Author Archives

WAL Editor

Updates from the home office.

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Want to Amplify Your Voice And Create More Libertarians?

Join our Patreon!

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In just over 24 hours, a recent episode hit 3,000 downloads. This is the most significant 24-hour number we’ve ever had. Podcasts take time to grow in download numbers, and we are beginning to peak at 13,000. On Election Day 2016, our downloads peaked at 3000 an episode over all time. It is incredible growth, and it is a reflection of the hard work of everyone in WAL.

In November of last year, I considered ending the show. I wasn’t sure where to take it. I rededicated myself to the show, to prepping endlessly for each episode, and making sure that every episode leaves you with an “Aha” moment. I am glad I didn’t because the community built around our Patreon, Facebook Groups, and Discord have made this my favorite year of WAL. If you haven’t joined, get in on the fun now.

Below, I will tell you what we are working on, but first I want to share with you what We Are Libertarians means to listeners like you as shared in via email. If this show ended, then we would have missed out on impacting these lives:

“Thank you again for continuing to put out excellent content. More than many other podcasts that I’ve listened to, yours is engaging, interesting, and thoughtful.” – Joshua

“Your podcast has added remarkable value to my life; thank you!” – Eric

“I started listening to the podcast somewhere in the 30’s. And, I’ve listened to the entire catalog. I got really nervous that the podcast would end after the episode when your wife left you. I’d had so many “AHA!” moments listening to you explain ideas that I hadn’t been able to fully form or articulate that I panicked a little thinking about how I would keep learning. And, you’d challenged a lot of my natural instincts – both politically and in my personal life.

And, that’s the thing that really stands out for me about your podcast. You’ve literally helped me become a better person, husband, and father by helping understand the complexities of people. It’s OK that my children may not believe the same way I do. And, it’s OK to be vulnerable to my wife. And, it’s OK to be honest with my co-workers about struggles that I’m facing.

I’ve become more open about my feelings. I’ve become more patient with my children. And, in general, you’ve helped me feel more at peace with my self by helping me accept my own unique flaws.” – Jason

Receiving notes like this is truly humbling. WAL was always a hobby. It was a way to meet up with friends on a weekly basis and talk politics. I’ve been sharing my life with listeners, building a community around libertarianism, and trying to move people towards a free society by making them think. It was a surprise to all of us that it has meant something. It has rededicated us in these past few months to meet your expectations. With Patreon subscribers, we want to make sure there is value for the hard-earned dollars shared with us.

A Patreon subscription is what ensures this podcast continues. 

Without it, I could not afford to keep the show, network, and community afloat. We are just too successful for this to remain a hobby. So what are the details of our Patreon program?

What a Patreon subscription does:

What We Are Working On:

  • On August 1, my new personal assistant will start. They will be tasked with managing the Patreon community and assisting with behind the scenes stuff. This will free me up for more show prep.
  • We are hiring graphic designers for our new store launching soon.
  • We are upgrading our video. We will broadcast one stream to the big Facebook for a short segment of each episode for promotion and another multi-camera shoot to the Patrons.

What You Get:

  • $5 and up gets bonus content not heard on the main feed that is loaded up in CD quality audio.
  • $10 and up gets access to the live video stream and chat during the episode plus admittance to our exclusive Facebook group.
  • $25 and up gets one a poster and a discount in the upcoming store.
  • $100 a month gets you exclusive access to Dear Leader and the opportunity to come on the show!
  • The ability to amplify your voice to explain libertarianism to tens of thousands across our platforms.

For many new libertarians, We Are Libertarians is the first podcast they hear. We are on the front lines of spreading the libertarian message, and we are growing because libertarians like yourself amplify your voice by giving us more resources. Please partner with us to continue to impact the world for personal freedom.

– Chris Spangle

Become a Patron!

Click Here if You Want To Make a One-Time Contribution to Future Projects

*If you sign up today, your card will not run until the 1st of the month and is pulled on the first. 

