Kibbe On Liberty

Matt Kibbe sits down with economist Peter Boettke to discuss his new book, “The Struggle for a Better World,” about the hope that comes along with the vision of a free society. Too often, economists are seen as raining on the parades of the do-gooders who want to fix injustice in society. Boettke argues that we can be just as positive and inspiring as progressives, only instead of depending on privileged elites to solve our problems for us, we can recognize that a truly great society comes from ordinary people being allowed to pursue happiness in their own individual ways.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Stephen Kent, author of “How the Force Can Fix the World,” and Free the People executive producer Matt Battaglia to discuss the valuable moral and political lessons of the world’s most popular movie franchise. The Star Wars saga contains deep and highly relevant truths to help us repair much of what is wrong with the world today, starting with the need to reject fear and embrace hope. At a time when it seems like every aspect of society is dominated by the fear of what might go wrong, we are desperately in need of a moral compass that points toward redemption, forgiveness, and a future that can be better and brighter than today.

Matt Kibbe sits down with economist Phillip Magness, who has been documenting the historical record of America’s most powerful bureaucrat, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Although we’re supposed to trust everything Fauci says on faith, it turns out he has a long record of flip-flopping, baseless assertions, and just plain incompetence. In the 1980s, Fauci speculated wildly about the possibility of transmitting the HIV virus through casual contact, leading to persecution and social stigma for homosexuals. And last year, he freely admitted that lockdowns and mask mandates don’t work before realizing that it was in his political interest to claim the opposite. We should stop treating him like an expert and start treating him like a power-hungry political hack.

Matt Kibbe is joined by civil rights attorney Matt Larosiere to talk about the government’s various attempts to restrict our access to firearms. As is the case with most regulations, gun control doesn’t eliminate guns; the rich, the powerful, and the criminal will always be able to get them. Instead, what these laws do is prevent the poorest and most vulnerable citizens from being able to defend themselves. Anyone concerned with systemic racism and violence against minorities should oppose rules that disarm working Americans.

Matt Kibbe talks to former Libertarian vice presidential nominee Spike Cohen about government fearmongering and the threat of vaccine passports to liberty. They also discuss how living with a chronic illness can be surprisingly motivating and what the Libertarian Party needs to do to get its house in order and start attracting voters. Cohen argues that Libertarians need to be better at addressing the practical concerns of real Americans and stop their bad habit of gatekeeping the movement.

Matt Kibbe sits down with U.K.-based rapper Zuby to talk about coronavirus lockdowns in Britain, cancel culture, censorship, and the role of the arts in speaking truth to power. As bad as things have been in the U.S., Britain lacks a Bill of Rights and has a more centralized government, meaning that musicians and artists are even more afraid to speak out against the political class and stand up for free expression. The threat of cancellation helps keep performers silent even as lockdowns cost them their livelihoods.

Matt Kibbe talks with journalist Nancy Rommelmann about her experiences covering Antifa and the riots in Portland, Oregon. From a beautiful cultural center, the city has devolved into violence and chaos over a few short years. Frustration with lockdowns, anger at injustice, hatred of Donald Trump, and the complete absence of any tools to make things better have led to young people being romanced by a nihilistic desire to tear down the whole system, including commerce, police, and even the city government itself.

Matt Kibbe sits down with Marc Clair, host of the Lions of Liberty Podcast, to talk about their common medium of podcasting and how it’s transforming the way that people get their information. Kibbe recalls how traditional media forced you to compress your message into a 15-second sound bite and focused on scoring points off an opponent rather than listening and learning. Podcasts, on the other hand, prioritize long-form conversations that give people the space to think out loud and explore ideas without the need to be combative or overly simplistic, and that can only be a good thing for our culture.

Matt Kibbe sits down with Kara Jones, vice president of FREOPP, to discuss practical solutions to America’s ongoing health care crisis. Republicans have basically given up on repealing Obamacare, and the Democratic majority in Congress has no interest in revisiting the issue anyway. So we need to find solutions that both parties can agree on and that actually have a chance of passing the legislative process. Jones and her organization are devoted to finding market-based fixes that will not alienate Democrats but will also not cave to their disastrous notions of a single payer system or Medicare for All.

Matt Kibbe talks to Kelley Vlahos, senior adviser for the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about the Biden administration’s foreign policy, which is already looking a lot like Barack Obama’s foreign policy. A month into his presidency, Joe Biden is already bombing Syria, and he shows every sign of continuing the policy of endless wars in the Middle East and elsewhere. We can see this both in Biden’s historical record as a senator and vice president and in the people he’s surrounding himself with now that he’s the commander in chief.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Scott Horton, editorial director of Anti-War.com, to talk about why peace is such a difficult sell in Washington, D.C. While politicians like Barack Obama and Donald Trump campaign on a platform of non-intervention, once they get into office, very little seems to change. Part of the reason for this is a military-industrial complex dating back to World War II, with strong incentives to keep growing the military forever. In a sense, it no longer matters what the American people want or how they vote, because Congress answers to a higher authority—the Pentagon.

Matt Kibbe is joined by economist Donald Boudreaux to try to come to grips with the complete lack of rational risk assessment Americans have displayed with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of responding to the virus proportionally to its risk, we’ve chosen to ignore the existence of tradeoffs and take unprecedented measures to lock down the economy. Even many libertarians, who tend to be skeptical of government power and sensitive to unintended consequences, have seemingly forgotten their principles due to a fear that is wildly disproportionate to the actual danger.

Matt Kibbe sits down with author and economist Peter Schiff to talk about why Donald Trump lost, what to expect from the Joe Biden administration, and the dangers of unconstrained government spending. With fewer people willing to purchase government bonds and more debt than ever, the Federal Reserve will have no choice but to print more money than ever before. In addition to being a hidden tax on the poor, this could well lead to the kind of runaway inflation that has destroyed countries like Venezuela. Schiff explains what you can do to protect yourself from the coming currency crisis.

Brad Polumbo, opinion editor at the Foundation for Economic Education, joins Matt Kibbe to assess Joe Biden’s first speech as president and the policy agenda he has laid out so far. Unsurprisingly, Biden is signing a flurry of executive orders to undo much of what the Trump administration accomplished, and this reveals the pitfalls of governing unilaterally rather than working with Congress to pass legislation. Anything Trump did by executive order can be just as easily undone by Biden, just as anything Biden does now can be reversed by the next president. The result is an unstable and unpredictable regulatory environment, and that’s no way to run an economy.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Corey DeAngelis, director of school choice at the Reason Foundation, to discuss the shocking failure of government schools to meet the needs of parents and students during the coronavirus lockdowns. The result has been a surge in support for school choice programs, allowing tax dollars to follow the students directly rather than being tied to institutions that, for the most part, refuse to open. DeAngelis explains why teachers’ unions and education bureaucrats are so dead set against allowing any form of choice for America’s students. It’s not about what’s good for the children; it’s about maintaining a government monopoly.

Matt Kibbe sits down with economist Robert Lawson to talk about his Economic Freedom Index, an annual ranking of the world’s freest — and most unfree — economies. Lawson has discovered over the years that countries with lots of economic freedom tend to have better civil liberties and political freedoms as well. While oddballs like Hong Kong and Singapore do exist, the correlation is quite strong, meaning that if you care about free speech, democracy, and the ability to marry who you want, it’s a good idea to support low taxes, light regulations, and free trade as well.

Matt Kibbe sits down with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) to talk about the deep political and social divisions running through the country that erupted into violence last week at the U.S. Capitol. Roy argues that frustration over the election is partly a proxy for a whole range of other frustrations Americans are feeling—and that the only solution is federalism and decentralization. As long as one side is trying to impose its will on the other from the top down, polarization, extremism, and even violence will only get worse.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Brian Nichols, host of The Brian Nichols Show, to discuss the failures of libertarians to effectively market ideas. In his day job as manager of a sales team, Nichols has learned that the best way to communicate with people is not to tell them what you think they should know, but to listen to their problems, answer their questions, and establish yourself as a source of trusted information others can turn to in times of doubt. By becoming less aggressive and more open, libertarians could go a lot farther towards making inroads with the average American looking for answers to problems, like government lockdowns, that are actively affecting their ability to live and prosper.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to discuss their bipartisan bill to repeal the Patriot Act and enact major reforms to protect Americans’ privacy rights. The legislators from both parties recognize the need to safeguard against intelligence agencies that operate in secret without respect for the Fourth Amendment and other important constitutional protections that stand between us and tyranny.

Matt Kibbe is joined by the entire Free the People staff to celebrate another year fighting for freedom. The group discusses work they have done on criminal justice reform, pushing back against critical race theory and, most importantly, combatting the narrative of authoritarian lockdowns that have dominated 2020. Despite recommendations from Fauci and others, it’s never been more important to gather with your loved ones to rejoice that this miserable year is finally ending.