Mises Media

On this episode of Power and Market, we feel compelled to discuss this week's State of the Union speech. Ryan and Tho are joined by Dr. Jonathan Newman to provide some historical context to the event and what, if anything, actually matters from the speech.

Dr. Keith Smith recounts how the Surgery Center of Oklahoma and the Free Market Medical Association are exposing the hospital–insurance cartel—posting honest, bundled prices, triggering price wars, and proving that free-market medicine can deliver higher quality care at a fraction of the cost.Recorded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on February 21, 2026. Special thanks to Michael and Beverley Starkey and Gil Robinson for sponsoring this event. 

Dr. Timothy Terrell explains how entrepreneurs and property rights can protect forests, wildlife, and open spaces better than bureaucracies, using real-world examples of “enviropreneurs” who profit by conserving nature instead of exploiting it.Recorded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on February 21, 2026. Special thanks to Michael and Beverley Starkey and Gil Robinson for sponsoring this event. 

We are told that the Bill of Rights is the bedrock of our freedom, yet this same Bill of Rights ultimately has been used as a weapon against state sovereignty and against our individual rights.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/bill-rights-against-states

The current outburst of protests against President Trump’s enforcement of immigration laws is overshadowing a question that is not being asked: Can we defend having national borders in the first place?Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/defense-national-borders

Human action involves people engaging in unique events in which outcomes often are uncertain, when expertise and planning often do not give us the results we anticipate.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/we-act-world-uncertainty-not-probabilities

In a truly free market, there is no class conflict. In the presence of the state, however, things are different because various groups jockey with each other to gain the favor of state agents.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/class-conflict-jacksonians-and-exploitation

The rise of the grooming gangs in Great Britain and the refusal of Britain’s Labor government to intervene speaks volumes about the contempt that British political elites have for their laws and the people who must live under a regime of anarcho-tyranny.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/anarcho-tyranny-and-uk-grooming-gangs-scandal

If the Iranian regime were truly trying to sacrifice their entire country to commit a nation-level nuclear murder-suicide against Israel and the US, they would be acting very differently.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-iran-buildup-based-lieBe sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Dr. Per Bylund contrasts the futility of politics with the quiet power of entrepreneurship, showing how innovative businesses like Uber and Amazon actually dismantle regulations, reshape institutions, and push the state back more effectively than any protest movement or election.Recorded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on February 21, 2026. Special thanks to Michael and Beverley Starkey and Gil Robinson for sponsoring this event. 

Ryan McMaken joins John Stossel to grade President Trump’s first year of his second term. They walk through the biggest issues shaping the country—government efficiency, spending and the national debt, trade and tariffs, energy policy, and border enforcement—highlighting where the administration has delivered, where it’s fallen short, and what the long-term implications may be. What’s changed, what’s hype, and which moves actually matter beyond the headlines?

Dr. Peter Klein explores whether AI can ever replace human entrepreneurs and central planners, arguing from Mises’ calculation problem that even “thinking machines” can only mimic, not originate, the real-world judgment and ownership that markets require.Recorded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on February 21, 2026. Special thanks to Michael and Beverley Starkey and Gil Robinson for sponsoring this event. 

Ryan McMaken traces the rise and squeeze of America’s small business economy, showing how tariffs, industrial policy, the Fed, and “too big to fail” bailouts systematically tilt the field toward big corporations and away from independent entrepreneurs and the middle class.Recorded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on February 21, 2026. Special thanks to Michael and Beverley Starkey and Gil Robinson for sponsoring this event. 

Governments at all levels abuse their “privilege” of eminent domain, the taking of private property for government use. Murray Rothbard understood that government was not justified to seize property for such use in the first place.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbard-and-eminent-domain-confused-history-and-legal-sleight-hand

On this special episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton shares his recent interview with Darrell Thomas on VRIC Media. Mark explains how Keynesian ideas normalized chronic deficits and a debt-financed state. They discuss tariffs and policy volatility, how inflation has been partly masked by cheap imports, and why distorted price signals hit entrepreneurs and small businesses hardest. The conversation also covers rising interest costs, pressure for renewed yield-curve suppression, and what it all implies for gold, silver, and commodities.The original episode is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI9Y-lITpnQPurchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

This week, Bob walks through Javier Milei’s 2026 address to the World Economic Forum, explaining the Austrian and neoclassical ideas behind Milei’s defense of capitalism—from Rothbard and Kirzner to Pareto efficiency and the welfare theorems.Related:Bob's Breakdown of The Intra-Austrian Debate over Milei: Mises.org/HAP539aThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Before Murray Rothbard, there was Albert Jay Nock laying intellectual broadsides against the tyranny of the state. While Nock (unlike Rothbard) never called for total abolishment of the state, he did want as minimal a state as could be had.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/nocks-war-state

AI is not the killer—it is the coroner.Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/end-artificial-employment

