. . . but never had the time. Well, now you might not have to. You can just listen to it — with commentaries, even. Over at EconTalk.org, George Mason University economists Russ Robert and Dan Klein just finished the fourth installment of their conversation about Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments.

I realize how much at risk I am to sound like a geek, but I just finished listening to them and they’re fantastic. I had read TMS many years ago and honestly didn’t remember enjoying it much. While I always realized that Adam Smith was probably one of the most important liberal (in the European sense of the term) thinkers of all time, I will confess that I have also always found him a bit tedious.

Remarkably, Roberts and Klein managed to underline the intellectual importance of Smith and his relevance in today’s world where the free-market is accused of being the cause of all our problems, while at the same time removing Smith’s tediousness — or at least most of it.

I would highly recommend listening to these podcasts to both those who have had an interest in Smith and those who never cared.

Find all four episodes here.