The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

Today's guests are Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini, author of Party of the People: Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP, and American Enterprise Institute fellow Ruy Teixeira, coauthor most recently of Where Have All the Democrats Gone? The Soul of the Party in the Age of Extremes.

Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with them about the presidential election, how the working class has become the most important—yet most neglected—part of the electorate, and whether libertarians have anyone to root for in national politics.

0:00- Ad: St. John's College

1:17- Introduction

2:05- Can Kamala Harris win back the working class?

8:55- Party identification is tanking

11:25-- Elite progressive fixations are alienating the working class

15:50- Black & Latino voters are more moderate

17:33- Trump & populism have transformed the GOP

25:05- The Green New Deal was terrible politics

26:23- Does anyone care about overspending anymore?

30:56- The future of unionization

35:49- Populism's appeal to younger voters

39:06- Ad: ZBiotics

40:52- Are we seeing generational realignments?

46:05- Everyone got richer in the last 30 years

47:39- The 'truly disadvantaged' has no real advocates

51:28- Why is neither party working to win big?

55:13- Why has immigration become such a flashpoint?

1:02:49- Why do both parties indulge their nutty fringes?

1:08:17- What about libertarians?

1:18:48- Who will win the 2024 elections?

1:22:00- Are protectionism & heavy spending the new way for both parties?

1:24:09- Have people stopped caring about COVID?

Today's sponsors:

The post Will Trump or Harris Win the Working-Class Vote? appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Billy Binion, who joined Reason's staff in 2019 after stints at an opera company (!) and as a contractor for NATO (!!). He has written blockbuster stories about the abuse of power by cops and courts, and he just produced an incredible documentary about a citizen journalist in Laredo, Texas, who sued the city after they arrested her for reporting on a couple of controversial local stories. It's a case that could have major First Amendment implications for independent reporters.

Nick Gillespie talks with Binion about what drives his interests in such topics as civil asset forfeiture, SWAT teams run amok, and people who get arrested after using unlicensed guns to ward off would-be killers. They discuss how, contrary to most news accounts, today's Supreme Court is less polarized than the country it serves. And they also talk about how Binion's time living in California and Texas back to back gives him a distinct perspective on blue and red America—and insight into what sort of government governs better, if not quite best.

0:00- Ad: St John's College

Today's sponsors:

The post Billy Binion: Civil Liberties Don't Just Belong to the Rich appeared first on Reason.com.

You've probably heard some variation of the notion that Millennials and Gen Z are going to be the first generations of Americans to have lower standards of living than their parents. It's too expensive to go to college, to buy a house, to have kids—you name it, goes this line of thinking. Today's guest has good news: Younger Americans are actually doing better than Gen X was at the same stage, and they are in the same ballpark as Baby Boomers when you adjust for inflation and population.

"Millennials and Gen Z have dramatically more wealth than Gen X had at the same age, and it's growing fast!," writes Jeremy Horpedahl, a libertarian economist trained at George Mason University who teaches at the University of Central Arkansas. His work, which draws on the Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other non-controversial sources, shows that young Americans are doing well and that economic mobility is the rule rather than the exception.

Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with Horpedahl about why politicians and media sources get basic economics wrong, why it's vital to always adjust for inflation and population growth, and how growing up in the Dakotas gives him a different, more optimistic perspective on things than many in the academy. Horpedahl also analyzes the economic plans of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. His answers are provocative, to say the least, just like his research.

0:00- Introduction

2:46- Adjusted for inflation' & 'per capita'

6:02- Are Millennials & Gen Z really doomed?

12:57- American homeownership rates

15:00- Delayed 'adulting'

18:59- Housing spending trends

22:08- Why is housing so expensive?

29:32- Ad: Lumen

31:10- Why are Millennials so eager to embrace doomerism?

35:20- How economic growth impact living standards

37:09- U.S. economic freedom, growth & living standards compared to Europe

41:40- Measures of mobility

47:50- How post-COVID inflation skewed our perceptions

53:28- Is inflation our new normal?

55:19- Should we be hoping for divided government?

58:00- Attitudes toward immigration in Arkansas

1:01:19- Benefits of living in 'flyover country'

1:05:04- George Mason economics

1:06:44- Do libertarians blame government too much?

1:10:05- Is there room for optimism for the future?

