Mises Institute

Episoder

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  Don’t Blame Interest Rates for Falling Home Sales 12.10.2026 10min

  Mortgage rates are at historically normal levels. They are not “too high.” On the other hand, home prices are too high after years of subsidy from artificially low rates and government intervention. The answer to the stagnating market is to cut prices. Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL
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  World War I as Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals 12.10.2026 2t 26min

  Against historians who treated the war as the death of progressive reform, Rothbard argues it was the culmination progressives had wanted all along. He traces the movement’s postmillennial pietist roots—a Protestantism bent on stamping out sin through the State—into wartime prohibition and the anti-vice crusades around the army camps, then through the New Republic collectivists who welcomed the war as the chance to remake society, and finally to the economists and statisticians, Richard Ely and Edwin Gay among them, who built the apparatus of government fact-gathering and their own careers along with it. First published in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, 1989.
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  War Collectivism in World War I 12.10.2026 1t 32min

  Rothbard’s account of the war economy as a cartel run by the men it regulated. He traces the Council of National Defense and the War Industries Board, whose committees were staffed by the executives of the industries they governed; price-fixing set to guarantee a “fair profit” to high-cost producers and windfalls to everyone below them; railroads nationalized under a Railroad Administration run by railroad executives; and the veterans of war collectivism who carried the model forward into the New Deal. First published in A New History of Leviathan, 1972.
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  Whistling Past the Graveyard 12.10.2026 8min

  Despite the real damage the Trump administration is doing to the economy, its cheerleaders in the Cabinet continue to insist all is well. This is beyond wishful thinking. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/whistling-past-graveyard
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  Violent Populism 10.10.2026 1t 58min

  Mark Thornton examines the rise of political violence in America, drawing on Robert Pape’s Our Own Worst Enemies and its warning that political violence has become increasingly normalized on both the left and right. Mark argues that the deeper cause is not simply “fractured legitimacy,” but the long breakdown of America’s original limited-government consensus, accelerated by Progressive Era ideology, war, federal expansion, and monetary intervention. He then points to the Federal Reserve as the proximate cause of today’s social and economic strain, arguing that monetary inflation drives higher prices, suppresses real wages, benefits asset holders, and fuels political resentment. The remedy, Mark says, begins with a return toward sound money and the older American consensus of limited government. On Side B, the episode features recent interviews with Darrell Thomas of VRIC Media and Elijah Johnson of Liberty and Finance, covering distrust in government, gold and silver, the bond bear market, inflation, government market manipulation, AI malinvestment, the wealth gap, dollar hegemony, and the road toward hyperinflation. Additional Resources Our Own Worst Enemies: America and the Age of Violent Populism by Robert A. Pape: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Own-Worst-Enemies-Populism/dp/1620979586 “Right-Wing Populism: A Strategy for the Paleo Movement” by Murray N. Rothbard (Rothbard Rockwell Report, January 1992): https://rothbard.it/articles/right-wing-populism.pdf “Why Our Populist Moment Keeps Failing” by Connor O’Keeffe: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-our-populist-moment-keeps-failing “Populism Is Not an Ideology” by Joseph T. Salerno: https://mises.org/mises-wire/populism-not-ideology “When Political Violence Becomes a Signal” by Jimmy Alfonso Licon: https://mises.org/mises-wire/when-political-violence-becomes-signal “The Populist Case for the Gold Standard” by Kristoffer Hansen (The Journal of Libertarian Studies, May 2021): https://mises.org/journal-libertarian-studies/populist-case-gold-standard 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray’s 100th birthday—and we’re celebrating by giving away free copies of Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy through October 31. Grab yours today at https://mises.org/issuesfree 20% off listener offer on the insulated Minor Issues tumbler and three of Mark’s books: https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumbler. Use coupon code Thornton. Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues
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  How Social Security Really Works 09.10.2026 13min

  The only way to fund Social Security is with current tax dollars, inflicted on current workers and families. There is no pot of money somewhere that current retirees “paid into.” Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL
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  Home Sales: “High” Interest Rates Are Not the Problem. High Prices Are. 09.10.2026 11min

  There is a simple way for housing markets to adjust to the new realities of higher interest rates. Prices need to come down. That’s how markets are supposed to work. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/home-sales-high-interest-rates-are-not-problem-high-prices-are
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  America’s Socialist Real Estate “Market” 09.10.2026 36min

