25. How to Make Something from Nothing

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

#Society #Books #Storytelling #Books and Writing

1:14:43

Artificial intelligence is evolving at an unprecedented pace—what does that mean for the future of technology, venture capital, business, and even our understanding of ourselves? Award-winning journalist and writer Anil Ananthaswamy joins us for our latest episode to discuss his latest book Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI . Anil helps us explore the journey and many breakthroughs that have propelled machine learning from simple perceptrons to the sophisticated algorithms shaping today’s AI revolution, powering GPT and other models. The discussion aims to demystify some of the underlying math that powers modern machine learning to help everyone grasp this technology impacting our lives, even if your last math class was in high school. Anil walks us through the power of scaling laws, the shift from training to inference optimization, and the debate among AI’s pioneers about the road to AGI—should we be concerned, or are we still missing key pieces of the puzzle? The conversation also delves into AI’s philosophical implications—could understanding how machines learn help us better understand ourselves? And what challenges remain before AI systems can truly operate with agency? If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Sign up for our newsletter at techsurgepodcast.com for exclusive insights and updates on upcoming TechSurge Live Summits. Links: Read Why Machines Learn, Anil’s latest book on the math behind AI https://www.amazon.com/Why-Machines-Learn-Elegant-Behind/dp/0593185749 Learn more about Anil Ananthaswamy’s work and writing https://anilananthaswamy.com/ Watch Anil Ananthaswamy’s TED Talk on AI and intelligence https://www.ted.com/speakers/anil_ananthaswamy Discover the MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship that shaped Anil’s AI research https://ksj.mit.edu/ Understand the Perceptron, the foundation of neural networks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptron Read about the Perceptron Convergence Theorem and its significance https://www.nature.com/articles/323533a0…

hace un año 48:12

MP3•Episodio en casa

SOURCE:
- Adam Moss, magazine editor and author.

RESOURCES:
- The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing, by Adam Moss (2024).
- "Goodbye, New York. Adam Moss Is Leaving the Magazine He Has Edited for 15 Years," by Michael M. Grynbaum (The New York Times, 2019).
- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, by Samin Nosrat (2017).

EXTRAS:
- "David Simon Is On Strike. Here’s Why," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
- "Samin Nosrat Always Wanted to Be Famous," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
- "What’s Wrong with Being a One-Hit Wonder?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

28 episodios

25. How to Make Something from Nothing

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

217 subscribers

published hace un año

MP3•Episodio en casa

SOURCE:
- Adam Moss, magazine editor and author.

RESOURCES:
- The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing, by Adam Moss (2024).
- "Goodbye, New York. Adam Moss Is Leaving the Magazine He Has Edited for 15 Years," by Michael M. Grynbaum (The New York Times, 2019).
- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, by Samin Nosrat (2017).

EXTRAS:
- "David Simon Is On Strike. Here’s Why," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
- "Samin Nosrat Always Wanted to Be Famous," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
- "What’s Wrong with Being a One-Hit Wonder?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

28 episodios

#Society #Books #Storytelling #Books and Writing

Todos los episodios

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

1
26. Is Professional Licensing a Racket? 55:15

hace 25 días55:15

55:15

Licensing began with medicine and law; now it extends to 20 percent of the U.S. workforce, including hair stylists and auctioneers. In a new book, the legal scholar Rebecca Allensworth calls licensing boards “a thicket of self-dealing and ineptitude” and says they keep bad workers in their jobs and good ones out — while failing to protect the public. SOURCES: Rebecca Allensworth , professor of law at Vanderbilt University. RESOURCES: " The Licensing Racket: How We Decide Who Is Allowed to Work, and Why It Goes Wrong " by Rebecca Allensworth (2025). " Licensed to Pill, " by Rebecca Allensworth (The New York Review of Books, 2020). " Licensing Occupations: Ensuring Quality or Restricting Competition? " by Morris Kleiner (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2006). " How Much of Barrier to Entry is Occupational Licensing? " by Peter Blair and Bobby Chung (British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2019). EXTRAS: " Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds? " by Freakonomics Radio (2024).…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

