The Reason Roundtable

This week, editors Peter Suderman,  Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Nick Gillespie are joined by reporter Reem Ibrahim to discuss Vice President J.D. Vance's bizarre definition of socialism. They examine whether Vance genuinely believes what he's saying or is attempting to redefine socialism to avoid acknowledging the Trump administration's own big-government policies.

Next, the panel discusses America's growing $2 trillion deficit, the rising cost of Social Security and Medicare, and the generational divide between older Americans receiving government benefits and younger workers paying for them. The editors also examine youth protests in France, where students are demanding improvements to public schools despite the country's already extensive government spending. They then discuss allegations that U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle offered political access in exchange for help paying off personal credit card debt and what the controversy reveals about government corruption. Finally, a listener asks about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plan to publicly broadcast an execution and whether turning capital punishment into a spectacle could encourage extremism.

0:00—Vance rebrands socialism.

08:48—Largest budget deficit ever

25:50—Youth protests in France

38:15—Listener question on public executions

46:25—Guilfoyle's corruption scandal

56:20—Weekly cultural recommendations

The World Premiere of Escaping Venezuela, October 13

"J.D. Vance Accidentally Comes Out as a Socialist," by Billy Binion

"Trump Has Been Trampling Free Speech for More Than 40 Years—and It Keeps Getting Worse," by Jacob Sullum

"Protesters in France and Spain Are Angry at Government Failure—and Demanding More Government," by Reem Ibrahim

"The Great British Exodus: Taxes, Housing Costs, and Terrible Healthcare Are Driving Young Brits Away," by Reem Ibrahim

"The Federal Government Just Posted the Largest Annual Budget Deficit Since COVID," by Eric Boehm

"Livestreaming an Execution," by Liz Wolfe

"Kimberly Guilfoyle's Grift Is at Least as Offensive as Hunter Biden's," by Robby Soave

The post J.D. Vance Is Playing Dumb About Socialism appeared first on Reason Magazine.

For 10 years, The Reason Roundtable has been proving that the best political conversations aren't the ones where everyone agrees—they're the ones where smart people challenge each other, chase unexpected tangents, and somehow end up making more sense of the news than anyone else. Join Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, and Matt Welch as they celebrate a decade of the podcast with a special live taping. It's your chance to watch the chemistry, the disagreements, the running jokes, and the occasional exasperated sigh happen in real time.

The post Live Reason Roundtable 10th Anniversary Show! appeared first on Reason Magazine.

On this special edition of The Reason Roundtable, Senior Editor Robby Soave is joined by Associate Editor Liz Wolfe, reporter Reem Ibrahim, and Senior Producer Zach Weissmueller to discuss the sexual assault allegations against seven Cornell University fraternity brothers. They examine conflicting accounts of what happened, the difference between reprehensible behavior and criminal conduct, and whether New York Attorney General Letitia James can oversee a fair investigation after Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed her to the case. They also consider Hochul's push to change New York's laws governing consent and voluntary intoxication, as well as the role social media has played in turning the case into a national spectacle.

Next, the panel discusses Tennessee's botched execution of Christa Pike and what it reveals about the practical and moral problems with the death penalty. Finally, they consider OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's argument that society should accept some negative consequences from artificial intelligence in exchange for its benefits.

0:00—The "Cornell Seven" investigation

29:21—Pike's botched execution

36:53—Altman's AI comments

53:29—Weekly cultural recommendations

The Reason Roundtable's 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7

The World Premiere of Escaping Venezuela, October 13

"The Cornell Rape Lawsuit Is Fueling a Deranged Social Media Mob," by Robby Soave

"Letitia James Has Already Suggested the Cornell 7 Are Guilty," by Robby Soave

"Would a Firing Squad Have Been More 'Humane' for Christa Pike?" by Billy Binion

"Trump Wants AI Companies To Police Themselves. His FTC Isn't Waiting," by Tosin Akintola

Cato Innovation Project: Design your own full-time, paid role at Cato. If we fund your idea, you spend two years executing it. Apply here: cato.org/reason

The post Are the Cornell 7 Being Tried on Social Media? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss Republicans turning against President Donald Trump's war in Iran as gas prices rise and the midterm elections approach. They examine how Trump, who once ran against Middle East wars, ended up in one himself and whether presidents of both parties are too tempted by their power to intervene abroad.

