Mikayla Novak interviews author Seth Kaplan on his latest book, Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time. In this book, he addresses the decline in American neighborhoods characterized by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Kaplan applies his insights to the American context, emphasizing the importance of relationships and social dynamics in building healthy societies. He advocates for neighborhood-based solutions, highlighting the role of 'community quarterbacks' or social entrepreneurs in organizing local improvements. In this conversation, Kaplan also touches on the impacts of migration, the importance of practical approaches, the characteristics of robust neighborhoods, and emphasizes the need for more intentional community-building efforts to improve societal health and individual well-being. Seth D. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Senior Adviser for the Institute for Integrated Transitions, and consultant to multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, and OECD as well as developing country governments and NGOs. Kaplan is a former visiting fellow with the Mercatus Center’s Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange. If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts. Virtual Sentiments, our new podcast series from the Hayek Program is now streaming! Subscribe today and listen to season two, releasing now! Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram Learn more about Academic & Student Programs Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus CC Music: Twisterium

Mikayla Novak & Seth Kaplan on Fragile Neighborhoods

The Hayek Program Podcast includes audio from lectures, interviews, and discussions of scholars and visitors from the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The F. A. Hayek Program is devoted to the promotion of teaching and research on the institutional arrangements that are suitable for the support of free and prosperous societies. Implicit in this statement is the presumption that those arrangements are to some extent open to conscious selection, as well as the appreciation that the type of arrangements that are selected within a society can influence significantly the economic, political, and moral character of that society.
The Hayek Program Podcast is partially funded by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation on "Work, Self-governance, and the Challenge of Unsustainable Dependency." The Grant is for a three-year project to explore the themes of work and self-governance as well as the root causes and consequences of the modern shift toward a greater reliance on government efforts to solve collective challenges.

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

On this episode, we’ll hear a book panel discussion on Peter Boettke’s book, The Struggle for a Better World (Mercatus Center at George Mason University, 2021). In his comments, Boettke provides an overview of his book, emphasizes the role that institutions play in human societies, and discusses his focus on improving the human condition by lifting up those who are least prosperous in our world. The panel is moderated by Stefanie Haeffele, and they are joined on the panel by:Emily Chamlee-Wright, President and CEO of the Institute for Humane Studies, and co-author of How We Came Back: Voices from Post-Katrina New Orleans (2015)Alain Marciano, Professor of Economics and Statistics at the University of Turin, distinguished affiliated fellow with the Hayek Program, and author of James Buchanan and Peaceful Cooperation: From Public Finance to a Theory of Collective Action (2024)Mark Pennington, Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy and Director of the Center for the Study of Governance and Society at King’s College London, and author of Robust Political Economy: Classical Liberalism and the Future of Public Policy (2011)View Emily Chamlee-Wright's "The Four Corners of Liberalism" graphic here. Peter Boettke is a Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University and Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He has published numerous books including Living Economics: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (2012) and F. A. Hayek: Economics, Political Economy and Social Philosophy (2018). If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts. Virtual Sentiments, our new podcast series from the Hayek Program is now streaming! Subscribe today and listen to seasons one and two! Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram Learn more about Academic & Student Programs Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus CC Music: Twisterium

"The Struggle for a Better World" Book Panel

This is the first episode of a three-part miniseries on entangled political economy (EPE), hosted by Mikayla Novak. Entangled political economy is a sub-discipline of political economy that explicitly views individuals and the private and public sectors as being intertwined in overlapping exchange relationships along competitive and collaborative dimensions. On this episode, Mikayla Novak interviews Richard Wagner on entangled political economy. Wagner discusses the framework’s origins, influenced by James Buchanan, and critiques governmental inefficiency, advocating for privately ordered governance. Wagner reflects on his teaching experiences which integrated anthropology, sociology, and other social sciences, and how these shaped his understanding of economics as a broad social science encompassing various forms of exchange and societal interactions. He highlights Vincent Ostrom's work on the limitations of government, and considers the future directions of EPE. Richard Wagner is Emeritus Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Distinguished Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts. Virtual Sentiments, our new podcast series from the Hayek Program is now streaming! Subscribe today and listen to seasons one and two! Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram Learn more about Academic & Student Programs Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus CC Music: Twisterium

