The Reason Roundtable

Love the panel style, love the differing opinions and thoughtful discussion. Wouldn't mind fewer interruptions when someone is getting their thoughts out, and editing for clarity (uhs, ums, etc) would be awesome, but certainly not a deal breaker.

I really enjoy hearing the analyses of current events the Rountable members offer. Different viewpoints than I hear anywhere else in the media. Only reason I can’t give it a 5-star is the arrogance with which they approach any idea with which they disagree. Every member of our government, every member of the Ivy League community…all of them are “idiots.” Maybe a little nuance and grace here.

This podcast is wonderful, unique commentary and insights, great dynamics between the regular panel, but man Peter Suderman makes it difficult to listen to sometimes. He is so long winded, no sense of what it might be like to listen to him bloviate as an audience member. Not to mention the jokes; bad, painful, sad. Remember when Krusty the Clown counseled us that puns are lazy writing? Whenever other panelists answer a question or share “what they’ve been consuming” it relatively the same length, perhaps even more brief if it’s a simple movie or book review. When Sudermans turn is up prepare yourself for a minutes long monologue. And if it happens to be about superheroes or video games I highly suggest you find something to bite down on for 5 minutes. If you have ever received a pedantic lecture on how the first Star Wars isnt actually the first Star Wars after casually mentioning it at a cocktail party then you’ll know exactly the vibe of Sudermans soliloquy’s. Its like he has a automatic spring-loaded “actually” up his sleeve ready to fire into any gap in the conversation. I wish I could say he keeps me from listening to the podcast but overall it’s pretty great. It would be wonderful if they gave him a timer.

Even folks who are not a fans of Reason Magazine should give this a try. The hosts are experienced journalists from multiple generations (boomer to millennial, and maybe even gen z?) They are very knowledgeable about current events which they discuss thoughtfully and intelligently. All four of them, as well as their periodic guest hosts, regularly articulate points of view that are contrary to those out out by MSNBC or Fox or whatever. They hardly ever agree even with each other, which is at least half of what makes it an entertaining listen. This show will almost always get you thinking. Give it a shot.

I’ve enjoyed listening for several years now, even influenced my decision to subscribe to their magazine! Generally libertarian minded but at times can be a bit milquetoast, naive and overly influenced by the cultural left. Still, a great way to kill an hour of mind numbing physical labour on a Tuesday morning.

As a centrist who’s grown bored with polarized arguments on the left and right, I was hopeful I’d found a pod with more balanced and substantive commentary. The first few episodes were good but by 5-6 episodes, my interest started to wane. As others have commented, the hosts are ideologues who do nothing but pick apart policy positions on either side without ever putting forth substantive alternatives. The recent episode on gun restrictions and mass shootings was a new low-point. The crew took the easy way out and filled a full 70 minutes blithering on about trivial nonsense that was shockingly aloof and tone deaf in light of recent events. I’m left-leaning and was looking forward to a thoughtful discussion about Second Amendment rights, but instead got an earful of sophomoric and meaningless babble. Time to move on.