The Curious Task

Terence Kealey — Should Government Fund Science?

Terence Kealey speaks about the history of state involvement in funding science and technology, and why it may not be as good or innovative of an idea as it may seem.

References from The Curious Task Episode 91 with Terence Kealey

• You can purchase a copy of Sex Science and Profits by Terence Kealey on Amazon here.
• The story of Katalin Karikó is explored in detail in this article.
• Terence Kealey has a chapter in Visions of Liberty, available for purchase here.

Nick Cowen — Should We Regulate Online Sex Work?

Alex Aragona speaks with Nick Cowen as he explores the current state of sex work regulation, and what approaches regulators could (and should) take when considering the increasing online landscape for these services.

References from The Curious Task Episode 90 with Nick Cowen

• Nick Cowen is the author of Neoliberal Social Justice. You can read the first chapter of his book here.
• Nick Cowen’s article Sex Work and Online Platforms: What Should Regulation Do? can be downloaded and read here. Within the article, the section which specifically explores the various models of sex work regulation begins on page 5.
• Markets without Limits by Peter Jaworski and Jason Brennan can be found here.
• Michael Munger speaks more about transaction costs in the economy with our friends at Econtalk here.
• An explanation of the key debates currently about sex work can be found by following this link.

Alex Salter — Did Central Banks Get COVID-19 Right?

Alex Salter dives into Federal Reserve policies during the pandemic, what it got right and wrong, and what the lasting impacts will be.

References from The Curious Task Episode 89 with Alex Salter

• Alex Salter is the co-author of Money and the Rule of Law along with Peter Boettke and Daniel Smith. His book can be purchased from Amazon here.
• To read more about the Federal Reserve’s actions during the financial crisis from Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Donald Kohn, see here.
• Alex Salter’s most recent commentary on the Federal Reserve at AIER can be found here and here.
• Alex Salter discusses the Federal Reserves response to COVID-19 here.
• For more information about the accountability and transparency of the federal reserve, see the report from Scott Sumner at the Mercatus Center found here.

Dan Griswold & Sabine El-Chidiac — What Should Immigration Policy Look Like After The Pandemic?

Dan and Sabine discuss their newest policy brief with the Mercatus Center, and what changes they'd like to see to Canadian and American immigration policy as it relates to movement between the two countries.

References from The Curious Task Episode 88 with Dan Griswold & Sabine El-Chidiac

• The policy brief co-authored by Daniel Griswold and Sabine El-Chidiac titled “Deepen Us-Canada Ties with a Post-COVID-19 Agreement for the Free Movement of People can be found here.
• Dan Griswold’s book Mad About Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization can be purchased on Amazon here. 
• For more information on Canadian Immigrants in the United States, see this information from the Migration Policy Institute here.
• Dan Griswold explains his stance on Employment-Based Immigration Policies found in Australia and Canada in an interview with the Washington Journal here. 
• Find Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration and Political Freedom by Ilya Somin available for purchase here. Ilya Somin also appeared on the Curious Task to speak about voting with your feet here.

Bas van der Vossen — Who Owns Your Labour?

Alex Aragona explores standard readings of Lockean property rights theories with Bas van der Vossen, and then explore Bas' idea on what might be missing from these traditional understandings and interpretations. 

References from The Curious Task Episode 87 with Bas van der Vossen

• Bas van der Vossen explores the historical entitlement theory, including some of the points he included in his presentation about Robert Nozick’s version during the podcast, at this link.
• You can read John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government online at this link. Chapter 5, On Property, forms the basis of much of this week’s discussion,
• This article titled, John Locke: Some Problems in Locke’s Theory of Private Property, on libertarianism.org features Nozick’s famous tomato juice analogy that objects Locke’s principle of labour mixing, and is also an extension of the discussion brought up by Bas during this episode.  
• Here is an excerpt by Bas van der Vosen on Hume’s idea of property rights as convention.
• You can access Bas van der Vossen’s work on the “Enough and As Good” Lockean proviso here. 
• Here is a paper by Hillsdale College on the appropriative water rights doctrine in the Western United States that Bas briefly mentions during the podcast. 
• Bas mentions the water shortages that California faces from waterway droughts. An article that details the “Tahoe to tap” option can be accessed at this link.

Matt Warner — What's Wrong With Foreign Aid?

Alex Aragona speaks with Matt Warner as he explores the dilemma that outsiders face when trying to do good for others, and why local knowledge is so important. 

