Reason's 2017 Gift Guide
The best books, movies, music, and TV of the year
Music
The Original Rock 'n' Roll Guitar God Was Actually a Goddess
Friday A/V Club: All hail Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Free Meek Mill
The rapper's case shows the problems with overcriminalization and the aggressive enforcement of petty laws.
Tom Petty, R.I.P.
One of the most widely and consistently beloved rock songwriters and singers of the past four decades passed away at age 66.
The Freakout Over Politically Incorrect Punk
When the punk rock thought-police targeted the New York City band Agnostic Front.
Young Louis Farrakhan Sings a Calypso Song About Transgender Surgery
Friday A/V Club: Before his transition into the Nation of Islam
New Whitney Houston Documentary Is Not Right, But It's OK
Sweeping generalizations take the place of actual analysis or thoughtful narratives.
Gene Simmons Wants to Trademark a Horns Hand Sign
He's admitted the gesture is a homage to Spiderman and Dr. Strange. It's also American Sign Language for "I love you."
The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock—and of Libertarianism [Reason Podcast]
"There's not a lot of space for libertarianism in politics right now," says Wash Post's David Weigel. Is he right?
Katy Perry Is Very Sorry She Once Wore Her Hair in Cornrows
The cultural appropriation hysteria reaches a fever pitch.
Montana Supreme Court Cites Biggie Smalls, N.W.A., Scarface
A man who faced federal distribution charges argued the state's possession prosecution was double jeopardy.
Long Strange Trip: The Grateful Dead's Radical Anti-Authoritarian Streak
Director Amir Bar-Lev discusses his new 4-hour documentary on Jerry Garcia, the band, and their relationship with fans.
Police Investigate a Cult Killing; It Turns Out to Be a Rock Video
Friday A/V Club: Hard Copy meets Nine Inch Nails.
Boujee, Bougie, Bourgie: Who's Appropriating Whose Culture? An Answer in 12 Songs
In the spirit of an interracial, equal-opportunity orgy of bougie-ness, check out these tunes and videos.
Donald Trump's Fantasy World (Reason Podcast)
Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Matt Welch talk deficits, Chuck Berry, Gorsuch, and the Bezos bot.
Remix Culture Meets the Scolds
Friday A/V Club: A president gets remixed and the establishment frets.
Great Balls of Fire, Sun Records Puts on a Show
CMT explores rock's roots, while CBS presents a spinoff to a popular legal drama.
SCOTUS Seems Inclined to Nix the Ban on 'Disparaging' Trademarks
The government struggles to justify the rule that stopped The Slants from registering the name of their band.
'The Slants': The Asian-American Band Name the Government Says Is Too Racist to Trademark!
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case about "offensive" speech & the First Amendment.
Offensive Trademarks Are Free Speech
The Supreme Court should overturn the federal ban on registration of "disparaging" trademarks.
Nat Hentoff, 1925–2017
One of the most vocal civil libertarians of the past century has died.
Protesting This New-Fangled Sales Tax
Friday A/V Club: The Mississippi Sheiks didn't want to pay extra.
The Best Books, Films, Music, and Television of 2016
Lionel Shriver's The Mandibles, HBO's Westworld, Brian Fallon's Painkillers, and more. What's on your list?
Beach Boys Song Too Sexually Offensive for 2016 College Campus
The Midwest farmer's daughters are not alright.
Robert Ford Killed Jesse James—Or At Least That's What They Want You to Believe
Friday A/V Club: Jesse James trutherism
Kanye West Would've Voted for Trump; Admired 'Futuristic' Style of Campaign
Says the country and world are racist so people need to stop focusing on it.
Killer Mike Offers Self-Righteousness for Sale Package
The famed rapper and activist promises to care for cash.
Get Your Tabloid Television On and Revisit Serial Killers, Karen Carpenter
Tired of prestige dramas? These two guilty pleasures have you covered.
The Punk Show at the Mental Hospital
Friday A/V Club: One of the most sublime rock documentaries ever made
King Dork Speaks! Frank Portman on High School, Individualism, and the War on Free Speech
Sorry kids, life "doesn't get better" after high school, says best-selling novelist. You just get better at navigating it.
Future Nobel Laureate Warns: The Antichrist Is Coming!
Friday A/V Club: The Devil and Bob Dylan
Does Bob Dylan Have a Politics and if Yes, What the Hell Are They?
Reason's Nick Gillespie & Brian Doherty, and The Daily Beast's Andrew Kirell discuss the Nobel laureate's anarchic individualism and cultural influence.
Bob Dylan's Never-Ending Tour of The Self
Reason's Nick Gillespie & Brian Doherty, and The Daily Beast's Andrew Kirell discuss the Nobel laureate's anarchic individualism and cultural influence.
'Bob Dylan Is the Shakespeare of Our Time' - Penn Jillette on the Nobel Prize Winner
Dylan has constantly changed, not out of some sense of desperate need to stay current or hip but out of a deep urge to explore himself and the world around him.
Norwegian Black Metal Artist Elected to Local Office Against His Will
Black metal finds its Cincinnatus.
Watch Elton John's Immensely Moving 9/11 Version of "Rocket Man"
Art mostly failed us after the 9/11 attacks, but Captain Fantastic and others bound our wounds with spectacular responses.
Friday A/V Club: A Vintage Anti-Hippie Film Strip
A fever-dream film strip from 1967 calls the counterculture a communist/capitalist plot.
Chicago Culture Cops Tax Concert-Venues Because Rap, Rock, Country Aren't 'Art'
The taxman plays art critic
