Free To Choose Media Podcast
222 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★★ - 123 ratingsThe Free To Choose Media Podcast takes some of the greatest thinkers of the 20th Century and brings them right to your streaming device. Hear the ideas of Milton Friedman, along with several other Nobel Laureates, as they conduct speeches and hold conversations about the very freedoms we are still fighting for today. Come back each week to see why these truly are not just ideas for our time, but ideas for all time.
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Episodes
Episode 121 – The Power of the Poor with Hernando de Soto (Podcast)
April 15, 2021 12:14 - 46 MBIn our 2009 documentary, The Power of the Poor, Hernando de Soto and his team of researchers found that an astonishing 98% of all businesses in Peru were extralegal, as was 88% of all rural property. Extralegals had constructed seven out of every ten buildings, had run almost all of its public transportation system, and built and owned the vast majority of Lima’s markets. It was clear the majority of Peru’s entrepreneurs had been locked out of the legal system. De Soto and his researchers at ...
Episode 120 – The Ultimate Resource (Podcast)
April 08, 2021 12:19 - 42.8 MBSomewhere on Earth, at this very minute, a child is beginning its journey through life. 250 babies are born every minute, 15 thousand an hour, 132 million a year – each and every year. Among them may be the potential to cure disease, or change the course of world history, because people are the world’s ultimate resource. Around the world, there are enormous and complicated challenges. But extraordinary change can happen when ordinary people have the tools and the freedom to make their own dec...
Episode 119 – PRC Forum: Barbara Branden (Podcast)
April 01, 2021 13:05 - 54.6 MBWhile still in college, Barbara Branden, and her soon to be husband Nathaniel, began a relationship with Ayn Rand that lasted for almost two decades. They studied and discussed her ideas in depth and travelled the country speaking about Rand’s objectivist philosophy. The ideas were controversial and were not well accepted by the general public. In 1987 Bob Chitester sat down with Barbara to talk about the time she spent with Rand, creating a deeper understanding of Rand, her ideas and philoso...
Episode 118 – Maintaining Self-Esteem Against the Odds (Podcast)
March 25, 2021 12:10 - 36.2 MBAlthough recorded in the early 1990s, self-esteem was discussed as much then as it is today. Do you think it’s true that “…many, many groups that are the targets of prejudice and discrimination don’t show terrible low levels of self-esteem that a lot of psychological theory suggests they ought to have?” Listen in as Dr. Jennifer Crocker, former Professor of Psychology at SUNY-Buffalo, and Dr. Roy F. Baumeister, former E.B. Smith Professor in Liberal Arts at Case Western Reserve University, di...
Episode 117 – Learning and Memory (Podcast)
March 18, 2021 13:19 - 30.3 MBIn 1993 three giants in the field of neural research got together to discuss their work and how it related to learning and memory. Dr. Timothy Tully, former Senior Staff Investigator at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Dr. Eric Kandel, 2000 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology/Medicine, and the late Dr. Patricia Goldman-Rakic, Professor of Neuroscience at the Yale University School of Medicine, spent time discussing their different research approaches and what they were discovering about how hu...
Episode 116 – Founders (Podcast)
March 11, 2021 13:37 - 37.5 MBLarry Arnn, current President of Hillsdale College, met with his former teacher in 1999, the late distinguished fellow of the Claremont Institute, Harry Jaffa, to discuss his political philosophies. Jaffa believed the American Founders, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington, established the nation on political principles traceable from Locke to Aristotle. While he believed that governments are instituted to protect rights, he acknowledged the higher ends they serve,...
Episode 115 – A Conversation with George P. Shultz and Gary Becker (Podcast)
March 04, 2021 13:46 - 36.7 MBWhen two giants in their respective fields get together for a casual conversation, what topics are on the agenda? Listen in as the late George P. Shultz, former Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan, and the late Nobel economist Gary Becker discuss the International Monetary Fund, America’s dependence on oil, micro-lending, demography, immigration, and drugs. The subjects are as relevant today as they were in this 2006 recording, “A Conversation with George P. Shultz and Gary Becker.”
Episode 114 – A Conversation with George P. Shultz and Robert Conquest (Podcast)
February 25, 2021 13:47 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBThe late George P. Shultz, former Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan, and the late Robert Conquest, former Stanford Research Fellow and noted Soviet researcher, shared anecdotes about their contacts and experiences with the Soviet Union. Both men were impressed with former Soviet President Gorbachev’s candor and intelligence. During a visit to Stanford to see Shultz, Gorbachev talked about an earthquake in Armenia that was of similar severity to one experienced by San Francisco and how al...
