In this week’s\u00a0The<\/em>\u00a0Reason Roundtable<\/em>, editors\u00a0Matt Welch<\/a>,\u00a0Katherine Mangu-Ward<\/a>,\u00a0Nick Gillespie<\/a>, and\u00a0Peter Suderman<\/a> reflect on the failed policy decisions that have exacerbated the L.A. wildfire crisis, as well as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that the company is ditching third-party fact checking on Facebook.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

01:54\u2014L.A. wildfires and failed policy<\/p>\n

28:06\u2014Weekly listener question<\/p>\n

37:36\u2014Zuckerberg announces the company nixes third-party fact checking<\/p>\n

47:06\u2014This week’s cultural recommendations<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mentioned in this podcast:<\/p>\n

“California’s Fire Catastrophe Is Largely a Result of Bad Government Policies,<\/a>” by J.D. Tuccille<\/p>\n

“Looting Is Bad. So Are Curfews,<\/a>” by Jack Nicastro<\/p>\n

“What’s Wrong With a Private Firefighter?<\/a>” by Liz Wolfe<\/p>\n

“Los Angeles Zoning Laws Pushed People and Homes Toward Fire-Prone Areas,<\/a>” by Jack Nicastro<\/p>\n

“Fires Incinerated the Facade of California Governing Competence,<\/a>” by Matt Welch<\/p>\n

“Hell Out West,<\/a>” by Liz Wolfe<\/p>\n

“A Failed State,<\/a>” by Liz Wolfe<\/p>\n

“Burning Los Angeles,<\/a>” by Nick Gillespie<\/p>\n

“California Regulations Prevent Insurers From Accurately Pricing Wildfire Risk, so Now They’re Fleeing the State,<\/a>” by Ronald Bailey<\/p>\n

“Why is the bureaucracy and red tape there in the first place?<\/a>” by Nick Gillespie<\/p>\n

“Zuck Finds His Spine,<\/a>” by Liz Wolfe<\/p>\n

“Mark Zuckerberg Was Right To Fire Facebook’s Rogue Fact-Checkers,<\/a>” by Robby Soave<\/p>\n

“Facebook’s New Free Speech Policy Shows Business Getting Back to Business,<\/a>” by J.D. Tuccille<\/p>\n

“An Urgent Meeting of the Fact-Check Legion of Doom,<\/a>” by Robby Soave<\/p>\n

“Let’s Stop Talking about Free Speech and Start Defending It,<\/a>” by Nick Gillespie<\/p>\n

“Why Facebook ‘Welcomes’ Regulation, by Todd Krainin,<\/a>” Nick Gillespie, and Jim Epstein<\/p>\n

“Mark Zuckerberg: ‘I Believe We Need a More Active Role for Governments and Regulators,’<\/a>” by Nick Gillespie<\/p>\n

“TikTok Took a Beating at the Supreme Court,<\/a>” by Robby Soave<\/p>\n

“Trump Dodged My Question About the Federal Debt,<\/a>” by Nick Gillespie<\/p>\n

“Parents, Not the Government, Should Make IVF Decisions,<\/a>” by Ronald Bailey<\/p>\n

“Breeder Reactionaries: The ‘feminist’ war on reproductive technologies,<\/a>” by Wendy McElroy<\/p>\n

“The Brutalist<\/em> Is Great American Cinema,<\/a>” by Peter Suderman<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Event:<\/p>\n

Reason<\/em> Speakeasy: Bryan Caplan and David Bier<\/a>, January 21, 2025<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Send your questions to\u00a0roundtable@reason.com<\/a>. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Today’s sponsors:<\/p>\n

\n
• ZBiotics<\/a>.\u00a0ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol Probiotic Drink<\/a>\u00a0is the world’s first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by Ph.D. scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Make ZBiotics\u00a0your first drink of the night<\/em>, drink responsibly, and you’ll feel your best tomorrow. Go to zbiotics.com\/ROUNDTABLE<\/a>\u00a0to get 15 percent off your first order when you use ROUNDTABLE at checkout. ZBiotics is backed with a 100 percent money-back guarantee so if you’re unsatisfied for any reason, they’ll refund your money, no questions asked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

   <\/p>\n

  \n
  • Are you a student looking for a transformative opportunity that supports the foundations of a free society? Reliance College invites students aged 16 to 24 to the 2025 Great Connections Seminar in Chicago, from July 26th to August 2nd. This year’s theme, “Reason and Free Will,”<\/em> dives into timeless ideas from writers such as Thomas Jefferson, Ayn Rand, and Aristotle. Students sharpen critical thinking in small, dynamic groups, developing the intellectual tools needed to thrive in a free society. Outside the classroom, they’ll explore Chicago’s vibrant culture\u2014touring museums, trying improv comedy, and building lifelong connections. Parents, this program equips students to think, reason, and act independently. Go to reliancecollege.org\/reason<\/a> to learn more and apply. Early registration is just $400 before March 1st, including room and board, with scholarships available. Don’t miss out! Visit www.reliancecollege.org\/reason<\/a> to learn more and apply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Audio production by\u00a0Ian Keyser<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    Assistant production by Hunt Beaty<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    Music: “Angeline,” by The Brothers Steve<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
    • Video Editor:<\/strong> Ian Keyser<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Producer:<\/strong> Hunt Beaty<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The post How Awful Policies Fueled the L.A. Fires<\/a> appeared first on Reason.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Plus: A listener asks the editors if Donald Trump is the most libertarian president ever. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-109913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-policy","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109913\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/3rdcitynews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}