Free Talk Live - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Free Talk Live is an American

Radio in the United States

Radio is one of the major mass media of the United States.-History:The beginning of regular commercially licensed sound broadcasting in the United States in 1920 ended the print monopoly over the media and opened the doors to the more immediate and pervasive electronic media...

call-in radio talk

Talk radio

Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

show heard seven nights a week. The program is hosted by Ian Freeman and Mark Edge on Tuesday through Saturday, Mark Edge and Stephanie Murphy on Sunday, and Ian Freeman and Dale Everett on Monday. It is a chiefly libertarian

Libertarianism

Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

political talk show and topics range from current events to philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, from politics

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

to personal issues. Free Talk Live engages in only a very basic form of call screening

Call screening

Call screening is the process of evaluating the characteristics of a telephone call before deciding how or whether to answer it.Some methods may include:* listening to the message being recorded on an answering machine or voice mail...

. The show is broadcast from Keene

Keene, New Hampshire

Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County.Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest...

, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

. Before moving to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project

Free State Project

The Free State Project is a political movement, founded in 2001, to recruit at least 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas....

, the show was broadcast from Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...

.

The program airs on 109 radio and 4 television stations across the United States. The nightly shows are alternatively available on the Free Talk Live website through podcast

Podcast

A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

. Archives of more than a year's past shows are also available for download in MP3

MP3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

format from the website.

History

The first broadcast was broadcast on November 3, 2002 from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM in Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...

. Free Talk Live became a weeknight show from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM. After the radio station changed format in June 2003, the show was available only on Internet radio

Internet radio

Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...

until it was picked up by WTMY

WTMY

WTMY is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Sarasota, Florida, USA, the station is currently owned by Polnet Communications, Ltd. and features programing from Premiere Radio Networks and Fox Sports Radio like Dan Patrick. Local shows include "Spitz on Sports, The Sports...

, an AM radio station in Sarasota. The show began syndication program in September 2004. Free Talk Live currently airs Monday through Saturday from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM Eastern time on over 100 radio and five television affiliates carrying audio simulcasts. In addition to over-the-air radio/TV, the show broadcasts on several internet radio affiliates and XM Satellite Radio

XM Satellite Radio

XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...

channels 166

America's Talk

America's Talk is a news and talk radio channel on XM Satellite Radio, launched on 2007-11-19 on channel 158 and moved to 166 on 2011-05-04. Much like its sister talk channel XM Talk 168, it is a general news/talk focused channel. It was programmed by Sean Compton until 2008-04-01, in Cincinnati,...

and 165

Extreme Talk

Extreme Talk is a talk radio channel on XM channel 165, featuring terrestrial show simulcasts from across the United States. It is one of the oldest talk channels on XM, formerly known as Extreme XM...

, on weekdays and weekends respectively.

Free Talk Live won the Podcast Awards’ Best Cultural/Political Podcast Award

Podcast Awards

The People's Choice Podcast Awards, better known as the Podcast Awards, are an annual set of awards given to the best podcasts as voted by the people...

in 2005 and won the Best Political Podcast Award in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010. The program has been featured in Talkers Magazine
Talkers magazine
Talkers Magazine is a trade industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media"...

's 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America.

On June 13, 2011, Ian and Mark announced on air that Free Talk Live would be adding a live Sunday show to replace its rotating internet only show, with plans to syndicate the show to radio stations. The show debuted on the internet on June 19th. The new Sunday Free Talk Live is hosted by Mark Edge and Stephanie Murphy, and sometimes features a rotating third co-host. The show will remain internet only until Genesis Communication Network adds it to its satellites.

Hosts and regular contributors

Ian Freeman (aka “Ian Bernard”) – Having identified himself as a libertarian, an anarcho-capitalist, a free marketeer, and other labels over the course of the show's history, Freeman has settled on voluntaryist in recent years. Likewise, Freeman's spiritual/religious evolution has brought him from self-proclaimed atheist to his current panentheist beliefs. He hosts the show from his home studio in Keene, New Hampshire.
Mark Edge (aka “Mark Edgington”) – Has identified himself as a voluntaryist while expressing support for panarchy
Panarchy
Panarchy is a conceptual term first coined by the Belgian botanist and economist Paul Emile de Puydt in 1860, referring to a specific form of governance that would encompass all others. The Oxford English Dictionary lists the noun as "chiefly poetic" with the meaning "a universal realm," citing...

. His spiritual/religious evolution over the course of the show has lead him to settle on Quakerism with a panentheist bent. He is the ad salesman for Free Talk Live. Mark also hosts the Edgington Post, a short interview show often tacked onto the end of podcasted versions of FTL.
Dale Everett – Cartoonist and blogger for Anarchy in Your Head.
J.J.
Meg McLain – An Oregonian who moved to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project.
Sean Murphy
Wayne Quin
Michelle Seven – Anti-tax activist and avowed Christian who moved to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project
Free State Project
The Free State Project is a political movement, founded in 2001, to recruit at least 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas....

.
"Zeus Legion" – Voice actor for many of the show's current liners – including FTL spin-off, the Liberty Radio Network (LRN) – and various advertisements aired on the show. Occasional contributing producer.
Luther
Julia
Nemi
Stephanie
Derek J
280
Jason Talley
Ademo

The show

The hosts repeatedly state that Free Talk Live is your show and that you take control of the air waves. Listeners who call in will only be asked for a name, location, the topic(s) they wish to speak about, and how they listen to the show. It is stated policy that anyone who calls in will get on the air but each listener may only call the show once a day. The hosts also purport that all women who call into the show are moved to the front of the queue; this is done to make the female listenership more visible to station affiliates, and to encourage female participation overall (because it is widely believed that talk radio has a dominantly male demographic, and the existence of many female listeners is positive for ad sales. Free Talk Live also features a Shrine of Female Listeners on their website, where female listeners' photos are displayed. Between listener phone calls, the hosts fall back to topics they are interested in. They also discuss topics from listener e-mails.

