Things I Like

motorbikes are one of those things…

I discovered economics as it was the only remaining course I could choose in high school. Lucky for me this was a natural fit. With economics allowing me to do what I’m passionate about: understanding how things work, what this means in practice and how this can be used to make people better off.

Unsurprising I spend a good amount of my spare time doing things that teach me something new or allow me to contribute to the world at large. This has resulted in me working in Myanmar, starring as an extra in a film, blogging on a variety of disparate topics, teaching myself data science, becoming an avid advocate of open-programming and speaking competitively through the Toastmasters public speaking program.

It also has made me a rather obsessive listener to podcasts, keen traveler and follower of websites that cover global events:

Websites I like:

  • The Economist – World news, current affairs and global business.
  • R-Bloggers – All things related to the R-programming language.
  • VoxDev – Frontier research on international development.

Podcasts I like:

  • The Jolly Swagman Podcast – Unassuming guy asking intelligent questions of Nobel Laureates and world leaders. In essence, a podcast for the aspiring polymath.
  • Econtalk – Weekly podcast hosted by Dr Russell Roberts from Stanford University. Covers a variety of econ-related and non-econ-related topics.
  • LSE Public Lectures – Well-produced recordings of many of the London School of Economics and Political Science’s public events. Covers current events and frontier research.
  • Stuff You Should Know – Two guys talking in detail about everything. buffalo soldiers, the scientific method, corduroy and the list goes on.
  • The TED Radio Hour – Theme focused discussions from TED talkers and leading thinkers.
  • Women in Data Science – Great podcast on the real world application of data science from leading women in the field.