Freed Up

Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi play a guessing game involving metal music and military operations before they dive into an update on the ceasefire that never really ceased anything from happening in Iran and the Persian Gulf.

0:00—Robby was pretending to be Christian.

3:51—The ceasefire that never was and Trump Always Chickens Out

20:03—Is it a metal music album or a military operation?

29:53—Christian finally got an Apple MacBook.

39:40—The culture wars always come around.

44:02—Pokémon is so back.

52:25— The Substance and how young actors look

1:10:14—COVID-19 cultural impressions

1:16:47— Christian's thoughts on Ukraine

The post Operation Eternal Darkness Threatens Iran Ceasefire Deal appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week on Freed Up, the opening skit makes its triumphant return before Robby and Christian dive into the latest on Iran, Robby's trip to Vegas, and two major court cases involving birthright citizenship and conversion therapy. They also get into former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's husband becoming an unexpected topic of conversation, swap horror stories about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and debate whether they've found the stupidest tweet ever. Later, they take on youth curfews, surprisingly fit members of Congress, and wrap with a discussion of Project Hail Mary.

0:00—The opening skit is BACK, baby

3:25—The war in Iran, again

10:27—Robby went to Vegas

15:57—Birthright citizenship case

25:38—The conversion therapy case

30:36—Noem's husband gets everyone's attention

41:02—The worst TSA experiences

50:01—The stupidest tweet ever?

1:00:43—Debating youth curfews

1:19:20—Project Hail Mary

The post Birthright Citizenship, Noem Family Circus, and Project Hail Mary appeared first on Reason Magazine.

On this episode of Freed Up, Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi are back for another full week of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) chaos. Then they move to the left-wing media influences partying it up in Cuba without any real understanding of the U.S embargo of the country. Finally, they chose not to end on lighter note, turning instead to apocalyptic scenarios.

0:00—A bad week for flying

15:24—Streetcars are pointless

27:14—Communists in Cuba

40:30—Spring isn't real

44:33—Paul Ehrlich

50:53—The most realistic apocalyptic scenarios

The post Dysfunction, Communists in Cuba, and Pointless Streetcars appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi have plenty to say on Freed Up this week. First, the boys react to Joe Kent's dramatic exit from the Trump administration and what he told Tucker Carlson about the real motivations for the Iran War. Then they discuss robots in fiction, Rand Paul's showdown with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R–Okla.), and ideas for Mad Men spinoff shows. It's another can't-miss episode!

0:00—Christian's enrichment

04:20—Joe Kent and Tucker Carlson

14:59—What is Tulsi thinking?

22:11—James Talarico is lame

33:36—Rand Paul vs. Markwayne Mullin

48:46—Dinergoths

53:49—Robots in fiction

01:15:38—Mad Men spinoff ideas

01:29:13—Viva Las Vegas

The post Joe Kent Defects, Robots, and Mad Men Sequel Ideas appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi are back this week to break down President Donald Trump's latest chaos in the Middle East, Elizabeth Warren's bad housing ideas, and which TV shows depict the best time travel stories.

0:00—Fake drinks with Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth

5:25—"Regime change curious" again, but this time in Iran

17:16—Elizabeth Warren is the villain again in the housing policy world.

33:11—What is "slopulism"? And how is it different than slop?

45:56—The U.K. is taking humans off currency.

56:04—Superpowers to help you move

1:01:57—Invisibility can be creepy, except in Harry Potter.

1:16:40—Is time travel fun? Which TV shows do it best?

The post Elizabeth Warren Ruins Housing Again; Iran War Endgame? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi had a lot to catch up on this week on Freed Up after Donald Trump fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, started a war with Iran, and will surely do something else unexpectedly before they record next.  And since Christian was returning from a work trip in Utah, they also discussed proper airplane etiquette and the best ways to spend your time 30,000 feet in the air.

0:00—Christian is not a domestic terrorist; he is the "Traffic King."

2:06—Goodbye, Kristi Noem.

