2025-11-29
45 分钟The Economist.
This is an episode that I've wanted us to do for a really long time and I've finally persuaded my co-host Charlotte to go for it.
It's Thanksgiving, so this isn't a regular episode.
It's an extended interview with an author.
He's somebody who's been arguing for the past 30 years in a series of books and articles that America is being held back by lawyers,
public sector unions, and a general excess of caution.
At its core, he thinks,
this stems from a reluctance to empower people and give them responsibility for making decisions.
These are ideas that have some overlap with the abundance Democrats who've been having a moment this year.
But this writer got there first.
His name is...
Philip Howard.
He is also Charlotte's dad.
Every year, about this time,
I floated the idea of this interview and met with a firm no from Charlotte.
This time, James, who back when he was editor of The Atlantic,
ran articles by Philip, joined the chorus and was evidently more persuasive than I've been.
In old media, this would be seen as a conflict of interest.
We've avoided reviewing Philip Howard's books at The Economist
because our book reviews are unsigned.