The Indicator from Planet Money - When Uncle Sam owned banks and factories

The quintessential American economic myth is that the free market picks winners and losers. But the federal government has long had a role in this equation, from the current administration all the way back to the Great Depression. Today on the show, we uncover the history of the country's national investment bank, which shaped the relationship between the government and the market in ways that are still felt today.

Check out Chris Hughes Substack

Related episodes:
The day Russia adopted the free market (Apple / Spotify)
Giant vacuums and other government climate bets (Apple / Spotify)

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Audio Mises Wire - Will an Iran Cyber Attack Panic Usher In a New Patriot Act?

In the wake of the US bombing of Iran, media outlets are warning about Iran retaliating with cyber attacks on the West. As the public fear of attacks increases, government moves into the void to find new ways to restrict our liberties.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/will-iran-cyber-attack-panic-usher-new-patriot-act

What A Day - Mike Johnson Staves Off Epstein Vote

House lawmakers will start their Summer break a few days early today, vacating the capital until September. They’re leaving early because Republican Speaker Mike Johnson is trying desperately – desperately – to avoid holding any votes on releasing materials related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Over at the White House Tuesday, President Donald Trump did his best to turn attention away from Epstein and toward his latest conspiracy de jour, which is really just a remix of his favorite first-term conspiracy surrounding Russia’s interference in the 2016 election (A.K.A. Russia, Russia, Russia). But House Democrats say no dice. California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, talks about what Democrats are doing to keep the Trump administration in check.

And in headlines: Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba is out of a job…maybe, Trump announced a new trade deal with the Philippians, and the United Nations delivered a stark warning about mass starvation in Gaza.

Show Notes:

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - How Dead Is the Department of Education?

If Trump follows through and successfully shuts down the Department of Education, what does America stand to lose? 

Guest:  Laura Meckler, national education writer for The Washington Post and author of Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity.

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Cato Podcast - Cato Cage Match: Education vs. Health Care

Michael F. Cannon and Neal McCluskey let us listen in on their ongoing 20-year debate over who has the more difficult job -- fixing health care or education. McCluskey argues that government's monopolistic control over K-12 education and compulsory schooling creates a more fundamental threat to freedom, while Cannon contends that health care is even more dysfunctional due to cascading government interventions that have created the world's most expensive and gap-ridden health system. Both scholars explore how government subsidies drive up costs in their respective sectors and outline their visions for more libertarian, market-based alternatives.


Show Notes:

https://www.cato.org/free-society/summer-2025/federal-failure-parental-freedom-story-movement 

 

https://www.cato.org/blog/supreme-court-right-reading-opt-outs-thats-not-enough

 

https://www.cato.org/blog/top-5-reasons-end-us-department-education


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Audio Mises Wire - Rethinking Sociology with Mises: A New Austro-Libertarian Framework for Understanding Society

Is Austrian Economics compatible with modern sociology, which is presently dominated by collectivists? However, it is possible to apply praxeology to sociology analysis, and that is where one begins to approach this discipline in a manner that promotes liberty.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rethinking-sociology-mises-new-austro-libertarian-framework-understanding-society

What A Day - A Look At Trump And Epstein’s History

Despite President Donald Trump's best efforts, his administration can't escape the conspiracies swirling around convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — conspiracies Trump and his allies helped stoke before he returned to the White House.On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not permit a vote this summer on a non-binding resolution calling for the release of documents and records related to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 before his federal sex-trafficking trial. And on Friday, Trump sued The Wall Street Journal for billions of dollars over a story alleging he sent Epstein a lewd birthday card in the early 2000s, when the two were known to be friends. Trump has always denied any knowledge that the disgraced financier was abusing underage girls and young women, but there's no denying the two men frequently hung out together, often in the presence of young, attractive women.Matthew Goldstein, a New York Times business reporter who covers white collar crime, joins us to talk about the backstory of Trump and Epstein's friendship, and why the administration can't make this story go away.

And in headlines: Some foreign travelers will have to pay a new $250 fee to enter the U.S. thanks to a provision in Trump's new Big Beautiful Law, a new Human Rights Watch report alleges 'dehumanizing' conditions across immigration detention centers in Florida, and Texas Republicans kicked off a special legislative session to potentially redraw the state's congressional map to help Trump in next year's midterm elections.

Show Notes: