Economic Freedom (Show 087)

For this holiday weekend, Mosley hosts the show and discusses the issue of economic freedom in the context of today’s economic situation, with special focus on the auto industry.

Topic include: government bailout of the auto industry; the expression “too big to fail”; “are we all socialists now?” and the socialist trend in America; “bailout” and “aid” as buzzwords; learn from mistakes, don’t appease them; the role of unions; the industrial revolution; connection between economic and political freedom; separation between state and economics; legalization of drugs, prostitution, etc.; possible topic for next show: is man inherently good?

On the issue of being “too big to bail,” feel free to check out Alex Epstein’s article Too Big to Bail. Also related to the show, you can check out Yaron Brook’s article Are We All Socialists Now?.

The Morality of Gambling (Show 086)

Back from his trip to Seattle, Mosley returns this week to host the show. After querying the chat room for show topics, he and Arthur decide to discuss the morality of gambling.

Topics include: taking advantage of other people’s irrationality; gambling as not categorically immoral; gambling with false belief of luck vs. rational understanding or skill; gambling as possibly a form of rational recreation; gambling as skill or luck or combination of both; morality and responsibility of casino owners; analogy to bar owners and tobacco companies; fraud vs. asymmetric information; morality of card counting; stock markets and gambling; Arthur and Leonard Peikoff anecdote; playing the lotto.

Also, for those interested in the relevant topic of addiction, feel free to check out Show 056 where that is discussed (mp3, iTunes).

Shows 084 & 085

The past two shows have been focused on Egoism vs. Altruism (Show 084) & Arguments Against Philosophy (Show 085). I hope to get some show notes up on these shows shortly. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you next week!

Update: Arthur describes Show 085 as follows: “This episode addresses three arguments that are frequently given against being philosophical. They come primarily from the first half of the first lecture of Dr. Leonard Peikoff’s course, Understanding Objectivism.”

The Halloween Show (Show 083)

For Halloween weekend, Mosley and Arthur discuss various relevant topics starting with the supernatural then moving on to Halloween and the significance of the various activities surrounding it. Toward the end of the show, they discuss the election, which is almost here.

Being somewhat distracted in the chat room, I was not able to note all the topics, but they include: the supernatural; ghost stories for entertainment; philosophic significance of Halloween; dressing up and trick-or-treating; haunted houses; horror movies; fiction vs. non-fiction movies & TV shows; benevolent and malevolent universe premise; the election; Obama & religion; lesser of two evils; voting; and more.

We hope you enjoyed the show and will see you next week!