Kibbe on Liberty

Matt Kibbe is joined by Kathleen McGoey, executive director of the Longmont Community Justice Partnership, and police Chief Mike Butler, to discuss how one Colorado city is revolutionizing the criminal justice system. Restorative justice focuses on restitution rather than retribution and forces offenders to take accountability for their actions. It may sound touchy-feely, but the data so far shows that restorative practices create safer communities with happier, more law-abiding citizens.

Matt Kibbe is joined by economist Antony Davies and political scientist James Harrigan, hosts of the popular Words & Numbers podcast. They point out that coercion is a blunt instrument that, although sometimes necessary, can often do more harm than good. This happens because coercion is the product of a small number of minds enforcing one solution, while cooperation allows many millions of minds to come up with a wide variety of solutions, some of which might just work.

Still on COVID-19 lockdown, Matt Kibbe is joined by Kerry McDonald, author of “Unschooled,” to talk about alternative education strategies during the coronavirus quarantine. As parents are struggling to deal with the stress of having their children home full-time, McDonald suggests that the process can be made easier by letting go of the traditional schooling mindset and taking the opportunity to let your children explore their own interests.

Matt Kibbe is joined via Skype by Glenn Jacobs, the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, to discuss how his state is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. While recognizing the severity of the virus, Jacobs has serious concerns about the economic damage being caused by the lockdown, as well as the loss of civil liberties that comes from sweeping government mandates. Most problems are better dealt with on a local level, using the unique knowledge of people on the ground.

As the quarantine continues, Matt Kibbe is joined by Phillip Magness, a senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. Magness applies his expertise in economics and econometrics to analyze the government response to the COVID-19 virus and determine which measures make sense and which could end up being worse than the disease itself.

In this bonus episode of Kibbe on Liberty, Rep. Thomas Massie joins Matt Kibbe to give a play-by-play of his stand against the COVID-19 bailout bill. This is the largest wealth transfer in history. Massie gives the details on how the entirety of Congress avoided accountability for the decimation of the future fiscal safety of regular Americans, and he outlines what he wishes Congress had done instead.

In this special quarantine edition of Kibbe on Liberty, Matt Kibbe is joined via Skype by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) to discuss the COVID-19 virus and the government’s response to it. Massie points out that no amount of money can stimulate an economy that has been put on pause and that if there isn’t some regulatory relief for farmers and other workers soon, we could start seeing food shortages as well as all the other economic damage this response is causing.

Michael Abramowitz of Freedom House joins Matt Kibbe to talk about the need to support democratic movements springing up around the globe, from Hong Kong to Sudan. Freedom House publishes an annual report on political freedom in the world, and this year’s scorecard focuses on how these movements are largely without leaders. Instead of being led by a charismatic figure like Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King Jr., the current geopolitical situation shows that individuals are capable of organizing themselves and demanding change from the bottom up.

Free-Range Kids founder Lenore Skenazy sits down with Matt Kibbe to break down the reasons why parents are so much more afraid for their children’s safety these days. In short, it comes down to increased media coverage, a more litigious society, the rise of expert culture, and the fact that fear sells. The result is helicopter parents who are robbing children of the opportunity to learn important lessons about courage, independence, and most importantly, the freedom to fail.

Former New York state gubernatorial candidate Larry Sharpe joins Matt Kibbe to discuss a wide variety of issues from the War on Drugs to why Republicans and Democrats can’t unite the country. Through his experience with addicts, Sharpe explains how prohibition laws are actually responsible for most overdoses. He also weighs in on how Millennials view work differently from their parents and the appeal of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.