Professor Nick Seabrook on the Threat to Democracy Posed by Gerrymandering — The essence of democracy is that voters pick their leaders. In America today, our leaders get to pick their voters as a result of the pernicious practice of gerrymandering. Gerrymandering has a fascinating history and has become a major threat to majority rule. Even worse, it seems to defy any…

Harvey Silverglate on the case for abolishing the Federal Bureau of Investigation — Civil rights attorney Harvey Silverglate has renewed his decades-old call to abolish the FBI. Sound radical? Wait until you learn how the agency has illegally weaponized its internal protocols to turn innocent witnesses into dangerous informants — blackmailing congressmen and even sitting U.S. …

With the pandemic over, we can see the mistakes of policymakers more clearly. — Like most Americans, Justin Hart was minding his own business — a successful data visualization business — when the pandemic snuck up on us in early 2020. …

Cathy Reisenwitz dissects the bipartisan moral panicking around “trafficking” used as pretext for crackdowns on consensual sex — Cathy Reisenwitz, editor in chief of the Sex and the State Substack, explains what’s wrong with criminalizing sex work as a solution to the problem of human trafficking. …

From Seasteading to SEZ 2.0s — the competitive governance universe is expanding — It’s been over a decade since I first discussed the “seasteading” vision for startup cities at sea with Patri Friedman. The concept has grown up, along with its founder, who is now funding startup city ventures through his new company Pronomos Capital. In this episode, Patri and I discuss…

Automated License Plate Readers are a danger to civil liberties — and yet no one is talking about them — In this episode: A new report by the Independent Institute’s Jonathan Hofer reveals the ubiquitous surveillance technology that is even more worrisome than NSA surveillance. How automated license plate reader technology works, and why it is on the rise. How the Supreme Court has addressed privacy concerns about APLRs under the Fourth Amendment.

Fact Checking White House Claims on the Inflation Reduction Act — Whenever you encounter a claim by a politician that they are going to “create jobs” or “reduce inflation,” you should be very suspicious. Most Americans are aware that recent price increases are connected with new government spending, although fewer want to face the music that the solution is cutting said…

Biden’s executive action will make education more expensive long term, says Reason Roundup author Elizabeth Nolan Brown — Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason and the main author of Reason’s morning newsletter, the Reason Roundup — an essential part of my daily reading. This week we take her recent article on the news of Biden’s unilateral action canceling billions of dollars of student loan debt…

The legendary political adviser on the midterms and 2024 elections — I recently interviewed Dick Morris, a Republican political adviser who joined the Clinton administration and against formidable odds enabled Bill Clinton to earn his second term. Hillary Clinton said, “Over the course of the first nine months of 1995, no single person had more power over the President” than Morris. …