It’s Time To Abolish the TSA

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch discuss whether it’s finally time to abolish the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The panel examines the growing chaos at American airports as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents begin replacing TSA officials amid the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding standoff in Washington. They explore how airport security became entangled in broader immigration debates, whether agencies like TSA and DHS serve a necessary function, and what it says about a system where basic travel operations can break down over unrelated political fights.

Next, the panel considers the real legacy of labor leader Cesar Chavez and what it reveals about the influence of unions in modern Democratic politics, before turning to new evidence that blue state tax policies are driving out wealth and high earners. They also discuss a jury’s decision to clear Afroman in a defamation case tied to music videos mocking police officers who raided his home. Finally, a listener asks what a libertarian, constitutional approach to U.S. action in Cuba might look like.

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0:00—Abolish the TSA

15:51—The real legacy of Cesar Chavez

28:21—Blue state wealth taxes

34:41—Listener question on Cuba

40:52—Justice for Afroman

46:27—Weekly cultural recommendations

Mentioned in the podcast:

“Have an ICE Flight,” by Eric Boehm

“Government Shutdowns Won’t Stop Airport Security If Airport Security Isn’t Run by the Government,” by Jack Nicastro

“DHS Pledges Not To Deport Any U.S. Citizens if Congress Ends Shutdown,” by Joe Lancaster

“Stossel: Government Shutdown Shows Private Is Better,” by John Stossel and Maxim Lott

“Would You Be Afraid to Fly If the TSA Were Abolished?” by Ronald Bailey

“Make America Safer: Shut Down the Department of Homeland Security,” by Chris Edwards

“Overhauling U.S. Airport Security Screening,” by Robert Poole and Shirley Ybarra

“Cesar Chavez’s Other Crimes,” by Nick Gillespie

“Cesar Chavez Accused of Sexual Abuse,” by Peter Suderman

“Forced to Unionize: Is this Cesar Chavez’s Legacy?” by Zach Weissmueller

“Harvest of Power,” by Patty Newman

“Who’s Bankrolling the UFW?” by Patty Newman

“Labor Lost: Why the AFL-CIO’s survival strategy is doomed,” by Michael McMenamin

“New York Gov. Hochul Begs ‘High-Net-Worth’ Refugees To Return and Be Taxed,” by J.D. Tuccille

“Seattle’s Minimum Wage Laws Backfired on Uber and Lyft. Now the Union Wants To Limit Drivers,” by C. Jarrett Dieterle

“Mamdani Might Raid a Severely Underfunded Retiree Fund To Balance New York City’s Bursting Budget,” by Mariana Trujillo

“California’s Billionaire Tax Won’t Save Hospitals,” by Veronique de Rugy

“NYC Spent Over $368 Million To Combat Homelessness This Past Fiscal Year. Now the State Can’t Track the Money,” by Megan O’Rourke

“Washington State Just Passed a 9.9% Income Tax on Those Making $1 Million,” by Jack Nicastro

“California Billionaire Wealth Tax Would Cost the State $25 Billion, New Research Finds,” by Jack Nicastro

“Wealth Taxes Are Proven Failures. Will California Take Note?” by Veronique de Rugy

“California’s ‘Billionaire Tax’ Could Bite Harder Than Advertised,” by J.D. Tuccille

“As Trump Talks of ‘Taking Cuba,’ Real Change Requires More Than Replacing Its Leader,” by Katarina Hall

“Regime Change in Cuba: ‘Just a Matter of Time,'” by Matt Welch

“Jury Clears Afroman of Defamation for Mocking Cops Who Raided His House,” by C.J. Ciaramella

“Project Hail Mary Is Another ‘You Can Just Do Things’ Story From Sci-Fi Novelist Andy Weir,” by Peter Suderman

“Project Hail Mary,” by Christian Britschgi

“Andy Weir Is Looking Forward to the Space Boom,” by Katherine Mangu-Ward

“After The Martian, Andy Weir Goes to the Moon,” by Katherine Mangu-Ward

• Producer: Paul Alexander
• Video Editor: Ian Keyser