Mike Pesca reacts to Trump's inauguration and slate of executive orders on the latest ep of Just Asking Questions. Subscribe YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reasonJustAskingQuestions/featured Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-asking-questions/id1719355507 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SpySKAH3LuVyxXk0MF7tl Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcasts/just-asking-questions/ How will the second Donald Trump presidential term transform America? Just asking questions. It's officially the Trump 2.0 era. One New York Times columnist called his inaugural address "American Carnage 2," while Trump promised a new American "golden age" in his speech. So how excited, hopeful, or anxious should we be as we enter these next four years? Journalist Mike Pesca, host of the popular daily news podcast The Gist, joined Reason Senior Producer Zach Weissmueller and Associate Editor Liz Wolfe to reflect on Trump's inaugural address. They also discussed Elon Musk's appearance at the inauguration and Trump's slate of Day 1 executive orders.

Why are we forgetting history’s lessons? We’re told in school that we study history so as not to repeat its mistakes. But what if those lessons aren’t sticking? Today’s guest regularly invokes what he calls The Great Forgetting. And the striking thing about this collective amnesia is that it doesn’t apply only to distant, ancient history, but hard lessons learned only a few decades ago: Lessons about inflation, price controls, and crime. Tyler Cowen is the Holbert L. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Director of the Mercatus Center and host of the great podcast Conversations with Tyler. He and his colleague Alex Tabbarok founded the popular and influential economics blog Marginal Revolution and recently launched their own joint show, the Marginal Revolution Podcast, which recently released a limited series on the unlearned economic and cultural lessons of the 1970s.

Based Beff Jezos, co-founder of Extropic, discusses AI safety, decentralization, and going analog.

Finance and tech writer Byrne Hobart discusses how bubbles as a good thing, overcoming stagnation, and the religiosity of space exploration.

Brianna Wu and TafTaj discuss the role of transgender issues in the 2024 election, 'centrist' trans politics, and their own personal stories.

Crypto podcaster, writer, and infrastructure investor Nic Carter discusses the role digital assets played in Trump's election, the persecution of Polymarket, and the "enormous spiritual chasm between the right and the left."

We are going live with @vprasadmdmph on Tuesday 11/26 at 1pm EST to discuss RFK Jr., post-C0V!D accountability, the former head of the NIH (Dr. "I represent science" Fauci), and more.

AEI's Yuval Levin discusses Trump's mandate (or lack thereof), building coalitions, and how the classic divide between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine remains relevant.

Independent journalist Lee Fang discusses why the Democrats lost so badly and whether or not the party has the ability to course correct anytime soon.

Author and Republican Party strategist Patrick Ruffini joins us LIVE to discuss Trump's re-election and how the GOP is changing.

Is this the most important election ever? And who should win? Just asking questions.

Klaus Schwab's co-author Thierry Malleret discusses stakeholder capitalism, libertarianism, and his new book satirizing the World Economic Forum. Subscribe YouTube: http://youtube.com/reasontv Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-asking-questions/id1719355507 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SpySKAH3LuVyxXk0MF7tl Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcasts/just-asking-questions/

National Review's Michael Brendan Dougherty discusses the differences between conservatives and libertarians on the issue of immigration.

Documentarian Ford Fischer discusses his experience covering the "Stop the Steal" movement, January 6, and what it all means for the future of journalism and democracy.

An ex-Secret Service agent explains what he thinks left Donald Trump vulnerable to two close-call assassination attempts within two months.

Director of Outreach for Parents Defending Education, Erika Sanzi, discusses woke indoctrination in education.

Glenn Greenwald discusses Brazil's ban of X, the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, and the global crackdown on speech.

Economist Bob Murphy explains the technical details of government debt and why Modern Monetary Theory is so dangerously wrong.

Economist and author Kyla Scanlon discusses inflation, economic narratives, and the housing market. Episode 38

Jane Coaston, a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times with self-described libertarian tendencies, discusses the DNC and the current state of the Democratic Party. How do Democrats define “freedom”? It’s Democratic National Convention week, so we wanted to talk about what’s been unfolding there so far: the rhetoric, the thematic choices, and what it all reveals about the Democrats’ 2024 agenda. And how should we state power skeptics and liberty appreciators view that agenda? We’ve invited on Jane Coaston to discuss all that with us this week. She’s a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, former politics reporter at Vox, and exhibits self-described “libertarian tendencies.”

Two Venezuelan immigrants explain the current political unrest in the country.

