Reason Receives 17 Nominations for Southern California Journalism Awards
Nominees include stories on America's gerontocracy, the war on chocolate, how Texas beat California on housing, and more.
Edward Snowden
Can the ACLU Serve Progressives, Libertarians, and Conservatives?
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.
Trump Can Take Revenge on the 'Deep State': Pardon Snowden
Why Edward Snowden deserves not only a presidential pardon, but a hero's welcome home.
It's Not Journalists' Job To Protect Government Secrets
With the controversy over the leaked White House group chat, mainstream media have been treating secrecy as a virtue and disclosure as a vice. That’s a dangerous game.
Glenn Greenwald: Defund Israel and Free Assange
The free speech absolutist and co-founder of The Intercept dives deep into Israel, Latin America, and the necessity of decentralized media in the age of U.S. security state overreach.
Congress Does Not Come Back With a Warrant
Plus: A listener asks the editors for examples of tasks the government does well (yikes).
House Proposal Would Expand Federal Warrantless Spying Authority
One bill set to be considered would grow the scope of federal digital surveillance and would authorize the federal government to use those powers against more individuals.
Spying Abuses Are Still a Concern, 10 Years After Edward Snowden
Despite some headway in protecting privacy, the surveillance state hasn’t gone away.
Jacob Siegel: 'Disinformation' Is the Hoax of the Century
From Russiagate to COVID discourse, elites in government and the media are trying to control and centralize free speech and open inquiry.
Kerry Howley: A Journey Through the Deep State
The Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs author and former Reason staffer reports back from post-privacy America.
SCOTUS Says Domestic Spying Is Too Secret To Be Challenged in Court
Officials shield government abuses from litigation by claiming “national security.” The Supreme Court declined to weigh in.
Mike Pompeo Says He 'Grew Up Libertarian'
These days, he may run for president. His politics have changed.
A Politically Split Congress Can Perhaps Fuel Federal Surveillance Reforms
Part of a law that authorizes warrantless snooping is about to expire, opening up a opportunity to better protect our privacy rights.
Sen. Rand Paul Proposes Dumping Entire Espionage Act
The law has been abused to prosecute citizens for reasons other than spying. But there are better examples than Trump to highlight problems.
Proposed Bill Would Protect Journalists Like Julian Assange From Espionage Charges
A senator and two congressmen team up to help protect whistleblowers from vindictive prosecution.
Glenn Greenwald on Tucker Carlson, Chelsea Manning, Russia, and Big Tech
"The kind of values I've always embraced are heard more on Fox than on CNN and MSNBC, where they're not welcome."
New Report Highlights an Old Problem—the CIA Is Still Snooping on Americans
In a program separate from the ones disclosed by Edward Snowden, we see more mass secret domestic data collection.
Supreme Court Rebuffs Attempt To Open Up Access to Classified FISA Court Reports
Do Americans have a right to know the extent that the government surveils them?
The PATRIOT Act's Poisoned Tree
Two decades after 9/11, the government's appetite for spying has only grown.
America's Post-9/11 Surveillance Authorities Were Inevitably Turned Against Its Own Citizens
We were warned about the dangerous power of the USA PATRIOT Act. Edward Snowden proved that critics were justified.
'That System Is Being Used Against You': Edward Snowden Makes the Case for Internet Privacy. Is He Right?
Online companies might not be as nefarious as you think.
Our Post-9/11 Response Deprived Us of Liberty and Didn't Stop Terrorism. Let's Not Venerate or Expand It.
We don’t need new tools or agencies to track alleged domestic terrorists.
Will Anybody Besides Michael Flynn Get Mercy from Lame Duck Trump?
The president has the worst record for clemency in modern history.
Presidential Pardons Offer Trump a Way to Go Out on a Positive Note
If Trump isn’t interested, maybe the Biden administration could get started with a few acts of mercy.
Snowden Announces Plans To Become Russian Citizen
The surveillance whistleblower has a child on the way and little sign a pardon is forthcoming.
