Economist Daron Acemoglu likes to tackle big questions. He tells Steve how colonialism still affects us today, who benefits from new technology, and why democracy wasn’t always a sure thing.

SOURCE:Daron Acemoglu • , professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

RESOURCES:Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity, • by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson (2023). • " Economists Pin More Blame on Tech for Rising Inequality • ," by Steve Lohr ( The New York Times, • 2022). • " America’s Slow-Motion Wage Crisis: Four Decades of Slow and Unequal Growth • ," by John Schmitt, Elise Gould, and Josh Bivens ( Economic Policy Institute, • 2018). • " Why Mental Health Advocates Use the Words 'Died by Suicide • ,'" by Nicole Spector ( NBC News, • 2018). • " A Machine That Made Stockings Helped Kick Off the Industrial Revolution • ," by Sarah Laskow ( Atlas Obscura, • 2017). • " The Long-Term Jobs Killer Is Not China. It’s Automation • ," by Claire Cain Miller ( The New York Times, • 2016). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, • by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (2012). • " The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation • ," by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson ( American Economic Review, • 2001). • " Learning about Others' Actions and the Investment Accelerator • ," by Daron Acemoglu ( The Economic Journal, • 1993). • " A Friedman Doctrine — The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits • ," by Milton Friedman ( The New York Times, • 1970).

EXTRAS: • " 'My God, This Is a Transformative Power • ,'" by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2023). • " New Technologies Always Scare Us. Is A.I. Any Different? • " by Freakonomics Radio • (2023). • " Max Tegmark on Why Superhuman Artificial Intelligence Won’t be Our Slave • ," by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2021). • " How to Prevent Another Great Depression • ," by Freakonomics Radio • (2020). • " Is Income Inequality Inevitable? • " by Freakonomics Radio • (2017).