Episode 3: Congressman Thomas Massie – The Clucks Capacitor

Congressman Thomas Massie joins Jenny Beth Martin to discuss his history as an inventor, from his days as a kid from Kentucky, to his time at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to the limited time he gets to spend back home on his farm in rural Kentucky. Massie discusses his latest invention, the Clucks Capacitor, an automated chicken tractor that is self-sufficient and operable with a mobile app that he created. Massie is a leading voice in Congress for the everyday American inventor. He explains the need to reverse some of the devastating consequences of the America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA), including the need to get rid of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the need to restore the patent system to a 'first to invent' system rather than a 'first to file' system. His legislation, Restoring America's Leadership in Innovation Act of 2021 (RALIA), is his solution to the bad consequences of the AIA. Congressman Massie appeared in the film Innovation Race where he demonstrates his Clucks Capacitor from his farm in Kentucky and speaks about what needs to happen to protect American inventors. There is only so much that can be captured in a feature-length documentary, so in this episode Massie takes a deeper dive into the themes from the film. Massie is known for repurposing a battery from a totaled Tesla Model S to power his home - which you can find on YouTube - and for his snarky, fact-based social media posts accompanied with the hashtag #SassyWithMassie. In what is often dubbed the prequel to Innovation Race, the documentary Invalidated: The Shredding of the US Patent System, which also features Massie, was initially inspired by a conversation between Martin and Massie where Massie pointed out that the right to intellectual property was so important to the Founding Fathers that they protected it in Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution. It wasn't an afterthought. It wasn't in the Bill of Rights. It was in the base constitution. No matter your politics, Congressman Massie is a fascinating and affable intellectual. Enjoy this fascinating conversation.

For more information at Innovation Race visit: https://www.innovationracemovie.com

For more episodes of the Innovation Race Podcast visit: https://www.innovationracepodcast.com

For more information about the Clucks Capacitor visit: https://www.shireware.com