Kibbe on Liberty

When the Trump administration decided to take down Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) over his opposition to deficit spending, war, and protecting Jeffrey Epstein's clients, many Americans were outraged that one of the only constitutional conservatives in Congress could be unseated by a dishonest smear campaign and an empty suit like his primary opponent, Ed Gallrein. Because Kentucky's 4th district is deep red, Gallrein believes that he can walk into the seat while barely even campaigning. However, the Libertarian Party has other ideas. Matt Kibbe sits down with Jeremy Todd, the Libertarian candidate for Massie's soon-to-be-vacant seat, to discuss how his platform and values are similar to those of Thomas Massie, while being distinct from the rest of the Republican Party.

One of the things we learned from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie’s primary election loss in Kentucky’s 4th District was that older Americans are consuming a fundamentally different stream of information than the rest of us. Legacy media outlets like Fox News are essentially bought and paid for and will push any kind of propaganda that their overlords demand of them, presenting viewers with a fundamentally distorted vision of reality. Fortunately, the old media will probably not be around for much longer. Matt Kibbe sits down with comedian and commentator Bobby Sauce to discuss why new media, podcasts, Substack, and independent creators are taking the mantle from the old networks by offering audiences something they’re not used to seeing: authenticity and integrity.

For decades, California has been pouring government money into the homelessness problem, insisting that the issue can be solved by simply giving people free housing. Today, the situation is worse than ever, because the housing-first approach neglects the full picture of what causes someone to become homeless in the first place, which is often related to drug addiction or mental illness. Matt Kibbe speaks with Mary Theroux, CEO of the Independent Institute, about the film “Building Home,” a collaborative effort between her organization and Free the People, which uses one man’s story of redemption to highlight the policy failures of cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, while proposing an alternative approach that actually works. Watch the full "Building Home" documentary here: https://freethepeople.org/films/building-home/

For the 400th episode of “Kibbe on Liberty,” Matt Kibbe takes a look back at the history of the show, which had its humble beginnings a decade ago. Those earliest videos were largely focused on debunking the folksy populism of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), pointing out that his socialist ideology is rooted in a brutal history that rests on countless piles of corpses. Today though, it seems like it’s déjà vu, as the Democratic Socialists of America are winning elections by appealing to a new generation frustrated by the failures of the political elites.

In the first few years of the 2020s, the United States engaged in unprecedented breaches of American civil liberties under the pretense of protecting public health and safety. Yet compared to Australia, we got off light. Matt Kibbe is joined by author and filmmaker Topher Field, who personally documented the way the Australian government cracked down on speech, assembly, and the right to protest in the city of Melbourne, Victoria. And unfortunately, while we may think that the worst is behind us, there's reason to believe that COVID was simply a blueprint for greater power-grabs to come.

Flock cameras are popping up all over the country, and their defenders say they prevent crime and keep Americans safe. Glenn Jacobs, mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, and former professional wrestler, disagrees. In his conversation with Matt Kibbe, he explains how these cameras will place us all under constant surveillance, opening the door to a whole host of civil liberties abuses. If you thought government was dangerous before, just wait till the government has a complete record of every citizen’s movements.

While the government school system does everything in its power to paint the United States as a uniquely evil country that should inspire shame and guilt in students, there are still those who find inspiration in America's founding as a nation conceived in liberty — a land of opportunity for all. Matt Kibbe is joined by Kelley Paul, wife of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and the author of a new series of children's books designed to teach kids about what makes America special. "Goodnight, Young American" and "Goodnight, Little American" present the stories of American history to different age groups in a way that highlights the founders' vision of freedom from tyranny, self-governance, and the protection of basic human rights, all of which were absent from the European nations the colonists left behind.

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.

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?

Three weeks into the Trump administration's war with Iran, the path toward a clean victory is looking narrower and narrower. And with an ever-shifting series of objectives, it's not even clear what such a victory would look like. Matt Kibbe is joined by Scott Horton, executive director of the Libertarian Institute, to discuss where the war goes from here and whether there is even a coherent strategy at play. After failing to enact meaningful regime change and with low public approval ratings for this military action, a best-case scenario would probably involve Trump simply declaring victory and bringing our troops home. However, Iran is unlikely to allow that resolution to happen and is likely to keep inflicting pain on American military bases as a deterrent to future bombings. The good news is that, as was demonstrated in 2013 with Barack Obama's abortive strikes on Syria, the American people have the power to influence foreign policy if they make their voices loud enough, especially on the eve of the midterm congressional elections.

After premising his 2024 campaign on the promise of no new wars, President Donald Trump is taking military action in Iran that has already cost over a thousand civilian lives. Matt Kibbe is joined by Kelley Vlahos, editor in chief of Responsible Statecraft and a senior adviser at the Quincy Institute, to discuss the confusing rationale for this war and the best-case scenario Americans can hope to see. The administration has succeeded in killing the ayatollah, only to replace him with his more radical son, so any pretense of liberating the Iranian people seems farcical. Moreover, there appears to be no strategic plan or exit strategy to avoid turning this war into an Iraq-style quagmire. The best we can hope for is that Trump declares victory and pulls out before more lives are lost, but even in that case the reversal of one of his key campaign promises is likely to cost the Republicans badly in the midterm elections.

