Glenn Reynolds

Glenn Reynolds (author photo).

Glenn Harlan Reynolds (born 1960) is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his weblog, Instapundit, one of the most widely read American political weblogs.^[1]

Reynolds is often described as conservative, but holds liberal views on social issues such as abortion^[2], the War on Drugs and gay marriage. He describes himself as a libertarian^[3] and more specifically a libertarian transhumanist.^[4] He customarily illustrates his combination of views by stating: "I'd be delighted to live in a country where happily married gay couples had closets full of assault weapons."^[5] He is a strong supporter of Porkbusters and the Iraq War.^{[citation needed]} He has been critical of left-wing transhumanism, which he believes could lead to a Brave New World-like situation of totalitarian government.^[6]

On October 25, 2007, Reynolds wrote that he was a former member of the Libertarian Party.^[7]

In 2006, he released the book An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths, which covered the various ways in which modern technology is changing society by allowing amateur individuals to do things that previously only large, well-funded organizations were equipped to do.

Reynolds was a finalist for the World Technology Network's 2004 Media and Journalism award. In his remarks, he said:

Changes in technology are producing major changes in media and journalism. Journalism is becoming an activity, not simply a profession. In my InstaPundit.com weblog I have tried to foster the growth of amateurism in that field, by encouraging people to get involved and to make use of the new tools—from Web publishing to inexpensive digital still and video cameras—to bring news and perspectives to the world stage that were previously lacking.^[8]

Reynolds is a frequent contributor to Popular Mechanics Magazine, where he writes about broad legal and practical issues in the digital age, and sometimes participates in their coverage of events such as the Consumer Electronics Show. He has also written for Forbes, The Atlantic, The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications.

Reynolds also ran his own music label WonderDog Records, for which he also served as a record producer.

Personal

Reynolds grew up a Methodist but is now a Presbyterian.^[9] He is married to Dr. Helen Smith, a forensic psychologist. The couple, who have a daughter, produce a podcast, The Glenn and Helen Show, approximately once per week, and Reynolds now hosts a video talk show on his own, InstaVision, for Pajamas Media.

Books authored

• Outer Space: Problems of Law and Policy (1989), ISBN 0-8133-7622-X (with Robert P. Merges); 2nd ed. (1997), ISBN 0-8133-1802-5
• The Appearance of Impropriety: How the Ethics Wars Have Undermined American Government, Business, and Society (1997), ISBN 0-684-82764-6 (with Peter W. Morgan)
• An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths (2006), ISBN 1-59555-054-2

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Glenn Reynolds

• Instapundit
• Official home page and bio at UTK Law School site
• An interview with Reynolds
• Reynolds profile from the Yale Law Report
• Reynolds profile from the New York Times
• Law Review articles by Reynolds via SSRN
• Video discussions/debates featuring Reynolds on Bloggingheads.tv