Scott Horton: Antiwar Author, Historian, and Broadcaster

Scott Horton is one of the most important antiwar voices in America. As director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, and host of The Scott Horton Show, he has dedicated his life to exposing the human and political costs of American interventionism. Where most media outlets echo official talking points, Horton has built a career on challenging them with evidence, history, and firsthand accounts.

Born in Austin, Texas in 1976, Horton became a committed libertarian while still young and quickly turned his attention to foreign policy. He began interviewing journalists, soldiers, and scholars in the 1990s, and by the early years of the War on Terror he had already established himself as a relentless interviewer. Over the course of his career, he has conducted more than 6,000 interviews, creating one of the most extensive archives of commentary on America’s wars in the Middle East and beyond. 

Horton is also a serious historian of American foreign policy. His book Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan (2017) traced the roots of the conflict and explained why the mission was doomed from the start. In Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism (2021), he widened the lens to examine U.S. interventions across the region, from Iraq and Libya to Syria and Yemen. Both books are now essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how two decades of war reshaped the world and damaged American liberty.

As a speaker and debater, Horton has carried the antiwar message into forums where it is rarely heard. He brings deep knowledge of history and policy, but he delivers it in plain language, making complex subjects accessible to students, veterans, and ordinary citizens. Through the Libertarian Institute, which he started with Will Grigg, he also mentors younger writers and researchers who continue this work of questioning empire.

Scott Horton’s significance lies in his persistence and clarity. While political fashions change and partisans adjust their views depending on who occupies the White House, Horton has remained consistent. His message is simple: endless war destroys freedom abroad and at home, enriches the few at the expense of the many, and corrodes the moral fabric of the country. For more than two decades, he has been one of the rare voices willing to say so without compromise.