Following the removal of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, the cat is out of the bag on the U.S. government’s use of covert energy weapons to stop soldiers dead in their tracks. Matt Kibbe is joined by independent journalist Steve Baker, who has been investigating the history and current status of these weapons, which use subsonic sound waves and microwaves to produce profound physical distress in targets, up to and including stopping a heart. What’s even more concerning is the prospect of these weapons being deployed on American citizens to disrupt peaceful protests without outside observers being able to tell that the attacks are taking place.

As U.S. forces move closer to Iran, it appears more and more likely that the Trump administration is planning military action against the country for the second time in a year. Matt Kibbe is joined by Cato research fellow Jon Hoffman to discuss why the president has turned his back on his campaign promises not to start any new wars, why open conflict with Iran would be a disaster for the U.S., and why the wishes of the Israeli government seem to be more important than putting America first.

The release of millions of formerly classified pages related to Jeffrey Epstein is giving Americans an inside look into a web of collusion and deception that spans multiple countries, agencies, and administrations. Matt Kibbe is joined by Mike Benz, executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, to take a deep dive into the links between the military, wealthy individuals like Bill Gates, and the public health apparatus that gave us the COVID-19 pandemic. The deeper you dig, the worse it gets. But there’s a bright spot in all this: The transparency we’re now getting, thanks to the efforts of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), is allowing the American people to finally see what’s been going on behind the curtain, and that knowledge is the first step toward reform.

The most recent Super Bowl featured a dazzling and expensive display of military patriotism. While this may be pleasing to some viewers, it’s important to realize that such spectacles are a deliberate propaganda effort on the part of the military-industrial complex. Matt Kibbe is joined by Abigail Hall, co-author of "How to Run Wars," to discuss the ways in which the government tries to make its foreign policy palatable to the average citizen, including funneling huge amounts of taxpayer money into Hollywood, music, and the NFL. Consumers of this entertainment are being sold a pro-war agenda without realizing it and are even financing these programs with their taxes.

The Justice Department just dropped another 3 million pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, hoping to satisfy critics who have been demanding transparency on the Epstein files since Donald Trump’s election. There’s just one problem: The documents conceal the only thing people care about — the names of the perpetrators — while recklessly outing innocent victims. Matt Kibbe and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) discuss whether this botched release is the result of incompetence or malice, whether these emails contain any smoking guns, and what can be done to force further releases from the administration that campaigned on being the most transparent in history.

America was built on the idea of limited government and personal freedom, but as the nation has expanded and taken on the role of the world's policeman, these founding ideals have eroded into something resembling the empires of previous eras. Matt Kibbe and Judge Andrew Napolitano discuss how the desire to engage in nation-building, to acquire colonies, and to have a military presence all over the world necessarily entails sacrificing the Constitution, sound money, and our national values. As the U.S. government grows more and more imperial, it becomes less and less American.

In the aftermath of two high-profile shootings related to immigration enforcement in Minnesota, many freedom-loving Americans are concerned about the government's disregard for civil liberties and the cavalier use of deadly force by agents who lack adequate training. Regardless of one's position on immigration, the optics are not good for Republicans, who will soon have to face the midterm elections. Matt Kibbe sits down with investigative journalist Jim Bovard to discuss the conduct of federal agents, as well as the parallels between the recent shootings and the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident, in which the FBI shot and killed several members of the Weaver family.

With the ousting of Nicolás Maduro, the future of the Venezuelan government is an open question. Will we see a mere continuation of the Maduro regime, which left the country economically devastated, or will we instead see the kind of fundamental reforms that have worked so well for Javier Milei in Argentina? Matt Kibbe is joined by Ian Vásquez, Vice President of International Studies at the Cato Institute, to discuss the next steps for the Trump Administration. In a best-case scenario, Trump would work with Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado to bring libertarian reforms to Venezuela, putting the country back on the path towards the kind of freedom and prosperity it enjoyed prior to Hugo Chavez's socialist takeover.

In the wake of President Trump’s sudden military action in Venezuela, ousting Nicolás Maduro and asserting U.S. control over the country, at least temporarily, much of the debate has centered around the wisdom and legality of Trump’s actions. Matt Kibbe argues that while unilateral military action by the president is certainly unconstitutional, the more important question is what happens next. Free the People has a long history of pointing out the evils of the socialist regime led by Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, and yet history teaches us that regime-change wars invariably make things worse rather than better. As Maduro’s vice president assumes control for the time being, there remain many questions about what the plan is going forward, whether it involves installing new leadership or a boots-on-the-ground military occupation by U.S. forces, or whether the country will simply be left to its own devices from here on out. The answers to these questions will determine much about the future faced by the Venezuelan people.

On the eve of 2026, Matt Kibbe takes a look back at the first year of Donald Trump's second term as president of the United States. Trump was swept into office by an extraordinary coalition of tech enthusiasts, disaffected Democrats, and even libertarians, all of whom expected big things in return for their support. Trump promised to drain the swamp, end foreign wars, cut spending, and free Ross Ulbricht. These selected segments from this year's "Kibbe on Liberty" guests trace Trump's progress on all these issues, from the heady days of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to the bitter parting of ways between Trump and conservative lawmakers like Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene, as well as how these issues will affect Republicans in the looming 2026 midterm elections.

