Should your home have a sprinkler system installed? Well, the organization likely responsible for your local building code thinks so. But mandating sprinklers in every single family home would be expensive, and this wouldn’t be the first time that regulators failed to sufficiently account for costs and tradeoffs. Join Paul Matzko and Peter Van Dore…

Obituaries for the late President Jimmy Carter have been filled with profuse praise for his post-presidential philanthropic work. But Carter wasn't just good once he left office; he was one of the most underrated presidents in US history. As Paul and Peter discuss, his administration enacted policies that deregulated a swath of industries from truc…

In this episode of Unintended Consequences from Intent Clinical, hosts Diana Clark and Arden O’Connor sit down with Dr. Devika Bhushan, the Chief Medical Officer at Daybreak Health and an adjunct faculty member at Stanford University. Dr. Bhushan shares her compelling journey of navigating bipolar disorder while pursuing an ambitious career in medi…

In this episode of Unintended Consequences from Intent Clinical, David K is joined by hosts Diana Clark and Arden O’Connor to explore the multifaceted challenges of caregiving, encompassing both elder care and special needs parenting. David, whose last name is being kept anonymous to protect his family’s privacy, shares his personal journey of bala…

Hosts Diana Clark and Arden O’Connor sit down with Emma Kelly, a mother, advocate, and NFL wife, in this powerful episode of Unintended Consequences from Intent Clinical. Emma candidly shares her deeply personal experiences, beginning with discovering she was pregnant while being filmed for an HBO documentary, followed by the devastating loss of th…

In this compelling episode of Unintended Consequences from Intent Clinical, hosts Diana Clark and Arden O’Connor sit down with Andrew Caspersen, a remarkable advocate for mental health and personal transformation. Andrew shares his extraordinary journey from a charmed upbringing, to a life rocked by financial crime, to finally finding redemption, a…

David Manheim, co-creator of the Dopey podcast, joins hosts Diana Clark and Arden O’Connor for an in-depth exploration of his tumultuous journey through addiction, recovery, grief, and podcast success. David candidly shares his early struggles and stories of navigating his early career, repeatedly falling into jobs despite his drug use. The discuss…

There is substantial overlap between the Biden and Trump administrations on economic policy. Both presidents have favored protectionist industrial policy and higher import tariffs. Yet these policies would not only fail to return America to the economy of the early 20th century; they would harm most ordinary American workers and consumers in the at…

In this powerful episode of Unintended Consequences from Intent Clinical, hosts Diana Clark and Arden O’Connor are joined by Eric Kussin, a dynamic mental health advocate and former sports industry executive. Eric brings a fresh, thought-provoking perspective to the conversation, challenging the status quo of mental health messaging. With a rich ba…

What happens when your life comes off the rails? When you saw the crash coming, but couldn’t change course? Welcome to Unintended Consequences, a podcast from Intent Clinical. For over a decade, hosts Arden O’Connor and Diana Clark have been helping people through life’s most uncertain moments, and working to restructure the fundamentals of care an…

Reena Ruparelia has lived with psoriasis since she was in high school. But she didn’t start sharing about her experience until 20 years later. Stigma played a role in her hesitancy to speak out, but a major factor was the difficulty in finding a doctor who really listened, and a treatment that worked. Until patients find treatment, it can feel like…

Theory is elegant, but even the most well-designed and well-intentioned theory of regulation may not survive the acid test of reality. First, Paul and Peter discuss the dilemma faced by federal regulators trying to address Boeing’s safety record and the risk that (in)action might push more passengers to drive instead. Then Peter offers a counterint…

It’s tractor week at Unintended Consequences with special guest Ike Brannon, who is a Senior Fellow at the Jack Kemp Foundation, about the right to repair movement and the struggle of farmers over whether John Deere can restrict their right to tinker with their own tractors. But first, Peter and Paul talk about government restrictions on manufactur…

S1-E2: The Rethink Alignment team showcases its proprietary alignment framework while discussing Hertz Corporation's decision to eliminate one-third of its EV fleet. Music sourced from Purple Planet Music at https://www.purple-planet.comLuke Chilone, Howard Fields, Nathan Gilliatt

Incentives matter, but they don’t care about your intentions. In this episode Paul and Peter start by talking with special guest and Truist Distinguished Professor of Economics at Winston-Salem State University Craig Richardson. He discusses how the federal government tried to prevent greedy banks from taking advantage of homebuyers but just ended …

On Very Special Episodes, we tell one incredible story each week. Stranger-than-fiction tales about normal people in extraordinary situations. Stories that make you say, “this should be a movie.” Follow Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday. Listen here or on the iHeartRadio app. See omnystudio…

Prediction Time —RSJ In a year when countries as diverse as India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Taiwan, Pakistan and Palau go for their elections, it is tempting to go for an overarching theme for the year while looking ahead. Unfortunately, like these aforementioned elections and the many others that will see about 50 per cent of…

Happy New Year — RSJ Happy 2024, dear readers! We hope 2023 was good for all of you. If it wasn’t, we are glad that it’s behind you. We didn’t have too bad a 2023 ourselves. This newsletter went along swimmingly (or so we think) and we had our book ‘Missing in Action: Why You Should Care About Public Policy’ published on 23 January 2023. Why haven’…

India Policy Watch #1: Like a Kid in a Candy Store Insights on current policy issues in India — Pranay Kotasthane In the previous edition, I asked you to name your favourite sports policy to date. I don’t have a great answer myself. Nevertheless, my candidate would be liberalising FDI in retail. When posed with such questions, we often get anchored…

Course Advertisement: Admission to Takshashila’s Graduate Certificate in Public Policy (GCPP) programme is now open. Start your 2024 with a course that will equip you with the tools to understand the world of public policy. Check all details here. India Policy Watch: In Search Of Growth Current policy issues in India — RSJ A quick macro update. The…

Read the full text here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

This episode explores recent changes to the Delta SkyMiles Program and the member backlash that led Delta to make additional modifications.Rethink Alignment

Peter and Paul discuss three topics – adulterated whiskey, Texan electricity, and Brandeisian antitrust – with one core theme: government action under political pressure is a poor substitute for market discipline. With special guests Macy Scheck and Daniel Smith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

Full text here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

The full text is here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

The full text is here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

Is there an “optimal hypocrisy” when it comes to enforcing laws and regulations? That’s the central theme in this episode of Unintended Consequences, which covers both water policy and the neutrality of government economists. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read the edition here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

Read the edition here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

Financial Regulation of Private Firms + Emigration of Indian Talent This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

India Watch #1: Of Protests and Perfect Tricks Insights on issues relevant to India — RSJ For nearly a month now, some of India's top wrestlers, who between them have earned over 25 medals in various global competitions, have been protesting against the conduct of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh. This is …

Being Pragmatic about ESG Norms, Lessons for India's Semiconductor Strategy, and Challenging Common Wisdom about India's Constitution-making. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.comPranay Kotasthane

India Policy Watch #1: Silly Season Is Upon Us Insights on issues relevant to India — RSJ Late on Friday this week, the RBI issued a circular withdrawing the circulation of ₹2000 denomination banknotes. The RBI clarified that these notes would continue to serve as legal tender, so this isn’t another demonetisation. Here’s the Indian Express reporti…

Global Policy Watch: Much Ado About De-dollarisation Reflections on global policy issues — RSJ This week, Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers to let the U.S. default on its debt if the Democrats don’t agree on massive budget cuts. Trump likened the people running the U.S. treasury to ‘drunken sailors’, an epithet I can get behind. Default is no…

Global Policy Watch: Chronicle Of A Crisis Foretold Reflections on global policy issues — RSJ A major state election (Karnataka) is coming up this week. But there’s hardly anything worth analysing. The Congress seemed to have a slight edge in the early opinion polls, but that’s wearing thin. The BJP, always with its ears to the ground, has cranked …

India Policy Watch #1: How Not to Let the Opportunity Slip Away Insights on issues relevant to India — RSJ A strange thing happens when you are away on a break. One week you are sitting and wondering how many different things you can write about because of the flurry of events around you. US banks getting into trouble, Rahul Gandhi being denied bai…

In this episode of the Unintended Consequences podcast, we start by investigating whether railroads are making excessive profits by cutting back labor expenses. That’s the subject of Peter’s new paper, which is particularly timely given the reaction to the train derailment in eastern Ohio. Then, Mark Calabria joins to discuss his cover article abou…

India Policy Watch #1: Don’t Concentrate Insights on issues relevant to India — RSJ In one of the recent editions on the Hindenburg short-selling saga, I had written about how easily the Adani group had spread itself into a diverse range of sectors. The group was highly leveraged because it was so keen on getting into newer sectors and then winning…

India Policy Watch: Those Mind Games Insights on issues relevant to India — RSJ Regular readers might have noticed the absence of posts analysing the political economy and politics in general in our editions of late. This isn’t intentional. There’s not much to write about. There is a strange sense of stasis all around. Every move, every act is a ch…

Global Policy Watch: Bailout Pe Bailout Pe Bailout Insights on global policy issues relevant to India — RSJ Where do I start this week? Maybe with a spot of self-promotion. Pranay and I were guests on the popular Hindi podcast Puliyaabazi. I have been a long-time fan, so it was nice to be a guest there. Pranay usually co-hosts this with Saurabh and…

Global Policy Watch: Accident Ho Gaya Insights on global policy issues relevant to India — RSJ I must admit there are times when I have made a big deal about writing this newsletter. Not about the content, mind you. I’m not that vain yet. But the regularity of it all. Getting about 4000 words out between the two of us every week isn’t trivial stuff…

India Policy Watch #1: Why We Don’t Care About Growth Insights on burning policy issues in India — RSJ Earlier this week, Pranay and I recorded an episode with Shruti Rajagopalan for her podcast Ideas of India. I have been following Shruti’s columns and the podcast for a while now, and I will recommend you subscribe to both her podcast and her news…

India Policy Watch #1: What Do Successive Defence Budgets Reveal? Insights on burning policy issues in India — Pranay Kotasthane (An edited version of this article was published in Hindustan Times on 13th Feb) Another defence budget zoomed past us on Feb 1. Since then, analyses have focused on how the defence spending for the coming year departs fr…

India Policy Watch: Passing the Burden Insights on burning policy issues in India — Pranay Kotasthane As Wilson’s Matrix tells us, concentrated benefits (costs) trump diffused costs (benefits) on most occasions. Organising people around diffuse interests is difficult. As a political articulation of these voices is difficult, they are consigned to b…

We turn 200 editions old today. It has been fun. Thank you for giving us your time. You can do without another self-congratulatory mail in your inbox. So, let’s get moving on with a nod to this classic line of Majrooh. मैं अकेला ही चला था जानिब-ए-मंज़िल मगर लोग साथ आते गए और कारवाँ बनता गया I had set out on this journey all by myself Others joined,…

India Policy Watch: Our Week With Adani Insights on current policy issues in India - RSJ That was an eventful week in India. In the last edition I had written these lines on the ongoing Adani saga that have now come back to bite me: “The FPO might struggle a bit to sail through. But that amount is a chump change for the group. A week or so of volat…