Jason Russell is managing editor at Reason, the magazine of "free minds and free markets." He's also an award-winning sports writer and writes Reason's Free Agent newsletter on the collision of sports, politics, and economics. Jason grew up in the suburbs of the original "City of Champions," Detroit, and roots for all sports teams from the great state of Michigan. Previously, Jason was a writer and editor with the Washington Examiner. He also managed America's Future's Writing Fellows Program from 2017 to 2019, where he trained young writers and aspiring journalists. Jason studied economics and political science at the University of Rochester and grew up near Detroit. He lives in the Washington, D.C., area with his family.
Jason has worked at Reason since January 2021. He spends most of his time managing Reason's monthly print magazine, including special edition issues, such as the December 2024 Abolish Everything issue, the June 2024 AI issue, the January 2024 Florida issue, the July 2023 Adam Smith issue, the May 2023 debate issue, and the December 2022 space issue.
Jason's August/September 2023 cover story, "Get Your Politics Out of My Pickleball," won the 2024 Southern California Journalism Award for sports commentary, with one judge commenting: "Great look at the game, the obsession, the irritating fascination of pickleball. Nice weaving of the games statistics and history to go along with how the popularity of the sport (activity) has increased scrutiny and oversight." Jason also won the Writing Fellows Alumnus Award from America's Future in 2016 for career achievement.
His other Reason magazine features include a look at the rapid legalization of sports betting, "Life Gets Better for Sports Bettors," and the pro-feline take in Reason's debate over whether cats or dogs are more libertarian. While at the Washington Examiner, he authored research-intensive magazine features on D.C.'s much-bemoaned Metro system and charter schools' revival of New Orleans' education system after Hurricane Katrina.
Jason has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and C-SPAN, as well as numerous other TV, video, and radio outlets. Jason also previously worked at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and as a Reason Foundation policy intern in 2013. You can follow him on X: @JRussellMI
