and how shifting his UCLA dissertation topic while working at the RAND corporation ultimately led to his work in finance and his derivation of the widely known and widely used Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Dr. Sharpe was awarded the 1990 Nobel prize in economics was awarded for his theoretical contributions to finance, especially CAPM. He credits his time at RAND for his interest in combining theory with practice. He discusses the unfortunate divide between economics and finance while pointing to economists increasingly using concepts in finance. His blogs, interviews, and satirical videos are on his website, https://web.stanford.edu/~wfsharpe/

Tamar Frankel, Emeritus Professor of Law at Boston University, talks about growing up in Israel during its pre-State period, her service in the army and government, and how she came to Harvard Law School. She explains how she developed an interest in fiduciary law and trained international students about the importance of trust in business. She taught at Boston University Law School an amazing 47 years before retiring in 2018. Tamar has also taught at Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, Oxford University, and the University of Tokyo. Her writings cover fiduciary law in considerable depth and a range of other issues. Her website, www.tamarfrankel.com, references over 100 articles and 11 books. She is still writing as she turns 97.

Joe Nocera describes his upbringing in Providence, his views on learning journalism, his early career in journalism, and high points in his writing and career. He recounts his coverage of T. Boone Pickens and sitting in on one of the first private equity takeovers. Joe recalls how he joined the New York Times and ultimately became an op-ed columnist. He discusses how his books emerged. He takes pride in his calling out the NCAA for its bad treatment of large numbers of college athletes. Joe concludes by talking about how he came to produce his well-known podcast (and current TV series) "The Shrink Next Door".

Larry Kotlikoff describes how his upbringing and family circumstances led to his hard work and his entrepreneurial streak, not only in economic research. but also in promoting wise policies for the United States. Larry explains the logic behind generational accounting and his concerns about the long-term and prodigious debt the government is passing on to future generations. During the interview, Larry mentions the policy solutions he put together in consultation with groups of economists and other experts, including the health care specialist the late Uwe Reinhardt.

Chris Farrell describes his early career, including his service on a merchant ship, his education, his entry into the world of journalism, and how came to author several books. He concludes with some perspectives on the state of journalism today. Chris is a senior economics contributor at Minnesota Public Radio and Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He is co-host of the MPR/APM podcast, small change: Money Stories from the Neighborhood. Chris is a columnist for PBS Next Avenue and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He has written for Bloomberg Businessweek, New York Times, Kiplinger's, and other publications. His most recent book is Purpose and a Paycheck: Finding Meaning, Money, and Happiness in the Second Half of Life (HarperCollins Leadership, 2019).

Dan describes how he developed Northfield Financial Services as making the evaluation of many possible asset portfolios affordable. Instead of having to buy expensive software that could only be run on expensive mainframe computers, Dan's innovation made it possible to assess portfolios in sophisticated ways using personal computers. He explains the services for various groups of clients that Northfield provides. In the process, Dan tells how his modeling contributed to finding the fraud perpetrated by Bernie Madoff. Dan reveals how tennis played a role in his early career and his interest in Court tennis or "real" tennis as practiced in medieval times.

David Shipler recounts the arc of his career after college, including his service as an officer in the US Navy, early jobs at the New York Times, assignments in Vietnam, Russia, and Israel, and how he came to author books. Among the seven books he published are Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land (for which he won a Pulitzer Prize), Russia: Broken Idols, Solemn Dreams, and A Country of Strangers: Blacks and Whites in America. David adds his thoughts on Russia and Ukraine as well as troubling aspects of democracy in the US.

Dr. Sheldon Glashow, former Harvard professor of physics, begins by describing his fascination with science as a kid. He then explains how he came up with the ideas and paper that won his Nobel prize. Amazingly, Dr. Glashow wrote the paper just after graduate school. He explains some of his subsequent research, including theoretically introducing the existence of a fourth quark, the charmed quark. Dr. Glashow then discusses continuing controversies and settled ones in physics, the weak state of scientific knowledge, even among Harvard students outside science, and the unfortunate politicization of science and scholarship in general. Also see: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1979/glashow/biographical/

Derrick Ramsey talks about growing up in rural Florida, his development as an athlete in high school, his experience in college football, his transition to professional football, and how he prepared for his post-football career and advanced education. Derrick then describes his experience running athletic departments and his leadership as Kentucky's Secretary of the Labor and Education Cabinets. Finally, he presents his views on the importance of expanding apprenticeship and on how best to deal with recurring problems of professional athletes.

Paul Solman is an award-winning journalist who has specialized in economics, business, and politics since the early 1970s. He has been the business and economics correspondent for the PBS NewsHour since 1985, with occasional forays into art reporting. Paul describes how his early involvement in writing and journalism, starting as an Art reporter for the Brandeis University newspaper, led to a career as a print and TV reporter and editor. His interest in business issues emerged during his Nieman Fellowship at Harvard, where became intrigued by the business cases studied at the Harvard Business School. He has won eight Emmys, three Peabodys, and a Loeb award. Solman also taught at the Harvard Business School from 1985 to 1987. He joined the PBS NewsHour, then known as The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, in 1985. He still produces and presents interesting segments on business and economic issues for the News Hour. Paul concludes by highlighting his concerns about polarization in the US and why he is working on an initiative to bring together youth from diverse political and geographic groups called the American Exchange Project.

