The Reason Roundtable

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss President Donald Trump's escalating rhetoric around the war in Iran, including a profanity-laced Easter weekend Truth Social post. They examine what it reveals about a conflict with shifting timelines, unclear objectives, and little public support, along with the domestic consequences of the war, including rising gas prices surging above $4 per gallon. The panel also weighs Trump's proposal for a $1.5 trillion defense budget, the largest in modern history, and what it says about the administration's priorities.

Next, the panel turns to the broader federal budget, where rising spending continues without any serious attempt to address the deficit. The editors then check in on NASA's Artemis program, weighing the excitement of returning to the moon against persistent delays, cost overruns, and the growing role of private space companies. They also answer a listener's question about what libertarian alternatives to Medicare for All might look like, focusing on deregulation, catastrophic coverage, and restoring price signals in the health care system.

Reason is hiring! Check out the two open roles on the video team now:
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0:00—Trump's Truth Social Easter rant

14:57—The $1.5 trillion defense budget

22:36—The New York Times student debt story

28:55—Listener question on Medicare for All

43:41—Analyzing Artemis

51:58—Weekly cultural recommendations

"'I Am Blowing Up Everything,'" by Eric Boehm

"Ro Khanna: Congress Has Surrendered on War," by Nick Gillespie

"Trump's Call for a $1.5 Trillion Military Budget Is Irresponsible, Wasteful, and Unrealistic," by Eric Boehm

"10 Years Ago Today, Trump Promised To Eliminate the National Debt. Instead, It Has Doubled," by Eric Boehm

"Debt Denialists," by Matt Welch

"Generational Warfare," by Nick Gillespie and Veronique de Rugy

"Why I Prefer French Health Care," by Matt Welch

"Artemis II Launches a New Era of Lunar Exploration," by Natalie Dowzicky

"NASA's Artemis Program Is a Monument to Government Waste. It Can Only Go Up From Here," by Quade MacDonald

"The Zendaya Romance The Drama Is Weirder and More Uncomfortable Than You Expect," by Peter Suderman

Green Lantern/Green Arrow, by Dennis O'Neill and Neal Adams

Captain America #156

The post Why Does Trump Want the Biggest Defense Budget Ever? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss the recent verdicts against Meta and the growing legal and cultural push to treat social media like a harmful, addictive product. Multiple juries decided that platforms such as Instagram and YouTube were negligently designed and that they contributed to mental health harms among young users, raising comparisons to Big Tobacco and intensifying the debate over which online activities are protected speech. The panel considers whether the real issue is design features such as infinite scroll and algorithmic feeds or simply content itself.

The panel then examines the latest developments in the Iran conflict, where the White House has suggested that the war may be nearing its end even as the Pentagon prepares plans that could include ground troops and the seizure of Iran's nuclear stockpile. They also take up a listener question about how libertarians can make the case for community and human connection without relying on government. Finally, they discuss the deployment of ICE agents to airports during the DHS shutdown. Are those agents helping ease delays, or are they making an already strained system worse?

Reason is hiring! Check out the two open roles on the video team now:
https://reason.org/jobs/associate-producer/
https://reason.org/jobs/producer/

0:00–Is social media addictive?

"A Jury Hit Meta With a $375 Million Verdict. The Open Internet May Pay the Price," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
"#Addiction," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
"Taylor Lorenz: Is Social Media Responsible for Bad Parenting?" by Nick Gillespie
"Hail to the Censor!" by Matt Welch

The post You're Wrong About Social Media Being Addictive appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss whether it's finally time to abolish the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The panel examines the growing chaos at American airports as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents begin replacing TSA officials amid the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding standoff in Washington. They explore how airport security became entangled in broader immigration debates, whether agencies like TSA and DHS serve a necessary function, and what it says about a system where basic travel operations can break down over unrelated political fights.

