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Free Thoughts

A weekly show about politics and liberty, featuring conversations with top scholars, philosophers, historians, economists, and public policy experts. Hosted by Trevor Burrus. Hosted on Acast. See acas... Read more

Ranked #1

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Why is Populism So Popular? (with Tom Palmer)

Why is Populism So Popular? (with Tom Palmer)

There is no doubt that we are in a global tend of authoritarian populism. Tom Palmer joins the show today to discuss how... Read more

12 Sep 2019

47mins

Ranked #2

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How Did the Western World Get Rich? (with Stephen Davies)

How Did the Western World Get Rich? (with Stephen Davies)

How did the modern dynamist economy of wealth and opportunity come about? The processes of transformational changes coul... Read more

20 Jun 2019

47mins

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Ranked #3

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The Ideas of Friedrich Hayek

The Ideas of Friedrich Hayek

Nobel laureate Friedrich Hayek was one of the world’s foremost intellectuals in a variety of fields, including legal the... Read more

8 Jun 2015

53mins

Ranked #4

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Why Not Capitalism?

Why Not Capitalism?

This week Jason Brennan joins Aaron and Trevor to discuss his newest book, Why Not Capitalism?, which is a response to G... Read more

23 Jun 2014

46mins

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Ranked #5

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Did Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Really Save America?

Did Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Really Save America?

Did FDR’s New Deal policies help pull America out of the Great Depression, or were they in fact responsible for the high... Read more

23 Mar 2015

55mins

Ranked #6

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The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

David Kopel joins us this week for a discussion on the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: the right to keep and ... Read more

29 Sep 2014

57mins

Ranked #7

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Robert Nozick's "Anarchy, State, and Utopia"

Robert Nozick's "Anarchy, State, and Utopia"

Julian Sanchez joins Trevor and Aaron for a discussion on the political philosophy of Robert Nozick. Nozick’s 1974 book ... Read more

11 Nov 2013

1hr 27mins

Ranked #8

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"Ideological Dorks"

"Ideological Dorks"

“Your hero economists are my hero economists.”We talk about a variety of topics on this episode, including cultural cons... Read more

9 Oct 2015

57mins

Ranked #9

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Big Business Loves Big Government: Cronyism in American Politics

Big Business Loves Big Government: Cronyism in American Politics

Timothy P. Carney joins us this week for a discussion on how the complex system of lobbying and regulating and subsidizi... Read more

20 Apr 2015

50mins

Ranked #10

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The Problem of Political Authority

The Problem of Political Authority

Professor Michael Huemer claims that if normal people acted like governments do, we would generally be horrified and fin... Read more

15 Sep 2014

52mins

Ranked #11

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The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

This week we’re talking about energy, and specifically the fossil fuels that power everything in our modern world from e... Read more

15 Dec 2014

53mins

Ranked #12

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Tyranny of Public Health (with Jacob Sullum)

Tyranny of Public Health (with Jacob Sullum)

Jacob Sullum goes beyond the debate on legalization or the proper way to win the “war on drugs,” to the heart of a socia... Read more

27 Dec 2019

1hr 2mins

Ranked #13

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The Cost of Earning More Money

The Cost of Earning More Money

Dan Russell claims that business ethics is more than just a set of ethical dilemmas. Isn’t that what ethics is about, th... Read more

10 Nov 2014

46mins

Ranked #14

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End the IRS Before It Ends Us

End the IRS Before It Ends Us

This week we’re joined by Grover Norquist for a frank discussion about every libertarian’s favorite part of the governme... Read more

18 May 2015

58mins

Ranked #15

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Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?

Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?

Robert Nozick, in his essay “Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?” proposed that many highly-educated public intellec... Read more

14 Aug 2015

50mins

Ranked #16

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The Up Side of Down

The Up Side of Down

Megan McArdle joins us to talk about her new book The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well is the Key to Success (2014). We... Read more

14 Jul 2014

59mins

Ranked #17

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Can we ever downsize government? (with Chris Edwards)

Can we ever downsize government? (with Chris Edwards)

Chris Edwards joins us this week to discuss the politics that goes into attempting to minimize the federal deficit. The ... Read more

24 Aug 2018

43mins

Ranked #18

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Ayn Rand: An Introduction (with Eamonn Butler)

Ayn Rand: An Introduction (with Eamonn Butler)

Eamonn Butler joins us to discuss his new book Ayn Rand: An Introduction. Why does Rand’s work remain so influential? He... Read more

20 Apr 2018

50mins

Ranked #19

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An Introduction to Public Choice

An Introduction to Public Choice

This week Peter Van Doren joins us to explain the economics of decision making in politics. What is public choice theory... Read more

12 Jan 2015

58mins

Ranked #20

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The Cato Institute and the Libertarian Movement

The Cato Institute and the Libertarian Movement

Edward H. Crane joins us this week as we talk about the beginnings of the Libertarian Party in the early 1970s and Crane... Read more

4 May 2015

51mins

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