Science Journalist Ronald Bailey

What Libertarian Science Writers Talk About When They Talk About Science

Ronald Bailey is the science correspondent for Reason magazine. Before participating in a panel on learning to live with less water, he revealed his deep admiration for the astronomer Edwin Hubble in the green room and also what he talks about when he gets together with other libertarian science writers (though, to be fair, there are only three of them).

Q:

How do you procrastinate?


A:

I basically procrastinate by finding other projects. The most urgent project will be ignored, and I will think of other things to do. I also go to the gym a lot. And the kitchen gets clean. My wife points out that when I’m on a big writing project, the kitchen is never cleaner.


Q:

Do you cook?


A:

I do not cook. We’ve had a division of labor; it was in our marriage contract. She does all the cooking. I can chop and I can make salads—anything that doesn’t require heating. On the other hand, I clean absolutely everything. This is a bad structure, because when she could use one pot she uses four or five.


Q:

How are you different from who you were 10 years ago?


A:

Well I’m older, which I don’t advise doing if you can avoid it. I think in a certain way I feel a lot more relaxed about work, in the sense that I feel more confident about what I know and can do and so forth. I don’t see any waning of curiosity, however. I’m still fairly intent on learning as much as I can. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I do feel that curiosity is the most important feature of any particular person, and I’ve just become more curious about how the world works. Otherwise, how am I different? Well, I weigh 40 pounds less, does that count?


Q:

What cheese best embodies you?


A:

I do have a lot of favorite cheeses. So what would be the best cheese? I would go with Humboldt Fog. It has a sweetness to it with a sharp character in the end.


Q:

What do you talk about when you get together with other libertarian science writers?


A:

All three of us? The great happiness of science reporting is that I don’t have to talk to politicians any more. The problem with politicians is that even if they’re honest, they really don’t know very much. They’re very busy people, and they can only have a very general knowledge about anything, so you’re mostly hearing their kneejerk responses. The great joy of my job is I get to talk to scientists. They focus on what is the case of the world to the extent that they understand it. I cover only uncontroversial issues. Things like stem cell research, climate change, GMO crops—things that no one wants to fight about at all. The problem is, when you get to the science of that, it elides over very quickly into politics. For a lot of policy-relevant science, it’s politicized from the get-go, and it’s very hard sometimes to tease apart the political views of people who are speaking versus the scientific facts. That is a terrible problem and sometimes a great disappointment.


Q:

What’s your favorite plant or flower?


A:

Tomato plant.


Q:

Who was your childhood hero?


A:

It was probably Edwin Hubble. I know that sounds a little weird, but one of the first books I read—there was a series of books you could buy through your school, and one was called “The Real Astronomers.” And I particularly liked Edwin Hubble because he was the guy who figured out that the universe was expanding. And one of my great joys of my life was that I got to go to Mount Wilson [Observatory] here and touch the telescope Hubble used. As far as religious experiences go, it was one of the great ones.


Q:

What science writer’s work would you most like to eradicate?


A:

It’s pretty hard to think of anything. The problem is, I really think I have the world’s best job. There must be something I dislike … But no, I can’t really think of anything that comes to mind, frankly.


Q:

What brand of bottled water do you prefer?


A:

I don’t buy bottled water unless I absolutely have to, and when I do I buy the cheapest possible thing.


Q:

What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?


A:

Career-wise, basically quitting my government job to go work in New York City for The New Yorker magazine for half of what I was being paid at my government job. So I just quit everything and went to become a grunt at The New Yorker.