Election 2024

GOP Debate Stuff We Didn't Hate

Plus: A listener question about the continued absurdity of sports stadium subsidies

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In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch and Katherine Mangu-Ward welcome special guests Eric Boehm and Zach Weissmueller for a post-mortem examination of the first Republican presidential primary debate last week and to discuss reactions to former President Donald Trump's mug shot.

0:42: First Republican presidential primary debate

23:08: Donald Trump's interview with Tucker Carlson

32:17: Weekly Listener Question

55:34: Persistent back-to-school COVID measures

Mentioned in this podcast:

"There Were No Anti-Interventionist Candidates at the GOP Debate," by Christian Britschgi

"Nikki Haley Burned Trump and Her Fellow Republicans for Blowing Up the Debt. She's Right." by Eric Boehm

"A GOP Consensus Emerges: Militarize the Border," by Fiona Harrigan

"Nikki Haley Slams Biden's 'Green Subsidies,'" by Joe Lancaster

"Vivek Ramaswamy: 'The Only War I Will Declare…Is on the Administrative State,'" by Robby Soave

"Vivek Ramaswamy's Popular Incoherence," by Matt Welch

"Candidates Spar Over National Abortion Ban in First Republican Debate," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Tucker Carlson's Sycophantic Interview With Trump Illustrates the Advantages of Skipping the Debates," by Jacob Sullum

"Stop Publishing Mug Shots—Even Donald Trump's," by Billy Binion

"Baltimore Orioles Owners Demand Even More Unnecessary Taxpayer Money," by Jason Russell

"The Oakland Athletics Just Showed Why They Don't Need Taxpayers To Buy Their New Stadium," by Eric Boehm

"Voters Put Arizona Coyotes' Arena Project on Ice," by Eric Boehm

"Stadium Subsidy Stupidity Hits New Record," by Jason Russell

"The Expensive, Seductive Nostalgia of Field of Dreams," by Matt Welch

"Dozens of Colleges Still Require COVID Vaccines for Students," by Emma Camp

Send your questions to roundtable@reason.com. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

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Audio production by Ian Keyser; assistant production by Hunt Beaty.

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve