The Tom Woods Show

By Tom Woods

News & Politics Society & Culture Government & Organizations

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Join New York Times bestselling author Tom Woods for your daily serving of liberty education! Guests include Ron Paul, Judge Andrew Napolitano, David Stockman, and hundreds more, with topics like war, the Federal Reserve, net neutrality, the FDA, Austrian economics, and many other subjects of interest to libertarians. Join us!

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	EPISODES LIST
		Ep. 1303 The Rise of Victimhood Culture Jason Manning, a professor of sociology at West Virginia University, has accomplished a feat I could never have matched: he's co-authored a scholarly and dispassionate overview of what he calls "victimhood culture," particularly as manifested on college campuses. He traces the origins of the phenomenon and the hysteria, exaggeration, one-sidedness, and intolerance that accompanies it. And he takes the discipline of sociology itself -- at least as studied and promoted today -- for cheerleading for a point of view rather than offering dispassionate analysis. Show notes for ep. 1303	12.13.2018
		Ep. 1302 Michael Malice on the Continuing Social Media Purges The social media purge continues: Sargon of Akkad was just removed from Patreon despite not being an extremist by any definition. Today Michael Malice and I discuss the ongoing case of Gavin McInnes, who was just banned from YouTube after having been removed from other platforms. (His Proud Boys, critics claimed, was an extremist group.) Show notes for Ep. 1302	12.12.2018
		Ep. 1301 Transgender Ideologues Try to Silence Feminist Feminist author Meghan Murphy, who had a large following on Twitter, was recently removed from that platform because of what appear to be fairly innocuous Tweets related to transgenderism, and even lost a book contract as well. The incident highlighted divisions among feminists regarding transgender issues. Show notes for Ep. 1301	12.08.2018
		Ep. 1300 Trump Report Card, Public Speaking Tips, and More In this episode I talk a bit about Trump, then about the cause of the boom-bust cycle, then entrepreneurship, and then public speaking. Quite a potpourri -- and a darn good one, if I may say so. This episode is drawn from my recent appearance on the Justin Mohr Show. Show notes for Ep. 1300	12.07.2018
		Ep. 1299 Reagan Admin's David Stockman on George H.W. Bush, Trump's Prospects, and the Fed David Stockman, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under Ronald Reagan, shares reflections and anecdotes about the late George H.W. Bush. We then discuss how the Fed, rather than trade deals, has been harming America. (And also: why I won our gentlemen's bet....) Show notes for Ep. 1299	12.06.2018
		Ep. 1298 George H.W. Bush: His Presidency Assessed With the passing of former president George H.W. Bush, we've heard much talk of his having been an underrated president. Daniel McCarthy joins me to offer his assessment. Show notes for Ep. 1298	12.04.2018
		Ep. 1297 Marxism and Other Weirdness in English Departments Allen Mendenhall holds a Ph.D. in English from Auburn University as well as two law degrees (from Temple and West Virginia). He is an associate dean at Faulkner University's Thomas Goode Jones School of Law and executive director of the Blackstone & Burke Center for Law & Liberty. Show notes for Ep. 1297	12.04.2018
		Ep. 1296 Tattoos and the State Leah Farrow and Josh Griffin, co-hosts of the No Regerts podcast, join me to discuss the history of tattoos and the state, regulation and self-regulation, and a lot more. Show notes for Ep. 1296	12.01.2018
		Ep. 1295 If You Criticize Trump, You Must Love Obama! This week David Stockman, director of the Office of Management and Budget under Ronald Reagan, made some comments about the problems with what he called Donald Trump's "statism," and with Federal Reserve policy. He was immediately barraged with criticism from Trump supporters who thought he was a "liberal" (as if liberals are concerned about statism or Fed policy). In this episode I discuss what it all means, particularly in light of what Scott Adams told us two episodes ago. Show notes for Ep. 1295	11.29.2018
		Ep. 1294 Should the Authorities Have Killed This Man? New Ballad Tells His Story Jordan Page, musician of the Ron Paul Revolution, just released "The Ballad of Lavoy Finicum," about a man who was shot and killed by Oregon state troopers in 2016 (Jordan tells the story). We also take a few moments to discuss Jordan's appearance at the #WalkAway march in Washington. Show notes for Ep. 1294	11.28.2018
		Ep. 1293 Scott Adams on Trump and Persuasion Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, joins me to discuss the Trump phenomenon and what people missed about it (and therefore why they didn't see his victory coming), plus democracy, persuasion, debating, Hillary Clinton, and plenty more. Show notes for Ep. 1293	11.27.2018
		Ep. 1292 The Heroic No-Frills Private School, and Its Enemies James Tooley has both chronicled and contributed to the extraordinary phenomenon, unknown to almost everyone, of low-cost private schools in the developing world. He's now bringing this model to England itself, his home country, and he's already got people talking. Of course, the usual suspects are trying to throw obstacles in his way, because his low-cost model is obviously an embarrassment to them. A truly wonderful discussion. Show notes for Ep. 1292	11.27.2018
