# Should economics have fewer taboos? With Alvin Roth

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-economics-show-6910728/should-economics-have-fewer-taboos-with-alvin-roth
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-economics-show-6910728/should-economics-have-fewer-taboos-with-alvin-roth.md
Podcast: [The Economics Show](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-economics-show-6910728)
Published: 2026-05-15T04:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/the-economics-show-with-soumaya-keynes/episodes/should-economics-have-fewer-taboos-with-alvin-roth
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/664394a442f6710013618119/e/6a05f813382d6c4030bcc5b2/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-economics-show-6910728/episodes/should-economics-have-fewer-taboos-with-alvin-roth
Duration seconds: 1540

## Resource

Economists like to think of their discipline as a rational science. But might we make better decisions if we ditched some of our moral aversions? Specifically: would we make better choices if we learned to conquer moral repugnance? Alvin Roth, Nobel laureate, and author of the recent book ‘Moral Economics’, tells host Soumaya Keynes why a free market in kidneys and surrogacy makes economic sense, and what he makes of prediction markets. The inaugural FT Weekend Festival in New York City is fast approaching, with a line-up featuring Paul Krugman, Martin Wolf, Gillian Tett, and plenty more. Join on Saturday, June 20, at Spring Studios or online. Register now and as a podcast listener, save 10% using our code FTPODCAST. Further reading When is it OK for economists to experiment on people? So you tried to buy a country . . . Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple , Spotify , Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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## Transcript

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