Night Watchman: Puzzle #54
"Leaves under flower petals"
book
Review: James Retells Huckleberry Finn From Jim's Perspective
Author Percival Everett reimagines Mark Twain's novel from the enslaved character's point of view.
Evolution's New Narrative
Life is a decentralized, horizontal network, not merely a centralized, hierarchical tree.
Review: A Drug Reformer Makes the Case for Harm Reduction
The Harm Reduction Gap argues for individual autonomy and meeting drug users where they're at.
A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars
Kliph Nesteroff's book Outrageous turns into a screed against conservatives.
Review: Charles Fort's Underrated Influence
The eccentric writer cast a long shadow, leaving a mark not only on the world of Bigfoot hunters and UFO buffs but in literature and radical politics.
Texas Public Library Can't Remove Books About 'Butts and Farts,' Federal Judge Says
The court ruled that it is unconstitutional for officials to remove library books with the "intent to deprive patrons of access to ideas with which they disagree."
The Best of Reason: 'AI Bullshit' Makes Poets Mad
Is AI-written poetry cheating if you laboriously trained the AI?
'AI Bullshit' Makes Poets Mad
Is AI-written poetry cheating if you laboriously trained the AI?
Review: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Underscores How Technology Supports Freedom
According to Grok, Robert Heinlein's novel reminds us that even a supercomputer can have a heart—or at least a well-programmed sense of humor.
Does the Constitution Protect the Right To Get High?
Columbia law professor David Pozen recalls the controversy provoked by early anti-drug laws and the hope inspired by subsequent legal assaults on prohibition.
How To Be the President's Kid
From Alice Roosevelt to Hunter Biden, we've never been sure how to reconcile American democracy with American dynasties.
Review: It's Cloned Mammoths vs. Billionaire Hunters in This New Sci-Fi Novel
Ray Nayler's The Tusks of Extinction explores the value of nonhuman intelligence.
Georgia Independent Bookstore Sues Jail Over Policy Banning Book Shipments
Officials claim the policy is intended to prevent people from smuggling in contraband, but it allows shipments from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
DARE Didn't Make Kids 'Say No' to Drugs. It Normalized Police in Schools.
DARE to Say No details the history of an anti-drug campaign that left an indelible mark on America.
How Capitalism Beat Communism in Vietnam
It only took a generation to go from ration cards to exporting electronics.
Central Planners Can't Fix Iraq—or Detroit
In Fragile Neighborhoods, author Seth Kaplan applies his Fixing Fragile States observations domestically.
Review: Tripping on Utopia Complicates the History of Psychedelics
Mind-altering drugs have long been seen as tools for both liberation and control.
Review: Photographic Glimpses at 20th Century Roots Music
Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz's photos document blues, country, and Cajun music.
An Instagram Star Walks the Fine Line Between Self-Creation and Snake Oil
Social media influencer Caroline Calloway might not be a reliable narrator, but Scammer is an honest memoir nevertheless.
Is Facial Recognition a Useful Public Safety Tool or Something Sinister?
Your Face Belongs to Us documents how facial recognition might threaten our freedom.
Review: Should Humans Settle Mars? This Book Is Skeptical.
A City on Mars is a counterbalance to the growing optimism over space exploration.
Review: The Florida Novels of Charles Willeford
“Just tell the truth, and they’ll accuse you of writing black humor.”
This Year's Libertarian Gift Guide: 23 Ideas for 2023
In today's innovative economy, there's no excuse for sending a gift card. The staff at Reason is here with some inspiration.
Review: The Cross Florida Barge Canal That Never Was
Libertarians will read Ditch of Dreams as a story about bureaucracy and environmentalism run amok.
Review: Inside New York's 20th Century Psychotherapeutic Cult
The Sullivan Institute trapped members and broke up families.
Ideas Have Consequences Turns 75
Richard M. Weaver seemed to question whether liberal order was compatible with human flourishing. By the end of his life, he saw individual liberty as more than incidental to the good society.
How To Yell 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater
Aside from narrowly defined exceptions, false speech is protected by the First Amendment.
An 18-Year-Old Had Consensual Sex With a 16-Year-Old. He Went to Jail for 6 Years.
In her new book From Rage to Reason, Emily Horowitz explains what's wrong with the sex offense registry.
Review: Not Everyone Liked the New Deal
Amity Shlaes anthologizes Franklin D. Roosevelt’s critical contemporaries.
Review: The Big Break Documents Trump's Washington
Washington Post reporter Ben Terris offers a fair treatment to both conservative and liberal activists in the Trump era.
Review: Wonder Boy Chronicles the Life and Death of Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh
A new book handles the ill-fated CEO's story with respect.
Can Traditional Legal Customs Coexist With Western-Style State Law?
Geoffrey Swenson’s book Contending Orders tackles Afghanistan and Timor-Leste.
Review: Choose Your Own Adventure in American Futures
The author, whose libertarian leanings are evident, makes readers consider the impact of the choices they make in the voting booth.
Prison Ministry Group Sues Indiana Jail for Banning Amazon Books
The lawsuit claims the ban has no "legitimate penological justification"
Thank Dutch Merchants, Not a Strong State, for Capitalism
Pioneers of Capitalism chronicles centuries of bottom-up economic evolution in the Netherlands.
How Pirates in Madagascar Spread Enlightenment Ideas
Pirate Enlightenment documents an interracial experiment in stateless self-governance.
Review: Henry George's Many Children
The 19th century reformer's influence on 20th century progressives, conservatives, and libertarians
Review: Everything I Need I Get from You Gives a Fangirl's View of the Internet
Author Kaitlyn Tiffany offers a history of fandoms.
Review: The Man Who Hacked the World Captures the Chaos of John McAfee
Author Alex Cody Foster went deep with McAfee for months in an ill-fated attempt to ghostwrite his memoir.
Review: Imperfect Victims Documents Women Who Are Prosecuted for Defending Themselves
Author Leigh Goodmark's end goals of abolishing prisons and defunding police are hard to swallow.
Graphic Novels Bear Brunt of New Library Wars Over Access to Books
One of America's richest art forms suffers for seeming realer than other literature. But the war against "graphic imagery" is really a war against certain truths.
Review: Egg Is a Theory of Everything
The book's 12 thematic chapters are dense and rich—like flan, but good.
Internet Archive Loses Lawsuit Over National Emergency Library, Will Appeal
Plus: "Sensitivity readers" rewrite Agatha Christie, a Little Free Library battle, and more...
E.E. Cummings Celebrated Libertarian Utopia
His most popular book, The Enormous Room, was recently reprinted for its 100th anniversary.
Review: You Must Remember This Grapples With the Dangers of Nostalgia
A new novel by Reason contributor Kat Rosenfield
Review: The Progressive Backlash Against Influencer Moms
Momfluenced bemoans unrealistic expectations set on American mothers but then establishes new ones.
