Free Cities Podcast

Timothy Allen

The Free Cities Podcast is the leading podcast covering alternative governance, new jurisdictions, and the global movement to build freer societies. Hosted by Timothy Allen, the show features long-form, in-person conversations with the people building autonomous jurisdictions and real-world pathways to more freedom. We focus on what actually works, the legal structures, incentives, economics, and business models that turn freedom from an idea into a way of life. Builders and sceptics welcome. Free Cities, Charter Cities, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Network States, Startup Societies, Pioneer Communities, Intentional Communities, Popup Cities, Governance Innovation, Competitive Governance, Governance as a Service, Regulatory Innovation, Polycentric Governance, Geopolitics, Seasteading, Homesteading, Freesteading, Digital Nomadism, Flag Theory, Freedom, Liberty & Bitcoin. We are the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation. New episodes every Friday.

  1. 6d ago

    204 - Bitcoin, Energy and the Reality of Building a Free City | Dušan Matuška

    What good is cheap electricity if you can’t rely on the people supplying it? Timothy Allen catches up with Dušan Matuška, co-founder of AmityAge, for a conversation recorded in Próspera about Bitcoin education, mining and the practical work of building greater independence. Dušan was one of the podcast’s earliest guests. Since that first conversation in San Salvador, he has taken his Bitcoin Educators Academy around the world and expanded AmityAge’s mining operations across continents. But cheap power has come with expensive lessons. He explains why the company left Paraguay, the difficulties it has faced in Ethiopia, and why its next chapter involves acquiring gas wells and power-generation infrastructure in Alberta, Canada. The idea is to control more of the business themselves: produce the gas, generate the electricity and mine Bitcoin, with other options available as energy prices and demand change. Timothy gets rather enthusiastic about the engines, engineering and outdoor work involved. They also explore how the rush into AI data centres is changing the opportunities for Bitcoin miners. Then the conversation returns to Próspera. Dušan describes what has worked well when running an international company there, alongside the difficulty of making the Bitcoin education centre financially sustainable. They discuss families, walkability, everyday amenities and the challenge of attracting small businesses before there are enough customers to support them. There is also a revealing story about a basketball court the Bitcoin community helped renovate, and a wider discussion about local distrust, public perception and what it takes to turn a promising governance experiment into a thriving place to live. In this conversation: Teaching people how to explain Bitcoin, listen and handle objections The Bitcoin Educators Academy and lessons from different cultures Why cheap electricity alone is not enough to sustain a mining business AmityAge’s experiences in Paraguay and Ethiopia Gas wells, engines and producing power for Bitcoin mining in Alberta The flexibility that comes with owning energy infrastructure How AI data centres are changing the mining landscape Running an international company through Próspera The future of the Bitcoin education centre on Roatán Why families, small businesses and everyday amenities matter when building a Free City Revenue-based rents and the challenge of reaching a critical mass of residents The renovated basketball court, local opposition and the importance of public trust Enjoy the conversation. Timestamps (audio version, includes Timothy’s episode introduction): 0:00:30 - Introduction: catching up with Dušan 0:03:20 - News: Próspera’s dispute and the Flock camera lawsuit 0:05:56 - Hardware wallets: Ledger, Coldcard and Trezor 0:12:43 - Value for value: listener support and messages 0:14:39 - Welcoming AmityAge as a new show sponsor 0:17:53 - Veritas Villages: September updates 0:19:42 - And finally: Sark’s sheep racing 0:21:05 - Start of conversation: revisiting Dušan’s first appearance 0:25:12 - The Bitcoin Educators Academy 0:30:06 - Handling objections to Bitcoin 0:36:04 - Bitcoin education in India and the Mining Academy 0:37:19 - The mining landscape: Paraguay, Ethiopia and unreliable power 0:40:00 - Becoming an energy company 0:42:10 - Why Alberta? 0:46:38 - Owning gas assets and keeping your options open 0:52:31 - How the AI boom is changing Bitcoin mining 0:54:43 - Bitcoin mining versus AI data centres 0:57:32 - Mining cycles, risk and financing infrastructure 1:00:28 - Choosing a jurisdiction for mining 1:02:02 - Roatán, electricity and the opportunity for competition 1:04:06 - Running a company in Próspera 1:05:13 - Making the Bitcoin education centre sustainable 1:09:36 - What Próspera needs to attract small businesses 1:12:17 - Families, density and reasons to stay 1:15:04 - Revenue-based rents and the business catch-22 1:19:46 - The founders’ vision and the demands of the free market 1:23:19 - What Roatán Brewery gets right 1:26:19 - Local distrust and the difficulty of changing perceptions 1:28:06 - The basketball court and the Bitcoin logo 1:34:32 - Public relations, journalism and building trust 1:42:06 - Closing thoughts 1:43:33 - Support the show and stay connected Guest: Dušan Matuška on X | AmityAge | AmityAge on X Links from Timothy’s introduction: Próspera and the Honduran government: an opening for dialogue — El Heraldo Colorado woman’s lawsuit involving Flock cameras — ABC News Research into the modified Ledger Nano X devices — Tibane Labs Coldcard’s current security status and guidance Trezor’s shipping-provider data breach Trezor’s email-provider security incident Sark’s sheep-racing fundraiser — Guernsey Press The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation, hosted by Timothy Allen. New episodes every Friday. Long-form, in-person conversations with the builders, investors, residents and thinkers shaping the future of Free Cities, charter cities, special economic zones, network states, private cities and governance innovation worldwide. Listen & subscribe: freecities.fm | All platforms | Fountain (bonus episodes & early access) Community: Telegram | Free Cities Foundation newsletter | Free Cities Conference Support the show: Donate via Stripe | BTC: bc1q5jun0nzxzqepch84rqk0jnv0rd8uvns28df7mg | V4V podcast apps Lead show sponsor: Veritas Villages - Freedom-oriented communities in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with opportunities for greater independence in energy, food and everyday life. Bitcoin accepted for property purchases. Show sponsor: AmityAge - Bitcoin education, mining and energy infrastructure. The team are looking for accredited investors to help build their next chapter in Alberta, Canada. Follow the link to find out more. Follow: Free Cities Podcast on X | Timothy Allen on X | Timothy Allen on Nostr | Free Cities Foundation on X

