Recorded on December 14, 2010

Thomas Sowell has studied and taught economics, intellectual history, and social policy at institutions that include Cornell University, UCLA, and Amherst College. Now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Sowell has published more than a dozen books, the latest of which is a revised and updated edition of his classic volume, Basic Economics.

"Through its various editions," Sowell writes, "the fundamental idea behind Basic Economics remains the same: Learning economics should be as uncomplicated as it is informative." Here, Sowell seeks to uncomplicate some of the economic issues confronting the country today, from the financial crisis and the role of the Fed to the economics of health care and trade imbalances.