The Bob Zadek Show

Almost two years ago, approaching the 2014 mid-term elections, Bob interviewed Edward Hudgins of the Atlas Society on his book *The Republican Party’s Civil War.* The book's premise was that warring factions within the GOP could present an opportunity for the libertarian wing of the party to emerge at center stage. Hudgins made his optimistic case at a Cato Institute panel, with the opposing perspective presented by Henry Olsen, a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, who predicted that no such "libertarian moment" was in progress. Now, Olsen joins the show to expand on this argument, having examined hard data from past primary elections to compile his new book *The Four Faces of the Republican Party.* Olsen's thesis illustrates the messy nature of our democracy, and how the balance of power among factions determines election outcomes, rather than pure principles like limited government. While the upcoming presidential election may not bode well for liberty in the short term, it can instruct us on what a winning coalition might look like in the future.

There are many reasons why patients end up needing a new kidney, but only one reason why 12 of them die every day from their treatable illness: the shortage of willing donors. Compensating organ donation remains highly taboo, and federally illegal, even as we rely on monetary incentives for everything else we need (from hamburgers to heart surgery). 10 years ago, AEI Scholar Sally Satel, M.D., nearly succumbed to the long wait for a healthy kidney. She now fights for those who are still waiting, and who will continue to suffer until an educated public demands change. Sally is author of When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Organ Donors, and has brought her case to Congress, along with the readers of the New York Times & the Washington Post. Bob and Sally explore the pitfalls of using political correctness and “gut feeling” as the compass for rational policymaking when so many lives are on the line.

Links:

@slsatel on Twitter

When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Organ Donors (AEI Press, 2009)

National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 (Wiki)

Generosity won’t fix our shortage of organs for transplants (Washington Post, December 28, 2015)

There are many reasons why patients end up needing a new kidney, but only one reason why 12 of them die every day from their treatable illness: the shortage of willing donors. Compensating organ donation remains highly taboo, and federally illegal, even as we rely on monetary incentives for everything else we need (from hamburgers to heart surgery). 10 years ago, AEI Scholar Sally Satel, M.D., nearly succumbed to the long wait for a healthy kidney. She now fights for those who are still waiting, and who will continue to suffer until an educated public demands change. Sally is author of When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Organ Donors, and has brought her case to Congress, along with the readers of the New York Times & the Washington Post. Bob and Sally explore the pitfalls of using political correctness and “gut feeling” as the compass for rational policymaking when so many lives are on the line.

Links:

@slsatel on Twitter

When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Organ Donors (AEI Press, 2009)

National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 (Wiki)

Generosity won’t fix our shortage of organs for transplants (Washington Post, December 28, 2015)

The Cato Institute’s Randal O’Toole (aka the @antiplanner) returns to the show to discuss the epidemic of rising rents in metropolitan areas across America. As usual, planners at the federal, regional, and local levels have a policy solution in search of a problem, and are creating new problems in the process. They cite the lack of affordable urban housing near public transit as justification for “growth management”, but their plans end up discouraging developers from increasing the supply of the most-needed kinds of housing. Basic economics predicts the devastating endgame for the lower and middle classes: The rent is too damn high. One solution, on which even partisans can agree, is land deregulation. Yet top-down urban transformations like Plan Bay Area, for example, continue to rule the day. While O'Toole grants that some planning and regulation is necessary to minimize the negative externalities of large numbers living in urban areas, he argues that “urban planning itself has become the externality.” Tune in for the show of ideas, not attitude – on Talk910.com or 910AM in the SF Bay Area.

