The Bart Baggett Show: The World’s Most Interesting People Podcast

Heather Wagenhals: Making Success Simple

“We don’t do what we know we should with money, we do what we’ve practiced,” explains today’s guest Heather Wagenhals, TV host, author, speaker, financial wizard and race car driver, who can spot a poser from a mile away. She joins the Bart Baggett show to explain that becoming wealthy starts with telling yourself a different story about money. Our upbringing, she says, shapes the way we view wealth and success, and only when we see a different example modeled for us, do we dare to think and act differently. 
As part of her Keys to Riches Financial Philosophy, Heather offers the Three Five Financial Strategy, in which clients address three questions and five areas of concern to determine their own vision of financial freedom—and everyone will have a different answer. Heather and Bart discuss getting rich both quickly and slowly, striking a balance between safety and risk, and between following your passions and taking a job that pays the bills.
Finding that passion and purpose is key to motivating us to change as the brain is lazy, risk averse and designed to keep us safe. Heather explains the power of our hearts and our desire as humans to connect with each other. She talks about choosing a positive mindset, emotional regulation, and changing our reality by telling ourselves a different story.
In an episode full of surprising revelations, Heather will reveal what truly separates billionaires from the average person and the essential benefits of the oft-maligned cortisol hormone, while Bart reveals the simple handwriting technique to help you become immune to other peoples’ opinions. 
 
Quotes
“Yeah, go start a podcast. Go be a comedian. Go do the things that you wouldn't do. If that's all you had to do, and it was success or failure, you have the foundation. That's such good advice, because these days it's all get rich quick, or it's really boring advice to live below your means and invest. And for anyone under 35 that feels like an eternity.” (4:15 | Heather Wagenhals and Bart Baggett) 
“If people just take baby steps. Thirty grand to somebody who’s never made 30 grand in a year, it’s a huge risk. They can’t connect to it. Incremental wealth has to happen because we have to raise our financial thermostats.” (7:11| Heather Wagenhals) 
“So many people, especially new money, are so motivated by social proof. They want other people to respect them at the cost of their future. When I see these 25-year-olds with Ferraris and stuff, and I think, ‘Oh man, that guy's heading for a crash. Do you feel that way? Well, absolutely, because acceptance, we crave it at a cellular level. In my women's development programs and personal empowerment programs, we talk about how we crave connection at a cellular level. If you've ever–and I remember this from fourth grade health class–if you look at heart cells, have you ever seen live heart cells?” (12:13 | Bart Baggett and Heather Wagenhals) 
“I don't know many people that own a $300,000 race car, and who's smart and funny and I've never seen you in a bad mood, those are life skills that people want to learn. Forget the race car, just getting up early and having all these great friends. How do you do that consistently?” (25:59 | Bart Baggett)
 
Links
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Connect with Heather Wagenhals
https://heatherwagenhals.com/
https://unlockyourwealth.com/
https://www.instagram.com/makingsuccesssimple/
https://www.tiktok.com/@unlockyourwealth
http://makingsuccesssimple.com/
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
https://x.com/bartbaggett
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Steve Forbes: The Man Who Makes the Forbes 400 List

"One thing you learn: the world does not stay the same," says Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine. He joins The Bart Baggett Show to explore what sets billionaires—like those on the annual Forbes 400 list—apart from the rest of us, beyond just their wealth. The answer is both practical and refreshing. This same practical mindset has enabled Forbes Magazine to thrive in the digital age, even as many of its peers have faltered. Steve discusses the necessity of adapting to change, the importance of staying focused on your goals, and the surprising reason why so few people read books.
 
As the author of the new book, “Inflation: What It Is, Why It's Bad, and How to Fix It,” Steve draws a comparison between how politicians and economists handle inflation and how doctors used to treat patients—by addressing symptoms rather than the root cause. In a discussion that touches on health and longevity, Steve and Bart Baggett also delve into thriving well into old age, even beyond 120 years.
 
With AI now driving a fresh wave of changes in the media and publishing industries, Steve is likely to approach these developments with the same curiosity and creativity that have guided him throughout his career.
 
