Kristian Fors, a Los Angeles County resident and research fellow at the California-based Independent Institute, says locals are wondering what their tax dollars are going toward as officials struggle to contain devastating wildfires fanned by strong winds.

Californians will be in shock for a long time over the vast firestorms in Los Angeles. We don’t yet know what ignited each fire. But Santa Ana winds are a regular, predictable, feature of regional weather. California environmentalism discourages clearing of public and private land, and stymies upgrades of water delivery systems. And Los Angeles recently trimmed back its firefighting budget by $18 million. “Climate change” is not the culprit.

In this episode Scott welcomes Sweden’s Dr. Anders Tegnell, physician and epidemiologist who was the state epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Sweden for a special conversation in front of a live audience in Zurich for the Global Liberty Institute's International Rising Leader Summit. They discuss Sweden's response during the COVID pandemic basing Sweden's strategy around maintaining an open society with voluntary guidelines instead of lockdowns, mandates, and school closures. Since then, the world's data proves that Sweden's response was correct with the smallest rise in excess mortality of all developed nations and avoiding severe harms particularly to children found especially in the United States.

In the second part of this two part episode, Scott welcomes back Steve Hilton, author, news commentator, entrepreneur, and policy expert. He was born in London to Hungarian parents who escaped communism, graduated from Oxford University and served as the director of strategy and senior advisor to then-UK Prime Minister David Cameron. After coming to the US and writing for Fox News, he hosted his own popular show The Next Revolution until 2023 as a proponent of what he called "positive populism." Since then he's increased his focus on California, forming an organization called Golden Together and rumored to be seeking the governorship of California. They have a wide-ranging conversation about the role of the media in the wake of the election, censorship, and what happens next both politically and as American media evolves.

How will civil liberties survive Syria’s convulsions? Do Trump’s national security appointees form a coherent team? Why is healthcare taking the spotlight now...but in such a sick way? And what about Trump’s economic team? Are these guys primed to deliver low inflation and prosperity? With special experts on deck, we discuss these questions and more on this episode of Independent Outlook.

At this reception and discussion, Gregory J. Robson, Christopher Freiman, Phillip W. Magness, and Emily Nozick discuss Robert Nozick and his classic book, "Anarchy, State, and Utopia," first published fifty years ago. Nozick’s book refuted social-justice statism—but also rankled many conservatives and libertarians. This event coincides with the publication of the Fall 2024 special issue of The Independent Review, featuring scholars who revisit Nozick’s rational, complex, and balanced case for individual liberty and limited government. These scholars not only admire Nozick and deepen our understanding of his seminal work but also honor him with important disagreements and reinterpretations. Selected authors from the special issue will join us.