Next, the editors discuss the economic fallout from the war, rising mortgage rates, the growing cost of servicing the national debt, and how Trump's tariffs, immigration restrictions, and spending policies have contributed to the country's economic problems. The panelists also debate whether artificial intelligence could make government less important in people's lives and whether existing laws are sufficient to deal with the risks posed by rapidly developing AI. Finally, a listener asks the editors for their best elevator pitch for Reason.

0:00—Republicans turn on the Iran war.

20:20—Trump's impact on the economy

29:13—Listener question on the Reason elevator pitch

36:18—Will AI make government less important?

55:37—Weekly cultural recommendations

The Reason Roundtable's 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7

The World Premiere of Escaping Venezuela October 13

"Trump's 4-Week War With Iran Approaches Month 7," by Matthew Petti
"The Iraq War Cheerleaders Were Wrong. They're Wrong About Iran Too." by Matthew Petti
"The Senate's Failure To Rein in Trump on Iran Is Part of a Long History of Congress Abdicating Its War Powers," by Gene Healy
"Why Did Congress Vote To End the Iran War After It Finished?" by Matthew Petti
"The Fed Can't Fight Inflation Alone. Will Congress Do Its Part?" by Veronique de Rugy

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The post Trump's Iran War Is Losing With Everyone (Even Republicans) appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch are joined by senior editor Stephanie Slade to discuss President Donald Trump's decision to ban CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House over coverage he dislikes. They examine the First Amendment implications of punishing news organizations for their reporting and Trump's broader record on free speech. They also examine the growing willingness of both parties to use government power against media they dislike.

Next, the editors discuss why parents continue to leave public schools and what a recent New York Times story reveals about the limits of trying to reform failing schools from within. Then, Slade discusses her new book, Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and the Future of the American Right, and how the conservative movement moved away from its traditional commitment to limited government, free markets, and individual liberty. Finally, a listener challenges the panel to explain how libertarians would confront a genuine existential threat from AI or another collective-action problem.

0:00—Trump bans media outlets from the White House.

17:29—New York Times story on the failure of public schools

38:39—Listener question on AI risk

50:56—Fusionism and the conservative movement

1:01:33—Weekly cultural recommendations

The Reason Roundtable's 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7

The World Premiere of Escaping Venezuela October 13

"Purposely Negative," by Liz Wolfe
"May Officials Exclude Journalists from Press Events Based on Disapproval of Journalists' Speech?" by Eugene Volokh
"Two D.C. Circuit Judges' Reservations About the Circuit's White House Press Pool / AP / 'Gulf of America' Decision," by Eugene Volokh
"Trump's Threats To Yank Broadcast Licenses Are Part of a Speech-Chilling Intimidation Campaign," by Jacob Sullum
"The FCC's Paramount/Skydance Decision Aims To Reshape Broadcast Journalism by Bureaucratic Fiat," by Jacob Sullum
"By Settling Trump's Laughable Lawsuit Against CBS, Paramount Strikes a Blow at Freedom of the Press," by Jacob Sullum
"Pentagon's Foolish Press Policy Might Encourage Tougher Journalism," by J.D. Tuccille
"The Pentagon's New Press Policy Is Absurd," by Robby Soave
"Why the Courts Will 86 the Flagrantly Unconstitutional Charges Against James Comey," by Jacob Sullum
"Trump Is Targeting Media and Chilling Free Speech," by Steven Greenhut

The post Does CNN Deserve To Be Banned From the White House? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss whether warnings from leading artificial intelligence companies that AI could pose an existential threat should be taken seriously. They debate calls to slow the development of frontier AI and question whether regulation would reduce genuine risks or simply protect today's dominant companies from competition.

The editors also discuss California's new restrictions on social media and AI and the potential consequences for privacy and free expression. They then turn to President Donald Trump's proposal to give $5,000 to every adult American if Republicans win the midterm elections. Would Trump's proposed "dividend" bear any resemblance to a tax cut? And what would a roughly $1.3 trillion payout mean for a country already $40 trillion in debt? A listener asks what the past decade of American politics says about the future of libertarianism, the Democratic Party, and a post-Trump Republican Party. Finally, the editors remember their friend and longtime Reason fan Andrew Wimsatt, who died last week. Matt reflects on Wimsatt's generosity and selflessness, as well as his years of support for Reason and its community.

