Audio Mises Wire

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By: Mises Institute

Audio recordings of Mises Wire articles, offering contemporary news and opinion through the lens of Austrian economics and libertarian political economy.

Rothbard and the American Revolution
Last Friday at 3:58 PM

As we celebrate the Centennial of the birth of Murray Rothbard, we look at his commentary on the American Revolution, where it promoted liberty and where the creation of the Constitution became liberty’s roadblock.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbard-and-american-revolution


Operation Ajax (1953): The CIA’s Template—and Warnings for Today
Last Friday at 1:53 PM

The current US conflict with Iran has its roots in the CIA-backed coup in 1953, which removed a democratically-elected prime minister and replaced him with the Shah. The Shah’s government ultimately collapsed, leading to the current Islamic republic.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/operation-ajax-1953-cias-template-and-warnings-today


The Duke Lacrosse Case Exposed the Rot in Higher Education, the Media, and the Justice System
03/05/2026

It has been 20 years since the Duke Lacrosse Case dominated the news media. It was a story in which false narratives of guilt pushed by corrupt police and prosecutors, radical members of Duke’s faculty, and the legacy media nearly railroaded three innocent men into prison.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/duke-lacrosse-case-exposed-rot-higher-education-media-and-justice-system


Rothbard and War
03/05/2026

Those who believe in the free and unhampered market economy should be especially skeptical of war and military action. War, after all, is the ultimate government program.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbard-and-war


The Iran War Exposes the Farce of American "Representative Democracy"
03/04/2026

The current war is a timely reminder that the US ruling elites regard the US taxpayers and ordinary Americans as little more than inconvenient afterthoughts in US foreign policy.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/iran-war-exposes-farce-american-representative-democracy


War Guilt in the Middle East
03/02/2026

Into the heart of the peasant and nomadic Arab world of the Middle East there came, on the backs and on the bayonets of British imperialism, a largely European colonizing people.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/war-guilt-middle-east


The Fight for Liberty and the Beltway Barbarians
03/02/2026

Are we emphasizing “the negative”? In a sense, yes, but what else are we to stress when our values, our principles, our very being are under attack from a relentless foe?Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/fight-liberty-and-beltway-barbarians


Massachusetts 1690: The First Western Fiat Experiment
02/27/2026

When the Massachusetts colony issued its own unredeemable paper money in 1690, it was with the promise that it would soon be redeemable in specie. Like all paper money issued by government, it lost value and the confidence of the people.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/massachusetts-1690-first-western-fiat-experiment


The Bill of Rights Against the States
02/26/2026

We are told that the Bill of Rights is the bedrock of our freedom, yet this same Bill of Rights ultimately has been used as a weapon against state sovereignty and against our individual rights.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/bill-rights-against-states


In Defense of National Borders
02/26/2026

The current outburst of protests against President Trump’s enforcement of immigration laws is overshadowing a question that is not being asked: Can we defend having national borders in the first place?Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/defense-national-borders


We Act in a World of Uncertainty, Not Probabilities
02/26/2026

Human action involves people engaging in unique events in which outcomes often are uncertain, when expertise and planning often do not give us the results we anticipate.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/we-act-world-uncertainty-not-probabilities


Class Conflict, the Jacksonians, and Exploitation
02/25/2026

In a truly free market, there is no class conflict. In the presence of the state, however, things are different because various groups jockey with each other to gain the favor of state agents.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/class-conflict-jacksonians-and-exploitation


Anarcho-Tyranny and the UK Grooming Gangs Scandal
02/25/2026

The rise of the grooming gangs in Great Britain and the refusal of Britain’s Labor government to intervene speaks volumes about the contempt that British political elites have for their laws and the people who must live under a regime of anarcho-tyranny.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/anarcho-tyranny-and-uk-grooming-gangs-scandal


Rothbard and Eminent Domain: Confused History and Legal Sleight of Hand
02/24/2026

Governments at all levels abuse their “privilege” of eminent domain, the taking of private property for government use. Murray Rothbard understood that government was not justified to seize property for such use in the first place.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbard-and-eminent-domain-confused-history-and-legal-sleight-hand


Nock’s War on the State
02/23/2026

Before Murray Rothbard, there was Albert Jay Nock laying intellectual broadsides against the tyranny of the state. While Nock (unlike Rothbard) never called for total abolishment of the state, he did want as minimal a state as could be had.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/nocks-war-state


The End of Artificial Employment
02/23/2026

AI is not the killer—it is the coroner.Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/end-artificial-employment


Antebellum Federal Protections of Slavery
02/23/2026

Unfortunately, slavery was not just propped up by policy in the slave states, but federally. It is often overlooked that the federal government—not just slave states—had implemented legal protections of slavery by policy for decades.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/antebellum-federal-protections-slavery


The Senate and the Loss of “Mixed Government”
02/19/2026

Few Americans today realize that until the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913, US senators were appointed by their state legislatures, not by popular vote. This development had an unfortunate effect upon US politics, further damaging the original federalist governing arrangement.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/senate-and-loss-mixed-government


U.S. Actions Toward Cuba Are Criminal
02/19/2026

Even though Cuba poses no threat to the U.S., the Trump administration continues its criminal policies of sanctions and other restrictions in an attempt to foist "regime change" on the country.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/us-actions-toward-cuba-are-criminal


Surviving Capitalism: The Scarcity Advantage
02/18/2026

The story of Anil Ambani destroys the belief that capitalism automatically favors the rich and excludes the poor. Once a billionaire, he made a series of bad business choices and the market punished those choices. Capitalism favors good choices.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/surviving-capitalism-scarcity-advantage


Monetary Decay and Imperial Survival
02/18/2026

The American empire—with its global military footprint and permanent war economy—cannot be financed through honest taxation without provoking revolt.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/monetary-decay-and-imperial-survival


Why Mises's The Theory of Money and Credit Is Still Important Today
02/17/2026

Ludwig von Mises’s first major work was The Theory of Money and Credit in which he explained the role of money in the economy and also pointed out what causes the boom-bust cycle. It remains an important classic in Austrian economics.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-misess-theory-money-and-credit-still-important-today


Why We Should Repeal the Civil Rights Act
02/17/2026

The Civil Rights Act, first passed in 1964, is falsely connected with freedom. In reality, this law severely restricts individual liberty and replaces it with coercive government acts.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-we-should-repeal-civil-rights-act


A Brief History of the Petite Bourgeoisie
02/17/2026

From the Jacksonians to the Marxists, political theorists have understood that there is something unique about "small industry" between big business and propertyless workers. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/brief-history-petite-bourgeoisie


Olaudah Equiano’s Manumission: Regulatory Barriers to Freedom
02/13/2026

If one man may legally own another, then he should likewise have the right to disown this property. To deny this right by law involves simultaneously affirming the right of one human to own another as his property but not the right to stop owning another human.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/olaudah-equianos-manumission-regulatory-barriers-freedom


The Turmoil at the Washington Post Does Not “Threaten” Democracy
02/12/2026

Pundits are claiming that the demise of the Washington Post will weaken democracy and provide a boost for government corruption. As usual, the pundits are badly mistaken.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/turmoil-washington-post-does-not-threaten-democracy


The European Union Now Resembles the Soviet Union
02/11/2026

The similarities between the EU and the USSR are striking, and they are not just a coincidence. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/european-union-now-resembles-soviet-union


Are Government Services Underfunded?
02/11/2026

Statists love to claim that government services would be better if only they were “fully funded.” However, given their nature, government services always will be seen as “underfunded” no matter how much money politicians throw at them.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/are-government-services-underfunded


Trump’s Assault on Our Right to Keep and Bear Arms
02/11/2026

Is it illegal to carry a gun to a demonstration against ICE? According to the Trump Administration, it is. Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-assault-our-right-keep-and-bear-arms


The Challenge of Distinguishing History from Fiction
02/11/2026

What happens when historical fiction becomes a more accurate portrayal than the version of history given by mainstream historians?Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/challenge-distinguishing-history-fiction


Calls for “Unity” Help the Federal Government Seize More Power
02/10/2026

In the United States, since no state is allowed to ever leave, or to even control its own borders. This will lead to more centralized political power in every way.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/calls-unity-help-federal-government-seize-more-power


History Is Not a Mathematical Calculation
02/09/2026

Understanding history is not about understanding formulas or narratives. Instead, we must understand the people who made history, their motives, and their goals.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/history-not-mathematical-calculation


Stop Fighting Your Neighbor: The Mechanics of State Power and How to Opt Out
02/09/2026

The modern state doesn’t get its power from the consent of the governed. Instead, it creates crises and then uses coercion to demand obedience.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/stop-fighting-your-neighbor-mechanics-state-power-and-how-opt-out


Machiavelli Is Dead: Why Politics Without Property Rights, Rules, and Moral Limits Cannot Work
02/06/2026

Modern political economy is based upon a Machiavellian belief in might makes right. Yet, political power cannot accomplish what free markets and private property rights have done in lifting billions of people out of poverty.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/machiavelli-dead-why-politics-without-property-rights-rules-and-moral-limits-cannot-work


The Ruthlessness and Brutality of the US Government
02/06/2026

From time to time, the American people need to be reminded who is the boss. The boss is the US government. The citizenry are the serfs, the servants, the subordinates.Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/ruthlessness-and-brutality-us-government


Trump, Immigration, and ICE
02/05/2026

Restoring the rule of law and Constitutional government on immigration—something wrecked by Trump's rule-by-decree with federal agents—is vastly more important than expelling illegal immigrants.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trump-immigration-and-ice


Why America's Two-Party System Will Never Threaten the True Political Elites
02/05/2026

The fact  that the Republican and Democratic parties are allowed to circulate into key positions of government is proof enough that they are no threat to the true governing elites.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-americas-two-party-system-will-never-threaten-true-political-elites


The Idiocracy that Is California Politics
02/05/2026

If California voters and politicians do not understand the current crisis, we will see the continuous march to perdition as California politicians refuse to acknowledge that they are killing the geese laying the golden eggs.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/idiocracy-california-politics


A Positive View of Sectional History
02/04/2026

In most nations of any size, sectionalism is almost inevitable. How nations handle such divisions, historian Frank L. Owsley, determines if sectionalism is peaceful or becomes violent. It became violent in the US in 1861.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/positive-view-sectional-history


Why “Affordability” Is the Wrong Term to Describe Effects of Inflation
02/04/2026

Politicians are touting “affordability” to describe the current regime of rising prices. However, most lawmakers who claim they are trying to make things more affordable demand policies that make things more costly.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-affordability-wrong-term-describe-effects-inflation