Ryan McMaken

Ryan McMaken (@ryanmcmaken) is editor in chief at the Mises Institute, a former economist for the State of Colorado, and the author of two books: Breaking Away: The Case of Secession, Radical Decentralization, and Smaller Polities and Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre. He is also the editor of The Struggle for Liberty: A Libertarian History of Political Thought. Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in public policy, finance, and international relations from the University of Colorado. Send in your article submissions for the Mises Wire and Power and Market, but read article guidelines first.

Ryan is a cohost of the Radio Rothbard podcast and the Loot & Lobby podcast, has appeared on Fox News and Fox Business, and has been featured in a number of national print publications including Politico, The Hill, Bloomberg, and The Washington Post.

He’s been married for 26 years and has four children.

Journalists seeking comment: Email Ryan at rwmcmaken@mises.org.

Articles

Trump Creates His Own Version of QE with New Fannie/Freddie MBS Purchases

01/14/2026 Power & Market Ryan McMaken

President Trump on Thursday announced that he will use Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy up mortgage-backed securities (MBSs), essentially creating a new kind...

Multifamily Delinquencies Rise Again, Hit New Post-Great Recession High

01/14/2026 Power & Market Ryan McMaken

Freddie Mac’s delinquency report for multifamily properties shows delinquencies above the Great-Recession peak.

Trump Wants $500 Billion More for the Pentagon As Deficits Mount

01/14/2026 Mises Wire Ryan McMaken

Trump ways he wants to spend half a trillion more dollars on military spending, even as federal spending persists at Biden-era levels and interest on the debt climbs ever upward.

Publications

The Fight for Liberty: Past, Present, and Future

01/12/2026 Ryan McMaken

The Fight over Economics Is a Fight over Culture The Left long ago figured out how to get ordinary people interested in economic policy. The strategy is two pronged. The first part is to frame the problem as a moral problem. The second part is to

Breaking Away: The Case for Secession, Radical Decentralization, and Smaller Polities

10/13/2022 Ryan McMaken

Breaking Away differs from countless other books on secession and decentralization in that it considers examples and benefits of secession and radical decentralization in a much broader historical, geographical, and theoretical context. This book is

Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre

01/11/2016 Ryan McMaken

The Western genre has long been associated with right-wing and libertarian politics, and is said to promote individualism and free-market economics. In a new look at the Western, however, Ryan McMaken shows that the Western is in fact often anti

Media

The United States v. Jerome Powell

01/15/2026 Tho Bishop Ryan McMaken Connor O'Keeffe

On this episode of Power and Market, Ryan, Connor, and Tho discuss the reported probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Is this actual accountability for malfeasance, or a petty battle of DC egos? At the end of the day, does the difference matter? And should Powell be encouraged that central banks around the world are standing in solidarity with him? The panel dives into these questions and more.

Will Trump Destroy NATO with a Greenland Invasion?

01/15/2026 Ryan McMaken

If NATO members aren't even safe from other NATO members then what value is the alliance? There is one good thing that could come out of a Greenland war: it would probably destroy NATO.

Trump Wants $500 Billion More for the Pentagon As Deficits Mount

01/14/2026 Ryan McMaken

Trump says he wants to spend half a trillion more dollars on military spending, even as federal spending persists at Biden-Era levels and interest on the debt climbs ever upward.