		Ep. 1291 The War That Destroyed a Civilization? Scott Horton and I discuss World War I and its hideous legacy. Also: why the Progressives favored intervention, what the Social Gospel clergy had to say, where Hitler came from, and a lot more. This episode is drawn from my recent appearance on on the Scott Horton Show. Show notes for Ep. 1291	11.23.2018
		Ep. 1290 How Jeff Deist and I Advise a Child Who Wants to Run for President A 9-year-old boy wrote me a letter not long ago, part of which asked me about politics, because he describes himself as "very interested in running for president someday." Jeff Deist and I discussed the kind of things children that age might want to think about when it comes to politics, without turning them into 9-year-old cynics. Show notes for Ep. 1290	11.22.2018
		Ep. 1289 In Which My Secrets, Resentments, Passions, and Various Good and Bad Things Are Laid Bare In this episode my colleague Bob Murphy interviews me about everything from public speaking (and my tips) to my resentments (and how I overcame them), our religious differences, my major contribution to the historical profession (not a joke!), and a lot more. One of my all-time favorite episodes. This episode is drawn from my appearance on the very first episode of the Bob Murphy Show. Show notes for Ep. 1289	11.21.2018
		Ep. 1288 Decriminalize Mushrooms In recent years researchers have discovered therapeutic uses for psilocybin mushrooms where the results have been extraordinary. Kevin Matthews of Decriminalize Denver joins me to discuss these findings, current law, and what the law should be. Show notes for Ep. 1288	11.20.2018
		Ep. 1287 The Left Can't Meme, But We Sure Can Mance Rayder's second book is like a bazooka aimed at the leftism that is de rigueur in academia, entertainment, and culture. Using well-chosen memes, Mance demonstrates the double standards and inconsistency that characterize so many leftist arguments, and makes the case for the free society -- the missing option in our political discussion. (Also in this episode, Mance finally drops the pseudonym and reveals his real name.) Show notes for Ep. 1287	11.19.2018
		Ep. 1286 Can Murray Rothbard Be Explained to Children? You know you've really mastered a topic if you can explain it to a complete beginner and be understood. You've truly mastered it if you can convey the basic idea even to a child. And that's precisely what the Tuttle Twins book series accomplishes. The most recent volume in the series takes Murray Rothbard's classic essay "The Anatomy of the State" and presents its basic ideas to a young audience. Show notes for Ep. 1286	11.17.2018
		Ep. 1285 The Establishment Is Ignorant: Nullification Edition Ever since it became known that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has spoken favorably about the right of the states to nullify unconstitutional federal laws, we've been treated to a barrage of the usual third-grade arguments from people we are supposed to consider our intellectual superiors. We'll have some fun with those in this episode. Show notes for Ep. 1285	11.16.2018
		Ep. 1284 How Northerners Used States' Rights to Fight Slavery Nullification -- and indeed anything involving the states -- is all about slavery, right? What a surprise: the propagandists are wrong again. In this episode, the Tenth Amendment Center's Michael Boldin joins me for some forgotten history: how northerners expressly used the language of nullification and state sovereignty to fight against slavery. Show notes for Ep. 1284	11.14.2018
		Ep. 1283 Scott Horton on Scott Horton: The Making of a Libertarian Foreign Policy Expert According to the survey we ran for the Freedom Feud game aboard the Contra Cruise, the #2 most popular guest on the Tom Woods Show is Scott Horton, the great foreign-policy expert. This time, though, we discuss his background, his evolution, how he became a libertarian and foreign-policy expert, and a lot more. Show notes for Ep. 1283	11.13.2018
		Ep. 1282 DEBATE: Should Israel Give Up Territory? Elliot Resnick and Gene Epstein debate the resolution: "Israel should keep every inch of land it currently possesses." Show notes for Ep. 1282	11.12.2018
		Ep. 1281 The End of World War I: A Look Back 100 Years Later World War I was a catastrophe for Western civilization. One hundred years ago, on November 11th, it finally came to an end. Author and historian Hunt Tooley joins me for an assessment of the wars long-term consequences for all of us. Show notes for Ep. 1281	11.09.2018
		Ep. 1280 Trump, the Democrats, the Midterms, and the Future Were the midterm elections of repudiation of Trump, a mixed bag, or even an endorsement of Trump? What can we expect over the next two years, and what are the Democrats likely to do in 2020? Dan McCarthy, editor-at-large of The American Conservative and current editor of Modern Age, helps answer these questions. Show notes for Ep. 1280	11.09.2018
