The Best of Reason: After a Century, the Federal Tea Board Is Finally Dead
Imported tea was required for decades to pass a literal taste test before it could be sold in the United States.
Artificial Intelligence
The Best of Reason: The Future of Immigration Is Privatization
New immigration pathways are letting private citizens welcome refugees and other migrants—and getting the government out of the way.
The Best of Reason: Commander in Chains: 7 Scenarios If Trump Is Jailed and Wins the Election
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents an inmate from winning the presidency.
Border Pageantry
Plus: Putin threatens nukes, D.C. mulls a crackdown on theft, Bloomberg blames right-wingers, and more...
Bryan Johnson: Can This Rich Transhumanist Beat Death?
Bryan Johnson, venture capitalist and founder of Blueprint, discusses his $2 million a year effort to reverse aging on Just Asking Questions.
Apple Abandons Plans for Driverless Electric Car, Shifts Team to AI
While a disappointment to green-tech supporters, Apple's decision reflects the growing uncertainty in the E.V. market.
The Best of Reason: Why Are Teens Depressed? It's Not Social Media.
Maybe the problem for teens isn't screens, but what they are replacing.
If Semiconductor Chip Demand Is High, Why Do We Need More Subsidies?
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says more chip subsidies are needed, even before the Biden administration has distributed $52 billion or measured how effective that spending was.
AI Contracts Woke Mind Virus
Plus: Russian sanctions, Finnish gun ranges, Milei supremacy, and more...
The Best of Reason: The Real Student Loan Crisis Isn't From Undergraduate Degrees
Misled by a bad law, graduate students are drowning in debt.
Goodbye, Navalny
Plus: A listener asks if the editors have criteria for what constitutes a good law.
Sarah Silverman's Lawsuit Against OpenAI Is Full of Nonsense Claims
And a federal judge just said so.
New Report Measures Attempts to Impose, and Evade, Internet Repression
Interest in virtual private networks provides insights into a global battle over digital freedom.
AI Versus Age-Verification Laws
AI tools churning out images of fake IDs could help people get around online age-check laws.
The Best of Reason: Can Free Markets Win Votes in the New GOP?
As the party grows more populist, ethnically diverse, and working class, will Republicans abandon their libertarian economic principles?
The Best of Reason: Comedy's Truthiness Problem
Hasan Minhaj’s stand-up tests the boundaries of fact and fiction.
A Constitutionally Dubious California Bill Would Ban Possession of AI-Generated Child Pornography
The proposal seems to conflict with a Supreme Court ruling against laws that criminalize mere possession of obscene material.
Man Sues Sunglass Hut After Faulty AI Facial Recognition Tech Led to Wrongful Arrest
Harvey Murphy was wrongfully arrested for robbing a Sunglasses Hut after facial recognition tech identified him as the robber. The 61-year-old says he was brutally sexually assaulted in jail.
The Best of Reason: Is ESG Already Over?
CEOs are beginning to wonder what to do when environmental, social, and governance factors are at odds with performance.
AI Fraud Act Could Outlaw Parodies, Political Cartoons, and More
The bill is broad enough to target a Saturday Night Live skit lampooning Trump, a comedic impression of Taylor Swift, or a weird ChatGPT-generated image of Ayn Rand.
The Best of Reason: The Fiscal Hawks Were Right About Debt and Interest Rates
Rosy fiscal expectations based on eternally low interest rates have proven dangerously wrong.
Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
Plus: Jacobin tries to read Hayek, Houthis try to strike more ships, S.F. politicians try to order businesses around, and more...
The Best of Reason: The Post-Neoliberalism Moment
Anyone advocating neoliberal policies is now persona non grata in Washington, D.C.
Empire AI
Plus: Adult activists, Fani Willis' love life, Catholic crackdown, and more...
The Best of Reason: Long Live the Conch Republic
The colorful, mostly libertarian history of Key West.
In 2024, Teens Will Get Pregnant in Driverless Cars
Plus: State officials attempt to ban Donald Trump from 2024 election ballots.
We Absolutely Do Not Need an FDA for AI
If our best and brightest technologists and theorists are struggling to see the way forward for AI, what makes anyone think politicians are going to get there first?
The Best of Reason: How Florida Fixed Its Vote-Counting Problem After the 2000 Election
Ballots should be counted quickly and accurately.
Self-Driving Cars Have Arrived. They Will Make Us Safer.
The good news: Regulators have exercised unusual restraint.
The Best of Reason: Meet Florida's Python Bounty Hunters
Eradication of the apex predator is "likely impossible."
The Best of Reason: Monkey Herpes, Face Eating, and the Pork Chop Gang: The Origins of Florida Man
The growing anti-transparency atmosphere in the state might make the Florida Man extinct.
Struggling Artist
Plus: Digital AR-15s, actual AR-15s, politicians livestreaming sex acts, and more...
The Most Obnoxious Blowhard in America
Plus: Grimes the urbanist, Matt Taibbi's fight night, crazy AI applications, and more...
Israel Knew What Hamas Was Planning
Plus: DeSantis vs. Newsom, a controversial Christmas-tree lighting, Brazilians use AI, and more...
The Best of Reason: The Endangered Species Act at 50
Why have so few species been taken off the endangered species list?
Don't Trust a Model U.N. Nerd
Plus: Four-day ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, teen activists, anti-murder billboards, and more...
The Best of Reason: Milton Friedman Was No Conservative
A new Friedman biography ably explores the economist's ideas but sidesteps the libertarian movement he was central to.
OpenAI Basically Unionizes
Plus: Getting babies out of Gaza, lobster roll economics, gerontocracy update, and more...
The World's First Libertarian President
Plus: A listener asks the editors about libertarians and "reflexive contrarianism."
My Own Personal Evita
Plus: OpenAI apocalypse, New York's problematic pie, Backpage trial concludes, and more...
I Used ChatGPT To Make Pokémon Versions of Trump, Biden, and RFK Jr.
The results are interesting and suggest weird and significant biases.
Will AI Destroy Humanity?
Susan Schneider and Jobst Landgrebe debate the dangers of AI.
The Best of Reason: The Abundance Agenda Promises Everything to Everyone All at Once
Some progressives want to remove bureaucratic obstacles to growth—in the service of Democrats and big government.
Will AI Destroy Humanity? A Soho Forum Debate
Susan Schneider and Jobst Landgrebe debate the dangers of AI.