In 1977, shortly after agreeing to work with me to create Free To Choose, Milton Friedman introduced me to Clay LaForce and Armen Alchian. In the spring of 1978 Clay proposed that we work together to create video recordings of conversations with all the recipients of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.

I proceeded to contact a number of Nobel economists to determine their interest in participating. When I met with Paul Samuelson he noted that my Adam Smith tie made it clear which Nobel economists I favored, but nonetheless he said he would participate.

At the 1978 Mont Pelerin meeting in Hong Kong, I met Hayek and he agreed participate. He was planning to spend several weeks at the Hoover Institution in the Spring of 1979 and we agreed that would be a convenient time for the recordings.

Arrangements were made to record the conversations at the public television station in San Jose, CA. Clay and Armen arranged for a number of economists to participate. At my suggestion we also included Robert Bork and Leo Rosten.

Sadly, despite the success of these recordings, funding was not found to continue the project. Fortunately, we captured these fascinating chats with an extraordinary defender of liberty.

Bob Chitester
Free To Choose Network
August 2010