The Decline of Public Intellectuals
Does 2022 America still have legitimate intellectuals? Professor Paul Gottfried joins Jeff and Bob to consider the state of real and pseudo-intellectualism.
Dec 16, 2022•Ep. 374
The Human Action Podcast
The Human Action Podcast features in-depth interviews on current topics in economics through an Austro libertarian lens.
Episodes
Are Capital Markets Corrupt?
Hunter Hastings of Economics for Business joins Jeff for a thoroughgoing discussion of how monetary and fiscal policy distort capital markets and create perverse incentives for financialization rather than real production. Jeff Deist, "Does M&A benefit the economy?": Mises.org/HAP373-A Rothbard's America's Great Depression: Mises.org/AGD The Economics for Business Podcast: Mises.org/E4Bpod...
Dec 09, 2022•Ep. 373
The Bad Economics of Twitter
Jeff and Bob break down the good, bad, and ugly behind Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter.
Dec 02, 2022•Ep. 372
Can We Fix the Economy?
Jeff and Bob record a special Thanksgiving episode for Money Talk 1010 AM on what it really takes to fix the US economy. Mark Thornton on the coming economic crisis: Mises.org/HAP371A Listen to Jeff on Money Talk 1010 every Thursday at 9:00am ET: Mises.org/MoneyTalk
Nov 24, 2022•Ep. 371
Will the FTX Scandal Bring Down "Crypto"?
Jeff and Bob discuss whether the FTX scandal will be used to justify new "crypto" regulations or even the creation of a central bank digital currency. Caitlin Long and Sam Bankman-Fried debating leveraging Bitcoin: Mises.org/HAP370A Mises on circulation credit vs. commodity credit: Mises.org/HAP370B President of the Minneapolis Fed Neel Kashkari on CBDCs: Mises.org/HAP370C...
Nov 18, 2022•Ep. 369
Daniel McCarthy Dissects the Midterm Election
Daniel McCarthy joins Jeff and Bob to consider the deep unseriousness of American politics and electorate. Willmoore Kendall's The Conservative Affirmation: Mises.org/Kendall
Nov 11, 2022•Ep. 369
The Socio-Politics of the Midterms
Jeff joins Chris Casey of WindRock Wealth Management for a deep analysis of next week's punishing midterm elections.
Nov 04, 2022•Ep. 370
Words as Weapons
Criticisms of hapless Senate candidate John Fetterman are labeled "ableist," while Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter is deemed fascist. Jeff and Bob take a hard look at the linguistic battlefield and the corruption of language as an institution. Jeff's paper on language, "Evolution or Corruption?": Mises.org/HAP367-1 George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language": Mises.org/HAP367-2 Ken Smith's Junk English: Mises.org/HAP367-3 Bryan Caplan on "Privilege": Mi...
Oct 28, 2022•Ep. 370
The Need for Beauty in Economics
Free Markets are often criticized for producing ugly, dystopian, consumer-driven landscapes, but is this true? Jeff explains how we need more than intellectual appeal to advance the cause of liberty—we need an appeal to beauty. Watch other talks from our 40th Anniversary Celebration: Mises.org/SS2022
Oct 21, 2022•Ep. 370
Bernanke's Sordid Nobel Prize
Dr. Bob Murphy and Jeff Deist discuss the nauseating elevation of former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke to Nobel Prize winner.
Oct 14, 2022•Ep. 369
Toby Baxendale on the Coming Financial Repression
UK entrepreneur and founder of the Cobden Centre Toby Baxendale joins Bob to discuss meeting Hayek, the history of economists supporting 100% reserve banking, and the tools central banks and governments will use to enact "financial repression."
Oct 07, 2022•Ep. 368
The Economics of War
Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute joins Jeff and Bob to discuss the economic and political ramifications of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline sabotage. Read "The Economics of War" from Human Action: Mises.org/HAP363-1 Read a study Bob co-authored on Europe's energy crisis: Mises.org/HAP363-2
Sep 30, 2022•Ep. 367
Daniel McCarthy on the Libertarian and Conservative Divide
Daniel McCarthy, editor of Modern Age , joins Jeff to consider the state of modern conservatism, modern libertarianism, and whether they can or cannot find common ground. Watch Daniel's talk at the LSC 2022: Mises.org/LSC22-McCarthy Read The Conservative Affirmation: Mises.org/HAP362-1
Sep 23, 2022•Ep. 366
The Queen Is Dead, Democracy Is Dying
With Queen Elizabeth II lying in state at Westminster Hall, hereditary monarchies are under attack as archaic & absurd. Has mass democracy in the West done any better? Ryan McMaken joins Jeff and Bob to discuss. Read Ryan's Article on Monarchs: Mises.org/HAP361-1 Read Hoppe's Democracy: Mises.org/Democracy
Sep 16, 2022•Ep. 365
Inflation Kills
Bob and Jeff unravel the corrosive and nonsensical policy of "inflationism," and consider its deep cultural effects. Read Jeff's talk from the recent Ron Paul Institute conference: Mises.org/HAP360-1
Sep 09, 2022•Ep. 364
Biden's Post-Persuasion America
Journalist Jordan Schachtel joins the show to discuss Biden's escalating rhetoric against what he terms "ultra-MAGA" semi-fascists. Is America finally past any pretense of democracy?