Today's sponsors:

The post Jeremy Horpedahl: Are Millennials and Gen Z Actually Worse Off Than Their Parents? appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Kat Timpf, whose new book is I Used To Like You Until…:(How Binary Thinking Divides Us). In a totally insane election season, this just might be the most important book of the year. A sequel of sorts to 2023's You Can't Joke About That: Why Everything Is Funny, Nothing Is Sacred, and We're All in This Together, it seeks to show how politics overwhelms common decency and basic logic.

Timpf, who co-hosts the super-popular Gutfeld! late-night show, explains to Reason's Nick Gillespie why she tells some people she works in porn instead of at Fox News, what it's like being libertarian at a conservative network, and how she gets people to engage with each other rather than vilify one another. This podcast was taped in front of a live audience in New York City. For more information on Reason live events, go here.

0:00- Introduction

0:58- Timpf's pregnancy and IVF

2:05- Timpf's new book: 'I Used To Like You Until…'

7:00- 'Hate as a shelter' & binary thinking

17:57- Ad: Zibiotics

19:43- Being a First Amendment absolutist

22:00- Will motherhood change Timpf's views?

24:17- In defense of drag queens

30:12- Using vulnerability to combat binary thinking

33:00- Timpf's husband

36:38- Being a libertarian on Fox News

38:20- Timpf's upbringing

40:49- 2024 presidential election

44:15- Political 'simping' makes Timpf sick

Previous appearance:

Today's sponsors:

The post Kat Timpf: An Unapologetic Libertarian at Fox News appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Mike Pesca, who publishes The Gist podcast every weekday. The Gist, which launched in 2014, is a tight 30 minutes of news, interviews, and opinions on the biggest issues of the day. Pesca is a veteran of NPR and Slate—experiences that have made him an outspoken critic of legacy media, especially its willingness to overthrow longstanding commitments to objectivity and fairness in pursuit of progressive versions of "moral clarity."

Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with him about his controversial 2021 separation from Slate after he defended a New York Times reporter's use of a racial slur, why once-vaunted newspapers such as The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times are rightly losing readers and money, and whether the old world of three broadcast TV networks and heavily gate-kept media had any value.

Today's sponsors:

The post Mike Pesca: How NPR Lost Its Way appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Reason's Eric Boehm, a reporter and the host of the podcast Why We Can't Have Nice Things. The first season of the podcast exposed how little-understood trade policies and regulations screwed with the pricing and availability of everything from baby formula to women's underwear to frozen chicken.

The new season focuses on laws and policies that screw up the supply and costs of health care. It debuts on Thursday, September 5, with the first episode featuring billionaire Mark Cuban talking about his company Cost Plus Drugs, which sells prescription drugs directly to consumers at super-low prices. Coming episodes cover how "certificate of need" laws increase the price and reduce the availability of hospital beds, why bans on organ donor compensation cause the death of thousands every year, how restrictions on telemedicine hurt patients with no gain in safety, and how the Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration make legal pharmaceuticals like Adderall tougher and tougher to get.

Today's sponsors:

The post Eric Boehm: Why Is American Health Care So Dysfunctional? appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Nick Cave, the music legend who emerged from Australia in the 1980s. Over the years, Cave has written screenplays, soundtracks, and novels, and has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, from Johnny Cash and Kylie Minogue to P.J. Harvey and Neko Case.

Known for his brooding and meditative mystique, he coauthored the bestselling Faith, Hope, and Carnage in 2022, receiving plaudits for openly discussing his struggles with heroin addiction, his lifelong fascination with Jesus Christ, and his artistic development. Since 2018, he's published The Red Hand Files, where he answers readers' questions in a manner that is deeply vulnerable, touching, and insightful. Wild God, his rave-reviewed new album with his longtime band The Bad Seeds, is out on August 30.

Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with Cave about his unshakeable commitment to free speech, how the death of his 15-year-old son affected his art, his abiding interest in ritual and religion, and why he refuses to join artist boycotts of countries such as Israel.

This interview was recorded on location at the storied Electric Lady Studios in New York City.

0:00—Introduction

Today's sponsors:

The post Nick Cave: I See the World as 'Systemically Beautiful' appeared first on Reason.com.

If you ever wanted to live in a world of endlessly fascinating conversations about the arts, science, and philosophy, you're going to love today's guest—Anna Gát. She's the person behind a platform* called Interintellect, which hosts hundreds of online salons a year. While some of them feature superstars like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, relationship guru Esther Perel, and economist Tyler Cowen, all of the salons are built around civil yet engaging discussions on interesting cultural ideas.

