The Great Antidote

Send us a textMark Calabria was the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute. Today, he is a senior advisor to the Cato Institute, and recently wrote a book on his experiences in the Agency, called Shelter From the Storm. Today, he talks to us about the book, and saving the United States from a 2008-like financial crisis by respecting congressional statutes in agency behavior and resisting calls for bailouts. He explains what the agency is and what it looks like “on the inside”. He addresses free market skepticism about being in government and influencing change. Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Send us a textTroy Senik is the author A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland. He also was a white house speech writer and is the cofounder of kite and key media. Today, he talks to us about his new book and the life of Grover Cleveland. We talk about how Cleveland became president and the political scene of the time, as well as how and why he is often forgotten today. Senik characterizes Cleveland’s principled nature and his time in office. He also gives politicians and Americans both advice on what can be learned from this amazing yet inconspicuous figure in history. Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Send us a textNico Perrino is FIRE's Executive Vice President and the creator and host of FIRE’s So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast. He is also the codirector of the 2020 documentary Mighty Ira, which is about the life and career of former ACLU executive director Ira Glasser.Today, he talks to us about FIRE’s name change and mission expansion. What changed and why? What is going on with civil liberties today? He responds to some criticisms of free speech, we explore social media and censorship. We also talk about his optimism for the future. Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Send us a textEli Dourado, a senior research fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University, talks to us today about energy abundance. We discuss at the most basic level what energy is and why it is significant to human life, making the clear case that we should aim for energy abundance. He responds to climate change worries and explains the regulatory barriers in the way of that future, and what that future would bring. Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Send us a textTimothy Sandefur is the vice president for litigation at the Goldwater Institute and the author of six books, including Frederick Douglass: Self Made Man and Freedom’s Furies: How Isabel Paterson, Rose Wilder Lane, and Ayn Rand Found Liberty in an Age of Darkness. These three women all lived during the Great Depression, so he talks to us about the literary, historical, and political scenes of the time, painting a picture of their works and relationships in context. We discuss the parallels between their time and ours, and his optimism for the future. Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Send us a textChris Freiman, a professor of philosophy at William and Mary and the author of several books, talks to us about another philosophy of liberty: consequentialism. First, he talks to us about the importance of philosophy in defending liberty. Then he talks to us about the differences between consequentialism and other liberty philosophies, and we discuss the strengths and weaknesses in its defense of liberty. Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Send us a textChris Freiman, a professor of philosophy at William and Mary and the author of several books, talks to us about another philosophy of liberty: consequentialism. First, he talks to us about the importance of philosophy in defending liberty. Then he talks to us about the differences between consequentialism and other liberty philosophies, and we discuss its strengths and weaknesses in its defense of liberty. Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Send us a textRobert Tracinski is the editor of Symposium, a substack and podcast about liberalism, the author of several books, a columnist at Discourse Magazine, and he writes on his own substack The Tracinski Letter. Today he talks to us about his view of liberalism and its current opponent: illiberalism, which comes from both the left and the right. We talk about their differences and their similarities, as well as his optimism and plan for the future. Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Send us a textRyan Hanley is a professor of political science at Boston College and the author of several books, including Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life. Today, he talks to us about the foundations of Adam Smith’s theory of virtue and proceeds to lay this theory out for us. We talk about how Smith’s philosophy and economics intersect, and how Smith comes to make a case for markets being moral, instead of amoral as many economists claim. We also talk about the influences and openness of Adam Smith, particularly Jean Jacques Rousseau. Who would’ve thought?!?Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Send us a textEric Daniels is the assistant director of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism, as well as a professor with Clemson’s Lyceum Program. Today, we talk about history as a discipline and profession, getting down to what it is and why so many podcast guests say it is so important. We break history down into a few components and even address Adam Smith as a historian! Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.