Regulating Smartphones? Jonathan Haidt vs. Libertarians
The author of The Anxious Generation argues that parents, schools, and society must keep kids off of social media.
Reason Podcast
The Best of Reason: Anti-Chinese Xenophobia Fueled America's First Drug War
San Francisco's prohibitionists worried that opium dens were patronized by "young men and women of respectable parentage" as well as "the vicious and the depraved."
Congress Does Not Come Back With a Warrant
Plus: A listener asks the editors for examples of tasks the government does well (yikes).
Abigail Shrier: Stop Obsessing Over Our Children's Happiness
The author of Bad Therapy argues that we have created a generation of "emotional hypochondriacs."
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.
The White House Lied About Its IRS Funding Only Targeting the Rich
Plus: A listener asks the editors for examples of left-leaning thinkers who also hold libertarian ideas.
Why Palantir Cofounder Joe Lonsdale Left California for Texas
The entrepreneur, who founded the Cicero Institute to fix government and the University of Austin to fix higher education, wanted space to flourish.
Trump's and Biden's Terrible Tariffs
Plus: A listener asks if Trump or Biden have done anything to secure the blessings of liberty.
Steven Pinker: What Went Wrong at Harvard
The psychologist and bestselling author argues that Harvard's free speech policy was so "selectively prosecuted that it became a national joke."
Biden's Antitrust Case Against Apple Is Truly Stupid
Plus: A listener asks about the absurdity of Social Security entitlements.
Hardcore History's Dan Carlin: 'History Is Not Like Math'
The podcasting pioneer argues that "history is a moving target."
David Boaz: Libertarianism Is the Intellectual Core of Liberalism
How Vietnam, Watergate, and stagflation supercharged the libertarian movement.
The Best of Reason: After a Century, the Federal Tea Board Is Finally Dead
Imported tea was required for decades to pass a literal taste test before it could be sold in the United States.
The CCP Sucks. So Does Banning TikTok.
Plus: A listener asks about Republicans and Democrats monopolizing political power in the United States.
Pano Kanelos: 'Ideology Is the Death of Ideas'
The president of the new University of Austin wants to reverse the decline of higher education in America.
The Best of Reason: The Future of Immigration Is Privatization
New immigration pathways are letting private citizens welcome refugees and other migrants—and getting the government out of the way.
The State of the Union Is Shouty
Plus: A listener asks the editors a question about progressive taxation in the United States.
The Best of Reason: Commander in Chains: 7 Scenarios If Trump Is Jailed and Wins the Election
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents an inmate from winning the presidency.
Rank Choices
Plus: A listener asks the editors for short quotes from fictional works that are representative of libertarian ideas.
The Best of Reason: Why Are Teens Depressed? It's Not Social Media.
Maybe the problem for teens isn't screens, but what they are replacing.
Nikki Haley's Primary Math Isn't Mathing
Plus: A listener asks the editors for big picture thoughts on United States foreign policy interventions in other nation states.
The Best of Reason: The Real Student Loan Crisis Isn't From Undergraduate Degrees
Misled by a bad law, graduate students are drowning in debt.
Goodbye, Navalny
Plus: A listener asks if the editors have criteria for what constitutes a good law.
Shoshana Weissmann: Online Age Verification Rules Are Unconstitutional and Ineffective
"None of these laws prevent kids from viewing anything. They just prevent kids from posting," argues Shoshana Weissmann.
The Best of Reason: The Bankruptcy of Bidenomics
Biden's economic policies gave us three years of excessive, wasteful, and poorly targeted federal spending.
Biden's Cognitive Shrinkflation
Plus: A listener asks if the state of Oregon’s policy on drug decriminalization should be viewed as a success.
Rachel Nuwer: MDMA Is On the Cusp of Legalization
In 2024, the FDA will decide whether or not MDMA can be used to treat patients suffering from PTSD.
The Best of Reason: Can Free Markets Win Votes in the New GOP?
As the party grows more populist, ethnically diverse, and working class, will Republicans abandon their libertarian economic principles?
Trump's Terrible, Popular Tariffs
Plus: A listener asks if it should become the norm for all news outlets to require journalists to disclose their voting records.
David Stockman: Trump's War on Capitalism and Freedom
Reagan's former budget director says Donald Trump killed prosperity—and the GOP's core beliefs in capitalism and freedom.
The Best of Reason: Comedy's Truthiness Problem
Hasan Minhaj’s stand-up tests the boundaries of fact and fiction.
Politics Created the Border Crisis
Plus: A listener asks if libertarians are too obsessed with economic growth.
Jon Ronson: Why We Went So Crazy During COVID Lockdowns
The Things Fell Apart host explains how a 1988 quack medical concept inspired George Floyd's death in 2020 and how Plandemic rewrote Star Wars.
The Best of Reason: Is ESG Already Over?
CEOs are beginning to wonder what to do when environmental, social, and governance factors are at odds with performance.
Republican Presidential Nomination
DeSantis Down and Out
Plus: Javier Milei’s powerful speech on economic prosperity in Davos
The Best of Reason: The Fiscal Hawks Were Right About Debt and Interest Rates
Rosy fiscal expectations based on eternally low interest rates have proven dangerously wrong.
The Trump Train Rolls Through Iowa
Plus: A listener asks the editors if there are any bad laws that might discourage people from having kids.
Magatte Wade: The Real Reasons Why Africa Is Poor and Why It Matters
The author discusses how cryptocurrencies are helping people like her build the Africa—and the world—they want.
Nikki Haley's Last Stand?
Plus: Which is worse, trashing Nancy Pelosi's office or having sex in a Senate hearing room?
Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Loves Barry Goldwater and Milton Friedman
The former governor argues that beating up on businesses "is only sharpening the knife that the left will eventually use on us."
The Best of Reason: Long Live the Conch Republic
The colorful, mostly libertarian history of Key West.
In 2024, Teens Will Get Pregnant in Driverless Cars
Plus: State officials attempt to ban Donald Trump from 2024 election ballots.
Russ Roberts: Life in Israel Since October 7
Zach and Liz have a discussion with economist, podcaster, and Shalem College President Russ Roberts in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.
William D. Eggers: Making Government More Effective and Less Intrusive
The former Reason Foundation privatization guru says it's time to move past the "vending machine" model of government.
The Best of Reason: How Florida Fixed Its Vote-Counting Problem After the 2000 Election
Ballots should be counted quickly and accurately.
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Jennifer Burns: Why Milton Friedman Matters More Than Ever
The biographer of the Nobel laureate says he made us "free to choose" in areas far beyond economics.
The Best of Reason: Meet Florida's Python Bounty Hunters
Eradication of the apex predator is "likely impossible."
