Eating with Intelligence (with Julia Belluz) episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 29, 2025 · 1H 5M

Eating with Intelligence (with Julia Belluz)

from EconTalk · host EconTalk: Russ Roberts

Losing weight should be simple: eat less, exercise more. But according to author and health journalist Julia Belluz, it's complicated. Listen as Belluz talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about her new book, Food Intelligence. Belluz argues that a calorie is pretty much a calorie whether it's carbs or fat. Keeping calories under control is often harder than it sounds. The message isn't blame; it's agency with compassion: understand your body's feedback loops, redesign the choices around you, and choose a sustainable way to enjoy food. At the end of the conversation, Belluz makes the case for government intervention of various kinds to help us make what she sees as better food choices; Roberts pushes back.

Losing weight should be simple: eat less, exercise more. But according to author and health journalist Julia Belluz, it's complicated. Listen as Belluz talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about her new book, Food Intelligence. Belluz argues that a calorie is pretty much a calorie whether it's carbs or fat. Keeping calories under control is often harder than it sounds. The message isn't blame; it's agency with compassion: understand your body's feedback loops, redesign the choices around you, and choose a sustainable way to enjoy food. At the end of the conversation, Belluz makes the case for government intervention of various kinds to help us make what she sees as better food choices; Roberts pushes back.

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Michael Munger on EconTalk EconTalk: Mike Munger and Russ Roberts Michael C. Munger, Director of the interdisciplinary Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) program at Duke University, appears regularly as a guest on EconTalk, the award-winning economics podcast hosted by Russ Roberts of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Podcast episodes featuring Mike Munger are listed here. EconTalk has been taking the Monday out of Mondays since 2006. All 750+ episodes are available in the archive. Go to EconTalk.org for transcripts, related resources, and comments. EconTalk Archives, 2006 EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty EconTalk is an award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life. Featured guests include renowned economics professors, Nobel Prize winners, and exciting speakers on all kinds of topical matters related to economic thought. Topics include health care, free trade, economic growth, education, finance, politics, sports, book reviews, parenting, and the curiosities of everyday decision-making. Russ Roberts, of the Library of Economics and Liberty (econlib.org) and George Mason U., draws you in with lively guests and creative repartee. Look for related readings and the complete archive of previous shows at EconTalk.org, where you can also comment on the podcasts and ask questions. Rob Wiblin's top recommended EconTalk episodes v0.2 Feb 2020 EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty Rob Wiblin's favourite 100 episodes of EconTalk — the award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life: http://econtalk.orgA selection of the 'top 11' have modified release dates so they show up at the top when you choose to show the most recent first. The rest are then listed by release date.Learn more about this list and the episodes: https://tinyurl.com/rob-top-econtalkRob Wiblin's personal website: http://robwiblin.com EconTalk at GMU EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty EconTalk is an award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life. Featured guests include renowned economics professors, Nobel Prize winners, and exciting speakers on all kinds of topical matters related to economic thought. Topics include health care, business cycles, economic growth, free trade, education, finance, politics, sports, book reviews, parenting, and the curiosities of everyday decision-making. Russ Roberts, of the Library of Economics and Liberty (econlib.org) and George Mason U., draws you in with lively guests and creative repartee. Look for related readings and the complete archive of previous shows at EconTalk.org, where you can also comment on the podcasts and ask questions.

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This episode was published on September 29, 2025.

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Losing weight should be simple: eat less, exercise more. But according to author and health journalist Julia Belluz, it's complicated. Listen as Belluz talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about her new book, Food Intelligence. Belluz argues that a...

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