The Importance of Being a Fan

Whether Lebron James has fans might affect the sales of his jersey, but it doesn't affect his stats. It doesn't affect the scoreboard. In some sense, it doesn't matter if Lebron James has fans because he is still, objectively, a great basketball player.

But it does matter whether William Blake has fans. He might have been just some cooky, idiosyncratic guy whose poems and art would have faded from history if each generation did not find some passionate admirers to champion his work - guys like Wordsworth, Northrop Frye, Alan Ginsberg, and Harold Bloom. And those guys, too, are only relevant because they have fans. In the contest of ideas, you either have fans or you don't exist.

That's why I make no bones about being a Richard Epstein fan. I think he is the Aristotle of our age, the Lebron James of thinkers. He puts up intellectual three-pointers like it ain't no thing, yet in the debates of our day he is a virtually unknown player. Epstein is doing his job. He needs more fans out there lobbying for him. So, this blog is me lobbying for The Smartest Person Alive. If you're an Epstein fan, too, then do your friends a favor by inviting them to subscribe to this podcast: http://ricochet.com/podcasts/law-talk

Ricochet Subscription

This Christmas I bought myself a subscription to ricochet.com because I want them to keep making podcasts with Richard Epstein!

Richard Epstein and John Yoo Podcast

I don't know how I missed the regular podcast from the smartest man on the planet, Richard Epstein!!!  He is paired up with the also brilliant John Yoo. Check it out here: LAW TALK

Or subscribe to the podcast using this feed: http://ricochet.com/podcast/feed/law-talk 

Or on iTunes: itpc://ricochet.com/podcast/feed/law-talk

Also, I'm glad to discover that this blog comes up among the top google search results for the terms "Richard Epstein" and "genius."

The End of Unions?

Richard Epstein argues the case for right-to-work laws.

Richard Epstein and John Yoo

Listening to this podcast with Richard Epstein and John Yoo: http://abovethelaw.com/2011/12/richard-epstein-and-john-yoo-on-law-school-reform/

It's about a year old, but it's one I don't think I've heard before. Epstein and Yoo have also appeared in interviews together on Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson at the Hoover Institute:

Richard Epstein vs Larry Tribe

I need to get on the road to a Christmas party in Tucson, but I can't stop listening to this great debate between Epstein and Tribe! EPSTEIN v. TRIBE VIDEO

As always, Epstein demonstrates that no matter how smart you are, he is smarter.

Memo to SCOTUS: Cut the FDA Down to Size

The behemoth is not only standing between sick patients and crucial drugs, it is violating the prohibition against free speech. http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/136416