The Great Antidote

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Samuel Gregg is a distinguished fellow in political economy and senior research faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research. He recently wrote a book called The Next American Economy: Nation, State, and Markets in an Uncertain World . We talk about the current consensus about the American economy and how it’s changed over time. He explains to us the renewal of enth...

Send us Fan Mail Scott Lincicome is the vice president of general economics and trade at the Cato Institute. He recently coauthored and edited Empowering the New American Worker: Market Based Solutions for Today’s Workforce , which we talk about today. In light of “Buy America” and continuous calls for bettering the position of the American worker, what really is the state of the American worker t...

Send us Fan Mail Mark 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 cri...

Send us Fan Mail Troy 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 f...

Send us Fan Mail Nico 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 wi...

Send us Fan Mail Eli 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...

Send us Fan Mail Timothy 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 polit...

Send us Fan Mail Chris 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...

Send us Fan Mail Chris 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 weaknesse...

Send us Fan Mail Robert 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 t...

Send us Fan Mail Ryan 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...

Send us Fan Mail Eric 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!  Su...

Send us Fan Mail Kaytlin Bailey is the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Old Pros , which aims at decriminalizing and destigmatizing sex work. Today, she talks to us about the history of the oldest profession and her experiences with it. She makes the case for decriminalizing sex work and addresses common objections, along with clarifying decriminalization versus legali...

Send us Fan Mail Peter Boettke is a professor of economics and philosophy at George Mason University. He talks to us today about Don Lavoie, a late GMU economics professor, and his contributions. Lavoie’s work focused mainly on central planning and the answer to the socialist calculation problem, continuing the work of Mises and Hayek.  Support the show Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update. Fo...

Send us Fan Mail The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Holidays and catch you soon with new content!  Scott Bullock , president and general counsel of the Institute for Justice and who represented Susette Kelo in the Supreme Court case Kelo v. The City of New London, talks to us about civil...

Send us Fan Mail The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Holidays and catch you soon with new content!  Nadine Strossen, civil liberties activist and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) , joins us this week to discuss hate speech, its policy implications, and if we sh...

Send us Fan Mail The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Holidays and catch you soon with new content!  Russ Roberts , host of EconTalk, author of several books, and research fellow at Hoover Institution, talks to us about his book How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Hu...

Send us Fan Mail The Great Antidote is on a break from recording new content right now, but please enjoy this rerun of one of our favorites in the meantime. Happy Holidays and catch you soon with new content!  Dr. Samuel Gregg, Distinguished Fellow in Political Economy and Senior Research Faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research, joins us this week to discuss culture, the origins of...

Send us Fan Mail Daniel Rothschild is the executive director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Today, we talk about liberalism and institutions, whatever that means. After exploring their definitions, he talks to us about the role of each in society at the current moment, how this is a departure from the past, and potential paths forward. We also talk specifically about think tank...

Send us Fan Mail Craig Biddle is the founder and director of the Objective Standard Institute, as well as the author of several books including Loving Life .  Today, he talks to us about the importance of philosophy and the different components of philosophy. Then he explains the philosophy of objectivism, and we explore common objections to it. Listen in and stay tuned for more episodes on the va...

Send us Fan Mail Henry C. Clark , professor at Dartmouth College and director of the Political Economy Project, talks to us today about Montesquieu .  Listen in to learn about his life and the political environment in Europe in the early 18th century, especially in following the death of Louis XIV after a 72-year rule. Learn about Montesquieu’s contributions, such as the idea of separation of powe...

Send us Fan Mail Colin Grabow, a research fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, talks to us today about the Jones Act. He gives us a refresher on what the Jones Act is, but for more details listen to our first episode on the topic, Colin Grabow on The Jones Act. He talks to us about the recent treason charges against critics of the Jones Act, the effects of the Jones Act...

Send us Fan Mail Dianne Durante holds a PhD in Classics from the University of Cincinnati and has been a freelance writer, lecturer, and tour guide for the over 30 years. She has written books on many topics, her books Innovators in Sculpture and Financial Programs of Alexander Hamilton are just a few. Today, we talk about art and art history, as well as their significance. She lays out what an in...

Send us Fan Mail Phil Magness is the author of multiple books, a scholar at the American Institute for Economic Research , and the intellectual watchdog for academic writing. Today we talk about Nancy MacLean’s book, Democracy in Chains , and debunks her claims about James M. Buchanan , the father of public choice economics , being a racist. He explains the peer review process and the types of err...

Send us Fan Mail James Kirchick is the author of two books: Secret City and The End of Europe . Today, he talks to us about the intertwined history of gays in Washington DC and the history of the cold war and national security.  He explains how and why he came to write this book, along with how homosexuality became conflated with communism. Why were there so many gay men in the state department? W...