The Human Action Podcast

Bob hosts Steve Hanke, Distinguished Senior Scholar at the Mises Institute and Professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University, to discuss his research on hyperinflations, currency board solutions, and the economic effects of the COVID lockdowns. Hanke explains the findings of his meta-analysis of lockdown impact and explains why Sweden's laissez-faire approach was vindicated. He also draws from decades of experienc...

Bob is joined by author George Ford Smith for a detailed examination into the life and legacy of Thomas Paine. They discuss how Paine’s writings, especially Common Sense and the American Crisis essays, mustered colonial support for independence and even influenced the outcome of the Revolutionary War. Smith explains Paine's life, from early setbacks and struggles in England to becoming a pivotal figure in America’s founding, and wh...

Bob hosts economist Daniel Lacalle to analyze the controversial Big Beautiful Bill. Daniel explains why, despite its imperfections, the bill represents a vital first step toward curbing government spending and protecting private-sector prosperity from excessive state intervention.

• Daniel's Article, "The Big Beautiful Bill Is Much Better Than You Think": Mises.org/HAP504a
• Thomas Massie's X Exchange on the Hidden Costs of the BBB: ...

Vincent Geloso and Chandler Reilly have a new paper in which they use Rothbard's "Private Product Remaining" (PPR) as a lower bound on estimates of national output, to be contrasted with the convention GDP statistics as an upper bound. Bob has the authors explain Rothbard's proposal and how they are trying to introduce it to the economics profession.

• The Paper, "National Output Without Government?": Mises.org/HAP503a
• The Human Ac...

In this episode of the Human Action Podcast, Bob analyzes the key arguments from the recent immigration debate at the Soho Forum between Dave Smith and Alex Nowrasteh. He clarifies the critical issue of how libertarians should approach immigration when the government controls significant property and resources, explores the implications for public property rights, and examines empirical claims made during the debate.

• Alex Nowras...

Bob takes a close look at Oren Cass’s recent appearance on Tucker Carlson, where Cass argued for free trade to a skeptical conservative audience. Bob unpacks Cass’s arguments about tariffs, comparative advantage, and trade deficits—not to attack, but to clarify. Using classical and Austrian economics, Murphy shows why U.S. economic malaise can’t be solved with tariffs, but also why dismissing Cass’s concerns outright is a strategic...

Economist Alex Tabarrok joins Bob to review Trump’s executive order on prescription drug pricing. They explore how price discrimination works in global pharmaceutical markets, the unintended consequences of importation policies, and why U.S. consumers often pay more—yet benefit most from drug innovation. Tabarrok also critiques the FDA’s role in delaying treatments and explains how regulatory reform, not price caps, could make heal...

The recent BEA "Advance Estimate" for 1q GDP growth showed a lackluster drop of 0.3 percent, but it included unusually large swings in private inventories and imports, as well as a drop in federal expenditures. Some MAGA fans have argued that once you account for these misleading figures, the report signifies a healthy economy. Murphy mostly disagrees, and shows why the report--taken at face value--does indeed signify poor economic...

Dr. Jonathan Newman returns to the Human Action Podcast to discuss the relaunch of the Mises Academy—including his new course based on Bob's Lessons for the Young Economist textbook. But this conversation goes much deeper than curriculum. Bob and Jonathan unpack the fundamental question: What is economics, really? They explore how Austrian economics differs from psychology, history, and the natural sciences, why economics is more a...

Dr. Joe Salerno joins Bob to review the recent tensions between Donald Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. As Trump questions Powell’s leadership and Fed policy, they explore the deeper issues: Should central banks really be "independent"? Does the Fed’s shield from political oversight protect sound economics—or merely insulate elites from accountability? Murphy and Salerno tackle myths about interest rates, inflation, debt monet...

The Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) crowd prides itself on fidelity to actual history. But Murphy shows how leading MMT guru Randall Wray completely distorts his discussion of two historical episodes in his college lecture.

• Wray, "Modern Money Theory for Beginners": Mises.org/HAP496a
• The NBER Paper on Colonial Virginia's Money Regime: Mises.org/HAP496b
• NPR Planet Money, "A Giant Stone Coin At The Bottom Of The Sea": Mises.org/HAP496c
• ...

In this episode, Bob breaks down the Triffin dilemma, explaining why it's wrong to assume that maintaining global reserve currency status requires ever-increasing U.S. trade deficits. He shows that America’s chronic deficits are driven more by government spending and fiat money than by global necessity, making the case that returning to fiscal discipline and sound money—not tariffs—is the key to reversing America’s economic decline...

Jonathan Newman joins Bob to discuss the debate between Austrians and MMTers on the origins of money. In the Anti-MMT panel at the Austrian Economics Research Conference (AERC), Jonathan presented his research on the archeological evidence that silver was used as money in ancient Mesopotamia and how the evidence vindicates Menger's theory on the origins of money. Jonathan and Bob walk through various MMT responses and make the case...

Patrick Newman joins Bob to discuss one of his talks at the Austrian Economics Research Conference (AERC), where he explained that Simon Kuznets–who developed the method of calculating GNP and GDP statistics–had serious doubts about how to include government expenditures.

• Patrick's Talk at the 2025 AERC: Mises.org/HAP493a
• Rothbard's Man, Economy, and State: Mises.org/HAP493b
• Bob's 2014 Talk on the Great Depression: Mises.org/HAP49...

Bob responds to recent tweets that believe trade deficits are a sign of economic strength. He also includes an op-ed from Robert Barro and a clip from Milton Friedman, to show that even big gun economists can often speak in misleading ways when it comes to trade deficits.

• Bob's Article on Free Traders Defending Deficits: Mises.org/HAP492a
• The FRED Chart Referenced in this Episode: Mises.org/HAP492b
• Bob's 2007 Mises Daily article o...

One of the common worries about a hard money like gold or Bitcoin is that large price deflation could make lending and investment impossible because nominal interest rates can't go below 0%. Bob explains why these fears are invalid.

• The Charts Used in This Episode Can Be Viewed Here: Mises.org/HAP491a

The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard’s, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free ...

Bob first reviews the standard libertarian case for legalizing drugs as the way to neutralize the Mexican drug cartels. Then he plays a recent clip where Dave Smith argues that drug prohibition leads to violence because (among other factors) you can't call the cops if someone steals your product. Bob argues that libertarians should stop making this (invalid) argument.

• Bob's Lessons for the Young Economist: Mises.org/HAP490a
• Part ...

Grove City College has recently digitized its collection of post-war materials—including photos, correspondence, and manuscripts—from the great Austrian economist, Ludwig von Mises. Mises' biographer, Guido Hülsmann, joins Bob to discuss some of the treasures that have been made available online.

• Explore the Grove City College's Digital Mises Archive: Mises.org/HAP489a
• Dr. Hülsmann's Biography of Mises, The Last Knight of Liberal...

Some have proposed that the spending cuts identified by DOGE be directed towards a $5000 tax rebate for Americans who pay federal taxes. Critics warn it could be inflationary, just like the COVID-era stimmies. Bob disagrees, explaining that the DOGE spending cuts offset the impact.

• Rothbard's Making Economic Sense: Mises.org/HAP488a
• Bob's Understanding Money Mechanics: Mises.org/HAP488b

Join the Mises Institute on April 26 in...