Reason has received 17 nominations for the 67th Southern California Journalism Awards, the Los Angeles Press Club announced Tuesday, including nine nods for the magazine, five for video, and three for podcasting.
Editor in Chief Katherine Mangu-Ward is nominated for best magazine columnist for "The Bankruptcy of Nostalgianomics" from the March 2024 issue of Reason; "SWAT Goes to College" from the July 2024 issue of Reason; and "Double-Hater Dead-Enders" from the November 2024 issue of Reason:
In election season, there's a certain dark freedom in policy nihilism. It allows candidates to campaign without accountability. If their policy proposals are flimsy and changeable, they reduce their own risk of being held to their promises. Knowing that the policy talk is meaningless allows voters to gloss over the difficult details of proposals, since the candidates are unlikely to pursue the policies they are discussing in a recognizable way once in office anyway. We're left with elections where the stakes feel apocalyptic, even as the substance hollows out.
But policy nihilism is only tenable for as long as the campaign lasts. Someone will win, and that person must govern—at which point the double-haters will almost certainly be proven right.
