Kibbe on Liberty

Matt Kibbe sits down with economist Peter Boettke to discuss his new book, “The Struggle for a Better World,” about the hope that comes along with the vision of a free society. Too often, economists are seen as raining on the parades of the do-gooders who want to fix injustice in society. Boettke argues that we can be just as positive and inspiring as progressives, only instead of depending on privileged elites to solve our problems for us, we can recognize that a truly great society comes from ordinary people being allowed to pursue happiness in their own individual ways.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Stephen Kent, author of “How the Force Can Fix the World,” and Free the People executive producer Matt Battaglia to discuss the valuable moral and political lessons of the world’s most popular movie franchise. The Star Wars saga contains deep and highly relevant truths to help us repair much of what is wrong with the world today, starting with the need to reject fear and embrace hope. At a time when it seems like every aspect of society is dominated by the fear of what might go wrong, we are desperately in need of a moral compass that points toward redemption, forgiveness, and a future that can be better and brighter than today.

Matt Kibbe sits down with economist Phillip Magness, who has been documenting the historical record of America’s most powerful bureaucrat, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Although we’re supposed to trust everything Fauci says on faith, it turns out he has a long record of flip-flopping, baseless assertions, and just plain incompetence. In the 1980s, Fauci speculated wildly about the possibility of transmitting the HIV virus through casual contact, leading to persecution and social stigma for homosexuals. And last year, he freely admitted that lockdowns and mask mandates don’t work before realizing that it was in his political interest to claim the opposite. We should stop treating him like an expert and start treating him like a power-hungry political hack.

Matt Kibbe is joined by civil rights attorney Matt Larosiere to talk about the government’s various attempts to restrict our access to firearms. As is the case with most regulations, gun control doesn’t eliminate guns; the rich, the powerful, and the criminal will always be able to get them. Instead, what these laws do is prevent the poorest and most vulnerable citizens from being able to defend themselves. Anyone concerned with systemic racism and violence against minorities should oppose rules that disarm working Americans.

Matt Kibbe talks to former Libertarian vice presidential nominee Spike Cohen about government fearmongering and the threat of vaccine passports to liberty. They also discuss how living with a chronic illness can be surprisingly motivating and what the Libertarian Party needs to do to get its house in order and start attracting voters. Cohen argues that Libertarians need to be better at addressing the practical concerns of real Americans and stop their bad habit of gatekeeping the movement.

Matt Kibbe sits down with U.K.-based rapper Zuby to talk about coronavirus lockdowns in Britain, cancel culture, censorship, and the role of the arts in speaking truth to power. As bad as things have been in the U.S., Britain lacks a Bill of Rights and has a more centralized government, meaning that musicians and artists are even more afraid to speak out against the political class and stand up for free expression. The threat of cancellation helps keep performers silent even as lockdowns cost them their livelihoods.

Matt Kibbe talks with journalist Nancy Rommelmann about her experiences covering Antifa and the riots in Portland, Oregon. From a beautiful cultural center, the city has devolved into violence and chaos over a few short years. Frustration with lockdowns, anger at injustice, hatred of Donald Trump, and the complete absence of any tools to make things better have led to young people being romanced by a nihilistic desire to tear down the whole system, including commerce, police, and even the city government itself.

Matt Kibbe sits down with Marc Clair, host of the Lions of Liberty Podcast, to talk about their common medium of podcasting and how it’s transforming the way that people get their information. Kibbe recalls how traditional media forced you to compress your message into a 15-second sound bite and focused on scoring points off an opponent rather than listening and learning. Podcasts, on the other hand, prioritize long-form conversations that give people the space to think out loud and explore ideas without the need to be combative or overly simplistic, and that can only be a good thing for our culture.

Matt Kibbe sits down with Kara Jones, vice president of FREOPP, to discuss practical solutions to America’s ongoing health care crisis. Republicans have basically given up on repealing Obamacare, and the Democratic majority in Congress has no interest in revisiting the issue anyway. So we need to find solutions that both parties can agree on and that actually have a chance of passing the legislative process. Jones and her organization are devoted to finding market-based fixes that will not alienate Democrats but will also not cave to their disastrous notions of a single payer system or Medicare for All.

Matt Kibbe talks to Kelley Vlahos, senior adviser for the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about the Biden administration’s foreign policy, which is already looking a lot like Barack Obama’s foreign policy. A month into his presidency, Joe Biden is already bombing Syria, and he shows every sign of continuing the policy of endless wars in the Middle East and elsewhere. We can see this both in Biden’s historical record as a senator and vice president and in the people he’s surrounding himself with now that he’s the commander in chief.