Mises Media
Podcasts, interviews, lectures, narrated articles and essays, and more. This is the Mises Institute's primary online media catalog.
Price Inflation Is Getting Worse
Even the federal government's official data shows that price growth is well above the Federal Reserve's two-percent target. In fact, price inflation is now at multi-year highs, and there is good reason to think this will continue.
Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL
War, Easy Money, and the Working-Class Squeeze
Mark Thornton replays his wide-ranging Kitco News interview with Jeremy Szafron, connecting today’s “two economies” to Ludwig von Mises’s Austrian business cycle theory. Easy money and credit inflation lift asset owners, big corporations, and government finance, while working families get the bill through higher prices and weaker real wages. They discuss late-cycle signals in tech and AI and broader corporate credit, and how war-driven energy shocks feed into a wider commodity surge. Mark also breaks down Cantillon effects at the kitchen-table level and closes with bottom-up strategies like local resilience, savings, and removing tax barriers to using gold and...
The US Constitution Is Now a Suicide Pact
Historically, many sovereign states have granted separatist cultural and ideological groups political autonomy as a means of avoiding full secession. The US legal system prevents this.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/us-constitution-now-suicide-pact
How Future Supply Moves Today's Prices
This week, Bob walks through three thought experiments to show how expectations of future supply changes ripple into present prices and production decisions in ways that purely mechanical monetary frameworks like MV=PQ can't capture.
Related:
How Can Mining Asteroids in the Future Make Us Richer Today?: Mises.org/HAP551aBob's 2008 Article on Oil Prices: Mises.org/HAP551bCelebrate Murray Rothbard's 100th birthday with a free copy of Anatomy of the State. Get yours at Mises.org/HAPodFree
The Economic Problem Behind Zohran Mamdani’s Government Grocery Plan
Zohran Mamdani’s proposal reflects a growing belief that economic problems can be solved through public ownership and political management. But a grocery store is still a business governed by costs, and economic reality regardless of who owns it.
Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/economic-problem-behind-zohran-mamdanis-government-grocery-plan
The Great Reversal: How Social Contract Theory Became State Apologetics
Social contract theory was used to critique a form of the state, but was also used to legitimize the modern nation-state.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/great-reversal-how-social-contract-theory-became-state-apologetics
Post-Massie America
On this episode of Power and Market, Ryan, Connor, and Tho discuss the results of the most expensive Congressional race in American history. What does the defeat of Thomas Massie tell us? What does this mean for libertarian strategy? Should we blackpill? Tune in for this and more.
Buc-ee’s: Free-Market Triumph or Simply Capitalist Oppression?
Buc-ee’s—the roadside travel phenomenon—seems to cater to the extremes in our society. Either customers love shopping at the place or it is yet another symbol of capitalist oppression.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/buc-ees-free-market-triumph-or-simply-capitalist-oppression
A Rothbardian Case Against Bad Data Center Policy
AI has created enormous demand for new data centers, and many communities do not want them nearby. The Rothbardian answer is not blanket permission or blanket prohibition, but a property-rights framework and the return of market forces that government policy has largely displaced.
Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbardian-case-against-bad-data-center-policy
2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100th birthday—and we're celebrating by giving away free copies of Anatomy of the State through May 31. Grab yours today at https://mises.org/gabfreebook
Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at http...
Murray N. Rothbard: A Legacy of Liberty
While upholding the radical ideal, Rothbard combined idealism with realism, scholarship with accessibility, and boundless curiosity with commitment to truth.
Original article: https://mises.org/articles-interest/murray-n-rothbard-legacy-liberty
Economics: The Sociological Foundation of Civilization
Economics is far more than what people see as “the economy.” It is the central organizing factor for civilized society.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/economics-sociological-foundation-civilization
The Minerals Consortium Will Result in Malinvestment
Washington is pursuing industrial policy again, this time being an attempt to form a minerals consortium with other countries to secure minerals vital to US manufacturing. No doubt, this initiative will end up on the ash heap of bad policy.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/minerals-consortium-will-result-malinvestment
Causes of Uncontrollable US Public Spending and Debt
The US fiat monetary regime not only has given us inflation and boom-and-bust cycles, but it also is the main contributor to the out-of-control government spending and debt accumulation.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/causes-uncontrollable-us-public-spending-and-debt
Is Deflation Bad for the Economy?