References from Episode 86 with Matt Warner

• Matt Warner is the author of, Poverty and Freedom: Case Studies on Global Economic Freedom, which can be purchased from Amazon Canada here.
  
• Eric Beinhocker’s book, The Origin of Wealth, was mentioned by Matt because it makes a Hayekian case for use of knowledge in society and that there is more than one type of knowledge in an array of complex adaptive systems. This book can also be purchased on Amazon Canada at this link.
  
• Matt mentions Jeffrey Sachs’ crop yield project in Uganda during the podcast. You can read some of Sachs’ work for the Africa Growth Initiative here. 
  
• Francis Fukuyama’s book, The End of History, can be purchased from Amazon Canada at this link.
  
• Stephen Holmes co-authored the book, The Light That Failed, with Ivan Krastev, which is also available for purchase on Amazon Canada here. 
  
• Why Nations Fail is another book cited by Matt during the podcast. It was co-authored by James Robinson and is available on Amazon Canada here.
  
• You can read Mohamed Bouazizi’s story and how it ignited the Arab Spring here.
  
• Mauricio Miller’s book, The Alternative, is listed on Amazon Canada at this link.
  
• Amartya Sen’s book, Development as Freedom, can be found on Amazon Canada here. 
  
• You can explore Jeremy Shapiro’s work on development economics on his website.
  
• Samantha Power’s memoir, The Education of an Idealist, is available for purchase on Amazon Canada at this link.
  
• Daron Acemoglu and James Robinsson’s book, The Narrow Corridor, was also mentioned by Matt during the podcast and can be purchased here.
• You can read Freedom House’s report on the state of democracy around the world in 2021 here.

Paul Robinson — Is Russia a Threat to Democracy?

Alex Aragona speaks with Paul Robinson about whether Russia is trying to meddle with Western democracy, and if he thinks the recommended solutions might be worse than the alleged threat.

References from Episode 85 with Paul Robinson

• You can listen to Paul Robinson speak about military intervention on The Curious Task
• Paul Robinson regularly writes on his blog Irrussianality, which you can read online He is also the author and editor of several books, which can be found here.
• Alex references an essay on disinformation which was published on the CRTC website, which can be read
• Paul Robinson talks specifically about disinformation on his blog in the post “Watching the Disinformation Watchers” which can be read
• Alex suggests you read the unpublished introduction to Animal Farm by George Orwell, which can be found

Scott Scheall — What Is The Fundamental Problem of Political Life?

Alex Aragona speaks with Scott Scheall as he explores how the knowledge problem and other epistemological considerations must be considered before political incentives.

References from Episode 84 with Scott Scheall

• Scott Scheall is the author of the book, F. A. Hayek and the Epistemology of Politics: The Curious Task of Economics, which can be purchased from Routledge at this link.
  
• You can read The Green New Deal resolution presented during the 1st session of the 116th Congress here.
  
• David Hume’s essay, Of the Independency of Parliament, where he talks about political writers as a maxim and how every man ought to be a knave, is available for reading at this link.
  
• Scott references James Buchanan’s idea of “politics without romance” in public choice theory where the assumption of knowledge is a starting point from his co-authored book, The Calculus of Consent. This book can be accessed here.
  
• You can read more about Milton Friedman’s work on command economies here.can
  
• Scott cites F. A. Hayek’s book, The Use of Knowledge in Society, to the argument that gathering data is not a problem for central planning, but that the particular circumstances of time and place are what determine success. This book can be accessed here.
  
• You can read F. A. Hayek’s work, Cosmos and Taxis, here.
  You can read Scott’s op-ed with Parker Crutchfield, There Are No Experts On That for Which We Really Need Experts, published on the American Institute for Economic Research at this link.

Shikha Dalmia — How Does Minority Activism Help Stop Authoritarianism?

Alex Aragona speaks with Shikha Dalmia about minority groups as defenders of rights and freedoms, and the North American libertarian movement during and after Donald Trump's presidency.