1
25. How to Make Something from Nothing 48:12

hace 11 weeks48:12

48:12

Adam Moss was the best magazine editor of his generation. When he retired, he took up painting. But he wasn’t very good, and that made him sad. So he wrote a book about how creative people work— and, in the process, he made himself happy again. SOURCE: Adam Moss , magazine editor and author. RESOURCES: The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing , by Adam Moss (2024). " Goodbye, New York. Adam Moss Is Leaving the Magazine He Has Edited for 15 Years ," by Michael M. Grynbaum ( The New York Times, 2019). Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking , by Samin Nosrat (2017). EXTRAS: " David Simon Is On Strike. Here’s Why ," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023). " Samin Nosrat Always Wanted to Be Famous ," by Freakonomics Radio (2023). " What’s Wrong with Being a One-Hit Wonder? " by Freakonomics Radio (2023).…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

1
24. Is the U.S. Sleeping on Threats from Russia and China? 51:24

hace 13 weeks51:24

51:24

John J. Sullivan, a former State Department official and U.S. ambassador, says yes: “Our politicians aren’t leading — Republicans or Democrats.” He gives a firsthand account of a fateful Biden-Putin encounter, talks about his new book Midnight in Moscow , and predicts what a second Trump term means for Russia, Ukraine, China — and the U.S. SOURCES: John Sullivan , former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. RESOURCES: Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia's War Against the West, by John Sullivan (2024). " The ‘Deathonomics’ Powering Russia’s War Machine ," by Georgi Kantchev and Matthew Luxmoore ( The Wall Street Journal, 2024). War , by Bob Woodward (2024). " On the Record: The U.S. Administration’s Actions on Russia ," by Alina Polyakova and Filippos Letsas ( Brookings, 2019). " Why Economic Sanctions Still Do Not Work ," by Robert A. Pape ( International Security, 1998). EXTRAS: " The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel ," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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23. Confessions of a Black Conservative 56:40

hace 42 weeks56:40

56:40

The economist and social critic Glenn Loury has led a remarkably turbulent life, both professionally and personally. In a new memoir, he has chosen to reveal just about everything. Why? SOURCE: Glenn Loury , professor of economics at Brown University and host of The Glenn Show . RESOURCES: Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative , by Glenn Loury (2024). " Amy Wax – The DEI Witch Hunt at Penn Law ," by Glenn Loury ( The Glenn Show, 2024). " The Conservative Line on Race ," by Glenn Loury ( The Atlantic, 1997). " Will Affirmative-Action Policies Eliminate Negative Stereotypes? " by Stephen Coate and Glenn Loury ( The American Economic Review, 1993). EXTRAS: " Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America ," by Freakonomics Radio (2022). " How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? " by Freakonomics Radio (2021). " The Pros and Cons of Reparations ," by Freakonomics Radio (2020).…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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22. How Does the Lost World of Vienna Still Shape Our Lives? 57:19

hace 44 weeks57:19

57:19

From politics and economics to psychology and the arts, many of the modern ideas we take for granted emerged a century ago from a single European capital. In this episode of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, the historian Richard Cockett explores all those ideas — and how the arrival of fascism can ruin in a few years what took generations to build. SOURCE: Richard Cockett , author and senior editor at The Economist . RESOURCES: Vienna: How the City of Ideas Created the Modern World , by Richard Cockett (2023). " Birth, Death and Shopping ," ( The Economist, 2007). The Hidden Persuaders , by Vance Packard (1957). " An Economist's View of 'Planning ,'" by Henry Hazlitt ( The New York Times, 1944). The World of Yesterday: Memoires of a European , by Stefan Zweig (1942). EXTRA: " Arnold Schwarzenegger Has Some Advice for You ," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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EXTRA: Remembering Daniel Kahneman 41:48

hace 47 weeks41:48

41:48

Nobel laureate, bestselling author, and groundbreaking psychologist Daniel Kahneman died in March. In 2021 he talked with Steve Levitt — his friend and former business partner — about his book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment (cowritten with Olivier Sibony and Cass Sunstein) and much more. SOURCES: Daniel Kahneman , professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University. RESOURCES: Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment , by Olivier Sibony, Daniel Kahneman, and Cass R. Sunstein (2021). Thinking, Fast and Slow , by Daniel Kahneman (2011). EXTRAS: " What’s the Secret to Making a Great Prediction? " by No Stupid Questions (2021). " The Men Who Started a Thinking Revolution ," by Freakonomics Radio (2017). " How to Be Less Terrible at Predicting the Future ," by Freakonomics Radio (2016).…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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21. Are We Living Through the Most Revolutionary Period in History? 1:02:43

hace 48 weeks1:02:43

1:02:43

Fareed Zakaria says yes. But it’s not just political revolution — it’s economic, technological, even emotional. He doesn’t offer easy solutions but he does offer some hope. SOURCES: Fareed Zakaria , journalist and author. RESOURCES: Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present , by Fareed Zakaria (2024). " The Ultimate Election Year: All the Elections Around the World in 2024 ," by Koh Ewe ( TIME, 2023). " The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism ," by Vanessa Williamson, Theda Skocpol, and John Coggin ( Perspectives on Politics, 2011). The Post-American World , by Fareed Zakaria (2008). The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad , by Fareed Zakaria (2003). EXTRAS: " Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China? " by Freakonomics Radio (2021).…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

