Daniel Larison, senior editor at The American Conservative, discusses Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel's poor performance in his Senate Armed Services Committee hearing; how the neoconservatives continue to hold sway over the Republican Party on foreign policy; why conservatives keep voting Republican even though they are continually stymied on immigration and abortion issues; and how the GOP has become a political dinosaur.

Larry Salzman, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, discusses IJ's major federal court victory in a Massachusetts civil forfeiture case; the financial incentives encouraging law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to "police for profit;" America's long history of asset forfeiture; how the war on drugs gave the government a license to steal; and IJ's continuing effort to stop civil forfeitures entirely.

Jacob Hornberger, founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses revelations that a CIA front group was behind Alan Gross's cell phone distribution scheme in Cuba; why the US government has pushed for regime change in Cuba for 50+ years; how electoral politics brought on the Cuban Missile Crisis and nearly a nuclear war; the chance that Gross could be freed in a prisoner swap deal for "the Cuban Five;" and the significance of Germany's gold repatriation.

IPS News journalist Adam Morrow discusses the huge demonstrations in Egypt on the second anniversary of the Tahrir Square revolution; the Mubarak regime loyalists still entrenched in Egypt's security services; how the Western media exaggerates religious conflicts between Muslims and Coptic Christians; and speculation that the CIA is behind either the Muslim Brotherhood, the secular protestors, the Mubarak loyalists, or all of them.

Brendan O'Neill, editor of Spiked, discusses his article "How Cameron created the chaos in north Africa;" the consequences of NATO's regime change operation in Libya; how our infantile leaders have created a foreign policy worse than old-style colonialism; and why we should be more worried about crusading Western governments than Islamic terrorism.

Christopher Coyne, associate professor of economics at George Mason University, discusses his paper "The Overlooked Costs of the Permanent War Economy [PDF];" how military spending wastes resources (money, materials and human ingenuity); the downside of increased efficiency in warfare; the socialist nature of the military; and why centrally planned economies ultimately collapse.

Tim Kelly of The Future of Freedom Foundation discusses why the charges against Bradley Manning should be dropped; the selective enforcement of the law; the government's overuse of classification; and how the CIA has served the interests of big business since its founding.

John Glaser, editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the unintended consequences from US intervention in Africa; why Mali is "the fastest blowback yet" in the war on terror;" the crippling and immoral sanctions on the Iranian people; how the US is creating new enemies in Yemen with drone strikes; and how Obama has usurped the right of due process under the law.

Sheldon Richman, vice president of The Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses his article "World War II Spending Did Not End the Great Depression;" using the standard of living (instead of GDP) to measure economic depressions; why most Republican economists are "military Keynesians;" and why even the Left believes that war is good for the economy.

Philip Giraldi, Director of the Council for the National Interest, discusses the "Christian Zionism and American Islamophobia" conference on January 30 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.; the peculiar interworking of American end-times theology and Israeli politics; the CIA's skepticism on the effectiveness of drone strikes; and how fleeing Syrians are creating a refugee crisis and security problems.

Muhammad Sahimi, political columnist and professor of chemical engineering, discusses how Iran's religious dictatorship can be traced back to the 1953 CIA coup against Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq; the 2009 Iranian election and subsequent crackdown on political opposition; how Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has squandered Iran's oil revenues and created a kleptocracy; and why the US needs to mind its own business and let Iranians institute their own political reforms.