The Tom Woods Show

Uncertainty casts a shadow over everything right now, as people wonder how long the coronavirus problem will persist and how intense it will become. Some people face questions about employment and staying afloat during the coming weeks and possibly even months. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve and the federal government are talking about and even taking radical action. Peter Schiff joins me to talk some sense. Show notes for Ep. 1614

Popular podcaster and comedian Dave Smith joins me to discuss the libertarian movement's ninny problem, whereby a tiny (but obnoxiously loud) minority spends its time on the rampage against people like Dave for wrongthink because he interviews unpopular people. Oddly, neither Dave nor I has ever been criticized for featuring left-wingers on our shows and not grilling them over their faulty views. I wonder why that is. Show notes for Ep. 1613

I review last night's one-on-one presidential debate between the top two remaining democratic presidential contenders. Plenty of lunacy to go around, that's for sure. Sponsor: Policy Genius Show notes for Ep. 1612

The great Matt Ridley joins us for a fascinating whirlwind tour of the history of innovation, and identifies key features of it that free societies disproportionately make possible. One of my all-time favorite guests! Show notes for Ep. 1611

John Tamny returns to discuss job-training programs, price deflation, deficits, and other areas where one side (liberals or conservatives) get it badly wrong. Show notes for Ep. 1610

Gareth Porter discusses the history of U.S.-Iran relations, how they became so strained, the truth about the Iranian nuclear program, and more. Sponsor: Sanebox Show notes for Ep. 1609

Brett Veinotte of the School Sucks Project has just produced something new: not the overview of schooling, education, unschooling, and the usual topics he covers, but topics like these: once we have all this (unpopular) knowledge, how do we convey it most persuasively? Or: what's the secret to being a good researcher? Or: what's the quickest, most efficient way to read a book? Sponsor: Blinkist Guest's Product: The Ideas Into Action Summit (use code WOODS for 30% off) Show notes for Ep. 1608

Angela McArdle, who chairs the Libertarian Party of Los Angeles, has poured enormous energy into the libertarian movement and come up with a great many creative ideas to spread our message. She's also done effective battle against the crazies. Not to mention she's a blast to talk to. Enjoy! Sponsor: Stamps.com Show notes for Ep. 1607

In this final episode of Bob Murphy Week we begin by talking animal rights, school shootings, and how the poor would be cared for in a libertarian society, and finish with a discussion of the problems with anarcho-communism. Show notes for Ep. 1606

In this installment of Bob Murphy Week, we consider whether and how a stateless society could handle difficult problems like child abuse and pandemics. Show notes for Ep. 1605

As Bob Murphy Week on the Tom Woods Show continues, I take advantage of having a great libertarian theorist on the show in order to raise challenging problems like consumer safety, hunting and fishing rights, and how to deal with a mad scientist running unethical experiments. Show notes for Ep. 1604

Bob Murphy is a prolific scholar and popular writer and speaker on the Austrian School of economics, so I thought I'd ask him: what if any weaknesses do you find in Austrian Economics, and/or where do we need to do more work? Sponsor: Skillshare Show notes for Ep. 1603

As we kick off Bob Murphy Week with libertarian theorist and Austrian economist Bob Murphy, I ask him if there are areas of libertarianism that could use further work, and/or where the conventional libertarian responses are weak. Oh, yes, he says. Sponsor: Policy Genius Show notes for Ep. 1602

Success within the market economy boils down to one thing: the satisfaction of consumer preferences. But this is easier said than done. What are consumer preferences? What do people want? What will they buy? How does the entrepreneur answer these questions? Ryan Levesque, bestselling author of the books Ask and Choose, shows us how we move from the theory of capitalism to the successful real-life capitalist. Sponsor: Save yourself the time and hassle of going to the Post Office, and get discounts on postage, with Stamps.com. Get a four-week free trial plus free postage and a digital scale when you go to Stamps.com, click on the microphone at the top right of the screen, and type code WOODS. Show notes for Ep. 1601

Amity Shlaes returns to the show to discuss her new book on Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, which -- to say the least -- failed to live up to its promises. Sponsor: Sanebox helps you overcome the mental angst associated with an overflowing email inbox by sorting what's really important and helping you manage your email more efficiently. Start your free trial and get a $25 credit at sanebox.com/woods. Show notes for Ep. 1600

Last night's Democratic debate was more interesting than some of the others, partly because of the attacks on Bernie and partly because everyone was dying to see whether Bloomberg could recover from his disastrous performance last week. The result is one of my favorite debate analysis episodes of the season. Enjoy! Show notes for Ep. 1599

Gerard Casey, who taught logic at University College, Dublin, for 30 years, joins us to discuss some common logical fallacies we regularly encounter. Learn logic and other subjects with Gerard Casey, Tom Woods, and other great libertarian academics at Liberty Classroom. Get coupon codes on our coupon page. Show notes for Ep. 1598

I talk about (the horrendous) Mike Bloomberg and what he might have said in the debate, and also cover the Bernie Sanders phenomenon: his struggle against the Democratic establishment, and what's liable to happen if he gets elected. Sponsor: Harry's Show notes for Ep. 1597

We wrap up Walter Block week with a glance through his enormous list of publications and picking out interesting topics for libertarians: punishment theory, conjoined twins, the death penalty, and more, as well as a sneak preview of Defending the Undefendable 3. Show notes for Ep. 1596

Walter Block week continues with this episode about Walter's experience suing the New York Times for libel, after they misrepresented his comments in what had to be a deliberate act of journalistic malpractice. But what does libertarian theory have to say about libel law? Show notes for Ep. 1595