The Reason Roundtable

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman assess the current shape of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks and policy priorities.

00:27 - New Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

14:48 - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz nominated for Trump cabinet positions

31:37 - Weekly listener question

41:46 - Trump's foreign policy cabinet picks

48:22 - This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"DOGE's Chances Are Slim, but It Might Be Our Only Hope," by J.D. Tuccille

"The National Debt Just Hit $36 Trillion. Does Trump Have a Plan To Control It?" by Eric Boehm

"To Cut Wasteful Spending, Start With Energy Subsidies," by Jeff Luse

"The Impact of Trump's Cost-Cutting Initiative Hinges on What He Means by 'Government Efficiency,'" by Jacob Sullum

"To Succeed at Cutting Government, Musk and Ramaswamy Must Take on Entitlements," by Eric Boehm

"The 19 Percent Solution: How to balance the budget without raising taxes," by Nick Gillespie and Veronique de Rugy

"How Donald Trump and Elon Musk Could Cut $2 Trillion in Government Spending," by Veronique de Rugy

"The Math Does Not Favor Avoiding Senate Scrutiny of Trump's Bizarre Cabinet Picks," by Jacob Sullum

"Will Donald Trump and RFK Jr. Psychedelicize America?" by Nick Gillespie

"Can RFK Jr. Fix Our Dysfunctional Public Health Agencies?" by Ronald Bailey

"Matt Gaetz's Personality Irked His GOP Colleagues. There Are Better Reasons To Oppose His Nomination." by Jacob Sullum

"Trump Nominates Matt Gaetz as Attorney General," by C.J. Ciaramella

"One Brainworm To Rule Them All," by Liz Wolfe

"Abolish the FDA," by Jeffrey A. Singer

"Abolish Antitrust Law," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Trump's Immigration Picks Are Terrible," by Fiona Harrigan

"Abolish the TSA," by Robby Soave

"Abolish Borders," by Christopher Freiman

"Abolish the National Park Service," by Eric Boehm

"Abolish ICE," by Fiona Harrigan

"Get in Line! Now, Stay Out!" by Mike Flynn, Shikha Dalmia, and Terry Colon

"Infographic: How Republicans and Democrats View Federal Agencies"

"Meet Trump's Incredibly Confusing New National Security Cabinet," by Matthew Petti

"Abolish the NSA and CIA," by Ronald Bailey

"Abolish the Army," by Matthew Petti

"What is the Future of Immigration?" by Shane Smith

"'I've got a bad feeling about this,'" by Nick Gillespie

The Psychedelic Society, an masterclass on Aldous Huxley's Island. Use the code REASON for a discount. https://hereandnowstudios.com/the-psychedelic-society

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The post How Elon Musk and DOGE Can Deliver on Smaller Government appeared first on Reason Magazine.

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman react to last week's presidential election and forecast what might come next.

01:55—"Big picture" election reaction

27:02—"Little picture" election reaction

38:27—Weekly listener question

48:58—Trump's ideas on anti-censorship

52:59—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Patrick Ruffini: Why Did Trump Win?" by Zach Weissmueller and Liz Wolfe

"Live on Election Night with Nick Gillespie!" by Nick Gillespie, Coleman Hughes, Kmele Foster, Peter Meijer, Allison Schrager, and Peter Suderman

"A Red-District Conqueror Wants Fellow Democrats to Look in the Mirror" by Annie Karni

"How Trump Won in Maps and Charts" by Financial Times

"How the GOP Became a (More) Multicultural Party" by Jesse Walker

"Was 2024 the Gender Gap Election?" by Emma Camp

"What, If Anything, Will Democrats Learn From This Election?" by Joe Lancaster

"Throw the Bums Out" by Eric Boehm

"Did Trump Run an Actually Good Campaign?" by Liz Wolfe

"Donald Trump Won Because Kamala Harris Is Joe Biden but Worse" by Robby Soave

"Voters Didn't Reject Women, They Rejected Kamala Harris" by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"How Donald Trump and Elon Musk Could Cut $2 Trillion in Government Spending" by Veronique de Rugy

"Want To Lower the Political Temperature? Make the Presidency Less Important" by C.J. Ciaramella

