The Curious Task

Jason Kuznicki - Why Is It So Hard To Think About Freedom?

Alex speaks with Jason Kuznicki about the societal tendency towards stagnation - and away from liberalism - and its roots in some of the earliest human civilizations. 

References

1. “Technology and the End of Authority: What Is Government For?” by Jason Kuznicki

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Technology-End-Authority-What-Government/dp/3319486918 

2. Jason’s previous episode “What Is Government For?” on The Curious Task 

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-12-jason-kuznicki-%e2%80%94-what-is-government-for/ 

3. “The Domus Mindset: The Origins of Civilization, the Ruling Class, and Why It’s so Hard to Think About Freedom” by Jason Kuznicki

Link: https://pacification.substack.com/p/the-domus-mindset 

4. “The Future and Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise, and Progress” by Virginia Postrel

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Future-Its-Enemies-Creativity-Enterprise/dp/0684862697

Monica Guzman - How Can Curiosity Fix Polarization?

Alex speaks with Monica Guzman about the need for curiosity as a remedy for the increasing polarization in American discourse and her recent book on the subject "I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times"

Monica's book:

https://a.co/d/j6xKME7 

Nolan Gray - Do We Need Zoning?

Alex and Nolan discuss a novel solution to many of the difficult issues surrounding housing in North America: the elimination of zoning laws.

Further Reading and References:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/zoning-housing-affordability-nimby-parking-houston/661289/

https://reason.com/2022/06/21/abolish-zoning-all-of-it/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-04/how-houston-s-zoning-can-help-hurricane-harvey-recovery

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-26/manufactured-homes-are-the-cheap-housing-fix-we-need

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-28/cities-don-t-use-zoning-to-exclude-families-with-kids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRUbDvMpyCM&ab_channel=VancouverPublicLibrary

https://marketurbanism.com/2018/07/30/how-should-we-interpret-jane-jacobs/

https://marketurbanism.com/2016/02/21/who-plans-jane-jacobs-hayekian-critique-of-urban-planning/

https://www.planetizen.com/blogs/121786-jane-jacobs-and-zoning

Mike Munger - What Is The Difference Between Directionalism and Destinationism?

Alex and Mike Munger discuss two strains of thought within the liberty movement - one concerned with philosophical purity and cohesion, the other with advancement towards a common ideal of greater freedom for all. 

Episode Notes:

Mike's article "The Right Kind of Nothing": https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-right-kind-of-nothing/

An introduction to Coasian bargaining:

http://www.ejolt.org/2015/09/coasian-bargaining-2/ 

The Piece commissioned by Leonard Read by Milton Friedman and George Stigler on Rent Control:

https://fee.org/resources/roofs-or-ceilings-the-current-housing-problem/ 

Mike Munger's piece "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things"

https://www.aier.org/article/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-directionalists-vs-destinationists/ 

James Buchanan on Relatively Absolute Absolutes

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11127-021-00883-0 

Dennis Rasmussen - Who Wrote The American Constitution?

Alex and Dennis discuss the very colorful character who, unbeknownst to many, wrote the American Constitution. 

Episode Notes:

Dennis' book "The Constitution's Penman"

https://a.co/d/iKnulei 

The American Constitution https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

The Federalist Papers https://www.congress.gov/resources/display/content/The+Federalist+Papers

Roosevelt's biography of Morris

bit.ly/3zEEVlU

Gouverneur Morris' speech on the franchise for slaves: 

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1787-gouverner-morris-curse-slavery/ 

William Pierce's description of Morris:

https://teachingamericanhistory.org/resource/convention/delegates/morris_g/#:~:text=William%20Pierce%20stated%20that%20%E2%80%9CMr,Morris.%E2%80%9D 

 

 

Sabine El-Chidiac - How Is Classical Liberalism Doing In Canada?

Alex and Sabine speak about the state of classical liberalism in terms of individual rights and economic freedom in Canada today.

