Episode 444 welcomes back Alex R. Knight III to chat with Skyler on the following topics: teaching social studies, English, and Spanish at a private sports academy; teaching future Olympic medalists in winter sports; why his social studies curriculum probably wouldn’t fly in public schools; the Tuttle Twins (and ATKE.org); “Great Myths of the Great Depression” by Lawrence Reed; the level of propaganda around COVID-19; why government parasites are always short-term thinkers; the fact that most people simply don’t care, and why should they?; the Voluntaryist vs. the Stoic in each of us; finding liberty in physical, entrepreneurial, and technological frontiers; finding helpfulness and community in relatively freer rural areas; his lamentations on a Biden presidency instead of 4 more years of Donald Trump; and more.
Category: Everything Voluntary
Allan’s Journey, Bitcoin, Face Masks in One Lesson (1h6m) – Episode 443
Episode 443 welcomes Allan Stevo to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: writing for over a decade and a half; what libertarianism means to him; free thinking and heterodoxy; being impressed by Ron Paul and working to promote his campaigns; Chicago corruption is acceptable as long the streets get cleared of snow; started a bitcoin exchange in New York City in 2013 (documentary), killed by BitLicense awhile later; hosted a bitcoin debate between Andrew Schiff and Jeffrey Tucker; his praise for Irwin Schiff; writing for LewRockwell.com; his new book Face Masks in One Lesson; the Lesson; the convenience of phrases like “I can’t safely wear a mask” and “I have a medical exemption from the County”; dealing with other patrons attacking you for not wearing a mask; safety reasons not to wear masks, including criminal deterrence; the importance of strengthening your resistance muscles; and more.
The Many Capitalisms, and Socialisms (28m) – Episode 442
Episode 442 has Skyler giving follow-up commentary on Episode 433, his response to Richard Wolff after his debates with David Friedman and Gene Epstein. This episode picks apart definitions for capitalism and socialism and shows how even the most horrible dictators and slaveowners in human history can be considered capitalists if we pervert words and concepts thoroughly enough.
Aphorisms in Honor of Liberty, Part Nine (24m) – Episode 441
Episode 441 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following aphorisms written by Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski: “A good economist believes that the ones best suited to deal with the problem of scarcity are entrepreneurs. A bad economist believes that it’s the economists.”; “A fool believes that individual liberty can be established by means of political power. A person of reason believes that political power can be abolished by means of individual liberty.”; “A ‘just tax’ is something akin to an ‘affectionate rape’.”; “If the best thing you can say about something is that it is a “necessary evil”, then it is as obviously evil as it is unnecessary.”; “Border: the geographical expression of tribal parochialism.”; “A wise person is someone who is grateful for being called a fool when he’s wrong, indifferent to being called a fool when he’s right, embarrassed at being called a sage when he’s right, and troubled by being called a sage when he’s wrong.”
Post-Punitive Parenting & Markets Aren’t Miraculous (21m) – Episode 440
Episode 440 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: an article he wrote in August 2011 titled, “Post-Punitive Parenting”; and an article he wrote in May 2018 titled, “Markets aren’t Miraculous; God Bless the World”.
Patrick’s Journey, Harassing People, & Peaceful Parenting University (51m) – Episode 439
Episode 439 welcomes Patrick Smith to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: growing up in the Dallas area, his Corvette and run-ins with cops; training to be a voluntary police officer in order to keep the cops off his back, and learning on ride-alongs that cops mostly just harass peaceful people all day long; studying the American founding fathers to answer the question of authority; delving deeper into Judge Napolitano and (old) Stefan Molyneux; his Not Governor campaign; creating Peaceful Parenting University; why communism even at the home/family level doesn’t work; why child dependency on their parents creates a positive obligation; spanking as a protective use of force; Walter Block’s evictionism theory of abortion; his search for practical peaceful parenting tools; was homeschooled for a year as a youth and always wanted that for his own kids; how he “unschooled” himself after hours as a youth; his unique experiences of raising separate sets of kids both traditionally and peacefully; responding to tantrums; how authoritarian parenting creates the expectation of authoritarianism; and more.
David S. Returns, Ketosis and Severe COVID-19 (1h7m) – Episode 438
Episode 438 welcomes back David Scholes to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: the ketogenic diet and some exotic meats he’s eaten; ketone esters dietary supplement; he and his wife getting COVID-19, mild for him, much more sever for his wife (also diabetic); his wife’s experience in the hospital; his concern with what they were feeding her, while she was sedated; his last ditch effort to save his wife through ketosis, which showed very promising results, but he was too late; his wife’s passing; the potential of ketone esters and COVID-19 recovery; and more
John’s Journey, Rationality, Principles of Rational Living (59m) – Episode 437
Episode 437 welcomes John Vespasian to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: living all over Europe; the worldwide COVID-19 moment; the abundance of irrationality in the world today; the timeless commonplace of information manipulation; remaining rational in the face of extreme opposition; defining rationality (logical conclusions from relevant facts); developing a rational mentality; never accepting a single point of view or opinion; everyone has their blind spots and biases; the problem with positive thinking; among his many published books is 10 Principles of Rational Living, including: Think Like an Entrepreneur, not a Crusader, Accept the Inevitable Hassles of Life, and Acquire Effective Habits; the importance of keeping a lifetime perspective when making decisions; and more.
Shepard Returns, Consequences, Positive and Negative (56m) – Episode 436
Episode 436 welcomes back Shepard the Voluntaryist to chat with Skyler on the following topics: his ongoing radio show and podcast; an exploration of positive and negative consequences; human interference in natural consequences; intended and unintended consequences in politics and economics; what people going along with monopolistic government means for the idea of people going along with competitive government (free society); never letting a crisis go to waste as a voluntaryism popularizer; the consequences of immortality and “The Good Place” television show; the negative consequences of world peace and the positive consequences of world conflict; and more.
Aaron W. Returns, Leaving California for Texas, & Child Protective Services Ordeal (57m) – Episode 435
Episode 435 welcomes back Aaron White to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: leaving California and the many reasons for doing so such as living expense, new Democrat Party supermajority in local politics, and the charter school crackdown; moving to Texas, specifically the Dallas / Ft. Worth metro area; social justice and woke ideology verse unschooling and free schooling principles; he and his family’s recent experience with California’s Child Protective Services; why every lawyer he talked to advised him to comply with CPS as thoroughly as possible, the opposite advice they give when dealing with police officers (ie. keep your mouth shut); how child protective services may exist in a free society and the question of “skin in the game” for these kinds of allegations; and more.