Interintellect's stated ambition is to reinvent French salon culture for the 21st century, and the platform is increasingly hosting in-person events too. Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with Gát about why she started Interintellect, how it grew to have tens of thousands of participants all over the world, and how her new podcast, The Hope Axis, fits into her vision of a future marked by optimism (guests on the podcast have included economist Noah Smith, online-culture analyst Katherine Dee, and Quillette founder Claire Lehmann). They also talk about how her early years in post-communist Hungary shaped her worldview and ambitions.

*CORRECTION: The original text implied that Interintellect requires a membership to participate in events. While there is a membership tier, virtually all Interintellect events are open to the public.

0:00—Introduction

1:29— Interintellect : a public marketplace for intellectual salons

3:31— Gát's background & vision

14:05— Interintellect's scope of events

19:05— A perpetual festival with multiple paths for participation

23:38—Ad: Bank On Yourself

25:30— An apolitical self-moderating cultural community

27:52— Interintellect's global reach

31:39— "The Hope Axis" podcast

37:07— Why is 'doomerism' so appealing to millennials?

42:32— Using the hope axis to defeat "no way out" mentality

45:55— Gát's intellectual heroes

Today's Sponsors:

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Anna Gát: Building an Intellectual Platform for the Politically Homeless appeared first on Reason.com.

Charles Gasparino is a senior correspondent for the Fox Business Network and a columnist for the New York Post. He's also the author of the new book Go Woke, Go Broke: The Inside Story of the Radicalization of Corporate America. Gasparino analyzes major missteps by companies such as Anheuser-Busch, Target, and Disney and explores how CEOs and top management become entranced by things like stakeholder capitalism; diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and environmental, social, and governance plans to the detriment of customer satisfaction, public relations, and the bottom line.

Four years out from the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of George Floyd, Gasparino talks with Reason's Nick Gillespie about whether peak woke has ended and why he views people like Ed Rensi, the former head of McDonald's, as models for how businesses can make profits while being socially responsible. They also discuss how the 2024 election will impact the economy.

0:00—Introduction

1:12—The origins of Gasparino's book, Go Woke Go Broke

9:24—Bud Light X Dylan Mulvaney controversy

18:05—Corporate wokeness started with CEOs

25:06—Trump-world tried to save Bud Light

31:35—Ben & Jerry's pioneered corporate political activism

33:13—Wokeness at Disney

45:22—Does wokeness sell?

47:28—Where is the corporate advocacy for Uyghurs?

49:36—BlackRock, Larry Fink & ESG

59:00—How ESG worsened inflation

1:00:56—Ed Rensi's innovative interventions

1:05:52—Corporate wokeness is in recession

1:07:30—CEOs against campus wokeness

1:10:00—Would Donald Trump or Kamala Harris be worse for the economy?

Today's sponsors:

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Charles Gasparino: 'Woke' Hypocrisy Is Hurting Businesses appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is the Libertarian Party's candidate for president Chase Oliver, who wants to phase out Social Security and Medicare for younger Americans, create a 21st century version of Ellis Island, and get the government out of bedrooms and boardrooms. A longtime antiwar activist, he also wants to bring American troops home and slash the Pentagon's budget.

Despite such ultralibertarian positions, a number of high-profile Libertarian Party figures and state parties have declined to endorse him because he is not part of the national party's Mises Caucus and he believes that the nonsurgical transitioning of minors should be decided by doctors, parents, and kids without the state intervening.

Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with Oliver about misunderstandings surrounding his opposition to mask and vaccine mandates, how he first encountered the Libertarian Party at a gay pride event, and why he thinks millennials and Gen Z are particularly ready to listen to libertarian ideas after constantly being lied to by boomers like Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

0:00— Introduction

1:29— Economic policy & entitlement reform

11:45— Immigration reform

19:55— COVID-19 policy

22:21— A message to younger voters

24:20— The cases for and against Kamala Harris

28:21— How Libertarians can appeal to Millennials & Gen-Z

29:52— The case against Trump and Vance

32:07— Are Millennials cynically attached to institutions?

33:29— Libertarian Party conflicts

36:12— Ad: Students For Liberty

37:44— A libertarian view on trans issues

44:59— Being the first openly LGBTQ national candidate

46:55— LNC's unusual collaboration with RFK Jr.

51:05— Uptick in Gen-Z LGBTQ identification

53:32— Oliver's political evolution

56:53— Foreign policy: Ukraine, Israel, and China

1:04:40— Could Trump or Harris turn more libertarian?

Today's sponsor:

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser

The post Chase Oliver: Q&A With the Controversial Libertarian Party Candidate appeared first on Reason.com.