Twelve Billion Dollars

Episode 20 · May 23rd, 2014 · 1 hr 40 mins

About this Episode

We start, of course, with speed traps and the suggestion of a radio talk show host that giving speed trap warnings is a religious obligation. Our major topic, though, is the insanity of the textbook market. Christian takes a typically moderate position and argues that all textbooks should be free. Joe takes a typically strident position and argues that it’s more complicated than that. We discuss our respective projects to change the nature and distribution of law school casebooks. Topics include: textbooks as playlists, how their production is like and unlike the production of wikipedia, the traditional model and how much students pay, the weird market for textbooks, Joe’s collaboration with Lydia Loren to become the Radiohead of textbook publishers, and one publisher’s attempt essentially to lease rather than sell textbooks. We close by noting that it’s hot here now (the slight hiss when Joe speaks is the air conditioning) and Christian’s related parenting woes.

This show’s links: