Colleen Eren: Why Donald Trump Signed the FIRST STEP Act
The author of Reform Nation explains how celebrity, philanthropy, and activism produced the most significant prison reform in decades.
Reason Podcast
The Best of Reason Magazine: Love, Trade, and Force: The Machinery of Freedom at 50
David Friedman's anarchism doesn't have the answer for everything. That's the point.
No Malarkey: Even Democrats Think Biden Is Too Old
Plus: A listener asks the editors about requiring gun buyers to pass a psychological assessment.
Lyn Alden: Our Money Is Broken
"At its core, money is a ledger," writes the investment analyst in her new book, Broken Money.
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."
The Best of Reason: Did Evolution Give Us Free Will?
Free Agents author Kevin J. Mitchell makes a neuroscientific case against determinism.
Don't Believe Janet Yellen's Shoddy Wartime 'Girl Math'
Plus: President Joe Biden’s weird economy and Rep. Mike Johnson as the unlikely new speaker of the House of Representatives.
Marcos Falcone: Can a Libertarian Still Win in Argentina?
Argentine libertarian writer Marcos Falcone breaks down Argentina's recent election results and the upcoming runoff.
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.
What Joe Biden Got Right—and Wrong—Last Week in the Middle East
Plus: A listener asks the editors about mandatory maternity leave.
Trita Parsi: Is De-escalation Feasible in the Middle East?
Parsi, from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, talks with Zach and Liz about the Israel-Hamas war.
Shane Mauss: Finding the Humor in Psychedelics
The psychedelic comedian talks cognitive liberty and the mind-blowing pace of legalization efforts.
The Best of Reason: Take Nutrition Studies With a Grain of Salt
The epidemiology of food and drink is a mess.
Does It Matter What College Kids Say About Israel?
Plus: The search for a new speaker of the House continues to be a ludicrous mess.
Max Abrahms: Historic Escalation in the Israel-Hamas War
Abrahms holds that Hamas' brutal attack on Israeli civilians is not only immoral but "a major strategic mistake" for the Palestinian cause.
Alexandra Hudson: How Civility Can Save America—and the World
We don't need better manners, we need a commitment to mutual respect and tolerance, and space to live our lives as we see fit.
The Best of Reason: Competition, Not Antitrust, Is Humbling the Tech Giants
The worst of the antitrust alarmism keeps proving untrue, as tech companies believed by some to be monopolies instead lose market share.
After Hamas Attack, There Are No Good Options in the Middle East
Plus: Chaos in Congress, and bums in the parks
Aella: Is Porn Too Pervasive?
The former OnlyFans star and outspoken libertarian defender of sex workers considers the acceleration of government crackdowns on online porn, the sexual revolution, and sex work.
Yascha Mounk: Avoiding The Identity Trap
How to battle identity politics and defend liberal values of universalism, free speech, and open inquiry
The 'Whack Jobs' Were Right
Plus: A listener asks the editors to weigh in on a hypothetical executive order to establish an American Climate Corps.
Josh Barro: A Republican Presidential Debate Detached From Reality
"The orange elephant in the room just never seems to be addressed head on," says Reason's Zach Weissmueller.
Bjorn Lomborg: How Our Climate Fixation Hurts the World's Poor
The 'skeptical environmentalist' offers 12 low-cost, proven policies that he says could save 4.2 million lives and generate $1.1 trillion in new wealth every year.
The Best of Reason: Power and Progress Is a Wrongheaded Critique of Tech Progress
An undercurrent of the book is that common people want whatever progressive intellectuals want them to want.
Are Government Shutdowns Good for Limited Government?
Plus: A listener asks whether younger generations are capable of passing reforms to entitlement spending.
Johan Norberg: How Sweden Defied Dire COVID Predictions
The attacks on Sweden's laissez faire approach were shortsighted, says the Cato Institute senior fellow.
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.
Hunter Biden Gets Caught in America's Double War on Drugs and Guns
Plus: A listener asks for the editors’ advice on how to spend his money.
Aaron Kheriaty: Will COVID Restrictions Persist Indefinitely in Schools?
Aaron Kheriaty, author of The New Abnormal, examines the persistent COVID mandates for K-12 schools, college campuses, and health care settings.
Rick Perry: The Conservative Case for Psychedelics
The former Texas governor on helping veterans with PTSD, increasing legal immigration, and the illegal drug he'd most like to try
The Best of Reason: The DEA at 50
For five decades, drugs have been winning the war on drugs.
What's the Libertarian Answer to New York's Migrant Crisis?
Plus: A listener asks the editors to name America's unsung or undersung heroes.
Ilya Somin: Should Libertarians Support the Prosecutions of Trump?
"If anything is a reprehensible act for a high official in a democracy that deserves retribution, this is a good example," says professor Ilya Somin.
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?"
Rick Doblin: The Man Behind the 'Psychedelic '20s'
The founder of MAPS talks about FDA approval for MDMA-assisted therapy and the "psychedelic renaissance" he has helped create.
Do the Proud Boys Deserve To Be in Prison Forever?
Plus: A listener question concerning porn verification laws.
Jessie Appleby and Bill Blanken: Do California Community Colleges 'Mandate Viewpoint Conformity'?
"Science should have no agenda other than a relentless pursuit of the truth.... With DEI, we're expected to search out racism within science curriculum, and it's just not there," says professor Bill Blanken.
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."
Eli Lake: Exploring the Darkest Corners of the Deep State
The journalist and podcast host on foreign policy, democracy, and habitual law breaking by the NSA, CIA, and FBI
GOP Debate Stuff We Didn't Hate
Plus: A listener question about the continued absurdity of sports stadium subsidies
Gloria Álvarez and Eduardo Marty: The Potential for a Libertarian President in Argentina
A self-described "anarcho-capitalist" leads in the polls ahead of Argentina's upcoming presidential election.
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."
Carol Roth: You Will Own Nothing!
The proponent of "big hair and small government" explains how to flourish in a global financial universe that is indifferent to the individual.
The Argentine Libertarian Dog-Friendly Darling?
Plus: Libertarian lessons in the wake of the Maui wildfires
Jay Bhattacharya & John Vecchione: Biden's Social Media Meddling Was Illegal
Plaintiffs in Missouri v. Biden allege that federal pressure to remove and suppress COVID-19 material on Facebook and Twitter violates the First Amendment.
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.