Dallas Salisbury describes his evolution from grade school and high school politics in small town Washington State, to expertise on redistricting, all on the way to becoming the nation's foremost expert on employee benefits. Widely consulted by the Congress and multiple Administrations, Dallas built EBRI into a highly influential think tank on pension, health and other fringe benefits. He has testified regularly before Congressional Committees and served on a number of National Commissions on Health, Social Security and Pension Policy. Dallas has written and lectured extensively on economic security topics. His books include: Retirement Security in the United States: Current Sources, Future Prospects, and Likely Outcomes of Current Trends, The Future of Retirement Income in America, The Future of Social Insurance: Incremental Action or Fundamental Reform?, IRA and 401(k) Investing and Managing Money in Retirement.

Allison Schrager describes her evolution from a small, college town in Connecticut, to college in Scotland, to her interest and graduate studies in economics, and to her learning about and fascination with risk. She explains why she sees a decline in risk-taking, why taking risk can promote growth, and how risk management strategies can help foster and deal with risk. Allison discusses how she came to write the An Economist Walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk. Allison is currently a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a City Journal contributing editor.

Tom Bewick describes his interesting life and career, from living in foster care to becoming the CEO of the UK's Federation of Awarding Bodies. Tom points out the changing patterns as well as continuing reality of elites in the UK. His lesson on British history becomes the background for expressing his views on Brexit and his journey to becoming a Brexit party candidate for Parliament. Tom's podcast, Skills World Live, is in the top 5% of all podcasts. See https://www.fenews.co.uk/my-page/4331-skillsworld. Find a recent example of Tom's writing for FE news here. https://www.fenews.co.uk/featured-article/69018-britain-won-t-level-up-until-it-confronts-endemic-educational-inequality#.YRY9v_jPa08.twitter.

Yair Stern, an Israeli former reporter, editor, and Washington bureau chief for Israel TV, looks back on his upbringing, his education, his army service, and his early and subsequent career. Yair describes his meetings with Presidents, especially his interview with former President Jimmy Carter, as well his challenges in running Israeli TV. He reflects on the state of Israel today and the country's extraordinary progress. It's an entertaining hour.

David Lerman is the Chairman of the Board of Steel Warehouse Co., Inc, headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. Under his leadership as CEO for over 40 years, Steel Warehouse and affiliated companies grew to become one of the leading steel service centers in the country. In 2004, Metal Center News selected Dave as the Executive of the Year. He describes the development of the family business, tracing its roots to 1947 and describing key ups and downs in the business.

Tamar Jacoby is president of Opportunity America, a Washington-based nonprofit working to promote economic mobility – work, skills, careers, ownership and entrepreneurship for poor and working Americans. This interview chronicles her career, starting as a journalist as the deputy editor of The New York Times op-ed page and senior writer and justice editor at Newsweek and later as an author of several books, including the highly noted “Someone Else's House: America's Unfinished Struggle for Integration.” The interview covers her work on immigration reform, including her efforts to negotiate a legislative solution to the problem. Her subsequent emphasis on workforce issues has included work on community colleges apprenticeship and other strategies for widening opportunity in America.

Zvi and Bob interview Eugene Steuerle, a highly noted economist and expert on budget, tax, and social benefit programs. Gene is an Institute Fellow and Richard B. Fisher Chair at the Urban Institute. He has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Analysis (1987-1989), President of the National Tax Association (2001-2002), and co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. He is the author of 18 books and over 1,000 articles. He discusses how he became an economist, people who influenced his career, and disturbing trends in patterns of federal spending and budget deficits.

Deborah Lucas is an MIT Professor of Finance and directs the Golub Center for Finance and Policy. This episode explores her early involvement in economics, how she evolved into a top flight economist specializing in finance, and her contributions to the use of finance in public policy, especially at the US Congressional Budget Office. Dr. Lucas provides a range of insights on the importance of finance for public policy as well as the interactions between economists and financial economists.

Jack Habib describes his role in the development of Israeli social research and policy over three decades. As director of the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Jack oversaw studies and recommendations that dealt with new immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union, Israeli Arabs, children at risk, and the elderly. The conversation recounts the evolution of Jack's career from his graduate work in economics at Harvard to running Israel's most important social research organization.

Leonard Hausman offers his perspectives on China and the Middle East based on his experience with business and political leaders from both regions. He reveals how his work on the Harvard's Middle East economic policy center and MIT's East Asia programs emerged. Lenny even provides a short glimpse of his activities on behalf of civil rights early in his career.

In this first episode of Ideas and Lives, Professor Meir Kohn of Dartmouth College describes his historically-based theory of economic growth, based on his manuscript,Commerce, predation, and production: a new theory of economic progress. His interview with fellow economists Bob Lerman and Zvi Bodie not only offers an in-depth discussion of this theory but also deals with Meir's life journey from birth in Czechoslovakia, to growing up in England, to joining a kibbutz in Israel, and to becoming an accomplished economist in the US. In addition, Meir describes his intellectual journey from econometrics, to finance and banking, and finally to the lessons of economic history for inform economic progress.