One of the most precious things COVID lockdowns took from us was the ability to gather, to socialize, and of course to drink together. Matt Kibbe sits down for a beer with Thomas Pacchia, the founder and CEO of PubKey, a Bitcoin-friendly establishment with locations in New York and Washington, D.C. Pacchia explains the importance of Bitcoin, not as part of an investment portfolio, but as a medium of exchange protected from the government’s manipulation of the money supply. His bars aim to offer a low barrier to entry for new and inexperienced Bitcoin users to start treating the technology as an actual currency, while at the same time encouraging community and friendship among like-minded individuals. You can check out more about PubKey on their website: https://www.pubkey.bar/

You better not shout, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why: The Epstein files are coming to town! Following the near-unanimous passage of Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie's discharge petition, the Trump Justice Department has until midnight on December 19 to finally make the Epstein files public. Will the administration follow through, or will Pam Bondi and pals attempt some last-minute shenanigans? Matt Kibbe sits down with Thomas Massie to discuss what happens next and whether the recently reopened investigation into Epstein's case has a chance of thwarting the will of the people.

With the arrest of a suspect for placing the January 6 pipe bombs, the FBI would like to consider the case closed. But Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) says not so fast! Matt Kibbe sits down with his favorite congressman to discuss the myriad unanswered questions about why law enforcement officers were able to find the bombs so quickly, why they stopped looking after finding two of them, and why the Biden FBI apparently declined to prosecute this suspect for more than four years. Did Kash Patel and Dan Bongino finally get their man, or is he a patsy meant to take the fall and get the public to stop asking questions?

The Supreme Court is currently hearing a case to decide whether the Trump administration has the power to impose tariffs on a whim, without the approval of Congress. Trump wants this power as a negotiating tool, but he fails to consider the fact that future administrations will be able not only to overturn his orders but to impose far more onerous ones of their own. Matt Kibbe talks with John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, about the dangers of executive power overriding the legislative branch of government. Do we really want a system that would allow a future President AOC to unilaterally tax gas-powered cars out of existence or levy selective tariffs on anything she deems bad for the environment? Republicans always seem to forget that they will not be in charge forever, and with the midterm elections fast approaching, their time in the majority may be ending sooner than they think. This is all the more reason why they should use this opportunity to govern responsibly instead of setting dangerous legal precedents that will empower their enemies in just a few years.

The right to keep and bear arms is one of the most sacred and unique features of the American system of government, allowing citizens to defend themselves not only against criminals, but against potential tyranny as well. Yet in spite of this fact, the corporate press is determined to misrepresent the statistics on gun violence in order to push for stricter gun control laws. John Lott, Senior Litigation Counsel NCLA, sits down with Matt Kibbe to tell the real truth about guns and gun owners, such as the fact that almost all mass shootings occur in gun-free zones, that armed citizens prevent thousands of crimes every year, and that gun registries disproportionately impact the poorest Americans. In almost all cases, the attempts to disarm Americans are built on emotion, not data.

When Javier Milei was first elected president of Argentina in 2023, no one was really sure whether his populist, free-market policies would work to fix the nation's struggling economy. Two years later, he has made tremendous strides, as reflected in Argentina's 2025 legislative elections, in which Milei's party received a clear mandate from the masses. Matt Kibbe sits down with Agustin Etchebarne, director-general at Fundación Libertad y Progreso, to discuss why Milei has become so popular and why he has been so successful in presenting the ideas of Austrian economics to his voters.

Freedom of speech may be under assault in America, but that's nothing compared with what's going on in the United Kingdom, where police are arresting 33 people every day for social media posts. Matt Kibbe sits down with Reem Ibrahim, head of media for the Institute of Economic Affairs, to discuss how Britain has become so authoritarian, the difference in attitude between the British and American public, and whether there is any hope for the nation that gave us the Magna Carta to embrace liberty again.

After calling out the neocons like Jeb Bush and John McCain and building his campaign on promises of peace and putting America first, President Trump is now flirting with the idea of intervening in Venezuela to take out Nicolás Maduro, using the specter of drug cartels as a pretense. Matt Kibbe is joined by Cato Institute fellow Brandan Buck to explain why this would be a really bad idea. U.S. intervention is what led to the rise of Chavez and Maduro in the first place. Combine that with our nation's history of catastrophic nation-building experiments and the fundamental impossibility of central planning, and it's clear that America's power would be far better used in trying to improve the lives of our own citizens.

In the second half of his marathon conversation with Rep. Thomas Massie (R), Matt Kibbe asks the Kentucky congressman about his discharge petition to release the Epstein files. It turns out that one of the main reasons why the government remains shut down — and why Speaker Johnson (R-La.) is preventing the House of Representatives from convening — is that Massie has the votes to release the files. Since President Trump has called these files a hoax and FBI Director Kash Patel says the files don't exist, the big question is why Republicans are so determined to prevent Massie's petition from going through.

In this special two-part episode of “Kibbe on Liberty,” Matt Kibbe sits down for a marathon conversation with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to discuss President Trump’s plans to import Argentinian beef, both as a way to lower prices for American consumers and to help out Argentinian President Javier Milei. This is a little puzzling given Trump’s historic hostility toward foreign trade and his campaign promise to put America first. As someone who personally raises cattle, Massie is uniquely positioned in Congress to present the perspective of the American farmer. There is certainly no shortage of beef in our own country, but lowering prices requires relaxing a suite of crony regulations designed to protect Big Agriculture from the competition of local and independent farmers.

