"I feel fear… because they're somewhat vindictive people. I don't care who you are, having this set of people mad at you is not comfortable." That's today's guest, Cliff Asness, talking about President Donald Trump, his administration, and his supporters. Asness is the outspoken billionaire co-founder of AQR Capital Management. He is also a pioneer in quantitative finance, University of Chicago Ph.D., and self-described "part-time Republican and full-time libertarian." He talks bluntly about why Trump is spectacularly wrong on tariffs and trade, his concerns about the authoritarian tendencies of the president and his supporters, and how capitalism may actually be getting less efficient due to social media.

Asness tells Reason's Nick Gillespie how he came to his libertarian beliefs, where right-wing populism overlaps with its left-wing version, and why he thinks free minds and free markets will eventually win—but only after a long slog. This conversation was recorded live at an event in New York City.

Subscribe to the new YouTube channel for The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie!

1:17- Asness's hedge fund: AQR Capital Management

4:15- The state of capitalism

7:30- From delusion to grift

10:51- Trump, tariffs, and comparative advantage

13:48- Is the Trump administration "grifting"?

16:30- Criticizing Obama and Biden

17:42- Is Trump the naked emperor?

23:57- Markets are not perfect

30:45- Social media's effect on markets and politics

37:07- Asness' politics and background

40:40- Does the arc of history bend towards libertarianism?

42:00- Left & right economic illiteracy

44:29- Median income has increased, morale hasn't

47:01- Politics rewards resentment

Upcoming Reason events:

• The Soho Forum Debates: Dave Smith vs. Alex Nowrasteh on immigration, May 21, 2025

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Billionaire Cliff Asness: Can Technology Outrun 'Stupider and Stupider' Government? appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. Pinker and Reason's Nick Gillespie discuss recent shifts at Harvard toward greater institutional neutrality and free speech, while warning that threats to academic freedom now come from both internal ideologies and external political forces—including pressure from the federal government under President Donald Trump.

Pinker defends the role of federal science funding but cautions against political micromanagement of academia, emphasizing the need for independent scholarly governance. The conversation also touches on Pinker's admiration for Richard Dawkins, the impact of declining religiosity on moral progress, and the concept of "common knowledge" as explored in Pinker's forthcoming book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows. 

0:00— Introduction

1:27— The state of Harvard

4:42— Harvard is circumventing SCOTUS affirmative action ruling

6:02— How to foster true ideological diversity

7:25— Why does Harvard rank so highly?

10:16— Threats to academic freedom under Trump

18:58— Do universities really need federal funding?

23:14— History of government interference in higher education

27:20— Is the Trump administration uniquely anti-intellectual?

30:47— Is academia historically unpopular now?

36:55— How universities can regain trust

40:25— Richard Dawkins' influence on Pinker

49:51— Societal progress was propelled by secularism

52:50— Why are public intellectuals pushing for religious revival?

54:23— Pinker's new book: When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows

Subscribe to the new YouTube channel for The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie!

Upcoming Reason events:

• Reason Speakeasy: Robert Rosenkranz on The Stoic Capitalist, May 6, 2025
• The Soho Forum Debates: Dave Smith vs. Alex Nowrasteh on immigration, May 21, 2025

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Steven Pinker: Can Harvard Be Saved? appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is John Arnold—the former Enron wunderkind and billionaire philanthropist (and Reason Foundation supporter) who's determined to hack America's most expensive and least accountable public sector systems in areas such as criminal justice, education, and pensions. (Fun fact: He was once called "the most hated man in pensionland" by Governing magazine due to his reform efforts.)

Reason's Nick Gillespie and Arnold talk about why public pensions are so out of control and how to fix them; how Medicare squeezes billions of unnecessary dollars out of taxpayers; and how Enron scammed its investors not despite regulations but in full view of them. And they discuss why, despite all the country's problems, Arnold is still betting on America to get better, not worse.

