The Voluntaryist Voices podcast features lectures, interviews and audio essays by intellectual giants, past and present.
Everything-Voluntary.com Podcast Network
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by economist and economic historian Robert Higgs from 2013. This is an intellectual tour de force from Higgs, where he demolishes many of the popular misconceptions about (and justifications for) the state.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by historian and Austro-libertarian Tom Woods from 2008. He talks about anti-capitalist thought and the disasters that flow from it, from American history.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by Rabbi Daniel Lapin from 2009. He explores the ethics of free markets and economic freedom.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview of research economist Michele Boldrin from 2009 by Russ Roberts, host of Econtalk. Boldrin argues that copyright and patent are used by the politically powerful to maintain monopoly profits. He argues that the incentive effects that have been used to justify copyright and patents are exaggerated--few examples from history suggest that the temporary and not-so-temporary monopoly power from copyright and patents were necessary to induce innovation. Boldrin reviews some of that evidence and talks about the nature of competition.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by journalist and television personality John Stossel from 2016. Stossel looks at reasons to favor freedom and free markets over government control and coercion.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by libertarian activist and organizer Samuel Edward Konkin III (SEK3) from 1975. He discusses the strategy of counter-economics in achieving a free society.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by philosopher Roderick Long from 2007. Professor Long explores praxeology, the study of human action, and how it relates to economics and the Austrian School.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an audio essay written by economics professor and Austro-libertarian Walter Block from 1976, and which comprises Chapter 20 of Defending the Undefendable.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an audio essay written by an anonymous author titled, “Do You Really ‘Owe’ Those Taxes?” The essay was published at Voluntaryist.com and recorded by Rodger Paxton. Listen To This Episode (13m, mp3, 64kbps) Subscribe via RSS here, or in any podcast app by searching for “voluntaryist voices”. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/evc or PayPal.me/everythingvoluntary.…
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by historian Jim Powell from 2011. For thousands of years, slavery went unchallenged in principle. Then in a single century, slavery was abolished and more than seven million slaves were freed throughout the Western hemisphere. The scope and speed of this transformation make it one of the most amazing feats in modern history. Powell concisely illuminates the beginnings of the abolitionist movement, then proceeds through the processes, the battles, the final victory of emancipation, and the incredible impact of its aftermath. Ultimately, Powell argues, the more violence was involved in the emancipation process, the worse the outcomes were, making a provocative case for peaceful antislavery struggles.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by philosopher Roderick Long from 2006. A legal system is an institution to provide dispute resolution through judicial, legislative and executive functions. The state is that which maintains in large part a monopoly over force, geography and the legal system. What’s wrong with a forcible monopoly? You are saying that you are the only one who has this right. Under anarchy there is equality of authority. No one has monopolies of force or jurisdiction. Dispute resolutions are referred to arbitration. Anarchy is founded when one bypasses the state into voluntary system and the state withers away.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview of professor emeritus Terry L. Anderson from 2014 by Russ Roberts, host of EconTalk. They talk about free-market environmentalism, the dynamics of the Yellowstone ecosystem, and how property rights can protect natural resources.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an audio essay written by musician Alan Southgate in 2015, as published in Unschooling Dads: Twenty-two Testimonials on Their Unconventional Approach to Education, edited by Skyler J. Collins.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by economics and law professor Peter Leeson from 2016. Leeson uses rational choice theory to explore the benefits of self-governance. Relying on experience from the past and present, Professor Leeson provides evidence of anarchy 'working' where it is least expected to do so and explains how this is possible. Provocatively, Leeson argues that in some cases anarchy may even outperform government as a system of social organization, and demonstrates where this may occur.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by evolutionary psychologist, research professor, and author Peter Gray from 2018 on the role of play in the development of human children, the growing lack of play over the past several decades, and how to bring more play into our children's lives.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an audio essay written by economics professor and Austro-libertarian Walter Block from 1976, and which comprises Chapter 2 of Defending the Undefendable.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview of Chinese expatriate Li Zhao from 2019 by Matt Kibbe, host of Kibbe on Liberty. She talks about her experiences growing up under the communist regime of Chairman Mao Zedong. Between her grisly stories of starvation and totalitarianism, she explains why it’s so important to continue fighting for worldwide freedom, and to resist the allure of democratic socialism today.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by Canadian physician and addiction expert Gabor Mate from 2009. Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, compulsive work habits, sexual seeking or spending: what is amiss with our lives that we seek such destructive ways to comfort ourselves? And why is it so difficult to stop these habits, even as they threaten our health, jeopardize our relationships and corrode our spirits?