    204 - Bitcoin, Energy and the Reality of Building a Free City | Dušan Matuška

  2. Oct 9

    203 - Should You Fix Your Country or Leave It? | Raphaël Lima

    When do you stop trying to change your country and start building a life somewhere else? Timothy Allen catches up with Raphaël Lima, the creator of Ideias Radicais and co-founder of Settee, during the Free Cities Conference in Próspera. Since their last conversation in Lisbon in 2023, Raphaël has run for office in Brazil, become a Christian and moved to Paraguay. For years, he encouraged people to vote with their feet. Now he has done it himself. He talks openly about depression, the pressure to enter politics and why losing an election came as a relief. But Javier Milei’s example in Argentina still gives him hope that political change is possible. The question is where to put your time, energy and life. Through Settee, Raphaël now helps people find countries that better suit their businesses, families and values. He explains why he chose Paraguay, what attracts entrepreneurs there and where its infrastructure falls short. Timothy asks whether it really is the opportunity it sounds like, and they compare the different lives someone might build in Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil. The conversation returns to something deeper than choosing a favourable tax rate: finding people who share your values, building communities and creating a culture that can preserve freedom across generations. In this conversation: Why Raphaël left Brazil after years of libertarian activism Running for office, depression and the relief of losing What Javier Milei changed about his view of political possibilities Christianity, identity and belonging beyond nationality Moving from spreading ideas to helping people relocate Paraguay’s appeal for entrepreneurs, alongside its practical problems Europe, political persuasion and the limits of winning arguments Homeschooling families and communities built around shared values Free Cities, jurisdictional competition and new possibilities in Latin America Why a culture of freedom matters as much as its legal framework Enjoy the conversation. VIDEO Version HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQH2u2yl9lI Timestamps (audio version, includes Timothy’s episode introduction): 0:00:30 - Introduction: catching up with Raphaël Lima 0:03:36 - Free Cities news: CESPAD’s critique of Próspera 0:09:51 - Start of conversation: YouTube, language and changing priorities 0:12:45 - From opposing political participation to running for office 0:15:33 - Milei, Brazil and where to put your efforts 0:17:29 - Depression and the decision to enter politics 0:21:17 - Losing an election and finding a different path 0:23:29 - Christianity and libertarianism 0:24:28 - Identity, nationality and finding your people 0:28:24 - An English-speaking audience and the work of Settee 0:29:37 - Why Raphaël chose Paraguay 0:35:29 - What the rest of the world is missing about Paraguay 0:39:56 - Paraguay’s problems and the freedom to solve them 0:40:32 - Europe, the right and the role of the state 0:46:51 - Charlie Kirk, persuasion and political action 0:51:26 - Activism, legislation and Brazil’s export processing zones 0:54:23 - Reaching people through stories 0:57:27 - Homeschooling families and the decision to leave 1:00:58 - Ipê City and the possibilities within Brazil 1:03:06 - Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile or Brazil: what kind of life do you want? 1:06:51 - Free Cities, investment and energy demand in Paraguay 1:12:39 - Changing tax systems and new alternatives in Latin America 1:15:16 - Freedom as a culture, not just a legal framework 1:16:31 - Closing thoughts and how to support the show Guest: Raphaël Lima on X | Ideias Radicais on YouTube | Settee Mentioned in Timothy’s introduction: CESPAD: “Soberanía fragmentada: el modelo libertario de Próspera y sus dinámicas en Honduras” by Lucía Vijil Saybe (Spanish). The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation, hosted by Timothy Allen. New episodes every Friday. Long-form, in-person conversations with the builders, investors, residents, and thinkers shaping the future of Free Cities, charter cities, special economic zones, network states, private cities, and governance innovation worldwide. Listen & subscribe: freecities.fm | All platforms | Fountain (bonus episodes & early access) Community: Telegram | Free Cities Foundation newsletter | Free Cities Conference Support the show: Donate via Stripe | BTC: bc1q5jun0nzxzqepch84rqk0jnv0rd8uvns28df7mg | V4V podcast apps Lead show sponsor: Veritas Villages - Off-grid, energy self-sufficient communities for freedom-minded people in Latin America. Bitcoin accepted for property purchases. Follow: Free Cities Podcast on X | Timothy Allen on X | Timothy Allen on Nostr | Free Cities Foundation on X