LINKS

The Thoreau Institute (TI.org)

Why Is the Rent Too Damn High? Because We Ignore the Real Problem | Cato @ Liberty

The Most Racist Urban Area in America? | Cato @ Liberty  (July, 2015)

The Cato Institute’s Randal O’Toole (aka the @antiplanner) returns to the show to discuss the epidemic of rising rents in metropolitan areas across America. As usual, planners at the federal, regional, and local levels have a policy solution in search of a problem, and are creating new problems in the process. They cite the lack of affordable urban housing near public transit as justification for “growth management”, but their plans end up discouraging developers from increasing the supply of the most-needed kinds of housing. Basic economics predicts the devastating endgame for the lower and middle classes: The rent is too damn high. One solution, on which even partisans can agree, is land deregulation. Yet top-down urban transformations like Plan Bay Area, for example, continue to rule the day. While O'Toole grants that some planning and regulation is necessary to minimize the negative externalities of large numbers living in urban areas, he argues that “urban planning itself has become the externality.” Tune in for the show of ideas, not attitude – on Talk910.com or 910AM in the SF Bay Area.

LINKS

The Thoreau Institute (TI.org)

Why Is the Rent Too Damn High? Because We Ignore the Real Problem | Cato @ Liberty

The Most Racist Urban Area in America? | Cato @ Liberty  (July, 2015)

If you're flying home from vacation this weekend, you have one more gift to look forward to before you reach your gate: a TSA body scan. As of this week, opt outs of the invasive technology will no longer be granted to all those who ask for the alternative pat down. Jim Bovard has written for over a decade on the Transportation Security Agency’s encroachments of liberty. A frequent “opter-out” of the scanners in bygone times, Bovard has not flinched in the face of the screeners’ intimidation tactics. In addition to his repeat encounters with TSA agents, Bovard stands out among libertarian writers for his widely-read USA Today columns denouncing the climate of fear created by government to justify their privacy violations. He joins this special holiday edition of The Bob Zadek Show to dissect the carefully constructed “security theater” that we are forced to attend every time we fly. Tune in at 9am Pacific and call in with your nightmare experiences at airport security.

Links:

www.jimbovard.com

TSA Archives - James Bovard

On Twitter @jimbovard

TSA Bombs the Holidays - (Washington Times 12/2/15)

Click to Listen Live - Sun. 9-10am PT, 12-1pm ET

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Call 1-800-345-5639 (1-800-FILL-NEW)

If you're flying home from vacation this weekend, you have one more gift to look forward to before you reach your gate: a TSA body scan. As of this week, opt outs of the invasive technology will no longer be granted to all those who ask for the alternative pat down. Jim Bovard has written for over a decade on the Transportation Security Agency’s encroachments of liberty. A frequent “opter-out” of the scanners in bygone times, Bovard has not flinched in the face of the screeners’ intimidation tactics. In addition to his repeat encounters with TSA agents, Bovard stands out among libertarian writers for his widely-read USA Today columns denouncing the climate of fear created by government to justify their privacy violations. He joins this special holiday edition of The Bob Zadek Show to dissect the carefully constructed “security theater” that we are forced to attend every time we fly. Tune in at 9am Pacific and call in with your nightmare experiences at airport security.

Links:

www.jimbovard.com

TSA Archives - James Bovard

On Twitter @jimbovard

TSA Bombs the Holidays - (Washington Times 12/2/15)

Click to Listen Live - Sun. 9-10am PT, 12-1pm ET

Subscribe & Review in iTunes

Call 1-800-345-5639 (1-800-FILL-NEW)

The last time Alex Nowrasteh joined the show, several listeners called in with concerns over Bob and Alex’s boldly open stance on immigration. As a leading immigration scholar with the Cato Institute, Nowrasteh researches, blogs, speaks, and tweets tirelessly in support of a more sane and open border policy. Bob says, “Let them all in” (with a few obvious exceptions). For each alleged issue the callers raised against open borders, Nowrasteh presented actual statistics debunking their misconceptions. You could hear their minds changing in real time. With the Republican primary heating up, we must be educated on the facts of the immigration debate in order to see through the fog of fear-based rhetoric. Bob and Alex will provide a brief history of immigration policy in the United States, and discuss the major presidential candidates' positions on a legal pathway to citizenship, i.e., "amnesty."