Kibbe on Liberty

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?

Matt Kibbe is joined by Logan Albright, head writer for Free the People and author of “Conform or Be Cast Out: The (Literal) Demonization of Nonconformists.” Together they discuss the ways in which the ruling elites have attempted to enforce conformity on the population using stigma, shaming, and often physical violence. Although the book was written before the outbreak of COVID-19, the cost of being a nonconformist has suddenly become very real to the millions of people threatened with losing their jobs or their access to the basic functions of society. And although a certain amount of conformity is sometimes necessary to maintain harmony, it is ultimately those who dare to be different who move the world forward toward new frontiers.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Brian McWilliams, co-founder of Lions of Liberty, and Calum Nicholson, visiting fellow at the Danube Institute, to discuss the failures of the technocratic state in managing public health during a pandemic, spreading democracy abroad, and just about everything else. While it’s difficult to find a silver lining in the last two years of chaos, one bright spot may be the revelation to many people that those who wish to design society from the top down really have no idea what they are talking about. The people who hold the levers of power imagine that they know enough to understand, and therefore effectively control, the lives of millions of people, but we now have enough empirical evidence to see very clearly that that is simply not the case.

Matt Kibbe is joined by a tired and slightly hungover Free the People staff under the lights of six Christmas trees to discuss some of the projects that have been keeping them going all year, as well as a look ahead at 2022. These include the award-winning “All We Have,” the story of a family struggling to keep their family business under a constantly changing regime of COVID regulations; a series warning people about how far government emergency powers can really go; and a forthcoming documentary about families who have decided to leave the government school system due to intolerable pandemic policies.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Robert Alt, president and CEO of the Buckeye Institute, to discuss whether there are any effective legal mechanisms to limit government power when both federal and state officials are dedicated to expanding it as much as possible under the rubric of “emergency measures.” Alt points to historical examples of temporary programs that became permanent, how the courts can stop certain unconstitutional programs, and the terrible legal precedents that led us to where we are today.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to discuss the bloated end-of-year budget that always keeps Congress in town right up until Christmas. This year, it’s particularly grim, as the bill contains funding to implement the Biden administration’s unconstitutional vaccine mandate. While many Republicans are hoping the courts will strike down the mandate, this creates a dangerous precedent in which Congress abdicates its responsibility to the voters, ceding that power to unelected judges. While there’s a good chance that the vaccine mandate will not be allowed to stand, it doesn’t excuse the legislative branch from properly fulfilling its role to rein in the executive power of the president.