Faith and Economics

Data centers are a hot topic right now, and for good reason: the costs and benefits are complicated. As one panelist put it, what's true for one city may not apply to another. This episode is a recording of a panel discussion that Russ moderated.  Dr. Paul Byrne, an economist, and Josh Svaty, a data center consultant, were the panelists.  Audience Q&A is at the end and wrapped up an engagi...

Winner of Nobel Prize in Economics, Friedrich von Hayek is one of the 20th century’s greatest intellectuals.   His work is widely cited by libertarians, conservatives, and classical liberals, all of whom claim him as a major influence. So, what did Hayek have to say, and why is he still relevant?  Tune in to find out!

Justin leads a discussion centered on one of his favorite philosophers, the 19th Century’s Great Dane, Soren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard is a difficult, perceptive, and prescient philosopher whose popularity has steadily been on the rise, and whose insights inform many contemporary debates across many disciplines.  Find out what all the fuss is about!

Peter leads a discussion centered on the upcoming midterm elections here in the US of A.  Is there a blue wave incoming?  A red one?  Why? Join in for an informative discussion about political coalitions and disappointment.

What does Costco have to tell us about America? The Gwartney Institute's leading Costco Fanboy, Justin, leads a discussion about all things Costco.  The episode includes some mind-boggling information about all the ways Costco benefits Americans who don't even shop there (even though he thinks they should). So, scrounge up six quarters, get yourself a hot dog and a soft drink, and settle i...

Peter leads a discussion about a recent fiasco involving AI agents acting autonomously and in concert to fulfill their own goals. Is artificial intelligence coming for us all next, or is this just more hysteria about new technology?  Tune in to find out!

Justin and Russ discuss an article titled '10 Things Classy People Never Do', which of course implicates them both.   Are you, like Justin and Russ, inadvertently advertising your low class to those around you?  Join in for a fun discussion and learn how to pass as someone with class (especially if you aren't!).

The proliferation of Flock cameras in the USA has reinvigorated discussions around surveillance, freedom, and what exactly constitutes public space.   If we’re doing nothing wrong, should we welcome Flock cameras as a means of fighting crime?   Or does this development represent one step forward on the road to authoritarianism?   Tune in to find out!

Data Centers are going to drink all our water, use all our electricity, and then kill us all!" -  so say an awfully large number of domestic coalitions.  But if nobody wants these things, why are they trying to build them?  What's going on? Join Russ and Justin while they discuss how to think about the costs and benefits of data centers.

The rising force on the left wing of American politics appears to be Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).   The charge from the right is that these are communists. But…what is socialism?  What is communism?  And if there’s a difference, how can we tell? Join the Gwartney Team for a timely discussion!

Aging ex-bureaucrat Anthony Fauci stood before congress last week to testify with regard to his actions during the COVID pandemic.   Fauci, who received a blanket pardon during the last gasps of the Biden Administration, refused to answer questions for almost the entirety of the hearing.   What does this mean?  Where do we go from here?   Join the Gwartney Team for a(nother!) pandemic discussion....

The Sun has risen every day so far, so we feel confident it will rise tomorrow as well.  We all use inductive reasoning every day, and we depend on the future resembling the past.  However, unlike deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning seems to be on shaky logical footing. What is inductive reasoning, and why is this so?  Join the Gwartney team for a discussion of the pleasures and perils of ind...

After decades of elite fearmongering concerning overpopulation, a new terror has lifted its head and is slouching toward us: underpopulation.   What will the world look like when the population begins to crater?  Should we be worried?  Peter leads a discussion about the trend of declining birth rates, why this is bad, and some possible solutions.

The rise of Quantum Computing (QC) is increasingly deployed as a fatal threat to bitcoin.  Is this accurate?  And also... what exactly  is  QC, and what exactly is  quantum  about it? Join the Gwartney Institute for a discussion that begins with cryptocurrency, glances at issues in the foundational debates of 20th century physics, and bumps into a lot else along the way!

Elon Musk is now officially a trillionaire, and some people are now officially mad. Where is Elon keeping all this money, and why hasn’t he given any of it to me?  Find the answer to this and other pressing questions by joining in!

What does it mean to live a good life?  Is an ethical life always a desirable life, and vice versa?  And what exactly is a 'virtue', anyway?  Aristotle, student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great, had important and interesting answers to these questions. Join the Gwartney Institute for a discussion of Aristotle's conception of Ethics, and why we still in intellectual debt to t...

The World Cup has drawn tourists from all over the world to the American heartland, and they’ve been posting their impressions to social media.  Interestingly, it looks like many of them are _in love_ with America and American culture - the very culture we Americans are told to denigrate and apologize for! What’s going on?  Join the Gwartney team to discuss!

Back by popular demand! We are revisiting one of our most thought-provoking conversations on the sunk cost fallacy and why our past investments can make it so hard to let go. The sunk cost fallacy is when one has already invested into a project, begins to examine the overall cost estimate involved and with the project, and thus commits to the project even harder because they are personally investe...

“Possession is 9/10ths of the law”, or so the saying goes.  But in our contemporary lives and world, we often don’t have physical control or possession of the things that we think we own.  And we do possess a lot of things that we don’t own, on some version of a subscription model.  What’s going on here?  Is this a good development?  What does this mean for advocates of a private property based ec...

Peter leads a discussion about a labyrinthine lawsuit and property dispute, pointing out along the way the light that this case sheds on property rights and how they are interpreted and enforced.  This case has it all: death, theft, AI, skullduggery, corporate restructuring, and at the heart of it all (of course!), LEGOs. Join us for a fascinating and elucidating discussion!

Is the American middle-class is shrinking like the media tells us it is?  Russ and Peter examine various data points and perspectives. Listen in and think about how middle class definitions have evolved over time, considering factors like income, wealth, and lifestyle expectations. While statistical data shows the middle class has shrunk in relative terms, they debated whether this reflects genuin...

Peter and Russ explore gerrymandering and uncover that it may not be as bad as other options for representation.  They explain the implications of the recent Supreme Court decisions regarding racial considerations in redistricting, the challenges of eliminating gerrymandering while maintaining geographic representation, and the economic concept of rent-seeking in the redistricting process.  Listen...

If what we all really want is to be happy, why do we line up and pay money to watch something that we know ahead of time is going to make us sad?  Join Peter and Justin as they consider the paradox of tragedy, and try to make sense of the hold that tragic drama has maintained on humanity going all the way back to the Greeks.  Don’t wanna listen to the episode?  Why don’t you cry about it.

Description: In a popular thought experiment, everyone must privately choose between pressing a red or blue button.  If the majority of people press the blue button, everyone lives. If the majority of people press the red button, all those who pressed the blue button die. Join Peter and Justin as they puzzle through why people disagree so vehemently about which button to press. Choose wisely!

Some conversations don’t expire. We are re-releasing this episode because its message is just as relevant today as when we first shared it. Take a listen as the Gwartney team discusses rational ignorance and how society engages in it. Further, we investigate public choice and the dangers of growing bureaucracies. We hope you enjoy this episode and see how it fits into your life! Timeline: Public F...