Today, former senator Phil Gramm began as a professor of economics at Texas A&M, then became a representative in the house, later becoming a senator. And now, he’s written a book with John Early and Robert Ekelund called The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate. We talk today about his book and observations of the system during his time in office, identifying problems with the way the census and other measuring tools bias the data and conversations that follow.

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Jeremy Horpedahl is the director of the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics and an associate professor at the University of Central Arkansas . Today we talk about American Compass’s Cost of Thriving Index (COTI), what it says and why it is wrong. The COTI shows that Americans today have a higher cost of thriving than ever before, but in a paper with AEI’s Scott Winship, Horpedahl corrects the index and shows that the cost of thriving has instead decreased. Some of the corrections are essential to the average American’s life, for example accounting for changes in taxation in the past few decades. Listen in to hear more about the cost of thriving today, why it has decreased, and how I cannot pronounce COTI for the life of me.

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Jeremy Lott is the managing editor at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, but he also has written some Adam Smith comics for Adam Smith Works, and written an impressively wide range of books, from a novel about William F. Buckley Jr.’s faith to children’s books like Growlilocks to comics like Movie Men. Today, we talk about his experience creating in so many different mediums and the purpose of art, as well as the ideas of Adam Smith and their place in America today.

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Today, I host Lawrence White on the podcast. He is an economics professor at George Mason University with a specialty in the history and theory of banking and money and is the author of several books including Better Money: Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin.

We talk about why on earth money and monetary policy come across as so intimidating, then he takes us on a tour of the different currencies we’ve used. We talk about federal banks, the debate between Hamilton and Jefferson, and the use of cryptocurrencies.

Aaron Ross Powell, formerly of the Cato Institute (at the time of this interview), and currently the host of podcasts ReImagining Liberty and Zooming In, talks to us about his new book with Paul Matzko called Visions of Liberty.

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 Summer and catch you soon with new content!

Arnold Kling is an economist and the author of the book The Three Languages of Politics: Talking Across Political Divides. His substack, In My Tribe, explores many areas of economics and policy. Today, he talks to us about the divide in politics, explaining the need for his book and giving current examples. We explore affective polarization and the rise of polarization generally.

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 Summer and catch you soon with new content!

Scott Winship, resident scholar and the director of poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), joins us this week to discuss the United States’s “War on Poverty”, the welfare state, and the future of anti-poverty policy.

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!

William B. Allen, resident scholar and former chief operating officer of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, talks to us today about the book he recently edited, The State of Black America. He tells us about his upbringing and the current narrative about racism and policy in the United States. Is it a problem? What should we do about it?

Emily Hamilton is a senior research fellow and the director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Today, we talk about the current housing market and the regulations that prevent the building of more affordable, diverse, and abundant types of housing. Hamilton tells us the story of DC and similar areas, where deregulation of housing has begun, explaining the effects. We talk about NIMBY arguments against deregulation, her responses to them, and what deregulation would mean for Americans.

This week is going to be a little different. Today I am excited to share with you a recording of the play Enquiry Concerning Hereafter by Duane Kelly.  (You can also read the script here.)

The play is about the friendship between (and deaths of) Adam Smith and David Hume. Enjoy!

This week is going to be a little different. Today I am excited to share with you a recording of the play Enquiry Concerning Hereafter by Duane Kelly. The play is about the friendship between Adam Smith and David Hume. Enjoy!

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Steven Teles is a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center. Today he defines and talks to us about a few words, including “liberaltarianism” – explaining how it diverges from libertarianism with an intellectual history and why – and “kludgeocracy”. We talk about the complexities of government organization and the causes- including regulatory capture. He tells us what he envisions to be potential solutions.

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Dan Klein is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Today he talks to us about F. A. Hayek’s conception of the Band-Man and our political psychology today. He explains to us that although our modern world looks a lot different from the world in 10,000 BC, that human beings are the same, with similar tendencies and desires. He talks to us about the implications of this idea for politics and the search for meaning in one’s life.

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Christine McDaniel is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University with a focus on international trade and globalization. Today we talk about the different trade actions undertaken by recent presidents and what that means for the American public. We discuss tariffs, NAFTA, the WTO, and more. McDaniel also lays out the different trade relationships between the US and various geographic regions and countries.

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Christine McDaniel is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University with a focus on international trade and globalization. Today we talk about the different trade actions undertaken by recent presidents and what that means for the American public. We discuss tariffs, NAFTA, the WTO, and more. McDaniel also lays out the different trade relationships between the US and various geographic regions and countries.

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David Henderson is a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the editor of the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. He is also an emeritus professor of economics with the naval postgraduate school. He is the Wall Street Journal’s go-to writer for pieces on Nobel prizes and deaths in economics, which we talk about today, exploring a list of favorites. He tells us of their contributions to the field and some stories.

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John Cochrane is a renowned economist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He writes a popular blog called The Grumpy Economist. He is also a former professor of economics and finance at the University of Chicago. He is the author of a recent book called The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level. Today we talk about the monetary and fiscal theories of the price level, or inflation, discussing what inflation is, how it’s caused, and how to fix it.

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Brian Hooks is the CEO and chairman of Stand Together, the president of the Charles Koch Foundation, and the co-author of Believe in People: Bottom-up Solutions for a Top-Down World. Today, we talk about the principles that guide Stand Together and the work that Stand Together does. He talks to us about how and why Stand Together is different from other philanthropic organizations, giving us the success story of one of their partners The Phoenix, a drug rehabilitation organization.

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Emily Chamlee Wright is the president and CEO of IHS, the Institute for Humane Studies. Today we talk about the liberal sensibility, what it is and what happened to it. She explains to us the four corners of the liberal project and why they are important to a liberal society such as ours.

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Marian Tupy is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the coauthor of two books: Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know, with Ron Bailey, and Superabundance, with Gale Pooley.

Today we talk about Superabundance to address the doom and gloom, often environmentalist concerns about overpopulation. He talks to us about his research that shows why this is not the case, and explains what factors contribute to a state of superabundance.