Elon Musk is now officially a trillionaire, and some people are now officially mad.

Where is Elon keeping all this money, and why hasn’t he given any of it to me?  Find the answer to this and other pressing questions by joining in!

What does it mean to live a good life?  Is an ethical life always a desirable life, and vice versa?  And what exactly is a 'virtue', anyway?  Aristotle, student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great, had important and interesting answers to these questions. Join the Gwartney Institute for a discussion of Aristotle's conception of Ethics, and why we still in intellectual debt to this most excellent Ancient Philosopher.

The World Cup has drawn tourists from all over the world to the American heartland, and they’ve been posting their impressions to social media.  Interestingly, it looks like many of them are _in love_ with America and American culture - the very culture we Americans are told to denigrate and apologize for!What’s going on?  Join the Gwartney team to discuss!

Back by popular demand! We are revisiting one of our most thought-provoking conversations on the sunk cost fallacy and why our past investments can make it so hard to let go.

The sunk cost fallacy is when one has already invested into a project, begins to examine the overall cost estimate involved and with the project, and thus commits to the project even harder because they are personally invested in the project. Yet, some economists say NO, you must only examine the future costs and rewards! What do you think? Join the conversation now!! 

“Possession is 9/10ths of the law”, or so the saying goes.  But in our contemporary lives and world, we often don’t have physical control or possession of the things that we think we own.  And we do possess a lot of things that we don’t own, on some version of a subscription model.  What’s going on here?  Is this a good development?  What does this mean for advocates of a private property based economic system, and why should we care?  Join the Gwartney team for a fruitful discussion of our ever-more-intricate world.

Peter leads a discussion about a labyrinthine lawsuit and property dispute, pointing out along the way the light that this case sheds on property rights and how they are interpreted and enforced.  This case has it all: death, theft, AI, skullduggery, corporate restructuring, and at the heart of it all (of course!), LEGOs.Join us for a fascinating and elucidating discussion!

Is the American middle-class is shrinking like the media tells us it is?  Russ and Peter examine various data points and perspectives. Listen in and think about how middle class definitions have evolved over time, considering factors like income, wealth, and lifestyle expectations. While statistical data shows the middle class has shrunk in relative terms, they debated whether this reflects genuine economic decline or simply greater economic polarization with more people moving to higher or lower income brackets. How do you feel about middle-class America?

Peter and Russ explore gerrymandering and uncover that it may not be as bad as other options for representation.  They explain the implications of the recent Supreme Court decisions regarding racial considerations in redistricting, the challenges of eliminating gerrymandering while maintaining geographic representation, and the economic concept of rent-seeking in the redistricting process.  Listen in and learn what they have to say!

If what we all really want is to be happy, why do we line up and pay money to watch something that we know ahead of time is going to make us sad?  Join Peter and Justin as they consider the paradox of tragedy, and try to make sense of the hold that tragic drama has maintained on humanity going all the way back to the Greeks.  Don’t wanna listen to the episode?  Why don’t you cry about it.

Description: In a popular thought experiment, everyone must privately choose between pressing a red or blue button. 
If the majority of people press the blue button, everyone lives.
If the majority of people press the red button, all those who pressed the blue button die.
Join Peter and Justin as they puzzle through why people disagree so vehemently about which button to press.
Choose wisely!