Virtual Reading Groups

Would you like to join interesting people and have interesting conversations based on readings from the history of liberty?


Our VRGs will each focus on a particular topic and a common set of readings will form the basis for our discussions. Each group is facilitated by a professional moderator and is conducted via the Zoom online platform.

Participation is offered at no-cost, and there is no need to be an expert on the topic for discussion!  The only requirement is that participants be eager to read and engage in conversation.

Participants who successfully complete all sessions will receive an e-gift certificate from Amazon.com!

One Fell Swoop: Reading All of Shakespeare’s Plays

Our new series of Shakespeare Virtual Reading Groups will explore all of Shakespeare's plays over the course of about 3 years. We'll look at one play a month, with Liberty Fund's Sarah Skwire leading one 90 minute discussion for each…

February/March 2024: Timeless: Reading Together - Utopia or Dystopia?

Please join us in February/March 2024 for a Timeless Virtual Reading Group with Janet Bufton.

Timeless is our new series of asynchronous reading groups.

Each group will be “open” for a defined time period, with scheduled assigned…

March 2024: Frank H. Knight’s Freedom and Reform: Essays in Economics and Social Philosophy

Please join us in March 2024 for a Virtual Reading Group with Rosolino Candela.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. Readings must be acquired in advance. You may use…

March 2024: T. S. Eliot on Education and Culture

Please join us in March2024 for a Virtual Reading Group with Jim Hartley.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. All readings must be acquired in advance. Participants…

February 2024: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War: the Emancipation Proclamation

Monday, February 12, 2024, 12-1:30 EST

Please join us for a one-day-only Virtual Reading Group to discuss Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War: the Emancipation Proclamation,with Vernon Burton.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask…

February 2024: Classic Texts of Confucianism and Daoism

Please join us in February 2024 for a Virtual Reading Group with Peter Mentzel.


We appreciate your interest in this virtual reading group. Unfortunately, this VRG is full and we are no longer accepting registrations. We invite you…

December 2023: H.G. Wells, Technocracy and Liberty

Please join us in December2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Alberto Mingardi.

We appreciate your interest in this virtual reading group. Unfortunately, this VRG is full and we are no longer accepting registrations. We invite…

November 2023: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War: the Gettysburg Address

Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 11-12:30 EDT

Please join us for a one-day-only Virtual Reading Group to discuss Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War: the Gettysburg Address,with Vernon Burton.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask…

September 2023: Islam and Liberty

Please join us in September/October 2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Mustafa Akyol.

We appreciate your interest in this virtual reading group. Unfortunately, this VRG is full and we are no longer accepting registrations. We…

September 2023: H. L. Mencken on Commerce, Culture, and Democracy

Please join us in September/October 2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Jim Hartley.

We appreciate your interest in this virtual reading group. Unfortunately, this VRG is full and we are no longer accepting registrations. We…

August 2023: The Price of Power: Bring Up the Bodies and The Prince

Please join us in August 2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Shannon Chamberlain.

We appreciate your interest in this virtual reading group. Unfortunately, this VRG is full and we are no longer accepting registrations. We invite…

July 2023: Civil Society and Political Economy

Please join us in July2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Anthony Gill.

We appreciate your interest in this virtual reading group. Unfortunately, this VRG is full and we are no longer accepting registrations. We invite you to…

June 2023: The Challenges of Democracy in a Diverse Society

Please join us in June 2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Scott Yenor.

We appreciate your interest in this virtual reading group. Unfortunately, this VRG is full and we are no longer accepting registrations. We invite you to…

April 2023: Understanding Reconstruction - the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments

Please join us in April 2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Andrew Lang.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. All readings are available online. Participants who…

March 2023: Foundations of Modern Environmentalism

Please join us in March 2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Paul Schwennesen.


Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. Readings must be purchased in advance. You may…

February 2023: Bruno Leoni: Freedom and the Law

Please join us in February2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Alberto Mingardi.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. Some of the readings must be purchased in…

January 2023: Oakeshott’s Moral Vision

Please join us in January2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Elizabeth Corey.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. Readings must be purchased in advance. You may…

January 2023: The Messiness of Progress: Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and David Hume’s Essays and Histories

Please join us in January/February 2023for a Virtual Reading Group with Shannon Chamberlain.


Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. Some readings must be acquired in…

December 2022: Classical Tragedy and the World of Ideas

Please join us in December 2022 for a Virtual Reading Group with Aeon Skoble.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. Most readings are available online; one book must be…

December 2022: J.S. Mill “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion"

Wednesday, December 14, 2022, 3:30-5:00 EST

Please join us for a one-day-only Virtual Reading Group to discussJ.S. Mill “On the Liberty of Thought and Discussion,"with Sarah Skwire.

November 2022: The Election of 1800: Jefferson v. Adams

Please join us in November 2022 for a Virtual Reading Group with Cara Rogers.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. Most readings are available online; PDFs of the…

October 2022: Shakespeare’s First Tetralogy

Please join us in October 2022 for a Virtual Reading Group with Sarah Skwire.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. Readings and video are available online.Participants…

September 2022: The Evolution of American Federalism

Please join us in September 2022 for a Virtual Reading Group with Scott Yenor.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions. Most readings are available online; PDFs of the…

September 2022: Liberty and Virtue in the Axial Age

Please join us in September 2022 for an enlightening online experience with Peter Mentzel.

Pre-registration is required, and we ask you to register only if you can be present for ALL sessions.All readings are available online.…

August 2022: Jane Austen’s Persuasion: Aristocracy, Independence, and Economics

Please join us in August 2022 for a rewarding online experience.

Persuasion, Jane Austen's last novel, is a significant departure from the fine estates (and fine young eyes) that feature in her earlier works. Its protagonist, Anne…

May 2022: THE BILL OF RIGHTS: SELECT CASES IN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Please join us in May 2022 for The Bill of Rights: Select Cases in Constitutional Law, with Steve Ealy.

Pre-registration is required. Participants will need to acquire the Scalia and Breyer readings; other readings are available…

April 2022: Education in a Free Society

Wednesday, April 27, 2022, 12-1:30 EDT

Please join us for a one-day-only Virtual Reading Group to discussBenjamin Rogge and Pierre Goodrich'sessay,Education in a Free Society,with Douglas Den Uyl.

March 2022: Mary Wollstonecraft and the Rights of Women

Please join us in March, 2022 for Mary Wollstonecraft and the Rights of Women, with Janet Bufton.

March 2022: Ancient v Modern Liberty

Thursday, March 3, 2022, 12-1:30 EDT

Please join us for a one-day-only Virtual Reading Group to discuss Benjamin Constant's famed essay, The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Modernswith Alberto Mingardi.

February 2022: Joseph Schumpeter’s “Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy”

Please join us in February, 2022forCapitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, with Edward Harpham.

Pre-registration is required. Participants will need to acquire a copy of Joseph A. Schumpeter's Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy.

January 2022: James Madison and the Conflict Between the Executive and Legislative Branches

Please join us in January, 2022forJames Madison andthe Conflict Between the Legislative and Executive Branches, with Professor of Political ScienceScott Yenor.

The struggle between legislative and executivepower is as old as the…

November 2021: Pericles' Funeral Oration

Tuesday, November 23, 2021, 12-1:30 pm EST.

Please join us for a one-day-only Virtual Reading Group to discuss this famous speech recorded by Thucydides with Alberto Mingardi.

September 2021: Celebrate Constitution Day

Friday, September 17, 2021, 12-1:30 pm EDT.

Please join us for a special one-day-only VirtualReading Group to celebrate Constitution Day, led by Hans Eicholz.

Pre-registration is required. Participants should read the US…

August 2021: Agriculture, the State, and Liberty

Please join us in August, 2021 for Agriculture, the State, and Liberty, with historian and cattle rancher Paul Schwennesen.

Pre-registration is required. Participants will need to acquire a copy of James C. Scott'sAgainst the Grain:…

June 2021: Adam Ferguson’s History of Civil Society

Please join us in June, 2021 for Adam Ferguson's History of Civil Society with Liberty Fund's Amy Willis.

Adam Ferguson is one of the most intriguing figures of the Scottish Enlightenment. A close friend of David Hume’s and Adam…

May 2021: The Colonial Origins of the Bill of Rights

Please join us in May, 2021 for our FIRST EVER Virtual Reading Group with Dr. Steve Ealy.