In this enlightening episode of The Free Thought Project podcast, Jason flies solo (with Matt on vacation) for a deep-dive conversation with longtime liberty activist and Free Talk Live co-host, Mark Edge. Note: Jason's mic wasn’t working correctly for the first 17 minutes — but the insights are worth sticking around for.

Mark's radio co-host and Free Talk Live co-founder, Ian Freeman, is currently serving time in federal prison for the "crime" of facilitating Bitcoin transactions — a glaring example of the federal government’s ongoing war on crypto. We unpack Ian's unjust prosecution, his prank encounter with Joe Biden that may have put him in the feds’ crosshairs, and the heartbreaking reality that Free Talk Live is now on life support.

Jason and Mark also reflect on their time at the 2025 Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, the energy and evolution of the crypto movement, and briefly touch on Roger Ver’s new book Hijacking Bitcoin. We discuss the importance of decentralization, the co-optation risks crypto faces, and Ross Ulbricht’s powerful first public speech since being imprisoned in 2013.

The conversation turns toward the two-party illusion, the failures of political reform through party expansion, and whether Trump's second term could change the trajectory of the crypto crackdown. We wrap with a white pill: Mark’s optimism, what keeps him going after nearly two decades in the fight for liberty, and how we can support Ian and others like him.

This is a must-listen for anyone who cares about digital freedom, liberty activism, and the future of financial sovereignty. (Length: 51:10)

Free Talk Live – https://freetalklive.com