Unfortunately, slavery was not just propped up by policy in the slave states, but federally. It is often overlooked that the federal government—not just slave states—had implemented legal protections of slavery by policy for decades.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/antebellum-federal-protections-slavery

In this episode, Mark Thornton offers a practical “seven-word” framework for navigating economic life, especially when policy chaos and uncertainty make long-term planning harder. Mark connects everyday action (work, learning, planning, saving, spending, giving, and prayer) to core Austrian themes: purposeful choice, psychic profit, time preference, entrepreneurship under uncertainty, and the distortions created by inflation and debt-driven policy.Donate today to celebrate 20 years of Mises Media on YouTube. Donate $30 or more and we’ll send you a free, physical copy of Hunter Lewis’s book, Crony Capitalism in America: http://mises.org/youtube20Additional Resources"Billionaires, Workers, and the Exploitation Theory" by Bob Murphy (Human Action Podcast, Episode 534): https://mises.org/MI_164_AHuman Action by Ludwig von Mises: https://mises.org/MI_164_BMan, Economy, and State by Murray N. Rothbard: https://mises.org/MI_164_CThe Quotable Mises edited by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_164_DOrder a free paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century by F. A. Hayek: https://mises.org/Hayek21Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Italian economist Bernardo Ferrero joins Ryan McMaken to discuss the state of European politics over taxes, spending, inflation, and fiscal and monetary policy. Do Europeans claim to care about deficits and debt like Americans? Ferrero is a PhD candidate in economics at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Spain. He is also the co-author of The Pandemic and Central Planning (Pandemia e dirigismo) available in Italian at Amazon. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbardRadio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

On this episode of Power & Market, Ryan, Connor, and Tho celebrate Presidents' Day by talking about the best and worst presidents in American history. 

Few Americans today realize that until the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913, US senators were appointed by their state legislatures, not by popular vote. This development had an unfortunate effect upon US politics, further damaging the original federalist governing arrangement.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/senate-and-loss-mixed-government

Even though Cuba poses no threat to the U.S., the Trump administration continues its criminal policies of sanctions and other restrictions in an attempt to foist "regime change" on the country.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/us-actions-toward-cuba-are-criminal

The story of Anil Ambani destroys the belief that capitalism automatically favors the rich and excludes the poor. Once a billionaire, he made a series of bad business choices and the market punished those choices. Capitalism favors good choices.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/surviving-capitalism-scarcity-advantage

While the Voter ID debate consumes the airwaves with political debate, the real issue is not who is elected, but the unelected elites that hold power. Even if Voter ID passes, the new law will not change the real structure of power.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/voter-id-common-sense-it-wont-fix-anythingBe sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

The American empire—with its global military footprint and permanent war economy—cannot be financed through honest taxation without provoking revolt.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/monetary-decay-and-imperial-survival

Ludwig von Mises’s first major work was The Theory of Money and Credit in which he explained the role of money in the economy and also pointed out what causes the boom-bust cycle. It remains an important classic in Austrian economics.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-misess-theory-money-and-credit-still-important-today

The Civil Rights Act, first passed in 1964, is falsely connected with freedom. In reality, this law severely restricts individual liberty and replaces it with coercive government acts.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-we-should-repeal-civil-rights-act

Bob lays out California’s proposed 5% wealth tax on billionaires, using it to explain why taxes on wealth are especially destructive, how different tax structures change incentives, and what recent migration data says about people voting with their feet.Related:Data on 2020–2024 State-to-State Migration: Mises.org/HAP538a"Where Americans Choose to Move and Where They Leave": Mises.org/HAP538bPoliticians don’t build prosperity. Entrepreneurs do. Join Keith Smith, Caitlin Long, Ryan McMaken, Per Bylund, and Timothy Terrell for our first event of 2026: Mises.org/OKCHAThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

From the Jacksonians to the Marxists, political theorists have understood that there is something unique about "small industry" between big business and propertyless workers. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/brief-history-petite-bourgeoisie

Mark Thornton sits down with Ben Mumme of Living Your Greatness for a wide-ranging, long-form conversation, starting with gold and silver’s run-up and sudden correction, zooming out to inflation, saving, and why Austrian economics matters for everyday life. Watch the original interview at https://livingyourgreatness.org/podcastOrder a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

If one man may legally own another, then he should likewise have the right to disown this property. To deny this right by law involves simultaneously affirming the right of one human to own another as his property but not the right to stop owning another human.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/olaudah-equianos-manumission-regulatory-barriers-freedom

Joshua Mawhorter joins Ryan and Connor to talk about the dueling Super Bowl Halftime Shows, the latest jobs report, and Trump’s deadly and counterproductive deportation operation in Minnesota.Don't forget, the Mises Institute's first event is coming up on February 21st in Oklahoma City. Join us for a look at Entrepreneurship Beyond Politics.Are you a grad student interested in Austrian economics? Consider the Mises Institute Summer Fellowship program this summer. Click here for more details.

Pundits are claiming that the demise of the Washington Post will weaken democracy and provide a boost for government corruption. As usual, the pundits are badly mistaken.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/turmoil-washington-post-does-not-threaten-democracy

The administration dismissed concerns about the last nuclear treaty between the US and Russia formally expiring last week. But even if this isn’t an exceptionally dangerous moment in itself, the end of New START reflects an incredibly disturbing trend.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/people-are-not-upset-enough-about-end-new-startBe sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

The similarities between the EU and the USSR are striking, and they are not just a coincidence. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/european-union-now-resembles-soviet-union

Statists love to claim that government services would be better if only they were “fully funded.” However, given their nature, government services always will be seen as “underfunded” no matter how much money politicians throw at them.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/are-government-services-underfunded

Is it illegal to carry a gun to a demonstration against ICE? According to the Trump Administration, it is. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-assault-our-right-keep-and-bear-arms

What happens when historical fiction becomes a more accurate portrayal than the version of history given by mainstream historians?Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/challenge-distinguishing-history-fiction

Bob talks with Dr. Keith Smith of the Surgery Center of Oklahoma about how posting cash prices, walking away from government money, and working with self-funded employers created an alternative to the cartel of big hospitals and insurers.Politicians don’t build prosperity. Entrepreneurs do. Join Keith Smith, Caitlin Long, Ryan McMaken, Per Bylund, and Timothy Terrell for our first event of 2026: Mises.org/OKCHAThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

In the United States, since no state is allowed to ever leave, or to even control its own borders. This will lead to more centralized political power in every way.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/calls-unity-help-federal-government-seize-more-power

On World Affairs in Context with Lena Petrova, Ryan McMaken explains why calls for a “$1.5 trillion defense budget” are really about bigger government, not national defense. He walks through how Pentagon spending keeps climbing despite repeated audit failures, why tariffs can’t plausibly fund the buildup, and how persistent deficits translate into higher interest costs and rising pressure on the broader economy, while intervention abroad expands.The original interview is available on YouTube.

Today, the term "Austrian economics" is used to designate two very different paradigms.This essay was originally published in 1993 in the Review of Austrian Economics, Volume 6, Number 2.

Understanding history is not about understanding formulas or narratives. Instead, we must understand the people who made history, their motives, and their goals.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/history-not-mathematical-calculation

The modern state doesn’t get its power from the consent of the governed. Instead, it creates crises and then uses coercion to demand obedience.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/stop-fighting-your-neighbor-mechanics-state-power-and-how-opt-out

Has silver become a Giffen good, the famous textbook anomaly where higher prices supposedly lead to higher demand? In this episode, Mark Thornton argues the story is compelling... but wrong. Mark explains why recent surges in silver demand amid rapidly rising prices don’t overturn the law of demand. They reflect shifting demand curves as market conditions, expectations, and classifications change. The bottom line is that silver is not a paradox: it’s a timely lesson in how markets adjust while economic laws hold.Additional Resources"What Are Giffen Goods? Definition, Examples, and Economic Insights" by Andrew Bloomenthal (Investopedia): https://mises.org/MI_162_A"Did Silver Break a Fundamental Law of Demand?" Money Metals' Weekly Market Wrap Podcast (December 10, 2025): https://mises.org/MI_162_B"Money Costs, Prices, and Alfred Marshall" by Murray Rothbard (Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market): https://mises.org/MI_162_C“Notes on the History of the Giffen Paradox” by George J. Stigler (The Journal of Political Economy, April 1947): https://mises.org/MI_162_D"Giffen Behavior: Theory and Evidence" by Robert T. Jensen and Nolan Miller: https://mises.org/MI_162_E“Gray and Giffen Goods" by Etsusuke Masuda and Peter Newman (The Economic Journal, December 1981): https://mises.org/MI_162_F“Beware of Giffen-ish Vibes in the Money Market” by Tim Hartford (Financial Times, May 2025): https://mises.org/MI_162_G“Sir Robert Giffen and the Great Potato Famine: A Discussion of the Role of a Legend in Neoclassical Economics,” by Terrence McDonough and Joseph Eisenhaur (Journal of Economic Issues, September 1995): https://mises.org/MI_162_HOrder a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Ryan McMaken of the Mises Institute and Christopher Calton of the Independent Institute talk about why politicians want higher home prices. Even Trump now admits he wants higher home prices, and it's because older voters want their asset prices to go up forever. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbardRadio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

Modern political economy is based upon a Machiavellian belief in might makes right. Yet, political power cannot accomplish what free markets and private property rights have done in lifting billions of people out of poverty.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/machiavelli-dead-why-politics-without-property-rights-rules-and-moral-limits-cannot-work

From time to time, the American people need to be reminded who is the boss. The boss is the US government. The citizenry are the serfs, the servants, the subordinates.Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/ruthlessness-and-brutality-us-government