In this inaugural episode, Bob talks to his old friend Tom Woods.
The Bob Murphy Show
The Bob Murphy Show features in-depth interviews and solo analysis by Bob Murphy. Much of the content relates to economics in the tradition of the Austrian School, as well as libertarian political theory, but the show covers a broad range of topics.
To learn more, visit BobMurphyShow.com
Bob brings on his other podcast co-host for a lively discussion.
Bob tackles Tucker Carlson's claim that Jeff Bezos is unloading his labor costs onto taxpayers.
In this episode, Bob talks to Mises Institute president Jeff Deist.
Antiwar hero and all-around genius Scott Horton joins Bob for a lengthy discussion.
Bob Murphy interviews Steve Landsburg, author of The Armchair Economist.
Bob discusses Kurt Gödel's now-famous "incompleteness theorems," which showed the limitations of axiomatic systems of mathematics.
Bob interviews Economist David R. Henderson.
Bob and Norman Horn analyze the tendency of American Christians to support war.
Bob explains the new Fed procedure of "paying interest on reserve balances".
Bob provides an introductory framework on how to analyze the economics of immigration.
Gene Epstein and Bob Murphy cover a variety of topics, including how Gene's reading of Rothbard’s Man, Economy, and State lead him to become a free-market libertarian.
Bob Murphy and Dave Smith discuss the theory and practice of comedy, Dave’s discovery of Austrian economics, Mises.org, and more.
Bob gives the context for his children’s book The Three Lads and the Lizard King, and covers a wide range of related issues.
Bob Murphy and David Gornoski discuss state violence and some healthy alternatives to a violence-based society.
Dr. Salerno discusses his intellectual roots and scholarly work, as well as his funny adventures with Murray Rothbard.
Bob interviews Alex Tabarrok, professor of economics at George Mason University and co-author of the popular Marginal Revolution blog.
Bob and Warren Mosler discuss the assumptions behind Modern Monetary Theory and its implications for economic policy.
Bob describes his vision of a Rothbardian society.
Bob interviews Nelson Nash, developer of the Infinite Banking Concept.
Bob discusses the recent "outrage mobs" on social media—in which people intentionally spread misleading or outright false smears against their opponents—and how comedians are the only ones left who can speak the truth.
Liberty musician Jordan Page discusses the plight of Schaeffer Cox, an Alaska liberty activist and militia leader who is being held by the federal authorities in a high-security prison.
Bob Murphy and Peter Klein discuss Peter's unusual career path and his work on entrepreneurship.
Bob and Warren Mosler discuss the assumptions behind Modern Monetary Theory and its implications for economic policy.
Bob Murphy and C. Jay Engel discuss Doug Henwood’s recent critique of modern monetary theory in Jacobin magazine.
Bob begins his three-part series devoted to Capital and Interest Theory in the tradition of the Austrian School.
Bob Murphy and Carlos Lara discuss the yield curve from an Austrian perspective.
Bob continues his three-part series devoted to capital and interest theory in the tradition of the Austrian school.
Bob Murphy critiques an article by Conor Friedersdorf, in which Friedersdorf mocks the right-wing outrage over Rep. Ilhan Omar's 9/11 remarks as a tempest in a teapot.
Bob Murphy interviews Robbie “The Fire” Bernstein, host of Run Your Mouth and junior host to Dave Smith on the popular libertarian podcast Part of the Problem.
Bob reviews the contributions of Böhm-Bawerk, Fetter, and Mises, and explains interest from an Austrian approach.
Bob Murphy interviews Mises Institute founder Lew Rockwell.
Bob Murphy explains why “offering a plea deal” is a horrible practice.
Bob Murphy interviews Avi Loeb, the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science and Chair of the Astronomy Department at Harvard, and founding Director of the Black Hole Initiative.
Scott Horton returns to the podcast to share his wealth of knowledge on a variety of topics—including his unhappiness with Bob's recent episode on Ilhan Omar.
Bob Murphy points out a common fallacy among even self-described anarcho-capitalists, when they blame a social problem on "too little government."
Bob Murphy and Keith Smith discuss the recent FMMA conference in Dallas and how patients and doctors can break away from our broken health care system.
Bob Murphy discusses Krugman's shocking willingness to harm the country—as long as it denies Trump a political victory.
Bob Murphy and Stephan Kinsella discuss the basis of libertarian law, and how we could have justice without a coercive State.
Bob Murphy disagrees with Tucker Carlson's unambiguous approval of Elizabeth Warren’s call for “economic nationalism”.
Bob Murphy has a friendly discussion and debate with Karl Smith.
Bob Murphy has a three-hour conversation with former Military Intelligence Sergeant, Donnie Gebert.
Bob Murphy and Michel Accad discuss the development of “welfare economics” in mainstream theory.
Steve Patterson challenges the standard Misesian-Rothbardian view of economics.
Bob Murphy and Michel Accad discuss Kenneth Arrow's pioneering 1963 article on healthcare economics.
Bob Murphy and Ben Powell discuss Ben's newly-released book Socialism Sucks, co-authored with Robert Lawson.
Bob shows why Ludwig von Mises thought any issuance of fiduciary media caused the boom-bust cycle.
Economist Patrick Newman relays his adventurous tale of deciphering Murray Rothbard’s handwritten manuscript on early American history.
Bob Murphy analyzes John Carpenter’s 1988 cult classic They Live, starring Roddy Piper.
Bob Murphy and Hannah Cox discuss the State’s abuses in the criminal justice system.
What is needed to make peace durable is a change in ideologies. What generates war is the economic philosophy almost universally espoused today by governments and political parties.
One of the great and most persistent errors of classical liberals is to believe in "good government," a government that does "what it is supposed to do." But no state empowered to do what is supposedly necessary will restrain itself to those things. It will expand as much as public opinion will...
Bob Murphy explains how he got into Austrian economics and libertarianism.
Bob Murphy and Robby Soave discuss the corporate media.
Bob Murphy explains a common rhetorical dodge that he’s encountered from both the progressive Left and the conservative Right.
Patrick Frey challenges Bob Murphy’s views on plea deals and AnCap society.
Bob Murphy discusses the Mises-Hayek theory of the boom-bust cycle, and explains the predictive power of an "inverted yield curve".
Bob Murphy and Robert Anthony Peters discuss acting and his latest short film, Tank Man.
Bob Murphy uses examples from Dan Carlin’s amazing podcast, Hardcore History, to illustrate the flaws with state-provided military services.
Bob Murphy and Marsha Enright discuss how education would work in a free society.
Bob Murphy analyzes and critiques Dave Chappelle’s role as the court jester in “Sticks & Stones”.
Bob Murphy asks a series of tough questions for progressives, ranging from abortion to the minimum wage to climate change.
Bob Murphy and Julie Borowski discuss YouTubing, the fun and fatigue of the Liberty Movement, and her new book for children.
Bob Murphy Bob explores some of the economic and even religious elements of the 2014 film Transcendence.
Online rock artist and music blogger Matthew Bankert walks Bob Murphy through his picks for the Top Ten Libertarian Rock Bands.
Bob Murphy and Nicolas Cachanosky discuss Austrian Business Cycle Theory, the dispute over Fractional Reserve Banking, and how the Federal Reserve broke monetary policy.
Bob Murphy asks a series of tough (but fair, he hopes) questions for conservatives, ranging from tariffs to impeachment to drug prohibition.
Block and Barnett on whether the Hayekian triangle—the popular device used to illustrate how artificially low interest rates lead to an unsustainable boom—can be salvaged or should be abandoned altogether.
Bob Murphy and Jeff Snider discuss the recent spike in lending rates in the repo markets, and how the Fed’s attempted solution fails to address the real problem.
Bob Murphy and Richard Vedder discusses Vedder's new book, Restoring the Promise: Higher Education in America.
In this episode, Bob Murphy tells some whimsical stories.
