Send us a text Brent Orrell is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where his research lights the path in job training, workforce development, and criminal justice reform. Today, we talk about the state of work in the United States and the main issues that the labor market faces. We talk about the importance of meaning and dignity in one’s work and how it is tied to economic growth. Tune in for some good advice and good conversation! Support the show Never miss another AdamSmith...
Dec 15, 2023•52 min
Send us a text Lauren Hall is the author of several books, the author of the wonderful Substack The Radical Moderate’s Guide to Life , and a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Today, we talk about radical moderation, what that is, and why it's important. We talk about the importance of breaking away from the political binaries and models we currently have and how to do so. Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram ...
Dec 08, 2023•47 min
Send us a text Cheryl Miller is the executive director of the Hertog Foundation, an educational philanthropy organization in Washington, DC. Today, we talk about the mission of the foundation and the importance of the humanities in policy making and being a human more generally. We talk about the state of the youth, optimism, and Edith Wharton! Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram ....
Dec 01, 2023•47 min
Send us a text Kerianne Lawson is a faculty scholar at the Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth as well as an assistant professor of economics at North Dakota State University. Today, we talk about a lot of different topics including the implementation of property rights in South Africa through the Khaya Lam project and the realities of differences of economic freedom by gender. We talk about finding your career path and what economics is as well! Support the show Never miss anothe...
Nov 27, 2023•48 min
Send us a text Bob Ewing is the founder of the Ewing School , which helps clients with public speaking and listening skills, and writes the Substack Talking Big Ideas . Today we talk about communication, breaking it down into the components of speaking and listening. We discuss why communication is so important and how it can bring value and guide success, and what success might mean. Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram ....
Nov 17, 2023•44 min
Send us a text Albert Zambone is the author of Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life . He is also the host of the podcast Historically Thinking , where he teaches listeners not only history but how to do it. Go check it out if you haven’t. He also has a doctorate in history from the University of Oxford. Today, we talk about what history is, why it’s so important, how to do it, and what it tells us. We touch on culture and narratives, and the education system as well. Support the show Never miss a...
Nov 10, 2023•55 min
Send us a text John Bitzan is the Menard Family Director of the Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth at North Dakota State University. Today we are talking about the findings of their annual survey on American College Student Freedom, Progress and Flourishing, which has some shocking and non-shocking results. Tune in for more as we look at the statistics, try to find causes, and look for solutions. Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow ...
Oct 27, 2023•48 min
Send us a text Today, I am excited to welcome on Vincent Geloso . He is an assistant professor at George Mason University, specializing in the measurement of living standards. We talk about his new study with Chelsea Follet of the Cato Institute titled “Global Inequality in Well-Being Has Decreased across Many Dimensions” , which discusses a new way of measuring global inequality, the Inequality of Human Progress Index. Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Face...
Oct 20, 2023•47 min
Send us a text I am excited to have Chelsea Follett on to talk to us about her new book Centers of Progress: 40 Cities that Changed the World . The title speaks for itself. She is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s center for global liberty and prosperity and the managing editor of humanprogress.org. We talk about a few key characteristics of centers in progress, the connection between cities and progress, and some interesting cases of progress! Support the show Never miss another AdamSmit...
Oct 13, 2023•46 min
Send us a text Lawrence Reed is the president emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education and of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He is currently the Humphreys family senior fellow at FEE. Visit his website lawrencewreed.com. Today we talk about the best and worst presidents in American history and the reasons why. We start with the role of the presidency, which informs the rest of the discussion. Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Facebook , Twit...
Oct 06, 2023•45 min
Send us a text Peter Boettke is a professor of economics and philosophy at George Mason University, as well as the author of several books. Today we talk about a book called Mainline Economics , which is a collection of Nobel lectures from what he defines as “mainline economists”. A mainline economist’s methodology of economics falls in the tradition and lineage of Adam Smith . We talk about the benefits of this type of economics and how it diverges from mainstream economics, along with when and...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Send us a text Former Senator Phil Gramm began as a professor of economics at Texas A&M, then became a representative in the House, later becoming a senator. And now, he’s written a book with John Early and Robert Ekelund called The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate . We talk today about his book and observations of the system during his time in office, identifying problems with the way the census and other measuring tools bias the data and conversations that f...
Sep 21, 2023•49 min
Send us a text Jeremy Horpedahl is the director of the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics and an associate professor at the University of Central Arkansas . Today we talk about American Compass’s Cost of Thriving Index (COTI), what it says and why it is wrong. The COTI shows that Americans today have a higher cost of thriving than ever before, but in a paper with AEI’s Scott Winship, Horpedahl corrects the index and shows that the cost of thriving has instead decreased. Some of the correc...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Send us a text Jeremy Lott is the managing editor at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, but he also has written several Adam Smith comics for Adam Smith Works, and written an impressively wide range of books, from a novel about William F. Buckley Jr.’s faith to children's books like Growlilocks to comics like Movie Men . Today, we talk about his experience creating in so many different mediums and the purpose of art, as well as the ideas of Adam Smith and their place in America today. Support...
Sep 08, 2023•42 min
Send us a text Today, I host Lawrence White on the podcast. He is an economics professor at George Mason University with a specialty in the history and theory of banking and money and is the author of several books including Better Money: Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin . We talk about why on earth money and monetary policy come across as so intimidating, then he takes us on a tour of the different currencies we’ve used. We talk about federal banks, the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jeffer...
Sep 01, 2023•51 min
Send us a text Aaron Ross Powell, formerly of the Cato Institute (at the time of this interview), and currently the host of podcasts ReImagining Liberty and Zooming In , talks to us about his new book with Paul Matzko called Visions of Liberty . Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram ....
Aug 25, 2023•45 min
Send us a text The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Summer and catch you soon with new content! Arnold Kling is an economist and the author of the book The Three Languages of Politics: Talking Across Political Divides. His substack, In My Tribe, explores many areas of economics and policy. Today, he talks to us about the divide in politics, explaining the need for his book and giving curr...
Aug 18, 2023•46 min
Send us a text The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Summer and catch you soon with new content! Scott Winship , resident scholar and the director of poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), joins us this week to discuss the United States' "War on Poverty", the welfare state, and the future of anti-poverty policy. Don't miss Kevin Lavery's Extra on this episode at AdamSm...
Aug 11, 2023•45 min
Send us a text The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Summer and catch you soon with new content! William B. Allen, resident scholar and former chief operating officer of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, talks to us today about the book he recently edited, The State of Black America . He tells us about his upbringing and the current narrative about racism and policy in the United...
Aug 04, 2023•53 min
Send us a text Emily Hamilton is a senior research fellow and the director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Today, we talk about the current housing market and the regulations that prevent the building of more affordable, diverse, and abundant types of housing. Hamilton tells us the story of DC and similar areas, where deregulation of housing has begun, explaining the effects. We talk about NIMBY arguments against deregulation, her responses to them, and...
Jul 28, 2023•44 min
Send us a text This week is going to be a little different. Today I am excited to share with you a recording of the play Enquiry Concerning Hereafter by Duane Kelly. (You can also read the script here .) The play is about the friendship between (and deaths of) Adam Smith and David Hume . Enjoy! Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram ....
Jul 21, 2023•48 min
Send us a text This week is going to be a little different. Today I am excited to share with you a recording of the play Enquiry Concerning Hereafter by Duane Kelly. (You can also read the script here .) The play is about the friendship between (and deaths of) Adam Smith and David Hume . Enjoy! Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram ....
Jul 14, 2023•57 min
Send us a text Steven Teles is a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center . Today he defines and talks to us about a few words, including “liberaltarianism” – explaining how it diverges from libertarianism with an intellectual history and why – and “kludgeocracy”. We talk about the complexities of government organization and the causes- including regulatory capture, and he tells us what he envisions to be potential solutions. Be sure t...
Jul 07, 2023•48 min
Send us a text Dan Klein is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Today he talks to us about F. A. Hayek ’s conception of the Band-Man and our political psychology today. He explains to us that although our modern world looks a lot different from the world in 10,000 BC, that human beings are the same, with similar tendencies and desires. He talks to us about the implications of this idea for politics and the search for meaning in one’s life. Support the show Never miss another Ada...
Jun 30, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Send us a text Christine McDaniel is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University with a focus on international trade and globalization. Today we talk about the different trade actions undertaken by recent presidents and what that means for the American public. We discuss tariffs, NAFTA, the WTO, and more. McDaniel also lays out the different trade relationships between the US and various geographic regions and countries. Support the show Never miss another AdamSmit...
Jun 23, 2023•49 min
Send us a text David Henderson is a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the editor of the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. He is also an emeritus professor of economics with the naval postgraduate school. He is the Wall Street Journal’s go-to writer for pieces on Nobel prizes and deaths in economics, which we talk about today, exploring a list of favorites. He tells us of their contributions to the field and some stories. Want to explore more? Brennan Beausir's Grea...
Jun 16, 2023•45 min
Send us a text John Cochrane is a renowned economist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He writes a popular blog called The Grumpy Economist. He is also a former professor of economics and finance at the University of Chicago. He is the author of a recent book called The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level. Today we talk about the monetary and fiscal theories of the price level, or inflation, discussing what inflation is, how it’s caused, and how to fix it. Support ...
Jun 09, 2023•48 min
Send us a text Brian Hooks is the CEO and chairman of Stand Together, the president of the Charles Koch Foundation, and the co-author of Believe in People: Bottom-up Solutions for a Top-Down World . Today, we talk about the principles that guide Stand Together and the work that Stand Together does. He talks to us about how and why Stand Together is different from other philanthropic organizations, giving us the success story of one of their partners, The Phoenix, a drug rehabilitation organizati...
Jun 02, 2023•45 min
Send us a text Emily Chamlee-Wright is the president and CEO of IHS, the Institute for Humane Studies. Today we talk about the liberal sensibility, what it is and what happened to it. She explains to us the four corners of the liberal project and why they are important to a liberal society such as ours. Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram ....
May 26, 2023•53 min
Send us a text Marian Tupy is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the coauthor of two books: Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know , with Ron Bailey, and Superabundance , with Gale Pooley. Today we talk about Superabundance to address the doom and gloom, often environmentalist concerns about overpopulation. He talks to us about his research that shows why this is not the case, and explains what factors contribute to a state of superabundance. Also, check out Human Progress , edi...
May 19, 2023•51 min
