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A Wild, Rewarding Weekend — Minute by Minute
Technically, LibertyCon International, 2025 didn’t start until Friday, February 7th. But for me, the mad, glorious, and adrenaline-and-caffeine-and-passion-fueled rush of it all began the night before, at the Cato Institute.
I was there listening to a panel of SFL alumni.
From there, I was planning to walk to Union Market, where Young Voices and the American Institute for Economic Research were hosting a debate on sports betting. But as you’ll see, sometimes at LibertyCon, you just have to go with the flow.
Thursday
Thursday, 5:46 p.m. — Already stayed at Cato too long … Google said it was a 45-minute walk, and the debate starts in 44 minutes … but I just can’t bring myself to leave yet; I’m loving this conversation.
5:58 p.m. — Ok, no choice now: I’ll Uber in a little bit.
6:17 p.m. — I should have checked earlier; Uber tells me it’s 21 minutes (to drive 1.9 miles). I guess D.C. traffic really is that bad.
6:19 p.m. — You know, I can probably RUN two miles in less than 21 minutes …
6:21 p.m. — And I need the exercise anyway; let’s go.
6:28 p.m. — I should not have eaten so many cashews this afternoon.
6:42 p.m. — Exactly 21 minutes after leaving, I’m a block away from the debate venue. And oh, hi, LibertyCon Director Andrew Freo and wife, Erica! No … I’m … not … out of … breath. Why?
8:51 p.m. — Debate was fun! Verdict: the government is not fit to restrict sports betting (or any other peaceful, consensual activity). I walk back toward Cato to check out the post-panel social at a rooftop bar. Surely it’s over by now.
9:32 p.m. — Wrong! The rooftop is full of SFL alumni and staff from all over the world, all exuding that jet-lagged desire to stay awake until a normal bedtime.
9:57 p.m. For me, however, this is a normal bedtime, and it’s gonna be a busy weekend. I pull the old [insert one of various nationalities here; many claim it as theirs] goodbye tactic, where I leave quietly, without telling anyone, so as not to bring the mood down.
Friday
Friday, 10:03 a.m. — I meet Mike Sertic, President of The Advocates for Self-Government. I’m interviewing him for a video about how SFL shaped his life and career. He’s about the humblest person I’ve ever met (but I get him to brag about himself, just a bit).
11:24 a.m. — Most of the signage is up; people are trickling into the conference center … 🎵It’s beginning to look a lot like LibertyCon 🎵
11:51 a.m. — I step outside for the first time today. Hey, a bench, right in the bright sunshine? Don’t mind if I do!
12:08 p.m. — Should I have another coffee? Eh, I don’t think I need it.
1:06 p.m. — Interview #2 for the day, this time podcast-style with professional wrestler Nic Nemeth, aka Dolph Ziggler. I’m a sports fan, but I have to admit: Wrestling is new to me.
2:18 p.m. — As we’re finishing a fun chat about the meritocracy of sports and the recent intersection of hand-to-hand combat sports and politics, who should drop by? Former Wrestler and current Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, Glenn Jacobs. Leam, our resident wrestling aficionado, is beaming, seeing two of his heroes up close, in person.
4:00 p.m. — Registration for LibertyCon begins. Lanyards and tote bags are being handed out, badges and nametags are being affixed … it’s go time.
4:34 p.m. — Pro tip: The Cato table always has an impressive stack of free books. (One of the reasons we gave out those nice, green tote bags!) I pick up a few; the woman behind the table says, “All I ask for in exchange is that you tell me who the face in at the top-left of the book cover is.” It’s Modern Libertarianism: A Brief History of Classical Liberalism in the United States by Brian Doherty.
“Well,” I say, “I can tell you Rand is at the top-right … Milton Friedman is lower-left … Hayek is lower-right.” She says, “I know, those are easy. But who’s this guy?” She points again to the top left.
“I will make it my mission to find out,” I say.
