Plus: this piece also contemplates why families are exiting public schools, whether AI warrants government action, and what became of fusionism within the conservative movement.
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During this episode, editors Peter Suderman, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch are joined by senior editor Stephanie Slade to dissect President Donald Trump’s move to bar CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House, citing coverage he dislikes. The discussion probes the First Amendment implications of retaliating against media outlets for their reporting and assessments Trump’s broader free-speech record. They also survey the growing readiness of both major parties to wield government power against media outlets they oppose.
Next, the editors examine why parents keep pulling their children out of public schools and what a recent The New York Times feature reveals about the challenges of attempting to reform failing schools from within. Following that, Slade weighs in on her forthcoming book, Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and the Future of the American Right, and how the conservative movement shifted away from its traditional commitments to limited government, free markets, and individual liberty. Finally, a listener asks the panel to outline how libertarians would respond to a genuine existential threat from AI or another collective-action dilemma.
0:00—Trump bans media outlets from the White House.
17:29—New York Times story on the failure of public schools
38:39—Listener question on AI risk
50:56—Fusionism and the conservative movement
1:01:33—Weekly cultural recommendations
Upcoming Reason Events
The Reason Roundtable’s 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7
The World Premiere of Escaping Venezuela October 13
Mentioned in the Podcast:
“Purposely Negative,” by Liz Wolfe“May Officials Exclude Journalists from Press Events Based on Disapproval of Journalists’ Speech?” by Eugene Volokh“Two D.C. Circuit Judges’ Reservations About the Circuit’s White House Press Pool / AP / ‘Gulf of America’ Decision,” by Eugene Volokh“Trump’s Threats To Yank Broadcast Licenses Are Part of a Speech-Chilling Intimidation Campaign,” by Jacob Sullum“The FCC’s Paramount/Skydance Decision Aims To Reshape Broadcast Journalism by Bureaucratic Fiat,” by Jacob Sullum“By Settling Trump’s Laughable Lawsuit Against CBS, Paramount Strikes a Blow at Freedom of the Press,” by Jacob Sullum“Pentagon’s Foolish Press Policy Might Encourage Tougher Journalism,” by J.D. Tuccille“The Pentagon’s New Press Policy Is Absurd,” by Robby Soave“Why the Courts Will 86 the Flagrantly Unconstitutional Charges Against James Comey,” by Jacob Sullum“Trump Is Targeting Media and Chilling Free Speech,” by Steven Greenhut
“Nikole Hannah-Jones Doesn’t Understand ‘The Idea That Parents Should Decide’ What Schools Teach,” by Robby Soave“The New York Times‘ Nikole Hannah-Jones Inadvertently Makes the Case for School Choice,” by Billy Binion“Even Social Engineers Don’t Want Their Kids Used as Demographic Pawns,” by Matt Welch“Brownstone Brooklyn’s Racial Divide: Why Are the Schools So Segregated?” by Jim Epstein
“Will AI Destroy Humanity?” by Gene Epstein“Countering the Threat of the Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence,” by Ronald Bailey“Bjorn Lomborg: How Our Climate Fixation Hurts the World’s Poor,” by Nick Gillespie
“Why the Right Is Embracing State Power,” by Nick Gillespie and Stephanie Slade“J.D. Vance and the Politics of Victimhood,” by Stephanie Slade
What are we enjoying this week?
Matt Welch
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The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice
Nick Gillespie
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Worth the Risk: The Seven Myths That Stand in the Way of Taking the Chances We Need to Take, by Allison Schrager
Peter Suderman
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Resident Evil
Stephanie Slade
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American Heretics: Religious Adversaries of Liberal Order, by Jerome E. Copulsky
