The Human Progress Podcast

00:47:11

The Mental Health Paradox | Jonathan Alpert | Ep. 85

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/09/30

Americans have never been more aware of mental health. Therapy is more accessible, psychiatric diagnoses are more common, and the language of trauma and self-care has entered everyday life. Yet by many measures, mental health in America appears to be worsening.In his new book, Therapy Nation: How America Got Hooked on Therapy and Why It’s Left Us More Anxious and Divided, psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert argues that the mental health profession may be partly responsible for that paradox.In this

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00:51:50

Growth vs. Redistribution in the Fight Against...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/09/11

The United States has spent decades trying to reduce poverty through an expanding social safety net. But how much of the country’s progress against poverty is thanks to that redistribution, and how much has come from economic growth?In a recent paper, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Kevin Corinth and economist Richard Burkhauser examine nearly a century of American poverty trends. They find that poverty was already falling rapidly before the War on Poverty began, when government

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01:10:46

How Markets Make Us Better People | Walker Wright |...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/08/18

Our research fellow Chelsea Follett speaks with Walker Wright about the moral character of markets, the relationship between economic freedom and good behavior, the effects of commerce on prejudice and violence, and why buying and selling from one another may help make us better people.

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01:00:58

Progress and the Price System | Brian Albrecht | Ep. 82

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/07/31

Our editor Marian Tupy speaks with economist Brian Albrecht about the role of prices in modern prosperity.They discuss why price controls fail, whether scarcity can ever truly disappear, the difference between large companies and monopolies, price discrimination, and the underappreciated ways in which competitive markets enrich our lives.Dr. Brian C. Albrecht is the chief economist at the International Center for Law & Economics and author of the Economic Forces newsletter.

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00:55:19

The Myth of American Decline | Michael Strain | Ep. 81

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/07/10

Our managing editor Chelsea Follett speaks with economist Michael Strain about the myth of American decline and the dangers of populism. They discuss the rise of populism on the left and right, the evidence that American living standards have improved, why inequality does not explain today’s political discontent, and how policies built on a false diagnosis of national failure could undermine the prosperity and opportunity they promise to restore.

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00:35:01

Rethinking the Gilded Age | Brian Domitrovic | Ep. 80

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/06/12

The Gilded Age has become one of the most common analogies for our own time, invoked as shorthand for economic inequality and political corruption. But that comparison misses much of what made the period extraordinary. After the Civil War, the United States experienced an incredible period of economic growth that completely transformed American life and landscapes.In this episode of The Human Progress Podcast, economic historian Brian Domitrovic joins our managing editor Chelsea Follett to discuss

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00:54:31

The System That Feeds Us | Jan Dutkiewicz | Ep. 79

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/05/26

The industrial food system is often treated as a symbol of everything people distrust about modernity: too processed, too corporate, too artificial, and too detached from land and labor.That critique obscures one of the greatest achievements in human history: modern food production has made food cheaper, safer, more abundant, and more varied than ever before.In this episode of The Human Progress Podcast, Adam Omary speaks with political scientist Jan Dutkiewicz about his new book Feed the People:

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00:55:50

What Climate Science Really Says | Roger Pielke Jr. |...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/05/08

Roger Pielke Jr. joins Marian Tupy to discuss the latest climate research and how to think clearly about climate change.

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00:58:57

America's Turn Against Markets | Samuel Gregg | Ep. 76

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/04/24

Samuel Gregg joins Chelsea Follett to discuss the rise of a more interventionist economic consensus and the case for markets in modern America.Check out his book, The Next American Economy: Nation, State, and Markets in an Uncertain World.

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01:03:11

Meaning and Morality in the Modern Age

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/03/24

Steven Pinker joins Marian Tupy to discuss the so-called "crisis of meaning," the decline of religion, and what can give life purpose in a modern, largely secular world.

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01:12:06

Discontent in the Age of Plenty | Brink Lindsey | Ep. 74

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/02/27

Our editor Marian Tupy speaks with writer and policy scholar Brink Lindsey about his new book The Permanent Problem: The Uncertain Transition from Mass Plenty to Mass Flourishing.They discuss why material abundance produces dissatisfaction, the decline of marriage and community, bureaucratic stagnation, and the cultural and institutional innovations needed to produce mass satisfaction without scarcity.

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01:10:45

Environmentalism Without Degrowth | Zion Lights | Ep. 73

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/02/10

Environmentalists often claim that solving climate change requires scarcity: less energy, less consumption, and less economic growth.Zion Lights, a former radical environmentalist, now argues the opposite—that energy abundance is necessary for both thriving human societies and environmental protection. Her latest book, Energy Is Life, tells the story of her journey from Extinction Rebellion activist to outspoken advocate for nuclear power.In this episode of The Human Progress Podcast, Zion Lights

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00:59:06

The Pattern Behind History's Golden Ages | Johan...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/01/23

Johan Norberg examines the conditions that create human flourishing and why golden ages so often come to an end.Buy his book, Peak Human.

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01:17:21

The Misdiagnosis of American Mental Health | Chris...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2026/01/09

Psychologist Chris Ferguson joins Adam Omary to discuss American mental health, cognitive biases, and the dangers of narrative overreach.Buy his book, Catastrophe!: How Psychology Explains Why Good People Make Bad Situations Worse.Read his article on loneliness.

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01:01:12

American Poverty Is a Measurement Problem | Scott...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2025/12/19

Scott Winship joins Marian Tupy to discuss how bad measurement choices distort the picture of poverty and inequality in the United States.

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00:53:58

The New Right Manufactures Misery

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2025/12/08

Yaron Brook joins Marian Tupy to discuss the pessimistic populism of the New Right.

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00:53:31

Milei Midterms: An Update on Argentina | Marcos...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2025/11/14

Policy analyst Marcos Falcone joins Chelsea Follett to discuss Milei’s recent electoral success and the economic reforms he might pursue using this new political leverage.

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01:12:35

How Liberty Made Progress Possible | Peter Boettke |...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2025/10/09

Peter Boettke joins Marian Tupy to examine the institutional foundations of the modern world. Check out his book, The Historical Path to Liberty and Human Progress.

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00:43:27

Authoritarian Threats to Campus Free Speech | Sarah...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2025/09/26

Sarah McLaughlin joins Chelsea Follett to discuss the rising influence of foreign authoritarian governments on college campuses.Check out her book, Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech.Please note that we recorded this interview before Kirk’s murder, so he is not mentioned, though we believe that event makes conversations like this one even more relevant.

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00:35:15

Growth Comes From Ideas, Not Degrees | Bryan Caplan |...

The Human Progress Podcast ·

2025/08/29

Bryan Caplan joins Marian Tupy to discuss the relationship between formal education and innovation.Check out his book, The Case against Education.

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