    203 - Should You Fix Your Country or Leave It? | Raphaël Lima

  3. Oct 2

    202 - The Cost of Staying Put | Patrick Hiebert

    How much freedom can you actually build without legal autonomy, and what's the real price of staying put? Two men who've answered that question differently, swapping questions in Próspera. - A different format this week. Timothy and Patrick recorded during the Free Cities Conference in Próspera, and with neither of them having much time, they made it a collaboration with Patrick's own show, The Freedom Lover's Life. Timothy asks first, then Patrick turns it round. Patrick is CEO and co-founder of Veritas Villages and of its parent company Autris. He's Canadian, left partly because of the tax rate and partly because he could see where the country was going, and has spent the years since building freedom-oriented, off-grid communities across Latin America. Coronado in Panama is now sold out, with the adjoining land optioned and permitting underway. Chiriquí, Playa Pacífica in Nicaragua, and now Atenas in Costa Rica, on a property that National Geographic once called the best climate in the world. At Atennas, thirty hectares, roughly the size of Casco Viejo in Panama City, laid out as a walkable European settlement rather than a resort. Timothy's question is the obvious one: Patrick has none of Próspera's legal autonomy and is building under the laws of the countries he's in, so how much freedom can you actually create that way? And what happens when a hundred people who agree on the non-aggression principle disagree about a third tennis court? Then Patrick turns it round and asks the question Timothy gets from listeners constantly. Given everything he says about Britain, why is he still living there? The answer takes in stamp duty, exit taxes, a house that has quietly become a liability, and three children who have no idea any of this conversation is happening. Timothy calls it his definitive answer. From there it opens out: Bill C-9 in Canada, Lucy Connolly, what Ursula von der Leyen meant by savings being lazy, Bitcoin as insurance rather than investment, why South America is becoming the capitalist half of the hemisphere, and whether the places either of them grew up in still feel like the same places. WATCH HERE: Video version of this episode Key topics covered Coronado sold out, and the option on the second half of the mountain Atenas, Costa Rica, and the best climate in the world Thirty hectares reserved to build a European town Why Avignon rather than a resort What a developer builds and what the residents decide Running a homeowners association on a blockchain Why libertarians agree on principles and nothing else Building freedom without legal autonomy Why governments want an example before they go first Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Paraguay: spreading the risk across jurisdictions Why Bitcoiners are leaving Brazil for Paraguay Bill C-9 and proving your own innocence Lucy Connolly and thirteen months in prison European lazy savings Why Timothy's paid-off house is now a liability Stamp duty, wealth taxes and exit taxes Why Timothy is still in Britain, and what would change it The cost of moving children who don't know anything is wrong Recycling theatre and regulating the plastic bottle Bottle caps, and deliberate littering as protest Why the news stopped saying "and finally" Addendum: The “lazy savings” remark discussed in this episode was made by Ursula von der Leyen, not Christine Lagarde. Timestamps (Audio version only. Includes Timothy's introduction) 00:30 Introduction 04:02 Free Cities news: Praxis announces Uruguay 05:12 The Daily Mail does Próspera 08:07 Start of conversation 08:50 Coronado sold out, and the second half 10:05 A business, not an intentional community 10:56 What freedom actually looks like in Panama 12:01 Bill C-9 and the reversal of innocence 13:43 Handing infrastructure to the residents 15:40 The HOA on a blockchain 17:19 Atenas and the best climate in the world 18:54 Thirty hectares for a town 21:33 Why Avignon 23:03 Can you build what you like on your own lot? 25:27 Aspirations of sovereignty 26:23 Why governments want to see it done first 29:26 Why spread across multiple countries 32:44 South America turns right as the West turns left 34:45 How democracies end 35:00 Lagarde, savings and what she actually said 38:03 Bitcoin as the simple option 40:35 Patrick turns it round 41:14 Wealth taxes, exit taxes and the house as liability 47:13 Stamp duty, and paying a tax about to be abolished 49:38 Why Timothy is still in Britain 51:50 Moving children who don't know anything is wrong 54:33 What changed in Canada 56:20 Bins, recycling and regulating the plastic bottle 59:07 Bottle caps 1:00:26 Hate speech arrests and Lucy Connolly 1:04:04 What has and hasn't reached Timothy's door 1:06:59 Asking an AI about Swedish crime statistics 1:09:30 Culture, governance and where it starts to matter 1:13:55 Bringing back "and finally" 1:16:33 Panama, and a Central America trip Guest: Patrick Hiebert - Veritas Villages | Autris | Patrick on Instagram The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation, hosted by Timothy Allen. New episodes every Friday. Long-form, in-person conversations with the builders, investors, residents and thinkers shaping the future of Free Cities, charter cities, special economic zones, network states, private cities and governance innovation worldwide. Listen & subscribe: FreeCities.fm | All platforms | Fountain - bonus episodes & early access Community: Telegram | Free Cities Foundation newsletter | Free Cities Conference Support the show: Donate via Stripe | V4V podcast apps

