Free The Economy
Free The Economy is a weekly podcast hosted by Richard Morrison of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, examining the intersection of news, policy, and economics featuring guests that include writers, policymakers, explorers, contrarians, and free thinkers of all kinds.
Episodes
90 episodes since 2022
Why We Can’t Have Nice Things with Eric Boehm
This week we cover weaponized financial regulation, poverty policy beyond handouts, and Italy’s call to slow down the electric vehicle revolution. Our interview this week is with Eric Boehm, reporter at Reason magazine and host of the podcast s...
September 12, 2024
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Episode 90
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52:48
The Future of Streaming with Geoff Manne
This week we cover social media censorship, automation at U.S. ports, and the property market crash in China. Our interview this week is with Geoffrey Manne, president of the International Center for Law and Economics. We talk about movies, TV ...
September 05, 2024
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Episode 89
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55:42
Searching for Digital Privacy with Jen Huddleston
This week we cover the new book “What Went Wrong with Capitalism?,” the problem with price controls, Gen Z employees calling in sick, and an upcoming conference on financial privacy. Our interview this week is with Jennifer Huddleston, senior f...
August 29, 2024
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Episode 88
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41:08
AI and the Future of Work with Patrick Carroll
This week we report from the State Policy Network’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona and some of the great reform proposals being put forward by groups like the Property and Environment Research Center, the Institute for Justice, the Mountain...
August 22, 2024
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Episode 87
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50:14
Crypto Politics with Eric Peterson
This week we cover corporations playing politics, Florida’s ban on lab-grown meat, and a tale of two high-speed rail projects. Our interview this week is with Eric Peterson, policy director at Satoshi Action Fund. We talk about Bitcoin, banking...
August 15, 2024
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Episode 86
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45:40
Economic Trends and Subsidies with Andrew Stuttaford
This week we cover weaponization of banking rules, the massive cost of federal regulation, and politicized pension fund management. Our interview this week is with Andrew Stuttaford, editor of National Review’s Capital Matters. We talk about ma...
August 08, 2024
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Episode 85
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1:11:39
Paying for Mass Transit with Marc Scribner
This week we cover California’s minimum wage for fast-food workers, overturning the FCC’s universal service fee, and pushing back on rude customers in Japan. Our interview this week is with Marc Scribner, Senior Transportation Policy Analyst at...
August 01, 2024
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Episode 84
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42:00
Dead Malls and Retail Nostalgia with Sal Amadeo
This week we cover state-level regulatory reform, the opinions of Latino voters, Biden’s tax on stock buybacks, and another cool new podcast you should try. Our interview this week is with Sal Amadeo, documentary filmmaker, YouTuber, musician, ...
July 25, 2024
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Episode 83
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58:05
Inflation and Bidenomics with Kurt Couchman
This week we cover Capital One buying Discover, solutions for high housing prices, China’s soft-power investment strategy, and President Biden’s call for national rent control. Our interview this week is with Kurt Couchman, senior fellow at Ame...
July 18, 2024
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Episode 82
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44:10
The New Progress Movement with Ronald Bailey
This week we cover the end of Chevron deference at the Supreme Court, the economic impact of future Trump tariffs, the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to ban non-compete agreements, and evolving American attitudes toward the role and scope of...
July 11, 2024
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Episode 81
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40:05
Taxocracy with Scott Hodge
This week we cover how the SEC is going to spam investors with a deluge of low-quality disclosures, the Supreme Court’s decision on social media censorship in Murthy v. Missouri, and the massive scope of Covid-era tax fraud. Our interv...
July 03, 2024
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Episode 80
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43:00
Protecting Taxpayers with Timothy Sandefur
This week we cover the SEC’s new climate rule, the recent Supreme Court decision on income taxes, and why the Social Security Administration has finally updated its jobs list from 1977. Our interview this week is with Timothy Sandefur of the Go...
