The Tom Woods Show

We're supposed to believe that taxes are "contributions," or that government rests on the "consent" of the people, even when virtually no one has ever granted consent in a non-trivial way.   Well, here's another phony government idea, and one a lot of us have probably never really taken the time to examine: political representation. What does it really mean to say so-and-so "represents" me in Congress? We're certainly not using that word in its ordinary usage, any more than a tax could be called a contribution.   Today's episode is drawn from my Government course for the Ron Paul Curriculum.   Show notes for Ep. 931

Bernie Sanders is saying we need to increase the minimum wage because it's so hard for people earning the present minimum wage to find adequate housing. Now there are all kinds of problems with that, but I'm particularly interested in Bernie's complete lack of interest in why housing in some places might be so expensive. Show notes for Ep. 930

Michael Malice now has a weekly program called "YOUR WELCOME" with Michael Malice -- if you correct his grammar I am going to commit an atrocity; you're smarter than that -- and he had me as his first guest. I happened to be in New York City at the time, so we were able to be in studio together. The result is a wide-ranging discussion of libertarianism, religion, history, the Federal Reserve, and lots more, plus listener calls. Show notes for Ep. 929

Jeff Deist, president of the Mises Intstitute, on what libertarians (and even progressives and conservatives) ought to aim for, and why handing out U.S. Constitutions in Iraq might not be the most effective strategy. Show notes for Ep. 928

The Reagan Administration's David Stockman is convinced Trump will not survive 2018. His analysis is so compelling that I decided we had to discuss it. I won't give away the details; just listen! Show notes for Ep. 927

Not long ago I was Stefan Molyneux's guest to discuss my book How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, a discussion that brought us through the development of Western science, Scholastic philosophy, St. Thomas Aquinas, the Dark Ages, the origins of economics, and a heck of a lot more. Show notes for Ep. 926

Brad Birzer joins us to discuss themes in his latest course for LibertyClassroom.com, on the golden age of science fiction -- which is full of ideas libertarians will find congenial. Show notes for Ep. 925

Joe Salerno, editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics and academic vice president of the Mises Institute, discusses Ludwig von Mises' thoughts on nationalism, immigration, and the state. Show notes for Ep. 924

Donald Trump has asked for a $54 billion increase in the military budget. That's an opportune moment to revisit how much the U.S. government already spends, what precisely it's spending the money on, and what it has to show for it all. Show notes for Ep. 923

Everyone always thinks the current president must be the worst. Surely President X is the most ignorant when it comes to economics! Well, there's a lot of competition for that honor, my friend, as Gene Epstein joins me to explain. Show notes for Ep. 921

Carl Benjamin, known online as Sargon of Akkad, has built up an enormous online following thanks to his compelling and controversial YouTube videos. He identifies with no particular ideology, but says he feels the greatest kinship with libertarianism, even while he does sometimes criticize it. By popular demand, he and I have a freewheeling discussion, and we touch on his video on the violent leftist group By Any Means Necessary. Show notes for Ep. 920

Patrick Gann recently graduated from Millersville University with a degree in social work. We discuss the ideological slant and unexamined assumptions to be found within social work departments and out in the field. Show notes for Ep. 919

Andrew Bacevich, retired from Boston University, recently posed 24 awkward but important questions about the present state of American foreign policy. I thought they were worth reviewing, because taken together they say quite a bit -- none of it good -- about both the foreign policy and the media that allows these questions to go unanswered, or indeed not asked at all. Show notes for Ep. 918

Hunter Thompson, a full-time real estate investor, discusses today's housing market, what sectors do well in a down economy, how real-estate investing compares to other investment possibilities, and more. Show notes for Ep. 917

Congressman John "Jimmy" Duncan Jr. has served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee for 29 years. He is the last remaining Republican House member who voted against the war in Iraq. He serves on the board of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. Show notes for Ep. 916

The perpetually aggrieved have recently settled upon various Confederate monuments, particularly in New Orleans, as the next thing to be destroyed. Given the level of American discourse (a word I use laughingly in this context), anyone saying a word against this is of course condemned with all the usual low-IQ language of the left. Rev. Larry Beane, pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Gretna, Louisiana, and historian Brion McClanahan, join me for the discussion. Show notes for Ep. 915

Kristaps Andrejsons, host of The Eastern Border podcast, joins me for a rapid-fire overview of some of the major episodes in the history of the Soviet Union. Show notes for Ep. 914

Christopher Voss spent 24 years working in the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit as a hostage negotiator and was the FBI's chief international hostage and kidnapping negotiator from 2003 to 2007. His book, which I thoroughly enjoyed, is full of actionable advice for real negotiation in your business and personal life. Show notes for Ep. 913

Colin Moriarty spent 14 years of his life in the video game world, until one day he published a joke on Twitter that only an idiot would take offense at, and everyone swarmed for the kill. But he got the last laugh, as we note in today's episode. Show notes for Ep. 912

Here's some audio footage of my appearance at the Yale Political Union in defense of secession. In particular, this is the part in which I replied to critics. I think you'll enjoy this. Show notes for Ep. 911