May 2025 Friday’s e-links: Finally Building the Panama Canal

Every once in a while, (and sometimes each day) I listen to a great podcast, enjoy an article, or see a good video that I want to share with you. These are my e-links.

Last updated 5/30/25

This week, I especially enjoyed Part 2 of a Cautionary Tales podcast from economist Tim Harford. Focusing on the origins of the Panama Canal, it continued grabbing me from beginning to end. In Part 1, because Ferdinand De Lesseps had immense success building the Suez Canal, he expected to replicate it with his Panama project. Instead, as one catastrophe after another unfolds, we learn about the tragedies that the man and his family endured. Then, in Part 2, we see how President Theodore Roosevelt completed the project. Fully committed, Roosevelt went to Panama. While there, he sidestepped planned events to get the real facts about what was failing. After that, having hired the talent he needed, he made sure we got our canal.

The second episode made it ever so clear that knowing accurate facts is crucial for achieving our nation’s goals.