Bob Murphy Show
317 episodes - English - Latest episode: 16 days ago - ★★★★★ - 451 ratingsThe podcast promoting free markets, free minds, and grateful souls.
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Episodes
Ep. 216 COMMON SENSE: The Case for an Independent Texas
October 03, 2021 13:00 - 39 minutes - 31.8 MBBob covers some of the key points in his new pamphlet on restoring the Republic of Texas. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob's new pamphlet, COMMON SENSE: The Case for an Independent Texas. Bob's recent appearance on Tim Pool's show. Bob's article on opting out of Social Security. Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.
Ep. 215 Joe Salerno versus Paul Krugman on Austrian Business Cycle Theory
September 28, 2021 13:00 - 47 minutes - 38.4 MBUsing a recent Paul Krugman column as the jumping off point, the Mises Institute Academic Vice President Joe Salerno explains and defends Austrian business cycle theory. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Bob's response to Krugman's NYT piece. Joe Salerno's 2012 QJAE article responding to ABCT critics. Joe Salerno's previous appearance on the Bob Murphy Show ep. 16. Bob's critique of Selgin on Canadian fractional reserve banking...
Ep. 214 Explaining Libertarianism to Skeptical Christians
September 18, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 62.2 MBDoug Stuart and Dick Clark of the Libertarian Christian Institute talk about the book they co-authored (with 2 others) that answers tough questions. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. The book Faith Seeking Freedom: Libertarian Answers to Tough Questions, by the guests and co-authors. #Commissions Earned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) The homepage for the Libertarian Christian Institute and their Facebo...
Ep. 213 Mark Spitznagel Teaches the Economists How to Invest
September 07, 2021 13:00 - 47 minutes - 38 MBBob reviews Mark Spitznagel's latest book, "Safe Haven: Investing for Financial Storms," on which he was a consultant. Bob explains that Spitznagel rejects the alleged dichotomy between risk and return, and then gives a numerical example to illustrate the two schools of thought. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob's appearance on Jordan Peterson's podcast. Bob's surprisingly high ranking among influential economists. His episode with Winston Ewert (who helped design ...
Ep. 212 The “Nixon Shock” Was Only the Final Nail in the Coffin of the Gold Dollar
August 24, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBBob gives a brief history of money in the United States, explaining that the dollar was much "harder" in, say, 1810 than it was in 1910. This explains why there was significant consumer price inflation even in 1970, the year before Richard Nixon officially severed the dollar's link to gold. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob's chapter in the new book, Understanding Money Mechanics, discussing the history of the US gold/silver standards. His chapter on Mises' theory o...
Ep. 211 Bob Murphy Explodes Popular Myths About Money
August 05, 2021 13:00 - 48 minutes - 38.8 MBThis is a replay of an interview Bob did on Silver Bullion TV. It occurred on July 23 and aired on July 30. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The original SBTV interview. Bob's article on ZeroHedge. Bob's Mises U lecture on money mechanics. Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.
Ep. 210 M. Night Shyamalan Is Giving You Permission to Be a Superhero
July 28, 2021 13:00 - 52 minutes - 42.1 MBBob reviews the "Unbreakable" movie trilogy, arguing that M. Night Shyamalan knows we need to awaken the superheroes among us. They might not even know who they are--yet. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube trailer for "Unbreakable," the first movie in the trilogy under discussion. Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.
Ep. 209 Bob Murphy Critiques Curtis Yarvin's Explanation of Inflation
July 21, 2021 13:00 - 56 minutes - 45.1 MBIn a May 2021 essay, Curtis Yarvin (aka Mencius Moldbug) argues that the American economy runs on an inflation machine. Yarvin claims that the best way to measure the amount of inflation is to look at the change in aggregate personal net worth over a given period. Murphy explains why this is wrongheaded. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Curtis Yarvin (aka Mencius Moldbug)'s essay on The Inflation Economy. Eric Weinstein tells Lex Fridman his wariness. Help support th...