The standard line among most economists is that deflation is as bad or even worse than inflation. In reality, the economy needs deflation now more than ever.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/deflation-bad-economy
Why Socialism Fails: From Mises's 1920 Article to Today
Bob sits down with Dr. Jonathan Newman to discuss his Mises Academy course for homeschooling families based on Lessons for the Young Economist, using it as a starting point to walk through the full Austrian case against socialism.
Related:
The Mises Academy: Mises.org/HAP550aDr. Newman's Course, Lessons for the Young Economist: Mises.org/HAP550bBob's Lessons for the Young Economist: Mises.org/HAP550cBob's Lessons for the Young Economist Teacher's Manual: Mises.org/HAP550dDr. Newman's Article, "Star Trek Is Wrong: There Will Always Be Scarcity": Mises.org/HAP550eCelebrate Murray Rothbard's 100...
Price Inflation Accelerates as Wars and Deficits Expand
Last week’s CPI report, and this week’s PPI report both showed price inflation surging to multi-year highs, and not just on oil prices.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/price-inflation-accelerates-wars-and-deficits-expand
When a Society Chooses Freedom in an Unfree World
What might be the process of a society moving from being unfree to being free? Here is one scenario.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/when-society-chooses-freedom-unfree-world
The Bad News from the Latest Employment Report
Ryan McMaken looks at the latest jobs numbers form the federal government and why so many workers and families appear to think the economy is in trouble.
Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL
Rothbard on War, Peace, and the State
Ryan McMaken takes a look at Rothbard's seminal 1963 essay "War, Peace, and the State." We find that Rothbard was no pacifist, but supported defensive violence against aggressors. Rothbard also maintains war must be limited by respect for neutrals, and avoidance of weapons that target innocent non-combatants.Â
Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard
Radio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off
Predicting Recession
On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton opens with a candid assessment of his own prediction record: what he got right, what he got wrong, and why Austrian economics tells you what must come but not when. He then turns to the current landscape: every major valuation metric is flashing red, market concentration exceeds the level on the cusp of the 1987 crash, deficit spending is at World War II levels, and the Fed is injecting $40 billion a month in new liquidity. Yet Wall Street remains unanimously bullish. The second half features an interview with Kaniki Kojo on...
Why Rothbard Is as Relevant as Ever
Murray Rothbard is one of the all-time greats in Austrian economics and libertarianism. When studying his achievements, we immediately see that Rothbard is a giant whose shoulders free-market scholars should aspire to stand on.
Original article: https://mises.org/misesian/why-rothbard-relevant-ever
The GOP Fiscal Follies
While Republicans have promised robust economic growth to accompany their tax cuts, reality has been different. That is because Republicans increased government spending at the same time, dragging down the economy.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/gop-fiscal-follies
Hobbes’s Self-Defeating Theory
With some simple logic and using Hobbes’s own presuppositions and arguments, we can internally critique Hobbes’s argument for the state, namely, that the state solves none of the problems he presents.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/hobbess-self-defeating-theory
Egalitarianism and Value-Free Economics
Dr. Wanjiru Njoya argues that Rothbard's political philosophy is not a sideshow to his economics but its essential second pillar, and that this integrated system is precisely what is needed to challenge the egalitarian premise at its root. Correcting Piketty's spreadsheets isn't enough; the moral case for liberty has to be made explicitly and on philosophical grounds.
Recorded in Auburn, Alabama, on May 14, 2026.
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Making Sense of the Trump Administration's "Hail Mary" on Iran
Bob argues that many Austro-libertarians (himself included, initially)Â have been too quick to dismiss the Trump administration's foreign and economic policy as mere incompetence or corruption, without grasping the strategic logic behind it. His thesis: the U.S. national security establishment sees China's rise as an existential threat and believes the window to act is closing fast, making the current flurry of aggressive moves less like random chaos and more like a desperate Hail Mary pass.
Related:
The Charts and Graphs Mentioned in this Episode: Mises.org/HAP549aThe Bob Murphy Show, "LEAKED: Trump's Secret Strategy B...Bad Inflation Data Drops While Trump's in China (And Other Headlines)
On this episode of Power & Market, Ryan, Connor, and Tho break down a variety of headlines from the week, including bad inflation data, Trump's trip to China, Kevin Warsh's Senate confirmation, and the political theatre of Spencer Pratt and Zohran Mamdani.
