David Boaz on Libertarianism, Ronald Reagan, and the 2024 Election
"There's all these illiberals on the left, there's all these illiberals on the right, and yet liberalism endures," says the longtime executive vice president of the Cato Institute.
History
The Best of Reason: Culture Warrior in Chief
The modern presidency is a divider, not a uniter. It has become far too powerful to be anything else.
Culture Warrior in Chief
The modern presidency is a divider, not a uniter. It has become far too powerful to be anything else.
The F-Word and Its Consequences
In a new book, left-wing writers debate whether America is going fascist.
How Capitalism Beat Communism in Vietnam
It only took a generation to go from ration cards to exporting electronics.
How 1990s Libertarians Laid the Groundwork for Cryptocurrency
Economist Friedrich Hayek inspired an early foray into electronic cash.
Hardcore History's Dan Carlin: 'History Is Not Like Math'
The podcasting pioneer argues that "history is a moving target."
What Republicans and Democrats Can Learn From the Jacobins' Spiraling Crisis
At every stage, a breach on one side provoked an even more extreme response on the other.
How Did Kissinger Become an American Citizen?
Reason has obtained an exclusive copy of Henry Kissinger's immigration files from the 1940s.
Historic Preservation Board Stops Family Removing KKK Supporter's Initial From Front of their House
Kristy Kay Money and Rolf Jacob Sraubhaar are now suing the city of San Marcos, Texas, saying they're being forced to keep a Klan-linked symbol on the front of their house is a physical taking.
SCOTUS Takes on Chevron Deference
New Jersey fishermen are challenging a 40-year-old precedent that gives executive agencies too much power.
A History of Taxpayer Revolts
Linda Upham-Bornstein's "Mr. Taxpayer versus Mr. Tax Spender" delivers an evenhanded view of American tax resistance movements.
Review: HBO's Comedic Take on Pirate Life
The pirates in Our Flag Means Death end up more interested in skirting imperial powers than in plundering.
Review: Photographic Glimpses at 20th Century Roots Music
Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz's photos document blues, country, and Cajun music.
Review: Ken Burns Explains the Anti–Native American Plot To Kill Bison
The American Buffalo documentary charts the fall and rise of American bison.
This Company Coal Town in Iowa Was a 'Black Utopia'
It was integrated, it was unionized—and it was a company town.
The Bankruptcy of Nostalgianomics
Americans are wealthier today than in the 1960s. That's not because of Bidenomics; it's because of six decades of progress.
Argentina, Once One of the Richest Countries, Is Now One of the Poorest. Javier Milei Could Help Fix That.
The new libertarian president believes in free markets and the rule of law. When people have those things, prosperity happens.
Comic: The Ever-Evolving Robert Nozick
A young philosopher goes from socialist to reluctant libertarian.
The 'No Compromise' NRA Is Neither New nor Uncompromising
The book Vote Gun criticizes the NRA’s rhetoric but pays little attention to gun control advocates' views.
What Javier Milei Could Teach Democrats and Republicans About Capitalism
His speech in Davos challenged the growing worldwide trend of increased government involvement in economic affairs.
William Penn Statue Reversal Shows Positive Power of Social Media
In an era when X (formerly Twitter) is blamed for all the ills of the world, here's a case where it did good.
Elizabeth Warren's Terrible Model for Tech Regulation
Bad ideas never seem to truly die in Washington.
The Best of Reason: Long Live the Conch Republic
The colorful, mostly libertarian history of Key West.
Freedom Towns: A Vast but Largely Forgotten Movement of Black Self-Rule
Zora Neale Hurston’s hometown of Eatonville, Florida, was one of the first all-black municipalities incorporated in the U.S.
Trump Wouldn't Be the First Non-Confederate Barred From Office by the 14th Amendment
The weird story of Victor Berger, the Espionage Act, and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.
How FDR Emasculated the Black Press in World War II
Instead of indulging in politically risky sedition prosecutions of the black press, the government relied on indirect methods of behind-the-scenes manipulation and intimidation.
That Time Archie Bunker Endorsed Ted Kennedy
Friday A/V Club: He wasn't really the character created by the late Norman Lear. But the advertisers did all they could to obscure that.
Goodbye to George Santos and Henry Kissinger
Plus: an unexpected digression into the world of Little Debbie dessert snack cakes.
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.
