Damage Control

Full-time trucker and part-time libertarian YouTuber Reed Coverdale joins the show to explain how from licensing to regulations to unions, the government screws over the working class. Plus, we discuss alternative pathways to skilled trades over college degrees and why he finds the way progressive politicians talk about blue-collar workers frustrating and tone-deaf.

Follow Reed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReedCoverdale

Follow Brad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brad_polumbo

My Foundation for Economic Education colleague Hannah Cox joins the show to explain how corrupt unions rig the system in favor of their members at the public's expense—and what we can do about it. We break down the sordid history of unions in America, the particularly acute problem posed by public-sector unions like police unions and teachers' unions, and what the Biden administration's pro-union policies could mean for our economy.

Plus, Hannah offers up a Southern food take, and I admit to a weird habit I have with peanuts.

Follow Hannah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahdanielle_cox6/

Subscribe to Hannah's podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/based-with-hannah-cox/id1535704082

Journalist and author Kenny Xu joins the show to discuss his forthcoming book, AN INCONVENIENT MINORITY: The Ivy League Discrimination Cases and the Attack on Asian-

Pre-order Kenny's book: https://www.amazon.com/Inconvenient-Minority-Admissions-American-Excellence-ebook/dp/B08MQN8J6D

Follow Brad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brad_polumbo

In Episode 7 of BASED, Hannah Cox explains the problems with American unions, why they aren't a free market entity, and the economic problems they create.

Cox walks listeners through the history of organized labor's public policy and shows how unions often use government - or other third parties - to coerce membership, enrich themselves, and rig the system against the little guy.

Conservative columnist, media strategist, and Lithuanian-American Gabriella Hoffman joins the show to tell the story of her family's escape from the Soviet Union and Communist tyranny.

What was it like for her parents in Soviet-era Lithuania? How has modern-day Lithuania responded to its dark authoritarian past? And what made America such an appealing place for her family to flee to? Are those elements of American life under attack?

We discuss all this, plus the modern conservative movement's anti-immigrant faction and Gabriella's hot food take.

Follow Gabriella on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Gabby_Hoffman

Competitive Enterprise Institute President Kent Lassman explains how the COVID pandemic cast light on "never needed" laws in education, dining, healthcare & more—and how we make the temporary freedoms gained via "emergency waivers" permanent. Plus, Kent explains how we ended up with such an overregulated and restricted society in the first place and he weighs in on tea vs. iced coffee debate.

Follow Kent on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KentatCEI

Follow Brad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brad_polumbo

"The fact is that voters got us into this mess. Maybe the answer isn’t more voters," National Review writer Kevin Williamson argues on today's podcast in light of the ongoing controversies regarding voting rules in Georgia. He joins the show to make the argument that having more voters and increasing access to voting isn't necessarily a good thing.

Is democracy a good in and of itself? Doesn't limiting voting have a dark history? What's the relationship between voting and good policy? Does safeguarding liberty sometimes require constraining democracy?

Plus, we discuss the viral backlash Kevin's argument on voting has received and his thoughts on the state of the conservative movement and right-wing media.

Read Kevin's essay on voting: https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/04/why-not-fewer-voters/

Follow Brad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brad_polumbo

Former Member of Parliament and newly-arrived Mississipi Public Policy Center CEO Douglas Carswell joins the show to discuss how woke radicalism and COVID authoritarianism are wreaking havoc in the UK—and explain why these problems haven't been nearly as bad in the US. We talk Brexit, the Constitution, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, right-wing populism, and more. We round the show out with a surprising American food Douglas learned to love when he first came to the US.

Follow Brad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brad_polumbo

Follow Douglas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DouglasCarswell

Journalist Jack Hunter, who co-authored the book "The Tea Party Goes to Washington" with Senator Rand Paul, joins the show to discuss how a libertarian message can appeal to an increasing populist and anti-elitist electorate in 2022, 2024, and beyond. From Bernie Sanders to Donald Trump, voters are increasingly drawn to politicians promising to fight for the little guy against the elite. But the solutions to this sentiment don't have to be big government socialism or right-wing nationalism.

What exactly is populism? Can it coexist with libertarianism? How can we better frame free-market economics as a common man's cause? What parts of the GOP's Trump legacy can we build on and praise? How can the GOP embrace libertarian-leaning positions on key issues to expand its appeal to minority voters? What might a libertarian-populist GOP's future look like in 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential campaign?

We discuss all this, Jack's food take, & more.

Read Jack's essay on libertarian populism: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-right-kind-of-realignment/

Follow Brad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brad_polumbo

FEE Senior Education Fellow, author, and mom Kerry McDonald joins the show to break down the explosion in permanent homeschooling amid pandemic life and how it plays into a broader homeschooling revolution.

How has the last year exposed the failures of traditional government schools? What are 'pandemic pods' and new forms of alternative education looking like? Can anyone homeschool, or is it only an option for wealthy elites? We discuss all this, break down common myths about homeschooling and counterarguments against it, and recap Kerry's personal high-profile debates with opponents who want to ban homeschooling.

Follow Kerry on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerry_edu

Follow Brad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brad_polumbo