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The Human Action Podcast

Economics

The Human Action Podcast features in-depth interviews on current topics in economics through an Austro libertarian lens.

Location:

Auburn, AL

Genres:

Economics

Description:

The Human Action Podcast features in-depth interviews on current topics in economics through an Austro libertarian lens.

Twitter:

@mises_media

Language:

English

Contact:

334-321-2152


Episodes
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Erick Brimen Explains the Free City of Próspera

2/8/2025
Erick Brimen is the CEO of Honduras Próspera, which is described as a "start up city" that offers choice in regulatory treatment. It is an exciting application of libertarian theory to the messy real world of existing States. Mises.org/HAP486aJoin the Mises Institute on April 26 in Phoenix, Arizona, as we expose the danger and waste of bureaucracy: Mises.org/Phoenix25 The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:40:38

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Would Trump's Plan to Replace Income Tax with Tariffs Work?

1/31/2025
Bob analyzes President Trump's recent remarks praising the revenue capacity of tariffs. He shows that historically, tariffs only bought in a small fraction of what income taxes currently yield, meaning federal spending would have to be sharply cut in order to phase out the income tax. Mises.org/HAP485aMises.org/HAP485bMises.org/HAP485cMises.org/HAP485dUse code Action25 to get 10% off your ticket to Educating for Liberty Mises Circle in Tampa on February 22: Mises.org/Tampa25 The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:30:15

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Murphy and Newman Do a Postgame Analysis of ZeroHedge MMT Debate

1/24/2025
Murphy recently squared off against Nathan Tankus in a ZeroHedge debate focusing on Austrian economics vs. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Jonathan Newman watched the debate and selected three clips highlighting key areas of dispute. Jonathan and Bob elaborate on the issues and anticipate possible MMT replies. Mises.org/HAP484aMises.org/HAP484bMises.org/HAP483cMises.org/HAP484dUse code Action25 to get 10% off your ticket to Educating for Liberty Mises Circle in Tampa on February 22: Mises.org/Tampa25 The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:57:09

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Lawrence McQuillan Explains The Policy Inferno Behind the California Wildfires

1/18/2025
Lawrence McQuillan from the Independent Institute joins Bob to delve into the regulatory failures and mismanagement behind the wildfire crisis in California. They discuss the environmental policies that exacerbate risks, offer practical solutions to firefighting and prevention shortcomings, and examine the role of private stewardship in mitigating future disasters. This episode overall sheds light on how California’s political landscape and approach to wildfires continues to fuel a recurring tragedy. Mises.org/HAP483aMises.org/HAP483bMises.org/HAP483cMises.org/HAP483dUse code Action25 to get 10% off your ticket to Educating for Liberty Mises Circle in Tampa on February 22: Mises.org/Tampa25 The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:43:40

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The Flaws of GDP Accounting Explained

1/11/2025
Bob looks at the misconceptions and misuses of GDP accounting, explaining why this widely accepted metric often paints a misleading picture of economic health. Mises.org/HAP482aMises.org/HAP482bMises.org/HAP482cThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:01:03:27

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Why Government Relief Spending Only Makes the Recession Worse

1/3/2025
Bob walks through diagrams from Hayek's famous LSE lectures to explain the Austrian view of the boom-bust cycle. Mises.org/HAP481aMises.org/HAP481bMises.org/HAP481cMises.org/HAP481dMises.org/HAP481eThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:01:08:30

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Matt McCaffrey on Frank Fetter vs. Alfred Marshall on the Theory of Rent

12/28/2024
Matt McCaffrey is a former Mises Institute research fellow with an expertise in the American economist (and Austrian fellow-traveler) Frank Fetter. He joins Bob to discuss his newly published journal article exploring the dispute Fetter had with the august British economist Alfred Marshall over the theory of rent. Mises.org/HAP480aMises.org/HAP480bMises.org/HAP480cFor just $25, you can receive our December Bundle, including three essential reads:Tom DiLorenzo's Axis of Evil: America’s Three Worst Presidents, Per Bylund's How to Think About the Economy,and Murray Rothbard's What Has Government Done to Our Money?. Claim your bundle now at Mises.org/HumanAction24

Duration:00:57:10

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Dr. Keith Smith: What Critics Miss About For-Profit Healthcare

12/20/2024
Keith Smith, MD is an anesthesiologist and founder of the cash-price Surgery Center of Oklahoma. In the wake of the shooting of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, Keith explains why US health care is so expensive and how to fix it. Mises.org/HAP479aMises.org/HAP479bMises.org/HAP479cFor just $25, you can receive our December Bundle, including three essential reads:Tom DiLorenzo's Axis of Evil: America’s Three Worst Presidents, Per Bylund's How to Think About the Economy,and Murray Rothbard's What Has Government Done to Our Money?. Claim your bundle now at Mises.org/HumanAction24

Duration:00:50:45

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What's More "Wicked" than the Crime of '73?

