Kibbe on Liberty

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.

Recent testimony from a CIA whistleblower reveals that the agency knew early on that the COVID-19 virus came from a lab, but that finding was suppressed in favor of the natural origin theory at the urging of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Matt Kibbe is joined by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to discuss how Fauci became so powerful within the intelligence community and why secretive agencies like the CIA are able to brazenly flout the law and ignore orders from Congress. A representative democracy can't function when the people have no ability to rein in unelected bureaucrats.

President Trump has taken a lot of criticism lately for going back on his "no new wars" foreign policy promises, but it's been a while since we checked in on one of the issues that has historically been most important to Republican voters: the Second Amendment. Matt Kibbe sits down with Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights, to see what the second Trump administration is doing for American gun owners and whether those who care about their rights should be concerned about the president's rhetoric on this issue.

As the U.S. Congress approves a short-term reauthorization of the FISA 702 surveillance program, it's more important than ever that Americans have a way to safeguard their constitutionally protected data from government spies. Matt Kibbe is joined by Naomi Brockwell, founder and president of the Ludlow Institute, to discuss the need for expanded privacy protections in the digital age. The Fourth Amendment was originally concerned with private papers and possessions, long before the internet existed, but the fact that communications are now digital should not mean that we lose the rights that the founders intended to give us. To that end, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has introduced the Surveillance Accountability Act to rein in government spying and restore basic civil liberties to the American people.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have attracted controversy, as some interests view them as a form of legalized gambling that ought to be outlawed. A better way of looking at them, however, is as a means to harness the wisdom of crowds to improve our understanding of the world around us. Matt Kibbe sits down with BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere, host of the new show “Predictable,” to talk about how prediction markets not only offer a way for knowledgeable people to make money off their insight, but also are replacing traditional opinion polling, which has been notoriously inaccurate at making predictions, with information that is more specific and granular. It turns out that people tend to be more careful in their analyses of current events when there is actual money on the line.

President Trump has been vocal about the deep state using FISA Section 702 to violate his rights and spy on his campaign activities. Now that he is in office, however, he is calling for a reauthorization of this same program, claiming that he is willing to give up his Fourth Amendment protections to support the military, despite not being able to point to a single instance when Section 702 was used to apprehend a terrorist. Matt Kibbe sits down with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to talk about the importance of protecting American citizens from government surveillance and how the complete secrecy with which intelligence agencies operate undermines our democracy.

The inability and unwillingness of young Americans to have conversations across the political aisle has become a major problem, preventing us from having a cohesive and civil society. And it has become clear that a large share of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of institutions like universities. Matt Kibbe sits down with philosopher Peter Boghossian, whose "Street Epistemology" series encourages better discourse between people of different political persuasions. They discuss whether the institutions can be salvaged or whether they need to be completely replaced, whether mass migration is compatible with classical liberalism, and how best to get people to actually listen to each other again.

The U.S. has a history of starting messy wars in the Middle East without a clear exit strategy. By the time the Iraq and Afghanistan wars finally came to an end, there was no easy way for American troops to withdraw without making the situation on the ground worse than it already was. Matt Kibbe and Dave DeCamp, news editor at Antiwar.com, discuss the recent developments in the Iran war — including Trump’s threat to permanently end an entire civilization, the ensuing ceasefire agreement, and the almost immediate collapse of that deal — and question whether there is still a way for Donald Trump to swiftly end the conflict while saving face with voters.

After cops raided his house based on false accusations, rapper Afroman wrote an album about the incident, to which police responded with a defamation lawsuit. Last month, he finally won his case, securing an important victory for freedom of speech. Matt Kibbe caught up with Afroman on tour to discuss his interactions with the police, the value of artistic freedom, and the need to hold the government accountable to its citizens.

As more people started asking questions about the two pipe bombs that were placed around the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the FBI was quick to arrest a suspect and declare the case closed. But does the evidence against alleged bomber Brian Cole hold up under scrutiny? Matt Kibbe is joined by Blaze News journalist Steve Baker to go over the facts of the case, all of which seem to paint Cole as an unlikely perpetrator. Is it possible that this young man with predictable habits and a learning disability is nothing more than a convenient scapegoat?