A week after putting American fiction in its place, Sweden’s Nobel Committee has awarded the prize in Economic Sciences to one of America’s most popular public intellectuals, Paul Krugman, Princeton scholar and New York Times columnist. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says the win comes “for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity,” which might explain why you can find all kinds of French wine in California, but only Sun-Pat peanut butter in the U.K.

Next week Zócalo proudly welcomes the newest member of the Nobel circle. Krugman now joins a prestigious crew of fellow big krona winners Milton Friedman, Amartya Sen, and Friedrich August von Hayek among others.

Demand has already outstripped supply for seats at Zócalo’s October 24th evening with Paul Krugman at RAND, but we’re cooking up a treat for everyone who can’t join us in the audience. Check back here at 7:30pm Friday for live blogging of comments and questions straight from the floor. We’ll also be chatting with the prize winner for our “In the Green Room” segment so stay tuned for personal tidbits you won’t find anywhere else.

Want a preview? The oft-updated blog on the New York Times is classic Krugman – witty, informative and on point: krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/ and for more on his theory, check out this Forbes commentary. On the lighter side, here’s Krugman keeping an almost straight face on The Colbert Report.