EconTalk, 05/04/26
Source: EconTalk
“Golfing Alone (with Gary Belsky).” (05/04/26)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
This Energy Crisis Is Undoing the Last Ones
Source: Foreign Policy
by Giuliana Chamedes
“Unlike earlier oil crises, which strengthened Western unity, the current situation is fragmenting it. It has become clear that the United States and Israel are not able to protect the Gulf from Iran’s attacks. Horizontal agreements are accordingly being negotiated everywhere one looks: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with Ukraine, Canada with China, and European powers with independent countries in the region. The United States faces particular challenges. Under President Donald Trump, the country has tired out its erstwhile allies, who are looking elsewhere for more reliable trade partners.” (05/04/26)
Rubio expected to meet with Pope Leo amid Trump’s clash with pontiff on Iran
Source: Washington Post
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio is slated to travel to Italy to meet with Pope Leo XIV this week, according to a senior Vatican official, marking the first high-ranking encounter between the pontiff and a top administration official since President Donald Trump issued withering criticism of the Chicago-born pope last month. The visit comes amid a deterioration in relations between the United States and the Vatican, as well as Italy, with observers viewing the trip as an attempt to patch up troubled ties. Rubio, a prominent Catholic in the administration, is expected to meet with Leo on Thursday, according to the Vatican official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting that has not yet been made public.” (05/04/26)
The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 05/04/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Blurts Out Damning Admission of Iran Blunder as GOP Panic Grows.” (05/04/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/209885/trump-blurts-damning-admission-iran-blunder-gop-panic-grows
US quest for superweapons runs into reality
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Mark Thompson
“For every successful dream of a new military technology that ends up working as advertised, there are 100 nightmares into which U.S. taxpayers are forced to pour money with little to show for it. The challenge, of course, is to pluck the winners from the losers before the billions have been spent.” (05/04/26)
Too Old to Fight Jury Tyranny?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Angelo Monaco
“There are many negative ways to describe the United States Postal Service, but I never considered my mail-delivery person to be an instrument of government oppression. That changed when I retrieved my mail recently and discovered a summons from my home county demanding that I appear for ‘Jury Duty.’” (05/04/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/too-old-to-fight-jury-tyranny/
Austria: Regime expels Russian diplomats over alleged spying
Source: United Press International
“Authorities in Austria have expelled three members of the Russian embassy staff for suspected spying, Austria’s foreign minister said Monday. Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said the diplomats were suspected of using a ‘forest of antennae’ on the roof of the Russian embassy in Vienna to collect illicit data, The Guardian reported. The equipment was allegedly used to collect the data from organizations using satellite internet. … The three suspected spies have left the country, which has now expelled 14 Russian diplomats since 2020, The Guardian reported. Russian officials called this most recent decision ‘outrageous’ and ‘unjustified’ and promised retaliation.” (05/04/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/05/04/austria-russian-diplomats-expelled/7991777914676/
The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 05/04/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Gettin’ Wonky on the Unitary Executive | Interview: Charlie Cooke.” (05/04/26)
Why Socialism Fails
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Deborah Palma
“In a complex economy with an advanced division of labor, individuals cannot rely solely on their own direct knowledge to decide how to allocate resources among many possible combinations. They require a common denominator that allows for the comparison of costs and benefits. This denominator is the price, which emerges from voluntary exchanges in the market. Prices are not arbitrary numbers; they are determined by exchange values arising from the competitive interaction between consumers and producers. Price reflects the relative scarcity of a good in relation to all other possible uses of the same factors of production. … Attempts to treat the economy as a system of simultaneous equations, in which equilibrium can be mathematically determined, ignore the dynamic nature of reality. The market is a continuous process of discovery, not a static state of rest.” (05/04/26)
Reading Orwell in the Age of AI
Source: Quillette
by Matt Johnson
“Prescient about the possibility of machine-generated writing, George Orwell’s life and work offer a deeper warning about the LLM era.” (05/04/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/05/04/reading-orwell-in-the-age-of-ai-politics-literatue-llm/