Jennifer Burns: Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, Economics, Capitalism, Freedom | Lex Fridman Podcast #457

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: lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep457-sb
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

Transcript:
lexfridman.com/jennifer-burns-transcript

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

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

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

SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
Brain.fm: Music for focus.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/brainfm-ep457-sb
GitHub: Developer platform and AI code editor.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/github-ep457-sb
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep457-sb
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep457-sb
AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drinks.
Go to lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep457-sb

OUTLINE:
0:00 - Introduction
0:48 - Milton Friedman
15:41 - The Great Depression
29:58 - Schools of economic thought
41:05 - Keynesian economics
48:53 - Laissez-faire
56:43 - Friedrich Hayek
1:02:01 - Money and monetarism
1:16:46 - Stagflation
1:21:39 - Moral case for capitalism
1:25:35 - Freedom
1:30:34 - Ethics of competition
1:34:20 - Win-win solutions
1:36:09 - Corruption
1:38:33 - Government intervention
1:44:53 - Conservatism
1:51:16 - Donald Trump
1:53:52 - Inflation
1:58:21 - DOGE
2:03:40 - Javier Milei
2:08:46 - Richard Nixon
2:16:00 - Ronald Reagan
2:19:07 - Cryptocurrency
2:34:23 - Ayn Rand
2:42:01 - The Fountainhead
2:53:41 - Sex and power dynamics
3:09:47 - Evolution of ideas in history
3:17:15 - Postmodernism
3:28:16 - Advice to students
3:36:32 - Lex reflects on Volodymyr Zelenskyy interview

PODCAST LINKS:
Podcast Website: lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
Podcast Playlist:    • Lex Fridman Podcast  
Clips Channel: youtube.com/lexclips

SOCIAL LINKS:
X: x.com/lexfridman
Instagram: instagram.com/lexfridman
TikTok: tiktok.com/@lexfridman
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
Facebook: facebook.com/lexfridman
Patreon: patreon.com/lexfridman
Telegram: t.me/lexfridman
Reddit: reddit.com/r/lexfridman