The Tom Woods Show

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...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

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

In this juicy talk I do begin with some internecine libertarian wrangling, to be sure, but that's not my primary focus. I cover lots of ways in which we libertarians find ourselves at odds with the culture that surrounds us. The empire's reaction to the death of John McCain was profoundly revealing, for example. The culture of the universities these days is another point of contention. As I show in today's episode, though, when even one courageous person resists and then refuses to back down, millions rally to him.   There is a lesson here.   Show notes for Ep. 1253

Dave Smith, the popular comedian and host of the Part of the Problem podcast, joins me to try to get to the bottom of the situation with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, accused of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford. Show notes for Ep. 1252

Michael Huemer is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the author of the outstanding libertarian book The Problem of Political Authority. Today he discusses his work in "ethical intuitionism," which holds that (1) there are objective moral truths; (2) we know these through an immediate, intellectual awareness, or 'intuition'; and (3) knowing them gives us reasons to act independent of our desires. Show notes for Ep. 1251

Today Hillsdale College's Brad Birzer joins me to discuss his new book, In Defense of Andrew Jackson. We discuss Indian policy, the national bank, nullification, and more. Show notes for Ep. 1250

Joseph Stiglitz is something of a celebrity economist, yet he's been grotesquely wrong both economically and morally so often. His case tells us a lot about the American establishment if he is the kind of person they hold up for our admiration. Gene Epstein joins me for the gruesome details. Show notes for Ep. 1249

Brent DeRidder of the Liberty Coalition for Disaster Relief discusses voluntary efforts to assist with recovery from natural disasters, particularly Hurricane Florence. Show notes for Ep. 1248

You do want to listen to this episode, I promise you.   Rick DeJesus of the band Adelitas Way says musicians are dead wrong to oppose or fear Spotify, and they're definitely wrong to think they need a major label. His own band had more than one of those, but then, when they realized the label was absorbing all the revenue, struck out on their own. What happened next is what we discuss in this episode....   Show notes for Ep. 1247