Libertarian

Richard Epstein analyzes the latest developments in the Russia investigation and delivers a withering judgment as to how the Mueller team has performed thus far.

Has President Trump brought the world nearer to chaos or safety?

Ten years after the release of Nudge, the volume that popularized behavioral economics, Richard Epstein considers the shortcomings of the behaviorist school and the concept of “libertarian paternalism.” (Playing time: 20:26)

Richard Epstein parses President Trump’s economic criticisms of Amazon — and examines a Supreme Court case that will determine how online retailers pay taxes. (Playing time: 17:16)

Richard Epstein breaks down the legal rationales that may — or may not — have justified the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. He also examines the broader trajectory of the Mueller investigation. Whose job is in more danger: Mueller’s or Trump’s? (Playing time: 21:10)

Richard Epstein discusses the history behind America’s anti-discrimination laws and explains why they’re not well-suited for the modern economy. (Playing time: 20:23)

Richard Epstein reacts to former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens’ suggestion that the Second Amendment be repealed — and explains why the constitutional arguments about guns may point in a different direction than the policy arguments. (Playing time: 17:36)

Richard Epstein explains how public pensions came to be a ticking time bomb for states and cities throughout the U.S., what the financial ramifications are, and why the road to reform is so perilous. (Playing time: 20:24)

Richard Epstein contrasts two recent actions by the Trump Administration — the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum, and the blocking of a foreign company’s attempts to take over an American tech firm — to demonstrate when national security concerns justify restrictions on trade ... and when they don’t. (Playing time: 18:14)

Richard Epstein looks at how attempts to suppress conservative speakers on college campuses intersects with the First Amendment, and calls on 50 years of experience as a university professor to diagnose how liberal activism has changed over the years. (Playing time: 24:28)

Richard Epstein looks at Janus v. AFSCME, a Supreme Court case out of Illinois with the potential to dramatically reduce the power of public sector unions. (Playing time: 20:24)

In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, Richard Epstein provides his legal analysis of where Second Amendment jurisprudence went wrong and explains what policy options might actually help to ease gun violence -- and why real solutions are devilishly hard to come by. (Playing time: 23:45)

Richard Epstein describes a potentially groundbreaking healthcare case out of Idaho, where insurers are looking to give consumers more options than are currently allowed under the Affordable Care Act. (Playing time: 20:51)

Richard Epstein parses the memo recently released by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, a document that they claim shows impropriety in the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign. (Playing time: 19:20)

A funny thing happened to America’s libertarian movement – it expected a champion to emerge in the 2016 election; it may or may not have one in Donald Trump. Richard Epstein, the Hoover Institution’s Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow and the voice behind “The Libertarian” podcast, grades the Trump presidency from a libertarian vantage. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 1:02:50)