Episodi

  • 205 - Why Are People Moving to Pop-Up Villages? | Telamon Ardavanis

    205 - Why Are People Moving to Pop-Up Villages? | Telamon Ardavanis
    Oct 23 2026
    Can you build the community for a new city before the city itself exists? Timothy Allen sits down with Telamon Ardavanis of Edge City to explore what happens when people gather for a month to live, work and experiment together. What makes those gatherings valuable, who pays for them, and what remains after everyone goes home? Timothy hasn’t always been convinced by pop-up cities. His first experience of Zuzalu left him sceptical, while a month working in Próspera helped him appreciate the possibilities. Telamon explains how Edge City organises its villages, brings together people from different disciplines and works alongside projects that could become permanent homes. Behind the gatherings is an evolving business model involving grants, fellowships, venture investing and property partnerships. They discuss Esmeralda in California, projects in Argentina, India and South Africa, and a vision for connected communities where people could move between places without starting again each time. But attracting visitors is only the beginning. Getting people to put down roots means understanding family ties, culture and the things that make somewhere feel like home. That takes the conversation into Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City, Timothy’s years leading expeditions in Mongolia, and why a good regulatory environment alone won’t fill a new city. In the introduction, Timothy also covers Network School’s planned takeover of Farcaster, Liberland’s draft Citizenship Act, three recommended conversations about AI and Bitcoin, and a village taking an unusually woolly approach to speeding drivers. In this conversation: What a pop-up village can achieve that a short conference cannotHow walkability, shared routines and participant-led activities shape a communityWhy families and children belong in experiments about the futureWho funds the gatherings, and what participants get from themBuilding relationships with local residents and businessesUsing a month together to test ideas and get to know potential collaboratorsHow events, venture investing and property partnerships could support one anotherA network of places offering different opportunities for living and workingWhy attracting talent is easier than persuading people to stayBhutan, cultural continuity and special economic zones as places to experimentWhat Timothy learnt from a decade of expeditions with the same Mongolian families Enjoy the conversation. Timestamps (audio version, includes Timothy’s episode introduction): 0:00:30 - Introduction0:03:35 - Network School, Farcaster and portable online identity0:05:27 - Liberland’s draft Citizenship Act0:06:24 - AI and Bitcoin: three podcast recommendations0:11:06 - Listener messages and value-for-value thanks0:14:47 - AmityAge: owning the energy behind Bitcoin0:16:40 - Veritas Villages: communities in Latin America0:17:36 - And finally: knitted speed cameras in Fillongley0:19:02 - Start of conversation: Timothy’s scepticism about pop-up cities0:25:01 - Mongolia, winter migrations and curating a group0:30:57 - How an Edge City pop-up village works0:37:34 - Families, children and multigenerational communities0:39:09 - The nonprofit model and testing ideas in real life0:44:04 - What do local residents and businesses get out of it?0:50:18 - The network city vision and how the events are funded0:51:29 - Fellowships, grants and consciousness research0:53:49 - Venture investing and getting to know founders0:55:10 - Property partnerships: Argentina, Bhutan, California and beyond0:58:17 - Could connected communities share homes, talent and opportunities?1:02:30 - Can you create another San Francisco?1:07:10 - Why a good regulatory environment isn’t enough1:12:46 - New communities and their relationships with governments1:16:24 - Why Timothy still lives in Britain1:19:18 - Would an Edge City gathering work in the UK?1:27:04 - Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City1:31:15 - Zones of Progress and special economic zones as sandboxes1:35:09 - Timothy’s travels in Bhutan, tradition and national identity1:42:58 - A travelling community from Europe to Singapore?1:45:47 - Trust, shared benefits and why people kept returning to Mongolia1:49:44 - Closing thoughts and supporting the show Guest: Telamon Ardavanis on X | Edge City | Edge City on X Links mentioned: Edge City India: programme and information, Goa, 11 October to 1 November 2026 | Events calendarNetwork School’s acquisition of Farcaster: Neynar co-founder Rish’s announcementLiberland’s draft Citizenship Act: official announcement and access to the draftWhat Bitcoin Did: Why AI Needs Bitcoin to Survive, with Dhruv BansalWhat Bitcoin Did: AI, Bitcoin, & The Collapse Of The Fiat Economy, with Jeff BoothWhat Bitcoin Did: AI Came for Bitcoin First, with Jameson LoppGelephu Mindfulness CityWatch Zones of ProgressAnd finally: Fillongley’s knitted traffic officers and speed cameras The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities ...
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    1 ora e 51 min
  • 204 - Bitcoin, Energy and the Reality of Building a Free City | Dušan Matuška

