Independent Institute Chairman and CEO Mary L. G. Theroux interviews Senior Fellow Christopher Coyne on his new book, In Search of Monsters to Destroy, including his intellectual journey, the shift in America’s culture post 9/11, preemptive war, the loss of liberty and security at home resulting from such wars, and the viability of a path to peace without a deep state.

In Search of Monsters to Destroy: The Folly of American Empire and the Paths to Peace, by Christopher Coyne
https://www.independent.org/store/book.asp?id=140

“Nobody is above the law.” That’s a proper American sentiment. How does New York’s 34-count indictment against Donald Trump measure up to it? On another legal front, should Congress ban TikTok? And what are we to make of the revelation that at least one FBI field office set out to create a spy network within Catholic churches?

That Chinese balloon floated over the American heartland for days before it was shot down. But are concerns about it just so much hot air? And a year after Putin’s invasion, does Ukraine deserve a “blank check” from the U.S., and is there an end game? In other news, will Section 230 survive the Supreme Court? And what’s with this effort to rewrite and sanitize Roald Dahl’s children’s books? We discuss these issues and much more.

It turns out that former Presidents and Vice Presidents walk away with classified documents. But is it okay if you keep your stash in a locked garage next to your Corvette? Or maybe the issue gets blown out of proportion since the government classifies too many documents in the first place? Also, Ron De Santis is taking on the woke warriors in Florida. But is he going about it the right way? On another front, how long will government hold onto special emergency powers as the Covid crisis fades? We discuss these issues and much more.

The U.S. Supreme Court has been hearing oral arguments in a number of explosive cases, including the freedom of web designers to choose what version of marriage they will adorn through their work, plus cases dealing with Joe Biden’s executive order transferring student loan debt from borrowers to taxpayers, and Harvard’s race-based admissions policies. At the same time, Elon Musk’s Twitter revelations shed light on politicians influencing social media policies, and also we are now learning shocking back story of the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.

It looks like American voters were not as alarmed about inflation and the sagging economy as many people thought they were. On a possibly related front, what should we make of the reaction to the despicable attack on Paul Pelosi? And what is the deeper meaning of the race-based affirmative action cases now before the U.S. Supreme Court? We will discuss these issues and much more.

Is Russia getting desperate over Ukraine? Where could that lead, and what should the US do? Here at home, what in the world did PayPal think it was doing when it announced financial penalties for any of its users who went public with political opinions that PayPal doesn’t like? And what did Vice President Kamala Harris mean when she said that disaster relief after Hurricane Ian would be allocated according to principles of racial equity?

When Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taiwan, the lawless communist mainland government of China threw a fit; does their overreaction mean that the United States should now overtly pledge in advance to fight against China if it invades Taiwan? Looking back at home, is the rule of law threatened by the recent FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago? And let’s hear it for the latest miracle political words: it’s called the “Inflation Reduction Act”—even though it will ramp up inflation!

What’s one thing both parties agree on? Subsidies for big businesses with lots of employees—even if it comes at the expense of taxpayers and consumers. That’s the impetus behind last week’s semiconductor pork-barrel bill. At the same time, the Biden administration, spooked by inflation, sets out to change the definition of “recession,” apparently in hopes that terminology will ease the impact of disastrous spending and monetary policy. Then there’s Dr. Fauci, who now tells us that if he had it to do all over again, he’d insist on even more draconian lockdowns and restrictions.