Episode 113 – The PRC Forum: David Horowitz (Podcast)
February 18, 2021 15:00 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBIn 1987, David Horowitz, a political activist, author, and founder of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, sat down with Bob Chitester to talk about his transformation from far left to far right. Born into a family that were members of the Communist Party USA, he spent his youth attending marches and communist summer camps. In the mid-’80s, Horowitz had a final reckoning with his years of doubts about his affiliation with the left and became a conservative. “The best intentions can lead to the ...
Episode 112 – Friedrich von Hayek and Leo Rosten Part III (Podcast)
February 04, 2021 14:16 - 43.6 MBThis is the third and final hour of a three-part exchange between the late Friedrich von Hayek, economist and Nobel laureate, and the late Leo Rosten, author and social scientist. In this segment, von Hayek evaluates economic trends and comments on the direction in which he believed we were heading at the time. Additionally, von Hayek talks about his very brief foray into psychology, writing a book called “The Sensory Order.” Though not well received, it taught him a great deal on the methodo...
Episode 111 – Friedrich von Hayek and Leo Rosten Part II (Podcast)
January 28, 2021 14:30 - 48.2 MBThis is the second hour of a three-part exchange between the late Friedrich von Hayek, economist and Nobel laureate, and the late Leo Rosten, author and social scientist. It encompasses von Hayek’s theories and the many people and events which shaped his thoughts and career. Von Hayek spends some time discussing John Maynard Keynes and he reveals that though they shared space in the field of economics and were good friends, they eventually stopped discussing economics because their philosophi...
Episode 110 – Friedrich von Hayek and Leo Rosten Part I (Podcast)
January 21, 2021 14:22 - 50.9 MBOriginally recorded in 1978, this is the first session of a lively and occasionally controversial three-part interview of the late Friedrich von Hayek, economist and Nobel laureate, by the late Leo Rosten, author and social scientist. It is a wide-ranging discussion of von Hayek’s life and work, primarily in the areas of philosophy of science, political philosophy, the free will problem, and epistemology. Hayek created a furor with his book The Road to Serfdom. The book came out at a time whe...
Episode 109 – Economic Freedom and Prosperity (Podcast)
January 14, 2021 15:16 - 27.5 MBOriginally recorded in 2000, Ronald W. Jones is Xerox Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Rochester, and James Gwartney holds the Gus A. Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair at Florida State University. Gwartney is also a member of the Fraser Institute and is part of the team that puts together the Economic Freedom of the World Annual Report. In this podcast, these two illustrious economists have a lengthy conversation about the concepts of economic freedom and prosperity. Though or...
Episode 108 – A Conversation with Dr. Christian de Duve and Robert Chitester (Podcast)
January 07, 2021 14:50 - 34.1 MBIn 1998, Bob Chitester sat down with the now late Dr. Christian de Duve, 1974 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine, to talk about his background, what led him to choose his research path, and his desire to seek the truth. At some point, de Duve concluded that one of the ways to seek truth was through understanding life. However, as he tells Chitester, “You shouldn’t get away with the idea that I spent all my life thinking about the great mysteries. I forgot about the great mysteries a...
Episode 107 – A Conversation with George P. Shultz and Bob Chitester (Podcast)
December 17, 2020 14:07 - 34.8 MBFormer Secretary of State George P. Shultz is one of only two people to have held four different Cabinet posts. As Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1989, he was instrumental in shaping the administration’s foreign policy. Listen in as Secretary Shultz and Bob Chitester talk about Shultz’s background and the kind of upbringing and education that led to his illustrious career. A Conversation with George P. Shultz and Bob Chitester was originally recorded in 2006.
Episode 106 – The Art of Listening (Podcast)
December 10, 2020 13:41 - 31.9 MBGeorge Shultz, former Secretary of State, and Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union, were responsible for the initial meetings that led to melting the ice of the Cold War. In this conversation, the two diplomats talk about their first meeting and the impressions each had on the other. Their candid exchanges made it possible for the United States and the Soviet Union to begin the process of communication. You can sense the beginnings of a mutual respect. “This is a different ...
Episode 105 – Things into Fiction (Podcast)
December 03, 2020 13:59 - 31 MBRichard Strier, author and winner of the Warren-Brooks Prize for Literary Criticism, talks with the late Richard Stern, author and professor of literature, about their memories, observations, and perspectives. Stern credits life experiences for giving texture and animation to his work and early influence from his family life on his strong preference for a concise and “boiled down” writing style. Share in “Things into Fiction” between two literary giants, originally recorded in 2003.
