IEA Podcast

Friedrich Hayek is rightly considered to be one of the intellectual forefathers of classical liberalism and his famed work, 'The Road to Serfdom', is thought of by many to be the ideology's clearest codification.

However, with the book's 80th anniversary looming, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit this seminal work and ask the question, was Hayek right?

On the panel was:

Dr James Forder (Chair) - IEA Academic and Research Director

Dr Kristian Niemietz - IEA Head of Political Economy

Professor Mark Pennington - Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy at King's College London

Sherelle Jacobs - Daily Telegraph columnist

This week saw the release of the Nanny State Index 2023, a joint project of the IEA and EPiCENTER. The index ranks European countries based on their policies towards alcohol, tobacco, vaping, food and soft drink.

In this week's podcast, IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh discusses the UK's nanny state trajectory with the index's editor IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon.

You can read the latest Nanny State Index here:

https://nannystateindex.org/

This week's record net migration figures have caused many to question the government's immigration policy and whether immigration is too high.

To discuss this, IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh spoke to Director of British Future Sunder Katwala and Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University.

In this episode of Parallax Views, IEA Head of Cultural Affairs Marc Glendening sits down with Bryn Harris, Chief Legal Counsel at the Free Speech Union, to discuss the threats to and limits of free speech.

Labour has pledged to become the party of increased housebuilding. But will their strategy work?

To discuss this and much more, IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh spoke to Dr Samuel Hughes, Head of Housing at the Centre for Policy Studies.

With the other stories dominating headlines, you might have missed a United States Supreme Court case being fought across the pond. The case involves 94-year-old Minneapolis woman Geraldine Tyler, who in 2015 had her condo seized by Hennepin County due to unpaid property taxes amounting to $15,000. A year later, the condo was sold for $40,000, and Tyler received nothing.

Represented by Christina Martin of the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), Tyler is now fighting her case in the Supreme Court, arguing that the state had no right to retain the remaining £25,000 from the value of the sale.

To discuss this, IEA Communications Officer Harrison Griffiths spoke to PLF attorney David J. Deerson.

The recent release of the gambling white paper has re-energised the debate on gambling regulation. On the one hand, many are calling for increased regulations on gambling companies to protect vulnerable consumers, while others argue that heavy regulation can damage consumer rights and infringe on basic freedoms.

In this episode of the Swift Half with Snowdon, IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon speaks to Dan Waugh, gambling regulation expert and Partner at Regulus Partners.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has voted to raise interest rates from 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent. This has caused debate among economists, with some arguing that continuing high inflation necessitates a further rates hike, while others point to the reversal of quantitative easing as evidence for a more cautious approach.

To discuss this, IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh spoke to IEA Economics Fellow and member of the IEA's Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (SMPC) Julian Jessop.

The SMPC's response to the interest rates rise can be read here:

https://iea.org.uk/media/dont-raise-interest-rates-says-shadow-monetary-policy-committee/

Should the police be privatised? Should we have open borders?

In this recording, IEA Communications Officer Harrison Griffiths interviews Dr David D. Friedman to discuss the anarcho-capitalist perspective on these questions and many more.

Dr Friedman is is an American economist, physicist, legal scholar, author, and anarcho-capitalist theorist. He currently serves as a Professor Emeritus at the Santa Clara University School of Law.

His book, 'The Machinery of Freedom: A Guide to Radical Capitalism', can be read online here: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Machinery%203rd%20Edn.pdf

The advent of AI technologies such as ChatGPT has brought much excitement. While many have celebrated this innovation, an increasing number are calling for greater regulations to mitigate its perceived risks. But could heavy-handed regulation harm the sector and prevent threaten future innovation?

To discuss this, IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh sat down with Adam Thierer, Senior Fellow in Technology and Innovation at the R Street Institute, a Washington DC think tank.