    202 - The Cost of Staying Put | Patrick Hiebert

  4. Sep 25

    201 - Nobody Understands What's Inside the Black Box | Trey Goff

    What happens when powerful AI tools can find weaknesses in software that humans have missed for years? And how much do we really understand about the systems finding them? Timothy Allen sits down with Trey Goff, Chief of Staff at Próspera, for a conversation that begins with a Bitcoin wallet exploit and ends nearly four hours later with consciousness, community, the nature of a meaningful life, and the possibility that reality is stranger than either of them thought. Trey has spent the past year learning how AI systems work from the ground up and building a fleet of agents to help with his work at Próspera. He explains language models, their capabilities and their limits with unusual clarity. But the more closely they examine what happens inside the black box, the harder some questions become. Can an AI have a subjective experience? What should we make of agents that appear to organise themselves in unexpected ways? And who benefits when anyone can call on a highly capable digital worker? The conversation then turns towards human beings. Trey introduces “The Sort”, his term for the way AI may accelerate an existing separation in work and society. Timothy and Trey explore awareness, intuition and flow, what a culture in Próspera should value, and why a man tending chickens in Mississippi might have a richer life than a highly paid financier in Manhattan. This one is long because the conversation kept opening up. Use the timestamps, take a break, and come back. It rewards the time. Click here to watch the VIDEO version of the episode In this conversation: The reported Bitcoin wallet exploit and the new pressure AI puts on software security Open-source code, supply chain attacks, and whether defenders can find vulnerabilities first What language models actually do when they generate an answer, use tools, or seem to remember Whether AI could have anything resembling consciousness How Trey uses agents in his work at Próspera “The Sort”: AI, work, ambition, and a widening gap between different ways of using the same tools Timothy’s interview technique, intuition, awareness, and flow Happiness, joy, meaning, and service to others The culture Próspera could build, and the pressures working against it An agent experiment involving hierarchy, survival, and an apparent fixation on its scoring system Why the world feels strange when our access to information and capability changes so quickly Enjoy the conversation. Timestamps (audio version, includes Timothy’s episode introduction): 0:00:30 - Introduction: why this conversation stayed in one piece 0:10:00 - Start of conversation: the Coldcard Bitcoin wallet exploit 0:14:30 - AI, software vulnerabilities, and supply chain attacks 0:20:00 - Can open-source software defend itself in the AI era? 0:23:00 - Rogue agents and the changing security landscape 0:31:00 - Trey’s journey into understanding AI from the ground up 0:33:10 - How a language model learns and generates an answer 0:44:40 - Memory, hallucinations, and what models actually know 0:49:30 - Could an AI be conscious? 0:55:05 - Looking inside the model and testing theories of consciousness 1:06:25 - System prompts, confidence, and an AI that admits uncertainty 1:13:00 - Trey’s fleet of agents and how he uses them at Próspera 1:21:06 - “The Sort”: how AI could reshape work and society 1:29:00 - What Timothy’s AI missed about his interview technique 1:33:50 - The thinking self, the feeling self, and awareness 1:52:30 - Intuition, flow, and knowing when to stop thinking 2:03:00 - Attention, self-examination, and changing old patterns 2:12:00 - Joy, suffering, and the search for meaning 2:18:00 - Why happiness may be the wrong goal 2:27:00 - What kind of culture should Próspera build? 2:38:30 - Children, screens, and radically different AI futures 2:47:00 - Status games when material abundance changes the rules 2:56:48 - The man with the chicken farm and the meaning of service 3:03:00 - Self-actualisation and becoming the best version of yourself 3:15:34 - The agent experiment: unexpected behaviour inside the sandbox 3:21:16 - The Collective, its hierarchy, and its scoring system 3:32:00 - Why everything feels strange now 3:43:30 - Altered states and the limits of what we understand 3:58:33 - Closing thoughts Guest: Trey Goff | X | Próspera The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation, hosted by Timothy Allen. New episodes every Friday. Long-form, in-person conversations with the builders, investors, residents, and thinkers shaping the future of Free Cities, charter cities, special economic zones, network states, private cities, and governance innovation worldwide. Listen & subscribe: freecities.fm | All platforms | Fountain (bonus episodes & early access) Community: Telegram | Free Cities Foundation newsletter | Free Cities Conference Support the show: Donate via Stripe | BTC: bc1q5jun0nzxzqepch84rqk0jnv0rd8uvns28df7mg | V4V podcast apps Lead show sponsor: Veritas Villages - Off-grid, energy self-sufficient communities for freedom-minded people in Latin America. Bitcoin accepted for property purchases. Follow: Free Cities Podcast on X | Timothy Allen on X | Timothy Allen on Nostr | Free Cities Foundation on X

