The Curious Task

In this episode from 2023, Alex speaks with Nigel Ashford about the prospects for a freer world and how the memory of history, the hope of younger persons, and the teaching of ideas can shape the future of classical liberalism. 

Further Reading:

In this episode, Alex speaks with Nick Cowen about why an “examined education” is better than an unexamined one. Drawing on his paper, Nick argues that exams are valuable not just as external assessments but as opportunities for students to test themselves, build confidence, develop resilience, and discover what they actually know rather than what they merely think they know.

References

Thanks to Our Patrons

Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald.

In this episode from 2023, Alex speaks with Stefanie Haeffele about her book Living Better Together, which explores the work of Elinor Ostrom and Viviana Zelizer. 

Episode Notes:

"Living Better Together" by Stefanie Haeffele and Virgil Henry Storr:

https://a.co/d/hJNCxw6 

Viviana Zelizer's homepage at Princeton:

https://sociology.princeton.edu/people/viviana-zelizer 

Elinor Ostrom's bio and short autobiography on the Nobel website:

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2009/ostrom/facts/ 

Nonneutrality of Money in a Social Perspective by Julia Włodarczyk

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274184545_Nonneutrality_of_Money_in_a_Social_Perspective 

Zelizer's "Circuits of Commerce"

https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520241367.003.0009

Ostrom's "Governing The Commons"

https://a.co/d/gcUDVWq 

Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy by

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691139364/economic-lives 

"Testing Circuits of Commerce in the Distant Past: Archaeological Understandings of Social Relationships and Economic Lives"

https://www.springerprofessional.de/testing-circuits-of-commerce-in-the-distant-past-archaeological-/23930708 

In part two of this episode from 2022, Alex speaks again with philosopher Eric Mack about "Anarchy, State and Utopia", this time touching on some of the challenges to Nozick's theory and Eric's own personal connection to Robert Nozick during his life.

References

1. Part 1 of Eric Mack’s The Curious Task Episode on “Why Read Anarchy, State, and Utopia?”

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-145-eric-mack-why-read-anarchy-state-and-utopia/ 

2. Eric Mack’s Previous Episode “Why Not Socialism?” on the Curious Task Podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-7-eric-mack-%e2%80%94-why-not-socialism/

3. “Anarchy, State, and Utopia” by Robert Nozick

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Anarchy-State-Utopia-Robert-Nozick/dp/0465051006 

4. “Who Would Choose Socialism” by Robert Nozick

Link: https://reason.com/1978/05/01/who-would-chose-socialism/

In this episode from 2022, Alex speaks with Philosopher Eric Mack about Robert Nozick's "Anarchy State and Utopia" and how the book shaped the conversation around natural rights theory, philosophical libertarianism, and the study of political utopias for decades to come.

References

1. Eric Mack’s Previous Episode “Why Not Socialism?” on the Curious Task Podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-7-eric-mack-%e2%80%94-why-not-socialism/ 

2. “Anarchy, State, and Utopia” by Robert Nozick

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Anarchy-State-Utopia-Robert-Nozick/dp/0465051006 

3. “Robert Nozick” by Britannica

Link: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Nozick 

4. “Murray Rothbard” by Mises Institute

Link: https://mises.org/profile/murray-n-rothbard 

5. “A Theory of Justice” by John Rawls

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Theory-Justice-Revised-John-Rawls/dp/0674000781

In this conversation from 2024, Alex speaks with Eric Schliesser about the growing declarations of the end of liberalism and what this means for the socio-political future in general.

Episode Notes:

In this episode, Matt speaks with Reem Ibrahim about whether Brexit can be considered a success six years after the UK left the European Union. They examine the classical-liberal case for Brexit (focused on sovereignty, deregulation, and free trade) and contrast it with a post-Brexit reality in which many EU-era regulations, trade barriers, and interventionist policies remain. While the most catastrophic “Project Fear” predictions did not come true, Ibrahim argues that Brexit’s promised freedoms have largely gone unused, leaving its long-term success still unresolved.

References

Brexit Referendum (2016) — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/eu_referendum/results

Project Fear — https://ukandeu.ac.uk/why-take-back-control-trumped-project-fear/

Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)’s Analysis of Brexit’s impact on trade — https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Perspectives_5_Has-Brexit-really-harmed-UK-trade__web-1.pdf

Brexit: The Movie — https://www.youtube.com/c/brexitthemovie

UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement — https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/relations-united-kingdom/eu-uk-trade-and-cooperation-agreement_en

CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) — https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/the-uk-and-the-comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnershipcptpp

Working Time Directive — https://employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies-and-activities/rights-work/labour-law/working-conditions/working-time-directive_en

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Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald.

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In this episode, Alex speaks with Franco Terrazano about government spending, taxation, and fiscal accountability in Canada, with a focus on how deficits, debt, and expanding bureaucracy effect affordability for ordinary Canadians. Franco outlines where federal spending has grown most rapidly, critiques the lack of clear priorities and performance measurement, and explains how interest payments on the debt increasingly crowd out core public services.

References

Canadian Taxpayers Federation  https://www.taxpayer.com/

Federal Budget of Canada (most recent edition)  https://budget.canada.ca/home-accueil-en.html

Public Accounts of Canada  https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/services/payments-accounting/public-accounts.html

Canada’s Debt and Interest Charges  https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2025-08/federal-and-provincial-debt-interest-costs-for-canadians-2025.pdf

Government Program Spending Growth Since 2015  https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/explaining-growth-federal-program-spending-2015

Thanks to Our Patrons

Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald.

Alex interviews Sabine Benoit of the Consumer Choice Center on Canada’s housing crisis. Sabine argues the main causes are chronic undersupply plus policy barriers: zoning that blocks “missing middle” density, long approval timelines/red tape, and high development fees that get passed to buyers. They also cover why immigration is often scapegoated despite being only part of the story, and why governments should focus on enabling private building (and targeted skilled-trades immigration) rather than new government developer programs.

References:

Thanks to Our Patrons

Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald.

In this conversation from 2025, Alex Aragona speaks with Graeme Thompson about Canada's evolving role on the global stage, from Confederation through to the post-Cold War era and into the geopolitical uncertainties of today. They explore Canada’s historical balancing act between major powers, its close alignment with the United Kingdom and later the United States, and its present-day challenges in maintaining global relevance amid military underinvestment and economic stagnation. Thompson argues that Canada must become more serious about geopolitics if it wants to protect its sovereignty and remain influential internationally.

“Canadians no longer take geopolitics seriously – and our neglect is going to cost us” by Graeme Thompson (The Hub)

Biography Collection: Ogdensburg Agreement and Canadian Wartime Diplomacy (Dictionary of Canadian Biography)

Statute of Westminster (1931) – Recognized Canada’s legislative independence from Britain

NATO Archives: Canada's Role and Early Involvement

Canada–U.S. Automotive Products Agreement (Auto Pact)

Lament for a Nation by George Grant

Canada’s Military Expenditure and NATO’s 2% Spending Target (Parliamentary Budget Officer)

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