Bob Murphy and Mark Thornton discuss the various ways in which government intervention masked slavery's inefficiency in the American South.
Bob Murphy and Dan Sanchez discuss some weighty matters relevant to today’s charged political climate.
Bob Murphy and Titus Gebel discuss how "Free Private Cities" differ from other types of abstract libertarian theorizing.
Bob Murphy and longtime libertarian journalist Bretigne Shaffer discuss the vaccinations now enforced for school children in California, and the parents who are protesting the policy.
Bob Murphy and Justin Clark discuss the intriguing strategy of a committed group of Texans to restore the sovereignty of their Republic.
Bob Murphy interviews Rob Bradley, the world's leading expert in energy economics in the Austrian tradition.
Bob Murphy evaluates four different campaigns where people pushed-back against the State.
Bob Murphy and Stephan Kinsella debate Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s famous "argumentation ethics" case for libertarianism.
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel joins Bob Murphy for an in-depth discussion of the economics of slavery, touching on subtleties such as the labor/leisure trade-off, and the recent claims by some historians that slavery was efficient.
Bob Murphy gives the quick explanation of how IBC works.
Bob Murphy explains what libertarianism is, his perspective on voting, and how he views the American political system.
Bob Murphy interviews researcher and Columbia economics professor Wojciech Kopczuk.
Bob Murphy discusses Hoppe’s argumentation ethics and essays on praxeology.
Bob Murphy interviews Dr. Sabine Hossenfelder, head of the "Analog Systems for Gravity Duals" group and Research Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies.
Bob Murphy tackles a common objection from atheist libertarians.
Bob Murphy and David Gordon discuss his personal story, Austrian economics, philosophy, and libertarianism
Bob Murphy reviews the scandalous and corrupt activities of recent US presidents.
Bob Murphy conducts a friendly but challenging interview of Bryan Caplan.
Bob Murphy discusses the establishment, the FBI, and the corporate media.
Bob Murphy interviews journalist and stand-up comic Lindsay Goldwert.
Bob Murphy and Tareq Haddad discuss how US authorities pressured the OPCW to change the report to fit their desired narrative, and how powerful groups control the corporate media.
Bob Murphy presents a comprehensive analysis of why he remains an Austrian economist.
Bob Murphy interviews Lyn Ulbricht, mother of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road website.
Bob Murphy deconstructs some contradictory progressive viewpoints.
Bob Murphy Interviews George Mason University economist Donald Boudreaux.
Bob Murphy argues that even the worst tyrants ultimately stay in power because people obey them.
Tim Terrell explains why the common rankings of "health outcomes" are biased against the US, and why big businesses often support environmental regulations.
Bob Murphy explores the precise reasons for why (or why not) a long-running academic hoax reflects poorly on the targeted fields.
Harry Dent believes that a major crash is coming, which will probably begin this year.
Bob Murphy covers topics ranging from God to abortion to drag queens to tax incidence.
Bob Murphy and Corey DeAngelis discuss the studies supporting school choice, and dispel the myths around it.
Bob Murphy explains why the Intelligent Design movement will be to the natural sciences what the Public Choice school in economics is to the social sciences.
On his podcast The Local Maximum, software engineer (and developer at Foursquare) Max Sklar interviews Bob Murphy.
Bob Murphy gives some thoughts on the stock market crash and coronavirus, then discusses the jaw-dropping discussion between Brian Williams and a member of the New York Times editorial board.
Larry Reed makes the case for optimism in the face of oppression.
Bob Murphy comments on various aspects of the response to the coronavirus.
Bob Murphy and Oren Cass have a friendly discussion about their disagreements on economic policy.
Rothbardian Dave Smith and Bob Murphy discuss the government’s response to the coronavirus.
Bob Murphy urges skeptics not to dismiss the panic over the coronavirus, explains the economics of the toilet paper shortage, and gives practical tips he is using to try to keep his own household safe.
Levi Machado explains what COVID-19 actually can do to the body, and why it’s not really comparable to the flu. He also offers some tips on staying healthy.
