Why Rational People Make Irrational Choices | Alex Imas
About this episode
Why do smart people keep making predictably bad decisions? Behavioral economist Alex Imas joins us to unpack The Winner’s Curse, loss aversion, and the persistent biases that shape markets, policy, and everyday choices. We explore why classic economic models fall short and what behavioral economics reveals about how humans really decide.
Topics[0:00] Introduction and speed round with Alex Imas
[11:55] The Winner’s Curse and its implications
[21:13] Behavioral economics and standard economic matters
[28:01] Loss aversion and decision-making
[35:04] Behavioral economics in policy and law
[41:00] Tom Sawyer economics
[47:30] Social media, attention, and exploitation of bias
[56:38] The importance of cooperation and social systems
[58:40] New music in 2026
[1:07:53] Grooving session: framing, preferences, and happiness
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LinksThe Winner’s Curse by Richard Thaler and Alex Imas
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