The Reason Roundtable

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Trump's War With Iran Is Unjustified and Unpopular Mar 03, 2026

Show notes

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

Mentioned in the podcast:

"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.

Trump Replaces Old Illegal Tariffs With New Illegal Tariffs Feb 24, 2026

Show notes

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
10:33–Congressional authority over tariff policy
24:22–Are we going to war with Iran?
36:52–The Winter Olympics
46:45–Listener question on Rand Paul vs. Jared Polis
54:22–AI surveillance and privacy concerns
1:05:22–Weekly cultural recommendations

Mentioned in This Podcast

"Trump's New Tariffs Are Probably Illegal Too," by Eric Boehm
"Why Trump's Section 122 Tariffs Are Illegal," by Andrew McCarty
"Iran's Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated—and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News," by the White House
"The Hawks Are Lying Us Into Yet Another Middle Eastern War," by Matthew Petti
"The Trump Administration Plans To Deport Iranians Amid Deadly Crackdown in Iran," by Matthew Petti

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

DHS Wants To Unmask Online Critics Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

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
05:37—The global attacks on free speech
14:00—The FCC's soft censorship
25:51—Is the Epstein saga a nothingburger?
42:03—Listener question on AI-generated deepfake nudes
51:10—Trump tariffs fail, cause global rifts
1:02:44—Weekly cultural recommendations

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

Libertarians Tried To Warn You About Executive Power Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

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

Mentioned in This Podcast

"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.

Do Republicans Want To Control Elections? Feb 06, 2026

Show notes

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.

Democrats Are Flipping Trump Districts in Texas? Feb 03, 2026

Show notes

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss the political fallout from a shocking Texas special election, in which a Democrat flipped a district that President Donald Trump had won by 17 points in 2024, amid growing backlash to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tactics and hardline immigration enforcement. They discuss what the result says about independent voters, the unraveling of the GOP's 2024 coalition, and why immigration politics now appear to be driving everything from a partial government shutdown to open conflict within the Republican Party over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller's influence in the administration.

The conversation then turns to Trump's decision to tap Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve and what his record suggests about central bank independence. The editors also scrutinize the administration's broader economic messaging, including Trump's Wall Street Journal op-ed defending his tariff policy and claims that inflation has been brought under control, and how those arguments hold up against the data. They then touch on former CNN journalist Don Lemon's arrest and the White House response before turning to a listener question about whether the rhetoric coming out of AI companies points toward a libertarian utopia or a threat to liberty itself. Finally, the editors discuss Moltbook, an emerging platform built around AI systems meant to govern themselves, and why it's stirring so much debate.

0:00—Democrats win special election in Texas

08:30—Partial government shutdown over DHS funding

23:13—Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve

35:13—Don Lemon indicted by the DOJ

43:10—Listener question on AI and liberty

51:54—Moltbook and self-governing AI

57:59—Weekly cultural recommendations

Upcoming Reason Events

The Reason Roundtable: Live in Washington, D.C.! February 4

Mentioned in the podcast:

"Shutdown Showdown," by Robby Soave

"Stephen Miller's Hardline Immigration Tactics Are Backfiring," by Peter Suderman

"The Minneapolis Shootings Underline the Advantages of Body Cameras, Which DHS Has Been Slow To Adopt," by Jacob Sullum

"Judge Says ICE Violated Court Orders in 74 Cases—See Them All Here," by C.J. Ciaramella

"Trump Taps Kevin Warsh To Lead Fed," by Peter Suderman

"Trump Claims His Tariffs Have 'Brought America Back.' Here Are 3 Things He Got Wrong," by Eric Boehm

"Trump: 'I Want To Drive Housing Prices Up,'" by Jared Dillian

"Key Inflation Metric Hits 3 Percent, Despite Trump's Claim That Rising Prices Are 'Solved,'" by Eric Boehm

"Bessent Says Construction Jobs Are Booming Under Trump's Tariffs. Government Data Show the Opposite," by Eric Boehm

"One Way to Think About the Don Lemon Prosecution," by Eugene Volokh

"Government's Theory for Prosecuting Don Lemon as to Disruption of Minneapolis Church Service," by Eugene Volokh

"Don Lemon's Bad Day, Looksmaxxing, and King Charles II," by Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi

"No, AI Isn't Plotting Humanity's Downfall on Moltbook," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Will AI Benefit Everyone?" by Gene Epstein

The post Democrats Are Flipping Trump Districts in Texas? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

When Did Republicans Stop Caring About Gun Rights? Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Matt Welch are joined by special guest Emily Jashinsky, host of After Party, to examine the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis and the Trump administration's shifting narrative about the shooting. The group discusses the Second Amendment and free-speech implications of statements being made by Trump administration officials and the Republican Party's sudden embrace of gun-control talking points, as well as the broader politics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as the administration pushes for escalation while losing public support on immigration.

The panel also discusses the upcoming Academy Awards and how political themes are shaping expectations for the awards season. A listener asks how to show up and protest against state violence while navigating the ideological baggage of left-wing protest spaces.

0:00—ICE kills Alex Pretti in Minnesota

20:00—Public support for Trump administration policy

39:07—Listener question on protesting state violence

45:23—The influence of politics at the Oscars

53:01—Weekly cultural recommendations

Upcoming Reason Events

The Reason Roundtable: Live in Washington, D.C.! February 4

Mentioned in the podcast:

"The Second Shooting," by Liz Wolfe

"The Trump Administration Is Lying About Gun Rights and the Death of Alex Pretti," by Robby Soave

"DHS Again Promises a Thorough Investigation of a Fatal Shooting After Prejudging the Outcome," by Jacob Sullum

"Democrats Plan To Block DHS Funding After Minnesota Killing. Republicans Should Join Them," by Eric Boehm

"Leaked ICE Memo Claims Agents Can Enter Homes Without Judicial Warrants," by Autumn Billings

"ICE Tells Legal Observer, 'We Have a Nice Little Database, and Now You're Considered a Domestic Terrorist,'" by C.J. Ciaramella

"Vance Goes to Minnesota," by Liz Wolfe

"ICE Demonstrates Why We Need the Second Amendment," by J.D. Tuccille

The post When Did Republicans Stop Caring About Gun Rights? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Is America Really Going to War for Greenland? Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

This week, editors Peter Suderman and Matt Welch are joined by novelist and Reason contributor Kat Rosenfield and head of media for the Institute of Economic Affairs Reem Ibrahim to assess the mounting confrontation between the United States and its European allies over Greenland. Trump's tariff threats, talk of national security emergencies, exchanges between world leaders, and speculation about military force have pushed an unusual territorial dispute into the center of trans-Atlantic politics. The group considers what the confrontation means for NATO and trade policy with Europe.

The conversation then turns to Minnesota, where masked federal agents continue detaining and harassing people in the aftermath of the Renee Good killing, prompting legal battles, disputes with state officials, and concerns about civil liberties. They also examine Trump's newly announced health care plan and what it signals about his domestic policy priorities. A listener then asks whether libertarians have any reason to want Greenland as part of the United States.

0:00—U.S. maneuvering to acquire Greenland

08:22—Trump's relationships with Russia and Europe

24:09—ICE confrontations spark unrest in Minnesota

40:32—Listener question on libertarian desires for Greenland

45:51—Trump's health care proposal

55:47—Weekly cultural recommendations

Upcoming Reason Events

The Reason Roundtable: Live in Washington, D.C.! February 4

Mentioned in the podcast:

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

"Donroe," by Liz Wolfe

"Greenlanders Don't Consent To Becoming Americans," by J.D. Tuccille

"Seizing Greenland Might Be the Least Popular Idea in American Political History," by Eric Boehm

"As ICE Cracks Down Harder, Support for Abolishing ICE Surges," by Joe Lancaster

"'We Are Not Investigating' the Shooting of Renee Good, the Deputy Attorney General Says," by Jacob Sullum

"ICE Agents Flouted DHS Policies That Could Have Prevented Renee Good's Death," by Jacob Sullum

