Kibbe On Liberty

Matt Kibbe is joined by Tony Woodlief, author of "I, Citizen," to talk about how Americans can address political polarization and the increasingly fragmented communities that leave us at each other’s throats. If you only view the country through the lens of social media, you could be forgiven for thinking that the country is on the brink of a civil war. The reality is that we are less divided than we seem. The tendency to break everything down into Left and Right doesn’t actually reflect people’s real attitudes. In reality, most people fall somewhere in the middle, or else have a complex blend of views from both sides of the aisle. The kind of Manichean thinking that reduces everything to red versus blue is what’s dividing us more than our actual views. I, Citizen: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1641772107/

While visiting Prague to attend the New Intellectuals Conference, hosted by the Ayn Rand Center Europe and LibertyCon 2022, Matt Kibbe ran into several young persons from Ukraine who were eager to tell the world about what is going on in their country. It’s shocking to hear about the devastation and ruined cities brought about by the Russian forces. Yet, contrary to all expectations, Vladimir Putin is encountering massive resistance not only from the Ukrainian military, but from the ordinary citizens of the country as well. It’s inspiring to hear these students describe their experiences in occupied Ukraine and proclaim their determination to keep their country free and democratic. As they say, freedom is in Ukrainians’ blood.

Matt Kibbe talks with Tom Palmer, executive vice president for international programs at Atlas Network, along with co-conspirators Andreas Jürgens and Tomek Kolodziejczuk about their efforts to transport badly needed supplies into Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Unwilling to wait for governments to act, Tom, Andreas, and Tomek decided to take matters into their own hands, organizing a network of individuals willing to risk their own safety to bring food, transportation, and body armor to the Ukrainian people. Their actions are a testament to the power of voluntary cooperation and personal responsibility at a time when most of the world is looking for someone else to solve their problems for them.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Deirdre McCloskey, distinguished professor emeritus of economics and of history at the University of Illinois in Chicago, to talk about the language we use as advocates of free market economics. McCloskey points out that economics is essentially a series of metaphors, and that we can best explain its concepts through stories rather than the dry language of academia. Meanwhile, certain jargon or stigmatized terms like “capitalism” are doing more harm than good when it comes to helping people understand why the freedom to innovate makes life better for everyone.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Glenn Beck, author of "The Great Reset: Joe Biden and the Rise of 21st-Century Fascism." They talk about the gatekeepers of the internet who suppress ideas, news, and stories that do not fit the mainstream narrative. Glaring similarities can be seen to China’s model of a social credit system—both in free speech online and the pandemic lockdowns, when so many of our freedoms were stolen in the name of safety.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Jeremy Kauffman, CEO of Odysee and LBRY, to talk about how Blockchain can provide a safe haven for free speech online through alternate social media platforms. Because of its decentralized nature, Blockchain-based services can’t be censored or tampered with in the same way that other websites can, with the implication being a freer, more secure internet in the future. Of course, this also means that the government is eager to crack down on this technology, as it poses a threat to its ability to control communications.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Jenin Younes, litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, to discuss the jarring reversal of the Biden administration and other Democratic politicians regarding COVID-19 and lockdown policies. As empirical evidence and public support for their positions evaporated, the “follow the science” crowd appeared to lose interest in a subject that has preoccupied them for two years, declaring victory over the virus apropos of nothing other than poor polling data and a desire to change the subject prior to the midterm elections.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Dan Caldwell, vice president of foreign policy at Stand Together, to discuss the increasingly fervent calls for U.S. intervention in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Too many armchair pundits fail to realize the catastrophic implications of a conventional war with Russia, or the fact that it is ultimately the Ukrainian people who will pay the greatest price for a prolonged conflict rather than a diplomatic solution. Additionally, calls for a no-fly zone over Ukraine fail to take into account what enforcing such a policy would actually mean and how quickly the situation could escalate into an all-out global war. All this goes to show how little politicians in Washington have learned from the country’s costly, multi-decade interventions in the Middle East and that the military-industrial complex will be deterred by neither evidence nor common sense.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Logan Albright, head writer at Free the People and author of Conform or Be Cast Out, to discuss the numerous and varied evils of the nation's least favorite tradition: Daylight Savings Time. Bad for your health and unjustified by any objective metric, the process of springing forward and falling back also demonstrates man's hubris in trying to put a whole nation out of sync with the natural rhythms of the Earth and sun. Meanwhile, a new bill being ushered through Congress, The Sunshine Protection Act, would apparently rid us of this blight once and for all, yet, in typical government fashion, might actually make things even worse. Conform or Be Cast Out: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1789048427/

Matt Kibbe is joined by Phil Magness, senior research faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research, to discuss critical race theory, with specific reference to the New York Times’ 1619 Project. The 1619 Project is an effort to frame all of American history as a story of oppression and slavery, yet it’s a mess of sloppy research, poor scholarship, and intellectual dishonesty more concerned with pushing a political agenda than with uncovering the true facts about our nation’s history. The Times has even sunk so low as to alter articles without issuing retraction notices to cover up factual inaccuracies or to remove citations of “problematic” scholars, including Magness’ own work on Abraham Lincoln.

