In the wake of President Trump’s sudden military action in Venezuela, ousting Nicolás Maduro and asserting U.S. control over the country, at least temporarily, much of the debate has centered around the wisdom and legality of Trump’s actions. Matt Kibbe argues that while unilateral military action by the president is certainly unconstitutional, the more important question is what happens next. Free the People has a long history of pointing out the evils of the socialist regime led by Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, and yet history teaches us that regime-change wars invariably make things worse rather than better. As Maduro’s vice president assumes control for the time being, there remain many questions about what the plan is going forward, whether it involves installing new leadership or a boots-on-the-ground military occupation by U.S. forces, or whether the country will simply be left to its own devices from here on out. The answers to these questions will determine much about the future faced by the Venezuelan people.

On the eve of 2026, Matt Kibbe takes a look back at the first year of Donald Trump's second term as president of the United States. Trump was swept into office by an extraordinary coalition of tech enthusiasts, disaffected Democrats, and even libertarians, all of whom expected big things in return for their support. Trump promised to drain the swamp, end foreign wars, cut spending, and free Ross Ulbricht. These selected segments from this year's "Kibbe on Liberty" guests trace Trump's progress on all these issues, from the heady days of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to the bitter parting of ways between Trump and conservative lawmakers like Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene, as well as how these issues will affect Republicans in the looming 2026 midterm elections.

One of the most precious things COVID lockdowns took from us was the ability to gather, to socialize, and of course to drink together. Matt Kibbe sits down for a beer with Thomas Pacchia, the founder and CEO of PubKey, a Bitcoin-friendly establishment with locations in New York and Washington, D.C. Pacchia explains the importance of Bitcoin, not as part of an investment portfolio, but as a medium of exchange protected from the government’s manipulation of the money supply. His bars aim to offer a low barrier to entry for new and inexperienced Bitcoin users to start treating the technology as an actual currency, while at the same time encouraging community and friendship among like-minded individuals. You can check out more about PubKey on their website: https://www.pubkey.bar/

You better not shout, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why: The Epstein files are coming to town! Following the near-unanimous passage of Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie's discharge petition, the Trump Justice Department has until midnight on December 19 to finally make the Epstein files public. Will the administration follow through, or will Pam Bondi and pals attempt some last-minute shenanigans? Matt Kibbe sits down with Thomas Massie to discuss what happens next and whether the recently reopened investigation into Epstein's case has a chance of thwarting the will of the people.

With the arrest of a suspect for placing the January 6 pipe bombs, the FBI would like to consider the case closed. But Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) says, not so fast! Matt Kibbe sits down with his favorite congressman to discuss the myriad unanswered questions about why law enforcement officers were able to find the bombs so quickly, why they stopped looking after finding two of them, and why the Biden FBI apparently declined to prosecute this suspect for more than four years. Did Kash Patel and Dan Bongino finally get their man, or is he a patsy meant to take the fall and get the public to stop asking questions?

The Supreme Court is currently hearing a case to decide whether the Trump administration has the power to impose tariffs on a whim, without the approval of Congress. Trump wants this power as a negotiating tool, but he fails to consider the fact that future administrations will be able not only to overturn his orders but to impose far more onerous ones of their own. Matt Kibbe talks with John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, about the dangers of executive power overriding the legislative branch of government. Do we really want a system that would allow a future-President AOC to unilaterally tax gas-powered cars out of existence or levy selective tariffs on anything she deems bad for the environment? Republicans always seem to forget that they will not be in charge forever, and with the midterm elections fast approaching, their time in the majority may be ending sooner than they think. This is all the more reason why they should use this opportunity to govern responsibly instead of setting dangerous legal precedents that will empower their enemies in just a few years.

The right to keep and bear arms is one of the most sacred and unique features of the American system of government, allowing citizens to defend themselves not only against criminals, but against potential tyranny as well. Yet in spite of this fact, the corporate press is determined to misrepresent the statistics on gun violence in order to push for stricter gun control laws. John Lott, Senior Litigation Counsel NCLA, sits down with Matt Kibbe to tell the real truth about guns and gun owners, such as the fact that almost all mass shootings occur in gun-free zones, that armed citizens prevent thousands of crimes every year, and that gun registries disproportionately impact the poorest Americans. In almost all cases, the attempts to disarm Americans are built on emotion, not data.

When Javier Milei was first elected president of Argentina in 2023, no one was really sure whether his populist, free-market policies would work to fix the nation's struggling economy. Two years later, he has made tremendous strides, as reflected in Argentina's 2025 legislative elections, in which Milei's party received a clear mandate from the masses. Matt Kibbe sits down with Agustin Etchebarne, director-general at Fundación Libertad y Progreso, to discuss why Milei has become so popular and why he has been so successful in presenting the ideas of Austrian economics to his voters. 

Freedom of speech may be under assault in America, but that's nothing compared with what's going on in the United Kingdom, where police are arresting 33 people every day for social media posts. Matt Kibbe sits down with Reem Ibrahim, head of media for the Institute of Economic Affairs, to discuss how Britain has become so authoritarian, the difference in attitude between the British and American public, and whether there is any hope for the nation that gave us the Magna Carta to embrace liberty again.

After calling out the neocons like Jeb Bush and John McCain and building his campaign on promises of peace and putting America first, President Trump is now flirting with the idea of intervening in Venezuela to take out Nicolás Maduro, using the specter of drug cartels as a pretense. Matt Kibbe is joined by Cato Institute fellow Brandan Buck to explain why this would be a really bad idea. U.S. intervention is what led to the rise of Chavez and Maduro in the first place. Combine that with our nation's history of catastrophic nation-building experiments and the fundamental impossibility of central planning, and it's clear that America's power would be far better used in trying to improve the lives of our own citizens.

