This week we talk about Social Security’s cost of living, conserving rare earth minerals, and why California keeps losing tech jobs. Our guest this week is Prof. Jeremy Horpedahl, director of the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics, associate professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas, and contributor at Economists Writing Every Day. We talk about economic statistics and what we often get wrong about inflation, unemployment, wages, and tariffs. Free the Economy i...

This week we talk about administrative law judges, AI innovation saving lives, environmental regulation creating more wildfires, and more research on the fight against corporate welfare. Our interview this week is with Craig Piercy, CEO of the American Nuclear Society. We talk about innovation, abundance, start-up ventures, regulatory reform, and the future of affordable energy. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @free...

This week we talk about the unintended consequences of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, decarbonization of economic growth, and resources for reporting government corruption at the local level. Our interview this week is with Jeremy Nighohossian, senior fellow and economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. We talk about the government shutdown, insurance subsidies, the Affordable Care Act, big pharma, and how to introduce price discipline into healthcare spending. Free the Econom...

This week we talk about the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics, eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, why we don’t need a government agency for jobs data, how market trade builds social capital, and a new article on the managerial tyranny of Boomer environmentalism. Our interview this week is with Stephen Perkins, Chief Operating Officer of the American Conservation Coalition. We talk about oil and gas, wind and solar, permitting and zoning, transmission lines, and the future of U....

This week we talk about the need to build more infrastructure in the UK, an award for public finance leadership in Oklahoma, teaching students to actually read in Mississippi, and shifting the Overton Window on corporate welfare. Our interview is with Ed Hudgins, founder of the Human Achievement Alliance. We’ll talk about innovation, optimism, technological development, and the future of upwing thinking. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by follow...

This week we cover a new study on pharmaceutical tariffs, whether to expect a new Great Depression (via Phil Magness and Marc Wheat in National Review), and how the U.S. auto industry is souring on the electric vehicle revolution. Our interview this week is with Romina Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute, editor of Debt Dispatch on Substack, and co-author of the new book "Reimagining Social Security: Global Lessons for Retirement Policy Changes." We talk ab...

This week we cover the future of financial regulation, the end of the left vs. right distinction in politics, and how we all just dodged a bullet on alcohol and public health. Our interview this week is with Alex Trembath, deputy director of the Breakthrough Institute. We’ll talk about energy, housing, bureaucracy, special-interest politics, and the emergent coalition of the abundance movement. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitte...

This week we cover potential changes to quarterly reporting for public companies, state-level AI regulations, spiking gas prices in California, and cosmetology licenses for sale in D.C. Our interview this week is with Vance Ginn, host of the Let People Prosper podcast, economist at Americans for Tax Reform, and co-author of the new book on health care policy, Empower Patients: Two Doctor's Cure for Healthcare. We’ll talk about third-part payments, employer tax deductions, Medicare, Medicaid, ...

This week we cover the latest jobs numbers, the emergent community of abundance fans, the limits to taxing billionaires, and eliminating an illegal federal agency. Our interview this week is with Matt Mitchell, senior fellow in the Centre for Human Freedom at the Fraser Institute. We’ll talk about tariffs, prosperity, international comparisons, and the best policy for a global economy. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter a...

This week we cover the Trump tariffs being struck down, Biden’s competition order being vacated, and new research on housing affordability. Our interview this week is with Kevin Williamson, national correspondent at The Dispatch and host of the How the World Works podcast. We’ll have a wide-ranging discussion covering everything from restaurant food waste to tariffs, wealth disparities, economic development, marginal costs and benefits, and the perpetual delusion that government can solve all...

This week we cover Ray Dalio’s Big Debt Cycle, scandal in climate finance, jobs destroyed by tariffs, why AI can’t replace free markets, and the debut of the new publication "The Argument." Our interview this week is with Peter Lipsett, Vice President of DonorsTrust and host of the Giving Ventures podcast. We’ll talk about the right side of the modern political spectrum and the diversity it contains, looking at the differences between traditionalists, libertarians, fusionists, Catholic and Je...

This week we cover White House intervention in corporate ownership, the nation’s falling economic freedom ranking, and welcome new reforms to the Endangered Species Act. Our interview this week is with David McGarry, Research Director at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. We’ll talk about stadium subsidies, special interests, labor union favoritism, municipal zoning, and who should have to pay for infrastructure projects in big cities. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up w...

This week we cover new inflation data, public attitudes about Social Security, and California’s self-inflicted energy crisis. Our interview this week is with Kevin Corinth, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility at the American Enterprise Institute. We’ll talk about social welfare spending, early childhood development, economic mobility, the Earned Income Tax Credit, benefits fraud, and proposals for a universal basic income. Free the Economy ...

This week we cover controversy at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, myths of the auto industry, and a new SPAC from the Trump kids. Our interview this week is with Emma Camp, associate editor at Reason magazine and author of the forthcoming book "Good Boundaries: Essays on the Age of Risk-Aversion." We’ll talk about Zoomers, online culture, college campuses, tradwives and girlbosses, the discourse-industrial complex, and how AI is changing modern society. Free the Economy is hosted by Ric...

This week we cover the Trump administration’s AI action plan, Detroit’s unlikely rebirth, pushing back on EU tech regulation, and why the golden age of air travel is now. Our interview this week is with Norbert Michel, vice president at the Cato Institute, director of the Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, and the author of the excellent book Crushing Capitalism: How the Stagnation Narrative is Threatening the American Dream. We’ll talk about populism, tariffs, rising...

This week we cover Dodd-Frank’s 15th anniversary, a victory for homeowners in Oregon, and an alternative to socialist grocery stores in New York City. Our interview this week is with John Charles, president of the Cascade Policy Institute in Portland, Oregon. We’ll talk about public transit, taxes, budgets, declining ridership, and what comes next for America’s bus and rail networks. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at ...

This week we cover Trump tariffs, Obama’s endorsement of housing abundance, and why the green energy industry needs more market discipline. Our interview this week is with John Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability. We’ll talk about the new study by John and our host Richard Morrison, titled “Corporate Social Irresponsibility: After ESG, activist investors should side with taxpayers.” We’ll cover subsidies, tax abatements, cronyism, the Ferguson Riots, Amazon HQ2, and th...

This week’s episode features Corbin Barthold, Internet Policy Counsel at TechFreedom and host of the Tech Policy Podcast. This is a special dual episode of both shows, featuring a conversation about the frontiers of the artificial intelligence revolution. We’ll talk about LLMs, doomers, deepfakes, epistemic bubbles, and how to make art in the 21st century. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our epis...

This week we cover housing abundance in California, the meaning of a market economy, union privileges for government workers, and the decline in heart attack deaths. Our interview this week is with David Clement, North American Affairs Manager for the Consumer Choice Center. We’ll talk about alcohol, cancer, public health, safety warnings, and risk fatigue. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our epi...

This week we cover the failure of postal banking, Trump (again) pausing the TikTok ban, and the political crack-up between unions and the Democratic party. Our interview this week is with Jerry Bowyer, CEO of Bowyer Research and host of the Meeting Minds podcast. We talk about ESG investing, fiduciary duty, Blackrock, Bud Light, and the difference between shareholders and stakeholders. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter a...