Ones and Tooze

The housing market in the United States is in gridlock these days, largely because of high interest rates. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is now above 7 percent, making it difficult for would-be first-time buyers to get into the market. Adam and Cameron discuss the broader implications for the U.S. economy.

Also on the show: Brazil’s presidential election
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Adam and Cameron discuss the newly released memoir of Francis Fukuyama, the American political scientist whose influential paper in 1989—which was later expanded into a book—posited that liberal democracy had won the world's ideological battle. The thesis was heralded as prescient when the Berlin wall fell a short time later but has been subjected to much criticism over the years. In the memoir, In the Realm of the Last Man, Fukuyama sets out to account for events that have transpired since 1989.
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The head of Anthropic last week called on the U.S. government to regulate AI companies to avoid catastrophic outcomes. But, as Adam and Cameron point out, the conversation itself raises broader questions about the structure of the AI marketplace, the efficacy of existing liability laws, and the very nature of capitalism.
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The far-right Alternative for Germany’s recent landslide victory in a small state in eastern Germany is part of a broader political story unfolding across Europe. It is also—and perhaps primarily—an economic story.

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Nearly 1.5 billion children will attend primary or secondary school around the world this year—about 1 in 6 people on the planet. Adam and Cameron discuss the economics around sending children to school.

Also on the show: The economics of Lichtenstein.
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