Not exactly. But their runaway success with games like Wordle says something bigger about the way we live now. (Part one of a series, “We Are All Gamers Now.”)

• SOURCES:
  • Alex Hardiman, chief product officer at The New York Times.
  • Jonathan Knight, S.V.P. and general manager for New York Times Games.
  • Eric Zimmerman, game designer, professor of game design at the N.Y.U. Game Center.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Wordle Is a Love Story," by Daniel Victor (New York Times, 2022).
  • The Rules We Break: Lessons in Play, Thinking, and Design, by Eric Zimmerman (2022).
  • Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can't Live Without Them, by Adrienne Raphel (2020).
  • The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, by Bernard Suits (2005).
  • Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, by Katie Salen Tekinbas and Eric Zimmerman (2003).

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Great. Then depressed. Then great again. Stephen Dubner gets the full story from David Lang; we also hear from some fans, and the New York Philharmonic’s president. The math and the aftermath of wealth of nations. (Part two of a series.)

• SOURCES:
  • David Lang, composer and professor at the Yale School of Music.
  • Matías Tarnopolsky, president and C.E.O. of the New York Philharmonic.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Finally, an Opera About Economics," by Stacey Vanek Smith (Bloomberg, 2026).
  • "The Little Match Girl Passion," by David Lang (2023).
  • The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith (1776).

• EXTRAS:
  • "David Lang’s the wealth of nations," series by Freakonomics Radio (2026).
  • "In Search of the Real Adam Smith," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

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Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. In this updated replay of a 2022 episode, we hold a very Smithy tug of war.

• SOURCES:
  • Eamonn Butler, co-founder and director of the Adam Smith Institute.
  • Glory Liu, a political scientist and Adam Smith scholar at Georgetown University.
  • Mariana Mazzucato, professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London.
  • Dennis Rasmussen, a professor of political science at Syracuse University.
  • Russ Roberts, president of Shalem College in in Jerusalem; host of the EconTalk podcast; and author.
  • Craig Smith, Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment at the University of Glasgow.

• RESOURCES:
  • Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism, by Gloria Liu (2022).
  • "Henry and Adam: A Deep and Special Friendship," by Benny Higgins (Adam Smith Panmure House Perspective, 2020).
  • "Rescuing Adam Smith From Myth and Misrepresentation," (The Economist, 2018).
  • The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought, by Dennis C. Rasmussen (2017).
  • How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness, by Russ Roberts (2014).
  • "British Privatization — Taking Capitalism to the People," by John Moore (Harvard Business Review, 1992).
  • Free to Choose: A Personal Statement, by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman (1990).
  • The Essential Adam Smith, edited by Robert L. Heilbroner (1986).
  • An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith (1776).
  • The Theory of Moral Sentiments, by Adam Smith (1759).

• EXTRAS:
  • "In Search of the Real Adam Smith," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

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