Bob Murphy tackles some Keynesian and MMT fallacies that have resurfaced in light of the response to the coronavirus.
David Henderson explains some of the major problems with the so-called "stimulus" bill, and discusses the protest he helped organize against California's lockdown.
The editors of the Babylon Bee podcast discuss the economic situation with Bob Murphy. Then, they ask a series of fun questions, against the backdrop of their shared Christianity.
Michael Boldin explains how he ended up advising state governments to kick the NSA out of their backyard.
Alex Salter explains discusses his recent article (with Vincent Geloso) criticizing "state capacity" as an explanation for economic development.
Bob explains some of the basic–but crucial–errors in the cost/benefit analyses that have been offered by economists to justify the political coronavirus lockdowns.
Bob interviews Whitney Davis, a Rothbardian and Seattle resident who happens to live down the street from the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ).
Austrian economist and Mises Institute Fellow Mateusz Machaj discusses two of his books, and offers deep insights that will inform even advanced students of both economic theory and the Star Wars universe.
Keith Knight walks Bob through a meticulous critique of Krugman’s new book on Arguing With Zombies.
Michael Hardin and Bob have a lively and deep discussion on the true meaning of the gospel and how today’s Christians often misunderstand it.
Bob wrote a lengthy review of Stephanie Kelton's new book on MMT, The Deficit Myth, for the Mises Institute. In this episode he narrates his review.
Pointing to a recent Twitter thread from a progressive detailing his white male cisness, Bob shows how narrow the focus is on only particular "privileges" and not others. More generally, the effort to demonize white men is causing young people great harm, whether white or otherwise. The movement is...
In a very comprehensive discussion, Bob talks with Rohan Grey, Assistant Prof. of Law at Willamette University. Rohan is an expert on the history of US fiscal and monetary legislation, as well as Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).
Brett Venoitte explains how Horace Mann drew from authoritarian Prussian in designing public education in the US.
Scott Beyer is the author of the Market Urbanism Report, which applies free market economic principles to urban issues, such as traffic congestion and housing affordability.
Thaddeus Russell, creator of Renegade University, debates Bob Murphy on the philosophical foundations that libertarians should embrace.
David Friedman discusses physics versus economics with Bob Murphy.
Adrian Lee Oliver tells Bob his personal story of police brutality along with his critique of today's "anti-racism" campaign.
As a follow-up to his discussion on MMT with Rohan Grey, Bob goes solo to explain the basic cash balance framework for thinking about money, inflation, and debt.
Bob asks Tom about his early career in economics, and then they discuss the various ways in which Abe Lincoln was actually a horrible president.
Bob first observes that the Left (institutionally) hates Christianity, and that standard explanations, such as its alleged bigotry, don't explain why the Left gives Islam a pass.
George Reisman talks with Bob Murphy and shares anecdotes about his experiences with Mises and Rand.
Bob explains some of the highlights of his newly released chapter for the Mises Institute book on “Understanding Money Mechanics.”
Bob explains some of the highlights of his newly released chapter for the Mises Institute book on “Understanding Money Mechanics.”
Bob shows how the movie "A Beautiful Mind" got game theory wrong.
Eric July is the front man for the street-hop/metalcore group Backwordz. He discusses his personal odyssey in navigating the leftist metal scene.
For the LP Mises Caucus, Bob received a slew of questions to be answered in a half hour. The topics range from business cycle to free trade to a "voluntary" State.
Bob asks Rectenwald about apparent contradictions in the current cultural Marxist/postmodern movement, and they discuss several themes from his new book Beyond Woke.
As a master of the history of economic thought, as well as a personal participant in some of the major events, Richard recounts to Bob some of the important history of the Austrian School in the 20th century.
Former Military Intelligence Sergeant Donnie Gebert returns to the show, this time to explain some of the major elements of his new book, The Art of War 2020.
Monetary economist George Selgin agrees with Bob on the flaws with MMT, but then the two continue their debate (started at the Soho Forum) on fractional reserve free banking.
Bob reads from an article recently tweeted out by the NEA, which calls for an end to schooling as we know it in order to promote anti-racism.
Libertarian writer David Ramsay Steele joins Bob for a fun tour of some essays from his collection, "The Mystery of Fascism".
Bob offers his commentary on the movies “The Hunt” and “The Purge”—both produced by Blumhouse Productions—and focuses on whether The Purge storyline offers a challenge to Rothbard’s depiction of anarcho-capitalism.
GMU economics professor Chris Coyne explains how US militarism abroad ends up violating civil liberties on the home front. They also discuss the contributions of James Buchanan that should interest Austrian economists.
Bob unveils a new series in which he explains and then evaluates apparent contradictions in the way free-market libertarians handle certain issues.
Peter Schiff discusses minarchism vs. anarcho-capitalism on The Bob Murphy Show.
Dan McCarthy, Editor at Large of The American Conservative, joins Bob to discuss his view that conservatives and libertarians should stop heaping contempt on democracy. McCarthy argues that the elites are the real threat to liberty, not the masses.
First Bob explains his contest involving Adventures in Pacifism–winner gets 100 smackers. Then he explains the incredibly powerful, and surprisingly Austrian, result by which Kenneth Arrow showed it was impossible to coherently aggregate individual preferences into a social ranking.
Gad Saad is Professor of Marketing and holds the Concordia University Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption. He talks with Bob about his new book, The Parasitic Mind, and its relationship to the culture wars.
Mario Rizzo is a professor in the Department of Economics at NYU–where he was Bob’s dissertation chair. He talks about how he found the Austrian School and his own contributions to economics.
Recently Tim Poole alluded to the so-called “shopping cart theory” of why self-governance is impossible. Bob explains what’s wrong with this argument.
Ron Paul used the fall in purchasing power since the founding of the Fed to argue that the central bank had hurt regular Americans. Fed economist David Andolfatto disagrees, but Bob pushes back.
Could new gold discoveries cause a (small) boom-bust cycle if the gold hit the loan market before other sectors? Bill Barnett and Walter Block join Bob Murphy to discuss.
Bob discusses three separate items all related to nonviolence: (1) Gene Sharp’s work, (2) Bob’s old dream of how to topple a tyrant, and (3) the winners of the Louis CK contest.
Medical doctor Keith Smith returns to the show to explain how government intervention allows insurance companies to distort health care prices.
Medical doctor Keith Smith returns to the show to explain how government intervention allows insurance companies to distort health care prices.
Gary Wolfram joins Bob to discuss Gary’s background as an economist in both academia and the political sphere, and why government intervention hurts the people it ostensibly helps.
Rob Bradley explains the role of Sam Insull (co-founder of General Electric) in showing what a free market in electricity would look like, and criticizes Texas’ ERCOT as a central planning agency.
Josiah Neeley and Bob Murphy have a lively discussion, arguing on some of Bob’s previously articulated points regarding the recent Texas freeze and blackouts.
Benjamin Boyce talks with Bob about the lessons we can learn as the rest of the country follows the same trajectory of identity politics.
On the one hand, the “no intrinsic value” skeptics are ignoring how Austrians deal with gold, while on the other hand, the “HODL forever” enthusiasts would never allow Bitcoin to become a money.
Using a recent Dave Smith interview of Michael Malice as a springboard, Bob elaborates his understanding of anarcho-capitalist principles to the thorny issues of vaccine passports, court rulings, and desegregation of the Old South.
Walter Block is a giant in the libertarian movement. He explains how he discovered this philosophy and why it will be difficult to advance liberty.
Bob elaborates on two ideas he had when he wrote his novel "Minerva" in grad school.
Scott Horton and Bob largely focus on Osama Bin Laden's strategy for drawing the U.S. into unwinnable wars. They also discuss the role of Israel in U.S. foreign policy.
Bob Murphy and Stephan Livera discuss the economics of Bitcoin from an Austrian perspective.
