Episodes

Join Ed and Ron for a tribute to one of the greatest satirist and humor writer, P.J. O'Rourke. We will explore P.J.'s books, and other stories from all the tributes that have been written about him recently. P.J. was one of a kind. Would it be possible to have another P.J. in today's woke society?

From time to time, Ron and Ed like to review the state of the subscription economy especially as it pertains to professional firms, but they will weave in some other stories as well. Have you heard that Ed subscribed to a vacuum cleaner and salami? We will also talk price increases and what they got right and WRONG about their own subscription.

Ron and Ed welcome author Meriel Schindler whose book The Lost Cafe Schindler they both highly recommends. When her father, Kurt, died in 2017, he left behind piles of Nazi era documents related to their family's fate in Innsbruck, Austria, and a treasure trove of family photo albums reaching back to before World War I. Meriel was forced to confront not only their fractured relationship, but also the truth behind their family history.

Making his fourth appearance on The Soul of Enterprise is Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC. Ron and Ed ask him how he scaled his practice from one to know three offices and what the implications are for his subscription model. In addition, we ask what regulatory barriers to providing care this way should be removed.

One of Ron's number one books of 2021 was Vivek Ramaswamy's Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam. An incredible read, with some very innovative ideas for how to push back on the wokeism that is infiltrating corporations. Join Ed and Ron for wide-ranging discussion of one of the most important books written in a long time (in Ron's opinion, we'll have to see what Ed thinks!).

Ron and Ed welcome Chris Edwards to the show to talk about two recent reports he has authored for The CATO Institute. In How Wealth Fuels Grown, the role of wealth in the economy is the focus. In this recent study Chris examines wealthy individuals as “angel” investors, who fund startup businesses. Angel investors provide a unique source of support for America’s entrepreneurs, particularly in leading-?edge industries. In Entrepreneurs and Regulations: Removing State and Local Barriers to New Bus...

“You don’t have to get people to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” (Ray Bradbury, Sci-fi Writer). Join Ed and Ron as they discuss the best books they read in 2021.

Our annual tradition continues! Ron and Ed will look back and talk about their top stories, including their favorite and most popular episodes of 2021. They'll pay homage (or not) for some who have passed on. Maybe even set their sights on what they think 2022 will bring.

It is December 24th, the busiest day for the North Pole and wouldn't you know it but a worldwide taxing authority has decided that today is the day to conduct Santa's Audit. For Peter Jackson's Get Back! We snuck our TSOE microphones in on the conversation between the auditor and Santa's head accounting elf. What you are about to hear is the edited audio. The full audio can be heard by subscribers on our Patreon channel at http://patreon.com/tsoe Merry Christmas!

We are honored to welcome back, for the third time, economist Michael Munger. He's the author of many great books, including Tomorrow 3.0; Is Capitalism Sustainable?; and The Sharing Economy. Join Ed and Ron for what will surely be an enlightening and fun conversation with one of our favorite guests.

Ron and Ed first encountered Colin Rule's work when reading Richard and Daniel Susskind's book, The Future of the Professions (Episode 74) in which the online dispute resolution system used by eBay was touted as handling more cases per year than the entire US court system. In what promises to be a wide-ranging interview, Ron and Ed will explore this topic and more.

In the past year, two short stories have come to Ron and Ed's attention that provide some economic insights: Somerset Maugham's The Verger and Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron. In The Verger, a church employee is fired even though he does his work quite satisfactorily. Bergeron is a cautionary tale of the notion of equity - equality of outcome. Links can be found here if you want to read them beforehand: * The Verger - https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/Maugham_The_Verger_0...

The Beatles are considered the most influential popular music act of the twentieth century, widely recognized for their influence on popular culture. The inability of other bands and artists to imitate their fame has prompted questions such as: How did the Beatles become so successful? What factors contributed to their success? Why did they break up? Ron and Ed will explore these questions and more in their interview with Professor Samuel R. Staley, author of The Beatles and Economics

Drones are among the most exciting and promising new technologies to emerge in the last few decades. Photographers, firefighters, filmmakers, engineers, and retailers have all used drones to improve public safety, innovate, and enhance creativity. Yet drones pose unique regulatory and privacy issues, and lawmakers at the federal and state levels are adopting policies that both ensure the safety of our national airspace and restrict the use of warrantless aerial surveillance. At a time when low-f...

Ron and Ed welcome back Professor Baruch Lev from NYU Stern Business School. He was last on back in July 2016 and we discussed his book, The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers. We talk more about that book and his more recent article in Accounting Today, The sad state of accounting standards.

Would you rather pay for healthcare or for better health? For school or education? For groceries or nutrition? A car or transportation? A theater performance or entertainment? In The Ends Game, Marco Bertini describes how some firms are rewriting the rules of commerce: instead of selling the means (their products and services), they adopt innovative revenue models to pursue ends (actual outcomes). Ron and Ed are thrilled to have Marco on the show for what promises to be a stimulating conversatio...

Ed and Ron are honored to welcome back Dan Morris, CPA, to the show. He's a master at the value conversation, and implemented Value Pricing back in his firm in 1996. He specializes in cryptocurrencies, wealth management, asset protection, multinational tax structures, tax optimization and much more. An excellent conversationalist, you don't want to miss this episode with one of the most innovative CPAs we know.

Inspired by A. J. Jacobs when he appeared on Russ Robert's great podcast EconTalk, Ron and Ed have each been keeping a One Thing journal for the last few years. In this episode, they will share some of the best One Things.

We miss Free-Rider Friday's, so were it bringing it back, but just this once. We used to do this on the last Friday of every month. Most of our shows are “topic” driven, where we dive deep into one subject. Free-Rider Fridays were designed to be “event” driven, whatever issues are in the news that we (or you) find worthy of commentary. In economics, free riding means reaping the benefits from the actions of others and consequently refusing to bear the full costs of those actions. This means Ed a...

In Episode 349, Ron and Ed shared their thoughts and concerns about Woke Capitalism. In an email, Dr. Kimberlee Josephson wrote them saying, I just began listening to your podcast and I’m glad to have stumbled upon it! I wanted to reach out about your Woke Capitalism/ESG segment since this is an area I am trying to voice concern over. Well, in this episode we look forward to Kimberlee sharing those concerns with us.

Joining Ron and Ed this week is two-time Guest Joe Woodard. Joe's vision is to transform small businesses through small business advisors. In the service of that vision, he and his team educate, coach, provide resources and build communities for small business advisors, with the overarching goal of empowering them to play a powerful, high-impact advisory role with their clients.

In addition to a general Subscription Economy update, Ed and Ron will discuss what happens when the subscription model collides with a legacy model. There are essentially three ways to a launch a subscription model. What does the empirical report so far on the most optimal approach? Can you have two business models within the same organization? Join us for an in-depth look at these issues.

Over 90% of decision-making is supposedly unconscious and automatic. Behavioral Economics has sought to understand human behavior. It has identified many human biases. It has also come under recent indictment because of fraud in its data reporting and the non-replication of its findings by other academics. Join Ed and Ron for a discussion of some of the more prevalent biases found by, and the criticisms of, behavioral economics.

Ron and Ed welcome David C Baker, the leading authority on positioning, reinventing, and selling firms in the creative and digital space, to the show. David is the author of five books, three of which focus on the central elements of the business of expertise: positioning, financial management, and leadership. David speaks regularly on more than 70 topics relevant to entrepreneurial expertise, from 20 executives to 5,000 live on TV, all over the world. We will speak with him primarily about his ...