Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchAdam Smith's Wealth of Nations: Episode 4--Capital and Book II: Introduction
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Book Two of Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" provides the conceptual foundation for understanding how commercial society sustains…
6 months ago
The Innovation is the Exchange Itself!
Season 3 Episode 24
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Chris Cornette, a longtime securities trader who grew up in the business, reveals how the most important innovation that made US capi…
6 months, 1 week ago
When Bribes Become the System: Understanding Lock-In
Season 3 Episode 22
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Corruption persists not because people like it, but because it becomes embedded in the incentive structure of the state, creating fee…
6 months, 3 weeks ago
Adam 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 prosp…
7 months 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-stake…
7 months, 1 week 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 st…
7 months, 2 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 int…
7 months, 3 weeks 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…
8 months 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…
8 months, 1 week 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 f…
8 months, 2 weeks ago