The Tom Woods Show

Julie Borowski, the popular libertarian content creator, has just released a children's book called Nobody Knows How to Make a Pizza, in which she illustrates how, without a central planner, amazing feats of production that could be carried out (or even fully understood) by no single individual take place. We then discuss the state of the "liberty movement" in 2019.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1472

Direct download: woods_2019_08_17.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00am EDT

Today I am joined by two libertarians: Dr. Michael Edelstein and Dr. David Ramsay Steele. Together they wrote Three Minute Therapy: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life, which applies an easily replicated technique to conquering all sorts of undesirable conditions and behaviors: depression, excessive drinking, procrastination, overeating, and many more.

Sponsor: Simple Habit

Show notes for Ep. 1471

Direct download: woods_2019_08_16.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:11am EDT

Vince Vaughn has scores of Hollywood films to his credit -- from The Lost World: Jurassic Park to Hacksaw Ridge and many in between -- and has been a Ron Paul supporter since the 2008 presidential campaign. He and Tom discuss Hollywood, libertarianism, and American politics.

Show notes for Ep. 1470

Direct download: woods_2019_08_15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30pm EDT

Not long ago, the great libertarian foreign policy expert Scott Horton joined me for a full week's worth of episodes. We got some great feedback and a little criticism, so Scott and I decided that replying to critics makes for great episodes, too. So we're talking Syria, Iran, and plenty more in today's episode.

Sponsor: Simple Habit

Show notes for Ep. 1469

Direct download: woods_2019_08_14.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

John Locke tries to rest the legitimacy of government on the consent of the people. But can they really give consent? Locke himself admitted that unanimous consent was impossible, but thought the state could be legitimized anyway. Lysander Spooner thought otherwise: if we as individuals do not consent to an arrangement, it cannot be enforced on us.

Show notes for Ep. 1468

Direct download: woods_2019_08_13.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:02am EDT

We conclude Brion McClanahan Week with a discussion of a historical topic that fascinates us both: the Russian Revolution. We then clear up some loose ends and bring this week of history to a close.

Sponsor: Simple Habit

Show notes for Ep. 1467

Direct download: woods_2019_08_09.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:27am EDT

Brion McClanahan's podcast tagline is "think locally, act locally." We take a deep dive into what this means, including the federalist/decentralist tradition in America, plus: what about issues that seem to require cooperation beyond the local level?

Sponsor: Policy Genius

Show notes for Ep. 1466

Direct download: woods_2019_08_08.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

Well, here's the question nobody is allowed to ask, since even to ask it is to invite anti-intellectual, third-grade-level responses. But presumably a region that generated Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison, George Mason, James Monroe, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and Walker Percy might have something to be said for it. So as Brion McClanahan Week continues, we take a look at this question.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1465

Direct download: woods_2019_08_07.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Brion McClanahan Week continues with a look at U.S. presidents we barely hear about (and who tend, naturally, to be the better ones) and how we should evaluate them.

Sponsor: Away

Show notes for Ep. 1464

Direct download: woods_2019_08_06.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:42pm EDT

Brion McClanahan Week on the Tom Woods Show begins with a discussion of this important historian's background, and how he came to abandon the neoconservatism so many of us imbibed in our youth.

Sponsor: Harry's

Show notes for Ep. 1463

Direct download: woods_2019_08_05.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

Phil Magness discusses his new book (with Jason Brennan) about the problems with higher education. They aren't talking about ideological conformity, bad as that is. They are discussing other problems, just as deep and pervasive.

For example, most academic marketing and advertising is semi-fraudulent. To justify their own pay raises and higher budgets, administrators hire expensive and unnecessary staff. Faculty exploit students for tuition dollars through gen-ed requirements. Students hardly learn anything, and cheating is pervasive. At every level, academics disguise their pursuit of self-interest with high-faluting moral language.

Show notes for Ep. 1462

Direct download: woods_2019_08_03.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30pm EDT

Kyle Mann, editor-in-chief of the brilliant satire site The Babylon Bee, joins me to discuss comedy, politics, social media, and Snopes' hilarious "fact checking" of what is obviously satire.

Sponsor: The Nonviolent Zone makes the case for freedom and against the state in about a hundred pages, and it's the perfect title to hand a curious friend. Through the end of August, the $10 price tag gets you three copies instead of one. Check it out at nonviolentzone.com.

