Russell David "Russ" Roberts (born September 19, 1954) is an American economist, who is currently a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and president designate of Shalem College in Jerusalem. He is known for communicating economic ideas in understandable terms as host of the EconTalk podcast. Roberts describes himself as a classical liberal, stating, "I believe in limited government combined with personal responsibility. So I am something of a libertarian, but ... that term comes with some baggage and some confusion."