The Tom Woods Show

Yesterday Michael and I did a year in review, looking at the United States and the world. Today's year in review is about the show itself, and highlights from 2017's hundreds of episodes. As usual, the show will take a break for Christmas. We return on January 3. Show notes for Ep. 1066

Michael Malice joins me for something of a year in review episode. Who were the big winners -- and losers -- of 2017? Who was the biggest villain? What was the biggest surprise? Lots of fun. Show notes for Ep. 1065

Bitcoin Cash, which resulted from a Bitcoin fork, has been championed by its proponents as being more in line with Satoshi Nakamoto's original vision for the cryptocurrency, and as helping to solve some of the problems that Bitcoin currently faces. Critics aren't so sure. Jameson Lopp of BitGo and Roger Ver of Bitcoin.com square off on all this in today's episode. Show notes for Ep. 1064

Gene Epstein returns on the 50th anniversary of William Styron's historical novel The Confessions of Nat Turner, the slave who led a famous revolt in Virginia. Since Styron was a white southerner who wrote a Nat Turner novel in the first person, you can imagine the reception he got in certain quarters. The whole episode tells us a great deal about American society and intellectual life. Show notes for Ep. 1063

Economist Bob Murphy (Ph.D., NYU) and podcaster Todd Lewis square off in the central debate of anarcho-capitalism: is government truly necessary for national defense, or could the free market provide this service? Show notes for Ep. 1062

Dr. Robert Epstein, former editor of Psychology Today, joins me to discuss his research on how various online services, particularly Google and Facebook, can influence the way people think about a great many important things. Show notes for Ep. 1061

I talk to Stefan Molyneux about many of the cliches libertarians find themselves having to answer, involving child labor, labor unions, monopolies, the environment, and more. Show notes for Ep. 1060

J. Gresham Machen, whom many listeners have urged me to do an episode about, taught at Princeton Theological Seminary for many years and was a significant figure in American Presbyterianism who fought against theological liberalism among Protestants. His political views, interestingly enough, were profoundly libertarian. Show notes for Ep. 1059

Christopher Snowdon of London's Institute of Economic Affairs makes the case against paternalistic meddling in individual decisions. Show notes for Ep. 1058

Dave Rubin, host of the hugely successful Rubin Report, alienated former colleagues (e.g., at The Young Turks Network, where he had been an on-air host) when he openly disapproved of what he saw as an authoritarian, anti-free-speech drift among the Left. Today his YouTube channel has nearly 567,000 subscribers and his show reaches an enormous audience.   He and I discuss this and a lot more, including plenty of listener-supplied questions.   Show notes for Ep. 1057

Walter Block, who holds an endowed chair in economics at Loyola University, New Orleans, joins me to cover a smorgasbord of topics: reparations, the environment, whether libertarians may use tax-funded services, the reliability of government statistics, fractional-reserve banking, and more. Show notes for Ep. 1056

We've all heard the usual arguments: the U.S. government entered the Vietnam War because of the domino theory, or because of SEATO treaty obligations, or whatever. The recent Ken Burns PBS series on the war, for example, repeats many conventional arguments about the war. Gareth Porter, on the other hand, joins me to discuss rather a different interpretation of the war. We cover the origins of the war, the nature of the war (were civilians deliberately targeted?), the Cambodian incursion, and a lot more. Show notes for Ep. 1055

Salon is unhappy with my guest: his children's book series teaches libertarian ideas -- and, worst of all, introduces them even to some of the ideas of...AYN RAND! Show notes for Ep. 1054

Brett Veinotte of the School Sucks Project just returned from a 40-day cross-country trip, where he held meetings and events highlighting alternative approaches to education. He joins me today to discuss what he found. Show notes for Ep. 1053

Marco Bassani, a professor of the history of political theory at the University of Milan, joins me to discuss a question that has divided libertarians: is the independence of Catalonia from Spain a cause that should be cheered? Show notes for Ep. 1052

Hunter Lewis, in an amazing book called Economics in Three Lessons & One Hundred Economic Laws, concisely reviews the crucial economic ideas that can help people see the world in a whole new way. Show notes for Ep. 1051

According to Dr. Robert Epstein, adolescence is an artificial construct of recent vintage, unknown in earlier times or indeed in many parts of the world today. The creation of this category, and the assumptions that inform it (by state and society alike) have harmed young people, he argues, and are responsible for the anxiety and angst we associate with the teenage years. These problems are not evident in cultures that lack this category. We explore Dr. Epstein's thesis and book in today's episode. Show notes for Ep. 1050

Laura Nicolae, a sophomore at Harvard (and whose father fled communist eastern Europe), made some waves recently with an article for the Harvard Crimson about the cavalier way the campus left treats the subject of communism. Show notes for Ep. 1049

I've long been associated with the cause of nullification of unconstitutional federal laws, having written a book on it. Here I discuss various arguments -- historical, constitutional, and moral -- in favor, with special emphasis toward the end on the moral argument. Thanks to the Tenth Amendment Center for sponsoring this event. Show notes for Ep. 1048

Rothbardian anarcho-capitalists, who make up a substantial proportion of my audience, are often confused by non-libertarian anarchists, who don't seem like real anarchists to them. These anarchists, in turn, feel the same way about anarcho-capitalists. In this episode, Professor Gerard Casey reviews the thought of some of the key thinkers associated with anarchism. Show notes for Ep. 1047