The world faces a host of existential crises, including climate change, natural scarcity, income inequality, and poor global health. We call these exponential crises because they are characterized by a series of feedback…

The Rise of Central Banks: State Power in Financial Capitalism by Leon Wansleben, Harvard University Press, 2023  In 2007, an economist at Carnegie Mellon University wrote a paper in praise of central banks….

It’s easy to sneer at the past. Long ago, when physicians labored largely in ignorance, people placed faith in patent medicines, though their effectiveness was unconfirmed and their contents were typically unknown. By…

As we start the New Year trying to figure out new workplace arrangements (hybrid or not?) and tech innovations (bots like the AI-based ChatGPT), it’s important to remember a key lesson about one…

Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company by Nicolai J. Foss and Peter G. Klein, Public Affairs, 2022 If you’ve been feeling like your leadership contributions are underappreciated, add a copy…

Aniela Hoitink’s atelier in the Dutch city of Amersfoort is nothing like that of a conventional fashion designer’s studio. There are no sewing machines, rulers, or fabrics, no shears or cutting tables. Instead,…

Escape from Model Land: How Mathematical Models Can Lead Us Astray and What We Can Do About It by Erica Thompson, Basic Books, 2022 The single most famous weather forecast in British history…