Mad Magazine Is Dead
The comic magazine's ability to rib culture, politics, and business shaped the boomer mentality, and we should be grateful.
Obituaries
David Bergland, R.I.P.
The Libertarian Party's 1984 presidential nominee wanted his campaign to build for the future.
George Kelling, Father of 'Broken Windows' Policing, Dies
Kelling later disavowed the high-volume arrest programs that police departments justified using his theory.
Gene Wolfe, R.I.P.
The science fiction writer appealed to traditionalists with tales of far-flung futures.
RIP Economist Alan Krueger, Whose Work Spurred Calls for Occupational Licensing Reform
Krueger's work included highlighting the breadth of licensing in American labor markers, and the economic costs of mandatory government permission slips.
Dick Dale, a Great American Original, RIP
The king of surf guitar transformed music (and himself) in a quintessentially American way.
Rep. Walter Jones, Who Supported and Then Denounced Iraq War, Is Dying
The second-generation congressman from North Carolina is a profile in principle and courage.
What the Press Missed About Vanguard Founder's Fortune
John Bogle's life is a reminder that in capitalism you can make a fortune by saving your customers money.
RIP Herb Kelleher, the Man Who Democratized Air Travel
The swashbuckling Southwest Airlines honcho is dead at 87.
Tim May, Father of 'Crypto Anarchy,' Is Dead at 66
The Cypherpunk co-founder was a major influence on both bitcoin and WikiLeaks.
Did I Really Once Think That George H.W. Bush Was the Worst President of My Lifetime?
A presidential derangement syndrome for all seasons
George H.W. Bush's Legacy Holds Little, Nothing for Libertarians To Celebrate
There is little to celebrate and much to criticize.
When the World Convulsed, George H.W. Bush (Mostly) Let Freedom Happen
We should, but probably won't, learn the lesson that U.S. presidents don't have to control or even fully understand world events.
Why Stan Lee's Flaws Were Part of His Virtues
Less creator than editor, pathetic company man, purveyor of childish nonsense? No amount of next-level quasi-sophisticated Stan Lee critique can avoid the proper conclusion: He was the Man.
Comics Giant Stan Lee Dead at 95
Marvel's former chief left behind a massive cultural legacy preaching tolerance and personal responsibility.
Death of Dennis Hof, the 'P.T. Barnum of Booty,' Leaves Uncertain Future for Nevada Brothels and Senate Seat
Hof had a huge impact on legal sex work in Nevada and his death has spurred a heady mix of reactions.
The Confidence-Man
Friday A/V Club: Long before "fake news" was a cliché, Alan Abel was both inserting and exposing fakery in the news.
Jon Burge, Chicago's Most Famous Corrupt Cop, Is Dead at 70
Credibly accused, but never actually convicted, of torturing dozens of people to force confessions
John McCain, the Senate's Most Influential Hawk, Is Dead
The late Arizona senator's relentless energy and patriotic sense of honor led him to heroic acts of defiance, but also misguided support for disastrous foreign interventions.
When Robin Leach Met John Waters
Friday A/V Club: Lifestyles of the Rich and Strange
V.S. Naipaul: 'Terrorists Can Fly a Plane, But What They Can't Do Is Build a Plane'
The Nobel laureate had a brilliant, sadly ignored insight that would have short-circuited the worst cultural and political reactions of the past 17 years.
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Andrea Rich, RIP
The longtime operator of Laissez Faire Books was one of America's most tireless and effective promoters of libertarian thought.
Jay Austin, Tiny House Innovator, Killed in Attack Claimed by ISIS
Austin was part of a group murdered in Tajikistan.
Steve Ditko, RIP
The Objectivist comic book artist, co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, left an indelibly brilliant mark on popular culture.
Pantera Drummer Vinnie Paul is Dead. Don't Forget His Role in Ending the Cold War.
Pantera's 1991 Moscow show helped cement the demise of a dying empire.
Harlan Ellison, R.I.P.
The science fiction maverick helped fill generations of fans with a winning sense of courage and rebellion.
Travel Shows Were Boring as Fuck. Then Came Anthony Bourdain.
The late travel host changed television—and my life.
H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., RIP
A gentleman, a philosopher, a physician, a proud "Texian," a brilliant raconteur, and a clear-eyed defender of liberty has died.
Anthony Bourdain, Lover of Food and Enemy to All Tyrants, Has Died
America's realest celebrity chef is gone, and the world is less interesting for his absence.
Philip Roth, RIP
If you are doing work that is expressive of what you believe and hope for, you need to "read" the arc of Philip Roth's career more than any of his individual titles.
Tom Wolfe Is Dead but the 'Me Decade' Lives On (and That's a Good Thing)
The world didn't just lose a transformative prose stylist. We lost our guide who still explains the contemporary world.
Tom Wolfe, RIP
The greatest of the New Journalists has died at 88. Take a look at some of Reason's past coverage of him.
How a San Francisco Beach Burn Set the World Aflame
Larry Harvey, the founder of Burning Man, gifted to American culture a fresh and much-needed ritual.
RIP Miloš Forman, a True Hollywood Anti-Authoritarian
From One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to Black Peter, the Czech-born Oscar-winner championed eccentric individuals and artists over small-minded bureaucrats and a stifling state.
Iconic Physicist Stephen Hawking Has Died
The world was a better place because he was in it.
John Perry Barlow, The Thomas Jefferson of Cyberspace, R.I.P.
Co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Grateful Dead lyricist, helped create the notion of "cyberspace" as realm of unprecedented liberty.
Gene Sharp, RIP: The Man Who Tried to Take the Violence Out of War
He was one of the world's greatest theorists of nonviolent revolution. But don't call him a pacifist.
Farewell to Nicholas von Hoffman, the Newsman Who Got Fired for Comparing Nixon to a Dead Mouse
Friday A/V Club: Columnist, broadcaster, and critic of concentrated power
R.I.P. Ursula K. Le Guin, Author of One of the Greatest Novels About Freedom Ever Written
How libertarians learned to stop worrying and love The Dispossessed
Mark E. Smith, Singer/Lyricist for the British Postpunk Band The Fall, R.I.P.
The sly, scabrous, absurdist Smith was one of the few anti-left voices of his musical generation.
In Memoriam: Marcus Raskin, Radical and Decentralist
His critique of concentrated power is still relevant today.
Clifford Irving and His Fakes
Friday A/V Club: The con man as artist and the artist as con man
Manson's Death One More Milepost in Waning Significance of Baby Boom Generation
Interest in the cult killer will ebb, just like the generation he claimed to represent.