Send us a text Growth is essential to human life. Always has been, always will be. From the moment we are born, we grow, and we continue to throughout our lives, whether that is physically, mentally, or otherwise. Societies grow too. But what is growth? Real growth is replicable, durable, and sustainable (and not in the sense that immediately comes to mind). Your seven-year-old doesn’t shrink back down after she grows an inch. It might happen when she’s ninety, but that’s gravity (and don’t you ...
Sep 06, 2024•1 hr 20 min
Send us a text Some questions are hard to ask. Some questions you don’t want to ask. Some questions are hard for you to hear the answers to. Like, how do you tell someone, politely, that they eat with their mouth open? Between a rock and a hard place, you know you gotta do it. You really don’t want to, but you know you can’t stand to watch it anymore either. Candace Smith is a wonderful teacher of etiquette and the creator of the Etiquette: For the Business of Life blog . Her philosophy on the i...
Aug 30, 2024•58 min
Send us a text What does it mean for something to be ESG when two of those words are adjectives and one is a noun? I mean think about it. “Environmental, social, and governance” doesn’t really describe anything. It’s also a good example of cacophony. So can someone please explain what it means? Today, luckily, Paul Mueller , senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, comes to my rescue. He explains what ESG means and how it relates to CSR (corporate social responsibi...
Aug 23, 2024•58 min
Send us a text What’s in a price? Good question. How can you be “enslaved” to something like a price, to something that doesn’t eat, sleep, or breathe? Good question. What does it mean to wage a war against this inanimate enslaver? Good question. Join me today with Ryan Bourne , the R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics at the Cato institute. Bourne paints a picture of a bloodless yet economically catastrophic war. It's one which leaves us vulnerable as the weapons of th...
Aug 16, 2024•49 min
Send us a text Michael Cannon is the Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies and it is his third time on the podcast. He has been on The Washingtonian’s list of most influential people for four years in a row. Today, we talk about why people think the American healthcare system is “free market” and the role of prices in determining health outcomes--- and how unfettered markets improve the lives of everyone in need of healthcare. He tells us about the ways government intervention, like...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Send us a text Charles Noussair is the Eller Professor of Economics at the University of Arizona and the Director of the Economic Science Laboratory. He also serves as the President of the Economic Science Association. Today, we talk about experimental economics , how it complements other types of economic research, and how economic experiments are conducted. He tells us about a recent macro experiment that tests institutions for growth and welfare, such as electoral systems, political speech, a...
Aug 02, 2024•52 min
Send us a text Sandra Peart is a Distinguished Professor of Leadership Studies and the President of the Jepson Scholars Foundation at the University of Richmond, as well as a coauthor of Towards an Economics of Natural Equals: A Documentary History of the Early Virginia School , with David Levy. She is also a distinguished fellow of the history of economics society. Today we talk about the importance of humility in discussing important ideas in addition to the importance of asking the right ques...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Send us a text Daniel Di Martino is a PhD candidate in Economics at Columbia University and a graduate fellow at the Manhattan Institute—where he focuses on high-skill immigration policy. He also founded the Dissident Project to teach high school students about the evils of socialist regimes. Today we talk about his life in Venezuela and the economic realities he faced growing up, particularly inflation and shortages. He explains how poor institutions, even democratically elected ones, can turn ...
Jun 21, 2024•49 min
Send us a text Anne Bradley is an economics professor at the Institute of World Politics and the Vice President of Academic Affairs at The Fund for American Studies. Today, we talk about the political economy of terrorism: what terrorism is, what makes a terrorist, and what the war on terror does to attempt to prevent terrorism. We talk about how economics is uniquely positioned to pose questions and find answers about this area usually dominated by those studying defense and international relat...
