Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchAdam Smith's Wealth of Nations: Episode #3--Introduction and Book I
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Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" developed from decades of lectures on jurisprudence, examining how market exchange creates prosperity through division of labor and specialized skil…
Published on 4 months, 1 week ago
Second Place Is The First Loser: Strategy Over Speed
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The ancient tradition of Il Palio in Siena showcases a complex system of strategic corruption, neighborhood rivalries, and high-stakes horse racing that has endured for centuries. This …
Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago
When Bats Attack: Understanding Insurance
Season 3 Episode 10
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Mike Munger explores insurance economics through the lens of transaction costs and risk management, culminating in an amusing case study about "bat-in-mouth disease."
Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations: Episode #2--The "Model"
Season 3 Episode 9
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Transaction costs provide the key to understanding Adam Smith's complete philosophical system and how his two great works form an integrated whole.
• Smith's two essential claims: human…
Published on 5 months ago
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations: Episode 1 (Background)
Season 3 Episode 8
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(N.B.: This episode is cross-posted at our partner site, Adam Smith Works. There are lots of resources and background material there, if you want to delve deeper)
The Scottish Enlighten…
Published on 5 months, 1 week ago
Nnnnooooo one expects transaction costs!! The economics of Monty Python
Season 3 Episode 7
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Mike Munger explores how Monty Python brilliantly illustrated transaction cost economics through their legendary comedy sketches. The British comedy troupe's most famous routines provid…
Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago
The Engineers of Exchange: Middlemen, Part Deux
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Middlemen are not parasites but essential "engineers of exchange" who create value by connecting buyers and sellers who might never find each other otherwise.
• The word "monger" (and Mu…
Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago
FA Hayek: Price Whisperer
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The price system solves a profound coordination problem by communicating dispersed knowledge that no central planner could ever fully access or comprehend. We explore Hayek's insight ab…
Published on 5 months, 4 weeks ago
The Price of Pennies: Make or Buy?
Season 3 Episode 4
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The make-or-buy decision is a fundamental aspect of economics that applies to businesses, households, and nations, with the U.S. penny providing a fascinating case study in economic ine…
Published on 6 months ago
Pretty Pigs and Talking Dogs
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How should we decide which political-economic systems are best for organizing society? Let's peer through the lens of the "Pretty Pig Problem," which highlights the flaws in comparing t…
Published on 6 months, 1 week ago