"Video Shows Feds Shooting ICE Protester With Nonlethal Round at Point-Blank Range, Blinding Him in One Eye," by Autumn Billings

"Federal Agents Used a Battering Ram To Enter a Minneapolis Home Without Valid Warrant, Video Shows," by Autumn Billings

"No, ICE Agents Do Not Have 'Absolute Immunity' From State Prosecution," by Damon Root

"Trump's 'Great Healthcare Plan' Has Promise but Should Add More Freedom for Americans," by J.D. Tuccille

"28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Delivers Anarchy in the U.K., Again," by Peter Suderman

"Movies," by John Hospers

The post Is America Really Going to War for Greenland? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

End the Fed? Or Turn It Over to Trump? Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Matt Welch are joined by Reason senior editor Robby Soave to discuss the Justice Department's (DOJ) investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and whether this latest tactic is just a form of political retaliation. They discuss whether there is a coherent case for the probe, how much influence presidents should have over monetary policy, and where the line is between oversight and using legal machinery against perceived adversaries.

The conversation then turns to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shootings in Minneapolis and Portland, where federal agents killed Renee Good during an immigration enforcement operation and shot two people outside a federal building days later, even as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem brands the Minneapolis victim a domestic terrorist and local officials accuse Washington of lying about what transpired. The panel talks about accountability for law enforcement, and how Americans can watch the same videos yet reach completely different conclusions. The editors then look at the uprising in Iran and the contrast between President Donald Trump's support for protesters there and his deployment of federal force at home, before examining California's proposed wealth tax and how it might impact the state economy.

0:00—the DOJ investigates the Federal Reserve

7:54—Trump's proposal to cap credit card interest rates

12:42—ICE shootings divide the country

37:35—Iran protests intensify

43:14—Listener question on Democrats holding Trump accountable

52:28—California wealth tax

1:01:33—Weekly cultural recommendations

Upcoming Reason Events

The Reason Roundtable: Live in Washington, D.C.! February 4

Mentioned in This Podcast

"Demanding Charges Against His Enemies, Trump Conflates Justice With Revenge," by Jacob Sullum

"2 Grand Juries Have Rejected the Grudge-Driven Case Against Trump Foe Letitia James," by Jacob Sullum

"Video of the Minneapolis ICE Shooting Does Not Resolve the Issue of Whether It Was Legally Justified," by Jacob Sullum

"ICE in Minnesota," by Liz Wolfe

"The Trump Administration Says It's Illegal To Record Videos of ICE. Here's What the Law Says," by C.J. Ciaramella

"Iran's Inflation Protests Turned Into an Uprising. Will Trump Get Involved?" by Matthew Petti

"A Breakable Regime," by Liz Wolfe

"No Other Choice Is a Dark Satire of Capitalism and Masculinity," by Peter Suderman

The post End the Fed? Or Turn It Over to Trump? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

What Does It Mean To 'Run' Venezuela? Jan 06, 2026

Show notes

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Matt Welch are joined by Reason senior editor Robby Soave to dig into the U.S. capture of Venezuela's sitting president, Nicolás Maduro, and what it means for the White House to claim it can "run" another country without congressional authorization. They debate what temporary American control is supposed to mean in practice, whether the capture of Maduro was legal, how war powers and congressional authorization fit into it all, and why White House officials keep framing the moment as a fight to expand U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.

The discussion shifts to New York politics after Mayor Zohran Mamdani calls for replacing "the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism," prompting a debate over his motives to use such rhetoric in his inauguration speech. They also examine Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's decision not to seek reelection as attention intensifies around a major fraud case that gained national notice following a viral empty-daycare video. A listener question asks whether immigration policy should weigh factors like culture and religion, and what reforms could reduce corruption and conflict without abandoning the case for legal immigration.

0:00—Can the U.S. "run" Venezuela?

12:46—President Donald Trump's foreign policy ambitions

25:52—Mamdani denounces "rugged individualism"

33:46—Listener question on immigrant assimilation

44:30—Walz not seeking reelection

52:22—Weekly cultural recommendations