0:00— Introduction
1:15— Private sector vs. government vs. philanthropy
6:05— Education reform
10:31— Pension reform
17:21— Health care reform
22:21— Criminal justice reform
25:45— Gun violence studies
28:24— Commitment to research with integrity over ideology
33:10— There's no evidence for "college for all"
36:40— Being a billionaire
37:42— Arnold's experience at Enron
42:45— Markets vs regulations
46:31— Is Arnold optimistic?
48:00— Why Arnold is still betting on America

Subscribe to the new YouTube channel for The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie!

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post John Arnold: Government Can't Be Trusted To Fix Any Problems appeared first on Reason.com.

Jeffrey Singer, a Cato Institute fellow and longtime surgeon, argues that government overreach in health care undermines patient autonomy, which should be the guiding principle in medical decision making. Drawing from historical examples and personal experience, he critiques licensing laws, the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) drug approval monopoly, and Certificate of Need (CON) regulations as protectionist measures that limit competition and innovation. Singer contends that private institutions—like insurers, hospitals, and certification boards—already create strong incentives for safety and quality, making many government controls unnecessary.

Reason's Nick Gillespie and Singer also explore complex topics like end-of-life choice, trans youth health care, and antibiotic regulation, emphasizing the balance between personal freedom and legitimate public health concerns.

This interview was recorded at The Reason Speakeasy, a monthly event in New York City that doubles as a live taping of The Reason Interview. Go here for more information on upcoming Reason events.

Subscribe to the new YouTube channel for The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie here.

0:00 — Introduction
0:50 — Singer's medical career
3:55 — Your Body, Your Health Care
8:40 — Government interference in your health care
14:23 — CON laws
20:00 — Licensing and credentialing rackets
29:48 — The FDA's drug approval monopoly
31:30 — The thalidomide scandal
34:11 — Off-label drug prescriptions
37:00 — FDA approval for naloxone and Plan B
40:20 — The American Medical Association's push for licensing
43:00 — RFK Jr.: reformer or madman?
45:05 — The food pyramid and other government follies
45:57 — Intersex infants and trans health care
50:09 — Right to die and patient autonomy

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Jeffrey Singer: Get Government Out of Health Care appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Harvard economist Jason Furman, who was one of former President Barack Obama's chief economic advisers and an architect of the Affordable Care Act. These days, he's in the news for his withering critique of former President Joe Biden's dismal economic record and two-fisted attacks on President Donald Trump's trade policy. We talk about Furman's defense of global markets, Obamacare's unfulfilled promises, and why he now thinks the national debt and AI are bigger deals than he used to believe.

0:48— The failure of Bidenomics and the "neoliberal delusion"
6:00— The neoliberal coalition breakdown
9:37— Trump's post-neoliberal economics
13:08— Biden's biggest economic failures
16:25— Why "free money" is a bad thing
18:28— The Age of No Accountability
20:19— Why tariffs make no sense
23:52— How Furman "zigzagged" on debt
29:42— How to get politicians to take the debt seriously
36:32— How to fix Social Security and Medicare
39:58— Has Furman changed his mind about Keynesian economics?
43:10— Furman's background and the future of Economics
46:50— Furman's outlook on AI
50:16— The Luddite impulse towards technological advancement

Today's sponsor:

• The Reason Speakeasy. The Reason Speakeasy is a monthly unscripted conversation in New York City with outspoken defenders of free thinking and heterodoxy in an age of intellectual conformity and groupthink. It doubles as a live taping of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie. The next one is Tuesday, May 6, and features investor and Open To Debate founder Robert Rosenkranz, author of The Stoic Capitalist: Advice for the Exceptionally Ambitious. Go here to buy tickets and go here to http://https//opentodebate.orgsign up for Reason's NYC Events newsletter.

Photo credits: CNP/AdMedia/Newscom, Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press/Newscom, Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Newscom

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Jason Furman: Why Everyone Is Wrong About the Economy appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Mark Clifford, former editor in chief of the South China Morning Post whose recent book, The Troublemaker, chronicles the life of Jimmy Lai, a man who escaped mainland Communist China to Hong Kong as a child and went on to become a self-made billionaire. But now at age 77, Lai is a political prisoner, currently on trial in China for his unwavering criticism of the government, particularly as it relates to a pro-democracy publication he founded called Apple Daily.

Clifford and Reason's Billy Binion talked about Lai's humble beginnings; his cinematic escape to freedom; his fearless pro-democracy activism; his life in prison, where he's been held in solitary confinement for years; and the importance of safeguarding free expression around the world.

1:01—Who is Jimmy Lai?

4:50—Lai's astounding business success in Hong Kong

5:15—Lai's turn toward politics after June 4, 1989

6:06—The Lai family during the Cultural Revolution in China

10:37—Lai's gradual political awakening

18:42—Lai's newspaper and magazine promoting free speech and democracy

20:51—How the Chinese government tried to intimidate Lai

28:12—Mass protests and Chinese Communist Party crackdowns in Hong Kong

32:28—How meeting with Mike Pence, John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo got Lai arrested

38:47—Lai's prison life and friendship with Natan Sharansky

48:28—Clifford's career in Asia

52:18—How Clifford got out of Hong Kong

54:18—Why people should care about Jimmy Lai

• Video editor: Ian Keyser
• Graphics: César Báez

The post Mark Clifford: A Political Prisoner Fights for Free Speech in China appeared first on Reason.com.

Satire is a powerful force for political and cultural change. But is it even possible in a world that outstrips our imagination on a daily—or even hourly—basis?

Today's guests are two young novelists who are redefining satire in the 21st century. Leigh Stein is the author of Self Care, which is set at a women's wellness startup where things go very wrong. Her next novel, If You're Seeing This, It's Meant for You, takes place at a social media hype house and comes out in August. Julius Taranto is the author of How I Won a Nobel Prize, which is set at a secretive university funded by a reclusive billionaire and staffed exclusively by faculty who have been canceled elsewhere. His reviews and essays have been published in The Washington Post, The New York Review of Books, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and elsewhere.

Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with them about the widely pronounced post-election vibe shift by which artists feel emboldened once again to slay sacred cows with impunity. And they explore whether contemporary markets for books, movies, plays, music, and other forms of creative expression are actually capable of supporting a new era of satire, parody, and self-examination.

This interview was recorded at The Reason Speakeasy, a live monthly event in New York City that doubles as a live taping of The Reason Interview. Go here for more information on upcoming Reason events.

1:30—What is the purpose of a novel?
4:49—What is the function of satire?
9:03—Philip Roth declared satire impossible in 1961
12:30—How culture has fractured
15:17—Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and figures beyond satire
18:31—Class dimensions of satire
22:52—How Stein's feminist activism inspired Self Care
23:58—Tom Wolfe and satirical realism
31:25—Is the world becoming post-literate?
32:54—Has the novel been feminized?
34:25—Joe Rogan as the successor to Marcel Proust?
35:28—How women dominate the publishing industry
47:43—Stein's cultural criticism and poetry

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Leigh Stein and Julius Taranto: Did Wokeness and Trump Kill Literary Satire? appeared first on Reason.com.

You've probably heard about microdosing, which involves taking a small, "sub-perceptual" dose of psychedelics like LSD or psilocybin on a regular basis to ward off depression, anxiety, and chronic pain—or to optimize focus and boost energy.

Today's guests are James Fadiman and Jordan Gruber, authors of the new book Microdosing for Health, Healing, and Enhanced Performance. Fadiman, a Stanford-trained research psychologist who has been working with psychedelics since the early 1960s, popularized the concept of microdosing over a decade ago. They talk with Reason's Nick Gillespie about the mechanics of and theory behind microdosing, its promise and limits, and how it fits into the larger psychedelic renaissance that has been flowering for most of the 21st century. And they discuss the prospects for legalization and cultural normalization of psychedelics under the Trump administration.

