Free to Exchange

Season Six Season Five Season Four Season Three

Season Two Season One

EPISODE 11 — Economies in Religion & Austrian Economics

EPISODE 10 — Unintended Consequences

EPISODE 9 — Banking Alternatives

EPISODE 8 — Wild West Resources & Native Property Rights

EPISODE 7 — Markets Without Limits

EPISODE 6 — Legacy of Involuntary Servitude

EPISODE 5 — Aftermaths of Foreign Conflict

EPISODE 4 — Food and Alcohol Regulations

EPISODE 3 — Socialism in Venezuela and India

EPISODE 2 — Public Choice and Against Democracy

EPISODE 1 — Free Trade and China

EPISODE 11 — Economies in Religion & Austrian Economics

Featuring Anthony Gill, Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington and author of The Political Origins of Religious Liberty, and Joseph Salerno, Professor of Economics at Pace University and Academic Vice President of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

Prof. Powell and Prof. Gill explain the political economy of religion, combining two of the most taboo topics to bring up at parties. Then, he and Prof. Salerno discuss the unique insights that the Austrian School of Economics contributes to society and how these principles influence our understanding of money, business cycles, socialism, and more.

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EPISODE 10 — Unintended Consequences

Featuring Diana Thomas, Associate Professor of Economics for the Heider College of Business and Director for the Institute for Economic Inquiry at Creighton University, and Jamie Pavlik, Associate Professor of Economics for the Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics and Research Fellow for the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University.

Prof. Powell and Dr. Thomas discuss the unintended consequences associated with government regulation and the regressive effects they have on lower income families. Then, he and Dr. Pavlik explain how government regulation is often at the root of corruption in many countries across the world.

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EPISODE 9 — Banking Alternatives

Featuring Thomas Hogan, Assistant Professor of Finance for the Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and former chief economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs, and Lawrence White, Professor of Economics and a member of the Financial Markets Working Group for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Prof. Powell and Dr. Hogan outline the problems associated with federally insured bank deposits and propose alternatives for deposit insurance, including private sector solutions. Then, he and Prof. White explain why free market competition can provide more effective bank regulation than a centralized banking system.

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EPISODE 8 — Wild West Resources & Native Property Rights

Featuring P.J. Hill, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Wheaton College and Senior Fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center, and Bryan Leonard, Assistant Professor for the School of Sustainability and Senior Sustainability Scientist for the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University.

Prof. Powell and Prof. Hill describe management of property rights and natural resources on the American frontier. Then, he and Dr. Leonard examine how government efforts to promote "privatization" of land for Native American tribes may have contributed to increased poverty rates among reservations.

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EPISODE 7 — Markets Without Limits

Featuring Gregory DeAngelo, Assistant Professor of Economics and affiliated faculty of the Center for Free Enterprise at West Virginia University, and Jason Brennan, Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Chair for McDonough School of Business, Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor of Stategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at Georgetown University.

Prof. Powell and Dr. DeAngelo report the eye-opening results associated with permitting disreputable markets like online prostitution. Then, he and Dr. Brennan discuss the philosophy behind illicit markets and provide a litmus test for how to determine whether certain markets should remain illegal or not.

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EPISODE 6 — Legacy of Involuntary Servitude

Featuring Walter E. Williams, John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and David R. Henderson, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Naval Postgraduate School and research fellow for the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Prof. Powell and Prof. Williams discuss discrimination in the market system and the economic challenges facing black Americans today. Then, he and Prof. Henderson explain how economists contributed to the discontinuation of military conscription in the United States.

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EPISODE 5 — Aftermaths of Foreign Conflict

Featuring Christopher Coyne, Associate Professor of Economics and Associate Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and Colin O'Reilly, Assistant Professor of Economics at Creighton University.

Prof. Powell and Dr. Coyne discuss the impact foreign wars have on our domestic Liberty at home. Then, he and Dr. O'Reilly recount the economic destruction resulting from wars throughout history and the challenges associated with post-war recovery efforts.

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EPISODE 4 — Food and Alcohol Regulation

Featuring Jayson Lusk, Distinguished Professor and Head of the Agricultural Economics Department at Purdue University, and Stephan Gohmann, Director and BB&T Distinguished Professor of the John H. Schnatter Center for Free Enterprise at the University of Louisville College of Business.

Prof. Powell and Prof. Lusk discuss Unnaturally Delicious, Lusk's most recent book in which he describes how human ingenuity and innovation can improve the availability and quality of the world's food supply. Then, Prof. Powell and Prof. Gohmann recall the failures of alcohol prohibition and explain the economic and societal consequences of government regulation on alcohol.

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EPISODE 3 — Socialism in Venezuela and India

Featuring Kevin Grier, Gordon Tullock Professor of Political Economy for the Free Market Institute and Professor of Political Science at Texas Tech University, and G.P. Manish, Associate Professor of Economics for the Manuel H. Johnson Center of Political Economy at Troy University.

Prof. Powell discusses the downturn of Venezuela's socialist economy with Prof. Grier. Then, he and Dr. Manish explain how India's centralized planning policies inhibit economic growth despite some improvement following its independence from the British Empire.

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EPISODE 2 — Public Choice and Against Democracy

Featuring Randall Holcombe, DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University, and Jason Brennan, Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Chair for McDonough School of Business, Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at Georgetown University.

Prof. Powell and Prof. Holcombe discuss public choice theory and its applications to the study of political institutions. Then, he and Dr. Brennan discuss often overlooked shortcomings of democratic institutions.

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EPISODE 1 — Free Trade and China

Featuring Douglas Irwin, John Sloan Dickey Third Century Professor in the Social Sciences Department of Economics at Dartmouth College, and James Dorn, Vice President for Monetary Studies and Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.

Prof. Powell and Dr. Irwin explain how international trade impacts prosperity in the United States. Then, he and Dr. Dorn discuss what China's economic transformation could mean for the U.S.

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