Show notes for Ep. 1461

Direct download: woods_2019_08_02.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00pm EDT

Today Tho Bishop and I review the second night of the second round of Democratic presidential debates (the July 31, 2019 debate, to be exact). Plenty of dull talking points, to be sure, but enough zingers to make this episode fun.

Sponsor: Blinkist

Show notes for Ep. 1460

Direct download: woods_2019_08_01.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

Last night there was yet another Democratic presidential debate, and the great Lew Rockwell and I watched it so you didn't have to. Winners, losers, and insanity all covered in detail.

Sponsor: Austro Libertarian

Show notes for Ep. 1459

Direct download: woods_2019_07_31.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00pm EDT

Ben Powell returns to the show to discuss his new book with Bob Lawson, in which the two economists visit various unfree places around the world and share their observations. (It turns out that alcohol, and usually beer, is often a good indicator of degrees of freedom.) In this episode we get a glimpse inside Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, and (a genuine success story) Georgia.

Show notes for Ep. 1458

Direct download: woods_2019_07_30.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

Most of my listeners will be familiar with Praxis, the program that gets young people internships, and their first job, with a business that matches their interests. Clark Davis, a Tom Woods Show listener, learned about Praxis through me, and did his own apprenticeship at the E-Commerce Business School. Today he works for them full time, helping people break into e-commerce as a nice side income source or even as a full-time living.

Workshop Signup

Show notes for Ep. 1457

Direct download: woods_2019_07_27.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00am EDT

We wrap up Scott Horton week with a full overview of the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, what the true story behind it is, and precisely why the U.S. regime chose to take sides.

Show notes for Ep. 1456

Direct download: woods_2019_07_26.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Maybe you favor nonintervention, but are you sure you know all the ins and outs of the situation in Syria in recent years? The great Scott Horton cuts through the propaganda to get to the real story.

Show notes for Ep. 1455

Direct download: woods_2019_07_25.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00pm EDT

Our discussion with Scott Horton about the War on Terror continues today with coverage of Iraq. You think you know the story: the creeps deceived us about WMDs. There's so much more to the Iraq disaster than that, and Scott gives us all the details.

Show notes for Ep. 1454

Direct download: woods_2019_07_24.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00pm EDT

Day two of Scott Horton Week takes us to Somalia, and Scott's discussion of how this of all countries came to find itself in the crosshairs of the U.S. War on Terror. we also discussed the humanitarian catastrophe in that country, and the role the U.S. played in worsening it.

Show notes for Ep. 1453

Direct download: woods_2019_07_23.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

The great Scott Horton joins us for a tour of half a dozen countries with an update on the status of the War on Terror in each.

Sponsor: Simple Habit

Show notes for Ep. 1452

Direct download: woods_2019_07_22.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:18pm EDT

In 2002 the University of Missouri accepted a multi-million dollar bequest whose stipulation was that it hire professors working within the tradition of the Austrian School of economics. It has recently been discovered that of course it did no such thing. Its efforts to cover its tracks are actually laughable. This is a fun one.

Show notes for Ep. 1451

Direct download: woods_2019_07_19.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:49pm EDT

In 1979, as the Iranian Revolution was under way, Jimmy Carter called the 1953 ouster of Iranian prime minister "ancient history." But it wasn't. It poisoned Iranian-American relations through the late 1970s and indeed has continued to do so to this day. Hunt Tooley joins me to discuss this overlooked piece of history.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1450

Direct download: woods_2019_07_18.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:00pm EDT

Keynesians like to pretend that they're impartial scientists, following the evidence wherever it leads. We, meanwhile, are portrayed as too blinded by ideology to be worth listening to. So today I run through some very challenging episodes for Keynesians to explain, and we see who the real scientists are.

Show notes for Ep. 1449

Direct download: woods_2019_07_17.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

The prolific and sorely underrated Connor Boyack, president of the Libertas Institute, is back with still more important work. For years libertarians have wrung their hands about the lack of materials for younger people, particularly in economics. How to convey these important ideas to kids? Connor actually did something about it. In fact, since our last conversation Connor has made three substantial contributions to our movement. Don't miss them. They are exactly what we needed, but which we lacked the ambition to do.

