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Choosing Better: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Enoch Hill and Tim Taylor
Conversations about wacky ideas, economics, and the art of living well.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 1 weeks ago1h 8m
Behind the Pump: Geopolitics in Your Tank
What are you really paying for when you fill up your tank? Enoch and Tim unpack the true cost of a gallon of gasoline, and it is far beyond crude oil, refining, and taxes. Using the recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a real-time case study, they trace how a distant geopolitical chokepoint drove U.S. gas prices over 50% in just weeks, despite America’s “energy independence.” Along the way, they explore the hidden prices embedded in every gallon: U.S. Navy protection of shipping lanes, environmental damage, and the global “law of one price” that ties American consumers to events half a world away. They conclude with looking at what a prolonged Hormuz disruption would mean, why it could permanently reshape global energy routes, and explore how we can choose better in a world where energy security, economics, and geopolitics are inseparable.Recording Date: May 20, 2026Credits: Drew Elliot (music)
- 3 weeks ago32 min
Sports and Economics Part 2: Salary Caps and the Stadium Game
In this second episode, Enoch and Tim go deeper into the machinery of professional sports economics. How do salary caps really work, and who do they really help? What is a player actually worth to a team? And when a city spends hundreds of millions of dollars to build a new stadium, is it a good deal for taxpayers? The answers turn out to be more surprising than most sports fans may expect.Recording Date: April 23, 2026Credits: Drew Elliot (music)
- 4 weeks ago1h 2m
Sports and Economics Part 1: It’s All Rigged (On Purpose)
Economics isn't just for the classroom or the boardroom; it's baked into every corner of professional sports. In this first installment of their Sports and Economics series, Enoch and Tim explore how leagues deliberately design institutions andrules to shape competition, and how economic reasoning shows up in surprising places: from the structure of the NFL draft to the direction of a penalty kick (and why we may want to roll a dice before taking a penalty kick).Record Date: April 14, 2026Credits: Drew Elliot (music)
- Apr 24, 202641 min
Children in an Age of AI
Should we change how we raise our kids, preparing them for the future, knowing they will enter college and begin their careers with AI? Enoch and Tim reflect on how the rise of AI should shape the way we raise and prepare our children. They discuss the reality that today’s kids will enter college and careers with AI as a constant companion, and they wrestle with how to cultivate habits, character, and critical thinking that lead to genuine flourishing amid rapid technological change. Rather than offering simple answers, the conversation models a thoughtful, values-driven approach to parenting in an uncertain AI future. And they share what majors they recommend when AI presents uncertainty. Record Date: March 19, 2026Credits: Drew Elliot (music)
- Apr 10, 202655 min
Testing What Matters: How Assessment Shapes Education
How we test students reveals what we truly value in education and simultaneously shapes the incentives of everyone in the classroom. Enoch and Tim discuss the economics of educational assessment, arguing that every test design sends signals to teachers and students about what is worth knowing and how it should be taught. They explore testing practices, from Finland's minimal standardized testing culture to the high-stakes approaches found in other countries, exploring the tradeoffs embedded in each model. Highlighting the remarkable story of Mississippi, which overhauled its approach to reading instruction and assessment after sitting at the bottom of national literacy rankings, Enoch and Tim unpack how a deliberate change in testing philosophy helped drive some of the most significant gains in childhood literacy seen anywhere in the country.Record Date: February 12, 2026Credits: Drew Elliot (music)
- Mar 27, 202653 min
Economics and Life Hacks Part 2: How to Make Better Decisions about Time and Money
In the second part of this series, Enoch and Tim talk about more ways economics can help us make better decisions and live more joyful lives. They discuss the endowment effect, how we tend to overvalue things in our possession, to understand when to let things go. And perhaps most important of all, they discuss opportunity costs and a holistic view of income to help us maximize decisions and think carefully about the use of our time and what we value. We hope these episodes help you to choose better. Link to Economics and Life Hacks Part I Credits: Drew Elliot (music) Recording Date: January 8, 2026
- Mar 13, 202658 min
Life is Less Spicy Without the Secret Sauce! Property Rights and Concerns for the Future (with Jason Long)
Jason Long returns to Choosing Better to discuss why some nations are rich and others are poor. We take another journey through time to understand how simple laws and norms shape the very bedrock of societies with some countries being wealthy and prosperous while others are underdeveloped and poor. Enoch and Tim turn the conversation to the strength of property rights in the United States before focusing on a recent case study in early 2026 of the US government threatening to destroy AI giant, Anthropic, as a means of retaliation. Is this a fleeting moment or a pivotal juncture in the US trajectory of the rule of law with respect to property rights? Credits: Drew Elliot (music) Recording Date: March 5, 2026
- Mar 4, 20261h 4m
[Bonus Episode] America Goes to War: Making Sense of the Sudden Conflict with Iran (with Tim Buch)
In the first days of a rapidly escalating U.S.–Israel conflict with Iran, strikes rippled across the region and global tensions spiked. In this bonus episode, former CIA senior executive and Iran expert Tim Buch joins the show to break down what actually happened, and just as important, why. We examine how intelligence shaped military decisions, how Iran is likely to respond, and what this conflict means for the broader Middle East. Finally, we look ahead: What could Iran look like by 2030 if this war continues? Credits: Drew Elliot (music) with additional thanks to the Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics. Recording Date: March 2, 2026
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