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302: Russian Hackers Indicted, Trump And Putin

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Chris Spangle, Tad Western, and Matt Wittleif discuss the indictment of 12 Russian hackers, what it means for the collusion investigation, and we break down Trump’s press conference with Putin.

Show Links:

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301: Firing A Gun For the First Time

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Chris Spangle, Harry Price, and Paul Copeland recap Spangle’s first time shooting a gun and what perceptions changed towards firearms. We also examine the gotcha journalism of Sacha Baron Cohen.

Links

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Listen to We Are Libertarians on Spotify!

Where else can you hear us?

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You can now get We Are Libertarians, The Boss Hog of Liberty, The Brian Nichols Show, and the Chris Spangle Show on Spotify.

You can also listen on Soundcloud, any podcast app like Apple, Google, Pocketcasts, Overcast, Stitcher, Castro or Downcast, our website (wearelibertarians.com), and TuneIn radio. We also have two other shows on our network in these apps: Raw Audio Politics and Upward: Libertarian Activism. WAL and CSS are also on iHeart Radio and Spreaker.

We Are Libertarians Radio can be heard on iTunes Radio, TuneIn, our Android or Apple mobile apps, our website, or on your smart device like Echo and Google Home (ask “Play We Are Libertarians Radio“). We stream the last six months of shows plus special content. We also broadcast the show live on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

If you’re new to the show, start with these episodes: 255, 167, 168, 78, 261, 262 or the most recent one.

We’ve been critical of Arvin Vohra because of his controversial comments about teachers and veterans. While at the 2018 Libertarian National Convention, we asked Vohra what you’d ask him. The day following the interview, he lost his re-election bid for Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party but announced he’s running for their Presidential nomination in 2020.

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297: LP Convention, Part 2 – Liberty Hangout, Arvin Vohra, Mises Caucus

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Chris Spangle attended the national Libertarian Party convention to give listeners the sense of what is happening in this wing of the libertarian movement. Our guest hosts are Kristi Avery, Rhinehold, Kristen, and Ryan Graham. We ask hard questions of two divisive lighting rods: TJ Roberts of Liberty Hangout and former LP Vice Chair Arvin Vorha (now running for the Presidential nomination in 2020). We speak to Darryl Meadows about his first convention and the origin of the Mises Caucus. We also talk to Ohio Gubernatorial candidate Travis Irvine.

Links:

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296: LP Convention, Part 1 – Libertarian Socialists, Nicholas Sarwark

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Chris Spangle attended the national Libertarian Party convention to give listeners the sense of what is happening in this wing of the libertarian movement. Our guest hosts are Kristi Avery, Rhinehold, Kristen, and Ryan Graham. We begin by asking Matt Kuehnel of the Libertarian Socialist caucus what that is. We interview first-time delegates Michael McFarland and Nathan Andrews on their impressions of a Libertarian Convention. We interview Nicholas Sarwark on his re-election as Chair of the national Libertarian Party. We also talk to a libertarian podcaster named Sarah Wagner about beginning her show “Speaking of Liberty.”

Links:

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295: Porcfest, Why Should You Join the LP?

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Chris Spangle travels to Porcfest in the north of New Hampshire to podcast with his League of Liberty friends Marc Clair of Lions of Liberty, Johnny Rocket of Blast Off, and Rodger Paxton of the LAVA Flow. Chris also interviews Jess Mears, the Development Director of the Libertarian Party, on why being a member of the LP is a worthwhile investment. Check out Chris’s Porcfest photos here.

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294: Separation of Immigrant Children at the Border

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Chris Spangle and Harry Price discuss what is actually happening at the border and how libertarians ought to approach the issue of both immigration and child separation.

Show Notes

1. Recap the story with WaPo and Vox.

2. How should we view government and policy? What are the values we care about as a country? This isn’t an immigration story.
Every time you vote, it is imperative to understand the human cost of the policies that are enacted. Yes, individuals choose their behavior, but governments set up environments with perverse incentives.