References from Episode 83 with Shikha Dalmia

• You can read Shikha’s articles published at Reason Foundation here and her articles in The Week here. 
• Here are some statistics of the the share of votes for Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential Election by ethnicity, produced by Statista.
• This is the Washington Post article by Radley Balko that was referenced by Shikha during the podcast, titled, Meet the police chief turned yoga instructor prodding wealthy suburbanites to civil war.
• Here is Ward Connerly’s biography.
• You can access the full text of the Federalist Papers by James Madison at this link.
• The Liberty Fund has a full version of the letter written by Lord Acton to Bishop Creighton which includes the famous quote, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” (1887) at this link.
• This link will direct you to the original text of The Civil Rights Act (1964).
• This is an article detailing the history of the poll tax in America.
• This is a BBC article that discusses the exclusion of Muslims from the reforms to India’s Citizenship Act.
• Shikha briefly mentions the population dynamics inAntebellum America. Here is an article on the demography of the slave population in Antebellum America for extended reading that was featured in The Journal of Interdisciplinary History.
• This is the codification of Title XI of the Education Amendments Act (1972).
• The Washington Post has an article on Barry Goldwater’s history that was released in commemoration of his passing in 1998 and can be accessed here. 
• You can read more articles written by David French, a Christian conservative critical of Trump and proactive on the topic of religious freedom, at his profile on The Dispatch here.
• This is a link to some quotes by Samuel Johnson on liberty.

Art Carden — Why Are We Rich?

Alex Aragona chats with Art Carden as he explains the kind of deal we need to make if we want to see great prosperity.

References from Episode 82 with Art Carden

• Art Carden is the co-author of the book, Leave Me Alone and I’ll Make You Rich, with Deirdre McCloskey, which is available on Amazon Canada at this link (Kindle Edition and Hardcover).
• Art references Shylock from The Merchant of Venice and Iago from Othello, whose full texts are accessible through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s website (titles hyperlinked).
• This is an interactive graphic by Our World in Data on the world literacy rate overtime.
• Here is a link to a further elaboration of Adam Smith’s quote that “people of the same trades seldom meet together … but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices” and one of “the great deal of ruin in a nation” that were mentioned by Art (Courtesy of the Adam Smith Institute).
  This is a link to William Nordhaus’ working paper on the gains from innovation. 
• You can read more about Fred Shuttlesworth on the encyclopedia website of the King Institute at Stanford University at this link. 
• You can watch the 2007 D5 Conference that hosted Steve Jobs and Bill Gates together and features a question on the “desktop paradigm” on Youtube at this link.
• You can read Thomas Malthus’ An Essay on the Principle Population on The Library of Economics and Liberty website. 
• Here is a link to the Youtube series, Free to Choose, featuring Milton Friedman. 
• You can purchase John Kenneth Galbraith’s book, The New Industrial State, on Amazon Canada at this link.
• Here is a list of the Top 10 Fortune 500 companies.
• Andrew McAfee’s book, More from Less, talks about the dematrialization of economic growth and can be purchased on Amazon Canada here. 
• Art mentions Robin Hanson’s concept of the Futures Market during the podcast. You can read more about it in this article by Robin Hanson.
• Thomas Sowell’s book, A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles, is available on Amazon Canada at this link.

Erik Kimbrough — What Influences Our Choices?

Alex Aragona speaks with Erik Kimbrough as he explores the role social norms, groups, and other factors play in our decision making processes.

References from Episode 81 with Erik Kimbrough

• You can find a list of Erik’s work here, or on SSRN and RePEc (Erik Kimbrough), some of which were quoted during this episode and formed the basis of discussion. These include Erik’s discussions on norm-compliance (with Mark Pickup and Eline de Rooij), corruption, social preferences (with Alexander Vostroknutov), and marriage (with Mahsa Akbari).
• This is a rundown of The Dictator Game in economics as presented by Daniel Kahneman et al.
• This is the paper written by George Stigler and Gary Becker, Accounting for Taste, that was mentioned by Erik in the podcast.
• You can read about Adam Smith’s impartial spectator and sentiments at this link (Adam Smith Institute). 
• You can read more about the economist Douglass North at this link (The Library of Economics and Liberty).
• The book, The WEIRDest People in the World by Joe Henrich, that was mentioned by Erik is available on Amazon Canada at this link. 
• Friedrich Hayek’s quote that “Man is much a rule-following animal as a purpose-seeking one” is from his book, Law, Legislation and Liberty, which can be accessed here.

Ross Emmett and Steve Slivinski — What Policies Hurt Business?

Alex Aragona chats with Ross Emmett and Steve Slivinski as they explore the policies that can hurt businesses, and their work on the Doing Business North America index.

