RealClear Radio Hour: Sensible Science and Authenticity

On this week’s RealClear Radio Hour, Tracey Brown weighs risk, reward, and science, and Glenn Carroll describes authenticity’s paradox.

My first guest is Tracey Brown, director of Sense about Science and author of Playing by the Rules: How Our Obsession with Safety Is Putting Us All at Risk. Tracey advocates transparent scientific debate and dispelling of misinformation as antidotes to scaremongering. She argues that only experience allows us to uncover life’s greatest challenges, and warns that excess risk-aversion will not only halt innovation, but could reverse modern progress. 

Up second is Glenn Carroll, Laurence W. Lane Professor of Organizations and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, on how selling “authenticity” became a phenomenon in business and politics. From the microbrewery surge in the 1990s to the insurgent candidates in the current presidential election, Glenn contrasts romanticized attributes and perceived authenticity with objective characteristics and historical context. 

You can hear the discussion by listening to the full show as-aired on iTunes, or you can check out the podcasts hosted on YouTube and SoundCloud. Make sure to check back next week for another episode of RealClear Radio Hour.

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