Hear This Idea

Carolina Alves is the Joan Robinson Research Fellow in Heterodox Economics at Girton College, Cambridge and a co-founder of D-Econ. Her work mostly focuses on macroeconomics and international political economy. In this episode we discuss: - You can read much more on this episode's accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/Carolina . If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests,...

Jaime Sevilla Molina is a visiting researcher at the Center for the Study of Existential Risk , and is beginning a PhD studying Bayesian reasoning . Previously, he was a Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute , and his academic background is in mathematics and computer science. In this episode we discuss: How the social sciences infer causation from natural experiments; Evidence for '...

Sanjay Joshi is the co-founder and CEO of SoGive, a non-profit which evaluates the impact and cost-effectiveness of UK charities. In this episode we discuss The meaning and neglectnedness of cost-effectiveness in the charity space; Why incentives differ so much between companies and nonprofits; Misconceptions about admin costs and senior pay in charities; SoGive's 'two-question framework' for eval...

Eve McCormick is the co-director of Effective Altruism Cambridge and a grant recipient from the Centre for Effective Altruism. In this episode we discuss What 'effective altruism' is all about; Philosphical arguments for doing the most good; Key concepts and cause areas; Common criticisms You can read much more on this episode's accompanying write-up hearthisidea.com/episodes/Eve . If you have any...

Dr Toke Aidt is Director of Studies in Economics at Jesus College, Cambridge as well as Director of the Keynes Fund. In this episode we discuss Why some economists believe corruption can be a force for good, or at least a lesser evil Why Toke believes this view does not hold up to scrutiny And how self-reinforcing cycles of corruption can make tackling it very hard (but also rewarding) You can rea...

Neel Nanda is a final year maths undergraduate at the University of Cambridge, and a gold medalist in the International Mathematical Olympiad. He teaches regularly – from revision lectures to a recent ‘public rationality’ workshop. Neel is also an active member in rationalist and effective altruism communities. In this episode we discuss How to view self-improvement and optimising your goals Formi...

George Rosenfeld is the founder of May Week Alternative , an initiative encouraging students to donate a significant amount of money to an effective charity. In our longest episode yet, we discuss: George’s inspiration for starting MWA; What he has learned about growing and sustaining a student-based charity; The psychology of what gets people to join the movement and donate their own money; The m...

Professor Diane Coyle, CBE, is an economist and co-directs the Bennett Institute for Public Policy. Her current focus is on the digital economy and competition policy. She is the author of more than 15 economics books, and creator of the popular ' Enlightened Economics ' blog. In this episode, we talk about the effects of digital monopoloes. How different are they from other kinds of monopoly? Is...

Dan Williams is a research fellow in philosophy at the University of Cambridge. His research addresses how various forms of irrationality and bias can be socially adaptive. How might false political beliefs and conspiracy theories have a useful 'signalling' purpose? And do we always know the reasons why we form our own beliefs? You can read more on this episode's accompanying write-up: hearthiside...

Kent Berridge is a distinguished professor of psychology and neuroscience at the university of Michigan and the joint recipient of the 2019 Grawemeyer Award for psychology . Through experiments on rodents, his research addresses questions about how pleasure is generated in the brain, the relation of fear to desire, and what causes addiction. You can read more on this episode's accompanying write-u...

Show Notes Tads is an undergraduate economist at St John’s College, Cambridge and current Director of the Cambridge Development Initiative. His dissertation looks at how behavioural economics can help explain patterns in gym membership. You can read more on this episode's accompanying write-up . If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, please get in touch through our website . Pl...

Show Notes Dr Vasileios Kotsidis is a teaching and research fellow in economics at St Catherine’s College, Cambridge. His research applies methods from game theory and other formal models in economics to social interactions with strategic motives. You can read more on this episode's accompanying write-up . If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, please get in touch through our w...

Show Notes Tobias Cremer is a PhD student in Politics and International Studies. His thesis examines the relationship between right-wing populism and religion in Western Europe and North America. You can read more on this episode's accompanying write-up . If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, please get in touch through our website . Please consider leaving a review on Apple P...

Show Notes Dr Bateman is a fellow in economics at Gonville & Caius college Cambridge. Her research encompasses economic history, macroeconomics, and feminism. You can read more on this episode's accompanying write-up . If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, please get in touch through our website . Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listen...

What is Hear This Idea? Hear This Idea is a podcast showcasing new thinking from the University of Cambridge and beyond. It is hosted by two undergrad students, Fin and Luca. This university, like so many others, is filled with academics who have fascinating things to say. We thought their work and research deserve hearing outside the lecture hall. We want this podcast to be a starting point for m...