Bob gives a guest lecture for Jonathan Newman’s MA course for the Mises Institute, on the history of, and new developments in, the pure time preference theory of interest.
At the 2021 AERC, Jeff Herbener presented a defense of the pure time preference theory of interest, and mentioned Bob’s critique of it. This episode is a very informative discussion of their views.
Vijay Boyapati explains why other Austrians should have listened to him in 2010 when he warned that their inflation predictions were wrong.
Bob starts a 3-part series explaining areas where his views have changed. In this episode, he covers trade deficits, justice vs. mercy, the 2000 election, WMDs in Iraq, and Arrow’s Theorem.
Bob continues his 3-part series explaining areas where his views have changed. In this episode, he covers government debt, the Fed being a private corporation, whether nice guys finish last, and mainstream utility theory.
Scott Sumner explains why interest rates and even monetary aggregates are not good indicators of the stance of monetary policy, whereas NGDP growth is much better.
Matt McCaffrey talks with Bob about American economist Frank Fetter, before moving on to a staple of his research: the connection between Chinese military history and entrepreneurship.
Bob concludes his series on areas where he’s changed his mind. This episode covers the economics of climate change, fractional reserve banking, the US gold standard, and more.
Bob unveils a new recurring series, in which he gives the context of infamous quotations.
Per Bylund discusses three of his current book projects, all touching on various aspects of the Austrian School and its continued importance.
In a May 2021 essay, Curtis Yarvin (a.k.a. Mencius Moldbug) argues that the American economy runs on an inflation machine.
Bob reviews the "Unbreakable" movie trilogy, arguing that M. Night Shyamalan knows we need to awaken the superheroes among us. They might not even know who they are—yet.
Bob gives a brief history of money in the United States, explaining that the dollar was much “harder” in, say, 1810 than it was in 1910.
Bob reviews Mark Spitznagel's latest book, Safe Haven: Investing for Financial Storms, on which he was a consultant.
Using a recent Paul Krugman column as the jumping off point, the Mises Institute Academic Vice President Joe Salerno explains and defends Austrian business cycle theory.
Bob covers some of the key points in his new pamphlet on restoring the Republic of Texas.
Bob provides a running refutation of Stephanie Kelton's recent TED talk on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).
Patrick Newman talks to Bob about Rothbard's approach to history, whether the US revolution was libertarian, and the proper way to interpret Andrew Jackson.
Bob critiques a Guardian article from an economist favoring price controls, and explains his argument with Joe Weisenthal about the social benefit of saving actual cash.
Bob starts a series looking into Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum and, along with Prince Charles, proponent of the “Great Reset.”
Bob continues his series on Klaus Schwab, explaining the WEF’s plans for redesigning the world, and providing quotes from Schwab’s book on the fourth industrial revolution.
Bob has Steve Patterson back on the show, to concede that Steve’s skepticism of higher mathematics was right all along.
Bob explains the friendly exchange he had with Dave Smith regarding the new Johns Hopkins study that concluded lockdowns did little to reduce mortality.
Bob continues his series on Klaus Schwab and the Great Reset, highlighting an interesting remark in Biden's SOTU, Strobe Talbott's open support for global government, and the introduction to Schwab's book on Covid-19 and the Great Reset.
Bob continues his series, this time focusing on the creepy worldview of WEF speaker Yuval Harari, and further reviews Schwab’s book on Covid-19 and the Great Reset.
Keith Weiner is founder and CEO of Monetary Metals, an investment firm that pays interest on gold, and the founder of the Gold Standard Institute USA.
Bob completes his series on the elites who are literally trying to take over the world.
Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart asked why the Fed couldn’t have bailed out homeowners, or just “quantitative ease” away the Treasury’s debt. Bob breaks down why.
Bob critiques the economic views of Yuval Harari, who predicts “useless people” because of technological advances.
Johnny Vedmore discusses his masterful article on Klaus Schwab's mentors, including Henry Kissinger and John Kenneth Galbraith.