Why I'm Leaving Lions of Liberty

It's not a bad prank (well, not entirely)

It wasn’t supposed to go like this, it really wasn’t.

There has been a minor amount of internet hoopla in the libertarian podcast corner of the Twitterverse this past week, after a recent “episode” of my long-time podcast Lions of Liberty aired which featured not myself but my friend Dan Smotz of The System is Down performing a one-man comedy show with a series of references, inside jokes and impressions that at times seemed they were designed for an audience of him and him alone. In what seemed to be an obvious silly prank, Dan referenced some vague
”legal issues” that were resulting in my departure from Lions of Liberty. That was followed up by my Lions colleague Brian McWilliams appearing on The System is Down later in the week, where the two continued to play up the non—specific “accusations” and such.

This was, in pro wrestling terms, all a “work.”

But amidst all of the nonsense and confusion, there is one nugget of information conveyed through this that is 100% true:

I am, in fact, leaving Lions of Liberty.

The same day that this article is released a podcast by the same title will be released, “Lions of Liberty Episode #599: Why I’m Leaving Lions of Liberty”, which will essentially serve as the audio book version of this article. So if you prefer to listen to drawn out explanations from mid-tier political podcasters as opposed to reading them, you have that option.

For starters, let’s let Dan off the hook for the fake episode 599, which added a mix of levity and confusion after a couple weeks of references from myself and other Lions hosts of some major announcements to come for Lions of Liberty. After I agreed with Brian and John (amicably, as I’ll explain below) that Lions of Liberty #600 would be my last episode of the podcast, we decided to have a little fun with things and let our friend Dan produce the “SHOCKING - Lions of Liberty EXPOSED” expose featuring an obviously edited video of Brian and John plotting to fire me from Lions of Liberty due to some recent controversies. See the full SHOCKING video below:

That was meant to be the extent of the silliness, and my full explanation for leaving Lions of Liberty was set to be released last Monday August 22nd. But then…it finally happened. After 2 1/2 years of literally running away from every mask mandate, vaccine mandate and COVID Karen I could, the WooWoo Flu finally hit my household.

I immediately got some monoclonal antibodies and felt fine after a couple of days. And while I never got hit hard with any symptoms, it did sap every last bit of energy and motivation out of my body for a few days. So instead of fighting my way through recording what was originally supposed to be a serious podcast explaining what I felt is something that deserved an explanation - especially for many of the Lions of Liberty fans who have been with me for most if not all of the last 600 episodes of the show - I decided to hit up Dan and give him the chance to do something he enjoys doing and troll even harder.

When Dan isn’t busy serving as Spike Cohen’s audiovisual intern, he has made somewhat of a name for himself as an online troll, stirring up pretend controversy with his videos calling out the “Coward” Dave Smith over his “refusal” to appear on his show. With this in mind, I gave Dan license to go ahead and stage a full “takeover” of Lions of Liberty - complete with disparagement of my character, putting down my recent episodes, and ripping me for my audio editing style (oh wait, that part I actually didn’t put him up to.)

So yes, the episode itself was a joke, but as many jokes often do, this one contained the nugget of the truth that is my departure from the Lions of Liberty podcast I have hosted and produced since 2013.

With that out of the way, here’s why I made the very difficult but ultimately obvious decision to leave Lions of Liberty.

Let’s start with the basics: this was 100% my idea and my decision. At no point have Brian or John ever suggested I leave Lions of Liberty or in any way tried to curtail anything I have ever said on my own show, even when I have said things they disagreed with or criticized organizations they were supporters of. While we’ve disagreed on matters surrounding the Libertarian Party and political strategy, sometimes publicly, never once was a suggestion made that I shouldn't say what I believe or speak my mind.

It was I and I alone who made the decision after a good deal of soul-searching and contemplation about what direction I wanted to go in as far as being a “libertarian podcaster” was concerned. And in the end, I decided that the role of “libertarian podcaster” is not one I’m particularly passionate about continuing.

My first attempt to reconcile what I had been feeling about my direction in the podcast world came about through my soft relaunch of my “Lions of Liberty with Marc Clair” show earlier this year. I had come to believe that many in the libertarian world were prioritizing politics over improving their own personal situations, whether physically, mentally, financially or spiritually. I began to work in interviews that more reflected this attitude of mine, but at the same time it felt like a half-measure. I was still a part of a decidedly “libertarian” brand while simultaneously feeling much more pulled to focus on non-political topics. And sure enough I did get pulled back in to the political conversations that I had been trying to veer away from. This was most put on display in my solo episode titled “The Watcher Addresses the Mises Caucus.”

While that episode may not have been my finest work, I have no regrets in releasing it. I got some things off my chest that I needed to. I’m sure I lost some followers and supporters because of it, and I’m equally certain I reached a good number of people with my message at the same time. Those that were ready to hear what I had to say understood what I was doing, and those that weren't well, probably weren't fans of it.

