Kibbe on Liberty

Matt Kibbe is joined by Stanford University epidemiologists Jay Bhattacharya and John Ioannidis to discuss the interaction between science and health policy. The COVID-19 response was one-sided and dictated from the top down, which not only led to many disastrous policies, but also undermined the public trust in science and medicine as institutions. In the future, what is needed is a more humble approach to policymaking that admits its own ignorance and allows the public more opportunities to participate in the decision-making process.

Matt Kibbe talks with Gene Epstein, director of the Soho Forum, about the economy, inflation, and whether or not the United States is set to experience a severe recession. Kibbe argues that between lockdowns, rampant spending, and an unwillingness of the Biden administration to take its foot off the gas, we could be in the midst of a perfect storm for economic downturn. Epstein, on the other hand, thinks that the economy is more resilient than that — based on the rapid recovery we saw after lockdowns were lifted. While we can certainly expect some degree of economic hardship in the near future, how severe it will be is still very much an open question.

Matt Kibbe sits down with Jenin Younes, litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, to discuss the lawsuit filed by two attorneys general against the federal government over online censorship. There is a mounting body of evidence that the Biden administration pressured social media companies into removing certain content, and the suit alleges that this is a clear violation of the First Amendment. If major platforms like Twitter and Facebook are acting as an arm of the federal government under threat of punishment if they disobey, the basic principle of freedom of speech and of the press is severely compromised, replaced by a regime of aggressive censorship and propaganda.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Lou Perez, comedian and author of “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore,” to talk about the future of comedy in a world where taking offense has risen to the level of a competitive sport. As comedians abandon college campuses and risk having their social media presence destroyed by saying something controversial, comedy has become the vanguard for free expression and the war against censorship. Without jesters to poke fun at the powerful and cloak important truths in humor, society becomes a stagnant, humorless morass that tends ever closer towards authoritarianism.That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637582455

Matt Kibbe sits down with Heather Wilson and Jacob Wells, co-founders of GiveSendGo, a crowdfunding website that doesn’t discriminate based on differences in ideology. After several high-profile cases where crowdfunders have blocked campaigns for the Canadian truckers or businesses refusing to comply with vaccine mandates, people are looking for an alternative solution to support companies that are willing to stand up for their values. As cancel culture and deplatforming are interfering even with people’s ability to make charitable contributions to support freedom, competition and entrepreneurship are more important than ever in providing an escape from the woke mob.

Matt Kibbe sits down with economist David Friedman, one of the original advocates for a stateless society, where all services are provided by markets rather than government. He called this system anarcho-capitalism, and in the nearly fifty years since the publication of his seminal book “The Machinery of Freedom,” his ideas have become extremely influential among the libertarian movement. Friedman discusses his philosophy of a free society and the ways in which he tries to persuade skeptics that his system would be preferable to the one we have now, or to similarly revolutionary proposals by socialists.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Kyle Mann, editor in chief of the Babylon Bee, to talk about the ways in which laughter can cut through the constant anxiety that news outlets and political partisans demand we feel at all times. The evidence that this works comes from the overt hostility displayed to the Babylon Bee’s innocent satire by fact-checkers and social media platforms. The mere act of bringing people together through humor has become a threat to the endless divisions that keep us fighting among ourselves.

Matt Kibbe is joined by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor of health policy at Stanford University, to talk about the continued hesitancy of the mainstream media and government scientists to acknowledge the immense harm caused by COVID lockdowns. As one of the authors of the “Great Barrington Declaration,” Dr. Bhattacharya has been subjected to a relentless smear campaign designed to discredit him, yet the evidence is clear to anyone willing to look: Not only did lockdowns throw millions into poverty, but they were made possible by the extremely dangerous gain-of-function research that allowed the virus to spread in the first place. The hostility toward lockdown skeptics is largely an attempt by those responsible for COVID to cover their tracks and shift the blame to others.

Matt Kibbe sits down with three members of the New Hampshire Libertarian Party to talk about the Free State Project and the pro-liberty trend in New Hampshire politics. As members of the Mises Caucus, which recently took over the Party's leadership, they are adamantly opposed to lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and other authoritarian responses to the pandemic. They attribute their success not only to the power of their message, but to the strong community bonds that characterize the libertarian movement in New Hampshire.

Matt Kibbe sits down with Jordan and Daniel Harmon, co-founders of Angel Studios, to talk about their new model for financing and distributing movies and television shows. The Hollywood machine has become so expensive and so difficult to break into that it has become all but impossible for independent filmmakers to find an outlet for their creativity. The problem is compounded when you want to make films with different values from those of the studio elites. Angel Studios is solving this problem through crowdfunding and has already demonstrated success with its popular shows “The Chosen” and “The Tuttle Twins,” based on the successful book series.