Podcast
The Human Action Podcast
Hosted by Mises Institute · EN
The Human Action Podcast features in-depth interviews on current topics in economics through an Austro libertarian lens.
19episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Making Sense of the Trump Administration's "Hail Mary" on Iran
YesterdaySummary readyBob argues that many Austro-libertarians (himself included, initially) have been too quick to dismiss the Trump administration's foreign and economic policy as mere incompetence or corruption, without grasping the strategic logic behind it. His thesis: the U.S. national security establishment sees China's rise as an existential threat and believes the window to act is closing fast, making the current flurry of aggressive moves less like random chaos and more like a desperate Hail Mary pass.Related:The Charts and Graphs Mentioned in this Episode: Mises.org/HAP549aThe Bob Murphy Show, "LEAKED: Trump's Secret Strategy Briefing": Mises.org/HAP549bCore Insights, "China Quietly Built a 10,400km Railway to Iran — The US is Terrified": Mises.org/HAP549cThe Tom Woods Show, "The Venezuela Propaganda, with David Stockman": Mises.org/HAP549dCelebrate Murray Rothbard's 100th birthday with a free copy of Anatomy of the State. Get yours at Mises.org/HAPodFree
SummaryResponding to Geochartalism: Did Mosler Complete Menger?
2w agoSummary readyBob responds to a new working paper from the Geo-chartalism project, which claims to offer a complete theory of the price level by combining insights from Menger, Cantillon, and Warren Mosler. Bob argues that the paper overlooks a crucial prior contribution: Mises' regression theorem, developed in The Theory of Money and Credit, which already solved the circularity problem in monetary theory that the paper claims required Mosler to resolve. Along the way, Bob also explains chartalism, Georgism, and Mises's explanation of the absolute price level.Related:Bob's Paper Critiquing Kevin Carson's Studies in Mutualist Political Economy: Mises.org/HAP548aGeorge Charles, “The Mosler-Cantillon-Menger Synthesis”: Mises.org/HAP548bMMT vs. Austrian School Debate: Mises.org/HAP548cThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree
SummaryRobert Aro on the Fed's Reverse Repo Trick
3w agoSummary readyBob sits down with researcher Robert Aro to review his recent Mises.org article on why the widely anticipated post-QT crash never materialized. They trace the answer back to the Fed's reverse repo facility, which quietly injected trillions back into the financial system even as the official balance sheet was shrinking, and what the depletion of that buffer might mean for what comes next.Related:Robert's Power & Market Post, "Why the Crash Was Delayed": Mises.org/HAP547aBob’s Article, “The Inverted Yield Curve and Recession”: Mises.org/HAP547bThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree
SummaryLuke Gromen on the Strait of Hormuz and Supply Chain Collapse
3w agoSummary readyBob sits down with macro researcher Luke Gromen of Forest for the Trees to discuss the cascading supply chain consequences of a closed Strait of Hormuz. They also touch on why gold is already supplanting the dollar as the world's premier reserve asset, and what the surge in U.S. gold exports over the past five months tells us about where the global monetary order is heading.The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree
SummaryBob Responds to Randall Wray on Sectoral Balances
Apr 10Summary readyAfter his recent Zero Hedge debate with MMT co-founder Randall Wray, Bob takes a deep dive into the sectoral balance approach. He explains why the MMT argument is technically a tautology, how it's deeply misleading, and why the private sector doesn't need government deficits to save, invest, and accumulate real wealth.Related:Is Paying Down Government Debt Bad for the Economy?: Mises.org/HAP545aBob's Article, "Does History Show Government Debt Paydown Causes a Crash?": Mises.org/HAP545bThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree
SummaryCantillon Effects and the Politics of Money Creation
Apr 2Summary readyThis week, Bob explains Cantillon effects: the insight that new money doesn't raise all prices equally or simultaneously, but flows through the economy in a sequence that benefits early recipients at the expense of everyone else. Then, he shows why this phenomenon is the foundation on which the entire Austrian theory of the business cycle is built.Related:Richard Cantillon, An Essay on Economic Theory: Mises.org/HAP544aThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree
SummaryCan AI Solve the Socialist Calculation Problem?
Mar 27Summary readyBob untangles two arguments that even Austrian economists sometimes conflate: Mises' calculation problem and Hayek's knowledge problem. Then, he explains why the distinction matters, especially in light of recent claims that AI and modern computing could finally make central planning viable.Related:Bob's Article, "Socialism: The Calculation Problem Is Not the Knowledge Problem": Mises.org/HAP543aThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree
SummaryVisualizing The Boom-Bust Cycle with Roger Garrison
Mar 21Summary readyIn memory of Roger Garrison, Bob walks through Garrison's famous capital-based macroeconomics diagrams, showing how they translate the Mises-Hayek theory of the boom-bust cycle into the language of modern macroeconomics.Related:Roger Garrison, The Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle: Mises.org/HAP542aRoger Garrison, Austrian Macroeconomics: A Diagrammatical Exposition: Mises.org/HAP542bThe Diagrams Referenced in the Podcast: Mises.org/HAP542cDr. Garrison's PowerPoints: Mises.org/HAP542dThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree
SummaryRothbard at 100: Five Economic Insights That Still Matter
Mar 13Summary readyIn commemoration of Murray Rothbard’s 100th birthday, Bob shares five “greatest hits” from Rothbard’s economics, covering deficits vs. inflation, monopoly theory, excess capacity, the time structure of production, and his reconstruction of utility and welfare economics.Related:Rothbard, Making Economic Sense: Mises.org/HAP541aRothbard, "Toward a Reconstruction of Utility and Welfare Economics": Mises.org/HAP541bRothbard, Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market: Mises.org/HAP541cBob's Study Guide to Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market: Mises.org/HAP541dJoin the Mises Institute on Saturday, April 25 in San Diego, CA to discuss California's fall from grace. Today, it's known for high taxes, bureaucrats, and leftwing billionaires. Is this a warning to the rest of America? Register now at Mises.org/CAHAPThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree
SummaryBanning Congress, Not Markets: The Insider Trading Dilemma
Mar 3Summary readyBob uses Trump’s call to ban congressional insider trading as a springboard to explain why, from an Austro-libertarian perspective, insider trading and speculation could help markets work, while still justifying special rules for government employees.Related:Bob's Article "Is Insider Trading Really a Crime?": Mises.org/HAP540aThe Social Function of Stock Speculators: Mises.org/HAP540bThe Social Function of Futures Markets: Mises.org/HAP540cThe Social Function of Call and Put Options: Mises.org/HAP540dThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree
Summary