More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published April 25, 2007 at 9:49 AM PDT

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Does more sex equal safer sex? Conventional wisdom would say probably not, but economist Steven Landsburg explains why things are not always as they seem. We speak with Landsburg, author of "More Se

Alan Ray (Guest Host): If you were in San Francisco in the early '80s -- as I was -- covering early days of AIDS, the idea sounds counterintuitive -- if not downright silly and irresponsible: More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics. That's the title of the book by University of Rochester economist Steven E. Lansburg.

If you're familiar with Freakanomics , you'll find Mr. Lansburg's writings similar. And you'll find his writings, among other places, in the Everyday Economics column in Slate , the online magazine. His other claims? Parking your car is more destructive to the environment than driving it. The best way to create philanthropy is to encourage people to behave like Ebenezer Scrooge.

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Guest

Steven Landsburg, author of the new book More Sex Is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics . He is also a Professor of Economics at the University of Rochestor, and the writer of the Everyday Economics column in Slate magazine.