

Free The Economy
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Free The Economy is a weekly podcast hosted by Richard Morrison of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, examining the intersection of news, policy, and economics featuring guests that include writers, policymakers, explorers, contrarians, and free thinkers of all kinds.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 30, 2025 • 50min
Our Nuclear Tomorrow with Craig Piercy
 This week we talk about administrative law judges, AI innovation saving lives, environmental regulation creating more wildfires, and more research on the fight against corporate welfare. Our interview this week is with Craig Piercy, CEO of the American Nuclear Society. We talk about innovation, abundance, start-up ventures, regulatory reform, and the future of affordable energy. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 

Oct 23, 2025 • 45min
Obamacare Problems with Jeremy Nighohossian
 This week we talk about the unintended consequences of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, decarbonization of economic growth, and resources for reporting government corruption at the local level. Our interview this week is with Jeremy Nighohossian, senior fellow and economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. We talk about the government shutdown, insurance subsidies, the Affordable Care Act, big pharma, and how to introduce price discipline into healthcare spending. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 

Oct 16, 2025 • 48min
Energy Diversity and Abundance with Stephen Perkins
 This week we talk about the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics, eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, why we don’t need a government agency for jobs data, how market trade builds social capital, and a new article on the managerial tyranny of Boomer environmentalism. Our interview this week is with Stephen Perkins, Chief Operating Officer of the American Conservation Coalition. We talk about oil and gas, wind and solar, permitting and zoning, transmission lines, and the future of U.S. energy abundance. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 

Oct 9, 2025 • 49min
Celebrating Human Achievement with Ed Hudgins
 This week we talk about the need to build more infrastructure in the UK, an award for public finance leadership in Oklahoma, teaching students to actually read in Mississippi, and shifting the Overton Window on corporate welfare. Our interview is with Ed Hudgins, founder of the Human Achievement Alliance. We’ll talk about innovation, optimism, technological development, and the future of upwing thinking. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 

Oct 2, 2025 • 41min
Reforming Social Security with Romina Boccia
 This week we cover a new study on pharmaceutical tariffs, whether to expect a new Great Depression (via Phil Magness and Marc Wheat in National Review), and how the U.S. auto industry is souring on the electric vehicle revolution. Our interview this week is with Romina Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute, editor of Debt Dispatch on Substack, and co-author of the new book "Reimagining Social Security: Global Lessons for Retirement Policy Changes." We talk about working, saving, budget deficits, and what it will take to reform America’s flagship program for retirement security.Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 

Sep 25, 2025 • 57min
Emergent Abundance with Alex Trembath
 This week we cover the future of financial regulation, the end of the left vs. right distinction in politics, and how we all just dodged a bullet on alcohol and public health. Our interview this week is with Alex Trembath, deputy director of the Breakthrough Institute. We’ll talk about energy, housing, bureaucracy, special-interest politics, and the emergent coalition of the abundance movement.Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 

Sep 18, 2025 • 45min
Empowering Patients with Vance Ginn
 This week we cover potential changes to quarterly reporting for public companies, state-level AI regulations, spiking gas prices in California, and cosmetology licenses for sale in D.C. Our interview this week is with Vance Ginn, host of the Let People Prosper podcast, economist at Americans for Tax Reform, and co-author of the new book on health care policy, Empower Patients: Two Doctor's Cure for Healthcare. We’ll talk about third-part payments, employer tax deductions, Medicare, Medicaid, Health Savings Accounts, and how Americans can take back more control over their own medical treatment and health outcomes. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 

Sep 11, 2025 • 44min
Tariffs and Economic Freedom with Matt Mitchell
 This week we cover the latest jobs numbers, the emergent community of abundance fans, the limits to taxing billionaires, and eliminating an illegal federal agency. Our interview this week is with Matt Mitchell, senior fellow in the Centre for Human Freedom at the Fraser Institute. We’ll talk about tariffs, prosperity, international comparisons, and the best policy for a global economy. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 

Sep 4, 2025 • 1h 1min
Clear-But-False Ideas with Kevin Williamson
 This week we cover the Trump tariffs being struck down, Biden’s competition order being vacated, and new research on housing affordability. Our interview this week is with Kevin Williamson, national correspondent at The Dispatch and host of the How the World Works podcast. We’ll have a wide-ranging discussion covering everything from restaurant food waste to tariffs, wealth disparities, economic development, marginal costs and benefits, and the perpetual delusion that government can solve all of our problems for us.Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 

Aug 28, 2025 • 47min
Ideological Diversity on the Right with Peter Lipsett
 This week we cover Ray Dalio’s Big Debt Cycle, scandal in climate finance, jobs destroyed by tariffs, why AI can’t replace free markets, and the debut of the new publication "The Argument." Our interview this week is with Peter Lipsett, Vice President of DonorsTrust and host of the Giving Ventures podcast. We’ll talk about the right side of the modern political spectrum and the diversity it contains, looking at the differences between traditionalists, libertarians, fusionists, Catholic and Jewish and conservatives, and everything in between. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog. 