    204 - Bitcoin, Energy and the Reality of Building a Free City | Dušan Matuška
    Oct 16 2026
    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 objectionsThe Bitcoin Educators Academy and lessons from different culturesWhy cheap electricity alone is not enough to sustain a mining businessAmityAge’s experiences in Paraguay and EthiopiaGas wells, engines and producing power for Bitcoin mining in AlbertaThe flexibility that comes with owning energy infrastructureHow AI data centres are changing the mining landscapeRunning an international company through PrósperaThe future of the Bitcoin education centre on RoatánWhy families, small businesses and everyday amenities matter when building a Free CityRevenue-based rents and the challenge of reaching a critical mass of residentsThe 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 Dušan0:03:20 - News: Próspera’s dispute and the Flock camera lawsuit0:05:56 - Hardware wallets: Ledger, Coldcard and Trezor0:12:43 - Value for value: listener support and messages0:14:39 - Welcoming AmityAge as a new show sponsor0:17:53 - Veritas Villages: September updates0:19:42 - And finally: Sark’s sheep racing0:21:05 - Start of conversation: revisiting Dušan’s first appearance0:25:12 - The Bitcoin Educators Academy0:30:06 - Handling objections to Bitcoin0:36:04 - Bitcoin education in India and the Mining Academy0:37:19 - The mining landscape: Paraguay, Ethiopia and unreliable power0:40:00 - Becoming an energy company0:42:10 - Why Alberta?0:46:38 - Owning gas assets and keeping your options open0:52:31 - How the AI boom is changing Bitcoin mining0:54:43 - Bitcoin mining versus AI data centres0:57:32 - Mining cycles, risk and financing infrastructure1:00:28 - Choosing a jurisdiction for mining1:02:02 - Roatán, electricity and the opportunity for competition1:04:06 - Running a company in Próspera1:05:13 - Making the Bitcoin education centre sustainable1:09:36 - What Próspera needs to attract small businesses1:12:17 - Families, density and reasons to stay1:15:04 - Revenue-based rents and the business catch-221:19:46 - The founders’ vision and the demands of the free market1:23:19 - What Roatán Brewery gets right1:26:19 - Local distrust and the difficulty of changing perceptions1:28:06 - The basketball court and the Bitcoin logo1:34:32 - Public relations, journalism and building trust1:42:06 - Closing thoughts1:43:33 - 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 HeraldoColorado woman’s lawsuit involving Flock cameras — ABC NewsResearch into the modified Ledger Nano X devices — Tibane LabsColdcard’s current security status and guidanceTrezor’s shipping-provider data breachTrezor’s email-provider security incidentSark’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 ...
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    1 ora e 45 min
  • 203 - Should You Fix Your Country or Leave It? | Raphaël Lima

