Happy Hour Econ
Happy Hour Econ is a weekly podcast from Free To Choose Network that pairs comedian Lou Perez with economist Phil Magness. They use a relaxed, bar-room style to explain economic topics like inflation, rising costs, and government programs. The show aims to make economics honest rather than overly simple, mixing punchlines with evidence and clear-eyed analysis. Each episode cuts through political promises and media panic to show how basic economic principles shape everyday life.
Episodes
Majoring in Debt
Ah, college. A time for late-night study sessions, questionable roommates, and, of course, finding yourself. But what happens when the bill for all that soul-searching comes due? With new rules set to limit federal loans for degrees that don’t earn enough, Lou and Phil take a hard look at the economics of higher ed: who’s paying the bill, who’s cashing in, and whether a diploma is worth the price.
The History and Costs of Slavery in America
Last week, Lou and Phil looked at the claim that American capitalism was built on slavery. This week, they turn to what slavery actually cost, both to the enslaved people who were denied any choice in their own work and to a Southern economy that fell far behind the North. Along the way, they look at why the American founding set much of the country on a path to abolition, and why forced labor sti
Slavery, Capitalism, and the Historical Record
A recent CNN debate put a pointed question before a national audience. Is capitalism bound up with racism and slavery? Slavery predates writing, and it predates capitalism by thousands of years, yet a growing body of scholarship argues that the modern American economy rests on the forced labor of enslaved people. In this week's Happy Hour Econ, Lou and Phil test those claims against the historical
Sanctions Impossible
Nothing says we're doing something quite like a fresh round of economic sanctions. They're cheap, they're popular, and they let politicians look tough without adding much pain at home for Americans. But do they actually work? From Iran to Cuba, with oil tankers quietly dodging the rules in between, Lou and Phil look at who really ends up picking up the tab when a nation gets cut off. Pour somethin
Oh, Canada
Somewhere between tariffs, resurrected 1930s legislation, and a rebranded Great Lake, the United States decided to start a trade war with its most polite neighbor. Section 338 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act—yes, that Smoot-Hawley—has been dusted off from the legislative graveyard to justify slapping Canada with tariffs nobody can quite explain the reasoning behind. Lou and Phil sort through the le
Dolly Parton: An American Success Story
Dolly Parton was so beloved that her passing briefly brought the nation together. She was a country music icon and savvy entrepreneur who built a genuine business empire from a childhood spent in a one-room Appalachian cabin. Lou and Phil look at how she held onto her publishing rights when so many artists signed them away, turned a struggling stretch of Tennessee into a tourism powerhouse with Do
Not In My Cloud (Or Backyard)
Is it "dā-ta center" or "dăt-a center"? Lou and Phil can't agree, but they're united on one thing: these giant server farms have become the most contested real estate in America. Between grid strain, water bills, and surveillance worries, there's plenty to be suspicious of, and just as many overblown claims borrowed straight from old fights over Bitcoin and net neutrality. Settle into your favorit
No Edu-crats Left Behind
More money, more administrators, worse outcomes—that's the trend line in American education, and Lou and Phil want to know how everyone keeps missing it. They talk about school choice as an actual accountability mechanism, why a college diploma isn't automatically worth its debt, and why the guy in charge of the budget has zero incentive to leave any of it unspent. Lou and Phil deliver the full le
Speakeasy Economics
Free speech and free markets run on the same fuel: information. When the government steps in to control what can and can't be said, it's not just a free speech problem—it's an economic one, stifling the open exchange that lets markets and democracy both function. Lou and Phil explore the long, messy history of speech suppression in America, from Alexander Hamilton's grudge against newspaper editor
Jones Act, Dead Weight
The Jones Act has been quietly taxing Americans for over a century, and it's finally getting some attention now that it's been suspended since March. Lou and Phil trace this WWI-era shipping law from its origins as a favor to a handful of politically connected shipbuilders to its very costly present-day legacy in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and beyond. From there they turn to tariffs, where Phil makes hi
You'll Own Nothing (And Like It)
"You will own nothing and be happy." That was one politician's prediction for 2030, floated in an essay for the World Economic Forum in 2016. Between Amazon Prime deciding which movies you get to keep and every song, show, and subscription living somewhere in a cloud you don't control, we might already be there. Lou and Phil trace it all back to Thomas Jefferson's edit of John Locke's theory of li
Taco 'Bout a Recall
Something's rotten in the produce aisle. Or at least, something is sending half the country's stomachs into open revolt. As a cyclosporiasis outbreak takes down Taco Bell's lettuce supply (and a lot of taco fans along with it), it's turning into more than just a recall story. Lou and Phil trace the whole thing back to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, the FDA's surprisingly cynical origin story, and wh
Cool Hand Lou (and Phil)
It's the peak of summer, and while half the country is cranking the AC, the mayor of New York is asking his constituents to embrace the heat for the good of the grid. Meanwhile, across the pond, entire cities are stuck sweating it out... in restaurants, hotels, even hospitals... because installing an air conditioner has become a bureaucratic nightmare. Is staying cool really the enemy of climate p
World Cup Runneth Over
The World Cup has landed on American soil (with a little help from Canada and Mexico), and suddenly the whole world is discovering what U.S. locals take for granted—free refills, blasting AC, and the sheer, unbottled majesty of a Buc-ee's. But amid all the cultural exchange and ranch dressing diplomacy, there's a bigger question lurking behind the confetti: is hosting the world's biggest sporting
Who Wants to Be a Trillionaire?
Elon Musk is officially the world's first trillionaire. Cue the outrage. But Lou and Phil aren't exactly reaching for the pitchforks. That’s because when you actually look at where that wealth comes from, the story gets a lot more complicated than the internet would have you believe. From Starlink satellites spooking people in the night sky to SpaceX cafeteria workers sitting on surprise fortunes,
No Taxation Without Representation (We Mean It)
Happy Birthday, America! What better way to celebrate 250 years than by arguing about taxes? Turns out the Founders had some thoughts on the matter. Lou and Phil dig into the surprisingly economic origins of the American Revolution, and why the tariff debate happening right now looks a lot more familiar than anyone in D.C. wants to admit. Also, was the Revolution actually just class warfare agains
In Fed We Trust (Sort Of)
The Federal Reserve: everyone's heard of it, nobody really knows what it does, and somehow it controls your mortgage rate. Lou and Phil crack open the black box of America's central bank—what it's supposed to do, and its, uh, mixed track record of actually doing it. Also: is there a world where it just… doesn't exist?
Lights, Camera, No Thanks
Hollywood has a problem. Star Wars just posted its worst domestic opening in the Disney era, the cost of an afternoon or night out at the multiplex keeps climbing, and somewhere in a boardroom, nobody seems to be connecting the dots. Lou and Phil grab a seat to break down why the movie industry keeps flooding the market with slop, ignoring the sovereign consumer, and acting surprised when nobody s
That’ll Cost You
Vacations? In this economy? Rising inflation, spikes in fuel prices, airline closures (RIP Spirit Airlines), and a whole host of other factors have people feeling the budget crunch as schools let out and summer looms. But we all need a break sometimes, so we just put the plane tickets—or admission fees or tanks of gas or nice lunches—on the credit card. Convenient, sure, but at what cost? Join com
Tax the Rich!
We already tax the rich. Like, a lot. The top 1% pays over 40% of their income in federal taxes while shouldering more than 80% of the federal government's revenue. So why does everyone keep yelling "tax the rich" and "pay your fair share" as though it's not already happening? Lou and Phil follow the money and the rhetoric to uncover who's really behind the push for wealth taxes, what they're actu
California, You Used To Be Cool
Used to be, California was a land of freedom and opportunity. A place where you could go to escape the oppressive regulatory regimes of the East. Today, it’s a different story. “Petty” crimes get ignored while burdensome regulations are strictly enforced. The money from high taxes gets spent on projects that never materialize. Join Lou and Phil as they chat about the absolute state of California o
Housing Histrionics
“The rent is too darn high.” We hear a lot about a “housing affordability crisis” in the U.S. And to be fair, in some places around the country, particularly certain urban areas, the cost to rent or buy a place to live is very steep. But not everywhere. So what’s really going on here? Is it a supply-and-demand issue? Landlords and sellers just being greedy? NIMBYs run amok? Well, it’s complicated.
Food Desert Desertion?
Look, we all need to eat. Where there are people, there is a built-in demand for sustenance. Therefore, the existence of “food deserts” is obviously the result of late-stage capitalism deliberately keeping nutrition away from certain groups of people. Right? Well, no. In this week’s Happy Hour Econ, Lou and Phil are cooking up a spicy look at what’s behind how we feed ourselves.
...To The Moon!
With the successful execution of Artemis II, manned space exploration is back on the scene. But sending humans to the moon raises a whole host of questions. Why are we doing this? Why did we ever do this? Should we be spending money on it? Who owns the moon, anyway? And what does any of it have to do with Spaghetti Westerns? Join your favorite space-cases, Lou and Phil, as they boldly go where no
In The Weed(s)
It’s 4/20, and you know what that means! Love it, hate it, or fall somewhere in the middle, the simple fact is that marijuana—or cannabis, or weed, or even the Devil’s Lettuce—is having a very real moment. But how did we go from Reefer Madness-levels of social stigma to sleek, sophisticated dispensaries that will deliver directly to your door? Join Lou and Phil for this blazing episode of Happy Ho
Viva Las Vegas
If you tried to describe Las Vegas, Nevada, to someone who’d never heard of it, the city would seem like a fever dream lifted straight out of a completely unhinged novel. In the middle of a desolate desert landscape, a glittering oasis rises as though from nowhere, filled with every form of entertainment and vice you could hope for, all cleverly designed to keep you there for as long as possible.
