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The complaint seems to be that Freaknomics and related Podcasts, which are created for the sake of entertainment, are not the peer-reviewed journals he wishes t

The complaint seems to be that Freaknomics and related Podcasts, which are created for the sake of entertainment, are not the peer-reviewed journals he wishes they were.

cholantesh 2y ago
This is an utter cop-out that is a hair's length away from "this interviewer was combative and biased". In fact, it is entirely possible to thread the needle of being engaging without also being a total rube.
- randomdata 2y ago
  It’s not a cop-out to complain, but one has to remember that complaints only mean so much. McDonald’s isn’t becoming a Michelin Star restaurant because you complain its food isn’t fancy enough either. It not like there can only be one Podcast. If you see that the world is missing something, create it! Nobody else is going to do it. If they would, you already wouldn’t have found it lacking.
  - cholantesh 2y ago
    The cop-out in question is not the complaint but the rote and glib response that a podcast isn't an academic venue. The two things are not at cross purposes, and quite a lot of popular media, including outlets in which Gelman has relayed his concerns about Langer, where the goal is quite specifically to critique dubious claims. And even otherwise, people form their view of the world based on the media they consume. Levitt knows this and leverages this, along with being an academic, to boost his platform, which in turn is used to boost the profile of his guests. The argument that he bears no responsibility at all for what and how he presents to his audience is dubious. >It not like there can only be one Podcast. If you see that the world is missing something, create it! Nobody else is going to do it. If they would, you already wouldn’t have found it lacking. I would have thought the past decade would have put this marketplace of ideas hokum to rest, but here we are.

The complaint seems to be that Freaknomics and related Podcasts, which are created for the sake of entertainment, are not the peer-reviewed journals he wishes they were.

cholantesh 2y ago

This is an utter cop-out that is a hair's length away from "this interviewer was combative and biased". In fact, it is entirely possible to thread the needle of being engaging without also being a total rube.

randomdata 2y ago
It’s not a cop-out to complain, but one has to remember that complaints only mean so much. McDonald’s isn’t becoming a Michelin Star restaurant because you complain its food isn’t fancy enough either. It not like there can only be one Podcast. If you see that the world is missing something, create it! Nobody else is going to do it. If they would, you already wouldn’t have found it lacking.
- cholantesh 2y ago
  The cop-out in question is not the complaint but the rote and glib response that a podcast isn't an academic venue. The two things are not at cross purposes, and quite a lot of popular media, including outlets in which Gelman has relayed his concerns about Langer, where the goal is quite specifically to critique dubious claims. And even otherwise, people form their view of the world based on the media they consume. Levitt knows this and leverages this, along with being an academic, to boost his platform, which in turn is used to boost the profile of his guests. The argument that he bears no responsibility at all for what and how he presents to his audience is dubious. >It not like there can only be one Podcast. If you see that the world is missing something, create it! Nobody else is going to do it. If they would, you already wouldn’t have found it lacking. I would have thought the past decade would have put this marketplace of ideas hokum to rest, but here we are.