Sponsor: Simple Habit

Show notes for Ep. 1448

Direct download: woods_2019_07_16.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30pm EDT

This episode covers Anglo-American politics between the world wars, and includes coverage of Winston Churchill, including libertarian and conservative critiques.

Show notes for Ep. 1447

Direct download: woods_2019_07_15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

I get into detail about the lead-up to the crisis of 2008, the problems the federal government and the Federal Reserve caused, and why explanations other than the free-market one fail. This episode is drawn from my appearance on the Cash Flow Connections podcast.

Sponsor: Blinkist

Show notes for Ep. 1446

Direct download: woods_2019_07_11.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:30am EDT

It's been 100 years since the signing of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I. That treaty had a profound impact -- entirely for ill -- on the course of the twentieth century. Historian Hunt Tooley joins me to assess the damage.

Sponsor: Policy Genius

Show notes for Ep. 1445

Direct download: woods_2019_07_10.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00pm EDT

The indefatigable Scott Horton, the great libertarian foreign-policy expert, just reached a truly amazing milestone: his five thousandth interview. We look back over 20+ years of Scott's work -- and in so doing, review the course of U.S. foreign policy during these critical years.

Show notes for Ep. 1444

Direct download: woods_2019_07_09.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00pm EDT

Carla Gericke, past president of the Free State Project, joins me for an update from New Hampshire and to discuss some important local issues that affect many communities. She has been at the forefront of a campaign against surveillance cameras, as well as securing the release of a list of bad cops -- a list that a major state official is trying to keep suppressed.

Sponsor: Harry's

Show notes for Ep. 1443

Direct download: woods_2019_07_08.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

James Otteson is the author of an excellent new book: Honorable Business: A Framework for Business in a Just and Humane Society. He discusses the purpose of business, outlines a sound approach to business ethics, and contends that contrary to popular prejudice, business can play an important role in building a just and humane society. So I ask him, as devil's advocate: can there be a genuine code of business ethics in a market economy? Wouldn't the most unscrupulous earn the highest profits and displace more ethical firms? And as for business firms and "treating people the right way," as Otteson titles one of his chapters, what about businesses whose closures decimate a whole town? Plenty to discuss in this important episode!

Sponsor: Simple Habit

Show notes for Ep. 1442

Direct download: woods_2019_07_05.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

You can't just go out and buy shaving cream anymore; you'd better know the company's stance on fashionable issues, lest people attack you for conniving at oppression. It's part of the left's fantasy of politicizing all of life.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1441

Direct download: woods_2019_07_03.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:38pm EDT

Justin Raimondo, who died last week, had been the soul of Antiwar.com since its creation in 1995, and wrote over 3,000 columns during his tenure. The great libertarian foreign-policy expert Scott Horton joins me to discuss Justin's life, work, and views.

Sponsor: Away

Show notes for Ep. 1440

Direct download: woods_2019_07_02.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

I talk to Mike Maharrey about the arguments we often hear from some religious folks, on both left and right, against the market economy. (We answer these arguments, of course.) This episode is taken from my appearance on Mike's Godarchy podcast.)

Show notes for Ep. 1439

Direct download: woods_2019_07_01.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:40pm EDT

The June 27, 2019 Democratic presidential debate featured more familiar names, and was much more vicious. We review the winners and losers (in terms of prospects; in terms of ideas they were all losers, obviously), and what's likely ahead.

Sponsor: Simple Habit is a meditation app that takes five minutes of your time, that you can use on the go (you don't have to be in the lotus position in a dark room), and which helps with specific kinds of problems. It has 65,000+ five-star reviews for a reason. Chances are, you need this. My listeners can take 30% off the premium membership at SimpleHabit.com/woods.

Show notes for Ep. 1438

Direct download: woods_2019_06_29.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:30pm EDT

It's that time again, folks. The debate analysis episodes I did with Lew back in 2015 and 2016 were among my most downloaded ever. We're doing it again for the Democratic debates, starting with this episode, covering the debate from June 26. Plenty of inanities to unpack here!

