ReImagining Liberty

When Biden dropped out of the presidential race and Harris took over, we witnessed not just a change in candidate, but a change in rhetoric. Harris's campaign began talking in the language of "freedom" and "liberty." Harris's running mate, Tim Walz, contrasted himself with the meddlesome social conservatism of JD Vance by saying he was for "minding your own business."

For those of us who have long championed a politics of radical liberty, this was met by both enthusiasm and suspicion. Enthusiasm, because it's good for the country to have a major party talking in those terms, especially as the GOP has abandoned anything like a commitment to political and social liberty. Suspicion because, despite all there talk, there are plenty of ways Harris and Walz want the government to get in the way of minding your own business.

To talk about this shift, and the opportunities it might offer to better make the case for radical liberalism, I'm joined by Joshua Eakle, co-founder and president of Project Liberal.

Want to listen to new episodes of ReImagining Liberty two weeks early? ⁠Become a supporter⁠ and get early access and other perks.

Produced by ⁠Landry Ayres⁠. Podcast art by ⁠Sergio R. M. Duarte⁠. Music by ⁠Kevin MacLeod⁠.

This, as it says on the tin, is a show about liberalism. But teasing out what that term means can be challenging. Not just because it's philosophically complex, but because common usage of terms doesn't always conform to rigorous conceptual categories, and even when it does, language evolves.

That's the jumping off point for today's conversation. My guest is Samantha Hancox-Li and she's a writer, game designer, and associate editor at Liberal Currents.

We discuss what it means to be liberal, and how that's distinct from being a progressive. Then we talk about what liberals can learn from progressives, and where progressives sometimes go wrong in matching their political actions to their values. It's a conversation about political engagement, political rhetoric, and the right way to change the world.

Want to listen to new episodes of ReImagining Liberty two weeks early? Become a supporter and get early access and other perks.

Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

A liberal society is necessarily an open and diverse one. When people are free to move and free to choose, a country's population and culture will reflect all those differences in tastes, preferences, and ways of living. And that's part of what makes liberalism so great.

But a pluralistic society can be bothersome for those who'd prefer everyone be just like them. And if those sorts get uncomfortable enough with cultural diversity and dynamism, they can turn against liberalism itself.

To help think through these tensions, and how liberalism can defend itself against those who would rather it weren't so diverse, I've brought on my friend Jacob T. Levy. He's the Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory at McGill University and author of the terrific book Rationalism, Pluralism, and Freedom.

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Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm joined today by Janet Bufton, Program Coordinator & Co-Founder at the Institute for Liberal Studies. I'm a little embarassed it's taken me this long to get her on the show, because she's one of the most thoughtful advocates out there of the kind of genuine and broad liberalism--and liberal values--that are at the heart of ReImagining Liberty.

We discuss the link between liberalism and liberation, the intellectual history that's led many self-described liberals and libertarians to be skeptical of robust social liberalism, and how we can better position liberalism to meet illiberal challengers.

Want to listen to new episodes of ReImagining Liberty two weeks early? Become a supporter and get early access and other perks.

Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On June 7th, David Boaz died. He was the Executive Vice President of the Cato Institute, author of *The Libertarian Mind*, and the most important figure in the libertarian movement in the last half century. He was also my mentor, my close friend, and, for twelve years, my boss.

I had the privilege of holding, for the first two of those years, what is among the most exclusive, challenging, and rewarding jobs in Washington: Staff Writer at the Cato Institute, a role that primarily meant being David's right-hand man and primary conversation partner.

David's life and work are worth celebrating, and his legacy worth cherishing. He set the standard for how to live one's principles, lead a profoundly moral life, and change the world for the better while doing it.

I'm delighted to bring together a group of my fellow staff writers to talk about what David meant to the libertarian movement, what it was like to work for him, and how he enriched our lives.

• Aaron Steelman is a Senior Fellow and Policy Adviser at the Cato Institute, and has the honor of being David's very first staff writer.
• Julian Sanchez has worked as a journalist and policy analyst.
• Maria Santos Bier is the Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations at the Cato Institute.
• Andy Craig is Director of Election Policy at the Rainey Center.

Want to listen to new episodes of ReImagining Liberty two weeks early? Become a supporter and get early access and other perks.

Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Politics gets pretty emotional, and we typically view that as bad. The political scene would be better, we suppose, if more people could set aside their emotions and rationally engage with the hard questions.

My guest today isn't so sure. Jason Canon is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge in political science, and while he doesn't reject reason, he argues that emotion plays, and ought to play, a much larger role in how we think about and approach politics than it typically gets. Reason doesn't work without emotion, and emotions can lead us to better political outcomes.

Want to listen to new episodes of ReImagining Liberty two weeks early? Become a supporter and get early access and other perks.

Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Among the various ideologies opposing liberalism that have seen new or renewed prominence in the last decade is Christian nationalism. It motivates quite a lot of the far right in the culture war, played a role in the attempted overthrow of American democracy on January 6th, and seems to be everywhere on social media.

But what is it? Where did it come from? And how can liberalism respond?

My guest today is my good friend Paul Matzko. He's an historian and author of The Radio Right: How a Band of Broadcasters Took on the Federal Government and Built the Modern Conservative Movement.

Want to listen to new episodes of ReImagining Liberty two weeks early? Become a supporter and get early access and other perks.

Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's conversation is a good one, but I struggle to come up with a straightforward summary for this intro. I brought back on my good friend, and frequent guest, Cory Massimino to discuss anarchism in theory and practice. And that where we start. But we also get into a larger conversation about the nature of political debate, and the rhetoric of political change that goes well beyond the narrow confines of whether anarchism is good or bad, or what we can learn from it.

This is one of those big ideas episodes of ReImagining Liberty, and why I so value talking with Cory. He's an independent scholar and a Fellow at the Center for a Stateless Society, where he hosts the podcasts "Mutual Exchange Radio" and "The Long Library."

Want to listen to new episodes of ReImagining Liberty two weeks early? Become a supporter and get early access and other perks.

Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of my goals for this show is to explore the complexities of issues people have strong opinions about and assume are straightforward. And it's difficult to think of one that fits that bill better than guns.

Today I'm joined by my long time friend and Free Thoughts podcast co-host, constitutional lawyer Trevor Burrus. We talk about the causes of and misconceptions around gun violence, and how a free society should approach both the role of guns and the challenges of limiting the harm they do.

Want to listen to new episodes of ReImagining Liberty two weeks early? Become a supporter and get early access and other perks.

Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re all ideological, even if we don’t admit it. We like to think of everyone else as ideological, but imagine our own views to be “reality-based,” simply a clear-eyed picture of how things really are. That's nonsense, and today's episode is all about why.

My guest is Jason Blakely, a political science professor at Pepperdine University and author of the new book Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life. We discuss what ideology is, what purpose it plays, how it differs from religion, and why we should think of ideology as both a culture and a map.

Want to listen to new episodes of ReImagining Liberty two weeks early? Become a supporter and get early access and other perks.

Produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.