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Greetings! I have been listening to FDR for about a year daily. I learned about Stefan through his interview with the Rubin Report. Then I listened to Stefan’s podcast #3903 International Men’s Day. I thought this podcast was spot on with what is going on in society today. I have been an avid listener since and feel and agree with him on about 90% of topics. Most importantly I like his commitment to the truth and facts. I still don’t understand how this concept is not mainstream thinking today. I grew up in the US and now live part-time in Finland. I really enjoy introducing Stefan’s arguments to socialist Finns. Finns are generally are mild mannered. It is fun to engage about these topics with them unlike American’s on the left who get very angry when you bring up arguments that they cannot counter effectively. Stefan’s podcast really helps me articulate ideas that I have held for a long time but did not know how to speak about intelligently. Does anybody want to meet up anywhere in Helsinki? It would be great to chat with a few Nordic free thinkers every now and then. I look forward to becoming more active on this blog and learning even more about Philisophy.

Hello! I have been listening to the show for a while now, more or less at times. Always thought provoking. I'm currently facing the "right and duty" of conscription, not going to the army that's for sure. I have decided to work for a non profit for a year to get that sorted. Anyone else from here? Looking forward to contributing more to this community! Thanks for reading!

Hey all, Does anyone have advice for a "Red Pill playlist" that could help introduce people to libertarian/rational thought? I have a few people in my life with whom I'd like to share some of the kind of perspectives FDR/Stef put forth. We're talking 'fertile ground' Republicans/Libertarians who are lower hanging fruit - they just happen to consume a bit too much main stream media. We're also talking full-blown progressives who only seek out echo-chamber perspectives from sources like Jezebel, Gawker, BuzzFeed, Cracked, etc. I know the strategies would be entirely different. Just wondering if any of you had any experience with this kind of... ummm.... project. Cheers, mj

People say "I'm a social democrat" or "I'm a libertarian". This creates an unnecessary difference where both may be just mindless robots... But seriously, that says nothing about their quality of reasoning or method of getting to our position. For us, any mental position is secondary to reasoning things carefully and comparing them to evidence. Also, many of us have a long history of learning, refining or rejecting our previous beliefs, so that it has become almost a habit. Some of us even have a dose of healthy masochism that drives us to examine exactly opposite "beliefs" to what we "believe" in. That is what defines us, not our momentary position. Please note that this is very different to Stef's benevolent turn of mind towards Christians, the sources of social stability and not killing unbelievers. His newfound tolerance is based on similarity of conclusions and has its merits. But I wonder if there is also merit to identifying ourselves as seasoned, methodical developers of our worldviews. Because there sure seems little benefit to identifying ourselves by the labels of positions. But there are downsides to this as well. This kind of defining ourselves seems extremely boastful, over-intellectualized, and even though it's true, it may put people to shame unnecessarily. I don't know how people feel about this. It's true that I used to have resistance to certain ideas - I come from the leftist/transhumanist/ anarchist side after all. It took me a few years to understand what libertarianism is about. I've seen that Ayn Rand's philosophy is valid, obviously taken from Aristotle, but I didn't see how it jibes with her other ideas and I succumbed to many popular prejudices against her. But I've also reasoned my position on woo woo & metaphysics well enough to defend them in front of scientific skeptics & atheists. I've learned a lot and rejected what wasn't true (not everything, I've had some valid reasons for my position). Very few people would ever do that. So far, I've usually tried to say that I understand people's position, that I used to hold it as well, but it was long ago. I don't remember so well how it was like to be a democratic socialist and I'd like to remind myself what was it like. Knowing things as end conclusions isn't very useful. What is useful is being able to put ourselves into the old mindset and have empathy with misinformed and propagandized people, who truly believe that we really would occupy the stereotypical straw man anarchist/libertarian position of selfishness.