Ep. 208 Per Bylund on the Importance of the Austrian School
July 13, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 50.6 MBPer Bylund is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University. He discusses three of his current book projects, all touching on various aspects of the Austrian School and its continued importance. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Per Bylund's page at Oklahoma State University. The Mises Institute's description of Per Bylund's upcoming primer on Austrian Economics. Bob's debate with David Friedman on economic method. Bob Murphy Show episode on in...
Ep. 207 “They Said What?!” John Lennon Edition
July 02, 2021 13:00 - 39 minutes - 31.8 MBBob unveils a new recurring series, in which he gives the context of infamous quotations. In this episode, he covers two allegedly shocking quotes from John Lennon, John Maynard Keynes' "in the long run we're all dead," Trump on Nazis being very fine people, Dan Quayle misspelling potato, Obama's "you didn't build that," and Bohm-Bawerk on Karl Marx. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Wikipedia entry on John Lennon's "more popular than Jesus" comment. Lyrics to "Revoluti...
Ep. 206 “What Did Bob Learn?” Part 3 of 3
June 23, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 51.6 MBBob concludes his series on areas where he's changed his mind. This episode covers the economics of climate change, fractional reserve banking, the US gold standard, his notorious inflation bets, Nelson Nash's Infinite Banking Concept, and the God of the Bible. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob's chapter on the gold standard. Mises' plan to put the USD back on gold. Bob's explainer on the Tax Interaction Effect. His article explaining the contrast between William N...
Ep. 205 Matt McCaffrey on Entrepreneurship and Chinese Military History
June 18, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 52.9 MBMatt McCaffrey is an Austrian economist who is currently associate professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Manchester. He talks with Bob about American economist Frank Fetter, before moving on to a staple of his research: the connection between Chinese military history and entrepreneurship. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Matt McCaffrey's paper on Chinese military history and on Frank Fetter. Hoppe on economic method. Help support the Bob Murphy Show. Th...
Ep. 204 Scott Sumner Argues the Bernanke Fed Was Too Tight
June 09, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 69.3 MBScott Sumner is a monetary economist with the Mercatus Center. He famously argued in late 2008 that the Fed was too tight with monetary policy, and eventually he has convinced many economists of his views. In this episode he explains why interest rates and even monetary aggregates are not good indicators of the stance of monetary policy, whereas NGDP growth is much better. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Scott Sumner's Mercatus page. His blog, The Money Illusion. Sco...
Ep. 203 "What Did Bob Learn?" Part 2 of 3
May 31, 2021 13:00 - 58 minutes - 47.1 MBIn response to a listener request, Bob continues a 3-part series explaining areas where his views have changed. In this episode, he covers government debt and future generations, accuracy in polemical writing, the Fed being a private corporation, whether nice guys finish last, and mainstream utility theory. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob's "The Economist Zone" article with links to the original contributions to the Great Debt Debate. Bob's Mises University lectur...
Ep. 202 "What Did Bob Learn?" Part 1 of 3
May 24, 2021 13:00 - 50 minutes - 40.8 MBIn response to a listener request, Bob starts a 3-part series explaining areas where his views have changed. In this episode, he covers trade deficits, justice vs. mercy, the 2000 election, WMDs in Iraq, and Arrow's Theorem. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob's article on why free traders should be more careful when defending trade deficits. Bob's article explaining the capital account in reference to trade deficits, in the context of criticizing Peter Schiff. Then ...
Ep. 201 David Howden Applies Austrian Theory to the Financial Markets
May 16, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBDavid Howden is Chair of the Department of Business and Economics at Saint Louis University's Madrid campus. He earned his PhD under Jesus Huerta de Soto. Bob asks David about his experiences as a next generation Austrian economist, and in particular his work on financial markets. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: David Howden's academic page. Jesus Huerta de Soto's book on business cycles. Bob's critique of Fama on bubbles. Bob explains his botched inflation predict...
Ep. 200 Vijay Boyapati Explains Why He Was RIght About Inflation in 2010 and Bitcoin in 2018
May 11, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBVijay Boyapati left a lucrative job at Google in 2007 to move to New Hampshire and campaign for Ron Paul. In this episode, Vijay explains why the other Austrians should have listened to him in 2010 when he warned that their inflation predictions were wrong. He also explains his popular 2018 essay, "The Bullish Case for Bitcoin." Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Vijay Boyapati's 2010 article on credit deflation. Vijay's 2018 article on "The Bullish Case for Bitcoin." ...
