The Human Action Podcast

With commercial banks exposed by the recent bailouts, Americans question whether “their money” is truly safe despite the promises of FDIC insurance. Jeff and Bob walk through the mechanics of how a full reserve bank could work in a truly free market based on the concepts and taxonomy of Mises’s Theory of Money and Credit. Mises's A Theory of Money and Credit: Mises.org/TMC Bob's study guide to A Theory of Money and Credit: Mises.org/HAP388a John Cochran, 'The Safest Bank the Fed Won't...

This past weekend saw extraordinary actions by the Fed to address the meltdown of Silicon Valley Bank. Did the central bank break the law by effectively authorizing unsecured loans to banks based on the face value—rather than significantly lower market value—of those banks' Treasury holdings? Bob's study guide to A Theory of Money and Credit: Mises.org/HAP387a Jeff on the Fed as the ultimate bank: Mises.org/HAP387b

Progressives view all aspects of human life as a struggle against forces of oppression. Earlier this week on BBC, Professor Mariana Mazzucato suggested governments across the West should simply print money not only to help Ukraine, but also to finance other "wars" against climate change, inequality, and more. Should national treasuries essentially adopt a permanent wartime footing and print far more money, as Mazzucato and Warren Mosler recommend? Hint: Jeff and Bob say "No." Jeff's...

With global worldwide debt now over $300 trillion and interest rates rising, the US dollar is once again a relative safe haven in a slowing economy. Currencies competing with the Dollar face a deadly race to stave off a sovereign debt crisis. Is the dollar now unbound, as the dominant political tool of the dominant nation? The Dollar Milkshake Theory: Mises.org/HAP385a Thorsten Polleit, The Global Currency Plot: Mises.org/HAP385b Bob's book, Understanding Money Mechanics:...

Tom Woods joins the show for a look at the hottest political topic of the day, namely national divorce. This is a spirited discussion of the politics, economics, and mechanics of how America might break up. Watch "The Economics of National Divorce, Part I" with Ryan McMaken: Mises.org/HAP352

With Yale economics professor Yusuke Narita suggesting mass suicide—seppuku—as the answer to Japan's rapidly aging demographics, Jeff and Bob take a hard look at the economics and humanity of greying America. Richard Hanania, "Gerontocracy Versus Western Civilization": Mises.org/HAP383a Bob on opting out of Social Security: Mises.org/HAP383b

Mises Institute scholar and Troy University business school Dean Allen Mendenhall is among the leading critics of woke capital. He leads a new initiative against the perverse investment practices demanded by ESG/DEI commissars, and joins Jeff Deist to discuss both the origins of "stakeholder" capitalism and what we can do to push back against ideological purity tests in capital markets and corporate America. AllenMendenhall.com "Troy University tackles 'woke' business practices head-on...

Back in January Jeff Deist joined the Austrian Economics Discord Server for a live event concerning trends in 2023. Jeff makes the case for viewing today's economy as quite unlike that of 2007—due to steady increases in CPI, more fiscal stimulus relative to monetary stimulus, and ongoing supply shock issues from COVID. This is a far-ranging discussion of the landscape for the Fed, persistent inflation, and a looming recession. Includes Q and A from the audience.

Professor Per Bylund of Oklahoma State University, author of How to Think About the Economy joins Jeff and Bob to dissect how economics went so badly wrong. A discipline rooted in theory, axioms, and deduction has devolved into statistics, models, and hard science envy. Is the economics profession doing any good, or active harm? Per's new book How to Think About the Economy: Mises.org/Primer Gary North and Walter Block debate "Is it Smart to Get a PhD in Economics": Mises.org/HAP380a

Jeff and Bob break down this week's Davos WEF conference and consider whether global elites really have the mechanisms to impose their plans. Johnny Vedmore's analysis of Schwab's origins: Mises.org/HAP379a Scott Greer says America's right-want needs to stop dwelling on Schwab: Mises.org/HAP379b Schwab bragging about penetrating Cabinets: Mises.org/HAP379c

Dr. Peter Klein, professor of entrepreneurship at Baylor University and co-author of the new book Why Managers Matter, joins Jeff and Bob to explain the huge disconnect between supply and demand for labor in post-COVID America. Dr. Klein's new book Why Managers Matter: Mises.org/HAP378a

There is no real housing market in the US. Instead, an unholy trinity of Fannie/Freddie, the US Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Bank operate to distort the market at every turn and drive home prices up dramatically. Mises Institute Senior Fellow Alex Pollock, an economist and former mortgage banker, joins Jeff to describe the reality few Americans know. Alex Pollock's new book Surprised Again: The Covid Crisis and the New Market Bubble : Mises.org/HAP377a Alex Pollock on how the Fed...

Bob and Jeff make their provocative 2023 predictions for the economy, the Fed, politics, world events, and cultural issues.

This week's show features a bare-knuckle discussion between Jeff and José Niño of "El Niño Speaks" on the biggest political, economic, and cultural events of 2022—and what they portend for 2023. You don't want to miss Jeff's unvarnished thoughts on the Left, the Right, the economy, and what is sure to be a turbulent New Year. Read José's Substack: josbcf.substack.com

Does 2022 America still have legitimate intellectuals? Professor Paul Gottfried joins Jeff and Bob to consider the state of real and pseudo-intellectualism.

Hunter Hastings of Economics for Business joins Jeff for a thoroughgoing discussion of how monetary and fiscal policy distort capital markets and create perverse incentives for financialization rather than real production. Jeff Deist, "Does M&A benefit the economy?": Mises.org/HAP373-A Rothbard's America's Great Depression: Mises.org/AGD The Economics for Business Podcast: Mises.org/E4Bpod

Jeff and Bob break down the good, bad, and ugly behind Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter.

Jeff and Bob record a special Thanksgiving episode for Money Talk 1010 AM on what it really takes to fix the US economy. Mark Thornton on the coming economic crisis: Mises.org/HAP371A Listen to Jeff on Money Talk 1010 every Thursday at 9:00am ET: Mises.org/MoneyTalk

Jeff and Bob discuss whether the FTX scandal will be used to justify new "crypto" regulations or even the creation of a central bank digital currency. Caitlin Long and Sam Bankman-Fried debating leveraging Bitcoin: Mises.org/HAP370A Mises on circulation credit vs. commodity credit: Mises.org/HAP370B President of the Minneapolis Fed Neel Kashkari on CBDCs: Mises.org/HAP370C

Daniel McCarthy joins Jeff and Bob to consider the deep unseriousness of American politics and electorate. Willmoore Kendall's The Conservative Affirmation: Mises.org/Kendall