"How Much Will Trump's Tariffs Cost?" by Eric Boehm

"Study: Mass Deportation Could Put 28 Million People at Risk of Family Separation" by Kevin Garcia-Galindo

"Most People Support School Choice. Why Won't They Vote For It?" by Emma Camp

"This Week's Election Results Are a Discouraging Sign for Drug Policy Reformers" by Jacob Sullum

"California's Rent Control Initiative Goes Down in Flames" by Christian Britschgi

"The Classic Neocons Are Out, but They Might Still Get What They Want" by Matthew Petti

"Trump Has Many Grudges. Now He Has a Chance To Act on Them." by Jacob Sullum

"Will Trump Make Good on His Campaign Promises?" Spectator Americano podcast with Nick Gillespie

"Why Trump Won" Spiked Online's post-election podcast with Nick Gillespie

"St. Martha: Why Martha Stewart should go to heaven and the SEC should go to hell" by Michael McMenamin

"It's Too Bad We Can't Fire More Governors" by Matt Welch

"Sean Baker's Anora Is a Riotous Celebration of Working-Class Life" by Peter Suderman

"If we don't have free speech, then we just don't have a free country." by @realDonaldTrump

"One thing you have to say about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr…is that he doesn't miss a beat when he says I will legalize psychedelics" by Nick Gillespie

"Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is one of very few Democrats who won in a heavily red district."

Upcoming Events:

Reason Speakeasy: Martin Gurri, November 18th, 2024

Send your questions to [email protected]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

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The post Trump Won. What's Next? appeared first on Reason.com.

Will Election 2024 result in an orderly transfer of power—or will the results unleash controversy and chaos that threatens the foundations of our democracy? Before America goes to the polls on November 5, you're invited to join the four hosts of The Reason Roundtable—Reason Magazine's own Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, and Matt Welch—live from New York City for a no-holds-barred discussion of what this election means for the future of America.

The Reason Roundtable is a rollicking contretemps between these four opinionated journalists as they put their personal "free minds and free markets" filter on the biggest stories of today. During this hour-long live taping of the popular weekly podcast, expect lively roasting and incisive analysis.

This was filmed live in front of a live audience in New York City.

The post Live On Election Eve With The Reason Roundtable! appeared first on Reason.com.

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman convene one week ahead of the election to highlight a few issues where the major-party presidential candidates have significant differences.

01:53—The presidential candidates on tariffs, debt, foreign policy, and education

35:01—Weekly listener question

43:38—Election integrity ahead of next week's election

52:43—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"How To Avoid Paying Tariffs? Have a Friend in Washington," by Eric Boehm

"Perils of Broad Presidential Power Over Tariffs," by Ilya Somin

"Trump's Destructive Tariff Proposals Will Make Us All Poorer," by J.D. Tuccille

"Where Is Trump's Plan To Cut Spending?" by Eric Boehm

"Trump, Harris Ads Make Clear They Won't Be Cutting Government," by Christian Britschgi

"Democratic Platform Attacks Trump for Not Going to War," by Matthew Petti

"Party of COVID-19 Authoritarianism Improbably Rebrands as 'Party of Freedom'," by Matt Welch

"Show Us Your Votes, Cowards!" by Matt Welch

"How Are Reason Staffers Voting in 2024?"

"American Elections Are a Mess, and They Always Have Been," by Eric Boehm

"Placing Harris and Trump Tax Plans in Historical Context," by Erica York and Nicolo Pastrone

"Why Americans are worried about voter fraud but have faith in their own elections," by Matt Loffman

"Spending is the best measure of the size and scope of government," by Nick Gillespie

"How the World Works Podcast with Nick Gillespie," by Kevin Williamson

"New York abstains, courteously," 1776

1776: Original trailer

Ben Schiller, Coindesk archive

Upcoming Events:

Send your questions to [email protected]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

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Audio production by Ian Keyser

The post How Trump and Harris Meaningfully Differ appeared first on Reason.com.

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman welcome back special guest Stephanie Slade to chat about the latest in polling results and the shape of the electorate two weeks ahead of the presidential election.

02:16—Latest in polling data two weeks out from the presidential election

33:04—Weekly listener question

44:15—Takeaways from Vice President Kamala Harris' interview with Fox News' Bret Baier.

