Yaron Brook Show Conversation W/George Selgin -- Lessons from The Great Depression | Yaron Brook Show
Jul 22, 2025
01:49:32
📺 Yaron Brook Show | July 21, 2025 | Conversation W/George Selgin -- Lessons from The Great Depression | Yaron Brook Show
What really caused the Great Depression—and what prolonged it? Economist and monetary historian **George Selgin** joins Yaron Brook for a penetrating conversation about the misunderstood economic catastrophe of the 20th century. Drawing on insights from his latest book *False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933–1947*, Selgin exposes the flawed policy decisions, economic fallacies, and moral hazards that made the Depression worse—and offers an uncompromising evaluation of what should have been done instead.
Topics include:
🔴 **Live Questions & Audience Q\&A:**
1:07:06 – What are common misconceptions about banking that drive you crazy?
1:13:30 – Can you explain how bond-collateral banking worked and how it contributed to the Depression?
1:25:36 – Why did the Depression last so long? What would a better policy response have looked like?
1:32:51 – How should we understand 19th-century panics and depressions?
1:35:09 – Thoughts on libertarians who oppose fractional reserve banking?
1:40:36 – What impact did tariffs have on the Great Depression?
📚 About George Selgin:
George Selgin is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Georgia and a former director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. He is the author of numerous journal articles and books on monetary and macroeconomic theory, history, and policy, including The Theory of Free Banking (Rowman & Littlefield, 1988), Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage (University of Michigan Press, 2008), Money: Free and Unfree (The Cato Institute, 2015), Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy (The Cato Institute, 2018), Floored! How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession (The Cato Institute, 2018), The Menace of Fiscal QE (The Cato Institute, 2019), and False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933-1947 (University of Chicago Press, 2025). He lives in Granada, Spain.
📘 *Get the book: [*False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933-1947* on Amazon] (https://www.amazon.com/False-Dawn-Rec...)
📌 Tune in now for sharp analysis and bold ideas!
👉 Subscribe for more content that challenges the status quo.
Show is Sponsored by
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Want to learn more about Ayn Rand and Objectivism? Visit the Ayn Rand Institute: https://bit.ly/35qoEC3
#greatdepression #fdr #newdeal #capitalism #regulation #selfishness #egoism #capitalism #philosophy #Morality ​#Objectivism​ #AynRand #politics
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/yaron-brook-show--3276901/support.
What really caused the Great Depression—and what prolonged it? Economist and monetary historian **George Selgin** joins Yaron Brook for a penetrating conversation about the misunderstood economic catastrophe of the 20th century. Drawing on insights from his latest book *False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933–1947*, Selgin exposes the flawed policy decisions, economic fallacies, and moral hazards that made the Depression worse—and offers an uncompromising evaluation of what should have been done instead.
Topics include:
- What modern economists still get wrong about the Depression
- * Why the Federal Reserve's actions were a disaster
- * The role of tariffs, banking regulations, and New Deal interventions
- * How bond-collateral banking contributed to the crisis
- * The parallels between 20th-century panics and today's policy risks
- * The case for free banking and the controversies around fractional reserve
🔴 **Live Questions & Audience Q\&A:**
1:07:06 – What are common misconceptions about banking that drive you crazy?
1:13:30 – Can you explain how bond-collateral banking worked and how it contributed to the Depression?
1:25:36 – Why did the Depression last so long? What would a better policy response have looked like?
1:32:51 – How should we understand 19th-century panics and depressions?
1:35:09 – Thoughts on libertarians who oppose fractional reserve banking?
1:40:36 – What impact did tariffs have on the Great Depression?
📚 About George Selgin:
George Selgin is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Georgia and a former director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. He is the author of numerous journal articles and books on monetary and macroeconomic theory, history, and policy, including The Theory of Free Banking (Rowman & Littlefield, 1988), Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage (University of Michigan Press, 2008), Money: Free and Unfree (The Cato Institute, 2015), Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy (The Cato Institute, 2018), Floored! How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession (The Cato Institute, 2018), The Menace of Fiscal QE (The Cato Institute, 2019), and False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933-1947 (University of Chicago Press, 2025). He lives in Granada, Spain.
📘 *Get the book: [*False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933-1947* on Amazon] (https://www.amazon.com/False-Dawn-Rec...)
📌 Tune in now for sharp analysis and bold ideas!
👉 Subscribe for more content that challenges the status quo.
Show is Sponsored by
The Ayn Rand Institute https://www.aynrand.org/starthere
Energy Talking Points, featuring AlexAI, by Alex Epstein https://alexepstein.substack.com/
Express VPN https://www.expressvpn.com/yaron
Join this channel to get access to perks: / @yaronbrook
Like what you hear? Like, share, and subscribe to stay updated on new videos and help promote the Yaron Brook Show: https://bit.ly/3ztPxTx
Support the Show and become a sponsor:
/ yaronbrookshow or https://yaronbrookshow.com/ or / yaronbrookshow
Or make a one-time donation: https://bit.ly/2RZOyJJ
Continue the discussion by following Yaron on Twitter (https://bit.ly/3iMGl6z) and Facebook (https://bit.ly/3vvWDDC )
Want to learn more about Ayn Rand and Objectivism? Visit the Ayn Rand Institute: https://bit.ly/35qoEC3
#greatdepression #fdr #newdeal #capitalism #regulation #selfishness #egoism #capitalism #philosophy #Morality ​#Objectivism​ #AynRand #politics
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/yaron-brook-show--3276901/support.