Gary Wolfram is an economics professor at Hillsdale College, who was both a teacher and colleague of Bob during his two stints at the school (first as a student then as a professor). They discuss Gary's background as an economist in both academia and the political sphere, and why government intervention hurts the people it ostensibly helps.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of this interview.
• Gary Wolfram's book, A Capitalist Manifesto. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
• Bob's article on the $15 minimum wage. Walter Williams' 2007 FEE article on the minimum wage.
• Mises' Liberalism and Bastiat's The Law.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Since the deep freeze in February caused millions of Texas homes to lose their power, partisans have been fighting over the blame. The governor blamed wind turbines and the green agenda, whereas Paul Krugman said the fault was with natural gas. Bob shows the numbers; natural gas was to blame only in the sense that nobody expected wind to be useful during a winter crisis.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• Bob's article at Mises.org, which gives links to all the relevant sources.
• The Foundations of IBC.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Medical doctor Keith Smith returns to the show to explain how government intervention allows insurance companies to distort health care prices. Rather than merely diagnosing the problem, Smith has formed organizations that are providing affordable care to patients.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of this interview.
• The Surgery Center of Oklahoma. The Free Market Medical Association (FMMA).
• The Medical Freedom Summit, hosted by Mises Institute, on June 17, 2021 in New Hampshire.
• A short YouTube video in which Keith Smith explains $100 hospital aspirin.
• Bob's book (co-authored with emergency room doctor Doug McGuff) on the economics of health care, The Primal Prescription. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Bob discusses three separate items all related to nonviolence: (1) Gene Sharp's work, (2) Bob's old dream of how to topple a tyrant, and (3) the winners of the Louis CK contest.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• Gene Sharp's book, From Dictatorship to Democracy. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
• The trailer for the documentary "How to Start a Revolution."
• Sharp's list of 198 methods of nonviolent action.
• The original Louis CK clip that inspired Bob's contest.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Standard economic analysis suggests that even large-scale immigration doesn't hurt native citizens economically. But couldn't the newcomers change the culture and political climate to hurt liberty? In his latest book, economist Ben Powell argues that this too is a baseless fear.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of this interview.
• Ben Powell's book (co-authored with Alex Nowrasteh) Wretched Refuse?: The Political Economy of Immigration and Institutions.
• Ben Powell's earlier appearance on ep. 47.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Bob explains his idea for the general legal principle under which children would constitute a particular case: Namely, treat the parent (or legal guardian) as a trustee acting upon behalf of the trustor, who is the future (adult) version of that child.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• Rothbard's book Ethics of Liberty (free pdf).
• Walter Block et al. on children under libertarian law.
• Bruno Leoni's Freedom and the Law (various formats).
• Bob Murphy's lecture on private law.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

In a 2019 article, Bob quoted Mises who believed that new gold discoveries, in principle, could cause a (small) boom-bust cycle if the gold hit the loan market before other sectors. Walter Block and Bill Barnett have responded in a new article, arguing that in a free market, new commodity money can't cause such distortions.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of this interview.
• Bob's 2019 QJAE article, which Block & Barnett (2020) criticizes.
• Bob's blog post explaining why Block & Barnett (2020) misunderstands his argument in his 2019 QJAE paper.
• Bob Murphy Show ep. 67, in which Block and Barnett explained their problems with the Hayekian triangle.
• Rothbard's classic essays on utility & welfare economics and the legal treatment of air pollution.
• Block and Barnett's paper on the optimal quantity of money.
• One entry in Block and Barnett's debate over maturity mismatching; it contains references to the earlier volleys for the interested reader.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

On a recent episode of the Unregistered podcast, Thaddeus Russell interviews philosophy professor Stephen Kershnar on his controversial books. Bob strongly critiques their claims that (a) pro-life people ought to be killing abortionists and (b) adult/child sexual relationships can be healthy.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of Thaddeus' discussion with Kershnar.
• Thad's article in the Daily Beast defending Roman Polanski. The Wikipedia article about the Polanski sexual abuse case.
• Bob Murphy Show ep. 133 featuring Bob's debate with Thaddeus on postmodernism as a foundation for liberty.
• Bob Murphy Show ep. 138 "Why the Left Hates Christianity."
• A video on the evolution of "mumble rap." A mumble rapper's video glorifying the Illuminati.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Nick Watts has a Master of Divinity degree from Queensland Theological College. He talks with Bob about his book, which argues that the Bible claims that taxation is tantamount to slavery. Interestingly, Nick went into his project as a conservative small government man and emerged as a Rothbardian who has no political ruler except Christ the King.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of this interview.
• Nick Watts' website, Being Biblical. His book, Taxation Is Slavery: The Biblical Case for Libertarian Politics.
• BMS ep. 111, with Winston Ewert on Intelligent Design. BMS ep 106 on Intelligent Design.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Tom Woods invites Bob onto his podcast to discuss the coordinated actions of retail traders to implement a short squeeze on hedge funds, in the process causing GameStop stock to increase some 1,500%. Tom and Bob explain the basic economics involved and the political implications.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The Tom Woods Show.
• A Bloomberg article and an ARSTechnica article giving good summaries of the timeline.
• Bob's article on "The Social Function of Stock Speculators," and a 2008 article criticizing the government's forbidding of short-selling financial stocks.
• Chris Cillizza's CNN article blaming GameStop controversy on Trumpism.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.