The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

John Fetterman, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and former mayor of Braddock, speaks as a populist-progressive turned pro-capitalist pragmatist. He tackles Democratic infighting and how messaging lost working men. He discusses border security and legal immigration, supports marijuana and psychedelic legalization, warns about the national debt, and argues for strong support for Israel, Ukraine, and measured military action.

Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and co-author of a children's book on the Declaration, discusses originalism, the rule of law, and civic courage. He explores America as a creed rather than an ethnostate. Short stories of 1776 illustrate bravery and the stakes of self-rule. Conversation covers federalism, overregulation, polarization, and how history can inspire civic responsibility.

Andy Serkis, actor-director famed for Gollum and Caesar, discusses directing an animated Animal Farm. He explains updating Orwell to critique modern authoritarianism and misinformation. He describes telling the story through a young piglet, reflects on power and democratic fragility, and defends performance-capture and technology’s role in storytelling.

Jennifer Doleac, an economist who studies crime and public safety and leads criminal justice work at Arnold Ventures, discusses surprising evidence about sentencing and second chances. She explains why long sentences rarely deter, argues for investing in solving more crimes and improving clearance rates, and explores how leniency, reentry programs, and policies like ban-the-box produce unexpected results.

Afroman, Grammy-nominated rapper known for Lemon Pound Cake and his free-speech legal comeback, recounts a police raid turned viral victory. He talks about turning the incident into art, a surprising court win that defended criticism of officials, thoughts on a 2028 libertarian presidential bid, cannabis and criminal-justice reform, and quirky running mate ideas like Flavor Flav.

Emma Ashford, foreign policy analyst and Stimson Center senior fellow, and Georgetown adjunct professor. She dissects unclear U.S. objectives in the Iran war. She explores Iran’s leverage in the Strait of Hormuz, timing pressures that led to conflict, and limits of bombing-only strategies. She also debates post–Cold War continuities in American grand strategy.

Jacob Siegel, journalist and author of The Information State, maps how digital infrastructure, platform moderation, and public-private alliances shifted power in the digital age. He traces the post-9/11 rise of technocratic information governance. Conversations cover Russiagate, hybrid warfare repurposed domestically, platform disruption like X, the collapse of traditional media, and how AI and independent media reshape authority.

Ro Khanna, U.S. Representative from Silicon Valley and self-described progressive capitalist, discusses war powers and Congress reclaiming control over military force. He tackles California’s wealth tax and population shifts, the threat of billionaire influence on democracy, and how to balance AI, tech innovation, and worker protections.

Brink Lindsey, senior fellow at the Niskanen Center and author of The Permanent Problem, explores how industrial-era abundance met rising pessimism. He discusses globalization’s winners and losers, slowing innovation and declining dynamism, the cultural fallout of capitalism, fractures between college-educated elites and others, falling fertility, and the social role of religion and community.

Taylor Lorenz, tech journalist and founder of User Mag, who covers online culture, breaks down courtroom drama from a landmark trial. She recounts testimony about family abuse and how Instagram was used in that dynamic. They debate whether social media is a scapegoat, legal precedents, age verification risks, and how big platforms shape regulation and competition.