16:57—The Department of Defense declared "military action" in Iran.

37:22—More crazy White House memes

44:17—The Clintons testified

50:48—The Senate primary race in Texas

1:03:09—Airplane etiquette

1:18:44—We finally get to talk about video games.

The post Kristi Noem, Iran War Predictions, Playing Video Games appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Christian Britschgi is back this week, and you won't want to miss the incredibly true story of what happened to him. From there, the boys tackle mounting opposition to AI data centers, President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, and why more libertarians ought to be concerned about the Epstein files fallout.

Cultural items discussed this week include A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms finale and Black Mirror. Robby Soave also has a lot to say about card games, board games, and playing mafia online.

0:00—Christian returns

3:22—Joy of data centers

18:56 —The Epstein Files and cancel culture

33:20 —Ayn Rand would have disliked Jeffrey Epstein

48:24—Card games, board games, and more

1:00:52—We loved A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

1:07:50—Black Mirror is too depressing

1:21:58—Dying to avoid Canada

The post Bernie Sanders Is Lying About AI Data Centers appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Robby Soave and Jason Russell unpack the Supreme Court's blockbuster tariff ruling—what it means for executive power, trade policy, and the 2026 midterms—before shifting gears into a lively detour through their glory days as high school athletes in Michigan.

Along the way, they riff on the cultural pull of the Winter Olympics, the fantasy politics of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and why Stephen A. Smith might be the up-and-coming politician to watch.

0:00—Jason Russell joins the show!

3:00—Tariffs are dead, and they were never emergencies.

7:01—Stephen Colbert should interview whoever he wants.

15:57—Time for the Winter Olympics and Michigan sports

19:25—Would you become Chinese if they paid you $6 million?

22:55—Helen Andrews is wrong about elite education.

31:30—High school cross country times

45:13—George R.R. Martin is frustrated, and Star Wars

52:47—Stephen A. Smith is a "fiscal conservative" and a "social liberal."

58:26—Ice hockey is underrated.

1:02:51—Volodymyr Zelenskyy won't come around to cut a deal.

1:10:18—Who is the most libertarian Democratic president?

1:17:29—The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress

The post No More Tariffs on Asian Olympic Dragons! appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi are exhausted by the never-ending obsession with Jeffrey Epstein—but here they are again on Freed Up, breaking down Attorney General Pam Bondi's congressional testimony on the DOJ's handling of the Epstein files, sparring over AI doomerism, and diving back into the sci-fi worlds of Dune and Game of Thrones.

0:00—Attorney General Pam Bondi is in trouble

12:33—There should be room for nuance in the Epstein files

17:30—Robby responds to Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie

24:11—Artificial intelligence doom

46:17—The Super Bowl and Bad Bunny

54:55—Mad Men and Dune…again

1:02:02—House of the Dragon is worse than A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

1:18:13—The New York Times disses weed smokers

1:28:27—What is the most libertarian state?

The post Epstein Files Drama, Bad Bunny Drama, and More A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Drama appeared first on Reason Magazine.

The episode kicks off by unpacking this week's Jeffrey Epstein witch hunt and why certain moral panics catch fire so fast. The conversation then turns to the comeback of the "r" word, how DoorDash culture is reshaping everyday life, and why accusations of fascism get tossed around so casually. Robby and Christian also dive into the latest pop-culture outrage over diversity casting in the upcoming Odyssey film. Finally, the episode closes with Billie Eilish's "stolen land" speech at the Grammys and what it says about celebrity politics today.

00:00—The spirit of the Jeffrey Epstein witch hunt

28:08—The "r" word packs a certain punch.

33:45—DoorDash culture

45:14—Helen Andrews, fascism, and affirmative action

1:01:50—Helen of Troy outrage and diversity casting

1:13:05—Billie Eilish and stolen land

The post Epstein Files, Keeping Helen of Troy Hot, and Stolen Land appeared first on Reason Magazine.