Works referenced:

Hayek's "Why I Am Not A Conservative": https://press.uchicago.edu/books/excerpt/2011/hayek_constitution.html 

 

Noah Schwartz - Does Canada Have A Gun Problem?

Alex speaks with Noah Schwartz about gun control in Canada and how recent attempts to review firearms policy have failed to address root issues and the causes of violence and crime.

References

1. “On Target: Gun Culture, Storytelling, and the NRA” by Noah Schwartz

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Target-Gun-Culture-Storytelling-NRA/dp/1487548443/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= 

2. “Firearms Act, 1995” by Justice Laws Website

Link: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/f-11.6/ 

3. “Firearms Licensing” by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Link: https://rcmp.ca/en/firearms/licensing 

4. “A Right to Bear Arms? Canadian Cases” by Leonid Sirota

Link: https://doubleaspect.blog/2012/04/15/a-right-to-bear-arms-canadian-cases/ 

5. “Nova Scotia Shooting Incident - Timeline” by Public Safety Canada

Link: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/trnsprnc/brfng-mtrls/prlmntry-bndrs/20200730/021/index-en.aspx 

6. “Bill C-21” by the Parliament of Canada

Link: https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-21

Liya Palagashvili - What Is The State Of The Gig Economy?

Alex speaks with Liya Palagashvili about the state - and the meaning - of the gig economy and how history can show the not-so-novel nature of modern labour.

References

1. Liya’s articles, The Mercatus Center

Link: https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/liya-palagashvili?utm_source=ad_link&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=scholar_branding&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgJa6BhCOARIsAMiL7V_UHKSWyzs0ydt2lCaeIHXRbhZXVi_aQuJgZo1Wo_T-Ijxa6Esw8DEaAg-REALw_wcB 

2. Liya’s Substack

Link: https://liyapalagashvili.substack.com/ 

3. “Employee vs. Independent Worker” by Liya Palagashvili and Paola Suarez

Link: https://www.mercatus.org/research/working-papers/employee-vs-independent-worker 

4. “Survey of Household Economics and Decision Making” by the Federal Reserve

Link: https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm

Jay Goldberg - Does Canada Have A Censorship Problem?

Alex speaks with Jay Goldberg about Canada's Bill C-11 and the implications of the government's attempt to change what Canadians see on the internet.

References

1. “Bill C-11: An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts” by the Government of Canada

Link: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/charter-charte/c11_2.html 

2. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Website

Link: https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/home-accueil.htm 

3. “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Handmaids-Tale-Margaret-Atwood/dp/038549081X 

4. “Gotta Love Trump” Documentary 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Gotta-Love-Trump-Gene-Ho/dp/B0B6LMLHM1

Bryan Caplan — What’s a University Degree Worth?

As the university school year begins to wrap up, we're bringing back a classic episode of the Curious Task! Alex Aragona speaks with Bryan Caplan about the value of a formal education, and compares the alleged benefits against the reality.

References from The Curious Task Special Episode 15 with Bryan Caplan

• You can purchase Bryan Caplan’s New York Times best-seller, The Myth of the Rational Voter from Amazon Canada at this link. His other publications include Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids (book), The Case Against Education (the book upon which this episode was based), and Open Borders (graphic novel). 
• This is an outline of Bryan’s upcoming work on Poverty: Who to Blame.
• You can refer to a breakdown of Bryan’s study of the Economic Models of Education, where he operationalizes his definition of “human capital purism” here.
• Bryan builds off of Michael Spence’s work on signaling. One of Michael’s publications, Signaling in Retrospect and the Informational Structure of Markets, can be accessed with an active JSTOR account.
• Bryan briefly uses the term Catch-22 that was coined by Joseph Heller’s novel of the same name, which can be purchased through Amazon Canada.
• There is a reference to the Indian caste system when Bryan was comparing the inclinations of degree-bearers to marry those who have a degree at a similar level. A thorough study of the sociopolitics of identity and status under the Indian caste system may be read here. 
• While discussing how to discipline thinking about the intelligent life in the universe, Bryan references the Drake Equation whose analysis by Leonor Sierra (University of Rochester) can be reviewed on NASA’s website.
• The Corporate Finance Institute published a rundown on the meaning of “austerity,” which can be read here.
• You can watch The Pianist, which Bryan references while forecasting relevancies in employer consideration, on Amazon Prime.