Entangled Political Economy  — Richard Wagner on the Origins of EPE

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, we continue the Living Better Together miniseries, featuring select authors of Living Better Together: Social Relations and Economic Governance in the Work of Ostrom and Zelizer (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) and hosted by its coeditor, Stefanie Haeffele. Joining us today are Carolina Dalla Chiesa and Crystal Dozier. Together, they mesh Ostrom and Zelizer’s approaches and highlight the importance of using interdisciplinary methods to better understand economic exchanges. Carolina focuses on the symbolic meanings of money and economic governance, while Crystal explores archaeological studies of non-market societies. They both articulate how their unique backgrounds and research focus contribute to a richer dialogue between economic sociology and institutional economics. Carolina Dalla Chiesa is Assistant Professor of Cultural Economics and Organizations in the Department of Arts and Culture at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is currently a Mercatus James Buchanan fellow. Check out her chapter, “‘Circuits of Commons’: Exploring the Connections Between Economic Lives and the Commons.” Crystal Dozier is Associate Professor and Archaeologist in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wichita State University. She is an alum of the Mercatus Adam Smith Fellowship. Check out her chapter, “Testing Circuits of Commerce in the Distant Past: Archaeological Understandings of Social Relationships and Economic Lives.“ References: Virgil Henry Storr’s Understanding the Culture of Markets, Daniel K. Richter’s Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America, and Hans Abbing’s Why Are Artists Poor?: The Exceptional Economy of the Arts If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts. Virtual Sentiments, our new podcast series from the Hayek Program is now streaming! Subscribe today and listen to seasons one and two! Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram Learn more about Academic & Student Programs Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus CC Music: Twisterium

"Living Better Together" — On Culture and Economics

On this episode, we’ll hear a book panel discussion on Timur Kuran’s book, Freedoms Delayed: Political Legacies of Islamic Law in the Middle East (Cambridge University Press, 2023). In his comments, Timur provides an overview of his book, highlighting the Middle East's struggle with repressiveness, the challenges of fostering a liberal civil society, and the historical role of Islamic legal institutions. The panel is moderated by Peter J. Boettke, and they are joined on the panel by:Mark Koyama,* Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center, and co-author of How the World Became Rich (2022) and Persecution and Toleration (2019).James Robinson, Professor of Political Science at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, The Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies, Institute Director at the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, and he has numerous books including The Narrow Corridor (2019) and Why Nations Fail (2013).Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, Founding Director of the Center for Governance and Market and Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and co-author of Land, the State, and War: Property Institutions and Political Order in Afghanistan (2021).Timur Kuran is a Turkish-American economist and political scientist. He is a Professor of Economics and Political Science and the Gorter Family Professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. He has published multiple books including The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East (2011) and Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification (1997). *Mark Koyama's comments were recorded separately If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts. Virtual Sentiments, our new podcast series from the Hayek Program is now streaming! Subscribe today and listen to season two, now releasing! Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram Learn more about Academic & Student Programs Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus CC Music: Twisterium

"Freedoms Delayed" Book Panel

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, we continue the Living Better Together miniseries, featuring select authors of Living Better Together: Social Relations and Economic Governance in the Work of Ostrom and Zelizer (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) and hosted by its coeditor, Stefanie Haeffele. Joining us today are Anne Hobson and Laura Grube. Together they explore the complexities of institutional diversity, community recovery, and crisis resilience through the lenses of Ostrom and Zelizer. Laura’s chapter focuses on community recovery following Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy and emphasizes the importance of local, community-driven solutions following disasters. Anne’s chapter explores the role of remittances in Cuba and how these financial supports act as economic circuits that maintain and strengthen familial and social bonds across geographical distances. Both emphasize the importance of social relations in community resilience. Laura Grube is an Associate Professor of Economics at Beloit College. She is an alum of the Mercatus PhD Fellowship. Check out her chapter, "Institutional Diversity in Social Coordination Post-disaster." Anne Hobson earned her PhD in Economics from George Mason University and now works in public policy. She is an alum of the Mercatus MA Fellowship. Check out her chapter, "Beyond Relief: Understanding the Cuban Diaspora's Remittance-Sending Behavior." Recommended Works: Robert Wise’s “Learning from Strangers,” Barbara Czarniawska’s “Narratives in Social Science Research,” Jieun Baek’s “North Korea’s Hidden Revolution: How The Information Underground is Transforming a Closed Society,” Tom Gjelten’s “Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba,” and “Cuba and the Cameraman.” If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts. Virtual Sentiments, our new podcast series from the Hayek Program is now streaming! Subscribe today and listen to season two, now releasing! Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram Learn more about Academic & Student Programs Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus CC Music: Twisterium

Mikayla Novak & Seth Kaplan on Fragile Neighborhoods

Download our free app to listen on your phone