Of all the online fights Donald Trump picks, one of the most perplexing is his repeated attacks on Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. Known for his commitment to the U.S. Constitution and his unfailing habit of putting America first, Massie should be exactly the kind of person Trump wants in Congress, but the fact that he won’t bend the knee to Trump on budget votes continues to nettle the president. Matt Kibbe sits down with Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, to talk about how the internet spat, instead of destroying Massie, is actually elevating him to a national figure, helping him raise money, and highlighting his commitment to principle and refusal to sell out.

Cancel culture may be on the wane, but more insidious than social media mobs is the government’s ability to cut controversial figures off from their finances through the process of de-banking. Matt Kibbe sits down with Jorge Jraissati, president of Economic Inclusion Group, to talk about this little-understood means of censorship that is a growing threat to individual liberty. As cash becomes less and less useful, we’ve become increasingly reliant on banks and credit card companies to allow us to conduct basic commerce. When that tool is taken away, it’s the equivalent of being totally banished from society.

In an era when most Americans have put so much of their lives online, it’s easy to be complacent about online privacy. We’ve been told that as long as we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. But in fact, an increasingly powerful surveillance state is a major threat to individual liberty and to the country as a whole. Matt Kibbe sits down with Naomi Brockwell, founder and president of the Ludlow Institute, to talk about why privacy still matters and to outline several ways that ordinary people can easily safeguard their digital data. This is important, because once the government knows everything about you, it can use that information to silence criticism and stifle dissent. Even those who approve of the current administration have to imagine that at some point, someone else is going to be in power, someone who might want to crack down on all the freedoms we hold dear. Without privacy, it becomes almost impossible to push back against oppressive regimes.

Author Matt Ridley is well known for his book "The Rational Optimist," which argued that the world is consistently getting better year after year. In the 15 years since that book was published, however, world events have convinced many people that the opposite is actually true. Matt Kibbe sits down with Ridley to discuss his next book project, in which he will update and reflect on his earlier conclusions to see whether there is still reason to be optimistic or if in fact it is rational to be a pessimist.

In a divided America where various groups, including men and women, are increasingly at each other’s throats, is there a way to set aside hatred and judgment in order to love one another? Matt Kibbe sits down with author and educator Warren Farrell to talk about his new book, “Role Mate to Soul Mate,” which seeks to help couples communicate better and build stronger relationships. The same principles apply to political discourse as well. Instead of listening and understanding, too many people have fallen back on accusations and finger-pointing, to the point where it leads to horrific acts of physical violence, such as the murder of Charlie Kirk. Farrell’s work is crucial if we want to live in a country where individuals are treated with kindness and humanity instead of being demonized for their opinions.

At the Universidad de la Libertad in Mexico City, Matt Kibbe sat down with Pano Kanelos, chancellor of the University of Austin, to talk about how higher education has gone wrong and what can be done to fix it. In the wake of the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk on a college campus, the fact that universities have become increasingly hostile to open discourse and the pursuit of truth has become more obvious than ever. Ideologically driven curricula, combined with rising costs and the student debt crisis, have made higher education a less appealing prospect, which is a shame when you consider that the purpose of universities was always supposed to be the expansion of human knowledge, not just preparing students for the job market.

Economists are united in pointing out that tariffs on foreign goods are really nothing more than a tax on American consumers, but what fewer people understand is that Trump’s policy on trade is not really about revenue or even about economic protectionism. Matt Kibbe is joined by Phil Magness, senior fellow at the Independent Institute, to explain how the tariffs represent a unilateral expansion of executive power that is now being challenged by the courts. It’s important to remember that Trump will not be president forever, and sooner or later, a Democrat is going to occupy the White House again. At that point, Democrats will be more than happy to use these expanded executive powers in ways that will horrify Trump’s base.

Stoicism and libertarianism are two philosophical systems that at first glance may not seem to have much in common, but Matt Kibbe caught up with Ryan Holiday, host of the "Daily Stoic," to attempt to find some common ground. The philosophy created by ancient Romans like Marcus Aurelius not only teaches us how to cope with adversity but also the importance of becoming the best version of ourselves and continuing to learn from others. In an era when everyone is an armchair philosopher with the ability to safely preach views from the comfort of X, it's useful to remember that we actually need to do the hard work, both to improve personally and to make the world a better place.

As more people who traditionally identified with the progressive Left become disenchanted with woke authoritarianism, libertarianism is experiencing a bit of a renaissance, attracting such unlikely voices as RFK Jr. and Nicole Shanahan. Matt Kibbe caught up with evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein, host of “The DarkHorse Podcast,” to talk about how we can cooperate in building a big-tent movement that values personal freedom while not imposing purity tests and alienating this new wave of potential allies.

Some of the biggest names in the liberty movement recently gathered in Texas to celebrate the 90th birthday of Ron Paul, the former congressman and presidential candidate who has inspired so many to become interested in libertarianism. In this special episode of "Kibbe on Liberty," Matt Kibbe sits down with Tom Woods, TEXITcoin founder Bobby Gray, former Rep. Justin Amash (R/I/L-Mich.), and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) to share their memories of Dr. Paul and the impact he has made on their lives. More than any other single individual, Ron Paul is responsible for creating a movement unlike any America has seen before. Even today, more than a decade after his last presidential run, when you ask someone why he cares about liberty, the answer is likely to be Ron Paul.

