On a recent appearance on the PRIMO NUTMEG podcast, free market "anarcho-capitalist" economist Walter Block stated that he would like to debate both Bernie Sanders and Noam Chomsky.

Block, who is a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute and the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at Loyola University New Orleans, actually is a childhood friend of Bernie Sanders. Both attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn, NY in the late 1950s where both were on the track team together.

Of Sanders, Block said:

"My recollections of him are that he was very charismatic. He was like the center of attention for everybody. He was the captain of the track team and he was running for president of Madison High School. And he and I had the same views, only I changed, he didn't. But he was a very nice guy. I liked him he was one of the good people."

Block mentioned that he has kept in contact with Sanders for the past few decades, and that he would be interested in debating the Independent Senator from Vermont:

"Several people have asked him if he wanted to debate me, or was willing to debate me. They asked me first and I said, 'Oh yes.' But he has been a little bit busy this past year or two. So if we have a debate, it will be maybe in a year or two from now."

Interestingly, Sanders isn't the only leftist who Block said that he would like to debate. During the same interview, Noam Chomsky's name also came up at various times:

"I just think [Chomsky] doesn't understands economics, he doesn't understand competition. By the way, if you could hook me up with him to debate him on economics -- not foreign policy, because I agree with him there -- but economics."

Following the next question, Block jokingly returned to the subject once again:

"You didn't answer me about Noam Chomsky. You gonna get me a debate with him or not?"

Later, Block brought up Chomsky once more when discussing water privatization:

"That's one reason why I favor the privatization of rivers. I know it sounds weird, it sound ridiculous, and Chomsky's not going to like it because Chomsky is a commie..."

While it remains to be seen whether or not a debate between Block and either Sanders or Chomsky will ever happen, one thing is certain: It's something a lot of folks across the political spectrum would pay to see.