Show notes for Ep. 1437

Direct download: woods_2019_06_27.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:55pm EDT

Maj Toure, founder of Black Guns Matter, is running for Philadelphia City Council on a pro-gun, libertarian message he says is making inroads with the public. He knows all the arguments inside and out. It's safe to say the City Council has never encountered anyone like him. We discuss his background, how the gun issue became important to him, why he's running as a Libertarian, what his influences are, how he answers anti-gun propagandists, and more.

Show notes for Ep. 1436

Direct download: woods_2019_06_26.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne manages to get pretty much every aspect of American economic history wrong as he lectures us on the wickedness of laissez-faire. Peter Klein joins me for the smash.

Show notes for Ep. 1435

Direct download: woods_2019_06_25.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00pm EDT

That's what Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson says. How well do his arguments hold up? I scrutinize them in this solo episode.

Show notes for Ep. 1434

Direct download: woods_2019_06_24.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

The chairman of the Libertarian National Committee recently linked to what has to be one of the most preposterous articles I have ever read, alleging Russian involvement in the Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign. The Ron Paul Institute, for its part, has been accused of whitewashing the records of dictators and turning a blind eye to injustices abroad. Institute executive director Daniel McAdams joins me to address all this.

Show notes for Ep. 1433

Direct download: woods_2019_06_22.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00am EDT

Gary Chartier has written an excellent book on business ethics that situates one's life in the market within an overall framework of human flourishing. He covers a variety of controversial topics with great skill, and in such a way as to be most persuasive to people unfamiliar with our ideas. In this episode we discuss what it means to live a good life, and then proceed to issues like property, advertising, boycotts, corporate social responsibility, labor and workplace issues, and more.

WARNING: Audio glitch at 22:10. Turn your volume down a bit if you have sensitive ears. It was unfixable.

Show notes for Ep. 1432

Direct download: woods_2019_06_21.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00pm EDT

Two great Michaels join me today: Michael Boldin, founder and executive director of the Tenth Amendment Center, and Michael Heise, founder of the Mises Caucus of the Libertarian Party. We get updates from both Michaels, I ask them what it's like to engage in this kind of activism in the age of Trump, and they discuss how the two of them are collaborating in fruitful ways in support of worthy state-level initiatives. Fun!

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1431

Direct download: woods_2019_06_20.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

The great Murray Rothbard, known as Mr. Libertarian, was first and foremost an economist, but he brought his characteristic iconoclasm also to the study of history, where he tore through old orthodoxies and regime propaganda to get to the real story of the American past.

Show notes for Ep. 1430

Direct download: woods_2019_06_19.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:01pm EDT

Scott and I discuss the life and work of the heroic William Norman Grigg, who covered stories that would otherwise have remained in obscurity, generally pertaining to various ways -- largely but not exclusively involving the police -- the state ruined people's lives.

Show notes for Ep. 1429

Direct download: woods_2019_06_18.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:19pm EDT

Carey Wedler has been producing libertarian content online for years, but as she first became politically aware, she was a progressive. I love stories like these, so we discuss the various insights she had that led her down our path.

Sponsor: MVMT has hundreds of premium, affordable sunglass styles to choose from. Take 15% off your order -- with free shipping and free returns -- at mvmt.com/woods.

Show notes for Ep. 1428

Direct download: woods_2019_06_15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00am EDT

The heroic Karen Straughan returns to the show to throw cold water on the cartoonish images of an oppressive patriarchy, toxic masculinity, and the usual kit and kaboodle, and finds that feminists, far from advancing equality, can consistently be relied upon to push double standards.

Show notes for Ep. 1427

Direct download: woods_2019_06_14.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00pm EDT

Jacqueline Isaacs, a contributor to the book Called to Freedom: Why You Can Be Christian and Libertarian, joins me to discuss whether these two systems are compatible.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1426

Direct download: woods_2019_06_13.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00pm EDT

Libertarian content creator Liberty Doll joins me to discuss the importance of gun rights, particularly for women, and responds to the most common arguments from the other side.

Show notes for Ep. 1425

Direct download: woods_2019_06_12.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00pm EDT

(N.b.: some sensitive subject matter.) Ladies of Liberty week begins with Brave the World, as my guest Julia is known to her followers. We talk feminism, family, promiscuity, children, the state, and being an adult.