Next, the panel considers the real legacy of labor leader Cesar Chavez and what it reveals about the influence of unions in modern Democratic politics, before turning to new evidence that blue state tax policies are driving out wealth and high earners. They also discuss a jury's decision to clear Afroman in a defamation case tied to music videos mocking police officers who raided his home. Finally, a listener asks what a libertarian, constitutional approach to U.S. action in Cuba might look like.

Reason is hiring! Check out the two open roles on the video team now:
https://reason.org/jobs/associate-producer/
https://reason.org/jobs/producer/

0:00—Abolish the TSA

15:51—The real legacy of Cesar Chavez

28:21—Blue state wealth taxes

34:41—Listener question on Cuba

40:52—Justice for Afroman

46:27—Weekly cultural recommendations

"Have an ICE Flight," by Eric Boehm

"Government Shutdowns Won't Stop Airport Security If Airport Security Isn't Run by the Government," by Jack Nicastro

"DHS Pledges Not To Deport Any U.S. Citizens if Congress Ends Shutdown," by Joe Lancaster

"Stossel: Government Shutdown Shows Private Is Better," by John Stossel and Maxim Lott

"Would You Be Afraid to Fly If the TSA Were Abolished?" by Ronald Bailey

"Make America Safer: Shut Down the Department of Homeland Security," by Chris Edwards

"Overhauling U.S. Airport Security Screening," by Robert Poole and Shirley Ybarra

"Cesar Chavez's Other Crimes," by Nick Gillespie

"Cesar Chavez Accused of Sexual Abuse," by Peter Suderman

"Forced to Unionize: Is this Cesar Chavez's Legacy?" by Zach Weissmueller

"Harvest of Power," by Patty Newman

"Who's Bankrolling the UFW?" by Patty Newman

"Labor Lost: Why the AFL-CIO's survival strategy is doomed," by Michael McMenamin

"New York Gov. Hochul Begs 'High-Net-Worth' Refugees To Return and Be Taxed," by J.D. Tuccille

"Seattle's Minimum Wage Laws Backfired on Uber and Lyft. Now the Union Wants To Limit Drivers," by C. Jarrett Dieterle

"Mamdani Might Raid a Severely Underfunded Retiree Fund To Balance New York City's Bursting Budget," by Mariana Trujillo

"California's Billionaire Tax Won't Save Hospitals," by Veronique de Rugy

"NYC Spent Over $368 Million To Combat Homelessness This Past Fiscal Year. Now the State Can't Track the Money," by Megan O'Rourke

"Washington State Just Passed a 9.9% Income Tax on Those Making $1 Million," by Jack Nicastro

"California Billionaire Wealth Tax Would Cost the State $25 Billion, New Research Finds," by Jack Nicastro

"Wealth Taxes Are Proven Failures. Will California Take Note?" by Veronique de Rugy

"California's 'Billionaire Tax' Could Bite Harder Than Advertised," by J.D. Tuccille

"As Trump Talks of 'Taking Cuba,' Real Change Requires More Than Replacing Its Leader," by Katarina Hall

"Regime Change in Cuba: 'Just a Matter of Time,'" by Matt Welch

"Jury Clears Afroman of Defamation for Mocking Cops Who Raided His House," by C.J. Ciaramella

"Project Hail Mary Is Another 'You Can Just Do Things' Story From Sci-Fi Novelist Andy Weir," by Peter Suderman

"Project Hail Mary," by Christian Britschgi

"Andy Weir Is Looking Forward to the Space Boom," by Katherine Mangu-Ward

"After The Martian, Andy Weir Goes to the Moon," by Katherine Mangu-Ward

The post It's Time To Abolish the TSA appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss the legacy of Paul Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, and the enduring impact of the overpopulation panic he helped popularize. They examine how dire predictions of mass famine and societal collapse dominated headlines for decades, why those forecasts failed to materialize, and how elite institutions and media outlets often continue promoting similar narratives with little reflection on past errors.

