The Human Action Podcast

Updated: 26 May 2025 • 297 episodes
mises.org/podcasts/human-action-podcast

The Human Action Podcast features in-depth interviews on current topics in economics through an Austro libertarian lens.

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Bob takes a close look at Oren Cass’s recent appearance on Tucker Carlson, where Cass argued for free trade to a skeptical conservative audience. Bob unpacks Cass’s arguments about tariffs, comparative advantage, and trade deficits—not to attack, but to clarify. Using classical and Austrian economics, Murphy shows why

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Economist Alex Tabarrok joins Bob to review Trump’s executive order on prescription drug pricing. They explore how price discrimination works in global pharmaceutical markets, the unintended consequences of importation policies, and why U.S. consumers often pay more—yet benefit most from drug innovation. Tabarrok also

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The recent BEA "Advance Estimate" for 1q GDP growth showed a lackluster drop of 0.3 percent, but it included unusually large swings in private inventories and imports, as well as a drop in federal expenditures. Some MAGA fans have argued that once you account for these misleading figures, the report signifies a healthy

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Dr. Jonathan Newman returns to the Human Action Podcast to discuss the relaunch of the Mises Academy—including his new course based on Bob's Lessons for the Young Economist textbook. But this conversation goes much deeper than curriculum. Bob and Jonathan unpack the fundamental question: What is economics, really? They

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Dr. Joe Salerno joins Bob to review the recent tensions between Donald Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. As Trump questions Powell’s leadership and Fed policy, they explore the deeper issues: Should central banks really be "independent"? Does the Fed’s shield from political oversight protect sound economics—or mere

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The Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) crowd prides itself on fidelity to actual history. But Murphy shows how leading MMT guru Randall Wray completely distorts his discussion of two historical episodes in his college lecture.Wray, "Modern Money Theory for Beginners": Mises.org/HAP496aThe NBER Paper on Colonial Virginia's Mo

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