

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

Mar 28, 2024 • 42min
Gig Work with Liya Palagashvili
This week we cover how to rebuild after the Baltimore bridge collapse, legal challenges to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new climate disclosure rule, and how China gets an edge by continuing to identify as a developing country. Our interview this week is with Liya Palagashvili of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. We’ll talk about jobs, full time vs. part time, contractors and gig work, California’s experiment with Assembly Bill 5, recent action from the Department of Labor, and why working mothers could really use more career flexibility. Free the Economy is produced and hosted by Richard Morrison and edited and co-produced by Ryan Kracinski.

Mar 21, 2024 • 53min
Paying for Organs with Pete Jaworski
This week we cover the future of AI and employment, why we shouldn’t trust Chinese economic statistics, and how the Biden administration is sticking its nose into the global steel industry. Our interview this week is with Prof. Peter Jaworski of Georgetown University. We’ll talk about his new study about the ethics of organ and plasma donation, how compensating donors helps save lives, his book “Markets without Limits,” why you should go out and donate plasma right away, and what a world with more transplantable kidneys would look like. Free the Economy is produced and hosted by Richard Morrison and edited and co-produced by Ryan Kracinski.

Mar 14, 2024 • 47min
Defending Election Integrity with Walter Olson
This week we cover the Securities and Exchange Commission’s controversial new rule on climate change, federal science policy and indigenous knowledge, and California’s curious Panera loophole to paying the state minimum wage. Our interview this week is with Walter Olson, senior fellow at the Cato Institute. We’ll talk about his new study about election integrity, “Efficient, Timely and Reliable: A Framework for Election Law.” We cover voter ID requirements, voter registration rules, Trump’s 2020 election lawsuits, and what individual states can do to make elections run smoother and count votes faster.

Mar 7, 2024 • 51min
Free Markets and the Common Good with Iain Murray
This week we cover fake environmentalism and the need to build, a look at policymaking inside the National People’s Congress in China, the new normal for remote workers, and how the Federal Reserve is managing inflation worries and economic growth. Our interview this week is with Iain Murray, Vice President for Strategy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. We talk about his newly published study, “A New Birth of Freedom: Free Markets, the Institutions of Liberty, and the Common Good."

Feb 29, 2024 • 44min
Politically Homeless with John Tillman
This week we cover an environmental conference in Miami, allegedly underfunded government schools, Google’s AI diversity debacle, and new data on how Americans are using social media. Our interview this week is with John Tillman, CEO of the American Culture Project. We talk about elite influence, independent voters, survey data, and cultural attitudes toward economic freedom. Free the Economy is produced and hosted by Richard Morrison and edited and co-produced by Ryan Kracinski.

Feb 22, 2024 • 39min
Federal Tech with Deb Collier
This week we cover the future of environmental policy, rare earth minerals in Wyoming, and what we can learn from the merger of Capital One and Discover. Our interview this week is with Deborah Collier, Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs at Citizens Against Government Waste. We talk about net neutrality, ISPs, the Federal Communication Commission, and how well the government does at managing its own tech and telecom projects.

Feb 15, 2024 • 42min
Federalism Wins with Patrick Gleason
This week we cover Biden’s attack on shrinkflation, barriers to workplace flexibility, and a motherlode of domestic lithium. Our interview this week is with Patrick Gleason, Vice President of State Affairs at Americans for Tax Reform. We talk about reducing barriers to work, changes in state tax law, reforming business regulations, and what economically (and demographically) successful states can teach to the ones that are falling behind. Free the Economy is produced and hosted by Richard Morrison and edited and co-produced by Ryan Kracinski.

Feb 8, 2024 • 44min
Understanding AI with Matthew Mittelsteadt
This week we cover Elon Musk’s controversial pay package, protecting children online, and the Biden administration’s slamming the breaks on new natural gas projects. Our interview this week is with Matt Mittelsteadt, a research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. We talk about artificial intelligence computing applications, what you can do with them, and how the government wants to regulate them. Free the Economy is produced and hosted by Richard Morrison and edited and co-produced by Ryan Kracinski.

Feb 1, 2024 • 46min
Moving the Rocks off the Lawn with Andrew Langer
This week we cover elite opinion versus the average American, the popularity of vocational training, why Millennials are suddenly investing more like old people, and the value proposition from higher taxes. Our interview this week is with Andrew Langer, Director of the Center for Regulatory Freedom. We talk about economic growth, business lobbying, regulatory capture, and how we can deregulate to stimulate. Free the Economy is produced and hosted by Richard Morrison and edited and co-produced by Ryan Kracinski.

Jan 25, 2024 • 52min
Sensory Pleasures and Public Health with Michelle Minton
This week we cover an environmental culture war, foreign investment in U.S. manufacturing, corporate diversity efforts, and the call to return to the office for federal workers. Our interview this week is with Michelle Minton, a senior policy analyst at the Reason Foundation. We talk about vaping, drinking, nutrition, and the federal government’s uneven record when it comes to issuing public health advice. Free the Economy is produced and hosted by Richard Morrison and edited and co-produced by Ryan Kracinski.


