The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

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

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

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

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our guest today is Alton Brown, who for years hosted Good Eats on the Food Network and brought his interest in science to the making of dinner. He's currently touring the country, and he has also just published Food for Thought, a great collection of essays about food, culture, and his life on and off the screen. In this episode, Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with Brown about how food transcends politics, why fusion cooking isn't cultural appropriation, and why there's always room for Jell-O salad on his menu.

0:43— Brown's Last Bite tour

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The post Alton Brown: A Culinary Legend Offers Food for Thought appeared first on Reason Magazine.