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The Human Progress Podcast

The Human Progress Podcast

HumanProgress.org 88 episodes Nov 3, 2026

The Human Progress Podcast is hosted by Marian L. Tupy and Chelsea Follett of HumanProgress.org. It explores ideas and evidence about human progress, including economic growth, well-being, innovation, and global development. Episodes often feature interviews and discussion of the challenges and debates surrounding progress.

Episodes

The Costs of Holding Back AI | Kristian Stout | Ep. 87
The Costs of Holding Back AI | Kristian Stout | Ep. 87 Nov 3, 2026 49:34 Artificial intelligence promises to transform the economy, boost productivity, and expand human capabilities. But fears of mass unemployment, catastrophic risks, and the rapid expansion of data centers are fueling calls for restrictions that could slow AI development and delay those benefits.In this episode of the Human Progress Podcast, Kristian Stout, Director of Innovation Policy at the Interna
Agency and the Making of History | Martin Seligman | Ep. 86
Agency and the Making of History | Martin Seligman | Ep. 86 Oct 13, 2026 59:10 Why do some civilizations flourish while others stagnate? Martin Seligman, a psychologist, author, and founder of the modern positive psychology movement, suggests that the answer may lie not just in institutions or technology, but in what people believe they can achieve.In his latest book, Agency: The Psychological History of Human Progress, Seligman argues that agency, the belief in our ability
The Mental Health Paradox | Jonathan Alpert | Ep. 85
The Mental Health Paradox | Jonathan Alpert | Ep. 85 Sep 30, 2026 47:11 Americans have never been more aware of mental health. Therapy is more accessible, psychiatric diagnoses are more common, and the language of trauma and self-care has entered everyday life. Yet by many measures, mental health in America appears to be worsening.In his new book, Therapy Nation: How America Got Hooked on Therapy and Why It’s Left Us More Anxious and Divided, psychotherapist Jonathan
Growth vs. Redistribution in the Fight Against Poverty | Kevin Corinth | Ep. 84
Growth vs. Redistribution in the Fight Against Poverty | Kevin Corinth | Ep. 84 Sep 11, 2026 51:50 The United States has spent decades trying to reduce poverty through an expanding social safety net. But how much of the country’s progress against poverty is thanks to that redistribution, and how much has come from economic growth?In a recent paper, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Kevin Corinth and economist Richard Burkhauser examine nearly a century of American poverty trends. They
How Markets Make Us Better People | Walker Wright | Ep. 83
How Markets Make Us Better People | Walker Wright | Ep. 83 Aug 18, 2026 01:10:46 Our research fellow Chelsea Follett speaks with Walker Wright about the moral character of markets, the relationship between economic freedom and good behavior, the effects of commerce on prejudice and violence, and why buying and selling from one another may help make us better people.
Progress and the Price System | Brian Albrecht | Ep. 82
Progress and the Price System | Brian Albrecht | Ep. 82 Jul 31, 2026 01:00:58 Our editor Marian Tupy speaks with economist Brian Albrecht about the role of prices in modern prosperity.They discuss why price controls fail, whether scarcity can ever truly disappear, the difference between large companies and monopolies, price discrimination, and the underappreciated ways in which competitive markets enrich our lives.Dr. Brian C. Albrecht is the chief economist at the Internat
The Myth of American Decline | Michael Strain | Ep. 81
The Myth of American Decline | Michael Strain | Ep. 81 Jul 10, 2026 55:19 Our managing editor Chelsea Follett speaks with economist Michael Strain about the myth of American decline and the dangers of populism. They discuss the rise of populism on the left and right, the evidence that American living standards have improved, why inequality does not explain today’s political discontent, and how policies built on a false diagnosis of national failure could undermine the p
Rethinking the Gilded Age | Brian Domitrovic | Ep. 80
Rethinking the Gilded Age | Brian Domitrovic | Ep. 80 Jun 12, 2026 35:01 The Gilded Age has become one of the most common analogies for our own time, invoked as shorthand for economic inequality and political corruption. But that comparison misses much of what made the period extraordinary. After the Civil War, the United States experienced an incredible period of economic growth that completely transformed American life and landscapes.In this episode of The Human Prog
The System That Feeds Us | Jan Dutkiewicz | Ep. 79
The System That Feeds Us | Jan Dutkiewicz | Ep. 79 May 26, 2026 54:31 The industrial food system is often treated as a symbol of everything people distrust about modernity: too processed, too corporate, too artificial, and too detached from land and labor.That critique obscures one of the greatest achievements in human history: modern food production has made food cheaper, safer, more abundant, and more varied than ever before.In this episode of The Human Progress P
What Climate Science Really Says | Roger Pielke Jr. | Ep. 78
What Climate Science Really Says | Roger Pielke Jr. | Ep. 78 May 8, 2026 55:50 Roger Pielke Jr. joins Marian Tupy to discuss the latest climate research and how to think clearly about climate change.
America's Turn Against Markets | Samuel Gregg | Ep. 77
America's Turn Against Markets | Samuel Gregg | Ep. 77 Apr 24, 2026 58:57 Samuel Gregg joins Chelsea Follett to discuss the rise of a more interventionist economic consensus and the case for markets in modern America.Check out his book, The Next American Economy: Nation, State, and Markets in an Uncertain World.
Meaning and Morality in the Modern Age | Steven Pinker | Ep. 76
Meaning and Morality in the Modern Age | Steven Pinker | Ep. 76 Mar 24, 2026 01:03:11 Steven Pinker joins Marian Tupy to discuss the so-called "crisis of meaning," the decline of religion, and what can give life purpose in a modern, largely secular world.

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