

Mutual Exchange Radio
C4SS
The Center for a Stateless Society (C4SS.org) is an anarchist think-tank and media center. Its mission is to explain and defend the idea of vibrant social cooperation without aggression, oppression, or centralized authority.
In particular, it seeks to enlarge public understanding and transform public perceptions of anarchism, while reshaping academic and movement debate, through the production and distribution of market anarchist media content, both scholarly and popular.
It is also the home of Mutual Exchange Radio, a new podcast on anarchist thought, hosted by Zachary Woodman. The show brings together a wide variety of guests, from academics, to on-the-ground activists, to Center scholars, to entrepreneurs to discuss the latest developments in the philosophy and practice of market anarchism.
In particular, it seeks to enlarge public understanding and transform public perceptions of anarchism, while reshaping academic and movement debate, through the production and distribution of market anarchist media content, both scholarly and popular.
It is also the home of Mutual Exchange Radio, a new podcast on anarchist thought, hosted by Zachary Woodman. The show brings together a wide variety of guests, from academics, to on-the-ground activists, to Center scholars, to entrepreneurs to discuss the latest developments in the philosophy and practice of market anarchism.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 27, 2026 • 56min
Aaron Ross Powell on Libertarianism and Buddhism
Joining me today is Aaron Ross Powell. Aaron is currently the director of Liberal Projects at the Institute for Humane Studies where he is the chief editor of Liberalism.org and host of the Liberalism.org podcast as well as Reimagining Liberty. I wanted to have Aaron on today to discuss two seemingly disparate intellectual interests of his: Buddhism and libertarianism. To many, these may seem like disparate and unrelated interests, or perhaps two intellectual traditions that are in deep tension with each other metaphysically. After all, libertarianism is often understood as relying on a strong conception of self-ownership, and Buddhism famously questions the very idea of selfhood to begin with. I wanted to sit down with Aaron to work through how he thinks of the relationship between Buddhist ethics and metaphysics, and the political project of human liberation, as well as the relationship between religious tolerance and liberal politics more generally.

Feb 26, 2026 • 1h 28min
Kevin Carson on the Methodenstreit
Welcome to Mutual Exchange Radio, a project of the Center for a Stateless Society. I am your host, Zachary Woodman. Today's guest—for the third time on MER—is Kevin Carson. Kevin probably needs no introduction, but he is a senior fellow of the Center for a Stateless Society (c4ss.org) and holds the Center's Karl Hess Chair in Social Theory. He is an anarchist without adjectives, heavily influenced by autonomism and the new municipalist movements. His written work includes Studies in Mutualist Political Economy, Organization Theory: A Libertarian Perspective, The Homebrew Industrial Revolution: A Low-Overhead Manifesto, and The Desktop Regulatory State all of which are freely available online. Carson has also written for such print publications as The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty and a variety of internet-based journals and blogs, including Just Things and The Art of the Possible, as well as his own blogs, Mutualist Blog and Tea, Earl Grey, Hot. Today, I Kevin is on to discuss his 2021 study on the Methodenstreit between economists from the Austrian school, such as Carl Menger, and economists from the German Historical School, such as Gustav Schmoller. We discuss Carson's views on the methodology of the social sciences in general and political economy in particular as well as his views on interest, landlordism, and the American Institutionalist school.

Sep 22, 2025 • 2h 18min
Matthew McManus on Liberal Socialism
In this engaging discussion, Matthew McManus, a political theorist and incoming assistant professor at Spelman College, delves into the intriguing world of liberal socialism. He explores the historical roots of socialism and its diverse traditions, while defending the viability of liberal socialism against common critiques. McManus also traces the influences of figures like Hobbes and Locke, discussing their roles in shaping modern thought. The conversation culminates in a debate on Nordic socialism's pluralistic approach, balancing economic democracy with social welfare.

