Bob Murphy Show

Eric July is the front man for the street-hop/metalcore group Backwordz. He discusses his personal odyssey in navigating the leftist metal scene. Bob then asks Eric about another of his major interests, comic books.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• Eric July's homepage.
• The website for Backwordz.
• Eric's YouTube review of Captain Marvel.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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

In the Ron Howard movie "A Beautiful Mind," Russell Crowe plays John Nash, a major figure in game theory. Although it was a good movie, it totally misconstrues Nash's doctoral dissertation and how it fit into the pre-existing literature. In this episode, Bob sets the record straight.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• John Nash's doctoral dissertation.
• Bob's link for Liberty Classroom. (If you click this link and then register, the site will know you came from me.)
• Sylvia Nasar's book that inspired the Ron Howard movie about Nash. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
• A good explanation of the Allais Paradox (which shows limits of expected utility theory).
• Bob Murphy Show ep. 96, which starts with critique of use of game theory.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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

DC execs think Superman is "too perfect" to resonate with modern audiences, but Dan Sanchez profoundly disagrees. He and Bob discuss this issue and other topics in the intersection of politics & superhero movies.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• Dan Sanchez's FEE article.
• Bob's previous interview with Dan on the Joker.
• The Captain America clip.
• Bob's article Superman Needs an Agent.
• Jordan Peterson on Cain and Abel.
• Some Supes clips mentioned: one, two, three, and four.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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

Bob explains some of the highlights of his newly released chapter for the Mises Institute book on "Understanding Money Mechanics." He explains the operation of the classical gold standard, as well as some of the issues of U.S. bimetallism during the 1800s.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• Bob's new essay on the gold standard.
• Bob's book on capitalism. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
• Bob on the 1920-1921 Depression.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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

George Reisman is economics professor emeritus at Pepperdine University. He is one of the few people to get his PhD under Mises. After sharing anecdotes about Mises and Rand, he discusses his contributions to economic theory. In particular, George argues that profits, not wages, are the original form of income.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of this interview.
• George Reisman's website and Capitalism.net, and his Twitter account.
• Reisman's book Capitalism. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
• Reisman's Notes on his translation of Bohm-Bawerk on value theory.
• Reisman on James Mill and Say's Law.
• Israel Kirzner's review of Capitalism.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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

Bob first observes that the Left (institutionally) hates Christianity, and that standard explanations, such as its alleged bigotry, don't explain why the Left gives Islam a pass. Christianity stands in the way of the Leftist agenda. Moreover, if the Devil exists, he would favor not just the "false religion" of environmentalism and Marxism, but also postmodernism, for Jesus is the Logos. Ultimately, the gospel reconciles God and man, which is not what the Devil wants.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• An example of James Lindsay arguing about 2+2=5 on Twitter.
• A Mises University presentation on Antonio Gramsci.
• The Snopes article "debunking" claim that Saul Alinsky dedicated his book to Lucifer.
• Wikipedia entry on "Logos" in Christology context.
• RC Sproul on "Logos."
• John Piper on the opening of the gospel of John.
• Bob's debate (ep. 133) with Thaddeus Russell on postmodernism as a foundation for liberty.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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

Tom DiLorenzo is a Senior Fellow with the Mises Institute who has written several books critical of Lincoln. His latest is "The Problem With Lincoln." Bob asks Tom about his early career in economics, and then they discuss the various ways in which Abe Lincoln was actually a horrible president.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of this interview.
• Tom DiLorenzo's books The Problem With Lincoln and The Real Lincoln, and with Jim Bennett The Food and Drink Police. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
• BMS ep. 71 with Mark Thornton, and ep. 81 with Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, both on the economics of slavery.
• Tom's 1982 article (with Jim Bennett) in the American Economic Review.
• Rothbard on "just war" theory.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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

As a follow-up to his discussion on MMT with Rohan Grey (in ep. 130), Bob goes solo to explain the basic cash balance framework for thinking about money, inflation, and debt. Specifically, Bob will explain why he thinks it's far more important to know how the government finances a deficit rather than knowing what it spends the money on.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• BMS ep. 130 with Rohan Grey.
• Bob's infamous inflation bet: response to Krugman/DeLong and his explanation years later for reason.com.
• Rothbard's critique of the "equation of exchange," MV=PQ.
• Bob’s QJAE article on the economics of fractional reserve banking.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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

Adrian Lee Oliver wrote a Twitter thread on the BLM protests and how they are contributing to racial polarization. The thread took off, leading to Adrian's appearance on Benjamin Boyce's podcast. Bob wanted his own listeners to hear Adrian's personal story of police brutality along with his critique of today's "anti-racism" campaign.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of this interview.
• Adrian Lee Oliver's original Twitter thread that brought him attention.
• Adrian's appearance on Benjamin Boyce's podcast.
• Bob's debate on postmodernism with Thaddeus Russell.
• Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay on Thaddeus' podcast.
• Academic literature on "implicit bias." An article showing the concept in today's usage.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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

David Friedman is one of the pioneering theorists of anarcho-capitalism, as laid out in his book The Machinery of Freedom. In this free-wheeling discussion, he discusses physics versus economics, the work of Ronald Coase, his dad's view of anarchism, and what happened to the SlateStarCodex site.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• The YouTube version of this interview.
• David Friedman's homepage.
• David's book The Machinery of Freedom. Heinlein's classic The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
• David debates Bob at Porcfest on Austrian vs. Chicago School methodology in economics.
• One of Walter Block's essays on hanging from an apartment flagpole.
• The website SlateStarCodex. The post Bob mentioned, "You Are Still Crying Wolf," which defended Trump from accusations of racism.
• Help support the Bob Murphy Show.

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