Goodbye to George Santos and Henry Kissinger
Plus: an unexpected digression into the world of Little Debbie dessert snack cakes.
History
Henry Kissinger's Deadly Career Gives the Lie to the Myth of the Disinterested Statesman
But his cynical brand of realism did at least lead him to caution against some of America's ideological military adventures.
A Bonus Reason Roundtable Featuring Four 'Florida Men' of Our Own
Plus: The Reason webathon is happening right now. Donate so we can make more fun podcasts like this one!
In Ridley Scott's Napoleon, Political Ambition Is Both Pathetic and Horrific
The new film is an anti-epic about the petty awfulness of history's great men.
The Best of Reason: Milton Friedman Was No Conservative
A new Friedman biography ably explores the economist's ideas but sidesteps the libertarian movement he was central to.
Milton Friedman Was No Conservative
A new Friedman biography ably explores the economist's ideas but sidesteps the libertarian movement he was central to.
Ideas Have Consequences Turns 75
Richard M. Weaver seemed to question whether liberal order was compatible with human flourishing. By the end of his life, he saw individual liberty as more than incidental to the good society.
Review: A Podcast With Lighthearted Takes on Grim Historical Events
In The Rest Is History, two historians strike a pleasing balance between fact-dense narratives and witty banter.
Johan Norberg: Why We Need a Capitalist Manifesto
Q&A with the author of the book Elon Musk calls "an excellent explanation of why capitalism is not just successful, but morally right."
Rachel Maddow's Prequel Is a Deceptively Framed History of the Radical Right
The book blames foreign subversives for ideas long rooted in American life.
In Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese Plumbs the Depths of American Depravity
A masterful epic from one of Hollywood's most important, most ambitious filmmakers.
Jews, Like Palestinians, Are 'Indigenous' to the Middle East
The Hamas-embraced idea that Jews have no place in Israel fosters extremism on both sides.
The Bad Law That Made Good Bars
New York's Raines Law meant to crack down on drinking, but it instead gave rise to an industry of hotel brothels.
Rethinking Columbus
Conservative columnist Jeff Jacoby explains why he reconsidered his previous favorable view of Columbus. The man was a brutal promoter of slavery - even by moral standards understood in his own time.
When the Left and Right Came Together To Applaud Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
A Republican, a Communist, and a Catholic conservative walk onto a movie set...
Erika Dyck: Are We Living in a Psychedelic Renaissance?
Historian Erika Dyck contextualizes the deep roots of and battles over LSD, psilocybin, and other psychoactive substances.
The Best of Reason: The Pirate Preservationists
When keeping cultural archives safe means stepping outside the law.
Free Market Book Misstates the History of Free Market Thought
Author Jacob Soll's commitment to an untenable historical thesis distorts the facts.
The Things We Can't Say
As the culture war permeates American life, combatants set their sights on the ways we express ourselves.
The Best of Reason: The DEA at 50
For five decades, drugs have been winning the war on drugs.
The Pirate Preservationists
When keeping cultural archives safe means stepping outside the law
How Hippies Saved the Fourth Amendment
The Nixon administration did everything it could to curb antiwar activism. Then the courts said it had gone too far.
Martin Luther King's Lofty Dream Turns 60
Is our country getting closer to living out the true meaning of its creed, "All men are created equal"?
The Battlefields of Cable
How cable TV transformed politics—and how politics transformed cable TV
Tara Isabella Burton: Self-Made, From Da Vinci to the Kardashians
Since the Renaissance, we've been increasingly able to define who we are as individuals. But is that a false freedom?
Jean Twenge and Elizabeth Nolan Brown: What Do Millennials Want?
A boomer, a Gen Xer, and a Millennial discuss the causes and conflicts of today's generational gaps.
Get Your Culture War Out of Our Pension Funds
Plus: Should libertarians consider employing noble lies when pitching themselves to new potential voters?
Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer Is an Intimate Epic About the Man Who Built the Bomb
It's a portrait of a complex man, and a warning about the nuclear era he created.
Mike Rowe: The Missing 7.2 Million Male Workers
The Dirty Jobs host is freaked out by the number of men who have dropped out of the workplace.
A Strange Museum Takes a Strange Turn
Attempts to limit access to the Mütter Museum’s collection of medical oddities disrespect the living and the dead.
After 50 Years, the DEA Is Still Losing the War on Drugs
For five decades, the agency has destroyed countless lives while targeting Americans for personal choices and peaceful transactions.
I Asked an A.I. To Help Me Launch the American Revolution
Excerpts from a dialogue with ChatGPT
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Is a Dud
It might as well have been titled Indiana Jones and the Quest for Cash.
Adam Smith Said Colonists Should Join the British Union. Was He Serious?
Reading between the lines of The Wealth of Nations
An Interview With Adam Smith (No, Not That One)
The so-called father of capitalism was not available for comment, so we talked to another economist, Adam C. Smith.
Is TikTok Really To Blame for Titanic Conspiracy Theories?
The New York Times tries to blame social media for conspiracy theories that have been around for decades. Don't fall for it.
Restoring the Name of Fort Bragg is Nothing to Brag About
Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence are wrong to advocate naming a US Army base after an incompetent Confederate general who betrayed the United States to fight for slavery.
Juneteenth Celebrates a Great American Achievement
The emerging culture war over the holiday is misguided. In reality, Juneteenth celebrates one of the greatest triumphs of America and its founding principles.
Before There Was Christian Nationalism, There Was Christian Anarchism
Rejection of the state and the use of lethal force can be found in the founding documents of Christianity.
Thank Dutch Merchants, Not a Strong State, for Capitalism
Pioneers of Capitalism chronicles centuries of bottom-up economic evolution in the Netherlands.
The New Right Isn't So New
Left-wing totalitarianism and right-wing authoritarianism are not our only options.
Adam Smith's Quiet Christianity
The Scottish thinker's famous friendship with David Hume demonstrates his liberalism, not his atheism.
How Pirates in Madagascar Spread Enlightenment Ideas
Pirate Enlightenment documents an interracial experiment in stateless self-governance.
How Pat Robertson Shepherded His Flock Into Politics
Farewell to the senator's son who pioneered a TV genre, helped create the Christian right, ran for president, and earned the grudging respect of Abbie Hoffman
Comic: The Revised Adam Smith
The ghost of the so-called father of economics chastises those who would use his words for their own misbegotten ends.
Review: Henry George's Many Children
The 19th century reformer's influence on 20th century progressives, conservatives, and libertarians
Adam Smith Has Something for Everyone
From the American Founders to communist meme creators, people have long claimed Smith's endorsement for their ideas.
