Independent Institute Podcast

About Independent Institute Podcast

Brought to you by the Independent Institute, Independent Conversations is a regular round-table conversation that provides timely insights and cutting-edge commentary on the most pressing issues of the day. It features Independent’s Graham H. Walker (President), Williamson M. Evers (Senior Fellow), and as well as additional Independent Institute fellows and other special guests.

Publisher

Independent Institute

Category

government · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Jul 2020

Latest episode

15 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

113 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Sept 2026

   The Inequality Crisis Myth Built on Bad Research

   Is income inequality really worse than ever, or are influential statistics overstating the problem? In this episode of Independent Conversations, Graham H. Walker sits down with economist Phillip W. Magness to examine the research behind America’s inequality debate, including Thomas Piketty’s famous “U-curve,” disputed calculations of how much the wealthy pay in taxes and the case for California’s proposed billionaire wealth tax. Together, they ask a basic but consequential question: before the government tries to fix an inequality crisis, how certain should we be that the data actually shows one?

2. 

   18 Aug 2026

   The High-Tech Fix That Is Not Fixing Gun Violence

   Does acoustic gunshot detection actually make cities safer, or does it send police chasing false alarms while draining resources from proven public safety work? In this episode of Independent Conversations, Graham H. Walker sits down with Jonathan Hofer and Brian Hofer to examine ShotSpotter-style technology, accuracy claims, false positives, AI hype, surveillance bias and why cities from San Diego to Chicago have walked away from the promise of “smart” policing.

3. 

   21 Jul 2026

   Why Birthright Citizenship Is More Complicated Than We Think

   Is birthright citizenship really guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, or has America misread the fine print of one of its most important clauses? In this episode of Independent Conversations, Graham H. Walker is joined by Richard A. Epstein, Ilya Somin and Williamson M. Evers for a sharp discussion on citizenship, constitutional language, naturalization law, voting rights, borders and the moral accident of where a person is born.

Reach and audience

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

YouTube views

60,178,535

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 64 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

79

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

30

Contact Independent Institute Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

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

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Cato Daily Podcast

• 

  The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

• 

  Hudson Institute Events Podcast

• 

  GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution

• 

  WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

• 

  The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg