#457 – Jennifer Burns: Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, Economics, Capitalism, Freedom

Lex Fridman Podcast

Jennifer Burns is a historian of ideas, focusing on the evolution of economic, political, and social ideas in the United States in the 20th century. She wrote two biographies, one on Milton Friedman, and the other on Ayn Rand.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep457-sc
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/jennifer-burns-transcript

CONTACT LEX:
Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact

EPISODE LINKS:
Jennifer’s X: https://x.com/profburns
Jennifer’s Website: https://www.jenniferburns.org

Jennifer’s Books:
Milton Friedman biography: https://amzn.to/4hfy1HO
Ayn Rand biography: https://amzn.to/4afr3A0

SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
Brain.fm: Music for focus.
Go to https://brain.fm/lex
GitHub: Developer platform and AI code editor.
Go to https://gh.io/copilot
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
Go to https://shopify.com/lex
AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drinks.
Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex

OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(10:05) – Milton Friedman
(24:58) – The Great Depression
(39:15) – Schools of economic thought
(50:22) – Keynesian economics
(58:10) – Laissez-faire
(1:06:00) – Friedrich Hayek
(1:11:18) – Money and monetarism
(1:26:03) – Stagflation
(1:30:56) – Moral case for capitalism
(1:34:53) – Freedom
(1:39:51) – Ethics of competition
(1:43:37) – Win-win solutions
(1:45:26) – Corruption
(1:47:51) – Government intervention
(1:54:10) – Conservatism
(2:00:33) – Donald Trump
(2:03:09) – Inflation
(2:07:38) – DOGE
(2:12:58) – Javier Milei
(2:18:03) – Richard Nixon
(2:25:17) – Ronald Reagan
(2:28:24) – Cryptocurrency
(2:43:40) – Ayn Rand
(2:51:18) – The Fountainhead
(3:02:58) – Sex and power dynamics
(3:19:04) – Evolution of ideas in history
(3:26:32) – Postmodernism
(3:37:33) – Advice to students
(3:45:50) – Lex reflects on Volodymyr Zelenskyy interview

PODCAST LINKS:
– Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
– Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
– Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
– RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
– Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4
– Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips