Brazil's economy was booming and everything looked great, and then it suffered a severe slump. What the heck happened? Well, whether or not you're interested in Brazil you'll be interested in Krugman's attempted answers and our replies. (You'll also be shocked to learn that Krugman has quietly changed his position on Brazil, hoping no one would notice. No such luck, Paul.) Show notes for Ep. 165
Nov 19, 2018•33 min
Krugman laments that the Senate disproportionately represents people he obviously dislikes. we use that as a springboard for a lively discussion of the recent midterm elections and what's really going on in American politics. Show notes for Ep. 164
Nov 10, 2018•22 min
The apparent murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of the Saudis was the subject of this Krugman column, which discusses and criticizes the Trump response. Foreign-policy expert Scott Horton joins us for this chilling episode. Show notes for Ep. 163
Nov 05, 2018•36 min
Aboard our third Contra Cruise, we take on some of the hardest questions libertarians have to answer: roads, the poor, defense, and more. Show notes for Ep. 162
Oct 27, 2018•47 min
During and after the financial crisis the Fed increased the monetary base to an unprecedented extent. Everyone hailed it for its wisdom. but that alleged solution is now a major problem hanging over the economy. What if anything can the Fed do now? Show notes for Ep. 161
Oct 20, 2018•43 min
The media is delighted that William Nordhaus shared this year's Nobel Prize in economics. Why, he warns about the damage likely to be caused by climate change, just as we do! Not so fast, alarmists. Not so fast. Show notes for Ep. 160
Oct 15, 2018•41 min
Krugman insists that the Brett Kavanaugh controversy is all about entitled, envious white men terrified of losing their status and privilege. We SLIGHTLY disagree. SLIGHTLY. Show notes for Ep. 159
Oct 08, 2018•44 min
Bob and Tom discuss the work of Bob's favorite economist, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk. Böhm-Bawerk refuted many an economic fallacy in his day, including Marxism itself. We discuss the arguments he made as well as how he made them. Show notes for Ep. 158
Sep 29, 2018•43 min
Krugman surprises us by writing about economics. He tells us that in the wake of the financial crisis, the public and even other economists have drawn the wrong lessons. Contrary to what you've heard, says Krugman, the Keynesian macro model did great during the crisis, while microeconomics is overrated. Well yes, we agree that Krugman's model did great...if we overlook all the times it blew up in his face. Show notes for Ep. 157
Sep 22, 2018•44 min
This week's column, which makes hysterical claims about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, is a combination of baseless assertion and historical ignorance. Joining us for this week's dismantling is special guest and James Madison biographer Kevin Gutzman, professor of history at Western Connecticut State University. Show notes for Ep. 156
Sep 14, 2018•30 min
We take a listener question -- early-bird registrants for the Contra Cruise got this as a bonus -- about what would happen if one country went completely stateless, but the rest of the world stayed the same. Lots of potential consequences here, and we do our best to sort them out! Plus the usual fun. Show notes for Ep. 155
Sep 08, 2018•44 min
The Cato Institute recently issued a ranking of economic freedom in the 50 U.S. states. Krugman thinks they're defining freedom too narrowly, for surely workers in New York, where they have many protections, feel freer than workers elsewhere. He further suggests a positive correlation between economic freedom and infant mortality. These and other Krugman claims are ground into sausage. Show notes for Ep. 154
Sep 01, 2018•43 min
Senator Warren has proposed sweeping changes to how corporations would be allowed to operate in the United States -- no longer will they cater to stockholders only, but they will have to take into account the needs of a wide range of "stakeholders" (workers, communities, etc.). Special guests Gene Epstein and Peter Klein join Tom. Show notes for Ep. 153
Aug 26, 2018•42 min
Krugman calls Nancy Pelosi "by far the greatest speaker of modern times," and says she "surely ranks among the most impressive people ever to hold that position." He credits her with helping push along financial reform, Obamacare, the stimulus, etc. -- and that gives us a chance to smash all those things. Show notes for Ep. 152
Aug 18, 2018•43 min
Krugman advances two main arguments against cryptocurrency. One of them, it turns out, applies equally well to the U.S. dollar, a point Krugman fails to acknowledge. Neither argument carries much sting, and in fact cryptocurrencies can parry Krugman's criticisms without breaking a sweat. Show notes for Ep. 151