References from Episode 80 with Ross Emmett and Steve Slivinski

• Ross Emmett and Stephen Slivinski are directors of the Doing Business North America project. Their 2020 report forms the basis of this episode and can be found at their website at this link.
• Here is a link to the Doing Business Report by the World Bank that was briefly mentioned in the podcast. 
• You can read the Philadelphia Inquirer’s article on the barriers of doing business in Philadelphia here.
• An in-depth explanation of the DBNA’s methodology and business categories is available for reading at this link.
• The DBNA Land Use index was inspired by The Wharton Residential Land Use Regulatory Index, which can be accessed here. 
• Here are the recent rankings of the DBNA report, which includes a comparison of the performance in cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States (including the top five and five lowest-performing cities).
• You can interact with the data collected by DBNA at this link.
• Virginia Postrel’s book, The Future and its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise, and Progress, can be purchased on Amazon Canada at this link.
• Here is an article on the Bootleggers and Baptists problem coined by Bruce Yandle.

Peter Jaworski — What Is Libertarianism?

Alex Aragona speaks with Peter Jaworski as he explores his definition of libertarianism, and how different kinds of morality can lead to certain conclusions about libertarian institutions.

References from Episode 79 with Peter Jaworski

• Peter Jaworski is the co-author of the book, Markets without Limits: Moral Virtues and Commercial Interests, which is available for purchase on Amazon Canada at this link.
• Peter mentions B. van der Vossen’s article on self-ownership published on Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which can be read here. The general article on libertarianism starts at this link.
• You can read more about Jonathan Haidt’s moral foundations theory on the website, moralfoundations.org.
• Peter mentions the three-way division between people cited in Jason Brennan’s book, Against Democracy, which is also available on Amazon Canada at this link. 
• This article on libertarianism.org captures David Hume’s is-ought dichotomy that was briefly mentioned by Peter during the podcast. 
• The Acton Institute publishes many articles that demonstrate how their theological views endorse libertarian institutions on their website, acton.org.
• You can read John Stuart Mill’s libertarian conclusions in On Liberty at this link.
• Peter mentions Chris Freiman during the episode, who has published blogposts on learnliberty.org.   
• You can read more about the natural rights argument of Thomas Jefferson’s famous quote, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in this article on libertarianism.org. 
• The Lockean-Nozick justification of property rights has also been written about in this article on libertarianism.org.
  
• Here is the link to Ayn Rand’s book, The Virtue of Selfishness, that explores the concept of ethical egoism.
• Michael L. Frazer has a book on Adam Smith’s theory of sentimentalism and how it departs from that of David Hume, which can be accessed here.
• You can purchase Michael Huemer’s book, Ethical Institutionalism, that was recommended by Peter at this link.
• Jan Narveson makes a contractarian case for libertarianism in this article on libertarianism.org.
• Here is Roderick Long’s article, Eudaimonist Libertarianism, that was published on bleedingheartlibertarians.org.
• Dan Sanchez published an article called, In Defense of Mises’s Utilitarianism, through the Mises Institute and is available for reading here.
• Here is Kevin Vallier’s article, A Rawlisan Case for Libertarianism, which also draws parallels to F. A. Hayek. 
• You can explore Milton Friedman’s natural rights-oriented political philosophy in his book, Capitalism and Freedom, which can be purchased from Amazon Canada at this link.
• Here is a joint article by John Tomasi and Matt Zwolinski called, A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarianism, which was published in Cato Unbound and can be read at this link. 
• This is a link to the Libertarian Party of the United States.
• Deirdre McCloskey elaborated on her idea of The Great Enrichment in this article published on the Foundation for Economic Education.

Sandra Peart — What Can We Learn From John Stuart Mill?

Alex Aragona speaks with Sandra Peart as she traces the life of John Stuart Mill and explores some of the key pillars of his thinking.