3. How did we get here?
– The US government begins a war on drugs in the 1970s because Nixon wants to weaken his political enemies, specifically dope smokers and blacks. This policy causes gangs to profit off of a black market like alcohol prohibition in the 1930s. The military interventions by the US in the 1980’s destabilize Central and South American countries further. Populations reject colonialism by electing populist dictators that promise to solve their ills. Instead, these dictators are bought off by cartels. Massive amounts of cash lead to massive amounts of weapons, which leads to violence.
– Illegal immigrants operate on the black market for drugs because they cant get work legally. They get locked up in prisons with Bloods, Crips, and White Supremacist gangs.
– The Latin Kings and MS-13 are created to protect themselves. They serve their time and get sent back to their home countries. They take over the country like cockroaches. MS-13 was started in LA by a group of Salvadorans in the 1980’s.
– Legalizing weed then starves the cartels, so they turn to human trafficking as that black market grows in the last decade.
– For decades, immigrants to America were mostly young men trying to find work so they can send money home. Now it is largely families, women, and children fleeing violence while avoiding involvement in gangs or slavery. Pre-teen girls migrate to avoid grooming gangs. Most choose America because of our economy and security. Leaving their home makes them social pariahs in their hometown or marks them or family members for further violence.
– Now we are turning our back on them. Asylum
– When we do admit them, we abuse them. Detention.

4. Moral Corrosion
‪The most disturbing thing about the child separation issue is that immigrants aren’t human beings to a large portion of this country. Patriotism doesn’t require seeing people from other nations as “others” or less than. That’s sociopathic.

Empathy is part of American exceptionalism‬. The government does evil things on a regular basis and it’s an extension of us, paid for by us, carried out by Americans, but shouldn’t be accepted when discovered. Ending evil and bringing liberty and safety are key parts of what makes America great in the scope of history.

Beauracracy stories.

Useful Idiots supporting

6. What Is So Different About These Immigrants?
“We don’t need to let all these different cultures in this country.” You mean LATIN Americans with the Catholic culture? Literally the same languages, religion, and bloodline as Europeans? Can’t let all these religious pro-lifers with an entrepreneurial spirit in.

Human Beings

7. Future of this policy
Trump just walked off his most popular initiative in the North Korea summit only to shoot himself in the foot due to the way he chooses to enforce this law. (Yes, this existed previously but he has been much more aggressive with it. If he thought it was immoral, he could end it.) If I were a Republican, I would be so tired of losing.

Fox News Poll

8. To the Left:
I’ve repeatedly said that Democrats and the media should tone down the hyperbole over petty Trump dramas that don’t matter because there will come a time when something is genuinely wrong and no one will care because every day is a new overblown BS issue.

To all of the liberals and media members that think every word or action from Trump is LITERALLY HITLER… Thanks. You’re a central cause of most people dismissing AP fact checks and shrugging at childhood trauma being weaponized to “own the libs.”

Crafting public opinion carries life and death consequences, and no one is taking it seriously.

9. To the Right:
Trump is a person without character. He may do things that I like, but the moral cost of supporting someone wholesale that does immoral things leads one to a place of immoral beliefs. Arguing for state terror against immigrants by separating 2000 kids from their parents would be what I have been talking about. That is the administration’s number since starting their zero-tolerance policy crafted by Stephen Miller.

Should we enforce laws, yes. Should we do it in an immoral way? No. Traumatizing children to send a message to citizens in other nations is an immoral act. The morality doesn’t change because a government or a law says it’s ok. It’s contrary to the idea of American exceptionalism. Yes, previous administrations had similar policies, but this has been taken to a new level, hence the outrage. It isn’t just because Trump is President. Do some basic research.

If your values change because your party is in the White House, then they aren’t values. True principles are constants that are used to correct the entropy of human behavior. When you use the Bible, the most significant instrument of human liberty to justify terror, you’re lost.

7. Opinions on Borders
Look at the cruelty of closed borders.

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293: Jordan Peterson and the Discovery of Personal Values

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Chris Spangle, Matt Wittlief, and Dakota Davis discuss attending a Jordan Peterson lecture. Who makes up the crowd? What does he talk about? Why do people hate him? What makes 2,500 people show up to hear a Canadian lecture about the perception of reality on a Friday night? We also discuss how one determines their personal values.

