
The Human Progress Podcast
Hosted by Marian L. Tupy and Chelsea Follett
Latest episodes

Dec 16, 2022 • 57min
What Made the Modern World | Stephen Davies | Ep. 34
How did the modern dynamist economy of wealth and opportunity come about? Author and Head of Education at the Institute of Economic Affairs Stephen Davies joins Chelsea Follett to discuss his book "The Wealth Explosion: The Nature and Origins of Modernity."

Nov 4, 2022 • 2h 4min
Deirdre McCloskey: Innovation Begins in Our Minds
Economic historian Deirdre McCloskey speaks to HumanProgress editor Marian Tupy about economics, hierarchy, and how liberal ideas led to the modern world.

Oct 14, 2022 • 45min
Uplifting Workers in Today's America | Scott Lincicome | Ep. 33
Since at least the 2016 U.S. presidential election, policymakers on the right and the left have lamented the plight of the "American Worker" and promised to fix it. Unfortunately the most common "pro-worker" policies today—heavy on government intervention in labor, trade, or other markets—suffer from critical flaws. They overlook the laundry list of current laws and regulations that distort markets, harm most American workers, and breed economic sclerosis. They ignore market-based solutions to boost workers' independence, mobility, wealth, resilience, and quality of life. And they are based on stereotypes that fundamentally misrepresent who today's "American Worker" really is.
Recent trends in manufacturing, remote work, independent work, globalization, and other areas argue for a different kind of "pro-worker" policy—one that, instead of promoting a certain kind of worker, promising cradle-to-grave protection from disruption, or presuming that the employment and lifestyle trends of today will last beyond tomorrow, maximizes Americans' autonomy, mobility, and living standards. This book identifies what Cato Institute scholars believe to be the most important market-oriented policies to achieve these objectives, on issues like education, labor regulation, licensing, housing, healthcare, criminal justice, and consumer necessities. Each chapter identifies the problems facing American workers and suggests pro-market ways for federal, state, and local officials to fix them. Combined, these policies will give individuals the freedom and resources they need to be the "American worker" they want to be—not the one a few policymakers think they should be—and to be happier and more prosperous in the process.
Learn more: https://www.cato.org/commentary/labor-day-better-policy-all-american-workers
Scott Lincicome is the director of general economics and Cato’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies. He writes on international and domestic economic issues, including international trade; subsidies and industrial policy; manufacturing and global supply chains; and economic dynamism. Learn more: https://www.cato.org/people/scott-lincicome
Chelsea Follett is the managing editor of HumanProgress.org, a project of the Cato Institute that seeks to educate the public on the global improvements in well‐being by providing free empirical data on long‐term developments. Learn more: https://www.cato.org/people/chelsea-follett

Sep 29, 2022 • 43min
Free-Market Conservation and Environmental Optimism | Hannah Downey | Ep. 32
Can Markets Protect Nature? Hannah Downey is the policy director at PERC, helping to bring free market solutions to environmental policy challenges. Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Salt Lake Tribune, and local papers. She holds degrees in economics and political science from Montana State University.
Learn more: https://www.perc.org/about-us/people/
Twitter: @handowney
Chelsea Follett is the managing editor of HumanProgress.org, a project of the Cato Institute that seeks to educate the public on the global improvements in well‐being by providing free empirical data on long‐term developments.
Learn more: https://www.cato.org/people/chelsea-follett

Sep 22, 2022 • 49min
Maria Chaplia: An Update on Ukraine | The Human Progress Podcast Ep. 25
Ukrainian lawyer and economist Maria Chaplia joins Chelsea Follett to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Transcript: https://www.humanprogress.org/maria-chaplia-the-human-progress-podcast-ep-25-transcript/
Maria mainly works in the field of trade, lifestyle regulations, and platform economy. Her research and writing have been featured in Daily Mail, The Independent, Financial Times, Der Spiegel, Huffington Post, Conservative Home, CapX, Spiked, Euractiv, The Parliament Magazine, Cato Institute, the Institute of Economic Affairs, and more. She is also a Fellow at 21Democracy.
Learn more: https://www.21democracy.com/about/
https://www.mariachaplia.com
Fundraiser link: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/alexander-hammond-maria-chaplia-fundraiser-ukrainian-refugees
Chelsea Follett is the managing editor of HumanProgress.org, a project of the Cato Institute that seeks to educate the public on the global improvements in well‐being by providing free empirical data on long‐term developments.
Learn more: https://www.cato.org/people/chelsea-follett

Aug 26, 2022 • 53min
Build for the Future | Jason Feifer | The Human Progress Podcast Ep. 31
Author and optimist Jason Feifer joins Chelsea Follett to discuss change, why we fear it, and how we can embrace it to build a better future.
Build for Tomorrow on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Build-Tomorrow-Embracing-Adapting-Future-Proofing/dp/059323538X
Jason Feifer is the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine and host of the podcast Problem Solvers, which is about entrepreneurs solving unexpected problems in their business. Outside of Entrepreneur, he is the author of the book Build For Tomorrow, which is an action plan for embracing change and adapting fast, as the host of the podcast Build For Tomorrow (yes, same name as the book), which is about the smartest solutions to our most misunderstood problems. He writes a newsletter about how to find opportunity in change.
Learn more: https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/jason-feifer
Chelsea Follett is the managing editor of HumanProgress.org, a project of the Cato Institute that seeks to educate the public on the global improvements in well‐being by providing free empirical data on long‐term developments.
Learn more: https://www.cato.org/people/chelsea-follett

Jul 22, 2022 • 1h 10min
Nuclear Energy, Space and Humanity's Future | Robert Zubrin | The Human Progress Podcast Ep. 30
Robert Zubrin is an aerospace engineer and the author of several books on space exploration, with a particular focus on Mars. His work has been subject of favorable press coverage in The Economist, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, the London Times, The Washington Post, Fortune Magazine, Newsweek, and many other publications, and he has appeared on the Discovery Channel, CNN, NPR, and the BBC. He is the founder and President of the Mars Society and was formerly a Staff Engineer at Lockheed Martin Astronautics. He holds a Master's degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Washington. Keep an eye out for his forthcoming book on nuclear energy and learn more about his most recent book, The Case for Space, here: https://www.humanprogress.org/zubrin-the-future-of-space/
The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGnBGCR-0FU
Chelsea Follett is the managing editor of HumanProgress.org, a project of the Cato Institute that seeks to educate the public on the global improvements in well‐being by providing free empirical data on long‐term developments.
Learn more: https://www.cato.org/people/chelsea-follett

Jul 8, 2022 • 59min
Why building is our safest way forward | Gena Gorlin | The Human Progress Podcast Ep. 29
Psychologist Gena Gorlin discusses the importance of building for a better future and overcoming our aversion to risk-taking. She explores the concept of entropy and its relationship with the human condition, emphasizing the need for continuous improvement and adaptation. Gorlin also highlights the significance of understanding motivation, the builder's mindset, and recognizing the struggles that have led to progress.

Jun 24, 2022 • 57min
Rosemarie Fike: Women and Progress | The Human Progress Podcast Ep. 28
Rosemarie Fike joins Chelsea Follett to discuss the importance of economic freedom to women's wellbeing.
Transcript: https://www.humanprogress.org/rosemarie-fike-the-human-progress-podcast-ep-28-transcript/
Women’s ability to contribute to, and benefit from, market institutions is a topic of vital economic importance. When entire groups of people, like women, are restricted from owning property, moving freely within their countries and abroad, starting a business, or working in a particular occupation, everyone is robbed of the value that could have been created if they had been allowed to share their talents and ideas with the world.
Rosemarie Fike is an Instructor of Economics at Texas Christian University and a Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute. She received her M.A. in Economics at George Mason University, and her Ph.D. in Economics at Florida State University. She is an alumna of the Mercatus Center’s MA Fellowship and Adam Smith Fellowship programs. Her current research focuses on understanding the effects that different types of economic institutions have on the lives and status of women. She is the author of the Fraser Institute's Women and Progress report. In 2017, she received the Addington Prize for Measurement. Her scholarly work has been published in the Eastern Economics Journal, Journal of Economic Education, and Journal of Benefit/Cost Analysis. She has published opinion editorials in news outlets such as US News and World Report, The Hill, and Roll Call. Learn more: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/profile/rosemarie-fike

Jun 10, 2022 • 48min
Gret Glyer: An App to Fight Global Poverty? | The Human Progress Podcast Ep. 27
Chelsea Follett speaks to Gret Gyler, the founder and CEO of DonorSee, about his private-sector alternative to the traditional foreign aid model.
Transcript: https://www.humanprogress.org/gret-glyer-the-human-progress-podcast-ep-27-transcript/
Gret Glyer is the CEO of DonorSee and has raised more than a million dollars for those in extreme poverty. From 2013 to 2016, Glyer lived with the world’s poorest people in Malawi, Africa where he built more than 150 houses for the homeless, and crowdfunded $100,000 to build a girls’ school in rural Malawi. Glyer has been featured in USA Today, National Review, HuffPo, Acton Institute, and is a TEDx Speaker. Learn more: https://www.donorsee.com/team/gret-glyer
Chelsea Follett is the managing editor of HumanProgress.org, a project of the Cato Institute that seeks to educate the public on the global improvements in well‐being by providing free empirical data on long‐term developments.