Is An Examined Education Better? - Nick Cowan

In this episode, Alex speaks with Nick Cowan about why an “examined education” is better than an unexamined one. Drawing on his paper, Nick argues that exams are valuable not just as external assessments but as opportunities for students to test themselves, build confidence, develop resilience, and discover what they actually know rather than what they merely think they know. References “An Examined Education” — Nick Cowan https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6261178 The Theory of Moral Sentiments — Adam Smith https://a.co/d/0iSQvp4l “Why I Am Not a Conservative” — F. A. Hayek https://press.uchicago.edu/books/excerpt/2011/hayek_constitution.html Graduate premium in the UK and debates over higher education quality https://theskillsagenda.substack.com/p/a-declining-graduate-premium Thanks to Our Patrons Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support The Curious Task, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask  

In this episode from 2023, Alex speaks with Stefanie Haeffele about her book Living Better Together, which explores the work of Elinor Ostrom and Viviana Zelizer.  Episode Notes: "Living Better Together" by Stefanie Haeffele and Virgil Henry Storr: https://a.co/d/hJNCxw6  Viviana Zelizer's homepage at Princeton: https://sociology.princeton.edu/people/viviana-zelizer  Elinor Ostrom's bio and short autobiography on the Nobel website: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2009/ostrom/facts/  Nonneutrality of Money in a Social Perspective by Julia Włodarczyk https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274184545_Nonneutrality_of_Money_in_a_Social_Perspective  Zelizer's "Circuits of Commerce" https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520241367.003.0009 Ostrom's "Governing The Commons" https://a.co/d/gcUDVWq  Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy by Viviana A. Zelizer https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691139364/economic-lives  "Testing Circuits of Commerce in the Distant Past: Archaeological Understandings of Social Relationships and Economic Lives" by: Crystal A. Dozier https://www.springerprofessional.de/testing-circuits-of-commerce-in-the-distant-past-archaeological-/23930708   

In part two of this episode from 2022, Alex speaks again with philosopher Eric Mack about "Anarchy, State and Utopia", this time touching on some of the challenges to Nozick's theory and Eric's own personal connection to Robert Nozick during his life. References 1. Part 1 of Eric Mack’s The Curious Task Episode on “Why Read Anarchy, State, and Utopia?” Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-145-eric-mack-why-read-anarchy-state-and-utopia/  2. Eric Mack’s Previous Episode “Why Not Socialism?” on the Curious Task Podcast Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-7-eric-mack-%e2%80%94-why-not-socialism/ 3. “Anarchy, State, and Utopia” by Robert Nozick Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Anarchy-State-Utopia-Robert-Nozick/dp/0465051006  4. “Who Would Choose Socialism” by Robert Nozick Link: https://reason.com/1978/05/01/who-would-chose-socialism/

In this episode from 2022, Alex speaks with Philosopher Eric Mack about Robert Nozick's "Anarchy State and Utopia" and how the book shaped the conversation around natural rights theory, philosophical libertarianism, and the study of political utopias for decades to come. References 1. Eric Mack’s Previous Episode “Why Not Socialism?” on the Curious Task Podcast Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-7-eric-mack-%e2%80%94-why-not-socialism/  2. “Anarchy, State, and Utopia” by Robert Nozick Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Anarchy-State-Utopia-Robert-Nozick/dp/0465051006  3. “Robert Nozick” by Britannica Link: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Nozick  4. “Murray Rothbard” by Mises Institute Link: https://mises.org/profile/murray-n-rothbard  5. “A Theory of Justice” by John Rawls Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Theory-Justice-Revised-John-Rawls/dp/0674000781

In this conversation from 2024, Alex speaks with Eric Schliesser about the growing declarations of the end of liberalism and what this means for the socio-political future in general. Episode Notes: Eric Schliesser’s page at the University of Amsterdam https://www.uva.nl/en/profile/s/c/e.s.schliesser/e.s.schliesser.html#Publications  Kevin Vallier’s episode of this podcast discussing religious anti-liberalism: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/197-kevin-vallier-what-are-the-new-religious-threats-to-liberalism/  Adrian Vermeulen’s publications https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/adrian-vermeule/  Tom Pink’s page at King’s College London: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/thomas-pink  Yoram Hazony’s book on conservatism: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/thomas-pink  Jacob Levy on borders and liberalism: https://www.niskanencenter.org/law-and-border/ 

In this episode, Matt speaks with Reem Ibrahim about whether Brexit can be considered a success six years after the UK left the European Union. They examine the classical-liberal case for Brexit (focused on sovereignty, deregulation, and free trade) and contrast it with a post-Brexit reality in which many EU-era regulations, trade barriers, and interventionist policies remain. While the most catastrophic “Project Fear” predictions did not come true, Ibrahim argues that Brexit’s promised freedoms have largely gone unused, leaving its long-term success still unresolved. References Brexit Referendum (2016) — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/eu_referendum/results Project Fear — https://ukandeu.ac.uk/why-take-back-control-trumped-project-fear/ Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)’s Analysis of Brexit’s impact on trade — https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Perspectives_5_Has-Brexit-really-harmed-UK-trade__web-1.pdf Brexit: The Movie — https://www.youtube.com/c/brexitthemovie UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement — https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/relations-united-kingdom/eu-uk-trade-and-cooperation-agreement_en CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) — https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/the-uk-and-the-comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnershipcptpp Working Time Directive — https://employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies-and-activities/rights-work/labour-law/working-conditions/working-time-directive_en   Thanks to Our Patrons Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support The Curious Task, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask

In this episode, Alex speaks with Franco Terrazano about government spending, taxation, and fiscal accountability in Canada, with a focus on how deficits, debt, and expanding bureaucracy effect affordability for ordinary Canadians. Franco outlines where federal spending has grown most rapidly, critiques the lack of clear priorities and performance measurement, and explains how interest payments on the debt increasingly crowd out core public services.   References Canadian Taxpayers Federation  https://www.taxpayer.com/ Federal Budget of Canada (most recent edition)  https://budget.canada.ca/home-accueil-en.html Public Accounts of Canada  https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/services/payments-accounting/public-accounts.html Canada’s Debt and Interest Charges  https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2025-08/federal-and-provincial-debt-interest-costs-for-canadians-2025.pdf Government Program Spending Growth Since 2015  https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/explaining-growth-federal-program-spending-2015   Thanks to Our Patrons Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support The Curious Task, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask

Alex interviews Sabine Benoit of the Consumer Choice Center on Canada’s housing crisis. Sabine argues the main causes are chronic undersupply plus policy barriers: zoning that blocks “missing middle” density, long approval timelines/red tape, and high development fees that get passed to buyers. They also cover why immigration is often scapegoated despite being only part of the story, and why governments should focus on enabling private building (and targeted skilled-trades immigration) rather than new government developer programs.   References: Consumer Choice Center (CCC): https://consumerchoicecenter.org/ Sabine’s article in The Hub: https://thehub.ca/2026/01/14/only-the-richest-canadians-are-able-to-afford-homes-its-time-to-free-the-market-deepdive/ TD Economics Housing Market Outlook: https://economics.td.com/ca-provincial-housing-outlook Scotiabank study: https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/about/economics/economics-publications/post.other-publications.housing.housing-note.housing-note--march-19-2025-.html CMHC Supply Study: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-research/research-reports/accelerate-supply/canadas-housing-supply-shortages-a-new-framework   Thanks to Our Patrons Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support The Curious Task, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask  

In this conversation from 2025, Alex Aragona speaks with Graeme Thompson about Canada's evolving role on the global stage, from Confederation through to the post-Cold War era and into the geopolitical uncertainties of today. They explore Canada’s historical balancing act between major powers, its close alignment with the United Kingdom and later the United States, and its present-day challenges in maintaining global relevance amid military underinvestment and economic stagnation. Thompson argues that Canada must become more serious about geopolitics if it wants to protect its sovereignty and remain influential internationally. References “Canadians no longer take geopolitics seriously – and our neglect is going to cost us” by Graeme Thompson (The Hub) https://thehub.ca/2024-04-03/graeme-thompson-canadians-no-longer-take-geopolitics-seriously-and-our-neglect-is-going-to-cost-us/ Biography Collection: Ogdensburg Agreement and Canadian Wartime Diplomacy (Dictionary of Canadian Biography) https://www.biographi.ca/en/topics/topic-match-list.php?id=1504 Statute of Westminster (1931) – Recognized Canada’s legislative independence from Britain https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/statute-of-westminster NATO Archives: Canada's Role and Early Involvement https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_161511.htm Canada–U.S. Automotive Products Agreement (Auto Pact) https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-us-automotive-products-agreement Lament for a Nation by George Grant https://a.co/d/bnRI7Rb Canada’s Military Expenditure and NATO’s 2% Spending Target (Parliamentary Budget Officer) https://www.pbo-dpb.ca/en/publications/RP-2223-010-S--canada-military-expenditure-nato-2-spending-target--depenses-militaires-canada-objectif-depenses-2-otan Thanks to Our Patrons Including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support the podcast, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask

In this episode from 2022, Alex speaks with Abigail Hall about propaganda - an elusive and at times far-reaching concept that can be found everywhere: from overt wartime speeches by presidents to covert uses of sports and film to promote the ends of state militarism. References 1. “Manufacturing Militarism: U.S. Government Propaganda in the War on Terror” by Christopher J. Coyne and Abigail R. Hall Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Manufacturing-Militarism-Government-Propaganda-Terror/dp/1503628361  2. “Tyranny Comes Home: The Domestic Fate of U.S. Militarism” by Christopher J. Coyne and Abigail R. Hall Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Tyranny-Comes-Home-Domestic-Militarism/dp/1503605272  3. Abigail Hall’s Previous Episode on The Curious Task Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-13-abigail-hall-%e2%80%94-how-does-foreign-policy-create-a-boomerang-effect-at-home/  4. “Keep Calm and Carry On” Poster Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On  5. “Uncle Sam” Poster Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam  6. “Smith-Mundt Act” by US Agency for Global Media Link: https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/oversight/legislation/smith-mundt/ 7. “Dick Cheney” by Britannica Link: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dick-Cheney  8. “Biographies of Secretaries of State: Colin Powell (1937-2021)” by Office of the Historian Link: https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/powell-colin-luther  9. “Biographies of Secretaries of State: Condoleezza Rice (1954-)” by Office of the Historian Link: https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/rice-condoleezza 10. “Pat Tillman” by Britannica Link: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pat-Tillman 11. “The Life and Death of Phil Strub” by Spy Culture Link: https://www.spyculture.com/the-life-and-death-of-phil-strub/ 12. “Windtalkers” by IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245562/ 13. “Top Gun” by IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099/ 14. "Transformers" by IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279/