Jun 14, 2024•59 min
Send us a text Craig Richardson is a professor of economics at Winston-Salem State University, and the director of the Center for the Study of Economic Mobility there. Today, we talk about a ton of things, from a breakdown of compelling narratives to magic. He tells us why Elizabeth Warren is more interesting to listen to than economists, although she doesn’t understand economics as well as economists do. We talk about the importance of relationships and trust in society, from multinational corp...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Send us a text Dan Klein is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Today, He talks to us about another of Smith’s great ideas: self-command. We discuss what the difference between command and control is, and how its important in today’s society. He describes the prideful man and the vain man, including details such as their reactions to unwanted estimation (usually bad, not valuing them as they value themselves or want you to value them). We discuss whether Adam Smith is a reason-o...
May 31, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Send us a text Katherine Mangu-Ward is the editor-in-chief of Reason: the Magazine for Free Minds and Free Markets . Today, we talk about what it is like to be an editor-in-chief and what that job description actually entails. She talks to us about the recent AI issue of Reason , in which they grapple with the big questions regarding the future of AI, what the valid concerns are, and what the less valid concerns are. We talk about how "tech bros" are responding to AI fears and whether being opti...
May 24, 2024•56 min
Send us a text Ryan Yonk is a Senior Research Faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research where he is the director of the Public Choice and Public Policy Project. He is also a co-author of The China Dilemma: Rethinking US-China Relations Through Public Choice Theory , with Ethan Yang. Today, we talk about the book and how to apply public choice thinking to a topic like international relations, and how it diverges and critiques the mainstream thought on this topic. He gives us example...
May 17, 2024•45 min
Send us a text Erik Matson is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Deputy Director of the Adam Smith program. He recently released a new book, New Paternalism Meets Older Wisdom: Looking to Smith and Hume on Rationality, Welfare, and Behavioral Economics . Today we talk about paternalism, and how new paternalists differ from classic paternalists and how this arose. We talk about the difficultly of knowing one’s own preferences and how important freed...
May 10, 2024•46 min
Send us a text Alice Temnick joins us today on The Great Antidote. She is an IB economics teacher at the United Nations International School in Manhattan and is an education consultant for Liberty Fund’s Adam Smith Works. We continue a previous conversation on Adam Smith, this time exploring his time at Glasgow and his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belle Lettres , lectures from his time there. We talk about why he left the University and the ways that we as modern day learners benefit, but how it imp...
May 03, 2024•45 min
Send us a text Russell Sobel is a Professor of Economics and Entrepreneurship at the Baker school of Business at The Citadel and he just put out a new book with the Fraser Institute, The Essential Joseph Schumpeter . He has also written an introductory economics textbook and many, many papers on the economics of entrepreneurship . Today, we talk about what an entrepreneur is, what institutions ---both cultural and governmental --- uplift entrepreneurs, and why we want more entrepreneurs. He expl...
Apr 26, 2024•45 min
Send us a text Byron Carson is an associate professor of economics and business at Hampton-Sydney College in Virginia. He is also the author of a recently published book, Challenging Malaria , which we talk about today. He explains to us what malaria is and the different ways that individuals and private interests responded to it before the invention of pesticides. We talk about why it is so difficult for larger groups to respond quickly and how individuals moving towards an emergency solution c...
Apr 19, 2024•43 min
Send us a text Matt Mitchell is a senior fellow in the Center for Economic Freedom at the Fraser Institute and senior research fellow at the Knee Regulatory Research Center at West Virginia University . Today, we talk about what socialism really means and what it meant for a country like Estonia, which was first occupied by Hitler and then Stalin. He tells us about what life under occupation was like and how Estonia broke away from socialism. Join us for stories of oppression, cultural resilienc...
Apr 12, 2024•49 min
Send us a text Kristi Kendall is the director of Undivide Us , a documentary about political polarization in America, what it does to us, and how to fix it, along with many other productions. Today, we’re going to be talking about what’s in a documentary, or film generally, that makes it so moving, especially with members of my generation. We talk about Ludwig von Mises ’s human action model, and how it’s actually applicable to inspiring action in media. We discuss how to inspire and make our co...
