Podcasts
Review: Blind Plea Only Scratches the Surface of Plea Bargains
Host Liz Flock delivers a compelling narrative but misses chances to interrogate the justice system.
Review: When a Fentanyl Thief Slipped Through the Cracks, Women Suffered
A New York Times podcast tells a story about both the drug war and institutional incompetence.
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.
Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott: The Canceling of the American Mind
“We've taught young people that any of their missteps or any of their heterodox opinions are grounds to tear them down. That's no way to grow up.”
The Best of Reason: True Crime Distorts the Truth About Crime
Popular podcasts and shows portray crime as salacious and sexy, failing ordinary victims in the process.
Review: Slow Burn Steps Inside the House at the Center of Clarence Thomas Controversy
A podcast about a man everyone already has an opinion about.
Review: Who Really Wrote Little House on the Prairie?
Did Laura Ingalls Wilder's libertarian daughter have an outsize role in crafting the beloved children's series?
True Crime Distorts the Truth about Crime
Popular podcasts and shows portray crime as salacious and sexy, failing ordinary victims in the process.
Review: Alphabet Boys Explores Federal Cops' Manufactured Crimes
A new podcast asks whether federal agents are catching bad guys or creating them.
Season 1, Episode 6 Podcasts
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Can You Afford Tariffs on Tin Cans?
"There's nobody that says, wait, is this good for America? Is this good for the American consumer?"
Season 1, Episode 5 Podcasts
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: The 'Chicken Tax' That Makes Pickup Trucks More Expensive
"It's not easy to make one of these rules, but it's a thousand times harder to get rid of one."
Season 1, Episode 4 Podcasts
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Bootleggers, Baptists, and Ballots
"You need an argument for why this is good for society. That's important, but you also need money."
A New Podcast Explains Why We Can't Have Nice Things
The answer? Because special interests and government prevent the free market from working the way it should.
Season 1, Episode 3 Free Trade
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Jones Act Traffic Jam
"It's just a very classic case of everything wrong with Washington."
Season 1, Episode 2 Free Trade
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: The Ghosts of Protectionism Past
The U.S. tariff code is "quite regressive and somewhat misogynist" because the most powerful lobbyist in Washington is muscle memory.
Season 1, Episode 1 Podcasts
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: The Great Baby Formula Shortage of 2022
A combination of "absurdly high" federal tariffs and excessive FDA regulations created the conditions for a crisis.
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.
Season 1 Free Trade
Trailer: Why We Can't Have Nice Things Season 1
A six-part podcast series on trade policy launching next week
Matt Taibbi: How the Left Lost Its Mind and Legacy Media Its Audience
The independent journalist talks about true press freedom, the Twitter Files, Russiagate, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Bridget Phetasy: Why I Left California for Texas
The wildly popular podcaster is still "politically homeless" but says leaving California and having a kid have improved her life immensely.
The "Look Before You Leap" Principle
and other matters from the latest episode of Divided Argument
Jesse Singal: How To Stay Honest While Doing Journalism
The Blocked & Reported cohost talks about cancel culture, activism vs. truth, and why he quit Twitter.
Josie Duffy Rice Investigates Gruesome State Violence at an Alabama 'Reform School'
Her podcast Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children delves into abuse at a state-run institution.
Connor Boyack and Corey DeAngelis: Why K-12 Education Sucks and How To Fix It
The authors of Mediocrity say it's well past time to end "factory schooling" and set kids free to learn.
Cruz v. Arizona's Very Odd Jurisdictional Holding
Did the Court misunderstand its "adequate and independent state ground" doctrine?
Kat Rosenfield: Why It's Important for Novelists To Speak Freely
The mystery writer and cultural critic is an outspoken defender of free thinking and cultural appropriation.
Review: Mother Country Radicals Spotlights the Weather Underground
Perhaps unintentionally, this podcast holds up a mirror to the social justice movements of today.
Review: 'Me So Horny' and 59 Other Songs That Explain the '90s
Podcaster and music critic Rob Harvilla reminds us of the debts we owe to the tunes of that often cringeworthy decade.
Review: Why Does the CIA Need a Podcast?
The director worries that the public doesn't trust his spy agency.
You Asked, We Answered With Libertarian Explanations, Animals, and…Cookie Dough?
Enjoy our special webathon video episode, where we answer your batty listener questions. Now donate, you delightful bunch of free-thinking misfits!
Richard V. Reeves: Why Are Men Failing at School, Work, and Life?
The Of Boys and Men author documents why the modern male is struggling and suggests solutions that don't come at women's expense.
My Collected Supreme Court Commentary for the New Term
and some thoughts about judicial fearlessness
Review: HeidiWorld Wants You To Rethink Prostitution
Podcaster Molly Lambert's gambit to get listeners to critically examine the conflation of sex work is mostly successful.
Podcasting Conference Apologizes for the 'Harm' Done by Ben Shapiro's Presence
"PM has made mistakes," tweeted Podcast Movement. "The pain caused by this one will always stick with us."
George Dawes Green: Why the Past—and Storytelling—Is Never Dead
The creator of The Moth talks about why the past is never dead, especially in his new novel The Kingdoms of Savannah.
Announcing The Reason Rundown With Peter Suderman
A new limited series podcast incoming next week
Critical Race Theory: A Deep Dive
A seven-episode mini series on critical race theory.
Review: My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
The political podcast uses relevant history to contextualize controversial current events.
Nathan Rabin: Confessions of a Trash-Culture Connoisseur
Nathan Rabin celebrates The Joy of Trash—and Gen X irony and cynicism—one terrible movie, book, and TV show at a time.
70 Over 70
A new podcast talks with a bunch of older people not just about their pasts, but about their perceptions of the present.
Trade Talks
A new podcast reminds us that even complicated macroeconomic issues can be fruitfully reduced to the sum of individual action.
Once Upon a Time at Bennington College
Lili Anolik weaves decades-old hot gossip into an insightful generational portrait of how media upheaval enabled fresh ways of telling stories.