0:00–Tech leaders call for a slowdown in frontier AI development.

The Reason Roundtable's 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7

The World Premiere of Escaping Venezuela October 13

"Anthropic CEO Calls for an AI Slowdown, Other Tech Leaders Cosign," by Liz Wolfe

The post Is AI Really an Existential Threat? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Nick Gillespie are joined by Senior Producer Zach Weissmueller to discuss why public schools have lost 1.4 million students since the pandemic even as their budgets have grown. They examine the rise of school choice, microschools, and other alternatives to traditional public education. They discuss why families are increasingly opting out and whether declining enrollment will finally force public schools to rethink how they operate.

The panel then discusses Vice President J.D. Vance's proposal to make federal childcare subsidies available to married couples with a stay-at-home parent. They also reflect on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and the ways the government's response permanently changed American life, from the formation of the Transportation Security Administration to warrantless surveillance and the growth of the national security state. Finally, a listener asks whether recent food safety scares can be blamed on cuts to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and how markets could keep food safe with a much smaller regulatory role.

0:00—School choice is winning.

25:12—Federal subsidies for stay-at-home parents

39:15—Listener question on the FDA and food safety

46:59—What has changed most since 9/11?

57:20—Weekly cultural recommendations

The Reason Roundtable's 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7

"We Have Already Passed Peak Public School," by Matt Welch

"American Public Schools Lost 1.4 Million Students Since COVID. Their Budgets Grew by 34% Anyway," by Tosin Akintola

"The Rise of Florida's 'Microschools,'" by Zach Weissmueller

"Why I Left California for Florida," by Zach Weissmueller

"Does School Choice Help Students Learn? All Signs Point To Yes," by Nick Gillespie

"The Decade of Decline in Seattle Public Schools," by Sandeep Kaushik

"Trump Officials Draft Plan to Pay At-Home Parents, Using Funds for Working Ones," by Coral Davenport

"Storks Don't Take Orders From the State," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Make America Fertile Again: The Strange Bedfellows of the New Baby Boom Agenda," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"J.D. Vance and the Politics of Victimhood," by Stephanie Slade

"Study: Even Well-Intentioned Regulators Do More Harm Than Good," by J.D. Tuccille

The post Why Public Schools Lost 1.4 Million Students appeared first on Reason Magazine.

On this special edition of The Reason Roundtable, Senior Editor Robby Soave is joined by Associate Editor Liz Wolfe, reporter Reem Ibrahim, and Senior Producer Zach Weissmueller to discuss President Donald Trump's latest threat to use the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against Meet the Press host Kristen Welker. They debate Trump's willingness to use government power against speech he dislikes, whether the FCC has become obsolete in the age of digital media, and what the president's attacks on the press say about the Republican Party's commitment to free speech.

The panel also discusses Trump's escalating war with Iran, Meta's $17 billion settlement over alleged harms to children and whether parents or the government should be responsible for limiting kids' social media use, and the deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos amid his feud with Laura Loomer.

0:00—Trump wants the FCC to punish Welker

13:58—U.S. and Iran trade strikes in the Strait of Hormuz

23:56—Meta settles lawsuit for $17 billion

45:15—Yiannopoulos gets deported

52:08—Weekly cultural recommendations

The Reason Roundtable's 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7

"Trump Declared NBC's Kristen Welker Will Be 'Reported To the FCC For Rebuke or Punishment'," by Liz Wolfe

"A Liberal Think Tank and an Air Force Major Are Trump's Latest Targets for Speech Policing," by Joe Lancaster

"What Craigslist and Backpage Can Tell Us About the Meta Settlement," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Haidt's Moment," by Liz Wolfe

"9/11 Turbocharged America's Worst Foreign Policy Impulses—but Didn't Change Its Direction," by Emma Ashford

"Milo Yiannopoulos Wanted Millions Deported. He Didn't Mean Himself," by Billy Binion

The post Trump Wants the FCC To Punish His Enemies appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Nick Gillespie are joined by Reason Senior Editor Robby Soave to discuss the national debt hitting $40 trillion and whether decades of fiscal irresponsibility are finally beginning to have consequences. They examine how the debt doubled in less than a decade, why federal spending continues to outpace revenue, and whether turmoil in the bond market could force politicians to take deficits seriously. They also consider why both parties abandoned the fiscal restraint that helped produce balanced budgets in the 1990s and what it would take to reverse course.

