Jump to content

Nick Gillespie

From Catholicism Wiki
Nick Gillespie
Gillespie in 2013
Gillespie in 2013
Born Nicholas John Gillespie
August 7, 1963[1]
New York City, U.S.
Education Rutgers University (BA)
Temple University (MA)
State University of New York at Buffalo (PhD)
Occupations Journalist
political commentator
Years active 1990s–present
Spouse Sarah Rose Siskind
(m. 2024)
Children 3

Nicholas John Gillespie (/ɡɪˈlɛspi/ ghih-LES-pee; born August 7, 1963)[1] is an American libertarian journalist who was editor-in-chief of Reason magazine from 2000 to 2008 and editor-in-chief of Reason.com and Reason TV from 2008 to 2017. Gillespie joined Reason's staff in 1993 as an assistant editor and ascended to the top slot in 2000. As of 2025, he is an editor-at-large at Reason.[2]

Gillespie has edited one anthology, Choice: The Best of Reason[3][4] and has made media appearances on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, where he advocates for libertarian perspectives.[5][6] His work addresses topics such as free markets, limited government, free speech, and criminal justice reform.[7]

Early life and education

Gillespie was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Monmouth County, New Jersey,[8] where he graduated from Mater Dei High School.[9] His educational history includes a B.A. in English and psychology from Rutgers University, an M.A. in English from Temple University, and a Ph.D. in English literature from the State University of New York at Buffalo.[10]

Career

Before joining Reason, Gillespie worked at a number of small trade magazines and other journalistic outlets.

In an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, Gillespie and Tapper said they contributed articles for the alternative website Suck.com in the 1990s.[11] On Suck.com, Gillespie wrote under the pseudonym Mr. Mxyzptlk.[12]

In 2010, The Daily Beast named Gillespie number 18 on their list of "The Right's Top 25 Journalists".[13] Gillespie himself was a contributor to The Daily Beast.[14]

Gillespie shared the award for "Best Advocacy Journalism" at the 53rd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards with Drew Carey and Paul Feine for their work "Reason Saves Cleveland." He also received an honorable mention for "Best News Organization Website."[15]

In 2011, Gillespie published The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America with Reason editor-in-chief Matt Welch.[4]

As one of Reason’s editors at large, Gillespie hosts The Reason Interview, a weekly podcast series in which he interviews various experts about current events from a libertarian perspective.[16][17]

Personal life

Gillespie married entrepreneur Sarah Rose Siskind in 2024.[18] He has three sons: two from first marriage, and one from his second marriage.[19]

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Gillespie, Nick (August 7, 2012). "My Birthday Wish: Please Reverse Engineer Obama's Awful "Events Registry" By Sending Him Gifts, Not Cash". Reason. Reason Foundation. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  2. Back to citation "Nick Gillespie". Reason.com. August 6, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  3. Back to citation "Who's Getting Your Vote?". Reason. November 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Veronique de Rugy (June 21, 2011). "The Declaration of Independents". National Review Online. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  5. Back to citation "The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity". www.libertarianism.org. December 1, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  6. Back to citation "WATCH: Rachel Maddow Gets Into Intense Argument". HuffPost. June 23, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  7. Back to citation Draper, Robert (December 26, 2024). "Has the 'Libertarian Moment' Finally Arrived? – The New York Times". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 26, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  8. Back to citation Smith, Russ. "Interview: Nick Gillespie; The Editor-in-Chief of Reason.com and Reason.tv talks about the print media crisis, his editorial philosophy, and why his libertarian publication won’t be going easy on Obama.", Splice Today, January 30, 2009. Accessed February 3, 2020. "I grew up in Monmouth County, New Jersey, which contains both Springsteen’s hometown (Freehold) and his early haunt (Asbury Park), so I can’t stand him in the same way that only a New Yorker can really, really hate the Yankees."
  9. Back to citation Gillespie, Nick. "Really Strange Bedfellows IIA final word (for now) on libertarians vs. conservatives", Reason (magazine), December 20, 2001. Accessed February 3, 2020. "It's been a long, long while since I've been accused of impairing the morals of a minor (really). In fact, the last time I can remember such a claim being leveled against me was back in high school when I coaxed some classmates at good old Mater Dei High School into seeing Monty Python's Life of Brian rather than a less theologically charged movie."
  10. Back to citation "Staff: Nick Gillespie". reason.com. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  11. Back to citation "CNN's Jake Tapper on The Hellfire Club, Donald Trump's Big Lies, and D.C.'s 'Bullshit Waterfall'". May 11, 2018 – via YouTube.
  12. Back to citation "Suck Contributor: Nick Gillespie". Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  13. Back to citation Varadarajan, Tunku (February 10, 2010). "The Right's Top 25 Journalists: 18. Nick Gillespie". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  14. Back to citation "Nick Gillespie". The Daily Beast.
  15. Back to citation Welch, Matt (June 28, 2011). "Radley Balko Named "Journalist of the Year," Reason Wins Three Other First Place Prizes at the Southern California Journalism Awards".
  16. Back to citation "The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie Archives". Reason.com. August 6, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  17. Back to citation "Nick Gillespie". Open to Debate. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  18. Back to citation Daniels, Eugene; Bade, Rachael (October 14, 2024). "Playbook: Inside Harris' Black men blitz". Politico. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  19. Back to citation "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
Retrieved from "https://catholicism.wiki/index.php?title=Nick_Gillespie&oldid=110164"