The Population Dud
What happens when bold predictions of global catastrophe meet…reality? In this episode of Happy Hour Econ, a comedian and an economist take a hilarious yet insightful deep dive into The Population Bomb and the legacy of Paul Ehrlich’s infamous overpopulation predictions.Lou and Phil dive into why humanity stubbornly refused to starve (thanks, innovation!), how government policies sometimes make th
Don't Bust My Gas
Why are gas prices so high—and why does it feel like they never come back down? In this episode of Happy Hour Econ, comedian Lou Perez and economist Phil Magness break down the real reasons behind rising gas prices, from global oil supply shocks to foreign policy chaos and everything in between.With humor and sharp economic insight, they explore how events like conflict in the Middle East, disrupt
Busted Brackets
This week on Happy Hour Econ, the brackets are busted, the probabilities are brutal, and your leftover lasagna might actually have better odds than your Final Four picks.Why is it nearly impossible to pick a perfect March Madness bracket? How does the NCAA make billions—and who actually gets paid? And what do your fridge leftovers have to do with economic theory?In this episode of Happy Hour Econ,
Not Today, DSA
In this episode of Happy Hour Econ, comedian Lou Perez and economist Phil Magness walk into a bar… and accidentally start a 25-minute debate about socialism. Oops.With the Democratic Socialists of America hitting 100,000 members and socialism suddenly trending with younger generations, Lou asks the obvious question: Why?The conversation also touches on socialism vs capitalism, the role of markets
Trains in Vain
Why do Americans not choo-choo-choose trains?In this episode of Happy Hour Econ, comedian Lou Perez and economist Phil Magness climb aboard the great American train debate and ask a simple question: Why does everyone on the internet suddenly want bullet trains?From Lou’s beer-blurred European train adventures to Phil’s deep dive into railroad history, they explore why train travel works in Europe
Tariff Whiffs
In this episode of Happy Hour Econ, comedian Lou Perez and economist Phil Magness swap Olympic highlights for tariff takedowns—and somehow make constitutional law feel like a bar bet you didn’t know you were placing.While the rest of America was celebrating gold medals, Phil was glued to a different showdown: the Supreme Court smacking down President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Tariff Liberation Day”
Boycott This Episode
Are you boycotting us right now?From the Boston Tea Party to the Super Bowl halftime show heard ’round the internet (featuring global superstar Bad Bunny), the guys break down what boycotts are, how they work, and why simply changing the channel may not be the revolutionary act you think it is.The conversation dives into the real-world impact of boycotts in Puerto Rico, including how shipping regu
It Takes an Olympic Village
What’s the real cost of hosting the Winter Olympics? Why do cities go billions into debt for two weeks of figure skating and curling? And are Olympic gold medals actually… plastic?In this laugh-out-loud episode of Happy Hour Econ, comedian Lou Perez and economist Phil Magness break down the economics of the Olympic Games, exposing the financial myths, political drama, and corruption scandals behin
ARTificial Intelligence
Can artificial intelligence replace artists, comedians, or even George Carlin? 🤖🍸In this episode of Happy Hour Econ, comedian Lou Perez and economist Phil Magnus dive into the economics of AI, creativity, and art—while trying to figure out if robots are coming for Lou’s stand-up career. From AI-generated comedy specials and deepfake celebrity voices to copyright law, creative authenticity, and whe
You Can Call Me A.I.
Is ChatGPT a productivity tool, a plagiarism machine, or the first step toward a robot apocalypse?On this episode of Happy Hour Econ, comedian Lou Perez and economist Phil Magness dive into how machines still can’t think like humans (or write a good term paper), how creative destruction has always reshaped the economy, and why nuclear power is suddenly back in the conversation. AI is already impac
WTF is the WEF?
WTF is the World Economic Forum—and why does it feel like every James Bond villain vacations there?From global elites and technocrats to climate change policy, net zero, and the infamous “you’ll own nothing and be happy” slogan, we unpack the biggest ideas—and strangest headlines—coming out of Davos. Topics include credit card interest rate caps, usury, central planning, AI-driven technocracy, cli
Service, Please!
How much should you tip a bartender, waiter, delivery driver, or barista—and why does tipping feel so awkward now? In this episode of Happy Hour Econ, comedian Lou Perez and economist Phil Magness break down the economics of tipping, America’s tipping culture, why tip screens seem to be everywhere, and how that iPad that definitely judged you.
The Warmth of Collectivism
Cuddling in a warm blanket with your family…to prevent yourself from freezing in your rent controlled apartment. Is this the “Warmth of Collectivism” that everyone is talking about? Join your hosts as the break down the economic reality on NYC’s latest craze.
New Year, New Gym
What are you REALLY buying with that gym membership to ring in the New Year? From limiting social media to working out, your New Year’s resolutions have both economic and social impacts. What are they? Find out on the latest episode of Happy Hour Econ.
The Almost True Meaning of Christmas
No more Black Friday stampedes…humbug!Let Comedian Lou Perez, and Economist Phil Magness guide your sleigh though the surprising economics of the Christmas season. From the downfall of Black Friday madness to dealing with cheap gifts and the signals they send, pull up a stool, pour a drink, and have a shot of economic reality with the debut episode of Happy Hour Econ.
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Deadline: White House