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an audio essay written by personal development coach Gregory Diehl from 2011, and which comprises Chapter 17 of Everything Voluntary: From Politics to Parenting, edited by Skyler J. Collins and published in 2012.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by law and business professor John Hasnas from 2013. He talks about the failures of "market-failure" arguments so often used by bureaucrats to justify government regulation. He explained why he believes that the internal regulatory mechanisms of free markets prove to be far more powerful than anything that politicians can attempt.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by libertarian theorist and patent attorney Stephan Kinsella from 2017. This talk sets out the framework for how to view property rights in general and then finally turns to intellectual property. The main talk lasted for about the first 30 minutes; the final hour is questions and answers.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a discussion with economics professor Walter Williams from 2015. Throughout history, personal liberty, free markets, and peaceable, voluntary exchanges have been roundly denounced by tyrants and often greeted with suspicion by the general public. Unfortunately, argues Dr. Williams, Americans have increasingly accepted the tyrannical ideas of reduced private property rights and reduced rights to profits, and have become enamored with restrictions on personal liberty and control by government.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by writer and filmmaker Kirby Ferguson from 2013. From Bob Dylan to Steve Jobs, he says our most celebrated creators borrow, steal and transform.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by economics professor emeritus Peter J. Hill from 2016. Hill looks at the development of property rights across the American West in the 19th century.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an audio essay written by economics professor and Austro-libertarian Walter Block from 1976, and which comprises Chapter 22 of Defending the Undefendable.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by by former Federal judge and libertarian Andrew Napolitano from 2008. He discusses how the federal government has circumvented the Constitution and is systematically dismantling the rights and freedoms that are the foundation of American democracy. He challenges Americans to recognize that they are being led down a very dangerous path and that the cost of following without challenge is the loss of the basic freedoms that facilitate our pursuit of happiness and that define us as a nation. He asks the simple question, which are you, a sheep or a wolf? Do you blindly follow behind where you are led, or do you challenge the government at every pass, forcing it to make decisions that will protect our freedoms?
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an audio essay written by long-time unschooling mom and guru Sandra Dodd in 2008, and which comprises Chapter 22 of Everything Voluntary: From Politics to Parenting, edited by Skyler J. Collins and published in 2012.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). his episode features a talk by economist and Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman from 1993. From the grand opening of the Cato Institutes's headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 1993, Friedman gives a talk about popular political aphorisms, one of his favorites being the one he helped popularize in the title of his 1975 book, "There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by professor and clinical psychologist Richard M. Ryan from 2016. Dr. Ryan examines human autonomy as it relates to psychological, mental, and emotional health in children and adults.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview of economics professor Donald Boudreaux from 2006 by Russ Roberts, host of EconTalk. Drawing on volume one of Friedrich Hayek's classic, Law, Legislation and Liberty, Boudreaux talks about the distinction between law and legislation, the appropriate role of judges, and how the fulfillment of our expectations allows us to pursue our goals and dreams.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by philosophy professor Michael Huemer from 2013. Maybe the best way to defend libertarianism is not through economic arguments; nor appeals to general, abstract theories about the nature of morality; nor through the non-aggression axiom. Maybe the best way to defend libertarianism is through appeal to common sense morality.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by university professor Erica Chenoweth from 2017. She talks about the history of nonviolent action for various reasons against governments. Erica Chenoweth is a Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview of family educator and API cofounder Lysa Parker by Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting. They discuss the principles and practices of attachment parenting.
Post by 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.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview of economist Thomas Sowell from 2018 by Dave Rubin, host of the Rubin Report podcast. They discuss his new book “Discrimination & Disparities” which challenges ideas related to economic outcome differences like discrimination, exploitation or genetics. They dive into Dr. Sowell’s upbringing and Marxist past, free speech on college campuses, the role of government, minimum wage laws, his experience as a conservative who happens to be black, and more.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by unschooling mom Kelly Halldorson from 2013. She and her family of eight (2 parents, 3 teens, 3 dogs) travel(ed) full-time in a converted school bus known as "The Unschool Bus." Kelly and her family live, learn, write, make music and art, play, and advocate for liberty from their roving home. They are Ron Paul supporters and passionate advocates for outside-the-system, alternative education methods known as "unschooling."
