2022: A Year of Cutting Through the Fog

In 2022, AdamSmithWorks has published 36 new Great Antidote episodes and shared a few gems from the archives (before the podcast came to ASW).  

Juliette Sellgren, the host, continues to seek out the facts behind the fog. As Adam Smith said, “Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.” As 2022 draws to a close, we can look back at the year. I hope you’ll find a new favorite or revisit an old one. Some of the topics covered in multiple episodes this year include the ideas surrounding the American founding, the historical and modern experience of Black Americans, modern conservatism, Objectivism, and cancel culture. 

What are some things we learned this year? First, we saw quite a few repeat guests, some on tightly related topics like 

But some of our repeat guests came for very different reasons like Timothy Sandefur on his new book on Frederick Douglass. His previous episode was on Privacy. And Peter Van Doren focused on Energy Independence this time - departure from his first episode on The Value of Life.

We had the opportunity to reshare episodes from the archives and highlight others on Speaking of Smith. All these episodes were recorded previous to The Great Antidote coming to AdamSmithWorks but we don’t want new listeners to have missed out on them.

Samuel Gregg on Christianity and Liberalism
Russ Roberts on How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

Several of the Great Antidote Extras were written by Liberty Fund interns over the summer including:
Tevi Troy on the U.S. Presidency
Don Boudreaux on Antitrust Laws
Sally Satel on Addiction

I'll also list some of my personal favorites, both new
Lauren Hall on the Medicalization of Birth and Death
Rachel Ferguson on Black Liberation Through the Marketplace
Walter Olson on Election Fraud
Matthew Continetti on The American Right

and old
Sarah Skwire on Pro-Market Literature and Feminism
Scott Winship on Poverty & Welfare

What’s one thing I’ve changed your mind about this year (you might be asking). Well, I have to admit when I first started listening to the podcast, I wasn't sure about the repetition of the opening and closing questions (what's one thing people in my [Juliette's] generation should know, what's something you've changed your mind about). But, as I've listened to more, I appreciate those touchpoints, especially when guests taken a moment to talk about something beyond or bigger than the narrower topic of their specific episode. Some guests do treat it as another talking point moment (which is fine!) but there are also deep human responses about our necessary humility surrounding our beliefs about religion, human nature, ideals, and love. These insights are worth waiting for.  

If you want to know more about the Great Antidote you can read, “Introducing The Great Antidote Podcast with Juliette Sellgren,”  check out our midyear 2022 summary, Great Antidote Favorites Five Months In, or you can just press “play” on any episode that seems interesting to you. 

If you’re a regular listener, please let us know what you’ve liked. If you haven’t listened before, let us know which ones sound most interesting. And if you have suggestions for guests, please drop a comment below.