How likely is a Kamala Harris presidency? Just asking questions.

The former presidential candidate discusses the ideological tensions within the America First movement.

Axios reporter Alex Thompson discusses Joe Biden's exit and the rise of Kamala Harris.

Fox News commentator Mary Katharine Ham discusses Trump's new policy agenda.

Political reporter Dave Weigel joins the show to discuss Biden's decline and the possibility of replacing him.

Ruth Whippman discusses her new book, BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity.

Catholic Answers apologist Trent Horn explores the nexus of Catholic social teaching and libertarianism.

How's it going in Javier Milei's Argentina? Milei, Argentina's self-described libertarian president, notched his first legislative victory last week. Argentina's Senate passed a major omnibus bill, also known as the "Bases Law", that's been debated since February. It would further deregulate the labor market, privatize national industries, cut taxes for foreign companies investing in Argentina, and hand emergency powers to Milei. Because Milei's party controls seven out of 72 Senate seats, the bill only passed with a lot of compromise and a tie-breaking vote by the vice president, and it could get pared down even more by the lower chamber before reaching the president's desk. Nevertheless, the proposed changes were dramatic enough to inspire large, raucous, and destructive protests outside of the National Congress building during the debate. Reason's Zach Weissmueller was in Argentina last week during that debate shooting a forthcoming documentary. While there, he attended a conference jointly hosted by the Cato Institute and Libertad y Progreso, a libertarian think tank. Milei gave a keynote speech there, following a warm-up act by Elon Musk.

Evolutionary psychologist Diana Fleischman discusses IVF, artificial genetic selection, and her unique take on the Ethan Hawke-Uma Thurman movie, 'Gattaca.'

Pirate Wires, Editor in Chief, Mike Solana discusses the lessons of San Francisco's politics, his vision for the future, and his critiques of libertarianism.

Who, exactly, is Chase Oliver? And what does he really stand for? Oliver is the Libertarian Party's 2024 presidential nominee, selected after six rounds of voting at a contentious party convention in Washington, D.C., this weekend, which featured speeches from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, and former President Donald Trump, who suggested himself as the nominee to a chorus of boos. Oliver was not the preferred candidate of the Mises Caucus, who remains in control of the Libertarian Party, and several of their higher profile members, such as Dave Smith, have said they will not vote for him, with several accusing him of being too woke, too pro-immigration, and too soft on COVID restrictions. We'll ask him to address all of that today. Oliver, a 38-year-old sales executive, rose to prominence in the party as the 2022 Libertarian Senate candidate in a highly competitive race in Georgia, where he pulled 2 percent of the vote and forced it into a runoff, which ultimately resulted in the Democratic candidate winning, tipping the balance of the Senate in their favor.

Breakthrough Institute co-founder Ted Nordhaus on climate science and climate change anxiety. Subscribe YouTube: http://youtube.com/reasontv Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-asking-questions/id1719355507 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SpySKAH3LuVyxXk0MF7tl Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcast/2024/05/23/ted-nordhaus-how-bad-is-climate-change/ How bad is climate change? People are freaked out by climate change, especially young people. Scientists for Nature conducted a survey of 10,000 16- to 25-year-olds in 2021 and found that 59 percent of them were extremely worried or very worried about climate change, and large majorities reported that climate change made them feel sad, anxious, and/or afraid. On Earth Day this year, President Joe Biden shared a picture on X (formerly Twitter) of himself standing next to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) with the caption, "Young Americans know that the climate crisis is the existential threat of our time. They deserve leaders who believe them." Today's guest says it's time to stop catastrophizing. Ted Nordhaus is the co-founder and executive director of the environmental nonprofit The Breakthrough Institute. He recently published an essay in The New Atlantis titled "Did Exxon Make it Rain Today?" which argues that while climate change is a real phenomenon affected by human activity, "we're actually safer than ever before." He says a deliberate campaign of fearmongering and exaggeration about the effects of climate change has misled the public and damaged the credibility and effectiveness of the environmentalist movement.

Economist and author Phil Magness debunks a recent 'New York Times' piece and shoddy academic work about the rich and their taxes. Subscribe YouTube: http://youtube.com/reasontv Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-asking-questions/id1719355507 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SpySKAH3LuVyxXk0MF7tl Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcast/2024/05/16/phil-magness-who-really-pays-the-most-taxes How much do billionaires really pay in taxes?

Executive VP of FIRE Nico Perrino discusses the history and legality of campus protests Subscribe YouTube: http://youtube.com/reasontv Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-asking-questions/id1719355507 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SpySKAH3LuVyxXk0MF7tl Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcast/2024/05/09/nico-perrino-when-does-protesting-become-a-crime/ What should colleges do about pro-Palestinian encampments? College students across America are camping out to demand their universities divest all investments with Israeli-linked companies that they claim profit from the occupation and oppression of Palestine. It's gone on for weeks, and even administrators at schools known as bastions of progressive activism are finally getting fed up. Harvard's president is threatening "involuntary leave" for protesters. Columbia announced on Monday that it canceled its main commencement ceremony for safety reasons. The University of Southern California has, too. UCLA called in the cops to clear its encampment, and police have arrested more than 2,100 protesters across all U.S. campuses since April, according to the Associated Press. Congress has continued to interrogate Ivy League presidents, and a bill to explicitly define antisemitism for civil rights law enforcement purposes just passed the House with overwhelming support last week. Joining us today to talk about the protests, the backlash, and what it all means for free speech on campus and the wider world is Nico Perrino, executive vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and host of the free speech podcast So to Speak. Watch the full conversation on Reason's YouTube channel or the Just Asking Questions podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcatcher. Sources referenced in this conversation: Full Text of the Antisemitism Awareness Act International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism. Columbia students define "divest" Harvard President Garber Breaks Silence on Encampment, Threatens 'Involuntary Leave' for Protesters Columbia cancels commencement amid campus protests Map: Where College Protesters Have Been Arrested or Detained Polling 1,200 college students on Encampments What Americans think about recent pro-Palestinian campus protests | YouGov Americans' Views of Both Israel, Palestinian Authority Down Majority in US Say Israel's Reasons for Fighting Hamas Are Valid | Pew Research Center Letter from judges saying they won't hire Columbia grads as clerks Timestamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:33 Free Speech on Campus: A Conversation with Nico Perrino 00:02:13 The Historical Context of Campus Protests and Free Speech Debates 00:07:28 The Legal and Social Implications of Campus Encampments 00:31:38 The Role of Civil Disobedience in Campus Activism 00:38:31 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Campus Protests Through Polling Data 00:43:07 Congressional Involvement in Campus Free Speech Issues 00:50:48 The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2023: A New Legal Battleground 00:54:56 The Complexities of Free Speech and Political Expression on Campus 00:59:17 Navigating the Tensions of Privacy and Free Speech 01:03:42 The Role of Public Shaming and Cancel Culture in Free Speech Debates 01:20:03 Nico wants you to ask yourself this question about censorship 01:23:58 Just Ask Us Questions: A Libertarian's Evolving Stance on Immigration

Should kids medically transition between genders? The number of kids diagnosed with gender dysphoria has surged in recent years. In America, diagnoses have almost tripled from about 15,000 to more than 42,000 from 2017 to 2021. In the United Kingdom, the number of minors referred to the national Gender Identity Development Service grew from 51 in 2009 to 1,766 by 2016, leading to yearslong waitlists for care within the government-run health system. This surge caused England's National Health Service to commission an extensive study of youth gender treatment. That study is known as the Cass Review, and its results dropped on April 10. The review's author, former head of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Hilary Cass, concluded that modern youth gender dysphoria interventions are informed by "remarkably weak evidence" drawing on studies "exaggerated by people on all sides of the debate to support their viewpoint" and that "we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress." The science, it turns out, is not settled—or anywhere close to it. NHS England opted to stop routine prescriptions of puberty blockers following the review's publication, as have NHS Scotland and the Welsh government. Major American medical groups such as the American Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics, all of which endorse prescribing puberty blockers for gender-dysphoric kids, have yet to officially respond. American media coverage of the Cass Review, which could throw the entire youth gender treatment paradigm in this country into question, has been remarkably muted. But today's guest is never muted. Jesse Singal has been covering this topic—and taken a lot of heat for it—for years in the pages of publications such as The Atlantic, The Dispatch, and on his Substack, Singal-Minded. Watch the full conversation on Reason's YouTube channel or the Just Asking Questions podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcatcher.

Elica Le Bon, an attorney and Iranian-American activist, talks about Iran's recent strike on Israel

Podcaster Dave Smith and philosopher Chris Freiman debate open borders on the latest episode of Just Asking Questions.

