Economic Rockstar - 060: Manu Saadia on Trekonomics - The Economics of Star Trek: Scarcity, Productivity and Public Goods

060: Manu Saadia on Trekonomics - The Economics of Star Trek: Scarcity, Productivity and Public Goods

11/26/15 • 58 min

Manu Saadia fell into science fiction and Star Trek fandom at the age of eight, back in Paris, France, where he was born and raised.

Manu studied history of science and economic history in Paris and Chicago. After many happy years in the Ivory Tower, he yielded to his childhood passion for the future.

Manu embarked on his continuing mission to explore strange new worlds by boldly going where many have gone before: Los Angeles, CA, where he advise and (occasionally) builds tech companies.

Manu received the 2005 Wayne C. Booth Graduate Student Prize for Excellence in Teaching at the University of Chicago.

His book, Trekonomics, is currently available for pre-order at www.inkshares.com and will be released in 2016.

In this episode you will learn:

why Manu Saadia wrote Trekonomics.
about the Star Trek Economics panel at Comic Con.
why economists love Star Trek.
about inkshares and how it can help authors publish their book.
how traditional media rather than social media boosted pre-order sales of Trekonomics - an ironic outcome.
when Manu’s interested in economics and Star Trek collided.
about the work of Isaac Asimov and how his stories are a discourse on economics.
how the stories of robots and the future by Asimov influenced and shaped the storyline in Star Trek.
about the replicators in Star Trek and how they solve the problem of economic scarcity.
about the Ferengi’s and how they represent capitalism and trade.
why The Federation or the humans in Star Trek do not use money but have a foreign account to trade with the Ferengi’s.
and much much more.
Check out the shownotes page and links mentioned in this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/manu-saadia
Subscribe to the Economic Rockstar podcast on iTunes and never miss an episode.

Manu Saadia fell into science fiction and Star Trek fandom at the age of eight, back in Paris, France, where he was born and raised.

Manu studied history of science and economic history in Paris and Chicago. After many happy years in the Ivory Tower, he yielded to his childhood passion for the future.

Manu embarked on his continuing mission to explore strange new worlds by boldly going where many have gone before: Los Angeles, CA, where he advise and (occasionally) builds tech companies.

Manu received the 2005 Wayne C. Booth Graduate Student Prize for Excellence in Teaching at the University of Chicago.

His book, Trekonomics, is currently available for pre-order at www.inkshares.com and will be released in 2016.

In this episode you will learn:

why Manu Saadia wrote Trekonomics.
about the Star Trek Economics panel at Comic Con.
why economists love Star Trek.
about inkshares and how it can help authors publish their book.
how traditional media rather than social media boosted pre-order sales of Trekonomics - an ironic outcome.
when Manu’s interested in economics and Star Trek collided.
about the work of Isaac Asimov and how his stories are a discourse on economics.
how the stories of robots and the future by Asimov influenced and shaped the storyline in Star Trek.
about the replicators in Star Trek and how they solve the problem of economic scarcity.
about the Ferengi’s and how they represent capitalism and trade.
why The Federation or the humans in Star Trek do not use money but have a foreign account to trade with the Ferengi’s.
and much much more.
Check out the shownotes page and links mentioned in this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/manu-saadia
Subscribe to the Economic Rockstar podcast on iTunes and never miss an episode.

Previous Episode

059: Shawn Humphrey on La Ceiba Microfinance, Tribal Teaching and Creating a Culture of Commitment in the Classroom

Shawn Humphrey is currently an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Mary Washington.

Shawn is the founder of the Two Dollar Challenge, La Ceiba Microfinance, the Month of Microfinance, and the Poverty Action Conference.

Shawn describes himself as a Tribal Teacher, a Diligent Do-Gooder and a Global Grassroots Mobilizer.

In this episode you will learn:

about the social entrepreneurial journey that Shawn found himself pursuing.
about Shawn’s Tribal Teaching pedagogy and if this is the future of education.
why Shawn wanted to help the poor in Honduras and to encourage people to experience poverty.
about Shawn’s family experiencing poverty in the 1970s and how their standing in the community led him to believe that there was a better way to treat and help people out of poverty.
about how La Ceiba are helping the poor in Honduras.
about the importance of building relationships with individuals that seek assistance from La Ceiba.
the problems with micro-finance due to group lending and peer-pressure.
about the Two Dollar Challenge and you can get involved.
why supporting local leaders is the key to ending poverty.
about Shawn’s 7 year journey to finding a common ground in humanity.
why Shawn’s initial desire to feel significant while helping the poor is now a constant battle.
about Tribal Teaching and the pedagogy Shawn has designed and embraced to make a better learning environment and process.
and much more.
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Next Episode

061: Roger Whitney on the Myths to Retirement Planning and the Lazy Mans Method to Saving

Roger Whitney began his career as a Financial Advisor in 1991 and witnessed first-hand the rise and fall of the 'New Economy' and the Dot-com bubble that ended in 2000.

This experience made Roger realise that financial management is about people, not money, and that they are served best by advisors that are fiduciaries to their clients and have the heart of a teacher.

In 2003 Roger left, at the time, the largest private bank in the world and co-founded WWK Wealth Advisors. Today, they are a firm of 14 professionals managing over $200 million in assets. Roger is a lifelong learner and holds many degrees and certifications. He has a B.A. in International Relations, is a Certified Investment Management Analyst and a Certified Private Wealth Advisor.

Roger also teaches courses on Wealth Management, Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits. Roger’s blog, The Retirement Answer Man, was recently awarded the 2015 PLUTUS award for the best Retirement focused blog and podcast. You can check it out at rogerwhitney.com.

In this episode you will learn:

the problem with budgeting.
develop one habit to control your budgeting needs and requirements.
lazy man’s method to saving.
four myths that could ruin your retirement and how to avoid them.
the Permanent Income Hypothesis.
how Roger got his cashflow in place when setting up his business.
and much more.
Check out the shownotes and links mentioned by Roger at www.economicrockstar.com/roger-whitney