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Hayek Program Podcast

Hayek Program Podcast

By: Mercatus Center at George Mason University
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The Hayek Program Podcast includes audio from lectures, interviews, and discussions of scholars and visitors from the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The F. A. Hayek Program is devoted to the promotion of teaching and research on the institutional arrangements that are suitable for the support of free and prosperous societies. Implicit in this statement is the presumption that those arrangements are to some extent open to conscious selection, as well as the appreciation that the type of arrangements that are selected within a society can influence significantly the economic, political, and moral character of that society.All rights reserved Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • David Schmidtz — 2024 Markets and Society Conference Keynote

    David Schmidtz — 2024 Markets and Society Conference Keynote
    Mar 18 2026

    **Content Warning** This episode includes discussions of sexual assault, which may be distressing for some listeners. Please listen with care.

    On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, David Schmidtz delivers a keynote lecture at the 2024 Markets & Society conference on the idea of self-governance. Drawing on examples from economics, moral philosophy, and higher education, Schmidtz argues that rational choice is less about optimization and more about choosing the frameworks within which decisions become meaningful. He examines the parallels between individual and corporate self-governance, the role of mission statements as “compasses” rather than formulas, and the dangers of over-specialization in academia. Along the way, he reflects on truth-seeking, academic freedom, moral education, and the human need for purposiveness, ultimately challenging universities to cultivate enduring capacities rather than narrow skill sets.

    Dr. David Schmidtz is Professor and Presidential Chair of Moral Science at West Virginia University’s Chambers College of Business & Economics, Distinguished Affiliated Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and Editor-in-Chief of Social Philosophy & Policy. He has published numerous books, including Living Together: Inventing Moral Science (Oxford University Press, 2023), A Brief History of Liberty (Wiley Blackwell, 2011) coauthored with Jason Brennan, and his leading textbook Environmental Ethics What Really Matters, What Really Works (Oxford University Press, 2024) co-edited with Dan Shahar is now in its fourth edition.

    **This episode was recorded October 13, 2024.

    If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

    Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!

    Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram

    Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus

    CC Music: Twisterium
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    42 mins
  • Reconsidering FDR With David Beito

    Reconsidering FDR With David Beito
    Mar 4 2026
    On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Peter Boettke speaks with historian David T. Beito about his new biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt. They discuss FDR’s record on civil liberties, including government surveillance and efforts to police speech; the administration’s approach to refugees and antisemitism; and early-career episodes like the Newport Sex Scandal. The conversation also covers how progressive-era ideas shaped FDR’s political instincts, how New Deal programs like the NRA and AAA cartelized industries, and why key wartime choices, such as unconditional surrender and “rescue through victory,” may have prolonged World War II. They close with lessons for today: the dangers of malleable legal categories and the need for durable institutional guardrails against executive abuse.Dr. David T. Beito is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama. He is the author of many books, including FDR: A New Political Life (Carus Books, 2025), The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR’s Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance (Independent Institute, 2025), and T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, and Civil Rights Pioneer (Independent Institute, 2018), coauthored with Linda Royster Beito.**This episode was recorded December 8, 2025.Show Notes:Presidential Greatness ProjectThomas C. Loenard’s book, Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics, and American Economics in the Progressive Era (Princeton University Press, 2016)Herbert Croly’s book, The Promise of American Life: Updated Edition (Princeton University Press, 2014)Murray Rothbard’s book, America’s Great Depression (Mises Institute, 2000) David Michaelis’ book, Eleanor (Simon & Schuster, 2021)Daniel T. Rodgers’ book, Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age (Harvard University Press, 2000)David Hackett Fischer’s book, Liberty and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2004)George Selgin’s book, False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933–1947 (University of Chicago Press, 2025)If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium
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    59 mins
  • Perspectives on Peace — Taboo Lines and the Process of Peace

    Perspectives on Peace — Taboo Lines and the Process of Peace
    Feb 18 2026
    On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Chris Coyne talks with Abigail Hall and Jayme Lemke about Kenneth and Elise Boulding’s insights into what it means to build and sustain peace. Drawing on her paper “In Search of Stable Peace,” Hall explores Kenneth Boulding’s framework for understanding peace and war, focusing on the roles of strain and strength and the shifting taboo lines that shape movement between stable and unstable peace. Lemke then turns to Elise Boulding’s vision of peace as an active, everyday practice, emphasizing the often-overlooked forms of peacebuilding embedded in ordinary social relationships and institutions. Together, the conversations emphasize peace as a process shaped by ideas, institutions, and imagination.Dr. Abigail R. Hall is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa and a Senior Affiliated Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She has published numerous books, including her most recent satirical book, How to Run Wars: A Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite co-authored with Christopher J. Coyne (2024). She holds a PhD in Economics from George Mason University and is an alum of the Mercatus PhD Fellowship.Dr. Jayme Lemke is a Senior Research Fellow and a Senior Fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She is co-editor of Economy, Polity, and Society, an Associate Editor for the Review of Behavioral Economics, and Secretary of the Society for the Development of Austrian Economics.Show Notes:The Journal of Conflict ResolutionKenneth Boulding’s book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)Robert Higgs’s book, Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government (Independent Institute, 2025)Elise Boulding’s book, Cultures of Peace (Syracuse University Press, 2000)Kenneth Boulding’s book, The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society (University of Michigan Press, 1956).Elise Boulding’s book, The Underside of History: A View of Women Through Time (SAGE Publications, 1992)Julian Simon’s book, The Ultimate Resource 2 (Princeton University Press, 1998)**This episode was recorded September 15, 2025 and December 29, 2025.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium
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    1 hr and 39 mins
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