Free Thoughts

The Star Wars saga isn't just an epic story of galactic conflict. It's also a moral parable, exploring virtues, and probing questions of how to live, and how to live with each other. Stephen Kent, author of How the Force Can Fix the World: Lessons on Life, Liberty, and Happiness from a Galaxy Far, Far Away. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Carissa Byrne Hessick joins the podcast to discuss the fact that 97% of convictions in the United States every year are the result of people pleading guilty, often via a plea bargain, rather than having a trial before a jury of their peers. How did we get to a situation where the vast majority of criminal convictions come prior to any trial taking place? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Johan Norberg joins Trevor this week to talk about the notion of progress and gives us all a few reasons to look forward to the future.Why is there a systemic bias towards pessimism when hard data shows the world is getting better and better every day? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dr. Ryan Neuhofel joins us this week to talk about his practice, NeuCare, which is a very different way to approach primary care medicine in the United States.What is direct primary care? How should health insurance work, and how is it broken in our health care system today? How do primary care doctors currently get paid? Why is managed health care so expensive? Is direct primary care part of what a free market in medicine might look like? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shon Hopwood joins us this week to tell about his journey from bank robber to federal prisoner to U.S. Supreme Court practitioner and Georgetown law professor.What’s it like in federal prison? How did Hopwood become a jailhouse lawyer? If people do in fact “age out” of criminal activity, then what should our prison system look like? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Not so long ago, we embraced social media as a life‐​changing opportunity to connect with friends and family from across the world. But now, many people are choosing to see or argue the negative impact of social media and large tech companies. Robby Soave provided a comprehensive overview of this phenomenon in his new book, Tech Panic. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Individuals like to argue that as we engage in market activity, the more likely we are to become selfish & corrupt. Even Adam Smith, who famously celebrated markets, believed that there were moral costs associated with life in market societies. Ginny Choi explains that successful markets require and produce virtuous participants. Markets serve as moral spaces that both rely on and reward their participants for being virtuous. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Filler See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Steve knows the world has truly gotten better for human beings. Not enough people recognize or appreciate that. We hope that this episode inspires you to help a neighbor or call a friend.How does gratitude compare to resentment? Do we have the mental space to be thinking about the welfare of everyone else? How different are you on social media compared to real life? Why do GoFundMe’s work? Is the demand curve for chemotherapy vertical? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Samuel Goldman highlights three pillars of mid-twentieth-century nationalism, all of which are absent today: the social dominance of Protestant Christianity, the absorption of European immigrants in a broader white identity, and the defense of democracy abroad. Most of today's nationalists fail to recognize these necessary underpinnings of any renewed nationalism, or the potentially troubling consequences that they would engender. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fan favorite Peter Van Doren returns to the show to share with us his wealth of knowledge not only in regulation, but in many other areas of failed government oversight.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Benjamin T. Smith uncovers the origins of the drug trade in Mexico and how this illicit business essentially built modern Mexico, affecting everything from agriculture to medicine to economics―and the country’s all-important relationship with the United States. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Godsey explores distinct psychological human weaknesses inherent in the criminal justice system—confirmation bias, memory malleability, cognitive dissonance, bureaucratic denial, dehumanization, and others—and illustrates each with stories from his time as a hard-nosed prosecutor and then as an attorney for the Ohio Innocence Project.Why do people become prosecutors? What sorts of relationships do prosecutors have with judges? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Magatte Wade argues that the most unique challenge we face is that the world has come to perceive that Africans themselves are not capable of creating prosperity—and require charity in order to survive. The combination of negative perceptions of Africans, combined with widespread ignorance regarding the need for economic freedom is a toxic combination. And Wade is working to change not only the perception, but also provide opportunities for Africans to prosper. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Maia Szalavitz writes that drug overdoses now kill more Americans annually than guns, cars, or breast cancer. But the United States has tried to solve this national crisis with policies that only made matters worse. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Christopher Coyne and Abigail Hall delve into case studies from the War on Terror to show how propaganda operates in a democracy. From the darkened cinema to the football field to the airport screening line, the U.S. government has purposefully inflated the actual threat of terrorism and the necessity of a proactive military response. This biased, incomplete, and misleading information contributes to a broader culture of fear and militarism that, far from keeping Americans safe, ultimately threatens the foundations of a free society. How should we define propaganda? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jeff Kosseff exposes the workings of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which has lived mostly in the shadows since its enshrinement in 1996. Because many segments of American society now exist largely online, Kosseff argues that we need to understand and pay attention to what Section 230 really means and how it affects what we like, share, and comment upon every day. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s true that for the first time in 20 years, there is no US military presence in Afghanistan. But Sahar Khan suggests that the war is not really over. Throughout this episode they discuss what happened in Afghanistan over the last 2 decades and why the United States kept troops on the ground there longer than anticipated.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Strange things happen to parties that can win while getting fewer votes. For one thing, they’re driven to be more radical. Another is that a victorious party can still feel like a persecuted minority because they actually are the minority. And this phenomenon is running rampant in the United States. Andy Craig discusses how we can relieve pressure from our cracking political system.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Many people have developed some level of skepticism about mainstream news media. By not trusting the news your alternative is to conduct your own research on certain topics. However, no one is capable of researching every possible domain without somehow relying on someone else's interpretation of the issue at hand.Why don't people trust the news or the government? Why should you not conduct your own research? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.