Next, the panel discusses the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) threat to revoke broadcast licenses over war coverage the White House dislikes, before analyzing Vice President J.D. Vance's effort to position himself as an Iran war skeptic inside the White House. Then, the editors answer a listener's question about whether the Department of Homeland Security still serves a useful purpose as a centralized hub for intelligence sharing. Finally, the panel remembers Reason Senior Editor Brian Doherty by reflecting on his enormous influence as a historian of the libertarian movement.

Reason is hiring! Check out the two open roles on the video team now:
https://reason.org/jobs/associate-producer/
https://reason.org/jobs/producer/

0:00—The myth of overpopulation panic

19:22—The FCC threatens broadcasters over war coverage

24:05—Vance positions himself as an Iran war skeptic

31:46—Listener question on Department of Homeland Security

38:55—Remembering Brian Doherty

46:59—Weekly cultural recommendations

"Population Doomster and False Prophet of Ecological Apocalypse Paul Ehrlich Has Died," by Ronald Bailey

"60 Minutes Promotes Paul Ehrlich's Failed Doomsaying One More Time," by Ronald Bailey

"Civilization Is Doomed, Says Stanford Biologist Paul Ehrlich (Again)," by Ronald Bailey

"Population Doomster Paul Ehrlich's New Forecast: 'Biological Annihilation,'" by Ronald Bailey

"Doomster Paul Ehrlich Unrepentant: 'My language would be even more apocalyptic today.'" By Ronald Bailey

"Betting on Humanity's Future," by Ronald Bailey

"Paul Ehrlich Sounds the Trump of Doom Again: And This Time It's A 'Consensus,'" by Ronald Bailey

"Paul Ehrlich Goes Up Against 'Well-Funded, Merciless Enemies' to Save the Earth from Certain Destruction. Again," by Katherine Mangu-Ward

"Julian Simon Was Right: Ingenuity Leads to Abundance," by J.D. Tuccille

"FCC Chair Threatens Media Outlets That Don't Report Good Iran War News," by Joe Lancaster

"Trump Wants To Cover Up Bad News About the Iran War," by Matthew Petti

"Trump and Vance Promised 'No New Wars.' What Happened To That?" by Steven Greenhut

"Homeland Insecurity," by Brian Doherty

"Abolish the Department of Homeland Security," by Nick Gillespie and Justin Zuckerman

"Brian Doherty, Historian of the Libertarian Movement, Dead at 57," by Matt Welch

"Remembering Brian Doherty, Chronicler of and Participant in Wild and Wonderful Subcultures," by Nick Gillespie

"Brian Doherty: The fascinating women and weirdos who founded libertarianism," by Nick Gillespie

"I Dreamed I Saw Joey Ramone Last Night: The P.C. eulogizing of a punk rocker," by Nick Gillespie and Brian Doherty

"Me and the Orgone—The True Story of One Man's Sexual Awakening," by Orson Bean

"Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley: More People Means More Wealth," by Nick Gillespie

"One Battle After Another Lets Leftist Radicals Off the Hook," by Peter Suderman

The post Why the Media Pushes Public Health Myths appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss the escalating war with Iran and its growing economic consequences. With oil prices surging past $100 a barrel, the panel examines the risks to global energy markets and the broader economy. They also debate the war's trajectory after Iran elevates a new hardline supreme leader and launches wider counterattacks, raising fears of global escalation, nuclear proliferation, and the White House signaling that Cuba could be the next target.

They also discuss the removal of Kristi Noem as secretary of Homeland Security and what her turbulent tenure says about the popularity of hardline immigration tactics. Then, the editors look at new polling showing that Americans dislike artificial intelligence more than Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), continue to view government as the country's biggest problem, and report collapsing levels of social trust. They also answer a listener's question about drug use in libertarian circles.

