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Zombie Obama, a School Attending Robot, & a UFO Sighting - Mike Riggs Joins Alyona's Happy Hour

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Associate Editor Mike Riggs joined the Alyona Show's Happy Hour to discuss an eclectic mix of news from a GOP flyer depicting a zombified Obama, a woman posing naked inside a horse carcass, an allergy-stricken student using a robot to attend class, and a potential UFO sighting. Airdate: November 1, 2011.

9.10 minutes.

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Couple Heading to Court after Hosting Home Bible Study! (Nanny of the Month, Sept 2011)

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:25:00 EDT

Nanny of the Month turns two-years-old this October, and the busybodies who mind your own business show no signs of letting up.

Take formerly dog-friendly New York City which has banished man’s best friend from any establishment that serves food or alcohol (and that includes outdoor patios!). Then there’s Michigan Gov. Rick Snyner who’s tackling childhood obesity by introducing a statewide database to keep anonymous tabs on kiddies’ weight.

But the this very special nanny comes to us from a California city that is fighting (and fining) a couple that hosts Bible studies at home. Presenting Reason.tv’s Nanny of the Month for September 2011: San Juan Capistrano City Attorney Omar Sandoval!

The city slapped Chuck and Stephanie Fromm with fines totalling $300 for violating a municipal code which prohibits religious, fraternal, or nonprofit organizations from meeting on residential property without a conditional use permit (CUP). The Fromm’s gatherings can attract as many as 50 people and the city says that causes parking problems, but the Fromm’s disagree saying there is plenty of parking in their semi-rural neighborhood where large homes sit on even larger lots (the Fromm’s lot includes a corral, barn, and large lawn). The Fromms have held their gatherings since 1994 and say their neighbors support them, except for one woman whose recent complaint sparked city action.

The city is threatening to impose steeper fines if the Fromms continue their un-permitted gatherings, claiming that “zoning and building codes treat residences differently than places of public assembly because of public welfare and safety reasons.”

The Fromm’s are appealing the fines and refuse to apply for a CUP because they could face thousands of dollars in expenses that could include conducting traffic studies and making their home wheelchair accessible.

Next stop is Superior Court.

Approximately 1.20 minutes.

"Nanny of the Month" is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Opening animation by Meredith Bragg.

Go here to watch previous Nanny of the Month episodes.

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Moral Markets: Paul Zak discusses Oxytocin, Trade, and Human Nature

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT

"Our biology really tells us that, at our hearts, we're libertarians." So says Paul J. Zak, who spoke recently at Reason Foundation's annual Reason Weekend.

Zak is the founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University and is credited with the first published use of the term "neuroeconomics," a new discipline that integrates neuroscience and economics. Zak discusses his "oxytocin argument," which he explores in the book Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy.

In 2004, Zak's lab discovered that the chemical oxytocin (best known for inducing labor in women) allows us to determine whom to trust in situations that require exchange. That's the same trust that makes trade possible and underpins modern economies.

Approximately 14 minutes-long. Filmed by Alex Manning and Paul Detrick; Editd by Hawk Jensen.

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Michael Shermer: Evolutionary Economics and the Google Theory of Peace

dan.hayes@reason.org (Dan Hayes) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:45:00 EST

Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, a columnist for Scientific American, and most recently the author of The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans, and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics.

Shermer's new book--which The Washington Post says "has earned the right to our attention"--seeks to explain "how evolution shaped the modern economy and why people are so irrational about money."

Shermer, who lives and works in Southern California and is the author of previous books such as Why Darwin Matters and The Borderlands of Science, sat down with reason.tv to talk about the intersection between evolution and capitalism, trust in a globalized world, his "Google theory of peace," and his ideological journey toward libertarianism.

And why it's extremely tough to convince left-wingers who believe in evolution that capitalism is a good thing and conservatives who believe in free markets that evolution is real.

Discuss this story online at reason's Hit & Run blog.