Welcome back to Voices of Liberty with host Sean Themea, powered by Young Americans for Liberty.

Today’s guest is Ty Hicks, founder and chief executive officer of mentalhealthcoaching.com and former executive vice president of Young Americans for Liberty. For years, Ty has helped people break through the invisible barriers that keep them stuck, whether in leadership, activism, or life itself.

In this conversation, Ty shares how his early search for meaning, purpose, and service led him to the ideas of liberty, why he ultimately embraced a radical belief in voluntary human cooperation, and how his time helping lead Young Americans for Liberty shaped his understanding of persuasion, leadership, and personal growth.

Sean and Ty also dive into a deeper question that does not get asked enough in politics or in life. What if the greatest barriers to freedom are not only external, but internal? What if the stakes holding people back are often the beliefs they have accepted about themselves?

Ty explains how leadership starts with compassion and standards, why persuasion is really about helping people see a better path for themselves, and how mental and emotional freedom unlocks the energy people need to make a real difference in the world. He also shares powerful stories from his work helping people overcome anxiety, depression, addiction, and self limiting beliefs, and why he believes the liberty movement needs more people who are willing to step up, choose their arena, and fight to raise the standard.

This is a conversation about freedom at every level, political, personal, and psychological. If you care about leadership, liberty, self mastery, and building a freer future, you will not want to miss it.

What if your first lesson in economics wasn’t a textbook — but a shower?

In this powerful episode of Voices of Liberty, host Sean Themea sits down with entrepreneur and global freedom advocate Magatte Wade to explore how her childhood journey from Senegal to Germany sparked a lifelong mission to understand why some nations are rich while others remain poor.

Magatte doesn’t speak in theory — she speaks from lived experience. From waiting an hour for heated water in Senegal to discovering instant hot showers in Europe, her question became an obsession: Why do some countries flourish while others struggle?

The answer she discovered changed her life — and could change the world.

In this deeply moving and intellectually sharp conversation, Magatte explains:

• Why Africa’s poverty is rooted in overregulation — not colonialism or culture
• How economic freedom restores human dignity
• Why aid often undermines the very people it claims to help
• How she went from self-described communist to classical liberal
• The dangerous ideological shift happening on American college campuses
• Why entrepreneurship — not government — is the true engine of prosperity
• How startup cities and economic freedom zones could transform nations

Magatte shares heartbreaking stories of migration, slavery, and systemic barriers — but also stories of awakening, empowerment, and hope.

This is not a debate about left vs. right. It’s a conversation about freedom vs. control — and what that means for billions of people.

If you care about human dignity, entrepreneurship, global prosperity, or the future of America and Africa, this is an episode you cannot miss.

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Welcome back to Voices of Liberty with host Sean Themea, powered by Young Americans for Liberty.

Today’s guest is Ohio State Representative Ron Ferguson, a leader who has taken the fight for liberty from the grassroots to the Ohio Statehouse. Before serving in office, Ron worked as a television news reporter and later as a grassroots trainer, helping everyday Americans learn how to make a political impact. Then he stepped into the arena himself and won election in a district that had not sent a Republican to the legislature in nearly fifty years.

In this conversation, State Representative Ron Ferguson shares how the attacks of September 11 first awakened his understanding of freedom, how his work in journalism and grassroots organizing deepened his commitment to limited government, and why he believes most people simply want to be left alone to live their lives.

Sean and Ron also dive into the real policy fights shaping Ohio today, including hospital price transparency, school choice, property tax abolition, and the battle against establishment politicians who put power ahead of principle. Ron explains what happened with the Blue 22, why grassroots pressure matters, and why the liberty movement can only grow if every person in it takes responsibility for bringing others in.

This is a conversation about conviction, service, and what it looks like when an elected official refuses to go along to get along.

If you care about defending constitutional rights, reducing the size and scope of government, and advancing liberty in our lifetime, you will not want to miss this conversation with Ohio State Representative Ron Ferguson.

Building Liberty Through Business: Alexander McCobin on Capitalism, Entrepreneurship, and the Future of Freedom

In this episode of Voices of Liberty, host Sean Themea sits down with Alexander McCobin, CEO and founder of Liberty Ventures Network, former CEO of Conscious Capitalism, and founder of Students for Liberty.

Alexander shares the story of his “liberty light bulb” moment, sparked at age 14 after reading Atlas Shrugged. What began as a fascination with philosophy evolved into a lifelong mission to turn ideas into action. From launching student movements to leading boardrooms filled with seasoned CEOs, Alexander has dedicated his career to advancing liberty.