Quotes
“Well, one of the things you learn is that the world does not stay the same. Peter Drucker, the late great management guru, liked to say, ‘Every organization should ask itself, what is your purpose? What is your mission? What is it you are trying to achieve?’ And if you ask that question, if the means to achieve it change, you get less hung up on it. But too often we get hung up on the means and forget the goal. So when the internet came along, blew away everything we had learned, we had to…there's no no book about how you cope with the Internet. You have to do it yourself. So you make mistakes, but you try to come up with new ways of doing it.” (2:44 | Steve Forbes) 
“Again, trying to provide that service, trying to come up with products that meet the needs of people. And one of the things the internet did was relentlessly commoditize. You just couldn't have a name, you had to provide something and so that's what we continue to try to do. Who knows what AI is going to do? But  we’re trying to remember what our goal is: to enable people to move ahead in life.” (3:57 | Steve Forbes) 
“Well, we have a book out called “Inflation: What It Is, Why It's Bad, and How to Fix It. It first came out three years ago when this thing was just beginning. We saw…the disaster coming. So in a week, we have the paperback version coming out, updated, new figures and also a great new foreword preface. So that comes out on July 16. And so yes, I'm still out there pitching, still out there agitating.” (5:01 | Steve Forbes)
“It’s amazing, after 4000 years, politicians, policymakers, economists still treat inflation like doctors used to treat patients 200 years ago— the symptoms, not the cause. Yes, and so they bled the patient and so got rid of the patient’s suffering because they got rid of the patient.” (5:08 | Steve Forbes and Bart Baggett)
 
Links
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Links
Connect with Steve Forbes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/
https://www.facebook.com/SteveForbesCEO/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveforbesceo/
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
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Roman Balmakov: The Illusion of Truth (Uncovering Media Bias & Lies)

“America’s moving, in my opinion, in a bad direction,” says today’s guest, Roman Balmakov, director of the new documentary “No Farmers, No Food: Will You Eat Bugs?” As a reporter with the Epoch Times, founded by Chinese immigrants to counter the narrative of the Chinese Communist Party-controlled media, he joins the Bart Baggett show to discuss media bias and the current state of American journalism.
 
Roman describes a new era where many journalists see themselves not as impartial purveyors of information but as “gladiators in the arena.” This shift began with omitting suicides from the news to protect readers and has evolved into journalists suppressing information they deem harmful. When media outlets encounter content they disagree with, they often ostracize it using the same accusations and language, regardless of its relevance.
 
How will the media respond to Roman’s own movie, produced by EpochTV, which Bart calls “Netflix for thinking people”? The film explores the U.N.’s war on small farmers under the guise of fighting climate change.
 
Tune in to today’s episode as Roman and Bart discuss immigrant success, the role of entertainers in truth-telling, and whether we might all be subsisting on bugs in the near future.
 
Quotes
“Yeah, one of my close friends was born in Ukraine, just a few miles from Chernobyl. And he said, if the winds were different, he would not be here. You know, and luckily his family got out and they came here to America and he loves it. He's rich...very rich. Isn't it great to come to this country and to be rich?” (1:14 | Bart Baggett)
“OK, so let's go back to the worst-case scenario. If you're in a dictatorship country and/or Poland in the 60s…this whole Communist thing. It's going to make you unmotivated. Because if you do, do well, even in the socialist countries in Sweden in the 70s, if you did really, really well, they taxed you at 90%, if I’m not incorrect in my math. I get that. When all of a sudden you're free, and there's not a gun pointed at your head, and you can start a business, you can start a carwash, you can start anything you want, that's like coming out of prison.” (2:43 | Bart Baggett)
“I think the media here is biased. And only in the past few years have we seen that the media has been a little bit bought and paid for in some segments.” (6:10 | Bart Baggett) 
“If you saw the movie, well, the movie is kind of its own thing. This is a story that actually happened. But then you look at all these media outlets, one after the other, putting out these stories. And you're and you just kind of left to wonder, ‘Why all of a sudden, are they all, in unison, framing the story this way?” (11:11 | Roman Balkamov) 
 
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Links
Connect with Roman Balmakov: 
https://www.instagram.com/facts.matter.roman
https://www.tiktok.com/@.epoch.times.roman
https://www.youtube.com/@FactsMatterRoman
https://www.facebook.com/FactsMatterRoman/
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
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Ariela Moscowitz: The System is Broken

“Everyone knows a sex worker,” says Ariela Moscowitz, but due to shame, stigma, and the associated risks, “nobody wants to talk about it.” As the director of communications at Decriminalize Sex Work, Ariela advocates for the removal of all criminal and civil penalties for consensual adult sex work. Additionally, the organization opposes a regulatory model gaining traction in the United States.
 