1
20. Why Are People So Mad at Michael Lewis? 1:00:36

hace 1 year1:00:36

1:00:36

Lewis got incredible access to Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire behind the spectacular FTX fraud. His book is a bestseller, but some critics say he went too easy on S.B.F. Lewis tells us why the critics are wrong — and what it’s like to watch your book get turned into a courtroom drama. SOURCES: Michael Lewis , author. RESOURCES: Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon , by Michael Lewis (2023). " Column: In Michael Lewis, Sam Bankman-Fried Found His Last and Most Willing Victim ," by Michael Hiltzik ( Los Angeles Times, 2023). " Even Michael Lewis Can’t Make a Hero Out of Sam Bankman-Fried ," by Jennifer Szalai ( The New York Times, 2023). " Michael Lewis Goes Close on Sam Bankman-Fried — Maybe Too Close ," by James Ledbetter ( The Washington Post, 2023). " What You Won’t Learn From Michael Lewis’ Book on FTX Could Fill Another Book ," by Julia M. Klein ( Los Angeles Times, 2023). " Michael Lewis’s Big Contrarian Bet ," by Gideon Lewis-Kraus ( The New Yorker, 2023). " He-Said, They-Said ," by John Lanchester ( London Review of Books, 2023). " Downfall of the Crypto King ," by Jesse Armstrong ( The Times Literary Supplement, 2023). " FTX Debtors vs. Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried ," in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (2023). Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses: Eighth Edition , by Richard C. Pilger (2017). " Pay Candidates to Drop Out? That Should Be Legal ," by Stephen L. Carter ( Bloomberg, 2016). " The History of the Term 'Effective Altruism ,'" by William MacAskill ( Effective Altruism Forum, 2014). EXTRAS: " Is This 'The Worst Job in Corporate America' — or Maybe the Best? " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). " A Million-Year View on Morality ," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022). “ Did Michael Lewis Just Get Lucky with 'Moneyball'? ” by Freakonomics Radio (2022).…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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19. The Facts Are In: Two Parents Are Better Than One 1:04:07

hace 1 year1:04:07

1:04:07

In her new book The Two-Parent Privilege , the economist Melissa Kearney says it’s time for liberals to face the facts: U.S. marriage rates have plummeted but the babies keep coming, and the U.S. now leads the world in single-parent households. Plus: our friends at Atlas Obscura explore just how many parents a kid can have.…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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18. “Insurance Is Sexy.” Discuss. 52:32

hace 2 years52:32

52:32

The economist Amy Finkelstein explains why insurance markets are broken and how to fix them. Also: why can’t you buy divorce insurance?

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

1
17. Samin Nosrat Always Wanted to Be Famous 38:12

hace 2 years38:12

38:12

And with her book "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat," she succeeded. Now she's not so sure how to feel about all the attention.

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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16. Did Michael Lewis Just Get Lucky with “Moneyball”? 52:58

hace 2 years52:58

52:58

No — but he does have a knack for stumbling into the perfect moment, including the recent FTX debacle. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, we revisit the book that launched the analytics revolution.

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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15. Does Philosophy Still Matter? 49:52

hace 3 years49:52

49:52

It used to be at the center of our conversations about politics and society. Scott Hershovitz is the author of Nasty, Brutish, and Short , in which he argues that philosophy still has a lot to say about work, justice, and parenthood.

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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14. Why Do Most Ideas Fail to Scale? 48:54

hace 3 years48:54

48:54

In a new book called The Voltage Effect , the economist John List — who has already revolutionized how his profession does research — is trying to start a scaling revolution. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, List teaches us how to avoid false positives, how to know whether a given success is due to the chef or the ingredients, and how to practice “optimal quitting.”…

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

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13. What’s Wrong With Shortcuts? 43:20

hace 3 years43:20