The Curious Task Institute for Liberal Studies

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 

Alex speaks with Bryce Tingle about corporations, how these unique legal entities are governed, how changes we have made to corporate governance has discouraged companies from joining Canada’s public markets, and how the decline in our public market is hurting Canadians. 


Episode Notes:
1. Bryce’s article “Returning Markets To The Centre Of Corporate Law”
https://jcl.law.uiowa.edu/sites/jcl.law.uiowa.edu/files/2023-09/Tingle_Final.pdf 
2. Bryce’s profile at UofCalgary
https://profiles.ucalgary.ca/bryce-tingle 
3. Jensen and Meckley’s “The Theory Of The Firm”
https://www.sfu.ca/~wainwrig/Econ400/jensen-meckling.pdf 
4. Introduction to Douglass North’s theory of Institutions:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40803-016-0028-8 
5. Summary of Montesquieu’s “Doux Commerce”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doux_commerce 
6. Mill on Trade As a Social Act:
https://www.utilitarianism.com/ol/five.html 
7. The Voltaire quote referenced regarding the London Stock Exchange:
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7351337-go-into-the-london-stock-exchange-a-more-respectable 

Matt speaks with Eric Merkley about NIMBYism, the surprising touchpoints for unity between left and right on the subject of housing, and how uncovering the true motivations of NIMBYs has altered Eric's view of the housing crisis. 
Episode Notes:
"Housing for Me, but not for Thee", Eric's paper serving as the basis for most of this conversation:
https://osf.io/preprints/7vmt3 
Eric on X:
https://twitter.com/EricMerkley 
Eric's article on the subject on Policy Options:
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/march-2024/nimby-housing-opinion/ 
Some background on Premier Ford's backtracking on housing policy: https://www.robinsappleby.com/post/bridge-beat/conservative-housing-policy-backtrack.-a-setback-to-home-builders-and-new-home-owners-alike