FDR forum, It is a distinct pleasure to have finally made it to what I consider the edifice of self knowledge by joining this forum. I am a 24 year old 3rd year apprentice electrician living in west virginia. I have the great luck of coming up in the trade during what I think will eventually be described as the worst economic calamity of the modern era. My reasons for joining the forum are two fold. the first is I have had a difficult childhood, and after watching many of the call in shows I realized that i am a very traumatized adult. I need to investigate ways of coping with stress and understanding why I think negatively so often. I want to read about other peoples' victories and failures, continue to watch call in shows, and generally relate to others about the hard times they have overcome; all in the interest of gaining insight into my own life. perhaps I could even help others with my story. I am hesitant to start off just dumping everything and telling everybody everything. My first draft of this introduction was actually instructive in and of itself. I attempted to summarize everything, only to realize that I didn't have it all together. Funny how that sort of thing works out... I was completely unable to make any kind of coherent synopsis. I realized i had forgotten alot of things, had mixed or extremely strong emotions, and many open questions. it will take some time for me to work out and understand how exactly i feel about the past and my parents' illnesses. Ultimately I remain optimistic that any adversity can be overcome one way or another. The second reason I joined the forum is my sincere and abundant interest in free market capitalism, NAP, blockchain technologies like bitcoin, anarchism, and precious metals. voluntarism is a word i learned only two years ago but In learning what voluntarism meant, I was able to verbalize an idea I had already held for as far back as i can remember. I have acquired a taste for mature honest political discussions and I suspect this forum may be the motherload. I have never been in contact with anything in my life so intellectually stimulating. The seamless transition between arcane philosophical concepts, honest expression of human experience, economics, ethics, history, political science, and humor is astonishing to me. I admire Molyneux and the tireless contribution of his many equally admirable associates. By my appraisal they have managed to accomplish something truly monumental with FDR. In short, I have come to this space to learn from all of you and I am excited to participate in this forum. ~Ben from West Virginia.

Hi, I'm from Argentina and I'm 20 years old. I first heard of Stefan when I stumbled upon his District 9 review (I like to watch reviews of the movies I just watched, to see what people think). His review blew me away. It focused on aspects that other reviewers didn't even scratch, and he seemed to be talking about something more important than what's normally reviewed in films: something more important than the movie itself. At the same time, everything that he talked about fit, it made sense and it was absolutely clear. I thought: "This can't be just another film critic on Youtube". And so I took a peek at his channel. Next thing I know, I was being bombarded with ideas about philosophy and anarchy in a way I haven't experienced before. Everything was so clear and beautifully simple. There was no shouting, no confirmation bias, no sophistry, no "My team (political party, plan of action, ideology, etc.) vs your team"-type arguments. It was just an amazingly intelligent and well-spoken man trying to get to the truth. I was not used to this, especially when it comes to matters about the State. I had been trying to avoid politic debates or TV programs for as long as I can remember because I thought it was a fool's errand. It didn't matter what politician you support: You wouldn't change your opponent's mind, the debate will escalate, people will shout and generally, you'll just have a bad time. At the end of it, politicians will still lie, your vote will barely count, and no matter what, they'll still be in power. In my mind, that's what debates were, and I didn't want anything to do with them. And to a certain degree, I was right. That's how most people do it, and personally, that's how I've seen them ALL do it. Stefan provided me with the words and logic of what I was feeling about this, much like how John Galt identified the moral values of the top industrialists and producers of the US, and how he convinced them, in Atlas Shrugged. I wasn't an anarchist. I didn't identify myself with any particular political idea, either. I just wanted to be away from all that as far as possible. At first, I thought I avoided it because I thought it was boring. Now I know why: It shows how insane people are, and how far they're willing to go to avoid the truth. It IS boring, I was right about that, but what is boring about it isn't the topic about the State itself, but how people choose to "approach" it; which is just a smokescreen of distractions. People approach these topics as they would approach a "debate" about football: "I invested a lot of time on team X/My parents indoctrinated me into cheering for team X, so X is better than your team Y, because A, B and C". The morality of the situation is never mentioned. The nature of the system itself is never touched on. The right for the people in power to enforce the policies they enforce is never discussed. It's all aesthetics to them. It's all a matter of "winning". I a way, I regret having heard of Stefan. It made me realize how insane people are, how rare it is to find an honest, self-knowledgeable person, and how incredibly alone I am, and been, all my life. </rambling> (Sorry about that) I was raised along with my brother, which is 9 years older than me. My parents divorced when I was about 10. I wasn't abused or anything (ACE score: 2), but I feel like I didn't have a good childhood. I never had a strong connection with any members of my family. My dad was rarely even there, we're basically strangers. My mom always took care of me in the basic sense, but we never had meaningful conversations, or a strong bond. Honestly, if I feel something for her, it would be contempt. I tried to have a conversation with her about anarchy a few weeks ago. She ended up screaming at me, which is something she usually does. Extended family is even worse. Going to visit them for birthdays or Christmas is a torture for me (except for my mom's brother's family, which is nice). I remember being in my aunt's home for my grandpa's birthday last week. She asked me who I was going to vote (we had presidential elections last Sunday), and when I answered that I don't vote because I don't approve of the system, she immediately dismissed me and said to the air "Someone has to teach this boy...". Then they carried on with their worthless debate. I'm living with my mom, at the moment. I quit my job 4 months ago. I was a SAP programmer. I've been there for almost a year. I quit so that I could have time to build my portfolio as a game developer, because I want a job in the game industry. But now I realize that time wasn't what I needed. In these last 4 months, I rarely did any work. I'm having extreme procrastination problems, and I fear that if I don't solve them soon, I won't have a good, happy life, especially considering my ambitions. This has become a pattern. First, it happened with university. I left it last year. Gradually, I started to lose motivation until there was none. I left it at year 2. At the time, I thought it was because the career really wasn't pointing to what I wanted to do, but now I realize that that's not the case. The same thing happened with my job 4 months ago, and now it's happening with my personal projects (games). This may have started way before university, now that I think of it. I also don’t have any friends. Anyway, that's what I'm mostly struggling with right now. I've been doing therapy, but that hasn't helped. I ditched the last 2 therapists because they were terrible. I'm currently looking for another one. Basically, what I've been doing these past few months is this: Wasting time on the Internet or playing games, oversleeping, jogging in the park (not frequently. It's hard because of my fucked up sleep schedule), and that's pretty much it. I try to look for a job, but I didn't invest that much time in it. And I rarely work on my games, lately. My goal right now is to get a job so that I can finally move out and get away from my mom, but that's proving to be difficult because of my depression. I'm beginning to suspect that employers can see the depression in me when they interview me. Something needs to change or else I’ll go insane. Well, I think that's enough introduction... I hope someone takes the time to read this. Thank you so much if you do. I apologize for my English in advance (We speak Spanish here ). Thank you, and I'm glad to be part of this community!

