The standard narrative runs like this: Ngo Dinh Diem was the corrupt and oppressive president of South Vietnam whose removal (which wound up taking the form of assassination) the Kennedy Administration had no choice but to endorse. On top of everything else, Diem’s administration was… Read More
Archives for April 2016
Ep. 644 How Not to Help the World’s Poor
So much of what’s been tried in order to help developing countries has backfired that it’s long past time to reexamine the whole question. A brand new documentary, called Poverty, Inc., is gaining plaudits across the ideological spectrum. I talk to director, producer, and writer… Read More
Ep. 643 The One Kind of Diversity Colleges Avoid
If there’s one thing our university system is devoted to, it’s “diversity.” Our universities can boast faculty members who look very different from one another and who come from different places — but they more or less think the same. Aren’t ideas a teensy bit… Read More
Ep. 642 The Israel Lobby: What It Does and How It Works
We are supposed to believe that the network of organizations promoting a particular view of Israel and the U.S. relationship with that country doesn’t exist, and that anyone who says it does is a crank and a hater. Yet it’s precisely the network of organizations… Read More
Ep. 641 Can College Hold You Back?
Derek Magill discontinued his studies at the University of Michigan — where he was a member of Young Americans for Liberty, by the way — in order to go into business for himself and to do work he found rewarding. We discuss the ins and… Read More
Ep. 640 Job Growth Doesn’t Mean We’re Getting Richer
Is an increasing number of jobs always a good thing? We treat job numbers as a proxy for economic health, but should we? The Mises Institute’s Ryan McMaken helps us make sense of it all. About the Guest Ryan McMaken is the economics editor and communications… Read More
Ep. 639 Andrew Carnegie: Robber Baron or Hero of Capitalism?
Historians haven’t been terribly sympathetic to business leaders of the late nineteenth century. What should we think about Andrew Carnegie? Does he deserve the abuse of historians, or is there something to be said in his defense? The author of a new biography joins us!… Read More
Ep. 638 Did Deregulation Cause the Financial Crisis?
In order to distract attention from government housing policy and the Federal Reserve, left-liberals claim the financial crisis was brought on by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the partial repeal of Glass-Steagall) and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. In this episode we’ll see if there’s anything to… Read More
Ep. 637 The Horrors of Stalinist Russia, Through a Child’s Eyes
Take a glimpse into the Orwellian dystopia of Stalinist Russia in my compelling conversation with Soviet emigre Eugene Yelchin. His young adult book Breaking Stalin’s Nose — which this 43-year-old is still thinking about, weeks after reading it — superbly captures the terror, the suspicion… Read More
Liberty Classroom’s Four-Year Anniversary (and Very Brief Sale)
Today is Liberty Classroom’s four-year anniversary. But even though it’s our anniversary, you’re the one who gets the gift. If you’re an adult who demands to know the real history we were deprived of in school, Liberty Classroom is for you. Or if you’re a… Read More
