The Tom Woods Show

Professor Amy Wax wrote an op-ed last month arguing that society's most vulnerable have suffered the most by the collapse of the bourgeois moral consensus. You'll never guess: the screechers called her a "white supremacist." Show notes for Ep. 991

I hate to dwell on this silliness, so I've decided to make this into a bonus episode rather than one of my five regular weekly episodes. Jason Stapleton invited me on to the Jason Stapleton Program not long ago to address a series of unprovoked attacks on me by Nicholas Sarwark, chairman of the Libertarian National Committee. These attacks speak volumes about the trajectory and ambitions of the Libertarian Party, so for the record I hereby register this discussion as an official episode of the Tom Woods Show. Show notes for Ep. 990

James O'Keefe has become notorious, and controversial, for his organization's undercover videos -- most recently, of people associated with CNN, who appear to suggest that some of their major stories are politically and ideologically driven. We discuss the American media, criticisms of his work, and what we can expect next. Show notes for Ep. 989

Today I'm joined by Brent DeRidder of the Liberty Coalition for Disaster Relief and Gret Glyer, creator of the DonorSee philanthropy app, to discuss how private individuals and groups can relieve the suffering associated with this terrible disaster. Show notes for Ep. 988

During natural disasters, there's a sudden and intense spike in demand for the existing stock of resources. This puts upward pressure on prices, and this upward pressure has salutary effects (which we'll discuss in this episode).   That's not how most people see it. "Price gouging," to the man on the street, involves the unconscionable exploitation of vulnerable people's difficult situations in order to make a quick buck.   Show notes for Ep. 987

With various websites (not all "white nationalist") seeing various Internet services withdrawn from them, and given that our media and political classes are not exactly known for their ability to make fine distinctions, could ever more sites and groups, more or less innocuous, find themselves subjected to this kind of treatment? Lew Rockwell and I discuss this and a heck of a lot else, including the controversy about libertarians and fascism. Show notes for Ep. 986

In this episode I talk to Katie Wells of WellnessMama.com, in a conversation ranging from entrepreneurship to education, homeschooling, history, the Federal Reserve, nullification, and more. Show notes for Ep. 985

By popular demand, popular (and iconoclastic) strength trainer Mark Rippetoe joins me to discuss strength training and fitness (and what so many people get wrong), as well as his libertarian views -- and how it all meshes together. Show notes for Ep. 984

The "happiness" literature purports to speak about levels of happiness in various countries. Popular journalism then purports to explain why the happiest places are happy -- and it's always because of the state. Is there anything to this research? Show notes for Ep. 983

Well, this was bound to happen. Brandon Navom of Software Engineers for Liberty was fired from his job for planning to take part in a free speech rally that had nothing to do with anything other than free speech. Hysterics tweeted at his employer that Navom was a Nazi and got him fired with no severance. He is an ordinary libertarian with no unusual views to speak of. Show notes for Ep. 982

The brilliant Scott Horton, a one-man libertarian foreign-policy think tank, joins me to discuss the Trump policy in Afghanistan, the real history of the war, and why the only sensible approach is to get out. Show notes for Ep. 981

Peter van Buren returns to the show to discuss his novel Hooper's War, set during World War II. Beneath all the casualty figures and the news reports is something profound and lasting that damages us during war, and the author brings it out even in the context of the "Good War." Show notes for Ep. 980

The small country of Liechtenstein is run by Prince Hans-Adam II, who is a friend and correspondent of the libertarian economist and philosopher Hans-Hermann Hoppe. In today's episode we tell the untold story about this extraordinary place. Show notes for Ep. 979

Keith Preston, whose writing I always find interesting and challenging, wrote an excellent overview and analysis of what happened in Charlottesville last weekend. He does the impossible here: this is as dispassionate as it gets. Enjoy. Show notes for Ep. 978

In the wake of the events in Charlottesville, Paul Gottfried returns to the show to discuss the present state of the American ideological spectrum, from Antifa to the alt Right. Show notes for Ep. 977

Today's episode takes a brief look at economic downturns dating back to the 19th century, and argues that they weren't spontaneous occurrences of the free market. Fun!    I delivered this talk at a Mises Institute event in 2009.   Show notes for Ep. 976

Patrik Schumacher, a prominent architect in London, stunned the architecture world last year when he came out against housing subsidies and state-funded art schools, and in favor of privatizing, parks, streets, and other public areas. Instead of groveling and apologizing, he's sticking to his guns. Show notes for Ep. 975

Antony Sammeroff, who co-hosts the Scottish Liberty Podcast, joins me to discuss how he's taken a personal passion and begun to monetize it online. Show notes for Ep. 974

Glenn Jacobs, best known as the enormously popular WWE wrestler Kane, is also a Misesian and a fixture of the liberty movement. He's currently running for mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, and he joins us to discuss the campaign. Show notes for Ep. 973

As you likely know by now, Google fired James Damore after he wrote an internal memo questioning the assumption that all human differences are due to social conditioning. There is no "libertarian position" on this per se; Google obviously may hire and fire as it pleases. But man was there a lot of libertarian confusion about this.   Some said his firing was "the market" speaking. Some called me a "thick" libertarian for being critical of Google. Some appeared to suggest that libertarians aren't allowed to criticize private entities.   In this episode I clear up all of these unfortunate (and persistent) confusions.   Show notes for Ep. 972