EconTalk Podcast: Russ Roberts Debates Louis Michael Seidman
If it's Monday, it's release day for the popular and edifying EconTalk, a weekly hour-long podcast with Russ Roberts.
This week's release is a particularly lively argument over whether constitutional considerations about limited government or policy efficacy should guide how our laws and public policies are enacted. From the official writeup:
Louis Michael Seidman of Georgetown University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the United States Constitution. Seidman argues that the we should ignore the Constitution in designing public policy, relying instead on the merits of policy regardless of their constitutionality. Seidman defends his position by citing examples in the past where constitutionality has been ignored and says it would be better to recognize our disdain for the Constitution in a transparent way. In this lively conversation, Roberts pushes back against these ideas, citing the limits of reason and the dangers of using popular sentiment to determine policy.
Go here for the show's main page and incredible archive, which includes past shows with everyone from Vernon Smith to Virginia Postrel to Chris Anderson to Gary Taubes.