Will President Donald Trump and Elon Musk actually cut the government down to size and pull us back from the fiscal cliff? Just asking questions.

John Cochrane is joining Just Asking Questions today to talk about what it would actually take to get government spending under control permanently and discuss a few of the staggering number of government reforms either underway or being floated. He is an economist at the Hoover Institution and a professor of economics and finance at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He publishes his thoughts at The Grumpy Economist. 

Chapters:
00:00 Coming up…
00:30 DOGE is buying out bureaucrats
5:37 Government spending disrespects taxpayers
7:23 Trump is winning the culture war
11:09 Hypocritical support for DOGE?
15:08 Should we give up on Congress?
19:40 Reacting to Musk's opinion of regulations
36:55 Trump thinks outside of the box
39:04 The emperor has no clothes
41:03 The election was cultural, and not about the economy
43:52 The government needs to get out of the way
45:55 Some pessimism about DOGE
53:34 Trump wants to end the income tax?
57:58 Can tax reform be made a populist issue?
1:02:24 How bad are tariffs in reality?
1:09:02 How can we keep growth going?

John Cochrane: How Will DOGE 'Disrupt' the Government?

AEI's Michael Beckley joins the show to discuss China's peaking power, and why that actually makes them more dangerous.

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Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcast/2025/04/17/michael-beckley-china-is-dangerously-weak

What if the new Cold War with China turns hot? Just asking questions.

China's rise, decline, or potential for conflict is often clouded by propaganda and oversimplification. This episode of Just Asking Questions examines China's real economic, military, and geopolitical trajectory—focusing on Taiwan tensions, trade wars, and demographic challenges.

Joining us is Michael Beckley, a Tufts University political science professor and co-author of Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China. His research argues that China's peaking power makes it a unique threat, blending insights on its economy, military, and ambitions.

Chapters
00:00 Coming up: China's economic challenges and rising aggression
01:13 What if China invaded Taiwan tomorrow?
05:17 Military capabilities and invasion scenarios for Taiwan
10:28 America's interests and the strategic importance of Taiwan
15:13 The Trump administration's trade war with China
20:47 Economic rivalry and the new Cold War
26:03 China's military modernization and hypersonic threats
31:10 Assessing China's actual military strength
36:14 Lessons from Hong Kong and implications for Taiwan
41:23 Demographic decline and economic stagnation
46:30 One-child policy and irreversible population trends
51:39 Xi Jinping's vision and the roots of Chinese authoritarianism
57:05 The nature of China's political and economic system
01:02:15 Rising assertiveness and wolf warrior diplomacy
01:07:28 Avoiding war and imagining a path to peace
01:13:09 Strategic missteps and the importance of deterrence
01:16:18 Appreciating global order and what's at stake

Michael Beckley: China is Dangerously Weak

When Thanksgiving became a national holiday back in 1863, it was a repudiation of the French aristocracy, says food historian Rachel Laudan. Europe's haute cuisine, contemporaries believed, "ruined the individual, the household, and the nation." Thus, this "simple meal...became a national celebration embracing all citizens," Laudan wrote in a 2013 Boston Globe essay.

Contemporary novelist and cookbook author Sarah Josepha Hale designed the standard Thanksgiving meal as an affirmation of our (small 'r') republican virtues. Turkey was cheap to procure, pumpkin pie was easy to make, and cranberry sauce was a simple take on the fancy toppings typical in a French court.

The meaning of Thanksgiving has changed over the years—thanks in part to Julia Child's successful effort to democratize French cuisine—but even today, "nobody suggests adding truffles to your turkey," Laudan says.

Nick Gillespie interviewed Laudan about the meaning of Thanksgiving, why she is not a fan of "organic" food, and other aspects of culinary history, drawing on her fascinating, 2013 book, Cuisine & Empire.

Thanksgiving: A Day For Thumbing Your Nose at Those Haughty Elites!

"What we're witnessing," says Nick Gillespie on today's Reason Podcast, "is the end of a bunch of things"—the Clinton political dynasty, Brexit, French establishment politics, the collapse of the May government in the United Kingdom—"and in that end, there is the possiblity of...a different, 21st-century world...where politics and policy follow all the advances in personalization and individualization and autonomy we see in our cultural and political lives."

Gillespie is joined by Reason magazine Editor in Chief Katherine Mangu-Ward and Reason Editor at Large Matt Welch. Andrew Heaton moderates a discussion that heatdly talks about former FBI director James Comey's controversial testimony about Donald Trump, the results of last week's election in Britain, a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar featuring a titular character who looks a lot like the president, and whether Infowars' host and 9/11 truther Alex Jones is actually the libertarian he self-describes as.

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Was Comey Convincing, Is Trump Julius Caesar, Is Alex Jones a Libertarian?

On Sunday, November 5, a man identified as 26-year-old Devin Kelley opened fire in a church outside of San Antonio, Texas, killing 26 people and wounding at least another 20. Reason's Nick Gillespie speaks with Robert VerBruggen, the deputy managing editor of National Review and a gun-policy analyst, about what can be done to reduce mass shootings without eviscerating the Second Amendment.

In this new podcast they discuss the changing nature of mass shootings, whether an armed society is actually a safer one, how Kelley was able to obtain guns despite being flagged for domestic abuse and a bad-conduct discharge from the military, and what policies can be put in place to limit mass shootings.

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How To Protect Americans Without Destroying the 2nd Amendment

"One thing we've learned from The Phantom Menace is don't start a story with a dissertation of economics," says Andy Weir, author of The Martian. Last week he released a new novel, Artemis, about a settlement on the Moon. Where The Martian, which was turned into a blockbuster starring Matt Damon, is powered by plot-driving engineering mishaps and triumphs, Artemis gave Weir a chance to unleash his inner "economics dork." The political economy of the moon is a fascinating part of the new book, featuring guilds, crony capitalism, reputation mechanisms, a non-state quasi-currency, sex tourism, smuggling, and more.

Reason magazine Editor in Chief Katherine Mangu-Ward talks with Weir about life on the moon, his desire to read more hard science fiction, why he thinks we don't have to worry about protecting Mars' ecosystem, zero gravity honeymoons, and the fact that he doesn't much care how or where SpaceX's Elon Musk dies.

Audio production by Ian Keyser.

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A full transcript is available at: https://reason.com/blog/2017/11/24/the-martian-author-andy-weir-talks-about

The Martian's Andy Weir Talks Economics (and Sex) on the Moon in Artemis

On today's episode of the Reason Podcast, Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, and Matt Welch discuss the Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) sex scandal, last week's repeal of net neutrality, and Reason's upcoming Webathon. Support our journalism!

Some of the stories referenced in this week's show:

    Peter Suderman's 2010 story in Reason: " The War Over Neutrality: How the tech industry learned to stop worrying and love the FCC."
    Nick Gillespie's podcast interview with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai: "FCC Head Ajit Pai: Killing Net Neutrality Will Set the Internet Free"
    Pai on last week's The Fifth Column.

Audio production by Mark McDaniel.

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Liberals Are Freaking Out About Net Neutrality Because They Don't Understand Capitalism

"Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria," President Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend. "Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price...to pay." So what will that mean, precisely?

The president said this morning that he would make a decision on responding to the "heinous attack" within the next 24-48 hours, adding that such a "barbaric attack...can't be allowed to happen." As he was making that announcement, the Reason Podcast, featuring Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, Peter Suderman, and me, was wrapping up its Monday episode. In addition to wargaming Syria, assessing new National Security Adviser John Bolton, and wondering what this all does to Trump's favored policy of troop withdrawal, the editorial quartet discussed refugee policy, the president's deployment of National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, our burgeoning trade war with China, and Facebook honcho Mark Zuckerberg's coming perp walk on Capitol Hill.

Audio production by Ian Keyser.

