Gary Becker and Richard Posner have been offering up some of the most insightful social and political commentary on the internet through The Becker-Posner blog for five years now. Starting back in December of ’04, Becker, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, and Posner, a renowned jurist and legal scholar, (both at the University of Chicago), teamed up to offer their equally learned, but sometimes conflicting insights on everything from the legalization of gay marriage to the sale of human organs for transplant, quickly building a large, and loyal audience. So large, in fact, that in November of 2009 the University of Chicago Press published a “best of” collection of entries from their blog in their new book: Uncommon Sense: Economic Insights, from Marriage to Terrorism.
Recently, Milt Rosenberg, the host of WGN radio’s Extension 720 invited the two on the show to discuss their new book, highlighting their pithy commentary on some of the most hot button issues of the day, including the legitimacy of the death penalty, NYC’s proposed ban on trans fats, and illegal immigration.
To listen in navigate to the Extension 720 website to stream or download part 1 and part 2 of their conversation or find out more about Uncommon Sense on the press website.