From school shootings to childhood mental illness and overmedication, it’s clear that something is not right with young boys in America. Yet political correctness, anxiety about racism, and the exaltation of single mothers have prevented many from identifying and trying to correct the problem. Matt Kibbe sits down with Adam Coleman, author of “The Children We Left Behind,” to underline the importance of fathers in raising strong and resilient children. The data on mass shooters shows an almost one-to-one correlation between violent males and boys who grew up without their fathers, with no positive male role models to teach them how to be men, how to protect and provide for others, and how to take responsibility for their own actions. If we want to solve the boy crisis in America, we have to be honest about the fact that strong families are essential and that broken homes lead to broken people.

Public television in the United States has come under fire for its one-sided promotion of leftist ideology, resulting in the recent announcement that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will soon shut down due to funding cuts. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Matt Kibbe sits down with Daniel Harmon, executive producer of “Tuttle Twins,” a show that teaches sound economics to kids, to discuss the exciting fact that President Javier Milei is using the show to replace communist propaganda on Argentinian public television. Milei is already showing the world that free-market economics can quickly revitalize even struggling economies; now he’s showing that public institutions don’t have to be all biased in the same direction. Harmon explains how his media company, Angel Studios, is moving the global conversation toward personal and economic freedom.

At this year’s FreedomFest in Palm Springs, California, Matt Kibbe sat down with Chef Andrew Gruel to talk about food freedom and making America healthy again. Chef Gruel’s philosophy involves cooking simple dishes with quality ingredients to create great-tasting comfort food. However, this is made harder than it needs to be due to government regulations and corrupt unions that raise the prices of food, rely heavily on low-quality imports, and consolidate the industry so that Americans have less competition and choice in what they eat.

At this year’s FreedomFest in Palm Springs, California, founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics, Jennifer Sey, sits down with Matt Kibbe to defend the radical proposition that boys and girls are different and that men cannot become women simply by putting on a dress. As a former competitive gymnast, Sey has a particular interest in protecting women’s sports from male athletes who have an unfair advantage over female athletes. This issue was recently publicized in a heated online back-and-forth between swimmer Riley Gaines and gymnast Simone Biles, who has since deleted her X account. XX-XY Athletics is a clothing brand Sey started to support female athletes who might otherwise be afraid to speak out to defend themselves against accusations of bigotry or hate from the woke Left.

Typically, Americans on the political Left worry about corporate power while those on the Right worry about government power. But the real danger is when corporations and government collude to dictate how you ought to live. We saw this during COVID, when experimental vaccines were pushed onto the American people, earning pharma companies big profits while they were shielded from any liability for the harm their products may cause. At this year’s FreedomFest in Palm Springs, Matt Kibbe caught up with Del Bigtree, host of “The HighWire,” who has devoted most of his career to researching the vaccine industry. He points out that the pharma lobby is more powerful than the banks or even defense contractors and that they effectively control much of what our government does, meaning that our system is neither as capitalist nor as democratic as we imagine.

Many people receive unjust sentences in federal prisons, but few have the kind of mother who will devote more than a decade of constant activism to get them released. When Ross Ulbricht was given two life sentences for founding an encrypted marketplace called the Silk Road, his mother, Lyn, founded FreeRoss.org, bringing his case to the attention of the liberty movement, the crypto movement, and eventually President Trump, who offered Ross a full pardon on his second day in office. Now, Ross is free and speaking out about the secret horrors that go on inside prison walls. Instead of taking a well-earned break, Lyn has started Mothers Against Cruel Sentencing to advocate on behalf of others given cruel and unusual prison terms. To find out more about MACS or to help, visit: https://mothersagainstcruelsentencing.org

At this year's FreedomFest in Palm Springs, Matt Kibbe caught up with legendary economic maven and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes to find out how President Trump is doing so far in terms of economic policy. They discuss the error of increasing tariffs on America's trading partners, the problems with Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and potential ideas for reforming the country's badly broken health care system. Toward the end of the conversation, Forbes offers his advice to the president on what he is doing right, what he could be doing better, and a few things he might not have thought of to unleash the power of the American economy once more.

At this year's FreedomFest in Palm Springs, Matt Kibbe caught up with noted anarchist and troublemaker Michael Malice for a short conversation about how to persuade people to support less (or even no) government. Along the way, they discuss the philosophy of Ayn Rand, whether cats are actually blue-pilled, and why libertarians ought to take themselves less seriously and embrace fun and humor in their messaging, even though they face difficult challenges in the realms of politics and public opinion.

While Matt Kibbe and the Free the People team were trying to enjoy the company of their fellow libertarians at this year’s Porcupine Freedom Festival, the Trump administration insisted on harshing the vibe by dropping bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Scott Horton, director of the Libertarian Institute, sat down for this episode of “Kibbe on Liberty” to debunk some of the neoconservative claims that are always trotted out to justify American intervention in the Middle East. The same propaganda strategy that was deployed to start the Iraq War is being used again, almost verbatim, to advocate for regime change in Iran. Despite what you may have heard, war is not in America’s best interests and needlessly puts our troops in harm’s way.