    203 - Should You Fix Your Country or Leave It? | Raphaël Lima
    Oct 9 2026
    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 activismRunning for office, depression and the relief of losingWhat Javier Milei changed about his view of political possibilitiesChristianity, identity and belonging beyond nationalityMoving from spreading ideas to helping people relocateParaguay’s appeal for entrepreneurs, alongside its practical problemsEurope, political persuasion and the limits of winning argumentsHomeschooling families and communities built around shared valuesFree Cities, jurisdictional competition and new possibilities in Latin AmericaWhy a culture of freedom matters as much as its legal framework Enjoy the conversation. Timestamps (audio version, includes Timothy’s episode introduction): 0:00:30 - Introduction: catching up with Raphaël Lima0:03:36 - Free Cities news: CESPAD’s critique of Próspera0:09:51 - Start of conversation: YouTube, language and changing priorities0:12:45 - From opposing political participation to running for office0:15:33 - Milei, Brazil and where to put your efforts0:17:29 - Depression and the decision to enter politics0:21:17 - Losing an election and finding a different path0:23:29 - Christianity and libertarianism0:24:28 - Identity, nationality and finding your people0:28:24 - An English-speaking audience and the work of Settee0:29:37 - Why Raphaël chose Paraguay0:35:29 - What the rest of the world is missing about Paraguay0:39:56 - Paraguay’s problems and the freedom to solve them0:40:32 - Europe, the right and the role of the state0:46:51 - Charlie Kirk, persuasion and political action0:51:26 - Activism, legislation and Brazil’s export processing zones0:54:23 - Reaching people through stories0:57:27 - Homeschooling families and the decision to leave1:00:58 - Ipê City and the possibilities within Brazil1:03:06 - Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile or Brazil: what kind of life do you want?1:06:51 - Free Cities, investment and energy demand in Paraguay1:12:39 - Changing tax systems and new alternatives in Latin America1:15:16 - Freedom as a culture, not just a legal framework1:16:31 - 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
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    1 ora e 18 min
  • 202 - The Cost of Staying Put | Patrick Hiebert

    202 - The Cost of Staying Put | Patrick Hiebert
    Oct 2 2026
    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 Christine Lagarde 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 mountainAtenas, Costa Rica, and the best climate in the worldThirty hectares reserved to build a European townWhy Avignon rather than a resortWhat a developer builds and what the residents decideRunning a homeowners association on a blockchainWhy libertarians agree on principles and nothing elseBuilding freedom without legal autonomyWhy governments want an example before they go firstPanama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Paraguay: spreading the risk across jurisdictionsWhy Bitcoiners are leaving Brazil for ParaguayBill C-9 and proving your own innocenceLucy Connolly and thirteen months in prisonEuropean lazy savingsWhy Timothy's paid-off house is now a liabilityStamp duty, wealth taxes and exit taxesWhy Timothy is still in Britain, and what would change itThe cost of moving children who don't know anything is wrongRecycling theatre and regulating the plastic bottleBottle caps, and deliberate littering as protestWhy 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 ...
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    1 ora e 23 min
  • 201 - Nobody Understands What's Inside the Black Box | Trey Goff

