Finding Trillions in Federal Cuts Is Easy. But Will Trump and Musk Follow Through?
DOGE won't necessarily have to kill any of Republicans’ sacred cows—but they will have to be put on a diet.
February 2025
The Improbable Rise of MAGA-Musk
Is Elon Musk a reactionary with a defective bullshit meter or the best part of the second Trump administration?
Features
'The Constitution Is Not a Suicide Pact'
How a 1949 Supreme Court dissent gave birth to a meme that subverts free speech and civil liberties
The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn't Need
How the U.S. military busts its budget on wasteful, careless, and unnecessary 'self-licking ice cream cones'
An El Paso Christian Charity Is Caught Up in Texas' Border Fight Against the Feds
Annunciation House feeds, shelters, and clothes immigrants. State officials say it's "systemic criminal conduct."
Comic: It's America's Founding Grandfather, John Locke
Decades after his death, the English philosopher's ideas helped shape the American republic.
Cutting Off Trade Will Make the U.S. Poorer and China More Totalitarian
Politicians in both parties see the People's Republic as an economic and military threat. But the real threat is an isolated China.
Interview
Sister Helen Prejean on Capital Punishment, Justice, and Meeting Victims' Families
"Jesus said, 'Love your enemy.' Jesus didn't say, 'Execute the hell out of the enemy,'" the Catholic nun and anti–death penalty activist tells Reason.
Editor's Note
Hypocrisy on Bodily Autonomy at the DEA
Trump’s pick for federal drug enforcement was ousted for not respecting personal freedom. Too bad that that’s a job requirement.
Topics
Photo: The Disappearing Satoshi Nakamoto Statue
An Italian bitcoin enthusiast pays homage to the person or people who started the cryptocurrency revolution.
Election Reforms Blocked by Elections
Ranked choice voting and nonpartisan primaries suffered a bad election cycle in 2024.
Banks Are Narcing on You Because Congress Forces Them To
The Bank Secrecy Act regime forces banks to report customers to the government for an ever-growing list of “red flags.”
Why Texas Lawmakers Tried To Stop America's First 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' Execution
Robert Roberson was sentenced to death based on outdated and largely discredited scientific evidence.
Does the SEC Have the Authority To Regulate Digital Art?
In a federal lawsuit, artists say their nonfungible tokens should be treated like physical art.
Despite 2024 Setbacks, Drug Policy Is Still on a Long-Term Trend Toward Reform
Recent election results show the drug war’s punitive mentality still appeals to many Americans, even in blue states.
Why the Race and Gender Politics of White Dudes for Harris Failed
It's still the economy, stupid.
A Rancher Cloned a Giant Sheep. The Feds Jailed Him for Allegedly Risking Ecological Disaster.
Federal prosecutors said creating hybrid animals is "unnatural," yet the practice is common in the game industry.
Biden Strengthened the Refugee Resettlement System. Will Trump Undo It?
Refugee resettlements last year hit a 30-year high, but that progress is fragile.
Schools Are Spending Billions To Fight Campus Culture Wars
As tensions rise on campus and in board chambers, districts dish out more for security, lawyers, and staff turnover.
A Shopping List for a Free-Range Family
These products can give kids independence and parents peace of mind.
Books
Rise of the 'Constitutional Sheriffs'
Two new books dissect the "constitutional sheriffs" movement, which seeks to nullify laws adherents see as unconstitutional.
Pulp Pleasure and Political Propaganda
Revolution in 35mm is a collection of essays exploring an era of political violence in cinema.
Reviews
Review: HBO's Chimpanzee Murder Mystery
What happened to Tonka the chimp? The Chimp Crazy series investigates.
Review: Laura Marling Mixes Songs WIth Snippets of Life as a Mom
The album Patterns in Repeat portrays motherhood in an almost exclusively positive light.
Review: The Radicals Who Tried To Kill Gerald Ford
The Rip Current podcast is a good reminder that political division and even violence are not new in America.
Review: UFO 50 Pays Homage to '80s Video Games
Playing this digital collection of new retro-style games is like rediscovering a box of old cartridges.
Review: A Podcast Exploring the History of Immigrant Sanctuaries
The sanctuary movement challenges state power, argue the hosts of Sanctuary: On the Border Between Church and State.
Review: Cabaret's Broadway Revival
It's a story about vulnerable people, powerless against the rise of a sweeping authoritarian regime, each seeking a way to cope with the unprecedented times in which they live.
Review: Drug Prohibition Leads to Violence in The Penguin
An HBO series set in the Batman universe reminds us that when a substance is outlawed, the market will provide one way or another.
ETC.
Penny Lane on Effective Altruism and Donating a Kidney to a Stranger
"I'm trying so hard to be a perfect altruist and just failing because no one is, actually," the Confessions of a Good Samaritan filmmaker tells Reason.
Brickbats: February 2025
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Archives: February 2025
Excerpts from Reason's vaults
Data
Infographic: People Overestimate How Many Immigrants Live in Their Country
Americans tell pollsters immigrants make up about a third of the population. In reality, it's less than half that much.