The government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was such a naked power-grab on such an unprecedented scale that even five years later, we are still struggling to hold the responsible parties accountable and to even fully process what happened. One unintended consequence of lockdowns, however, was exposing some ugly truths about who is really in charge in America. Matt Kibbe sits down with Debbie Lerman, author of “The Deep State Goes Viral,” to talk about whether our elected officials actually have the power to change things or whether someone else is pulling the strings. The word democracy means rule by the people, and we like to tell ourselves that our politicians are bound by the consent of the governed. In a post-COVID world, however, it’s becoming less and less apparent whether that remains the case in America.

As riots rage across Los Angeles and the conflicts between ICE officials and illegal immigrants escalate, why does it seem like nobody in Washington is actually interested in fixing America’s broken immigration system? Matt Kibbe sits down with Steven Olikara, CEO of Bridge Entertainment Labs and former Democratic Senate candidate, to discuss how both Democrats and Republicans have an interest in exacerbating the problem in order to use it as a campaign issue in the next election. This is yet another example of what Olikara calls “the division industrial complex,” which seeks to keep Americans polarized and at each other’s throats. Instead of falling into this trap, Olikara stresses the importance of sitting down for civil conversations with those who hold differing opinions and working to find common ground that can lead to real solutions. The political establishment wants to keep us divided because that’s how it retains its power. It’s important to understand the rules of their game.

The fight over President Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" is boiling over, shattering the White House alliance with Elon Musk. Join host Matt Kibbe in an exclusive sit-down with Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) as they dissect the bill’s massive new spending and skyrocketing debt — provisions Paul warns could bankrupt America and spark runaway inflation. Plus, Paul reveals his bold plan as chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security to wield new subpoena powers, targeting Anthony Fauci and others who lied to protect the pandemic industrial complex.

As the Republicans in Congress are poised to spend trillions more, while ignoring all of Elon Musk's DOGE recommendations, some members of the administration and Trump loyalists are running defense, attempting to convince voters that their gargantuan reconciliation bill actually puts America first. Matt Kibbe tears this narrative apart, pointing to the hypocrisy of neocons who claim to care about small government while repeatedly voting for more spending to fund endless wars. Drawing on his experience as a budget economist and a Tea Party organizer, he explains that Republicans are setting themselves up for a clobbering in the midterm elections if they fail to enact any of the changes voters demanded in 2024.

For libertarians in America, there are plenty of things to be depressed about as Congress fails to cut spending or implement the DOGE’s recommendations. But one area where there is room for optimism is the school choice movement, particularly at the state level. Matt Kibbe talks to Corey DeAngelis, author of “The Parent Revolution,” about the great strides parents are making in taking control of their children’s education. After the pandemic locked down schools, forced students onto Zoom calls, and exposed parents to what is actually happening in the classroom, parents are more energized than ever to break free from the government school system. They are working with their legislatures to keep more of their tax dollars, which can be used to opt for private schooling or homeschooling. Even Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” contains some important school choice provisions that will bring more educational freedom to the country.

In the aftermath of most national disasters, such as 9/11, the Iraq War, and even January 6, the media typically spends years writing an endless series of think pieces, autopsies, and analyses of what went wrong and how to prevent it from ever happening again. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying lockdowns, we’re not seeing the same thing, and in fact most media outlets seem to want to forget the whole thing ever happened, even though it represented the most dramatic curtailing of American civil liberties in living memory. Matt Kibbe talks to David Zweig, author of “An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions,” who argues that the media wants to hide its own culpability in pushing for lockdowns and censorship of dissenting ideas. Zweig, who considered himself broadly left-wing before the pandemic, was shocked at the persistent illogic of keeping schools closed in the face of evidence that children faced virtually no risk from the virus, and his ensuing investigation led him to question many of his preconceptions about the state of American journalism.

Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, came storming in this January with a mission to expose government waste, fraud, and abuse and to highlight up to $2 trillion that could be cut from the federal budget. One hundred days in, the department has made some impressive progress, but government spending remains as high as ever. Matt Kibbe sits down with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to find out where we stand in the congressional budget process, as well as the progress of the Make America Healthy Again coalition and Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs.

At the Young Americans for Liberty conference in Washington, D.C., Matt Kibbe sits down with legendary journalist and educator John Stossel to talk about his long career bringing libertarianism to the masses. Stossel reflects on how the media landscape has changed, with decentralized platforms offering more opportunities to communicate without the fear of editorial censorship, and explains how his recent projects are bringing liberty into the classroom. He also laments the fact that for as long as he has been pointing out the benefits of free markets and personal liberty, many Americans are still not receptive to the ideas of freedom. Can Kibbe cheer him up with a dose of optimism? Watch to find out!

The second Trump administration has awakened Democrats to the dangers of executive power, but they have no one to blame but themselves. Matt Kibbe goes through the history of the expansion of executive authority, in which the presidency becomes more and more dominant over the other two branches of government. A lot of what we are now seeing can be traced to Barack Obama, who boasted that he could do what he wanted without Congress because he had a pen and a phone. Since then, there has been an arms race between the two parties to see how much they can get done with the presidency alone. It’s a strategy that only harms the American people and our freedoms and will almost certainly come back to bite the very people who started it.

In a recent debate on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Douglas Murray chastised the host for platforming non-experts he claims are spreading dangerous misinformation. Matt Kibbe points out that not only has the expert class completely failed to earn the trust of the American people but that the democratization of knowledge is one of the best things about the internet and podcasting in general. The process of challenging established dogma is what leads to greater dialogue and the free exchange of ideas. This is not unlike the theories of the Austrian school of economics, which prioritizes the importance of individual action over mindless deference to so-called experts, who claim to know what’s best for everyone else.

As the Trump Administration appears to double down on protectionist trade policies, many critics have taken a sneering, condescending attitude toward those who think that tariffs might just make America great again. Matt Kibbe sits down with economist Antony Davies to try to address these concerns with empathy and understanding, while at the same time demonstrating that high tariffs actually hurt American workers by making everything more expensive. There are good reasons to be dissatisfied with the state of America’s economy, but raising taxes on consumers will only make things worse.

To celebrate the confirmation of Jay Bhattacharya as director of the NIH, this week’s “Kibbe on Liberty” features unseen footage from Matt Kibbe’s series “The Coverup,” in which Dr. Bhattacharya explains how he was demonized and attacked for his opposition to COVID lockdowns, as well as some greatest hits from Jay’s previous appearances on the show.

At the Mont Pelerin Society meeting in Mexico City, Matt Kibbe caught up with the tremendously successful entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas to talk about the battle for hearts and minds being waged between the collectivists and individualists who believe in personal freedom and responsibility. Salinas explains how he is using his business empire to expand opportunities for the Mexican people, particularly in offering educational alternatives to the state-run schools. They also talk about the dangers of central banking and the potential for Bitcoin to do an end run around government control of currency.

Following the recent dust-up over the continuing resolution that maintained Biden-era levels of spending, it’s fair to ask whether the Trump administration is serious about cutting spending, reducing the national debt, and balancing the budget. The Department of Government Efficiency has identified hundreds of billions of dollars in wasteful spending, but Congress still has to act in order to actually make those cuts. Matt Kibbe is joined by Virginia state Delegate Nick Freitas (R) to talk about the Trump administration’s diverse coalition and whether it can hold together long enough to enact Trump’s agenda.

In this special solo episode of “Kibbe on Liberty,” Matt Kibbe weighs in on Donald Trump’s threat to primary Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) over his refusal to vote for the latest continuing resolution that maintains Biden-era levels of spending and funds all of the waste, fraud, and abuse that Elon Musk and the DOGE have uncovered. Kibbe recounts his time as a budget economist and explains why the budgeting process doesn’t work as it’s supposed to and how entrenched special interests are committed to keeping it that way. Massie is one of the few congressmen who understands that and who is willing to fight for the America First spending cuts that Trump campaigned on. He’s absolutely the wrong target for the president’s ire.

Nearly a century after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spearheaded a sweeping set of economic policies known as the New Deal, the debate still rages over whether he was a hero or a villain. Defenders of the New Deal credit it with ending the Great Depression and pioneering a number of important social programs. Detractors claim it prolonged the Depression due to the reckless government spending demanded by Keynesian economics. Matt Kibbe sits down with George Selgin, author of "False Dawn," who argues that both of these viewpoints miss important details about the New Deal and its impact on the economy. In the first place, it was not particularly Keynesian in its approach to spending. Instead, it was Roosevelt's hostility toward private industry that delayed America's recovery for so long.

One of the benefits of America’s federalist system is that individual states can experiment with different policies, allowing the rest of the country to see what works and what doesn’t. New Hampshire has taken that idea and run with it, attempting to gather as many libertarians as possible in one place to create the freest state in the country. Matt Kibbe sits down with Eric Brakey, executive director of the Free State Project, to discuss why this effort is so important, how effective it has been, and why every libertarian, regardless of where they live, should be invested in what happens in New Hampshire, as it reflects the health of the movement and the prospects for expanding freedom in our lifetime.

The first month of the new Trump administration has been a whirlwind of activity, some good and some not so good. The chaos is causing large-scale freak-outs among the legacy media and Washington insiders, who don't know how to deal with this level of disruption. Matt Kibbe sits down with John Papola, founder and CEO of Emergent Order Foundation, to discuss the potential good that can come out of shaking the establishment out of its comfort zone. With Trump's trans-partisan coalition of antiauthoritarian voices, including former left-wing figures like RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, the administration is in a position to effect change in a way the swamp has never seen before.

As Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency ramp up their efforts to dismantle the federal Department of Education, its defenders are screaming that returning education to the states will destroy schooling in this country. Matt Kibbe is joined by pro wrestler and Knox County, Tennessee, Mayor Glenn Jacobs to debunk these nonsensical claims. From their shared love of the band Rush and the Austrian school of economics, Kibbe and Jacobs discuss the common-sense notions that underlie good economic and political thinking: the power of the individual, the virtue of not wasting taxpayer money on ineffective and corrupt programs, and the desperate need for reform in Washington's broken system. The only people who can oppose such obvious wisdom are the ones who have a financial stake in perpetuating institutions that serve legislators and bureaucrats rather than the people themselves.

Continuing revelations about the origins of COVID-19 woke America up to the dangers of bioweapons research. But if you thought viruses were scary, wait until you hear about directed-energy weapons. Matt Kibbe sits down with journalist Steve Baker to discuss his latest investigation into the military's use of sound and radio waves as weapons of war. It's bad enough to deploy such weapons against enemy combatants, but it's increasingly clear that the government has been illegally using this technology against American citizens, not just to harm them but to actually control their behavior and to provoke them into doing things they otherwise never would. It's the stuff of dystopian fiction, with one important difference: It actually exists.

