Incentives Are for Losers (with Adam Mastroianni)

2026-09-14 · 65 min · episode 1067 · 18 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ appeared on EconTalk podcast

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evidence rules-v4
Incentives Are for Losers (with Adam Mastroianni)
→ hosted by Russ Roberts person

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evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Russ Roberts
→ hosted by Library of Economics and Liberty person

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evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Library of Economics and Liberty
→ discusses Science concept

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Feed category: Science
→ discusses Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
→ discusses Philosophy concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Philosophy
→ discusses Education concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Education
→ discusses Courses concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Courses
→ discusses Social Sciences concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Social Sciences

Entities found in this episode

concepts 12

mentioned Science concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Science
mentioned Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
mentioned Philosophy concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Philosophy
mentioned Education concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Education
mentioned Courses concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Courses
mentioned Social Sciences concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Social Sciences
discusses Science concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Science
discusses Society & Culture concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
discusses Philosophy concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Philosophy
discusses Education concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Education
discusses Courses concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Courses
discusses Social Sciences concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Social Sciences

persons 5

mentioned Adam Mastroianni person

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evidence rules-v4
Incentives Are for Losers (with Adam Mastroianni)
mentioned Russ Roberts person

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evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Russ Roberts
mentioned Library of Economics and Liberty person

0.70

evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Library of Economics and Liberty
hosted by Russ Roberts person

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evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Russ Roberts
hosted by Library of Economics and Liberty person

0.55

evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Library of Economics and Liberty

podcasts 1

appeared on EconTalk podcast

0.68

evidence rules-v4
Incentives Are for Losers (with Adam Mastroianni)

Episode description as stored

Incentives matter, sure. But what should you do when following the incentives means quietly participating in something wrong? Psychologist Adam Mastroianni argues that obeying bad incentives--shading a headline for clicks, keeping the found wallet because no one's watching--is "loser behavior," a surrender of the hardest and most human task: figuring out right from wrong for yourself. In this wide-ranging EconTalk conversation, he and Russ Roberts explore Le Guin's "Omelas," the "big fish" you glimpse that could upend your whole life, and Charles Sumner's near-fatal courage. They wrestle with whether good incentives or good people matter more, why lavish academic salaries may attract exactly the wrong scholars, and the moral lessons of marriage.