Kibbe on Liberty

If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let us do it! This oft-repeated indictment of democracy, or at least the illusion of democracy, is gaining traction among a number of Americans, not least of which is Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne, who sat down with Matt Kibbe at this year's FreedomFest conference in Las Vegas. Byrne claims that, as a former CIA asset, he has knowledge that the voting machines used in American elections are not secure and have in fact been used by American intelligence agencies to influence the outcome of elections, not just in this country, but in 72 others around the globe.

When Joe Rogan handed Brazilian UFC champion Renato Moicano a microphone after a triumphant victory, he probably didn’t expect a lecture on economics. What followed was a viral moment in which Moicano told fans that if they care about their countries, they should read the work of Ludwig von Mises, one of the 20th century’s major opponents of central planning and a key figure in the Austrian school of economics. At this year’s FreedomFest, Matt Kibbe sat down with Moicano to discuss how he discovered the ideas of free markets, sound money, and private property and why he found it important to share those insights with his fans. In conversation, the fighter proves every bit as passionate and formidable as he does in the ring.

Matt Kibbe is joined by actor and comedian Rob Schneider to talk about how America's popular culture has been hijacked by Marxist intellectuals pushing an agenda of grievance and envy. This message is being expressed through Hollywood films, television, journalism, schools, and universities. And young people are eating it up, seduced by the "warmth of collectivism" promised by self-described socialists like Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The good news is that there's a growing backlash of public figures no longer afraid to speak out and tell stories that remind Americans why the land of the free is something to celebrate.

When an experimental vaccine was rushed to market as part of Operation Warp Speed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans were told that it was “safe and effective.” They were also threatened with losing their jobs or access to public spaces if they refused to take the shot. Six years later, we’re learning that these vaccines have done severe damage to thousands of people. Matt Kibbe is joined by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to discuss why neither the media nor the government will extend any sympathy or aid to those injured by a product that was forced on them and why pharmaceutical companies continue to enjoy legal immunity for the damage they cause.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) was swept into office on the promise that "the warmth of collectivism" would make life better for New Yorkers. And after the repeated failures of the status quo, who can blame them for wanting to try something different? However, as libertarian gubernatorial candidate Larry Sharpe points out in his conversation with Matt Kibbe, Mamdani's answers to the very real problems facing New York are all the wrong ones. The kind of socialist central planning Mamdani advocates for has never worked in history, and it will not work now. There are actual solutions that could help restore the Big Apple to its former glory, but they involve empowering individuals, not imposing restrictions — like rent control and government-run grocery stores — from the top down.

It looks like President Trump may finally have reached a peace deal that will put an end to the war in Iran, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a war that never should have started to begin with. Matt Kibbe is joined by Joe Kent, former director of counterterrorism for the Trump administration, to discuss why Americans were led to believe that Iran was an existential threat that needed to be dealt with immediately, when in fact the war was never in America’s interests.

While skeptics tend to dismiss Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a fad that is only useful for speculation, they overlook the important role the digital currency plays in breaking the government's stranglehold on the market for money. As the Federal Reserve continues to debase the value of the dollar, eating away at the savings of hardworking Americans, Bitcoin is an inflation-proof solution that also offers privacy and security. Matt Kibbe is joined by author and economist Saifedean Ammous, the man responsible for interesting Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in Bitcoin, to discuss the future of cryptocurrency and its applications for building a better, freer world.

When Jimmy Carter legalized home brewing in the 1970s, it unleashed a wave of American innovation that changed the craft beer market forever. Now, there is an opportunity to do the same thing with distilled spirits. Matt Kibbe talks with Robert Alt, president of the Buckeye Institute, about a case making its way to the Supreme Court that would allow Americans to distill their own gin, rum, and whiskey at home, paving the way for a new movement of craft distillers to disrupt the liquor market and bring fresh ideas to a thirsty, thirsty public.

It's the economy, stupid! Rising prices, stagnant wages, and poor job growth affect everyone, and everyone is quick to notice when the economy isn't performing well. But these are not insoluble problems, and in fact, economists have been shouting the solutions from the rooftops for decades, if only somebody would listen. Matt Kibbe is joined by James Harrigan and Antony Davies, hosts of the "Words and Numbers" podcast, to bemoan the fact that every new generation forgets the economic lessons of the past. Like Sisyphus doomed to roll a stone uphill forever, it is the curious task of economists to keep explaining that you can't bring about prosperity through high taxes, restricted trade, deficit spending, and endless money printing. It's not all bad news, however, as "Words and Numbers" will now be distributed by Free the People, giving more people the opportunity to separate economic sense from nonsense!

Six years after COVID-19, the pandemic-industrial complex seems eager for another round of lockdowns, as the media tries to generate fear surrounding the hantavirus that broke out on a cruise ship. Yet the country still hasn't recovered from the disastrous bungling of the last major virus. Matt Kibbe sits down with Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, author of "Dangerous Misinformation," to discuss how the public health establishment did everything in its power to prevent her and other doctors from effectively treating their patients for COVID-19, demonizing and ridiculing ivermectin and outright blocking access to monoclonal antibodies, all in favor of pushing an experimental vaccine that has caused untold harm. While many people would prefer to forget about COVID and move on, it's important that we remember how badly the government reacted so that we can prevent repeating those mistakes when the next virus arrives.