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview of economist Mike Munger from 2015 by Trevor Burrus and Aaron Powell, hosts of the Free Thoughts podcast. They talk about voluntary transactions and questions of justice in market pricing. What would everyone agree is truly voluntary? Are disparities in bargaining power coercive? What’s wrong with using the state to address these disparities? What about price gouging situations? What about sweatshops?
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features from writer and journalist Mustafa Akyol from 2011. Akyol argues that "a fundamental need for the contemporary Muslim world is to embrace liberty - the liberty of individuals and communities, Muslim and non-Muslims, believers and unbelievers, women and men, ideas and opinions, markets and entrepreneurs."
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a lecture by evolutionary psychologist, research professor, and author Peter Gray from 2012 on the role of play on human child development among hunter-gatherers, 1950s America, and today. Gray also looks at the rise of emotional and social disorders as a result of the decline of play.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview of legal scholar and lawyer Randy Barnett from 2015 by Trevor Burrus and Aaron Powell, hosts of the Free Thoughts podcast. Barnett describes five rights—informed by natural law—that are crucial for properly structuring a society. He also shows how libertarian theories successfully counter the structural societal problems of knowledge, interests, and power.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a compelling case by motivational speaker and spoken word artist Prince Ea from 2016 against compulsory and structured schooling. Listen To This Episode (7m, mp3, 64kbps) Subscribe via RSS here, or in any podcast app by searching for “voluntaryist voices”. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/evc or PayPal.me/everythingvoluntary.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an audio essay written by massage therapist and podcaster Danilo Cuellar in 2015, as published in Unschooling Dads: Twenty-two Testimonials on Their Unconventional Approach to Education, edited by Skyler J. Collins.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by philosophy professor Michael Huemer from 2013. Evidence from psychology and history teaches two main lessons about authority: (a) that human beings have a variety of strong, pro-authority biases, and (b) that socially recognized authority is an extremely dangerous phenomenon.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by economist and Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman from 1977. He explores five economic myths that cloud our perception of both the past and the present. Those myths include the Robber Baron myth, the Great Depression myth (from a Chicago School perspective), the expanding government myth, the "free lunch" myth, and the government as Robin Hood myth.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an audio essay written by education reformer John Holt in 1974, which comprises Chapter 27 of Everything Voluntary: From Politics to Parenting, edited by Skyler J. Collins and published in 2012.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview of lawyer, legal commentator, author, and filmmaker David Feige from 2017 by Thaddeus Russell, host of the Unregistered Podcast. The 800,000 registered sex offenders in the United States live under a totalitarian regime. They are legally barred from living in large portions of the country and denied access to employment, housing, and public spaces. Their movements and even their thoughts are monitored and controlled by law enforcement officers. Their names and faces are reported to the public, and vigilante groups hound them out of their homes. They are considered by nearly everyone in America to be the worst and most dangerous creatures in the world. Feige considers this "the darkest part of the criminal justice system" and made a film about it, which can be seen here.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by historian and professor of history David Beito from 2010. He looks at the history of mutual aid and fraternal societies long before the welfare state replaced them.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features an interview free range kids activist, author, and syndicated columnist Lenore Skenazy from 2019 by Trevor Burrus and Aaron Powell, hosts of the Free Thoughts podcast. Should children ride the NYC subway by themselves? When did children stop having unsupervised and unstructured time? What did ‘strange danger’ do to change the way we parent? What are the consequences of over‐parenting?
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by serial entrepreneur and education activist T.K. Coleman from 2016. "I want everyone to leave there feeling convinced that we have a tremendous amount of power to create a freer world without relying solely or primarily on politics. Moreover, I want them to have concrete and inspiring examples of how this is being done and how they can get involved."
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by libertarian theorist and patent attorney Stephan Kinsella from 2011. Kinsella looks at the effects of patents and copyrights on economic development.
Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). This episode features a talk by President Emeritus of both the Foundation for Economic Education and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy Lawrence Reed from 2015. There's little truly "progressive" about Progressivism. True progress happens when humans are free, yet the Progressive agenda substantially diminishes freedom while promising the unachievable. Based on his 2015 book, Excuse Me, Professor, Reed tackles a number of the most common economic, philosophic and historical errors of “progressive” ideology.