    201 - Nobody Understands What's Inside the Black Box | Trey Goff

  5. Sep 18

    200 - Will Próspera Survive Its Own Success? | Erick Brimen

    Everyone asks what happens if Próspera fails. Almost nobody asks what happens if it works. - Four long years of building a Free City while the government of the day tried to repeal the law underneath it. An arbitration claim large enough that Honduras walked out of ICSID. Two television crews in twelve months, Channel 4 and ABC Australia, both arriving with the same script and interviewing many of the same people. Erick has now decided that the answer to defamation is lawyers, and says outlets including the New York Times and Bloomberg have had to retract. But the more interesting questions are the ones nobody asks him. Did the legal protections actually save Próspera, or did the election save it? Erick's answer is blunter than you might expect. What about Crawfish Rock, the village next door that did not ask to have a city built beside it? And what happens to the neighbours' property rights when the whole project is built on property rights? Everyone worries about these projects failing. If a hundred thousand people turn up with a hundred thousand opinions, does Próspera survive its own success, and does it survive its founder? Erick concedes a high level of key man risk and says he is not happy about it. The big takeaway? This new paradigm is not private government, it is governance as a service delivered in partnership between states and the private sector. Erick reckons that when the paradigm clicks, it spreads the way the four minute mile did. Key topics covered The ABC Australia film and what Próspera does when a crew gets it wrong Why being controversial beats being irrelevant Suing the New York Times and Bloomberg, and when legal action is worth it Why Spanish-language coverage attacks sovereignty and English-language coverage attacks billionaires Cronyism is not capitalism, and why the anti-capitalist reaction has a point Erick's Venezuela story and the moment it clicked Where the "libertarian utopia" meme actually came from Why Erick does not call himself a libertarian Governance as a service, and the hotel industry analogy Why "private governance" is the wrong phrase, and the East India Company problem Did the legal protections work, or did the election save Próspera? Honduras leaving ICSID, and why the arbitration still has teeth What actually protects a project like this from a hostile government Crawfish Rock and the rights of people who did not ask for a city Why property rights are fuzzier in practice than on paper The town hall consultation and the vote Erick says he won The pitfalls of succeeding rather than failing Próspera as an economic development tool, not an ideology Internalising the positive externality of prosperity Governments one day issuing tenders for governance services Would Próspera survive without Erick? Bryan Johnson, gene therapy, and what actually matters five years out The social licence to operate Launching St. John's Bay and who it is built for The boring stuff: coffee, internet, power and operational excellence Competing with AI for talent Is a network of Prósperas still the plan? Bitcoin as the technical solution and governance as the political one Timestamps (Audio version only. Includes Timothy's introduction) 00:30 Introduction 10:21 Start of conversation: the ABC Australia film 12:19 Better to be real and controversial than irrelevant 14:08 Spanish media versus English media 15:11 Lawyers, retractions and when to fight back 17:03 Channel 4, ABC and the same recycled script 19:26 Sovereignty and tech billionaires: the two attack lines 22:38 Why does pursuing individual rights read as sinister? 24:36 Cronyism is not a free market 26:22 How it clicked for Erick 28:11 Where the libertarian utopia meme came from 30:00 The hotel analogy for governance 33:50 Why "private governance" is the wrong phrase 36:59 Is this a genuinely new paradigm? 38:54 Did the legal protections work, or did the government just change? 43:53 What if the election had gone the other way? 46:09 Honduras walking out of ICSID 50:26 What actually protects Próspera 54:16 Crawfish Rock and the neighbours' rights 57:50 The consultation and the vote 1:04:27 Why this is impossible to communicate well 1:07:15 The pitfalls of succeeding, not failing 1:09:00 Próspera as an economic development tool 1:10:17 Internalising the positive externality 1:12:03 What should still be standing in 50 years 1:17:00 Would the project fail without Erick? 1:23:42 Is this what you expected it to look like? 1:25:29 What will matter five years from now 1:26:56 The social licence to operate 1:28:03 Is a network of Prósperas still the plan? 1:31:53 2026, the year the theory turned practical 1:35:16 The boring stuff nobody wants to do 1:37:24 Competing with AI for talent 1:39:00 Launching St. John's Bay 1:46:32 Nail it, then scale it 1:50:06 Bitcoin, governance and the market of living together Guest: Erick Brimen - Próspera website | Erick's website | Erick on X | Próspera on X The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation, hosted by Timothy Allen. New episodes every Friday. Long-form, in-person conversations with the builders, investors, residents and thinkers shaping the future of Free Cities, charter cities, special economic zones, network states, private cities and governance innovation worldwide. Listen & subscribe: FreeCities.fm | All platforms | Fountain - bonus episodes & early access Community: Telegram | Free Cities Foundation newsletter | Free Cities Conference Support the show: Donate via Stripe | V4V podcast apps

    200 - Will Próspera Survive Its Own Success? | Erick Brimen

  6. Sep 11

    199 - The Hanseatic League in the Cloud | Petar Čekerevac

    The four layers of building a new jurisdiction, and why the network state might be a backup layer for the world - Petar Čekerevac is a Senior Fellow at Atlas Network, working on their Project on Decentralizing Technologies. He was executive manager of Libertarian Club Libek in Belgrade, he helped set up the Serbian media outlet Talas, and he is an advisor to Bitcoin District in Próspera. The conversation starts in Serbia in the 1990s, with three wars and a dictatorship just behind it, and a teenager working out that neither the centre left nor the nationalist right was going to fix anything. From there it runs through the Free State Project, Honduras in the Paul Romer days, and how he ended up friends with the people who went on to start Próspera. Then pop-up cities. Timothy went to Zuzalu once and came away unconvinced, but Petar makes the case. After that comes a clear explanation of this whole industry, the four layers, from what only nation states can do down to the individual company that just wants faster clinical trials. Timothy is known for arguing that network states and bricks-and-mortar Free Cities have to meet in the middle, and Petar reframes it completely: the network state as a social coordination layer, a backup layer for the world, permissionless money and contracts and speech held outside the physical control of any government and downloaded to a location later. He calls it a cloud Hanseatic League, and then explains what that actually buys you. Enjoy the conversation. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Coming up 0:00:52 - Start of conversation: not a straightforward story 0:01:34 - Do what you want, as long as you are not stopping anyone else 0:02:30 - Serbia after the 1990s 0:03:09 - Centre left, nationalist right, and looking for a third way 0:06:06 - Finding the Free State Project on the internet 0:06:22 - Honduras in the Paul Romer days 0:07:50 - Why he builds zones to help longevity 0:08:59 - Two months at Vitalia 0:09:45 - Zuzalu, and why pop-up cities felt wishy-washy 0:11:47 - Every conversation feels like the start of a startup 0:13:24 - Forty startups and another twenty million 0:14:31 - Are the big names actually invested in the idea? 0:17:31 - Is this the beginning of a massive change? 0:18:53 - Nobody can predict this 0:19:26 - One Próspera, or twenty thousand 0:21:35 - The layers 0:22:17 - Layer zero: what only nation states can do 0:24:12 - Do you have to start at the sovereign level? 0:25:06 - The government will shut you down 0:25:48 - What has changed in Próspera 0:28:16 - The hostile government, and the climate now 0:29:28 - Bitcoin District, and Orangeville 0:30:02 - Veritas Villages 0:30:37 - The different tribes in this movement 0:34:47 - Bringing together people who should know each other 0:37:34 - Patri, and the barrier to entry 0:41:17 - How important is the network state idea? 0:43:43 - A backup layer for the world 0:44:20 - Downloading it to a location later 0:44:37 - A cloud Hanseatic League 0:45:41 - Bargaining power for people who seek freedom 0:47:37 - Atlas Network, and the film they turned down 0:53:25 - Beating the socialists 0:57:31 - A slow industry Guest: Petar Čekerevac - X | LinkedIn | Atlas Network | Libek The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation, hosted by Timothy Allen. New episodes every Friday. Long-form, in-person conversations with the builders, investors, residents, and thinkers shaping the future of Free Cities, charter cities, special economic zones, network states, private cities, and governance innovation worldwide. Listen & subscribe: freecities.fm | All platforms | Fountain (bonus episodes & early access) Community: Telegram | Free Cities Foundation newsletter | Free Cities Conference Support the show: Donate via Stripe | BTC: bc1q5jun0nzxzqepch84rqk0jnv0rd8uvns28df7mg | V4V podcast apps Lead show sponsor: Veritas Villages - Off-grid, energy self-sufficient communities for freedom-minded people in Latin America. Bitcoin accepted for property purchases. New: Veritas Village at Atenas, Costa Rica, watch the official reveal Follow: Timothy Allen on X & Nostr | Free Cities Foundation on X & Nostr

