Happy Hour Econ

About Happy Hour Econ

A comedian and an economist walk into a bar... and somehow, you learn more about inflation than in all your years of school. And, unlike your student loans, this round is on us. Welcome to Happy Hour Econ from Free To Choose Network, where comedian Lou Perez and economist Phil Magness serve up weekly shots of economic reality with a chaser of sanity. No PowerPoints, no pretense—just two guys who've figured out that the best way to understand why everything costs more is to stop taking it so seriously. While politicians promise solutions and pundits peddle panic, Lou and Phil cut through the noise with the kind of clear-eyed perspective that only comes from a duo who's seen it all before. Lou brings the punchlines. Phil brings the receipts. Together, they explain why your grocery bill keeps climbing, why "free" government programs aren't, and how the same economic principles that govern happy hour pricing also explain most of what's wrong with the world. This isn't economics made simple. It's economics made honest. The result is a conversation that treats important topics with respect, but never forgets that sometimes the best response to economic nonsense is a well-timed joke. Pour yourself a drink, pull up a stool, and join Happy Hour Econ—because understanding the economy shouldn’t require a Ph.D. or a hangover.

Publisher

Free To Choose Network

Category

business · comedy

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Dec 2025

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

40 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026

   The History and Costs of Slavery in America

   Last week, Lou and Phil looked at the claim that American capitalism was built on slavery. This week, they turn to what slavery actually cost, both to the enslaved people who were denied any choice in their own work and to a Southern economy that fell far behind the North. Along the way, they look at why the American founding set much of the country on a path to abolition, and why forced labor still persists wherever the rule of law breaks down. Listen to the full episode of Happy Hour Econ with Lou and Phil.

2. 

   28 Sept 2026

   Slavery, Capitalism, and the Historical Record

   A recent CNN debate put a pointed question before a national audience. Is capitalism bound up with racism and slavery? Slavery predates writing, and it predates capitalism by thousands of years, yet a growing body of scholarship argues that the modern American economy rests on the forced labor of enslaved people. In this week's Happy Hour Econ, Lou and Phil test those claims against the historical record and revisit what the defenders of slavery themselves had to say about free markets.

3. 

   21 Sept 2026

   Sanctions Impossible

   Nothing says we're doing something quite like a fresh round of economic sanctions. They're cheap, they're popular, and they let politicians look tough without adding much pain at home for Americans. But do they actually work? From Iran to Cuba, with oil tankers quietly dodging the rules in between, Lou and Phil look at who really ends up picking up the tab when a nation gets cut off. Pour something strong and press play on this episode of Happy Hour Econ.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Contact Happy Hour Econ

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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