Merry Christmas! Reason magazine just published a fascinating and thought-provoking collection essays on various aspects of space exploration in its December 2022 issue (see here), the cover of which is pictured below. The five essays that most caught my attention were as follows (in alphabetical order, by author):
- “The FCC: America’s Other Space Agency” by Payton Alexander.
- “We Are Going to the Moon” by Eric Berger.
- “Who Owns the Satellites Orbiting the Earth?” by Joe Lancaster.
- “Space Is an Opportunity To Rethink Property Rights” by Rebecca Lowe.
- “The Case for Space Billionaires” by Katherine Mangu-Ward.
- And last but not least: “As Private Space Travel Grows, so Will the Insurance Market” by Mike Riggs.
For my part, I have previously proposed “launch auctions” to allocate orbits in outer space (see here, for example), and I am currently researching this idea further. In the meantime, I will write up short reviews of these excellent essays next week.
prior probability 
Pingback: Review of “The FCC: America’s Other Space Agency” | prior probability
I look forward to reading the series as Reason tends to have some good articles.
Love their free website too!
All around a great publication.
added bonus: the Remy rap videos!
see, e.g.: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fBs1ayrGRz4
Holy crap… that was funny. I’ll be looking for more of their music videos.
Certainly sounds like they are talking about California. I read their written content and watched the Soho debates and Nick Gillespie’s interviews; but never Remy rap videos.
My biggest gripe with Reason is their Roundtable podcasts, all it is the editors bullshitting and loosely expressing their opinions on current events. I’d much rather watch / listen to Nick’s interviews.
Remy is amazing; ditto Nick Gillespie!
I also forgot, I do like Volokh’s blog. Thanks for making me aware of it.
Problem is only sporadically follow it.
There’s a lot of content out there, but so little time.
Agree on both counts! For me, the key with prolific blogs like Marginal Revolution or Volokh is to make note of particular posts that really capture my imagination and print those out (sans the comments) at the end of the week for more careful reflection…
If I ever want to research a legal question (at the national level); before going to Oyez, Justia, Casetext, or Google Scholar; I check the Volokh archives for articles on the topic.
That is actually a great strategy for reading these blogs where there are near-daily, daily, or multi-daily blog posts.
Well-played!!!
the problem with reading the actual cases on Justia or Oyez is that a lot of the opinions are technical and way too long, so I like your VC strategy!
As a layperson , I find the contributors on VC tend to do an excellent job explaining the technical aspects of the case in plain English.
I like reading all of the above to help me achieve a better understanding of the case.
Also, they are one of the few legal blogs that allow you to post comments!
Another excellent point.
Off topic question; I am reading Freaknomics for the first time, is there a legal equivalent to this book?
After seeing your post about when MS ratified the 13th and seeing the documentary on the Pepsi points/Harrier Jet fiasco (Netflix) over the weekend ; I think this similar premise would be well applied to American Law.
A book written for a lay audience that explains and applies the idiosyncratic quirks of the US law. Whether it be outlandish case law, obscure blue laws, or even wonky applications and procedures.
Love “Freakonomics” and have read all three books; alas, I am not aware of a legal version, but that is a great idea: a Freakonomics of Law!
I currently have the first two. Love the first one so far. I am 17 years too late on reading that one, but in my defense I was not a particularly intellectually curious High School student in 2005.
Yes, I think a legal version of Freaknomics would be brilliant. Especially considering most countries have some weird laws and lawsuits.
Despite my lack of legal training part of me wants to take on this challenge.
This would be a worthwhile cause! Perhaps we could find a kindred spirit from the world of journalism and then work on this together!
How would you begin such an undertaking?
Ideally, we should pitch your idea to a literary agent first to see if the project is viable from a commercial publisher’s point of view. I do know an agent to whom we could pitch your idea, so I will send over the details via email in the next day or two.
I appreciate it sir.
Pingback: Review of “We Are Going to the Moon” | prior probability