4:34:30 p.m. — As I leave, the man behind me approaches the table. He recognizes the woman I was talking to; they seem like old friends. “Did I hear right,” he says, “that you and your husband were potentially going to reproduce?”
5:27 p.m. — You know how your feet start to hurt at a museum, because you’re on your feet for hours straight, but not actually walking, just kinda shuffling, and therefore not properly distributing your body weight? That’s my life right now, as I shuffle from table to table in the exhibition room.
6:01 p.m. — I arrive at the main stage for the opening remarks, but they are not going to start on time.
6:03 p.m. — You know what? OF COURSE they weren’t going to start on time; they knew stragglers like me would be late. Be the change you wish to see in the world, Trevor. Be punctual from now on.
6:06 p.m. — As a few final stragglers trickle in, Robby Soave from Reason takes the stage to applause from a packed auditorium.
7:03 p.m. — I literally — in the true, pre-Millennial sense of that word — cannot believe what I’m seeing: a KKK robe and hood and a Nazi flag on the main stage. Except tonight, they’re trophies won by Daryl Davis, a black musician who convinced their former owners to give them up for good. I’m thinking about what those symbols typically represent — the fear and hatred they’ve conjured for millions of people — and then I think about what they mean, here and now, in this context: symbols of how love and communication and understanding can conquer hatred. I’m so happy I could cry.
7:55 p.m. — Jeez, this debate between Bryan Caplan and Daniel Di Martino debate on immigration is getting HEATED! I love it.
8:43 p.m. — Hi, Rashid! I run into a friend of mine, and one of our three nominees for Student of the Year, in the lobby. He’s making a documentary about the history of SFL, and he asks to interview ME, of all people, for it. Meet downstairs at 9:00? Sure.
8:44 p.m. — See you in a few, Rashid, I’m just gonna run up to my room for a minute and … oh and hi, Stephen Kent! Another friend, author of How the Force Can Fix the World, and featured expert for What Makes a Disney Villain Work has arrived. He’s here for Liberty Jeopardy!
8:54 p.m. — I catch the upward elevator with a co-worker. I press the button for the 16th floor and he presses the one for the … SECOND floor? “You couldn’t take the stairs up one floor?” I ask, my tone more serious than I intended. I’m in a hurry; I don’t want to be late again, but that’s no excuse for being rude. I’m sorry, Florian.
9:03 p.m. — Rashid asks me about SFL’s impact around the world, and it’s impressive. (Just read the Annual Report.) But at the end of a day full of running around and shaking hands and interviews and lectures, I’m not sharp, and the numbers don’t come to me. I hope he finds someone much, much more qualified than me to interview.
10:27 p.m. — Liberty Jeopardy! is an absolute joy to end the day with. Granted, it’s hard to keep track of the scores without a scoreboard, but the questions are great and host Brian Lambrecht’s energy is contagious.
11:14 p.m. — I’m sure there’s a party going on somewhere, but now I’m in bed. Do I have the energy to crack open my new copy of John Mackey’s The Whole Story? I read a paragraph about … Zzzzzzzzzz.
Saturday
Saturday, 8:11 a.m. — The CiVL coffee meet and greet is the perfect place to ask: “Hey, who’s this face in the upper-left-hand corner of this cover?” Two people say practically the same thing: They immediately identify Rand, Friedman, and Hayek, but they’re stumped on the fourth and we’re no closer to solving our mystery.
9:00 a.m. — I’d always wanted to take a deep dive into the 16th Amendment and the Internal Revenue Code, and Peymon Mottahedeh delivers. He says, with a lot of supporting evidence, that the federal income tax applies only to residents of Washington, D.C. I definitely need to stop by his Freedom Law School table to ask some follow-ups.
9:59 a.m. — In the foyer, Keaton Powell tells me, “There’s two seats left for Judy Shelton … she was nominated to the board of governors of the Federal Reserve. It’s in Salon F. Wanna come?” Why yes, I sure do.
10:28 a.m. — I leave her panel a few minutes early; I had promised Mike I would come by his lecture, introducing attendees to, and asking them for suggestions on how to improve, the World’s Smallest Political Quiz. And I walk in just as he takes the mic.
11:02 a.m. — Have I eaten yet? No. Is the hotel still serving breakfast?
11:04 a.m. — Yes! In honor of Ron Swanson, who appeared on a life-sized cut-out at the Being Libertarian table I visited earlier, I eat all of the scrambled eggs and bacon.
11:40 a.m. — I set up my camera outside Salon E to ask people to re-tell their stories of online censorship under the guise of safety, so we can report back to NetChoice, who sponsored this session. If you think censorship is bad here in the U.S., just talk to some folks from Asia.
12:00 p.m. — I want to be on time, and I’m glad I am because there aren’t many seats left, for David Friedman’s lecture about market failure.
12:08 p.m. — He makes me wonder: What do I believe that isn’t true, just because it’s in my best interests to believe it?
12:21 p.m. — Aha; that’s it! I believe that cheering loudly at sporting events can affect the outcome, even though I know in reality, it probably doesn’t. This comes to me when Dr. Friedman says, “Consider why people attend football and baseball games, where teams are associated with their cities or universities. Part of it is so they can cheer for their side and think they can make a tiny difference in the outcome. The same phenomenon is at play with voting.”
12:33 p.m. — I ask the guy sitting next to me, “Hey, whose face is this?” He responds, “That’s Murray Rothbard.”
12:34 p.m. — “Let me see that again,” he says. “Yeah, it’s Rothbard. I’m pretty sure.”
2:19 p.m. — I’m panicking: I have misplaced my green tote bag with all my notes in it, plus my copy of Doherty’s Modern Libertarianism, without which I might never find my answer. It’s not in my room. It’s not in the staff room, either. And there are, like, a thousand other identical green bags at this conference.
2:31 p.m. — (It WAS in the staff room.)
3:01 p.m. — I drop by the Liberty Seeds table and meet Alex Yershov. He gives me four packets of liberty seeds: artful business cards with inspirational, liberty-oriented quotes from famous classical liberals on the back. I’ve been “planting” these seeds by slyly leaving them behind in lockers at the gym, in cupholders at basketball games, even on a friend’s easy chair.
3:03 p.m. — Back in the exhibition room, the CEO of Freedom Law School answers all of my tough, direct questions rather convincingly. He says none of their clients have actually been imprisoned or had their wages garnished by the IRS, and they’re going on 30 years in operation.
4:13 p.m. — Random guy I walk up to: “Could it be Ronald Coase?” Me: “I truly don’t know; I’ve been asking people all weekend.” A woman who overhears our conversation: “I think that’s Mises.” Another guy nearby: “That’s Barry Goldwater, right?”
4:25 p.m. — Bah god, that’s Dolph Ziggler’s music! He takes the main stage as part of a panel of entertainers who tell how they came around to classical liberalism.
You can watch all of Saturday’s main-stage programming, including this panel, HERE.
5:13 p.m. — I am hearing reports that it’s raining outside. If I step out for some fresh air, will my suit be ruined?
6:30 p.m. — I missed Robby Soave’s closing remarks; I wasn’t emotionally ready for LibertyCon to be over. And when I walk into Salon F for the Bastiat House (learn more about them HERE) debate tournament championship, it’s clear that Marcos Batista and Co. are not ready, either. They’re just getting started!
7:26 p.m. — I swing by the VIP room and oh boy oh boy oh boy is that who I think it is? See, I met this good-looking lady at LibertyCon in Miami a couple years ago, we had nice conversation, but I never saw her again … until now, I think?
7:26:01 — Suit survived the rain … but my hair might still be a little damp. Does my breath smell like bacon? Is that a wedding ring or an Oura ring?
7:27 p.m. — Before I can find out, everyone is ushered down to dinner and I lose her in the crowd. Eh, we live half a continent away, it never would’ve worked.
8:34 p.m. — Glenn Jacobs takes the stage as keynote speaker. He’s read Human Action and grew up a St. louis Cardinals fan! If I lived in Tennessee, he might just have my vote.
9:23 p.m. — At the end of a gracious and humble speech, our Alum of the Year, Aimable Manirakiza, deviates ever so slightly from that humility and gets a big laugh. “Long life to you, long life to Students For Liberty, and long life to me,” he says.
10:02 p.m. — Is that SFL’s very own North American Programs Director, Florian, at stage left, playing bass for Daryl Davis!? I guess he didn’t lose too much sleep over my bad elevator etiquette.
10:34 p.m. — The Brazilians are coming; the Brazilians are coming! Three of our Brazilian students have requested the band play a samba and have taken over the microphones.
10:39 p.m. — The Cato folks left a big box of books behind on their table … and Modern Libertarianism is sitting there on top! Having left my green tote bag securely up in my room, this is a sign from above: I’m gonna get my answer.
10:41 p.m. — Dennis Jose, SFL’s South Asia Programs Manager, is standing just outside the ballroom. I ask him. “That’s Barry Goldwater,” he says. I say: “How sure are you?”
10:42 p.m. — He opens a facial recognition app and scans the face. But it’s a drawing, so that’s no use.
10:43 p.m. — “I’m positive,” he says. I say back: “Alright, tell you what: If you’re so sure, I’ll give you a dollar right now. If I find out otherwise, you’ll donate your next paycheck to SFL. How’s that sound?” He thinks about it for a second: “That’s a win-win, but I’m sure. Deal.”
10:58 p.m. — I drop by the VIP room again. No sign of anyone this time, just an abandoned table full of international hors d’oeuvres: Japanese peanuts, Mexican dulces, Chinese White Rabbit candies, seaweed from … wherever seaweed comes from. We’re an international organization, after all.
And It Stoned Me by Van Morrison is playing softly over the speakers and you know how sometimes, the perfect song is playing at the perfect time at the perfect place? This is that; slow and soft and melancholy notes fall over the empty room because LibertyCon is now officially over and we have to wait another year for this wild and stressful and inspiring and reinvigorating and just plain fun runaround of a weekend to return. (Unless you can make it to Prague for LibertyCon Europe in April.)
I think about that old line from German poet Ludwig Jacobowski: “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.” And then I see that Van Morrison himself said this song is about a time when, “For five minutes everything was really quiet and I was in this other dimension,” and that’s exactly what LibertyCon is, if you put your heart and soul into it: a vessel to another dimension, another state of mind, where you realize how awesome people are and how beautiful life is and how much better it will get if only we can make our message of free minds and free markets ring true, the world over.
11:04 p.m. — Ex. Haus. Ted. My right wrist hurts from so many handshakes. Business cards and pins and liberty seeds and pamphlets and little scraps of paper with notes on them spill out of my pockets as I change to get ready for bed. Let’s see if I can make it through that chapter about Mackey’s … Zzzzzzz.
Postscript: Tuesday
Tuesday, 8:57 a.m. —
From: Trevor Kraus <[email protected]>
to: bdoherty
[Subject: Your book cover]
Hey Brian, I was at LibertyCon over the weekend and picked up a copy of Modern Libertarianism … I started asking around, and no one could be 100% sure that the face in the upper-left-hand corner of the cover was Barry Goldwater. We even ran a facial recognition scan. It IS Barry Goldwater, right?
11:52 a.m. —
From: bdoherty
to: Trevor Kraus <[email protected]>
[Subject: Re: Your book cover]
“That was the intent, yes.”
11:53 a.m. — Dennis, you’re off the hook. But if you or anyone else wants to donate to SFL to help us get a start on next year’s LibertyCon, here’s your chance: <<DONATE.>>
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