 

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292: North Korea Summit, FBI IG Report, Leftists Make Trump Supporters

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Chris Spangle, Chris Gault, and Paul Copeland discuss the summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump. We consider the positives and negatives of Trump’s strategy. We then give details on the Inspector General’s report of James Comey’s conduct during the 2016 election. We then look at two ways that the left is driving moderates into the arms of Donald Trump.

Show Notes

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291: Suicide and Depression

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Chris Spangle talks about his struggles with depression, why does someone like Anthony Bourdain kill himself, what does depression feel like, how does one lift out of depression, and why our society is causing more people to commit suicide.

Show Notes

  • Why Alone? Why WAL is different?
  • Anthony Bourdain – Why?
  • My story
  • What does depression feel like?
  • What are the signs of depression
  • Depression vs the blues
  • Depression after College
  • Why does someone kill themselves?
  • What are some warning signs a friend is in trouble?
  • How do you lift yourself out of it?
  • What are the six pillars of self-esteem?
  • What are the elements of attraction?
  • What are the values of our culture?
  • When was the last time you asked yourself what’s important and what you value?
  • Do those answers match your behavior?
  • We are all glass houses living in fear of rocks.
  • We are uncomfortable with intimacy and vulnerability.

Links

Signs and Symptoms of Depression

If you have been experiencing some of the following signs and symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks, you may be suffering from depression:

  • Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood
  • Feelings of hopelessness, or pessimism
  • Irritability
  • Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities
  • Decreased energy or fatigue
  • Moving or talking more slowly
  • Feeling restless or having trouble sitting still
  • Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
  • Difficulty sleeping, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
  • Appetite and/or weight changes
  • Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
  • Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems without a clear physical cause and/or that do not ease even with treatment

Elements of Attraction

Mate: What Women Want. – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RTY0FKK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

  • The Tender Defender
  • Material Proof
  • Aesthetic Proof – fashion signals intelligence, social ability, and resources.
  • Mental & Emotional Health
  • Intelligence
  • Willpower & Conscientiousness
  • Social Proof
  • Romantic Proof
  • Physical Health
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290: The Limits of Outrage

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Chris Spangle, Chris Gault, and Rhinehold discuss the limits of outrage culture. Roseanne, Kathy Griffin, Samantha Bee, Masterpiece Cakes, and Donald Trump all have tested our collective patience. What led to the rise of outrage culture and where does it end?

Show Notes

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289: Why Isn’t The Libertarian Party Working?

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Chris Spangle and Rhinehold discuss why the Libertarian Party isn’t working through the lens of a recent Chair’s debate on Lions of Liberty between Nick Sarwark and Joshua Smith. They discuss common misconceptions on how the party works and how to fix them. They also review the strengths and weaknesses of both candidates.

Lions Of Liberty Debate – http://lionsofliberty.libsyn.com/348-lnc-chair-debate-sarwark-smith-and-dearn

264: The Libertarian Party vs. Ron Paul? – https://wal.fireside.fm/370

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288: The Swamp Explained – The EPA and the Roots of Bureaucracy

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In the first episode of our “The Swamp, Explained” series, Chris Spangle and Rob Quartel go in depth on how Washington works.

They discuss the origins of the EPA, the roots of bureaucracy, and what Washington thinks of Gary Johnson by telling the story of Rob’s career. Rob has lived and worked in Washington DC for 40 years. He worked for the EPA and the Ford and H.W. Bush campaigns. Check out his resume here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-quartel-5291553/

Have questions for Rob? Email us – editor@wearelibertarians.com

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286: Anarchy vs. Libertarianism, Drug Laws, Cultural Appropriation

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Chris Spangle, James Nease, Justin “Juice” Kelly, and Shane Jones of the Juice in the Morning join us to ask questions. After a recent appearance, Juice and Shane had some questions about politics so we answer them. We begin with the difference between and Anarchists and Libertarians, then we discuss the opioid epidemic and the Chinese dress controversy.