Vernon Smith received the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his pioneering work in experimental economics. I caught up with the 96-year-old recently in Southern California and conducted a long interview about his life and work that will appear as a Reason podcast.

Here’s part of our conversation about President Joe Biden’s massive $6.8 trillion budget plan, the role of government spending and Federal Reserve policy in causing inflation, the bailout of Silicon Valley Bank, and why Smith believes “it’s very hard to keep Democrats [from] wanting to make the world better by spending other people’s money.”

[Nick creates excellent podcasts. This is no exception. — Ed]