This episode features an interview of criminal justice researcher Jonathan Blanks from 2015 by Trevor Burrus and Aaron Powell, hosts of the Free Thoughts podcast. They discuss civil liberties and police misconduct in America. Is there an upward trend in incidents of police misconduct, and if so, why? Is this just a few bad apples, or something more integral to the nature of policing in America? Just how dangerous is it to be a law enforcement officer in America? Dangerous enough to justify the military hardware the police seem to enjoy using so much?
Category: Voluntaryist Voices
Catherine Semcer: Poaching, Preserves, and African Wildlife (1h4m)
This episode features an interview of PERC Research Fellow Catherine Semcer from 2019 by Russ Roberts, host of EconTalk. The conversation discusses how allowing limited hunting of big game such as elephants and using revenue from hunting licenses to reward local communities for habitat stewardship has improved both habitat and wildlife populations while reducing poaching. Semcer draws on her experience as former Chief Operating Officer of Humanitarian Operations Protecting Elephants and also discusses recent efforts to relocate lions in Mozambique.
David Friedman: A Consequentialist Theory of Anarcho-Capitalism (1h47m)
This episode features a lecture by economics professor David Friedman from 2013. He looks at anarcho-capitalist political theory from its consequences in the economy and to society.
Tom Woods: Economics Is About Social Cooperation, Not Money or Greed (31m)
This episode features a lecture by historian and Austro-libertarian Tom Woods from 2015. What is it, fundamentally, that fascinates us about economics? Some people hear economics and think greed. But to the contrary, what fascinates us about economics is the phenomenon of social cooperation, which takes place on a global scale despite the lack of any global authority directing it.
Stephan Kinsella: How to Think about Property (41m)
This episode features a talk by libertarian theorist and patent attorney Stephan Kinsella from 2019. He explores the roots and structure of property rights.
John Holt: The Right to Control One’s Learning (14m)
This episode features an audio essay written by education reformer John Holt in 1974, which comprises Chapter 19 of Everything Voluntary: From Politics to Parenting, edited by Skyler J. Collins and published in 2012. He talks about the rights and prerogative of children to control their own education.
Doug French: Why Democracy Doesn’t Work (58m)
This episode features a talk by economics professor Doug French from 2013. The true believers always tell us we are just one election away from liberty. It never happens. French blends Hoppe, Hayek, and Maslow to explain why, despite voters best intentions, sociopaths are elected and freedom is lost.
Christopher Coyne: Why Humanitarian Action Fails (46m)
This episode features a lecture by economics professor Christopher Coyne from 2014. He discusses the sometimes disastrous unforeseen consequences of poorly-planned humanitarian interventions around the world.
Joseph Salerno: Calculation and Socialism (46m)
This episode features a lecture by economics professor (emeritus) Joseph Salerno from 2019. The topic of the lecture is the possibility, or impossibility, of rational economic calculation under a socialist political order.
Lawrence Cohen: Create a Closer Bond with Your Child Through Play (50m)
This episode features an interview of psychologist and author Lawrence Cohen from 2010 by Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting. Topics discussed include: the parent-child bond: how to stay connected, and heal from disconnection; the healing role of crying for babies, toddlers and children – and how parents can best help them; how humans discharge tension and difficult emotions – and how to help your child do so; the “Stay-listening” technique to help your child with difficult emotions; the best way to deal with tantrums; what is going on with kids when they look right at us and do exactly what we’ve told them not to? – and how should parents respond?