51:23—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"End Times" by Liz Wolfe

"To Get Through This Election, Get Some Fresh Air" by Joe Lancaster

"How Are Reason Staffers Voting in 2024?"

"Donald Trump and Kamala Harris Keep Making Economically Illiterate Promises" by John Stossel

"Mark Robinson Files Frivolous Lawsuit Against CNN and a Local Musician" by Joe Lancaster

"Will Trump or Harris Win the Working-Class Vote?" by Nick Gillespie

"J.D. Vance Completes Trump's Ideological Takeover of the Republican Party" by Matt Welch

"Patrick Ruffini: Why Blacks and Hispanics Are Turning to Trump" by Nick Gillespie

"Must Libertarians Care About More Than the State?" by Stephanie Slade

"Can Free Markets Win Votes in the New GOP?" by Stephanie Slade

"Is There a Future for Fusionism?" by Stephanie Slade

"Foxy Kamala" by Liz Wolfe

Upcoming Events:

Reason Speakeasy: Musa al-Gharbi, October 24, 2024

Send your questions to [email protected]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's sponsors:

Audio production by Ian Keyser

Assistant production by Hunt Beaty

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

The post Should We Trust the 2024 Election Polls? appeared first on Reason.com.

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman parse the presidential candidates' latest batch of confounding ideas on tax policy before lamenting their various cringe media appearances over the past week.

05:21—Tax policy proposals

31:44—Weekly listener question

43:38—Candidate cringe media hits

54:18—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Trump Panders to Auto Industry, Proposes Making Car Loan Interest Tax Deductible" by Joe Lancaster

"Instead of Vote-Buying Tax Promises, Let's Have Real Plans for Tax Relief" by J.D. Tuccille

"How Much Will the Major Presidential Candidates Steal From You?" by J.D. Tuccille

"Carving Out a Tax Cut Just for Tips Doesn't Make More Sense When Kamala Harris Does It" by Eric Boehm

"Kamala Harris' Plan To Hike Corporate Income Taxes Would Fall on All Americans" by Eric Boehm

"Harris: "Not a thing" she'd have done differently than Biden" by Erin Doherty

"The U.S. Can't Afford To Cut Taxes on Social Security Benefits" by Veronique de Rugy

"Biden and Harris' Record on Spending and Debt Is a Tragedy of Epic Proportion" by Veronique de Rugy

"Where They Stand: The Presidential Candidates on Issues That Matter to Older Americans" by AARP

"Sources of Federal Revenue" by Fiscal Data/Treasury Department

"Vivek Ramaswamy Is Wrong about National Debt: We Can't Grow Our Way Out of Its Ruinous Economic Impact" by Nick Gillespie

"Budget Deficit Hit $1.8 Trillion After Huge Increase in Borrowing Costs" by Eric Boehm

"Trump's Proposals Would Add $5.8 Trillion to the Deficit" by Eric Boehm

"Free the Art! Sell the Art!" by Crispin Sartwell

"How Will Reason Staffers Vote in 2020?"

"Show Us Your Vote!" by Matt Welch

"Neal Stephenson's Past, Present, and Future" by Mike Godwin

"Neal Stephenson Wants To Tell Big Stories" by Tyler Cowen

"Tyler Cowen's Stubborn Attachments To Freedom and Prosperity" by Nick Gillespie

"My biggest concern remains the carburetor-eating" by IowaHawkBlog

The tower has caught the rocket!!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 13, 2024

Upcoming Events:

Reason Speakeasy: Musa al-Gharbi, October 24, 2024

Send your questions to [email protected]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's sponsors:

Audio production by Ian Keyser

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Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

The post Harris and Trump's Terrible Tax Ideas appeared first on Reason.com.

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman reflect on last year's October 7 terrorist attack in Israel and the destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Helene across the southeastern United States.