The show does not usually feature guests but has had them on the show in the past. Previous guests have included Marc Emery

Marc Emery

Marc Scott Emery is a Canadian cannabis policy reform advocate, as well as a former cannabis seed seller. He is currently serving a five year sentence in a United States federal prison for selling cannabis seeds....

; Michael Badnarik

Michael Badnarik

Michael J. Badnarik is an American software engineer, political figure, and former radio talk show host. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections, and placed fourth in the race, behind independent candidate Ralph Nader...

; Drew Curtis

Drew Curtis

Drew Curtis is the founder and an administrator of Fark.com, an Internet link dump site. He is also the author of It's Not News, It's FARK: How Mass Media Tries to Pass off Crap as News in May 2007.-Bio:...

; Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan is an American anti-war activist whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. She attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended anti-war protest at a makeshift camp outside President...

; Aubrey de Grey

Aubrey de Grey

Aubrey David Nicholas Jasper de Grey is an English author and theoretician in the field of gerontology, and the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Foundation. He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research, author of The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging and co-author...

; Gene Ray; Jim Babka

Jim Babka

Jim Babka is a writer, activist, and former radio talk-show host. He currently serves as president of the Downsize DC Foundation and DownsizeDC.org, Inc.-Early life and education:...

; Jack Thompson (attorney)

Jack Thompson (attorney)

John Bruce "Jack" Thompson is an American activist and disbarred attorney, based in Coral Gables, Florida. Thompson is known for his role as an anti-video-game activist, particularly against violence and sex in video games....

; Daniele Ledonne; Doug Stanhope

Doug Stanhope

Douglas Gene "Doug" Stanhope is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author known for his abrasive comedy routines.-Life and career:Stanhope quit high school after his freshman year...

; Bill Westmiller

Bill Westmiller

William Joseph Ronald Westmiller is a North American politician. He currently resides in Thousand Oaks, California.Westmiller was co-founder of the Libertarian Party of Canada, was a member of the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Libertarian Party of California in the 1970s, and more recently he...

, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus

Republican Liberty Caucus

The Republican Liberty Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party...

; Glen "Kane" Jacobs; and Ron Paul

Ron Paul

Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

, US Congressman

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

and Presidential Candidate

United States presidential election, 2008

The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...

Funding

Funding for Free Talk Live comes from a combination of standard on-the-show advertising, and a donation-by-subscription service known as AMP (an acronym for Advertise, Market, and Promote). An AMP subscriber, or AMPlifier, donates a choice from pre-established amounts of money to the show every month. Any amount can be given with a minimum of three dollars

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

. The show has also been known to accept Silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

, Gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

, and Liberty Dollar

Liberty Dollar

The Liberty Dollar was a private currency produced in the United States. The currency was issued in minted metal rounds similar to coins, gold and silver certificates and electronic currency . ALD certificates are "warehouse receipts" for real gold and silver owned by the bearer, ALD certificate...

s in lieu of Federal Reserve Note

Federal Reserve Note

A Federal Reserve Note is a type of banknote used in the United States of America. Federal Reserve Notes are printed by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing on paper made by Crane & Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts. They are the only type of U.S...

s. The hosts indicate that all funds from the AMP program go to advertising and promoting the show, as well as contributing to the cost of production. Although the hosts earn income through advertising and merchandise sales, all AMP proceeds are used to augment the listener base of the program by increasing the number of markets.

As of December 12, 2009, 533 listeners contribute to the show via the AMP program.

Host’s name change

Ian Freeman changed his last name on-air from “Bernard” to “Freeman”. On the September 17, 2008 airing of the New Hampshire-based talk radio show Against The Grain with Gardner Goldsmith
Gardner Goldsmith
Gardner Goldsmith is a television and radio script writer, journalist and author whose work has appeared in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He was also the host of "Against the Grain", and creator of The Liberty Conspiracy...

, Ian, who was a guest on the show, asked Gardner to refer to him as “Ian Freeman”, not “Ian Bernard”.

Politics

The hosts assert that they try to apply the ideals of freedom to their show. The hosts have stated they oppose FCC

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

regulations but still seek to avoid FCC-prohibited speech on their broadcast as it may negatively impact the radio stations that later air recorded episodes and affront some listeners or trigger the imposition of fines by the FCC against those broadcasters.) The hosts, claiming to adhere to their principles of respecting contract and voluntary agreement, state that adherence to the FCC rules come not at the demands of government agencies but the requests of/or demands by their syndicates. As of March 2009, Free Talk Live has implemented the use of a dump box.

A major sponsor of Free Talk Live and a common topic of discussion is the Free State Project

Free State Project

, an organization committed to recruiting 20,000 like minded people to move to the state of New Hampshire in search of liberty. Once there, the participants pledge to exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property. Freeman and Edge moved to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project in September 2006.

Spin-Offs

Liberty Radio Network – A 24/7 streaming audio station featuring other shows in the libertarian vein.
Edgington Post – Mark Edge's interview series tacked onto the end of podcasted episodes of Free Talk Live.
She Talk Live – An all-female hosted show airing Sundays on The Liberty Radio Network. Featuring hosts Stephanie Murphy, Carla Gericke, and a rotating third co-host.

History

Hosts and regular contributors

The show

Funding

Host’s name change

Politics

Spin-Offs

See also