In this Kosmos podcast, Dr. Craig Yirush talks about his new book Settlers, Liberty and Empire: The Roots of Early American Political Theory 1675 to 1775. Dr. Yirush, an associate professor of history at UCLA, tries to get away from the standard narrative of early American political theory which argues that the roots of political disagreement between the settlers and the British stem from the 1750's. Dr. Yirush believes the roots of political disagreement extend far before then.

Jeanne Hoffman interviews the new director of educational programs at the Institute for Humane Studies, Dr. Jennifer Thompson. Dr. Thompson discusses her new role and her path to IHS

In this Kosmos Podcast, Dr. James Stacey Taylor, author of Stakes and Kidneys: Why Markets in Human Body Parts Are Morally Imperative, dives into the philosophical and moral details of the recent court decision legalizing compensation for bone marrow donations. Dr. Taylor (shockingly) thinks this is a good result for everyone involved, and provides an outlook for markets in organs in the near future.

In this Kosmos podcast, Dr. Phil Magness brings along his friend Dr. Paul Weissberg to talk about teaching a course with another professor. Dr. Magness and Dr. Weissberg shared duties in teaching administrative policy at American University in 2008. Currently, Dr. Weissberg is an assistant professor of political science at Augustana College in Illinois. Dr. Magness and Dr. Weissberg explain whether team teaching has more pros than cons, what the specific advantages are, and how to decide who does the grading.

In this Kosmos Online podcast, I'm joined by Dr. David Skarbek, a Searle visiting assistant professor in political science at Duke University. Dr. Skarbek has done extensive research in prison gangs, and joins us to talk about how prison gangs provide "governance in the absence of government", how prison gangs incorporate written constitutions, and what his research means for the ideas of liberty.

In this Kosmos Online podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Steve Horwitz and Dr. Art Carden about writing for the media as academics. Dr. Carden is a professor of economics at Rhodes College and a contributor at Forbes, and Dr. Horwitz is the Charles A. Dana Professor and Chair of Economics at St. Lawrence University and contributor at The Freeman. Dr. Carden and Horwitz discuss writing op-eds, how to get involved with the media, how it mixes with their research, what kind of a time commitment writing can be, and how writing for the media has made them better academic writers.