The obesity epidemic is global and is a major public health issue. Why has it happened? Robert Lustig, a pediatrician at the University of California San Francisco, argues in his new book that sugar is to blame. According to Lustig, food companies add more sugar to drink and food than in the past. He also blames governments who have also been complicit, since they have been captured by the fructose producers and the food and drink industry. Politicians have also wanted food to be cheap so as to remove it as an election issue. Below is a brilliant lecture by Lustig on the role of sugar in the obesity epidemic.
According to Robert Shiller , speaking at Davos, Bitcoin is a perfect example of a bubble - story here . Shiller sees Bitcoin as a backwards step in the evolution of money. George Selgin , a free banker, takes an opposing view - click here . Although he doesn't believe that Bitcoin is money, he sees its development as a fascinating turn in the evolution of money. In particular, he lauds the fact that Bitcoin production is constrained and cannot be infinite. There is a short video below where Bitcoin explain how it works.