Profile 9 min read

Lessons from Jennifer Burns

Jennifer Burns, a Stanford historian, studies how economic and political ideas shape American society. Her biographies of Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman trace how free-market arguments moved from academic margins into policy, revealing the pathways of intellectual influence.
Profile 8 min read

Lessons from Henry Oliver

Henry Oliver, a writer, literary critic, and author of Second Act, explores how people discover talent, change careers, and find practical wisdom in classic literature. His work challenges the tyranny of early achievement and studies the possibility of reinvention.
Profile 8 min read

Lessons from Harvey Mansfield

Harvey Mansfield, a longtime Harvard political philosopher and translator of Machiavelli and Tocqueville, argues that modern democracy still relies on aristocratic virtues, including manliness and strong executive power. His work tests classical political thought against modern liberalism.
Profile 8 min read

Lessons from Dave Baszucki

Dave Baszucki, co-founder and CEO of Roblox, turned educational physics simulators into a platform for user-created social worlds, raising enduring questions about digital identity, creator economies, and the infrastructure needed for shared 3D experiences.
Profile 10 min read

Lessons from John Cochrane

John Cochrane, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and former finance professor, argues that government debt drives inflation and that durable economic growth depends on structural deregulation rather than monetary engineering, linking macroeconomics to finance and public policy.
Profile 9 min read

Lessons from Joe Studwell

Joe Studwell, a British journalist, examines how developing nations get rich through land reform, export-driven manufacturing, and state-controlled finance, while exposing the structural constraints and rent-seeking habits that shape emerging markets across Asia and Africa.
Profile 8 min read

Lessons from Jennifer Pahlka

Jennifer Pahlka, founder of Code for America and a former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer, shows how rigid processes and the separation of policy from technical execution undermine public services, making user-centered delivery an essential government capability.
Profile 8 min read

Lessons from Jason Furman

Jason Furman, a Harvard economist and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, connects macroeconomic theory to real government decisions through his work on labor markets, neutral corporate taxation, and the limits of industrial policy.

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