I would appreciate if someone could recommend the best way for me to learn the basics of philosophy. It could be a book, an audio book or a video course etc. I've been listening to Stefan for a while now, buy still feel that I don't really "own it" when it coms to explaining to others things like Metaphysics, Epistemology, First Principles, Virtue etc. Also, English is not my first language, which makes it a bit more difficult. An introduction or summary of the big philosophers that we are concerned with here, would also help, as in Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hume etc. Thanks!

Nice to meet you all, my name is Iulian I'm from Romania I send you the following message! I hope I can learn a lot from you, I don't have a lot of experience in debates or in philosophy and logic. Most of my life I've been spoon fed conclusions at home and at school, so everything I learnt about critical thinking and logic was me and the internet plus some curiosity. I remember the first time I discovered a podcast made by Stefan. I was looking through youtube and asking myself if there is something important there, If someone was talking about other stuff other then comedy and cats. I started actively looking for something, psychology, philosophy, politics, etc. I was lucky to find one of his videos because I almost lost hope. I ended up on channels that talk about philosophy, about history more than philosophy, many where to boring and lacked structure. I thought philosophy is boring and useless, I even wondered why do we have it, it doesn't seem to bring something tangible to the table. O well when I saw Stefan, I knew he was a good speaker, concise, logical, fluent, and humorous. I could understand what he was saying and it was easy, even though no one seemed to talk about this topics. You know the feeling that you had as a child when you learnt something new in a field that you had no background in, yes that is exactly the feeling, and it's thrilling but also scary that in my 23-24 I discover that I am ignorant in the core, in the most fundamental part of knowledge, essential part, and that was very hard for me to grasp. After that when you see that people around you are also ignorant in this field... It's hard. Furthermore after I understood some parts, the logic behind it, I started to debate and found out that the majority didn't even want to think about it, they didn't even thought it was important to discuss. I found no excitement, no curiosity, I can surely say that after 99% talks no one followed up the next day and said I made some research of my own and this is my conclusion. I had friends that didn't even know what anarchy meant and they knew it was bad (and didn't bother to check after we talked). So I hope that on this forum I can participate in some meaningful talks. I never been in a place where the concentration on anarcho-capitalist, libertarian, voluntaryist, atheist is this high. I am curious to see how that impacts debates and my personal emotional state. And I like to eat "sarmale" google it!