Neil Boyd - Does Drug Decriminalization Work?

Alex speaks with Neil Boyd about the effects of drug decriminalization and legalization in Canada and around the world, and how regulation and criminalization can have positive or negative impacts on users of various substances and the communities around them.

References

1. “Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, 1996” by the Justice Laws Website

Link: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-38.8/ 

2. “Cannabis Act, 2018” by Justice Laws Website 

Link: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-24.5/

Vincent Geloso - What Effects Income Mobility?

Alex speaks with Vincent Geloso about income mobility, distinguishing it from income inequality and the effects of markets and government regulations on each. 

References

1. Vincent’s Articles

Link: https://vincentgeloso.com/publications/ 

2. Vincent’s previous episode “Should We Care About Inequality?” on The Curious Task podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-28-vincent-geloso-%e2%80%94-should-we-care-about-inequality/ 

3. “Growth is Good for the Poor” by David Dollar and Aart Kraay 

Link: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/pt/419351468782165950/pdf/multi0page.pdf 

4. “Who are the champions? Inequality, economic freedom and the Olympics” by Vadim Kufenko and Vincent Geloso

Link: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/who-are-the-champions-inequality-economic-freedom-and-the-olympics/BEEA6B8F9473A7B8652A08E54E00C365 

5. “Intergenerational Income Mobility and Economic Freedom” by Justin T. Callais and Vincent Geloso

Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3939909

6. “Growing Public: Social Spending and Economic Growth since the Eighteenth Century” by Peter H. Lindert

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Growing-Public-Spending-Economic-Eighteenth/dp/0521529166

7. “Economic Freedom Improves Income Mobility: Evidence from Canadian Provinces, 1982-2018” by Vincent Geloso and James Dean

Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3875551 

David D’Amato - Should Intellectual Property Be Part Of A Free Society?

Alex speaks with David D'Amato about the modern concept of intellectual property and how such a thing could exist at all in a free society. 

References:

Copying is not theft cartoon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeTybKL1pM4 

Jeremy Horpedahl - Why Do Baptists Need Bootleggers?

Alex speaks with Jeremy Horpedahl about the unusual political alliance between Baptists and Bootleggers - both figuratively and literally - and what these ties can tell us about public choice economics.

 

Sources Referenced:

1. Horpedahl, Jeremy. "Bootleggers and Baptists Revisited: A Reply to Critics." Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 62, no. 2, Oct. 2019, pp. 557-576. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26546700.
2. Regulation (Cato Institute Journal) Spring 2021 issue
3. "Not So Unlikely Coalitions" article by Thomas W. Hazlett in the Regulation (Cato Institute Journal) Spring 2021 issue.

 

Scott Beyer - What Does Urbanism Look Like Around The World?

Alex speaks with Scott Beyer about the insights he's gleaned from travelling the world in search of the most market-friendly urban centers and what other countries can teach us about central planning, solutions to homelessness, and more. 

References

1. The Market Urbanist Website

Link: https://www.marketurbanist.com/ 

2. Scott’s previous episode “What Is Market Urbanism?” on The Curious Task podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-33-scott-beyer-%e2%80%94-what-is-market-urbanism/ 

3. “Scott Beyer’s Market Urbanism World Trip” by Market Urbanist

Link: https://www.marketurbanist.com/scott-beyer-market-urbanism-world-trip 

4. “Startup Cities Tour” by Market Urbanist

Link: https://www.marketurbanist.com/startup-city 

5. “Barrios Tropicales: The Making of Green Neighborhoods” by Scott Beyer

Link: https://catalyst.independent.org/2023/02/20/barrios-tropicales/

Brandon Turner - What Is Conservatism?