The ‘demand equality model,’ despite its name, decriminalizes the selling of sex but not the buying of it, in an attempt to reduce demand. This creates a power imbalance between workers and clients and exposes workers to significant rights and privacy violations. Supported by feminists who otherwise champion bodily autonomy, this model is based on the belief that all sex work is inherently exploitative and that sex workers need to be “saved.”
 
Ariela points out that human trafficking, a popular issue for politicians seeking voter approval, occurs predominantly outside the sex work industry.
 
In this episode, Ariela shares her journey in advocating for sex workers’ rights and recounts a woman’s story that highlights the devastating consequences of criminalizing sex work and the varied, often surprising reasons people enter the industry.
 
Quotes
“We don't want to see people saddled with criminal records for something they choose to do of their own volition with another adult in the privacy of their own home. And also, we know that decriminalizing consensual sex work is the best way to combat trafficking and exploitation in the sex industry.” (2:19 | Ariela Moscowitz)
“But they're still existing in a criminalized arena. And when you're dependent on somebody who is nervous about getting arrested, they hold all the cards. So, where I started was, we have two goals: we want to decriminalize consensual adult sex work, and we want to fight this, I’ll call it “the equality model,” even though that drives me wild because there's nothing equal about the equality model…a lot of second wave feminists, the same folks who fight for bodily autonomy as it relates to abortion, but not as it relates to sex work, have decided that all sex work is inherently exploitative. We know that it's not. So, they want to ‘save’ these women who they also want to have autonomy. It's all inherently contradictory.” (6:18 | Ariela Moscowitz) 
“You know, it's generous to say they're well intentioned, but are hastily written, slapped together laws that are really solutions in search of a problem. So, they can say, ‘Hey, guys. Look what I did about trafficking,’ while they did nothing for trafficking, and everything to hurt consensual adult sex workers. In 2018,...SESTA/FOSTA basically fundamentally changed the way the internet works…platforms can't be held liable for what folks post on them. That's what shut down Backpage.” (14:26 | Ariela Moscowitz)
“A lot of the structures we have in place in this society, really leave a lot of people out in the cold…you think laws are really written to keep you safe…and they actually make things more dangerous for people, which is what the criminalization of sex work does.” (17:38 | Ariela Moscovitz) 
 
Links
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Connect with Ariela Moscowitz:
https://www.decriminalizesex.work
https://www.instagram.com/decrimsexwork
https://www.tiktok.com/decrimsex
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
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Mark Skousen: Why Freedom is Not Free

“We always want to put people in categories,” says Mark Skousen, “if we believe in individualism, let’s treat everyone as an individual.” Mark, the founder of Freedomfest, clarifies that the event is not just a political conference for Libertarians but a “renaissance gathering” for people from all backgrounds who value thinking and living freely. On today’s episode of The Bart Baggett Show, Mark explains libertarianism beyond political affiliation and why freedom is the cornerstone of all societal systems.
 
Mark, a world-renowned economist, author, and professor, asserts that money and freedom are interconnected. He cites examples like Benjamin Franklin and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who built wealth and invested wisely to live life on their own terms.
 
Mark will discuss what makes a nation economically prosperous, draw parallels between a parent’s relationship with a child and a government’s relationship with its citizens, and argue why the U.S. should move away from the two-party system.
 
Despite societal challenges, Mark is optimistic about the upcoming generation’s willingness to learn and engage. Tune in to learn more about this year’s Freedomfest and how you can get discounted tickets with Bart’s help for a limited time. Coupon code “BART50” https://www.freedomfest.com
 
Quotes
“When children are young, they’re dependent on their parents for their livelihood, for their education and so forth. Unfortunately, that’s been translated too often to the government saying, ‘You’re all children and therefore we have to take care of you, your food, your medical expenses, your retirement and so forth.’ And that’s a danger.”  (2:32 | Mark Skousen)
“It’s not so much a political seminar. I first thought, ‘It’s a Libertarian conference,’ but that’s not my impression now, Mark. I feel like it’s people who love freedom, who want to experience—they have different social issues, some have very specific agendas, and some like me are just going, ‘Wow, maybe I can learn something.’...Well, that’s the problem—I don’t think you can pinpoint at ‘average’—everybody is so different. We always want to put people in categories and really I think, if we believe in individualism, let’s treat everybody as an individual.” (14:22 | Bart Baggett and Mark Skousen) 
“I see the Libertarians as those who favor maximum liberty within the rule of law and within a robust competitive economy or model, if you will, maximum liberty.” (19:22 | Mark Skousen)
“I’m really worried about our legal system and what is being taught in law schools. And we’re starting to see that now and this thing against Trump…we’ve had criminal justice reform, which I think overall has been good, but I do think if you become a target, they can use the law to go after you and you can’t get representation and you can’t get a judge that’s really fair.” (29:37 | Mark Skousen)
“How do you personally become wealthy, how does a nation become prosperous: it’s all the same thing. You live within your means, you save regularly, you invest the savings productively in a business or in the stock market which is other people’s businesses. And a nation’s the same thing.” (38:05 | Mark Skousen) 
 
Links
Save $50 on attending Freedomfest in Las Vegas in 2024.
Coupon code “BART50” https://www.freedomfest.com
 
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Links
Connect with Mark Skousen:
https://www.mskousen.com 
https://www.freedomfest.com
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Brittany Hunter: World's Worst X-Girlfriend

“Moral of the story: be so good at what you do that not even attempted murder will hold you back.” Comedian Brittany Hunter is very good at the many things she does, including creating the content for a major nonprofit law firm which hired her despite genuinely believing that she had tried to stab her ex-husband. 
 
She never actually did—though she admits to lying to avoiding getting into trouble, so perhaps we’ll never know. This was just one of many persistent rumors that arose from a live-Tweet tirade she went on throughout her messy divorce. 
 
Brittany’s approach to revenge is much more psychological than physical. She explains how she undermines the dreams and careers of her ex-boyfriends—several DJs and even a professional magician— in retaliation for their cheating on her and ignoring her. She tells the story of setting the precedent for text harassment laws in her native Utah while still in high school. 
 
It all contributes to her personal brand of “trauma-dy,” a taste of which she serves up on today’s episode of The Bart Baggett Show. Tune in to learn what her sloppy cursive reveals about her and how she sets herself apart in a sea full of ‘Brittanys.” It is pronounced BRIT-TI-NEY… but she will answer to any version as long as you call. 
 
Quotes
“I work at a nonprofit law firm. We have like 17 Supreme Court wins. I am not a lawyer. I'm a college dropout, not a lawyer. I do content. I’m a writer, first and foremost, so I storytell about the clients whom we represent, so I get to interview them, do all that. And surprisingly, all my coworkers and the general counsel of our firm are coming to see me tomorrow. I have done comedy in front of them. They hired me thinking I killed– or tried to kill–my ex husband.” (3:11 | Brittany Hunter) 
“I've never tried to stab anyone. First of all I’m a good shot, so if I would have tried to stab him, I would have stabbed him. You’re calling me a bad stabber. I follow things through. I follow through. If I wanted to murder him, he’d be dead. I’m a finisher.” (5:16 | Brittany Hunter and Bart Baggett)
“My first criminal record started when I was 18 years old. I was the precedent in Utah for text messaging harassment. Text messaging had been out one year. I texted my high school ex-boyfriend, who cheated on me, 200 times a day, every day, for two months until the police came. That is some persistence. It was persistence. It was hard work.” (11:52 | Brittany Hunter)
 
Links
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Links
Connect with Brittany Hunter:
https://www.instagram.com/brit_the_wit
https://www.tiktok.com/brittanyehunt
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4RwOhjX68nb7iYCFCAbtOA
https://www.instagram.com/britt_the_wit/
Connect with Bart Baggett
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https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
https://x.com/bartbaggett
 