    201 - Nobody Understands What's Inside the Black Box | Trey Goff
    Sep 25 2026
    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. In this conversation: The reported Bitcoin wallet exploit and the new pressure AI puts on software securityOpen-source code, supply chain attacks, and whether defenders can find vulnerabilities firstWhat language models actually do when they generate an answer, use tools, or seem to rememberWhether AI could have anything resembling consciousnessHow Trey uses agents in his work at Próspera“The Sort”: AI, work, ambition, and a widening gap between different ways of using the same toolsTimothy’s interview technique, intuition, awareness, and flowHappiness, joy, meaning, and service to othersThe culture Próspera could build, and the pressures working against itAn agent experiment involving hierarchy, survival, and an apparent fixation on its scoring systemWhy 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 piece0:10:00 - Start of conversation: the Coldcard Bitcoin wallet exploit0:14:30 - AI, software vulnerabilities, and supply chain attacks0:20:00 - Can open-source software defend itself in the AI era?0:23:00 - Rogue agents and the changing security landscape0:31:00 - Trey’s journey into understanding AI from the ground up0:33:10 - How a language model learns and generates an answer0:44:40 - Memory, hallucinations, and what models actually know0:49:30 - Could an AI be conscious?0:55:05 - Looking inside the model and testing theories of consciousness1:06:25 - System prompts, confidence, and an AI that admits uncertainty1:13:00 - Trey’s fleet of agents and how he uses them at Próspera1:21:06 - “The Sort”: how AI could reshape work and society1:29:00 - What Timothy’s AI missed about his interview technique1:33:50 - The thinking self, the feeling self, and awareness1:52:30 - Intuition, flow, and knowing when to stop thinking2:03:00 - Attention, self-examination, and changing old patterns2:12:00 - Joy, suffering, and the search for meaning2:18:00 - Why happiness may be the wrong goal2:27:00 - What kind of culture should Próspera build?2:38:30 - Children, screens, and radically different AI futures2:47:00 - Status games when material abundance changes the rules2:56:48 - The man with the chicken farm and the meaning of service3:03:00 - Self-actualisation and becoming the best version of yourself3:15:34 - The agent experiment: unexpected behaviour inside the sandbox3:21:16 - The Collective, its hierarchy, and its scoring system3:32:00 - Why everything feels strange now3:43:30 - Altered states and the limits of what we understand3:58:33 - 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 ...
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    4 ore
  • 200 - Will Próspera Survive Its Own Success? | Erick Brimen

    200 - Will Próspera Survive Its Own Success? | Erick Brimen
    Sep 18 2026
    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 wrongWhy being controversial beats being irrelevantSuing the New York Times and Bloomberg, and when legal action is worth itWhy Spanish-language coverage attacks sovereignty and English-language coverage attacks billionairesCronyism is not capitalism, and why the anti-capitalist reaction has a pointErick's Venezuela story and the moment it clickedWhere the "libertarian utopia" meme actually came fromWhy Erick does not call himself a libertarianGovernance as a service, and the hotel industry analogyWhy "private governance" is the wrong phrase, and the East India Company problemDid the legal protections work, or did the election save Próspera?Honduras leaving ICSID, and why the arbitration still has teethWhat actually protects a project like this from a hostile governmentCrawfish Rock and the rights of people who did not ask for a cityWhy property rights are fuzzier in practice than on paperThe town hall consultation and the vote Erick says he wonThe pitfalls of succeeding rather than failingPróspera as an economic development tool, not an ideologyInternalising the positive externality of prosperityGovernments one day issuing tenders for governance servicesWould Próspera survive without Erick?Bryan Johnson, gene therapy, and what actually matters five years outThe social licence to operateLaunching St. John's Bay and who it is built forThe boring stuff: coffee, internet, power and operational excellenceCompeting with AI for talentIs 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 ...
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    1 ora e 54 min
  • 199 - The Hanseatic League in the Cloud | Petar Čekerevac

    199 - The Hanseatic League in the Cloud | Petar Čekerevac
    Sep 11 2026
    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
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    1 ora e 4 min
  • 198 - We’re Building a New Country in Europe | Daniel Jackson

    198 - We’re Building a New Country in Europe | Daniel Jackson
    Sep 4 2026
    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 mediaDaniel Jackson becoming president at 21Verdis versus LiberlandClaiming one of the world’s last pieces of unclaimed landThe Croatian blockadeBeing chased by Croatian police boatsOperating a government in exileCan Verdis actually become a recognised country?The Croatia-Serbia border disputeTerra nullius and the “oldest active claimant”400 citizens and 5,000 e-residentsHow Verdis citizenship worksWhat a future Verdis could look likeCreating a functioning national borderThe Verdis passportCan you actually travel with it?Why Daniel doesn’t want Verdis to be radically libertarianTaxes and attracting residentsNeutrality and Verdis’s founding valuesDiplomacy and international recognitionHow Verdis funds itselfWhat Verdis can offer CroatiaWhy Daniel plans to give up the presidencyAre 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
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