Radley Balko debates Coleman Hughes about his recent column arguing that Derek Chauvin may have been wrongly convicted of George Floyd's murder on this latest episode of Just Asking Questions. Subscribe YouTube: http://youtube.com/reasontv Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-asking-questions/id1719355507 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SpySKAH3LuVyxXk0MF7tl Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcast/2024/03/14/coleman-hughes-vs-radley-balko-whos-right-about-george-floyd 0:00- Summary of Coleman Hughes' and Radley Balko's disagreement about George Floyd's death 2:09- Balko asks Hughes to correct his article 9:27- Hughes' response to Balko 19:27- What is maximum restraint technique (MRT)? 27:20- Derek Chauvin ignored warnings from his colleagues and the surrounding crowd 32:42- Why did Chauvin keep kneeling on Floyd after he went limp? 37:18- Was “The Fall of Minneapolis” a trusthworthy documentary? 47:02- Did Floyd die of positional asphyxia? 1:10:50- Would Hughes change anything if he had to rewrite the article? 1:21:14- The aftermath of George Floyd's death 1:36:00- Is there systemic racism in policing? 1:43:13- How do we hold police officers accountable? 1:51:24- Did Derek Chauvin get a fair trial?

Bryan Johnson, venture capitalist and founder of Blueprint, discusses his $2 million a year effort to reverse aging on Just Asking Questions. Subscribe YouTube: http://youtube.com/reasontv Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-asking-questions/id1719355507 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SpySKAH3LuVyxXk0MF7tl Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcast/2024/02/27/bryan-johnson-can-this-rich-transhumanist-beat-death 0:00- A day in the life of a transhumanist trying not to die 3:18- How important is our sleep cycle? 8:30- Humanity's imminent "evolutionary transition" 14:02- How close are we to finding the real "Fountain of Youth"? 16:30 - Do genetics trump lifestyle? 22:30- Self-experimentation and scientific progress 24:50- Why Bryan Johnson measures his nighttime boners 35:01- Liz reacts to Bryan Johnson's daily meal plan 48:00 - Coping with the "existential crisis" of AI 1:00:00- In defense of blood boys --- Bryan Johnson made his fortune when he sold his company Braintree to PayPal for $800 million, netting about $300 million for himself. He spends about $2 million a year creating a system to reverse his "biological age." He's 46 years old, chronologically, but claims he's de-aged himself following a program he's branded "the Blueprint protocol." "I wanted to pose the question in this technological age: Can an algorithm, paired with science, in fact, take better care of me than I can myself?" Johnson tells Reason's Zach Weissmueller and Liz Wolfe on the latest episode of Just Asking Questions. They talked with Johnson about his daily routine, the results he's published including measurement of his nighttime erections, the transhumanist philosophy he outlines in his free e-book Don't Die, the role that artificial intelligence is likely to play in prolonging human life and health spans, and the value and limitations of self-experimentation in an era of pharmaceutical stagnation. Watch the full conversation on Reason's YouTube channel or on the Just Asking Questions podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcatcher.

The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package as the Biden administration fights Houthis in Yemen without Congressional approval. Curt Mills, executive director of The American Conservative, talks about the state of U.S. foreign policy on the latest episode of Just Asking Questions. 0:00- Will Russia agree to a ceasefire in 2024? 7:52- What happens if the U.S. stops sending aid to Ukraine? 9:30- What is the connection between border security and foreign aid? 19:36- Is there a new wave of non-interventionists? 27:21- Is Biden still the best candidate that Democrats have for 2024? 39:20- Does Biden have a chip on his shoulder? 41:22- What is Biden doing in Yemen? 53:29- Why has Congress given up its war powers? Subscribe YouTube: http://youtube.com/reasontv Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-asking-questions/id1719355507 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SpySKAH3LuVyxXk0MF7tl Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcast/2024/02/14/curt-mills-should-america-police-the-world --- "The greatest risk of a Republican administration is a war with Iran, and the greatest risk of a Democratic administration is a war with Russia," says Curt Mills, executive director of The American Conservative, a magazine for the types of conservatives who are skeptical of foreign military intervention. Mills joined Reason's Zach Weissmueller and Liz Wolfe on the latest episode of Just Asking Questions to talk about a $95.3 billion aid package, including $60 billion for Ukraine, that passed the Senate this week, which Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) called a "middle finger to America" during his filibuster of the bill. In this episode, they discuss the bill's passage, Paul's filibuster, Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent interview with Tucker Carlson, the Biden administration's airstrikes against Yemen, and whether or not the surge of foreign policy noninterventionism within the GOP is likely to last past 2024. Watch the full conversation on Reason's YouTube channel or on the Just Asking Questions podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcatcher.