The Curious Task

Alex speaks with David Friedman about defenses, definitions and critiques of Anarcho-Capitalism in David's work and in others'.  Episode Notes: - Summary of David's book "The Machinery of Freedom" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machinery_of_Freedom   - Some of Ayn Rand's views on Libertarianism and Anarcho-Capitalism: http://aynrandlexicon.com/ayn-rand-ideas/ayn-rand-q-on-a-on-libertarianism.ht...

Matt speaks with Iain Murray about the estrangement of conservative liberalism from identitarian forms of conservative nationalism and the intriguing alliances that may arise in the future between freedom-loving libertarians and some unlikely allies.  Episode Notes: Iain's book "The Socialist Temptation" https://a.co/d/5AUQHQp   One of Iain's articles on the subject https://cei.org/blog/european-p...

Sabine speaks with Atlas Network's Brad Lips about what's in store for the liberty movement all over the world.  Episode Notes:  - The Atlas Network  https://www.atlasnetwork.org/who-we-are   - Brad's book "Liberalism and the Free Society in 2021" https://a.co/d/0Bcor8q   - The Free Market Foundation https://freemarketfoundation.com/   - Article summarizing Margaret Thatcher's relationship with An...

Matt speaks with Mark Mercer about academic freedom, the changing mission of universities themselves, and what role faculty, administrators, and students should play in shaping the future of the institution.  References: Mark’s Interview in C2C Journal: https://c2cjournal.ca/2023/05/confronting-the-post-academic-university-in-conversation-with-mark-mercer/   Peter March at St. Mary’s: https://www....

Alex speaks with Cory Massimino about the concept of prison abolition and how this position corresponds with natural rights theory and recent movements demanding the end of prisons as we know them.  Read some of Cory’s published and unpublished pieces on prison abolition here: thttp://corymassimino.com/tag/prison-abolition/  

Matt speaks with Seth Kaplan about his book Fragile Neighborhoods, and why a decision as simple as where we choose to live can often make the difference between lives of prosperity and lives of uncertainty and strife.  Seth's book can be ordered here: https://a.co/d/aqUzRny  

In March of 2023, Alex spoke with Noah Schwartz about gun control in Canada and how recent attempts to review firearms policy have failed to address root issues and the causes of violence and crime. References 1. “On Target: Gun Culture, Storytelling, and the NRA” by Noah Schwartz Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Target-Gun-Culture-Storytelling-NRA/dp/1487548443/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&...

In April of 2023, Alex speaks with Monica Guzman about the need for curiosity as a remedy for the increasing polarization in American discourse and her recent book on the subject "I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times" Monica's book: https://a.co/d/j6xKME7  

In this conversation from January 2020, Alex Aragona speaks with Kevin Vallier about conflicts in politics and how ideology aggravates them, and whether liberal institutions can help us trust each other more. References from Episode 26 with Kevin Vallier: You can purchase Kevin Vallier’s book Must Politics be War  here You can purchase the book Polarization: What Everyone Needs to Know here You ca...

Alex speaks with Jayme Lemke about the life, work, and legacy of American Nobel Prize-winning political economist Elinor Ostrom. References 1. “Elinor Ostrum and the Bloomington School: Building a New Approach to Policy and Social Sciences” by Jayme Lemke and Vlad Tarko Link: https://www.amazon.com/Elinor-Ostrom-Bloomington-School-Building/dp/0228004152   2. Elinor Ostrum Publications  Link: https...

Sabine interviews our regular host Alex Aragona as they discuss the first 200 episodes of The Curious Task. References 1. Camden Hutchison’s episode “Why Restrict Freedom of Expression” of The Curious Task podcast Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/?s=hutchison   2. Sigal Ben-Porath’s episode “How Can Speech Be Protected on Campus” of The Curious Task podcast Link: https://thecurioustask.pod...

Alex speaks with Nathan Goodman about the implications of Climate Change for immigration policy and how coercion and polycentricity factor into that conversation. References:  - Adapting to Climate Change through Migration: Justus Enninga and Nathan Goodman https://www.thecgo.org/research/adapting-to-climate-change-through-migration/  - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Summary for Policy...

In August of 2022, Alex spoke with Paige MacPherson about school choice - and the lack thereof - in each of Canada's provinces. References 1. Paige’s articles, The Fraser Institute Link: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/profile/paige-macpherson   2. Paige’s Blog Link: https://www.paigetmacpherson.com/blog   3. “Public, private, and charter schools: How they compare” by Understood Link: https://www....

Alex Aragona speaks with Peter Jaworski as he explores his definition of libertarianism, and how different kinds of morality can lead to certain conclusions about libertarian institutions. References Peter Jaworski is the co-author of the book, Markets without Limits: Moral Virtues and Commercial Interests, which is available for purchase on Amazon Canada  at this link . Peter mentions B. van der...

Alex speaks with Tony Gill about the curious practice of tipping and why despite all our groaning, it may just be a habit worth defending. Further Reading (some more of Tony Gill's writings on the subject): https://www.polisci.washington.edu/news/2019/03/18/tony-gill-tipping http://journal.apee.org/index.php/2018_Journal_of_Private_Enterprise_Vol_33_No_1_Spring_parte6   https://www.aier.org/articl...

Alex speaks with Kevin Vallier about his new book "All The Kingdoms Of The World", in which he takes a global view of anti-liberal integralist strands in political thought and warns of the consequences of following them toward a rejection of liberal freedom and democracy.  Episode Notes: The conversation focuses primarily on Kevin’s book: https://www.kevinvallier.com/books/all-the-kingdoms-of-the-...

Alex speaks with Stefanie Haeffele about her recent book Living Better Together, which explores the work of Elinor Ostrom and Viviana Zelizer.  Episode Notes: "Living Better Together" by Stefanie Haeffele and Virgil Henry Storr: https://a.co/d/hJNCxw6   Viviana Zelizer's homepage at Princeton: https://sociology.princeton.edu/people/viviana-zelizer   Elinor Ostrom's bio and short autobiography on t...

Alex speaks with Scott Scheall about Carl and Karl Menger and their influence on the history of economics, liberal theory, and - yes - mathematics.    Further Reading: "Karl Menger as Son of Carl Menger" - Scott Scheall & Reinhard Schumacher https://philarchive.org/rec/SCHKMA-4   Econlib Biography of elder Menger: https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Menger.html   1871. Principles of Econo...

Alex speaks with Jason Lee Byas about the complexities of responding to questions of historic injustice, reparations, and compensation within a libertarian framework.  Originally Aired as Episode 140 on Wednesday May 04, 2022  References 1. Articles by Jason Lee Byas, Center for a Stateless Society  Link: https://c4ss.org/content/author/jason-byas   2. “Rectification and Historic Injustice” by Jas...

Alex speaks with Nigel Ashford about the prospects for a freer world and how the memory of history, the hope of younger persons, and the teaching of ideas can shape the future of classical liberalism.    Further Reading: https://libertarianism.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/socin003.pdf Chapter 2 of this book: https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Blundell-interactive.pdf https://fee.org/ar...

Alex speaks with Jake Monaghan about ideal vs. ideal theory approaches to policing, the history and function of the police as an institution, and how to respond to police abolitionists.  Episode Notes Jake's book - the subject of the conversation - can be purchased here: https://a.co/d/ewVS0h9   References are made to G. A. Cohen's Why Not Socialism, which can be read here: https://www3.nd.edu/~pw...

Alex speaks with Trevour Burrus about his concept of the Statrix and why the solution to every problem should not be more government programs, intervention and restriction.  Episode Notes: Introductory YouTube video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eavx1ZVVyzM     Seeing the Statrix: Invisible and Omnipresent by Trevor Burrus:  https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/articles/burrus-cap-researc...

Alex speaks with Camden Hutchison about the nuances of freedom of expression laws in Canada and the United States, and the ways in which immature understandings of free speech can obfuscate the public discourse surrounding this fundamental right in North American law and politics.    Episode Notes   Freedom of Expression: Values and Harms - Camden Hutchison https://albertalawreview.com/index.php/A...

Alex speaks with Pete Boettke about the relevancy of Friedrich Hayek in the contemporary context, what it means to be a "Hayekian" and the curious tale of how Hayek came to be the focus of his latest book "F. A. Hayek: Economics, Political Economy and Social Philosophy" Episode Notes Pete’s book “F. A. Hayek: Economics, Political Economy and Social Philosophy“ https://a.co/d/ah7SpwW   Hayek on The...

Alex speaks with Darwynn Deyo about the many ways in which occupational licensing can in fact reduce efficiency in the workforce, make it harder for people to cross borders, and ultimately reduce economic mobility for already disadvantaged groups.    Episode Notes and Further Reading:   License To Work: A National Study of Burdens from Occupational Licensing (2022) https://ij.org/report/license-to...