You know Adam Smith and Milton Friedman—but what about the economists whose ideas quietly kept the free market running? These overlooked thinkers shaped modern economic life, yet rarely receive the recognition they deserve. "Unsung Heroes of the Market: The 24 Underrated Economists You Need to Know," edited by Robert M. Whaples, shines a spotlight on these remarkable minds—from Julian Simon, who overturned doomsday thinking about natural resources by seeing human ingenuity as the ultimate resource to Thomas Sowell, whose cultural insights often fly under the radar. Written by leading scholars of liberty and economic policy, this collection invites readers to discover or rediscover the economists whose ideas laid the groundwork for today’s free society.

With California electricity demand growing exponentially, why is the state holding so tenaciously to its ban on new nuclear power plants? Why has California closed itself off from the largest source of carbon-free power generation in the United States? On this episode of Independent Conversations, we talk with energy researcher and author, Paige Lambermont, who answers these questions, and more, in connection with her recently published California Golden Fleece Report.

When U.S. and Israeli bombs fall on Iran, and Iranian bombs then strike American regional bases and even ritzy hotels in Dubai, it sure looks like war. Did the President have the authority for this war under the Constitution? Defenders of Trump’s power say it’ll be worth a little constitutional slippage if things turn out well. Is a happy ending likely? Ivan Eland, Williamson Evers, and Graham Walker address these questions and more on this episode of Independent Conversations.

Could society manage if we didn’t have a government forcing us to do things? Would everything descend into chaos? Or are there resources in our human nature that enable us to adjust ourselves lawfully to one another, even when state enforcement is not looming in the background? In this episode of Independent Conversations, Prof. Aeon Skoble makes the case for no government …and makes that case better than you might expect.

The U.S. Supreme Court has invalidated President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to implement tariffs. What does the Court’s ruling mean? And what’s next for tariffs, and for presidential powers more generally?

We explore these questions on this episode of Independent Conversations, featuring Dr. Phillip Magness. Magness holds Independent’s David J. Theroux Chair in Political Economy, and is one of a handful of people who actually got the ball rolling on this case.

Our own Christopher Briggs has been on a crusade to save his daughter from, not only cancer, but also Obamacare, the disastrously expensive government health insurance program that also denied her coverage twice in a three-year period. What can be done to get the government out of the business of imposing medical serfdom on the American people? How can we escape the trainwreck that is the Affordable Care Act? This series is a father’s hunt for answers....

Guest: Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute.

Between the onslaught of federal immigration enforcement, and organized resistance to it, Minneapolis is being pushed to the brink. What made Minneapolis more of a crucible than other cities? Do anti-ICE protestors have a right to carry arms into the turmoil? Does the State of Minnesota have a right to resist federal agents? Can the powder keg be defused? We tackle these questions and more on this episode of Independent Conversations.

Drawing on insights from his forthcoming book, The Independent Guide to the Constitution: Original Intentions, Modern Inventions, author William J. Watkins, Jr. will explore the history and distortions of key constitutional provisions with Independent Institute President Graham Walker.