Show notes for Ep. 1424

Direct download: woods_2019_06_10.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:35pm EDT

Virtually every major news source covered what Tucker Carlson had to say in the monologue of his FOX News program the other day, when he declared Elizabeth Warren's economic plan to be a simple matter of economic patriotism that most Americans would support, and that out-of-touch Republicans, too enamored of libertarianism (!), would do well to heed. David R. Henderson joins me to respond.

Sponsor: Policy Genius

Show notes for Ep. 1423

Direct download: woods_2019_06_07.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

Ben Lewis joins me to discuss the controversial America First Committee, which favored nonintervention in the Second World War (until Pearl Harbor).

Show notes for Ep. 1422

Direct download: woods_2019_06_06.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:46pm EDT

A recent Facebook meme suggested that of course Bernie Sanders' wealth redistribution plans are constitutional -- why, we have the general welfare clause to authorize them! Ugh. Today I go through the (rather extensively documented) original intent of the general welfare, interstate commerce, and "necessary and proper" clauses.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1421

Direct download: woods_2019_06_05.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Last week I received the news that Murray Polner, my co-editor on the book We Who Dared to Say No to War, had died at the age of 91. Murray had been a man of the left, but we thoroughly enjoyed our collaboration on that antiwar volume. In today's episode I cover the ideological diversity of the true antiwar movement.

Sponsor: Away

Show notes for Ep. 1420

Direct download: woods_2019_06_04.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

The war machine is a tough nut to crack. Trump wanted troops out of this place and that, but they're still there. Who is really making policy? Meanwhile, Mike Pompeo is trying to pretend that George Washington would have supported his foreign policy. It's all in this episode.

Sponsor: Harry's

Show notes for Ep. 1419

Direct download: woods_2019_06_03.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00am EDT

Luis J. Gomez is co-creator of the GaS Digital Network, which features the programs of Tom Woods Show favorites Dave Smith and Michael Malice. He grew up in very rough circumstances, but worked extremely hard from a young age. Now he's built an extraordinary network committed to free speech, and an excellent career as a comedian as well. This is probably one of my favorite episodes.

Show notes for Ep. 1418

Direct download: woods_2019_05_31.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

Walter Block, Jeff Deist, and I discuss various questions involving (among other things) libertarian strategy: what if anything we can do to advance the ideas we believe in. Plus: the significance of Ludwig von Mises, up-and-comers in the movement, and a lot more. We covered these topics on a panel at the 2019 state convention of the Libertarian Party of Florida (https://www.lpf.org).

Show notes for Ep. 1417

Direct download: woods_2019_05_30.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:56pm EDT

John Bush, a longtime activist I got to know during the Ron Paul presidential campaigns, began selling kratom after having had good results with it himself. Today we discuss kratom: what it is, what it can do, what the FDA thinks about it, what its legal status is, and the challenges associated with its sale. A great discussion!

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1416

Direct download: woods_2019_05_29.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders are proposing that interest rates on credit cards be capped, as a way of helping the poor. Would such a policy have that effect? I'm joined by Todd Zywicki, a professor of law at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, and who's an expert on consumer credit, to work through the answer. We also discuss the cronyism that keeps alternative institutions from issuing credit cards.

Show notes for Ep. 1415

Direct download: woods_2019_05_28.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00pm EDT

Michael and I conclude our discussion of his new book The New Right by treating issues like immigration, culture (where it comes from and why the left is winning), and plenty more.

Show notes for Ep. 1414

Direct download: woods_2019_05_24.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

Michael and I discuss Buckley, Reagan, Christians who think America is Old Testament Israel, the media, and plenty of other juicy topics as we continue our discussion of his brand new book The New Right: A Journey to the Fringe of American Politics.

Show notes for Ep. 1413

Direct download: woods_2019_05_23.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

I welcome Michael Malice back to the show to discuss "democracy," the system where the people's voices are heard -- or so the story goes.

Show notes for Ep. 1412

Direct download: woods_2019_05_22.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:06pm EDT

On day two of Michael Malice week we discuss humor and the dissident Right: how it uses humor, whether some things are too serious to joke about, humor as an essential tool against the state, and more.

