Wed, 30 October 2019
Patrick Newman joins me once again to discuss a brand new book by Murray Rothbard, the prolific economist and historian who died in 1995. We cover the process of deciphering Rothbard's notoriously illegible handwriting, and also the contents themselves: Rothbard's assessments of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and more. |
Wed, 30 October 2019
Libertarian podcaster and successful entrepreneur Jason Stapleton joins me for a discussion not just of entrepreneurship, but of how it is that some people manage to build followings of rabid, unfailingly loyal fans. What are they doing right? What do they know that others don't? The market economy rewards people who produce great products, but remember: sometimes you are the product. They want to buy from and interact with you. How do the masters create that kind of following? |
Mon, 28 October 2019
The parental custodianship case of James Younger -- the 7-year-old boy whose mother wants to "transition" into a girl named Luna -- generated much heat, particularly last week. Some people tried to claim that there was really nothing to the case, that it was all overblown, that the boy is too young for medical procedures anyway, and the whole thing was probably hysteria fueled by "transphobia." Madeleine Jacob, a reporter who observed the entire proceeding, joins me to set the record straight. |
Thu, 24 October 2019
It's fashionable to like Karl Marx again, so it's worth remembering that economists dismissed him from the beginning. The Marginal Revolution of the early 1870s upended the foundations of Marxism, and Marx himself never seems to have recognized what happened. Phil Magness, editor of a new volume of Marx's writings, joins me to discuss this. |
Wed, 23 October 2019
Joshua Smith, At-Large Member of the Libertarian National Committee, is seeking to become the party's chairman. We discuss his background, lessons learned from 2018, whether the party is on the right track (it did get a bunch of votes in 2016, after all), and more. |
Tue, 22 October 2019
Peter Schiff interviews me on economic history, Keynesianism, and state nullification. |
Mon, 21 October 2019
The official line of the regime and its media accomplices is that presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard is a "Russian asset." Isn't it funny how all the Respectable People suddenly and in unison all have the same opinions about everything, down to the lingo and the talking points? I discuss this creepy phenomenon. (And yes, I know, Tulsi is not a libertarian.) |
Fri, 18 October 2019
Madison biographer Kevin Gutzman joins me for a discussion of the Madison nobody knows. |
Thu, 17 October 2019
Sheldon Richman, author of the new book Coming to Palestine, joins me to discuss the rights and wrongs of Israel and the Palestinians. |
Wed, 16 October 2019
Twelve Democrats debated in Ohio last night, and as usual Lew Rockwell and I watched so you didn't have to. We cover the lowlights as well as who's up, who's down, and more. |
Tue, 15 October 2019
In this highly unusual but weirdly compelling episode in the wake of World Mental Health Day, Michael and I discuss how we've dealt with difficult personal struggles. |
Mon, 14 October 2019
User-friendly cryptography has dramatically altered the world by enabling secure communication and commerce via the Internet. But this is only the beginning: by applying cryptography to the control and ownership of digital assets we can return power to the individual and finally build a world where individual sovereignty is feasible. The biggest challenge that remains is to hide the technical complexities from the average user -- and Jameson Lopp joins me today to discuss exactly how that's being done. |
Fri, 11 October 2019
Lindsey Graham and Bill Weld have been accusing Donald Trump (and Barack Obama) of "isolationism." This is such a deranged thing to say that I had to make an episode about it. |
Thu, 10 October 2019
Kevin Gutzman joins me for some historical/constitutional background on impeachment, how strong the case against Trump is, and what is likely to come of Trump's refusal to cooperate. |
Wed, 9 October 2019
The hysteria reached a fever pitch with Trump's recent announcement about American withdrawal from northern Syria. Scott Horton joins me to explain the real situation, and how a satisfactory arrangement might have been reached had the U.S. government not prevented it. |
Tue, 8 October 2019
Gerard Casey joins me to discuss free speech, why we should be absolutists on it, the perils of "hate crime" laws, and much more. |
Mon, 7 October 2019
In this episode I talk a bit about episodes in my own evolution, including the big turning point that red pilled me, how I went from vice president of the Harvard Republicans to (eventually) a libertarian, my first battle with the neocons, and the people the Libertarian Party should appeal to but won't. |
Fri, 4 October 2019
We conclude Dave Smith Week with questions drawn from the Tom Woods Show Elite, which you can join at SupportingListeners.com. How has he navigated a comedy world and a city that are unsympathetic to his views, to say the least? What libertarian positions does he find most challenging to defend? What is the movement's most effective potential strategy? And a lot more. |
Thu, 3 October 2019
The new rule, evidently, is that if you joke about anything our overlords have told us is Not Funny, or if you are found to have said something naughty on Twitter ten years ago, you are to be destroyed and all ties with you are to be cut. Natch, if you're just a warmonger, nothing happens to you at all. Dave Smith joins me to sort this all out. |
Wed, 2 October 2019
Here Dave takes us into the weeds of comedy itself. How to write a joke (more or less), who's on Dave's Mount Rushmore of comedy, who his influences are, and a lot more. Also whether there's a line, in terms of subject matter, that Dave just won't cross when it comes to comedy. Possibly my favorite episode of the week. |
Tue, 1 October 2019
The second episode of Dave Smith Week covers the libertarian movement itself, with Dave's recent Soho Forum debate against Libertarian National Committee chairman Nick Sarwark the springboard for discussion of larger issues. |
Mon, 30 September 2019
Dave Smith went from being a stand-up comedian to being a stand-up comedian who also happens to be one of our most articulate and indispensable voices. We get into Dave's background and turning points in his life. |