Audio Engineer
Plus: Congress is reluctant to assert its war powers, the Pentagon brands Anthropic a national security threat, and a listener asks whether regime change is ever morally defensible.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg discusses immigration enforcement, the role of government, and why federal agencies are losing public trust.
Plus: The U.S. could be going to war with Iran, the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, and why AI surveillance is worrying civil libertarians
Michael Shermer examines the psychology behind pattern seeking, the limits of suspicion, and how the Epstein files fuel conspiracy thinking.
Exiled journalist Fardad Farahzad discusses how Iranians get uncensored news, the state of the protest movement, and whether the Islamic Republic is losing its grip on power.
Plus: The FCC targets Disney and Comcast, new Epstein associates revealed, and Trump’s tariffs cause growing rifts with U.S. allies.
Rep. Thomas Massie explains why he is risking his political career over the Epstein files, details what he saw in the unredacted documents, and argues that the scandal reveals a bipartisan failure of accountability stretching across multiple administrations.
Plus: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson embraces warrantless ICE searches, the Super Bowl halftime culture war, and Trump continues funding the Department of Education
Plus: assessing Trump’s first year, the dysfunction of Washington, D.C., and the politics of the Super Bowl. (Recorded live in Washington, D.C.)
Crime analyst Jeff Asher explains the historic decline in murders, why Americans distrust crime statistics, and what the data actually show about public safety.
Plus: a partial shutdown over ICE funding, Kevin Warsh to lead the Fed, and Moltbook’s AI society
Economist J.C. Bradbury breaks down why taxpayer-funded stadiums are a bad idea, how team owners market them to politicians, and why another stadium building boom may be coming.
Plus: DHS escalation in Minnesota, Trump loses support on ICE tactics, and how politics influence the Oscar nominations
Venezuelan opposition leader Freddy Guevara explains support for U.S. intervention, how socialism destroyed Venezuela, and what a democratic transition would require.
Plus: Threats of new tariffs on NATO allies, masked federal agents stir unrest in Minnesota, and Trump’s new health care proposal.
Former U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan discusses the importance of preserving presidential records and the challenge of maintaining public trust in an era of partisan conflict.
Plus: ICE shootings divide the country, the Iran uprising intensifies, and California targets billionaires with a wealth tax
Scott Jennings discusses life as a conservative at CNN, Trump’s record a year into his second term, and how figures like Candace Owens damage the right.
Plus: Trump’s expanding view of U.S. power abroad, Zohran Mamdani touts the “warmth of collectivism,” and Tim Walz won’t seek reelection
Lauren Hall looks at the roots of political tribalism, why voters feel trapped between false choices, and how radical moderation offers a way out of constant polarization.
The Reason editors examine the most underreported stories of 2025 across politics, economics, global affairs, and culture.
Tony Gilroy examines how Andor portrays authoritarian power as a bureaucratic system, the moral compromises of life under surveillance, and the role ordinary people play in enforcing oppressive systems.
Plus: Debating marijuana at Turning Point USA, Massie and Khanna threaten Bondi with contempt over Epstein files, and Minnesota’s welfare fraud case.
Keonne Rodriguez explains why he built a bitcoin privacy tool, discusses the federal charges that sent him to prison this week, and warns that his case could redefine the legal boundaries of financial privacy.
Katherine Dee examines how living online reshapes attention and behavior and makes the case for a more grounded, realistic way of using digital tools.
Plus: reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug, mass shootings at Bondi Beach and Brown University, and the U.S. seizes a Venezuelan oil tanker
Sarah McLaughlin reveals how foreign governments pressure American universities through speech codes and satellite campuses, and examines the broader threat international authoritarianism poses to free expression.
Panicked about holiday shopping? Reason staffers and contributors are here to save the day.
Plus: Trump’s economy shows new signs of strain, Congress pushes a $900 billion defense package, and Kalshi stirs backlash over “financializing everything”
The Reason editors answer your questions on policy, politics, pop culture, and more in this annual webathon event.
Author Matt Ridley examines how science became centralized and dogmatic, why public trust collapsed during COVID, and how open dissent is essential to restoring credibility.
Plus: War crime allegations against Hegseth, Congress threatens the legal hemp industry, and reflections on the legacy of Tom Stoppard
Filmmaker Ken Burns breaks down the myths surrounding America’s founding, explains how the Declaration’s own contradictions ultimately expanded American freedom, and argues for the continued funding of public broadcasting.
Plus: DOGE is disbanded, Trump attempts to influence the Warner Bros. merger, and Democrats tell the military to reject illegal orders
The Washington Post opinion editor Adam O’Neal outlines his vision for a more classically liberal editorial voice, examines how both parties turned against free speech and free markets, and explains why the paper is ending political endorsements.
Author Katie Herzog examines new approaches to treating addiction, the cultural obsession with moralizing sobriety, and why she believes freedom means choosing how to heal.
Plus: Obamacare subsidies take center stage, the abundance agenda meets socialism after Mamdani’s win, and the differences between liberals and libertarians
Dr. Wolf von Laer and Sean Themea join Nick Gillespie to discuss how Kirk’s murder is reshaping student activism and where libertarian ideas fit in today’s campus climate.
Filmmaker Jon Shenk and former Navy SEAL Marcus Capone discuss how psychedelics are helping veterans recover from war trauma.
Plus: Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races, a court ruling extending SNAP funding during the shutdown, and Trump’s tariff fight reaches the Supreme Court
Jake Tapper examines the growing pressure on the news media to serve political interests, Donald Trump’s attacks on the press and peaceful protesters, as well as the lasting damage Joe Biden may have done to the Democratic Party.
Plus: Trump’s new tariffs on Canada, more unauthorized military strikes in Venezuela, and what a Mamdani victory in NYC could mean for the country.
Former Sen. Jeff Flake discusses how Trump reshaped the GOP, why populism betrayed conservative values, and why he believes the system can still be reformed.
Plus: the “No Kings” protests, Trump pays troop salaries during government shutdown, and the continued bombing of drug boats in Venezuela
ACLU legal director Ben Wizner warns that Donald Trump’s war on dissent endangers the First Amendment, urges Americans to protect speech they dislike, and reflects on Edward Snowden’s enduring legacy.
Plus: new tariff threats escalate China trade war, federal layoffs begin amidst the government shutdown, and Democrats face a candidate-quality crisis
Katherine Mangu-Ward and Alex Nowrasteh squared off against Rich Lowry and Steven Camarota to debate immigration.
Novelist Lionel Shriver explains why Americans overinterpret tragedies, compares today’s partisan divisions to the conflicts she witnessed in Northern Ireland, and argues that political manias are driving the country toward destructive extremes.
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