  Ryan McMaken welcomes Mises Institute Senior Fellow Alex Pollock, a longtime expert on real estate finance, for a discussion on how Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Reserve have created a socialist housing market in America. But it’s socialism for the rich, and the system has made housing much more expensive for ordinary people. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard Radio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off
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  The Invisible Heroes of Our Tradition 09.10.2026 12min

  We often remember the thinkers who defended liberty when its prospects looked bleak, and for good reason. But we should also remember the people who supported them and made their work possible without knowing what would follow. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/invisible-heroes-our-tradition 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray’s 100th birthday—and we’re celebrating by giving away free copies of Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy through October 31. Grab yours today at https://mises.org/gabfreebook Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB
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  Repeal the Jones Act 08.10.2026 15min

  Contrary to propaganda from unions and the maritime industry, the Jones Act creates hardships and is helping to drag down the US economy. The only proper outcome is to repeal it immediately. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/repeal-jones-act
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  Still the State’s Greatest Enemy 08.10.2026 40min

  Lew Rockwell revisits Justin Raimondo’s great biography of Murray Rothbard. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/still-states-greatest-enemy
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  Equality Before the Law Does Not Mean Equality of Subjective Feelings 07.10.2026 10min

  For more than a century, the Supreme Court has tried to interpret equality before the law in different and conflicting ways. While the law can divide people, it cannot be the source of bringing them together. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/equality-law-does-not-mean-equality-subjective-feelings
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  Libertarian Realism as Foreign Policy 07.10.2026 11min

  “Libertarian Realism” in foreign policy is based upon the interests of those who actually make policy decisions, as opposed to discussing abstract ideals of a false “national interest.” Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/libertarian-realism-foreign-policy
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  The Future of the Military Draft 07.10.2026 47min

  European politicians keep pushing for conscription and more recruits. Ryan McMaken and Zachary Yost discuss how the French Revolution gave us modern military conscription, and why governments have long wanted forced military service. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard Radio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off
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  Government Should Liquidate Itself 06.10.2026 8min

  Government agents claim they are protecting us from enemies, foreign and domestic. If that is the case, then the best thing these agents can do would be to liquidate the government itself. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/government-should-liquidate-itself
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  Social Security Is Just a Transfer Payment from Workers to Retirees 06.10.2026 9min

  There is no “trust fund” or contract. Social security is nothing more than a scheme to take money from current wage earners and hand it over to others. It is functionally a welfare program. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/social-security-just-transfer-payment-workers-retirees
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  Why Our “Populist Moment” Keeps Failing 05.10.2026 10min

  Populists have spent the past decade rebelling against a political system they correctly recognize as rigged. But they keep focusing on its surface-level symptoms while ignoring the institution at its center. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-our-populist-moment-keeps-failing 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray’s 100th birthday—and we’re celebrating by giving away free copies of Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy through October 31. Grab yours today at https://mises.org/gabfreebook Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB
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  Why Does Anyone Still Take Socialism Seriously? 05.10.2026 12min

  Socialism’s failures are well-known, but true believers abound that insist that this time we can make it work. The question is why anyone still believes in it at all. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-does-anyone-still-take-socialism-seriously
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  Market Coiling 03.10.2026 1t 52min

  Mark Thornton examines whether the precious metals market is coiling after last year’s push, this year’s correction, and months of volatility driven by war news, Fed policy, the dollar, and CPI concerns. He lays out six factors shaping the market: refining bottlenecks, metals flowing east, stacker psychology, sluggish mining stocks, the limited effect of rate hikes, and the Fed’s continued accommodative posture despite its inflation-fighting rhetoric. He then connects those market signals to a broader problem: government intervention and manipulation across interest rates, currencies, bonds, favored companies, AI, and financial markets. On Side B, the episode features recent interviews with Paul Buitink and Julia La Roche on AI, gold, the Persian Gulf war, and the macro forces affecting individuals. 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray’s 100th birthday—and we’re celebrating by giving away free copies of Wall Street, Banks, and American Foreign Policy through October 31. Grab yours today at https://mises.org/issuesfree 20% off listener offer on the insulated Minor Issues tumbler and three of Mark’s books: https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumbler. Use coupon code Thornton. Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues
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  Conservatives: Was Ronald Reagan a Coward and Traitor? 02.10.2026 18min

  If we’ve been at war with Iran for 47 years, Ronald Reagan was a coward and a traitor. To be consistent, mainstream national conservatives using such language about Iran ought to condemn one of their heroes; otherwise, they don’t believe their own rhetoric. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/conservatives-was-ronald-reagan-coward-and-traitor