In the second half of his marathon conversation with Rep. Thomas Massie (R), Matt Kibbe asks the Kentucky congressman about his discharge petition to release the Epstein files. It turns out that one of the main reasons why the government remains shut down — and why Speaker Johnson (R-La.) is preventing the House of Representatives from convening — is that Massie has the votes to release the files. Since President Trump has called these files a hoax and FBI Director Kash Patel says the files don't exist, the big question is why Republicans are so determined to prevent Massie's petition from going through.

In this special two-part episode of “Kibbe on Liberty,” Matt Kibbe sits down for a marathon conversation with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to discuss President Trump’s plans to import Argentinian beef, both as a way to lower prices for American consumers and to help out Argentinian President Javier Milei. This is a little puzzling given Trump’s historic hostility toward foreign trade and his campaign promise to put America first. As someone who personally raises cattle, Massie is uniquely positioned in Congress to present the perspective of the American farmer. There is certainly no shortage of beef in our own country, but lowering prices requires relaxing a suite of crony regulations designed to protect Big Agriculture from the competition of local and independent farmers.

Of all the online fights Donald Trump picks, one of the most perplexing is his repeated attacks on Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. Known for his commitment to the U.S. Constitution and his unfailing habit of putting America first, Massie should be exactly the kind of person Trump wants in Congress, but the fact that he won’t bend the knee to Trump on budget votes continues to nettle the president. Matt Kibbe sits down with Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, to talk about how the internet spat, instead of destroying Massie, is actually elevating him to a national figure, helping him raise money, and highlighting his commitment to principle and refusal to sell out.

Cancel culture may be on the wane, but more insidious than social media mobs is the government’s ability to cut controversial figures off from their finances through the process of de-banking. Matt Kibbe sits down with Jorge Jraissati, president of Economic Inclusion Group, to talk about this little-understood means of censorship that is a growing threat to individual liberty. As cash becomes less and less useful, we’ve become increasingly reliant on banks and credit card companies to allow us to conduct basic commerce. When that tool is taken away, it’s the equivalent of being totally banished from society.

In an era when most Americans have put so much of their lives online, it’s easy to be complacent about online privacy. We’ve been told that as long as we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. But in fact, an increasingly powerful surveillance state is a major threat to individual liberty and to the country as a whole. Matt Kibbe sits down with Naomi Brockwell, founder and president of the Ludlow Institute, to talk about why privacy still matters and to outline several ways that ordinary people can easily safeguard their digital data. This is important, because once the government knows everything about you, it can use that information to silence criticism and stifle dissent. Even those who approve of the current administration have to imagine that at some point, someone else is going to be in power, someone who might want to crack down on all the freedoms we hold dear. Without privacy, it becomes almost impossible to push back against oppressive regimes.

Author Matt Ridley is well known for his book "The Rational Optimist," which argued that the world is consistently getting better year after year. In the 15 years since that book was published, however, world events have convinced many people that the opposite is actually true. Matt Kibbe sits down with Ridley to discuss his next book project, in which he will update and reflect on his earlier conclusions to see whether there is still reason to be optimistic or if in fact it is rational to be a pessimist.

In a divided America where various groups, including men and women, are increasingly at each other’s throats, is there a way to set aside hatred and judgment in order to love one another? Matt Kibbe sits down with author and educator Warren Farrell to talk about his new book, “Role Mate to Soul Mate,” which seeks to help couples communicate better and build stronger relationships. The same principles apply to political discourse as well. Instead of listening and understanding, too many people have fallen back on accusations and finger-pointing, to the point where it leads to horrific acts of physical violence, such as the murder of Charlie Kirk. Farrell’s work is crucial if we want to live in a country where individuals are treated with kindness and humanity instead of being demonized for their opinions.

At the Universidad de la Libertad in Mexico City, Matt Kibbe sat down with Pano Kanelos, chancellor of the University of Austin, to talk about how higher education has gone wrong and what can be done to fix it. In the wake of the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk on a college campus, the fact that universities have become increasingly hostile to open discourse and the pursuit of truth has become more obvious than ever. Ideologically driven curricula, combined with rising costs and the student debt crisis, have made higher education a less appealing prospect, which is a shame when you consider that the purpose of universities was always supposed to be the expansion of human knowledge, not just preparing students for the job market.

Economists are united in pointing out that tariffs on foreign goods are really nothing more than a tax on American consumers, but what fewer people understand is that Trump’s policy on trade is not really about revenue or even about economic protectionism. Matt Kibbe is joined by Phil Magness, senior fellow at the Independent Institute, to explain how the tariffs represent a unilateral expansion of executive power that is now being challenged by the courts. It’s important to remember that Trump will not be president forever, and sooner or later, a Democrat is going to occupy the White House again. At that point, they will be more than happy to use these expanded executive powers in ways that will horrify Trump’s base.

Stoicism and libertarianism are two philosophical systems, which at first glance may not seem to have much in common, but Matt Kibbe caught up with Ryan Holiday, host of the "Daily Stoic," to attempt to find some common ground. The philosophy created by ancient Romans like Marcus Aurelius not only teaches us how to cope with adversity but also the importance of becoming the best version of ourselves and continuing to learn from others. In an era when everyone is an armchair philosopher with the ability to safely preach views from the comfort of X, it's useful to remember that we actually need to do the hard work, both to improve personally and to make the world a better place.