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Larry Sharpe: The Secret to Wealth is Ownership

“Community is everything,” says today’s guest Larry Sharpe, a business consultant, entrepreneur and Libertarian political activist. Growing up with a single mother who was an addict and a felon, Larry learned first-hand that the government is not here to help you. In fact, it might be working to keep you down once you fall. On today’s episode of The Bart Baggett Show, he explains the importance of what he calls “ownership mindset” as the only way to truly build wealth and why community is its centerpiece.
 
After graduating from the Marine Corps, he went into sales with the intent of making money, only to realize that he was the only one not profiting from his success. He explains why immigrant families who come to the U.S. are intent on owning something, and how they build community around it. He explains the root of capitalism, responsibility, and even  why devoutly religious people make the best employees.  Larry even covers  how to support nonprofits while keeping your money safe from the government’s greedy hands. 
 
Larry learned a lot by losing it all and building it back from scratch.  He dispels the difference between guilt-based social conditioning in the West and shame-based conditioning in the East.  This episode is a delicious blend of psychology, politics, and capitalism.
 
Join today’s episode of the Bart Baggett show the powerful and business savvy Larry Sharpe.  Larry ran for governor in 2022 and continues to be dedicated to libertarian free ideas through community, business, and politics.
 
Quotes 
“Well, you can if you look at one important thing, the number one thing to consider in your life in general. And this is where most of the poor communities fail. Ownership. Ownership of your life, ownership of your business, ownership of your family, ownership of your job. Ownership mindset. And the ownership mindset doesn't say, ‘What kind of job can I get? How can I pay my bills today?’ It says what kind of value can I bring that people will want?” (4:45 | Larry Sharpe)
“When I got to the Marine Corps, my mother had an even worse problem. She actually became an addict. And she was a felon. And I pulled her out of jail. And I tried to get her life set up again. And that was my first real understanding of how the system is not meant for someone who falls down. It is meant to keep you down.” (9:01 | Larry Sharpe)
“Government is very good at servicing, not at helping. They will service you all day long. They will make sure you don’t die and stay in that terrible spot forever. And they’re good at that, that’s a skill set the government has: keeping you in a bad spot. But actually helping you? Oh, they’re terrible. Community is everything and I learned that from my mother.” (9:39 | Larry Sharpe)
“This goes back to our ownership mindset. When you find immigrant families coming, most of them want to own something, immediately, immediately, they want to own something or they want to do business around a house, they own something because they know that where they were from, they own nothing. That's why they left when it comes to own something. That Ownership mindset, which is also an entrepreneur mindset, but isn't always entrepreneurial, but it is ownership based.” (10:55 | Larry Sharpe) 
“The problem with so many nonprofits is they’re all getting government grants, which means you have government strings. So, basically, it’s a government agency that’s not unionized, that’s why the government loves it.” (12:52 | Larry Sharpe)
 
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Links
Connect with Larry Sharpe
https://www.larrysharpe.com
https://www.facebook.com/sharpe4gov
https://www.instagram.com/larrysharpe
https://www.youtube.com/larrysharpeforoffice
https://www.tiktok.com/larrysharpe
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
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https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Lou Perez: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

Lou will still tell the joke that isn’t allowed in some circles.  His audience doesn’t want “woke comedy” or watered down dirty jokes.  It just has to be funny. Today’s guest standup comedian Lou Perez feels comfortable making the jokes that other comedians feel too scared to make.  
 
In Lou’s new book, “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore: The Death and Rebirth of Comedy” he reflects about the days when not only were you allowed to experiment, but encouraged to fail, and audiences were down for the ride.  The World’s Most Interesting People Podcast host Bart Baggett digs into the the last 20 years of Lou’s comedy career and the state of comedy in general.  
 
Lou was surprised with the election of  Donald Trump to the American presidency, and more surprised at the short reign of woke comedy. You could start to see the punchlines from a mile away. Lou and Bart discuss the politics behind late night talk shows and how they found themselves unlikely defenders of free speech. 
 