1:19 — New book: Microdosing for Health, Healing, and Enhanced Performance
5:12 — How Fadiman discovered microdosing
8:10 — How Gruber began microdosing
8:57 — Microdosing is similar to a vitamin protocol
11:17 — MDMA, ketamine, and cannabis work differently
12:50 — Microdosing for depression
16:02 — Other conditions microdosing could help alleviate
19:09 — Is microdosing for life?
21:17 — How to quantify the efficacy of microdosing
30:14 — Psychedelics and drug law
37:30 — Psychedelic-assisted therapy
39:40 — Psychedelics and their benefits are nonideological
46:15 — Fadiman and Gruber's 2020 book: Your Symphony of Selves
53:45 — Drug legalization under Donald Trump

Today's sponsor:

• The Reason Speakeasy. The Reason Speakeasy is a monthly, unscripted conversation in New York City with outspoken defenders of free thinking and heterodoxy in an age of intellectual conformity and groupthink. It doubles as a live taping of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie podcast. The next one takes place on Tuesday, April 8, with Jeffrey Singer, who recently authored Your Body, Your Health Care. Go here to buy tickets and go here to sign up for Reason's NYC Events newsletter.

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post James Fadiman and Jordan Gruber: Psychedelics Legalization Will Continue No Matter Who Is President appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Reason Senior Editor Brian Doherty, who has just published Modern Libertarianism: A Brief History of Classical Liberalism in the United States. His previous books include Radicals for Capitalism, the indispensable history of the libertarian movement, and titles covering the Ron Paul revolution, gun rights, Burning Man, and underground comics.

Modern Libertarianism analyzes the political and cultural legacies of figures such as Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman, and Barry Goldwater. Doherty talks with Reason's Nick Gillespie about Ayn Rand and the other two women who helped conceptualize libertarian thought—Rose Wilder Lane and Isabel Paterson. Doherty and Gillespie also discuss how libertarians have played leading, if often underappreciated, roles in battles over free speech, international trade, immigration, deregulation, drug legalization, and lifestyle liberation.

This interview was recorded at The Reason Speakeasy, a live monthly event in New York City that doubles as a live taping of this podcast. For information on upcoming events, go here.

1:59 — New book: Modern Libertarianism
3:26 — Isabel Paterson and The God of the Machine
5:14 — Rose Wilder Lane and the libertarian roots of Little House on the Prairie
9:59 — How did libertarianism get so male-dominated?
18:08 — Ayn Rand
26:15 — Is the Trump administration libertarian at all?
29:17 — Robert LeFevre and Murray Rothbard's thoughts on blackmail and violence
34:14 — Kerry Thornley and his unlikely connection to Lee Harvey Oswald
39:19 — Barry Goldwater's influence on libertarianism
47:00 — The rising respectability of libertarianism
48:17 — Libertarianism is not conservatism or reactionary
52:27 — The Libertarian Party
55:00 — The Cato Institute
56:16 — Libertarianism's wins
58:00 — Burning Man

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Brian Doherty: The Fascinating Women and Weirdos Who Founded Libertarianism appeared first on Reason.com.

This week's guest is Rachel Barkow, a professor of law at New York University and the author of the book Justice Abandoned: How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabled Mass Incarceration, which was just released this month.

Barkow and Reason's Billy Binion talked about the importance of the presidential pardon power—which is a controversial topic these days, after former President Joe Biden used it to preemptively pardon Anthony Fauci and members of his own family, and President Donald Trump used it to pardon January 6 defendants, some of whom were convicted of assaulting law enforcement. They also discussed Barkow's view that certain Supreme Court precedents around criminal justice are alarming for anyone who cares about the Constitution and individual liberty. Finally, they chatted about what it was like for her to clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia—as a Democrat.

0:00 — Introduction

1:03 — Presidential pardon power under Biden and Trump

9:35 — Biden's "clumsy" end-of-term pardons

13:03 — Trump's January 6 pardons

18:55 — Historical context for pardon power

24:20 — Philip Esformes' pardon limbo

30:07 — Ford's commission on Vietnam War draft dodgers

33:15 — Pardon power and the death penalty

37:57 — Barkow's new book, Justice Abandoned

41:45 — Coercive plea bargaining

57:17 — "Repeat offenders" in the news

1:05:18 — Barkow's clerkship with Scalia

1:15:42 — The biggest misconception about the Supreme Court

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Rachel Barkow: Did Trump and Biden Turn Pardons Into a Corrupt Joke? appeared first on Reason.com.