June 27, 2024
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Episode 79
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46:04
Up from Poverty with Josh Bandoch
This week we cover pork-barrel spending in Congress, reforming federal guidance documents, restaurants with minimum age requirements, and the most popular jobs for young workers. Our interview this week is with Josh Bandoch of the Illinois Poli...
June 20, 2024
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Episode 78
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59:02
Enlightened Capitalism with Siri Terjesen
This week we cover regulatory burdens on small businesses, common-sense solutions to poverty, a legal challenge to the TikTok ban, and American attitudes on the state of the middle class. Our interview this week is with Prof. Siri Terjesen of F...
June 13, 2024
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Episode 77
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53:59
Economic Facts and Vibes with Joey Politano
This week we cover advances in dentistry, the slow pace of EV charger deployment, a victory for free speech at the Supreme Court, and China’s disappearing Internet. Our interview this week is with Joey Politano, editor of Apricitas Economics. W...
June 07, 2024
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Episode 76
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1:10:46
Capitalism and the Historians with Phil Magness
This week we cover the prospect of Inflation Reduction Act 2.0, rising consumer confidence, the perils of stress bragging, and a new collection of essays about legendary economist Adam Smith. Our interview this week is with Phil Magness, the Da...
May 30, 2024
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Episode 75
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43:42
Giving for a Cause with Peter Lipsett
This week we cover attitudes toward social media companies, the guerilla war over ESG investing, YIMBY housing reforms in Austin, and new research on high-skilled immigration. Our interview this week is with Peter Lipsett, vice president at Don...
May 23, 2024
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Episode 74
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48:58
Liberty Movement Jobs with Claire Kittle Dixon
This week we cover the war on prices, the great un-wokening of corporate America, the attack on credit card points and miles, and why maternal health in the U.S. is doing just fine. Our interview this week is with Claire Kittle Dixon, executive...
May 16, 2024
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Episode 73
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52:29
Technology and Politics with Corbin Barthold
This week we cover bringing your parents to a job interview, the case against a universal basic income, and why we shouldn’t use science fiction to regulate AI. Our interview this week is with Corbin Barthold, Internet Policy Counsel at TechFre...
May 08, 2024
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Episode 72
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1:15:36
Technology and Society with Will Rinehart
This week we cover nuclear radiation, luxury handbags, rent control, net neutrality, and malaria. Our interview this week is with Will Rinehart, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. We talk about nature vs. human creation, anxiet...
May 02, 2024
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Episode 71
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56:12
Frontier Economics with Kendall Cotton
This week we cover the diamond jubilee of the Philadelphia Society, the cost of government regulation in the UK, the birth of the Abundance Institute, and the attempt to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s latest rule on credit ...
April 25, 2024
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Episode 70
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40:37
Heroes of Progress with Alexander Hammond
This week we cover venture capitalists fighting red tape, challenges to electric vehicle adoption, Americans sleeping on the job, a possible vaccine for chlamydia, and political bias at National Public radio. Our interview this week is with Ale...
April 18, 2024
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Episode 69
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50:26
Censorship By Proxy with Jenin Younes
This week we cover Gen Z job satisfaction, dumb biotech policy in the European Union, and figuring out how little the average American knows about taxes. Our interview this week is with Jenin Younes of the New Civil Liberties Alliance. We talk ...
April 11, 2024
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Episode 68
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45:49
Extremely Online with Brad Polumbo
This week we cover how honeybees came back from colony collapse disorder, why you shouldn’t believe the government’s nutrition advice, and surprising new research on corporate profits and diverse management teams. Our interview this week is wit...
April 04, 2024
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Episode 67
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53:39
Gig Work with Liya Palagashvili
This week we cover how to rebuild after the Baltimore bridge collapse, legal challenges to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new climate disclosure rule, and how China gets an edge by continuing to identify as a developing country. Our i...
March 28, 2024
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Episode 66
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41:59