The Human Action Podcast

Mises Institute
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The Human Action Podcast features in-depth interviews on current topics in economics through an Austro libertarian lens.

  1. DEC 16

    Eric Weinstein’s Challenge to Mainstream Mathematical Economics

    Bob uses clips from his recent interview with Eric Weinstein to explain why Weinstein thinks gauge theory can fix how economists measure the cost of living, unify competing price indices, and handle changing preferences over time, and why Austrians shouldn’t dismiss him as a crank. He summarizes Eric’s claim that standard mathematical economics relies on the simplest kind of derivative, explaining how much of modern economic modeling is using the wrong math. Related:  Bob's Interview with Eric Weinstein on the InFi Podcast: Mises.org/HAP530aThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

  2. DEC 8

    The Intra-Austrian Debate over Milei and the Central Bank

    This week, Bob walks through two related debates: Hoppe’s criticism of Argentina's President Milei for not immediately closing Argentina’s central bank, and the follow-up exchange between Guido Hülsmann and Philipp Bagus on Mises.org over dollarization and the peso. Along the way, he reviews Mises’s distinctions among commodity, credit, and fiat money, the concepts of money substitutes and fiduciary media, and the interesting structure of Argentina’s short-term central bank debt Guido Hülsmann and Philipp Bagus' Debate on Mises.org: Mises.org/HAP529aThe Human Action Podcast Episode with Nicolás Cachanosky: Mises.org/HAP529bBob's Study Guide to The Theory of Money and Credit: Mises.org/HAP529cThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

  3. NOV 28

    The Great Depression: An Austrian Reply to WIRED

    Bob walks through a recent WIRED video on “the economics behind the Great Depression,” correcting its claims on lax regulation, Hoover’s alleged inaction, the role of the Fed and the gold standard, and the notion that World War II ended the slump. Bob's Article, "The Depression You’ve Never Heard Of: 1920-1921": Mises.org/HAP528aBob's Talk, "Contrasting Views of the Great Depression": Mises.org/HAP528bThe WIRED Video, "Economics Professor Answers Great Depression Questions": Mises.org/HAP528cThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

  4. NOV 23

    Interest Is Not the Marginal Product of Capital

    Bob revisits capital and interest theory to show why the textbook result “interest = MPK” only holds in a one-good world, and why in actual markets the interest rate emerges from time, prices, and capital valuation—not raw productivity. Bob and Alberto Bisin Discuss the Use of Mathematics in Economics: Mises.org/HAP527aBob's Dissertation, "Unanticipated Intertemporal Change in Theories of Interest": Mises.org/HAP527bThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

  5. NOV 17

    What Makes Economics Scientific?

    Prompted by an online debate about whether economics belongs with the hard sciences, Bob reviews common defenses of mainstream practice and explains why they don’t settle the scientific status of the field. He outlines the Mises–Rothbard view: economics as praxeology (logic of action), closer to geometry than laboratory testing, with core insights on opportunity cost, incentives, prices, money, and policy constraints that don’t depend on forecasting the exact timing of crashes. Understanding Money Mechanics: Mises.org/HAP526aBob's Mises Daily Article, "Economists Can Be Hilarious": Mises.org/HAP526bHoppe's Economic Science and the Austrian Method: Mises.org/HAP526cLessons for the Young Economist: Mises.org/HAP526dThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

  6. NOV 12

    Rethinking "Sticky Prices" and Monetary Disequilibrium

    Dr. Jonathan Newman joins the Human Action Podcast to discuss his recent QJAE article disputing the claim that 'sticky prices' prevent markets from clearing--i.e., when the quantity supplied equals the quantity demanded. Dr. Newman applies Mises’s “plain state of rest” to show that each voluntary exchange equates quantities supplied and demanded, so observed “stickiness” doesn’t imply non-clearing markets. "There Ain't No Such Thing as a Sticky Price": Mises.org/HAP525aThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

  7. NOV 2

    Is Paying Down Government Debt Bad for the Economy?

    Is paying down the federal debt a recession trigger? Bob takes on the MMT claim and checks the record, citing US debt payoffs, Canada’s 1990s reforms, and ECB case studies. Conclusion: real wealth beats accounting tricks and paydowns aren’t a mechanical path to recession. Read More on Fiscal Austerity: Mises.org/HAP524aThe Upside-Down World of MMT: Mises.org/HAP524bDo Balanced Budgets Cause Depressions?: Mises.org/HAP524cThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

  8. OCT 30

    How Congress Should Reform the Fed

    Alex Pollock joins the Human Action Podcast to explain his recent Congressional testimony on the Fed’s growing insolvency and mandate overreach. The Fed now admits to $243 billion in operating losses and nearly $1 trillion in mark-to-market losses, leaving it with negative capital of about $197 billion. Pollock explains how the central bank transformed itself into “the biggest 1980s-style savings and loan in history” — funding short while buying long, and bleeding cash as interest rates rose. Read the Congressional Testimony: Mises.org/HAP523aRead More from Alex Pollock: Mises.org/HAP523bThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

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The Human Action Podcast features in-depth interviews on current topics in economics through an Austro libertarian lens.

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