Alex speaks with Brandon Turner about the nature of conservatism and whether or not it constitutes an ideology, the rate of change within conservative thought, and the relationship between conservatism and liberalism.

References

1. “Conservatism, Ideology, Skepticism” by Brandon Turner

Link: https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1048&context=jcli 

2. “The Conservative Sensibility” by George F. Will 

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Conservative-Sensibility-George-F-Will/dp/0316480932 

3. “Conservatism: A Rediscovery” by Yoram Hazony 

Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Conservative-Rediscovery-Yoram-Hazony/dp/1684511097

Rachel Lomasky - Can A.I. Be Ethical?

Alex speaks with Rachel Lomasky about hot-button issues surrounding machine learning and artificial intelligence and the limitations and definitions of each, especially when it comes to ethical decision-making. 

References

1. Rachel’s Articles, Law&Liberty 

Link: https://lawliberty.org/author/rachel-lomasky/ 

2. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) vs. Machine Learning” by Columbia Engineering

Link: https://ai.engineering.columbia.edu/ai-vs-machine-learning/ 

3. “Transcending Technopessimism” by Rachel Lomasky 

Link: https://lawliberty.org/transcending-technopessimism/

Geoff Sigalet - What Is The Alberta Sovereignty Act?

Alex speaks with Geoff Sigalet about Western Alienation and the events that led to the Alberta Sovereignty Act becoming law in Canada in December of 2022. 

References

1. “Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act” by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta

Link: https://www.assembly.ab.ca/assembly-business/bills/bill?billinfoid=11984&from=bills

2. “Opinion: Alberta’s Sovereignty Act is constitutional but it needs nuance” by Jesse Hartery and Geoffrey Sigalet

Link: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/alberta-sovereignty-act-constitutional-but-needs-nuance

Russ Roberts — How Can Adam Smith Change Your Life?

As you think about your New Year's resolutions, take another listen to Alex's conversation from May 2020 with Russ Roberts as he talks about the ways in which the ideas of Adam Smith can still change your life, even so many years later.  

References from The Curious Task Special Episode 14 with Russ Roberts 

• You can purchase Russ Roberts’ book How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life at Amazon Canada here
• You can read the Theory of Moral Sentiments for free on the Online Library of Liberty here

2022 Holiday Wrap-up Episode

Alex, Sabine and Matt reflect on the year that was 2022.

References

1. Christy Horpedahl’s episode “How Can Books Advance Liberal Society” of The Curious Task Podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-163-christy-horpedahl-how-can-books-advance-liberal-society/ 

2. Russ Robert’s episode “What’s Wrong With Education?” of The Curious Task Podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-136-russ-roberts-what-s-wrong-with-education/ 

3. Lauren Hall’s episode “What’s Wrong with Modern Healthcare?” of The Curious Task Podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-19-lauren-hall-%e2%80%94-whats-wrong-with-modern-healthcare/ 

4. Edwards Slingerland’s episode “How Has Alcohol Influenced Civilizations?” of The Curious Task Podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-159-edward-slingerland-how-has-alcohol-influenced-civilization/ 

5. Jayme Lemke’s episode “Who Was Elinor Ostrum?” of The Curious Task Podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/episode-201-jayme-lemke-who-was-elinor-ostrom/ 

6. Emily Chamlee-Wright’s episode “Why Work to Advance Liberalism?” of The Curious Task Podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-150-emily-chamlee-wright-why-work-to-advance-liberalism/ 

7. Sarah Skwire’s episode “Can Literature Influence Liberalism?” of The Curious Task Podcast

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-152-sarah-skwire-can-literature-influence-liberalism/ 

8. Will Clare Roberts’s episode “What Was Marx’s Relation to Liberalism?” of The Curious Task Episode

Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-124-will-clare-roberts-what-was-marx-s-relation-to-liberalism/