		Ep. 1279 The John Birch Society: A Conversation With Its President Emeritus John F. ("Jack") McManus, longtime president of the John Birch Society, joins me to discuss the Society's founding and history, its controversial positions, its clashes with William F. Buckley and official conservatism, and its present activities. Show notes for Ep. 1279	11.08.2018
		Ep. 1278 Woods's Greatest Hits In today's episode I review some of the golden nuggets from the previous 600 or so episodes. Fascinating people and ideas you may have missed -- and even if you didn't miss them, it couldn't hurt to hear about them again. Show notes for Ep. 1278	11.06.2018
		Ep. 1277 Private Law and Defense Are No Problem, or The Shortcomings of Public Goods Theory Neoclassical economics insists that a separate class of goods, called "public goods," cannot, because of their peculiar characteristics, be efficiently provided by the market and must instead be financed and produced by the state. The Austrian School rejects this line of argument. Today Jakub Wisniewski, author of a new book on the subject, takes on public goods theory and addresses the two toughest cases: law and defense services on the market. Show notes for Ep. 1277	11.05.2018
		BONUS Ep. 1276 Patrick Henry Descendant Starts Selling at Age 8, Works Online for 19 Years Paul Counts has been an entrepreneur since he began selling pencils at age 8. He's been making his living online for 19 years. He knows both the tech side and the marketing side inside and out -- a rare combination. (I've purchased a lot of his training programs myself.) Since I met Paul in Orlando last March, we've partnered up on several projects together. He's very successful online and (as I've discovered for myself) extremely knowledgeable, so I thought I'd give you good folks a chance to hear from him. Show notes for Ep. 1276	11.04.2018
		Ep. 1275 Myths and Truths of U.S. Monetary History: Plus, Funny Footage from the Contra Cruise In this episode I delve into some myths and truths of U.S. monetary history, from the colonial period through the creation of the Federal Reserve. The second part is a treat: some audio footage, recorded on the Contra Cruise, of Bob, Tatiania Moroz, and I as contestants in the Crypto Quiz Show, hosted by Naomi Brockwell. Show notes for Ep. 1275	11.03.2018
		Ep. 1274 Major Discovery: Previously Lost Works by Lysander Spooner Lysander Spooner, the great 19th-century individualist anarchist, evidently wrote on banking and currency competition, but those works had been lost until now. Phil Magness, through some clever detective work, tracked them down and they're now available, published via the American Institute for Economic Research! (They also shed light on whether Spooner sympathized with socialism or left-libertarianism.) Show notes for Ep. 1274	11.02.2018
		Ep. 1273 Birthright Citizenship: What the Constitution and Common Sense Say Donald Trump has indicated his desire to overturn the practice of birthright citizenship, a position Ron Paul and Rand Paul alike have long held. Opponents claim the Fourteenth Amendment requires birthright citizenship. Does it? Show notes for Ep. 1273	11.01.2018
		Ep. 1272 Gene Epstein on How to Debate a Socialist Fresh off his Soho Forum debate victory (as measured by Oxford-style rules) against Jacobin magazine editor Bhaskar Sunkara, Gene Epstein joins me for a review of the event and the arguments that gave his opponent so much difficulty. Show notes for Ep. 1272	10.31.2018
		Ep. 1271 Are Democrats and Left-Liberals Smarter Than You? Why, the reason so many college professors have identical thoughts and hold the same political positions is that they are very smart and all these thoughts and positions are just the logical outcomes of sound thinking. Or that's how left-liberals interpret the situation. I, on the other hand, offer a dissenting voice. Show notes for Ep. 1271	10.29.2018
		Ep. 1270 The Major Arguments for Money the State Can't Control Here's where we libertarians are most often ridiculed -- why, the monetary system we favor is for cranks, they say, and what's more, it's already been tried! Uh huh. In this episode I make the case for money the state can't control. Show notes for Ep. 1270	10.26.2018
		Ep. 1269 Ten Years Later, People Still Blame Deregulation Ten years after the financial crisis, the standard story still dominates: "deregulation" caused it. This is not even slightly true. It's urgent that we get this right, and not let the Fed's apologists (and the simply lazy) get away with this comic-book answer that encourages all the wrong kinds of policy responses. Show notes for Ep. 1269	10.25.2018
		Ep. 1268 Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and the Making of Modern Economics Mark Skousen joins me to discuss highlights and lowlights of the history of economic thought, and what we can learn from both. Show notes for Ep. 1268	10.24.2018
		Ep. 1267 The Facebook Purge Continues The Facebook purges continue, with recent victims including the Free Thought Project (3.1 million likes), Police the Police (1.9 million likes), and V is for Voluntary (165,000 likes). I speak to the folks behind these three pages today. Show notes for Ep. 1267	10.23.2018
		Ep. 1266 How Government Makes the Poor Worse Off, Example #43,662 Jim Epstein of Reason TV just released a mini-documentary on the effects of the coming $15 minimum wage on one particular sector of the New York economy, and it's devastating. Show notes for Ep. 1266	10.22.2018