References from Episode 78 with Sandra Peart

• Sandra Peart is the author of Towards an Economics of Natural Equals: A Documentary History of the Early Virginia School, Escape from Democracy: The Role of Experts and the Public in Economic Policy, and the Essential John Stuart Mill, some of which are available for purchase on Amazon Canada (titles hyperlinked).
• The liberal themes of social tyranny, expression, and democracy were drawn from John Stuart Mill’s works, On Liberty (Batoche Books), and Utilitarianism (McMaster, Batoche Books) which are available for reading online (titles hyperlinked). 
• David Ricardo’s book, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, can be read online on McMaster University’s Faculty of Social Sciences website at this link. 
• You can read The Later Letters of John Stuart Mill (1849-1873) that were referenced by Sandra throughout the podcast on Liberty Fund’s website here. 
• Here is one journal article on Wordsworth’s influence on Mill by Liz McKinnell. 
• The United Kingdom Parliament has published the following websites on the reformative legislative legacy of John Stuart Mill while he was an MP: John Start Mill Amendment and John Stuart Mill and the 1866 Petition.
• This is a link to the cartoon ridiculing John Stuart Mill’s franchise for women as “persons” published by Punch Magazine. 
• This is the harsher cartoon, “Miss Mill Joins the Ladies,” published by Judy.
• Here is a link to Hayek on Mill, which was edited by Sandra and features Hayek’s skepticism of Mill’s originality and the Taylor-Mill correspondence that was published by Hayek.

James Tooley — Is Low-Cost Private Education Possible?

Alex Aragona speaks with James Tooley as he retells some of his experiences discovering quality private education solutions in poorer communities, and how they compared to the government's offerings.

References from Episode 77 with James Tooley

• The E. G. West Centre at Newcastle University is the namesake of economist E. G. West. This page will direct listeners to his various articles and reports.
• James’ book, The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World’s Poorest People are Educating Themselves is the basis of today’s discussion and can be purchased from Amazon Canada here. 
• You can read more about the John Templeton Foundation’s work at this link. 
• Here is a link to James’ case study research about for-profit private education in India.
• This is The Economist article about Indian private schools educating 50% of the population that James mentions briefly on the podcast.
• Here is a synopsis of The Elementary Education Act of 1870 which mandated public education for schoolchildren between five to thirteen years of age. James’ book with the Independent Institute, Really Good Schools is set for release in March 2021 and can be preordered here.

Steve Horwitz — What Drives Progress?

Alex Aragona speaks with Steve Horwitz as he explores what drives human progress, and why the market is so crucial to that.

References from Episode 76 with Steve Horwitz

• Steve Horwitz is the author of Austrian Economics: An Introduction; Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective; Monetary Evolution, Free Banking, and Economic Order; and Hayek’s Modern Family: Classical Liberalism and the Evolution of Social Institutions which are available for purchase on Amazon Canada (titles hyperlinked).
• This article entitled Persistent Fallacies by Vuk Vukovic recounts the misconceptions surrounding growth and is a response to the book, Why Nations Fail, featuring an anecdote on Paul Samuelson’s forecast of the USSR overtaking the US economy that was referenced by Steve in the episode.   
• In case you missed Virginia Postrel’s episode on The Curious Task and wish to catch up with her research, her book, The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, can be purchased on Amazon Canada at this link.
• The Cato Institute published an article by Adam D. Thierer on permissionless innovation, which also provides an overview of Deidre McCloskey’s contributions to the theory. It can be read here.  
• You can read Steve’s article, Privilege and the Liberal Tradition, on libertarianism.org.
• Here is an excerpt on Ludwig’s von Mises’ concept of peaceful transference from his book, Liberalism: In the Classical Tradition. 
• You can learn more about Robert Higgs’ concept of regime uncertainty through this downloadable PDF published by the Independent Institute. 
• This article by Gerald P. O’Driscoll, Jr. is an introduction to “sound money” that Steve also talks about during the podcast. 
• You can watch Hans Rosling’s TED video on The Magic Washing Machine at this link. 
• The joint research on inequality published by Steve and Vincent Geloso is available for reading here. 
• Here is the article written by Steve on Tyler Cowen’s joint article on The Great Stagnation, which is also available for reading online at this link.
• Here is some more background on precision medicine that Steve mentions briefly on the podcast.
• Here is the link to the 2007 panel discussion with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates that Alex mentions in the podcast.  
• The Back to the Future trilogy and Demolition Man can be purchased and/or streamed from Amazon Canada.  You can read more about John Stuart Mill’s “experiments of living” at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s website (Chapter 4.6).

Clark Neily — How Can America's Policing Problem Be Fixed?

Alex Aragona speaks with Clark Neily as he explores the causes of America's policing problems, and policies that may fix them.