The conversation explores:

• How entrepreneurship and capitalism connect to human flourishing
• The challenges of leading mission-driven organizations under pressure
• Why building the right team matters more than having the perfect plan
• How to defend capitalism from attacks on both the political left and right
• Why business leaders must play a central role in preserving liberty

Alexander argues that the future of liberty will not be predicted; it will be built. And the builders are entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders willing to take responsibility for shaping the culture and economy.

If you care about capitalism, leadership, and advancing liberty in our lifetime, this episode delivers both inspiration and practical insight.

Subscribe to Voices of Liberty on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

In this episode, Sean sits down with former Indiana State Representative Curt Nisly, a man who learned firsthand what happens when you refuse to bend, even when leadership, lobbyists, and your own party push back.

Curt did not grow up in politics. Raised Mennonite and discouraged from civic involvement, he didn’t even vote until he was nearly 30. But the Tea Party movement awakened something in him. What began as studying the Constitution with his son turned into eight years in the Indiana Statehouse, where he stood for life, gun rights, and state sovereignty, no matter the personal cost.

Inside the legislature, Curt encountered something few voters ever see: peer group shift, political threats, bills buried in committee, and leadership pressure designed to make principled lawmakers fall in line. He refused.

When he pushed for Constitutional Carry, he was sidelined, downgraded, threatened, and nearly isolated. Yet he kept pressing. And because he did, Indiana ultimately passed Constitutional Carry into law in 2022. Just 17 days later, that law helped save lives when a legally armed citizen stopped a mass shooter in a mall near Indianapolis.

Curt’s story is one of conviction. He lost a primary after redistricting and heavy establishment spending. But he did not lose the mission. Today, alongside his wife Mary, he trains the next generation of liberty candidates through Liberty Candidate Academies, ensuring others are prepared to stand firm when the pressure comes.

This conversation is about remembering who sent you. It’s about standing when it costs you. And it’s proof that principled leadership can change the course of a state.

This is an episode you don’t want to miss.

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What does it look like to carry the torch of liberty from the battlefield to the statehouse?

In this episode of Voices of Liberty, host Sean Themea sits down with Ohio State Representative Jennifer Gross, a combat veteran and nurse practitioner who stepped into public office during one of the most turbulent periods in modern American history.

Representative Gross shares how her lifelong love of liberty, shaped from childhood and strengthened through military service, led her to stand against government overreach during the COVID era. She discusses the challenges of running against the political establishment, the pressure to “go along to get along,” and what happens behind the scenes in a state legislature.

The conversation dives into her work advancing medical freedom in Ohio, including the Right to Try Act and the Conscientious Right to Refuse Act, and why she believes the government must stop at the skin when it comes to personal medical decisions.

From grassroots organizing to reading every bill before casting a vote, Jennifer Gross makes the case that liberty is not abstract. It is personal, constitutional, and worth fighting for.

For more than three decades, Kent Lassman has been on the front lines defending free enterprise and pushing back against government overreach. As President and Chief Executive Officer of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, he has helped lead major battles to protect economic liberty in America.

On this episode of Voices of Liberty, host Sean Themea sits down with Kent to explore the moment that lit his liberty torch, the mentors who shaped his convictions, and the real pushback that comes with challenging the regulatory state.

Kent reflects on key victories, hard-fought lessons, and why he believes the next decade presents a powerful opportunity to advance freedom in America.

If you care about limiting government and strengthening liberty in our lifetime, this is a conversation you will not want to miss.

In this episode of Voices of Liberty, host Sean Themea sits down with Jennifer A. Grossman—a.k.a., JAG— CEO of the Atlas Society, for an in-depth conversation on leadership, philosophy, and the power of ideas.

Jennifer shares her journey into the liberty movement, shaped by early experiences in public education and a transformative encounter with the ideas of Ayn Rand. That discovery sparked a lifelong commitment to reason, individualism, and freedom, guiding a non-linear career that included presidential speechwriting, television production, and policy advocacy.

The conversation explores the challenges of staying true to one’s principles in high-pressure environments, the temptation to compromise for success, and the importance of intellectual integrity. Jennifer also discusses her vision for the Atlas Society, including innovative digital programming, global outreach to young people, and ambitious creative projects such as the upcoming feature film adaptation of Anthem.

This episode offers a thoughtful look at how philosophical ideas translate into real-world leadership, why young people are central to the future of liberty, and how culture and storytelling play a critical role in formingfree societies.

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