12/13/2024
Using the heavily marketed movie "Wicked" as his news hook, Bob explains that the beloved Wizard of Oz movie involved an allegory of the bimetallism debates of the late 1800s, including William Jennings Bryan's famous "Cross of Gold" speech. Bob fills in the details about the Wizard of Oz lore, and then explains the economics of bimetallism in the United States. Mises.org/HAP478aMises.org/HAP478bMises.org/HAP478cFor just $25, you can receive our December Bundle, including three essential reads:Tom DiLorenzo's Axis of Evil: America’s Three Worst Presidents, Per Bylund's How to Think About the Economy,and Murray Rothbard's What Has Government Done to Our Money?. Claim your bundle now at Mises.org/HumanAction24 The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:44:15

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David Glasner on the Sraffa-Hayek Debate

12/7/2024
David Glasner is a UCLA-trained economist specializing in monetary theory and the history of economic thought. He has disagreed in print with Murphy's take on the famous Sraffa-Hayek debate. David first explains his general views and then comments on the debate. Mises.org/HAP477aMises.org/HAP477bFor just $25, you can receive our December Bundle, including three essential reads:Tom DiLorenzo's Axis of Evil: America’s Three Worst Presidents, Per Bylund's How to Think About the Economy,and Murray Rothbard's What Has Government Done to Our Money?. Claim your bundle now at Mises.org/HumanAction24 The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:45:26

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Responding to Bryan Caplan's Continued Critique of the Austrians

11/30/2024
In 1997, Bryan Caplan wrote an essay explaining why he was no longer a self-described Austrian. Recently, a reader asked him to comment on that essay. Bob reacts to Bryan's current views, arguing that the history of economic thought is indeed important, and the Misesian approach to praxeology is crucial. Mises.org/HAP476aMises.org/HAP476bMises.org/HAP476cMises.org/HAP476dMises.org/HAP476eMises.org/HAP476fThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:45:35

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Clarifying Economists' Arguments About International Trade

11/23/2024
Bob discusses common talking points that pro-free-trade economists often use when making the case against tariffs. The purpose is to facilitate discussion so both sides have a deeper understanding of the subtle issues involved. Mises.org/HAP475aMises.org/HAP475bThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:24:06

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Why FEMA Makes Things Worse: Theory and History

11/16/2024
Amy LePore's doctoral dissertation covered the perverse incentives of federal money for disaster management on local officials. She joins Bob to talk about FEMA's poor track record in recent disasters but also going back to Hurricane Katrina. Mises.org/HAP474aThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:44:31

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How Can Mining Asteroids in the Future Make Us Richer Today?

11/8/2024
After explaining the backstory of how Bob put forth a proposal for codifying property rights in space-based resources, Bob then explains how the prospect of a future inflow of extraterrestrial riches could boost the standard of living on Earth in the near term. Mises.org/HAP473aThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:47:25

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Unpacking Mises: Fractional Reserve Banking and the Currency School

11/1/2024
Mises Fellow Kristoffer Hansen joins Bob to discuss Mises' perspective on fractional reserve banking and free banking. Earlier this month, Larry White referenced Hansen’s work on fractional reserve banking, asserting that Hansen indicated Mises acknowledged the benefits of FRB. Kristoffer clarifies his paper and examines what Mises wrote in Human Action on the topic. Additionally, Bob and Kristoffer delve into the influence of the Currency School on banking and economic instability, as well as how commodity-backed money might impact the business cycle. Mises.org/HAP472aMises.org/HAP472bMises.org/HAP472cThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:44:27

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Was Ricardo's Comparative Advantage Really Different From What Adam Smith Said About Foreign Trade?

10/26/2024
In response to Murphy's recent article on comparative advantage, economist Jorge Morales Meoqui objected that Murphy was continuing the same erroneous story about Adam Smith vs. David Ricardo. In this episode, Murphy clarifies what is right and wrong in Meoqui's own paper on the topic. Mises.org/HAP471aMises.org/HAP471bMises.org/HAP471cThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:01:01:46

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Philipp Bagus on the Flaws in the "Real Bills" Doctrine

10/11/2024
Dr. Philipp Bagus explains the main ideas from his new book, Full Reserve Banking versus the Real Bills Doctrine, which defends Misesian business cycle theory from a recent critique. Bagus provides an in-depth criticism of the Real Bills Doctrine, emphasizing the importance of real savings in economic stability. He defends full reserve banking and critiques fractional reserve systems for creating money without real economic backing, leading to inflation and business cycles. Mises.org/HAP469aMises.org/HAP469bMises.org/HAP469cThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:54:19

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Paul Cwik's New Introduction to Austrian Business Cycle Theory

10/4/2024
Paul Cwik revisits the podcast to explain his new book, which aims to simplify ABCT for economics students and professors, especially those teaching at the principles level. Dr. Cwik critiques mainstream economic theories for oversimplifying business cycles, arguing that the Austrian theory better explains systemic errors and the boom-bust cycle driven by distorted interest rates. Mises.org/HAP468aMises.org/HAP468bMises.org/HAP468cMises.org/HAP468dThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Duration:00:56:09

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Tom Luongo on the Rival Factions Among Bankers

9/28/2024
Donate $5 today to support our Fall Campaign and receive a physical copy of Anatomy of the State: Mises.org/HH5 Tom Luongo hosts the Gold, Goats, 'n Guns podcast and newsletter. He explains the different factions among bankers, including rivalries between New York and San Francisco, and the US versus Europe. Mises.org/HAP467a

Duration:01:00:40

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Has "Neo-Liberalism" Failed in the United States?

9/21/2024
Donate $5 today to support our Fall Campaign and receive a physical copy of Anatomy of the State: Mises.org/HH5 David R. Henderson is a research fellow with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He joins Bob to critique a recent Brad DeLong essay, which argued that the US had tried an experiment in "neo-liberalism" and that it failed utterly. Mises.org/HAP466aMises.org/HAP466bMises.org/HAP466cMises.org/HAP466d

Duration:00:54:42