0:00—Economic fallout of war with Iran

10:12—China and the risk of global escalation

25:04—Noem removed as secretary of Homeland Security

35:36—Listener question on libertarian drug use

44:27—New polling on AI, social trust, and government approval

57:30—Weekly cultural recommendations

"Regime Change in Cuba: 'Just a Matter of Time,'" by Matt Welch

"What Is Life Like Beneath the Bombs of the Iran War?" by Matthew Petti

"Jobs Are Down While the U.S. Spends $2 Billion a Day on War With Iran," by
Joe Lancaster

"Trump Bragged About Lower Gas Prices. Then He Bombed Iran," by Joe Lancaster

"Senate Punts on Iran War Powers as Ground War Grows More Likely," by Matthew Petti

"Yes, the Iran War Is a 'War of Choice,' and a Bad One," by Nick Gillespie

"The Iran War Is Unconstitutional," by Damon Root

"Temporary Doves," by Matt Welch

"Kristi Noem's Lies About DHS Shootings Don't Seem To Have Figured in Trump's Decision To Fire Her," by Jacob Sullum

"Trump Fires Kristi Noem From DHS," by Robby Soave

"In Senate Testimony on DHS Shootings, Kristi Noem Lies About Her Lies," by Jacob Sullum

"DHS Spent $220 Million on Ads Featuring Kristi Noem. Both Parties Grilled Her About It in the Senate," by Autumn Billings

"Reason's Classic Pot Brownies," by Katherine Mangu-Ward

The post Will the War in Iran Crash the Global Economy? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss the U.S. military strikes against Iran, and why the United States repeatedly finds itself pulled into wars in the Middle East. The panel examines the White House's original narrative around the 2025 bombings of Iran's nuclear facilities and what evidence supports claims that Tehran posed an imminent threat to U.S. national security. They debate whether President Donald Trump's approach reflects a coherent strategy or a slide toward another open-ended conflict. The editors also consider Congress' reluctance to assert its war powers, the limited public support for the operation, fractures within Trump's coalition, and the risk of escalation.

They also unpack the Pentagon's clash with Anthropic after the AI company was labeled a supply chain risk when it refused to drop safety guardrails on its technology, a move that will shut the firm out of federal contracts. The editors discuss what that authority means in practice, how it shapes the relationship between Silicon Valley and the military, and what it signals about AI's growing role in national defense. They also respond to a listener's question about whether regime change wars are morally distinct from other conflicts and whether preemptive self-defense fits within libertarian principles.

0:00—How does the White House justify bombing Iran?

9:11—Do the strikes on Iran need congressional authorization?

16:21—Trump's mixed messaging on Iran

29:49—Conservative influencers divided over Iran

38:18—Listener question on regime change

48:13—Anthropic gets blacklisted by the Pentagon

1:00:02—Weekly cultural recommendations

"Bombed Iran," by Robby Soave

"Trump Should Have Made His Case for War to Congress and the American People," by J.D. Tuccille

"The Goalposts of the Iran War Keep Shifting," by Matthew Petti

"Why Don't Democratic Leaders Want To Vote on the Iran War?" by Matthew Petti

"Obama's Doctrine of Preemptive War," by Matt Welch

"Anthropic Labeled a Supply Chain Risk, Banned from Federal Government Contracts," by Jack Nicastro

The post Trump's War With Iran Is Unjustified and Unpopular appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, Reason reporter Eric Boehm joins editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Nick Gillespie to discuss the Supreme Court's decision striking down President Donald Trump's "emergency" tariffs. They examine the major questions doctrine, Justice Neil Gorsuch's concurring opinion, and whether the ruling meaningfully restrains executive power or just invites years of new litigation. The panel also considers what the decision means for businesses and foreign governments that rushed to cut deals, and they talk about what Trump's irritated response reveals about his next moves.

They then turn to the Middle East, where a rapid buildup of U.S. military forces has raised fresh fears of a possible war with Iran and renewed debate over how to respond to hostile regimes pursuing nuclear weapons. A listener asks whether a libertarian dream matchup of Rand Paul versus Jared Polis could ever happen and what it would take to convince reluctant candidates to run. The editors also discuss AI, surveillance, and privacy in light of new reporting on how tech companies handle user data.

