Liberty Curious

The Federal Reserve has publicly stated that they would stay out of climate change policy, but their actions tell a different story. In this video, we'll explore the Fed's recent actions and what they mean. We'll examine how the Fed has quietly incorporated climate change into their economic analyses, stress tests, and regulatory oversight of financial institutions. Despite saying they will stay o...

America’s founding is tainted with the stain of slavery. This is undoubtedly among the darkest parts of American history, that has long been repudiated. It also presents a paradox which is this: the founding principles of liberty and equality under the law are incompatible with the institution of slavery that was still present upon the founding. This has left a void ready to be filled with all kin...

With the rise of crypto, and particularly in the case of stablecoins, Thomas Hogan argues that “Electronic stablecoins are the modern analog to paper banknotes.” Stablecoins are just one type of cryptocurrency, and the regulations behind stablecoins is one of the most controversial topics in the crypto world. Regulators & the Biden administration have their eye on them, warning that stablecoin...

There are increasing signs that the 2021 – 2022 inflationary surge is cooling. But will there be a soft landing? A recession? What are the kind of narratives we will be told about Fed policies over the last few years, and the effectiveness of monetary policy? To help me answer these questions, I was joined by Pete Earle on Liberty Curious. Pete is an economist for AIER who spent over 20 years as a...

We are polarized between two political tribes, perhaps like never before: left vs right, liberal vs conservative, democrat vs republican. In ongoing culture wars, progressives are ascendant and conservatives fight to recover lost ground. But do these opposing camps have more in common than they care to admit? And is there a political philosophy that sees the world through a completely different le...

What has happened to America? How did we get here? The 2008 financial crisis. Cronyism. Globalism vs. Economic nationalism. The rust belt. The rise of China. Lockdowns. The culture wars. The 1619 project. Critical Race Theory. Radical woke ideologies permeating our institutions and our schools. America first. Left vs right. The Age of Chaos. America feels lost. How can we find our common ground ag...

What if the last three years had never happened the way they did? What if there were colossal ideas, events and facts that were purposefully misrepresented or even hidden from the public that could have completely changed the world as we now know it? And what would happen when those truths came to light? Phillip W. Magness is the Director of Research & Education at AIER. He was actually the pe...

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand sat down with Thomas Hogan to discuss the Fed's expanding objectives. We discussed how the Fed is drifting into uncharted territory, dabbling in diversity, equity and inclusion, climate policy, CBDC, and more. Hogan points out how the Federal Reserve is harming the very people it says it is trying to help by implementing these politicized missions. Fin...

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand speaks with Peter C Earle economist at AIER. They discussed FTX, SBF, altruism, virtue signalling, ESG, CBDC, and the thread that weaves them all together. Pete is someone whose perspective you really want to hear on these topics. A former Wall Street guy, he spent over 20 years as a trader and analyst at a number of securities firms and hedge funds in...

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand sat down with Thomas Hogan, Senior Research Faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research, to discuss the Sam Bankman-Fried / FTX debacle and downfall. They discussed how it came to pass, and what it means for cryptocurrency exchanges & regulation moving forward. If you enjoy the Liberty Curious podcast and other content by AIER, make sur...

If a society aims at liberty, can it become more equal? On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand sat down with Alex Salter, Georgie G. Snyder Associate Professor of Economics in the Rawls College of Business and the Comparative Economics Research Fellow with the Free Market Institute, both at Texas Tech University. They discussed the history of the Federal Reserve, politics in America, rule o...

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand sat down with Phil Magness, Director of Research and Education at AIER, to discuss censorship, fact-checking, the politicization of academia, and how that affects research, corporations, and American culture. Phil also outlines how academia often produces ideologically-driven experts who then take a technocratic approach to the impossible task of desig...

What could America’s economic future look like? On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand sat down with with Dr. Samuel Gregg, prolific author, Member of the Mont Pèlerin Society & Distinguished Fellow in Political Economy and Senior Research Faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research. They discussed his new book, The Next American Economy: Nation, State, and Markets in an Unc...

In this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand sat down with Barry Brownstein, professor emeritus of Leadership and Economics, writer for AIER and the Substack called Mindset Shifts. They discussed tribalism, and how it relates to historical and modern political ideologies, the war between Russia and Ukraine, and totalitarian systems. Barry explains how tribalism is incompatible with liberty, and h...

Did Lockdowns mark the end of the enlightenment era? Two years after the Great Barrington Declaration, Kate Wand sat down with one of it’s eminent authors, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor at Stanford University Medical School, a physician, epidemiologist, health economist, and public health policy expert focusing on infectious diseases and vulnerable populations. They discussed the immense harms a...

Is bitcoin dead? David Waugh, Managing Editor at AIER, doesn’t think so. In this episode of Liberty Curious, we discussed the philosophy and intrinsic value of Bitcoin, the problems and politicization of centralized finance, the reasons BTC may have been created, and what the future might look like. Watch full episode: https://youtu.be/c0gGVYSAFQI

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Robert Wright, historian and senior research faculty at AIER, joins Kate Wand to discuss his new book: Fearless: Wilma Soss and America’s Forgotten Investor Movement. https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Americas-Forgotten-Investor-Movement/dp/1958682306 Full Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/pH4B4EcjxRs Robert shares details of her remarkable story as a self-made woma...

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Thomas Hogan sat down with Kate Wand to discuss the inflation reduction act, and it’s similarities to the Green New Deal, as well as the New Deal under FDR in 1933 — a historical turning point that changed the course of the US economy, monetary systems, and the role of government to this day. Thomas is senior research faculty at AIER, formerly the chief economis...

Does America have a 'racial hangover'? Does the State crush Black Americans? On this episode of Liberty Curious, Dr. Rachel Ferguson, co-author of “Black Liberation Through the Marketplace: Hope, Heartbreak, and the Promise of America”, joins Kate Wand. Full Video Episode: https://youtu.be/5_GThHfEocU Dr. Ferguson is the Director of the Free Enterprise Center at Concordia University Chicago, Assis...

“Organizations like the World Economic Forum have been articulating what you just described since the 1990s. Schwab has been arguing for this for decades. And remember, the WEF is the place where leaders of large corporations come together with the heads of governments and big NGOs to talk about what should be happening in the world, and how the economy should be developing, and how we deal with p...

This episode of Liberty Curious Podcast features Robert Wright, historian and Senior Research Faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research. His new book, Fearless: Wilma Soss and America’s Forgotten Investor Movement, will be available on August 30th. Full Video Episode: https://youtu.be/jbq07W1-X60 Robert & Kate Wand discussed ESGs and how they distort the market by operating as a...

Ryan Yonk joins Kate Wand on Liberty Curious to discuss Public Choice theory, which James Buchanan famously described as 'politics without romance'. Video Episode: https://youtu.be/ZcxXMMRDOcI https://www.aier.org/public-choice-and-public-policy-project/ Hosted by the American Institute for Economic Research. aier.org #publicchoice #economicsexplained #politics Read James Buchanan: https://www.lib...

In this episode of Liberty Curious, Pete C. Earle discusses some of the lesser known costs of inflation, as well as what inflation actually is - and what really causes it. Video episode: https://youtu.be/psR9H0UTEns Visit our website: https://aier.org/​ Facebook: https://facebook.com/aierdotorg/​ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aierdotorg/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/aier​ Instagram: h...

Will Luther, director of AIER's Sound Money Project, discusses inflation and the Fed's response with Kate Wand. aier.org Also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/O9UUhMFPdJc