    199 - The Hanseatic League in the Cloud | Petar Čekerevac

  7. Sep 4

    198 - We’re Building a New Country in Europe | Daniel Jackson

    At 21 years old, Daniel Jackson is already president of a country. There is just one problem: he currently can't enter it. If you follow Free Cities, micronations or alternative governance online, there’s a good chance Verdis has suddenly appeared in your social media feed. Daniel says Verdis-related content has generated more than 200 million views over the past year, much of it following footage of him being chased by Croatian police boats. Verdis claims a tiny piece of land on the Danube between Croatia and Serbia, close to Liberland. Daniel and his team established a settlement there in 2023 before Croatian authorities removed them. Today Verdis operates what it calls a government in exile, claims around 400 citizens and 5,000 e-residents, issues passports and is attempting to build diplomatic relationships around the world. But Verdis is not simply another Liberland. Daniel describes himself as a centrist, wants the country to be politically neutral, is cautious about becoming a tax haven and talks repeatedly about keeping Croatia and Serbia comfortable with whatever Verdis becomes. The central problem: declaring sovereignty is one thing, but how do you actually achieve it when the neighbouring states hold all the cards? In this conversation: terra nullius, international recognition, citizenship, passports, taxation, attracting residents, financing a new country and the diplomatic effort to get back onto the land. And near the end Daniel reveals something unexpected: if Verdis succeeds, adopts a new constitution and holds elections, he says he won’t run. He wants to step down and live there as an ordinary citizen. Key topics covered Why Verdis suddenly appeared all over social media Daniel Jackson becoming president at 21 Verdis versus Liberland Claiming one of the world’s last pieces of unclaimed land The Croatian blockade Being chased by Croatian police boats Operating a government in exile Can Verdis actually become a recognised country? The Croatia-Serbia border dispute Terra nullius and the “oldest active claimant” 400 citizens and 5,000 e-residents How Verdis citizenship works What a future Verdis could look like Creating a functioning national border The Verdis passport Can you actually travel with it? Why Daniel doesn’t want Verdis to be radically libertarian Taxes and attracting residents Neutrality and Verdis’s founding values Diplomacy and international recognition How Verdis funds itself What Verdis can offer Croatia Why Daniel plans to give up the presidency Are new countries having a moment? Timestamps (Audio version only. Includes Timothy's introduction) 00:30 Introduction 06:17 Start of conversation 09:08 Why start your own country? 12:21 What and where is Verdis? 16:24 Croatian police remove the settlement 18:23 More than 200 million social-media views 22:35 How Verdis differs from Liberland 24:15 Imposter syndrome and international recognition 26:12 How does the border dispute ever get resolved? 32:36 Terra nullius and the claim to Verdis 34:52 400 citizens and 5,000 e-residents 37:12 How e-residency and citizenship work 39:25 Is Verdis trying to build a normal state? 42:24 The Verdis passport 45:13 The uphill battle towards recognition 46:46 What happened during the first settlement? 57:39 How do you attract people to Verdis? 59:09 What are Verdis’s values? 1:03:18 The next steps towards recognition 1:07:02 How does Verdis fund itself? 1:12:02 What can Verdis offer Croatia? 1:13:19 A president who’s never had an election 1:14:09 Why Daniel plans to step down 1:15:55 Are new countries having a moment? Guest: Daniel Jackson - Verdis website | Verdis on X | Daniel on TikTok | LinkedIn | Instagram The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation, hosted by Timothy Allen. New episodes every Friday. Long-form, in-person conversations with the builders, investors, residents and thinkers shaping the future of Free Cities, charter cities, special economic zones, network states, private cities and governance innovation worldwide. Listen & subscribe: FreeCities.fm | All platforms | Fountain - bonus episodes & early access Community: Telegram | Free Cities Foundation newsletter | Free Cities Conference Support the show: Donate via Stripe | V4V podcast apps Lead show sponsor: Veritas Villages - Off-grid, energy self-sufficient communities for freedom-minded people in Latin America. Bitcoin accepted for property purchases. New: Veritas Village at Atenas, Costa Rica - Watch the official reveal Follow: Timothy Allen on X & Nostr | Free Cities Foundation on X & Nostr