Apr 05, 2024•46 min
Send us a text Stan Veuger is a senior research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, with a myriad of different research areas including the political situation in the Netherlands, which he’s written about at The Unpopulist , and the “ Implications of Cannabis Legalization for the U.S. Federal Budget ”, a paper which he wrote with Alex Brill and Brian J Miller for AEI. Today, we talk about both. He explains not only the Dutch political situation, but the differences between Dutch populis...
Mar 29, 2024•50 min
Send us a text Giandomenica Becchio is a professor of economics and the history of economic thought at the University of Torino. Today, she tells us about feminist economics and why it’s an important criticism of neoclassical economics . Without understanding the role of typical gender and family roles, we cannot correctly understand or think about the true division of labor between genders in the workforce and in the home. She talks to us about how to measure these statistics, the history of th...
Mar 22, 2024•1 hr 1 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. Today, we talk about another famous economist who has recently passed, Robert Solow . Henderson tells us about the Solow model, a still relevant model used in macroeconomics relating to economic growth, and we discuss its origin and its flaws. He talks to us about...
Mar 15, 2024•57 min
Send us a text David Boaz is a distinguished senior fellow of the Cato Institute and for over more than four decades, he was the executive vice president. He has written many books, including The Libertarian Mind and Libertarianism: A Primer . Today, we talk about the historical origins and importance of liberalism and rehash the discussion of what to do about it and the current disillusionment with it. Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter , ...
Mar 08, 2024•57 min
Send us a text Thomas Stratmann is a Distinguished University Professor of economics and law at George Mason University, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Institute, and the creator of the Reservation Economic Freedom Index . Today, we talk about reservations in America and the economic wellbeing of Native Americans. He explains to us how he got interested in reservation economics and the barriers to increased economic wellbeing for Native Americans, also explaining why economic wellbeing...
Mar 01, 2024•46 min
Send us a text Kristi Kendall is the director of the documentary Undivide Us , about the toxic polarization in America and practical steps to solving it through deep, face to face conversations in our communities. Today, we talk about the production of the documentary and how to communicate ideas through film. She tells us about how her career led her to directing the documentary and why she did it, all while explaining the roles in the filmmaking industry to us. Support the show Never miss anot...
Feb 23, 2024•46 min
Send us a text Alice Temnick teaches IB Economics for the United Nations International School in Manhattan and is an education consultant with Liberty Fund’s Adam Smith Works and Econlib . Today, we begin what is going to be a long conversation about Adam Smith and education. We begin with Adam Smith’s upbringing and education and talk about our own. We discuss how important being a student is to being a teacher. Stay tuned for more! Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Fol...
Feb 16, 2024•45 min
Send us a text Alain Bertaud is an urbanist and a senior research scholar at the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management. He is the author of a book about urban planning that is titled Order Without Design: How Markets Shape Cities . He has worked as an urban planner in a multitude of cities around the world. Today, we talk about his view of a city and what he’s observed as an urban planner. He gives us examples and draws connections between how culture and regulation shape cities --- he means ...
Feb 09, 2024•57 min
Send us a text Ben Klutsey is the Director of Academic Outreach and the Director of the Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is also one of the masterminds behind a recent documentary, Undivide Us , which tackles the affective polarization in America and how to remedy it through thoughtful conversation. We talk about Ben’s journey and how it led him to this project, the findings of the Undivide Us documentary, and potential solutions to th...
Feb 02, 2024•54 min
Send us a text Robert Lawson is the Jerome M. Fullinwider Centennial Chair in Economic Freedom and is director of the Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Today, we talk about James Gwartney, a great economist who recently passed but leaves a significant legacy, from accessible and interesting textbooks to the creation of the Economic Freedom of the World index. Unlike many academics, he even left his desk to pursue his ideas! We...
Jan 26, 2024•50 min
Send us a text Adam White is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the Co-Director of the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State at George Mason University. He also leads seminars with the Hertog Foundation , one of which I had the chance to attend this summer. Today we talk about the American judicial system, from its structure to its founding to its role in American society. We address whether courts function differently today than we have in the pas...
Jan 19, 2024•51 min
