The Tom Woods Show

What would cause the leading cancer doctor in the world to fly across the country to the funeral of a boy of 8? That's part of today's story. Past guest Roger McCaffrey discusses the terrible ordeal his family endured when they discovered their 4 1/2-year-old son, John, had CML, a stem-cell cancer. The story involves not only a family's anguish, but also a miracle drug, insurance companies, politics, and the FDA.

My guest today has had tremendous success as a debater and recently debated a university socialist group. As an Australian, John Hajek also lets us in on what's happening at Australian universities. It's almost enough to make you feel good about American campuses. Show notes for Ep. 646

The standard narrative runs like this: Ngo Dinh Diem was the corrupt and oppressive president of South Vietnam whose removal (which wound up taking the form of assassination) the Kennedy Administration had no choice but to endorse. On top of everything else, Diem's administration was dominated by Roman Catholics in a predominantly Buddhist country, and his outrageous oppression of Buddhists was another reason he had to go. I myself believed all this, and even taught it in the classroom. According to our guest, it's bunk. Show notes for episode 645

So much of what's been tried in order to help developing countries has backfired that it's long past time to reexamine the whole question. A brand new documentary, called Poverty, Inc., is gaining plaudits across the ideological spectrum. I talk to director, producer, and writer Michael Matheson Miller today. Show notes for Ep. 644

If there's one thing our university system is devoted to, it's "diversity." Our universities can boast faculty members who look very different from one another and who come from different places -- but they more or less think the same. Aren't ideas a teensy bit important, too? We discuss why universities have so little interest in intellectual diversity. Show notes for Ep. 643

We are supposed to believe that the network of organizations promoting a particular view of Israel and the U.S. relationship with that country doesn't exist, and that anyone who says it does is a crank and a hater. Yet it's precisely the network of organizations that would call such a person a hater that we're talking about in the first pace. Grant Smith joins me for a rational discussion of this inexplicably sensitive issue. Show notes for Ep. 642

Derek Magill discontinued his studies at the University of Michigan -- where he was a member of Young Americans for Liberty, by the way -- in order to go into business for himself and to do work he found rewarding. We discuss the ins and outs of all this in today's episode. Show notes for Ep. 641

Is an increasing number of jobs always a good thing? We treat job numbers as a proxy for economic health, but should we? The Mises Institute's Ryan McMaken helps us make sense of it all. Show notes for Ep. 640

Historians haven't been terribly sympathetic to business leaders of the late nineteenth century. What should we think about Andrew Carnegie? Does he deserve the abuse of historians, or is there something to be said in his defense? The author of a new biography joins us! Show notes for Ep. 639

In order to distract attention from government housing policy and the Federal Reserve, left-liberals claim the financial crisis was brought on by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the partial repeal of Glass-Steagall) and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. In this episode we'll see if there's anything to this. Show notes for Ep. 638

Take a glimpse into the Orwellian dystopia of Stalinist Russia in my compelling conversation with Soviet emigre Eugene Yelchin. His young adult book Breaking Stalin's Nose -- which this 43-year-old is still thinking about, weeks after reading it -- superbly captures the terror, the suspicion and paranoia, the irrationality, the loss of life, and much more. Show notes for Ep. 637

When libertarian scholar Walter Block announced the creation of Libertarians for Trump, he generated a good deal of controversy. Now he explains his support for Donald Trump's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination -- in the context of a debate with Robert Wenzel. Enjoy! Show notes for Ep. 636

Rags-to-riches entrepreneur and #1 New York Times bestselling author T. Harv Eker discusses his path to success, why prosperity isn't a matter of luck or simply meeting the right people, and why a lack of money or business know-how are lousy excuses for staying in a rut. Show notes for Ep. 635

Every year the countries of the world are ranked in terms of their economic freedom. What can we learn from the results? Show notes for Ep. 634

How do you figure out what kind of work you were meant to do? Not by "following your dreams," since a lot of dreams, frankly, shouldn't be followed and won't earn you a dime. The new book by Chris Guillebeau offers case studies as well as practical advice for breaking out of the conventional modes of work -- climb the corporate ladder! work 9 to 5! -- that have been held out to us since childhood. This, surely, is an episode not to be missed. Show notes for Ep. 633

The Ethan Allen Institute promotes free markets in -- wait for it! -- Vermont, where the ideas of Senator Bernie Sanders have affected the political culture of the entire state. We get some insights into Bernie and into promoting free-market ideas in hostile territory. Show notes for Ep. 632

Do economics and the virtues have anything to do with one another? How do we reply to those who would say that capitalism and virtue can hardly be mentioned in the same sentence? Is economics a moral science? A highly engaging conversation that wrestles with some darn good questions. Show notes for Ep. 631

There's a possibly counterintuitive solution to the heroin epidemic, says Mark Thornton: legalization. We discuss his recent article. Show notes for Ep. 630

Sibel Edmonds is a former translator for the FBI and founder of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. Show notes for Ep. 629

We've heard about the raw milk controversy, but there's so much more to the issue of food and drink freedom, and the regulatory thicket ordinary farmers are expected to navigate. We get the inside scoop from the executive director of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. Show notes for Ep. 628