Hello, and thanks for your time reading this. I am an 24 old male Brazilian, having my first work experience creating an gamification project for a call center. My hobbies are acquiring new knowledge, gaming, Japanese comics (I wouldn't say i am an otaku however). I did martial arts for a while but sadly I am in a hiatus now, planning to resume it. Some time ago, I woke up and realized that I knew nothing, that all my life I was living on the automatic mode and that I dint have the knowledge or the experiences necessary to be a happy person or to create any sort of value to anyone. Scared and pretty much alone, I started to study philosophy and other knowledge to build a self. Now I not at the point I want to be, but at least I have built some self value and believe I have found a direction to keep walking. There is much I still don't know and I still struggle with bad habits, such as procrastination, but I fell I am getting somewhere. Its a lengthy process, but well worth it. Now I can see a beautiful world. Taking the quote "Reason equals virtue equals Happiness", I'd say that I have brought reason to my life, now I beginning to understand virtue, and i am positive that one day I shall find happiness. I hope I can find some friends here, I miss having intellectual discussions of any sort. A bit of my history. First my family I grew in Brazil, a country with very poor education and strong left tendencies. My parents where what we call here the caviar leftists, sheltered people that for some reason or another defended communism and what not, and they never took life very seriously, my mother because her grandfather left an very big heritage and he mother never knew what it was to produce any value all her life, her father was a journalist and wasn't home much. My father's father was the very example of the self made man, he went from zero to one of best physicians of my country, however, he didn't had a very lovingly family and as result he is very good at his trade but has a closed mind for other things. The biggest problem is my father's mother, i don't know how she was educated but her and all her sisters have built "troublesome families" with cases of drug abuse. My father had a severe case of drug abuse and he and his brother have some trouble with social occasions. How was growing up in this kind of environment? Well, first of all, I didn't suffer any physical violence, which is nice, when I was a child my father had a bit of a temper, my parents often argued loudly and it used to scare me as a child, but he only threatened me once, and i can only remember 2 times where he would complain with me. As a result, even as I still live with him today, we talk less than 15 minutes a week and I have no emotional attachment to him. My father figure was my grand father, he was a man i could respect, but as mentioned i didn't receive much love or education for him, for he only knew how to work. On these lines, I didn't receive much education at all, I remember when i was very young, and i couldn't spell a word that was not written phonetically, and the teacher laughed at me, instead of teaching me how to do it, note here that all my life i attended to expensive private schools, even so, i didn't receive any real education from parents or school. My relationships were very shallow, no one in my family had any idea of values, plus no one could teach me or be a model for social interaction, so I had trouble building any kind of relationship. My deepest bounds were made with my cats 7. I had some casual friends, but after a while I would lose contact. Plus, the meta on my country for the youth is cheap beer, cheap sex, cheap music, which are things that don't attract me. I was able to automatically "live" my life without much problems until the year before college, where the amount of dedication required to meet the desired outcome by my grandmother (in this point in time and forward, it was my father parents which provided for my household), and I wasn't very dedicated to studying. Grades started to fall, I started lying, my mother's suggestion. The education my mother gave me was basically that if i faced a hardship, i could lie or skip it or pretend it didn't happen. I threw always several things on my life thanks to this lack of responsibility, which now i regret doing. I was able to enter in a college, once again I failed lots of classes, had a hard time with my family, lied to everyone became a severe procrastinator, didn't knew what to do which my life. Two things made change however, I took classes on entrepreneurship and started listening to philosophy. After a while I noticed that time passed but I didn't build much, I noticed how empty I was, how I didn't really knew nothing, not even the most basic knowledge. I started building myself up, trying to fill up the knowledge i feel i should have but i didn't.

Hello everyone my name is Torien and I am from North Carolina. I was introduced to FDR through my cousin about a year and a half ago and have been hooked since. Currently I am in the process of bringing clarity to the relationships I currently have in my life and this is bringing me enjoyment and pain. In particular,today I tried to bring truth to one of my relationships ,which i will post on FDR, and I do not know if the interaction went well. Anyway, talk to you guys on the forum!

