Podcast

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar: A History of Economics Podcast

History, Science, Social Sciences

Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar is hosted by historians of economic thought Jennifer Jhun, François Allisson, and Çınla Akdere. Each month, the hosts discuss themes related to economics, its history and methodology, and its relevance to contemporary affairs.

Episodes
100
Releases
Monthly
Typical length
55 min
On air since
2018
Latest episode
2 weeks ago

Episodes

100 episodes, newest first

  1. Episode 104: Mathew Frith

    Season 9, Episode 9

    Show notes

    Çinla, François, and Jennifer chat with Professor Mathew Frith of the University of New England (Australia) about his recently published book, America's Neglected Protectionist Tradition: The Economics That Forged a Nation. The book discusses the American protectionist school of economic thought, which grew out of the writings of Alexander Hamilton and Tench Coxe, and remained prominent throughout the nineteenth century.

    Listeners interested in reading Mathew's book can purchase it at a 20% discount using the code below.

    North America Rest of the World

    Discount Code: ANP20

    We would love to hear your feedback on this episode and other topics. Send us a message: smithandmarx1@gmail.com.

    52 min
  2. Episode 103: Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay

    Season 9, Episode 8

    Show notes

    Jennifer, Çinla, and François are joined by Professor Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay from the University of Lorraine to discuss his work on the intersection of economic methodology and the history of economic thought. Topics include the genealogy of homo economicus, John Rawls's engagement with economic theory, and Richard Musgrave's work on the U.S. tax burden.

    We would love to hear your feedback on this episode and other topics. Send us a message: smithandmarx1@gmail.com.

    1 hr
  3. Episode 102: Adventures in HET Podcasting with Maria Bach and Scott Scheall

    Season 9, Episode 7

    Show notes

    In this first-ever crossover episode with our friends at Ceteris Never Paribus: The History of Economic Thought Podcast, François interviews our producer and former co-host Scott Scheall and CNP host and producer Maria Bach. The discussion offers a behind-the-scenes look at the origins, inspirations, and histories of both shows. The creators discuss their contrasting formats, the academic value of podcasting, and the stories behind the birth of both programs.

    1 hr 8 min
  4. Episode 101: Aida Ramos

    Season 9, Episode 6

    Show notes

    Çinla and Jennifer interview Aida Ramos, Professor of Economics at the University of Dallas, about her work on Jonathan Swift's economic thought, Sir James Steuart, Adam Smith, as well as Oikonomos, her new undergraduate journal in the history of economic thought.

    1 hr 5 min
  5. Episode One Hundred

    Season 9, Episode 5

    Show notes

    To celebrate our 100th episode, Jennifer, Çınla, and François welcome back former co-hosts Scott Scheall, Gerardo Serra, and Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak to discuss the past, present, and future of Smith and Marx Walk into a Bar: A History of Economics Podcast.

    1 hr 12 min
  6. Episode Ninety Nine

    Season 9, Episode 4

    Show notes

    In this episode, François, Jennifer, and Çınla speak with Benoît Walraevens, Lecturer in Economics at the University of Caen Normandy, about his work on Adam Smith, John Rawls, and Thomas Piketty.

    47 min
  7. Episode Ninety Eight

    Season 9, Episode 3

    Show notes

    Çınla, François, and Jennifer interview Paul Dudenhefer, Managing Editor of both Politics & Society, a quarterly journal published by Sage, and History of Political Economy, the leading journal in the history of economic thought. Paul has spent much of his career in or around Duke University's Center for the History of Political Economy, and has been a much-loved member of the history of economics community for over twenty years. Topics include Paul's work as a writer and editor, his experiences in and perspective on the field of history of economics, and especially the academic-writing workshops that he's taught for several years on behalf of the Journal of the History of Economic Thought.

    53 min
  8. Episode Ninety Seven: Verena Halsmayer

    Season 9, Episode 2

    Show notes

    Jennifer and François Allisson chat with Verena Halsmayer, University Assistant in the Department of History at the University of Vienna. The conversation focuses on Dr. Halsmayer's award-winning book, Managing Growth in Miniature: Solow's Model as an Artifact (Cambridge University Press, 2024), which explores the historical and technical development of Robert Solow's famous economic growth model. Other topics include Halsmayer's work on "Interventionist Social Knowledge" and "alternative economic planning."

    55 min
  9. Episode Ninety Six

    Season 9, Episode 1

    Show notes

    Jennifer and François are joined by our first return guest, Catherine Herfeld, Professor of Philosophy and History of Economics at the Institute of Philosophy at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany. Catherine first appeared on the show in Episode 29 in February 2020. Topics discussed in this more recent episode include Catherine's work on the history and philosophy of rational choice theory, her forthcoming book Conversations on Rational Choice, and some of her latest work on the topic of model transfer.

    54 min
  10. Episode Ninety Five: Literature Review 2025

    Season 8, Episode 10

    Show notes

    François, Jennifer, and Çınla discuss a few recent additions to the literature.

    If you are interested in reading the papers discussed in this episode, here they are (unfortunately, some may be behind paywalls):

    Freedom, State, and Market: The Real Worlds of Economic Planning

    Angus Hebenton and Martin O'Neill

    To Change or Not to Change. The Evolution of Forecasting Models at the Bank of England

    Aurélien Goutsmedt, Francesco Sergi, Béatrice Cherrier, Juan Acosta, Clément Fontan, and François Claveau

    Piero Sraffa and Counterfactuals: A View from Sraffa's Unpublished Papers in the Late 1920s

    Heinz D. Kurz, Neri Salvadori, and Rodolfo Signorino

    43 min
  11. Episode Ninety Four: Early-Career Scholars 2025

    Season 8, Episode 9

    Show notes

    The co-hosts are joined by three Junior Fellows at Duke University's Center for the History of Political Economy, Benjamin Brisson, Eva Jacob, and Raphaël Orange-Leroy, to discuss their interests in the history of economic thought, their experiences in graduate school, and their research projects.

    1 hr 21 min
  12. Episode Ninety Three: Peter Boettke

    Season 8, Episode 8

    Show notes

    François and Jennifer are joined by Peter Boettke, Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University (among other titles), to discuss his unique and influential teacher, Kenneth Boulding, the history of the Socialist Calculation Debate, and the possible significance of artificial intelligence for the future of political economy.

    1 hr 4 min
  13. Episode Ninety Two: Haro Maas

    Season 8, Episode 7

    Show notes

    The hosts meet with Harro Maas, Professor in the Walras-Pareto Centre for the History of Economic and Political Thought at the University of Lausanne, to discuss several of his contributions to the literature.

    1 hr 23 min
  14. Episode Ninety One: Giandomenica Becchio

    Season 8, Episode 6

    Show notes

    In this month's episode, Jennifer, Çınla, and François interview Giandomenica Becchio, Professor in the Department of Economics, Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Statistics at the University of Torino, about her 2024 book Political Economy and Economics: Gender Equality and Classical Liberalism (Palgrave).

    54 min
  15. Episode Ninety: Jennifer Burns

    Season 8, Episode 5

    Show notes

    François, Jenn, and Çınla speak with Jennifer Burns, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Admissions in the History Department at Stanford University, about her book Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative (2023).

    59 min
  16. Episode Eighty Nine: Alexander Linsbichler

    Season 8, Episode 4

    Show notes

    Çınla, François, and Jennifer are joined by Alexander Linsbichler, Senior Postdoc with the Institute of Philosophy and Scientific Method at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, and Lecturer of Philosophy and Economics at the University of Vienna, to discuss his work on rational reconstruction as a philosophical method, Austrian Economics, and the Vienna Circle of Logical Positivism.

    1 hr 20 min
  17. Episode Eighty Eight: André Lapidus

    Season 8, Episode 3

    Show notes

    Jennifer, Çınla, and François talk with André Lapidus, Professor Emeritus of the History of Economic Thought in the Laboratoire PHARE at University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, regarding his work on David Hume, the history of ideas about usury, and economic historiography.

    1 hr 23 min
  18. Episode Eighty Seven: Sandra Peart

    Season 8, Episode 2

    Show notes

    The co-hosts are joined by Professor Sandra Peart to discuss her many and varied contributions to the history of economic thought. Professor Peart is Dean and E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies and President of the Jepson Scholars Foundation at the University of Richmond. She is also the most recently named Distinguished Fellow of the History of Economics Society, which the Society confers on those who have contributed a lifetime of study to the history of economics. Topics include Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, James Buchanan, and, of course, her esteemed co-author, David Levy.

    1 hr 16 min
  19. Episode Eighty Six: Kayoko Misaki

    Season 8, Episode 1

    Show notes

    Jennifer, François, and Çınla talk with Professor Kayoko Misaki, Professor of Economics at Shiga University in Hikone, Japan, about her recent book, Léon Walras's Economic Thought: The General Equilibrium Theory in Historical Perspective.

    40 min
  20. Episode Eighty Five: Revue de la littérature

    Season 7, Episode 11

    Show notes

    Çınla, François, and Jennifer discuss a number of recent additions to the literature.

    If you are interested in reading the papers discussed in this episode, here they are (unfortunately, some may be behind paywalls):

    Today's economics: one, no one and one hundred thousand

    Angela Ambrosino, Mario Cedrini & John B. Davis

    Neither Populist nor Neoclassical: The Classical Roots of the Competition Principle in American Antitrust Law

    Nicola Giocoli

    Before NBER: Warren Nutter's Soviet Research at the CIA

    Daniel Kuehn

    49 min

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