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Bombs Away in Syria

Since arriving in Washington in 2011, Justin Amash has cast more consistently libertarian votes than any other member of Congress. A lawyer by training, the 37-year-old Michigan Republican is an outspoken defender of due process, civil liberties, and defendants' rights. He is also resolutely non-interventionist and friendly toward immigrants. Outspoken in his principles, he rarely misses an opportunity to excoriate his GOP colleagues when they fail to live up to the party's limited-government rhetoric.

Rep. Justin Amash on Trump, Ryan, and the 'Stupidity' of How the Government Spends Your Money

After December 2017's oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd. vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a lopsided decision but narrow ruling that was decided 7–2 by the Supreme Court today, Managing Editor Stephanie Slade, always worth reading on the intersection of religion and government, made this prescient observation: "The Supreme Court is left with something its members clearly see as a difficult task: defining the contours of a state's power to require people to do what their religion tells them they may not. But the justices might have found a sort of get-out-of-jail-free card allowing them not to make such a tricky ruling: In stark language, several questioned whether anti-religious animus may have motivated the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's judgment against Phillips."

Moral of the story: Always trust content from Reason!

The gay wedding cake saga was one of several culture-war conflicts discussed on today's editor-roundtable edition of the Reason Podcast, featuring Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, Peter Suderman, and me. Others included: Bill Clinton's #MeToo moment, the Roseanne Barr/Bill Maher/Samantha Bee cycle of outrage, Kim Kardashian's bizarrely derided White House visit, and the desultory trade-war apologia from Larry "I should totally know better" Kudlow. Along the way we also allow editorial overlord Katherine Mangu-Ward take victory lap about Reason's sensational new "Burn After Reading" issue.

Audio production by Ian Keyser.

'Rebel Blues' by Sul Rebel is licensed under CC BY NC 4.0

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Reason Totally Called the Masterpiece Cakeshop Case

"We are fighting for free speech every single day," says Students for Liberty's CEO Wolf von Laer, who also contends that college campuses around the world are "breeding grounds for socialism."

Nick Gillespie spoke with Laer, who has a Ph.D. in political economy from King's College (London), and David Clement, director of external relations, about SFL's upcoming LibertyCon, which takes place in Washington, D.C., January 17-20, and pulls together 2,000 students, activists, and libertarians from all over the world.

Reason is a sponsor of LibertyCon and folks such as Katherine Mangu-Ward, Matt Welch, Peter Suderman, Robby Soave, and Elizabeth Nolan Brown will join Libertarian Party Vice Presidential nominee Bill Weld, FCC head Ajit Pai, legal giants Randy Barnett and Alan Dershowitz, and others for the conference. During lunch on Saturday, Reason will present a "live" version of the magazine, featuring some of your favorite journalists, the musical styling of Remy, and the comedy of Andrew Heaton and Austin Bragg. 

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Interviews

"We Are Fighting for Free Speech Every Single Day," Says Student for Liberty's Wolf von Laer

Founded in 1968, Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Our podcast offerings include:

The Reason Roundtable
Every Monday, the libertarian editors of the magazine of “Free Minds and Free Markets”—Matt Welch, Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Peter Suderman—discuss and debate the week’s biggest stories and what fresh hell awaits us all.

The Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie
Want to know what comes next in politics, culture, and libertarian ideas? Reason’s Nick Gillespie hosts relentlessly interesting interviews with the activists, artists, authors, entrepreneurs, newsmakers, and politicians who are defining the 21st century.

The Soho Forum Debates
Reason presents a libertarian-themed debate series recorded monthly before a live audience in New York City. Moderated by former Barron's Economics Editor Gene Epstein, the Soho Forum features Nobel prize winners, radical thinkers, and other public intellectuals facing off over the future of bitcoin, veganism, sex work, illegal drugs, electric vehicles, abortion, robotics, government debt, and other controversial topics.

Michael Beckley: China is Dangerously Weak

Reason Podcasts

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