Louis Rukeyser: 1933 - 2006

When I was a kid, say ages 12-16, I was a fan of The McGlaughlin Group on the local PBS channel. I was interested in politics and current events, an early sign of my inclination towards philosophy, economics, and other subjects.

After a little while I grew to enjoy Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser, which came on right before the MG. Although some of the discussions on that show went over my head at that age, over time I learned many important concepts about economics, the financial world, and more (none of which has translated into my growing rich mind you, as I'm not interested in the world of big money and risk-taking). The format of his show was enjoyable: an opening monologue usually about the past week's events, predictions from "the elves", and then an extended discussion and Q&A with a "special guest" and his collection of experts. And throughout the show Rukeyser himself was a joy to listen to, whether reading his no-doubt prepared opening monologue or ad-libbing with the guests.

He had a way of making technical or complicated economic concepts understandable -- even to an untrained middle- or high-schooler. He was generally speaking pro-capitalism, pro-free-markets. He was also an optimist, not just about the markets, but it seemed about life in general. He seemed to have a benevolent sense of life about him, which was one of the things I enjoyed about his program.

Louis Rukeyser died on May 2, after battling multiple myeloma. His website is located here, and here is the brief Wikipedia entry on him.