Tag Archives: culture

Jeannie and I played a LOT of board games with the kids over the pandemic. We still do. But if you’re like me, long games of Monopoly induce brain fog, Clue is dull and morbid, and Sorry makes you sorry you ever bought the damn game. What we wanted were games that were fun and engaging for kids as young as 7, but were great for adults as well. There were five clear winners, all of them games that I (and most of my friends) had never heard of: Splendor. Because all kids at heart want to be...

Jeannie and I played a LOT of board games with the kids over the pandemic. We still do. But if you’re like me, long games of Monopoly induce brain fog, Clue is dull and morbid, and Sorry makes you sorry you ever bought the damn game. What we wanted were games that were fun and engaging for kids as young as 7, but were great for adults as well. There were five clear winners, all of them games that I (and most of my friends) had never heard of: Splendor. Because all kids at heart want to be...

Guest post by Jeff Mosenkis of Innovations for Poverty Action Stanford Political Scientist Hakeem Jefferson hosted a great conversation with a number of scholars on race and the criminal justice system [embedded content] The readings mentioned are assembled in this Dropbox folder and thread, and the Stanford Daily summarized the conversation. A couple of points that jumped out at me were what counts as research/evidence in academic research circles (it seems common for scholars of the black...

[embedded content] In November 2019, Intelligence Squared brought to its stage Brian and myself to discuss money, power and the prospects of a form of radical change that makes the world a better place for the many. Quick reminder: Brian and I are amongst the co-founders of DiEM25 – the Democracy in Europe Movement whose campaigns and insights (even if am saying so myself) are more urgent and relevant than ever...

The liberal order is under threat. Increasing inequality, the rise of far-right nationalism and the climate emergency pose unprecedented challenges. It’s time for some radical thinking. On November 4th Intelligence Squared is bringing to its stage two of the world’s great radicals – Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek finance minister known for his trademark leather jacket, motorbike and self-described erratic...

[embedded content] The Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, Oxford University, kindly invited me to deliver the 2019 Taylor Lecture on 12th February 2019. I chose the topic of  Realistic Utopias versus Dystopic Realities – my aim being to highlight the manner in which really-existing capitalism is marketed as a utopian science fiction that has nothing to do with… really-existing...

Monday 18 February, 20.00, live from Théâtre du Rond-Point. A discussion between Aude Lancelin and Yanis Varoufakis on politics and philosophy. Follow on @LeMediaTV.

The Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, Oxford University, kindly invited me to deliver the 2019 Taylor Lecture on 12th February 2019. In my book was addressed to my daughter regarding the economy I tried to offer her a simple, though not simplistic, account on how capitalism works and how it fails. Critics, correctly, pointed out that the book’s criticisms of capitalism (couched in parables borrowed from...

Thanksgiving edition, by Jeff Mosenkis of Innovations for Poverty Action Image via FlickrTo make your cooking or holiday travel go a little faster IPA has our 2018 Great Holiday Travel Podcast Playlist up!Also if you’re killing time, read the abstracts from Jennifer Doleac’s thread of job market papers from women job candidates. I’m just going to drop you into the long thread here, at this dramatic paper from Jagori Saha showing how social protection programs in times of drought can save...

Brian Eno correctly said that children play to discover how the world works and, once they grow up, art is the adult way of continuing to… play. But, then, he incorrectly surmised that art is not dangerous. True, in the good society art would not be dangerous. But, in our terrible societies the madmen in authority are terrified of good art. “When I hear the word culture I reach for my revolver”, opined Herman...