The Tom Woods Show

The FAA has gone berserk regarding the amount of airspace it wants to regulate. A listener of the Tom Woods Show found that good, old-fashioned ridicule is the best approach when dealing with a ridiculous and unpopular law. Show notes for Ep. 567

It's become fashionable in libertarian circles to ridicule the nonaggression principle. Stephan Kinsella and I speak in its defense. This one is long overdue. Show notes for Ep. 566

The situation in Greece no longer makes many headlines, but it remains catastrophic. How did it happen, and what can we learn from it? Show notes for Ep. 565

Joshua Bennett tells us how he took matters into his own hands and got the libertarian message out in Alaska to listeners of right-wing radio. Actionable ideas here! Show notes for Ep. 564

Why are political campaigns based on dumbed-down slogans, instead of the rational deliberation our textbooks taught us was the basis of the system? Why is it that tiny minorities manage to get lucrative subsidies in a system supposedly based on the popular will? Why are voters uninformed -- and why do they have an incentive to be? Public Choice economics can help us understand these phenomena better, and that's our topic for today. Show notes for Ep. 563

What's the truth about John F. Kennedy, the Federal Reserve, his public persona, the economy, and more? Here's a side of things you've never heard before, I guarantee. Show notes for Ep. 562

Since 2008, the Left has mocked the idea that the government might have had a hand in the housing bubble and collapse and the financial crisis, which are portrayed as spontaneous outcomes of a market economy. This thesis is blasted to smithereens in this discussion with Peter J. Wallison. Show notes for Ep. 561

Doesn't the market lead to vulgar outcomes, and undermine high culture? Paul Cantor, a member of Ludwig von Mises' NYU seminar, joins us to discuss this and more -- including topics in popular culture, including The X Files and Breaking Bad. Show notes for Ep. 560

Patrick Moore, a Canadian scientist who was a founding member of Greenpeace, finally had to leave the organization for its extremism. Don't miss his fascinating story! Show notes for Ep. 559

The real truth about Medicare and Medicaid and their true nature and consequences are completely unknown to most people. Murray Sabrin has just released a documentary on the 50th anniversary of their creation setting the record straight, and providing an alternative. Not to be missed! Show notes for Ep. 558

Ever since we learned in school how a bill becomes a law, we've absorbed the idea that it's normal for law to be imposed from the top down. But it's possible, and indeed the historical norm, for law to emerge in a completely different, more libertarian-friendly way. Join me for a great conversation with Stephan Kinsella! Show notes for Ep. 557

The fifth Republican presidential debate was last night, December 15, 2015, and Lew and I are on the case. A few surprises and some good lines, but mostly horrifying, save for the good performance by Rand Paul. As always, our discussion is livelier and more illuminating than the debate itself, so don't deny yourself this guilty pleasure! Show notes for Ep. 556

Judith Curry, a highly credentialed climate scientist, discovered what happens when you question the reliability of the models on which global warming predictions are based. She also discovered that the way science is done in practice might be a teensy bit different from the dispassionate model of Francis Bacon. Show notes for Ep. 555

I answer some helpful listener questions in today's episode: my concerns about Trump, how I know which opponents to engage and which to ignore, what historical misconception is most important for Americans to overcome, and many more. Show notes for Ep. 554

The just-war tradition is a much-heralded aspect of moral reflection in the Western world. But does this series of criteria for the acceptability of particular wars really serve the purpose of limiting war? It's a question I've changed my mind on in recent years, and Laurie Calhoun helps me to work through the issue in today's episode. Show notes for Ep. 553

Michael Malice returns to the show to discuss his debate with me about Alexander Hamilton. This post-game discussion is a lot of fun -- plus, we talk about what could well be the topic for our next live, in-person debate! Show notes for Ep. 552

Here it is: the audio from the December 2015 debate between Michael Malice and me. Resolved: Alexander Hamilton was a hero for the cause of liberty. Michael argues in the affirmative, and I in the negative. You are going to love it. We're both relentless, and the audience loves it. At the end I reveal the winner. Show notes for Ep. 551

Ilana Mercer joins me to discuss the recent campus lunacy, and whether we ought to save the university or dance on its grave. Show notes for Ep. 550

Eric Peters returns to the show, to discuss unintended consequences of automobile regulation, interesting new innovations, and how government's attempts to fix things create an array of new problems. Show notes for Ep. 549

Leave it to Walter Block to write a book on privatizing lakes, rivers, oceans, and aquifers. We discuss the how and why today! Show notes for Ep. 548