The editors also discuss President Donald Trump's escalating trade war with Canada and his administration's refusal to return tariff revenue collected illegally, the growing bipartisan backlash against AI data centers, and whether economic growth can realistically help America escape its debt problem. They examine the government's case against Meta and the latest effort to blame social media for harms to children, then turn to calls for restrictions on journalists following the death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday. Finally, a listener asks whether AI could shrink the federal workforce and dramatically reduce the cost of government.

0:00—National debt hits $40 trillion

15:26—Canadian trade war intensifies

26:37—Backlash to data centers

41:52—Listener question on AI and the federal workforce

53:27—Jason Arday and speech regulations

1:03:08—Weekly cultural recommendations

The Reason Roundtable's 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7

"$40 Trillion and Parents' Night Out," by Liz Wolfe

"Why We Need To Shrink the National Debt, and Fast!" by Nick Gillespie

Nick Gillespie on X: "For those of us concerned about national debt, here is federal spending and revenue expressed as pct. of GDP and per capita in 2017 dollars. We are spending too much, not taxing too little."

"How many civilian jobs are in the US federal government?" by USA Facts

"Trump Imposes Harmful and Illegal Section 338 Tariffs Against Many Canadian Imports," by Ilya Somin

"Bad Reasons and Worse Reasons to Hate Data Centers," by Robby Soave

"Data Centers Are Doing Your Dirty Work for You," by Christian Britschgi

"Sen. Ed Markey doesn't know what AI he is using," by Taylor Lorenz

"Censors Seize on Jason Arday's Death as Excuse To Demand More Censorship," by Reem Ibrahim

"Tony Is an Anthony Bourdain Origin Story," by Peter Suderman

"Travel Shows Were Boring as Fuck. Then Came Anthony Bourdain," by Todd Krainin

The post How Did America Get $40 Trillion in Debt? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman,  Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Matt Welch are joined by reporter Reem Ibrahim to discuss whether America can afford Medicare for All and the broader Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) agenda. They examine the enormous cost of expanding government-run health care, why taxing billionaires wouldn't come close to covering the bill, and what the experiences of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and other countries reveal about the tradeoffs of universal health care. They also consider whether either major political party is prepared to confront America's growing deficits and looming fiscal crisis.

The editors then turn to the DSA's growing influence within the Democratic Party and the pushback from Democrats wary of socialism. They discuss President Donald Trump's efforts to reduce America's military presence abroad, including his decision to pull back from exercises with South Korea, and whether his approach represents a genuine foreign policy retrenchment or simply more erratic decision making. The panel also makes the case for giving children more independence and questions laws that punish parents for letting their kids play outside unsupervised. Finally, a listener asks when, during each panelist's lifetime, the government has been most effective and worked best for the American people.

0:00—Medicare for All and American health care

19:12—The DSA's influence in the Democratic Party

28:58—Trump cancels joint military exercises in South Korea

36:21—Listener question on government effectiveness

46:34—The case for free-range parenting

54:39—Weekly cultural recommendations

The Reason Roundtable's 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7

"The DSA's Agenda Could Cost More Than $200 Trillion—and You'll Be Picking Up the Tab," by Reem Ibrahim

"Socialists Claim Public Libraries Are Examples of Their Policies. Don't Believe Them," by J.D. Tuccille

"Hong's Swan Song," by Liz Wolfe

"It Can Happen Here," by Arnold Kling, David R. Henderson, and Maurice McTigue

"Trump's Assault on Judicial Review Undermines a Crucial Safeguard Against Tyranny," by Jacob Sullum

"The War on Free-Range Kids Makes The New York Times," by Lenore Skenazy

"In Widow's Bay, the Real Monster Is Utilitarianism," by Christian Britschgi

The post Who Pays for Medicare for All? appeared first on Reason Magazine.