Capital Record

Episode 296: Spirit Airlines and Spirited Government Ineptness

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:30:31 +0000

If only there was a way to avoid taxpayers now bailing out a failed private enterprise whose pricing model cannot work in this economy? Well, there was -- it was a merger with a more capitalized and established brand name airline, only the same government about to spend your tax dollars on a failed private business with no national security connections whatsoever was the same one who blocked the private markets solution that would have been a winner for everyone. Now, instead of everyone winning, we literally get everyone losing -- and I mean everyone. But nobody is losing more than those arguing that increased government stewardship of the economy is a good idea. There is no bankruptcy deep enough for the intellectual rot of that position.

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Episode 295: Legal Reform as the Supply-Side Issue of Our Day

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen) — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:44:34 +0000

David concluded an 18-month research project and interviews with a dozen attorneys and judges with a lengthy piece on the the disaster of our current legal system. In today’s Capital Record he offers a dozen reform ideas that are desperately needed, and concludes with one that is more important than all of them put together. Hint: It doesn’t involve the judicial system.

Show Notes: David’s National Review article, "The Next Supply-Side Battle"

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Episode 294: Viktor Orbán’s Loss Is a Gain for the Cause of Free Enterprise

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:07:28 +0000

The political world was abuzz Sunday night at the devastating defeat pro-Putin post-liberal, Viktor Orbán, suffered in Hungary’s national election. Some on the American right have mistakenly cozied up to Orbán, finding some compatibility with his occasional messages about social values. But alas, even beyond the confused moral messaging, what did Orbán in is what will do all “new right” illiberals in -- a disdain for the freedom and opportunity of a market economy.

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Episode 293: Middle Class Resentment, David French, and a Free Market Economy

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen) — Thu, 9 Apr 2026 10:30:00 +0000

David French wrote a provocative piece in the New York Times recently asking the very legitimate question, “If people are doing better, why are they more resentful?” In today’s Capital Record, David Bahnsen looks at the macroeconomic picture, reviews the thesis of our crisis of responsibility, unpacks the difference between greed and envy, and suggests a culprit that is at least a good starting place for improving those who feel left out of the modern economy.

"How Can America Be So Miserable When It's So Rich?"

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Episode 292: It Has to Be Real

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen) — Thu, 2 Apr 2026 12:44:16 +0000

What does it say about a con man and con woman that they got away using fake names and doing fake events to rip off people, charities, and investors for years? It says that they are con artists! Perhaps the bigger question, though, is what it says about their marks. In today’s Capital Record David looks at a depressing fact about too many affluent people that even makes something like this possible.

Show Notes:
The Fake Cartier and the Fake Rockefeller

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Episode 291: Social Media and the Crisis of Responsibility

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +0000

A jury ruled last week that social media companies are financially liable for a young woman's becoming “addicted” to social media use. In today’s Capital Record, David opines on the utterly ridiculous verdict and the horrific things it says about society, but also offers a social commentary on where companies do have a moral burden, outside the law, if we are to have a free and virtuous society. As is often the case, there is enough fusionism in David’s take to bother everyone.

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Episode 290: What About That Giving Pledge?

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen) — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:29:27 +0000

Is it a good thing for wealthy people to give money away? Is it a good thing for them to give half of it away? All of it? Is a pledge a gift? How should one who values a virtuous society think about this very idea? In this Capital Record, David looks at the results of a high-profile 2010 effort launched by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, and suggests that there is a way to promote generosity that does not lend itself to a high-profile indulgence.

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Episode 289: Industrial Policy for Me but Not for Thee

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen) — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +0000

The World Bank has spent three decades saying industrial policy is a bad way to go -- stunting growth, creating bad signals, and facilitating suboptimal outcomes. But now, lo and behold, they claim that government management of an economy can be a very good idea, as long as it is done the way they suggest. The internal contradictions in this statist mess are easy to see, and we’re not having it. You shouldn’t either.

Show notes: WSJ on World Bank reversal on industrial policy

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Episode 288: The Crazy Things People Say

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:26:53 +0000

Do financial transactions all add up to zero? Should we be more concerned with piety than technique? Is a business going out of business a good thing if the founder treats his people well? Does money serve a greater purpose if we apply nice-sounding adjectives to our marketing pitch? Are all views of human dignity okay as long as they end with humans having dignity? On today’s Capital Record, David analyzes a plethora of things he literally heard in the last few days alone!

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Episode 287: What the Right Is Getting Wrong About AI

studio@nationalreview.com (David L. Bahnsen, Tim Estes) — Tue, 3 Mar 2026 14:59:16 +0000

David is joined this week by a very special guest, Tim Estes, for a thorough discussion on artificial intelligence. But this is not one of those exhausting conversations about whether or not AI would take our jobs, or is a good investment, or one of the other numerous things that dominates AI discussion these days. Rather, David and Tim use first principles to address the problems that conservatives are missing. The discussion goes all over the map but then ends with a profound idea from our special guest that might just scratch all the itches!

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