Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason and the author of Reason's biweekly Sex & Tech newsletter, which covers issues surrounding sex, technology, bodily autonomy, law, and online culture. She is also co-founder of the libertarian feminist group Feminists for Liberty, and a professional affiliate of the journalism program at the University of Cincinnati.
Brown has covered a broad range of political and cultural topics since starting at Reason in 2014, with special emphasis on the politics, policy, and legal issues surrounding sex, speech, tech, justice, reproductive freedom, and women's rights. She can be found frequently reporting and opining on topics such as sex work, social media, antitrust law, abortion, feminism, the First Amendment, policing, and Section 230. A few of her more memorable Reason features include a trio of cover stories on the federal government's war on sex ("The War on Sex Trafficking Is the New War on Drugs," "American Sex Police," and "Massage Parlor Panic"), a political profile of Kamala Harris ("Kamala Harris Is a Cop Who Wants to Be President"), a deep dive into the prosecution of the founders of Backpage.com, and a look at "The Bipartisan Antitrust Crusade Against Big Tech."
Brown's work has also been published by The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Buzzfeed, The Daily Beast, Politico, Playboy, Persuasion, Fox News, Newsweek, TIME, The Dish, The Week, Spectator World, Libertarianism.org (where she wrote the Encyclopedia of Libertarianism entry on sex work), and numerous other outlets.
She is the winner of the Western Publishing Association's 2016 award for best feature article and has been a finalist for seven awards from the Los Angeles Press Club, taking one second place and three third place awards for articles including Hot Girls Wanted: Exploiting Sex Workers in the Name of Exposing Porn Exploitation?" and "The Truth About the Biggest U.S. Sex Trafficking Story of the Year".
Brown is a frequent commenter on panels, podcasts, radio, and television. She has debated sex work decriminalization at New York University and the Soho Forum; spoken before audiences at SXSW, the First Amendment Lawyer's Association meeting, the Sexual Freedom Summit, the Knight Foundation, the Mont Pelerin Society, George Mason University's Law & Economics Center, the 2022 Libertarian Party convention, FreedomFest, and numerous other places; and appeared on programs on NPR, C-SPAN, the BBC, Fox News, ESPN, and North Carolina Public Radio, among others.
Prior to coming to Reason, Brown covered legal issues for the Daily Reporter in Columbus, Ohio; wrote about health and nutrition for Bustle and other women's websites; and served as an editor for AARP publications. She is a graduate of American University, where she earned a master's degree in public communication, and Ohio University, where she studied playwriting, English, and film. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband, sons, and two cats.