References

1. “Terms of Engagement: How Our Courts Should Enforce the Constitution’s Promise of Limited Government” by Clark M. Neily

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Terms-Engagement-Enforce-Constitutions-Government/dp/1594036969 

2. “A Libertarian Vision for Criminal Justice” by Clark Neily 

Link: https://www.libertarianism.org/essays/libertarian-vision-for-criminal-justice 

3. “Sagging Pants and the Long History of ‘Dangerous’ Street Fashion” by Gene Demby 

Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/09/11/347143588/sagging-pants-and-the-long-history-of-dangerous-street-fashion 

4. “America’s Criminal Justice System is Rotten to the Core” by Clark Neily

Link: https://www.cato.org/blog/americas-criminal-justice-system-rotten-core

5. “Varsity Blues Scandal Explained” by BC Law

Link: https://lawmagazine.bc.edu/2023/12/varsity-blues-sandal-explained/

6. “Qualified Immunity FAQ” by Legal Defense Fund

Link: https://www.naacpldf.org/qualified-immunity/#:~:text=The%20doctrine%20of%20qualified%20immunity,engaging%20in%20violent%20and%20abusive

7. “Cop Who Accidentally Shot 10-Year-Old When Aiming For Family Dog Can’t Be Sued, Federal Court Rules” by Nick Sibilla

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2019/07/18/cop-who-accidentally-shot-10-year-old-when-aiming-for-family-dog-cant-be-sued-federal-court-rules/

8. “Ferguson Riot and Ferguson Unrest (2014-2015)” by BlackPast

Link: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/ferguson-riot-and-ferguson-unrest-2014-2015/

Matt Bufton and Sabine El-Chidiac — What Was 2020 Like For Liberalism?

It's our 2020 roundup episode! Alex Aragona chats with Matt Bufton and Sabine El-Chidiac about topics and ideas surrounding liberalism in the past year, and choose their favourite Curious Task episodes from 2020.

References from Episode 74 with Sabine El-Chidiac and Matt Bufton

• Matt mentions the 1992 Los Angeles riots stemming from the police brutality against Rodney King. An article on these incidents can be found on National Public Radio’s website at this link. 
• You can learn more about the international movement to defund the police here. 
• Matt briefly talks about polls coming from the United States on whether parents would mind their children marrying across party lines. One such poll was conducted by YouGov and can be accessed here. 
• You can register for Stephen Davies’ upcoming online lecture with the Institute for Liberal Studies (Friday, January 15 at 12:00 PM) here! If you need a refresher on Steve Davies’ episode with The Curious Task, consider giving it a relisten at this link. 
• Sabine reference’s Steve Horowitz’s book Hayek’s Modern Family: Classical Liberalism and the Evolution of Social Institutions as well as a previous Curious Task episode with him (titles hyperlinked).
• Matt notes that fusionism was at its peak during the Reagan era. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has an article recounting the relationship between Reagan and libertarians in this article.   
• Mises Wire has an article about Murray Rothbard and War and his effort to unite anti-Vietnam war sentiment in the United States. This work is available for viewing here. 
• Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine design occurred over two days and can be read in detail in this article by Business Insider. 
• If you are interested in Maude Barlow’s criticisms of economic globalization and trade, visit this page on The Council of Canadians’ website that recaps Barlow’s interview with CBC Radio.To delve deeper into the discussions on educational alternatives and belief in experts, Episode 53 and Episode 65 of The Curious Task provides a holistic overview.
• The Curious Task in Review: Our Producers’ Favourite Episodes From 2020! 
  • Matt recommended Episode 40 with Pete Boettke: “What Is The Curious Task of Economics?” 
    • A great primer for the rest of this podcast 
  • Sabine recommended Episode 29 with Jacob Levy: “How Should Liberals Think of Civil Society?”
    • Explores the greater themes in liberalism, such as tensions between pluralism and rationalization and in-group and out-group oppression
  • Alex recommended Episode 60 with Eric Schliesser: “What Is Neoliberalism?” 
    • May be a part of the project of rehabilitating the connotations of neoliberalism and other permanent frustrations with the term

Mike Tanner — Why Does Poverty Persist?

Alex Aragona speaks with Mike Tanner as he explores the factors that contribute to the persistence of poverty, and different policy recommendations that can help alleviate it.