Matt Kibbe and Blockchain technologist Cody Marx Bailey continue their discussion of the secure, decentralized technology that has the potential to change the world. Blockchain provides solutions to major problems in trust and communication for people all over the planet, regardless of what their political or economic situations look like. And while governments tend to be hostile to any system that liberates individuals from their control, from a practical perspective there’s not much they can do to stop it.

Matt Kibbe sits down with Blockchain technologist Cody Marx Bailey to discuss the implications of decentralized Blockchain technology to create a freer, more liberated future. Since no one owns or controls the Blockchain, no one can shut it down. At a time when governments are shutting down individuals’ bank accounts and censoring information on the internet, the potential for a solution that is entirely immune to political power would be a true game-changer.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Phil Magness, senior research faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research, to discuss the rapidly changing narratives on COVID-19. Since the release of the Great Barrington Declaration and all the criticism leveled at it, many of the predictions made two years ago have proved correct. The attempts to suppress misinformation now look incredibly foolish, given that the “misinformation” turned out to be right, and the official narrative turned out to be wrong.

Seventy two hours into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Matt Kibbe checks in with Nataliya Melnyk, Director of Bendukidze Free Market Center based in Kyiv. Nataliya has been in the city since the war began, and she offers a unique boots-on-the-ground perspective of the conflict that now puts her directly in peril. Amid warning sirens heard from her apartment, she discusses the history of Ukraine’s relationship with Russia, what Vladimir Putin is really after, and why the citizens of Ukraine have taken up arms to defend their home from Russian troops.

When Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that restaurants in the District of Columbia would be required to turn away some customers based on their medical history, Eric Flannery told his customers that he would never discriminate against them. As a result, the city revoked his liquor license and ultimately shut down his restaurant entirely. Matt Kibbe sits down with Eric to find out why he was willing to stick his neck out to resist this authoritarian policy. They are also joined by Robert Alt, president and CEO of the Buckeye Institute, who is representing Eric in his case against the city, which has been using emergency powers for nearly two years in defiance of the long-standing legal principle of public accommodation.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Hannah Cox and Brad Polumbo to talk about “Based Politics,” their new venture into libertarian-leaning commentary on the absurdity of woke culture and big government hijinks. They discuss how the political Left has turned its back on formerly liberal principles like free speech and the freedom to protest the government, while pointing out that in most cases, the solution to societal problems can be found in markets and in decentralization rather than in the kind of top-down, bureaucratic planning typically favored by politicians and experts on both sides of the aisle.

In this special bonus episode of Kibbe on Liberty, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) explains to Matt Kibbe why it would be a mistake for the United States to get involved in the mounting conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Too often, our elected officials are eager to start wars on the other side of the globe to distract from problems here at home, without considering the cost in American blood and treasure. While there are seldom good reasons for butting into squabbles among other countries which we know little about, there are plenty of excellent ones to avoid these entanglements, not the least of which is our abysmal track record at competently managing our overseas involvements.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to review some of the predictions the congressman made about the harmful effects of lockdowns at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Massie has checked the receipts and discovered that many things that were dismissed—or outright censored—as dangerous misinformation when he first said them have now become accepted scientific fact, proving the importance of allowing these conversations to play out without dictating what constitutes an indisputable truth.

What motivates a person to want to silence all competing voices? Matt Kibbe is joined by attorney and author Robert Corn-Revere to discuss this question and others. Corn-Revere’s new book, “The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder,” elegantly makes the case for free expression while demonstrating that, throughout history, the censors have never been the good guys. Free the People executive producer Matt Battaglia also joins to discuss censorship’s impact on the medium of comics. At a time when free speech is under attack from all sides, it’s more important than ever to remind the world that censorship invariably makes society worse, not better. The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1107570379/

Matt Kibbe is joined by Jenin Younes, litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, to discuss the imminent Supreme Court decision on whether OSHA can legally mandate that workers take the COVID-19 vaccine. From a constitutional standpoint, the answer seems obvious, but unfortunately the Court has shown that it is not immune to the propaganda perpetuated by government agencies and the media operating on their behalf. As it becomes more and more difficult to obtain unbiased health care information and the public loses trust in the medical establishment, proposals such as the mandatory vaccination of children become increasingly troubling. But will the Court agree?