On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews economist Steven Landsburg, professor of economics at The University of Rochester, about how economics can help us understand many realms--including today's "religion of environmentalism."



They discuss:

- How Landsburg's popular book The Armchair Economist came about.

- Why Landsburg regards "people respond to incentives" as the foundation of economics.

- How understanding incentives makes sense of seemingly counterintuitive outcomes, such as recycling programs leading to fewer trees.

- How understanding economics could have vastly improved vaccine distribution in the US.

- The science of ecology vs. the religion of ecology.

- How human beings ability to adapt to climate changes is largely ignored in today's discussions--and why economists don't speak up about it.

- How "environmentalists" treat their personal preferences as morally superior to others' preferences.

- Landsburg's economics-based approach to species extinction.

Why "the armchair economist" is "not an environmentalist"

Every week on Power Hour energy philosopher Alex Epstein breaks down today's top energy, environmental, and climate issues.

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News Commentary

From Alex Epstein: "Recently I was having dinner with Peter Thiel (the billionaire investor/entrepreneur who founded PayPal and Palantir) and he raised some interesting challenges to my book Fossil Future (which he has enthusiastically endorsed). I suggested, 'Let’s record a discussion where you give me all your challenges to Fossil Future and I try to answer them.' Peter loved the idea, so we made it happen—recording a 90-minute discussion at his office in West Hollywood."

Peter Thiel challenges Alex Epstein on Fossil Future

On the latest episode of Power Hour, Alex Epstein explains in detail how to create Energy Freedom Talking Points, and announces new opportunities to work for or contribute to the Energy Talking Points project. Also: How Alex and Energy Talking Points are changing AI Chat.

How to become an Energy Freedom Policy Architect

On the latest episode of Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Senator Tom Cotton about his important new book, Only the Strong.

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Strong-Reversing-Sabotage-American/dp/1538726793



They discuss:

 Why America should have a foreign policy of self-interest
 What a principled and thoughtful policy of self-interest looks like
  How American foreign policy has devolved into various forms of international servitude
  The importance of energy security
  Senator Cotton's experiences in battle and in Congress

At the end of the show Alex shares some of his differences with Senator Cotton's book and offers some additional reading recommendations.

Senator Tom Cotton on "Only the Strong"

On this special episode of Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews Jusper Machogu, a Kenyan farmer who, thanks to the influence of Alex and others, has started to become a champion of fossil fuels in Africa.
Jusper discusses his aspirations in agriculture and in energy, and why he is asking for help to invest in his education.
You can support Jusper at his GoFundMe (Alex contributed $1000): https://www.gofundme.com/f/jusper-machogu-further-education-support

Jusper Machogu, emerging African Energy Champion

On this special episode of Power Hour to celebrate Fossil Future's launch week, I'm joined by wrestling legend and former MMA superstar Ben Askren. When Ben expressed interest in Fossil future on Twitter, I sent him an advance copy—which he read in full, and loved.
I asked Ben to come on the show to describe how the book impacted his thinking. I also asked Ben, known as one of the great innovators in modern wrestling, about the keys to his innovativeness—keys that apply to virtually any field.
This episode was both a thrill for me and a little surreal since as a longtime Jiu-Jitsu practitioner I've admired Askren from afar for many years. The fact that he responded to Fossil Future so positively is further confirmation to me that the framework and argument of this book are going to impact a lot of people's thinking for the better.

Why "the armchair economist" is "not an environmentalist"

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