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Episode 286: Libertarian Summer Camp

The participants of PorcFest 2015 pose for a group photo.
Virgil Vaduva
/
Flickr
The participants of PorcFest 2015 pose for a group photo.

Note: This episode originally ran in2011.

Six years ago, we traveled to a place where people are trying to live without government interference. A place where you can use bits of silver to buy uninspected bacon. A place where a 9-year-old will sell you alcohol.

We find marijuana and moonshine, cash registers stuffed with gold, a rogue manicurist, and a libertarian version of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve (but don't call him that!).

It's the Porcupine Freedom Festival, known to its friends as . This is the summer festival for people who think we should return to the gold standard and abolish the IRS.

At the end of the story, we return with an update on PorcFest from 2017. We'll tell you what has changed with the times since we were last here.

Music: "Cheyenne Shuffle" and "Now Son." Find us:Twitter/Facebook.

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Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Adam Davidson is a contributor to Planet Money, a co-production of NPR and This American Life. He also writes the weekly "It's the Economy" column for the New York Times Magazine.
Robert Smith is a host for NPR's Planet Money where he tells stories about how the global economy is affecting our lives.