Robert Emil Soave Jr. (, ; born August 8, 1988) is an American

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

journalist. He is a senior editor for ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

'' and co-host of '' The Hill''s web news commentary series program '' Rising''.

Early life and education

Soave was born in and grew up in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and graduated from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Career

In 2015, he won a Southern California Journalism Award from the

Los Angeles Press Club The Los Angeles Press Club is an American journalism organization founded in 1913. It honors journalists through its annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards and SoCal Journalism Awards. As of 2023, the Los Angeles Press Club hosted ...

for his writing about the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' story " A Rape on Campus". He was named in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' ' "30 under 30" list in 2016. In 2019, he gained media attention for his writings defending the

Covington Catholic High School Covington Catholic High School (abbreviated CCH or CovCath) is a private, Roman Catholic, high school for boys in Park Hills, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Bishop Francis William Howard and Brother George Sauer, and is part ...

students involved in the Lincoln Memorial confrontation. In Soave's first book, ''Panic Attack: Young Radicals in the Age of Trump'', he profiles young progressive activists as well as those on the political right, and discusses issues such as

intersectionality Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...

political correctness "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...

, and free speech on college campuses. Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', reviewer J. Oliver Conroy called ''Panic Attack'' "a methodical, earnest and often insightful work of reporting and analysis, not a fiery polemic." In his second book, ''Tech Panic: Why We Shouldn't Fear Facebook and the Future'', Soave questions conventional wisdom about the negative effects of

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

, and argues that increased regulation of platforms like

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

could stifle free speech and do more harm than good. Soave serves on the D.C. Advisory Committee to the

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility fo ...

Personal life

Soave married his wife Carrie in October 2014.

Bibliography

*
Panic Attack: Young Radicals in the Age of Trump
' ( All Points Books, 2019) *
Tech Panic: Why We Shouldn't Fear Facebook and the Future
' (All Points Books, 2021)

References

External links

Author profile and articles
at '' Reason.com'' *
Wow: Wikipedia BANS the ADL as a Source on Israel/Palestine Conflict
Soave talks about Wikipedia, 2024 '' The Hill'' video Living people American libertarians Writers from Detroit Journalists from Detroit University of Michigan alumni 21st-century American journalists {{US-journalist-1980s-stub 1988 births