Author: Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Founder and editor of Everything-Voluntary.com and UnschoolingDads.com, Skyler is a husband and unschooling father of three beautiful children. His writings include the column series “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” and “One Improved Unit,” and blog series “Two Cents“. Skyler also wrote the books No Hitting! and Toward a Free Society, and edited the books Everything Voluntary and Unschooling Dads. You can hear Skyler chatting away on his podcasts, Everything Voluntary and Thinking & Doing.

Angry or Rude People, Expenses in Hours, Laser Printers, & Google Calendar (26m) – Episode 034

Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Episode 034 looks at why we shouldn’t expect an angry person to be able to reason or think clearly, especially children; having empathy and compassion for someone acting rudely, as they’re likely dealing with something difficult; how to calculate your expenses in work hours instead of money, and the benefit of doing so; why a laser printer is more economical for home use than an inkjet; and how Skyler utilizes Google Calendar and Gmail to keep track of recurring tasks, events, and reminders.

On Conversion Therapy

Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Radicals on the left and the right want to push youth through their own versions of conversion therapy. The right want to force gay conversion on youths so as to fix their minds to match their bodies. The left want to force body conversion on youths so as to fix their bodies to match their minds. Neither seem interested in helping youth feel comfortable with the minds and bodies they were born with.

Aphorisms in Honor of Liberty, Part Seven (27m) – Episode 402

Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Episode 402 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following aphorisms written by Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski: “A fool deplores the fact that automation destroys jobs. A person of reason delights in the fact that it makes jobs less automatic.”; “A democratic statist is someone who believes that individual liberty consists in participation in the process of collective self-enslavement.”; “A foolish egalitarian wants to empower the state to prevent the market from making the rich richer. A smart egalitarian wants to empower the market to prevent the state from keeping the poor poor.”; “Happiness is the state of letting go of all expectations while keeping the ability to wonder.”; “Aphorism: the precarious middle ground between brief banality and condensed obscurity.”; “A technocrat is someone too dull to be an inventor, too technically inept to be a scientist, too reality-averse to be an entrepreneur, and too power-hungry to be a consultant.”

Julieta’s Journey, Mexican Immigrant, Skyler’s Wonderful Wife (1h30m) – Episode 400

Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Episode 400 welcomes Julieta Collins to the podcast to chat with her husband on the following topics: her parents’ lives before and after they met; her father’s deafness and his challenges; what primary school was like for her; her birth in Mexico City, Mexico, a city of 13M at the time, 22M today; visiting Chicago, Illinois when she was 14 and nearly being sexually assaulted by a taxicab driver who apparently changed his mind; her visual impairment (Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy) and how it has affected her life; the devastating betrayal of her father by her uncle which precipitated her family’s need to move to the United States; meeting the Mormon missionaries and converting from Catholicism to Mormonism; moving to Chicago in 1999 on the same travel visa from 1994, which expired a few months later, and then Salt Lake City, Utah in 2002; losing her Spanish and what little English she had learned the moment she laid eyes on her future husband, Skyler Collins; the story of their engagement in Nauvoo, Illinois; and more.

Seeing Our Addictions & Don’t Be a Slave (29m) – Episode 033

Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Episode 033 looks at two Stoic topics: the first from Seneca who wrote, “We must give up many things to which we are addicted, considering them to be good. Otherwise, courage will vanish, which should continually test itself. Greatness of soul will be lost, which can’t stand out unless it disdains as petty what the mob regards as most desirable.”; and the second from Demetrius the Cynic who wrote, “If I cherish my body, I make a slave of myself, if I cherish my property, I make a slave of myself; because I’ve disclosed the means to make me captive.”; also a story of devastation experienced by Skyler due to his attachment to some of his property.

Ménage à Priest, Teen Consent, Nigerian Civil Asset Forfeiture, & Plastic-Eating Enzymes (30m) – Episode 399

Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Episode 399 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following news stories: from PENNLive.com, “Priest had threesome on Louisiana church altar, police say”; from BBC.com, “Children not able to give ‘proper’ consent to puberty blockers, court told”; from WashingtonPost.com, “Nigeria abolishes special police squad after nationwide protests”; and from ScienceDaily.com, “Plastic-eating enzyme ‘cocktail’ heralds new hope for plastic waste”.

Niggas, Tolerance, “Adults in the Room” & Wizard’s Thirteenth Rule (30m) – Episode 398

Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Episode 398 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: the maintenance of the n-word (nigga, nigger) with and by the black community; why tolerance is not abiding the presence of people you agree with; when there have ever been “adults in the room” at the White House, he wonders; and continuation of the Wizard’s Rules mini-series, Wizard’s Thirteenth Rule: “There have always been those who hate, and there always will be.”

Tom Bell: Choose Your Own Government (1h2m)

Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

This episode features an interview of law professor Tom W. Bell from 2018 by Trevor Burrus and Aaron Powell, hosts of the Free Thoughts podcast. They talk about the emerging trend of bottom up governments. Private providers increasingly deliver services that political authorities formerly monopolized, inspiring greater competition and efficiency. They discuss this quiet revolution that is transforming governments with the potential to bring more freedom, peace and prosperity to people everywhere.