Ep. 199 Jeff Herbener and Bob Murphy Discuss the Pure Time Preference Theory of Interest
May 07, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 55.4 MBJeff Herbener is a Senior Fellow with the Mises Institute and an economics professor at Grove City College. At the 2021 Austrian Economics Research Conference, Jeff presented a defense of the pure time preference theory of interest, and mentioned Bob's critique of it. This episode is a very informative discussion of their views. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this lecture (which has the PowerPoint slides). Jeff Herbener lecture on interest at ...
Ep. 198 Robert Murphy Lecture on History and NEW DEVELOPMENTS in Austrian Interest Theory
May 07, 2021 13:00 - 37 minutes - 30 MBBob gives a guest lecture for Jonathan Newman's MA course for the Mises Institute, on the history of, and new developments in, the pure time preference theory of interest. After summarizing the work of Bohm-Bawerk, Fetter, and MIses, Bob explains his own perspective and then how Jeff Herbener partially agreed with Bob's critique. This episode sets the table for Bob's interview with Herbener in ep. 199. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this lectur...
Ep. 197 David Beckworth Explains NGDP Targeting and the Fed’s Current Framework
April 27, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 62 MBDavid Beckworth is a monetary economist with the Mercatus Center. He explains the rationale of the Market Monetarists (such as Scott Sumner) who support NGDP targeting as the best monetary policy. He also explains recent innovations in Fed policy, and critiques the MMTers. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. David Beckworth's homepage and podcast, Macro Musings. David Beckworth's book Boom and Bust Banking. #Commissions Earned (As ...
Ep. 196 Stephan Livera Interviews Bob Murphy on the Economics of Bitcoin
April 23, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 55.9 MBStephan Livera hosts a popular podcast on Bitcoin and Austrian economics. He recently had Bob on to discuss, appropriately enough, the economics of Bitcoin from an Austrian perspective. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Stephan Livera's YouTube page. Bob and Silas Barta's guide to Bitcoin. BMS ep. 191 clarifying the debate over Bitcoin. Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.
Ep. 195 Scott Horton on Osama Bin Laden’s Strategy to Take Down the US
April 20, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 74.9 MBScott Horton comes back on the show to discuss his new book, Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism. He and Bob largely focus on Osama Bin Laden's strategy for drawing the U.S. into unwinnable wars. They also discuss the role of Israel in U.S. foreign policy. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Scott's new book Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism. #Commissions Earned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualify...
Ep. 194 How a Voluntary Society Would Handle Blockades and Immigration
April 16, 2021 13:00 - 58 minutes - 47.3 MBBob elaborates on two ideas he had when he wrote his novel "Minerva" in grad school. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob's archives at Strike the Root, which contain the serialized version of Bob's novel, Minerva. (Note that the HTML formatting is incorrect for some characters, such as the em-dash turning up as an apostrophe.) UPDATE: A listener compiled a PDF version of Minerva here. Bob's articles on the social function of stock speculators, futures markets, and ca...
Ep. 193 Walter Block Explains His Entry into Libertarianism and His View of the Future
April 10, 2021 13:00 - 37 minutes - 29.9 MBWalter Block is a giant in the libertarian movement. He explains how he discovered this philosophy and why it will be difficult to advance liberty. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Walter's (co-authored) 2019 article on sociobiology and liberty. Walter's book Defending the Undefendable. #Commissions Earned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this...
Ep. 192 Extending AnCap Analysis for Vaccine Passports, Court Rulings, and Desegregation
April 07, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBUsing a recent Dave Smith interview of Michael Malice as a springboard, Bob elaborates his understanding of anarcho-capitalist principles to the thorny issues of vaccine passports, court rulings, and desegregation of the Old South. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Part of the Problem episode from February 20, 2021, "They Don't Care About You" featuring Michael Malice. Bob's book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism (featuring his analysis of racism in busines...
