Category: Series

When you follow the news, particularly in countries like the UK and the US, it sometimes feels like people are less optimistic about their lives than they were in the past. But a new piece of analysis from polling company Gallup suggests this might just be the local view, not the global one. Using data from the Gallup World Poll, it suggests that “people in more countries are living better lives and expressing more hope for the future” than at any point in the last decade.

Tim Harford speaks to Gallup’s Benedict Vigers, who wrote the report, to understand what improvements in the “global median for thriving” really means. If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Bob Nettles Editor: Richard Vadon

According to mainstream economists, inflation aids economic growth while deflation impairs growth. Austrian economists, however, point out that in much of US history, economic growth was accompanied by deflation.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/inflation-and-economic-growth

Advocates for US military intervention have invoked the war against the Barbary pirates as justification. Yet, an examination of that conflict shows that President Jefferson’s actions were limited and followed the direction of Congress.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/jeffersons-war-barbary-pirates-unjustified-password-military-intervention

Americans are moving at record lows for work. What’s driving people to, well, not drive cross-country for jobs? On today’s Jobs Friday, we explore the rising homebody economy. 

Related episodes: 
Can … we still trust the monthly jobs report? 
Why moms are leaving their paid jobs? 
How the end of Roe is reshaping the medical workforce? 

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Was Jackson’s victory over the Second Bank of the United States a triumph for liberty, or did it merely expand federal authority under the guise of constraining it? His legacy is complicated, but there is much we can learn from it.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/complicated-legacy-andrew-jacksons-bank-war

The Renaissance period is seen as mostly positive by historians, but the sinister development of absolutism and the imperial state complicates the legacy of that time.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/absolutism-and-reason-state-rothbard-growth-statism

Although the political establishment claims the Comey indictment represents an unprecedented moment in our history, the truth is much different. Federal prosecutors have a long history of bringing unjustified, politically-motivated prosecutions.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/james-comey-not-innocent-victim-lawfare-he-helped-create

The federal government shuts down as the Supreme Court returns. Our panel looks at the Trump team’s plan to use the shutdown for mass layoffs —and previews a new Supreme Court term packed with big fights over tariffs, emergency powers, and the future of “independent” agencies.

Featuring: Ryan Bourne, Gene Healy, Thomas Berry, and Jeffrey Miron

Romina Boccia, "Thoughts About The Impending Government Shutdown," The Debt Dispatch, September 30, 2025.

Jeffrey Miron, "Some Libertarians Cheer When Government Shuts Down: Here's Why They Shouldn't," Vox, January 21, 2018.

Ryan Bourne, "The Libertarian Experiment That Isn't," Cato at Liberty blog, January 11, 2019.

Thomas A. Berry, Brent Skorup, and Charles Brandt, "Learning Resources v. Trump," Cato Amicus Brief, July 30, 2025.

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