Hello, my name is Bryan and while I have been a long time lurker (2 1/2 years), this is my first post. Until very recently, I have been living disconnected with myself and the world, to the point where I felt like I was living in a video game where everyone were npcs. Just empty pixels to interact with occasionally along my solitary journey towards nothing in particular. As a result, human contact has become very alien to me, and I have only recently begun the process to learn how to reconnect with others and myself. I basically feel as if I have just woken up out of a coma, and I have yet to learn much of anything deeply about who I am, what I like, what I feel, and how I can bring others to myself as well as myself to others. I am incredibly confused about a lot of things at the moment, but I am trying to be as honest and totally open as I can. This is critical I think, as I have a lifetime pattern of lying to myself and others when it comes to asserting my own feelings and preferences. In terms of "close" (I use quotes because I have realized the relationships are only superficially close in most areas) family I have one brother and two aunts (both of whom are common law married). I also have another aunt and two cousins who I am not very close to at all. My father passed away in 2001 from an embolism, and my mother passed away in 2011 from complications from liver cancer. In the 10 years that passed from those two dates my mother modeled incredibly hermit-like behavior. I think part of the reason I "woke up" recently is that I have realized that I am living basically as she did, except even worse. If she was hermit-like, I could almost be labeled a hermit, as she was at least working steadily and had people around her (unlike me then, and now where my brother is the only person I see on a regular basis). Basically, I feel as if I have had no friends or really any significant people in my life, my brother being somewhat of an exception. Despite the fact that he was the one who introduced me to FDR, and is older than me, I feel like I am more committed to personal growth than him. I see him consuming so much socially and politically material, but nothing of self growth, so I can only know that I don't see him actively working towards self growth I am only just now awakening to this fact after a desperate depression has gripped me over the past week (which is what I think is helping me to finally get over my apathy and to enter the path to finally become mentally healthy). A little bit about my childhood, what I can remember at least. My father was the primary presence in my life, with my mother making nearly zero impact (of course other than to have chosen my father and birthed me, which is a pretty big part of me being here, but I digress). I only vaguely remember him yelling at me only sparsely throughout my childhood about nothing that I can remember specifically. I only remember 3 times that he ever spanked me. The rest of what I remember (or think I do) seems to be of him being a really good dad, and person in general. He was the biggest "people" person, in that, everyone really liked him and what he contributed to them and what he liked to do. According to my brother, my father was incredibly abusive and did such things as dropping a full, unopened gallon of milk on his head as he slept. This is very far from what I remember, but I have recently begun to think that my memories might be very clouded. I have also entertained the notion that perhaps it was simply that my father treated me "better" than him, although I feel the former is the more likely. Basically, I have been isolated mentally or physically for all of my life and interacting with other human beings is incredibly alien to me and extremely awkward and unknown territory for me. I am tired of being so alone, and I am tired of me being so alone making me feel awkward about just talking to people. I guess this is really just a desperate cry for connection from someone who has had a life devoid of it. I live in Columbus, Ohio with my brother and 2 dogs. A little over a year ago me, my brother, and my aunt, with the help of the trust that my mother built over the last years of her life founded a gunsmithing/machining/firearms training center that has not succeeded. We are not dissolving the business, just moving it to our home and no longer being a full time gunsmith/machinist, so I suppose I am now unemployed. I enjoy reading, particularly science-fiction and fantasy, nature, history, animals, and more recently, writing. I realize I have been fairly intellectually lazy for a good deal of my life and I have not done anywhere near as much intellectually stimulating/philosophical reading as I would like. Basically I have only read Stef's books in terms of philosophy. If anyone has a suggestion of good material in regards to philosophy, self knowledge, or history, that would be much appreciated. I have spent most of my life just doing things in compliance with the desires of those around me, always squelching my own feelings and desires. As a result, I have only just begun to work on examining my own desires and am still working out my own personality, desires, feelings, and so forth. I hope you can understand any awkwardness that might be present in my introduction, as I am very new to opening up and even speaking directly and truthfully to others. I suppose this is simply a desperate plea for reciprocated honesty, vulnerability, and openness that I feel I have never truly experienced in my life. I truly thank you if you have taken the time to read this with an open mind and curiosity, and I very much look forward to hearing any replies there might be. All the best!, Bryan Schwartz