Sep 02, 2022•Ep. 363
Clifton Duncan on the College Question
Clifton Duncan joins the show to discuss Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, along with the broader question of whether college and student loans are still worthwhile for young people. Jeff's Article, "Is College Worth It?": Mises.org/HAP358-1
Aug 26, 2022•Ep. 362
Dave Smith on the End of Political Pretense
Comic Dave Smith joins Jeff and Bob for a compelling look at the poisonous political landscape in post-goodwill America.
Aug 19, 2022•Ep. 361
Why Federal Agencies Go Rogue
The IRS plans to hire 87,000 new armed agents, while an FBI raid on Trump–the administration's open political rival–draws allegations of corruption. Economists and political scientists, from Mises to Robert Higgs to James Burnham to public choice scholars, explain why mission creep and abuse by state agencies is the rule rather than the exception. Jonathan Turley on Trump being disqualified from office: Mises.org/HAP356-1 Mises on the managerial state: Mises.org/Bureaucracy James Burnham's...
Aug 12, 2022•Ep. 360
The Politicization of Economics
Has economics fallen to politics? Court economists like Paul Krugman–we might call them "regime economists"–represent a profession in big trouble. Jeff and Bob discuss. Michael Tanner, "PIketty Gets it Wrong": Mises.org/HAP355-1 Bob Murphy on the economics establishment vs. Judy Shelton: Mises.org/HAP355-2 Jeff Deist on Nancy McLean's unprofessional attacks: Mises.org/HAP355-3 Bob's article with Phillip Magness on Piketty: Mises.org/HAP355-4 ...
Aug 05, 2022•Ep. 359
What You Can Do
Jeff Deist and Connor Mortell host an AMA during Mises University 2022 on the topic of "What You Can Do." Recorded at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, on 30 July 2022.
Jul 30, 2022•Ep. 358
Connor Boyack & the Case for Revisionist History
Connor Boyack, author of the new Tuttle Twins book America's History: 1215-1776, joins the show to make the Rothbardian case for de-bamboozling history. America’s History: A Tuttle Twins Series of Stories: T uttleTwins.com/History Rothbard on Historical Revisionism: Mises.org/HAP353-1
Jul 22, 2022•Ep. 357
The Economics of National Divorce
Lots of Americans now openly discuss the idea of National Divorce, focusing on the political, cultural, and social divisions in America. But what about the economics? How would issues like debt, entitlements, and defense be addressed if the US split into two or more new political entities? Mises.org senior editor and economist Ryan McMaken joins Jeff to discuss. Listen to Hoppe on centralization and secession: Mises.org/HAP352-1
Jul 15, 2022•Ep. 356
Why the US Should Default
Jeff and Bob discuss the effect of rising interest rates on Uncle Sam's ability to service debt—and promote the increasingly less radical idea that a default on Treasury debt is both inevitable and good. Jeff's article on rising rates: Mises.org/HAP351-1 House Budget Committee report on higher interest rates and US debt service: Mises.org/HAP351-2 Rothbard on the ethics of debt repudiation: Mises.org/HAP351-3...
Jul 08, 2022•Ep. 355
Fossil Future with Alex Epstein
When it comes to energy and the environment, Americans not only get the wrong facts, arguments, and narratives–they get the wrong philosophy. Alex Epstein , who recently published perhaps the most important book of our time, joins Jeff and Bob to explain. Get Alex's new book Fossil Future: Mises.org/Fossil...
Jul 01, 2022•Ep. 354
A Looming Recession: How Bad Is It?
Mises.org economist and senior editor Ryan McMaken joins Jeff and Bob for a hard look at the economic reality Americans face today. Shostak on the true definition of a recession: Mises.org/HAP349-Shostak Bob's article in the QJAE: Mises.org/HAP349-Murphy
Jun 24, 2022•Ep. 353
Will AI Solve Scarcity?
A Google engineer is in hot water for claiming the company's chatbot tech had become sentient. Meanwhile, Jerome Powell presumes to fight inflation technocratically, by raising the Fed Funds rate nearly a full percentage point. So is the engineer correct? Do technology and machine learning portend an end to scarcity and a solution to monetary policy? Jeff and Bob discuss. Google Engineer Blake Lemoine's interview with LaMDA: Mises.org/HAP348-LaMDA Charles Haywood's on why AI is overblown:&...
Jun 17, 2022•Ep. 352
Inflation Then vs. Now: Follow the Money
Today, inflation and prices are soaring. We know that Federal Reserve monetary policy is the cause. But why didn't something similar happen after the 2008 financial crash? Bob Murphy and professor Ross McKitrick discuss the government policies, Fed actions, and banking movements that lead up to the 2008 crisis, and why the current economic situation is different. Ross McKitrick on inflation then versus now: Mises.org/HAP-McKitrick Bob explains how Keynesians missed the latest bo...
Jun 10, 2022•Ep. 351
Are Stablecoins the Camel's Nose for Central Banks?
Jeff and Dr. Murphy discuss a recent interview with IMF economist Manmohan Singh in the context of central banks co-opting digital technology for bad ends. Find Manmohan Singh's Interview: Mises.org/HAP-Singh Janet Yellen, "I was wrong about inflation": Mises.org/HAP-Yellen Kristoffer Hansen on the basics of central bank digital currencies: Mises.org/HAP-Hansen Block and Barnett on Maturity Mismatching: Mises.org/HAP-BlockBarnett...
Jun 03, 2022•Ep. 350
The Economics of Davos
Jeff and Bob take a look at the misnamed "World Economic Forum" and its conference this past week in Davos, focusing on their recently published report. Read the WEF's Chief Economists Outlook: Mises.org/WEF22
May 27, 2022•Ep. 349