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)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Julia Ritchey. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
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
60 Songs That Explain the '90s - “Live Like You Were Dying”— Tim McGraw
This week, Rob puts his pretensions about country music aside with a closer look at Tim McGraw’s simple but moving song, “Live Like You Were Dying,” that encourages even the most sarcastic of 20-something-year-olds to romanticize their life. He talks about his late father-in-law who shared the same zest for life as the song’s narrator, and he encourages all his listeners to go sky diving, rocky mountain climbing, and to share a song they love with someone they love.
Host: Rob Harvilla
Producers: Olivia Crerie, Chris Sutton, and Justin Sayles
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Curious City - A league of Chicago’s Own: The other women’s pro league of the 1940s
There was the Rockford Peaches, women’s pro baseball team of the 1940s that was celebrated in the movie "A League of Their Own." But there was also a pro softball league at the time that had Chicago fans going wild.
Audio Mises Wire - The Democrats are Their Own Worst Enemy
The Democrats are performing an autopsy of their 2024 electoral failures, but without mentioning Biden, the Harris campaign, their alienation of certain demographics, or their polarizing positions.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/democrats-are-making-costly-unserious-attempt-find-out-why-they-lost
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2801: The MTT
Episode: 2801 The Maria Theresa Thaler. Today, the almighty Thaler.
Audio Mises Wire - Secession Is Inevitable. War to Prevent It Is Optional
The answer lies not in doubling down on political unity, maintained through endless violence or threats of violence. Rather, the answer lies in peaceful separation.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/secession-inevitable-war-prevent-it-optional
Audio Mises Wire - I, Mises University
Just as no one in the world could possibly make something as simple as a pencil all by himself, as the great Leonard Read explained in his famous essay, I, Pencil, so it is with Mises University.
Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/i-mises-university
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
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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