Haman Nature

On this crossover episode, Adam and libertarian economist Bob Murphy discuss the debate surrounding Trump's extra-judicial deportations. Then, on a very related note, they discuss why we should be moral and what the justifiable foundations of morality are.

00:00 — Intro.

02:04 — Trump is rounding people up and throwing them in an El Salvadorian Prison. Glenn Greenwald has an opinion. So does Bob.

15:25 — Adam tries to steel-man the support for these deportations. It's not crazy. It's just unwise.

20:50 — After thesis and antithesis, synthesis! Also, Anarcho-capitalism solves this. Short of that, there are no good solutions.

25:29 — Adam wants to add certain classes of people to the deportation list. Also, what economic lessons can be learned from poor restaurant service?

28:50 — Bob asks Adam: "Why are libertarians so squeamish about wielding power? Isn't the "rule of law" just for suckers in this power game we call politics"?

34:41 — Bob says, don't be evil. It's just the wrong thing to do.

38:25 — What would a Murphy-approved "pacifist" legal/security landscape look like?

40:03 — How should we think about morality? Perhaps in terms of game theory?

48:14 — Where does morality "come from"? How is it justified? God? Natural Law? Evolution? Something else?

64:23 — Outro. Thanks for watching Haman Nature!

Haman Nature episode with Stephan Kinsella mentioned:

A primer on Hoppe's Argumentation Ethics:

Bob Murphy Show episode with Jonathan Menn mentioned:

Adam on X: @Rerazer

Bob on X: @BobMurphyEcon

The Bob Murphy Show:

The Human Action podcast:

Adam's other podcast: Natural Order Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe

Adam interviews patent attorney, philosopher, legal theorist and libertarian anarchist Stephan Kinsella about his life, his works, and what's next for the great man!

00:00 — Intro.

01:21 — Does Stephan believe there is a level of technology required for "Ancapistan" to "work".

07:42 — Adam has issues with the "is/ought" gap and asks Stephan for help on the matter.

25:42 — The life and times of Stephan Kinsella. Great stuff!

50:55 — Have questions about legal careers? Reach out to Stephan with questions!

52:02 — Outro. Thank you for watching Haman Nature!

Stephan's website:

Stephan on X: @nskinsella

Adam's other show: Natural Order Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe

On this "crossover" episode, Adam and economist Bob Murphy show some examples of speech and arguments being blocked, shouted down, or censored. Does this approach work?

00:00 — Intro. In which, Bob makes a very unfortunate Freudian slip.

02:17 — Daryll Cooper of the Martyrmade podcast on JRE sparked some controversy.

25:14 — It's very common to try to shut down dissent. Why do we do it? Is it useful in any way?

34:25 — Bob gets blocked by Alex Nowrasteh

42:17 — The way Bob handles Modern Monetary Theory arguments is instructive.

45:20 — Adam has a confession to make about the moon landing controversy.

48:38 — How should we feel about "giving a platform" to bad arguments or arguers?

52:36 — Jeremy Kauffman and race and metrics of demonstrating academic proficiency.

57:04 — Outro. Thanks for watching Haman Nature!

Adam on X: @Rerazer

Bob on X: @BobMurphyEcon

The Bob Murphy Show:

The Human Action podcast:

Adam's other podcast: Natural Order Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe

On this "crossover" episode, Adam and economist Bob Murphy break down bad arguments typically found on social media. Why do people act this way?

00:00 — Intro.

02:02 — DOGE found 150 year old Social Security recipients!

16:33 — Did the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics really disrespect The Last Supper?

26:24 — Are we burdening our grandchildren with the federal debt? Or do we "owe it to ourselves"?

32:47 — Remember all those nutty Covid arguments?

37:47 — A little recapping of the Social Security issue.

40:48 — Outro. Bob doesn't have an X problem. He can stop whenever he wants. Thanks for watching Haman Nature!

Adam on X: @Rerazer

Bob on X: @BobMurphyEcon

The Bob Murphy Show:

The Human Action podcast:

Adam's other podcast: Natural Order Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe

On this "crossover" episode, Adam and economist Bob Murphy dive deep into some current topics that have a hefty economics component. Plus: They're turning the mice trans!

00:00 — Intro.

01:05 — Adam has a question about "the factors of production". Does the concept even make sense?

16:50 — How should we think about the plan to have the government create a Bitcoin reserve?

25:56 — Should government spending be removed from GDP? Is GDP useful? Can we do better?

41:04 — Finally! Let's talk about turning mice trans!

49:41 — Meta-point: Government shouldn't fund science. Oh wait! How would we have numbers?!

54:54 — Outro. Thanks to the topless French women who ended fascism! Thanks for watching Haman Nature!

Bob's Infineo podcast about GDP:

Reason Magazine article attacking Trump's tranny mice claim:

White House defense of Trump's tranny mice claim:

Adam on X: @Rerazer

Bob on X: @BobMurphyEcon

The Bob Murphy Show:

The Human Action podcast:

Adam's other podcast: Natural Order Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe

On this "crossover" episode, Adam and economist Bob Murphy talk about the nature of belief in reference to God or gods. What is the proper way to think about religion. Is it good? Bad? Both?

00:00 — Intro. Bob loves the Haman Nature livestream music!

02:21 — Adam the atheist starts things off by giving a nod to the positive aspects of religion on society.

06:35 — Bob reveals his own intellectual trajectory regarding religion.

15:40 — Adam asks Bob how much of the positive benefit of religion comes from having ANY religious belief and how much from having the CORRECT religious belief.

20:40 — Is there anything Bob could have been told when he was an atheist that would make him believe? What does consciousness reveal about the materialist worldview? Also, believing is seeing!

38:46 — Adam brings up the atheist/agnostic distinction. Words and definitions matter. Also, assuming materialists haven't answered all the questions of the cosmos, why should we fill that informational hole with the doctrines of the Church? Bob gives his answer.

49:03 — Adam doesn't believe the Jesus story, and offers a framework about why different people have different "thresholds" for evidence regarding these sorts of claims. Bob underscores why he thinks that claim is so persuasive.

51:47 — What does Bob think about Jordan Peterson's project of bringing religious concepts to a more secular audience? What does Bob think about Scott Adams's God's Debris story? What would it mean to "become one with the universe"?

62:53 — Why do we need "a God that loves us" rather than just pursuing "the good"? How does Harry Potter relate to this concept? Bob explains.

71:06 — Outro. Adam and Bob solved every religious puzzle!

Thanks for watching Haman Nature!

Natural Order "Believing is seeing!" podcast mentioned:

Bob Murphy Show "Proof for Jesus's resurrection" podcast mentioned:

Adam on X: @Rerazer

Bob on X: @BobMurphyEcon

The Bob Murphy Show:

The Human Action podcast:

Adam's other podcast: Natural Order Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe

On this "crossover" episode, Adam and economist Bob Murphy talk about the Oval Office "spat" between Trump, Vance, and Zelensky from a poker player's perspective.

00:00 — Intro. Bob's on the road so his audio and video are trash, but he promises to be extra smart to compensate!

01:03 — Adam brags about going on the Tom Woods Cruise and Bob explains why he wasn't there.

04:02 — Adam gives his impression of what was going on with Zelensky in that bizarre press conference.

10:00 — Bob weighs in. Was Zelensky earnest? Did US Democrats give him bad advice? Is there a game theory explanation for Zelensky's behavior?

20:40 — Where did the "You should be grateful to us!" line come from? Also, did the US have to be in on this deal? What would happen if we just reversed course and stepped away?

25:46 — What's with our "enemies" thinking they can get us to do what they want by insulting us? Similarly, why do people think the right way to negotiate with people is to insult them?

33:00 — Rank and file Republicans are now anti-war, and Democrats are pro war. How did that happen?

36:02 — Adam hypothesizes about why "our" adversaries make such dumb arguments against us. Maybe it's a tribal thing that takes the place of complicated analysis?

37:33 — Outro. Thanks for watching Haman Nature!

Adam on X: @Rerazer

Bob on X: @BobMurphyEcon

The Bob Murphy Show:

The Human Action podcast:

Adam's other podcast: Natural Order Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe

On this episode of Haman Nature, we are sharing an appearance Adam made on David Medley's Proof of Pod podcast. Links below!

00:00 — Intro.

01:03 — David introduces Trump's meme coin ($TRUMP) and it's history. What is this all about?

12:20 — Who is the "greater fool"? What is the purpose of release schedules? What's the backdrop of meme coins? Is it all a grift? Or is this just entertainment? Are there actual use cases?

22:35 — Is this Hayek's "competing currency" vision? Or is this just speculative asset bubbles fueled by fiat money? How is all this impacted by the Federal Reserve? What about regulation?

32:10 — Adam pronounces $TRUMP correctly. Also, what are finance contribution considerations for politicians and meme coins or NFTs?

37:04 — Adam presses David for his opinion of meme coins. Are they a form of gambling?

41:17 — Adam asserts that these meme coins are a symptom of fiat money or credit bubbles. Also, the topic of finance contribution is revisited.

50:30 — Ross Free! It's a big win for cryptocurrency!

53:30 — Outro

David Medley's Proof of Pod

Adam's other podcast: Natural Order Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe

Adam and Tyrone have a frank discussion about debt. We might all be screwed!

00:00 — Intro. The US government is over $36 trillion in debt. Is that number even real?

01:49 — Adam introduces the article this episode is based on (linked below). Is there any way to grow our way out of this mess? Also, Tyrone has a question: Who do "we" owe the money too? What happens if "we" default?

19:37 — Austrian economists have been predicting doom for a long time. Are they wrong? Also, how does increasing technological development impact these things?

12:00 — Tyrone talks commercial real estate. Adam reveals a solution from "The Donald". Also, what does consumer credit card debt have to do with this? What about the used car market? Tyrone has a prediction: BLOODBATH!

41:37 — Outro. Thank you for watching Haman Nature!

Haman Nature article about massive debt mentioned:

Bob Murphy article about massive debt mentioned:

Commercial real estate article mentioned:

Adam's other show: Natural Order Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe

Adam and Tyrone talk about the Daniel Penny saga, and how NYC gave us a glimmer of hope that it isn't completely beyond redemption.

00:00 — Intro. Tyrone shows us what an inebriated porcupine looks like.

00:53 — Tyrone brings up Haman Nature articles about NYC and Daniel Penny. Adam recounts the tale of homelessness, self-defense, anarcho-tyranny, and redemption.

09:54 — Adam quotes from the article and tries to draw out the broader lesson of this incident.

12:00 — Tyrone expands the conversation to include the homeless crisis itself.

17:44 — What was the race angle to the Daniel Penny case? Does this reflect on what happened to Marxian class conflict? Is race the new line of "class consciousness" and social conflict? Also, Tyrone reveals he's not a Dr. Seuss fan. Plus: Aliens!

33:48 — Outro. Adam reminds us all that Jordan Neely, the unfortunate who died in the Daniel Penny case, has a name. Thank you for watching Haman Nature!

Haman Nature articles about Daniel Penny: One and two.

Description and analysis of Dr. Seuss's "star-bellied Sneetches":

Adam's other show: Natural Order Podcast

Feel inspired to contribute to Haman Nature? Buy Tyrone and Adam a cup o’ coffee or two! This show runs on caffeine!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hamannature.substack.com/subscribe