Apr 15, 2025 • 59min
MER Roundtable: Immigration Under Fascism
Zachary Woodman, Alex McHugh, and Nathan Goodman join Cory Massimino for a panel on Trump's authoritarian actions on immigration, the history of immigration control and regulation, and what you can do to resist the administration's authoritarian xenophobia. Show notes and Sources: Zachary Woodman's Segment on the Trump Administration's Actions on Immigration So Far Trump's Executive Order on the Alien Enemies Act Venezuelan Couple in Virginia Case Thrown out of Civil Court ICE disappears 48 Undocumented Migrants DC Circuit Court Judge: Nazis got more Due Process under Alien Enemies Act Legal History of Migrant's Constitutional Rights Migrants Deported for Non-Gang-Related Tattoos 90% of Migrants Deported to El Salvador Have No Criminal Record Trump's Appeal up to the Supreme Court, Supreme Court's Rulings on the matter So Far Trump Defying Court Orders Mike Johnson Floats Dissolving District Courts that Rule Against Trump on Administration House passes bill restricting district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions MAGA Supporters Send Death Threats to Judges Trump Administration's Letter Intimidating Northwestern Law Clinic The Trump Administration's Populist Arguments in Courts Thom Homan: "What was Laken Riley's Due Process?" Trump Admin Executive Order Revoking Citizenship for Thousands of Migrants Trump Administration Pausing Green Card Applications Filipino Woman from Washington Disappeared by Border Patrol Canadian Woman Held in Custody by CBP Canada, Germany, UK Issuing Travel Warnings against United States Legal Migrant from Tampa Being Extradited to El Salvador Columbia Student Hunted by ICE for Her Palestinian Disagreement Tufts Student Abducted by Unmarked Immigration Officials Trump Admin Revokes Legal Status for Hundreds of Student Visa Holders Three Deaths in ICE Custody at Krome Detention Center in Miami Texas Migrants Being Deported to Guantanamo Bay Luis Alberto Castillo Rivera's Legal Deposition Kristi Noem's Propaganda Video in El Salvador, which Violates National Law Opening of Migrant Detention Center in Michigan CBP's 100-Mile Border Zone ICE Targeting US Citizens Mahmoud Khalil's Public Statement of His Detention Louisiana Judge Rules Against Mouhamad Khalil, Citing Foreign Policy Authority Trump's Birthright Citizenship Executive Order and Why it's Unconstitutional Nathan's Segment on the History of US Border Policy: Coyne and Hall: Tyranny Comes Home Border Militarization and Domestic Institutions Federal Officers Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab People In Portland, DHS Confirms Drones on the Border: Efficacy and Privacy Implications Reece Jones, Nobody is Protected: How the Border Patrol Became the Most Dangerous Police Force in the United States US Citizens Deported on Accident Pre-Trump Kenyon Zimmer: Faces of the First Red Scare: Documenting Red Scare Deportees Alex McHugh's Segment on Resisting ICE: Tool to Find ICE Contractors Meet the ICE Contractors We Have Rights: Document and Witness ICE/CBP Abuse of Power Borderlands Relief Collective Border Kindness Al Otro Lado Woomera Quaker Meeting Raided in UK Nathan Goodman, et al: Collective Action in the Sanctuary Movement: Polycentric Protection of Central American Asylum Seekers Immigrant Legal Justice Center-Know Your Rights National Immigrant Justice Center-Know Your Rights ACLU-Know Your Rights, Immigrant Rights

Jun 24, 2024 • 1h 47min
Mutual Exchange Radio: Christopher Coyne and Abigail Hall on 'How to Run Wars'
This episode is hosted by C4SS's Elinor Ostrom Chair in the Study of Self Governance, Nathan Goodman. Nathan is joined by Christopher Coyne and Abigail Hall for a deep dive into the authors' new book, How to Run Wars, A Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite, available from June 18th on Amazon, or through the Independent Institute. E-book versions are available for Kindle, Apple iBooks, and Barnes and Noble Nook and links are available in the show notes below. Buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1598133926/theindepeende-20 Apple iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/how-to-run-wars/id6502372918 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-run-wars-christopher-j-coyne/1145071631?ean=9781598133943 Christopher Coyne is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, the Associate Director of the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center, and the Director of the Initiative for the Study of a Stable Peace (ISSP) through the Hayek Program. He is the Co-Editor of The Review of Austrian Economics and of The Independent Review. Abigail R. Hall is an Associate Professor in Economics at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida. She is an affiliated scholar with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a Senior Fellow with the Independent Institute in Oakland, California. She is a Non-Resident Fellow with Defense Priorities and a Public Choice and Public Policy Fellow with the American Institute for Economic Research. She earned her PhD in Economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

May 30, 2024 • 1h 15min
John Cavanaugh on Data Privacy & The Digital Divide
This episode of MER features Alex McHugh interviewing John Cavanaugh of the digital-privacy organization, The Plunk Foundation. The Plunk Foundation promotes digital data privacy through education, advocacy, and policy recommendations, and by developing privacy tools and tech. Our conversation ranges from the deeper discussion on consent and privacy as related to self-ownership, to the more practical question of how to ethically navigate today's digital landscape and the potential for privacy-focused tech. John Cavanaugh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/privacy-evangelist/ Email: john@plunkfoundation.org Support C4SS podcasts on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c4ssdotorg

Mar 15, 2024 • 1h 50min
Mikayla Novak & Akiva Malamet on Gender as a Discovery Process
This episode brings Austrian economics into the gender identity discussion. We get into a lot of messy and fascinating questions about gender, identity, and social structures. Read the paper here: https://cosmosandtaxis.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/malamet_novak_ct_vol11_iss11_12_epub.pdf Mikayla Novak is senior fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She is the author of Inequality: An Entangled Political Economy Perspective (2018) and Freedom in Contention: Social Movements and Liberal Political Economy (2021). Her research work has been published in a range of academic journals, including Research Policy, Constitutional Political Economy, Review of Austrian Economics, Journal of Institutional Economics, and Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice. Mikayla's research interests include Austrian and evolutionary economics, public choice, entangled political economy, economic sociology, public finance, and regulatory economics. And listeners will recognize Akiva Malamet, a returning guest to the show. Akiva previously appeared on our June 2020 episode of Mutual Exchange Radio to discuss his work on Nationalism and Identity Formation. He is a contributing editor at Unpopulist and an MA candidate at Queens University, and a long-time friend of C4SS.

Dec 4, 2023 • 1h 29min
Jason Lee Byas about Public Choice Theory, Reparations (for slavery and other injustices), and War
Cory Massimino chats with Jason Lee Byas about public choice theory, reparations (for slavery and other injustices), and war. Jason Lee Byas is a fellow at the Center for a Stateless Society and a PhD student in Philosophy at the University of Michigan. His academic work focuses on punishment (and its alternatives), rights theory, and justice beyond the state.

Jul 29, 2023 • 1h 8min
Dennis Danvers on Writing, Sci-Fi, and the Weirdness of Time
Alex McHugh interviews sci-fi author Dennis Danvers on anarchist ideas in fiction, his books The Watch and Leaving the Dead, and the life of a writer. http://dennisdanvers.com/ Mr. Danvers has written a variety of well-received sci-fi novels, including Circuit of Heaven, Time and Time Again, and End of Days, as well as the Locus and Bram Stoker nominee Wilderness. His short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Space and Time, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, F & SF, Realms of Fantasy, Electric Velocipede, Lightspeed, Tor.com, See the Elephant, Apex Magazine; and in anthologies Tails of Wonder, Richmond Noir, The Best of Electric Velocipede, Remapping Richmond's Hallowed Ground, and Nightmare Carnival. He taught fiction writing and science fiction and fantasy literature at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia for over thirty years.

May 4, 2023 • 1h 17min
scott crow on Music, Media, and Community Defense
A wide-ranging interview with acclaimed anarchist activist and musician, scott crow (https://www.scottcrow.org/). Alex McHugh hosts, with the first half focusing on scott's music and media project, eMERGENCY heARTS, and the latter on his previous work on theories of liberatory community armed self-defense. * Content note: scott and I talk about the murder of Garrett Foster in the second half of this episode. It comes up in a discussion about the strategic value (or lack thereof) of open carry at protests.