Episode 104 – Empirical Economics (Podcast)
November 19, 2020 14:37 - 48.7 MB“How do we get new economic ideas? One of the fascinating questions that always bothers me, and many economists, right, is how do you get an Albert Einstein?” James Heckman posed this question to the late Robert Fogel in this discussion about Empirical Economics, originally recorded in 2001. The two Nobel prize winners talk about some of the history of economics and how changes in scientific knowledge embody the new technologies and the motor and engine of economic growth.
Episode 103 – What is An Idea? (Podcast)
November 12, 2020 15:54 - 27.3 MBListen to 30 minutes with the late Aaron Wildavsky, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, and Dr. Bruce Ames, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, both at UC Berkeley, as they discuss the development & refinement of research objectives. It was recorded in 1992.
Episode 102 – What is an Idea? David Kelley (Podcast)
November 05, 2020 13:04 - 45.6 MBListen to 50 minutes with David Kelley, philosopher and founder of The Atlas Society, and Jim Powell, author, journalist, and CATO Senior Fellow, as they discuss the formation and testing of ideas in What is An Idea?. It was recorded in 1992.
Episode 101 – Conversation with Walter Wriston and Bob Chitester (Podcast)
October 29, 2020 12:11 - 31.5 MBWalter Wriston, the former Chairman and CEO of Citicorp, was widely regarded as the single most influential commercial banker of his time. Originally recorded in 2004, Conversation with Walter Wriston and Bob Chitester covers the winding road Wriston took to the pinnacle of his field and the influences that guided his journey. Listen in as they share anecdotes and personal information about their lives and choices.
Episode 100 – PRC Forum: Milton Friedman (Podcast)
October 22, 2020 11:55 - 53.3 MBThe late Dr. Milton Friedman, 1976 Nobel Laureate in Economics and host of Free To Choose, urges alertness to the difference between false and real problems concerning government in PRC Forum: Milton Friedman. The problem is not budget deficits, trade deficits, or federal debt. The problem is government spending relative to income, protectionist policies, and unfunded debt resulting from entitlements. It was recorded in 1987.
Episode 99 – Friedrich von Hayek and Robert Bork Part 3 (Podcast)
October 15, 2020 12:11 - 29.9 MBListen to the late U.S. Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork and the late Nobel Prize winner Friedrich von Hayek, as they engage in a lively discussion of the economic theories developed in von Hayek’s book, “Law, Legislation and Liberty,” in Friedrich von Hayek & Robert Bork Part 3. It was recorded in 1978.
Episode 98 – Friedrich von Hayek and Robert Bork Part 2 (Podcast)
October 08, 2020 12:01 - 25.6 MBListen to the late U.S. Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork and the late Nobel Prize winner Friedrich von Hayek, as they engage in a lively discussion of the economic theories developed in von Hayek’s book, “Law, Legislation and Liberty,” in Friedrich von Hayek & Robert Bork Part 2. It was recorded in 1978.
Episode 97 – Friedrich von Hayek and Robert Bork Part 1 (Podcast)
October 01, 2020 11:58 - 49.8 MBListen to the late U.S. Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork and the late Nobel Prize winner Friedrich von Hayek, as they engage in a lively discussion of the economic theories developed in von Hayek’s book, “Law, Legislation and Liberty,” in Friedrich von Hayek & Robert Bork Part 1. It was recorded in 1978.
Episode 96 – Essentials of Astronomy (Podcast)
September 24, 2020 12:01 - 57.3 MBListen to an hour with the late Lloyd Motz, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at Columbia University, and the late broadcaster Hugh Downs, as they discuss Motz’s life and work, including his book “The Essentials of Astronomy,” which is arguably the best introductory astronomy text ever written. Downs is a former student who took astronomy at Columbia in 1957. Dr. Motz, who was named professor emeritus in 1977, believes the major discoveries in physics have already been made, and that what remai...
Episode 95 – Privatization (Podcast)
September 17, 2020 11:33 - 36.8 MBListen to Economists Keith Bush (Russia), Ben Slay (East-Central Europe), and John Tedstrom (East-Central Europe) discuss how to introduce a market economy in nations that have had totalitarian command economies for 40 to 70 years. The challenge is significant and there are varied approaches to the problem. It was recorded in 1991.
Episode 94 – Do Economists Reach a Conclusion? (Podcast)
September 10, 2020 11:52 - 34.3 MBListen to Daniel Klein, Associate Professor of Economics at Santa Clara University, and Professor David Henderson, Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, discuss whether economists can reach a conclusion in Do Economists Reach a Conclusion?. It was recorded in 2000.
