The Curious Task

Alex Aragona speaks with Terry Anderson as he explores the external forces that have restrained the wealth and well-being of Indigenous peoples in the West, and how that wealth can be unlocked.  References 1. “Free Market Environmentalism for the Next Generation” by Terry L. Anderson and Donald R. Leal Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Market-Environmentalism-Generation-Anderson-Paperback/dp/B010CKSG1M  2. “Unlocking the Wealth of Indian Nations” by Terry Anderson Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Unlocking-Wealth-Indian-Nations-Anderson/dp/1498525679  3. Indigenous Econ Organization Website Link: https://indigenousecon.org/about  4. “American-Indian Wars” by History.com Link: https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/american-indian-wars  5. “Civil War” by the National Museum of the American Indian Link: https://americanindian.si.edu/static/why-we-serve/topics/civil-war/#:~:text=The%20war%20exacted%20a%20terrible,less%20secure%20after%20the%20war.  6. “The Cherokee Nation Cases” by the Supreme Court Historical Society Link: https://civics.supremecourthistory.org/article/the-cherokee-nation-cases/  7. “Potlatch Ban” by Living Tradition Link: https://umistapotlatch.ca/potlatch_interdire-potlatch_ban-eng.php#:~:text=In%20the%20late%201800s%2C%20the,became%20law%20January%201%2C%201885 8. “Northern Cheyenne Tribe: Traditional Law and Constitutional Reform” by Sheldon Spotted Elk Link: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1082&context=tlj  9. “Our Story: A History of Resilience and Perseverance” by Coushatta.org Link: https://www.coushatta.org/our-story/

Alex Aragona speaks with Diana Thomas as she explores the factors that play into increasing childcare costs, and some potential solutions to the problem. References 1. “Regulation and the Cost of Childcare” by Diana Thomas and Devon Gorry Link: https://www.mercatus.org/students/research/working-papers/regulation-and-cost-child-care  2. Child Care Aware of America Link: https://www.childcareaware.org/

Alex Aragona speaks with Vincent Geloso as he explores anarcho-capitalist economic concepts and whether there are real life examples to back them up. References 1. Vincent’s Previous Episode “Should We Care About Equality” on The Curious Task Podcast Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-28-vincent-geloso-%e2%80%94-should-we-care-about-inequality/  2. “Private Creation and Enforcement of Law: A Historical Case” by David Friedman Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/724116?seq=1  3. “Are Anarcho-Capitalists Insane? Living Standards under Medieval Icelandic Conflict Institutions” by Vincent Geloso Link: https://vincentgeloso.com/2020/04/06/are-anarcho-capitalists-insane-medieval-icelandic-living-standards-in-comparative-perspective/ 4. “Trade or Raid: Acadian Settlers and Native Indians Before 1755” by Vincent Geloso Link: https://vincentgeloso.com/2017/08/28/trade-or-raid-acadian-settlers-and-native-indians-before-1755/  5. “Dynamics of Interventionism and Economic Development in Quebec before 1854” by Vincent Geloso Link: https://ebhsoc.org/journal/index.php/ebhs/article/view/313  6. “State Capacity and Economic Development: Causal Mechanism or Correlative Filter?” by Vincent Geloso and Alexander Salter Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3294086

Alex Aragona speaks with Dan Griswold as he explores the benefits of open markets and free trade, and whether you can "win" a trade war. References 1. “Mad About Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization” by Daniel Griswold Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Mad-About-Trade-America-Globalization/dp/193530819X  2. “Section 232 Investigation on the Effect of Imports of Steel on U.S. National Security” by U.S Department of Commerce Link: https://www.commerce.gov/issues/trade-enforcement/section-232-steel  3. “China Section 301-Tariff Actions and Exclusions Process” by Office of the United States Trade Representative Link: https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions  4. “Only Congress can end the China trade war quagmire” by Daniel Griswold Link: https://www.mercatus.org/economic-insights/expert-commentary/only-congress-can-end-china-trade-war-quagmire  5. “The Coronavirus Should Not Prompt Us to Rethink Globalization” by Daniel Griswold Link: https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/the-coronavirus-should-not-prompt-us-to-rethink-globalization  6. “Daniel Griswold: Curbing globalization would compound coronavirus damage” by Daniel Griswold  Link: https://www.twincities.com/2020/03/13/daniel-griswold-curbing-globalization-would-compound-coronavirus-damage/  7. “Daniel Griswold on US Demographic Decline and the Case for Expanding Immigration” by Daniel Griswold Link: https://www.mercatus.org/macro-musings/daniel-griswold-us-demographic-decline-and-case-expanding-immigration  8. “Clashing Over Commerce: A History of US Trade Policy” by Douglas Irwin Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Clashing-over-Commerce-History-Policy/dp/022639896X  9. “Death by China: Confronting the Dragon - A Global Call to Action” by Peter Navarro and Greg Autry Link: https://www.amazon.com/Death-China-Confronting-Dragon-paperback/dp/0134319036 10. “United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement” by Office of the United States Trade Representative Link: https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/united-states-mexico-canada-agreement

Author of 'Unschooled' Kerry McDonald joins Alex Aragona to talk about how choice in education can allow children to lead happier and more fulfilled lives, and the positive impacts of taking education outside the conventional classroom.  References from Episode 53 with Kerry McDonald: You can buy Kerry McDonald’s book, Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom, on Amazon Canada at this link. You can buy Noam Chomsky’s book, Chomsky on Mis-Education, which Alex references in the podcast, on Amazon Canada at this link. You can read more about Timothy Layton’s Harvard study on the mental effects of younger children starting school on the Harvard Gazette here. You can read more about the Vanderbilt study on the correlation between youth suicide attempts and the academic year at this link. You can read more about the Yale research study on the dissatisfaction of children in high school here. You can read Kerry McDonald’s Fee.org article on parents favouring homeschooling in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic here.

Alex Aragona speaks with Nimish Adhia as he explores how Bollywood films traced cultural changes in India, and how the films themselves directly affect social attitudes. References from Episode 52 with Nimish Adhia: You can read Nimish Adhia’s paper “The role of ideological change in India’s economic liberalization”, which is referenced throughout the podcast, at this link You can read more about the Hindi film Mother India (1957) here You can read the Eastern Eye op-ed “Did Bollywood write the script for the Indian economic miracle?” by Raj Persaud at this link Nimish’s Bollywood film recommendations: Upkar (1967), directed by Manoj Kumar Guru (2007), directed and written by Mani Ratnam

Alex Aragona speaks with Malcolm Lavoie about the importance of property rights to decentralization and the use of resources, and discusses how FA Hayek's work plays a part in understanding this connection.  References from Episode 51 with Malcolm Lavoie: You can read Malcolm Lavoie’s paper “Property and Local Knowledge”, which is referenced throughout the podcast, at this link. You can read FA Hayek’s essay “The Use of Knowledge in Society” on EconLib here You can purchase FA Hayek’s book, Law, Legislation, and Liberty, on Amazon Canada at this link.

Alex Aragona speaks with Linda Kavuka as she explores why it's so important to rediscover Africa's free-market past, and how the ideas surrounding free markets can help remedy the problems facing many African countries.   References from Episode 50 with Linda Kavuka: You can read Linda Kavuka’s Telegraph article on Africa and access to the free market referenced in the podcast here You can watch Linda Kavuka’s talk on the impact of colonialism on property rights in Africa, referenced in the podcast here

Alex Aragona speaks with Fabio Rojas as he traces the history of the post 9/11 anti-war movement and what caused it to lose momentum. References from Episode 49 with Fabio Rojas: You can purchase Fabio Rojas’ book, From Black Power to Black Studies: How a Radical Social Movement Became an Academic Discipline, on Amazon Canada at this link. You can buy Fabio Rojas’ book, Party in the Street: The Antiwar Movement and the Democratic Party After 9/11,  on Amazon Canada at this link. You can purchase Fabio Rojas’ book, Theory for the Working Sociologist, on Amazon Canada here. You can read the transcript of Barack Obama’s 2002 speech against the Iraq War, which Fabio refers to in the podcast, here

Alex Aragona nerds out with Travis Smith as they discuss his book 'Superhero Ethics', why superheroes are so popular, and the ten ways superheros save the world.  References from Episode 48 with Travis Smith: You can purchase Travis Smith’s book Superhero Ethics: 10 Comic Book Heroes; 10 Ways to Save the World; Which One Do We Need Most Now? on Amazon Canada at this link You can watch the trailer for Watchmen, the American superhero drama limited television series Alex mentions in the podcast here.