Episodes

Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Liya Palagashvili - What Is The State Of The Gig Economy?
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
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
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

Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Jay Goldberg - Does Canada Have A Censorship Problem?
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
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

Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
Bryan Caplan — What’s a University Degree Worth?
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
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.

Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Neil Boyd - Does Drug Decriminalization Work?
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
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

Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Vincent Geloso - What Effects Income Mobility?
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
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
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

Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
David D’Amato - Should Intellectual Property Be Part Of A Free Society?
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
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

Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
Jeremy Horpedahl - Why Do Baptists Need Bootleggers?
Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
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:
- 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.
- Regulation (Cato Institute Journal) Spring 2021 issue
- "Not So Unlikely Coalitions" article by Thomas W. Hazlett in the Regulation (Cato Institute Journal) Spring 2021 issue.

Wednesday Jan 25, 2023
Scott Beyer - What Does Urbanism Look Like Around The World?
Wednesday Jan 25, 2023
Wednesday Jan 25, 2023
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/

Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
Brandon Turner - What Is Conservatism?
Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
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

Wednesday Jan 11, 2023
Rachel Lomasky - Can A.I. Be Ethical?
Wednesday Jan 11, 2023
Wednesday Jan 11, 2023
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

Wednesday Jan 04, 2023
Geoff Sigalet - What Is The Alberta Sovereignty Act?
Wednesday Jan 04, 2023
Wednesday Jan 04, 2023
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

Wednesday Dec 28, 2022
Russ Roberts — How Can Adam Smith Change Your Life?
Wednesday Dec 28, 2022
Wednesday Dec 28, 2022
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

Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
2022 Holiday Wrap-up Episode
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
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
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

Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Lauren Hall — What’s Wrong With Modern Healthcare?
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
In their conversation from December 2019, Alex Aragona talks with Lauren Hall as she explores the problems with modern healthcare systems and some of the possible remedies.
References
1. “The Medicalization of Birth and Death” by Lauren K. Hall
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Medicalization-Birth-Death-Lauren-Hall/dp/1421433338
2. “Midwifery Licensing: Medicalization of Birth and Special Interests” by Steven Horowitz and Lauren Hall
3. “Caroline Malatesta opens up about birth trauma, bait-and-switch advertising of Alabama hospital” by Anna Claire Vollers
Link: https://www.al.com/living/2016/08/malatesta_opens_up_about_birth.html
4. Jessica Flanigan’s episode “Should We Legalize All Drugs?” of The Curious Task Podcast
Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-9-jessica-flanigan-%e2%80%94-should-we-legalize-all-drugs/

Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
Matt Bufton - How Do We Feel About The Monarchy?
Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
Alex speaks with Matt Bufton about Canada's unique approach to power, monarchy, and government and how happy accidents have led to one of the best-governed and most free countries on earth being ruled by a King - at least symbolically.
References
1. “The Governor General’s Decision to Prorogue Parliament: Parliamentary Democracy Defended or Endangered?” by Andrew Heard
2. Fraser Institute
Link: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/
3. “When Jean Chretien wouldn’t ‘pass the torch’ 20 years ago” by CBC Archives
Link: https://www.cbc.ca/archives/when-jean-chr%C3%A9tien-wouldn-t-pass-the-torch-20-years-ago-1.5480490
4. Victor M. Muniz-Fraticelli’s episode “Is Monarchy Absurd?” of The Curious Task Podcast
Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-112-victor-m-muniz-fraticelli-is-monarchy-absurd/

Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
Peter Jaworski - What Is The Ought-State Gap?
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
Alex speaks with frequent guest Peter Jaworski about the gap between a moral obligation and the expectation that some specific institution ought to be the one to realize that moral obligation - especially an institution like the state.

Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Christy Horpedahl - How Can Books Advance Liberal Society?
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Sabine speaks with Christy Horpedahl about the entrepreneurial spirit that imbues Penelope Fitzgerald's "The Bookshop".

Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
Alex Aragona - What Is Classical Liberalism (According To Our Host)?
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
Sabine speaks with the host of the Curious Task Alex Aragona to find out more about him, especially what he considers classical liberalism to be in its essence.

Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Jayme Lemke - Who Was Elinor Ostrom?
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Alex speaks with Jayme Lemke about the life, work, and legacy of American Nobel Prize-winning political economist Elinor Ostrom.
References
1. “Elinor Ostrum and the Bloomington School: Building a New Approach to Policy and Social Sciences” by Jayme Lemke and Vlad Tarko
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Elinor-Ostrom-Bloomington-School-Building/dp/0228004152
2. Elinor Ostrum Publications
Link: https://ostromworkshop.indiana.edu/library/bibliographies/ostrom-elinor.html
3. Elinor Ostrum Fellowship, Mercatus Centre
Link: https://www.mercatus.org/students/elinor-ostrom-fellowship

Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
Thomas Bunting - What Can Baseball Tell Us About Politics?
Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
Alex speaks with Thomas Bunting about politics, democracy, social progress and more as they relate to baseball and athletics more broadly.