0:00–Supreme Court ruling on Trump's tariffs

"Trump's New Tariffs Are Probably Illegal Too," by Eric Boehm

The post Trump Replaces Old Illegal Tariffs With New Illegal Tariffs appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman and Katherine Mangu-Ward are joined by Senior Editor Robby Soave and reporter Reem Ibrahim to discuss the rapidly expanding global fight over free speech. The conversation begins with reporting that the Department of Homeland Security is seeking identifying information on Americans who criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement online. They also examine President Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC and the broader international trend toward regulating social media and criminalizing online speech.

The panel then turns to the Federal Communications Commission chair's pressure campaign against Disney and Comcast and calls from Republican officials to investigate Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, and what those moves say about the state of free expression in the United States. They also unpack the latest developments in the Jeffrey Epstein saga, including new reporting on UCLA professor Mark Tramo, the widening circle of consequences for Epstein's associates, and whether the moment resembles a belated reckoning similar to #MeToo. A listener asks how libertarians should think about free speech in the age of AI-generated deepfakes, before the panel examines Trump's failing tariff strategy and the growing rift between the U.S. and key allies.

0:00—DHS wants to identify online critics

The post DHS Wants To Unmask Online Critics appeared first on Reason Magazine.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss Katherine's New York Times op-ed, "Libertarians Tried to Warn You About Trump," which lays out how Trump-era governance has repeatedly vindicated libertarian warnings about executive power, civil liberties, and the risks of trading principle for partisan advantage. The group then turns to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's defense of warrantless Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) searches as a concrete example of how quickly Republican commitments to constitutional limits can erode once a party is in power, and why libertarian ideas so often get embraced only in opposition.

The conversation then shifts to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show and the now-permanent state of the American culture war, as political figures and influencers on the right, including President Donald Trump himself, weighed in to bash the performance. They discuss whether this cycle of outrage is simply what audiences and politicians now want, and how it crowds out serious debate about governance and the economy. A listener asks when each panelist had their own "aha" moment about the failures of the two-party system, before the editors turn to Trump's decision to continue funding the Department of Education, despite his promises to dismantle it.

0:00—Libertarians warned about Trump

13:56—Johnson complains about the Fourth Amendment

20:30—Bad Bunny and the culture wars

28:35—Trump's racist "Lion King" Obama meme

34:44—Listener question on libertarian lightbulb moments

44:34—Trump continues funding the Department of Education

52:14—Weekly cultural recommendations

"Libertarians Tried to Warn You," by Katherine Mangu-Ward

"Trump 2.0, Year 1: A Libertarian Nightmare," by Brian Doherty

"Claiming Bad Bunny Isn't Successful Is as Foolish As Claiming He Isn't American," by Eric Boehm

"Half-Hearted Halftime Outrage," by Christian Britschgi

"Mike Johnson Wants To Spare ICE the Hassle of Getting the Right Warrant Before Forcibly Entering a Home," by Damon Root

"So Much for Abolishing the Department of Education," by Eric Boehm

The post Libertarians Tried To Warn You About Executive Power appeared first on Reason Magazine.

On this special episode of The Reason Roundtable, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch are live from Washington, D.C., to discuss growing concerns about the Trump administration's rhetoric around elections. They dig into President Donald Trump's call to "nationalize" elections, the administration's pressure on states over voter data, and how those moves fit alongside January 6 and earlier efforts to overturn election results. The group debates how worried Americans should be about centralized election control and what it would mean for democratic legitimacy if one party gained greater authority over the voting process.

The discussion then moves on to assess Trump's first year back in office, with each panelist reflecting on what concerns them most and what, if anything, they've liked from this administration. Suderman then turns the federal budget into a live guessing game of "How Much Did That Cost?" From there, the editors discuss Washington, D.C., itself, and the state of city governance, before analyzing the Super Bowl and the culture-war expectations around the halftime show.

0:00—Trump wants to nationalize elections

6:10—Reviewing the first year of Trump's second term

14:47—How much did that cost?

18:54—Governance in Washington, D.C.

27:24—Culture wars and the Super Bowl

36:44—Cultural recommendations

The post Do Republicans Want To Control Elections? appeared first on Reason Magazine.