Source: Reason
“Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff discuss the global decline of free speech, why democracies are embracing censorship, and what can be done to protect open debate.” (05/15/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/05/15/the-global-war-on-free-speech/
Source: Reason
by Steven Greenhut
“The federal Food and Drug Administration nannies have been tormenting Americans for decades, which is no surprise given the pitfalls of putting bureaucrats in charge of such an important function as determining the safety of our food supply, and evaluating drugs and medical devices. Frankly, it’s amazing that we all haven’t starved to death or been denied basic medications, given the FDA’s Byzantine approval process. … One of the benefits, however, of the Trump administration’s Overton-Window-shifting approach toward health policy is its lighter touch toward substances that previous administrations had approached with a prohibitionist view.” (05/15/26)
Source: NBC News
“New York officials urged commuters to work from home Monday as a strike by Long Island Rail Road workers threatened to disrupt travel for hundreds of thousands of riders across the region. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority were preparing emergency transit alternatives, including shuttle buses from Long Island into Queens and additional subway service, after negotiations between the MTA and rail unions broke down this weekend, prompting workers to walk off the job and shutting down the railroad Saturday. … The strike — the LIRR’s first in roughly 30 years — has halted service on one of the nation’s busiest commuter rail systems, which carries hundreds of thousands of riders between Long Island and New York City.” (05/17/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/long-island-railroad-strike-monday-commute-rcna345567
Source: Serious Trouble
“‘Advice of Counsel’ Does Not Apply to Advice from Licensed Airboat Captains.” (05/15/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/advice-of-counsel-does-not-apply
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘Could this be the Antichrist?’ So wondered out loud today’s most popular conservative voice … about President Donald J. Trump. That commentator, Tucker Carlson, then answered himself: ‘Well, who knows?’ Later, speaking to Lulu Garcia-Navarro with The New York Times, Mr. Carlson denied (thrice) ever verbalizing that eschatological question. Of course, as Scott Jennings points out, Tucker contextualized the matter by asserting that the president was ‘more of a hostage’ to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in deciding to go to war against Iran. ‘Seems to me it has to be one or the other,’ offered Jennings. ‘Are you a supernatural evil being or are you some weak hostage or slave to other people?'” (05/15/26)
Source: Associated Press
“Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday commuted the sentence of election conspiracy theorist Tina Peters following pressure from President Donald Trump, the latest instance of the president using his powers to reward those who echoed his baseless claims of mass fraud as the cause of his 2020 loss. Trump has championed the case of Peters, a 70-year-old former county clerk who was sentenced to nine years behind bars after being convicted in a scheme to make a copy of her county’s election computer system. She gets released June 1. In April, a Colorado appeals court upheld her conviction but ordered Peters to be resentenced because it said the judge who sent her to prison wrongly punished her for speaking out about election fraud, a decision that Polis praised.” (05/15/26)
Source: Washington Post
“The problem with celebrity politicians.” (05/15/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/the-problem-with-celebrity-politicians
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“Garry Tan, the CEO of venture capital firm Y Combinator, accused me of unethical reporting. This is my response.” (05/15/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/truth-power-and-honest-journalism
Source: Reason
by Luke Wake
“The ruling is a victory not just for one Texas title company, but for the principle that agencies like FinCEN can only do what Congress actually authorized.” (05/15/26)
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“How Bad Numbers Become ‘Science.'” (05/15/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2761-how-bad-numbers-become-science/