Kibbe on Liberty
Blaze Podcast Network
Kibbe on Liberty is a weekly podcast with libertarian author and economist, Matt Kibbe. Kibbe believes that honest conversations, driven by intellectual curiosity and mutual respect, can ignite a new revolution of free thinking and a willingness to question the official narrative. That means talking, and listening, to a wide variety of people outside the echo chamber of officially sanctioned experts. Kibbe on Liberty's guests include politicians, economists, musicians, comedians, writers, radio personalities, activists, journalists, and even magicians—with topics of conversation ranging from current affairs to obscure philosophy, from craft beer to the Grateful Dead. Cold one in hand, settle in for the next brain-stimulating hour of Kibbe on Liberty.As the president of Free the People, Kibbe has decades of experience in the libertarian political sphere. He is the author of three books, including Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff, a #2 NY Times Best Seller. Kibbe is a fanatical DeadHead, drinker of great whisky, and collector of obscure books on Austrian economics.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 19, 2025 • 1h 25min
Ep 320 | Trump Is Disrupting Everything, and Maybe That's Good | Guest: John Papola
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.
Feb 12, 2025 • 58min
Ep 319 | The Department of Education Is on the Chopping Block with Good Reason | Guest: Glenn Jacobs
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.
Feb 5, 2025 • 1h 15min
Ep 318 | The Government's Directed-Energy Weapons Are Terrifying | Guest: Steve Baker
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.
Jan 29, 2025 • 1h 10min
Ep 317 | Make Freedom Popular Again | Guest: Gloria Alvarez
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?
Jan 22, 2025 • 51min
Ep 316 | Critical Theory Is Ruining Higher Education | Guest: Ilya Shapiro
Jan 16, 2025 • 48min
Ep 315 | We Need a Cultural Shift Toward Free Speech | Guest: Jenin Younes
Jan 10, 2025 • 52min
Ep 314 | Being a Libertarian Takes Patience | Guest: Ron Manners
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.
Jan 1, 2025 • 48min
Ep 313 | New Year, New Cabinet: Meet the Trump Appointees | Guests: Various
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.
Dec 27, 2024 • 56min
Ep 312 | The Best of 2024 | Guests: Various
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.
Dec 18, 2024 • 53min
Ep 311 | Medicine Has to Win Back the Public Trust | Guest: Joseph Marine
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.
