The Tom Woods Show

Opponents of the free market had a field day in 2007/8: why, this collapse goes to show how unstable capitalism is! That's why I wrote my book Meltdown, which (thankfully) wound up spending 10 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. We needed an Austrian (and not just generic free-market) response to this conventional wisdom. In this episode, I discuss the book with Lew Rockwell on his podcast. Show notes for Ep. 1206

With libertarians being called "fascists" and even "Nazis" by so-called progressives, I thought it might be useful to review what Adolf Hitler himself believed about economic theory. You'll never guess: it turns out he prefers government control over a free market. Show notes for Ep. 1205

At long last, the episode you've been waiting for on progressive rock is here. This is yet another way the Tom Woods Show improves your life.   My guests today are Roie Avin, founder and editor of The Prog Report and author of Essential Modern Progressive Rock Albums, and Brad Birzer, professor of history at Hillsdale College and contributor to Progarchy.   Show notes for Ep. 1204

In this libertarian podcasters' roundtable, we have a lively discussion about why we recently joined the Libertarian Party, what our plans are, and how we can know if we've succeeded. Fun! Show notes for Ep. 1203

Emily Horowitz, a professor at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, was the overwhelming winner (measured objectively by audience opinions before and after) of a debate earlier this year at the Soho Forum on this very topic. Most people assumed no case could be made for her side, but by the time she was done, nearly three quarters of the room agreed with her. We discuss the subject in today's episode. Show notes for Ep. 1202

Rebecca Brown joins me to discuss The Innocence Project, which helps prevent and identify wrongful convictions, and get compensation for people released from prison. What are the factors that combine to yield wrongful convictions? We discuss that and a lot more. Show notes for Ep. 1201

The prolific libertarian scholar Walter Block joins me for a fascinating look at his life in the libertarian world, from his days as a social democrat through libertarianism and beyond. Show notes for Ep. 1200

The great comedian Dave Smith, host of Part Of The Problem, discusses joining the Libertarian Party, the current hysteria about Trump and Russia, and how his podcast became so successful. Show notes for Ep. 1199

Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst at the FOX News Channel, joins me to discuss Trump's most recent Supreme Court nominee as well as the names the Judge would have preferred, plus the Judge's opinion on the worst decisions in the Court's history, and much more. Thanks to the folks in my Supporting Listeners group for submitting questions! Show notes for Ep. 1198

I strongly urge you to listen to this episode. These are my opening remarks to this year's Mises University program at the Mises Institute. I discuss two sets of ungrateful people. The first: socialists. I go into detail about the improvements in the lives of everyone, but especially the desperately poor, under the free market. The numbers are frankly miraculous. And all these folks can think to do is shout at their employers through bullhorns.   Then I take on those libertarians who spend their time denouncing Ron Paul, Murray Rothbard, Walter Block, and other prolific and productive libertarians. This section is especially savage, but not gratuitously so. Just the right amount of savage.   Show notes for Ep. 1197

In popular discourse, consumer safety is one of the most frequently cited reasons for government oversight. Neil Thanedar, my guest today, is co-founder and CEO of Labdoor, which can accomplish more than the FDA even claims to be able to, and more efficiently and inexpensively. Show notes for Ep. 1196

Dan McCarthy, editor of the venerable journal Modern Age, recently suggested in the Spectator that the Trump phenomenon may have taken the air out of the so-called libertarian moment -- partly because that moment wasn't as libertarian as people thought. Plenty to think about here, and no conversation with Dan is ever dull. Show notes for Ep. 1195

Tim Moen, the leader of the Libertarian Party of Canada, is an anarcho-capitalist in the Rothbardian tradition. That gives him an interesting perspective on libertarian politics and strategy, and I ask him some tough questions. A juicy episode! Show notes for Ep. 1194

Once in a while I feature a listener who's doing something particularly interesting. My guest today, Noah Tetzner, hosts a popular podcast on the history of the Vikings, and also has the world figured out far better than I ever did at 17. Show notes for Ep. 1193

The brilliant Murray Sabrin, professor of finance at Ramapo College, is running for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian. We discuss the race, yes, but we cover a great deal else as well: how to help the poor without government involvement, how to understand money (and which book to read), what a professor of finance knows that political candidates don't, Murray's family history in Poland, the right of self-defense, why Rothbard sat on Murray's Ph.D. dissertation committee (Rothbard did this for only two people ever), and a lot more. Show notes for Ep. 1192

Here's a wide-ranging conversation full of the kind of info none of us got in school. When did the federal government first go off the rails? Does the Constitution do any good? (You may be surprised at my answer.) What is the role of the states in the American system? And lots more.   Thanks to the Libertarian Christian Podcast for letting me use my appearance on their program.   Show notes for Ep. 1191

At the recent event in New Orleans sponsored by the Mises Caucus of the Libertarian Party I spoke very bluntly about what a libertarian party should be doing and the good that it could accomplish, and contrasted that with the missed opportunities and self-sabotage that continues to plague it. Show notes for Ep. 1190

I recently joined former game show host Chuck Woolery on his Blunt Force Truth podcast to talk about all kinds of issues, ranging from Confederate monuments to Austrian economics to constitutional law and a lot more. Enjoy! Show notes for Ep. 1189

Gene Epstein joins me to make if anything an even more radical case against the existing education system than Bryan Caplan does in the latter's recent book The Case Against Education. Whatever "but surely you agree we have to have X!" arguments you've heard, Gene anticipates and smashes them in this episode. Show notes for Ep. 1188

Nathan Dempsey, creator of Liberty Minecraft, discusses what a game involving money, property, and nonaggression might teach us about organizing society -- and what he learned when he set up, side by side, a place that recognized and a place that did not recognize private property. Show notes for Ep. 1187