The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

Today's guest is the legendary actor and director Andy Serkis, who has played everyone from Gollum to proto-punk icon Ian Dury to King Kong to Marvel villain Ulysses Klaue. His latest project is a controversial animated adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm, which he directed and is out on May 1 from Angel Studios. He talks with Nick Gillespie about the new movie; what, if anything, ties together some of his signature roles; and whether technology advances or undermines art. 0:00—Why Serkis wanted to direct Animal Farm 4:30—The corrupting nature of power 7:35—Are we in a better place than we were 100 years ago? 10:34—Serkis' signature acting roles 18:31—The legacy of Ian Dury 25:42—Does technology enhance creativity 31:12—The fragility of democracy The post Andy Serkis: What Orwell Understood About Tyranny appeared first on Reason.com.

This week, guest host Billy Binion is joined by Jennifer Doleac, an economist whose research focuses on crime and public safety. She is executive vice president of criminal justice at Arnold Ventures and author of the recent book The Science of Second Chances. In their conversation, Doleac delves into some of her more counterintuitive findings—many of which surprised even her. Perhaps most notably, she explains why long prison sentences do far less to deter crime than many assume. She instead makes the case that solving more cases should be a top priority, and explores why clearance rates are shockingly low. Binion and Doleac also examine the evidence behind second chances—a radioactive topic in recent years—including research showing that crime decreases when first-time defendants are offered leniency. They discuss why some well-intentioned policies have counterproductive results, what the data say about rehabilitation and reentry programs, and how policymakers can make better use of economics to align incentives and improve outcomes in the criminal justice system. Reason is hiring! Check out the two open roles on the video team now:https://reason.org/jobs/associate-producer/https://reason.org/jobs/producer/   0:00—The relationship between economics and criminal justice 6:28—Have people become less willing to give second chances? 15:46—The far left and criminal justice reform 18:50—What isn't working in the criminal justice system? 26:01—Why are clearance rates so low? 31:35—Leniency for first-time offenders 38:48—The "ban the box" movement 47:58—Why economics is a useful framework for criminal justice 55:42—Should prisons be made more comfortable? 1:01:38—Doleac's political and economic views   The post Prison Doesn't Work the Way You Think appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is Stimson Center Senior Fellow Emma Ashford, a foreign policy analyst who has written widely on post–Cold War strategy, the Middle East, and the limits of American power. An adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Security Studies Program, a columnist at Foreign Policy, and a former Cato Institute staffer, Ashford is the author of First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World. She talks with Nick Gillespie about the incoherence of President Donald Trump's Iran strategy and the surprising and disturbingly ineffective continuity of U.S. foreign policy since the end of the Cold War.   Previous appearance: "Did Bombing Iran Make America Safer?" June 24, 2025   0:00—What is the U.S. objective for war in Iran? 5:32—Is Vice President J.D. Vance an anti-interventionist? 7:21—Trump's foreign policy rhetoric and history 13:26—Is there a continuity in post–Cold War foreign policy? 19:56—Was President Joe Biden an outlier on foreign policy? 22:16—U.S. involvement in Ukraine 24:13—Are we sending messages to China and Russia through Iran? 30:05—Does Trump have a de-escalation strategy in Iran? The post How the Iran War Could Backfire appeared first on Reason.com.

This week, guest host Zach Weissmueller is joined by Jacob Siegel, a journalist and author of The Information State, a sweeping examination of how power has shifted in the digital age from traditional democratic institutions into a new system of governance shaped by technology, media, and elite coordination. Siegel traces the emergence of what he calls the "information state," where control is exercised not primarily through laws or elected bodies but through digital infrastructure, platform moderation, and public-private partnerships between government agencies and tech companies. He argues that this system took shape in the aftermath of the war on terror, accelerated during the Obama era through the alignment of Silicon Valley and the political class, and expanded in response to populist movements under the banner of combating disinformation. Along the way, Siegel connects concepts like hybrid warfare, mass surveillance, and the "whole-of-society" approach to the way information is now managed domestically. Weissmueller and Siegel discuss how these dynamics played out during Russiagate and the COVID-19 pandemic, why attempts at information control often backfire, and how the collapse of traditional media has given rise to a chaotic new information ecosystem. They also explore the limits of technocratic governance, the role of platforms like X in disrupting centralized control, and what the next phase of the information age might mean for democracy, expertise, and individual autonomy.   0:00—What is the information state? 10:11—Technocracy and the Obama administration 21:07—The "whole-of-society" approach 27:26—War and technocracies 37:32—Limitations of information control 50:41—Russiagate 1:02:39—Alternative media 1:12:18—Mitigating the effects of information state   Reason is hiring! Check out the two open roles on the video team now:https://reason.org/jobs/associate-producer/https://reason.org/jobs/producer/ The post The Rise of the Information State appeared first on Reason.com.

Today's guest is the Niskanen Center's Brink Lindsey, whose connection to Reason magazine goes back decades and who for years worked at the Cato Institute. His new book is called The Permanent Problem: The Uncertain Transition from Mass Plenty to Mass Flourishing, and it raises important questions about life in the 21st century. Thanks to capitalism, he argues, we've essentially conquered poverty, but are progress and growth slowing down? People in advanced economies are increasingly pessimistic about the future, populism is on the rise, and many social indicators are trending in a negative direction. Nick Gillespie talks with him about how to restore economic and cultural dynamism, his intellectual journey, and what a brighter future might look like.   0:00—Introduction 0:56—Mass abundance and prosperity 6:20—The effects of globalization 12:05—Mass affluence and pessimism 15:01—Slowing rates of innovation 24:10—Capitalism and its cultural contradictions 31:06—Fears of conformism and elites 39:42—Declining fertility rates 48:52—Religion and community 59:08—Does Lindsey consider himself a libertarian?   Reason is hiring! Check out the two open roles on the video team now:https://reason.org/jobs/associate-producer/https://reason.org/jobs/producer/ The post How Capitalism Lost the Working Class appeared first on Reason.com.