Summer Listening: Themes of Liberty In Sci-Fi Roundup

Over time our podcast series on Themes of Liberty in Sci-Fi has really grown, reflecting that of all the research academics have done on pop culture, that there is a heavy lean towards sci-fi. So for your summer listening enjoyment, we’ve put together a recap of all our podcasts on Liberty…

How to Deal With Grade Grubbers: An Instructional Essay

Almost every professor who has stood before a classroom has heard the standard lines before: “I worked really hard and put a lot of effort into this project,” or “I’m an A student who ALWAYS got straight A’s in high school,” or my personal favorite, “But I’m paying for this…

Weekly Top 5: The Future of Academia and Bottled Water

James R. Harrigan: Massachusetts, first cradle, then laboratory of democracy…one town bans the sale of bottled water, then another tries to ban swearing. The revolution is finally complete. Sarah Straw: More on the future of online higher education, from David Brooks Phil Magness: Sheldon Richman revisits Grover Cleveland’s December 1888…

How Libertarian are the Hunger Games?

Jeanne Hoffman talks with Professor Ilya Somin of George Mason Law School and Volokh Conspiracy about The Hunger Games, and the themes of liberty in this popular series of novels. Jeanne Hoffman:  Welcome to this Kosmos Online podcast. I’m Jeanne Hoffman. Today I’m talking about Hunger Games and Liberty with Ilya Somin, Associate Professor…

Podcast: Advice on Achieving Tenure from Dr. Mike Munger

In this KosmosOnline podcast, Jeanne Hoffman talks with Mike Munger about achieving tenure. Dr. Munger is a professor at Duke University in the political science and economics department and the school of public policy as well as a director of the joint UNC-Duke Philosophy, Politics and Economics program. Read “Scaling…

Did Tariffs Lead to the Civil War? Revisiting the Morrill Act 150 Years Later

Did protective tariffs play a role in causing the Civil War? This question, common among Civil War enthusiasts, touches on one of the most controversial and misunderstood debates about the causes of secession 150 years ago. The “tariff thesis” is often contentious because it can be seen as shifting focus…

Weekly Top 5: March 12

Bill Glod: Jessica Flanigan discusses feminism and libertarianism. James R. Harrigan: Even if his heart is in the right place (and I am by no means saying that it is), a candidate for the highest office in the land might want to think through the First Amendment implications of his…

Faculty Debate: Should Professors Allow Laptops In Class?

Editor’s note: Professor Michael Munger of Duke University thinks students should be allowed to bring laptops and other forms of technology into class. James R. Harrigan, Director of Academic Programs at IHS, doesn’t. This is Dr. Munger’s no-holds-barred argument for allowing laptops in class. Check back tomorrow for Dr. Harrigan’s…

FEE College Summer Seminars

Application deadline: CLOSED Applications will go live on January 1, 2012! Application Deadline: March 31, 2012 Since 1962, FEE has educated over 10,000 students at our annual seminar series. Join us this year as we continue the tradition and celebrate our 50th anniversary of seminars. We invite you to take part in…

Twelve Clicks of Christmas

The best XKCD links of the year! On the First Click of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me a link to an XKCD. On the Second Click of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me Two Gigs of spam And a link to an XKCD. On the Third Click…