Episode 93 – Theory and Experiments with Markets (Podcast)
September 03, 2020 13:00 - 48.1 MBListen to Dr. Charles Plott, William D. Hacker Professor of Economics and Political Science at the California Institute of Technology, and the late Dr. Kenneth Arrow, Professor of Economics at Stanford University, and 1972 Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences discuss Theory and Experiments with Markets. It was recorded in 2000.
Episode 92 – Difficulties of Sensible Economic Decision-Making in a Democracy (Podcast)
August 27, 2020 11:58 - 32.8 MBIn this discussion, Difficulties of Sensible Economic Decision-Making in a Democracy Listen to Dr. John Shoven, Professor Emeritus of Economics and Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research at the Hoover Institution, and Anne Krueger, Professor Emeritus of Science and Humanities in Economics at Stanford University, as they discuss how difficult economic decisions are to make in a democracy in. It was recorded in 2000.
Episode 91 – Game Theory Applications (Podcast)
August 20, 2020 12:25 - 29.8 MBListen to Dr. Reinhard Selten, Director of the Laboratory for Experimental Economics and Dr. John F. Nash, Jr., Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University, discuss Game Theory Applications. Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Selten, and Nobel Memorial Prize winner, Dr. Nash, both received their awards in 1994. This discussion was recorded in 2000.
Episode 90 – For the Love of Work: Karl Marx (Podcast)
August 13, 2020 12:00 - 47.2 MBListen to Professors Sidney Hook, Hoover Fellow, and Tibor Machan, Professor at Auburn University explore the controversial life and ideology of Karl Marx, giving particular attention to Marx’s ideas on work in For the Love of Work: Karl Marx. It was recorded in 1987.
Episode 89 – Tyranny of the Status Quo (Podcast)
August 06, 2020 11:51 - 67.6 MBListen to a lively discussion with Nobel Economist Milton Friedman and seven young adults discussing our government’s potential to act as an agent for social change in Tyranny of the Status Quo. They examine those factors which have worked to maintain outdated public policies despite a shift in public opinion. This program is presented in three segments: Beneficiaries, Bureaucrats, and Politicians. Participants include Richard Vigilante, Harry Crocker, Gary Jenkins, Lee Liberman, Steve Calabr...
Episode 88 – The Role of Government in a Free Society (Podcast)
July 30, 2020 12:00 - 40.9 MBListen to a 45-minute lively discussion featuring Dr. Walter Williams, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Dr. William Stull, Chairman of the Economics Department at Temple University, and Dr. William Dunkelberg, Dean of the School of Business & Management at Temple University. Originally Recorded: 1992
Episode 87 – Milton Friedman Speaks – “The Future of Our Free Society” (Podcast)
July 23, 2020 12:03 - 39.8 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording from 1978, Friedman’s talk is “The Future of Our Free Society.” We live under government domination of the market economy. We have come a long way from a truly free economy. Consider the number of markets to which new firms do not have free access. Consider the erosion of expression for business people. Consider the plethora of government regulations ...
Episode 86 – Milton Friedman Speaks – “Money and Inflation” (Podcast)
July 16, 2020 11:57 - 78.6 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording from 1978, Friedman covers “Money and Inflation.” Inflation is blamed on many things, but it has only one cause. It is a monetary phenomenon. Inflation occurs when the quantity of money increases faster than the quantity of goods. Why does the money supply increase? Very often it does so to enable the government to pay its bills without raising taxes....
Episode 85 – Milton Friedman Speaks – “Who Protects the Worker?” (Podcast)
July 09, 2020 12:00 - 75.3 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording from 1978, the question asked is, “Who Protects the Worker?” Unions offer protection to workers in some situations, but union membership represents only one-fifth of the American labor force. And while some unions do benefit their members, it is generally at the expense of competing workers and frequently at the expense of the consumer. Government? Go...
Episode 84 – Milton Friedman Speaks – “Who Protects the Consumer?” (Podcast)
July 02, 2020 11:59 - 78.5 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording from 1978, the question asked is, “Who Protects the Consumer?” Consumer legislation doesn’t protect the consumer in the end. Rather, it benefits the consumer advocates, including reformers, special interest groups, and regulatory agencies. What does protect the consumer? Alternative sources of supply at variable prices are the inevitable result of int...
Episode 83 – Milton Friedman Speaks – “Putting Learning Back in the Classroom” (Podcast)
June 25, 2020 12:03 - 67.6 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording from 1978, the quality of public education in America today in many places is in a clear downward spiral. Dr. Friedman identifies the increasing centralization and bureaucratization of the educational establishment, which inhibits educators from seeing and responding to the needs of their “consumers” — parents and students; He also touches on our alte...
Episode 82 – Milton Friedman Speaks – “Equality and Freedom in the Free Enterprise System” (Podcast)
June 18, 2020 11:55 - 78.4 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording, Friedman explores equality and freedom in the free enterprise system. If the government has the power and responsibility to promote equality of income, then how do we define the concept of equality? Jefferson, in his Declaration of Independence, meant equality before the law, a concept necessary precisely because people are not equal in tastes, value...
Episode 81 – Milton Friedman Speaks – “What is Wrong with the Welfare State?” (Podcast)
June 11, 2020 12:08 - 79.2 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording from 1978, the question asked is what is wrong with the welfare state? The welfare state is an attempt to “do good” with someone else’s money. The aim may be worthy, but the means are faulty. The problem is that you do not spend someone else’s money as carefully as your own. More to the point, it’s impossible to “do good” with someone else’s money wit...
Episode 80 – Milton Friedman Speaks – “The Role of Government in a Free Society” (Podcast)
June 04, 2020 12:03 - 78.5 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording from 1978, the question is what is the role of government in a free society? If we are to define the role of government in a free society, we must first specify the needs a government is expected to provide. Defense from foreign enemies and protection of property, including the enforcement of private contracts, are clearly legitimate functions of gove...
Episode 79 Milton Friedman Speaks – Is Capitalism Humane? (Podcast)
May 28, 2020 11:57 - 63 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording from 1978, the question asked is, “Is capitalism humane?” According to Milton Friedman, the question is irrelevant. Capitalism per se is not humane or inhumane; nor is socialism. If we compare the two in terms of results, it is clear that only capitalism fosters equality and works toward social justice. The one is based on the principle of voluntary c...
Episode 79 – Milton Friedman Speaks – Is Capitalism Humane? (Podcast)
May 28, 2020 11:57 - 63 MBTo celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Free To Choose, we are sharing some of Milton Friedman’s most compelling talks. In this original recording from 1978, the question asked is, “Is capitalism humane?” According to Milton Friedman, the question is irrelevant. Capitalism per se is not humane or inhumane; nor is socialism. If we compare the two in terms of results, it is clear that only capitalism fosters equality and works toward social justice. The one is based on the principle of voluntary c...
Episode 78 – Morality of the Free Market (Podcast)
May 21, 2020 11:59 - 22.1 MBCritics of the free market system often point out that it is an unfair system due to it leaving some with wealth at the expense of oppressing others. What those critics often ignore is that exchanges in this economic structure are voluntary. Each side comes out of the interaction with their desired result. Since the seller is amassing wealth by helping others get the goods and services they need, isn’t that more moral than proposed socialist solutions? When it comes to the relationship betwee...
Episode 77 – Bruce Ames (Podcast)
May 14, 2020 11:58 - 52.3 MBRestraint and common sense, urges the inventor of the Ames Test, Professor Bruce Ames. He’s concerned with the exaggeration of the danger of chemical residues in the environment. Can these views be applied to other aspects of our lives? Originally Recorded: 1987
Episode 76 – Friedrich Hayek and Robert Chitester Part 2 (Podcast)
May 07, 2020 12:00 - 54.2 MBJoin us for Part Two of the conversation between noted economist Friedrich Hayek and the founder of Free To Choose Network, Bob Chitester as they continue to discuss American thought and culture, and the ramifications of constant change in American economic and social policies. Listen to how the themes are still relevant today, despite being recorded in over 40 years ago. Originally Recorded: 1978
Episode 75 – Friedrich Hayek and Robert Chitester Part 1 (Podcast)
April 30, 2020 12:02 - 49.9 MBDoes the United States shift its economic policy too quickly? Not allowing enough time for these policies to take hold may be leading to some unintended consequences. Join noted economist Friedrich Hayek and the founder of Free To Choose Network, Bob Chitester as they discuss just that, along with other topics. Originally Recorded: 1978
Episode 74 – William R. Allen (Podcast)
April 23, 2020 11:52 - 54 MBToday’s podcast is a conversation with William R. Allen, a former Professor of Economics at UCLA, and former host of The Midnight Economist radio series. Allen, intent on improving the quality of economic education, believes journalists, politicians, and most teachers don’t understand or choose to ignore the lessons of economics. He is also troubled by the well-intentioned efforts of businesses to promote free enterprise. Originally Recorded: 1987
Episode 73 – Conversations with the Framers – Benjamin Franklin (Podcast)
April 16, 2020 11:58 - 37.8 MBToday’s episode is the second in our Conversations with the Framers Series, as Douglas Ginsburg, Federal Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, interviews historical reenactor Bill Robling, in character as Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. The discussion jumps from the Constitution to drawing comparisons between colonial life and today’s world. Originally Recorded: 2020