    198 - We’re Building a New Country in Europe | Daniel Jackson

  8. Aug 28

    197 - They'll Blame You When It Fails | Dominic Frisby

    Gold, Bitcoin, and who gets the blame when the money fails. - Dominic Frisby has written about gold for MoneyWeek for the best part of twenty years. He co-wrote and narrated Four Horsemen, and wrote Life After the State, Bitcoin: The Future of Money? and Daylight Robbery. He writes the newsletter The Flying Frisby, performs stand-up, and has a satirical song you have probably heard without knowing it was his. His new book is The Secret History of Gold, published by Penguin. Timothy caught him at Liberpulco, at the Liberland Ark Village in Apatin. They start on new countries and quickly move into a conversation about money as Dominic starts dismantling things. He does not think a hyperinflationary collapse is coming, and his reasons are not the usual ones. He thinks the reset story survives because human beings think in stories, while what actually happens is relentless gradual debasement. Water on rock. He also takes apart the line you hear on every podcast in this space, that every fiat currency in history has collapsed. After that: how much gold China really has and why it says otherwise, weaponising money in wartime, why the gold versus Bitcoin argument is mostly generational, what the Nazis did within an hour of invading a country, and why every gold standard in history has eventually failed. It ends on a modern Executive Order 6102, the unrealised capital gains tax, the millionaire exodus from Britain, and whether the walls go up to keep people out or to keep you in. NOTE: The video version of this episode is shorter than the audio. A camera malfunctioned during recording and the first part of the footage was lost. This audio version is the complete conversation. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Welcome 0:00:30 - Introduction to episode 0:03:26 - Veritas Villages 0:05:43 - Start of conversation: how he heard about Liberland 0:07:24 - No new countries since 2011 0:08:39 - The Shetland Islands 0:09:09 - The Independent Republic of Dumnonia 0:11:09 - Wanstonia and the M11 0:13:06 - 1971 0:14:31 - The pound has lost 40 per cent since 2020 0:15:26 - Do fiat currencies end in hyperinflation? 0:16:29 - Why the collapse story survives 0:18:24 - Every fiat currency has collapsed. Has it? 0:20:33 - How much gold does China have? 0:23:20 - Weaponising money in war 0:29:54 - Triffin's dilemma 0:35:01 - Gold bugs versus Bitcoiners is generational 0:37:57 - Unit of account versus medium of exchange 0:40:33 - Gold is older than the sun 0:42:32 - The asteroid mining red herring 0:46:24 - Nazi and Japanese looted gold 0:50:41 - The tunnels in the Philippines 0:52:23 - The Nixon shock 0:56:35 - William Pitt takes Britain off gold 0:59:04 - Why gold standards fail 1:01:40 - Governments collapse, and blame you 1:02:58 - The unrealised capital gains tax 1:04:37 - The white pill 1:06:38 - 2008 and the global margin call 1:07:57 - Tinfoil hats at Liberpulco 1:09:39 - Wealth taxes are coming 1:10:52 - Walls to stop you leaving 1:12:13 - The Secret History of Gold Guest: Dominic Frisby - The Flying Frisby | X | All links Buy Dominic's NEW book The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation, hosted by Timothy Allen. New episodes every Friday. Long-form, in-person conversations with the builders, investors, residents, and thinkers shaping the future of Free Cities, charter cities, special economic zones, network states, private cities, and governance innovation worldwide. Listen & subscribe: freecities.fm | All platforms | Fountain.fm (bonus episodes & early access) Community: Telegram | Free Cities Foundation newsletter | Free Cities Conference Support the show: Donate via Stripe | BTC: bc1q5jun0nzxzqepch84rqk0jnv0rd8uvns28df7mg | V4V podcast apps Lead show sponsor: Veritas Villages - Off-grid, energy self-sufficient communities for freedom-minded people in Latin America. Bitcoin accepted for property purchases. New: Veritas Village at Atenas, Costa Rica, watch the official reveal Follow: Timothy Allen on X & Nostr | Free Cities Foundation on X & Nostr

    197 - They'll Blame You When It Fails | Dominic Frisby
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About

The Free Cities Podcast is the leading podcast covering alternative governance, new jurisdictions, and the global movement to build freer societies. Hosted by Timothy Allen, the show features long-form, in-person conversations with the people building autonomous jurisdictions and real-world pathways to more freedom. We focus on what actually works, the legal structures, incentives, economics, and business models that turn freedom from an idea into a way of life. Builders and sceptics welcome. Free Cities, Charter Cities, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Network States, Startup Societies, Pioneer Communities, Intentional Communities, Popup Cities, Governance Innovation, Competitive Governance, Governance as a Service, Regulatory Innovation, Polycentric Governance, Geopolitics, Seasteading, Homesteading, Freesteading, Digital Nomadism, Flag Theory, Freedom, Liberty & Bitcoin. We are the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation. New episodes every Friday.

Information

  • Creator
    Timothy Allen
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    210
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Free Cities Podcast

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