References from Episode 73 with Mike Tanner

• Mike Tanner is the author of Going for Broke: Deficits, Debt, and the Entitlement Crisis, Leviathan on the Right: How the Rise of Big Government Conservatism Threatens Our Freedom and Our Future, and The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor. All titles are hyperlinked and available for purchase on Amazon Canada.
• You can read more about the United States’ government spending on anti-poverty policies and programs at the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions website here.  
• Mike likens the final step of self-actualization in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to the policy goal of self-sufficiency for welfare programs. An explanation of the Hierarchy can be accessed here in a study by Robert J. Taormina and Jennifer H. Gao. 
• Articles by the Cato Institute and the Foundation for Economic Education discuss how poverty traps are a fixture of the welfare system (organizations hyperlinked).  
• Here is a study by Elaine Maag, C. Eugene Steuerle, Ritadhi Chakravarti, and Caleb Quakenbush on how marginal tax rates are at a high point for those who leave welfare and take their first job. 
• Mike references a poll conducted by the Cato Institute on whether the government should prioritize welfare spending or economic growth, which can be found at this link. 
• This article by the Foundation for Economic Education on the Davis-Bacon Act features Walter Williams’ congressional opinion on the union labour as well as Miles Allgood’s sponsorship of Act, both of which were quoted in the podcast. 
• Mike looks to William Julius Wilson’s theory on “marrigiablility” and how that may be impacted by criminal convictions. This theory was developed in his work, The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy, and is available for purchase on Amazon Canada here. 
  
• Here is an investigation by the United States Department of Justice into the Ferguson Police Department following the murder of Michael Brown. The report investigates topics Mike touches on in the podcast, including how fines from parking violations can be a large source of revenue for the police.
  
• Here is the Wikipedia article on the murder of Eric Garner that was mentioned by Mike during the episode.
  
• Here is a link to an education watchdog’s cross-sectional study of the mathematical and reading proficiencies of students hailing from different neighbourhoods in Oakland that Mike mentions briefly this episode. 
  
• To complement Mike’s discussion on zoning, The Local Government Commission released a report on single-family zoning and affordable housing supply in California and can be accessed through this link. A local news release on Former Labour Secretary Robert Reich’s preventative housing development efforts in Berkeley can be found here.
  
• Here is an entry by Dean Karlan, Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan, and Jonathan Zinman in The Review of Income and Wealth on how inaccessible banking may be a barrier to reducing poverty. 

Janet Bufton — Are Libertarians Liberals?

Alex Aragona speaks with Janet Bufton as she explores where and how the tenets of classical liberalism come into play for those who call themselves libertarians.

References from Episode 72 with Janet Bufton

• Janet Bufton manages the Liberal Studies Guides project and is a consultant at Adam Smith Works, whose websites have been hyperlinked.
• You can read more about Adam Smith’s thoughts on a system of natural liberty, the rules of commercial society, and the decisions people make at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy at this link.
• Follow this link to learn more about the non-aggression principle as libertarian philosophy.
• In the podcast, Janet mentions Adam Smith’s caution against business people who can turn economic power into political power to harm consumers. His argument against monopolies was summarized by Heinz D. Kurz in the article, Adam Smith on markets, competition, and violations of natural liberty, available here.
• Alex and Janet discuss how Milton Friedman identified differently overtime: early into his career he described himself as a neoliberal, which is evident in his essay, Neo-Liberalism and its Prospects, (The Curious Task also dedicated Episode 60 with Eric Schliesser to discussing neoliberalism) and later as a “liberal without adjectives” on The Donahue Show, and towards the end of life, he advocates for consequentialist freedom (all references hyperlinked).
• Like Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard strongly identified as a libertarian (as evident in his work, For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto, which can be accessed at this link) but along with Rockwell was a pioneer of the paleo-libertarianism movement which aimed to unite traditional conservatives. Its origin story first featured in Rothbard’s essay, Right-Wing Populism: A Strategy for the Paleo Movement, which available for reading at this link.
• Here is the Wikipedia article for Ron Paul’s 2012 Presidential Campaign, where he ran with the Republican Party on principles such as anti-war but economic freedom.
• Robert Nozick coined the term “nightwatchman state” in his work, Anarchy, State, and Utopia, which can be purchased on Amazon Canada at this link.
• The Freeman was a libertarian magazine by the Foundation for Economic Education that was consulted by Ronald Reagan. Archives of the magazine can be accessed on the FEE’s website at this link.
• This link will direct you to a historical run-down of fusionism by Libertarianism.org.
• Janet references Steve Davies’s appearance to discuss the pandemic on Episode 45 of The Curious Task. If you would like a refresher on the topics covered in that episode, here is the link.
• More readings on cosmopolitanism are available at this link.