The Job Market Has Only Gotten Worse Since Trump’s “Liberation Day”
In the year since Donald Trump’s “liberation day” in April 2024 fewer Americans are now working, and inflation-adjusted hourly earnings are still below where they were in 2021.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/job-market-has-only-gotten-worse-trumps-liberation-day
Today’s AIs Show the Marginal Revolution's Unfinished Business
In 1871, the “discovery” of marginal economic analysis soon took a wrong turn, moving towards quantification, data, and mathematics. It is time to “rediscover” the margin, this time the margin as explained by Carl Menger.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/todays-ais-show-marginal-revolutions-unfinished-business
Socialists Are Reaping a Bountiful Political Harvest while They Create Havoc
As the economy faulters, socialists are getting elected, promising free goods and services and an end to the chaos. Even when they make things worse, however, they will still gain political power.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/socialists-are-reaping-bountiful-political-harvest-while-they-create-havoc
The Cost of Money: Coinage, Fiat Power, and the Quiet Corruption of Value
Governments take valuable things like paper and minerals, stamp something on them, and call them money, in the process rendering these things almost worthless. Something is wrong with this picture.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/cost-money-coinage-fiat-power-and-quiet-corruption-value
Progressives and Conservatives Are Wrong About Taxing the Rich
Both progressives and conservatives show a complete unwillingness or inability to distinguish between those who got rich by genuinely creating value by serving others and those who are getting rich by expropriating wealth through force.
Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/progressives-and-conservatives-are-wrong-about-taxing-rich
2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100th birthday—and we're celebrating by giving away free copies of Anatomy of the State through May 31. Grab yours today at https://mises.org/gabfreebook
Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB
The Economics of War
In this article from 1950, Murray Rothbard suggests some of the less bad ways of financing military operations. Hint: monetary inflation and taxing savings and investment are among the worst.
Original article: https://mises.org/articles-interest/economics-war
Marx Was Wrong About the “Necessary” Ruin of Small Landed Property
Karl Marx not only misunderstood value and production, but he also was wrong about large-scale and small-scale property owners.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/marx-was-wrong-about-necessary-ruin-small-landed-property
On The Duty Of Natural Outlaws To Shut Up
Who would join a radical minority movement, and commit him- or herself for life to social obloquy and a marginal existence, for the sake of 20% more bathtubs, or 15% more candy bars? Who will man the barricades either physically or spiritually, for more peanuts or Pepsi?
Original article: https://mises.org/articles-interest/duty-natural-outlaws-shut
Depopulation Won’t Save Us or the Planet
The recent death of Paul Ehrlich reminds us that his crackpot overpopulation theories still are with us, even as they are being regularly discredited.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/depopulation-wont-save-us-or-planet
America’s States Are Too Big and Too Centralized
Ryan McMaken argues that the American constitutional structure has become a suicide pact: states cannot secede, cannot protect themselves from neighboring states' policies, cannot adopt genuinely federal internal governance, and cannot redraw their own borders. It's a system that guarantees growing conflict and provides only one approved solution: more centralized power in Washington.
Recorded in San Diego, California, on April 25, 2026.
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Nations by Consent
Murray Rothbard argues that the nation-state's boundaries—invariably acquired by force—deserve no more sanctity than any other product of conquest. He proposes radical decentralization through secession, down to the neighborhood level, as the path to genuine nations formed by consent rather than coercion.
Nation-States and National Borders
In this episode of Radio Rothbard, Ryan McMaken looks at Rothbard's essay "Nations by Consent: Decomposing the Nation State." The essay provides some key insights into the nature of the nation-state, its origins, and implications for modern-day topics like immigration, citizenship, and national borders.Â
Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbard
Radio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off
Is Human Action the Hidden Impact Crater of Modern Economics?
The hypothesis of this essay is that Human Action—particularly the first few hundred pages—was instrumental to the new way of economic thinking that emerged with the new Chicago School, the Public Choice School, price theory, economic imperialism, general equilibrium analysis, and, ironically, the rise of economic formalism. Because the reader is "forced" to "test" and accept all the steps in Mises's argument introspectively, a basis of agreement is established. This unconscious agreement might not be recognized by the reader or might be recognized as nothing more than mere common sense. However, this acceptance by the reader is a fo...
Calculation and Environmental Policy: Lessons from Human Action
Mises's response, addressing subsidies more generally, is instructive: "A project P is unprofitable when and because consumers prefer the satisfaction expected from the realization of some other projects to the satisfaction expected from the realization of P. The realization of P would withdraw capital and labor from the realization of some other projects for which the demand of the consumers is more urgent. The layman and the pseudo-economist fail to recognize this fact. They stubbornly refuse to notice the scarcity of the factors of production."