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Very sad news today of the passing of Fred Smith. Fred founded one of the most important and feisty think tanks of all time, the Competitive Enterprise Institute. I first met Fred about 35 years ago when CEI was in its early days, and I always relished the fire-hose experience of talking with him, which go on without pause or lag in interest for hours. He was not merely brilliant, but also extremely funny. I always described him physically as “elfin,” but he had the stout heart of a dwarf (if you are fluent in LOTR), and it should please everyone that he built CEI into the powerhouse it is today. There was not greater champion of liberty, and few critics more acute about the inherent defects of government regulations.

If you have 30 minutes, or even just five minutes to sample a bit, take in this interview Reason magazine’s Nick Gillespie conducted with Fred several years ago when Fred was already in his emeritus years.