They also discuss some surprising findings in their respective DNA lineage, having each taken a 23andMe test. They consider how life would be different if they were more invested in identitarian politics, and the lasting influence of the greatest murderer in history, Genghis Khan. 
 
If you’re looking for politically correct comedy, today’s conversation is not for you. Instead, Lou and Bart discuss the state of woke culture, why Twitter was once the best place for writing jokes, and why Joe hates to owe anyone anything. 
 
Quotes
“The book is a really great opportunity to look back at how lucky I was to start out doing comedy when I was doing it where you were expected to try stuff, experiment and make mistakes, to fail, to bomb, and to learn from that and come back and hopefully be funnier.” (3:54 | Lou Perez)
“Suddenly, you had this huge population of comedians that were just aiming their weapons at the President, and you couldn’t stray from that, for a lot of people, you couldn’t stray from that. You couldn’t let this guy get an inch. You couldn’t even make jokes about your own party if you were a Democrat.” (5:43 | Lou Perez)
"The TV writers all live in Los Angeles or New York. There's a heavy liberal element to it. Trump is a Republican president. So it's very easy for them to write those jokes. But if you're from another country, he just looks like a weird clown with orange makeup on. He's easy to make fun of.” (7:08 | Bart Baggett)
“Yeah, that is one of the gifts and one of the gifts of 23andme is I found out I'm 4.8% indigenous American. It's funny, because does that really change anything about me like my day to day, it's kind of like, ‘Oh, that's kind of a cool thing. And then just sort of like taking that like, ‘Man, what if I leaned into that?’ Now what that now that just, if I leaned–if I was the type of person who really took identitarian politics seriously, and my bloodline really seriously, where can I go with that?” (12:52 | Lou Perez)
“I’m glad they’re giving back, we raped and pillaged their land. OK, give them five percent of the oil money. Makes sense to me. Yeah, my body’s 4.8%; the rest of it’s been raped and pillaged. I would be a lot more if it weren’t for the conquistadors, or whatever, coming over and doing their thing.” (14:36 | Bart Baggett and Lou Perez)
 
Links
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
 
Connect with Lou Perez:
https://www.facebook.com/thelouperez.com
https://www.youtube.com/thelouperez
https://www.tiktok.com/thelouperez
https://www.thelouperez.com
https://www.instagram.com/thelouperez
Connect with Bart Baggett
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https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Elizabeth Nolan Brown: The Rise and Fall of Reasonable People

“We’re a conspiracy-loving people,” says Elizabeth Nolan Brown, senior editor at Reason, a magazine which prides itself on debunking myth and emotion-based arguments from both the Left and the Right. On today’s episode of The Bart Baggett Show, she debunks a number of popular myths, including that the media was only ever a stalwart bastion of truth and integrity. In fact, she argues, with so many citizens acting as fact-checkers, the media is held to account more than ever. 
 
Of course, transparency has its drawbacks. She and host Bart Baggett discuss the intrusion of constant surveillance and the importance of end-to-end encryption to keep our communication private from an intrusive government. The excuse that encryption will allow bad people to hide their bad deeds is another way in which the government exaggerates danger and instills fear so that we’ll forfeit our civil liberties for a false sense of safety. 
 
What’s really behind the widespread conspiracy of a major sex trafficking circuit operating throughout the U.S.?  Are aliens real? Are we really in a population decline? Elizabeth Nolan Brown, who also writes for libertarian feminist nonprofit Feminists for Liberty, answers these questions and more on today’s episode.
 
