In 2008, Texas congressman Ron Paul unexpectedly exploded into the American consciousness with his groundbreaking presidential campaign, and launched a movement based on the principles of small government, sound money, and peace. Paul’s ideas were rooted in the Austrian School of economics, particularly the work of visionary thinkers like F. A. Hayek and Ludwig von Mises. Recognizing the internet’s potential for mass communication, Paul brought the ideas of the Austrians out of the ivory tower and into the living rooms of ordinary Americans. In this conversation, Matt Kibbe asks Dr. Paul about his intellectual influences and why he thinks his message has had such an enduring impact on the American political landscape.

The 20th century, though marked by its flirtations with totalitarianism, was also filled with numerous luminaries passionately fighting for human freedom—familiar names like Ayn Rand, Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, and Milton Friedman. Less well known, but no less important, was the Hungarian-born psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, who spent his career advocating for medical freedom, patient rights, and an end to psychiatric coercion. Along the way, he courted controversy for daring to challenge the orthodox position on mental illness, drug use, and suicide. Szasz passed away in 2012, but we caught up with his friend and colleague Dr. Jeffrey A. Schaler to share his thoughts and memories of one of psychiatry’s most courageous and iconoclastic figures.