Have you ever said to yourself, "Dang, imagine what it would look like if a bunch of well-informed libertarians got to go on cable news and spend an entire hour talking about the history, legality, and operational realities of government secrecy and the various conspiracy theories it generates"? Well then do I have a program for you.
Tonight's theme episode of The Independents (Fox Business Network, 9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. PT, with re-airs three and five hours later) is all about "Government Secrets." It starts with the nation's foremost thinker about conspiracy theories (including those the mainstream deploys against the fringe), none other than our own beloved Jesse Walker, author of the already classic The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory. He'll join Red Eye co-host Andy Levy in walking through a variety of kooky (or seemingly kooky) public opinions on aliens, the JFK assassination, COINTELPRO, MK-Ultra, and 9/11, and how the government's behavior exacerbates and even encourages creative explanations of reality, in addition to healthy skepticism about leviathan's claims on privileged classification.
Occidental University historian and Reason contributor Thaddeus Russell will then come on to talk about historical skullduggery, from Operation Paperclip to the CIA-backed Iranian coup in 1953 to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. KABC radio host (and multiple-theater combat veteran) Bryan Suits will provide a serio-comical take on the government's bizzaro system for providing and enforcing security clearances. And for a break in the battle, Andy Levy will join Forbes columnist Rick Ungar in playing a whodunnit game of "Fact or Film?"
That's a pretty awesome show already, and then BOOM! Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst and Reason.com columnist Andrew Napolitano comes on to break down the (il)legality of the current government's vast surveillance-and-secrecy game. Not sold yet? How about Cato Institute scholar and former Reasoner Julian Sanchez detailing the