Is populism a dirty word, the tool of strongmen and thugs to manipulate the public and amass unchecked power? Or is it simply a method of representing ideas in a way that appeals to the public? Matt Kibbe sits down with Gloria Alvarez, host of the “The Red Pill” radio program, to discuss whether the idea of libertarian populism is a contradiction in terms or the only way to advance freedom on a broad scale. The elections of Donald Trump in America and Javier Milei in Argentina show that there is a movement toward charismatic leaders promising lower taxes, less regulation, and smaller government. Does this mean that libertarian ideas are finally catching on, or is it just the rise of a right-wing backlash against the excesses of the political Left?

The ideas that underlie the libertarian philosophy are ancient, descending from Aristotle and other philosophers. Yet even today, we still have to defend them against those who prefer coercion to cooperation. It therefore takes great patience and vigilance to keep up the fight and to continue to make progress toward human flourishing. Ron Manners, author of “The Impatient Libertarian,” sits down with Matt Kibbe to talk about his long life fighting for liberty, the time he spent studying under Friedrich Hayek and other luminaries, and the prospects for human freedom in the future.

With his transition back to the White House well under way, President-elect Trump has had the courtesy to nominate several “Kibbe on Liberty” regulars to fill prominent positions in his administration. We are encouraged to see the likes of Jay Bhattacharya nominated to run the National Institutes of Health, Tulsi Gabbard selected for director of national intelligence, Paul Atkins chosen to lead the SEC, and Vivek Ramaswamy co-chairing the Department of Government Efficiency with Elon Musk. As we enter 2025, now is your chance to get to know these nominees, each of whom has taken a stand to push back on government authoritarianism and support American freedoms in the new year.

This Christmas, if you’ve had enough of family, gift giving, and day drinking, “Kibbe on Liberty” invites you to take a look back at some of our most engaging and provocative guests, giving their perspectives on everything from COVID authoritarianism and the resurgence of parental control over education, to foreign policy and Ukraine, to what really happened on January 6. Revisit some of the most articulate and insightful voices in the liberty movement as we prepare for a new year that promises to bring both new opportunities and new challenges to advance freedom in America and around the world.

The Make America Healthy Again movement is seeing a renewed interest in addressing chronic disease, obesity, and other health problems that plague Americans. But at the same time, the incompetence and dishonesty of the public health establishment during the COVID-19 pandemic have left people more skeptical of medical experts than ever. Matt Kibbe sits down with Dr. Joseph Marine, Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, to talk about what needs to be done to restore the country's faith in good science as well as what we can expect from Trump nominees like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Jay Bhattacharya as they take the reins of dysfunctional and corrupt agencies like the NIH and HHS.

Rampant inflation is making it harder for Americans to put food on the table and is one of the main drivers of the political dissatisfaction that led to Donald Trump's reelection. Yet, many economists remain bemused by the average worker's concern over rising prices. This is because many ivory tower academics are narrowly focused on their areas of study and have lost touch with the concerns of ordinary people. Matt Kibbe sits down with Lydia Mashburn Newman, managing director of monetary economics at the American Institute for Economic Research. to discuss how the Federal Reserve, coupled with reckless government spending, is the main contributor to inflation, and the need for someone like Ron Paul to go in and clean house.

The mismanagement and subsequent cover-up of the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the greatest scandals in American history, and it's crucial that those responsible are held accountable for their lies and deceptions. It's also imperative that we put safeguards in place to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. That is the task of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, chaired by Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio). The subcommittee has just released a 500-page report detailing its findings, and Rep. Wenstrup sits down with Matt Kibbe to go through those results and talks about criminal referrals for the culpable parties.

Donald Trump has signaled that the foreign policy of his second administration will put America first and avoid foreign entanglements. However, he has also leaned into his persona of international tough guy, ready to limit foreign trade with tariffs and quotas. Matt Kibbe sits down with Magatte Wade, director of the Center for African Prosperity, to discuss the need for the United States to work together with other nations to help create a wealthier, more prosperous future. This is not about handing out foreign aid or funding other countries' wars but about supporting the institutions that empower entrepreneurs and innovators to bring opportunity to the whole world.

Donald Trump won re-election in large part due to his promises to end the war in Ukraine and pursue an “America First” foreign policy. At the same time, some of his Cabinet picks have been troublingly hawkish. Matt Kibbe is joined by Dan Caldwell, senior adviser at Defense Priorities, and Reid Smith, vice president of foreign policy at Stand Together, to discuss what we can expect from the incoming Trump administration, how to correct some of Joe Biden’s previous mistakes, and the importance of encouraging the president-elect in the right direction when it comes to war and military adventurism.

As the Cabinet appointees within the incoming Trump administration take shape, there is cause for hope among libertarians, as well as some cause for concern. Matt Kibbe is joined by Keith Knight, managing editor at the Libertarian Institute and author of the book "Domestic Imperialism: Nine Reasons I Left Progressivism," to talk about why progressives and neoconservatives alike are so quick to agitate for foreign wars and why it's so important to keep hawks like Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo far from the levers of power.