Sponsor: Policy Genius

Show notes for Ep. 1411

Direct download: woods_2019_05_21.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

Michael Malice joins me to discuss his new book on what he calls the "New Right," a disparate group of thinkers and activists who operate without a thought for Conservatism, Inc., who oppose progressivism not just on the margins but at its core, and yet who disagree among themselves with respect to a positive program.

Show notes for Ep. 1410

Direct download: woods_2019_05_20.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00pm EDT

The best band you've never heard of is Big Big Train, which Brad Birzer told me about for the first time on this very podcast. If you're used to conventional radio hits, your life is about to be improved, I promise you. You did not realize music could be this good. The great David Longdon, Big Big Train's lead vocalist, joins us for this episode. Guest co-host Brad Birzer of Hillsdale College and Progarchy joins me as guest co-host.

Show notes for Ep. 1409

Direct download: woods_2019_05_18.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

At this year's state convention of the Libertarian Party of Florida, Mises Institute president Jeff Deist delivered remarks that I think are important, well stated, and to my mind completely convincing.

Show notes for Ep. 1408

Direct download: woods_2019_05_17.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:38pm EDT

Rachel Fulton Brown, a professor of history at the University of Chicago, has been at the center of a controversy within medieval studies over race and "white supremacy" within the field. The New York Times recently published a report indicating that if anything the controversy is heating up.

Show notes for Ep. 1407

Direct download: woods_2019_05_16.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00pm EDT

In this keynote address to the state convention of the Libertarian Party of Florida, I consider the question: if our position is so compelling, why aren't we doing a better job of persuading people?

Show notes for Ep. 1406

Direct download: woods_2019_05_15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:44pm EDT

Richard Gamble of Hillsdale College examines Julia Ward Howe's Battle Hymn of the Republic -- its history and theology -- and how it fits into the American civil religion, whereby the United States government is the instrument of righteousness not only here at home but around the world as well.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1405

Direct download: woods_2019_05_14.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

Kristian Niemietz joins me to discuss the persistent attraction of socialism despite its terrible track record, and the excuses and apologias its supporters offer in order to justify their ongoing faith.

Sponsor: MVMT

Show notes for Ep. 1404

Direct download: woods_2019_05_13.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

Randall Holcombe of Florida State University joins me to discuss what he calls "political capitalism," whereby the private and public sectors collaborate for their mutual benefit, and against the public interest. Sometimes the process is open and obvious, but more often it is hidden and obscure.

Show notes for Ep. 1403

Direct download: woods_2019_05_10.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:05pm EDT

Following up on a theme I raised with Professor Dan Moller in episode 1399 (if our ideas are so good, why aren't we more popular?), I want to address a related question, which has been thrown at us from time to time: if libertarianism is so great, why aren't there any pure libertarian countries?

Sponsor: Policy Genius

Show notes for Ep. 1402

Direct download: woods_2019_05_09.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:00pm EDT

Gene Epstein joins me to respond to Bhaskar Sunkara's new book The Socialist Manifesto. (Sunkara was invited to participate, but declined.)

Show notes for Ep. 1401

Direct download: woods_2019_05_08.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:53am EDT

Alex Merced, Libertarian Party vice chair, takes questions submitted by my private Supporting Listeners group, the Tom Woods Show Elite (https://www.supportinglisteners.com) on topics including the Johnson/Weld ticket, whether the LP should avoid presidential politics altogether, whether there's ever a case for not fielding an LP candidate in a particular election, and a lot more.

Sponsor: Away

Show notes for Ep. 1400

Direct download: woods_2019_05_07.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:29am EDT

Dan Moller, a philosophy professor at the University of Maryland, has just produced an intriguing, and to my mind compelling, new kind of argument against the welfare state. He takes on this issue in particular because it is one of the positions libertarians hold for which they are most demonized. His argument compels us to consider the question of how much we may legitimately shift our own burdens onto others, particularly without their consent.

Sponsor: Harry's

Show notes for Ep. 1399

Direct download: woods_2019_05_06.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:33am EDT

Big business has become a villain not just to the progressive left but also to the populist right and even to many libertarians, who think they see cronyism everywhere. Lost amid this climate of condemnation is a sober assessment of the true record of big business in improving our lives. Tyler Cowen gives us precisely that assessment: he is frank about the moral faults of big business, but he overwhelms us with arguments in its favor that most people have never heard. Result: an excellent book and episode.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1398

Direct download: woods_2019_05_03.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

Eric Peters was recently punished by Google for some of the content on his website, which covers news from the world of cars through a libertarian lens. Wait until you hear what the offending material was. Plus, Eric takes a fascinating array of listener questions submitted by members of my Supporting Listeners group (https://www.supportinglisteners.com).

Show notes for Ep. 1397

Direct download: woods_2019_05_02.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

In this blast from the past from 2009, I'm interviewed by Alex Jones about central banking and the financial crisis.

Show notes for Ep. 1396

Direct download: woods_2019_05_01.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:30pm EDT

I often repeat Jonathan Haidt's point that left-liberals understand their opponents far less well than their opponents understand them. The most recent uncomprehending critic I've seen says libertarians "believe every man is an island." This was too ridiculous not to smash. Enjoy.

Show notes for Ep. 1395 - https://tomwoods.com/1395

Direct download: woods_2019_04_30.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

Historians love to hate Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, the presidents during most of the 1920s. Historians also enjoy tut-tutting the U.S. for having been "isolationist" during the 1920s. This is all wrong, as usual, so in today's episode I set the record straight.

Show notes for Ep. 1394

Direct download: woods_2019_04_29.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

Scott Horton joins me to review the "obstruction" claims on the part of media outlets that in the wake of the Mueller report suddenly dropped the "collusion" talk of the past two years and shifted to "obstruction".

Show notes for Ep. 1393

Direct download: woods_2019_04_27.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00pm EDT

I take on more criticisms of libertarianism -- less common but still important, and very interesting: (1) don't we need government-created deposit insurance so people don't lose a fortune if their money is in a bank that fails? and (2) should "insider trading" be allowed?

Sponsor: Blinkist

Show notes for Ep. 1392

Direct download: woods_2019_04_25.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:47pm EDT

In this episode I hit "too big to fail," the military-industrial complex, state pensions, Obamacare, the Federal Reserve, and many more. This episode is drawn from one of my appearances on Financial Sense Newshour.

Show notes for Ep. 1391

Direct download: woods_2019_04_24.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:30pm EDT

Madison and Jefferson biographer Kevin Gutzman joins me to discuss Jefferson's real record on slavery, the emphasis on slavery among the Western left (which leaves the impression among most students today that slavery was exclusive to the West, when in fact the West led the world in abolishing it), and whether the Framers would have supported the Green New Deal.

Show notes for Ep. 1390

Direct download: woods_2019_04_23.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:57pm EDT

Isaac Morehouse says the people who got duped in the college admissions scandals weren't the schools that accepted unqualified students but the parents who paid the bribes to get their children in. He's right. Today we discuss the increasingly irrelevant preparation for the real world that the existing government/university complex gives Americans -- a preparation so poor that it's turning a frustrated generation toward socialism. What's a better strategy?

Show notes for Ep. 1389

Direct download: woods_2019_04_22.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:21am EDT

Jacob Hornberger of the Future of Freedom Foundation discusses CIA mischief at home and abroad, and why the national security state is a threat to American liberty.

Show notes for Ep. 1388

Direct download: woods_2019_04_18.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00pm EDT

Denis McNamara, author of How to Read Churches, joins me to discuss Notre Dame Cathedral and Church architecture in general, in the wake of the terrible fire just two days ago. Professor McNamara is academic director and associate professor at the Liturgical Institute at Mundelein Seminary, the seminary of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1387

Direct download: woods_2019_04_17.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

Patrick Moore, who spent nine years as president of Greenpeace Canada and another six as a director of Greenpeace International, joins me to critique the Green New Deal proposal.

Show notes for Ep. 1386

Direct download: woods_2019_04_16.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:55pm EDT

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London last Thursday. The media and political sources who despise him are doing their best to make his activities sound nefarious and disreputable. But when Assange's activity is described correctly and precisely, it suddenly appears no different from what any journalist does, in terms of protecting his source's anonymity. Cassandra Fairbanks of The Gateway Pundit joins me for some background.

Sponsor: MVMT

Show notes for Ep. 1385

Direct download: woods_2019_04_15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

Antony Sammeroff joins me to discuss Andrew Yang's recent appearance with Ben Shapiro, and how Shapiro might have pushed back a bit more against Yang's proposal of a universal basic income.

Show notes for Ep. 1384

Direct download: woods_2019_04_13.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Today's episode covers a wide array of foundational libertarian topics: positive vs. negative rights, Locke vs. Hobbes, constitutional interpretation, slavery and the U.S. Constitution, subsidiarity, the social contract, and a lot more. It comes from my recent appearance on the Western Canon Podcast.

Show notes for Ep. 1383

Direct download: woods_2019_04_11.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:44am EDT

All right, not quite *everything* else... but on: Trump, Russiagate, the media, Barry Goldwater, meeting Rothbard, being Mises' editor, becoming an anarcho-capitalist, and more.

Show notes for Ep. 1382

Direct download: woods_2019_04_10.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

I felt uneasy after my recent episode with Michael Malice on the meaning of political left and right, and now I know why: I've been wrong about a major piece of the puzzle. The brilliant Paul Gottfried joins me to walk through the issue: is there really a "left-right spectrum"? What do the terms mean? Has there been a "right" in America? Is "fascism" really resurgent? What books does he recommend? Plenty of provocative stuff here, including Gottfried's contention that politics is not "downstream of culture," but rather that it's the other way around: to a considerable extent, culture flows from politics.

Show notes for Ep. 1381

Direct download: woods_2019_04_09.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:48pm EDT

Mark Pulliam returns to the show to discuss the problem of faux originalism in constitutional interpretation, emanating these days from certain libertarian and conservative think tanks. It's easy to be fooled by these arguments. What these arguments promote in the long run is not liberty but centralization and rule by judges.

Sponsor: Harry's

Show notes for Ep. 1380

Direct download: woods_2019_04_08.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

Andy Ngo of Quillette.com joins me to discuss recent hate crime hoaxes, particularly in left-liberal Portland, as well as dissident journalism in general and his own philosophical evolution after observing the progressive left up close again and again.

Show notes for Ep. 1379

Direct download: woods_2019_04_05.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

The word "socialism" is thrown around constantly these days, usually in favorable contexts. But what in fact is socialism? Hitler wasn't a socialist, socialists insist, who then turn around and say Sweden is socialist, even though no true socialist thinks so. Can we pause a minute to figure out what they favor and what they're talking about? CJay Engel joins me.

Sponsor: Blinkist

Show notes for Ep. 1378

Direct download: woods_2019_04_04.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:07am EDT

The news continues to be grim about purges on major social media platforms, but Andrew Torba, creator of Gab, has just released Dissenter, a browser extension that adds an independent comments section to any website. We discuss this, and the future of social media, including alternatives like Gab.

Sponsor: Skillshare

Show notes for Ep. 1377

Direct download: woods_2019_04_03.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

During the critical year of 2007, between the end of the housing bubble and the onset of the financial crisis, major officials of the Federal Reserve made claims that appear to have been designed more to prop up confidence in a shaky system than to give real insight into what was actually happening. These people were supposed to be the country's experts on the topics involved, and they could not have been more consistently wrong. Why?

Sponsor: Away

Show notes for Ep. 1376

Direct download: woods_2019_04_02.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:03am EDT

José Niño returns to discuss the most common myths of gun control. Before that, I spend some time talking about the fifth volume of Conceived in Liberty, which will be released sometime this year. It takes Murray Rothbard's history of the United States, which he never completed but which began with extensive coverage of the colonial period in the first four volumes, up through 1791. I share my impressions of the manuscript, and Rothbard's coverage of a historical episode that everyone else got wrong until 2002, but Rothbard had somehow figured out in the 1970s.

Show notes for Ep. 1375

Direct download: woods_2019_04_01.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:30pm EDT

This episode reviews some of the key moments and claims from the Russiagate fiasco, to help clarify just what a damning indictment of the media it truly is.

Show notes for Ep. 1374

Direct download: woods_2019_03_29.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:02pm EDT

Scott Horton, the great libertarian foreign policy expert, brings us up to date on the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen as well as the ongoing peace talks in Afghanistan. We touch a bit on Syria and on Russiagate as well. Any episode with Scott is indispensable, and this one is no exception.

Show notes for Ep. 1373

Direct download: woods_2019_03_28.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:15pm EDT