Free The Economy

This week we celebrate the show’s sesquicentennial anniversary – that is, our 150th episode. We look back at the dozens of smart, funny, passionate, and insightful guests we’ve had over the past three years and let you hear from several in their own words. From finance and tech to pop culture and political theory, our guest experts provided us with the data and analysis to make sense of the modern economy and world we see around us every day.Thank you to everyone who has been a guest, helped promote the show, or listened to an episode. We’re looking forward to making hundreds more. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison and edited by Destry Edwards. 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.

This week we talk about changes in consumer credit, disappearing fast-food jobs in California, and six things the climate movement gets wrong about China. Our guest this week is popular economics Substacker and chart maker extraordinaire Joey Politano of Apricitas Economics and The Argument. We talk about tariffs, tech jobs, federalism, housing abundance, and more.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.

This week we talk about Social Security’s cost of living, conserving rare earth minerals, and why California keeps losing tech jobs. Our guest this week is Prof. Jeremy Horpedahl, director of the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics, associate professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas, and contributor at Economists Writing Every Day. We talk about economic statistics and what we often get wrong about inflation, unemployment, wages, and tariffs. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.