Particle Data Platform
EconTalk

Conversation, Interintellect, and Arcadia (with Anna Gat)

1/5/20261 hr 22 min

If technology is ruining the art of conversation, maybe it can save it, too. Anna Gat--poet, screenwriter, playwright, and founder of Interintellect--talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts on how she's reviving the French salon in the digital age. They discuss why authority, moderation, and clear formats make conversation freer, not more constrained. They also explore why one of the greatest of modern plays--Tom Stoppard's Arcadia--is so resonant not only as a live theatrical performance, but also when read aloud, both alone and in a group. They conclude the episode by connecting Arcadia's themes to Gat's mission at Interintellect: Namely, preserving the value of thinking together across generations, disciplines, and worldviews.

Clips

Zero-Toxicity Conversation Experiment
Outsourcing The Listening
Salons Spark Marriages And Babies
Conversation Survives Every Upheaval
Handling A Dominating Voice

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Russ Roberts· Host0:02

    Welcome to EconTalk: Conversations for the Curious, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty. I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Go to EconTalk.org where you can subscribe, comment on this episode, and find links and other information related to today's conversation. You'll also find our archives with every episode we've done going back to 2006. Our email address is mail@econtalk.org. We'd love to hear from you. Today is December 9, 2025, and before I introduce today's guest, I wanna encourage you to vote on your favorite episodes of 2025. So go to EconTalk.org, you'll find a link there to our survey, and vote. Thank you, and thank you for listening. My guest today is Anna Gat. She is founder and CEO of Interintellect, which is described as an intellectually and politically open conversation platform where attendees, community members, and event hosts come together to think through the most important ideas of our times. She hosts the podcast, The Hope Axis, and writes at Substack at American Innocence. Anna, welcome to EconTalk.

  2. Anna Gat· Guest1:21

    Thank you so much for having me. I'm so delighted to be here.

  3. Russ Roberts· Host1:24

    Now, our topic for today is our culture, what you're trying to do with,

We value your privacy

We use cookies to understand how you use our platform and to improve your experience. Click "Accept All" to consent, or "Decline non-essential" to opt out of non-essential cookies. Read our Privacy Policy.