Episodes
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains how those of us who believe in free markets and limited government are cheered by the reforms being enacted by new Argentina President Javier Millei, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti wishes him well.
Published 04/08/24
IPI has been involved in pushing back against federal regulation of broadband networks since the late 1990s. IPI President Tom Giovanetti explains to IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews how the Biden administration is planning to once again resurrect net neutrality from the dead.
Published 04/05/24
Barbara Kolm of the Hayek Institute in Vienna, Austria is our special guest as IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews interviews Barbara about Hayek and his important contributions to economic and individual liberty.
Published 04/01/24
Taking advantage of the visit of Barbara Kolm of the Hayek Institute to Dallas, IPI President Tom Giovanetti and IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews discuss the comparison between EU regulation and competition policy with that of the US, and Barbara explains that these policy differences help explain the gap in economic growth between EU countries and the U.S.
Published 04/01/24
IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Research Fellow Dr. Dan Garretson discuss the basics of artificial intelligence and recent developments, including the rollout of Google's Gemini AI engine.
Published 03/08/24
A few days ago, Republican Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) praised extreme progressive activist Lina Khan as "one of the few people in the Biden administration that I think is doing a pretty good job." Is J.D. Vance right? Or is J.D. Vance an example of the "horseshoe theory" of politics in action, where the extremes of populism and the extremes of progressivism meet? A solo rant by IPI President Tom Giovanetti on who Lina Khan is, what the FTC is, and whether Senator J.D. Vance is correct.
Published 03/01/24
Counterfeit drugs has always been a serious problem, and a problem we've worked on here at IPI for many years. And it's a topic that is back for a return engagement as demand for "miracle" weight loss drugs is creating opportunity for counterfeiters. IPI's Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews guides us on the problems with counterfeit drugs and why you should be cautious about deals on drugs that seem too good to be true.
Published 02/26/24
A mysterious warning about a possible Russian nuclear space weapon set off consternation and stern warnings last week, and inspired IPI to chat with our favorite genuine rocket scientist, Dr. Dan Garretson. We talk space debris, the inevitable use of space for military purposes, Star Wars, and related issues. With space nerds Dr. Merrill Matthews and Tom Giovanetti.
Published 02/23/24
Merrill Matthews joins the Don Kroah Show to discuss the hypocracy and unintended consequences of artifically altering the environmen with "scientific" experiments.
Published 02/21/24
We're not afraid of AI, as just another technological innovation and tool, and we don't think we need massive new federal regulation, but we agree with the FCC applying existing law and regulation to prevent deceptive use of AI to impersonate public persons in political advertising and robocalls. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Published 02/19/24
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains the harms to the nation of our burgeoning budget deficits and national debt, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti tries to put debt into context.
Published 02/16/24
Taking advantage of IPI Research Fellow Bartlett Cleland's presence in-studio, we discuss the problems with the state and federal legislative attempts to "protect children online" through age verification and other schemes. Hint: The problems are overwhelming and underappreciated. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Published 02/12/24
We discuss today's Supreme Court arguments on Colorado's case for denying Donald Trump ballot access, and agree with the apparent leanings of SCOTUS that Colorado's arguments are unsustainable. Nevertheless, it's a great opportunity to nerd-out on constitutional law and federalism. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews, IPI Research Fellow Bartlett Cleland, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Published 02/09/24
In a single week the Biden administration announced a number of spending projects targeted at states and demographic groups considered vulnerable and critical to Biden's re-election campaign. Huge federal spending is bad enough in and of itself, says IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews. But when Republicans sign on to massive spending projects like the infrastructure bill, they create opportunities for the President to use the money as an indirect contribution to his re-election...
Published 02/05/24
As the anniversary of the East Palestine, Ohio freight derailment arrives on February 3rd, proponents will use the anniversary to try to renew support for the Railway Safety Act. But the proposed legislation is nothing more than a grab bag of demands from the 12 rail labor unions. It's not surprising that liberal Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is the lead author of the Railway Safety Act. What's surprising, and telling, is that Republican Sen. J.D. Vance has been leading the charge for...
Published 02/02/24
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews and IPI President Tom Giovanetti discuss how the border crisis and its related impacts have become the number one issue in American politics, and how this is liable to affect not only current legislative debates, but also the upcoming election.
Published 01/27/24
There was a rash of stories in the early days of 2024 about how, finally, Mickey Mouse had entered the public domain, and that this was somehow a triumph for the general public. Sounds like time for an explainer about the public domain, and why, for the most part, consumers are better off when creativity, distribution and promotion of creative works is incentivized. IPI President Tom Giovanetti with IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Published 01/22/24
IPI's Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains how increasing vaccine skepticism threatens outbreaks of dreaded diseases that have been under control for decades. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Published 01/19/24
The Biden administration has yielded to pressure from labor unions to restrict the qualifications for independent contractor status, which is intended to make it easier to unionize "gig economy" workers. But this is a terrible idea, and when California tried the same thing it forced many independent contractors out of work. The modern economy should make it easier, not harder, for Americans to have flexible work and earnings options. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr....
Published 01/15/24
With a polar vortex bearing down on much of the nation, IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews reminds us that electric vehicles (EVs) suffer significant performance deficits in very cold weather. So the current generation of EVs may not be the best choice for residents of cold states. As with everything else, choice should be left to consumers through free markets rather than having change forced upon the entire country through federal mandate.
Published 01/12/24
IPI President Tom Giovanetti explains why every year the country is faces with the issues of tax extenders, why they are important but also why they are a symptom of a dysfunctional congressional process. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Published 12/18/23
Switzerland is dropping almost all its tariffs, in order to reduce prices to consumers. Having enjoyed time in Switzerland, both IPI President Tom Giovanetti and IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews use this opportunity to discuss tariffs, why consumers rather than exporters pay them, and why in general tariffs should be avoided.
Published 12/15/23
Recently Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform that "Obamacare sucks." We at IPI don't always agree with Trump's sentiments, but in this case, IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains why Trump is right, and Obamacare has only made healthcare worse. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Published 12/11/23
Today the Biden administration announced a proposal to aggressively use federal "march in" rights to seize patents from pharmaceutical companies and "other inventions." IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains what march in rights are, and why what the Biden administration is proposing is very, very bad. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Published 12/08/23