Aug 11, 2018•47 min
There's been plenty of discussion of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, says Krugman, but it's been focused mainly on his views of presidential power, and not on his opinions on business and workers. On this, too, he's atrocious, says Krugman. We say: Krugman is leaving out 95% of the argument. Show notes for Ep. 150
Aug 04, 2018•38 min
Krugman is on vacation this week, so we take a topic suggestion from someone who's joining us on this year's Contra Cruise: how to unwind the welfare state peacefully as the fiscal crisis becomes impossible to evade. Show notes for Ep. 149
Jul 30, 2018•40 min
We recorded this episode before a live audience at the Mises Institute's Mises University summer program. What a blast! Show notes for Ep. 148
Jul 24, 2018•39 min
During the 2016 campaign Krugman was critical of Bernie Sanders, but all of a sudden he can't see anything wrong with "radical Democrats" like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. We help him see more clearly. Show notes for Ep. 147
Jul 15, 2018•32 min
The economy may be doing well, says Krugman, but when you look closer at what Trump touts as his great economic victories, they've been neutral to negative. (Also: winners of the Contra Cruise contest announced!) Show notes for Ep. 146
Jul 09, 2018•31 min
The Libertarian Party's Mises Caucus held a special event last weekend during the Libertarian Party's national convention, and we both spoke. We recorded this episode with three other speakers as guests: Jordan Page, Michael Heise, and Murray Sabrin. Show notes for Ep. 145
Jul 03, 2018•36 min
In this episode, Bob flies solo and fields another Contra Cruiser request. Specifically, he explains the standard Austrian approach to air pollution, and then talks about the risks of catastrophic climate change. Do libertarians just have to hope nothing really bad happens? Show notes for Ep. 144
Jun 23, 2018•49 min
We get this question all the time: what did Krugman win it for, and can you explain it in an episode? It involves trade, and we're discussing it today. Show notes for Ep. 143
Jun 16, 2018•34 min
Krugman tips his hat to the neoconservatives, whom he describes as "sincere," but says the rest of his right-of-center opponents are unprincipled shills. Why, they support Trump's government support for coal! Uh, nope. Show notes for Ep. 142
Jun 09, 2018•40 min
It's one thing to find problems with the current monetary system. It's quite another to recommend an alternative. Switzerland has establishment commentators going berserk over its own proposal -- why, this would return us to the "Dark Ages," warns Business Insider. We're less interested in Switzerland than we are in figuring out what changes would move us in the right direction, and what changes would amount to the cure being worse than the disease. Show notes for Ep. 141...
Jun 02, 2018•36 min
Krugman bewails the mistakes and poor judgment of the establishment on both sides of the Atlantic, because the result has been a popular revolt tending towards fascism. We also discuss the euro, and Krugman's claim that "austerity" caused great damage to Europe. Paul Gottfried is our special guest. Show notes for Ep. 140
May 25, 2018•35 min
Krugman is unconvinced by the Trump plan to get Americans lower drug prices, and tries to figure out why those prices are so high. Let's just say that in this episode we help him do a better job of that.... Show notes for Ep. 139
May 19, 2018•44 min
Krugman makes fun of the idea that conservatives and libertarians are treated particularly unfairly. Why, people criticize Krugman, too, and that's all right by him! Well, we have more fun in this episode than in any episode in recent memory. Not to mention: Tom says something fairly outrageous and decides to edit it out -- then let himself be talked into keeping it in the episode. You'll know it when you hear it.... Show notes for Ep. 138...
May 13, 2018•51 min
Philip Goff argues that libertarians make a variety of unsupported and unsupportable assumptions when they claim that taxation is theft. We defend the libertarian claim against Goff. (What else did you expect us to do?) Show notes for Ep. 137
May 07, 2018•40 min
Are Republicans at war with schoolteachers? Krugman thinks so: their state-level tax cuts have wrought havoc on education budgets, and it's teachers' salaries that have suffered. We discuss the real truth of that question, plus the more general claim that education funding has suffered or that money or lack thereof accounts for how good the results are. This one's a smash. Show notes for Ep. 136
Apr 30, 2018•38 min
