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Six months into a stage-four pancreatic cancer diagnosis that gave him 90 days to live, Ben Sasse sits down with EconTalk's Russ Roberts for a conversation that refuses easy comfort. The former US senator and University of Florida president is candid about his physical challenges but the heart of this exchange is elsewhere: what actually matters when time is short. Sasse reflects on faith and mortality, the "shattering of idols" like his own workaholism, and his pride in his marriage. Along the way he offers sharp diagnoses of Congress's abdication of responsibility, the crisis inside American universities, and a republic distracted by the "digital casino" in its pocket. Funny, unflinching, and deeply human, it closes with a meditation on raging against the dying of the light while walking with your head bowed.
Resources
Marc Andreessen. “Marc Andreessen on Why AI Will Save the World.” Interview with Russ Roberts. EconTalk. July 10, 2023.
Luke Burgis. “The Self, the Crowd, and Social Contagion.” Interview with Russ Roberts. EconTalk. Jun 8, 2026.
Samuel Johnson. “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” Goodreads.
Mari Sandoz. Old Jules. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005.
“Ben Sasse.” American Enterprise Institute.
“Ben Sasse (@BenSasse).” X.
Dylan Thomas. “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.” Poetry Foundation.
Benjamin Todd. 80,000 Hours: How to Have a Fulfilling Career That Does Good. New York: Scribner, 2025.
Benjamin Todd. “Making Your 80,000 Hours Count.” Interview with Russ Roberts. EconTalk. June 1, 2026.
“Heidelberg Catechism.” Westminster Seminary California.
Zacharias Ursinus. The Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism. Third Millennium Ministries.
About the Speakers
Ben Sasse is a former US senator from Nebraska and former president of the University of Florida. He represented Nebraska in the Senate from 2015 to 2023, after previously serving as president of Midland University and as an assistant secretary in the US Department of Health and Human Services. A native of Nebraska, Sasse earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a master’s degree from St. John’s College, and a PhD from Yale University.
Russ Roberts is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. In 2006, he founded the award-winning weekly podcast EconTalk, which has featured guests including Milton Friedman, Martha Nussbaum, Christopher Hitchens, Agnes Callard, Bill James, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Amor Towles, and Emily Oster. All 875+ episodes remain available free of charge at EconTalk.org and reach an audience of more than 125,000 listeners in 200 countries.