The Curious Task Institute for Liberal Studies

Alex speaks with Kevin Erdmann about how zoning, the 2008 economic crisis, and the desire to live away from "those people" is effecting the state of housing today. 
Episode Notes:
Kevin's page at the Mercatus Centre:
https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/kevin-erdmann
The Erdmann Housing Tracker:
https://kevinerdmann.substack.com/ 
Kevin on X:
https://x.com/KAErdmann?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor 
Kevin's book "Shut Out" on Amazon Canada: 
https://a.co/d/gIh82Og 

Alex speaks with Dominic Parker about his 2023 paper with Dean Lueck entitled "The Economic Origins And Extent Of America's First Environmental Agencies"
Episode Notes:
Dominic's paper: https://aae.wisc.edu/dparker/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2023/12/Lueck-Parker-Origins-December-2023.pdf 
Some history on the conservation movement from 1850-1920 via the American Library of Congress:
https://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20220203190507/https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amrvhtml/conshome.html 
 
 
 

Alex speaks with Ryan Bourne as he explores the misconceptions around inflation and the dangers of price controls, emphasizing how prices act as signals to coordinate economic activity and promote growth. Ryan explains the adverse effects of government intervention in setting prices, such as shortages, quality declines, black markets, and inefficient resource allocation.




Episode Notes:
- Ryan’s book that serves as the basis for most of the discussion:https://a.co/d/6B4n1Uf 
- Summary of Friedman, Monetarist School and the K-percent rule https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monetarism.asp#:~:text=In%20his%20book%2C%20%22A%20Monetary,a%20fixed%20percentage%20per%20year. 
- Explanation of greedflation: https://cssh.northeastern.edu/what-is-greedflation-and-is-it-driving-higher-prices/ 
- Kahneman and Thaler's research: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1806070 
- Clemens on minimum wage 
https://econweb.ucsd.edu/~j1clemens/pdfs/ClemensMinWageCatoPolicyAnalysis867.pdf 

Alex speaks with Donner prize nominee Kent Roach about a topic that many Canadians may overlook when thinking about issues that are recurring at home: wrongful convictions and its victims. 
Episode Notes:
- Kent's award-winning book "Wrongfully Convicted: Guilty Pleas, Imagined Crimes, and What Canada Must Do to Safeguard Justice" https://a.co/d/d9mB5cN
- Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions: https://www.wrongfulconvictions.ca/ 
- The Innocence Project at Cardozo: https://cardozo.yu.edu/innocence-project 
- Blackstone's ratio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstone%27s_ratio 
- Charles Smith (pathologist) background: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/dr-charles-smith-the-man-behind-the-public-inquiry-1.864004 
- R v Gladue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Gladue 
- Richard Catchaway case: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/richard-catcheway-wrongful-conviction-1.4681737 
- The Morin case on CRWC https://www.wrongfulconvictions.ca/cases/guy-paul-morin 
- The Goudge report on pediatric forensic pathology: https://wayback.archive-it.org/16312/20211207211516/https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/goudge/index.html 
- The David Milgaard case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Milgaard 

Matt speaks with Ethan Nadelmann about drug decriminalization, legalization, and the slow end to the drug war in Canada and the United States, and how successes and failures in both countries compare to those abroad.
Episode Notes:
The Drug Policy Alliance website: https://drugpolicy.org/
Some history on Portugal's Drug Harm Reduction Programs: https://americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/portugals-harm-reduction-policies 
Philip Owen's obituary highlighting some of his successes in Vancouver as mayor: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2021/10/02/dtes-philip-owens-four-pillars// 
Larry Cambell's call for opioid legalization: https://globalnews.ca/news/3260074/make-prescription-opioids-legal-says-senator-and-former-mayor-larry-campbell/ 
"Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness" on Amazon Canada: https://a.co/d/36Y1M4L 
Peltzman's original article studying drug availability: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1830639 
Ed Preble's "Taking Care Of Business":
https://doi.org/10.3109/10826086909061998
 

Matt speaks with Craig Biddle about objectivism and the legacy of Ayn Rand, and how it all ties to classical liberalism, the American ideal, and post-modernism. 
Episode Notes:
Craig's work for the Objective Standard:
https://theobjectivestandard.com/author/cbiddle/ 
Craig on X:
https://twitter.com/CraigBiddle 
Free Ayn Rand books courtesy of the Ayn Rand Institute, including almost all of those referenced throughout this episode:
https://aynrand.org/students/free-books/ 
Craig's talk "Choosing a Philosophy for Loving Life":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzhwsK6dyuE