The Tom Woods Show

Brion McClanahan Week on the Tom Woods Show begins with a discussion of this important historian's background, and how he came to abandon the neoconservatism so many of us imbibed in our youth. Sponsor: Harry's Show notes for Ep. 1463

Phil Magness discusses his new book (with Jason Brennan) about the problems with higher education. They aren't talking about ideological conformity, bad as that is. They are discussing other problems, just as deep and pervasive. For example, most academic marketing and advertising is semi-fraudulent. To justify their own pay raises and higher budgets, administrators hire expensive and unnecessary staff. Faculty exploit students for tuition dollars through gen-ed requirements. Students hardly learn anything, and cheating is pervasive. At every level, academics disguise their pursuit of self-interest with high-faluting moral language. Show notes for Ep. 1462

Kyle Mann, editor-in-chief of the brilliant satire site The Babylon Bee, joins me to discuss comedy, politics, social media, and Snopes' hilarious "fact checking" of what is obviously satire. Sponsor: The Nonviolent Zone makes the case for freedom and against the state in about a hundred pages, and it's the perfect title to hand a curious friend. Through the end of August, the $10 price tag gets you three copies instead of one. Check it out at nonviolentzone.com. Show notes for Ep. 1461

Today Tho Bishop and I review the second night of the second round of Democratic presidential debates (the July 31, 2019 debate, to be exact). Plenty of dull talking points, to be sure, but enough zingers to make this episode fun. Sponsor: Blinkist Show notes for Ep. 1460

Last night there was yet another Democratic presidential debate, and the great Lew Rockwell and I watched it so you didn't have to. Winners, losers, and insanity all covered in detail. Sponsor: Austro Libertarian Show notes for Ep. 1459

Ben Powell returns to the show to discuss his new book with Bob Lawson, in which the two economists visit various unfree places around the world and share their observations. (It turns out that alcohol, and usually beer, is often a good indicator of degrees of freedom.) In this episode we get a glimpse inside Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, and (a genuine success story) Georgia. Show notes for Ep. 1458

Most of my listeners will be familiar with Praxis, the program that gets young people internships, and their first job, with a business that matches their interests. Clark Davis, a Tom Woods Show listener, learned about Praxis through me, and did his own apprenticeship at the E-Commerce Business School. Today he works for them full time, helping people break into e-commerce as a nice side income source or even as a full-time living. Workshop Signup Show notes for Ep. 1457

We wrap up Scott Horton week with a full overview of the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, what the true story behind it is, and precisely why the U.S. regime chose to take sides. Show notes for Ep. 1456

Maybe you favor nonintervention, but are you sure you know all the ins and outs of the situation in Syria in recent years? The great Scott Horton cuts through the propaganda to get to the real story. Show notes for Ep. 1455

Our discussion with Scott Horton about the War on Terror continues today with coverage of Iraq. You think you know the story: the creeps deceived us about WMDs. There's so much more to the Iraq disaster than that, and Scott gives us all the details. Show notes for Ep. 1454

Day two of Scott Horton Week takes us to Somalia, and Scott's discussion of how this of all countries came to find itself in the crosshairs of the U.S. War on Terror. we also discussed the humanitarian catastrophe in that country, and the role the U.S. played in worsening it. Show notes for Ep. 1453

The great Scott Horton joins us for a tour of half a dozen countries with an update on the status of the War on Terror in each. Sponsor: Simple Habit Show notes for Ep. 1452

In 2002 the University of Missouri accepted a multi-million dollar bequest whose stipulation was that it hire professors working within the tradition of the Austrian School of economics. It has recently been discovered that of course it did no such thing. Its efforts to cover its tracks are actually laughable. This is a fun one. Show notes for Ep. 1451

In 1979, as the Iranian Revolution was under way, Jimmy Carter called the 1953 ouster of Iranian prime minister "ancient history." But it wasn't. It poisoned Iranian-American relations through the late 1970s and indeed has continued to do so to this day. Hunt Tooley joins me to discuss this overlooked piece of history. Sponsor: Skillshare Show notes for Ep. 1450

Keynesians like to pretend that they're impartial scientists, following the evidence wherever it leads. We, meanwhile, are portrayed as too blinded by ideology to be worth listening to. So today I run through some very challenging episodes for Keynesians to explain, and we see who the real scientists are. Show notes for Ep. 1449

The prolific and sorely underrated Connor Boyack, president of the Libertas Institute, is back with still more important work. For years libertarians have wrung their hands about the lack of materials for younger people, particularly in economics. How to convey these important ideas to kids? Connor actually did something about it. In fact, since our last conversation Connor has made three substantial contributions to our movement. Don't miss them. They are exactly what we needed, but which we lacked the ambition to do. Sponsor: Simple Habit Show notes for Ep. 1448

This episode covers Anglo-American politics between the world wars, and includes coverage of Winston Churchill, including libertarian and conservative critiques. Show notes for Ep. 1447

I get into detail about the lead-up to the crisis of 2008, the problems the federal government and the Federal Reserve caused, and why explanations other than the free-market one fail. This episode is drawn from my appearance on the Cash Flow Connections podcast. Sponsor: Blinkist Show notes for Ep. 1446

It's been 100 years since the signing of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I. That treaty had a profound impact -- entirely for ill -- on the course of the twentieth century. Historian Hunt Tooley joins me to assess the damage. Sponsor: Policy Genius Show notes for Ep. 1445

The indefatigable Scott Horton, the great libertarian foreign-policy expert, just reached a truly amazing milestone: his five thousandth interview. We look back over 20+ years of Scott's work -- and in so doing, review the course of U.S. foreign policy during these critical years. Show notes for Ep. 1444