Free Thoughts

Fan favorite Peter Van Doren returns to the show to share with us his wealth of knowledge not only in regulation, but in many other areas of failed government oversight.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benjamin T. Smith uncovers the origins of the drug trade in Mexico and how this illicit business essentially built modern Mexico, affecting everything from agriculture to medicine to economics―and the country’s all-important relationship with the United States. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Godsey explores distinct psychological human weaknesses inherent in the criminal justice system—confirmation bias, memory malleability, cognitive dissonance, bureaucratic denial, dehumanization, and others—and illustrates each with stories from his time as a hard-nosed prosecutor and then as an attorney for the Ohio Innocence Project.Why do people become prosecutors? What sorts of relationships do prosecutors have with judges? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Magatte Wade argues that the most unique challenge we face is that the world has come to perceive that Africans themselves are not capable of creating prosperity—and require charity in order to survive. The combination of negative perceptions of Africans, combined with widespread ignorance regarding the need for economic freedom is a toxic combination. And Wade is working to change not only the perception, but also provide opportunities for Africans to prosper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maia Szalavitz writes that drug overdoses now kill more Americans annually than guns, cars, or breast cancer. But the United States has tried to solve this national crisis with policies that only made matters worse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christopher Coyne and Abigail Hall delve into case studies from the War on Terror to show how propaganda operates in a democracy. From the darkened cinema to the football field to the airport screening line, the U.S. government has purposefully inflated the actual threat of terrorism and the necessity of a proactive military response. This biased, incomplete, and misleading information contributes to a broader culture of fear and militarism that, far from keeping Americans safe, ultimately threatens the foundations of a free society. How should we define propaganda? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Kosseff exposes the workings of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which has lived mostly in the shadows since its enshrinement in 1996. Because many segments of American society now exist largely online, Kosseff argues that we need to understand and pay attention to what Section 230 really means and how it affects what we like, share, and comment upon every day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s true that for the first time in 20 years, there is no US military presence in Afghanistan. But Sahar Khan suggests that the war is not really over. Throughout this episode they discuss what happened in Afghanistan over the last 2 decades and why the United States kept troops on the ground there longer than anticipated.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Strange things happen to parties that can win while getting fewer votes. For one thing, they’re driven to be more radical. Another is that a victorious party can still feel like a persecuted minority because they actually are the minority. And this phenomenon is running rampant in the United States. Andy Craig discusses how we can relieve pressure from our cracking political system.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many people have developed some level of skepticism about mainstream news media. By not trusting the news your alternative is to conduct your own research on certain topics. However, no one is capable of researching every possible domain without somehow relying on someone else's interpretation of the issue at hand.Why don't people trust the news or the government? Why should you not conduct your own research? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Corey DeAngelis comes on the podcast to breakdown the different components of school choice and how it has evolved in the last 2 decades. In summary, DeAngelis believes that families have the best information about what their children need when it comes to education. This isn't a debate about private vs. public schools, but rather a debate about where money can best be spent for each and every student.What is the difference between an education savings account and a school voucher? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Pfaff describes how the pandemic lockdown helped push down many crimes, but last year saw an unprecedented spike in homicides nationwide, likely more than twice the largest previous one-year rise. The spike in homicides will surely alter the politics of reform, now and in the years ahead.Was there a COVID crime wave? Are shooting underreported or over-reported? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Huemer spends the show addressing many controversial philosophical questions; How can we know about the world outside our minds? Is there a God? Do we have free will? Are there objective values? What distinguishes morally right from morally wrong actions?Why do people question the value of general philosophical knowledge? Why should people try to be rational? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The reality is that when businesses respond to market prices and wages in ways that maximize share values they generally promote the welfare of a far larger number of stakeholders than when businesses discount the importance of share values in order to intentionally promote the welfare of stakeholders. Don Boudreaux joins the podcast to discuss the difference between stakeholder capitalism and shareholder capitalism and how they both relate to corporate responsibility.What are the differences between shareholders and stakeholders? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As governments and tech platforms seek to address the concerns driving the “techlash,” Neil talks about the lessons that provide guidance on how to avoid the worst pitfalls that could adversely affect efforts to improve the human condition online.What is "legibility"? What concerns drive the “techlash” and what should platforms and governments do to address them? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Shapiro examines how major welfare institutions, such as government-financed and -administered retirement pensions, national health insurance, and programs for the needy, actually work. Comparing them to compulsory private insurance and private charities, Shapiro argues that the dominant perspectives in political philosophy mistakenly think that their principles support the welfare state.What is the difference between option luck and brute luck? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clay Routledge and John Bitzan conducted a survey of college students to assess their perception of viewpoint diversity and campus freedom; human progress and beliefs about the future; and student attitudes toward entrepreneurship, capitalism and socialism, and how college is influencing their views.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is much disagreement about what being a neoliberal actually means. It's generally believed to be a philosophical view that a society’s political and economic institutions should be robustly liberal and capitalist, but supplemented by a constitutionally limited democracy and a modest welfare state. But that certainly leaves room for much interpretation.How does neoliberalism relate to utilitarianism? What is the relationship between neoliberalism and democracy? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jason Riley describes Thomas Sowell as one of the great social theorists of our age. In Sowell’s career, spanning more than a half century, he has written over thirty books, covering topics from economic history and social inequality to political theory, race, and culture. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Radley Balko argues that over the last several decades, America's cops have increasingly come to resemble ground troops. The consequences have been dire: the home is no longer a place of sanctuary, the Fourth Amendment has been gutted, and police today have been conditioned to see the citizens they serve as an other—an enemy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Federal policies rely on top‐down planning and coercion. That tends to create winners and losers, which is unlike the mutually beneficial relationships of markets. Not to mention the government cannot comprehend the complexity of our society on a local level. Chris Edwards returns to the show to discuss the failures of government.What is logrolling? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before the U.S. Constitution had even been signed, soldiers and new veterans protested. Dissent, the hallowed expression of disagreement and refusal to comply with the government’s wishes, has a long history in the United States. Soldier dissenters, outraged by the country’s wars or egregious violations in conduct, speak out and change U.S. politics, social welfare systems, and histories.What happened to deserters? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Disinformation. Trolling. Conspiracies. Social media pile-ons. Campus intolerance. On the surface, these recent phenomenons appear to have little in common. But together, they are driving an epistemic crisis: a multi-front challenge to America’s ability to distinguish fact from fiction and elevate truth above falsehood.What is truth? Is truth the same thing as knowledge? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas.What do we mean by alarmism? What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An expert in ancient and modern ethics, Sherman relates how Stoic methods of examining beliefs and perceptions can help us correct distortions in what we believe, see, and feel. Her study reveals a profound insight about the Stoics: they never believed, as Stoic popularizers often hold, that rugged self-reliance or indifference to the world around us is at the heart of living well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Diving deeply into Islamic theology, and also sharing lessons from his own life story, Mustafa Aykol reveals how Muslims lost the universalism that made them a great civilization in their earlier centuries. He especially demonstrates how values often associated with Western Enlightenment ― freedom, reason, tolerance, and an appreciation of science ― had Islamic counterparts, which sadly were cast aside in favor of more dogmatic views, often for political ends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Immigration is often seen as a danger to western liberal democracies because it threatens to undermine their fundamental values, most notably freedom and national self‐​determination. Chandran Kukathas argues that the greater threat comes not from immigration but from immigration control. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FDA reviewers have strong incentive to restrict access to new drugs and other therapies until there is extensive evidence that the therapies are safe. These incentives work against patients suffering painful or terminal diseases that have no effective therapy. And throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the FDA was continually in the spotlight for its poorly handling many potential COVID-19 remedies.Why do we have an FDA? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It could be said that American foreign policy since 1945 has been one long miscue; most international threats - including during the Cold War - have been substantially exaggerated. The result has been agony and bloviation, unnecessary and costly military interventions that have mostly failed.John Mueller joins the show to explain how, when international war is in decline, complacency and appeasement become viable diplomatic devices and a large military is scarcely required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why hand sanitizer was missing from your pharmacy for months after the COVID-19 pandemic hit? Why some employers and employees were arguing over workers being re-hired during the first COVID-19 lockdown? Why passenger airlines were able to get their own ring-fenced bailout from Congress?Ryan Bourne answers all of these questions in his latest book, Economics in One Virus. He helps to explain everything from why the U.S. was underprepared for the pandemic to how economists go about valuing the lives saved from lockdowns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of humanity is the story of textiles -- as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture. Virginia Postrel joins the show to discuss how textiles are the most influential commodity in world history.What can the history of textiles teach us about innovation? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The foreign policy establishment in D.C. is stubborn. In fact, there is so much consensus about America's interests' abroad that it's rare that meaningful debate occurs. But, it shouldn't be like that. There should be room for realists and restrainers in foreign policy. Justin Logan comes back on the podcast to discuss how foreign policy should be regularly scrutinized because right now that doesn't happen enough.Who is in the foreign policy establishment? How is the debate on foreign policy different in DC compared to academia? What is realism in foreign policy? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alternating current electricity systems require that demand equals supply in real-time. Any supply-demand imbalance must be remedied in minutes to avoid collapse of the system that would take weeks to repair. And the Texas system was very close to collapse. So why did the Texas blackouts occur when the weather was bitter cold?Could a free market electricity system work? What is the rate of return on regulated utilities? Why are all power companies monopolies? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Jason Brennan's new book, Why It’s OK to Want to Be Rich, he shows that the moralizers have it backwards. He argues that, in general, the more money you make, the more you already do for others, and that even an average wage earner is productively “giving back” to society just by doing her job. In addition, wealth liberates us to have the best chance of leading a life that’s authentically our own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bassem Youseff joins the show to talk about his experience hosting the show, El-Bernameg (The Show), a satirical news program in Egypt, from 2011 to 2014. Youseff is often described as the Egyptian Jon Stewart because his program garnered over 40 million viewers. In 2013, Time named Youseff one of the 100 most influential people in the world.Why are dictators humorless? Do you think that America has a healthy political satire climate? What caused the Arab Spring? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A stock market professional joins the show to discuss how investors and hedge fund managers work differently. In recent stock market news, we had a front seat to witness the short-selling of small companies, like Gamestop. We discuss why short-selling happens and how technology has changed accessibility to the stock market.What is a stock? What is a corporation? What is a hedge fund? How has the stock market changed in the last 30 years? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The resurgent of “security nationalism" extends far beyond the limited theoretical scenarios in which national security might justify government action, and it suffers from several flaws. “National security” has long been invoked to justify government policies intended to support manufacturing in case of war or another emergency.How are free trade and national security related? What is a trade deficit? How do global supply chains work? Did the U.S. make China in to a dangerous country? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Economic arguments favoring increased immigration restrictions suggest that immigrants undermine the culture, institutions, and productivity of destination countries. But is this actually true? Alex Nowrasteh breaks the economic impact of immigration down for us by pulling data from history as well as from policies that other countries use to control immigration.What happens if we open up immigration? What is a founder effect? Why do people want to come to America? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carl Hart is one of the world’s preeminent experts on the effects of so-called recreational drugs on the human mind and body. Dr. Hart is open about the fact that he uses drugs himself, in a happy balance with the rest of his full and productive life as a colleague, husband, father, and friend.What is the difference between an illicit drug and medicine? Who decides which drugs are illicit and which are not? Why do we treat drugs users, depending on the drug, differently? How is alcohol different than illicit drugs? And how is it the same? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Selgin believes that the New Deal failed to bring recovery because, although some New Deal undertakings did serve to revive aggregate spending, others had the opposite effect, and still others prevented the growth in spending that did take place from doing all it might have to revive employment.What does it mean when the economy shrinks? What were some goals of the New Deal? How did the New Deal fail to reach its goals? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Americans today don't trust each other and their institutions as much as they once did. The collapse of social and political trust has arguably fueled our increasingly ferocious ideological conflicts and hardened partisanship. But, Kevin Vallier explains how all is not hopeless. restores faith in our power to reduce polarization and rebuild social and political trust.What is social trust? Do we still have trust in democracy? How do you develop your sense of trust? What's a democratic norm? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Walter Olson, senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies, comes on the show to discuss the fallout of the 2020 election culminating with the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021. They discuss how institutions like congress faired during the Trump administration, how and when election fraud concerns should be addressed, as well as the 'whataboutism' of people comparing the capitol insurrection to 2020 protests.What is objective morality? How could we improve our voting systems? How did our institutions hold up in the face of violence? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Matuschak joins the show to discuss how different learning models will help students in different ways. They discuss how students best remember material and how we should consider cognitive science when constructing a teaching technique.What is the purpose of primary school? Why do we group children by age for learning in school? What is the best way to learn from flashcards? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fan favorite, Peter Van Doren, comes back to the show to discuss how the concept of a monopoly has changed throughout history. People certainly don't like the idea of a monopoly, but before we claim a company as a monopoly we need to make sure we know what market they exist in. There is always competition that exists, but sometimes it's hard to nail down.What is a trust? What are the technical concerns of a monopoly? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The freedom to explore and exchange - whether it's goods, ideas or people - has led to stunning achievements in science, technology and culture. As a result, we live at a time of unprecedented wealth and opportunity. So why are we so intent on ruining it? Johan Norberg explores these ideas and more throughout this episode.How new is openness? Were early civilizations open? How do open societies progress faster than closed? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Selgin joins Aaron and Trevor for a discussion on money and banking in the United States.What is money? How did the government become so deeply ingrained in the production and supply of our money, and why? What is the Federal Reserve, and what does it actually do? What would the U. S. look like with a competitive currency system? And what about Bitcoin? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Aaron Ross Powell and Trevor Burrus talk about egalitarianism with Professor Elizabeth Anderson. Should we be concerned about an equal distribution of resources in a society? An equal distribution of outcomes? Is it a bad thing for some people to be worse off than others through no fault of their own? And whose job is it to enforce such distributions—government or markets?This was originally released on May 5th, 2014. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ilya Shapiro joins the show to take us through the various eras of the Supreme Court. He also explains how the process of nominating someone to the Supreme Court has changed since the founding.What does the Constitution say about the Supreme Court? Did Marbury v. Madison in 1803 and the rise of judicial review change some of the calculus for confirmation hearings? What is judicial review? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

C. Bradley Thompson's work is inspired by John Adams and his reflection on the nature of the American Revolution. Adams answered the question “What was the revolution?” by saying, “The Revolution was not the war for independence. The Revolution was in fact a revolution in the minds of the American people". Learning this, Thompson discusses the moral revolution that occurred in the minds of the people in the fifteen years before 1776.How did Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon, two scientists, influence the American Revolution? How do you discover moral laws of nature? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Heaton is a comedian, author, and political satirist. On this episode he explains how, in the last four years, many funny & talented individuals have stepped away from comedy because they do not feel it is an appropriate moment in time to make jokes. But, the power of laughter is often underestimated.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.