What do men really get up to at the pub? For this April Fools' Day episode, Sarah tells urban legend correspondent Chelsey Weber-Smith of American Hysteria the history and the mystery behind crop circles, those sophisticated patterns left imprinted in corn and wheat fields said to be made by alien beings. For years, no one could find a rational reason for their mysterious existence as they spread across various countries; that is, until a pair of surprising culprits finally came forward to reveal their master prank. Digressions include Ramona Quimby’s dad’s alma mater, sexy adaptations of costume drama novels, and the unrivaled power of shaky cam footage.
This week, Rob makes a solid argument that the coolest thing a person can do is watch cartoons and play pretend. He breaks down the many personas of Daniel Dumile, starting with Zev Love X and ending with his villain persona Madvillain. He argues that his best work was done with fellow children’s show lover Madlib before he is joined by rapper and podcaster Open Mike Eagle to talk about getting to collaborate with your favorite rapper and the appeal of concealing one’s identity as an artist.
Host: Rob Harvilla
Producers: Justin Sayles and Olivia Crerie
Additional Video Editing: Kevin Pooler, Julianna Ress, and Chris Sutton
In this episode, Laura sits down with Lisa Greene-Lewis. She’s a TurboTax expert and CPA with over 20 years of experience in tax preparation and helping filers save money. Lisa’s also worked as a public auditor, controller, and been self-employed, so she understands common mistakes to avoid and tips for legally paying less tax.
What We Discuss:
New rules that reduce taxes and increase tax refunds for the average taxpayer.
Tips for small businesses and the self-employed that make filing taxes easier.
When to consider incorporating your business or staying a sole proprietor.
Who can claim a home office deduction and whether it’s a red flag for the IRS.
How long to keep personal and business tax returns and their backup.
In the early 2000s, a young man in New Jersey was writing thousands of fake university essays for paying students. Around the same time, financial analysts in New York were rating toxic debt as safe. And in Silicon Valley, a new business philosophy was taking hold: fake it till you make it.
Jamie Bartlett asks how so many people, in so many different worlds, arrived at the same conclusion at the same time. The answer, he thinks, has a name - The Lance Armstrong Defence. A quiet, creeping logic that says everyone else is doing it so why can't I?
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett
Series Producer: Tom Pooley
Sound Design: Rob Speight
Production Coordinator: Neena Abdullah
Original music: Coach Conrad
Editor: Craig Templeton Smith
Between the Buddha and the New Tsar: Urban Religion and Minority Politics at the Asian Borderlands of Russia(Cornell UP, 2026) by Dr. Kristina Jonutytė is an ethnography of contemporary urban Buddhism in Buryatia, a republic within the Russian Federation. Kristina Jonutytė shows how—in this ethnically and religiously diverse borderland region—Buryat Buddhists are caught between an oppressive, militant Russian regime and the tenacity of local religious and cultural forms. As Dr. Jonutytė narrates, historically Buryat Buddhism has been tightly linked with the Russian state ever since the imperial period, a relationship with mutual interest and benefits. Yet everyday Buddhist practices point to a more complex picture, shedding light on precarity, minoritization, struggles for cultural sovereignty, and infrapolitical religious forms. Between the Buddha and the New Tsar reveals the important ways in which the urban setting is not just a backdrop to Buddhism, but that religion and the city are intertwined and mutually impactful.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.
Last month, Postmaster General David Steiner told Congress that the U.S. Postal Service is in danger of running out of money by the end of the year. One big reason for this: there’s just less mail being sent. Between 2008 and 2025, first-class mail volume declined by more than 50 percent. And the Postal Service reported losing roughly $9 billion dollars in each of the past two fiscal years. So what needs to happen to keep the agency running, especially with the midterm elections coming up and the issue of mail-in voting sitting before the Supreme Court? Hansi Lo Wang, an NPR correspondent covering the U.S. Postal Service, joins the show to talk about the state of the Postal Service and what Congress needs to do to save the popular federal institution.
And in headlines, President Donald Trump scrambles for a solution to the war he started in Iran, the Supreme Court strikes down a ban on conversion therapy in Colorado, and a federal judge orders the Trump administration to pause construction of its $400 million White House ballroom.
This LAM was so much fun I wanted to make sure everyone could hear it! Well, at least a good chunk of it anyway. If you'd like to hear the rest, head to patreon and hit that $2 level or above!
If you love the 90s, and peak Alec Baldwin, you will love this one. And Thomas did. As usual, Matt read the book. And Lydia can remember people's names. Everyone is bringing their best to this LAM!
On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Peter Boettke talks with former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm and Don Boudreaux about their new book, The Triumph of Economic Freedom, a sweeping challenge to seven persistent myths about American capitalism. The conversation ranges from the Industrial Revolution and the Great Depression to the financial crisis. Along the way, they reflect on why these myths endure, why economic freedom has done more than any other force to improve the lives of ordinary people, and why economists and educators must keep returning to history and basic economic reasoning in an age when old policy errors are constantly resurrected in new forms.
Dr. Gramm served six years in the U.S. House of Representatives and eighteen years in the U.S. Senate where he was Chairman of the Banking Committee. Gramm is a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He was Vice Chairman of UBS Investment Bank and is now Vice Chairman of Lone Star Funds. He taught Economics at Texas A&M University and has published numerous articles and books including The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024), coauthored with Robert Ekelund and John Early, a Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2022 and winner of the 2024 Hayek Book Prize.
Dr. Boudreaux is a Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University; a Professor of Economics and former economics-department chair at George Mason University; an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute; and holds the Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center. He is the author of numerous books, including The Essential Hayek (Fraser Institute, 2015) and Globalization (Greenwood Press, 2007).
**This episode was recorded on February 25, 2026**
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