02:27—October 7, one year on

20:07—Hurricane Helene aftermath

35:41—Weekly listener question

43:25—Last week's vice presidential debate

53:08—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"A Year Since the Massacre" by Liz Wolfe

"October 7 Offered a Stark Choice Between Good and Evil" by J.D. Tuccille

"Ayatollah's Antagonism" by Liz Wolfe

"U.S.-Funded Armies Fight Each Other In Lebanon" by Matthew Petti

"What If the U.S. Cuts Off Aid to Israel?" by Matt Welch

"Washington Worsened Hurricane Helene's Destruction" by Jack Nicastro

"After the War" by Matt Welch

"Contra J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, Housing Should Be a 'Commodity,'" by Christian Britscghi

"At V.P. Debate, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz Scapegoat Immigrants, 'Corporate Speculators' for High Housing Costs" by Christian Britschgi

"The Coming Vindication of the Double-Haters" by Katherine Mangu-Ward

"Joker: Folie à Deux* Is a Miserable Musical Slog" by Peter Suderman

"The Government Monopoly on Donated Kidneys Is Killing Americans" by Eric Boehm

Upcoming Events:

Reason Speakeasy: Musa al-Gharbi, October 24, 2024

Send your questions to [email protected]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's sponsors:

Audio production by Ian Keyser

Assistant production by Hunt Beaty

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

The post Why Federal Disaster Relief Is a Disaster appeared first on Reason.com.

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman gawk at the amusing circumstances surrounding the federal indictment of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, before discussing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent in-person visits with both presidential candidates.

02:25—New York City Mayor Eric Adams indicted in a federal corruption investigation

21:58—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump

35:46—Weekly listener question

49:27—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Turkish Delight" by Liz Wolfe

"Could Eric Adams' Corruption Charges Sink His Signature Zoning Reform?" by Christian Britschgi

"The "Migrant Crisis" is Caused by Flawed Work and Housing Policies, not Migrants" by Ilya Somin

"NYC Mayoral Frontrunner Eric Adams Talks Conspiratorial Nonsense About 'Voter Suppression,'" by Matt Welch

"Port Authoritarians" by Jim Epstein

"You take someone on heroin, put them in one room, and someone hooked on cheese, put 'em in another room, and you take it away, I challenge you to tell me the person who's hooked on heroin and who's hooked on cheese." New York City Mayor Eric Adams

"NYC paid millions for unnecessary migrant services, comptroller's report says" by Marcia Kramer

"'Vegan' Mayor Eric Adams Under Fire for Repeatedly Ordering Fish at NYC Restaurants" by Luke Fortney

"NYC Mayor Adams' Approval Hit Bottom Even Before Scandal" by Katarina Buchholz

"The War in Ukraine Is Already Over—Russia Just Doesn't Know it Yet" by Paul Schwennesen

"Ukraine Is Safer If It Stays Out of NATO" by Paul Schwennesen

"What If the U.S. Cuts Off Aid to Israel?" by Matt Welch

"Send in the Estonians?" by Liz Wolfe

"U.S. Defense Spending Continues To Spiral Out of Control" by Varad Raingoankar

"What if America Runs Out of Bombs?" by Matthew Petti

"After the War" by Matt Welch

"Rents Fall and Listings Increase After Javier Milei Ends Rent Control In Argentina" by Katarina Hall

"Helen Fisher on COVID's Sexless Summer" by Nick Gillespie

"Dr. Helen Fisher on How Brain Chemistry Determines Personality and Politics" by Ian Keyser

"Helen Fisher, Who Researched the Brain's Love Circuitry, Dies at 79" by Richard Sandomir

Upcoming Events:

Reason Speakeasy: Musa al-Gharbi October 24, 2024

Send your questions to [email protected]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's sponsors:

Audio production by Ian Keyser

Assistant production by Hunt Beaty

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

The post Eric Adams and New York City's Corruption Problem appeared first on Reason.com.

Hey, Reason Roundtable listeners, we've got a special bonus episode for your Friday afternoon this week!

Why are prescription drugs so expensive in the United States?

"Drug prices in this country are so high because there is zero transparency in the system, and when there's zero transparency in a market, there is no way for it to be efficient," says Mark Cuban, the serial entrepreneur, investor on Shark Tank, and guest on the first episode of the second season of Why We Can't Have Nice Things. 

When a market is inefficient, adds Cuban, "people learn very quickly how to take advantage of those inefficiencies to their own profit, and that's exactly what's happened in the health care and pharmacy side."

Cuban is trying to do something about the lack of transparency in the prescription drug market. In 2022, he launched CostPlusDrugs.com, a website that offers low prices and direct shipping for hundreds of pharmaceuticals and generics. By showing their markup—a standard 15 percent on everything—and encouraging consumers to make their purchases without going through insurance plans, Cuban's project is attempting to inject a bit of capitalism into a health care market that sorely needs it.

