Creative Director Christian Acker - Conversations with Tyler podcast

You can’t imitate a worldview

… but you can form your own by listening and learning (and learning how to listen).

On the Conversations with Tyler podcast, produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, celebrated polymath, blogger, and academic economist Tyler Cowen explores the minds and methods of today’s top thinkers. Tyler’s intense research leads to stimulating and surprising questions that provoke guests into deep examinations of their work and how they see the world. Eager to exploit their insights? All you have to do is listen.

The Holbert L. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University. Tyler is also Faculty Director of the Mercatus Center.
He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1987.
His book The Great Stagnation: How America Ate the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better was a New York Times best-seller.
He was named in an Economist poll as one of the most influential economists of the last decade and Bloomberg Businessweek dubbed him "America's Hottest Economist." Foreign Policy magazine named him as one of its "Top 100 Global Thinkers" of 2011.
He co-writes a blog at MarginalRevolution.com, hosts a podcast Conversations with Tyler, and is co-founder of an online economics education project, MRU.org. He is also director of the philanthropic project Emergent Ventures.

Production Function

Tyler Cowen has built a durable, wide-ranging platform through steady output across formats.

He co-founded the blog, Marginal Revolution in 2003 with Alex Tabarrok, where he continues to publish daily. He began writing for Bloomberg Opinion in 2014 and launched Conversations with Tyler in 2015.

In 2016, Mercatus brought me in to help reposition the podcast—shifting the audience from academic to land and resonate more deeply with founders, operators, and the broader and growing tech worker economy.

Since then, the show has become a touchpoint for a wider intellectual and entrepreneurial audience, alongside Cowen’s continued publishing—now including regular contributions to The Free Press (since 2023) and a body of work spanning 15+ books.

Listening is often seen as a passive activity. But Tyler is on a mission to prove that learning is as much or even more about learning how-to-learn. Listening is a key feature of knowledge, which is more akin to a production than an acquisition.
A production function is the relationship between quantities of inputs and outputs.
We want to collect disproportionate returns from inputs to outcomes.
Knowledge is the raw material that any culture, organization, institute or society uses to create positive change.
Knowledge compounds in relationship in unexpected ways.
Epistemological humility means that the more you know, the more you know your limitations.
Rakim said it best, “You gotta know the ledge.”

If you're looking to cultivate and grow your brand, l highly recommend teaming up with Christian. He provided the resources and expertise to elevate Conversations with Tyler’s unique presence in the podcasting world.

From start to finish, the process was engaging, creative, and collaborative. Christian's attention to detail, comprehensive research, and efficiency matched with great communications and follow up led him to deliver an exciting brand for Conversations with Tyler that captured the podcast's voice, key messages, and identity.”

“

— Dallas Floer, Podcast Producer

Strategy is design
Design is strategy

Aesthetics are downstream of conceptual thinking.

Conceptual thinking is downstream of articulation.

Articulation is the process of collaboration, bringing multiple perspectives into alignment on a vision of why we do what for who

Almost 10 years on and I still refer to the CWT brand Guide, when having conversations with Mercatus colleagues around who we are serving and how our work is actually moving the needle.

This wasn’t just marketing jargon. Christian workshopped our leadership team to get to articulating the real issues we face and why we do what we do.”

– Benjamin Brophy,
Vice President of Strategic
Engagement, Mercatus Center

“

Deliverables

Brand Strategy
Campaign Strategy
Creative Direction
Messaging & Copy

Art Direction
Brand Design
Key Visuals
Brand Experience

Special Thanks To:

Jeff Holmes
Director of Creative & Product, Mercatus Center

Dallas Floer
Podcast Producer, Mercatus Center

Results

Ben Brophy
VP of Strategic Engagement,
Mercatus Center

Tyler Cowen
Faculty Director,
Mercatus Center

Cantilever
Web Design Partner

The CWT podcast saw exponential growth in unique downloads and social engagement. Increasing bookings with high-caliber guests and expanded audience reach.