Need Proof That Encryption Backdoors Lead to Hacking? It Happened to Our Own Government.
The National Security Agency arranged for security systems to be secretly compromised. Then the Chinese government allegedly found its way in.
NSA Ruling Reminds Us That Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security Is a Bipartisan Impulse
A federal appeals court concludes that the agency's mass collection of phone records was illegal and probably unconstitutional.
Susan Rice Tries To Turn Possible Snowden Pardon Into Attack on GOP
All the worst people are still mad he blew the whistle on government snooping.
Trump Teases Possible Edward Snowden Pardon. He Should Do It!
At least something good could come out of this mess of an investigation.
Edward Snowden, the Surveillance State, and the 'Dark Mirror' Still Watching Us All
National security journalist Barton Gellman talks about "the surveillance-industrial state," the possibility of a Biden presidency or a second Trump term, and his gripping new book.
How Edward Snowden Revealed the 'Dark Mirror' of the Surveillance State
Barton Gellman's new book is a riveting account of exposing NSA excesses to the light of the day.
2 Decades of Dubious Surveillance Will Make It Much Harder To Track COVID-19 Now
Government officials have only themselves to blame if citizens decline to share their information.
The Feds Get Permission To Seize Edward Snowden's Book Profits
A judge rules whistleblower’s failure to subject Permanent Record to pre-publication review violates non-disclosure agreement.
Rand Paul Proposes Expanding Whistleblower Protections While Publicly Exposing Whistleblowers
Yes, Trump (and everybody else) has a right to face their accusers when they’re charged with crimes. But that hasn’t actually happened.
I Went to Work for the Government and I Found a Failing System
Freedom could never be imposed at the point of a gun, but perhaps it could be sown by the spread of silicon and fiber. Or so I thought.
Edward Snowden's Autobiography Makes a Plea for the Fourth Amendment, the Right to Privacy, and Encryption
America's most famous whistleblower calls for restricting the power of government.
DOJ Gives Edward Snowden's New Book Free Publicity With Lawsuit Demanding Its Proceeds
Snowden didn’t subject his autobiography Permanent Record to pre-publication review by the federal government that’s also trying to throw him in prison.
The NSA Defended the Domestic Surveillance That Snowden Exposed. Now the Agency Wants to End It.
After years of political fights over our privacy, a potential end in mass phone metadata collection
The NSA Has Apparently Stopped the Domestic Surveillance Program Snowden Exposed
For years, security state advocates fought to maintain the authority to snoop on your phone records. Are they really giving up?
Snowden Validated: European Court Says the Mass Surveillance He Exposed Violates Privacy Rights
Since his whistleblowing, the United Kingdom has granted itself even more power to snoop on citizens.
Controversialist Arvin Vohra Announces 2020 Libertarian Presidential Run
After being resoundingly voted out of the party's vice-chairmanship over his comments about veterans, school shootings, and age-of-consent laws, the activist/entrepreneur throws his hat in the ring against Adam Kokesh and a presumed Bill Weld.
After a Year Stuck in Jail, Reality Winner to Accept Plea Deal for Leaking NSA Report on Russian Election Meddling
Our terrible federal espionage laws won't let her argue the leak served the public's interest.
5 Years After Snowden, Has Anything Changed?
The government still snoops on its own citizens, but we're more aware of it-and we can push back.
U.S. Government to Facebook: 'Americans Don't Like to Be Spied On'
We can think of at least one whistleblower who agrees.
Sorry Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg: If Daniel Ellsberg Is a Hero, So Is Edward Snowden
The crew of The Post celebrates leaking the Pentagon Papers but gets all touchy when Obama's secret surveillance is mentioned.
Congress to Trump: Reform Surveillance Authorities or Lose Them
FBI, Intel want broad snooping powers to stay intact. That may not be an option.
End Warrantless Deep State Spying: Don't Renew 702
It's time to rein in warrantless domestic surveillance before it's too late.
