Liberty + Leadership

Join Roger in this week's Liberty + Leadership Podcast as he speaks with Katherine Mangu-Ward, Novak ’05, editor in chief of Reason, the leading libertarian magazine. Roger and Katherine discuss her contrarian view on not voting in elections, the rise of ChatGPT and the "robot Katherine Mangu-Ward.” They also discuss the state of capitalism and libertarianism as a brand, sharing key poin...

Join Roger in this week's Liberty + Leadership Podcast as he speaks with Davor Kunc , a senior coordination officer at the European Investment Fund in Luxembourg. Roger and Davor discuss what it was like attending three TFAS programs, how TFAS's programs help bridge the divide among students from adversary states, Davor's internship at the Voice of America Croatian Service, the work...

Join Roger in this week's Liberty + Leadership Podcast as he sits down with Arkansas State Representative David Ray. Roger and David discuss how TFAS inspired him to run for state representative in Arkansas, his crusade to eventually eliminate Arkansas' state income tax, the fight for school choice with Arkansas' Education Freedom Accounts, and the personal connections made when you...

Join Roger in this week's Liberty + Leadership Podcast as he sits down with Dr. Anne Bradley , the vice president of academic affairs at The Fund for American Studies. Anne discusses what it's like on the front lines teaching economics to younger generations, how taking a field trip to the grocery store is a great way to learn about the market economy, and the connection between economic...

Join Roger in this week's Liberty + Leadership Podcast as he sits down with Tim Carney, an acclaimed author and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute . Tim takes us on a fascinating journey working with the "Prince of Darkness," Robert Novak, and how his TFAS Novak Fellowship inspired him to write gripping books like "The Big Ripoff" and "Alienated Americ...

In this week's Liberty + Leadership Podcast , Roger is joined by Jason Clemens , executive vice president of The Fraser Institute, and Ted Tucker , executive director of TFAS high school programs, the Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE), to explore the Realities of Socialism. Roger, Jason, and Ted discuss the findings of a recent study that compares public perceptions of socialism, the di...

Dr. Donald Boudreaux is an American economist, author and Senior Fellow of the F.A. Hayek Program on the American Economy and Globalization at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Dr. Boudreaux is a senior scholar at TFAS where he teaches Economics for the Citizen for TFAS D.C. Summer Programs. He has authored several books including "Globalization," "Hypocrites and Half-...

Elizabeth Edwards Spalding is the founding director of the Victims of Communism Museum and chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Elizabeth is a visiting fellow at Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Government and a senior fellow at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. She has devoted her career to researching and educating generations about the histo...

Amity Shlaes is the chair of the board at the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, the current events columnist for Forbes, and a bestselling author of seven books. Amity's works include " The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression" and most recently "The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge." Over her career, Amity was a columnist for Bloomberg News, a membe...

Rick Graber is the president and CEO of The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, a Wisconsin nonprofit dedicated to reinvigorating civil society by cultivating community, responsibility and citizenship. Prior to his current leadership position, Rick was a senior vice president at Honeywell International, served as the United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2006 to 2009, and was elected...

Chris Coyne is the F.A. Harper Professor of Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and he serves as the North American editor of The Review of Austrian Economics.  In addition to teaching Economic Problems and Public Policies for TFAS's Washington, D.C. Programs, Chris has authored numerous books. Most recently, he wrote In Search of Monsters to Destroy: The Folly of Amer...

Debbie Henney serves as director of curriculum for TFAS's high school programs, the Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE). She is also an economics professor and the director of the honors program at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona. For over 25 years, Debbie has been on the front lines teaching economics to both teachers and students of all ages. She holds a bachelor's degree i...

Dr. James (Jim) R. Otteson is the John T. Ryan Jr. Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Notre Dame and a senior scholar at The Fund for American Studies. As a renowned political economist, he specializes in business ethics, political economy, the history of economic thought, and eighteenth-century moral philosophy. For over 25 years, Jim has dedicated himself to teaching economics at...

Roy Abdo has led a truly remarkable life. Roy got his start with TFAS in 2006 when he left Lebanon to attend the TFAS program in Greece. On his way, war broke out in Lebanon, leaving him as a 21-year-old stranded in a foreign country and unable to go back home to Beirut. With the help of TFAS friends, staff, and alumni, Roy traveled to the United States to embark on a new journey.  Today, Roy is t...

Mitch Daniels is the former governor of Indiana, leading the Hoosier state from 2005 to 2013. He also served as the president of Purdue University from 2013 to 2022. Mitch has served in the public sector across a number of roles including as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush, chief of staff to Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, and senior advisor to Pres...

Dr. Nikolai G. Wenzel has taught at a number of TFAS International programs spanning the globe including Croatia, Hong Kong, Guatemala and Chile. Currently, he is an economics professor at Universidad de las Hesperides in Spain. He was previously a professor at Flagler College and Florida Gulf Coast University, and he was the former Wallace and Marion Reemelin Chair in Free-Market Economics at Hil...

Bringing life to the TFAS classroom for many years, Georgetown Emeritus Teaching Professor Michael Collins taught at TFAS's program in Prague as well as Ethics and Leadership at TFAS Academic Internship Programs in Washington, D.C. He also previously taught Shakespeare, British theatre, and Anglo-Welsh poetry at Georgetown University and led Georgetown's academic and residential programs...

Alexis and Justin Black are co-founders of Redefining Normal, a media platform that works to redefine societal norms and inspire people to talk about their trauma, as well as coauthors of the books, "Redefining Normal: How Two Foster Kids Beat The Odds and Discovering Healing, Happiness, and Love" and "I Love You More Than Cereal: Maeva and Dad Redefine Love." They are both pas...

In  2005 as a student at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, Jacek Spendel became involved in the KoLiber association, a Polish nonpartisan youth group dedicated to classical liberal ideas, free-market economics, and traditional values.  In the years since, Jacek has gone on to open his own pizza restaurant to better understand the entrepreneurial experience and started “Project Arizona...

Dr. Samuel Gregg is the Distinguished Fellow in Political Economy and Senior Research Faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research, a Fellow of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University, the Visiting Fellow for the B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies at the Heritage Foundation, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Samuel perviously directed the A...

Desiree Koetzle is the chief of staff for U.S. Representative Pete Stauber of Minnesota, having perviously served as deputy chief of staff for U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen of Minnesota. Desiree spent six years in the private sector working as a federal affairs representative at Koch Industries and as a government relations analyst at Blank Rome Government Relations. Desiree received a bachelor...

Bobby Tudor is a former professional basketball playler, investment banker and leader in the energy industry. He is currently CEO of the investment bank Artemis Energy Partners and is chairman of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative of the Greater Houston Partnership. He was the founder and CEO of THP (Tudor, Pickering, Holt, & Co.). Prior to forming TPH, he was a Partner at Goldman Sachs...

This week is a special episode of the Liberty + Leadership podcast with highlights from TFAS' 29th annual Journalism Awards Dinner in New York City. At the dinner, TFAS introduced a new class of Novak and Rago Fellows, and honored two courageous journalists at the Metropolitan Club in Midtown Manhattan. Honorees and guests included Novak Fellows Jack Butler of the National Review, Billy Binio...

Kyle Hybl is the president and chief executive officer of the El Pomar Foundation and is a former member of the Board of Regents at the University of Colorado. Kyle has both a bachelor's degree and J.D. from the University of Colorado. In 2019, Kyle received the TFAS Alumni Achievement Award for his dedication and service to TFAS. Kyle is a two-time TFAS alumnus, participating in the Public P...

Ibrahim Al-Marashi is an associate professor of Middle East History at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) and a visiting professor at IE University in Spain. Ibrahim graduated from UCLA majoring in Middle Eastern History, received his master’s degree in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, and his doctorate in Modern History from Oxford College. Ibrahim attended a TFAS internationa...