Orley Ashenfelter on the “irresistible” pull of policy evaluation & why the IR Section is so special

There's a living history in the stories we tell about our jobs, our wages, and the often invisible forces that shape the workplace. The Work Goes On: An Oral History of Industrial Relations and Labor Economics with Princeton’s Orley Ashenfelter is a direct conversation with that history. Produced by Princeton University's Industrial Relations Section, this podcast unfolds through extended, personal interviews conducted by the pioneering economist Orley Ashenfelter. Instead of dry lectures, you'll hear the voices of the field's most influential thinkers, policymakers, and scholars as they recount their own journeys. They share the debates that defined eras, the research that changed policies, and the personal anecdotes behind the economic theories that govern how we work. Each episode is a deep, narrative dive into the human side of labor economics, capturing insights and intellectual turning points that textbooks often miss. Tuning in provides a unique, archival-quality perspective on the ideas and conflicts that built the modern labor landscape, all preserved through the intimate medium of a spoken-word podcast.