Hello, everyone I am new to the message board, but I've been watching the YouTube videos for several months. I decided to come to the community to get right to the source. I am not in a financial position to donate right now, though I hope that will change. Stefan has said on several podcasts that he'd rather get a nice letter than a 'stinking' one-dollar donation! So, I'm writing to extend my thanks for the dose of philosophy. Before I get into the personal information, I'd like to make a request or a wish. To the best of my knowledge, Stefan has never debated with Slavoj Zizek and I'd dearly love to see that debate. I think it would be 'spirited', to say the least. I watch Zizek's videos on YouTube occasionally, and I think he's fun to listen to, but I disagree with most of Zizek's thinking. Okay, on to me. I am American, living in the town of Willmar, Minnesota. I've been married to Nancy for 26 years now, and we have one child, our son Drake who's now 21. I work an overnight shift in a shipping warehouse, and my wife is a payroll accountant for the same company. Recently, I earned my bachelor's degree online, and I went on to graduate school, also online, a year ago. My major is Humanities, with a focus on Creative Writing. I've decided that I want to be a writer, an urge that I've been playing with for years, and I realize that I chose the hardest and most expensive way possible to learn to write. In grad school, though, I had an important encounter. My school is very big on philosophy, starting in the course "Introduction to Graduate Humanities". With every class and semester, the focus on philosophy has deepened. I found myself so interested in the subject that I started gathering information beyond that which was included in class. I have started a list of philosophers to look into and it includes such names as Foucault, Derrida, Hume, Hegel, Adorno, Kant and so on. What I feel is that I've brushed up against a subject that will be of huge value to me as I go on in my life and my pursuit of meaningful subjects to write about. During this time, I watched a Slavoj Zizek video where he posed a rhetorical question; "What philosophers do we have in our current time?". I found Free Domain Radio as a result of that question. Also, through the podcasts, I've learned that Stefan and I have some similar experiences and enthusiasms: music, Dungeons & Dragons (which I still play very occasionally), and of course, writing novels. I also grew up in a deeply dysfunctional home, with a 'batshit crazy' mother. I don't feel that I can tackle philosophical subjects quite yet, but in my fantasy world (for writing about, not that I'm living in a fantasy!) there are some comments that I feel that I can make on what Stefan calls "The Blind Photocopier of History" and the 'death of statism'. Once again, a big thanks to Stefan for what he does. I look forward to conversations on these boards! Sincerely, Brad

Hello everyone! Hope you're all having a good time, I'm Clayton. I'm a student in England and I love philosophy, politics, art and gaming. If anyone has steam my id is 'TheRevere' as in Paul Revere "The British are coming" as far as famous people go there are no Paul Revere's on steam so I thought it was a good name. I'm also interested in good books that explain Keynesian and Austrian economics if anyone has any suggestions that'd be great. Looking forward to spending time here, peace & love.

Hiya! I explore. (Like you I imagine.) Specifically, whether literal, literary, or alliterative, I seek confluence. In philosophy, I followed confusing outflows of thought from various places before, following hyperlinks like a Victorian explorer seeking the source of the Nile, I eventually found Freedomain Radio. I'm an artist by trade. Specifically, I record dialogue, compose music, and craft sound effects for interactive mediums (which is a fancy way of saying video games). No other medium I know has as high an aptitude to accrue a sense of agency in an active audience. It is therefore a frontier of both promise and foreboding. (True of art in general, but it's particularly potent in play.) I've much to learn and much to teach. Specifically, as my forte is in metaphor, my current deficit is in facts. My goals here at FDR are to read the facts, discuss the possibilities, and contribute to the course of humanity. I welcome correction, of course. (... course correction...) Thank you for your time and attention.

Hi FDR folks, Just a bit of random info... Theories of philosophy and economics are new for me, so I am learning a lot here. I really enjoy having conversations about the interface of ideas and ideals, and what is practical and realistic. I hadn't used a chat room since the earlier days of IRC in the late '90s... soooo, at one point I had to ask the room what "afk" meant! I've been inspired and motivated to get more involved and get to know the people in the community. I am glad to be a part of it, and would like to contribute more when I can. TTY soon! SueBee

Hey guys, one more freedom lover from the southern tax farm of Brazil/São Paulo here. I figured from the meetup groups (or lack thereof) that there aren't many philosophers who share the green and yellow pride to be born inside these meltingly hot imaginary lines of nice asses and great food... I have been listening to FDR for about 8 months. The first time i've ever listened to Stefan was in November of 2013 from then on i have just fallen in love with philosophy and the pursuit of virtue in my own life instead of talking about the fed on dinners with people who abused me as a child. It was incredible to realise the numbness to my own experience of verbal and phisical abuse that was branded on my soul and the how it has affected me both psychologically and medically (I was diagnosed with ADHD, Social Fobia and became obese due to trying to leave my reality through food) even before and right after i was born, since my father smoked like a chimney around me and my pregnant mother (probable reason for my ADHD) and my mom refusing to breastfeed me after 4 months of age because, in her own words, "i had other things to do" even though she was a "stay at home Stalin" as i like to describe. And with FDR i could break free emotionally of the vampire gang i once called "family" and definately will break the cicle of violence on regards to my future companion and children for that i am immensely thankful for Stefan, the FDR crew and everyone who made FDR possible. Even though i cannot contribute in a financial way due to me being a student and to the fact that the total sum of the BR currency is worth about 10g of used toilet paper, i try to bring as many people as possible to the show on the internet as a hole. I am also interested in Veganism, Computer Science, Software development and entrepreneurship. I believe that's it for my introduction to this great community, i believe it's going to be an awesome experience to be a part of this incredible conversation.

I created an account on this website July of last year and hardly touched it. Recently I have been feeling like I wanted to become more involved in the FDR community. I have been listening to the show for over a year and now I am 20, but ever so much more enlightened philosophically than the age relative to my peers. I hope to have good conversations here with you all!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to introduce myself a tiny bit as I am new here. I don't think I'll be posting much without first lurking for a while though. That is unless it's about a particular topic I feel I have personal or particularly different insight on. I honestly have more of a passion for debating some of the more controversial subjects even within libertarian circles. I hope this doesn't end up making me hated. Otherwise though, lately my biggest thing is arguing with people against net neutrality, but I doubt there's anyone on here that supports it considering it seems you guys are mainly anarchists. I'm not exactly someone who listens to every single show. Over the years though I have occasionally watched and enjoyed some of Stefan's youtube videos and podcasts. I especially enjoyed "The Truth About Violence" and the discussions about "Unschooling" (something which I wish I could have experienced as a child instead of more traditional methods). Also I would like to add, I am not an anarchist, nor do I think I will ever become one again. I at one time was an anarchist, but I have moved back to minarchy (pretty extreme minarchy though). Basically I just believe that the state should enforce only the NAP and protect from foreign invaders. I also don't see why a government must necessarily violate the NAP to collect taxes. There are good ideas such as a "transaction tax", which if you want your contracts enforced in court you will pay, but are otherwise not compelled to do so. I just don't believe that a state necessarily has to be evil or coercive and I just can't see how things wouldn't turn into feudalism without a state. Not trying to start a debate about this btw. I'm just giving my view. I guess that's it for now. I don't really feel like giving anything more personal at the moment.

How's things? So I'm kinda new here. I was introduced to Stefan by an ex of mine who is also a member here and I've been getting more and more hooked on the things he has to say. My love of philosophy rejoices! Ahem, at any rate. To quote my profile as to why I joined here. I would like the opportunity to interact with Stefan and the community that has sprung up around him. I have numerous questions on how I can deal with the abuse of my childhood so that I can become personally empowered. One of my greatest fears is carrying on the traits of my extremely abusive parents, who are arguably narcissists and stunted my emotional growth as a person. As a result I have major abandonment issues, problems with motivation, assertiveness and confrontation. In addition, I find a lot of Stefan's perspectives on everyday misconceptions to be very insightful. Since (recently) listening to his podcasts and call in shows I've started to question some of my own beliefs and would love the opportunity to learn more. I strongly agree with his views on gentle parenting and would love to have children with the right partner one day; IF I can do so properly. However, I'm already 30 and that window is rapidly closing. Still, I feel I would be happy being childless as well. Ultimately, my goal is to find a stable life partner, who is also polyamorous. I need to have a very strong sense of what I want in life for that to happen however, and I'm asking for help along the way. If you're interested in hearing more about my life story, perhaps I'll make another thread, or maybe I can share here. Not sure how you guys like to operate here; every community is different.

Aloha All, My name is BEar and I am thrilled to be a part of this exciting FDR community! I have been reading as much as I can and listening to many podcasts, trying to catch up with all this new found, exhilarating knowledge. I have no experience in forum posting, but wanted to jump in to get started. Basic info: I am female, 65 yrs. old, divorced over 25 years, have 2 grown daughters, and 3 g-kids. I have been Vegan for 3 years and feel it has opened my mind to more clarity of thought, which led to inner, self study. I truly feel Stefan and FDR are awakening my transformation to higher levels of understanding, truth, and love. Much Mahalo!

Hello all! My name is Shea and I'm a Texan who has lived in Japan for nearly six years. I found out about Stefan and FDR via his first appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast some months ago. I've been listening to FDR ever since. I've just now gotten to joining the forums. I'm still learning a lot and playing catch up with a lot of the materials, but I just wanted to introduce myself! I teach kindergarten aged kids and I find the information on peaceful parenting techniques and teaching kids to think rationally to be of particular interest. I've been actively implementing it to the kids I teach and it's been great! I've also always had an interest in philosophy and discussion. One of my goals is to become better at presenting and defending my ideas to others. Shea

I am walking a path. The path is not mine — I do not know whether it was here before me, but it will be gone from me when I pass. Perhaps others have walked it, or will follow after me, or perhaps they are walking near me even now. It may be that I will hear their footsteps. It may be that I will hold their hands. Once, a storm raged within me, tearing me into tattered fragments, and I have only just awoken, bloody and disfigured, to begin the painful process of stitching myself back together. I now cherish the fraying ribbons that I once cursed. I have bundled up the strands of my soul with care. I have found the scraps and remnants. I have laid them by my side. Now comes the hurt. Now comes the healing. I swam for a long time in a dark ocean. The currents threw me from my course. The cold water crushed me. Others drowned, others sank, but I never gave up. One day there was a light above me — a warm clear light that showed me, for the first time, the way up, toward light and life. When I emerged, I wept for joy, and I wept for grief, and slowly, slowly, I am learning to float. My experience has been painful and confusing beyond my ability to explain in simple words, and so I resort to stories. Perhaps I will make my history more plainly clear when clarity comes, but for now it may suffice to say that I have been emotionally dead until quite recently. I have been a child, and a lover, and a fool. I have been an abuser of others, and an abuser of my self. I have been cruel. I have been kind. I have been faithful and faithless, I have been loved and hated. I have known loneliness, and I have known peace. I have come to find others on my path. I have come to practice the art of weaving. I have come to learn to float. Freedomain Radio played no small part in my resurrection. I will be fascinated to discover what part it plays in my life.

Hello. Anssi J. AKA Anuojat from finland. Not much to say other than the title. Very easily riled up by negativity and very easily forgetting to check forums due to other places. I am not fond of arguing or debating online unless it is facetoface or voiceover, since text is just exhausting and seemingly pointless in so as to chancing peoples minds. Atleast from my long and painful experience. Also avatar. Nuff said.

My name is Tim. I'm 19 years old. I'm from Massachusetts, USA. I've been listening to the podcasts and youtube videos for 3 to 4 years now, bouncing around and looking for possible connections to things that have happened in my life(my childhood and my family, my relationships with my friends, prospects for things I may be able to do in the future for work and schooling, etc). I have found a lot of the content to ring true in an abstract sense, but each time I try to apply philosophy to my life, it becomes difficult for me. By joining in on the conversation(as apposed to just listening in), I hope it becomes easier. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and learning from you all.

Hello all! I'm Sayo, a 23 year old student from the social fiction known as South Africa. My interests include philosophy, psychology, art and music. I've never been so anxious about joining a forum before, actually I have been putting off signing up for a variety of reasons that sparked lively debates in my "mecosystem". See, some years back I had this notion that you could reform yourself through seclusion and unwavering discipline, like some sort of stiff-faced Shoulin monk; keeping journals, going to therapy and becoming philosophically aware- I mean how hard could that be right? Today I can only look back at my folly with chuckles. Turns out that becoming a Sensei in the art of virtue is infinitely more complex than practicing karate chops at the crack of dawn (who would have guessed it!) Its great to finally make the jump into the FDR boards; the closest thing that I know to what might be considered a bulwark for the allies of virtue. I expect it to be a great catalyst in my personal development. some of the threads here are the stuff of legend, reminiscent of Plato's dialogues. Yes, his philosophy is retarded but the quality of Plato's writing makes them such a pleasure to read and muse. I suppose that (putting all philosophical differences aside) the difference between Plato's dialogues and FDR is that here the characters are real and the constraints within which they must operate cannot be easily manipulated to produce convenient resolutions... gosh its my first post and I am already ranting...