My change in perspective ultimately comes back to how much I have evolved in many facets of life since March of 2020 - or perhaps since July 2019, when I first met my wife. Just over three years later I have a wife, a step son, and 2 1/2 years of seeing a large portion of my friends, family and countrymen fully succumb to COVID tyranny under my belt. These changes in my life combined with the events unfolding in the world around me - as seemingly half of the “libertarian” community was either making excuses for mandates and lockdowns or were speaking out against them while quietly complying - drastically altered my view on politics overall and libertarianism itself as a viable political philosophy that can address the technocratic tyranny that is rapidly being put into place.

Some critics of mine have suggested that the world didn’t actually change in March 2020; rather that it was the COVID regime that helped me more clearly see where society had already gone. And I won’t argue with them. It’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation in some ways, but in the end the result is the same: the Marc Clair of 2022 bears little resemblance to the Marc Clair of 2011, when I founded Lions of Liberty along with my friends Brian McWilliams, John Odermatt and Dom (and if you know who that is, you really go back as a Lions fan!)

The Marc Clair who helped found Lions of Liberty along with several of his friends from his days at Penn State was basically an atheist in practice with little ambition to have a family. That Marc Clair found something to believe in via the Ron Paul Revolution. That Marc Clair became so obsessed with the ideas of liberty that he started a podcast all about it, interviewing all of the experts and heroes he had encountered along his libertarian Journey. That Marc Clair was convinced, that if simply enough people just heard the right message, then surely we could see a “world set free in our lifetime.”

I no longer believe this to be the case, quite the contrary. I and others have written and podcasted at length about why that is, and I don’t feel the need to rehash it here. But at the end of the day I found myself losing faith in “libertarianism” as a viable political philosophy and losing interest in the conversation that I had been such a big part of for so many years prior. At the same time, when I did find myself diving into areas that I have had passionate interest in but had never podcasted about - for example my conversation with Chris Knowles, “What do the Elites really worship?” - I found myself filled with energy and motivation. At the same time, the feedback from that episode as well as my conversation with Jay Dyer had been tremendous, both in terms of one-one-one feedback as well as the download numbers.

It had become painfully obvious to me that I was going to be much more satisfied pursuing a different direction in podcasting, and for several months after having this realization the only reason I didn’t pull the trigger right away was because of my long standing friendships and business relationships with Brian McWilliams and John Odermatt. I’ve known both for over twenty years and been in business with them for close to a decade. This decision wasn’t something I could take lightly, and I needed to really meditate on it before pulling the trigger.

It was after recording a string of political podcasts in which I could just feel I was somewhat “phoning it in” - going through the motions doing these political interviews because I felt I was supposed to - that I decided I could no longer live this double life. I couldn’t on the one hand be making my primary message about moving away from politics and encouraging people to focus on themselves, while on the other hand continuing to host and be one of the faces of a political podcast network. It simply didn't make any sense and I couldn’t go on any longer, so I finally reached out to Brian and John and told them what I was thinking.

You ever imagine a conversation 1,000 times over and envision the worst possible scenario every time? And then when it actually happens you think “well shit, what was I so worried about?” Brian and John couldn’t have been more understanding of my decision and have been fully supportive of me pursuing another direction. Because I’m a numbers junkie (I blame my life long comic book habit), I decided I wanted to hit 600 episodes before hanging it up, so we agreed that Lions of Liberty #600, which will air on September 5, 2022, will be my last. It’s going to be a classic Libertarians in Living Rooms Drinking Liquor style episode featuring friends from over the years of Lions of Liberty.

While Lions of Liberty episode 600 will be the end of one chapter in my podcasting journey, it will certainly not be the end of Marc Clair, Podcaster. I already have another project in the works, announcements regarding which will be coming shortly. I truly hope that those of you that have followed my work at Lions of Liberty over the years will continue to follow what I do in my next venture. But I’m also aware that I will lose many of my current subscribers who simply aren’t as interested in my new direction as they were in my “libertarian podcast” work. And that’s is all well and good.

I am truly grateful for everyone who has every clicked on one of my podcasts, even it was a hate listen. I have eternal gratitude for Brian McWilliams and John Odermatt. Without their support, I absolutely would not have continued with Lions of Liberty for as long as I had. They stepped in and became my business partners at a time when I was really questioning if I would continue podcasting, and the three of us went on to grow Lions of Liberty into a really special community. Brian and John will be continuing with the Lions of Liberty brand, and I encourage longtime Lions fans to stick around and see what they do with it, as I suspect this will light a fire under all of our asses in some way.

So…that’s it!

Until we meet again…live looooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg….and live free.