Episode 65: Dr. Walter Block

Dr. Walter Block is a libertarian scholar and professor at Loyola University New Orleans, and he is an author of two-dozen books. He is also a senior fellow at the Mises Institute. His work focuses on Austrian economics and libertarian political theory -- and he is not afraid to tackle thorny/unpopular topics.

In this episode, we started off by discussing Walter's early years in Brooklyn, where he was a classmate of Bernie Sanders' and later met Ayn Rand and her associates as an undergrad. He credits some conversations and meetings with them for opening his eyes to liberty and free markets. Walter was also a friend and mentee of the late Murray Rothbard's.

In addition to discussing some of the universities with Austrian economists in residence, we spent most of the episode talking about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Walter recently co-wrote a controversial op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal in which he defended Israel's actions and was highly critical of Palestinian-rights movements. We talked about some of theory as well as practical aspects of what he feels must be done in the wake of the October 7 attack on Israel.