Quotes
“It’s a little bit of a myth, actually. I do think that standards are somewhat different today; there’s a lot more opinion in certain news outlets today than there used to be. But this idea that we used to have this objective press that was infallible is really wrong and it’s just that we didn’t have people to correct them.” (2:56 | Elizabeth Nolan Brown) 
“And the other thing is that like a lot like with the war on drugs...they use this as an excuse to invade everyone's civil liberties. There have been a lot of laws passed over the past decade and a half that allow more surveillance by police, allow more monitoring of social media, allow all sorts of things that we wouldn’t stand for except that people say, ‘Oh, it’s to stop human trafficking,’ ad they they use it as sort of a backdoor way to invade civil liberties of everybody. (8:03 | Elizabeth Nolan Brown) 
“Free speech. Freedom of religion. Freedom of assembly. Freedom to avoid government surveillance, either in your physical space or in your digital life. That’s a big thing now, is that we’re fighting the same battles we fought in physical space now so much when it comes to your internet activity, your emails, your text messages.” (10:58 | Elizabeth Nolan Brown)
“Criminals are going to use everything. You have to find a way to stop criminals without invading everyone’s privacy.” (12:24 | Elizabeth Nolan Brown)
“There are a couple countries that have a "Yeah, go have sex go make babies" day. Which is actually one of the more benign things though. You also have government's paying people, trying to bribe people into having babies. You have Nordic countries doing a lot of free childcare and free mandatory parental leave and all these types of social welfare state things happening. There is no evidence that any of it is really working.” (13:49 | Elizabeth Nolan Brown)
 
Links
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett Show Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Links
Connect with Elizabeth Nolan Brown:
https://www.reason.com
https://www.instagram.com/enbrown
https://www.facebook.com/elizabethnolanbrown
https://www.youtube.com/feministsforliberty
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Spike Cohen "Troublemaker"

“Even if Congress were the most intelligent and incorruptible people… they should not choose for you.  They are often idiots” —Spike Cohen discusses the problems with Democracy. 
 
“We have to show people that liberty works, it’s something that makes sense, it’s not just a theory,” says Spike Cohen, founder of the organization “You Are the Power'', which works to see justice for community members who’ve been wronged by their local governments.
 
In this episode of The Bart Baggett Show, Spike Cohen tells the story of one pastor who sheltered and fed the local homeless population in his church, and the local government responded by seizing the church.  Why are local community leaders not allowed to feed the homeless? The answer will surprise you.
 
Politics is a dirty game, as Spike saw firsthand as vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian party in 2020. He and Bart talk about the real story behind the two World Wars and what he sees as the problem with handing power to a handful of power-hungry people like those who govern the US.
 
 If Spike had any aspirations toward power or status, a diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis in 2016 gave him a new perspective. He explains how, far from being an obstacle, this served as a catalyst for many great changes in his life. 
 
Join today’s discussion as Spike Cohen and host Bart Baggett discuss imposter syndrome, dress swapping, and how Spike got his name (and why he had to steal it back from a dead dog). 
 
Quotes
“I want to kill the narrative that libertarians can't win and change it to not only can libertarians win, but when we win, the people win for a change, too.” (4:47 | Spike Cohen) 
“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And the thing is, the more that you centralize that power into one person, or even a relatively small group of people. In DC we’re basically ruled over by 546 people, 435 in Congress, 100 in the Senate, nine in the Supreme Court and one in the White House. 546 people are making day to day life and death decisions for over 350 million Americans across a gigantic landmass and multiple islands and so forth. And even if these were the most intelligent and incorruptible people they still couldn't possibly know as well as you do what you need. And of course, they aren't the most intelligent people. They're often idiots, and they're certainly not incorruptible.” (10:42 | Spike Cohen) 
“A lot of people who are successful have status, but their self esteem is actually pretty low. So the more successful they are the more they feel validated. And then temporarily, they feel good enough, but it's a never ending drug of validation.” (18:21 | Bart Baggett) 
“In 2016, I was diagnosed with MS. It forced me to rethink every aspect of my life down from what I ate, to how I operated, to what I thought about myself and everything else. And now, I'm living on purpose. And that has completely changed my mindset on everything. I'm not chasing status anymore. I'm chasing a vision that I have for what I'm trying to do and that now when I go to bed at night, I am excited to wake up the next morning to do the next thing.” (18:55 | Spike Cohen)
 
Links
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Links
Connect with Spike Cohen:
https://www.facebook.com/literallyspikecohen
https://www.instagram.com/literallyspikecohen
https://www.youtube.com/literallyspikecohen
https://www.tiktok.com/@literallyspikecohen
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
Meet Bart Baggett and Spike Cohen at FreedomFest this year.
https://freedomfest.com/  coupon code for $50 discount “bart50’ 
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm