Fri, 31 August 2018
I've got a bunch of listeners who have some questions on economics that they feel like they should know the answers to, so they feel funny asking. In this episode we take some economics 101 questions and answer them at last. |
Thu, 30 August 2018
Jefferson biographer Kevin Gutzman, who just released a new course on Jefferson for my LibertyClassroom.com, joins me to discuss Jefferson's influences, his early political career, his extraordinary accomplishments even outside politics, and a lot more. |
Wed, 29 August 2018
I was delighted to be the special guest for the 100th episode of the Scottish Liberty Podcast, featuring Tom Laird, who runs the Scottish Libertarian Party, and Antony Sammeroff, who's such an effective defender of libertarian ideas. And what a variety of topics we hit -- including my five least favorite presidents. Enjoy! |
Tue, 28 August 2018
It's important to cut through the exaggerated platitudes to the heart of who John McCain was, lest a misplaced desire to carry on his "legacy" cause further harm to the United States and the world. Scott Horton joins me for this frank appraisal. |
Mon, 27 August 2018
Libertarian worlds collided earlier this month when Reason magazine editor-at-large Matt Welch joined me on Michael Malice's program. as you no doubt realize, there has been plenty of infighting among Libertarians and libertarian institutions over the years, and I think we hashed quite a bit of that out in a very productive conversation. In today's episode, Michael and I review and assess that mini-summit. |
Sat, 25 August 2018
Eric July, whose band Backwordz hit #1 in Billboard's Alternative New Artist category, joins me to discuss -- in addition to his epic battle with rapper Talib Kweli -- what libertarianism has to say to the black community, whether he feels oppressed every day (I ask him sincerely, since Talib feels oppressed every day), how he responds to accusations that he's betraying the black community by being a libertarian, and plenty more. Eric was the emcee at my 1000th episode event; if you haven't seen it, make some popcorn and settle in for a fun night. tomwoods.com/1000 Show notes for Ep. 1225 |
Fri, 24 August 2018
The media went berserk recently over Cody Wilson and his Stoic defense of the publication of open-source gun designs suitable for 3D printing. We go beneath the surface and talk social media deplatforming, free speech, and Cody's ideological influences. |
Thu, 23 August 2018
If you let trolls get under your skin, you're doing it wrong. They are gifts. And you can profit from them. Ben Settle, my email marketing mentor and publisher of the Email Players newsletter, is one of the kings at this. Someone goes after Ben, and Ben turns around and makes sales from it. Now that's how it's done. Also joining me today is Shane Hunter, known as the Abrasive Entrepreneur. We talk about my recent exchange with rapper Talib Kweli, and how in general to handle attacks. Show notes for Ep. 1223 |
Wed, 22 August 2018
Rachel Fulton Brown, a professor of medieval history at the University of Chicago who's been under assault by ideologically motivated peers, joins me for a discussion of her travails, yes, but also her new book, the ideological transformation of medieval studies, and more. |
Tue, 21 August 2018
Ep. 1221 Laura Ingalls Wilder, Erased by Library Association, Deserves Her Place in Literary History
Dedra Birzer of Hillsdale College joins me to discuss the works and views of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, who was an important libertarian writer in her own right. Wilder recently had her name removed from an important children's literature award by the American Library Association, so we begin with a discussion of that. |
Sat, 18 August 2018
Joshua Smith, who secured a spot on the Libertarian National Committee at the party's recent convention, joins me to discuss the party's present and future, the controversy with "libertarian socialists," and much more. |
Thu, 16 August 2018
Jeff Deist, former chief of staff to Ron Paul and current president of the Mises Institute, joins me to discuss how we should think about social media de-platforming and what it means (surely libertarians have something more to say than "they're private companies," as if we're never allowed to criticize private companies). We also discuss political correctness: maybe it wasn't just about politeness after all, and maybe it wasn't just a figment of the right-wing's imagination. |
Wed, 15 August 2018
Dr. Jamin Hubner joins me to discuss his Creative Common Law project, which serves as the legal blueprint for how a stateless society would function and deal with common problems. |
Tue, 14 August 2018
Ep. 1217 How the State Sucks the Life Out of Education, and How the Private Sector Just Made a Great Leap Forward in Math
JW Weatherman joins me to discuss the problems with state education -- particularly in math, a subject people are essentially taught to hate -- and a thrilling way the private sector has just made it vastly better, more accessible, more effective, and more fun. |
Mon, 13 August 2018
What we learned in school: decentralization is stupid and backward, and the progressive way forward is for you stupid rubes to centralize power in the hands of your betters. This episode is the anti-that. |
Sun, 12 August 2018
Sara Young, a widely respected entrepreneur and teacher, was determined to make her living from her computer so she wouldn't have to leave her children home alone. That determination yielded her fantastic success, to the point that other moms who lived nearby urged her to teach them to do what she was doing. She wound up becoming an online teacher, helping many thousands of folks replicate her model. What she's up to today is particularly impressive -- and yes, can be replicated. |
Sat, 11 August 2018
Mark Thornton joins me to discuss his new book -- to which I contributed the foreword -- on the so-called "skyscraper curse" and Austrian business cycle theory, and how economists of the Austrian School have been able to spot oncoming crises to which other economists have been blind. |
Fri, 10 August 2018
Families Against Mandatory Minimums' Kevin Ring, who saw the problems with mandatory minimum sentences first hand, discusses a major injustice in the present system of sentencing. |
Thu, 9 August 2018
Are things going to stabilize or worsen on the major social media platforms? Michael Malice joins me to discuss the Alex Jones situation, and the nature of social media itself. Is the contentiousness and hostility we find there something that can be fixed, or might the whole project be based on a utopian premise -- just get everyone together, and we'll reach the truth? |
Wed, 8 August 2018
Historian Phil Magness joins me to discuss the controversy over Nancy MacLean's book Democracy in Chains, which claims to trace a massive racist, right-wing conspiracy back to -- of all people -- academic economist James Buchanan, who is associated with Public Choice economics. The book is so rife with error that MacLean finally had to respond to her critics. |
Tue, 7 August 2018
Alex Jones just got decapitated by Apple and other platforms, so I spend some time in today's episode unpacking what that means. I also take on left-liberals who think the problem with the Fed and the military is lack of diversity, and right-wingers who think capitalism is based on "materialism." Plenty of fun! |
Sat, 4 August 2018
Scott Pulsipher, president of Western Governors University, discusses his model for very inexpensive, outcome-based online education. We also address efforts by the inspector general of the Department of Education to throw a monkey wrench into the works (surprise). |
Fri, 3 August 2018
Janice Fiamengo, a professor of English at the University of Ottawa and an outspoken opponent of feminism, found herself brought before the Ottawa Human Rights Commission in a two-year ordeal related to alleged discrimination. She gives us a flavor of what these commissions are like, and how universities deal with accusations like this. |
Wed, 1 August 2018
Pat joins me to discuss the state of Russiagate, how the President should respond, what a President Buchanan would be doing, what's likely to happen in the fall elections, the state of the Democratic Party, and the kind of candidate Trump should hope for in 2020. |