California Golden Fleece® Award Briefing: "How to Restore the California Dream: Removing Obstacles to Fast and Affordable Housing Development," by Fleece Awards Director Dr. Lawrence J. McQuillan.

The U.S. recently overtook Italy as the country with the most confirmed cases of COVID-19. Some believe this is just the beginning. Dr. Brian Monahan, attending physician to the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court, estimates between 70 and 150 million Americans will become infected. The White House has projected COVID-19 will result in between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths.

Sr. Fellow Richard Vedder, author of Restoring the Promise appears on the Carolina Journal Radio show to talk about the problems facing higher education today.

Graham H. Walker (Executive Director) and Mary L. G. Theroux (Senior Vice President) at the Independent Institute examine the folly and hypocrisy for the Bay Area San March 16th “Shelter in Place” edict.

Many headline scientific findings in recent years have turned out to be false. They can’t be reproduced—and if you can’t reproduce a result, it isn’t science. The headlines are just the tip of the iceberg. A huge amount of ordinary scientific findings published in peer-reviewed journals doesn't replicate. Something has gone terribly wrong in contemporary scientific procedures.

Science’s failure is called the "Irreproducibility Crisis." It is the result of improper use of statistics, arbitrary research techniques, lack of accountability, political groupthink, and a scientific culture biased toward producing positive results. By some estimates, half of recent scientific research could be irreproducible.

In his presentation, Barry Smith discusses the irreproducibility crisis in ontological terms of misuse of data analysis or p-hacking (selective reporting of data, data fishing, data dredging) and how to restore the scientific enterprise. Dr. Smith is the SUNY Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Julian Park Chair, Philosophy Department at the University at Buffalo.

With the many new attacks on the Second Amendment on the federal, state, and local levels, this special session examines these threats and how to protect your right to self-defense. Indeed, the Democratic Party’s major candidates for nomination for President are unanimous in their agreement that your constitutional right to own and bear arms should be radically reduced, and in many cases, completely eliminated. In response, Stephen P. Halbrook (Senior Fellow, Independent Institute) and Amy E. Swearer (Senior Legal Policy Analyst, Heritage Foundation) discuss "Protecting the Second Amendment" (2/27/20) at the Conservative Policy Action Conference (CPAC), in the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, MD. The session is moderated by Jonathan Hofer (Research and Marketing Associate, Independent Institute)

Sr. Fellow Williamson Evers appears on WRVA radio to talk about his list of “Best Books on the Folly of Socialism.” Evers discusses how socialism stagnates innovation and is a recipe for collapsing an economy. Students and young people should especially be wary of politicians that promise everything to everyone.

Sr. Fellow Williamson Evers appears on the Lars Larson radio show and talks about his list of “Best Books on the Folly of Socialism” which has been downloaded thousands of times. The books on the list detail the pitfalls of socialism and how it stifles innovation, freedom, and liberty.