Kaytlin Bailey is the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Old Pros, which aims at decriminalizing and destigmatizing sex work. Today, she talks to us about the history of the oldest profession and her experiences with it. She makes the case for decriminalizing sex work and addresses common objections, along with clarifying decriminalization versus legalization.

Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update.

Peter Boettke is a professor of economics and philosophy at George Mason University. He talks to us today about Don Lavoie, a late GMU economics professor, and his contributions. Lavoie’s work focused mainly on central planning and the answer to the socialist calculation problem, continuing the work of Mises and Hayek.

Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update.

The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Holidays and catch you soon with new content!

Scott Bullock, president and general counsel of the Institute for Justice and who represented Susette Kelo in the Supreme Court case Kelo v. The City of New London, talks to us about civil asset forfeiture and eminent domain.

The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Holidays and catch you soon with new content!

Nadine Strossen, civil liberties activist and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), joins us this week to discuss hate speech, its policy implications, and if we should be protecting it.

The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Holidays and catch you soon with new content!

Russ Roberts, host of EconTalk, author of several books, and research fellow at Hoover Institution, talks to us about his book How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness.

The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Holidays and catch you soon with new content!

Dr. Samuel Gregg, Distinguished Fellow in Political Economy and Senior Research Faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research, joins us this week to discuss culture, the origins of morality, and the intersectionality between liberalism and Christianity.

Daniel Rothschild is the executive director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Today, we talk about liberalism and institutions, whatever that means.

After exploring their definitions, he talks to us about the role of each in society at the current moment, how this is a departure from the past, and potential paths forward. We also talk specifically about think tanks as an institution- both what they are and the role they play in upholding a liberal order.

Craig Biddle is the founder and director of the Objective Standard Institute, as well as the author of several books including Loving Life.

Today, he talks to us about the importance of philosophy and the different components of philosophy. Then he explains the philosophy of objectivism, and we explore common objections to it. Listen in and stay tuned for more episodes on the various classical liberal philosophies!

Henry C. Clark, professor at Dartmouth College and director of the Political Economy Project, talks to us today about Montesquieu. Listen in to learn about his life and the political environment in Europe in the early 18th century, especially in following the death of Louis XIV after a 72-year rule. Learn about Montesquieu’s contributions, such as the idea of separation of powers, and stay a while as Professor Clark talks to us about Montesquieu’s influence on Europe’s political discourse and America’s founding. We also explore the similarities and differences between Montesquieu and Adam Smith!

Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update.

Colin Grabow on The Jones Act 2: Treason, Hurricanes, and Cruises

Episode description: Colin Grabow, a research fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, talks to us today about the Jones Act. He gives us a refresher on what the Jones Act is, but for more details listen to our first episode on the topic, Colin Grabow on The Jones Act.

Dianne Durante holds a PhD in Classics from the University of Cincinnati and has been a freelance writer, lecturer, and tour guide for the over 30 years. She has written books on many topics, her books Innovators in Sculpture and Financial Programs of Alexander Hamilton are just a few. Today, we talk about art and art history, as well as their significance. She lays out what an innovation in sculpture is and leads us through some innovations in sculpture. We also talk about government involvement in art and the effects of that involvement on the art produced.

Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update.

Phil Magness is the author of multiple books, a scholar at the American Institute for Economic Research, and the intellectual watchdog for academic writing. Today we talk about Nancy MacLean’s book, Democracy in Chains, and debunks her claims about James Buchanan, the father of public choice economics, being a racist. He explains the peer review process and the types of errors made in journalistic malpractice, as well as the current state of academic honesty and integrity in academia.

Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update.

James Kirchick is the author of two books: Secret City and The End of Europe. Today, he talks to us about the intertwined history of gays in Washington DC and the history of the cold war and national security.

He explains how and why he came to write this book, along with how homosexuality became conflated with communism. Why were there so many gay men in the state department? What is the relationship between the history of the cold war and the history of gay Americans? What’s so significant about that relationship? Listen to find out!

Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute, talks to us today about Medicare. He provides statistics on the size of Medicare spending and the history of how Medicare came into being. We also discuss the distortions that Medicare creates, and Cannon addresses calls for “Medicare for All”.

Do you know how much fraud there is in the Medicare system? Listen to find out.

Rachel Ferguson is an economic philosopher at Concordia University Chicago and the director of the Free Enterprise Center, as well as an affiliate scholar with the Acton Institute. She is the coauthor of Black Liberation Through the Marketplace: Hope, Heartbreak, and the Promise of America. Today, we talk about her book, which focuses on civil society and the classical liberal approach to many of the problems facing Black America today. We also talk about the history of free market thinkers and abolitionism, and the distinction between libertarians and classical liberalism.

Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update.

Timothy Sandefur, vice president of legal affairs at the Goldwater Institute, talks to us today about his book, Frederick Douglass: Self-Made Man.

He talks to us about the philosophy behind and the development of American slavery, highlighting Douglass’s escape from it. Listen to learn about Douglass’s journey from slave to abolitionist- as well as to explore the debate about slavery and our Constitution.

Matthew Continetti, is a senior fellow and the Patrick and Charlene Neal Chair in American Prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute. Today, we talk about his new book The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism.

Continetti talks to us about the different terminology used to describe right-leaning ideologies, and how they’ve evolved over time. He also gives us a survey of the most important thinkers and events that have contributed to the history of the right.

Darren Staloff is a history professor at the City College of New York and the author of two books: Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of Enlightenment and the American Founding and The Making of the American Thinking Class: Intellectuals and Intelligentsia in Puritan Massachusetts.

He talks to us today about the ideas at the core of our Constitution, the people who fought for it, and the results of those political conflicts. What is so special about our constitutional republic?

David Epstein is the author of New York Times #1 bestsellers, Range and The Sports Gene, and an investigative reporter at ProPublica. Today, he talks to us about Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. Listen for generalist success stories! He explains when best to use a generalist approach, in sports, versus a specialist approach, in chess. We talk about how to integrate the generalist approach into schooling and everyday life to improve learning, and he gives me advice on my guitar-learning journey.