		Ep. 1265 What I Told the Libertarian Party of Florida Last week I spoke to a small gathering in Orlando of members of the Libertarian Party of Florida. Alex Merced, vice chair of the national party, spoke before me and introduced me. He spoke about his journey to libertarianism. I in turn asked what it is about libertarianism that it typically requires a journey to reach. If I told you my answer in the notes, that would take all the fun out of it. But I'll say that I'm pretty sure you will enjoy my conclusion. Show notes for Ep. 1265	10.19.2018
		Ep. 1264 Going to College? Everyone Congratulates You. Not? You're Probably a Loser Note the difference in reaction between telling someone you're going to college (congratulations and warm wishes) and telling someone you're taking a different path (skeptical line of questioning). T.K. Coleman joins me to smack down the typical line of questioning. Show notes for Ep. 1264	10.18.2018
		Ep. 1263 Reason's Matt Welch on Libertarianism, Foreign Policy, Journalism, and Michael Malice Matt Welch, editor-at-large of Reason magazine, joins me to discuss his background, how his views evolved, the state of the Libertarian Party, his experiences in eastern Europe, and a lot more. Show notes for Ep. 1263	10.17.2018
		Ep. 1262 What's the Deal with Elon Musk? And Other Car News for Libertarians The great Eric Peters returns with further updates from the world of automobiles. You don't have to be a car aficionado to benefit from Eric's knowledge, and as always we have an entertaining and informative conversation! Show notes for Ep. 1262	10.16.2018
		Ep. 1261 Is There a Moral Obligation to Help the Poor Abroad, and Other Moral Questions Asked of Libertarians Philosopher Jim Otteson and I discuss his book Actual Ethics (Cambridge University Press), which advances a vigorous moral defense of the classical liberal, or libertarian, political tradition. We also discuss the claims of Peter Singer, who claims it is morally obligatory on each of us to give substantial aid to peoples overseas. Show notes for Ep. 1261	10.16.2018
		Ep. 1260 Has the War in Afghanistan Been a Success? A recent post on a libertarian Facebook page suggested that only blind ideologues would dispute that the war in Afghanistan has been a success. After all, local polling data finds satisfaction with the U.S. invasion and occupation, and conditions there have certainly improved. Scott Horton, author of Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan, joins me to assess these claims. Show notes for Ep. 1260	10.13.2018
		Ep. 1259 A Neoconservative's Embarrassing Fall Neoconservative historian and Council on Foreign Relations fellow Max Boot recently called on Americans, Republicans in particular, to vote a straight Democrat ticket in November. He just released a book called The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right. He's been writing and tweeting his regrets about not perceiving his white privilege sooner. (That's not a joke.) Paul Gottfried joins me to discuss what it all means. Show notes for Ep. 1259	10.11.2018
		Ep. 1258 Libertarians Are Cranks on Money, Our Critics Say When it comes to sound money and fiat paper, we libertarians are nearly always dismissed as cranks. Why, don't we know that we need the government to be able to create whatever amount of money the experts think best? Don't we know this system has worked much more smoothly than the gold standard ever did? Don't we know our system will lead to "deflation"? In today's episode I take all this on. Show notes for Ep. 1258	10.10.2018
		Ep. 1257 The Wreckage of Feminism Janice Fiamengo joins me to discuss the untold stories of how feminism has actually affected society and relationships, and the reality turns out to be rather different from the cartoon. Show notes for Ep. 1257	10.09.2018
		Ep. 1256 How to Be a Good Person, Libertarian, and Scholar: Walter Block's Amazing New Milestone Walter Block is one of the world's most prolific libertarian scholars. But recently he's managed to outdo himself. He just reached a milestone that no other scholar anywhere can come close to matching, and it's why Walter is such a treasure to our movement. Listen and be inspired. Show notes for Ep. 1256	10.09.2018
		Ep. 1255 The Problem With Government Police ...is that they're government police. Is there a way to insert some good old-fashioned competition into police services? Show notes for Ep. 1255	10.05.2018
		Ep. 1254 Theater of the Absurd: Guess What These Peer-Reviewed Journals Were Tricked into Publishing Three academics just made public a secret project they had been engaged in for a year: submitting absurd, nonsense articles to major, peer-reviewed journals in gender studies and similar fields -- and getting them published. Whatever it is you're thinking was in those articles, I promise you it's much worse and more ridiculous. Show notes for Ep. 1254	10.05.2018

LAST EPISODE

Ep. 1303 The Rise of Victim...

12.13.2018

Jason Manning, a professor of sociology at West Virginia University, has accomplished a feat I could never have matched: he's co-authored a scholarly and dispassionate overview of what he calls "victimhood culture," particularly as manifested on college campuses. He traces ...