The Libertarian Institute

A deal with Iran sounds simple until you read the fine print. We dig into the reports of a memorandum of understanding that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift parts of the pressure campaign, then ask the uncomfortable question: is this “freedom of navigation,” or is it a new normal where Iran and Oman set the rules and the fees at the world’s most important oil chokepoint?

From there, we get specific about the nuclear issue that could make or break everything. What does it actually mean to “destroy” enriched uranium, and what optio...

Congress is hollowing out, and the consequences show up first in foreign policy. Dan McAdams returns to talk with us about what Thomas Massie’s primary loss signals for antiwar oversight, why the Ron Paul era of forcing floor debates through appropriations fights is largely gone, and how that vacuum makes it easier for Washington to slide into the next conflict without friction.

We dig into Iran and the so-called ceasefire: the strikes, the responses, and the familiar pattern of narrative manipulation where the U.S. can provoke, then rebrand escalation as “defense.” We also unpack...

John and I skip reading Rules for Radicals this week and discuss ideas that have been bogging us down for the last few months.

A ceasefire is supposed to lower the temperature, not provide new vocabulary for the same war. We unpack reports that the U.S. bombed targets in Iran after a ceasefire and why calling it “self-defense” can still function as a direct escalation. I walk through what those strikes signal, how each side tries to define the rules midstream, and why Iran may tolerate only so many “limited” hits before choosing a bigger response.

From there, we get specific about the hard constraints behind the headlines: weapons stockpiles, interceptor burn rates, and how long it can take to...

CJ decided he needed a break from modern US history as he continues to recover & reset his life, so this is the first episode of a new DHP miniseries set during the Peloponnesian War in 5th century BC Greece. The series will primarily focus on a famous Athenian military expedition to Sicily that occurred right in the middle of that conflict, an expedition that, to CJ, is eerily similar in some ways to the current war with Iran.

This first episode, though, is backstory & world-building, setting the stage for the massive, complex & costly Peloponnesian War of 431-404...

Memorial Day brings out a lot of scripted lines, but we want to talk about the part that gets avoided: what American wars actually cost, who pays, and how often the public is left holding the bill while elites chase ideology, influence, and profit. We start by looking at the human consequences for service members and veterans, and why so many deployments overseas end with the same problems still on the table, just with more graves and more resentment.

Then we shift into the biggest moving story right now: Iran negotiations, the Iran nuclear program...

Trump says he wants “few people killed,” then talks like bombing Iran is a weekly calendar event. That contradiction is where we start, because the public narrative around the Iran war keeps snapping from all-out threats to last-minute “negotiations” as deadlines magically extend. I walk through why that cycle looks less like strategy and more like a president boxed in by bad options, public messaging, and allies with their own priorities.

From there, we get into the part most outlets blur: the difference between political victory laps and what US intelligence and reporting suggest on the grou...

Dave joins me to discuss his rediscovery of faith, how it supports his work, and the wars America is involved in.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/christians-and-hezbollah-unite-against-epstein-empire/ar-AA1ZcAt2

A professor makes a $500 campaign donation and suddenly gets cast as the “most important man in America” pulling congressional strings. That absurd story is the perfect doorway into what we really care about here: how narratives get manufactured, why propaganda works, and what it’s doing to both domestic politics and foreign policy.

We start with science diplomacy and cultural diplomacy, the old-school idea that researchers, students, artists, and athletes can keep human ties alive even when governments can’t stand each other. Joe explains how that cooperative model is being redefined across the West into som...

Trump’s China summit gets sold as strength, but the details tell a different story. We dig into what the U.S. says it achieved versus what China actually signals afterward, especially on Iran and regional security. From our seat, the big issue is leverage: if Beijing won’t bend and Washington can’t compel, the talking points don’t matter much. That gap shows up immediately in the most unglamorous place possible, supply chains and rare earth minerals that can quietly slow U.S. weapons production.

We also get into Taiwan and the argument you hear...

I discuss the darker side of celebrating war and the moral injury of wars of choice. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and an existential wake.
This day is about the ashes of victory and blood lakes of defeat. I show how the American way of war is far more brutal and murderous than the usual suspects let on.
***This episode is not for the squeamish or faint of heart.***
U.S. WAR CRIMES IN THE PHILIPPINES
James M. Scott Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila
Howard Jones M...



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Scott brings Dave DeCamp back on the show to run through some of the biggest foreign policy news. They start with Trump’s trip to meet with Xi in China which may have had some implications for US policy towards Taiwan. They then discuss whether Trump is really planning to bomb Iran again if talks continue to get nowhere. DeCamp then provides an update on the chaos and violence that has kicked off in Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza as a result of Trump and Netanyahu’s decision to launch their regional war.

D...