It's the perfect story to kick off the new season of Why We Can't Have Nice Things, which focuses on how bad regulations and anticompetitive rules are making Americans poorer and sicker. Over the next six weeks, this limited-run Reason podcast series will dive into some of the acute problems with the American health care system, examining how poor policy making is keeping doctors from treating patients and blocking patients from getting needed treatment.

The lack of transparency in drug pricing is one of those problems. Price signals are essential to a functioning market—but the prescription drug market seems designed to hide those signals as much as possible.

The result is higher prices for everyone. For a lot of Americans, those prices are a source of economic hardship. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 21 percent of adults say they have not filled a prescription because of the cost. Meanwhile, about one in 10 adults say they have cut pills in half or skipped doses of medicine in the last year because of the cost.

Cuban's newest venture could be part of the solution. A Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published last year found that the federal government could save taxpayers up to $2.15 billion annually if insurers operating in the Medicare prescription drug plans purchased seven generic oncology drugs at the prices obtained by Cost Plus Drugs.

More transparent pricing would have a bigger impact if more Americans were in control of their own health care spending, argues Michael Cannon, the director of health policy for the Cato Institute.

"You can show them the prices, but they're not going to care unless it's their money on the line," Cannon says. Unfortunately, close to 90 percent of all health care spending in the United States comes from the government or from private insurance companies, leaving individuals with little influence.

"As a result, we get a health sector that doesn't serve the needs of consumers and patients," says Cannon. "We get a health sector that serves the needs of employers and of the government and whoever controls the government, which ends up being the health care industry."

Written by Eric Boehm; produced and edited by Hunt Beaty; fact-checking by Anthony Wallace.

The post Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Can Mark Cuban Make Prescriptions Affordable Again? appeared first on Reason.com.

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Nick Gillespie, Peter Suderman, and special guest Elizabeth Nolan Brown unpack the charges and implications of the federal sex trafficking case against Sean "Diddy" Combs.

01:45—Sean "Diddy" Combs faces federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges

17:13—CNN unearths North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson's lurid posts on a porn message board

29:49—Weekly listener question

38:09—Government shutdown looms yet again

41:12—Oprah Winfrey interviews Vice President Kamala Harris

56:12—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Decoding the Sex Trafficking Case Against Sean 'Diddy' Combs" by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Remembering the Mann Act or, How Prostitution Killed the Constitution" by Nick Gillespie

"Sex Slaves and the Surveillance State" by Thaddeus Russell

"Congress 'Can Regulate Virtually Everything,'" by Jacob Sullum

"Backpage's Michael Lacey Gets 5-Year Sentence" by Liz Wolfe

"The War on Sex Trafficking Is the New War on Drugs" by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Kamala Harris Is a Cop Who Wants To Be President" by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"'Yeah, I'm a "Perv" Too!'" by Eric Boehm

Mark Robinson: 'There is no separation of church and state.'

"The GOP's Long Love Affair with Schmucks" by Nick Gillespie

"The 2024 GOP Platform Barely Mentions Gun Rights" by Jacob Sullum

"Neither Harris Nor Her Party Perceives Any Constitutional Constraints on Gun Control" by Jacob Sullum

"Donald Trump Tax Plan and Ideas: Details and Analysis" by Tax Foundation

"Kamala Harris Tax Plan and Ideas: Details and Analysis" by Tax Foundation

"Flip-Flopping Toward Freedom?" by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Trump Dodged My Question About the Federal Debt" by Nick Gillespie

"Kamala Harris Is Not an Ideas Candidate" by Christian Britschgi

"Trump Dodged My Question about the Federal Debt" by Nick Gillespie

"Why Did Americans Stop Caring about the National Debt?" by Brian Riedl

"An Evening with Richard Dawkins: The Final Bow Tour"

"How the War of 1812 Eroded U.S. Liberalism" by Sheldon Richman

Upcoming Events:

Send your questions to [email protected]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's sponsors:

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Assistant production by Hunt Beaty

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

The post Get Your Gross Sex Out of My Sick Politics! appeared first on Reason.com.