The Big Questions with Big John

Distant Warrior Productions · distantwarrior.com

🎙️ Big Questions with Big John — where curiosity meets courage. Hosted by Big John, this long-form interview show dives deep with comedians, thinkers, creators, and contrarians who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. From politics and culture to comedy, philosophy, and free speech, each episode asks the questions others won’t — and lets guests speak freely about what they really believe.

51 episodes

12d ago latest

weekly cadence

English language

▶ Play latestRSS feed Website Society Culture Documentary

https://www.distantwarrior.com/feed/podcast/the-big-questions-with-big-john/

Episodes 51

Most of What You Hear About Immigration Is Wrong | Alex Nowrasteh
12d ago · 1:07:43
Most immigration arguments begin with stories: crime, overwhelmed public services, falling wages, unaffordable housing, cultural conflict, or chaos at the border. Alex Nowrasteh thinks many of those arguments look very different once you examine the data. In this episode of The Big Questions with Big John, Nowrasteh joins Big John for a wide-ranging examination of […]
Cancel Culture Cost Her Husband His Business. She Still Stands By What She Said | Nancy Rommelmann
23d ago · 1:07:24
Journalist and author Nancy Rommelmann joins Big John to discuss the dangerous similarities between true crime, media outrage, and cancel culture. Each can reward a simple villain, a fast judgment, and a satisfying conclusion before the full story becomes inconvenient. Chapters:00:00 – True Crime, Cancel Culture, and Fast Verdicts00:59 – Nancy Rommelmann’s Unconventional Journalism Career03:01 […]
Trump and Conservatism’s Identity Crisis | Ramesh Ponnuru
1mo ago · 56:11
National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuru joins Big John to examine what conservatism is still trying to conserve, whether its first principles remain coherent, and how the movement changed from Reagan-era free markets to Trump-era populism and economic nationalism. Chapters:00:00 – Trump and Conservatism’s Identity Crisis00:55 – Ramesh Ponnuru Joins Big Questions01:27 – Why History Matters […]
Antitrust Was Supposed to Help; It’s Protecting Big Tech Instead
1mo ago · 1:13:17
In this episode of Big Questions with Big John, Geoffrey A. Manne joins Big John to explain why antitrust, Big Tech regulation, privacy rules, AI regulation, and intellectual property law are much harder than the political debate admits. The problem is not just whether a company is big. The harder question is whether regulators can […]
The New Right’s Dangerous Bet on Government Power | Stephanie Slade
2mo ago · 1:10:18
Stephanie Slade joins Big John to discuss fusionism, the future of the American right, and the growing fight over whether government should protect freedom or use state power to impose virtue. This conversation gets into the conflict between old-school limited-government conservatism and the New Right’s more muscular approach to politics. It also asks a deeper […]
Andy Smarick: Who Should Control America’s Schools?
2mo ago · 1:10:26
In this episode of The Big Questions with Big John, Andy Smarick and Big John discuss public schools, school governance, institutional trust, democratic accountability, and why Americans no longer agree on what education is supposed to do. Andy Smarick is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a former president of the Maryland State […]
The One Freedom Americans Keep Trying to Destroy
3mo ago · 52:38
Americans say they believe in free speech. Then the speech gets ugly, offensive, dangerous, politically inconvenient, or useful to the other side. In this episode of Big Questions with Big John, Jonathan Rauch joins Big John to discuss why free speech is so difficult to defend, why universities lost sight of truth-seeking, why government censorship […]
The Richest Society In History Is Miserable
3mo ago · 1:12:57
We built the most productive civilization in human history. We’re also the most anxious, the most isolated, and the least trusting of any generation on record. Brink Lindsey spent two decades at the Cato Institute defending the system that built this world. Now he argues that the wealth machine stopped delivering what it was always […]
The Supreme Court Case They Lied About for 120 years
4mo ago · 1:17:25
What if one of the most hated Supreme Court cases in American legal history was not the villain you were taught it was? David Bernstein, constitutional scholar at George Mason University’s Scalia Law School, joins Big John to challenge the accepted story of Lochner v. New York, the rise of judicial activism accusations, the administrative […]
Why the Libertarian Party Should Never Compromise
4mo ago · 1:25:10
The Libertarian Party has a strategy problem, and Jacob Hornberger says it’s destroying the movement from within. Hornberger is the founder of the Future of Freedom Foundation, a former U.S. Senate candidate, and a Libertarian presidential contender. He’s spent three decades making the uncompromising intellectual case for individual liberty — and he’s not interested in […]
$36 Trillion and Nobody Is Talking About It
4mo ago · 1:16:24
Megan McArdle is a Washington Post columnist and trained economist who has spent two decades mapping the fault lines where money, policy, and institutional failure collide. With the national debt crossing $36 trillion and expert credibility at a generational low, this conversation is overdue. Chapters:00:00 The $36 Trillion Question01:15 From NYC Socialist to Libertarian Economist06:06 […]
The Real Problem Isn’t Government—It’s Trust | Kevin Vallier
5mo ago · 1:12:01
Political philosopher Kevin Vallier, author of Trust in a Polarized Age, joins Big John to map the doom loop connecting social distrust and political polarization — and why COVID may have been the event that broke American trust for good. Chapters:[00:00] Introduction[01:27] Vallier’s Origin Story — Liberty, Conformity & Columbine[03:13] The Open Society: Can It […]
The System Is Rigged: A Libertarian’s Plan to Fix America | Lars Mapstead
5mo ago · 1:21:32
The system isn’t just broken; it was built this way. Lars Mapstead ran for president on one theme: unrig it. Lars Mapstead is a tech entrepreneur and 2024 Libertarian presidential candidate who argues that the two-party duopoly, the Federal Reserve, and the IRS were designed to protect elites — not you. In this episode of […]
Why Americans Can’t Talk to Each Other Anymore | Arnold Kling
5mo ago · 59:52
Why is it that the left, the right, and libertarians can talk about each other — but never to each other? Dr. Arnold Kling, MIT-trained economist and author of The Three Languages of Politics, breaks down the invisible framework that makes American political debate feel impossible. In this episode:– His provocative AI prediction: by the […]
She Escaped Communism TWICE — Now She’s Warning America
5mo ago · 1:07:12
What happens when socialism takes everything from your family — not once, but twice? Martha Bueno’s parents escaped Castro’s Cuba, rebuilt their lives in Venezuela, and then watched Hugo Chavez destroy it all over again. Now a CEO, mother of four, and former Libertarian Party official, she has a warning Americans need to hear. Chapters:00:00 […]
Why Political Ignorance Is Democracy’s Default Setting
6mo ago · 49:19
Does your vote actually change anything — or is ignorance the price of admission? Constitutional law professor Ilya Somin argues that political ignorance isn’t a failure of education or media — it’s a rational response built into the structure of democracy itself. In this episode:– Why more education and better internet access won’t fix the […]
You Don’t Have the Rights You Think You Do | Dr. Aeon J. Skoble
6mo ago · 1:00:09
“All laws ultimately come down to somebody with guns coming to make you do their bidding.” Is that really how freedom works? Dr. Aeon J. Skoble — Professor of Philosophy at Bridgewater State University — joins Big John to unpack what liberty actually means, why your moral obligations aren’t the government’s job, and where every […]
“Politicians Have Bad Intent” — A Libertarian Insider Explains Why
6mo ago · 1:12:16
What if the people writing our laws aren’t just incompetent — but acting with bad intent? Jim Babka has spent decades inside the libertarian movement — from press secretary for presidential candidate Harry Browne to fighting campaign finance battles at the Supreme Court. He’s seen how the system actually works from the inside. What you’ll […]
Why The Government is Lying About Crime Stats
6mo ago · 1:01:42
The government says sex trafficking is exploding. The real numbers tell a very different story — and bad data is being used to destroy free speech online. Reason Magazine senior editor Elizabeth Nolan Brown exposes how crime statistics are weaponized to pass laws like FOSTA-SESTA, gut Section 230, and criminalize voluntary behavior — all under […]
The Brutal Reality of Life in the Soviet Union | Cathy Young
6mo ago · 1:15:29
Cathy Young reveals the terrifying reality of growing up in the Soviet Union, from secret police surveillance to her family’s harrowing Gulag survival stories. We discuss the dangers of authoritarianism and why the modern West fails to understand the cost of free speech. In this episode of The Big Questions, Big John sits down with […]
Escape the Public School System: The Unschooling Blueprint
6mo ago · 57:39
Is the public school system designed to educate children or train obedient workers? We break down why “Unschooling” is the ultimate exit strategy for parents who want to raise sovereign, independent thinkers. In this episode of Big Questions, we challenge the modern education model. Two veteran unschooling moms explain the mechanics of self-directed education, proving […]
The Blueprint to Crush Establishment Politics (w/ Cliff Maloney)
6mo ago · 1:00:05
Is focusing on the White House a waste of time? Political organizer Cliff Maloney reveals the “25% Rule”—a mathematical path to taking over a State Legislature and bypassing federal gridlock entirely. In this episode of Big Questions, we break down the mechanics of grassroots organizing and why the real battle for liberty is happening in […]
Is Government Obsolete? The Mechanics of Anarcho-Capitalism
6mo ago · 1:11:24
Is a centralized state actually necessary for law and order, or is government obsolete? David Friedman (author of The Machinery of Freedom) breaks down the mechanics of Anarcho-Capitalism and explains how a private market for law, courts, and police would actually function. Big John and David move beyond ideology to the practical engineering of a […]
The Casting Decisions That Changed Television
7mo ago · 53:55
Legendary Casting Director Marc Hirschfeld reveals the untold stories behind TV’s biggest hits. Discover how he found Ed O’Neill for Married with Children when no one else saw the vision, and the rigorous process of assembling the core four for Seinfeld. In this episode: – Why Ed O’Neill almost didn’t play Al Bundy– The secret […]
Is Libertarianism Actually Pagan? (w/ Logan Albright)
7mo ago · 56:16
Does true freedom require a spiritual connection to nature? We explore why the path to anarchy might just be Pagan, and how to separate liberty from the Left-Right paradigm. Logan Albright (Free the People) joins Big John to dismantle the state, exploring how art, music, and ancient spirituality offer a better path to freedom than […]

Episodes

Reading the feed…

Also on distantwarrior.com

Liberty Lens

distantwarrior.com

61 episodes · 9d ago

More Society shows

The Big Questions with Big John

Episodes 51

Most of What You Hear About Immigration Is Wrong | Alex Nowrasteh

Cancel Culture Cost Her Husband His Business. She Still Stands By What She Said | Nancy Rommelmann

Trump and Conservatism’s Identity Crisis | Ramesh Ponnuru

Antitrust Was Supposed to Help; It’s Protecting Big Tech Instead

The New Right’s Dangerous Bet on Government Power | Stephanie Slade

Andy Smarick: Who Should Control America’s Schools?

The One Freedom Americans Keep Trying to Destroy

The Richest Society In History Is Miserable

The Supreme Court Case They Lied About for 120 years

Why the Libertarian Party Should Never Compromise

$36 Trillion and Nobody Is Talking About It

The Real Problem Isn’t Government—It’s Trust | Kevin Vallier

The System Is Rigged: A Libertarian’s Plan to Fix America | Lars Mapstead

Why Americans Can’t Talk to Each Other Anymore | Arnold Kling

She Escaped Communism TWICE — Now She’s Warning America

Why Political Ignorance Is Democracy’s Default Setting

You Don’t Have the Rights You Think You Do | Dr. Aeon J. Skoble

“Politicians Have Bad Intent” — A Libertarian Insider Explains Why

Why The Government is Lying About Crime Stats

The Brutal Reality of Life in the Soviet Union | Cathy Young

Escape the Public School System: The Unschooling Blueprint

The Blueprint to Crush Establishment Politics (w/ Cliff Maloney)

Is Government Obsolete? The Mechanics of Anarcho-Capitalism

The Casting Decisions That Changed Television

Is Libertarianism Actually Pagan? (w/ Logan Albright)

Episodes

Also on distantwarrior.com

Liberty Lens

More Society shows

防災 FRONT LINE

The Daily Rios

DOCS

The Best of Times Radio Hour

Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

Debatní deník

Episodes 51

Most of What You Hear About Immigration Is Wrong | Alex Nowrasteh

Cancel Culture Cost Her Husband His Business. She Still Stands By What She Said | Nancy Rommelmann

Trump and Conservatism’s Identity Crisis | Ramesh Ponnuru

Antitrust Was Supposed to Help; It’s Protecting Big Tech Instead

The New Right’s Dangerous Bet on Government Power | Stephanie Slade

Andy Smarick: Who Should Control America’s Schools?

The One Freedom Americans Keep Trying to Destroy

The Richest Society In History Is Miserable

The Supreme Court Case They Lied About for 120 years

Why the Libertarian Party Should Never Compromise

$36 Trillion and Nobody Is Talking About It

The Real Problem Isn’t Government—It’s Trust | Kevin Vallier

The System Is Rigged: A Libertarian’s Plan to Fix America | Lars Mapstead

Why Americans Can’t Talk to Each Other Anymore | Arnold Kling

She Escaped Communism TWICE — Now She’s Warning America

Why Political Ignorance Is Democracy’s Default Setting

You Don’t Have the Rights You Think You Do | Dr. Aeon J. Skoble

“Politicians Have Bad Intent” — A Libertarian Insider Explains Why

Why The Government is Lying About Crime Stats

The Brutal Reality of Life in the Soviet Union | Cathy Young

Escape the Public School System: The Unschooling Blueprint

The Blueprint to Crush Establishment Politics (w/ Cliff Maloney)

Is Government Obsolete? The Mechanics of Anarcho-Capitalism

The Casting Decisions That Changed Television

Is Libertarianism Actually Pagan? (w/ Logan Albright)