Ep. 191 Clarifying the Economic Framework for Both Camps in the Bitcoin Debate
April 01, 2021 13:00 - 56 minutes - 45.2 MBBob helps to clarify the Bitcoin debate. On the one hand, the "no intrinsic value" skeptics are ignoring how Austrians deal with gold, while on the other hand, the "HODL forever" enthusiasts would never allow Bitcoin to become a money. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob (and Silas Barta's) http://understandingbitcoin.us/ (guide to Bitcoin). Bob's book http://contrakrugmanbook.com/ (Contra Krugman). http://bobmurphyshow.com/contribute (Help support) the Bob Murphy Show. ...
Ep. 191 Clarifying the Economic Framework for Both Camps in the Bitcoin Debate
April 01, 2021 13:00 - 56 minutes - 45.2 MBBob helps to clarify the Bitcoin debate. On the one hand, the "no intrinsic value" skeptics are ignoring how Austrians deal with gold, while on the other hand, the "HODL forever" enthusiasts would never allow Bitcoin to become a money. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob (and Silas Barta's) guide to Bitcoin. Bob's book Contra Krugman. Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.
Ep. 190 Benjamin Boyce on the Evergreen State Protests and Lessons for America
March 30, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBBenjamin Boyce is a writer, interviewer, and filmmaker who rose to fame by relaying his experiences as a student during the infamous Evergreen State protests in 2017. He talks with Bob about the lessons we can learn as the rest of the country follows the same trajectory of identity politics. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Benjamin Boyce's YouTube channel. Benjamin Boyce's Complete Evergreen Story (chaps. 10 and 15 were specifi...
Ep. 189 Josiah Neeley Gives the Other Side on What Happened With the Texas Power Freeze
March 22, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 58.7 MBJosiah Neeley is the Texas Director and Resident Senior Fellow in Energy for the R Street Institute. He has a lively discussion, pushing back on some of Bob's previously articulated points regarding the recent Texas freeze and blackouts. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Josiah's article on the Texas freeze. Bob’s article on the Texas freeze. Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this episode was provided b...
Ep. 188 Rob Bradley Gives a Brief History of US Electricity Regulation, With Lessons for the Recent Texas Freeze
March 18, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBRob Bradley is an expert in the history of US energy markets. He explains the role of Sam Insull (co-founder of General Electric) in showing what a free market in electricity would look like, and then criticizes Texas' ERCOT as a central planning agency. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Rob Bradley's website, Master Resource. Rob's article on the recent Texas freeze and Paul Krugman. Rob Bradley's books Edison to Enron and Capit...
Ep. 187 Gary Wolfram on the Minimum Wage and Other Misguided Policies
March 15, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 48.7 MBGary Wolfram is an economics professor at Hillsdale College, who was both a teacher and colleague of Bob during his two stints at the school (first as a student then as a professor). They discuss Gary's background as an economist in both academia and the political sphere, and why government intervention hurts the people it ostensibly helps. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Gary Wolfram's book, A Capitalist Manifesto. #Commissions...
Ep. 186 What Really Happened With the Texas Power Grid
March 09, 2021 13:00 - 41 minutes - 33.4 MBSince the deep freeze in February caused millions of Texas homes to lose their power, partisans have been fighting over the blame. The governor blamed wind turbines and the green agenda, whereas Paul Krugman said the fault was with natural gas. Bob shows the numbers; natural gas was to blame only in the sense that nobody expected wind to be useful during a winter crisis. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob's article at Mises.org, which gives links to all the relevant ...
Ep. 185 Dr. Keith Smith Explains the Scam in Medical Pricing and How to Fix It
March 07, 2021 13:00 - 37 minutes - 30.6 MBMedical doctor Keith Smith returns to the show to explain how government intervention allows insurance companies to distort health care prices. Rather than merely diagnosing the problem, Smith has formed organizations that are providing affordable care to patients. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. The Surgery Center of Oklahoma. The Free Market Medical Association (FMMA). The Medical Freedom Summit, hosted by Mises Institute, on...
Ep. 184 Nonviolent Solutions to Social Problems
March 02, 2021 13:00 - 43 minutes - 34.7 MBBob discusses three separate items all related to nonviolence: (1) Gene Sharp's work, (2) Bob's old dream of how to topple a tyrant, and (3) the winners of the Louis CK contest. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Gene Sharp's book, From Dictatorship to Democracy. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) The trailer for the documentary "How to Start a Revolution." Sharp's list of 198 methods of nonviolent action. The original Louis ...
Ep. 183 Ben Powell Argues that Immigrants Don’t Threaten Liberty
February 26, 2021 13:00 - 58 minutes - 47.1 MBStandard economic analysis suggests that even large-scale immigration doesn't hurt native citizens economically. But couldn't the newcomers change the culture and political climate to hurt liberty? In his latest book, economist Ben Powell argues that this too is a baseless fear. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Ben Powell's book (co-authored with Alex Nowrasteh) Wretched Refuse?: The Political Economy of Immigration and Instituti...
Ep. 182 A Modest Proposal for Children in Libertarian Law
February 24, 2021 13:00 - 58 minutes - 47 MBBob explains his idea for the general legal principle under which children would constitute a particular case: Namely, treat the parent (or legal guardian) as a trustee acting upon behalf of the trustor, who is the future (adult) version of that child. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Rothbard's book Ethics of Liberty (free pdf). Walter Block et al. on children under libertarian law. Bruno Leoni's Freedom and the Law (various formats). Bob Murphy's lecture on privat...
Ep. 181 Could Gold Discoveries Cause the Austrian Boom-Bust Cycle?
February 18, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 52.6 MBIn a 2019 article, Bob quoted Mises who believed that new gold discoveries, in principle, could cause a (small) boom-bust cycle if the gold hit the loan market before other sectors. Walter Block and Bill Barnett have responded in a new article, arguing that in a free market, new commodity money can't cause such distortions. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Bob's 2019 QJAE article, which Block & Barnett (2020) criticizes. Bob's b...
Ep. 180 After Further Review, It's Still Wrong for Adults to Sleep With Kids
February 11, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 67.8 MBOn a recent episode of the Unregistered podcast, Thaddeus Russell interviews philosophy professor Stephen Kershnar on his controversial books. Bob strongly critiques their claims that (a) pro-life people ought to be killing abortionists and (b) adult/child sexual relationships can be healthy. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of Thaddeus' discussion with Kershnar. Thad's article in the Daily Beast defending Roman Polanski. The Wikipedia article abou...
Ep. 179 What Does the Bible Say About Taxation?
February 07, 2021 13:00 - 59 minutes - 48.2 MBNick Watts has a Master of Divinity degree from Queensland Theological College. He talks with Bob about his book, which argues that the Bible claims that taxation is tantamount to slavery. Interestingly, Nick went into his project as a conservative small government man and emerged as a Rothbardian who has no political ruler except Christ the King. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Nick Watts' website, Being Biblical. His book, Tax...
Ep. 178 Tom Woods and Bob Murphy Discuss the GameStop Shorting Controversy
January 31, 2021 13:00 - 53 minutes - 43.1 MBTom Woods invites Bob onto his podcast to discuss the coordinated actions of retail traders to implement a short squeeze on hedge funds, in the process causing GameStop stock to increase some 1,500%. Tom and Bob explain the basic economics involved and the political implications. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The Tom Woods Show. A Bloomberg article and an ARSTechnica article giving good summaries of the timeline. Bob's article on "The Social Function of Stock Spec...
Ep. 177 Glenn Jacobs on Wrestling, Austrian Economics, and Political Office
January 27, 2021 13:00 - 31 minutes - 25.1 MBBob has a short but sweet conversation with Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. They cover Glenn's career in wrestling, his discovery of Austrian economics, and what he's learned since entering politics. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Glenn Jacobs' Knox County mayoral page. Murray Rothbard's "What Has Government Done to Our Money?" Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth ...
Ep. 176 A Framework for Analyzing Tech Censorship
January 23, 2021 13:00 - 52 minutes - 42.6 MBBob explains the legal and practical issues surrounding the purge of right-wing voices from social media sites. He makes a distinction between free speech and the 1st Amendment, and critically analyzes the typical "newsstand / publisher" analogy for Section 230. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: EFF article on Section 230 and why the platform/publisher distinction is a red herring. Encyclopedia Brittanica entry on the First Amendment. Help support the Bob Murphy Show....
Ep. 175 David Andolfatto Defends the Fed
January 17, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 59.9 MBRon Paul used the fall in purchasing power since the founding of the Fed to argue that the central bank had hurt regular Americans. Fed economist David Andolfatto disagrees, but Bob pushes back. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. David Andolfatto critiques Ron Paul's argument against the Fed. Bob's rebuttal to Andolfatto. "Has the Fed Been a Failure?" by White et al. Bob's forthcoming book on Understanding Money Mechanics. Help...
Ep. 174 Double Standards on the Capitol Storming and Explaining the Viking Guy
January 11, 2021 13:00 - 59 minutes - 47.8 MBBob offers his thoughts on the double standards in the media and pundit treatment of the Jan. 6 Capitol events. He also explains the seemingly crazy allegations from the protestor who was dressed as a Viking. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The Federalist article on leftist hypocrisy regarding violent protests. Story on activists flooding Capitol during Kavanaugh hearings. Bob's (controversial) tweet about why Jan. 6 was tragic. Story on the Black Panthers storming...
Ep. 173 Alastair Roberts on Scapegoating in the Work of Rene Girard
January 08, 2021 13:00 - 59 minutes - 47.8 MBAlastair Roberts works for the Biblically-grounded Theopolis and Davenant Institutes. He talks with Bob about the work of Rene Girard on scapegoating, and his forthcoming Bible commentary. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Alastair Roberts' YouTube channel and Soundcloud link to his podcast. The Theopolis and Davenant Institutes. BMS ep. 15 with David Gornoski. Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this ep...
Ep. 172 How Much Oil Should Humanity Use This Year?
January 05, 2021 13:00 - 43 minutes - 34.8 MBHarold Hotelling in 1931 wrote the pioneering article "The Economics of Exhaustible Resources" that described the equilibrium prices over time for a finite resource such as oil or coal. Bob explains the answer and how it matches with the Austrian view of time preference. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Bob's EconLib article on the market trajectory of oil consumption and prices. Harold Hotelling's pioneering 1931 article on "The Economics of Exhaustible Resources" (p...
Ep. 171 Mahyar Tousi on the Classical Liberal Case for Brexit
December 29, 2020 13:00 - 27 minutes - 22.5 MBMahyar Tousi has a popular show out of the UK who has been intimately involved in making the case for Brexit, coming from a classical liberal free trade perspective. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Mahyar Tousi's YouTube channel. Help support the Bob Murphy Show. The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.
Ep. 170 Bob Murphy Dissects the "Shopping Cart Theory" Allegedly Blowing Up the Case for Self-Governance
December 23, 2020 13:00 - 39 minutes - 31.8 MBRecently Tim Poole alluded to the so-called "shopping cart theory" of why self-governance is impossible. Specifically, because people can't even bother to take back the shopping cart when this is clearly the socially right thing to do, we can't hope to have a system relying on everyone's good nature. Bob explains what's wrong with this argument. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The blog post for the "Adventures in Pacifism: Louis CK edition" contest. Ben Powell on Som...
Ep. 169 Mario Rizzo on His History with the Austrian School and the Economics of Time & Ignorance
December 20, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBMario Rizzo is a professor in the Department of Economics at NYU--where he was Bob's dissertation chair. He talks about how he found the Austrian School and his own contributions to economics. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Mario Rizzo's homepage. Mario's books The Economics of Time and Ignorance (with Gerald O'Driscoll) and Escaping Paternalism. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Je...
Ep. 168 Bob Murphy Responds to Dave Ramsey Calling IBC a Scam
December 15, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 53 MBPersonal finance guru Dave Ramsey recently called IBC a scam on his popular show. Ramsey alleged that the dividends received from a mutual life insurance company were just deliberate overcharges to make the customer think he was earning a profit, even though it all came out of the customer's own pocket. Bob sets the record straight. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this episode (recommended!). The YouTube video where Dave Ramsey calls IBC a "sca...